May peace be upon us all.
I am honoured to represent my country, Indonesia, at
this year’s General Assembly debate to discuss how we
can find better ways to peacefully resolve or manage
conflicts around the world.
This, of course, is what the United Nations is all
about: to end the scourge of war, and to create a peaceful
and equitable world order based on international
cooperation.
In the decades since its founding, the United Nations
has developed a number of instruments to address
conflicts in all their manifestations. During those
decades, many inter-State and intra-State conflicts have
been resolved — those in Angola, Bosnia, Cambodia,
Timor-Leste, as well as many others.
The question we must now ask is whether those
instruments are adequate to address the whole spectrum
of conflicts that the world community now faces.
That is clearly evident in the Syrian crisis. The
world community is witnessing, with great pain,
the worsening violence and unfolding humanitarian
catastrophe on the ground; at the same time, the United
Nations is in a state of paralysis in responding to the
situation. There is no end in sight to the conflict, and it
appears that we have not yet seen the worst of the crisis.
Indonesia therefore reiterates its call for the
immediate cessation of violence in Syria, which has
taken a high toll in innocent civilian lives. The Security
Council must now unite and act decisively, as mandated
by the United Nations Charter, to bring the situation
under control.

Clearly, whatever the explanation, the present
international system cannot for now resolve the Syrian
conflict. There is every likelihood that the community
of nations will see similar conflicts in future. It will
be in a different corner of the world, and in a different
form, with different actors. It will not help the cause
of international peace if, once again, we end up being
divided and unable to positively alter the course of the
conflict. The world community must develop ways to
address them more effectively, towards their peaceful
end.
We must adapt to twenty-first century security
challenges. There is no question that the world we live
in today is in much better condition than it was in the
twentieth century. Freedom has spread. The threat of
nuclear holocaust is receding significantly. There is
no prospect of a world war, the kind that twice created
such destruction during the twentieth century. The
global economy has expanded remarkably. Nations
are becoming more interdependent. International
cooperation and partnerships are flourishing.
However, it is only relative peace, not total peace
as yet. We have moved from the era of the cold war to
an era of “warm peace”. In this warm peace, the world
remains stuck with an outdated international security
architecture that still reflects twentieth-century
circumstances, in contrast with the global economic
architecture, which has done much better in adjusting
to the twenty-first century.
In this warm peace, the relationships between the
major Powers are, for the first time, marked by relative
stability and increased cooperation. But the question
remains unanswered as to how they will accommodate
the growing ranks of emerging Powers that are
reshaping the world order.
In this warm peace, old enmities and long-standing
conflicts can still resurface in the new strategic
landscape, even carried on by new generations.
In this warm peace, we are seeing new security
challenges and opportunities arising from the seismic
power shifts that are occurring in some regions. The
security implications of the political events in the
Middle East are still unfolding.
In this warm peace, the world community still has
to contend with an array of unfinished business: the
Arab-Israeli conflict, nuclear disarmament, territorial disputes in the South China Sea, tensions in the Korean
peninsula, and the like.
In this warm peace, new progress can easily regress.
Hard-won peace processes can stall or even crumble.
Strategic miscalculations in disputed theatres may lead
to rising tensions and armed clashes.
And in this warm peace, pockets of hatred and
bigotry, intolerance and extremism continue to litter
our world.
Perhaps we will have to live with this warm
peace for decades. But I believe that we can lower the
temperature of this warm peace. Where possible, we
can resolve conflicts one by one. We can strengthen
the building blocks of peace. We can promote a new
globalism that can potentially change the dynamics of
conflict resolution.
In order to do that, we need to try new approaches
and be more imaginative. The first thing we have to
do is to evolve a new strategic mindset. Let us face it:
remnants of the cold-war mentality still persist in parts
of the geopolitical landscape, not least in our own United
Nations, where rigid, dogmatic, zero-sum calculations
sometimes still come into play. For long-term peace, a
peace born of trust and mutual confidence, we must get
rid of that mindset. In that light, we must continue to
work towards a reformed Security Council, a Council
that reflects the strategic realities of the twenty-first
century and provides security to all.
We must also work to perfect the instruments of
peace, which include robust regionalism. We in the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have
seen how such regionalism can be a force for peace and
cooperation. As a result of a strong regionalism, all of
South-east Asia has thrived under ASEAN cooperation.
South-east Asia, which was once the cockpit of border
wars and the proxy wars of extra-regional Powers, has
come together.
After ASEAN was founded, in 1967, it devoted
the early decades of its life as a regional organization
to cultivating the habits of dialogue, consultation and
cooperation, not only among its members but with its
dialogue partners. Thus, each ASEAN country adopted
a new strategic mindset based on trust and a sense of
having a stake in the success and progress of all the
others. Today the ASEAN family is united and at peace
with itself and with the rest of the world.

At the same time, we can also develop a universal
culture of mutual tolerance and mutual appreciation of
one another’s religious convictions. In such a world,
the voice of the moderates — the voice of reason and
compassion — would be heard clearly over the din of
prejudice and bigotry. In a global regime of compassion
and tolerance, no war is possible.
As a nation that celebrates its diversity of culture
and religions, Indonesia calls for mutual respect and
understanding among peoples of different faiths.
Despite initiatives undertaken by States at the United
Nations and in other forums, the defamation of religions
persists. We have seen yet another of its ugly faces in
the film “ Innocence of Muslims” that is now causing
an international uproar.
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights
underlines that, in exercising freedom of expression,
everyone must observe morality and public order.
Freedom of expression is therefore not absolute. Hence,
I call for an international instrument to effectively
prevent incitement to hostility or violence based on
religion or belief. As the product of international
consensus, that instrument should serve as a point
of reference with which the world community must
comply.
For good measure, we also need to promote
a continuing process of dialogue among faiths,
civilizations and cultures. Of course, that dialogue
should not remain a dialogue, but should translate into
actual cooperation so that peoples of different cultures
and faiths can come together as a community and
care for one another. Those communities will become
bulwarks for peace and they will make it difficult if not
impossible for any kind of armed conflict to erupt.
We must also master the art of preventive diplomacy.
Most disputes are intractable; they simmer for what
seems to be an eternity, but by a historical reckoning
they are not really long, drawn-out affairs. Sooner or
later, there comes a conf luence of factors and events
that provides a window of opportunity for resolving a
dispute and removing conflict from the table of options.
That is what we in ASEAN have done with the
potential conflicts in the South China Sea. The territorial
and sovereignty disputes have been festering there for
the better part of a century. But we are managing them
with restraint, confidence-building and, at present,
through earnest negotiations toward a legally binding
code of conduct in the South China Sea.

Finally, the culture of peace, mutual tolerance and
appreciation, and cooperation must be supported by the
right kind of economics. People need to be fed, to be
sheltered and to be assured of a future where they have
opportunities for a living and a livelihood. That is the
only way for peace to be locked in for the long term;
that is, when it brings dividends that give human beings
robust confidence in the future.
The price of inequality between and within nations
gives rise to tension born of grievances that can, unless
effectively addressed, lead to radicalism and even
violence, which threaten international and national
peace and security. The solution is to form a global
partnership for poverty eradication and for achieving
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), and then
to formulate a post-MDG development agenda we can
fully carry out.
Our experience in the resolution of the intra-state
conflict in the province of Aceh proves that, if we do
enough for peace, if there is a conf luence of favourable
circumstances, and if we are prepared to seize the
moment, then peace can be achieved. The peace that we
achieve will not only give temporary respite, it will also
last for generations.
For many years, peace has been treated as if it
were a science. There are whole libraries about how
it can be achieved and preserved. I have come to the
conclusion, however, that if peace has a technology it is
one born of experience. That experience can be shared
and can be useful in creating new experience. And if
there is enough sharing of experiences — and that is
what Indonesia is trying to achieve — and if there is
sufficient political will to apply what is learned from
others to one’s unique circumstances, then peace can be
widely spread. Peace can be effectively waged. And we
would have a gentler, better world.


In a complex world, it is
smart economics and also smart politics to focus on
prevention rather than cure. This holds true whether
we address the global economic crisis, sustainable
development and poverty reduction, conflicts like
the one in Syria, or the arms trade and disarmament.
In that context, the inclusion of women in political
decision-making processes is not only the right thing
to do, it is one of the most powerful drivers for positive
change.
