It is a pleasure for me to take the floor before the General Assembly on behalf of His Excellency Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, who, due to numerous duties of State, is not able to be here today.
Equatorial Guinea is participating at this session of the General Assembly in a renewed spirit of faith and trust in the relevant role played by the Organization in promoting peace, security and stability among our nations in order to create the basic conditions for the well-being of humankind. Motivated by that trust, my delegation wishes to warmly congratulate Mr. Mogens Lykketoft for his unanimous election, which reflects the trust that the international community has in the rigour shown by his country in its treatment of international affairs. I am sure that, during his tenure as President of the General Assembly, he will always be able to count on the support and cooperation of the Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea. We would like also to congratulate Mr. Sam Kutesa, President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session, for the commendable work carried out during his term, with the important decisions taken that will trace out the path for the United Nations towards the democratization and revitalization of its institutions, as well as for the
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universal scope of its decisions. I would also like to take this opportunity to warmly congratulate Secretary- General Ban Ki Moon for his tireless efforts to face up to the complex challenges facing the Organization. We extend to him our support and cooperation to achieve every success in his endeavours.
Despite the attempts of some to monopolize the United Nations system with their undeclared interests, the Republic of Equatorial Guinea has never lost its faith and confidence in the relevant role that the United Nations must play with regard to the maintenance of international peace and security and in the promotion of fundamental human rights to guarantee the overall well-being of humankind. The United Nations is the only world body in which all States must have faith and trust, as is stated in its Charter. All countries are represented according to the principle of sovereign equality among States, including the democratic principle of respect for the majority opinion and for countries’ own decisions.
The events that have occurred in the first quarter century of this century show a degree of weakness in the role of the United Nations when it comes to preventing and eliminating conflicts between States, in the maintenance of international peace and security and in promoting the economic well-being of States. We are concerned at the proliferation of armed conflicts in Africa, Europe and the Middle East, as well as instability caused in countries of the developing world; the progressive advance of of terrorism in various parts of the world; and drug trafficking and uncontrolled immigration caused by those conflicts. All that would suggest that the United Nations has much more to do. Its Members must act in solidarity and according to the purposes and principles of the Charter, which should unite them in their actions.
In our view, the United Nations is not a police force acting to avert conflicts between States. The States Members of the United Nations must submit themselves to the norms of international law, to justice and respect for human rights, as well as strict respect for those standards. Consequently, they must work towards peace, stability and the development of nations. However, today it would appear that the law of the strongest and the most astute prevails, a situation that naturally leads to rebellions, which could lead to terrorist movements.
We believe that the success of the United Nations does not depend on the skill of the President of the General Assembly or of the heads of United Nations organs, or much less does it depend on the intelligence of the Secretary-General. Many of the denunciations made against the actions, purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations happen on a daily basis, without those leaders being in the least concerned, because they feel that their interests lie above those of the principles of the United Nations.
The results are before our very eyes: the large number of wars and conflicts that give rise to refugees and concentration camps and the massive migrations of people looking for a place of refuge in countries that have a degree of stability and economic prosperity. The drop in the price of oil and other internationally traded commodities has a negative effect on the economic development of producer countries. That is the result of the pillaging recorded in the countries that have fallen victim to armed conflicts, the natural resources of which are being seized as trophies of war. Certainly, we are reaping the bad fruits of our own negative destructive action, and that is not in line with the aims of the United Nations.
Equatorial Guinea is a small African country that survives thanks to the cautious approach of its Government, the good graces of its people and the cooperation and solidarity of friendly countries. We have suffered attempted invasions by mercenaries, supported by weapons-producing Powers who had no other aim in mind than to take control of our oil resources. Fortunately, however, the preventive and precautionary measures that we took put an end to the schemes of the aggressors. Not satisfied with that aggression, our country is now subject to a systematic campaign of unfounded accusations concerning human rights violations and abject poverty. We are not ashamed to denounce those accusations here, because the Republic of Equatorial Guinea is open to the world and everyone is familiar with our successful achievements in sociopolitical development.
With the programme adopted by the United Nations on the Millennium Development Goals having come to an end, Equatorial Guinea is pleased to have achieved greater levels through the implementation of the Goals. Equatorial Guinea’s Development Plan — “Horizon 2020” — sets out the following goals: to build international standards of basic infrastructure in order to improve productivity and speed up economic growth;
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to strengthen human capital and improve the quality of life of our citizens; to build a diversified economy based on four sectors, energy and mining sector, fishing and aquaculture, agriculture and livestock farming, and, finally, the service sector; and to establish quality governance at the service of the citizen. Success thus far in the implementation of that programme made it possible for us to achieve the priority Millennium Development Goals.
With regard to the reform of the organs of the United Nations, Equatorial Guinea reaffirms its firm commitment to the African Union position, based on the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, consisting in the demand for two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats on the Security Council, with all the obligations, rights and privileges that those seats entail.
We would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the Governments of the United States of America and the Republic of Cuba for the restoration of diplomatic relations. We ask that this culminates in the lifting of the embargo against Cuba.
With regard to climate change, Equatorial Guinea fully shares the concern of the rest of the international community, namely, that the very existence of planet Earth is under threat. In order to combat this everyone should contribute according to their abilities to arrest this phenomenon. That being the case, the Amazon area, in South America, and the Congo Basin, in Central Africa, which constitute the world’s lungs for the preservation of the environment and biodiversity, deserve special attention at the upcoming twenty-first session of the Conference of Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris.
I would like to conclude by expressing our wholehearted willingness as a State Member of the United Nations to contribute to all processes that would help to improve the functioning of this world Organization. We wish this session of the General Assembly every success.


I would like to congratulate Mr. Mogens Lykketoft on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at the seventieth session and to wish him success in leading the work of this session. I would also like to thank his predecessor for his presidency at the previous session.
I greet the Assembly of this great international Organization, which was originally established, with all its agencies, in order for peace and security to prevail in the world. I come from a country where security has been disrupted and peace has been disturbed — a country that has been experiencing a brutal war for more than four years. I greet the Assembly from a land baptized by the blood of its people, who are fighting terrorism and defending their fellow citizens against terrorism, while waiting for the United Nations to fulfil its promises and implement its resolutions aimed at combating terrorism.
The resolutions adopted by the Security Council under Chapter VII are still just ink on paper, mentioned only in press releases and media statements, while on the ground the countries funding, sponsoring and supporting terrorism are still fuelling extremism in the region, still arming and training terrorists and sending them to Syria and are indifferent to and unconcerned about the implementation of those resolutions.
I ask the Assembly, on behalf of the Syrians who are resisting this scourge, how long will the powerful Member States continue to intimidate other Member States committed to international law and to ignore States that disregard Security Council resolutions? What has the international community done to stop those States from committing criminal acts against the Syrian people? Why is there all this silence? The international community watched as this extremist ideology spread until it reached Europe and struck there as it is striking the Middle East now. It watched while sleeper cells were awakened and bombings and assassinations re-emerged in the West. The people of those countries are not guilty, yet they are beginning to pay the price for some of their politicians’ support of terrorism.
Everyone here knows better than most that terrorism is an ideology that recognizes no boundaries, and that when this monster is on the move, it is not limited to
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particular countries. The terrorism of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham and of the Al-Nusra Front and other Al-Qaida-affiliated terrorist organizations is killing the innocent, capturing women and bombarding civilians with mortar shells. This terrorism is cutting off drinking water and destroying historic and cultural landmarks, including those on the World Heritage List, which form part of the heritage of all humankind. The most recent of such crimes was the destruction of the temples of Baal Shamin and Bel and the brutal killing of archaeologists.
Why do some countries support other countries that are accustomed to exporting their crises beyond their borders? Why do they support them while knowing that they only cause destruction? How can developed countries that hold elections and have parliaments align themselves with countries that do not have parliaments and do not recognize the rights of women, who represent half of society? How can the former accept such practices as sexual jihad, slaughter, cutting off hands and the systematic destruction of history, monuments and culture?
In the light of that situation, I affirm that Syria will continue to fight terrorism in word and deed. The Syrian armed forces are capable of cleansing the country of terrorists, despite the sacrifices involved and the high prices they have already paid and are continuing to pay. Syrian people from all backgrounds have also paid with their lives and in every other way in terms of security, the economy and their livelihood.
