I am honoured by this
opportunity to address the General Assembly at its
sixty-third session. This great institution plays a vital
role in the development process of its members and
remains the global organization best situated to address
the world’s pressing needs and to help find solutions
for them. So, it is with pleasure that I use this occasion
to make the following remarks on a few challenging
issues of vital significance confronting Micronesia
today.
 I must first congratulate His Excellency
Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his election to the
presidency of the Assembly. He has my delegation’s
admiration and full support. In the same vein, I
commend the dedication and stewardship of Mr. Srgjan
Kerim, President of the Assembly at its sixty-second
session.
 I wish to offer my greetings to our able Secretary-
General and to express the best wishes of my
Government as he continues to lead the Organization
through the difficult challenges ahead.
 The General Assembly is meeting at a time of
unusual uncertainties surrounding the global economy.
The world financial situation and the double threat
posed by the fuel and food crises impose additional
strain on all of us and negatively impact our efforts to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
and our pursuit of sustainable development. The
security of our island countries remains under threat by
the effects of climate change.
 The fuel crisis is a major challenge to the
Members of this Organization. There are few countries
in this world that are left unscathed by the worldwide
fuel crises. Too often, I am afraid, those most affected
by the crisis are those Members of the United Nations
that can least afford an effective response. More often
than not, they are the small island developing States
that are also the most vulnerable Members of this
Organization.
 The developed countries may have room to
respond to the worsening energy crisis without
jeopardizing other development programmes. But for
us in Micronesia, we are painfully aware of the strong

08-51851 2

and adverse impacts on everything from government
operations to the effect on individual households and
families.
 In a very real sense, the lingering global energy
crisis has transformed the energy debate and
highlighted the world’s dependence on fossil fuel.
Power outages in our state centres have become a
regular phenomenon affecting our medical facilities,
schools, businesses and everyday government
operations, including services to our remote outer
islands, which are reachable only by ships. These
setbacks are the result of our inability to procure fuel at
a reasonable cost. While we recognize that fossil fuel
will, in the medium term, remain a necessity, the
current energy crisis strengthens Micronesia’s resolve
to call for the acceleration of the development of
technologies for renewable and affordable sources of
energy. Micronesia recognizes that special assistance
from the international community and financial
institutions in the area of renewable energy is
necessary to achieve this goal. We are grateful to our
friends that have over time generously extended
assistance to that end.
 The General Assembly, by its own resolutions,
recognizes everyone’s right to food. On a global scale,
that right is being threatened as the world faces a
severe food crisis. Already, the cost of imported
foodstuffs has increased considerably, and my
Government and people are thus faced with yet another
development challenge — one that has already been
exacerbated by the energy crisis. The cost of rice, one
of the main imported foodstuffs, which has become a
main staple in my people’s diet, is no longer
affordable. My Government, in responding to the food
crisis, has encouraged the people to increase the local
production of our own crops. But that cannot be
achieved without the support and cooperation of our
development partners and the United Nations system.
 The nexus between food security and climate
change cannot be overlooked. In Micronesia, farmlands
and inhabitants occupy the low-lying fringes and
islands barely a few metres above sea level. Taro
patches, which provided the main staple of our people
for centuries, are now under threat by sea level rise.
Already, many islands have experienced inundation of
their taro patches and fields of other food crops by salt
water, resulting in decreased crop production.
 Of equal importance to our self-sufficiency and in
meeting some of our nutritional needs is the bounty of
our ocean. The ocean is of fundamental importance to
Micronesia, as we rely heavily on it. The ocean
sustains us, and its resources enrich us. At a time when
the world food market is deeply affected by the food
crisis, Micronesians are increasingly dependent on the
bounty of the sea to provide for their food and for their
economic development. It is therefore of paramount
importance that we continue to conserve and manage
sustainably the use of our marine and fisheries
resources. But collateral catches and discards in
commercial fisheries remain a concern to us. For
Micronesians, these are critical resources that are of
cultural importance, and our people depend upon them
for their subsistence living. The international
community must help us find ways to minimize and
eliminate this wasteful use of resources.
 Equally damaging to fish stocks is the incidence
of illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing.
This practice continues to deprive our people of their
food resources, while the illegal operators continue to
reap and enjoy the rewards from this activity without
any accountability. The major consumer and market
outlets must reduce this illegal activity if we are to
effectively eliminate this abhorrent and unsustainable
practice.
 The world’s financial turbulence, as evidenced by
the current delicate situation in the host country, is
another matter of concern. While the situation
emanates from the bigger economies, all of us are at
risk, as we are all part of the globalized economy. We
encourage the developed countries not to use this as a
convenient excuse to reverse their gains in reaching the
agreed target of 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic
product for official development assistance.
 My delegation is encouraged by the spirit and
determination of the Members of the United Nations to
bring Security Council reform a step closer to reality.
Our task remains difficult, but we are encouraged by
the recent decision of the General Assembly and look
forward to the beginning of the process of
intergovernmental negotiations. Among other things,
we reiterate our support for the expansion of both
membership categories and reaffirm our long-standing
view that Japan and India, from the Asian Group,
should become permanent members of a reformed
Security Council. We also renew our support for
Germany, from Western Europe.

3 08-51851

 In the attainment of the international
development goals, there is no single issue that
presents such an enormous challenge to small island
developing States, such as the Federated States of
Micronesia, than that of climate change. Micronesia is
especially concerned about climate change and the
grave threat of sea-level rise, which can literally wash
away our islands and culture. Three recent articles have
been published in the prestigious science journal
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences,
addressing the tipping points for abrupt climate
change, including sea-level rise.
 A tipping point is a point of no return beyond
which an element of the climate system abruptly tips
into a new state, with a profound impact on the planet.
Examples include tipping points for the melting of
glaciers and snow pack from the Tibetan Plateau — the
headwaters of most of the rivers in Asia — and the
disintegration of the Greenland and West Antarctica ice
sheets, which will cause metres of sea-level rise.
 The news is startling. Simply put, it means that
the planet is in peril — and the islands and low-lying
States are, of course, in peril. But we cannot afford to
be paralysed. We must undertake an aggressive
programme of fast-track mitigation strategies, starting
with those that are already justified by their strong
co-benefits. This includes the strategy Micronesia
promoted last year and again this year to strengthen the
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer. Our strategy can play a strong role in
protecting the climate system as well as the
stratospheric ozone layer.
 Let me make one final suggestion. Tipping points
for abrupt climate change have been called the shadow
that haunts climate negotiations. This issue is a shadow
because it has never been squarely addressed by the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
 The global debate on climate change is
predominantly framed from a sustainable development
perspective. We could not agree more with that focus.
But Micronesia is convinced that, while sustainable
development is of paramount importance, we must also
be assured of our security and our territorial integrity.
We must approach climate change from a holistic
perspective rather than limiting it to the dimensions of
sustainable development, to humanitarian or technical
issues, or to economic or environmental issues.
Climate change also has an impact on our human
rights. It has an impact on international peace and on
our own security and territorial integrity, and on our
very existence as inhabitants of very small and
vulnerable island nations.
 Experts have warned that climate change is also a
threat to international peace and security. Yet, instead
of addressing the issue squarely, the United Nations
seems to be more concerned about turf and
encroachment, as if it were wrong to admit that
territorial integrity, national stability and security
might be threatened by the impact of climate change,
and that human conflicts might also arise as a direct or
indirect result of climate change. Just as the IPCC
reports, the Stern Review report and the 2007 Human
Development Report inform the negotiations in the
context of the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, a report analysing the potential
impact of climate change on international peace and
security should provide additional reasons for urgent
and adequate climate change mitigation actions.
 Our future — our environment — is at stake. Our
culture and our human rights are at stake. But we must
not lose hope, because the entire world is represented
here. The time to act is now, not later.


On behalf of the Government and people of the
Dominican Republic, I am pleased to extend our
warmest congratulations to the President of the General
Assembly, Father Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of the
sister Republic of Nicaragua, on his recent election. We
also take this opportunity to greet our fellow Member
States in this General Assembly.
 Eight years ago, in this same place,
representatives of 189 countries undertook a crucial
commitment, possibly one of the most transcendental
commitments that such a large number of nations ever
made. They agreed on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). In the year 2000, it was believed —
and this is still the case today — that the objectives
established at that time would go down in the common
history of humankind as the bravest ethical decision
ever taken in the face of extreme poverty, the shame of
generalized injustice and the heartbreaking tragedy of
social inequity. It was an agenda of work and
dedication that required a large dose of political will,
actions laid out in conformity with the goals to be
reached, a reorganization of budgetary priorities and a