Our natural resources are increasingly under
pressure. By 2030, the world will need 50 per cent
more food, 45 per cent more energy and 30 per cent
more water. Thus, we must chart a new course for
our common future and develop a new paradigm for
economic growth and development that will make it
possible to deal with those challenges and to create
opportunities for future generations.
In June, at the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), we made
some progress, laying down the foundations for the
transformative process we need to pursue. But the
house still has to be built, and the General Assembly
must provide some of the important building blocks
to do this. Defining sustainable development goals as
part of the overall post-2015 international development
framework, establishing the new high-level political
forum, and upgrading the United Nations Environment
Programme are all key parts of the agenda before us.
Denmark strongly supports the Secretary-General’s
Sustainable Energy for All initiative, launched
in November 2011, and remains committed to its
objectives. Access to sustainable energy, improved
energy efficiency and increased use of renewable energy
are all necessary conditions for achieving long-term
sustainable development. At Rio+20, a green economy
was finally recognized as one of the important tools
available for achieving sustainable development.
We need to work in close partnership with both the
private sector and civil society, if we are to succeed
in transforming the global economy. The Danish
Government, in partnership with the Governments
of Mexico and Republic of Korea, last year created
a public-private partnership among progressive
Governments, global corporations, financial
institutions and international organizations, including
the United Nations, called the Global Green Growth
Forum. At the second Forum meeting a week from now,
in Copenhagen, the focus will be on resource efficiency
and growth, reinforcing the need to decouple economic
growth from unsustainable environmental pressures
and to refocus efforts on the creation of decent jobs.
While making the last push for achieving the
Millennium Development Goals in 2015, we will start
preparing the post-2015 international development
framework and embark on the discussion on how to best
formulate new and more ambitious goals beyond 2015.
As stated, the sustainable development goals should be
an integrated part of this exercise. Denmark strongly
supports the promotion of human rights as a means to
development, rights being understood as indivisible and
interdependent. Such a rights-based approach is about
placing people — men and women — at the centre
and in charge of their own development. And let me
add, in the case of a woman, this also means the right
to decide over her own body. That is why Denmark
welcomes today’s launch of the high-level task force
for the International Conference on Population and
Development. Important parts of the rights-based
approach are access to information, involvement in
decision-making and strengthening the voice of civil
society.

Four decades ago, the United Nations set a target
for developed countries to increase their official
development assistance to 0.7 per cent of their gross
national income. Every year since 1978 Denmark has
surpassed the target, and our development assistance
will continue to increase over the years to come. We
call on other donors and potential donors, including
emerging economies, to increase their assistance as
well.
We see a great need for support to fragile States
like Somalia, South Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan and
Mali, where fragility and conflict hamper development
and poverty reduction and may provide a breeding
ground for all kinds of instability. We see positive signs
in those countries, but there are still many challenges,
and we therefore require strong and continuous political
commitment, both within the countries themselves and
on the part of the international community, in order
to succeed. We in the international community need
to take a closer look inside our toolbox and find the
right mix of development assistance and security policy
response, including ways of addressing terrorism
and in some cases piracy. In conflict-affected and
fragile countries, there is a need to understand that
without security there can be no development and
that without development there can be no security.
Denmark actively participates in promoting the New
Deal for Engagement in Fragile States, and we are
currently co-chairing the International Dialogue on
Peacebuilding and State-building. A peaceful and
prosperous development in fragile States stands at
the heart of Danish development policy, most recently
exemplified in the Sahel region. Denmark shares
the ambition of the International Dialogue to have
peacebuilding and statebuilding goals firmly reflected
in the post-2015 international development framework.
We must also use international cooperation to
reduce the level of conflicts and to set clear rules for
all to abide by. Unregulated and irresponsible trade
of conventional weapons is often the direct cause of
unbearable human suffering. It further destabilizes
weak and fragile States and is a hindrance to
development. There is an urgent need for a universal
and legally binding arms trade treaty, and, together
with Germany, Denmark has encouraged the Secretary-
General to continue his strong personal engagement
with respect to the convening of a second arms trade
treaty conference early next year. Now is the time to
act, and we call upon the members of the Assembly to successfully conclude negotiations on a treaty and to do
so without delay.
Let me use this occasion to once again call on
the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and more
particularly on Iran, to comply with international
law and relevant Security Council resolutions. It is
in Iran’s own interest to take concrete steps to build
international confidence in the exclusively peaceful
nature of its nuclear programme. The Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is a cornerstone
of international cooperation on disarmament and
non-proliferation. In this context, Denmark actively
supports the work of the Finnish facilitator to organize
a conference on the Middle East as a zone free of
weapons and materials of mass destruction.
For Denmark and the European Union, the rule
of law is critical to international peace and security,
human rights and development. It is a fundamental
principle of good governance, whereby the State is
accountable to its citizens and ensures their human
rights and fundamental freedoms, as well as their
participatory rights. We therefore welcome the outcome
of last week’s High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law
at the National and International Levels (resolution
67/1) and the commitments made by Member States.
Denmark also looks forward to an effective follow-up
to the High-level Meeting.
International agreement on the responsibility to
protect at the 2005 World Summit was a clear statement
by the international community that the atrocities
and large-scale tragedies of the last century must not
be repeated in the twenty-first century. The global
network of national focal points on the responsibility to
protect — an initiative launched by the Governments of
Denmark and Ghana, Costa Rica and Australia — is an
approach to encourage and assist States in developing
their national capacities and mechanisms for the
prevention of mass atrocity crimes. We call on all
States to appoint national focal points and to join the
network, thereby demonstrating their commitment to
decisive and timely prevention and response.
Even as I speak, we are witnessing in Syria a
Government that is not living up to its moral and political
obligations. Instead, it pursues a violent path of trying
to quell the cry for freedom, for democratic reforms
and for human rights. Despite several promises made
to the international community during the last year, the
Al-Assad regime has not stopped the violence. Instead we have only heard the sound of machine guns, heavy
weapons and airplanes firing away at civilians. Since I
stood here at this rostrum a year ago (see A/66/PV.29),
the situation has only deteriorated. Last year about
2,600 people in Syria had died in the conflict. Now,
more than 20,000 people have suffered that fate. The
Syrian people are f leeing from the shooting spree,
and a quarter of a million of them are now refugees
in neighbouring countries. More than a million people
inside Syria are in need of humanitarian assistance.
We condemn the brutal violence and massacres of
civilians in the strongest terms. The time has come to
stop the bloodshed and the suffering of the Syrian people.
We cannot look away while the increasing sectarian
violence spirals out of control, the humanitarian
emergency escalates and the crisis spills over borders.
President Al-Assad has lost all legitimacy and must
step aside to allow for a peaceful and democratic
transition. At the same time, those responsible for gross
human rights violations must be brought to justice. We
commend the very valuable work done by the Human
Rights Council’s Commission of Inquiry on Syria.
We note in particular that the Commission has stated
that it is likely that crimes against humanity have been
committed by the Syrian regime. The international
community must act on that information. Denmark calls
on the Security Council to refer the case of Syria and
the serious violations of international humanitarian law
committed in the country to the International Criminal
Court.
We urge the Security Council to unite and agree on
strong measures, including comprehensive sanctions,
to enforce the six-point plan endorsed by the Council.
We cannot afford to continue waiting for a change of
policy on the part of the regime, which it shows no sign
of ever making. The Syrian people need action. At the
same time, we strongly encourage the Syrian opposition
groups to agree on a set of shared principles for working
towards an inclusive, orderly and peaceful transition
in Syria to a future free of Al-Assad and his brutal
regime. While thanking former Secretary-General Kofi
Annan for his valuable contribution to finding a lasting
solution to the conflict, we now put our trust in the new
Joint Special Representative of the United Nations and
the League of Arab States, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, and
in his efforts at reaching a political solution.
