On behalf of the
Government and the people of the Republic of
Suriname, I should like to take this opportunity to
extend to you, Madam, and to the Government and the
people of the Kingdom of Bahrain, my sincere
congratulations on your election to preside over the
General Assembly at its sixty-first session.
 We express our gratitude to His Excellency
Mr. Jan Eliasson, President of the General Assembly at
its sixtieth session, for his contribution to the work of
the Organization. I should also like to pledge our
support to the Secretary-General, His Excellency
Mr. Kofi Annan, and to pay tribute to him for his
leadership, his valuable contribution to the resolution
of global challenges and his constructive role in
restructuring the United Nations.
 In today’s world, guaranteeing necessary
infrastructure and ensuring the availability of health
services and education for all are still major
challenges. The world order continues to deny the vast
majority of the members of the international
community the opportunity to escape poverty and to
utilize their abilities and skills to achieve progress and
prosperity. There is a need for enhanced cooperation in
areas of relevance to humanity if we are to create an
international community that can offer all of its
members a fair chance of a decent life.
 The call for an enabling international
environment for sustainable development and poverty
eradication is still a strong one. The international
community needs to support the call of the vast
majority of its members for fair terms of trade,
increased market access for products from the
developing countries and a more effective and
supportive international financial architecture.
 Given the international state of affairs, Suriname
supports the implementation of the international global
partnership for development. The partnership for
development can obtain guidance for its decisions from

06-52737 32

the many commitments adopted at the major United
Nations conferences and summits in the economic,
social and related fields, in particular those reflected in
the Millennium Development Goals and the Monterey
Consensus. This partnership should aim to energize the
political will of all States to implement those
commitments and to create genuine opportunities for
all States in the field of trade, as well as for
investments that promote sustainable development and
poverty eradication.
 My delegation continues to plead for a rule-
based, predictable, non-discriminatory trading and
financial system, and for an international system that
promotes decent and productive work and extends the
benefits of new technology to all parts of the globe.
 The focus of the partnership for development
must be the establishment of a supportive international
environment to achieve, in particular Millennium
Development Goal 8 and its targets.
 Building a global partnership for development
will require the involvement and cooperation of all
stakeholders — Governments, the private sector and
civil society alike. The partnership should enhance the
involvement of the private sector, taking into account
the redefinition of the role of the private sector in
society, based on a common understanding of the
influence of business in spurring development and
improving the human condition.
 The contribution of the private sector is pivotal to
a national policy geared towards enhancing human
capital and infrastructure and gaining access to world
markets. We note with satisfaction the leadership of the
United Nations in this area, and believe that the United
Nations Global Compact should collaborate with the
partnership for development. Civil society should
contribute actively to the partnership for development
at all levels, in particular at the national level. Its
activities should be in harmony with and
complementary to national development efforts.
 The challenges we face in the area of
international peace and security are equally serious.
The increased efforts of the United Nations to save
humanity from the scourge of warfare are not always
successful. Too often the international community is
confronted with situations that seriously jeopardize the
safety of individuals and populations.
 The Government of Suriname believes that there
is a need for us to realize that the United Nations is in
fact still our partnership for international peace and
security. This partnership should be based on the firm
determination of all States to cooperate in seeking fair
and lasting solutions to persistent problems that
adversely affect international peace and security.
Tolerance, mutual respect and mutual interest, leading
to the peaceful coexistence of States, good-
neighbourliness and unity in diversity, should be the
basic principles that guide the recommendations of the
partnership for international peace and security.
 Recently, the General Assembly adopted the
United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy
(resolution 60/288). This is certainly a step forward
towards an effective international response to
terrorism, in conformity with international law,
international human rights law and international
humanitarian law. My delegation notes with
satisfaction that the Strategy includes the promotion of
dialogue, tolerance and understanding among
civilizations. Of equal importance is the recognition
that capacity-building in all States is a core element of
the global counter-terrorism effort. In this regard, we
anticipate a genuine partnership being established to
implement the Strategy.
 The illegal drugs trade and organized crime also
affect international security. Increased cooperation at
all levels is needed if the international community is to
be able to respond adequately to those threats. In this
connection, the Government of Suriname will host an
anti-narcotics conference in October 2006. The main
purpose of the conference is to enhance coordination
and collaboration among participating countries, aimed
at combating trafficking in narcotic drugs, dismantling
drug-related criminal organizations and combating the
illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, given the
increased levels of crime that it generates.
 A restructured United Nations must ensure that
the Organization remains the source of redress for the
international community and the home of international
justice and equitable decision-making. Given the less-
than-satisfactory international development and
security situation, we, the States Members of the
United Nations, should be more than willing to act in
conformity with the Charter, to employ the
international machinery for promoting the economic
and social advancement of all peoples, to unite our
strengths to maintain international peace and security,

33 06-52737

and to practise increased tolerance and live together in
peace as good neighbours. Suriname believes that the
present session of the General Assembly can contribute
significantly to those endeavours.