Now is the time for honesty and truth. It is the duty of the international community to stop the flow to Syria of terrorists, who, according to United Nations data, are coming from 100 countries to create a caliphate State. That State, as members all know, will not be limited to Syria or Iraq. Those who wish to lead such a caliphate have frequently stated that their goal is a State that stretches from Mecca throughout Europe, a State that, according to them, will restore the glory of the caliphate. If the international community does not stop States from supporting terrorism and sending terrorists, the fire that has broken out in Syria, Iraq and Libya will continue to spread.
Syria has not stopped advocating political dialogue and practising what it preaches. Its earlier vision — that the fight against terrorism must take priority if progress is to be made on other tracks — has proved to be correct. The Government cannot implement any democratic political measures related to elections, a
constitution or the like while terrorism is striking at home and threatening innocent civilians in the country. How can it ask the Syrian people to head to the ballot boxes when they are not safe either in the streets or in their homes because of the missiles and mortar shells launched against them by terrorist groups supported by countries whose identities are well known?
Nevertheless, we were, and still are, believers in political dialogue within the parameters known to all, namely, the preservation of national sovereignty, the unity of Syria’s territory and people, and the maintenance of State institutions, which may, nonetheless, be developed and improved. Moreover, there has to be an understanding that the only way to achieve a political solution is through a Syrian-led national dialogue without any foreign interference. On the basis of those conditions, Syria agreed to participate in a second Geneva conference on Syria and the first and second round of talks on Syria held in Moscow.
In this regard, I would like to announce that Syria agrees to participate in the four brainstorming committees of experts proposed by the Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura. Mr. De Mistura has repeatedly confirmed that the role of these committees is mainly to exchange ideas and that they will conduct non-binding preliminary consultations whose agreed outputs can be used to prepare for the launching of the third Geneva conference on Syria.
Some imagine that Syria’s acceptance of the political track — regardless of the form it takes, the initiative it is based on and the name it is given — stems from what they term the weakness of Syria’s army and people on the ground. To them I say that Syria is strong and continues to fight terrorism, and that the Syrian army and the Syrian people are united in the face of terrorism. Let no one think that, after all Syria’s sacrifices and steadfastness over more than four years, its adversaries can obtain through political means what they could not win militarily or that they will achieve at the negotiating table what they failed to achieve on the ground. The decision of the Syrian people lies in the hands of the Syrian people alone, and no one can deny them that right. I repeat: the decision of the Syrian people lies in their hands alone and no one can strip them of that right. The Syrian armed forces have astonished the world with their power, faith and persistence.
The important invitation of His Excellency President Vladimir Putin aimed at establishing an international/ regional coalition to counter terrorism received the
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attention and support of the Syrian Government. Terrorism cannot be fought only from the air, and all the previous operations to combat it have merely led to its spread and to further outbreaks. Air strikes are useless unless they are conducted in cooperation with the Syrian armed forces, which currently are alone in combating terrorism in Syria. Russian air strikes in Syria, which were launched at the request of and in coordination with the Syrian Government, are effectively supporting the Syrian efforts to combat terrorism.
The so-called Arab Spring was a spring only for Israel and its covert and known allies. Israel continues to attack Syria while the world watches. Israel is arming the terrorists and treating them in its hospitals. It is helping them with its intelligence services and supporting them, so that they will stand between it and the Syrian armed forces across the border. While those terrorists are being weakened, it is intervening directly through air strikes and artillery shelling, just as Turkey did and is still doing, whether in Aleppo or Idlib, and just as Saudi Arabia and Qatar, which are eager to shed Syrian blood by various means, are doing.
The continued support for terrorists and the escalation of their attacks on citizens in most regions and cities of Syria have led to shortages of basic commodities and services in many areas. The inhuman sanctions imposed by the European Union and the United States of America have exacerbated the hardships of Syrian civilians.
My Government is cooperating with the United Nations and its humanitarian agencies within the framework of response plans, agreed with the Syrian Government, to meet the basic needs of our citizens, especially those forced by terrorist activities to flee their homes, many of whom have gone to neighbouring countries. Some of those countries have accommodated them in camps for weapons training or in places that resemble detention and isolation facilities. I stress that the Syrian Government guarantees a safe return and a decent life for all citizens who are willing to return. At the same time, Syria continues to make every effort to deliver aid from international organizations to all Syrian citizens, without discrimination, wherever they may be.
The Syrian Arab Republic reiterates its support for the full restoration of the occupied Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967. It also emphasizes its rejection of all actions taken by Israel, the occupying Power, to alter the geographic or demographic characteristics of
the occupied Syrian Golan, in clear violation of relevant Security Council resolutions, in particular resolutions 497 (1981) and 465 (1980). Furthermore, Syria confirms that the issue of Palestine is of central concern to the Syrian people, who support the inalienable and legitimate rights of the brotherly Palestinian people, in particular the right of return, the right to self- determination and the right to the establishment of an independent State on their own land, with Jerusalem as its capital.
At the end of 2013, Syria, acting on a proposal made by the President of the Russian Federation, His Excellency Mr. Vladimir Putin, acceded to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, with the aim of establishing in the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons and all weapons of mass destruction. It also wanted to demonstrate to the whole world its opposition to any use of chemical weapons. Syria fulfilled the obligations that resulted from its accession to the Convention and completed its commitments despite the prevailing difficult situation. Thanks to Syria’s cooperation, the Joint Mission of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations was able to complete its task.
The Syrian Arab Republic would like to commend the Islamic Republic of Iran for its steadfastness in achieving the historic agreement that fulfils the aspirations of the brotherly people of Iran. The agreement recognizes Iran’s right to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and lifts the sanctions imposed against Iran and the freeze on its assets. It also opens up international relations for that brotherly country. The agreement proves that a diligent and serious diplomatic approach can be successful in overcoming all obstacles and can lead to a peaceful and just solution to a difficult issue.
Syria stresses that establishing a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East is unachievable unless Israel, the only nuclear Power in the region, accedes to all the treaties banning such weapons. Furthermore, with respect to its nuclear facilities, Israel should conclude a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency. At the same time, Syria emphasizes the right of all countries to acquire and develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
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The imposition of unethical, unilateral and coercive measures by the United States and the European Union contradicts the rules of international law and the principles of free trade. On that basis, we congratulate Cuba on reaching an agreement with the United States that lifts the blockade imposed on it. It remains for all unilateral, coercive measures imposed on Syria and on the people of other countries, such as the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela and Belarus, to be lifted.
Finally, all those who claim to care about the security and safety of the Syrian people should know that if we are to achieve victory over terrorism and accomplish economic and political reforms, it is essential that the counter-terrorism resolutions of the Security Council be fully and honestly implemented. Only then can we begin the countdown to the end of war in Syria. Only then will we arrive at the final moments and can prepare to implement what has been agreed through political dialogue.


Seventy years have passed since the establishment of the United Nations. People live differently now; many changes have taken place and many reforms have been effected. It is time that we reform the United Nations as well. I call on the President to speed up this process during his mandate.
Perhaps no other session in the history of the General Assembly has come at a more opportune time. Last year saw many new developments. Negotiations, which were unimaginable before, were started to end the embargo on Cuba. An agreement was reached to lift sanctions on Iran. We recognize those who took part in making these historic decisions and encourage them to see these changes through to completion. This is very much in line with the policy my country has pursued for a number of decades.
The world of today does not resemble the world of yesterday, and none of us can remain indifferent to this fact. Ours used to be a bipolar world, divided into blocs. We did not thrive because the poles were violently
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opposed to one another and had access to the most dangerous weapons the world possessed at the time. But we are also not doing well in a world with one Power that carries out diplomacy by issuing threats, oblivious to the concerns of all others, including those of the United Nations. Peoples and States attend to their own interests and are thereby exposed and open to extremist religious fanatics, giving rise to the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham and other extremist movements. These terrorist groups now threaten millions of people and have created a negative image of Islam, the religion on whose behalf they profess to act.
The two key elements of law and ethics were once key in international relations and politics. United States President Woodrow Wilson was a staunch advocate, while the great Serbian poet Njegoš expressed it in verses of The Mountain Wreath in the following way:
Along his path who maketh Might his right
Rise stenches of inhuman cruelty ...
[and]
As Wolf doth on the Sheep impose his might,
So tyrant lords it over feebler fellow;
But foot to place upon the Tyrant’s neck,
To bring him to the consciousness of Right —
This of all human duties is most sacred!