21 08-51749

greater flow of aid resources and support for
development.
 We did not undertake the Millennium
Development Goals in vague terms. We did not couch
the Millennium Declaration in abstract and
grandiloquent concepts lacking in substance. Quite the
contrary, we analysed with the greatest possible rigour
the situation that we wanted to correct. We measured
with mathematical precision its overwhelming scope
and the magnitude of the political and financial effort
that its reversal would require.
 We committed to the MDGs with such supreme
responsibility that we even set a date for their
achievement: the year 2015. Now we are halfway to
that date, and we face the disheartening situation of an
international landscape full of obstacles to overcome if
we are to conclude what we set out to do in the year
2000. We knew there would be difficulties. We
recognized that we would have to overcome immense
obstacles, and we had identified every type of major
challenge that would await us in the quest to carry out
our plans.
 In the Dominican Republic, we have been able to
achieve some progress towards the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals. Since 1991, we have
reduced by more than half the percentage of five-year-
old children who are underweight for their age. We
have also made progress in achieving our goals related
to health development and have the spread of
HIV/AIDS under control.
 However, we now know that over and above the
limited progress achieved, not just by the Dominican
Republic but by developing countries on all continents,
more than half a million women still die every year
from complications of pregnancy and childbirth that
could be treated and prevented. We now know that,
unless an extraordinary effort is made from now on,
instead of reaching the goal of reducing by half the
proportion of children of low birth weight, their
number will grow to over 30 million. We also know
that in 2006, the number of deaths caused by AIDS
rose to almost 3 million and that the preventive
measures against that ominous pandemic remain
grossly insufficient. Also disheartening is the fact that
more than 600 million people will not have better
health services than the ones they currently have access
to.
 Now, at the same time that this is occurring, the
richest nations, which committed to providing
extraordinary official development assistance in order
to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, have in
general fallen short in carrying out their pledges. Only
five of those nations — Norway, Sweden, the
Netherlands, Denmark and Luxembourg — have
honoured their commitments, making contributions
equal to and in some cases greater than the 0.7 per cent
of their gross national income established as
appropriate by this world Organization.
 Nonetheless, we can be sure that, in order to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals, we will
now require a financial rescue plan from the
international community — in a sort of bailout, as it is
referred to nowadays. According to studies by the
World Bank, a yearly average of approximately
$50 billion in foreign aid would be needed to achieve
the Millennium Development Goals. That is to say that
achieving the goals of improving the quality of life and
dignity in the living conditions of the poorest nations
of the world would require an international economic
financing plan as bold and as urgent as that currently
being undertaken to save Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae,
Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, AIG and other financial
institutions. In other words, over the next seven years,
until 2015, the date established for the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals, according to the
criteria of the World Bank, we would need $350 billion
of foreign aid. That represents half of the amount that
is being debated at this very moment in the United
States Congress to save from bankruptcy the financial
businesses of Wall Street responsible for their own
failures.
 The people of the world affected by hunger and
misery are crying out to the international community to
lend the same urgent attention to the resolution of their
plight that has been given to efforts to rescue banking
institutions on the brink of collapse. We cannot
entertain the idea that rescuing the dignity of the
world’s poor is less important or urgent as rescuing the
institutions operating in the world’s most important
financial centre.
 We would like it to be clear that we have not
come here to condemn anyone. We have not come to
point a finger at any friendly nation that is a Member
of the United Nations family. Rather, we wish to sound
the alarm and be a voice that troubles the conscience
and calls for a solution to a problem that affects all

08-51749 22

poor nations and is socially unjust and ethically
unacceptable.
 We would like to use this forum, however, to
highlight other factors that hinder the achievement of
the Millennium Development Goals and the progress of
our nations. Such is the case, for example, of the
unregulated speculation in the buying and selling of
futures contracts for oil and food. There is no way to
hide the fact that, without regulation, the futures
markets are mechanisms that lend themselves through
excessive speculation, fraud and manipulation to a
distortion of the fundamental principles of economic
activity. We do not question the fact that, with respect
to the determination of oil prices, supply has not
increased significantly while demand has increased;
that there has been insufficient investment in new
refineries in recent years; that there are geopolitical
tensions in various parts of the world, or that the
United States dollar has decreased in value. All of that
is true.
 What we do question, however, is the fact, that in
just 12 months, the price of a barrel of oil rose from
$70 to almost $150. In July, we were stupefied to see
the price of a barrel of oil rise $10 in a single day. Just
two days ago, while we were here in New York, we
saw with great perplexity an increase of not just
$10 but $25 per barrel in a single day. How can we
explain that? Is it that suddenly, in just one day, the
whole world increased its demand so abruptly, or did
the world’s oil wells unexpectedly disappear?
 In reality, there is but one explanation: excessive
speculation in the futures markets. It is
incomprehensible that some can sell something they do
not have while others can buy what they do not expect
to receive. However, that is what has been happening
recently, in the clearest example of so-called casino
capitalism.
 In just five years, hundreds of billions of dollars
have entered the commodities futures markets, largely
directed towards energy, while prices shot up by more
than 200 per cent between July 2003 and July 2008.
That has occurred not just with a few commodities, but
with every single one of the 25 products on the world
market index for commodities. In the past five years,
the price of wheat has gone up by 177 per cent, soy by
196 per cent and corn by 214 per cent.
 Nevertheless, we must reiterate here that what
has the greatest impact on the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals is skyrocketing oil
prices. In the Dominican Republic, our oil bill has
risen from $1.667 billion in 2004 to a projected
$6.5 billion this year. That represents a difference of
almost 500 per cent. With that difference of $5 billion,
the Dominican Republic could have financed every
public investment laid out in the cost analyses of the
Millennium Development Goals from 2008 to 2015.
 The world does not aspire to be a gambling den.
The world does not want continuous manipulation or
permanent fraud in regard to factors that have a
decisive effect on the quality of life. The world, in fact,
has very simple aspirations: to live in conditions of
social justice and equity, with the creation of
opportunities so that every human being can develop
his or her creative potential, both material and
spiritual.
 For the achievement of such noble objectives, the
States that have committed themselves to realizing the
MDGs as an agenda of true and genuine social
transformation turn to the United Nations system with
optimism and hope that it can correct and make up for
existing distortions.
 We trust that with so many intelligent persons
meeting here, working towards a better life for all of
humankind, important solutions will be brought to the
table with the same speed, urgency and interest that are
being shown in drawing up rescue plans for bankrupt
banks during these turbulent times in the world of
finance.


I should like to begin by
congratulating you, Sir, on your election to the
presidency and wishing you every success in the
months ahead. I pledge my country’s fullest
cooperation and support in the discharge of your duties
and responsibilities. I must also extend my sincere
appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
effective leadership in promoting global peace, security
and development.
 Last year, this Assembly declared and honoured
the opening of Ethiopia’s third millennium. We
appreciate that honour. It provided a tangible
foundation for the renaissance of Ethiopia, most
recently symbolized by the re-erection of the Obelisk
of Axum, brought back from Italy to the land of its
origin, where it was carved 17 centuries ago. We are
grateful to the Italian Government for that right and
bold decision.
 A central element of our millennium celebrations
has been the initiation of numerous development
activities for the war on poverty and our commitment
to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
As the Secretary-General has noted, progress towards
the MDGs in Africa has been uneven. It is indeed
alarming that no country is likely to reach all the
MDGs by 2015. We are at the moment at the midway
mark and we all recognize that we are behind schedule.
We hope that the high-level event on the MDGs has

5 08-53141

achieved its objective of creating global awareness and
renewed commitment, with particular focus on Africa.
 I concur with the Secretary-General that we are
facing a development emergency. In that regard,
decisive and timely action must be taken by developed
and developing countries alike to live up to their
commitments to the Millennium Development Goals.
Food insecurity could undermine core democratic
values and ruin national development efforts.
Governments should therefore take the lead and work
together in the economic sector to resolve the current
global food crisis.
 The Monterrey Consensus on financing for
development, integrating aid, debt relief, market
access, good governance and foreign direct investment
is a litmus test for the success of global partnerships.
We call on the developed countries to honour their
commitment to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross
national income to overseas development assistance.
 The Millennium Development Goals provide the
critical minimum for our survival as a nation and the
basis for the profound transformation in which we are
currently engaged. Ethiopia’s priorities remain the
eradication of poverty, sustainable development and
ensuring good governance, democracy and respect for
human rights. Those are not a choice, but a necessity
for our survival as a nation. We have laid the
foundations for continued growth and democratization,
building democratic institutions from the grass roots
and providing the necessary political space for
responsible democratization.
 Our average of 10 per cent growth over the last
five years is continuing despite the setbacks of recent
months. We continue protecting poverty-targeted
outlays and increasing capital expenditure on
infrastructure, education, health and pro-poor sectors.
For the first time in its history, Ethiopia is making real
and meaningful economic progress. It is the fastest
growing non-oil economy in Africa.
 Ethiopia is both landlocked and one of the least
developed countries. Accordingly, we attach great
importance to the full implementation of both the
Brussels and the Almaty Programmes of Action. While
we appreciate all external assistance, we are equally
conscious of the need for predictable, strong and
enduring partnerships for mutual benefit. We need
economic relations that no longer penalize poor
countries and ones that provide greater flexibility in
development aid, the transfer of capital and the
removal of excessive indebtedness.
 The objectives of the Millennium Development
Goals make it clear that global affluence and welfare
are inseparable and that prosperity cannot coexist with
abject poverty. In the context of the present world
trading system, we urge realistic preferential terms of
trade, especially to least developed countries, including
quota- and duty-free market access for all their goods
and services.
 Ethiopia has consistently helped to promote peace
and stability in our region. We have no doubt that
sustainable development will be possible only with
durable peace and security. Those form the very
foundation of our subregional organization, the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
As the current Chair of IGAD, Ethiopia is determined
to ensure that its revitalization will become a reality,
enhance regional integration and promote peace,
security and development.
 We know the dangers of continued conflict in our
region. That is indeed why we have committed
ourselves to peace in Somalia ever since we helped
organize the first broad-based peace conference in
1992. We have consistently supported all efforts to
bring about an effective Government in that country. In
that regard, we are encouraged by the latest positive
political developments in Somalia. The Djibouti
Agreement and the Addis Ababa road map open the
way for further progress in the peace process. We now
look forward to the planned IGAD summit in Nairobi
early next month to help Somalia’s leaders do more for
national reconciliation.
 At the same time, we urge the Security Council to
discharge its responsibility by deploying a
peacekeeping mission to Somalia as soon as possible or
at least by allocating the necessary resources to
strengthen the African Union Mission to Somalia
(AMISOM). We commend the deployment of troops
from Uganda and Burundi to AMISOM. It is never too
late for others to follow their example.
 Ethiopia appreciates the progress made in the
implementation of the Comprehensive Peace
Agreement in the Sudan. We urge the parties to do
more in overcoming the challenges facing them.
However, we must emphasize that the international
community should also bear its shared responsibility in
that regard. Ethiopia fully supports the African Union