The negative developments in Syria stand in sharp
contrast to the situation in other countries that have
been affected by the Arab winds of change. Calls for reforms, economic justice, democracy and respect for
human rights have been heard, and in countries like
Tunisia, Morocco, Egypt and Libya things are moving,
and generally in the right direction. But there are also
signs that progress is not universal, for example, the
recent decision by the Bahraini Court of Cassation to
uphold the convictions of 20 human rights activists,
including a Danish national. Calling for reforms is not a
crime, as was rightly pointed out by the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Last month’s election of the new Prime Minister
in Libya by a democratically elected parliament is a
concrete example of progress, which makes it all the
more difficult to comprehend the terrible and tragic
attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi,
which we have strongly condemned. It was a sobering
reminder of the serious challenges that still persist in
countries in transition toward democracy. Democracy
does not happen overnight. It takes years to develop, and
attacks by extremists should not be allowed to derail a
process that the majority of the people have fought so
hard for. We stand firm by our commitments to Libya,
and we stand firm in there being no justification for
such attacks — none whatsoever.
It has been clear since the beginning of the Arab
Spring that developments in the region make the Middle
East peace process and a negotiated solution even
more urgent and important. A year ago, the Quartet
in its 23 September 2011 statement (SG/2178) called
for a peace agreement to be signed no later than the
end of 2012. Regrettably, we face a reality which does
not augur well for that to happen. As things develop
on the ground, the prospects for a two-State solution,
providing for two independent, democratic, contiguous,
sovereign and viable States living side by side in
peace and security, are diminishing, not increasing.
As we approach the twentieth anniversary of the Oslo
Agreement, it is indeed time to reach a final agreement.
The world is undergoing profound changes. Current
and new challenges call for international resolve
and multilateral solutions. They call for strategic
approaches, focusing on prevention and early action to
dismantle problems, rather than on belated responses
and interventions to deal with them when it is too late,
too inefficient and much more costly. And they call
for the United Nations, the strength of which lies in
its unique legitimacy, to stand up and take the lead in
addressing global challenges. The United Nations can make a real difference for the 7 billion people living
on this planet. It is up to all of us to ensure that it does


I wish to say, before my
printed remarks begin, some words not circulated in the
text. It is a particular privilege and honour to represent
my country in this forum, having returned here through
the magic of democracy after five years. For the first
time since the general election in May, our country
now reaffirms its re-engagement in and with the world
community. We are part of the larger Caribbean region,
and in that context we took part in a meeting with the
Secretary-General of this body. We thank him for his
courtesy.
However, it is important that the representation of
the Bahamas on regional engagement with the United
Nations not be misinterpreted as a complaint about
lack of attention by the Secretariat. It was not based on
petulance but on the simple fact that the United Nations
in all its organs and manifestations must live up to its
creed that all nations in this body are equal, and not create the impression that some are more equal than
others. Our delegation will continue to ensure that the
guiding principle of that equality and equity is adhered
to strictly.
I would like to congratulate Mr. Vuk Jeremić on
his assumption of his duties as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to assure him
of my delegation’s support and cooperation throughout.
I also commend his predecessor for his stewardship
over the previous session.
I also wish on this occasion to express thanks for
the stellar work and contribution to our country of
our Permanent Representative to the United Nations,
Ambassador Paulette A. Bethel.
The Bahamas commends the United Nations for the
convening and the outcome of the High-level Meeting
on the Rule of Law at the National and International
Levels last Monday. The Bahamas has committed itself
to the principle of the rule of law and to ensuring the
continuation of good governance for the benefit of
the entire populace of the Bahamas. The Bahamas is
committed also to adhering to the rule at law at the
international level and to upholding the principles of
the Charter of the United Nations.
The Bahamas commends the convening in June
2012 of the third biennial review of the United Nations
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. The Bahamas
unequivocally condemns terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations and reiterates its commitment
to the fight against terrorism and to the Strategy’s
full implementation. The Bahamas renews its call
for the timely conclusion of negotiations on a draft
comprehensive international convention for the
elimination of terrorism.
The Bahamas condemns in the strongest possible
terms the violence that resulted in the deaths of
Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three other
United States diplomats a few weeks ago. We in the
international community must commit wholeheartedly
and sincerely to creating a culture of peace throughout
the world, underpinned by tolerance and understanding,
that precludes such outrageous occurrences and their
causes.
The level of armed violence and crime plaguing
our society — due in large part to the illicit trade
in small arms and light weapons and trafficking in
narcotics, neither of which our country manufactures or supplies — is increasing and cannot be allowed
to continue if we are to save successive generations
from a life steeped in violence and lawlessness. It has
been more than a decade since the adoption in 2001 of
the United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent,
Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms
and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. Yet there has
been no abatement in the level and intensity of armed
violence impacting our country.
The Bahamas welcomes the recent convening and
successful outcome of the United Nations Conference
to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the
Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate
the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons
in All Its Aspects. The Government reiterates its
unwavering commitment to the full implementation of
the Programme of Action. The lives of too many of our
young people are being destroyed by the use of illicit
weapons in our country. Now is the time to act.
Creating a safe Bahamas is a top priority for the
Government. We are committed to the creation of a
national intelligence agency and a national firearms
control strategy, including the establishment of a firearms
department and database, as well as to the enhancement
of the operations of the country’s Defence Force so that
it can more effectively control the porous borders of the
Bahamas. I would like to take the opportunity to thank
the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs
and the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace,
Disarmament and Development in Latin America
and the Caribbean for their support and provision of
equipment and capacity-building assistance in the area
of firearms destruction and stockpile management. The
Bahamas was pleased to conclude an agreement with
the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs last
April and to have participated in a number of regional
training programmes and workshops sponsored by the
Regional Centre on the illicit trade in small arms and
light weapons and the strengthening of border controls.
The Bahamas joins other delegations in expressing
our profound disappointment at the outcome of
the United Nations Conference on the Arms Trade
Treaty held in July and the failure of Member States
to agree on a text despite six long years of protracted
negotiations. The Bahamas supports the views
articulated by the delegation of Trinidad and Tobago on
behalf of the Caribbean Community during the month-
long Conference. What we say to thousands of innocent
victims is that their voices must be heard. But what do we say to them and their families, who are suffering as a
result of the irresponsible and unregulated international
transfer of conventional arms? Commitment and a
reassessment of human life and dignity versus profit
are critical if we are to prevail in our fight against the
scourge of armed violence and terror plaguing our
societies. We look forward to a successful outcome in
the next round of negotiations.
The Bahamas solemnly reaffirms its commitment
to the three pillars of sustainable development:
economic, social and environmental. Advancements
continue nationally in important areas pertaining to
the protection of our biodiversity and development
of policies to promote renewable energy. Some argue
that finding out how to provide reliable and affordable
energy may be the single largest factor affecting the
future development of the Bahamas. The issue of energy
is so important that the Prime Minister has made it as
a personal mission to seek to solve the issue. We know
that we must do it sustainably.
The Bahamas has enacted legislation to foster the
sustainable use and management of ecosystems through
better land-use planning. Under the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, we have initiated
actions to preserve our fish stocks by introducing
penalties for overfishing. We have also taken action
to ban long-line fishing, to establish the Bahamas as a
sanctuary for sharks and to establish and expand marine
protected areas. For the Bahamas, it is imperative
that those sustainable development strategies be
complemented with appropriate actions taken by the
international community. In that connection, we view
the historic outcome of the United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) as offering
significant opportunities, particularly for small island
developing States (SIDS). We are encouraged by the
international community’s call for continued and
enhanced efforts to assist SIDS in implementing the
Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States and the
Mauritius Strategy for Implementation. The Bahamas
also welcomes plans to convene the Third International
Conference on Small Island Developing States and will
participate actively in the upcoming General Assembly
consultations to determine the modalities of the meeting
with a view to ensuring a successful outcome.
The Bahamas is also encouraged greatly by
the decision taken at Rio+20 to undertake work on
universal, action-oriented, sustainable development goals. In that work we must take into account different
national realities, capacities and levels of development
and must respect national policies and priorities. The
Bahamas hopes to work in the context of the open-ended
working group for the development of the sustainable
development goals as well as in the intergovernmental
committee on financing, agreed at Rio+20, to ensure
that our special concerns are fully addressed.
In that connection, the Bahamas looks forward to
the recommendations of the Secretary-General’s High-
level Panel on global post-2015 development planning
and commends the level of female participation therein.
The convening of the Panel offers a major opportunity
to learn from the mistakes of the past and build a
vision for global development beyond mere crisis
management. The Panel must be seen to operate with
open transparency. It should also incorporate the views
of geographical and economic anomalies such as those
of the Caribbean subregion, and be innovative and
forward-looking.