Today, however, legal and ethical factors are essentially being eclipsed in international politics. Not infrequently, unlawful and exceedingly immoral actions are being taken, purportedly for ethical and legal reasons. This happens most often when a clear legal norm that brooks no exception — such as the need for the Security Council to take a decision, for instance — stands in the way of a major Power achieving its geopolitical goals. International law, therefore, and the moral tenets underpinning a legal norm and its implementation, are deeply in crisis today. There is ample evidence of this, including the most recent large-scale crisis. Some call it a migrant crisis; others refer to it as another wave of people migrating for various reasons.
What worries us, though, is that those who think that efforts should be intensified in the hope of restoring peace quickly and easily and promoting economic progress for all — developing countries, in particular — are few and far between. We ought
to look each other in the eye and assess the past year with an open mind. We ought to announce what has been achieved in our countries. Some of us ought to ask themselves if their actions helped humankind or threatened the future of our children. Can we still begin our speeches with “We, the peoples of the United Nations”? Are we any closer to peace and prosperity or are we rushing, with blindfolds on, towards another 1939, which saw the start of a major world tragedy that lasted six years and whose consequences we shall never be able to erase?
Some of the mighty and powerful seem to believe that the world economic crisis did not do enough to terrify our children and their parents. They continue to use highly sophisticated weapons to drive people from their homes and countries and thrust them, in fear for their lives, into the turmoil of migration, journeying thousands of kilometres in a world without food, water or electricity.
The responsibility for these developments lies not with those who struggle to fight poverty and create conditions in their countries conducive to a dignified human life, or with Serbia, which has opened soup kitchens in order to give many their only daily meal. It lies with those who have much, whether God-given or gained by exploiting others. It lies with those who spend more on arms than all the world’s poor countries together spend on food. It lies with all of us, because we cannot contemplate sustainable development without accepting our shared responsibility to tackle one of the world’s major challenges — eradicating or at least alleviating poverty.
I often wonder how parents can look their children in the eye as they tell them that school and learning are important for their future and a normal life, and try to convince them that they will have food on their plates once they finish school and acquire learning. We do not learn when we live in fear, have nothing to eat or are threatened by disease, when our parents are unemployed or we face the threat of a terrible war. Those here representing the rich and powerful should think about that as they put their children to bed in a warm room at night and make important decisions during the day. Are profits and political or military superiority really worth so much that we no longer feel the sufferings of others but rather let baser instincts take over? Peace and prosperity cannot be a privilege for the people of certain countries alone; every man and woman on planet Earth has a right to them. That
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is why we hold out a helping hand in our quest to achieve the Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) through shared actions aimed at creating a better future for humankind, based on principles that can ensure progress and prosperity for all.
Sustainable development is clearly a concept accepted by most of the world. It postulates a global economy linking every region of the world on a basis of trust, ethics, equality and support, as well as a comprehensive approach to managing development by analysing and assessing the efforts of Governments and businesses. All management, however, requires that certain rules be established, and the question therefore is: Who will establish the rules and where? Can individuals, or groups of individuals, foresee all possible future events and developments, and is it possible to control those events and developments at all? Are we simply establishing a new global power centre, oblivious to the individual specifics of States or groups of States, an organization that has only one solution to all problems? What can we do about the fact that some of the Goals do not correspond to some countries’ specific situations? We must understand that we cannot control everyone’s lives even if we think it may be risky to leave things up to their free will.
Major changes in the way we live demand that we allow time to adjust to ensure that basic values do not collapse. Today, the world is extraordinarily interconnected in miraculous, virtual ways; information is exchanged and people and goods move at unprecedented speed. But the people themselves have never been so alienated. In huge cities, amid millions, people die alone. Individuals, States and international organizations become alienated. There are many reasons for this. Increasingly, relations among States are based on the more powerful, affluent and developed imposing their will on others.
We hope that our new era will usher in a new beginning, a new way of thinking, whose essence will be, as it should, in the best interests of people and their immediate and larger communities. We all understand that this is not easy to achieve, for modern communications can be used to impose a way of thinking aimed at implementing ideas that are not in the interests of the majority. Modern man’s urge to conform and daily struggle to meet ever greater demands, along with the spectre of unemployment and hardships in
later life, undermine his resolve to resist increasingly evident violations of basic human rights.
The world today is tragically divided between a few enormously rich individuals and a majority who live outside the boundaries of human dignity. The twenty-first century threatens to be an age in which some countries accumulate and concentrate enormous individual wealth and the rest are consigned to poverty and uncertainty. Among those wealthy individuals is also an entirely new generation of privileged directors who, unjustifiably and immorally, are paid far more than their employees. It seems, however, that the numbers of those willing to protest this phenomenon has been growing to a point where their demands may have to be acceded to. I urge everyone to work together to help to achieve an equitable distribution of the world’s assets and resources.
We continue to talk noncommittally about another major challenge, that of climate change, as if its consequences were not patently evident everywhere, and as if we did not see that they are exacerbating the friction caused by the already high level of inequality in the world. In a wake-up call of sorts, the consequences of our past and current actions now have the greatest effect on the weakest of us, the countries that are still undeveloped industrially and struggling to provide their citizens with a better life.
Most developing countries account for just a fraction of global warming. They must be given the opportunity to grow their economies under the same conditions that have already enabled other countries to prosper, even though their greenhouse gas emissions may be higher than the rich would like. We must develop technologies that can enable developing countries to develop while being as environmentally responsible as possible, rather than using concerns about greenhouse gas emissions and global warming as pretexts to allow their industry to stagnate. There are moral reasons, too, for ensuring that countries develop. Politicians should be tasked with providing full support to scientific activities, on the one hand, and harmonizing and coordinating responses to climate change and extreme weather situations, on the other. Adapting and preparing national and social responses to potential scenarios, including worst-case scenarios, should be our most basic and important goal.
Serbia’s Government and scientific institutions, in full compliance with the relevant international documents, first and foremost among them the United
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Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, will continue to contribute to the activities of the United Nations and other organizations, primarily through European and regional initiatives on climate monitoring and reducing the negative effects of climate change. Serbia welcomes the forthcoming twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC to be held in Paris later this year. We intend to support and make a full contribution to consideration of this important issue. We will continue to work together with others as a team and an active participant, in hopes that scientists will come up with clear answers and irrevocable proof as soon as possible, while politicians support them and implement speedy, effective solutions.
We can hope for a better future only if we overcome problems such as hunger, wars and diseases. Serbia has therefore actively participated in peacekeeping operations all over the world and has made every effort to train and equip growing numbers of its officers and soldiers to take part in such important assignments. In that regard, this year Serbia’s chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been universally commended, including by those currently in conflict situations. I should also add that Serbia has been a candidate country of the European Union for more than three years now and has continued to take decisive steps to harmonize its systems and practices with European Union standards. At the same time, Serbia has also continued to maintain its cooperation and friendship with Russia and China.
A State is made up of its territory, its people, its languages and its cultural heritage. Serbia is the only country in Europe that in addition to seeing part of its territory seized, its people expelled and their murders and the so-called harvesting of their organs going unpunished, has now had to deal with attacks on its cultural heritage under the protection of UNESCO. Here I recall that in March 2004, in the face of only sporadic opposition from the Kosovo Force (KFOR), Albanians in Kosovo and Metohija destroyed numerous Christian Orthodox churches, other church buildings, convents, bell towers and monastery libraries and archives, usually by setting fires or explosive devices. That was only the brutal and effective perpetuation of the damage and destruction of over 140 Orthodox sanctuaries perpetrated since the arrival of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and the KFOR in June 1999. In that period, the Albanian
terrorists systematically destroyed the spiritual and cultural heritage of the Serbian people in Kosovo and Metohija. Their centuries-long existence there is evinced in the many monasteries and churches whose foundations were laid before the ninth century and represent Serbian deeds etched in stone, the testimony of the Serbian presence in Kosovo and Metohija.
At the thirty-first session of its General Conference, UNESCO confirmed that a crime against a cultural heritage was committed in Kosovo and Metohija. In the small territory of Kosovo and Metohija, UNESCO has registered 372 highly valuable cultural monuments of the Serbian people, as clearly defined by UNESCO standards. As many as 49 monuments from the Middle Ages have been identified as a part of European and world heritage in which humankind can take pride and honour. Specifically, they served our pride and honour. These invaluable and unique works of art and architecture have survived five centuries of Ottoman rule, the Balkan Wars and the First and Second World Wars.