08-53141 6

position on Darfur and the handling of the International
Criminal Court-Sudan issue.
 Ethiopia stands firmly committed to resolving all
outstanding issues with Eritrea through peaceful,
political, legal and diplomatic means.
 Terrorism is a scourge that impedes peace and
development in any part of the world. As its occurrence
in any form threatens global security as a whole,
Ethiopia believes that it should be addressed
collectively. In that regard, we attach great significance
to the ability of dialogue among civilizations to build a
culture of tolerance that will enable us to create closer
understanding among nations — all nations.
 Ethiopia remains committed to the United
Nations reform process and its revitalization. They are
critical to the credibility of the United Nations and the
future of multilateralism. As a founding Member of the
United Nations, Ethiopia will always remain loyal to
its purpose and principles.
 The United Nations is the custodian of
multilateral diplomacy. At no time since the Second
World War have multilateralism and genuine
cooperation been as critical as they are today. That is
why we need the United Nations as never before. It is a
body that remains vital to the future of us all,
developing and developed countries alike.


Allow me at the outset, Sir, to express my
country’s heartfelt congratulations to you on your
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at
its sixty-third session. We are confident that your
experience and wisdom will crown our work with
success and will result in further progress on the many
important issues on the Assembly’s agenda.
 I would like also to express my appreciation to
your predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for the efforts he
made during his presidency of the General Assembly at
its previous session. Our thanks go also to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his persistent
efforts to implement United Nations resolutions and
realize the purposes of the Charter.
 Humanity faces many problems and serious
challenges, which, no matter how great, would not be
impossible to resolve if we evinced the necessary
political will and made concerted efforts to overcome
them. My country recognizes that peace, security and
stability constitute the cornerstone of progress and
development, especially in Africa. It has therefore
made all possible efforts to resolve disputes in Africa,
as was the case in Chad, the Central African Republic
and the Sudan. My country has also contributed, along
with other African countries and pursuant to
resolutions of the African Union Peace and Security
Council, towards putting an end to the insurgency in
the island of Anjouan in the Union of the Comoros.
 United Nations reform remains a matter of
primary importance to the international community.
Reform has indeed become a necessity dictated by the
current dynamics in the international arena. However,
while we commend the efforts of the Open-ended
Working Group on Security Council Reform, which
was chaired by the President of the General Assembly
during its previous session, we feel that the process has
been extremely slow because of broad differences
between the various groups. Nonetheless, we welcome
the consensus reached on the recommendations of the
Open-ended Working Group at the end of the sixty-
second session (decision 62/557). However, we believe
that genuine United Nations reform is reform which
places decision-making power in the hands of the
General Assembly, the world parliament, while
transforming the Security Council into an executive
body that enforces the Assembly’s decisions. We can
thus surmount the veto obstacle which has
concentrated international decision-making power in
the five permanent members of the Council.
 My country therefore calls for the convening of a
high-level General Assembly meeting on United
Nations reform, to be held in a European country so
that all world leaders can attend. In that context, we
wish to emphasize that Africa, which is the only
continent with no permanent representation on the
Security Council despite the fact that it represents more

33 08-53135

than one fourth of the total membership of the United
Nations, deserves permanent membership on an equal
footing with other geographical regions. That
representation should be given to the African Union
rather than to any one of its members.
 We have reached the midpoint of the period set
for the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals. We express our concern regarding the inability
of many developing countries and least developed
countries, especially in Africa, to achieve the Goals,
we affirm that it is imperative for the international
community to fulfil its commitments in the field of
development assistance, address problems related to
the international trade system, make the World Trade
Organization more effective, and facilitate the
accession to membership of that organization by
developing countries.
 In that regard, we welcomed the convening of the
high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly on
22 September 2008, on the theme of Africa’s
development needs. We support the political
declaration adopted at the meeting (resolution 63/1).
We also welcomed the high-level event on the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), held on
25 September 2008. Furthermore, we look forward to
the international follow-up conference on financing for
development to review the implementation of the
Monterrey Consensus, to be held in Doha and we hope
that the Conference will achieve its desired goals.
 In that context, my country has contributed to the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
through its proposed “Qadhafi Road” across the desert,
which will connect the northern parts of the African
continent with the western and southern parts. It will
be an important artery that will enhance trade among
the continent’s countries.
 Corruption, bribery, money-laundering and the
smuggling of funds from illegal sources are among the
major factors which hamper development and the
achievement of the MDGs in developing countries,
especially in Africa. Huge damage is inflicted on
developing countries as a result of the smuggling of
funds across borders, which deprives those countries of
the benefits of those funds, which are deposited in
foreign banks. As the General Assembly has
emphasized in its decisions, those funds should be
returned to countries of origin. I must also note that
there are safe havens that have always been associated
with banking confidentiality, to the point where they
have become known as corridors for criminal money-
laundering and safe havens for stolen funds and
plundered wealth.
 It is no longer acceptable to remain silent on
those safe havens, whose financial institutions provide
protection for money generated from corruption and
crime. Those funds are often used by terrorist groups
and organized crime gangs to threaten the security and
stability of States.
 My country was among the first States to
highlight the food crisis. The High-Level Conference
on Food Security, held in Rome in June, was a
responsible response from world leaders to the food
crisis and the unprecedented increases in the prices of
food, basic commodities and energy. I would like in
that respect to thank the Secretary-General of the
United Nations and the Director-General of the Food
and Agriculture Organization for their efforts in that
field.
 To confront that problem, my country has
adopted development projects and programmes which
aim to achieve food security through improved
investment in the agricultural sector and through
support for farmers. In the African sphere, my country
has allocated $5 billion to finance several development
projects in order to achieve food security in a number
of Sahelo-Saharan African States. It is also in the
process of financing seven additional projects in
African countries.
 The food crisis has been a topic of personal
concern for our brother Muammar al-Qadhafi, the
Leader of the Revolution, who in June, at the tenth
session of the summit conference of the Community of
Sahelo-Saharan States, held in Benin, presented his
initiative for the provision of food and the mitigation
of the hunger crisis in Africa. The initiative is based on
the establishment of a self-sustaining mechanism and
the harnessing of modern machinery and technology to
reclaim lands and farm vast areas in Africa, through the
launching of a green campaign. The campaign will
make it possible to farm vast areas of land in the
Sahelo-Saharan States by mechanized means instead of
traditional methods.
 Developed countries can help Africa find a
solution to the food crisis by increasing agricultural
development assistance and investment in projects such
as hydroelectric dams and development projects in lake

08-53135 34

areas, such as Lake Chad. Such investments will make
a great contribution to agricultural development on the
African continent.
 Climate change and its negative impact will
hamper the development efforts of many developing
countries and will undermine their development gains.
Libya is among the States affected by climate change,
as it is located in an arid/semi-arid geographical area,
and most of its territory is desert. Libya also suffers
from desertification and water scarcity. Libya has made
persistent efforts to address these challenges, including
through the Great Man-Made River Project network,
which is intended to overcome the problems of
desertification and drought.
 Confronting climate change requires an effective
and well coordinated international effort, based on the
principle of common but differentiated responsibility
agreed upon in the Rio Conference. From that
perspective, we call for accelerated efforts to reach a
comprehensive international agreement to address the
root causes of climate change and to provide
adaptation measures to developing countries.
 We believe in the purposes of the United Nations
Charter, which calls for the establishment of a world in
which peace and security prevail. The elimination of
weapons of mass destruction is an essential factor in
building confidence and promoting world peace,
stability and security, and my country has voluntarily
relinquished all its programmes to develop
internationally prohibited weapons of mass destruction,
while emphasizing the right to use atomic energy for
peaceful purposes. But we strongly oppose the use of
double standards on the issue of nuclear
non-proliferation. We condemn any discrimination
between one State and another in this respect and call
for making the Middle East a region free from all
weapons of mass destruction.
 The Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines
should be reviewed to reflect the concerns of many
countries, such as requiring States that lay landmines to
remove them and to address the inflicted damage,
including by providing treatment and compensation for
the injured and by rehabilitating the damaged
environment.
 Terrorism remains a matter of concern for all
members of the international community. Despite all
the measures taken to combat terrorism, thanks to
international cooperation under the United Nations
umbrella, this issue still poses a challenge to the
international community and is an obstacle to the
achievement of development, security and stability in
many parts of the world.
 Eradicating this phenomenon requires the
adoption of a specific definition of terrorism. Terrorism
must not be confused with the legitimate right of
peoples to resist foreign occupation and claim their
right to freedom, independence and self-determination.
Furthermore, associating terrorism with any specific
religion, nationality or culture is bound to inflame
conflict among civilizations, religions and cultures.
Such a situation is untenable and is incompatible with
the goal of international relations based on mutual
respect among States, cultures and systems of
government. In this regard, we wish to point out that
policies and practices of foreign occupation based on
violations of human rights guaranteed by all
international instruments and conventions constitute
one of the worst forms of terrorism in our modern
world.
 The United Nations Convention relating to the
Status of Refugees, adopted in 1951, provides an ideal
definition of refugee status, in addition to the definition
included in the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. It is therefore regrettable that some States use
this concept to camouflage their intentions regarding
other States. Under the pretext of fostering democracy
and respect for human rights, which is a noble goal,
those countries have opened the door of political
asylum to all seekers, including thieves, smugglers of
their countries’ wealth, fugitives from prosecution and
terrorists, enabling them to continue their subversive
activities against their home countries. My country
believes that it is of paramount importance to establish
international criteria and controls governing political
asylum, while carefully observing human rights. We
also believe that such criteria and controls would have
a positive impact on the fight against corruption and
terrorism while promoting democracy and preventing
armed conflict.
 The Palestinian people are still suffering under
the Israeli occupation, which has lasted for more than
60 years, subjecting Palestinians to the worst forms of
occupation and destruction directed against civilians.
The achievement of peace and stability in the area is
impeded by the unjust siege imposed by the Israeli
occupation forces on 1.5 million Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip and the continuation of settlement activities