I should
like to say how pleased the Government of Panama is
at your election, Madam, to preside over the sixty-first
session of the General Assembly. Your illustrious
professional record and your extraordinary action in
defence of women’s rights lead us to believe that you
will guide us in an exemplary manner. I also
congratulate the Secretary-General on his encouraging
words yesterday. The ovation that ensued bears witness
to the Assembly’s gratitude for his efforts over 10 years
of heading the Secretariat.
 Over the past few years we have dedicated
considerable effort and time to the task of reforming
the United Nations. We are doing this for one simple
reason: we want it to work better. That aspiration is
based on a profound conviction that the Organization is
indispensable for humanity. Those who criticize the
Organization must be honest when they wonder what
the world would be like without the United Nations
and its specialized agencies. Those who govern are
examined on a daily basis by their peoples and
sometimes they are criticized very severely, but nobody
suggests that there should not be a government. We
want governments to be better because they are
necessary, just as we want the United Nations to be
better because it is equally necessary. We do not want
to imagine a world without a United Nations. That is
why at the Summit in September last year, as the
culmination of long debate and tremendous collective
effort, we agreed on a series of reforms for the United
Nations machinery.
 What is at stake today is not just the fate of a
single initiative, but, rather, the effectiveness of the
United Nations in complying with the purposes and
principles of the Charter. The General Assembly has
acted with diligence, and we are proud in particular of
the decision to create a Human Rights Council, whose
establishment should strengthen respect for human
rights and spread their promotion globally. Panama,
born closely linked to international affairs, continues to
be committed to strengthening human rights
throughout the world. It is in this field that we see the
greatest paradox: where the United Nations has made
the most progress is where there remains the most
progress still to be made. Before its inception human
rights violations were almost ignored. Today the
denunciations made at the United Nations have a
tremendous deterrent power, so those violations do not
continue to be perpetrated. At the same time, it is true
that there have been horrendous violations during the
life of the United Nations, but no one can deny that the
reality and consequences are very different from the
situation that prevailed only a few decades ago.
 The United Nations and its specialized agencies
have the important task of coordinating efforts to
protect the millions of human beings living in poverty.
Poverty is the daily denial of man’s fundamental rights.
While genocide causes indignation and is emphatically
rejected by the international community, there should
be the same indignation over poverty, as it afflicts a

06-52879 4

large part of the world’s population. Governments have
a moral obligation to help people and communities
living below the poverty line. Economic growth rates
are deceptive, and almost offensive, if there is no direct
relief for those who have less and who, without
assistance, have no chance of breaking out of the
vicious circle of poverty.
 Within the reforms to the Organization now being
debated, we should, in order more effectively to
address poverty in the world, give greater weight and
authority to the General Assembly to adopt measures of
universal scope, not resolutions, repeated year after
year, with no binding power.
 Similarly, I should like to address the need to
expand the Security Council so that it truly represents
today’s world and not the world as it was 60 years ago.
Not to reform the Security Council would be
detrimental to its purposes. A Council that is not
representative cannot be as legitimate or effective.
However, although there is consensus about the need to
reform, how to reform has provoked more disunity than
agreement. From Panama’s perspective, geographical
representation is an important factor to be considered,
but it cannot be the only one. A member of the Security
Council does not sit on the Council to represent itself
or the geographic region to which it belongs; it
represents all Member States, which have entrusted it
with this responsibility because it has shown the
commitment and capacity to further the effort to
maintain international peace and security.
 It is time now to look at this topic with different
eyes. The facts that are developing continuously in the
Middle East, and the fact that terrorist attacks continue
to occur throughout the world, show that it is crucial to
strengthen the Security Council as soon as possible
through a process of reform that includes a moderate
expansion of the membership while the Council
remains legitimate in the eyes of the rest of the
international community. Strengthening the organs of
the United Nations, and more particularly the Security
Council, will make it possible for events such as those
in Lebanon to be met with a prompt and effective
response. If the Organization had had the required
instruments to act robustly with legitimacy, we could
have put an early end to the confrontations; in fact,
they could have been avoided entirely if we had had an
adequate preventive force. The rapid escalation of the
conflict has highlighted the imperative need to resolve
the Middle East crisis so that Jews, Muslims and
Christians can coexist in peace, as they do in Panama
and many other parts of the world.
 There are tested ways to promote confidence
among parties, to reconcile positions and to achieve
consensus. The use of arms can help some people to
gain some short-term objectives but the atmosphere is
poisoned and there cannot be peaceful coexistence
among neighbours, families and peoples that
geography has placed so close to one another. It is
obvious from every perspective that a solution to the
conflict requires the immediate and unconditional
withdrawal of Israel from the occupied territories,
establishment of the Palestine State and recognition of
Israel’s right to exist as a State. All the countries in the
region must have sufficient guarantees that conflicts
will not be resolved through force and that no territory
can be used to attack a neighbour. Peace in the Middle
East has to be built by each and every State with the
resolute support of the international community.
 Our vision is the same for other regions of the
world where a high degree of political tension still
prevails and endangers the peace. Peaceful solutions
cannot be postponed, for there is always the risk of
violent confrontations of unsuspected dimensions that
we will all deplore.
 I should like to draw attention to a significant
event that will take place in my country in the next few
weeks and will have an impact on world trade. On
22 October there will be a referendum to decide
whether the Panama Canal should be expanded. The
historic and emotional dimension of the canal for the
Panamanian people means that its expansion is the only
decision of the legislature and the Executive that needs
a referendum for confirmation. The Panama Canal
links the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. It is therefore the
best route for the transport of goods between different
continents, between two countries in the American
continent, and even between two coasts in a single
country. Five per cent of world maritime trade passes
through the Panama Canal. The percentage varies from
one country to another: 3.5 per cent of an economy the
size of China’s; 16 per cent of the United States foreign
trade; and 35 per cent of Chile’s trade. The fact is that
the future of the Panama Canal affects the international
community as a whole.
 Only seven years ago the canal was run by the
United States. After a long and complex negotiation
that included a special meeting of the Security Council