Yet, there they were, in 2004, being savagely desecrated and destroyed, buried and ploughed over, as though that undertaking was a part of preparations, designed with meticulous precision, to coincide with the unilateral declaration of independence of the Republic of Kosovo, an event that ensued four years after the barbaric destruction of the patrimony of Serbia’s Christian culture and civilization. Not only Serbian, but also European culture and the world’s collective memory are preserved in Kosovo and Metohija, representing an important human civilizational achievement on planet Earth. It is therefore important that Serbia, as a member of UNESCO, continues to be the keeper of this cultural treasure, which belongs both to Serbia and to the world.
In an attempt to falsify history — unfortunately with the support of a certain number of countries — Albania has submitted, on behalf of the Pristina Administration, a request to UNESCO that the Serbian heritage be declared Kosovar — that is, Albanian. Those who strategically destroyed monasteries with the aim of marginalizing the importance of Kosovo and Metohija for the Serbs and of establishing a new ethnic and cultural identity for Kosovo and Metohija on the ashes of the history of others, would be rewarded in that way. How is it possible that arsonists and destroyers, with goals that clearly go beyond all the ethical norms and established rules on which UNESCO was founded,
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are now trying to project themselves as guardians and protectors?
Should that request be accepted nonetheless, a dangerous precedent would be set and the door would be opened for the legitimization of violence against the national, cultural and religious identity of any people anywhere. By defending the right of Serbia to preserve and proudly present its identity and cultural heritage, as it has done for the past 11 centuries, by preventing the unscrupulous dispossession of one’s heritage and its attribution to somebody else, we are defending the underlying principles of international law and human justice, as well as those on which UNESCO was founded. I therefore call on all Heads of State not to allow the Serbian people to have its soul excised, its essence usurped and its monasteries in Kosovo and Metohija, its spiritual backbone, declared the cultural heritage of the Albanian people there. In short, that is neither the truth nor a historical and scientific fact. It is not justice.
Peoples do not acquire history and civilization by snatching centuries of the existence of others or by bribing, with Judas’ silver, those to whom the history of others means nothing and who would stand by indifferently if the spiritual and cultural roots of a people — in this case of we Serbs — were removed from the areas from which they had been expelled. The United Nations must preserve its credibility and stand up to the injustice and evil that Serbia would suffer if the Organization acquiesced to that undertaking. I am certain that those gathered here, as responsible and honourable persons of State, will stand up against the injustice and wrong that would be inflicted upon Serbia and could have a domino effect on other nations and States.
Serbia is talking to the representatives of the Administration in Pristina. It will fulfil all its obligations under Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and all its obligations under the agreements reached in Brussels, but it will never, ever recognize the independence of part of its territory, the autonomous province of Kosovo and Metohija, to which its very existence is connected.
The problem of the mass migration from the Middle East is the greatest challenge of our times. We cannot analyse the causes and or identify those directly and indirectly responsible for the migrant crisis here and now. It is an issue of paramount importance and should be addressed at an international forum that would bring
together prominent leaders and eminent scholars and scientists. That is the best way to assess the situation objectively, provide an answer and propose a solution to that complex problem. The humanitarian disaster facing the world is only a consequence of the crisis that has shaken Syria for the past four years, all along without an adequate response from the international community.
Without access to common funding, the situation of Serbia is perhaps more difficult than that of the other countries of the old continent. Despite its difficult economic situation, Serbia is making every effort to provide decent conditions and accommodation for refugees. However, if the international community, and the European Union above all, fails to make concrete efforts to solve the problem, a humanitarian catastrophe of an even larger scale would threaten South-East Europe. The consequences are impossible to foresee, but they would surely affect not only Europe, but the whole world as well. As regards the number of asylum- seekers in the Republic of Serbia, 125,138 persons arrived in Serbia between 1 January and 14 September, and only 524 have submitted asylum requests.
I would like to draw attention to the alarming practice of some Governments that have erected wire and razor fences to ghettoize the asylum-seekers fleeing war and destitution. Such an attitude runs counter to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the proclaimed solidarity of the States members of the European Union with migrants. It also aggravates the situation in countries that respect international law and treat the individuals struck by calamity humanely. The Governments of certain States Members of the United Nations behave as if they had never abandoned the ideology that prevailed before the end of the Second World War, thereby destroying the fragile stability in the Balkans that was achieved through hard work and dedication, to which Serbia contributed the most.
My country has had to cope with a deep economic crisis since 2008. Refugees, therefore, cannot expect to secure much more than their personal safety in Serbia. We will provide it to them irrespective of the fact that certain countries also intervene against people living in Serbian territory. Our care for humankind and our empathy for those in need, as well as our resolve to give those people what we may not need as urgently as they do at the moment, will not diminish. Our borders are open to receive them and to let them through. We need no law for that because that is the way we are. Serbia is
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not a member of the European Union, but it consistently implements the proclaimed principle of solidarity, a fundamental value and the supposedly unconditional mainstay of the Union itself. I do not understand this selfishness, and sometimes even the hatred towards those who have nothing that some individuals have come to nurture. If the rapid pace with which the leaders of some countries are losing their cool and composure are any clue, the situation can only deteriorate.
We therefore need a comprehensive plan that would have to be implemented within the shortest possible time. Without such a plan, migrants will be left altogether at the mercy of human smugglers. Passivity and the increasingly inhumane treatment of migrants open a market for smugglers. The sequence of catastrophes that would ensue in such a case, from the Mediterranean to the British Isles, would be tragic, and the tragedy in which over 800 people died would be remembered as just one sad link in that sorry chain.
Even though it was not directly involved in the conflict in the territory of the former Yugoslavia in the 1990s, started and stage-managed in a similar way to the conflict in Syria, Serbia was labelled guilty. A resolution was even recently submitted to the Security Council to stigmatize the Serbs as an example of a genocidal people, although such a characterization of any people in the world is unjustifiable. The attempt failed, as members of the Security Council were aware of the true intentions and desires of the initiators, as well as the possible catastrophic consequences. What kind of genocidal criminals are we? Is it the image imparted by the footage of migrants in Serbia, undaunted and unworried about the reaction of our people and authorities, unlike elsewhere in the region, or is it the image of a hospitable people with a kind heart? Have Serbian citizens changed? They have not. The people of Serbia of all ethnicities have, now and in the past, been humane and hospitable, as well as good neighbours.
In addition to refugees from Syria, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq, Serbia hosts hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons from the territory of the former Yugoslavia. They are preponderantly Serbs, but include also Bosniaks, Croats, Roma and others. Some of these people have gone to third countries, while others continue to live in Serbia. We are still faced with the consequences of these migration as they have altered the demographic, social and other structures of our country and society. Then and now, my country has
not had much to offer to these destitute people who left their homes. It has shared the little it had.
Serbia expects the United Nations Member States to act responsibly and humanely. We should all bear in mind that this situation will have global consequences. Civilization is at a crossroads. Europe is going through serious travails and tribulations. Now is the time for it to show if it still is the standard-bearer in the implementation of human rights and the respect of international law or if it continues to turn a blind eye to the apparent double standards and allows the attainment of civilization to be valid only for some countries and some peoples.
Equality is applicable not only to relations among individuals, but also to relations among States. Our fathers shed blood on many battlefields for the equality of all peoples. They fought for our freedom to speak our mind and for our opinion to be strong enough to change things. Freedom and equality are the fundamental principles of the Charter of the United Nations, of numerous international documents and of national constitutions. We must not allow them to become dead letters.
By taking up these topics and drawing members’ attention to them, I hope to motivate us to show genuine empathy and solidarity, to take responsibility for the future and to build, together and indefatigably, true humanism in the Organization that gathered us together here today. I would like us to meet in this place with different messages next year and, if not with our problems solved, then at least with steps made towards solving the problems that burden us today. I would like us to be better every coming year. I would like the States of the world to feel that the ideas of liberty and equality and of a humane and just society are not just empty rhetoric, but instead genuinely resolve to implement them throughout our planet.


It is a great pleasure to join other delegations in expressing our cordial congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its seventieth session.
The current session of the General Assembly offers a unique opportunity not only to acknowledge the accomplishments of the United Nations over the last 70 years, but also to reiterate our strong commitment to meeting the aspirations and hopes of our peoples for secure and sustainable development. For 70 years, the United Nations has stood for peace and security, international cooperation and human rights. Over this short but intense period of history, the United Nations has made great strides in promoting stability and sustainable development and in reducing or even eliminating poverty and inequality all over the world. During this period, the mechanisms for interaction that we have set up together to facilitate international cooperation have functioned with considerable success. Recently, the United Nations Summit adopted the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), which lays the foundation for and identifies the
areas in which the international community can work to attain sustainable development that would meet the interests of all peoples and every individual.
