Allow me, on
behalf of the Government of Papua New Guinea, to
congratulate Mr. Sam Kutesa on his election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.
Papua New Guinea supports his leadership as we work
with him on the ambitious theme of “Delivering on and
implementing a transformative post-2015 development
agenda”. I also take this opportunity to pay tribute
to Ambassador John Ashe for his strong leadership
in setting the stage for enhancing the sustainable
development agenda of Member States, especially
of small island developing States (SIDS). We also
commend the Secretary-General for his leadership and
untiring commitment to advancing the cause of global
peace and security to enhance the multidimensional
global development agenda.

It has been a long and sometimes hard road for the
people of Fiji over the past eight years. We therefore
warmly congratulate the people of Fiji for their return
to constitutional and democratic rule following their
general elections this year. We welcome the return of
Fiji to the Commonwealth and to the Pacific Islands
Forum. In wishing the people of Fiji well, Papua New
Guinea will continue to stand ready to assist them, as
it has done in the past, along with other major Pacific
partners, in areas where such assistance can be effective
as Fiji embarks on its new path forward.

The recent third International Conference on Small
Island Developing States, held in Samoa, was a great
success. We commend the adoption of the Small Island
Developing States Accelerated Modalities of Action/
Samoa Pathway, which reiterated the sustainable
development priorities of SIDS, which has been
affirmed by the international community.

But the impacts of climate change continue to pose
a serious challenge to the sustainable development
of SIDS. The full range of damaging events — such
as rising sea levels, coastal erosion, salinization of
the fresh water table, prolonged and severe droughts,
flooding and other extreme weather and loss of and
damage to vital infrastructure — remains a constant
concern for SIDS. Many SIDS, especially in the Pacific,
have reached a tipping point. While the right thing for
us to do is to respond to the challenges by working
smarter and harder to improve the livelihoods of people
at risk, the bigger and advanced countries of the world
must not only do likewise; they must also redouble their
efforts in partnering with us.

As part of our support to Pacific SIDS, Papua
New Guinea has launched the Pacific Development
Assistance Programme, which is aimed at assisting
Pacific SIDS in critical areas of development such as
education, health, capacity-building, climate change
and the reconstruction of important infrastructure
after natural disasters. We reiterate our call on the
international community, including the United Nations,
to work together with SIDS in the spirit of genuine and
durable partnership.

We commend the Secretary-General for convening
the successful Climate Summit last week. In
supporting the outcomes, we must build on the political
momentum generated as we move towards Lima this
year and, importantly, towards Paris in 2015, where
the international community must conclude a legally
binding agreement in order for us to collectively
address the adverse impacts of climate change.

The international community stands at an
important crossroads. The imminent deadline of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the
transition to the post-2015 development agenda have
rightly become the centre stage of the global agenda.
We support a people-centered and transformative
post-2015 development agenda underpinned by global
partnerships that support national ownership of
sustainable development.

We welcome the adoption by the General Assembly,
by resolution 68/309, of the report of the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals (A/68/970),

which recommended 17 goals. We must chart a realistic
path, with goals that are attainable given the necessary
means of implementation. We also commend the work
of the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on
Sustainable Development Financing, which is critical
to the successful implementation of the post-2015
development agenda.

In that respect, the Pacific island developing States
note with appreciation the inclusion of the important
proposed stand-alone goals on oceans and seas,
sustainable energy and climate change. Along with
the other proposed goals, those goals should form the
basis for the intergovernmental negotiations that are to
take place. Papua New Guinea will participate in those
negotiations.

My Government remains fully committed to those
efforts because we have experienced the galvanizing
impact of the MDGs, which has helped us take national
ownership and develop a home-grown sustainable
development paradigm. While my country’s MDG
scorecard remains a work in progress, my Government
has undertaken various initiatives to redress the
situation. We have retailored the MDGs to our national
priorities, with 88 indicators connecting them to our
national development plans.

A recent report by the United Nations country
office on progress to achieve the MDGs was optimistic
and positive. The report found that Papua New Guinea
had made important strides towards achieving the
MDGs, especially since the general elections in 2012.
They include the bold decision to run budget deficits
until 2017, which, the report notes, has enabled the
nation to invest in essential areas.

My Government is implementing a policy of free
education for all primary-school children, resulting
in an increase in school enrolments by as much as
80 per cent in some areas. We now have around
2 million children in schools. In the health sector,
we are witnessing a reduction of rates in early child
and maternal mortality, HIV/AIDS, malaria and other
communicable diseases. More mothers and children
are getting access to health care as a result of our free
health-care policy. Our infrastructure development
programme is improving Papua New Guinea’s business
environment and creating opportunities for our people
to participate meaningfully in national development.

A key cornerstone of our development road map
is a people-centred focus on population management
and stabilization. It entails empowering individuals to
take leadership and full responsibility to improve their
livelihoods through appropriate measures. Our economy
has grown over the last decade at an average rate of 6 to
8 per cent per annum, and is projected to reach 20 per
cent in 2015. That growth is transforming our country,
especially with revenue from the completion of our first
liquefied natural gas project and its exports.

This is a new economic and development age for
our economy. The unprecedented and transformative
economic progress will coincide with the pursuit of
the post-2015 development agenda. We are clearly
focused on actively participating in the process and in
its implementation at the national and regional levels.
Our Government is fully committed to ensuring that we
manage the transformation carefully and effectively.
Our challenge is to ensure that the growth delivers the
maximum benefit to our citizens.

Recently, our Government launched a $100 million
initiative with our leading national bank, the Bank of
the South Pacific, to make home loans more affordable
for our citizens. We are also facilitating financial
inclusion services for our people. We are grateful to our
development partners, including the United Nations,
Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, China
and the European Union. My Government has helped
with the capital for the first national women’s bank and
for microcredit schemes to help our people at the grass-
roots level become owners and drivers of their future
well-being. In addition, we are giving priority to small
and medium enterprises to drive national development.

Furthermore, my Government is developing a
national statistics development strategy to provide a road
map for Papua New Guinea to continually improve and
update the collection and management of its statistical
information in order to improve decision-making.
That includes embarking on a national biometric
identification card system to record and maintain the
population information of our citizens.

Despite our economic growth, social issues remain
a challenge. My Government values our women and
girls, who constitute half of our population, as equal
development partners. We are making sure that gender
empowerment and equality continue to be a cornerstone
of our responsible sustainable development. We
therefore support the work of UN-Women.

I am pleased to inform the Assembly that my
Government has committed record funding of

$10 million this year for various initiatives, including
partnering with the United Nations Population Fund
to make available 40,000 contraceptive implants as
important intervention measures for the health of our
women and girls of child-bearing age. That will be
scaled up to $20 million by 2015. My Government,
in partnership with our development partners, is also
investing in upgrading vital midwifery skills, along
with enhancing our health referral systems to address
complicated pregnancies. As a member of the Executive
Board of UNICEF, we will promote and participate in
the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child.

My Government welcomes and pledges our support
for the President’s timely agenda for strengthening
international peace and security. As a responsible
Member of the United Nations, we are committed
to fostering global peace and security. As such, my
country is deploying a modest level of troops to the
United Nations peacekeeping missions in the Sudan
and South Sudan. As our capacity grows, we intend to
contribute more.

We are concerned about the increasing conflicts
and tensions in many parts of the world, particularly
those involving non-State actors. An unacceptable
heavy toll of destruction is exacted upon millions of
innocent children, women and men, often uprooted
from their homes, dislocated and downtrodden and
their dignity humiliated. We must rebuke and unite
against the rising tide of intolerance, bigotry and hatred
under various banners.

We again condemn terrorism in all its
manifestations. We join the international community
to combat that global threat. Our support for Security
Council resolution 2178 (2014) against terrorism, which
was recently adopted, is a reaffirmation that inhuman
atrocities committed cannot and should not be condoned
by the international community. Those responsible for
such inhuman atrocities must be held accountable.

We are also concerned by the rising tensions
between and within certain countries and the
re-emergence of the ugly head of another potential
arms race. The world does not need that; rather, we
must recommit our efforts for global disarmament that
supports a transformative development agenda that
brings long-lasting improvement in the livelihoods of
people everywhere.

The Ebola crisis is a concern that is not limited just
to West Africa. It is an international crisis, one which
we, the international community, must address together
as we have done with severe acute respiratory syndrome
and HIV/AIDS. Those diseases and pandemics do
not recognize national sovereign borders. Like other
countries, Papua New Guinea has taken appropriate
measures to address the potential spread of Ebola.