35 08-53135

on occupied Palestinian territory, ignoring and
deliberately breaching the principles of international
humanitarian law and the principles of human rights,
coupled with policies of home demolition, land
confiscation, the displacement of populations and the
intensification of arrests.
 Indeed, peace and stability in the area can only be
attained through the return of all Palestinian refugees
to their homeland and the establishment of a
democratic State on the land of Palestine in which
Arabs and Jews can live, enjoying full rights and
obligations, as our brother, the Leader of the
Revolution, proposed in his recent book.
 My country has always emphasized that there can
be no comprehensive peace in the Middle East unless
the Israeli occupation of the Syrian Golan and the
Lebanese territories is ended. In this framework, we
reiterate our call to the international community to
demand and enforce the withdrawal of Israeli
occupation forces from all occupied Arab lands and to
ensure that their rightful owners are compensated for
damages suffered as a consequence of that occupation.
 My country welcomes the tangible improvement
in the security situation in Iraq and believes that
stability in that fraternal country depends on the
achievement of genuine national reconciliation which
would overcome sectarian and religious differences
and lead to the withdrawal of foreign forces.
 We express our deep concern at the situation in
Somalia. My country is of the opinion that the
international community should expeditiously dispatch
forces to that country, in coordination with the African
Union, to protect civilians and humanitarian workers
and to assist in the implementation of the Djibouti
Agreement, in order to put an end to the long suffering
of the Somali people.


It is my
great pleasure, Sir, to convey to you the heartfelt
congratulations of the delegation of Mali upon your
election to the presidency of the sixty-third session of
the General Assembly, and to assure you of our full
support. I should like also to hail Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for his devotion and commitment to our
Organization.
 The sixty-third session of the General Assembly
is opening with the timely theme of the impact of the
global food crisis on poverty and hunger throughout
the world. Indeed, it takes place in a difficult
international context, one marked by the conjunction of
food and energy crises. This situation is of concern to
my delegation, as it is a potential source of generalized
social and political instability.
 What can we do? In Mali, we have granted the
highest priority to the fight against poverty and the
high cost of living. In this respect, the Government has
undertaken a series of measures to stem the effects of
the present crisis through, inter alia, a temporary
suspension of import duties and taxes on basic
foodstuffs, such as rice, wheat flour, oil and milk, as
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11 08-53122

well as subsidizing gas, hydrocarbons and agricultural
inputs.
 My country, Mali, is firmly determined to achieve
food self-sufficiency and to become, in the medium
term, an agricultural Power. To that end, we have made
agriculture the principal tool to attain accelerated
growth. Accordingly, an agricultural framework law
has been adopted, and its progressive implementation
has included the following measures.
 First and foremost, the new law contains a
measure to launch the rice initiative, which was
designed as a proactive and structural response to the
dizzying increase in price of grain products on global
markets. Next, the law includes the setting up of a
national agricultural development fund and a fund for
emergencies and disasters. It also involves the setting
up of land commissions and a programme to develop
low-lying lands within the framework of local
irrigation works. Finally, it involves the setting up of a
high council for agriculture. In addition, we will soon
adopt guidelines for the marketing of grain products,
including rice, and a mechanism for supplying
agricultural inputs.
 Along these same lines, the Government of Mali
has prepared and implemented a national strategy to
fight poverty, a strategic framework for fighting
poverty and a strategic framework for growth and
poverty reduction for the period 2007-2011.
 In addition, our Social and Economic
Development Project has been conceived by the
President of the Republic, Mr. Amadou Toumani Touré.
It should enable Mali to increase its production and
fairly share the fruits of growth, invest in the future
and build a State of good governance and the rule of
law.
 The fight against corruption is another aspect of
this overall project. The national convention that will
be organized to address this issue in October 2008
should enable the Malian nation to seek through broad
consultation a comprehensive understanding of the
phenomenon in order to define a plan of action against
the scourge.
 Seeking to promote transparent and effective
management of its public finances, Mali, which has
joined the African Union’s African Peer Review
Mechanism, has submitted its governance to that
evaluation process. This exercise, which will be
concluded in January 2009, will take stock of the
situation, including in the field of political governance,
business governance and governance of socio-
economic development. It will result in
recommendations for improvements in those areas.
 In the same vein, the human rights situation in
Mali has been considered within the framework of the
new universal periodic review mechanism set up within
the context of the Human Rights Council. From this
rostrum, laden as it is with symbolism, I would like to
reiterate the commitment of the Government of Mali to
take concrete action on the relevant recommendations
that we are committed to following at the outcome of
this process.
 Mali remains convinced that the prevention and
peaceful settlement of conflicts is the best possible
guarantee of international peace and security. Backed
by that belief, my country firmly made the choice of
dialogue aimed at finding a lasting solution to the
situation of insecurity that has prevailed in the north-
east of our country. In this respect, the Algiers peace
agreement of 4 July 2006 remains relevant, as it
preserves our territorial integrity and our national
unity, by enabling the various strands of the Malian
nation to fully participate in the national construction
endeavour.
 Aware that security in the Sahelo-Saharan region
is closely linked to that of States and peoples sharing
the space and that conflicts affecting one country can
rapidly spread throughout the region, the Government
of Mali, in October 2008, will organize in Bamako a
conference on peace, security and development in the
Sahelo-Saharan region.
 The conference will provide a useful opportunity
for the States of the region to jointly reaffirm our
commitment to turn our shared space into a zone of
peace and security, a centre of stability, growth and
development. It will also provide us with responses
adapted to the problems and challenges we face:
insecurity, transborder banditry, terrorism and
trafficking of all types, including trafficking in drugs,
arms and human beings.
 Here, Mali considers that it is the duty of the
international community to take vigorous action to
maintain and build international peace and security. In
this respect, we welcome and encourage progress
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08-53122 12

achieved in the resolution of conflicts and crises that
rack the African continent, including those in Côte
d’Ivoire, the Sudan, Somalia and the Great Lakes
region.
 Mali calls for the resumption of the negotiating
process in the Middle East and reaffirms its
unswerving support for the creation of a sovereign and
independent Palestinian State.
 There are many other serious challenges facing
the international community to which we will have to
respond appropriately to build a better world together.
First and foremost, there is the problem of climate
change. Today more than ever before, the very survival
of our planet is threatened by climate change, which
has a serious impact on living conditions in developing
countries such as mine through, inter alia,
desertification, the silting up of rivers, the deterioration
of the environment, a reduction of the length of the
winter periods, floods and poor rainfall patterns. We
should, therefore, urgently undertake measures which
are commensurate with the pressing nature of the
problem. In this respect, the conclusions of the high-
level event on climate change in 2007 and those of the
Bali Climate Change Conference in the same year are
still relevant and are worthy of being implemented in a
diligent way. Mali, which is a party to the Kyoto
Protocol, is eager to make a useful contribution to the
fifteenth United Nations Climate Change Conference,
to be held in Copenhagen in December 2009.
 The second major challenge to which we must
devote particular attention is the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
which poses one of the most serious threats to
sustainable development. We must redouble our efforts
and our resolve to implement the 2001 Declaration of
Commitment, as well as the outcomes of the high-level
meetings on AIDS and the seventeenth International
AIDS Conference, held in Mexico last August. All of
these forums have highlighted the severity of the
situation and stressed the urgent need to act and to
mobilize resources to fight the pandemic.
 The third significant challenge for the
international community is the situation of landlocked
developing countries, which, as a result of their
isolation and their great distance from the world’s main
markets, are confronted with serious handicaps. I
congratulate the Secretary-General for having taken the
initiative to convene, following the general debate, a
high-level plenary meeting devoted to the midterm
review of the Almaty Programme of Action. Mali will
actively participate in that meeting and will work to
ensure that leads to operational conclusions that can
contribute to the comprehensive, rapid, and effective
implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action.
 The fourth challenge is institutional reform of the
United Nations. This issue remains important as the
continuation of the establishment of the Peacebuilding
Commission and the Human Rights Council and of the
strengthening the Economic and Social Council. Thus,
the expansion of the Security Council is clearly a
pressing necessity, particularly to redress the historic
injustice committed against Africa, namely, that it does
not have a permanent seat. That is something which is
underscored in the joint African position on the issue.
 All these challenges which we currently face
require a collective global response. Only a reformed
and democratized United Nations may serve as a
genuine crucible for universal collective conscience
capable of best discharging its primary mission,
namely, to save succeeding generations from the
scourge of war and destruction. Mali will do its full
part in this fight.