The Bahamas welcomes the acknowledgement
at Rio of the need to address the adverse impacts of
climate change.
The Bahamas believes that the United Nations has
a central role to play in global economic governance.
The Bahamas welcomes the efforts of the Group of 20
(G-20), particularly Mexico in the role as current Chair,
in helping to translate G-20 deliberations into effective
actions on a global scale through broad consultation
among Member States and with the United Nations itself
to find solutions to many of the major challenges of our
times, most particularly with respect to strengthening
the international financial system.
The Bahamas also envisions a greater role for the
United Nations in the area of international cooperation
in tax matters. The Bahamas, along with the wider
Group of 77 and China, continues to call for the
conversion of the United Nations Committee of Experts
on International Cooperation in Tax Matters into an
intergovernmental subsidiary body of the Economic
and Social Council, in keeping with the Doha mandate.
We also continue to deplore the use by some States of
their domestic laws for extraterritorial effect in such
areas as human trafficking, financial services and drug
smuggling. We continue to believe that those laws
with extraterritorial effect are misplaced and put an
unfair burden upon small States and that they may be
interpreted as a departure from the international norms of respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of States.
In order to reverse current economic trends, one of
the core imperatives of the Government of the Bahamas
is the strengthening of the domestic economy and the
attendant creation of jobs, the broadening of Bahamian
ownership in the economy and the attainment of a
higher standard of living. Creating job opportunities
and reversing the unacceptable unemployment situation
in the country, which currently is at a high rate, have
been identified at the highest political level as the
most critical near-term priorities for the Government,
especially in relation to young Bahamians. I wish to
speak especially on their behalf today. The young
Bahamian sector of our country has been most severely
affected by the unemployment problem, and the rate of
unemployment is unacceptable and cannot continue.
We are committed to solving youth unemployment.
The Bahamas underscores the need for enhanced
policy dialogue and international cooperation on the
question of building green economies, which will indeed
require new investments, skills formation, technology
development and transfer and capacity-building.
The gross national income of the Bahamas is
significantly affected by a small population of wealthy
expatriates whose high incomes skew the measure
away from the true economic realities. The construct
of per capita gross national income, therefore, takes
on a unique interpretation in the context of developing
countries like the Bahamas and, I would daresay, the
Caribbean subregion. The Bahamas continues to be
deserving of considerations that will not deny us the
right to develop sustainably, supported by financial,
human and technological resources. Gross national
income per capita should not be used as a pretext to
restrict our access to financial assistance.
The General Assembly is set to consider, during
this sixty-seventh session, the scale of assessments for
the apportionment of the expenses of the United Nations
regular budget and peacekeeping operations for the
period 2013-2015. The Bahamas takes this opportunity
to reiterate its long-standing position that per capita
gross national income, for the reasons given, should not
be accorded overriding weight in determining capacity
to pay.
A representative, transparent, responsive,
accountable, democratic and inclusive Security Council,
predicated on an increased membership in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, as well as
on modification of its working methods, is overdue.
My delegation sincerely hopes that the next round of
negotiations on Security Council reform during this
session will result in tangible progress aimed at making
the Council all that it can and should be.
Our desire for the realization of unfulfilled
potential also extends to our regional partner, the
Republic of Haiti. The Bahamas has been unremitting
and consistent in its support for the people of Haiti and
their aspirations for peace, security and development.
The Bahamas commends the important role of the
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in
providing security in Haiti and in laying the foundation
for its long-term recovery and stability. Pledges made
toward Haiti’s recovery and reconstruction must be
honoured and fulfilled so that the required work can be
undertaken and completed.
The Bahamas welcomes increased dialogue on
improving international cooperation with respect
to international migration and development. Illegal
migration from Haiti is a vexing issue for our country.
We agree that proper cooperation can certainly help to
ensure that migration occurs through safe and regulated
channels and to leverage the contributions that migrants
can make to the development of our country. The
Bahamas will continue to participate constructively in
the process leading to the second High-level Dialogue
on International Migration and Development, to be
held by the General Assembly in 2013, with a view to
addressing those and other related issues so crucial to
our development.
Given the events over the past year in the Bahamas
with regard to illegal migration, some of which have
been tragic, as well as poaching in our seas by illegal
persons from south of the country, the Bahamas will
be taking stronger measures over the next year to put a
stop to those illegal activities. We appeal to all nations
in the region to prevail upon their citizens to cease
and desist from those unlawful activities. We intend to
work both bilaterally and with the broader international
community to stop these assaults on our national and
economic security.
The Bahamas has made significant strides in the
areas of maternal and child health and HIV/AIDS in
this, the fiftieth year since women obtained the right
to vote in the Bahamas. We are committed to the
achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women, as was affirmed by the Minister for Social
Services during the consideration of the report on
Bahamas by the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women at its fifty-second
session, held in July. The Bahamas, nevertheless,
remains concerned about the increasing incidences of
non-communicable diseases among the population, in
particular women, who are disproportionately affected
by such preventable diseases.
We can draw much strength, wisdom and
inspiration from the remarkable successes of our
nations’ athletes nationally and subregionally at this
year’s Olympics. On behalf of my delegation, I would
like to pay tribute to the youth of the world for their
stellar displays of camaraderie and talent at the recent
Olympics. In this forum, I wish to salute in particular
the gold medal athletes of the Bahamas, namely,
Demetrius Pinder, Michael Mathieu, Chris Brown and
Ramon Miller. Indeed, the performances of the athletes
from the entire Caribbean Community region are
noteworthy, particularly those of our sister countries
Grenada, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago. Those
examples can be seen as contributing as much to peace
and development in our world as our deliberations
and initiatives at this session, hence, our warmest
congratulations to them all.
My delegation also wishes to record in this forum
the passing of my late friend and brother, the late Paul
L. Adderley, who was the longest-serving Minister
for Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas. His tenure
included the most critical foreign policy challenges
of an independent Bahamas to date. Sadly, he died on
19 September. He believed in this world body and its
tenets and exemplified how it can assist small States.
It is therefore only fitting that we mark and record his
passing.
The Bahamas continues to believe that mankind can
aspire to and achieve a higher inner strength that not
can only cause us to excel even beyond our dreams, but
also can lift all around us, even nations and the entire
world. May each one of us therefore reach for that inner
strength, change our world and transform an agenda of
problems into covenants of partnerships. It remains as
true as always that we need the United Nations.


On behalf
the delegation of Guinea, which I have the great
honour to lead, I would like first of all to congratulate
the President on his election to guide the work of the
General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session at a time
when our Organization is facing multiple challenges.
That mark of trust placed in him is a vibrant tribute
to his country, the Republic of Serbia, as well as to
his recognized diplomatic qualities, which augur well
for the success of our deliberations. His predecessor,
Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, of Qatar, deserves our
gratitude and thanks for his excellent work. I should also
like to express my Government’s highest appreciation
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his
dynamism and determination in the exercise of his
mandate.
The theme of this session, “Bringing about
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations by peaceful means”, lies at the very heart of
the uncertainty that weighs on the future of humanity.
The emergence of new forms of violence at the hands
of numerous actors and non-State groups, international
terrorism, and above all the proliferation of small arms
and light weapons, all constitute grounds for concern.
While inter-State conflicts have decreased in recent
years, intra-State conflicts in certain regions of the
world have led to political instability, general insecurity
and human tragedies, with their attendant economic,
social and environmental crises.
It follows that the peaceful settlement of disputes,
as a fundamental principle of international relations,
is becoming more indispensable than ever for the
maintenance of international peace and security. That
principle requires sustainable preventive strategies and
concerted efforts on the part of regional and subregional
organizations along with international development
partners. The critical need for States to promote and
defend the purposes and principles of the United
Nations Charter and of international law is the bulwark
par excellence against attempts against the territorial
integrity and sovereignty of States.

International mediation as a means of prevention
or a way to end violence through dialogue, along with
negotiation and the achievement of final agreements,
should be given pride of place. In that context, the
Guinean delegation encourages the rapid deployment
of mediators and experts. It also wishes to offer its
emphatic support to the Secretary-General’s initiative
encouraging the role of women in the mediation process.
In developing States, especially in Africa,
mediation and settlement mechanisms should be
strengthened through capacity-building and the
allocation of sufficient resources to assure a holistic
and effective approach. The institutionalization at the
national, regional and international levels of a culture
of peace that includes dialogue between civilizations
and religious tolerance is the irreversible path towards
a world of solidarity and peace.