We note with concern that progress in the Third
International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism
has been slow. We need to strengthen efforts to
complete that process. Papua New Guinea urges the
implementation of the report and conclusions of the
United Nations visiting mission to New Caledonia this
year, and thereby calls on the United Nations and the
international community, particularly the administering
Power, to support the process of decolonization under
the Noumea Accord. The Summit of the Melanesian
Spearhead Group in June 2013 supported through
a declaration the efforts of the Front de libération
nationale kanak et socialiste in New Caledonia.

Papua New Guinea strongly believes that the
international community is a better, more secure and
harmonious place because of the United Nations.
Certainly there are areas in the United Nations where
reform is required, as is the case with any large
organization. We need to recommit ourselves to the
areas where the Organization has been successful, and
in other areas we need to build adequate systems. Our
ultimate objective must be to promote a more effective,
more accountable, more responsive and more caring
United Nations — a United Nations capable of meeting
the challenges of the twenty-first century.

Papua New Guinea therefore shares the President’s
intention to further reform, rejuvenate and strengthen
the Security Council to allow for equitable geographic
representation. Regrettably, that important organ does
not reflect today’s geopolitical realities. We again join
many other Member States in calling for the reform of
the Security Council in both categories of membership.

At this time next year we will be celebrating
40 years of nation-building in Papua New Guinea, just
as the United Natons commemorates its seventieth
anniversary. We continue to be a proud, united country
of many diverse cultures and peoples speaking more
than 800 languages. We are also rapidly transforming

our traditional way of life to that of a modern country
in just one generation.

In conclusion, I recommit my country to the ideals
of the Charter of the United Nations and pledge to work
closely with all other Member States to collaborate on
solutions to the many issues we all face as humankind.


It is an honour to
address the General Assembly today on behalf of the
Prime Minister and Government of New Zealand. Our
general election took place in the past week. Our Prime
Minister, the Right Honourable John Key, is engaged in
forming a Government, and that is why he is unable to
be in New York today.

I want to begin by acknowledging the success of
the recent third International Conference on Small
Island Developing States, held in Samoa. The success
of the Conference was the result of the extraordinary
work Samoa put into preparing for the Conference and
the ownership of the agenda that was demonstrated by
the small island developing States (SIDS). While it is
undoubtedly true that small island developing States
have placed great value on the opportunity to talk, it
is also true that there was an undertone of frustration,
born of the fact that too often in the past talk has not
been followed by action. I strongly identify with that
view. The multilateral world is awash with talk of plans
and strategies and funds, while out there in the real
world of small island developing States, not enough is
happening on the ground. My country, New Zealand, is
intent on avoiding that shortcoming, especially in our
own region, the Pacific.

Renewable energy featured strongly in the SIDS
Conference agenda, as it had at the Secretary-General’s
2014 Climate Summit in the past week. Pacific nations
spend 10 per cent of their gross domestic product and up
to 30 per cent of their entire import bills on importing
diesel fuel for electricity generation. Sustainable
economic development therefore simply cannot happen
in our region without renewable energy.

Significant progress is being achieved, especially
since the Pacific Energy Summit 2013 that we co-hosted
with the European Union in Auckland in March 2013,
at which $635 million in funding was committed for
over 50 projects. The Tokelau Islands have moved from
100 per cent dependence on fossil fuels to 93 per cent
renewable. During the SIDS Conference itself, we
opened a 2.2-megawatt plant, a solar array in Samoa.
A year earlier we opened a 1.2-megawatt plant in
Tonga. Next month, we will open a 1-megawatt array in
Rarotonga. And in the next 12 months, all of the outer
islands of Tuvalu and all but one of the outer Cook
Islands will be close to 100 per cent renewable.

We are making real progress towards converting
our Pacific neighbourhood to renewable energy,
bringing significant environmental benefits and
greatly enhancing prospects for sustainable economic
development. My country has committed over
$100 million to that process. We are not waiting for a
new multilateral agreement or a new green fund. We
are simply getting ahead with robust partnerships and
making it happen.

Another key topic at the SIDS Conference was
sustainable fisheries. For our region, that is critically
important. The biggest economic asset in the Pacific
is its fisheries. In the past year, over $3.3 billion worth
of tuna was harvested from Pacific waters, yet only
14 per cent of that value, about $460 million, made
its way back to Pacific nations. New Zealand has
committed over $70 million over the next five years
to advance a comprehensive approach that includes
enhanced surveillance, training of monitors, training
in commercial fishing practices, research and science
initiatives and improving management practices. Our
objective is to see the owners of the Pacific tuna resource
receive a significantly greater share of the value of that
resource, and to ensure that it is sustainably managed
for the future.

A key message from the SIDS Conference is the need
to share experiences and skills among the SIDS regions.
That is starting to happen. Fisheries management is a
prime candidate for greater cooperation. We have also
commenced a process of interregional cooperation in
renewable energy by supporting the development of
geothermal energy in the Caribbean and Africa.

While small island developing States are showing
real leadership in addressing climate change and
shifting to renewable energy, those issues require action
on a global scale. We therefore commend the Secretary-
General for convening the Climate Summit here in
New York last week. We are participating actively in
those negotiations and hope they will pave the way for
a successful conclusion in Paris next year. We have
made an initial commitment to the Green Climate
Fund to show our support for the global effort, but we
will unashamedly continue to prioritize making real
progress with real projects in our own region, which
will continue to consume the bulk of our resources.

The other major event that has recently taken place
in the Pacific is the election in Fiji. We congratulate the
Prime Minister, his party and the people of Fiji on their
successful return to democratic rule. Fiji’s successful
elections are hugely important for the region. I am
delighted that following the preliminary report of the
multinational observers group, both the Pacific Islands
Forum and the Commonwealth have commenced the
process of lifting Fiji’s suspension. We look forward to
rebuilding and strengthening the connections between
us. Neither New Zealand nor Fiji can contemplate a
future that does not entail close and continuing links
with the other. We also welcomed the safe return of the
Fiji peacekeepers who were held hostage in the Golan
Heights. That incident again underlined the great
challenges and the dangers faced by United Nations
peacekeepers and the responsibilities we all have to
ensure the safety and security of peacekeeping and
other United Nations personnel.

It is as well that we are able to note some bright
spots for our region, because the situation in other parts
of the world does look bleak.

What happened over the past few months in
Gaza was an affront to humanity. No good was done
for the cause of Palestine by Hamas firing rockets
indiscriminately into Israel. No good was done for peace
in the Middle East by Israel pounding Gaza with such
intensity and at such cost of civilian lives. We welcome
the ceasefire that was agreed after so many false starts
and are thankful that so far it endures. We call on all
sides not only to keep the guns and rockets silent but to
refrain from actions that may destabilize what can only
be described as an uneasy peace. In that connection, we
express our profound regret at Israel’s appropriation of
400 hectares of privately owned Palestinian land near
Bethlehem for settlements. That act itself is profoundly
unhelpful.

The problems of the Middle East are deep and
difficult. They go back to the earliest days of the
Organization and beyond. But what happened over
the past months in and in relation to Gaza was a
modern failure — a failure of leadership, of purpose
and of vision. We urge the leaders of Israel and of
Palestine, both West Bank and Gaza, to live up to their
responsibilities to their peoples and to their positions.

In Syria and Iraq, we see the truly frightening
consequences when leadership, both internally and
in the Security Council, has failed. Syria has been a
weeping sore for over three years. Thousands of Syrians
have died, millions have become refugees and all
Syrian people have suffered terribly from the multiple
conflicts engulfing the country. And now the tragedy
of Syria has spilled over into Iraq, which was already
wrestling with its own deep-seated problems. Many
actors, in both the recent past and over a longer time
frame, have had a hand in contributing to the situation
we now confront, but now it is time for action.

We need to find a way to contain the madness that
is the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, to address
the humanitarian tragedy and to help the people of Syria
and Iraq craft a better future. By any objective standard,

that is a situation that cries out for Security Council
attention, and that is true of both sides of the border.
We need the Council members and the Governments
concerned to move past the ideological stalemate that
has kept the Council largely impotent for the past three
years. The challenge we all face in Syria and Iraq is
unlike any the United Nations has faced before. The
political circumstances in which it is being played out
are about as bad as they get. Yet somehow we must find
a way of coming together to defeat that shared problem.

Paralysis has also prevailed in the Security Council
over Ukraine. The Council has been essentially
a bystander as one of its permanent members has
undermined the integrity of another Member State. We
recognize the difficulties of managing ethnic tensions
that straddle borders and the risks of local fires being
stoked into wider national and international crises. But
with the strong shared histories of cooperation and
achievement between Russia and Ukraine, there is no
excuse for leaders allowing matters to unravel as they
have, to the point where international peace and security
may be at risk. Already hundreds of innocent civilians
on Flight MH-17 lost their lives through an associated
mistake and miscalculation. We welcome the ceasefire
agreed earlier this month, which has held, for the most
part. We call on all involved to step back, think about
what is at stake and start rebuilding the trust essential
to finding a lasting solution.