5 06-52879

in Panama — one of only two times that that body has
met outside New York Headquarters — it reverted to
Panama on the last day of the twentieth century. Since
then Panama has administered the canal with efficiency
and safety, and it is now about to decide whether to
take the tremendous step of expanding the canal to
enhance its capacity and allow larger ships to use it.
 The United Nations has always been involved in
Panama’s fate, the fate of the canal. It was on the
agenda when it was a continuing source of conflict
between Panama and the United States. It supported the
Universal Congress on the canal in 1997 and finally it
welcomed the canal’s orderly transfer to Panamanian
jurisdiction. That is why Panama once again wishes to
draw the General Assembly’s attention to the canal and
to reiterate its gratitude to the Non-Aligned Movement,
because last week the Heads of State and Government
adopted a declaration recognizing the efficient
administration of the Panama Canal and expressing
their support for the initiative to expand its present
capacity. The canal is the most important resource for
my country’s development and is a valuable strategic
avenue at the service of trade and communications for
the entire world.
 In my country there is full awareness that our
geographic position is our major asset, but that its
exploitation involves responsibilities towards the
international community. That is why, while we
welcome international recognition of the manner in
which we have been administering the canal, we also
wish to tell the world body that the Panama Canal will
continue to be managed so as to be efficient, neutral
and safe, for the benefit of all ships in the world, flying
every flag.


Madam President, I bring to you the greeting of the
people and Government of the Eastern Republic of
Uruguay to this Assembly. This Assembly is the
broadest and most representative and important forum
in the world today.
 Madam President, may I express my personal
satisfaction at seeing you exercise such an important
function and I am sure that as a woman you will be
able to add to the office an additional share of
moderation and restraint.
 In Uruguay, like the United Nations, we feel that
it is very important to preach by example. That is why
the Government I represent has also assumed, among
its many tasks, that of elevating the status of women
and increasing their participation in various areas.
 Likewise, I am very happy to bring to you a
special message from the President of Uruguay,
Mr. Tabaré Vásquez, for the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, to thank him for his unrelenting
efforts to drive the immense process of reforming the
Organization. My country and the other Members of
this house are fully committed to this reform.
 On the occasion of the sixteenth Ibero-American
Summit that will take place in Uruguay, the countries
of the conference will express to the Secretary-General
their thanks for his outstanding work. I would also like
to say that the main subject of the Summit will be
migration and development. Recently, we had a very
constructive high-level dialogue on this subject in this
house.
 A year ago, during the sixtieth session of this
forum, the President of our country said that the
commitment of Uruguay to the United Nations
Organization is both demanding and hopeful.
 Our commitment is demanding because of the
challenges that the current world faces and because of
the opportunities implicit in the present, upon the
management of which our future depends.
 Our commitment is hopeful. Although we realize
that there are difficulties and limitations on the
international scene and at the regional and national
levels, we believe in human beings, we believe in
society, we believe in democracy as a common house
and in freedom as the mother tongue of humanity.
 The Eastern Republic of Uruguay reaffirms the
principles that characterize our foreign policy, namely,
our commitment to peace, sovereignty, democracy and
solidarity; a firm rejection of all types of terrorism,
violence and discrimination; the inalienable right of
countries to have stable and secure borders and to fully
exercise their sovereignty and self-determination; the
respect for international law as a guarantee of
sovereignty of peoples and their peaceful cohabitation;
non-intervention in the internal affairs of States;
multilateralism as a way of strengthening international
law and as a way to organize the role of the United
Nations; and the recognition of the indivisibility of all
human rights, be they political, social, economic, civil
or cultural, including collective rights, such as the right
to development and the environment. Consequently,
our country feels that progress in reforming the
Organization must be achieved and we are making our
contribution to that process, which will enable the

35 06-53341

United Nations to fulfil its tasks with greater
effectiveness.
 Greater effectiveness should also be sought by
the important recently created bodies, the Human
Rights Council and the Peacebuilding Commission.
Uruguay is already actively participating in the Human
Rights Council and we hope to join the organizing
committee of the Peacebuilding Commission.
 As a country that is a major contributor of troops
and in support of the goal of peacekeeping, we have
participated in peacekeeping missions since the
creation of this Organization. The most recent example
of this our active undertaking and participation in the
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti
(MINUSTAH), which is an essential mechanism for
securing a lasting peace and for restoring the social
fabric of a dear Latin American nation.
 Likewise, Uruguay would like to renew its active
commitment to the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) as agreed to by the Heads of State and
Government. When I say “active”, I say this as a
reflection of how much progress has been made
towards the goals set forth in the agreement signed in
September 2005.
 I cannot refer now to each of these goals at this
time, but one of the main goals is “the eradication of
extreme poverty and hunger”. In Uruguay, by means of
the interaction of various governmental programmes,
we have implemented an emergency social plan that
deals with the most basic needs of those in extreme
poverty.
 Poverty has begun to decrease, dropping from
32.6 per cent of the recorded population in 2004 to
29.8 per cent at the end of 2005. We feel that this is
still not sufficient, but it is progress, not only in terms
of social protection, but also in terms of social
integration.
 This is so because the great problems that have
produced poverty in our country, as in other countries,
are not just hunger, the lack of housing, illiteracy,
academic failure or teenage pregnancies, but also
discrimination, stigmatization, insecurity and despair,
indeed, situations that indicate being integrated in
society is much more than subsisting.
 Social integration is essential, too, because the
right to participate in social life also involves
recognizing individuals as active citizens and not just
as people who need to be helped.
 And social integration is key, because the right
that our citizens are asking for — all of them, even the
poorest — is not just the right to live, but also the right
to be recognized as individuals and the right to live
together in society. This is called democracy and
citizenship.
 Allow me from this important podium and on
behalf of the Government I represent to refer to three
matters of particular importance for our country. One
of them has to do with the facts of the recent past.
There can be no future without memory, no freedom
without justice. That is why, within the framework of
legislation in force, Uruguay is taking concrete steps to
heal the wounds caused by the violation of human
rights during the dictatorship that ruled the country
between 1973 and 1985. It has been difficult work and
it is also very difficult to learn and accept the truth, but
it does strengthen democracy as a form of Government
and condition in society. Moreover, truth and justice
help to ensure that the horrors of the past are never
repeated.
 I am very happy to inform this General Assembly
that my country has taken one further step in the
promotion and defence of human rights. The
Uruguayan parliament has just unanimously approved a
bill on genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes
and cooperation with the International Criminal Court.
 Another subject that relates to the current
situation and the future is climate change and the
degradation of the environment. Uruguay is a party to
the main international conventions in this area and,
while stressing the indispensable international
cooperation on this subject, we do particularly stress,
once again, the individual responsibility of each State
to actively protect the environment in its territory and
waters and to make the vigilant participation of civil
society a high priority.
 It is not enough to simply protest pernicious
transfers of polluting industrial processes. It is
incumbent upon the State to act firmly to be vigilant
and monitor and to impose high environmental
standards on foreign and domestic companies.
 Uruguay receives significant investment for
industrial development on its territory, but we have
very strict controls on the environmental aspects of