Over seven decades, the United Nations has made a remarkable contribution to assisting in the formation of new independent States and their further development. When, at the dawn of its independence, Tajikistan was faced with the difficulties of transition, it received extensive support from the United Nations, which enabled the country to embark on the road towards democratic development. The major pillars of Tajikistan’s development, laid down with the assistance of the United Nations, contributed to the country’s ability to participate in international processes set up to foster cooperation and interaction. Today, Tajikistan is contributing significantly to fighting terrorism and extremism, transnational organized crime, illicit drug trafficking, arms smuggling and human trafficking, and in promotion of the United Nations water agenda.
Our national police officers are participating in United Nations and African Union peacekeeping operations in Darfur and are contributing to peacebuilding processes shoulder to shoulder with colleagues from other Member States. Our drug control agency that was established with United Nations support continues to play an important role in combating illicit drug trafficking. Indeed, since 1995, Tajikistan’s national drug enforcement authorities have confiscated more than 111 metric tons of narcotics, an amount equivalent to 206,650,000 drug doses, which could turn 50 million people the world over into drug abusers. This data proves that Tajikistan ranks among the world’s top 10 States in the seizure of illicit drugs.
The world has undergone dramatic transformation in the last decades. Global processes are more dynamic and complex than ever. Along with the positive contributions globalization has made to overall development, globalization has also had negative impacts that threaten security and development in individual countries and in the world as a whole.
The increase in the number of armed conflicts and acts of terror, food, energy and financial and economic crises, degradation of the environment, climate change and the spread of infectious diseases demand from us a concerted and comprehensive response. In this context, the United Nations remains the key platform for consensus on the key issues of international security and development and for coordination of joint action
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of the international community towards responding to global threats and challenges. Of special concern are the scope and global nature of the current threats posed by terrorism, drug-trafficking and organized crime. The destructive and inhumane forces of terrorism and extremism have continued to gain in strength, attracting into their orbit an ever-growing number of young people. Those forces seriously undermine efforts of countries and regions to maintain the security and peaceful development.
Combating international terrorism and extremism has become a top priority. There is an undeniable need to develop national, regional and international mechanisms to eliminate military infrastructure, block channels of financial and logistical support, prevent recruiting and propaganda that promotes violence, and counteract the use of modern information and communication technologies for the purpose of terror. It is also essential that we pool our efforts to find ways to address the issues of poverty reduction and the negative impact of globalization, and to prevent and resolve regional conflicts. Strengthening cross-cultural and interfaith dialogue, mutual trust and tolerance would play a pivotal role.
It is in our common interests for Member States to implement the United Nations Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy and relevant resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security Council in order to effectively combat all forms and manifestations of terrorism, including the use of the Internet for terrorist activities. Any joint response to a sudden outbreak of terrorism and extremism should be commensurate with the scope of that threat.
The prevention of drug-trafficking, which has unfortunately continued to increase yearly, should become an integral part of our common struggle against terrorism and global organized crime. Money earned from drug-trafficking is channelled to financing acts of terror and organized crime activities. In that context, the special session on drugs to be held in 2016 will offer an opportunity not only to review the implementation of the Political Declaration and Plan of Action on International Cooperation towards an Integrated and Balanced Strategy to Counter the World Drug Problem, but also to develop new and effective measures for combating that evil. In the light of those efforts, in May Tajikistan held a high-level international conference on drug control that sought to consolidate international cooperation on counter-narcotics.
Our friendly neighbouring nation of Afghanistan has embarked on the implementation of its transformation decade. The new stage of enhancing and reinforcing the security and stability of the country and the rehabilitation of its economic and social sectors is being accompanied by addressing the most urgent and practical issues, which requires increasing the targeted assistance of the international community, in which the United Nations should play a central and coordinating role. Tajikistan is in favour of expanding friendly and good-neighbourly relations with Afghanistan and calls on the international community to support the efforts of the Government of that country to achieve peace and stability by addressing the social and economic challenges that the country faces, pursuing the process of national reconciliation and inclusive dialogue, and involving the country in regional cooperation. Tajikistan continues to make its contribution to the social and economic development of Afghanistan.
The peaceful solution of the issue of the Iranian nuclear programme demonstrated the enormous potential of diplomatic means to resolve the urgent problems of our shared planet. We are convinced that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on Iran’s nuclear programme, enshrined in Security Council resolution 2231 (2015), will contribute to the strengthening of regional and international peace, genuine stability and mutual trust and be instrumental in reinforcing the nuclear non-proliferation regime. We hope that United Nations Member States will be guided by good will and resolve to resolve the most urgent disputes and conflicts, by using political and diplomatic means, in addressing other urgent issues.
Last July, Tajikistan hosted regional consultations for the countries of South and Central Asia in preparation of the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016 in Istanbul. We hope that the recommendations voiced at those consultations will have a positive effect on the humanitarian activities of all countries.
In December, the international community will meet again at the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in Paris to conclude the round of negotiations on climate change that we began in Bali. We hope that Member States will take advantage of that opportunity and adopt a new document on climate change, based on the principles of the Framework Convention and, by so doing, lay the foundations of a transition to sustainable development. We believe that such a transition will
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require not only industrial modernization, based on innovative technologies, but also significant changes in mentalities and consumption patterns.
The long-term observations of our experts attest to the increased impact of climate change on the environmental, social and economic situation in our country and region. According to those observations, over the past 60 years the average annual temperature in Tajikistan has increased by 1°C, the number of days with heavy precipitation has risen, natural meteorological disasters have become more frequent and severe, and the degradation of glaciers has accelerated. This past summer, as a result of the abnormally high temperature and severe precipitation, the mountainous part of the country suffered natural disasters that caused hundreds of millions of United States dollars in economic damage. Regrettably, these disasters also claimed human lives.
In terms of carbon dioxide emissions, Tajikistan ranks one hundred and thirty-fifth among greenhouse gas-emitting countries. Per capita greenhouse gas emissions in the country is 10 times less than that of the average world index. Widespread use of renewable energy sources — predominantly hydropower — would facilitate the economic and social development of the country and promote the “green economy”.
It is becoming apparent that climate change affects the quantity and quality of freshwater resources. It is known that as a result of climate change, the amount of water resources stored in glaciers and snow caps has diminished, the area of ground waters affected by salinization has increased, and precipitation has become more frequent and heavier. In turn, the changes in the hydrological cycle may have a negative impact on water, energy and food security and entail an added risk of floods and extreme droughts. We believe that in such circumstances, it is essential to review existing practices of water-resource management in order to ensure adequate adaptation not only to climate change, but also to population growth and a changing world economy, as well as to the scarcity of freshwater resources.
In Central Asia, where water resources are a key factor in achieving the sustainable development of the region, the need for the elaboration of a comprehensive regional plan of adaptation to climate change became urgent long ago. This imperative is also driven by the accelerated degradation of the glaciers in the region as a result of climate change. The observations of expert
confirm that, since the 1960s, the region’s glaciers, which remain the main source of water for Central Asian rivers, have been degraded by a factor of three.
As 2015 is the final year of the International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, a global initiative approved by the General Assembly to facilitate the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, a number of water forums have been held to review progress and analyse gaps in the implementation of the International Decade. Such forums include the General Assembly high-level interactive dialogue for a comprehensive review of the progress on the implementation of the International Decade, held last March here in New York, and a high- level international conference on the implementation of the International Decade held in Dushanbe, in June. We expect that, in taking stock of the results of the Decade, the United Nations will take on board the outcomes of these events and other relevant forums held in support of a comprehensive review of the implementation of the Decade.
I take this opportunity to extend my deep appreciation to the Member States, the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, the United Nations agencies and institutions, international organizations, and representatives of civil society, academia and business for actively participating in and implementing the Decade and for following up its outcomes.
A few days ago, we adopted a road map for achieving sustainable development that comprehensively incorporates the water component. Over the next 15 years, against the backdrop of the ever-increasing impact of climate change on water resources, environmental degradation, population growth and food and energy crises, we will have to make enormous efforts to ensure the timely achievement of the goals we have set forth.