Events in the Middle East and Ukraine have
dominated the headlines in recent months and have
diverted attention from the serious situations that
continue to play out in Africa, particularly in Libya,
Mali, the Central African Republic, South Sudan,
Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo. The
United Nations is directly involved in those crises,
and they continue to challenge the capacity of the
Organization and of the African Union to respond
to the sheer scale of human suffering and to the
continuing need for external assistance to restore and
keep the peace, keep civilian populations safe and
deliver humanitarian assistance. Those issues, no less
than those in the Middle East and Eastern Europe,
will continue to require constant attention from the
Security Council and the coordinated efforts of the
broader United Nations family. They show that for all
its failings and structural inequalities, the Council still
has a vital role to play in maintaining international
peace and security.

But there is one lesson that we must learn from
all those recent crises — the United Nations must
fundamentally improve its performance in preventing
conflict. Once fighting is in full spate, the options for
peace disappear. Prevention is critical, not just in new
conflicts, but also in the cases on the agenda where
conflict has been frozen or where peacebuilding has
not really taken hold.

We are deeply troubled by the unprecedented scale
of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. We recognize
the huge challenges it poses to the economies and
the political and security cohesion in the region. We
have contributed and will continue to contribute to the
humanitarian work under way, and on the formation of
a new Government, we will look at further practical
steps to support the international effort.

In 18 days’ time, the United Nations membership
will decide who will be on the Security Council for the
next two-year term. New Zealand has been a candidate
for that position since 2004. It has been 20 years since
we were last on the Council. It has been a long and
demanding campaign, and it will continue right up to
the elections on 16 October. With tough competitors,
such as our good friends Spain and Turkey, that has to
be the case. The campaign has been a great opportunity
for us to engage with nations around the world. We
greatly value the new relationships we have forged
and the enhanced character of existing relationships.
Whatever the outcome, we are determined to maintain
them.

In the past, New Zealand has demonstrated that as
a member of the Council it acts strongly, effectively and
independently. It champions the rights of small States
and for the voices of all to be heard. In short, as my
Prime Minister said from this rostrum last year, there
is no point in joining the Council simply to make up the
numbers. Sometimes one has to speak up and shine a
light on what is going on, or not going on, even when it
is embarassing or inconvenient to others to do so.

Above all, I can assure the Assembly that if we
are elected, New Zealand will be a credible, positive
influence on the Security Council. At our core, New
Zealand is an optimistic country and New Zealanders
are an optimistic people. We believe that things can be
better than they are and are prepared, as a people, to
work hard to achieve that. Despite the many challenges
on the international agenda, my hope is that the
membership of the United Nations will give us an

opportunity to prove that by serving on the Security
Council from next year.


At the outset,
it gives me pleasure to congratulate the President of the
Assembly and his friendly country on his assumption
of the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. We are confident that he will lead its
work wisely, and we will lend him our support as
he undertakes his duties. I take this opportunity to
express my sincere appreciation to his predecessor for
his untiring efforts as President of the Assembly at its
previous session. I also reiterate our full support to the
Secretary-General as he strives to realize the purposes
of the Charter of the United Nations.

I stand before the Assembly today as one of the sons
of Egypt, from the cradle of human civilization. From
this rostrum, I first salute the great people of Egypt.
Allow me to also salute the thousands of Egyptians who
travelled from Egypt and various parts of the United
States and who are in the city today to say that the
new Egypt is coming. From this rostrum, I salute the
great people of Egypt, who have made history twice
in the past few years: first, when they revolted against
corruption and despotism and claimed their right to
freedom, dignity and social justice; and then when they
held fast to their identity and, energized by patriotism,
rose up against exclusion, refusing to succumb to the
tyranny of a faction which, in the name of religion, put
its narrow interests before the interests of the people.

Those are simply snapshots of the defining
moments Egypt has witnessed recently. They are only
milestones in the longer journey that Egyptians, fuelled
by their dreams and aspirations, have embarked upon,
towards a better day and a more prosperous future. The
world is starting to grasp the reality of what happened
in Egypt and to understand the circumstances that
drove Egyptians to intuitively take to the streets to
rebel against the forces of extremism and darkness
that, once in power, undermined the foundations of the
democratic process and national institutions and sought
to impose a state of polarization in order to break the
unity of the people.

The upsurge in extremism and violence perpetrated
in the name of religion that the region is currently
witnessing is evidence of the true objectives of those
groups that exploit religion. We have warned against
them over and over again. They have transformed the
values of justice, compassion and mercy, which are
treasured by Judaism, Christianity and Islam, into grim
sectarianism and destructive civil and regional wars
that continue to claim the lives of innocent people of
different religions.

The Egyptian people understand — as do I, given
the responsibilities that I have shouldered since my
election as President — that the path towards achieving
our goals began with the building of a civil democratic
State, guided by the principles we sought to embody
and adhering to the road map for the future agreed upon
by the Egyptian national powers. That road map will
be completed when parliamentary elections are held,
following the presidential election and constitutional
referendum through which Egyptians expressed their
free will. Our aim is to build a new Egypt — a State
that respects rights and freedoms, honours its duties
and ensures the coexistence of its citizens without
exclusion or discrimination; a State that respects and
enforces the rule of law, guarantees freedom of opinion
for all and ensures freedom of belief and worship for
its people; and a State that is determined to achieve
growth, prosperity and a promising future that meets
the aspirations of its people.

To that end, Egypt began implementing an ambitious
comprehensive programme to spur development
until 2030, with the aim of laying the foundations of
a free-market economy that is capable of attracting
investments in a secure and stable environment. The
New Suez Canal project, a gift from Egyptians to the
world, is proof of the seriousness of our intent and of the
resolve of the new Egypt to forge a better tomorrow for
its youth. That is why I invite members to participate
in the economic conference that will be held in Egypt
in February 2015 to achieve development and build the
future, not only for Egypt, but for the entire region.

Those steps briefly reflect the gist of the social
contract embraced by Egyptians in their new
Constitution. It is to build a better today and a brighter
tomorrow for our youth and to establish a State that is
armed with strong institutions and governed by the rule
of law; a State that respects the judiciary and ensures its
independence and applies the principle of the separation
of powers; and a State that is not held back by a form
of terrorism that thinks that it can conquer and repress
our nation.

Egypt has suffered from the scourge of that
terrorism since the 1920s, when it concealed its
poisonous viewpoints behind religion to reach power

and establish the caliphate state, relying on armed
violence and terror to achieve its objectives and in
the process giving rise to a handful of extremists who
commit atrocities in the name of religion. Here I stress
that we should not allow them to abuse Islam and offend
the 1.5 billion Muslims who cherish its noble values.
Religion, by virtue of its holiness and sanctity, cannot
be put to the test by humans and judged whether it has
succeeded or failed.

Terrorism is a plague that does not differentiate
between developing and developed societies as it
spreads. Terrorists come from different societies. They
are not bound together by any true religious faith.
That is why it is imperative that we all intensify our
cooperation and coordination efforts, pursuant to the
principles of the Charter of the United Nations and in
fulfilment of its objectives, to end the support provided
to those terrorist organizations that enables them to
continue perpetrating crimes.

The problems facing our region emanate from
the space provided to the local and regional forces of
extremism and the state of polarization that often leads
to division and strife. They have become a serious
danger that threatens the very existence of the State and
attacks its identity. That has produced fertile ground
for terrorism and its organizations to grow and gain
influence.

In this regard, the crises facing some countries
of the region could be resolved by following a two-
pronged approach aimed at building the nation State.
The first is the application of the principles of equality
of all citizens and respect for the rule of law, based on a
social contract and national consensus, while ensuring
the enjoyment by all of all rights, especially the right
to development. That will safeguard societies from
exploitation and prevent them from succumbing to
extremism. The second aspect is a decisive confrontation
with the forces of extremism and terrorism and with
any attempt to impose opinions through intimidation
and violence or to force exclusion through rejection in
all its forms.

Egypt, in agreement with Libya’s neighbouring
countries, has actually put forward an initiative that
sets specific steps and a clear vision to end the plight
of that kindred country. We can build on that initiative
to achieve a comprehensive political solution that
strengthens Libya’s elected institutions and ensures an
end to the bloodshed, while preserving its territorial
integrity. Success requires effectively halting arms
trafficking into Libya and dealing relentlessly with
the extremist movements that resort to weapons and
violence and do not recognize the democratic process.

Despite the heartrending humanitarian situation in
fraternal Syria and the destruction and loss of innocent
lives resulting from the crisis, I am confident that it
is possible to establish a political framework that will
ensure that the aspirations of the Syrian people are met
without compromising with terrorism or replicating the
circumstances that the Syrians initially rebelled against.
I emphasize that Egypt supports the Syrian people’s
aspirations to a safe and secure life that ensures Syria’s
stability and the unity of its people and preserves its
territorial integrity.