06-53341 36

those investments and we apply an internationally
recognized standard that reflects our motto “Natural
Uruguay”. We require the use of the most modern
technologies available, and we monitor effectively, on
the ground, the environmental effects of such ventures.
 The Government of Uruguay reiterates its
commitment to the protection of the environment in all
parts of the world as a human right and as the
cornerstone for achieving true sustainable
development. In this sense, Uruguay calls upon the
international community, and particularly the donor
countries, to increase their cooperation in the area of
the environment for developing countries and assume
in a responsible manner global environmental goals
that involve shared but differentiated responsibilities
for everyone.
 Finally, I would like to address our commitment
to the strengthening of the multilateral trading system
and the need to bring the Doha Development Round to
a successful conclusion, in order to ensure that the
development dimension is reflected in specific results
and not just programmatic measures. For that, it is
important to resume, as soon as possible, the
negotiations in Geneva, always bearing in mind that we
will not achieve satisfactory results without the
elimination of agricultural subsidies, in the form of
exports that receive internal support and the significant
opening up of access to markets, particularly in the
developed countries.
 Everyone here in this Hall knows that there is no
peace in intolerance and terrorism, and there is no
freedom in poverty, nor democracy in inequality. We
reaffirm our conviction that these threats can only be
overcome if we join our efforts together and fully
appreciate the wealth of our own cultural diversity,
both among nations as well as within our respective
nations.
 Among nations, we must rely on the respect of
our traditions and cultures and a broad-based dialogue
among them in order to find useful synergies. And
within each of our countries, we must rely on active
policies promoting social cohesion that embrace our
very cultural, ethnic and religious diversities. We have
to move from words to acts, from declarations to
action. This is not easy, but it is essential.
 We are not starting from zero. The brief history of
this Organization is testament to that.
 But we still have a lot of work to do. It is a large
task which, honestly, will never end and the results will
never be perfect.
 But these zones of continuity and imperfection
establish the ideals that call on us to act and the
commitments that drive us forward.
 If this sixty-first session of the General Assembly
of the United Nations is able to help us in this task, it
will have fulfilled its mission.


Every year our gathering
under this roof does homage to the foresight of our
predecessors, who, by founding the United Nations,
envisioned the unity of nations. Today, this Assembly
embodies that vision: the vision of our interdependence
as members of a single community of nations. This
vision has a strong resonance in Afghanistan, where
both our past troubles and our recent accomplishments
are, in large part, related to the outside world.
 When I last addressed the Assembly in 2004 I
spoke about the tremendous progress that Afghanistan
had achieved since 2001. Today that story of success
continues. Over the past two years we have taken
further significant steps forward, attaining all the
milestones in Afghanistan’s post-war transition.
Millions of Afghans have participated in two general
elections, one for the president and another for the
parliament. With the inauguration of our National
Assembly last year all three independent branches of a
democratic state were completed. We have continued to
build schools and clinics and create employment
opportunities for our people. Our trade with the region
and beyond is growing very rapidly. Industrial activity
is gradually taking root. As a result, Afghanistan’s
income per capita has doubled since 2002.
 At the London Conference earlier this year our
Government presented Afghanistan’s National
Development Strategy for the next five years, which
the international community endorsed. Afghanistan and
its international partners also entered into a compact,
the Afghanistan Compact, which provides the
framework for continued international cooperation in
Afghanistan. Under the compact we Afghans
committed to continue to work towards a stable and
prosperous Afghanistan, with good governance and
human rights protection for all under the rule of law. In
return, the international community pledged continued
and long-term political, military and financial
assistance.
 Regrettably, it is not all positive news that I have
to share today. Over the past year our efforts to build
Afghanistan into a stable, prosperous and democratic
polity have also encountered setbacks. We have seen
terrorism rebounding as terrorists have infiltrated our
borders to step up their murderous campaign against
our people. Terrorism sees in the prosperity of the