In our view, fostering cooperation, partnership and water diplomacy will promote the timely adoption of relevant measures to mitigate the impact of destructive processes and help to achieve Sustainable Development Goals. In this context, there is a need for additional platforms for strengthening cooperation at all levels with the engagement of all interested stakeholders. In this regard, and given the positive outcomes of previous joint initiatives, we propose to consider the possibility of proclaiming a new international water decade, aimed
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at promoting the implementation of the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We sincerely hope that all States Members of the United Nations will lend their support to make this initiative a reality.


Democracy, peace, security, rule of law and respect for human rights are crucial elements in achieving the economic and social development to which my people aspire. We are aware that, just as no development can take place without democracy, peace, security and the rule of law, so, too, little peace and certainly no security will exist without development. Development, peace and security, therefore, go hand in hand. They are inextricably linked.
But I am disappointed that some nations within this body fail to recognize that if development is denied to any section of humanity, so too are human rights. Today, we live in a world where — despite all the utterances to the contrary — might is still right, and the big and strong continue to bully the poor, the weak and the vulnerable. Until small States such as mine are no longer bullied by larger and more powerful nations, despite our full compliance with international standards and practices, human rights will continue to be denied. As the Organization enters its seventy- first year, it is time that Member States stop paying lip service to the principle of sovereignty. They must show that they truly respect the sovereignty of States regardless of their size.
In the years since our independence the people of Antigua and Barbuda have built solid institutions of
democracy and respect for human, civil and political rights. We guard those institutions jealously, and we have enshrined them in our Constitution and in our laws. And we do so not only for ourselves, but for every investor in our country, every visitor to our shores and every other country with which we have treaties or conduct business.
However, my country is beset with all the problems and challenges that confront all small States. They include remoteness, high transactional costs, threats to our survival from climate change, a limited economic base and a small resource pool to fund and manage our development aspirations. Those realities make it difficult, if not impossible, for my small country to finance its development, without external assistance and without access to foreign capital. But the people of my country do not wish to be beggars before the world community. We do not want to attend meetings, cap in one hand, begging bowl in the other. Yes, we want the sympathy and understanding of the international financial institutions and development agencies. Yes, we want better terms of trade and more reasonable access to development financing. But we are also determined to stand on our own two feet and to earn our place among the community of nations. We are resolved not to beg for it, but to work for it. However, the international community, particularly the rich and the powerful, must help us to work for the development we need, instead of placing obstacles in our way.
Yet, 11 years after the World Trade Organization delivered a judgement in my country’s favour against a larger and vastly richer country for a trade violation that set back my small country by over $100 million, that country has failed to settle with us. Justice delayed is justice denied. After 11 years of not receiving the fruits of that judgement, which, incidentally, are lawfully due to my country, my people are entitled to conclude that the powerful continue to ignore and trample on the rights of the weak and that might is right.
In the international trading system, my small country with a population of 100,000 people is treated in the same way as the United States of America, Canada or Japan. Our market size and development status, which require us to be treated differently from larger and vastly more developed countries, receive scant attention. Our need for access to concessionary financing to fund our development is accorded even less attention. At best, we are treated with benign neglect. The arbitrary and unjust rules that are imposed
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upon us choke our efforts to diversify and develop our small economies and are even worse.
In that regard, my country condemns the recent list of the European Commission, in which several small States in the Caribbean and the Pacific, including Antigua and Barbuda, are falsely named as tax havens. Similarly, my country deplores the list of tax havens produced by individual States and a district within the United States of America that has wrongfully and inappropriately labelled many Caribbean and Pacific countries.
My country and others in the Caribbean all have tax information exchange agreements with the Government of the United States of America. We have been fully cooperative and no request for tax information has ever been denied. With regard to the European Union’s (EU) list of tax havens, Antigua and Barbuda has tax information exchange agreements with 18 of the 28 EU nations. Yet, because 10 of them, with which we do little or no business, arbitrarily and without consultation say that we are tax havens, we are placed on an EU rogue list that is published globally.
What is more, my country and many of the others wrongly named in both lists have been found to be fully compliant with all the relevant international standards. And the relevant authorities namely, the Financial Action Task Force and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development’s Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, have also found us to be fully compliant.
It cannot be right that powerful countries unjustly tarnish our small country’s reputation, despite all that we have done—at great cost in view of our limited resources — to comply with international standards. Such wrongful tarnishing opens the possibility of financial institutions in Europe and the United States discontinuing correspondent relations with our banks. If that happens, no one in our small States will be able to pay for any goods or services purchased from the United States or Europe, including food, tuition for our young studying abroad, and medication and medical bills for our people in need of specialized treatment.
The consequences would be disastrous, since we would be excluded from the international payment system and would be unable to settle our trade and investment transactions. Our banking system would collapse, our economy would be irreparably damaged, and our people would be plunged into abject poverty,
contrary to the objectives of the post-2015 development Agenda.
International principles to which small States readily adhere should not be overturned by bigger countries that seek to impose their will on smaller ones. It is not fair; it is not just; it is not democratic; and it is patently wrong.
My country is not looking for handouts, nor are many others like mine. We do not want to endure the indignity of begging. What we want is a chance to develop, a chance to improve the living standards of our people.
In this regard, I wish to salute the Government of the People’s Republic of China, whose President, in this very Hall a few days ago, undertook to establish a fund for South-South cooperation with a pledge of $2 billion to support developing countries in the implementation of the post-2015 development Agenda. I further hail China’s announcement of a 10-year, $1 billion fund to support the work of the United Nations in peacekeeping and development. China should be acknowledged and applauded for the care it is demonstrating for others in the global community.
I acknowledge, too, the contributions of two other developing nations, Venezuela and Cuba, which have made significant contributions to South-South cooperation.
Despite the economic challenges that these three developing countries face, they have given help to other countries unstintingly. If these three countries, challenged as they are, can recognize an obligation to all humankind, regardless of race or colour or of a country’s size or geographical location, surely rich and developed countries should be able to do the same. I call on these developed countries to stand up and be counted.
I applaud those countries, such as Britain, Germany and Sweden, that have met their commitments to deliver 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product as official development assistance. I urge the others to follow their lead and to join them not as a giveaway to beggars but as an investment in a safer and more peaceful world, whose progress will contribute to the prosperity of all humankind.
On the matter of peace and security, my country firmly believes that the world’s prospects for peace
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and security were greatly enhanced by two recent developments.
The first is the establishment of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States of America. We hail that accord, and we call upon the United States Congress to lift the embargo against Cuba, which serves no one’s interest or any useful purpose. Further, we support the call for the United States to return Guantanamo Bay to Cuba.
At the same time, my country congratulates the United States Government on the agreement reached with Iran. While we are mindful of the fact that five other countries were involved in the process, we recognize that President Obama faced the most difficult circumstances. We commend his far-sightedness, as we applaud the willingness of all of the participating countries, including Iran, to overcome obstacles through negotiations and dialogue.
The President of Iran told the Assembly that while his country will not forget the past, it does not wish to live in the past. He has committed his nation to the practical path to security and stability through the development that comes with economic engagement. My country welcomes that commitment and, in turn, stands ready to participate with Iran in such economic engagement.
I express Antigua and Barbuda’s deep concern at the devastation of neighbouring Caribbean island Dominica by tropical storm Erika. I also want to make the point that countries in the Caribbean did not await an international response. In fact, we went ahead and provided aid to Dominica and its suffering people, and we did so within the limited capacity of our respective States members of the Caribbean Community. We made immediate financial and other tangible contributions to Dominica.
Despite our own challenges, we stood up for the humanitarian needs of our neighbour. But even as we did so, we were aware that wider international support is necessary. Therefore, I appeal for continued international action for Dominica in its recovery process. I also express my country’s deep worry about the Bahamas, which is being battered by a Category 4 hurricane even as I address the Assembly. There is no greater evidence, if any were needed, that climate change is now one of the most serious challenges facing small island States. The time for action on climate change is now. There is no more time for excuses.
Climate change is the greatest threat confronting all of humankind. It knows no borders, and it respects neither size nor economic and military power. All of our countries are its potential victims, even where its existence and danger continue to be denied. But it poses the greatest threat to the smallest on our shared planet, particularly the island States in the Caribbean, the Pacific and the Indian Ocean.
What happened in Dominica a few weeks ago also befell Vanuatu and Tuvalu in the Pacific earlier this year. What is sad is that these disasters are not occurring in these islands through their own fault. They are happening because of the excesses of larger and more powerful countries, which will not bend from their abuse of the world’s atmosphere even at the risk of eliminating other societies, some older than their own.