The formation in the brotherly country of Iraq
of a new Government approved by the Parliament is
a significant development that restores hope in the
possibility of improving the situation and for success
in internal and external attempts to achieve stability,
restore the areas that have fallen under the control of
the terrorist group Daesh, maintain Iraq’s territorial
integrity, end the bloodshed.

Despite the multitude of crises threatening our
region, some of which I have mentioned, the Palestinian
issue remains a top priority for Egypt. Palestinians
still aspire to establish their independent State on the
territories occupied in 1967, with East Jerusalem as
its capital, on the basis of the principles of the peace
process that was established in the 1970s, following
an Egyptian initiative. Those principles are not up for
compromise; otherwise the basis of a comprehensive
peace in the region would erode and the values of
justice and humanity would vanish. The continued
deprivation of the Palestinian people of their rights is
undoubtedly exploited by some to inflame other crises,
achieve hidden goals, fragment Arab unity and impose
trusteeship on Palestinians under the guise of realizing
their aspirations.

I am confident that certain challenges will
require us to work seriously and with a clear vision
to achieve the ambitions of our people for democracy,
development and human dignity and for our youth and
their aspirations for a brighter future. Our success will
guarantee the future of our people.

From this rostrum, I call upon everyone to address
the Ebola epidemic. In many African countries,
combatting the disease is a collective responsibility. We
must be able to assist those countries that need help,

while providing protection to our own people. Distances
have become shorter, due to modern advances, thus
increasing the threat. As a strong State, Egypt bears a
special responsibility. In the 1990s, Egypt confronted
terrorism and extremism. I am confident that it will
succeed in uprooting terrorism by virtue of its national
identity. Egypt will always be a beacon of civilization,
supporting cohesion in the region. Egyptians will never
hesitate to assume their role to that effect.

Egypt considers the security of the Arab States
integral to its national security, on the basis of our
common heritage and destiny and our longing for the
stability of a region that is important and crucial to
the world. Egypt’s vision of international relations is
founded on respect for the principles of international
law, treaties and conventions, based on mutual respect
and mutual interests and benefits.

As the Assembly knows, Egypt was a founding
Member of the United Nations and has ever since
strongly contributed to realizing its goals, especially in
peacekeeping, peacebuilding and development. From
that standpoint, Egypt’s aspiration to a non-permanent
seat on the Security Council in 2016 and 2017 stems
from its desire to use its membership to achieve the
purposes of the Organization and protect the interests
of developing countries, especially in Africa, as well as
to accelerate the reform of the United Nations system
as part of a broader vision based on the principle of
equality of all nations. I therefore invite Member States
to support Egypt’s candidature for the Security Council.

I have conveyed in all humility the message of the
Egyptian people, women, men, youth and the elderly.
It is a message of hope, of will and of determination to
work. It is a message of openness, calling for cooperation
with all, to overcome all obstacles and difficulties. I
wish to assure the Assembly that the Egyptian people,
after their two revolutions, have become the sole source
of our internal and external policies in pursuit of
stability and development.

Egypt today has regained its self-confidence and is
upholding the principles of law and freedom. With its
Arab identity and African roots, it is the cradle of the
Mediterranean civilization and the beacon of moderate
Islam. Egypt aspires to resolve regional disputes and
uphold the principles of justice and humanity in today’s
world. I am confident that Egyptians have an infinite
capacity to give. We have inherited that gift from our
ancestors and will remain ever generous, God willing.

Long live Egypt. Long live the peace-loving peoples
of the world. Long live the principles of humanity and
the values of tolerance and coexistence. May peace be
upon the Assembly, and the mercy and blessings of God
as well.


First of all, I thank the
General Assembly for electing His Excellency Mr. Sam
Kutesa, our Minister for Foreign Affairs, as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session.

As the Assembly knows, the United Nations system
needs reform to reflect the new needs and realities in the
world today. Uganda will use the time of its presidency
to make a small contribution towards the reform of
the United Nations and its organs by pushing for the
African agenda on that issue. Those reforms, as will be
agreed by all of us, will strengthen the United Nations,
not otherwise.

Africa, Uganda included, is at long last emerging
from the long night of decline that the continent has
been through in the last 500 years — ever since 1472,
when the Portuguese started encroaching on the African
coastline. Those 500 years witnessed great traumas
inflicted on the African continent, including the slave
trade, colonialism, neocolonialism, plunder, human
haemorrhage and, in some cases, even genocide. Those
traumas resulted in the haemorrhage of the population
and the depopulation of the African continent to
the extent that by 1900 the population of the whole
of Africa was only 133 million people, while that of
China, which is only one quarter of the land area of
Africa, was 489,000 million people. In other words, by
1990, the population of the whole of Africa was only a
quarter of that of China, in a land area four times larger.

Such traumas were possible in Africa owing not
only to internal weaknesses but also external factors.
Foreign aggression caused serious distortions in
African societies. There was, for instance, the very-
well-organized Kingdom of Kongo on the Atlantic
coast at the time the first Portuguese explorer, Diego
Cão, arrived there in 1483. The Kingdom covered parts
of northern Angola, Cabinda, parts of the Republic
of Congo and the western parts of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo. As a consequence of the actions
of colonialism, that polity, that Kingdom, declined and
disintegrated.

It is only now that the modern countries of that
area are regenerating that portion of Africa. It is those
distortions and the original endogenous weaknesses of
Africa that the present generation of African leaders
have been addressing. In many African countries,
positive results are beginning to manifest themselves.
The middle class in Africa is now of the magnitude of
313 million people, and that has boosted the purchasing
power of Africa to $2.5 trillion. That purchasing power
is growing at the rate of 3.2 per cent per annum. That
growth and expansion of the African gross domestic
product and purchasing power has happened despite
inadequate roads, inadequate railways, inadequate
electricity, and so on. Once those strategic bottlenecks
are addressed, the sky will be the limit as far as Africa’s
potential is concerned.

One bottleneck that has bedevilled Africa has been
the espousing of the pseudo-ideology of religious or
tribal sectarianism, as well as chauvinism vis-à-vis
women. When President Obama was walking out, I met
him at the door and told him that he had copied some of
my statement. That pseudo-ideology has fuelled most
of the conflicts in Africa. We are also witnessing the
same pseudo-ideology causing havoc in the Middle East
and North Africa. When uninformed outsiders link up
with those pseudo-ideologists, the permutation is most
tragic. Sectarian ideology is pseudo and bankrupt
because it is at variance with the people’s real interests
of symbiosis and the exchange of goods and services,
as well as integration for mutual benefit. Only parasites
revel in such schemes. That pseudo-ideology should be
banished and treated with the contempt that it deserves.

With regard to socioeconomic transformation,
Uganda is busy building hard-surface roads, electricity
networks, railways, information and communication
technology networks, a universal education system
and a pan-Ugandan health-care system. Together with
our neighbours, we have integrated our markets in the
East African Community and the Common Market for
Eastern and Southern Africa. We also partner with
others on common security solutions. Africa and the
individual African countries are therefore becoming
more credible partners with all serious actors beyond
our shores.

Uganda needs and welcomes investment, trade
access, tourists and, in some cases, security partnerships
that are approved by the African Union with our
partners in the world, many of whom are Members of
the United Nations.


It is with great pleasure, Mr. President, that we participate
in the sixty-ninth session of the General Assembly
under your presidency. My delegation joins previous
delegations in congratulating you on your election,
which simultaneously pays tribute to our sister nation of
Uganda and recognizes your personal and professional
qualities as an experienced diplomat. We wish you
success in carrying out your term and assure you, Sir,
of the Cabo Verde delegation’s support and cooperation.

To your predecessor, the President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, His Excellency
Ambassador John Ashe, we would like to and express
our recognition of and appreciation for the dedicated,
dynamic and able manner in which he guided the work
of the previous session. We would also like to take
this opportunity, on behalf of the Government of Cabo
Verde, to congratulate and pay tribute to Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts in seeking peace
and global solutions for the challenges that currently
confront us and require shared political will in the
pursuit of global solutions.

As a small island State, Cabo Verde is particularly
grateful to the Secretary-General and the international
community for convening, and the success achieved in,
the third United Nations Conference on Small Island
Developing States, held in Samoa. We also congratulate
the Secretary-General for his initiative in convening
the United Nations Climate Summit 2014, as the
issue of climate change is of particular importance to
island States, due to our specific vulnerabilities. For
us, finding solutions to the adverse effects of climate
change is not just an option, but a matter of survival
and territorial integrity, making it essential to mobilize
the political will and international cooperation with
respect to that issue. The strategies recently agreed
upon in Samoa point to paths, modalities of action
and effective implementation that will increase those
States’ resilience and make them better equipped to
deal with the consequences of climate change.