06-52879 2

Afghan people its ultimate defeat. That is why our
schools and clinics get burned down, and our ulema,
our teachers and our doctors get killed. That is why
today 200,000 of our students who went to school a
year ago are no longer able to do so.
 It is also sobering to know that polio, the
children’s disease, increased from only four cases in
2005 to 27 this year. All those cases occurred in some
areas of southern Afghanistan where terrorists are
preventing children’s access to vaccination and health
care.
 Terrorists are prepared to cross any boundary and
commit horrific acts of violence to try to derail
Afghanistan from its path to success. They want the
international community to fail in its collective
endeavour to help Afghanistan to rebuild. That is why
they decapitate elderly women, blow up mosques full
of worshippers and kill schoolchildren in
indiscriminate bombings of civilian areas. That is why
they are killing international soldiers and civilians who
have come to Afghanistan to help the Afghan people,
such as the four Canadian soldiers who were killed
four days ago while distributing notebooks and candies
to children in a village in Kandahar, or the Turkish
engineer who was building roads in Helmand. Clearly,
unless we confront them more decisively, terrorists will
continue to take lives and inflict greater damage.
 To be sure, terrorism does not emanate from
within Afghanistan; Afghanistan is its worst victim.
Military action in Afghanistan alone, therefore, will not
deliver our shared goal of eliminating terrorism. We
must look beyond Afghanistan to the sources of
terrorism. We must destroy terrorist sanctuaries beyond
Afghanistan, dismantle the elaborate networks in the
region that recruit, indoctrinate, train, finance, arm and
deploy terrorists. We must ensure that political currents
and entities in the region are not allowed to use
extremism as an instrument of policy.
 Fighting terrorism effectively is also tied to our
fight against narcotics. The menace of narcotics feeds
terrorism and threatens the foundation of legitimate
economic development in Afghanistan and also, of
course, in the region.
 A combination of factors — mainly the lack of a
security environment conducive to our counter-
narcotics efforts, the absence of a comprehensive
alternative livelihoods programme and clandestine
credit flows to poppy farmers — is behind the
narcotics trade. Afghanistan is committed to fighting
narcotics, alongside terrorism, with strength and
determination and through a combination of law
enforcement and economic measures. We expect that
the international community will continue to support us
in this fight by enabling us to provide meaningful
alternative livelihoods to our farmers.
 In the context of the United Nations role in
enhancing global security we endorse the
recommendations of the Secretary-General for a
comprehensive counter-terrorism strategy and welcome
the recent adoption of the strategy by the General
Assembly.
 We also express our support for the proposal to
convene a high-level conference on international
terrorism with a view to concluding the draft
comprehensive convention on international terrorism at
the earliest possible opportunity.
 Afghanistan also attaches great importance to the
various initiatives undertaken to promote
understanding and cooperation among civilizations.
Afghanistan stands ready to contribute to further
enriching these initiatives with our knowledge and
experience of international cooperation and
interdependence.
 Meanwhile, we remain deeply concerned at the
increased incidence of Islamophobia in the West. This
trend does not bode well for the cause of building
understanding and cooperation across civilizations. As
a Muslim nation, Afghanistan is committed not only to
safeguarding the interest of our Holy Faith but also to
building bridges of understanding and friendship
among followers of all faiths.
 The situation in the Middle East, including the
question of Palestine, remains a source of great
concern to us in Afghanistan. Afghanistan strongly
supports the full realization of the rights of the
Palestinian people, including the right to sovereignty
and an independent State of Palestine living side by
side in peace and coexistence with the State of Israel.
Afghanistan also shares the pain of the people of
Lebanon as they suffer a terrible relapse into
destruction caused by war. We hope that the
international community will step in with concern and
generosity to address Lebanon’s needs so that it may
recover.

3 06-52879

 To conclude, I thank the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, for his exemplary leadership in
serving the cause of global security and prosperity. I
thank him especially for his interest in and
commitment to Afghanistan and for his contribution to
making our world a more secure place.
 I also thank the members of the international
community for their steadfast and generous support for
Afghanistan over the past five years. I convey the
gratitude of the Afghan people for the sacrifices that
the men and women in uniform from about 40
countries throughout the world have made in the fight
against terrorism in Afghanistan. We will honour those
sacrifices by remaining true to our vision of building a
secure, democratic and prosperous Afghanistan that
will contribute to the progress of our region and to the
security of the world at large.


At the outset
allow me to congratulate you, Madam, on your election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-first
session and to wish you every success in this very
honourable and responsible position. My
commendation also goes to your predecessor, Mr. Jan
Eliasson.
 I should also like to express my deepest
appreciation and praise to Secretary-General Kofi
Annan for the commitment and determination he has
shown in discharging his important duties. Concerning
the forthcoming elections for the new Secretary-
General, I take this opportunity to recall that eastern
Europe is the only region that has not been represented
in this high position. In this regard, we welcome the
candidature of Mrs. Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President of
the Republic of Latvia.
 The terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 still
loom large in our memory. The fifth anniversary of this
tragedy has again filled our television screens with
horrific scenes of suffering and death. It has served to
remind us of the resolve that is necessary to combat
terrorism, which constitutes one of the most serious
threats to international peace and security.
 With this in mind, Moldova fully supports the
Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted recently by
the General Assembly, and welcomes the Assembly’s
decision to continue, during the current session,
consideration of the Secretary-General’s progress
report on the prevention of armed conflict (A/60/891).
We consider that the specific measures in the Strategy’s
plan of action are comprehensive in their details and
far-reaching in their insight. We need to take practical
steps individually and collectively to implement the
provisions of the plan. Likewise, we believe that the
recommendations outlined in the Secretary-General’s
progress report will serve as guiding points for
Member States in preventing conflicts throughout the
world.
 Many regional organizations have been entrusted
by the United Nations, under the provisions of Chapter
VIII of the Charter, with dealing with a number of
conflicts that are not in the focus of the Security
Council. We need a more systematic outreach to these
regional organizations. No conflict in the world should
escape the attention of the United Nations, whether or
not it is on the Security Council’s agenda.
 From this perspective, we are delighted that the
General Assembly, despite opposition from some
Member States, agreed to include in the agenda of this
session a new item, item 27, proposed by Azerbaijan,
Georgia, Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova —

06-53609 2

GUAM: “Protracted conflicts in the GUAM area and
their implications for international peace, security and
development”. These unresolved conflicts continue to
impact negatively on the political, social and economic
development of the GUAM States and the millions of
people living in the region. We believe that bringing
the matter to the international community through the
General Assembly will facilitate the resolution of
conflicts in Azerbaijan, Georgia and the Republic of
Moldova, and will not, as some fear, undermine the
existing mechanisms to negotiate settlement of these
conflicts. In this context, I should like to express on
behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova
deep gratitude to those countries that have supported
our initiative.
 The Transdniestrian conflict is first and foremost
a product of geopolitical interests and designs. It was
unleashed with external support immediately after the
collapse of the Soviet Union and the declaration of
independence and sovereignty by the Republic of
Moldova. Unlike other internal conflicts generated and
fostered by ethnic and religious antagonisms, it has a
purely political character. The similarity of the ethnic
structure of the population on both sides of the Dniestr
river speaks for itself in this regard and cannot be
denied.
 Over the years the Moldovan authorities have put
in place specific policies aimed at ensuring full respect
for the human rights of ethnic minorities, in accordance
with the highest international standards. International
organizations dealing with human rights issues have
repeatedly attested that in the Republic of Moldova all
the conditions for the preservation of the cultural and
linguistic identities of ethnic minorities have been
created. These conditions include the functioning of
many schools based on the languages of minorities, as
well as the broad use of Russian as the language of
inter-ethnic communication.
 The satisfactory resolution of the Gagauz issue by
granting special status to the region concerned is one
of the greatest achievements of Moldova’s national
policy. It offers a unique example in post-cold-war
Europe of an internal conflict settled successfully by
political means. These developments, against the
backdrop of the lack of democracy and growing
criticism by the international community of the
totalitarian Transdniestrian regime of Tiraspol, have
convinced the separatist leaders to cease the political
exploitation of cultural and linguistic factors within the
negotiation process.
 It should be emphasized here that the territory
controlled by the separatists is one of the few regions
of its kind in the world, one where political parties and
non-governmental organizations opposed to the
separatist regime are prohibited; where freedom of the
mass media and of opinion is non-existent; and where
other fundamental freedoms, especially those of the
native Moldovan population, are systematically
violated.
 Moreover, various types of conventional
weapons, including those prohibited or restricted by
the relevant international arms control regimes,
continue to be manufactured illegally in the region.
The process of military build-up in Transdniestria is
conducted vigorously by the separatist leaders, despite
steady efforts by Moldova to reduce its military forces
and to settle the political conflict exclusively through
peaceful means, without giving up its status of
permanent neutrality.
 The Moldovan authorities are determined to find
a political solution to the Transdniestrian conflict based
on respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity
of the country. This regional security problem should
be resolved through negotiations, with the participation
of key actors in the “5+2” format. The end goal of
negotiations should be the drafting of a special legal
status for the Transdniestrian region within the
Republic of Moldova. The region’s democratization
and demilitarization are indispensable conditions for
progress in the settlement process.
 We have a sound road map for settling the
conflict, the Ukrainian plan, together with the
documents approved by the Moldovan Parliament in
the summer of 2005. It is important that the
negotiations resume as soon as possible, without any
preconditions. The calls for such negotiations are
strongly supported by the Republic of Moldova.
Although little progress was achieved in the four
rounds of the “5+2” negotiations, we believe it is
crucial to hold talks rather than to preserve the status
quo.
 With a view to advancing the settlement process,
the Moldovan authorities have taken a number of
complementary actions. Thus, on 22 July 2005, the
Moldovan Parliament adopted the Law on Fundamental
Regulations of the Special Legal Status of Settlements