At
the outset, Sir, I should like to warmly congratulate
you on your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session, which undeniably
reflects the high esteem that the international
community has for your country of Nicaragua, which is
a friend of Niger. Your election is also the well-
deserved culmination of an exemplary diplomatic and
political career. The length and breadth of your
experience makes you the right person to carry out the
demanding and noble task entrusted to you. Allow me
to assure you of my delegation’s commitment to
extending to you our constant support during your time
in office. Niger is particularly honoured to be working
side by side with you as a Vice-President of the
Assembly for the sixty-third session.
 May I also pay tribute to your predecessor,
Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for the exemplary manner in which
he led the sixty-second session and, in particular, for
having grappled with the burning issues of the day,
including the food and energy crises and climate
change. With regard to His Excellency Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon, I should like to express our full
appreciation for the significant progress on
fundamental issues made by the Organization under his
guidance.
 The subject you have chosen, Mr. President, as
the central theme of the general debate during this
session is highly relevant. For several months and to
varying degrees, all members of the international
community have been affected by the overall rise in
food prices. That crisis has gripped the attention of
every international body. Mr. Olivier de Schutter,
Special Rapporteur on the right to food, was far-
sighted in sounding an alarm during a press conference
held here at the United Nations in which he identified
the initial structural causes and called for international
action. Aware of the urgency of the situation, the
Secretary-General set up the High-Level Task Force on
the Global Food Security Crisis in order to provide a
comprehensive and unified respond, support
Governments and peoples affected and adopt a
Comprehensive Framework for Action to meet the
challenges.
 The Government of Niger would like to
congratulate the Secretary-General on his initiatives.
We would also like to warmly congratulate his Task
Force for their work and for taking into consideration
the numerous efforts and views on this issue. The
challenge now is to implement the recommendations in
order to save entire groups of people in the world’s
most vulnerable countries from the tragedy of hunger.
 For its part, Niger has taken major specific
measures to address the sharp rise in the cost of basic
foodstuffs in order to mitigate the effects on the living
conditions of the most vulnerable people.
 However, in a country facing the recurrent
problem of drought and its consequences for
agricultural production, the truth is that only lasting
solutions will help us to counter the effects of the
phenomenon and to progressively eliminate the
uncertainty that characterizes Niger’s production
system.
 The Government of Niger has therefore decided
to give priority to the three programmes introduced at
the Doha Conference on Consolidating Food Self-
sufficiency in Niger, which was held in June 2007.
Those programmes are all the more promising given
the potential boon to agriculture as a result of the
upcoming construction of the Khandaji dam on the
Niger River. The Government will develop its
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37 08-53122

approach on the basis of that project and those
programmes so as to provide credible response to meet
the food needs of the people of Niger.
 The international financial crisis, which is
affecting many countries and is today being
exacerbated by the globalization of the world in which
we live, requires that we harness our efforts and
initiatives to find solutions requiring commitment on
the part of us all. While rich countries fear the risk of
widespread economic recession, the poorest countries
fear food insecurity caused by prices they can no
longer afford. Paradoxically, when it comes to the
financial crisis and the consequences of climate
change, it is the poorest countries that always pay most
dearly for the turbulence affecting the globalized
world. My delegation therefore supports the proposals
made by President Nicolas Sarkozy of France, which
were previously espoused by President Lula da Silva of
Brazil, calling on the international community to deal
urgently with the issue.
 We also hold out hope that the upcoming Doha
Follow-up International Conference on Financing for
Development will produce results that include safety
net measures to protect the poorest countries from
external shocks that could compound their
vulnerabilities.
 Although the food, energy and financial crises are
front and centre on the international stage, there are
also other challenges facing the international
community in the areas of peace, security, development
and human rights, among others. We must
acknowledge the fact that international peace and
security has been as sorely tested by conflicts as by
other scourges that are equally devastating to the
harmonious development of peoples and countries
throughout the world. Those scourges include
international terrorism, drug trafficking and the illegal
trade in small arms.
 Niger is especially concerned about the impact of
trafficking in drugs and weapons; and especially mines,
throughout the Sahelo-Saharan strip. The actions of
certain armed groups are the true cause of the unrest
prevailing in the northern part of our territory. Their
activities are increasingly being brought under control
thanks to steps taken by the relevant institutions of our
country. We therefore believe that there is a need for
increased willingness and cooperation in this area,
similar to that demonstrated in connection with the
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy that we adopted in
2006. While we acknowledge that some progress has
been made, we must also say that further efforts and
commitments are needed from the international
community in supporting countries in conflict or
emerging from it.
 It is important that we support the progress made
in countries where, happily, peace is becoming more
entrenched, including Liberia, Sierra Leone, Burundi,
Guinea-Bissau and the Central African Republic, which
was recently inscribed on the agenda of the
Peacebuilding Commission. We welcome in particular
the resumption of the national peace and reconciliation
process in Côte d’Ivoire following the invaluable
impetus provided by the Ouagadougou Agreement in
2007. In that regard, my country congratulates and
encourages all Ivorian politicians on their commitment
to peace. We hope that, with the support of their
partners, whose invaluable contributions my delegation
also commends, the national peace and reconciliation
process will culminate in the holding of the upcoming
presidential elections.
 We also welcome the resumption of the
Manhasset cycle of negotiations as a useful and
necessary step in the search for a mutually acceptable
and lasting solution to the issue of Western Sahara.
 With regard to the Great Lakes region, my
delegation welcomes the entry into force, on 21 June
2008, on the Pact on Security, Stability and
Development in the Great Lakes Region. We believe
that this instrument will enable States parties to address
the underlying causes of conflict and to address the
challenges they face in the areas of security,
governance and development. We also believe that the
Pact is part and parcel of the new vision for the
settlement of conflicts in Africa, perfect examples of
which have just been provided by Nigeria and
Cameroon with the resolution of the issue of the
Bakassi peninsula, and by Gabon and Equatorial
Guinea with the agreement on a mediation process in
connection with their territorial dispute.
 Nevertheless, conflicts persist in Africa and the
Middle East that require appropriate involvement by
the international community. With regard to the
situation in the Sudan, my delegation welcomes the
appointment Mr. Djibril Yipènè Bassolé, former
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Burkina Faso, as the
Joint African Union-United Nations Chief Mediator for
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08-53122 38

Darfur. We are certain that Mr. Bassolé will provide
new momentum and help to improve the situation in
that brotherly country by, among other things,
facilitating the implementation of the Comprehensive
Peace Agreement, signed in January 2006 between the
Government of the Sudan and the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Army with regard to the
Southern Sudan, and by helping to find an acceptable
solution for Darfur.
 With regard to Somalia, we welcome the
agreement signed on 9 June in Djibouti between the
Transitional Federal Government and the Alliance for
the Re-Liberation of Somalia. We urge the United
Nations to do everything possible to support those
countries, both by more effectively backing the African
Union Mission in Somalia and by deploying an
international peacebuilding or peacekeeping force.
 The bilateral negotiations between Israelis and
Palestinians that have begun in the context of the
commitments undertaken at the Annapolis Conference
are a genuine source of satisfaction for my delegation.
We believe that the parties should take advantage of
those negotiations. We therefore encourage them to
maintain the momentum of Annapolis, which reflected
the willingness of the parties concerned to make
progress towards peace. We should also like to
welcome the recent initiative of President Nicolas
Sarkozy of France in the context of the Euro-
Mediterranean Conference. We fervently hope that all
those measures will make it possible to reach a speedy
agreement that enshrines the vision of the two-State
solution of Palestine and Israel living side by side in
peace and security within internationally recognized
borders and on the basis of the relevant resolutions of
the Security Council, the Arab peace initiative and the
Quartet’s road map.
 We welcome the Doha agreement on Lebanon,
which confirmed the virtue of dialogue and cleared the
path for speedy presidential elections and the
establishment of a Government. The international
community should support the Lebanese people who,
through that agreement, have demonstrated their
political maturity and ongoing desire for national unity.
 The various peace processes now underway will
not be successful unless confidence-building measures
are first put in place. In that regard, there is a crucial
need to find solutions to the issues of disarmament,
non-proliferation and the eradication of the trade in
small arms. That is especially true for the poorest
countries, who pay a heavy price in conflicts sustained
by the trade in small arms and light weapons. My
delegation therefore deplores the failure at the past
session of the Disarmament Commission, another in a
series due to the lack of consensus on the agenda.
 As we have seen, the challenges in the area of
international peace and security are numerous and
complex. Unfortunately, for some of us they are
accentuated by other serious, recurring and even
chronic threats. As the 2005 World Summit
acknowledged in its Outcome Document, those threats,
which also have an effect on development, are closely
linked to other areas in which the United Nations is
active, namely, peace, security and human rights.
 We therefore believe that the year 2008 is critical,
given that it is replete with major events that could
contribute to development. I am referring to the Doha
Round of trade negotiations, which are at a standstill
today; the high-level event on the implementation of
the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) midpoint
to the target date for their implementation, the Accra
High-Level Forum on Aid Effectiveness; and the
Review Conference of the Monterrey Consensus on
financing for development.
 In the quest for global well-being, Africa and
countries in special circumstances — especially least
developed countries, landlocked developing countries
and small island States — deserve focused attention
commensurate with their situation. My delegation
would like to pay homage to Secretary-General Ban
Ki-moon for his personal commitment and unwavering
support for initiatives in that regard intended to benefit
Africa. Following the G8 Summit at Heiligendamm,
the Secretary-General established the Africa Steering
Group to monitor the achievement of the MDGs in
Africa. With the support of a working group, the
Steering Group is responsible for finding ways to
coordinate and rationalize efforts associated with
technical and financial assistance in order to speed up
Africa’s progress. That initiative is very timely for a
country like Niger, whose strategy to reduce poverty
and speed up development for the period 2009-2012
focuses precisely on the achievement of the MDGs.
Moreover, the various efforts of the Government in
recent years in the areas of health, education and
access to water have already led to a significant
improvement in the relevant indicators.
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 The recommendations of the Steering Group and
the conclusions of the recent high-level meeting on the
MDGs, jointly organized by the President of the
General Assembly and the Secretary-General, provide a
very clear course of action for making progress.
 Sustainable development is the main theme of the
Economic and Social Council’s 2008 substantive
session. The current debate has clearly shown that such
development cannot be achieved without appropriate
funding, aid effectiveness and good governance.
 In conclusion, the delegation of Niger believes
that the United Nations is the world’s premier forum. It
must serve as a beacon in those times of both hope and
uncertainty, and ensure collective security in the world
by means of economic, social and cultural cooperation.