Cabo Verde is pleased with the adoption of
urgent measures to face climate change as one of the
sustainable development goals. The achievement of
that goal requires development strategies and policies
that will help create a more resilient planet Earth and
strengthen the means of their implementation.

The data recently released in the fifth assessment
report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
focus our attention on alarming scenarios resulting
from the persistent increase in global warming, which
will put the more vulnerable countries in situations
that may threaten their development. It should be
noted that, in addition to other consequences, there
will be an increase in tropical cyclones, drought and

desertification, rising sea levels, ocean acidification,
loss of biodiversity, weak agricultural production and
food insecurity. For the Government of Cabo Verde,
it is important to ensure that the negotiations that
will take place next December in Lima translate into
significant progress with respect to the content of the
new agreement to be signed in Paris in December 2015.

Raising awareness regarding the need to reduce
the levels of global warming and to foster low-carbon
economies must also be taken into consideration. We
support reducing global warming to under 1.5°C, which
is both economically feasible and a basic requirement
for sustainable global development. We also hope that,
as we work towards the conversion of our interests, the
foundational principle of common but differentiated
responsibility will be respected. A compensation
mechanism for the effective and full implementation
of the Warsaw International Mechanism for Loss and
Damage should be considered. We are convinced that,
if nothing is done, the consequences resulting from
climate change will affect us all and that we all will
pay for our inaction. As the Secretary-General of the
United Nations likes to say, we are all in the same boat.

International cooperation, both with respect to
climate change and in other areas, is key. In order to be
effective, it must be more consistent and pragmatic in
national systems and international structures alike, and
development financing for countries must be based on
criteria reflecting their real needs and vulnerabilities.

We hope that clear directives and commitments
are agreed upon in the next Conference on Financing
for Development, to be held in Addis Ababa in July
2015, and that they lead the way to achieving the
unfinished business of Millennium Development Goal
8. We hope that they will ensure the redefinition of
the criteria for the allocation of financial resources
for development based on the principles adopted in
Paris and reaffirmed in Busan. For Cabo Verde, a
country that recently graduated into middle-income
status, albeit lower-middle-income, it is important
that innovative mechanisms be designed to provide for
greater consistency in development financing and to
support economic sustainability.

The previous session of the General Assembly was
convened under the theme “The post-2015 development
agenda: setting the stage”. The theme chosen for
this session is “Delivering on and implementing a
transformative post-2015 development agenda”. We
are thus asked to take the next step — that is, to work
on the adoption of a people-centred agenda aiming
to eradicate extreme poverty and reduce inequalities
among nations. That request is made in a complex
and difficult international environment. In our view,
it will be achievable only if there is solidarity and if
the international community joins forces to promote
sustainable development.

The results achieved under the framework of the
Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals,
which conducted its work during the previous session of
General Assembly, point to possible actions and options
for a truly transformative post-2015 agenda. With
respect to Cape Verde, our country is close to achieving
all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For
us, the post-2015 agenda must reflect all lessons and
assessments of the MDGs and other internationally
agreed goals, and the goals for 2030 must provide for
the acceleration of the development process.

We would also like to briefly note that the twenty-
ninth special session of the General Assembly on the
follow-up to the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development was held on
22 September. The lesson that we can take away from
that important event is that the post-2015 agenda must
place people at the centre of the objectives and goals to
be agreed upon, which also means rigorous respect for
human rights. On the other hand, the common good,
progress and the well-being of all citizens must be goals
to be pursued by all Governments as we develop and
implement our development policies and programmes.

In addition to being a matter of social justice,
ensuring gender equality and equity also turns out to be
a smart choice, as no country can aspire to develop and
establish social peace and cohesion while excluding
a significant portion of its population — that is, the
female population.

Gender-based violence is an unacceptable
phenomenon in our societies. The Government of
Cabo Verde is committed to changing the reality in our
country in a significant and positive way, even as we
are aware that there still is much to do in that regard.

The issues related to international security and the
threats against peace that they represent are matters
of particular concern. The recent upsurge in acts
of terrorism is a genuinely dangerous threat to the
territorial integrity of States and to the stability of
entire regions. The systematic and massive violation of
human rights and the barbarism that has come with it are

altogether unacceptable. The international community
cannot allow this challenge to the humanistic values of
our civilization, which are also enshrined and promoted
by the United Nations. The Government of Cabo Verde
therefore vigorously condemns all forms of terrorism
and calls on the international community to urgently
take appropriate measures to stop such attempts to
wreak havoc and mete out suffering to innocent people.

We are particularly concerned with recent
developments in the Middle East and Africa. We
believe that States have the moral obligation and
collective duty to fight against the subversion of the
universal principles of peace, tolerance and respect for
differences. We believe that the United Nations has an
important role to play when it comes to respect for the
principles set out in its Charter and in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights.

Cabo Verde is a peace-loving nation that favours
dialogue and the peaceful resolution of disputes. We
believe in and defend the principles of the Charter, as
well as observance of the standards of international law,
respect for human rights and the promotion of human
dignity. As a result, we understand that no State or
organization can replace the United Nations in playing
its fundamental role of maintaining global peace and
security and that any use of force can be tolerated only
when exercised within the framework of the principles
set forth in the Charter of the United Nations.

Cabo Verde sees urgency in finding a solution
for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and believes that
there is no justification for the deaths of thousands
of innocent people, the unwarranted suffering of an
entire population and the desolation and destruction of
infrastructure in the Gaza Strip. We therefore urge the
parties to begin negotiations that lead to lasting peace
and that allow both States, Israel and Palestine, to live
side by side in security. We also consider it important
to find a negotiated means to end the conflict in Syria
and to open humanitarian aid corridors.

We are concerned with the conflicts that persist
on our continent, such as in Libya, the Central African
Republic and the Great Lakes region, as well as the
actions of terrorist groups in Somalia, Mali and Nigeria.
We support and stand side by side with the African
Union in finding solutions to the problems that affect
peace and security in those sister nations and on the
continent in general.

In the context of Africa, we also wish to commend
the progress achieved in the Republic of Guinea-
Bissau, its return to constitutional order and the
re-establishment of democracy. We wish our sister
nation the greatest success in the pursuit of peace and
development.

In the West African subregion, the issue of security
in general and maritime security in particular is of
particular concern to the authorities of Cabo Verde.
Our country is located at the confluence of routes
connecting the African, European and American
continents, which places us in a vulnerable situation,
as these routes are also used by transnational organized
crime, resulting in a direct threat to the stability of
States and their democracies.

Cabo Verde, in association with other States
and organizations in the United Nations system,
has attempted to combat the illegal activities that
have unfairly punished this part of the West African
subregion, such as the trafficking in drugs, arms and
human beings, maritime piracy, terrorism and illegal
fishing. As those are phenomena of a transnational
nature, we believe that no country in the subregion
is in a position to effectively combat them without
greater international cooperation and the combination
of efforts, means and strategies. Therefore, we would
like to count on more consistent support from the
international community.

The Security Council has rightly determined
that the current Ebola epidemic in West Africa is a
threat to international security. The situation in the
three countries most affected by the epidemic should
prompt the international community to engage in more
organized and coordinated actions to provide aid, more
effectively save lives and prevent the spread of the
disease to neighbouring countries, to the rest of Africa
and to the world.

Cabo Verde welcomes and supports the efforts
made by all nations and organizations involved in
that struggle, particularly the Secretary-General’s
initiatives in that regard. The inclusion of this issue in
the Security Council agenda, the adoption of resolution
2177 (2014) by unanimity, and the debate that followed
(see S/PV.7268) are an unequivocal expression of the
international community’s awareness of the priority
that must be given to the efforts to halt and control the
epidemic, which could have catastrophic consequences
for our affected sister nations, particularly the Republics

of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, to which Cabo
Verde offers its friendship and solidarity.


In what can seem to be
darkening times, I want to begin with a message of
hope. Amid all our problems, the murderous rage of
the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant in Syria and
Iraq, Russian aggression in Ukraine, the spread of
Ebola in West Africa and the stubborn sluggishness of
many economies, let me start with a small but telling
illustration of nations working together to serve our
common humanity. Last March, at the height of the
search for the missing Flight MH-70, I went to the Pearce
airbase in Western Australia to thank all the aviators
involved. There were personnel from Australia, New
Zealand, Malaysia and the United States — countries
that are accustomed to working together. There were
also personnel from China, Japan and Korea — countries
whose relations sometimes labour under the weight of
historical grievances.