In West Africa, where the northern part of our
neighbour, Mali, has been occupied for months
by terrorist and rebel groups, the strengthening of
democratic institutions and the restoration of territorial
integrity constitute the primary challenges of note.
Guinea reiterates its support for the initiatives of the
Economic Community of Western African States and
the African Union in their search for a solution to that
crisis, whose effects on the countries of the subregion
could well be devastating. In that regard, Guinea joins
the Government of Mali in urgently demanding the
Security Council to deploy an international contingent
to restore the territorial integrity of that brother country.
In Guinea-Bissau, the consolidation of peace and
stability requires the restoration of all democratic
institutions. With respect to the Great Lakes countries,
we support the efforts of the international community
and the Central African Economic and Monetary
Community, which seek to restore peace and security
in the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, which is fundamental for the stability of that
country and the region.
In the Horn of Africa, there has been encouraging
progress with respect to the peace process in Somalia.
The implementation of a new federal Parliament, the
adoption of a new interim Constitution and the election
on 10 September of Mr. Hassan Sheikh Mohamud
as President of the Republic, all demonstrate the
commitment of the Somali people, the Intergovernmental
Authority on Development, the African Union and
the United Nations to support peace, democracy and reconciliation in that country. The Government of
Guinea would like, at this time, to express its warmest
congratulations to the African Union Military Observer
Mission in Somalia.
Guinea also supports the ongoing negotiations
between the Governments of the Sudan and South Sudan
regarding post-independence issues, in accordance
with the African Union road map of 24 April 2011,
as approved by the Security Council in its resolution
2046 (2012). We welcome the agreement reached by the
parties on sharing petroleum revenue.
In the Middle East, the restoration of lasting
peace in the region must of necessity depend on the
creation of an independent Palestinian State, living
in peace and security side by side with the State of
Israel. The situation in Syria increasingly cries out to
the international community. We urge the concerned
parties to spare no efforts to halt the violence, protect
the population and restore peace. My Government
reaffirms its support for the declaration on Syria of
the recent extraordinary session of the Organization of
Islamic Cooperation.
The adoption on 21 June of the outcome document
(resolution 66/288, annex) of the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio+20)
offered the international community an opportunity
to renew its political commitment to sustainable
development in all its dimensions — economic, social
and environmental. The priority of the international
community today should be the effective implementation
of the commitments made to take into account the
legitimate concerns of all countries, in particular in
Africa. To that end, Guinea remains convinced that
defining a post-2015 development agenda must take
into account the complementarity of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and the sustainable
development goals resulting from Rio+20 in order to
ensure maximum benefit from the subsequent synergy.
In consideration of Africa’s post-2015 development
agenda, at the proposal of my country, the fifth Joint
Annual Meetings of the African Union Conference of
Ministers of Economy and Finance and the Economic
Commission for Africa Conference of African Ministers
of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, held
in Addis Ababa in March, and the seventeenth session of
the High-level Committee on South-South Cooperation,
held in New York in May, agreed to promote South-
South and triangular coalition.

South-South and triangular cooperation is now
becoming a new modality for international cooperation
in order to deal with the debt and financial market
crises and the lack of traditional official development
assistance and implement international development
goals, such as the MDGs and the Istanbul Programme
of Action, among others. From this rostrum, I would
like to launch an urgent appeal to all Member States
and development partners to support that innovative
initiative of solidarity by the international community
towards Africa. The continent remains the weakest link
in the international development mechanism despite its
vast potential and its economic performance in recent
years.
Since the election in 2010 of President Alpha Condé
to the highest office, the Government has undertaken
an vast programme of democratization and political,
institutional, economic and social reforms. At the
political level, a law on the fair reconstitution of the
Independent National Electoral Commission, adopted
by the National Transition Council, was approved by
the President. We hope that that will open the way for
the holding of legislative elections by the end of the
year.
I would like to reiterate the Government’s
commitment to continuing to promote human rights
and to ensure public freedoms. To meet the various
challenges facing the country following the 2010
presidential election, the Government has submitted
to the Peacebuilding Commission a request for support
and assistance in three priority areas, namely, national
reconciliation and unity, security sector reform and
youth and women’s employment.
Those priorities resulted in a statement of
mutual commitment, adopted here in New York on
23 September 2011 in the presence of our Head of
State. A year later, the implementation of those mutual
commitments has produced encouraging results thanks
to the significant efforts of the Government, the United
Nations and other partners. I would especially like to
welcome the significant progress in security sector
reform, in particular the biometric census of troops and
the retirement of nearly 4,000 soldiers.
In order to build on those achievements, we believe
that Guinea and its partners should benefit from the
momentum and trust created by those initial steps to
continue the reform by extending it to all components
of the security sector, in particular the police and the judiciary. We are convinced that strengthening the
security and stability of the country and of the subregion
depend on that.
In the economic and social field, there has been
significant progress in combating the macroeconomic
imbalances and in improving prospects for growth and
people’s living conditions.
Those policies enabled Guinea to reach the
completion point of the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
Initiative a few days ago, following meetings of the
Executive Boards of the International Monetary Fund
and the World Bank. The subsequent foreign debt relief
will make it possible to release significant financial
resources to investment in basic social services to
alleviate poverty. The normalization of relations with
creditors, restoring the State’s credibility, will promote
access to new foreign financial resources. However,
the Government of Guinea is aware that reaching the
completion point is only a first step and that many
challenges must be overcome to launch the country
on the path of sustainable growth. Our objective is to
rapidly raise the country to the ranks of an emerging
economy through the exploitation of its natural
resources.
I would like to conclude by reiterating Guinea’s
firm support for efforts to reform the General
Assembly and the Security Council so as to strengthen
the effectiveness and democratic governance of our
universal Organization.


I warmly
congratulate Mr. Jeremić on his election as President of
the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, and I
thank Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for his excellent
leadership of the Assembly during the previous session.
I also thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
efforts on behalf of the United Nations in the past year.
Our new world is experiencing popular uprisings,
intra-State conflicts, climate change disasters, global
financial crises, food and energy insecurity, human
rights violations, terrorism and so forth. These and
other experiences call for collective efforts towards
peaceful resolution at the United Nations. I therefore
commend the theme for this year’s deliberations,
namely, “Bringing about adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations by peaceful means”.
In that context, I would like to recall the role of
my father, Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the
Father of the Nation, who from this rostrum 38 years
ago espoused the principles of friendship towards
all and malice towards none, the peaceful settlement
of disputes, the renunciation of the use of force in
international relations, and contributing to global peace
and security. In essence, his policy at home and abroad
was based on justice and peace. At home, during my
last tenure as Prime Minister, in 1997, those policy
guidelines inspired me to settle a 20-year conflict that
had cost more than 20,000 lives, through the signing of
the Chittagong Hill Tracts Peace Accord. In February
2009, during my current tenure, I was able to peacefully
settle the volatile mutiny of our border guards, thus
averting a dangerous crisis.
We have also put increased emphasis on improving
external relations. I was able to resolve a 25-year-old
issue with India on sharing the water of the River
Ganges with the signing in 1996 of the 30-year Ganges
Water Sharing Treaty. Last year the 2011 Protocol to
our 1974 Land Boundary Agreement settled a border
demarcation issue that had gone unresolved for 64
years. We also addressed mutual concerns about a
dam proposed by India across a common river. With
our other neighbour, Myanmar, we reached a peaceful
settlement of a 41-year maritime boundary dispute
through the International Tribunal for the Law of the
Sea.
Our national and international commitment to peace
has also been demonstrated by our position among the
top contributors to United Nations peacekeeping and as a
founding member of the Peacebuilding Commission. As
the current Chair of the Commission, on 25 September
we held an event entitled “Peacebuilding: the way
forward towards sustainable peace and security”, in
which many here participated. As a member of the
Human Rights Council and of the Economic and Social
Council, we promote justice, peace, democracy, gender
equality, secularism, the rule of law and the rights of
minorities and vulnerable groups. As a member of the
executive bodies of the United Nations Development
Programme, the United Nations Population Fund, the
United Nations Office for Partnerships, UNESCO,
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations, the International Maritime Organization and
the Universal Postal Union, we advocate setting global
norms and standards.