3 06-53609

on the Left Bank of the River Nistru. This law grants
Transdniestria the right to solve, independently,
problems related to legal, social and economic
development, while complying with the Constitution
and laws of the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, the
law grants the Transdniestrian region the right to have
its own legislative and executive bodies, as well as
more official languages.
 In the same vein, conditions have been created to
bring the activities of Transdniestrian companies
within the legal framework of the country through their
registration with the relevant constitutional authorities,
which should allow those companies to benefit fully
from the trade preferences Moldova has with its
partners, including the European Union. That has been
possible due to a joint commitment of the Moldovan
and Ukrainian authorities to secure our common
border. The deployment on the ground of the European
Union Border Assistance Mission facilitated
cooperation between the relevant Moldovan and
Ukrainian services aimed at establishing a single
customs regime and efficiently controlling the frontier.
We are confident that this trilateral interaction will
contribute to settling the Transdniestrian problem.
 We take this opportunity to inform the Assembly
that on 17 September the separatist Transdniestrian
regime held a so-called referendum on the region’s
future. We condemn this pseudo-referendum, which
flagrantly infringes the Constitution of the Republic of
Moldova, undermines the country’s territorial integrity
and defies democratic values and standards. The
Republic of Moldova is grateful to the mediators and
observers of the negotiation process — the European
Union, the United States of America, the Organization
for Security and Cooperation in Europe and Ukraine —
for their resolute position on non-recognition of that
farce.
 We continue to be concerned about the tensions
in the security zone. The inefficiency of the current
peacekeeping mechanism dictates the need for its
transformation into a multinational peacekeeping
mission with an international mandate. We welcome
certain proposals made in this sense, and are ready to
tackle this issue, in a result-oriented manner, without
delay. With regard to the military aspect, I should
reiterate our concern and deep regret that the Russian
Federation has not yet fulfilled its Istanbul
commitments. The complete implementation of these
decisions will facilitate the process for the entering
into force of the adapted Treaty on Conventional
Armed Forces in Europe. We also underline the need
for an early international inspection of depots with
ammunition in the Transdniestrian region. Monitoring
of the military-industrial enterprises in the eastern
region of the Republic of Moldova is long overdue.
 This year the Republic of Moldova celebrates the
fifteenth anniversary of its independence. During these
15 years, as a Member State of the United Nations, we
have fully shared the common values, responsibilities,
achievements and setbacks of the Organization.
Nevertheless, we laid the foundations for a democratic
society where basic human rights and the rights of
national minorities are fully respected. The main
achievement has been the consolidation of the
Republic of Moldova as a peace-loving, independent
European country. The Republic of Moldova has
irreversibly chosen the way of European integration as
a strategic objective of its foreign policy. We are fully
committed to the idea of integrating into the system of
political, economic and social values of the European
Union’s family. We hope that the successful
implementation of the European Union-Moldova
Action Plan will open up for us the possibility of
elevating contractual relations with the European
Union to a new level.
 In conclusion, I voice our hope that the
proceedings of the General Assembly at its sixty-first
session will be conducted in a spirit of solidarity and
with a realistic and constructive approach to the
complex issues confronting the world today. The
delegation of the Republic of Moldova is committed to
contributing, alongside other Member States, to the
fulfilment of the lofty goals of the United Nations.


Allow me to express my sincere gratitude for the
honour of speaking from this high rostrum and to
convey on behalf of Turkmenistan’s President,
Saparmurat Niyazov, the best wishes for peace, well-

06-53615 34

being and prosperity to all the peoples of all countries.
Permit me also to congratulate Madam Haya Rashed
Al-Khalifa on her election to the lofty and responsible
post of President and wish her success in guiding the
fruitful work of the sixty-first session of the United
Nations General Assembly.
 Neutral Turkmenistan, which marks the fifteenth
anniversary of its independence this year, builds its
relations in the international arena upon the principles
of equal rights and mutually beneficial cooperation
with all States and international organizations.
Cooperation with the United Nations holds a special
place in Turkmenistan’s international relations.
Turkmenistan welcomes constructive interaction
among members of the community of nations in
elaborating new and effective approaches aimed at
preserving and maintaining security and stability in the
world and at achieving the objectives of sustainable
development of countries and peoples.
 During the more than 10 years that have passed
since the adoption by the General Assembly of the
resolution on the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan
on 12 December 1995, our State has demonstrated in
practice the fundamental nature of peace-loving and
humanist principles that have formed the basis of
Turkmenistan’s policy since the day it acquired its
independence.
 I would like to avail this opportunity to express,
on behalf of Turkmenistan’s President, our appreciation
to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan for
his support of Turkmenistan’s foreign policy and for
his tireless efforts for the welfare of the world.
 Today we quite rightly can state that
Turkmenistan, as a neutral State, has been
unswervingly fulfilling its international obligations.
Through its actions, our country demonstrates its
adherence to peace, cooperation, non-accession to
alliances and military blocs, non-interference in the
internal affairs of other States, respect for their
sovereignty and their right to their own paths of
development.
 It is on the basis of peace, humanism and mutual
respect of interests that Turkmenistan approaches
issues of international cooperation, giving top priority
to interaction with the United Nations and its structures
in the strategic areas of partnership. There is no
disputing the fact that the United Nations has been and
continues to be the largest and most prestigious
international Organization that has been entrusted with
the coordinating role in world affairs and on which
humankind pins its hopes for peaceful development.
 Turkmenistan welcomes efforts by the United
Nations, the General Assembly and the Security
Council aimed at achieving goals of sustainable
development, as well as meeting the challenges set by
the 2005 Summit, which determined how the world
community should address the most pressing problems
affecting stability, humanitarian issues and
strengthening and improving the work of the United
Nations.
 We believe that the tangible results of the
collective efforts aimed at finding the best ways for the
United Nations to proceed include such practical steps
as the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission,
creation of the Human Rights Council and other
constructive steps. Improvement in the work of the
Security Council is clearly one of the most important
elements in completing the reform of the Organization.
We firmly believe that it is essential to carry out this
task; it is made necessary because of the objective
processes of international development, increasing
interaction among States and increased need for
combining regional and global problems.
 The United Nations is the most important
international structure, where comprehensive account
has to be taken of all factors underlying the processes
in the world. Turkmenistan advocates strengthening the
role of the United Nations and its major bodies, when
decisions concerning the most pressing problems of
today are taken.
 In this context, our country supports expansion of
Security Council membership on the basis of the
greatest possible agreement among United Nations
Member States. We also support initiating more
effective and constructive dialogue between the
Security Council and the General Assembly. We
believe that progress will continue in the reforms
started at the United Nations. Turkmenistan also
welcomes expansion of the number of States
represented in United Nations structures and
institutions, while emphasizing the importance of
geographical distribution; this is in line with the basic
values of our Organization.
 Turkmenistan’s steadfast position is that it
favours strengthening the United Nations in the
international arena as the highest international forum