On that occasion, however, the tragedy and a
daunting challenge drew out the best in everyone.
The Organization was founded on the principle that
we should work together for the common good and
that, over time, talking together and working together
will improve our capacity for living together. Like
any institution, the United Nations is an imperfect
instrument. Still, it is better than “might is right”, and
it gives good arguments the best chance to prevail.

Despite faults and failures, the United Nations
has worked for peace and progress for nearly 70 years.
Australia has been proud to play its part, starting in
1946, when we held the first presidency of the Security
Council and helped to draft the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights. At the heart of the Organization is the
principle that we should act towards others as we would
have them act towards us. For almost seven decades,
Australia has believed in the potential of the United
Nations and supported its work. Keeping commitments,
valuing human life, protecting property and extending
freedom are universal aspirations, not only Australian
ones.

Since 1947, we have provided more than 65,000
personnel to more than 50 multilateral peace and
security operations. We are not a country accustomed to
turning back, once we have put our hand to the plough.
We have had Blue Beret personnel in the Middle East
since 1956 and in Cyprus since 1964. When leadership
is needed, we step up, as we did in Bougainville,
in Timor-Leste and in Solomon Islands. In Korea,
Cambodia, Kuwait and Afghanistan and in Somalia,
Sierra Leone and other troubled places, Australians
have lent a hand under the United Nations banner. We
have only 21 personnel in South Sudan now but have
conducted an airlift of equipment that has supported a
much larger force.

With just 24 million people, Australia is a relatively
small country, but we have the world’s twelfth-
largest economy, with global interests and with some
global reach. We are strong enough to be useful but
pragmatic enough to know our limits. Under successive
Governments, for more than 100 years, Australia’s
determination has been to advance our interests,
to protect our citizens and to uphold our values.
We have never believed that we can save the world
single-handedly, nor have we shrunk from shouldering
our responsibilities. After the 2004 East Asian tsunami,
we committed $1 billion to Indonesia. We were one of
the first countries to arrive with help in Japan after the
2011 earthquake and in the Philippines after the 2013
typhoon.

To date, we have pledged $8 million towards
combating the Ebola outbreak, and dozens of Australian
health professionals are working with international
agencies in the region. To us, this is all part of being a
good global citizen. Last July, we were pleased to sponsor
Security Council resolution 2166 (2014) and to work
with the Dutch and the Malaysians to investigate the
crash site and recover our dead, after Malaysia Airlines
Flight MH-17 was shot down by Russian-backed rebels
over eastern Ukraine. We are grateful for the help that
Ukraine gave us, and are naturally sympathetic to a
country struggling to preserve its independence and
territorial integrity against a bully. With the Dutch and
the Malaysians, we will do everything we can to ensure
that the investigation is not undermined, and that the
crime is not covered up, because that is our duty to the
38 Australians murdered in this atrocity.

Right now, an Australian force has been deployed
to the Middle East, so that we can join a coalition
seeking to disrupt and degrade the Islamic State of
Iraq and the Levant terrorist movement at the request
of the Iraqi Government. One of our prime ministers
once talked about our country’s great objective, “our
light on the hill,” as he put it, namely, to work for the
betterment of mankind, not just at home, but wherever
we can lend a helping hand. To build a better world,
we need to respond sensibly to the problems before us,
whether through bodies such as the United Nations,
or in coalitions with like-minded countries. We also
need to work purposefully to create stronger and more
resilient people and communities. A stronger economy
will not solve every problem, but it will make almost
every problem easier to tackle. Richer people are not
necessarily better people, but the problems of plenty
are invariably easier to deal with than those of want.

As this year’s Chair of the Group of Twenty (G-
20), Australia is determined to promote private-sector-
led growth: growth, because that is the best way
to generate jobs and improve everyone’s quality of
life; private-sector-led, because profitable, private
businesses are the best source of real, sustainable
wealth. Freer trade, more investment in infrastructure,
a modern and fair international tax system, stronger
global economic institutions and a more resilient
financial sector are all parts of our G-20 agenda to
strengthen the world economy.

Rather than preaching, we are trying to lead by
example. Australia has abolished the carbon tax and
the mining tax, and we have provided environmental
approvals for $800 billion worth of new projects. We
have also begun the task of eliminating our budget
deficit within four years. We have finalized a series of
trade deals, because every time a country trades with
another, wealth increases, and when wealth increases,
countries grow stronger. Our G-20 goal is to boost
output by an extra 2 per cent over the next five years
to create millions of jobs and to generate trillions in
wealth right around the world.

Likewise, the post-2015 development agenda
should also focus on economic growth, because growth
makes every other social goal, even tackling climate
change, easier to accomplish. To people who do not
know where their next meal is coming from, talk of
economic growth can seem ignorant or indulgent. But
“economic growth” is really just economists’ shorthand
for more jobs, higher pay, new industries and the better
life that only greater wealth can provide. Economic
growth might seem a mundane vision, but it allows
millions more people to create their own vision of how
their lives can be better.

To anyone who doubts that stronger economic
growth can be achieved, I say, “Look at the countries
of East Asia”. In scarcely two generations, the rise
of Asia has driven the greatest social and economic
transformation in history. People live longer, they are
better educated, wealthier and, yes, they enjoy a level
of freedom and stability that their parents could only
dream of. In Japan, Korea and now China, in India and
increasingly in Indonesia, many hundreds of millions
of people have been lifted from poverty to the middle
class. Almost certainly, that is the greatest and fastest
advance in human welfare of all time.

While all Governments, Australia’s included, could
always be better, smarter and more compassionate,
no one should be blind to the great progress that has
occurred. We live in the most remarkable age in human
history. For all the work that remains to be done, we
have seen more change for the better than at any other
time.

As the General Assembly session meets with
such pressing issues before it, our challenge — as
always — is to realize our best hopes and to be our best
selves. Australians have two defining characteristics:
we believe in a “fair go”, because innate decency
demands that every person have a chance to contribute.
We also believe in “having a go”, because rolling up
your sleeves will always produce a better result than
standing on the sidelines complaining. That readiness
to make an effort for a good cause is why Australia
feels so comfortable in this body and is so ready to
contribute to its work. We should put no limits on what
we can achieve, especially when we work together, trust
people and are faithful to our deepest values.

Every country counts. Every argument must be
weighed. Every person has equal rights and dignity.
Every person deserves respect. All people are entitled
to make their own choices — provided they do not
infringe on the rights of others. Those are the principles
that this Organization embodies and on which the
future of humanity rests.


On 17 July, in a summer
already marked by alarming reports from Syria,
Iraq and Gaza, our country was confronted with a

stark international reality. The 298 passengers of
Flight MH-17 would be alive today if not for the Crimea
conflict and the destabilization of eastern Ukraine. Of
those victims, 196 were Dutch nationals.

That tragedy has had an enormous impact on
our country — so many innocent men, women and
children, entire families ripped from neighbourhoods,
empty desks in offices and schools, teammates gone
forever. Everyone in the Netherlands knew someone in
that plane, directly or indirectly, and we will feel the
pain for years to come. Some of the victims still have
not been identified, and that must be done as soon as
possible. Nothing is more important to their loved ones,
wherever in the world they may be.

This summer we were reminded again of how
closely interwoven events at home and abroad can be
and how important a stable world order is to our national
interests. We saw again that when it comes to addressing
the major problems facing the global community, there
is simply no alternative to working together. That is the
firm conviction of the Dutch Government.

We are grateful for the wide support for Security
Council resolution 2166 (2014). All remains and personal
belongings must be repatriated. The cause of the Flight
MH-17 disaster must be brought to light, and those
responsible must be brought to justice. Unhindered
access to the crash site is therefore essential. The Dutch
Government is fully committed to achieving those
goals, working with all the countries and organizations
involved.

The Constitution of the Netherlands contains a
unique article that says, “The Government shall promote
the development of the international legal order”. That
self-imposed responsibility comes from a long tradition
of freedom, respect for the rule of law and our country’s
international orientation. In March, we put that principle
into practice once again when we hosted the Nuclear
Security Summit, a conference on an important topic
that must remain high on the international agenda. The
events of this summer have made us even more resolute
about promoting the international legal order and about
working to that end with everyone here in the General
Assembly, in the knowledge that peace, justice and
development are closely interconnected.

The year 2015 is an important one for the global
development agenda. We will be reviewing the
Millennium Development Goals and raising the
bar once again. In July this year, the Open Working
Group on Sustainable Development Goals laid a solid
foundation for the future that reflects the Netherlands’
priorities. The most important goal is to eradicate
extreme poverty within a generation in a way that
does not harm economic growth, social equality or the
environment. We must link short-term goals with long-
term goals.

Despite the progress made, we know that fragile
States, where the rule of law barely exists, had no
chance of achieving the Millennium Development
Goals. In 2013 there were more displaced people in
conflict regions than ever before. For those reasons,
the Netherlands applauds the Open Working Group’s
intention to include peace and the rule of law in the new
framework.