In my four decades in politics for the welfare of
the people, I have learned that peace prevails when
justice prevails, both within States and in relations
between States. Only justice can ensure peace, which
is so vital for development, and justice is possible
only through democracy, which empowers people.
The alternative — the absence of democracy — means
social injustice, poverty, inequality, deprivation and marginalization, which encourage extremism and
terrorism. We are therefore strengthening democracy
and justice by empowering people by eradicating
poverty, hunger, inequality and deprivation and
by establishing social safety nets, creating jobs,
promoting inclusiveness, sustained growth and human
development, and by countering terrorism.
The principles to which I have just referred
also encouraged me to present a model for people’s
empowerment and development at the sixty-sixth session
(see A/66/PV.22). The model encompasses six mutually
reinforcing peace multipliers: first, eradicating poverty
and hunger; secondly, reducing inequality; thirdly,
mitigating deprivation; fourthly, including excluded
persons; fifthly, accelerating human development;
and sixthly, eliminating terrorism. That model was
endorsed by the Assembly in resolution 66/224, adopted
by consensus last year. In Dhaka, on 5 and 6 August
2012, we held an international conference to discuss
the model, and the 62 participating countries supported
its consideration at the sixty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. I highly appreciate their support. I
also seek the Assembly’s support for disseminating the
model.
In our efforts to achieve people’s empowerment,
parliamentary standing committees were established
during the first session of the Parliament that was
constituted immediately after the general elections of
2008. There are 50 such committees, and many are
chaired by members of Parliament from the opposition
bench. We also introduced the Prime Minister’s question
time and strengthened commissions on anti-corruption,
human rights and information. We ensured an
independent, proactive judiciary, strengthened the rule
of law and established human rights, accountability,
secularism and rights of minorities. We proceeded
with regional multimodal connectivity to empower
all people. We modernized education in madrasas. We
entrenched the election commission and democratic
institutions for holding 5,182 elections in a completely
free and credible atmosphere. We freed and expanded
the media, with 24 private television channels, 7 news
agencies, 11 FM and 14 community radio stations, 320
daily newspapers and 151 periodicals.
Since justice is the basis for empowering people for
peace and development, women should have an equal
role. To expedite the process of their empowerment,
girls are provided free education up to higher secondary
school under our new education policy. Women are also
encouraged to be active in our national life. Women’s
leadership has been developed from the grass-roots
level to the national level. Their participation in politics
has been increased since the general elections in 2008.
So far, 12,838 women have been elected to local
Government bodies, and 69 women are members of the
Parliament, constituting 20 per cent of the total number
of members of Parliament. Besides my being the Prime
Minister and Leader of the House, other women include
the Opposition Leader, the Deputy Leader of the
House, five Cabinet ministers and a Whip. Of general
Government posts, 30 per cent are reserved for women,
some of whom serve in very senior positions in the
judicial, administrative and diplomatic fields, as well
as in the armed and law enforcement services and as
United Nations peacekeepers.
Our efforts to empower people in my present
tenure have so far helped in reducing poverty by 10 per
cent, attaining a gross domestic product growth rate of
6.5 per cent and enhancing per capita income by 34.6 per
cent. They have helped to reduce overall inflation
from double digits to 4.97 per cent, with food inflation
declining from 13 per cent in 2008 to 2.25 per cent at
present. Our efforts have assisted in the employment of
7.5 million in the private sector and half a million in the
public sector. Exports have increased annually by 19 per
cent over 2009 figures to $24.3 billion in 2011-2012. We
have helped to arrange overseas jobs for 1.87 million
nationals, increasing annual inward remittances by
10 per cent over 2009 to $12 billion in 2011-2012.
We have maintained macroeconomic stability. We
have expanded information and communications
technology facilities among the lowest tier of local
Government to ensure the availability of e-services to
rural people. Nearly 100 per cent of school-age children
are enrolled in in primary schools. We have achieved
gender parity in primary and secondary education and
have established 12,000 community clinics to ensure
nutrition and health care for rural people, especially
mothers and children. A climate change trust fund has
been set up to implement adaptation and mitigation
programmes. All those undertakings have helped in
achieving Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
3, 4 and 5, on gender parity and infant and maternal
mortality, ahead of 2015.
Our achievements have earned us global recognition
through MDG, South-South and Food and Agriculture
Organization awards. Importantly, the Secretary-
General has acknowledged those achievements by including me as a member of the Scaling Up Nutrition
Lead Group and as a champion for the Education First
initiative. We welcome his high-level panel on the
post-2015 development agenda, which should consider
coherence with the sustainable development goals and
should prioritize poverty, hunger, nutrition, global
food and energy security, climate change and global
partnership for sustainable development.
I hope that the high-level panel will also consider
formulating a position on the painful plight of autistic
and disadvantaged children, who constitute about
1 per cent of the world’s population. At home, we have
put in place 55 special-needs schools and a centre for
neurodevelopment and autism in children. In July 2011,
with the collaboration of the World Health Organization
and Autism Speaks, we launched a global autism public
health initiative. At the current Assembly session we
will submit a draft resolution on the autism spectrum
disorder, which I hope will receive the Assembly’s
support.
Our efforts are hindered by unjust developments
resulting from climate change, such as increasing
poverty, property loss, human displacement and the
consequent terrorism. The inevitable sea-level rise will
create mass movements of displaced migrants. A new
legal regime ensuring social, cultural and economic
rehabilitation of climate migrants — which I called for
at the Assembly’s sixty-fourth session — must be put
in place.
It was also emphasized at the Dhaka meeting in
2011 of the Climate Vulnerable Forum that an alliance of
countries most vulnerable to climate change and rising
sea levels has to be forged. As the current Chair of the
Forum, Bangladesh launched the second edition of the
Climate Vulnerability Monitor yesterday in New York.
I also reiterate my call for an international agreement
limiting greenhouse-gas emissions on the principle of
common and differentiated responsibilities, on early
operationalization of the Green Climate Fund for, inter
alia, adaptation, mitigation and technology transfer.
Closely linked to climate change is global food
and energy security. The increase of food and energy
prices due to climate change can be very disturbing
indeed. It has dangerous implications for least
developed countries, which is why they need greater
international support for socioeconomic security, for
duty-free and quota-free access of their products to
all markets, for the fulfilment of official development
assistance commitments, for an equal voice in Bretton
Woods institutions and other international financial
institutions, and for free movement of labour to all
countries. In fact, we should immediately implement
Mode IV of the General Agreement on Trade in Services
to benefit both sending and receiving countries.
We should also ensure documentation, safe
migration and the protection of the rights of migrant
workers, especially women and children, as a shared
responsibility of sending and receiving States in the
World Trade Organization.
The blatant injustice perpetrated against, and
murder, torture and humiliation of the Palestinian
people by Israel marks a shameful chapter in human
history. Deep frustrations at the injustice in Palestine
and in other places also fuel terrorism. It is vital to
resolve the Palestine and similar burning questions
through justice and the establishment of democratic
rights.
In Bangladesh, from 2001 to 2006, an environment of
terrorism prevailed. Under the patronage of the previous
BNP-Jamaat Government, such internationally banned
terrorist outfits as Jama’atul Mujahideen Bangladesh,
Harkatul Jihad, Hizb ut-Tahrir and Lashkar-e-Toiba,
among others, carried out bomb and grenade attacks
with impunity, every other day, to eliminate the secular
and progressive parties. Prominent instances were the
bomb attacks on four cinemas killing 19 people on
5 December 2002; the grenade attack on the British
High Commissioner on 21 May 2004; bomb blasts at
500 places in 63 out of 64 districts within a span of half
an hour on 17 August 2005; grenade and firearm attacks
that killed former Finance Minister and Executive
Director of the Economic and Social Commission
for Asia and the Pacific Mr. S.A.M.S. Kibria, MP,
Mr. Ahsanullah Master, MP, Mr. Mumtazuddin, MP,
and two popular judges inside the court premises.
I was myself a target of a grenade attack at a public
meeting on 21 August 2004, which left 24 people dead
and nearly 500 injured. Somehow, I miraculously
survived. Another heinous kind of terrorism that we
experienced in Bangladesh was the brutal assassination
of my father and the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, and 18 members of our family
on 15 August 1975 by some misguided army personnel
seeking to usurp State power. At that time, I was abroad
with my sister, Sheikh Rehana, and thus escaped
death. In view of our nation’s tragic experiences with terrorism, my Government has adopted a firm policy of
zero tolerance of terrorism and all forms of extremism.