That is why we need genuine reform of the United
Nations system. My delegation believes that the reform
effort will remain incomplete unless there is a
significant change in the Security Council, including as
regards both equitable representation and its working
methods.
 In numerous other areas currently under
consideration — such as, among others, evaluating the
experiences of countries involved in pilot programmes
on system-wide coherence and revitalizing the General
Assembly, which we must ensure — my country will
contribute as much as it can to adapting our common
Organization to the challenges we all face in building a
world of peace, prosperity and development.


I stand in for The
Honourable Navinchandra Ramgoolam, Prime Minister
of the Republic of Mauritius, who is not able to be
personally present to address this Assembly at this
session. The Prime Minister has asked me, on his

35 08-53141

behalf to make this statement and to convey his kind
greetings to President D’Escoto Brockmann; to his
predecessor, Mr. Srgjan Kerim; and our Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
 The problems we face are many and daunting, but
we believe that humankind has the ingenuity and
resources to overcome adversity through a unified
response. The goal of promoting human development
and security, in all its manifold aspects, should remain
our priority. In that regard, the theme of this session —
“The impact of the global food crisis on poverty and
hunger and the need to democratize the United
Nations” — is both timely and relevant.
 We are all affected by the growing global food
crisis. As always, the brunt of food insecurity is borne
by Africa, Asia and the Caribbean, where riots and
strikes have occurred and social unrest threatens
political stability. Admittedly, a number of factors
underlie the present scarcity of food. Some of those
factors are beyond our control. However, there is an
urgent need for us to address such issues as outdated
agricultural practices, inadequate infrastructure, the
inequitable distribution of land ownership and
insecurity of tenure. The list is long. The remedies are
known. Hopefully, we can bring to bear the political
will that is required.
 Mauritius is a net food importing country. To
reduce our dependence on food imports, the
Government is implementing a plan to maximize food
production. We are optimizing land use and
diversifying the production of food crops, livestock
and seafood. To overcome the constraints of land
availability and take advantage of economies of scale,
we aim, in partnership with neighbouring countries, to
produce for our common domestic markets and
eventually for exports to the region. Our experiments
in that respect with Madagascar and Mozambique are
proving to be mutually beneficial and hold great
promise for the future.
 The right to food is one that is very often
overlooked, and yet it is intimately connected to human
dignity. It is important that the international
community act now to ensure that this fundamental
human right is respected. In this era of scientific and
technological prowess, when we are unravelling the
mysteries of the immensities of the universe and
subatomic particles, and when the discoveries of
science daily amaze us and change our perceptions of
reality, it is unconscionable that countless children
should sleep on an empty stomach. One out of every
six persons in the world suffers from hunger. That is
the greatest moral challenge facing humanity today.
 We commend the Secretary-General for the
timely establishment of the High-level Task Force on
the Global Food Security Crisis. We also welcome the
recent proposal by the European Commission to create
a special facility amounting to more than $1.5 billion
for a rapid response to food crises, in coordination with
the United Nations Task Force and international
organizations.
 Over a period of almost one year, the
unprecedented level of the price of oil has dealt a
severe blow to the economic growth of many
developing countries. Mauritius depends on imported
oil for 80 per cent of its energy consumption, which
makes it extremely vulnerable on that count. The share
of petroleum products in our import bill went up from
12 per cent in 2000 to 18 per cent in 2007. We have
recently set up the “Maurice Ile Durable” project to
encourage more efficient use of energy and to tap
renewable energy sources.
(spoke in French)
 The Maurice Ile Durable project is bold, but we
believe that the current global situation calls for
boldness. The prime objective of the project is to strike
a balance between our economic, environmental and
social needs. Last year, we achieved a 5.4 per cent
growth rate increase and this year we forecast a rate of
more than 5.7 per cent. However, we realize that
growth is not an end in itself.
 The Government is pursuing a model of
development that takes into account not only economic
imperatives, but also the deep-seated aspirations of
each Mauritian citizen. At the same time, we cannot
allow ourselves to compromise the opportunities for
future generations.
 The Maurice Ile Durable project seeks to make
Mauritius a fully-fledged laboratory. We will use the
natural resources with which our island is so liberally
endowed — the sea, the sun, the wind and a rich plant
biomass. We seek an environmental solution to the
problem of global warming and to our dependence on
the extremely volatile hydrocarbons market. We have
set ourselves the target of reducing our dependence of
petroleum-based products by two thirds within

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20 years. This is how we are contributing to
international efforts to combat the greenhouse effect. It
is the wager for the future of a very vulnerable small
island economy, but I want to believe that it is also the
objective of a planet threatened with suffocation on the
long term.
(spoke in English)
 While the causes of food insecurity and the
energy crisis are multiple and complex, there is little
doubt that climate change will exacerbate the situation
in the future. Climate change places a particular burden
on developing countries, which have done the least to
cause the problem. Developing countries are in dire
need of assistance to enhance their adaptive capacity
and minimize their vulnerability because, on their own,
they cannot bear the burden of the costs of mitigation
and adaptation.
 As an island, Mauritius is especially vulnerable to
the effects of climate change, sea-level rise, beach
erosion, coral bleaching and extreme weather
conditions. They not only affect our local resources
and industries such as fisheries and tourism, but also
threaten vital infrastructure, settlements and services.
The increased frequency and scale of natural disasters
exacerbate our inherent vulnerability.
 Mauritius is fully engaged in the post-Bali
process. The meetings to be held in Poznan in
December and in Copenhagen next year will be crucial
to determining emission targets. It is vital that we reach
a comprehensive agreement on a climate change
framework. At the last high-level meeting on climate
change, Mauritius made a plea for the creation of a
special fund to enable the development and
implementation of adaptation measures. Our appeal to
international donors to provide the much-needed
resources for operating the fund is yet to be answered.
However, we welcome the recent declaration by the
leaders of the Group of Eight of a long-term emissions
reduction target of at least 50 per cent by 2050. We
also welcome their undertaking to help support the
mitigation plans of major developing countries through
technology transfer and capacity-building.
 Small island developing States are innocent
victims of global warming and the degradation of the
environment. Only a few weeks ago, we witnessed the
devastation caused by a quick succession of hurricanes
in the Caribbean. We therefore call on the international
community to assist small island developing States to
incorporate adaptation and mitigation plans into their
national strategies. Continued access to official
development assistance, concessionary financing
arrangements, the reduction of debt servicing and
improved terms of trade are crucial to building up the
economic resilience of small island developing States.
 We are particularly concerned about the
inadequate level of implementation of the Barbados
Plan of Action and the Mauritius Strategy. We reiterate
our request to the international community to honour
the offers of assistance made during the international
conference on small island developing States held in
Mauritius in 2005. Furthermore, the arbitrary gross
domestic product criteria applied to determine the
eligibility for securing concessionary finance
disqualify most small island developing States from
accessing much-needed funds for important
infrastructure development. It is absolutely necessary
in that regard that small island developing States be
treated as a distinct category.
 More than halfway through, the Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) track record is mixed. Some
developing countries are on target while others,
particularly from the African continent, are facing
crippling difficulties. Even the gains painstakingly
achieved in fighting hunger and poverty are tenuous
and could be nullified by the current food and energy
crisis. It is vital that donors and development partners
honour the pledges made in the Millennium
Declaration, the 2002 Monterrey International
Conference on Financing for Development and the
2005 World Summit.
 Mauritius is on track to meet the MDG targets.
Efforts are under way in all key socio-economic sectors
to further improve living standards and to achieve the
MDGs as early as possible. We are addressing poverty
in a comprehensive and coherent manner, convinced
that it will have a positive impact on the other
development goals. Our experience has demonstrated
that the most effective remedy to poverty is inclusive
economic growth.
 The Government is pursuing a number of
programmes announced in its latest budget to eliminate
absolute poverty. We have introduced an Eradication of
Absolute Poverty Programme, which comprises a
number of integrated development projects within
identified pockets of poverty. We have also put in place
a Human Resource Development, Knowledge and Arts