We also welcome the Secretary-General’s announced
intention to establish the United Nations Mission for
Ebola Emergency Response. The Netherlands will
substantially increase its humanitarian aid. Part of that
effort is a new contribution of €18 million to the fight
against Ebola.

In the same vein, the Netherlands will continue to
support and participate in United Nations peacekeeping
missions. We currently have military personnel and
relief workers serving in Mali, South Sudan and
elsewhere. The upcoming review of peacekeeping
missions is an opportunity to improve the instrument
and make it more effective. The Netherlands believes
that major progress can be made on that front by further
integrating the three Ds: defence, development and
diplomacy.

Our commitment to fulfilling Security Council
resolution 1325 (2000) remains firm too, because
women’s leadership is essential to achieving peace and
security. The important role that women play as change
agents in politics, economic development and society
cannot be emphasized enough.

As host country to many international legal
institutions, including the International Court of Justice
and the International Criminal Court, the Netherlands
feels a special responsibility with respect to international
law. When innocent people fall victim to impunity,
human rights violations and the violence of war, the
international community cannot and should not just
stand by and just watch. Perpetrators must be brought
to justice, however complex and time-consuming the
process may be. We owe this not only to the passengers
of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH-17, but also to the

victims of violence in Syria and in Iraq. The horrifying
images of mass executions and beheadings in the region
are burned into our memories. They impress upon
us how important it is for the Security Council and
international legal institutions to be able to act boldly
and decisively.

The Kingdom of the Netherlands, a partner for
peace, justice and development, is a candidate for a
non-permanent seat on the Security Council in 2017
and 2018. We want to help modernize and strengthen
that important United Nations body. Renewal is
needed to ensure its effectiveness and legitimacy. The
Security Council must be able to act in a crisis. When
mass atrocities are being committed somewhere in the
world, veto power should be exercised with greater
restraint. We salute the French initiative in that regard.
We also believe that the Security Council’s authority
and resolve would be enhanced if the United Nations
Member States were more broadly represented. That
is especially true of the African States which, in our
opinion, are underrepresented.

In closing, Dag Hammarskjöld once said that

“[t]he principles of the Charter are, by far, greater
than the Organization in which they are embodied,
and the aims which they are to safeguard are holier
than the policies of any single nation or people”
(S/PV.751, para. 4).
The Netherlands shares that conviction and remains
steadfast in its commitment to promoting the
international legal order, as our Constitution demands.


I would like
to extend to the President, on behalf of the people and
Government of Togo, as well as on my own behalf, our
warmest congratulations on his election as President
of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth session. I
would also like to take this opportunity to reiterate to
the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, my country’s
sincere congratulations on and encouragement for
his efforts to enable our Organization to meet the
challenges facing our world.

By giving the sixty-ninth session of the General
Assembly the theme “Delivering on and implementing
a transformative post-2015 development agenda”, the
President wished to remind Member States of their
responsibility to spare no effort in defining, as we
look ahead in the context of the post-2015 period, a
development agenda commensurate with the challenges
facing the world. Indeed, it is undeniable that defining
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) has been
beneficial to humankind. While not all of those goals
will be achieved by all our States, our commitment to
working together to attain them has enabled us to make
notable progress towards each of the Goals throughout
the world. The new development agenda should therefore
provide States with an appropriate road map that takes
into account the diversity and complexity of situations
and developments resulting from the experience gained
in implementing the MDGs.

For its part, the Togolese Government remains
determined and mobilized to continue and to scale up
the necessary efforts in the context of a new post-2015
development programme with a view to a more tangible
reduction in the level of poverty in our country. In recent
years, the incidence of poverty has in fact been reduced
by three points in Togo. That trend is supported by an
improvement in the business climate that provides good
prospects for increasing the success of the job creation
programmes being implemented in the country for the
benefit of young people.

In that regard, we note, among other elements, the
positive impact as a result of conducting several job
creation and grass-roots development programmes. In
the same spirit, we have established the National Fund
for Inclusive Finance, whose goal is to make financial
services accessible to the most vulnerable people, in
particular women, who are generally excluded from
access to credit from traditional financial institutions.

In the field of agriculture, Togo continues to
develop the National Agricultural Investment and Food
Security Programme. Its implementation has led not
only to satisfactory results in the context of food self-
sufficiency but also to agricultural surpluses for several
crop years, particularly that of 2013/14.

In terms of health, encouraging results have been
achieved in reducing the maternal and infant mortality

rates and in combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis.

With regard to the preservation of the environment
and improvement in living conditions, robust actions
have significantly increased the level of access to
sanitation and clean water. Moreover, the Government
has stepped up its adaptation efforts to curb the impact
of climate change, in particular, with regard to disasters
caused by economic imbalance, which undermines the
well-being of our citizens. Our country is actively
strengthening the institutional mechanism for disaster
management. Togo has increased its contribution to
the protection of world heritage and to international
security through significant efforts in its resolute
fight against the trafficking of protected species, as
evidenced by the neutralization of several networks and
the seizure of large quantities of ivory.

The forward-looking vision of Togo as a country
able to ensure and take ownership of its development in
all respects has led the Government to initiate Vision
Togo 2030. Launched in April, that initiative is based
on a participatory approach. It should ultimately, with
the accelerated growth and job creation strategy, allow
my country to better ensure its achievement of the
MDGs and the post-2015 development agenda, which
we wholeheartedly desire. I would like to thank the
entire United Nations system and all the countries that
have helped us to achieve the progress made.

The situation of chronic instability prevailing in
Africa today, in particular in the Sahel-Sahara region,
is of concern. With its experience as a non-permanent
member of the Security Council, on which it served
in 2012 and 2013, my country, Togo, is now more
certain than ever that our agenda for peace and the new
architecture for international security must reflect the
new situation of the regionalization of conflicts.

Unfortunately, another factor that further threatens
the survival of States and their development efforts is
terrorism. In Africa, for example, Boko Haram and
Al-Shabaab frequently carry out acts that destabilize
brother countries, such as Nigeria, Cameroon, Somalia
and Kenya. Nevertheless, my country welcomes the joint
efforts of the international community, which helped
to thwart the armed terrorist groups, in particular in
Somalia and Mali. We truly appreciate the efforts of
the French Government to remain engaged in the Sahel
region so as to continue the fight against terrorists
alongside African countries in Operation Barkhane.
However, it is important that such efforts continue and
strengthen and that the international community spare
no effort in supporting the affected African countries,
just as it has mobilized to counter the spread of terrorism
in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the world.

Beyond the effective control of borders, in vast
geographical areas such as the Sahel, which in recent
years has mobilized the international community to fight
against terrorism, it is, in our view, equally essential to
further secure our coasts in order to eradicate, with the
same determination, maritime piracy.

In that spirit, mindful of the stakes involved, Togo
took the initiative to host an international conference
on maritime security and economic development
in Africa in Lomé in 2015 under the auspices of the
African Union. Togo seeks to play a leading role in
providing, with the support of all like-minded partners,
a framework to implement measures that have been
recommended on various occasions to make the
African coast a key space for international trade, free
of organized predators, who instil fear along our coasts.

With regard to the promotion of peace, stability and
security in our countries, the deteriorating situation
in the Central African Republic, Libya, South Sudan,
Syria, Palestine, Ukraine and elsewhere in the world
is of the gravest concern to us owing to the harmful
consequences. Such repercussions are likely to call into
question the very existence of those countries and to
destroy their precious development efforts.

My country, Togo, has recovered stability. It is
moving forward towards a new horizon with renewed
confidence. The daughters and sons of Togo have now
chosen to build the future in a climate of peace and
national harmony. Election after election, Togolese
democracy is being built and strengthened through
dialogue and consultation. It is being established with
functioning institutions, with the support and vigilance
of a determined civil society and all citizens, who are
more aware than ever of the remaining challenges to
overcome in terms of democracy.

The plan for our society, which is mobilizing Togo,
seeks above all to make the country an active and
responsible member of the international community,
determined to work hand in hand with other nations,
so as to systematically thwart the conduits of tension,
break the cycle of violence everywhere and prevent
entrenched insecurity. Those are prerequisites not only
for social peace but also for economic development.

I cannot conclude my statement without reminding
the Assembly of the great peril to human survival
threatening the entire African continent, and West
Africa in particular, with the outbreak of the Ebola
virus. In that regard, I would like to welcome the
Security Council’s adoption of resolution 2177 (2014),
which describes the disease as a threat to international
peace and security.

Recognizing the importance of human capital in
development work, my country welcomes efforts by
multilateral and bilateral actors to stem the epidemic.
We launch an urgent appeal to the bodies of the United
Nations system and to States to be more concerned
about the fate of our populations, in particular, those
in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, by supporting our
efforts to save the infected and prevent the spread of the
disease, which knows no boundaries.