I conclude by joining the vast majority of United
Nations Members in stressing once again the urgent
need to reform the United Nations, the Bretton Woods
Institutions and other international financial institutions.
Their structures and decision making processes reflect
a balance of power that is 60 years old, serving the
interests of a privileged few and ignoring the large
majority. The new millennium, with its large number
of independent sovereign States and globalization,
has ushered in a new world order. Today, we speak
boldly of justice, equality, democracy, freedom, human
rights, environment and the adverse impact of climate
change, among other things. These are the priorities of
our time, which we must acknowledge in place of the
bitter experiences of the past. The new world order of
nations has to be based on justice, mutual respect and
sovereign equality if we are to evolve towards the world
of peace and hope that we wish to leave to our future
generations.
May Bangladesh live forever! Long live the United
Nations!


On behalf of His Majesty the Sultan and the people
of Brunei Darussalam, I would like to congratulate
our new President, His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremić, on his election and to wish him much success in the
coming year. We also wish to express our appreciation
to the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his dedication to the work
of the Organization. We especially thank him for his
efforts to encourage us all to meet successfully the
considerable challenges now being posed by life in the
twenty-first century.
At the same time, we would also like to thank
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his constant
willingness to apply the core values of the United
Nations directly whenever he has been asked to act
on our behalf. We particularly welcome the five-year
Action Agenda he has set out and the common vision
it offers us. At its heart, the vision is one of tolerance,
respect and understanding among nations.
Sadly, over the past two weeks, we have witnessed
events that present a very different vision. In considering
them, Brunei Darussalam has stated its unreserved
condemnation of their cause. We have equally strongly
advised all our people of our Government’s absolute
rejection of the violence and extremism that have been
their result. Here at the United Nations, we congratulate
the Secretary-General on his statement about the
matter. In doing so, we reaffirm our commitment to the
universal values of tolerance and respect. Similarly, we
uphold the institutions, structures and due processes
of international affairs that this great Organization
embodies.
Turning now to the theme for this year’s general
debate — “Bringing about adjustment or settlement
of international disputes or situations by peaceful
means” — for me the key word is “adjustment”. I think
it is well chosen. It suggests change that is carefully and
gradually done. It does not invite confrontation. For us
in Brunei Darussalam, it matches the main purpose
of this annual meeting. We see it as an opportunity to
express our satisfaction and our concern about how
successfully the United Nations is managing the process
of globalization that we have nationally embraced.
In other words, are we satisfied with things as
they are; or do we see a need for some adjustment?
In answering that question, we would like to start by
expressing considerable satisfaction with many aspects
of the Organization’s work. The media constantly
headline the supposed defects, failures and setbacks of
the United Nations. But beneath all of that we observe
the enormous contribution of the United Nations to the welfare of future generations. I would therefore
like to express our deep satisfaction with the work of
United Nations agencies and international bodies. We
believe they are providing us with the opportunity
to move out of nineteenth-century colonialism and
twentieth-century national interests. In the spirit of
our theme here, they are helping us to adjust to twenty-
first century regionalism and eventually, we hope, to
successful globalism.
I would therefore like to suggest three particular
areas we find especially important. In each, we believe
that the United Nations is helping to create a world
in which the people it represents can look to a better
future — one of hope rather than anguish, confidence
instead of fear, and trust in the place of despair.
The first area is the difficult long-term work being
done on sustainable development. We were impressed
by the results of the Rio de Janeiro United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development, which was
held in June and built on 20 years of effort. Sustainable
development is now far more than an academic topic;
it is firmly part of the United Nations long-term
development agenda. Work has moved from theory into
many practical ideas, projects and activities.
The second area is covered in the United Nations
Development Programme’s Millennium Development
Goals Report 2012. We especially noted the following
statements by the Secretary-General in his foreword.
The target of reducing extreme poverty by half has
been reached five years ahead of the 2015 deadline.
The target has been achieved on halving the proportion
of people who lack dependable access to improved
sources of drinking water. The conditions for more
than 200 million people living in slums have been
greatly improved. The primary school enrolment of
girls has equalled that of boys. There is accelerating
progress in reducing child and maternal mortality. We
are especially encouraged by his conclusion that the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals by
2015 is challenging but possible.
The third area is the sum of the ongoing efforts of
United Nations agencies such as the United Nations
Development Programme, UNICEF and the Food
and Agriculture Organization, which are operating in
almost 150 countries. Their work is both wide-ranging
and specific in its emphasis upon the basic components
of everyday life for the people we represent. Success in those three areas means that our
children and grandchildren will live in a world where
ordinary people and their families have a real chance to
live together in hope and confidence. That is the reason
for our satisfaction with the work of the United Nations
as a global Organization. In other words, in terms of
the fundamental work of the United Nations, we see
no need to undertake what our theme here describes as
adjustment.
Rather, it is in the structure of the Organization that
we see a need for some things to be adjusted. The reason
appears clear to many of those of us who are small
both physically and politically. The current structure
appears far too often to be the deep-seated cause of the
headline news I referred to. We see it as a twentieth-
century structure designed to meet twentieth-century
realities. It is personified in the 64 years of suffering
by the ordinary people of Palestine, and in all other
desperate situations in which the root causes of conflict
and confrontation are still buried in the past century.
Simply put, that must change. In our globalized
world, we are all equally interdependent and equally
responsible. But, like many other members in the
Assembly, we believe that the current structure does not
truly reflect those realities. As such, it needs adjusting
so that ancient political fault lines are repaired.
The form we hope it will increasingly take should
resemble that of some regions today that operate on
the basis of consensus, rather than compromise and
confrontation. That is what we have accepted in our
own region of South-East Asia. It is the spirit behind
the present focus of the Association of South-East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) on building a peaceful and
mutually respectful community of nations, regardless
of background, economic resources or national
preoccupations.
That is why we greatly appreciate the strong
support and goodwill that is constantly shown us by our
many partners from outside the region. It is also why
we in Brunei Darussalam, the smallest of all Member
nations, feel honoured and privileged to assume the
chairmanship of ASEAN next year. That organization
is an association of neighbours that have deliberately
chosen to adjust their region’s previous identity. Until
45 years ago, ours was one of the most unstable regions
on Earth, a confrontation point for the national interests
of great Powers and a focal point of the Cold War. Now, our region has adjusted, and is determined to
operate in the interests of its community of 600 million
citizens. It will continue to do so not by conflict or
confrontation and not by compromising national
values, but by peaceful consensus. In the same way, we
hope that the structure of the United Nations can be
gradually and carefully adjusted.


At the outset, allow me to
congratulate Mr. Jeremić on his election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session.
I am confident that he will successfully steer the
proceedings of this session in an efficient and effective
manner. I assure him of Malaysia’s full cooperation and
support throughout his presidency. I would also like to
take this opportunity to thank the previous President,
His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for
his leadership and guidance throughout the sixty-sixth
session.
The release of the distasteful and insulting film
Innocence  of  Muslims caused a wave of widespread
protests across the Muslim world. The problem was
compounded by the publication of offensive caricatures,
which further angered Muslims. It is hard to understand
how those responsible could resort to such actions,
knowing that they would offend and provoke 2 billion
Muslims, as anything other than blatant and malicious
intent and purpose.
It is our obligation as peace-loving people and
responsible Governments to prevent a small minority of
bigots from sowing the seed of hatred between Muslims
and the Western world. We categorize those people as
extremists. They insult Islam and advocate religious
hatred. Such extremists have shown absolutely no
regard for the implications of their actions. While
we condemn the irresponsible actions of those who
intentionally incite hatred, we are equally saddened by
the violent reaction that ensued.
Expressing anger by resorting to violence, killing
and destruction does not offer any solution to the
problem and only results in further division and
possibly more damage and loss of innocent lives.
We condemn those responsible for the death of
Ambassador Christopher Stevens and his colleagues
in Benghazi. We are equally saddened by the loss of
innocent lives, including those of women and children,
during emotionally charged demonstrations. A life
lost is one too many. Those who made the video and
drew the caricatures, as well as those who resorted to
killing, are equally guilty of extremism and must be
held accountable and brought to justice.