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Fund to ensure that university studies become
affordable to all. We aim to double enrolment in
tertiary education by 2015.
 In April, Mauritius hosted the Southern Africa
Development Community (SADC) International
Conference on Poverty and Development. I am happy
to inform the Assembly that the Conference formulated
a regional strategy for poverty eradication in the SADC
countries. The SADC secretariat has taken follow-up
action on the development of an implementation plan.
In line with one of the Conference recommendations, a
joint ministerial task force on food security, comprising
the ministers of finance, trade and agriculture, met in
Lusaka on 13 July 2008 to tackle the food crisis
affecting the region.
 Africa’s development needs were debated at the
highest level on Monday, 22 September. Concrete and
concerted action on the part of African States and their
cooperation partners is called for to help achieve
sustained and sustainable development on the
continent. Furthermore, we look forward to the
forthcoming Follow-up International Conference on
Financing for Development in Doha. It will be a unique
opportunity to address the various facets of
concessionary financing and to find new resources for
development.
 More important, the Doha Development Agenda
should deliver on its promise of development through
increased trading opportunities as a means of
eradicating poverty. With regard to the World Trade
Organization negotiations, we join those who have
called for the talks to progress on the basis of what has
already been achieved. We remain fully committed to
the Doha Development Agenda and will contribute
constructively to the negotiations.
 We support the effective and quick
implementation of the Aid for Trade Initiative, which
should take into account the priorities and needs of
beneficiary countries. At present, our limited industrial
capacity prevents us from taking full advantage of the
opportunities offered by globalization. On the regional
front, I am pleased to say that we have made major
strides in our integration process. The SADC Free
Trade Area was launched on 17 August 2008, and we
are aiming to fully liberalize trade by 2012.
 Since the adoption of the 2001 Declaration of
Commitment on HIV/AIDS (resolution S-26/2),
increasing numbers of people have gained access to
HIV prevention and treatment in low- and middle-
income countries. However, many countries still have a
long way to go to meet the goal we set ourselves under
MDG 6 of achieving universal access to HIV
prevention, treatment, care and support by 2010. The
high prevalence of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa
continues to be a cause for alarm.
 Engagement at the highest level is vital in the
fight against HIV/AIDS. The Mauritius National AIDS
Committee, under the chairmanship of The Honourable
Prime Minister, oversees the implementation of a
multisectoral HIV and AIDS strategic plan. That plan
provides for antiretroviral treatment free of charge to
all HIV-infected persons, voluntary counselling and
testing service and the implementation of a mother-to-
child transmission prevention programme. The
Government has also increased the amount allocated to
the fight against HIV/AIDS by 50 per cent in the
current budget.
 As we celebrate the sixtieth anniversary of the
adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
in December, we must remain unwavering in our
resolve to promote and protect human rights. Much
remains to be done to ensure that the basic rights of
individuals are universally protected. The Mauritian
Constitution guarantees that our citizens enjoy
fundamental rights in their everyday lives. The
National Human Rights Commission, the Human
Rights Centre, the Parliamentary Commission for the
Democratization of the Economy and the proposed
Equal Opportunities Act are important mechanisms for
the protection and promotion of human rights in our
country.
 As an advocate of all human rights and
fundamental freedoms, Mauritius severely condemns
the decision of Myanmar’s military junta to prolong the
house arrest of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi. My delegation
believes that the national reconciliation and full
democratization of Myanmar cannot be achieved
without the release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi and other
political detainees and without the participation of the
National League for Democracy in the political
process.
 Situations of conflict and war inevitably give rise
to violations of human rights and to atrocities against
innocent civilians. Displacement and violent death
continue to be the lot of far too many in parts of the
Middle East, Africa and Asia. Mauritius has always

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supported the struggle of the Palestinian people and
their inalienable right to self-determination. We favour
the creation of a Palestinian State coexisting with the
State of Israel within secure and recognized borders. It
is through dialogue, negotiations and compromise by
both sides that lasting peace can come about in the
Middle East.
 The deteriorating humanitarian situation in
Darfur remains a matter of grave concern for my
delegation. We urge all parties involved in the conflict,
especially the authorities, to exercise restraint in their
actions and to move towards a just and lasting solution
to the conflict. We welcome the power-sharing accord
reached in Zimbabwe. We hope that a Government of
national unity will bring peace, stability and
reconciliation to the Zimbabwean people, who have
suffered for far too long the brutal consequences of the
political crisis and economic meltdown.
 The grave and pervasive threat of terrorism
knows no boundaries; no country is shielded from its
pernicious and devastating impact. Mauritius is
committed to the United Nations Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy. It is imperative that we conclude a
comprehensive convention against terrorism as soon as
possible to reinforce the existing legal framework. In
June 2008, as part of its contribution to the
international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations, Mauritius joined the Global
Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism.
 We fully share the view of the President of the
General Assembly regarding the democratization of our
Organization. The ongoing discussions on the
revitalization of the General Assembly, system-wide
coherence, mandate review and management reform in
the context of the United Nations reform process
should be aimed at strengthening multilateralism. We
need comprehensive reform of the Security Council so
that it is able to meet the needs and respond to the
aspirations of the increasingly changing political
realities of the world.
 We call for expansion of the Security Council in
both the permanent and non-permanent membership
categories and for improvement in its working
methods. Mauritius remains firmly committed to the
Ezulwini Consensus, which calls for two seats in the
permanent category and five non-permanent seats for
Africa. I should like to reaffirm once again the
unequivocal support of Mauritius for India to be a
permanent member of a reformed Security Council. We
also reaffirm our support for a Latin American and
Caribbean country to be a permanent member of a
reformed Council. Furthermore, we welcome the recent
unanimous decision of the General Assembly to start
intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council
reform in an informal plenary meeting of the General
Assembly by the end of February 2009.
 The principles and objectives enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations should continue to guide
us in our actions. I would like to bring up once again
before the Assembly our legitimate sovereignty claim
regarding the Chagos Archipelago, including
Diego Garcia. The Archipelago was excised from the
territory of Mauritius by the United Kingdom prior to
our independence, in disregard of General Assembly
resolutions 1514 (XV) of 1960 and 2066 (XX) of 1965.
We have always favoured a settlement of the issue
through constructive bilateral dialogue. In that regard, I
wish to inform the Assembly that high-level talks are
under way.
 The Government is very sensitive to the
aspirations of citizens of Mauritius to return to the
islands of their birth in the Chagos Archipelago. I wish
to recall here that they were forcibly removed from the
Archipelago prior to its excision from Mauritius.
Likewise, we urge France to pursue dialogue with
Mauritius on the issue of Tromelin. It is our firm
conviction that such bilateral dialogue will further
consolidate our historical and friendly relations with
both the United Kingdom and France.
 In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that the United
Nations remains the most important and credible
international multilateral Organization for the
maintenance of peace and security and for building a
better and safer world. The President of the General
Assembly can rest assured of our unwavering support
in the work of the United Nations.


Mr. President, let me begin
by warmly congratulating you on your election. You
have my very best wishes for a successful term in
office.
 This is my first opportunity to address the
General Assembly as Ireland’s Foreign Minister. It is a
great honour and privilege to do so. Ireland believes
strongly in the purposes, principles and potential of the
United Nations. Formed in the shadow of global war,
the United Nations embodies the idea of our common
humanity. We have a shared interest as well as a moral
obligation to act on that common humanity in the
world.
 In this new century, when we speak of the
international community, it cannot be as a vague
platitude or as a faceless scapegoat. Global challenges
confront us: climate change, economic turbulence, food
and energy crises, HIV/AIDS and terrorism, among
others. We can either be an international community
passively divided and at the mercy of those forces, or
we can be a community, in the true sense, of active
participants united by our sense of mutual solidarity,
our common sense of justice, our common desire for a
better and peaceful future and a shared commitment to
international law and the human rights of all.
 The United Nations is the indispensable
framework for realizing the potential of that
community, as it has shown again and again. Ireland is
proud to have played its distinctive part in that history
and we are absolutely committed to playing a full part
in its future. And let us be clear — the challenges we
face have intensified in the past year.
 Over the past period, we have witnessed the
potential fallout from the financial crisis for all
countries and not least, of course, for developing
countries. The depth of their concerns has been heard
from this rostrum. We have all failed as yet to reach
agreement on a balanced world trade deal. Rising fuel
and food prices have exacted a particular toll on the
world’s most vulnerable and poor. The effects of
climate change, likewise, are placing a
disproportionate burden on those least equipped to
cope. More than halfway towards the 2015 target date
for the Millennium Development Goals and despite
significant progress in some areas, we have not made
enough headway towards meeting them. The United
Nations must continue to take the lead in those efforts,
while each of us as political leaders must recognize our
duty to take effective action in support of goals that are
only increasing in relevance and urgency.
 The world needs a strong and effective United
Nations, and that is why, as a committed Member
State, Ireland has long supported efforts to reform and