Increasingly, several of these islands are drowning, and their age-old civilizations are facing extinction. In this connection, I hail the clean-energy proposal of United States, and I commend President Obama for this initiative. It is a most enlightened proposal, as a result of which the people of the United States will not only maintain the quality of their own country but will also stand up for the rights of other societies to have a homeland and to raise their children in the land of their ancestors.
I am thinking particularly of the people of the Marshall Islands and Tuvalu in the Pacific; of Maldives in the Indian Ocean; and a few Caribbean islands where the prospect of disappearance looms large from sea- level rise. All industrialized nations should accept their responsibilities as chief contributors in emitting high levels of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. If the countries of the United Nations want their pledge for democracy, human rights and peace to be meaningful, they must resolve to make the Conference on Climate Change in Paris later this year a resounding success. That success will be best measured if our nations collectively ensure that the outcome of the Conference is an ambitious international agreement that limits global warming below 2°C, in order to ensure the survival of small States. Financing is also important. Not because we are begging, but because the world’s interests are served by it. Financing the cost of mitigation must be done through an internationally legally binding commitment to additional and predictable support.
I want to end my statement by thanking God for the United Nations. If it did not exist, small countries such as mine would have no voice at all. We know the United
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Nations needs reform to make it more democratic and certainly more representative. But, within its bodies, we have a platform and an opportunity to hold up a mirror to the world that reflects the marginalization we confront. That is of great value to us. My country hopes for a tomorrow that offers us better prospects, where the opportunities in the world are not monopolized by the rich few but are shared for the advancement of all humankind. In this Organization, fair-minded nations, acting together, still have the chance to make equity a reality for the small as much as for the big.


Seventy years ago, the United Nations was founded as the collective answer to war and genocide, which had cost the lives of millions of people. The principal idea of the United Nations was to prevent war, to uphold respect for international law and human rights, and to promote social and economic progress.
I myself have not lived through even half of this period. Nevertheless, I believe that today, 70 years later, we all have to ask ourselves if we have really succeeded. We are facing a record high of over 50 violent conflicts, stretching from Syria and Iraq to Yemen, the Sudan and Somalia. We are facing a rise in radicalization and extremism. And we are facing the highest number of refugees since the Second World War. Nearly 60 million people worldwide are on the move as refugees or internally displaced persons. Four million of them are Syrians who have left their country, fleeing from civil war and terror. Every day over 40,000 people flee their homes in search of peace, security or a new life. This challenge is not limited to one region or to one continent. It is a global challenge. It concerns the Mediterranean region, but also South Asia and large parts of Africa.
Europe is currently also witnessing a huge flow of refugees, in particular from the wider Middle East. These global refugee flows pose serious problems for the countries of origin and transit, as well as for the countries of destination. But all affected countries and regions have one thing in common: no country and no region can solve this crisis alone, and no single measure can provide a solution. We need a comprehensive approach covering all the refugee routes, including the countries of origin, transit and destination. Which organization, if not the United Nations, can provide the basis for this collective action? Which organization, if not the United Nations, can contribute to this comprehensive approach?
If we want to reduce the number of refugees, we have to focus our efforts on three key areas.
First, we have to confront the root causes in the countries of origin: civil wars and massive human rights violations and terrorism. In this context, we have to intensify our fight against Daesh and terrorist groups. They must be neutralized and defeated. In the case of Syria, it also means that we have to push harder for a closing of ranks in the region. We will be able to achieve meaningful progress only if major regional
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players, such as Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Egypt and Iran, act in concert. And finally, it means that we have to bring all relevant parties to the Syrian civil war to the table, as United Nations Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura is trying to do. Let me be clear: that does not mean that the current political leadership of Syria can be part of a long-term solution. It has brought endless harm to the people of Syria. But if one wants to make peace, one does not talk only to one’s friends.
The second point is that we need more unity at the international level. Huge efforts have already been made, but the United Nations and its Member States can and should do more. We will be able to make a difference only if we make it possible for the United States and Russia to pull in one direction. The Security Council has to demonstrate unity.
We need a mandate not only for action against Daesh, but also for the protection of civilians. It should include the establishment of safe zones and buffer zones, which would increase people’s security and make access to humanitarian aid much easier. Action by the Security Council would also make it possible for many countries to have the opportunity to join in and offer their support. Our position is clear: Austria would stand ready to contribute to such a United Nations peace operation.
Thirdly, we need a change of system. A system that allows only the fittest or those rich enough to pay the smugglers to reach a safe haven like Europe is wrong. The current system is in fact indirectly sponsoring smugglers. Since 2000 more than 24,000 migrants and refugees have died on their way to Europe. The pictures of refugees drowned in the Mediterranean Sea or suffocated in trucks will continue to haunt us. We therefore need a change of system. We need to create the possibility for refugees to apply for asylum in their countries of origin or neighbouring countries. The United Nations could help in the establishment of such reception and information centres, which would allow resettlement programmes to be introduced.
In my opinion, trafficking in human beings is one of the worst crimes. We should consider systematic and large-scale smuggling a crime against humanity, so that the perpetrators can finally be brought to justice.
There is another crisis area we should not forget about. Last year, like most of those present, I referred to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict as probably the most serious challenge to peace and security in Europe
(see A/69/PV.15). One year later, we still do not see enough positive development. The conflict is ongoing, the number of deaths has even increased, and the socioeconomic consequences are huge.
There is only one way ahead: a peaceful settlement based on dialogue and negotiation. We must find a solution that provides for a free and stable Ukraine enjoying strong ties with both the European Union and the Russian Federation. In this respect the Minsk agreement is and remains the only option on the table. There is no alternative to implementing that agreement. All parties have to live up to their commitments. In that context, let me underline the crucial work the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is doing. The Special Monitoring Mission and the Trilateral Contact Group play a unique role for a peaceful settlement. The OSCE deserves our full support, and Austria will do its utmost to contribute to its work, especially during our OSCE chairmanship in 2017.
All these conflicts show that 70 years after its establishment, we need the United Nations more than ever. However, in some areas the United Nations is pushed to its breaking point. It urgently needs to be reformed in order to be prepared for the future. Which is the way forward?
First, we have to remind ourselves of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The Charter is and remains our backbone. Failure is guaranteed if we do not respect it.
Secondly, we have to look at the functioning of the main bodies. We need a Security Council that is united and can act swiftly. We therefore welcome the efforts to improve the Council’s work, and we support the initiatives to suspend the use of the veto in cases of mass atrocities. In order to be able to address global challenges, we all need a United Nations that is capable of taking action and a Security Council that is more representative, accountable and transparent.
We highly value the fact that one of the headquarters of the United Nations is in Vienna, and we will continue to support it actively. We remain committed to act as a place for international dialogue, such as the Iran nuclear talks that took place in Vienna this year.
We will also continue to contribute to all diplomatic initiatives for a better world. In this sense, one key area for us is nuclear disarmament. The Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
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Nuclear Weapons last May failed to reach an agreement, but there is growing international momentum on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. At that Conference, I delivered a joint statement on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons on behalf of 159 States. And the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons last December resulted in a humanitarian pledge, which has been endorsed by 116 States. Austria, together with other sponsors, will submit several draft resolutions on the humanitarian initiative, and we hope that they will receive broad support.
Seventy years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons still pose one of the most serious threats to humankind. I can assure the Assembly that Austria will fight for a world free of nuclear weapons to make our world a safer place.
The global challenges we are facing require a strong United Nations. We therefore thank Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon for all his work. I can assure the Assembly that Austria will remain committed to the United Nations and to our Secretary-General. They can continue to count on our continuous support.


This year marks the seventieth anniversary of the creation of the United Nations, and provides us with an opportunity to take stock of the past seven decades, as well as to jointly discuss and exchange ideas on how to further improve the Organization’s effectiveness and its members’ collaboration, with the benefit of humankind always in view. In order to assess our collective efforts, we
should first recall the guiding principles that led to the establishment of the United Nations in the aftermath of the death and destruction of the Second World War. The Preamble to the founding Charter of the United Nations establishes the eradication of the scourge of war and the promotion of human rights as the cornerstones of our edifice.