I hope that the common values that we share and
affirm resonate well beyond the confines of diplomatic
negotiations and that daily find direct and clear
expression in places where peace, security and shared
prosperity are tangibly enjoyed.


Allow me
first to congratulate the President on his assumption
of the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
ninth session. I would also like to thank Mr. John
Ashe for his work during his presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. Our appreciation
also goes to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
annual report on the work of the Organization (A/69/1).

We meet today on the eve of the seventieth
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, to
which my country had the honour to contribute. That
milestone reminds us of the need to draw lessons and
explore the best ways to put an end to war and violence
and to mobilize international efforts to combat terrorism
and terrorists.

I wish to convey the concerns of my country,
Lebanon, which is at the crossroads of a turbulent
region. Today Lebanon is the target of a fierce terrorist
onslaught being perpetrated by obscurantist and criminal
groups. They have attacked many parts of Lebanon and
caused the loss of military and civilian lives, as well
as considerable material damage. Last month, terrorists
kidnapped a number of soldiers and security officers.
They took them hostage in order to bring pressure to
bear on and to blackmail the Lebanese authorities. They
brutally executed three of the detainees. Such crimes
have impeded the ongoing indirect negotiations that
my Government was conducting with the assistance of
friendly countries to secure the release of the soldiers.
I would like to underscore that compromise on our
firm beliefs is not an option. We remain focused on the
release of our soldiers, while preserving the sovereignty,
territorial integrity and security of our country.

In combating terrorism, the Lebanese people stand
united with its armed forces, which represent the main
pillar on which we depend to safeguard our national
sovereignty, security and peace. Our Government
continues to rally the necessary support for its forces
to be able to fulfil their duty. In that regard, Lebanon
values the generous donation of the Kingdom of Saudi
Arabia to support our armed forces. We also pay
tribute to the initiative of the Secretary-General, who
launched the International Support Group for Lebanon
last September here in New York city. We express our
satisfaction and reassurance over the outcomes of the
meetings held by the Support Group this year in Paris
and Rome.

The current international mobilization against
terror reflects the international community’s awareness
of the alarming situation in our region and the need
to extinguish the flames of violence and prevent the
spread of such attacks. Lebanon underscores the
need for regional and international cooperation to
fight terrorism. We welcome the Security Council
resolutions on the subject, in particular resolutions 2170
(2014) and 2178 (2014). Lebanon calls on its brothers
and friends around the world to safeguard and protect it
from regional power struggles.

Our fight against terrorism is not new. For years,
Lebanon has suffered under the threat posed by political
crimes, which have targeted many of its leaders, in
particular former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, and
prominent media figures and intellectuals. We continue
to follow the work of the Special Tribunal for Lebanon.
We look forward to the establishment of the truth in
order to put an end to impunity, enable justice to be
served and deter criminals.

The events unfolding in vast areas of Syria and Iraq
constitute human crimes that cannot be understood
or accepted by any intellect or faith. Perpetrated in
the name of Islam, such crimes have cost the lives of
tens of thousands of Muslim civilians and have caused
unprecedented waves of displaced people. In addition,
those crimes have destabilized national entities, divided
societies and destroyed human and material resources.

That terrorist onslaught targets religious groups
that since time immemorial have been an essential
component of the social fabric of the region and a
fundamental part of the social and cultural diversity
that has long characterized the eastern Mediterranean.
In the past few months, the entire world has witnessed
attacks against Christians and Yazidis in Iraq, their
forced expulsion and the destruction of their property
and holy sites. Lebanon considers attacks against
religions, their followers and sacred places to be an
offence against human dignity and a violation of the
freedom of religious belief and practice enshrined in
the Charter of the United Nations and the International
Bill of Human Rights, respect for which is guaranteed
by our Lebanese Constitution.

Lebanon is proud to be the only country in the
Arab and Islamic worlds where the President of the
Republic is a Christian citizen. That confirms that our
country, despite its political crises, has been a paragon
of diversity in the Middle East, an exceptional example
of coexistence and interaction among followers of
different religions and sects and a model totally opposed
to the notion of a racist State. I take this opportunity
to reiterate before the General Assembly the Lebanese
Government’s call for the election of a new Christian
President of the Republic as soon as possible.

The painful and worrisome war in Syria, which
has continued for more than four years, has driven
nearly 1.5 million displaced Syrians to Lebanon — a
number that is equivalent to one-third of the Lebanese
population. In order to fully understand the dimensions
of that situation, one would have to imagine 100 million
people flooding into the United States of America
and spreading out randomly through its cities, towns,
schools and parks, with their related urgent needs
and requirements, posing an unbearable burden at the
economic, humanitarian, social, educational, health
and security levels.

That huge number of displaced people weighs
heavily on the Lebanese infrastructure, which already
has structural problems. It puts pressure on the national
economy, where growth has dropped to almost 0 per
cent owing to the regional situation, which represents
a loss of $7.5 billion for Lebanon, according to World
Bank estimates. This reality constitutes a national
disaster for us. The problem of the displaced Syrians,
with all its serious economic, social and security
implications, is not — and should not be — a purely
Lebanese problem. It is a major regional crisis that we
put before the international community, which must
share that enormous burden with Lebanon. Such a
burden cannot be borne by any country alone, no matter
how large.

Lebanon reiterates its concern for the unity,
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of
Syria. In our Government policy statement, we have

reaffirmed our commitment to the policy of keeping
our distance in order to protect ourselves from the
repercussions of the crisis in the neighbouring country.

On the eighth anniversary of the adoption of Security
Council resolution 1701 (2006), Lebanon asserts its
commitment to implementing all of the resolution’s
provisions. We believe that it will strengthen stability
and security in southern Lebanon and contribute to
extending the State’s authority over its entire territory.
We renew our appeal to the international community
to compel Israel to fulfil all its obligations in that
regard, to stop violating Lebanese sovereignty from the
land, the sea and the air and to fully cooperate with
the United Nations peacekeeping forces of the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) in order to
demarcate what is left of the Blue Line and immediately
withdraw from the area north of Ghajar, the Sheba’a
Farms and the Kfar Shouba Hills.

We also wish to reaffirm Lebanon’s full rights to its
territorial waters and the natural oil and gas resources
within its exclusive economic zone. Lebanon cannot
fail to acknowledge the role of UNIFIL and the ongoing
cooperation and coordination between UNIFIL and
the Lebanese army. Lebanon would like to thank all
nations that contribute to the Force, the Force leaders
and the members of the Force for their dedication in
the service of the stability and security of civilians in
southern Lebanon.

Last month, the Gaza Strip was subjected to a new
Israeli aggression, which killed hundreds of civilians,
displaced more than a quarter of the population and
destroyed homes, hospitals and infrastructure. Lebanon,
which has paid dearly as a result of the repeated Israeli
attacks, calls for legal accountability for the war crimes
committed by Israel and for that country to be held
accountable for its actions in order to prevent impunity.

Lebanon believes that Israel is responsible for
frustrating all efforts to reach a peaceful settlement
based on the two-State solution. It stresses the need
for a just, comprehensive and lasting solution to the
conflict in the Middle East, based on Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), the Madrid terms
of reference for peace and the Arab Peace Initiative,
adopted at the Beirut summit in 2002.

Today, the Levant seems to be the stage for
dark and arbitrary tragedies, where the most recent
manifestations of human savagery are being played out.
Today, the Levant seems to be hostage to ignorance,
extremism and obscurantism, plunged into a hatred
arising from a distant past and guided by a fanaticism
and instincts that yield only bloodshed. However, that
troubled area was, is and will be home to many people
who, like all other human beings, have land, homes,
tales, dreams and a history. They are individuals who
are eager to live as free and equal citizens in free and
stable countries. They have sons and daughters who
seek better opportunities for engagement in the world
and a better place to live.

Humankind owes a debt to our Levant. We gave
humankind enlightenment when darkness, extremism
and ignorance were crippling the other side of the
world. We still have much to offer and to add to the
tremendous development of human progress and
creativity. The world must stop counting our dead. It
must meet its obligation and seek to establish peace in
that tormented part of the world — a peace that is based
on law, justice, respect for the sovereignty of nations
and the protection of their security and territorial
integrity, the safeguarding of the fundamental rights
of individuals and groups, including their right to enjoy
their wealth, and the protection of religious and ethnic
diversity.

We, the Lebanese people, both at home and in
every corner of the world, look to the United Nations
for assistance. At the same time, we are determined to
overcome the current crisis, as we have done so many
times before. We are confident that, together, we will
not allow any person, any circumstance or any party
to extinguish the beacons of freedom, democracy,
diversity, pluralism, knowledge and human rights in
Lebanon.