08-53141 2

improve its operation. I very much welcome and
appreciate the priority that Secretary-General Ban has
attached to that task. As he said when he took up
office, “the true measure of success of the United
Nations is not how much we promise, but how much
we deliver for those who need us most” (A/61/PV.31,
p. 9). Every Member State must play its part in
ensuring that it can fulfil its role. Ireland is therefore
proud of the contribution it has made to the reform
process.
 Most recently, we were pleased to work closely
with our good friend and colleague, Tanzania, in
facilitating consultations on greater system-wide
coherence in the United Nations, a vitally important
part of the reform agenda. I would like to take the
opportunity to express my deep appreciation of the
constructive spirit in which Member States and United
Nations agencies and staff approached the consultation
process, chaired by Ambassadors Kavanagh and
Mahiga. Their report was welcomed in the consensus
resolution adopted by the General Assembly on
15 September. A lot, of course, remains to be done. We
should not shy away from issues just because they are
difficult to tackle.
 Taking forward the reform agenda does not, of
course, mean losing sight of the real strengths and
achievements of the United Nations, especially in
peacekeeping. This year marks the fiftieth anniversary
of the first occasion on which personnel of the Irish
Defence Forces wore the blue beret. In the five decades
since, they have worn it with pride and distinction. I
would like to take this opportunity to offer them and
those with whom they have served my deepest personal
gratitude.
 Of course, as the world continues to evolve, so
will our approach to peacekeeping. Regional
organizations, such as the European Union, can and
should be expected to play an increasingly prominent
role in undertaking Security Council-mandated
operations. I am particularly pleased that one such
mission, the EU military operation in the Republic of
Chad, is under the very effective leadership of an
Irishman, Lieutenant General Pat Nash.
 Last year, my predecessor expressed the hope
that, after almost 40 years, it would no longer be
necessary for Irish ministers to brief this Assembly on
the search for peace on the island of Ireland. I am
pleased to confirm that the task we now confront in
Ireland is no longer building peace, but securing and
underpinning it for the generations to come. Our
history has, however, made us particularly conscious of
the huge human cost of conflict and the moral
obligation we carry to prevent and to resolve it. We in
Ireland owe a debt of gratitude to all in the
international community who lent their support to our
search for peace. In that search, we were genuinely part
of a community — concentric circles of other nations
and international actors that provided goodwill and
momentum, moral support, concrete assistance,
independent mediation and facilitation when needed.
Anchoring the process was a central partnership
between the British and Irish Governments. So we
know the good that can be done and we now feel a
special duty to try and repay some of that debt in kind.
 That is why my Government has established a
conflict resolution unit within my ministry as a channel
through which we can make our contribution. Its aim is
to complement the work of others, especially that of
the United Nations. It will, in part, draw on the lessons
we have learned from our own experiences. As part of
that work, Nuala O’Loan, formerly the Police
Ombudsman in Northern Ireland, who played a
significant personal role in building confidence in the
new policing arrangements there, is now serving as our
Special Envoy to Timor-Leste.
 Ireland’s commitment to peacekeeping,
peacebuilding and conflict resolution extends to
removing not only the causes of conflict, but also the
means. Creating a secure and stable world demands
effective arms control and disarmament and the
elimination of nuclear weapons. Ireland was very
proud last May to host the diplomatic conference that
delivered the Convention on Cluster Munitions, an
historic agreement to ban the production and use of
those pernicious instruments of war. The Convention is
strong and ambitious. Each State party undertakes
never, in any circumstances, to use, develop, produce,
acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer cluster munitions,
or to assist any other party in doing so. It is
comprehensive and it provides for no exceptions. It
sets new standards for assistance to victims and also,
importantly, for clearing affected areas. I would once
again like to express the deep appreciation of my
Government for the constructive approach taken by
Member States. Without it, such a significant step
forward could not have been taken. The Convention
will open for signature in Oslo in December, and

3 08-53141

Ireland will be among the first signatories. I strongly
urge all Governments to do likewise.
 Peace and security must be accompanied by a
firm commitment to the protection and promotion of
human rights. That remains at the very core of the
United Nations mandate. In this, the sixtieth
anniversary year of the adoption of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, we must act with
renewed determination to make its promises a living
reality for all of our people. That means improving the
United Nations capacity to tackle abuses effectively
whenever and wherever they arise, ensuring a strong
and vigilant Human Rights Council.
 This is also the tenth anniversary of the adoption
of the Rome Statute establishing the International
Criminal Court (ICC). It has already carved out a vital
role for itself in bringing an end to impunity and in
demanding that the rule of law be upheld. Ireland
remains strongly supportive of the ICC and its
mandate, and urges all Member States to cooperate
fully with its work.
 Eradicating world hunger and ending poverty is
one of the most urgent tasks we face. Realizing the
vision of the Millennium Development Goals is a great
challenge, but it can be met. I am very proud that
Ireland is now the sixth largest aid donor in the world
in terms of gross national product percentage. It is, I
believe, a reflection of our values of solidarity and
respect for human dignity. As a committed member
State, I am also gratified that the European Union and
its member States continue to be the world’s leading
donor, accounting for some 60 per cent of the world’s
official development assistance.
 In support of our efforts to secure the Millennium
Development Goals, Ireland established a hunger task
force to determine the most effective contribution we
can make to tackling the root causes of hunger,
particularly in Africa. Comprising 15 renowned
international experts, its report was launched by our
Prime Minister, Taoiseach Brian Cowen, last week with
the participation of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
The report has highlighted three particular areas for
focus. First, we need to improve small-holder
productivity in Africa; the agricultural sector has been
neglected for too long. Secondly, we need increased
focus on maternal and infant undernutrition; a bad start
makes life an uphill struggle from day one. Thirdly, the
report states clearly that we do not need new
commitments, but rather delivery on the ones we have
already entered into. Those important messages will
guide our work in the period ahead.
 Let me turn now to the situation in the Middle
East. The first Irish peacekeepers 50 years ago were
deployed to serve with the United Nations mission in
Lebanon. It is therefore a particular source of sadness
to me that, despite the great efforts that have been
made down the years, we do not yet have lasting peace
in the Middle East, especially between the Palestinian
people and Israel.
 I commend the efforts of all of those who are
prepared to take the political risks necessary to turn
that situation around. In particular, I welcome and
support the dialogue that President Abbas and Prime
Minister Olmert have engaged in under the auspices of
the Annapolis process. I hope that what they have
achieved together in their talks can be built upon in the
immediate period ahead, and that it will result in what
we all wish to see — a just agreement, a lasting peace
and a more prosperous future for their people.
 Improving conditions on the ground in the
Palestinian territories, including, very importantly, the
economic and social situation, would, I believe, make a
significant and critical contribution to creating the right
context for talks to succeed. In that regard, I have
called many times for an end to the construction of
illegal settlements not only because it is right to do so,
but also because it would send a strong and welcome
signal of good faith at a difficult and uncertain time.
Israel needs urgently to listen to the voice — the
concerned voice — of the international community on
the settlement issue.
 The situation in the Sudan and the tragic
suffering of the people of Darfur urgently demand our
attention. I strongly urge the Sudanese Government
and the rebel groups to return to the negotiating table
and to engage seriously with Chief Mediator Bassolé.
The African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in
Darfur must be allowed to deploy fully and speedily,
and a secure environment must be created to allow the
humanitarian community to carry out its important
work. A culture of impunity cannot prevail. Those
responsible for human rights abuses in Darfur must be
brought to justice. The Government in Khartoum must
face up to its responsibilities to protect its citizens, to
provide security and to ensure justice is done.

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 In Zimbabwe, the recent agreement to form a
power-sharing Government is a moment of opportunity
that must be seized. The people of Zimbabwe, who
have suffered for far too long, deserve a new beginning
and look to their leaders to provide it. Their leaders
must not be found wanting. I look forward to the
delivery of genuine power-sharing, of real political and
economic reform and of the creation of a more open
and free society.
 In Burma, we continue to stand with the people in
their demand for greater democracy and human rights,
and we renew in particular our call for the immediate
release of Aung San Suu Kyi and her fellow political
prisoners. It is gravely disappointing that the ruling
military junta has not engaged seriously with the good
offices mission of the Secretary-General, or responded
in any meaningful way to the concerns of the
international community. International pressure must
be maintained on Burma’s leaders, including, and in
particular, by the countries of the region.
 Ireland has watched with great distress the recent
conflict in Georgia, including the evidence of the use
of cluster munitions against civilian populations. We
warmly applaud President Sarkozy and the French
presidency of the European Union for their efforts to
secure a settlement. The European Union is deploying
a monitoring mission to Georgia to work alongside
United Nations observers, to which Ireland is proud to
be contributing. We now need to see the full honouring
of commitments entered into, including the full
withdrawal of military forces by early October. I also
urge Russia and Georgia to engage constructively and
in good faith in the discussions scheduled to begin in
Geneva on 15 October.
 In closing, I would like to return to where I began
today. As Ireland’s Foreign Minister, I come here to
reaffirm our strong attachment and loyalty to the
United Nations. Whether we wish it or not, we are
being united every day more and more by the common
challenges we all face. The principles and the work of
the United Nations have never been needed more. Its
principles give us a firm foundation. Continuing
reform will give us even stronger tools. What remains
to be proven is our collective will to use them.
 The vision shared by all our peoples of a peaceful
and secure world, with justice, human rights and
dignity for all, can be realized only in cooperation with
others of like mind. For Ireland’s part, we are
determined not to be a passive member of that formal
community of nations.
 With the support and the help of others, the
foundations of a future of peace have, as I have
reported, been laid on the island of Ireland. We are now
determined to honour that debt and continue a long
tradition of active engagement in the world by
contributing our energy and our initiative where we can
make a difference. It is only through such a
commitment by each of us and through this body that
we can make the international community more than
the sum of its parts, more than the sum of its fears, and
instead make it what it was meant to be when the
United Nations was established — the sum of all our
hopes.