So far, the United Nations has succeeded in preventing another world war and has helped to end conflicts through mediation. Currently, more than 100,000 United Nations peacekeepers are deployed in 16 countries. Yet numerous armed conflicts all over the planet attest to the fact that global peace still evades us. In the area of human rights, the United Nations has undertaken inspiring initiatives, starting with the adoption in 1948 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and followed by many international agreements and treaties setting universal standards for civil, political, social and economic rights. Yet in a world challenged by poverty, hunger, child mortality and social and economic inequalities, it is evident that we have a long way to go.
At the same time, leaving aside the strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures of the United Nations, we should not undermine or underestimate the fact that in an interdependent world it provides the only international forum in which nations can interact, deliberate and negotiate so as to resolve not only their differences, but also pressing regional and international challenges that are not country-specific and that call the international order into question.
In order to enhance its value and influence in a globalized era, the United Nations has evolved, with its recent adoption of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). The 2030 Agenda seeks to address the needs of a developing global population through its commonly agreed 17 Goals and 169 targets. Cyprus, which has been actively involved in the process since its very beginning, is proud of this achievement, since it reflects our high principles of effective multilateralism and close cooperation among the nations of the world.
However, while on the one hand we have achieved the adoption of such an ambitious agenda, on the other we are also witnessing the ongoing turmoil, extremism, sectarianism, civil war and terrorism that are taking place in the Middle East, North Africa and other regions. Their effects — death, persecution,
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dispossession of property, displacement, destruction of cultural heritage and forced migration — are becoming defining features of the daily lives of those affected. We must therefore be vigilant, for while we are attempting to establish fundamental principles of peace, stability and sustainable development for the future, in practice we are seeing the increasing migratory flows of those who are involuntarily fleeing their homes in search of a better future. As we strive to set up noble, long-term objectives and goals, events that are currently unfolding may render them irrelevant or unattainable. When we assume that only Jordan, Turkey, Lebanon and, more recently, Europe are affected by the current refugee crisis, we fail to acknowledge that if it persists, other countries and continents will be affected as well.
In order to reverse those worrying developments, therefore, we should direct our efforts so that every country and region in a conflict zone, particularly the Middle East and North Africa, can become a place in which sustainable development is a reality. That can be achieved only by tackling the root causes that have led to this unprecedented situation — that is, political instability and economic insecurity. We should address this collectively and comprehensively. It is not enough to take action against the individuals responsible for terrorist attacks; we should focus our efforts on the enablers of terrorism. It is not enough to rescue people from sinking boats; we should focus our efforts on human traffickers. It is not enough to support economic immigrants financially; we should focus our efforts on creating the political and socioeconomic conditions that can ensure that all these people do not emigrate from their countries.
In view of this horrific humanitarian crisis, one might wonder if we have neglected to take the necessary measures to avert this crisis. Has our strategy been adequate? Have we failed to predict the events that have unfolded? Considering Cyprus’s proximity to the Middle East and North Africa, as well as our historical, political, social and cultural links, I am firmly convinced that the international community has failed to sufficiently appreciate those regions’ complexities. At the same time, foreign interventions and involvement have not produced the hoped-for results, because they have failed to take into account and understand those nations’ internal characteristics and particular sensitivities.
I would like to quote a remark made by the Secretary-General at a ceremony in San Francisco on
26 June commemorating the seventieth anniversary of the adoption of the Charter.
“Today, we take the idea of the United Nations for granted, but bringing it to life required huge leaps of statecraft to bridge differences.”
And while we recognize how valuable and necessary the United Nations is today, we can also see that it is in need of reform and modernization to enable it to tackle today’s realities.
The international order and perspectives of 1945 are not the same as those of 2015. Traditional security orientations have changed due to new geopolitical circumstances. Issues of peace and stability can no longer be confined to the differences between and within nations, when non-State actors such as terrorists have challenged the established international order, paving the way for religious fundamentalism, violent extremism, the forcible displacement of people and forced migration.
At the same time, new global threats such as climate change and environmental degradation have also emerged, After 70 years, world leaders must once again demonstrate statesmanship and vision in order to rebuild newly broken societies and find a path to renewal. In that regard, we welcome the recently adopted resolution 69/321, on revitalization, as well as the ongoing dialogue towards enhancing the effectiveness of the Security Council. We also support the upcoming high-level United Nations meetings aimed at resolving a number of global challenges, including the United Nations Climate Change Conference, in Paris in December; the special session on the world drug problem, in April 2016; and the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, in Quito in November 2016.
Peacekeeping constitutes one of the main pillars and accomplishments of the United Nations. However, the United Nations is not only about peacekeeping; it is also about conflict prevention and peacebuilding. Article 33 of the Charter of the United Nations provides a wide gamut of options for the peaceful settlement of issues. We look forward to concrete proposals for adapting United Nations peacekeeping operations to the changing nature of conflict and for enhancing their effectiveness and their ability to promote political solutions. In that regard, we greatly welcome the 2015 review of United Nations peacebuilding operations (see
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A/70/95), and we compliment the Secretary-General for undertaking that initiative.
Cyprus, through its own experience of hosting a United Nations peacekeeping force, greatly values the contribution of the United Nations to the maintenance of peace and security. We also express our appreciation for the plethora of United Nations resolutions and Security Council decisions that have condemned the unacceptable status quo and the violent and ongoing division of the island, calling for its reunification and the withdrawal of occupation forces — resolutions and decisions that, unfortunately, have yet to be implemented.
Following the non-renewal of actions that violated the exercise by the Republic of Cyprus of its sovereign rights within its exclusive economic zone and the change in the leadership of the Turkish Cypriot community, a window of opportunity opened, reviving our hope that the round of negotiations that resumed in May will lead to a final settlement of the Cyprus problem. That hope is based on my conviction that both I and the Turkish Cypriot leader share the same courage and resolve to advance decisively towards making the joint vision of our peoples — who desire the solution of the Cyprus problem through a viable, lasting and functional settlement — a reality. That settlement must be in full conformity with the values and principles of the character of the United Nations and the European Union acquis, as well as with the high-level agreements between the leaders of the two communities and the joint declaration of 11 February 2014. Such a settlement would lead to the evolution of the Republic of Cyprus as a federal State in a bizonal, bicommunal federation with political equality, single sovereignty, a single international legal personality and a single form of citizenship; a State that is and will continue to be a Member of the United Nations, the European Union and numerous other international organizations, and whose sovereignty, territorial integrity and constitutional order will not be constrained by anachronistic systems of guarantees by third countries or the presence of foreign troops on the island.
What we aspire to achieve through this new round of negotiations is to reach a settlement in which there will be neither winners nor losers; that takes into account the sensitivities and concerns of both communities; that respects the fundamental freedoms and human rights of all Cypriots, Greek and Turkish alike; that reunites our country, its people, its economy
and its institutions; that creates a homeland of peaceful coexistence and prosperous collaboration among all its citizens, to the benefit of the younger generations; that allows Cyprus to realize its full potential by removing all political barriers that prevent the full exploitation of its unique geographical position at the crossroads of Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and Asia; that transforms Cyprus into a shining example of ethnic, cultural, religious and linguistic cooperation between Christian and Muslim communities; and that turns Cyprus into a model of reliability, stability and security in a turbulent and volatile region currently characterized by protracted conflicts and instability.
I am pleased to inform the Assembly that, during the new round of negotiations, progress has been achieved on a number of issues that touch on almost all chapters of the Cyprus problem. However, on other substantive issues, significant differences still need to be resolved — differences whose resolution will also require the active and determined contribution of Turkey, whose occupation forces remain in the northern part of our country. 1 sincerely hope that Turkey’s rhetorical assurances of its desire to reach a settlement will at last be tested in practice through the adoption of concrete measures that will positively underpin the negotiation process and reflect the current climate of hope on the island.
I strongly believe that reaching a solution to the Cyprus problem could become a paradigm for the way in which diplomacy and the adoption of a conciliatory stance can prevail over mistrust and contribute to the resolution of even the most difficult international issues. Furthermore, the discovery of hydrocarbon reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean has the potential to create synergies and a grid of alliances for broader cooperation between hydrocarbon-producing and hydrocarbon-consuming countries of the area and beyond, to the benefit of the socioeconomic development and welfare of our peoples. Such positive developments can foster the achievement and maintenance of a much- needed environment of stability and peace in our immediate neighbourhood.
I am certain that the General Assembly shares the view that the settlement of the Cyprus problem will create a win-win situation, not only for its people, but also for the region, the interested parties and the international community at large.