I believe that it is time to look deeper into the heart
of the problem and dwell on the real debate — the
relationship between freedom of expression and social
responsibilities, duties and obligations. The events we
have witnessed cannot be defended under the pretext of human rights, freedoms and liberties. A line should be
drawn when the prejudicial effect outweighs everything
else. Malaysia has always maintained that freedom,
including the freedom of expression, comes with
responsibility. The drafters of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights, I am sure, did not have denigration in
mind when they cited the need to promote and protect
the freedom of expression.
Human rights need to be guaranteed by taking
into account the cultural and historical sensitivities
of a society. Nevertheless, they should also be
applied without selectivity or discrimination. When
we discriminate against women, it is called sexism;
when African-Americans are criticized and vilified, it
is called racism; when the same is done to the Jews,
people call it anti-Semitism; and laws are legislated
to persecute the perpetrators. But why is it that when
Muslims are stigmatized and defamed, it is defended as
freedom of expression?
In his statement during the International Day of
Peace on 21 September, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon
rightly said: “We cannot let the voices of extremists
dominate the debate and inflame tensions. We need
voices of moderation and solidarity” (SG/SM/14522).
The Prime Minister of Malaysia, two years ago in the
Assembly, advocated a global movement of moderates
and called for all people of the world to join the chorus
of moderates so as to drown out the voices of extremists.
Embracing moderation is an important value that
should be ingrained in every society. Moderation
comes with a high degree of tolerance, trust and mutual
understanding. It uses dialogue as an important tool to
resolve disputes. With relative political peace comes
economic stability and socioeconomic development
in the given country. It is therefore important that we
continue to practice moderation as we face the rising
tide of extremism. Moderation is the best response to
extremism.
The first international conference of the Global
Movement of Moderates held in Kuala Lumpur in
January this year was well attended by over 500
participants from all over the world. It affirmed
the importance of moderation in the context of its
application to global issues and situations, especially
to matters that relate to social, financial, religious
and international politics. The Global Movement of
Moderates has gained the recognition and support
of the Commonwealth of Nations, the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. We believe that the Global Movement of
Moderates provides an effective platform for the global
response to extremism.
The theme of the sixty-seventh session of the
General Assembly, “Bringing about adjustment or
settlement of international disputes or situations by
peaceful means,” is timely because it reiterates the core
principles and values of the United Nations in facing
continuing conflicts and situations around the world.
We continue to have serious concerns regarding the
situation in the Syrian Arab Republic. We condemn the
violence and senseless killing that have taken place and
that continue to take place. As we contemplate the next
step forward, we have to bear in mind that any measure
we take must be in the interests of the Syrian people. It
is not about who is wrong or right; it is about putting an
end to the bloodshed and suffering, bringing a peaceful
and inclusive resolution to the conflict.
The unabated violence and killing must stop
immediately. The parties involved have an equal
responsibility for ensuring the end to the appalling
atrocities. Military aggression and armed confrontation
will serve only to exacerbate the problem and can never
be a solution to the crisis; instead, they diminish any
little hope there is for peaceful settlement. We earnestly
hope that with the appointment of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi
as the new Joint Special Representative of the United
Nations and the League of Arab States for Syria, a
peaceful solution to the Syrian crisis will be found.
Towards that end, the support of all parties, including
the involvement of the United Nations, is very crucial.
The situation in the occupied Palestinian territories
remains bleak. For more than six decades, day after
day, month after month, the people of Palestine have
continued to see their lands confiscated to make way
for illegal settlements. They have continued to see their
families, including their children, displaced and forced
from their homes. Elsewhere, we are quick in calling
for action against those who force others to live under
oppression and without freedom and dignity. But we are
unashamed in not taking strong and decisive action to
ensure that the long-deprived Palestinians can exercise
their right to their homeland and regain their dignity
within the community of nations.
Surely, the international community, especially the
more powerful and inf luential nations, could do more
to bring Israel to the negotiating table for a two-State
solution, whereby the State of Israel and the State of Palestine could exist side by side in peace and security.
How can we continue to live in the face of that glaring
injustice without feeling an iota of guilt for not doing
enough to bring to an end this long-standing issue?
Like others in this Hall, Malaysia welcomes the
convening of the inaugural High-level Meeting on the
Rule of Law held earlier this week. At that meeting,
we adopted a solemn Declaration that the rule of law
shall apply to all States equally (resolution 67/1). We
rededicated ourselves to resolving disputes by peaceful
means and in conformity with the principles of justice
and international law. We also committed ourselves to
upholding the right to self-determination of peoples
who remain under foreign occupation, and to end
impunity for violations of international humanitarian
and human rights law. With that declaration, it is time
for the international community to put pressure on
Israel to fulfil its international obligations.
At the same time, Israel must stop all illegal
settlement activities in the West Bank as well as in East
Jerusalem. We are particularly concerned by the threats
to invade or divide the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque, which
would be a breach of Israel’s obligations as an occupying
Power. It is a holy site for Muslims and Christians alike.
Furthermore, Israel must lift the illegal blockade over
Gaza that has caused too much hardship for the people. It
must also protect the people under its occupation, fulfil
its international obligations and respect international
law. Most importantly, it ought to have direct talks
with the Palestinian Authority in conditions that clearly
demonstrate its goodwill and sincerity. A peaceful two-
State solution, accompanied by sustainable peace in the
region, should be the ultimate goal for all concerned.
Recognizing Palestine and welcoming it into
the community of nations has become a contentious
issue. Palestine is punished for wanting to become a
rightful Member of the United Nations. The feasibility
of a two-State solution is being questioned. However,
what choice does Palestine have? Furthermore, how
would becoming a Member of the United Nations harm
Palestine’s sincere efforts for independence?
The issue of Palestine’s membership of the United
Nations is tied to another bigger issue that is of
particular concern to Malaysia. Allow me to elaborate.
One hundred and thirty-two countries recognize the
State of Palestine. That number reflects more than two
thirds of the membership of the United Nations. Yet, the
Security Council — or more accurately, those members on which veto power has been conferred — are given
the authority to determine the fate of Palestine’s
membership, irrespective of the opinions of the
majority.
That is just one of a host of reasons that the United
Nations, especially the Security Council, needs to be
reformed. The Security Council will need to be able
to cope with the many challenges that the international
community faces.
There are so many instances when it has failed
to take action when action was needed most. It has
failed to do so because of the veto power that has been
conferred on the five permanent members. Thus, time
and again, it has become the victim of its own creation.
The composition of the Security Council should also
reflect current global realities. It should be democratic
and accountable so as to be able to fulfil its mandate to
effectively maintain international peace and security.
It is ironic that the very institution that was formed
in 1945 to promote and defend democracy among its
Member States should itself be undemocratic.
Virtually every aspect of reform has been argued
one way or another. There have been many proposals on
the table, but none has made any headway. Therefore,
despite the many years that the issue of Security Council
reform has been on the agenda of the United Nations,
we are no closer to actual reform than when we first
started. We call on all Member States to be realistic
and to find workable solutions to reform. There is a
need to approach reform with renewed political will if
we genuinely want to see progress towards achieving a
more efficient and effective United Nations. How long
can we go on like this? How long can we avoid the need
to reform the Security Council as well as the United
Nations as a whole?
It would be remiss of me not to mention the
meeting that many consider the most important one
to have taken place this year — namely, the United
Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held
in Brazil last June. Although the summit is over, much
work remains. The actions mandated in the outcome
document need our close follow-up, monitoring and
participation for their successful implementation.
Strengthening sustainable development and
environmental institutions, formulating a financial
strategy and developing the mechanisms for facilitating
technology transfer are among the important areas on
which we need to act in the year ahead. Accordingly, we need to launch a process to determine sustainable
development goals. The goals should be supported by
concrete action plans, with details on the various areas
mentioned in order to implement them. Malaysia looks
forward to working constructively and contributing to
that process.
I believe that we share similar concerns on all the
issues I have raised today. Bringing about adjustment
or settlement of disputes or situations does not concern
only the parties involved in a dispute or situation, but
is the joint collective responsibility of the international
community. In line with this year’s theme, we assure
the Assembly of our commitment to ensuring lasting
global peace and security through peaceful means by
embracing the principles of moderation.