35 06-53615

for establishing a just and humane world order.
Turkmenistan fundamentally advocates increasing the
peacebuilding potential of the Organization, in
accordance with the realities of global development.
Therefore, our country devotes great attention to
maintaining most close contacts with offices of United
Nations specialized agencies, whose importance is
continually growing today.
 One of Turkmenistan’s main achievements since
independence has been the primacy of the principle
whereby each nation has the right to chose its own path
of development and acceptable form of State system.
This is an essential condition for stability and
sustainable and progressive development in all spheres
of society. Today, independent and neutral
Turkmenistan is confidently advancing along its
chosen path. Annually, our country’s economic growth
surpasses 20 per cent, with the volume of production
per capita exceeding $8,000.
 Turkmenistan is celebrating its 15th anniversary
as a State that has guaranteed its own food
independence. It provides its people with free natural
gas, electricity, water, salt and low, in fact, symbolic
prices for bread, utilities and public transport services,
gasoline and so forth. All this is a tangible result of the
long-term programme of social and economic reform
carried out in our country under the leadership of the
Head of the nation. Under this programme, over 60 per
cent of the State budget is allocated to social spending.
 As a democratic State based on the rule of law,
Turkmenistan is unwaveringly implementing the
highest principles allowing people to express their will.
In this regard, the Turkmen people possess a vast
historical experience of democratic traditions, which
are organically and progressively finding their way
today into the social and political life of the country
and are reflected in the continual enjoyment by citizens
of their constitutional rights and freedoms. In this
respect, 2006 was a significant year for Turkmenistan.
In accordance with the decision of the highest
representative body of Government, the People’s
Council, our country held elections to local self-
government on an open, democratic and competitive
basis. As of now, this practice is being implemented at
other levels of Government. In this, we see the basis
for consistent and irreversible processes of
democratization, with the ever-increasing involvement
of citizens and public organizations in managing the
country. In Turkmenistan, this process is advancing in
a natural way, thereby instilling in the people the sense
that they are masters of their land and that they are
responsible for their destiny and the destiny of their
country.
 In terms of preserving peace and security,
non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is
one of the most acute problems on today’s global
agenda. Our country fully supports efforts by the world
community in this area and participates in their
implementation, both at the national and international
levels. We are taking concrete, practical steps in this
direction.
 It should be especially emphasized that, at the
end of October 2005, the People’s Council of
Turkmenistan adopted a Declaration in support of the
initiatives of international organizations against the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Also, on
8 September, Turkmenistan, together with other States
of the region, signed a treaty creating a Nuclear-
Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia.
 By these actions, our country is demonstrating in
practice its firm commitment to the processes of
disarmament and non-proliferation. In this connection
we pledge our readiness to implement the initiative of
the President of Turkmenistan — which was supported
by the United Nations Secretary-General — to
establish a United Nations regional centre for
preventive diplomacy in Central Asia. All the
necessary conditions and appropriate infrastructure are
already available in the capital of our State —
Ashgabat.
 The President returned to the Chair.
 Turkmenistan has demonstrated its existing
potential and capabilities through its active cooperation
with the United Nations in organizing major
international forums and conferences to discuss
pressing problems involving global and regional issues.
 Through practical multilateral dialogue we have
become convinced that the prevention of potential
conflicts requires early warning of emerging situations,
a broad-based analysis and elaboration of preventive
strategies. Therefore, Turkmenistan will continue to
make its contribution to improving multilateral
cooperation in this important area in partnership with
the United Nations and its organs, while recognizing
the great importance of international experience in
preventive diplomacy.

06-53615 36

 Turkmenistan is a principled and determined
participant in the struggle against the threat of
terrorism. We regard terrorism in all its forms as a
phenomenon that must be placed outside the
framework of human civilization. We are convinced
that in order to combat terrorism today we need the
cooperation of all States, including with regard to such
important issues as cooperation in the search for and
extradition of the organizers and participants of
terrorist acts, as well as their collaborators.
 Turkmenistan fully supports the efforts of the
Secretary-General in elaborating a global strategy in
the fight against terrorism and stands ready to provide
practical assistance to the international community in
its efforts in that direction.
 The United Nations is a unique reflection of
actual changes occurring in the world and it has clearly
demonstrated the will and desire of States for
cooperation within a stable environment. The strategic
direction of reforms and the chosen path towards
qualitative improvement in the work of the community
of nations has become the defining vector of those
changes.
 Turkmenistan views the reform of the United
Nations as a road map towards the further
strengthening and enhancement of its authority. We are
convinced that the United Nations has always been and
remains the most universal international structure and
the most important guarantor of global stability,
security and development. Turkmenistan will continue
to cooperate more closely with the United Nations in
the future with a view to helping it to fully display its
enormous potential.


On behalf of the
Zambian delegation, I congratulate you, Madam
President, on your election as President of the sixty-
first session of the United Nations General Assembly.
It is indeed significant to have a lady holding the
highest office of the General Assembly after almost
three decades. To us, this attests to the commitment of
the United Nations to the principle of gender equality.
 I would like to take this opportunity to welcome a
new member to the United Nations, the Republic of
Montenegro.
 Madam President, I wish to pay tribute to your
predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson, the Foreign Minister of
Sweden, who successfully presided over the sixtieth
session. He rendered selfless commitment and devotion
to the search for consensus on a number of issues,
including the 2005 World Summit Outcome. It is
pleasing to note that during his presidency, a number of
decisions were taken, including the establishment of
the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights
Council.
 Allow me to also pay fitting tribute to the
outgoing Secretary-General of the United Nations,
Mr. Kofi Annan, for the outstanding leadership he has
provided to our Organization, particularly in his efforts
to reform it into a more vibrant and accountable body.
His vision and stewardship of the Organization has set
the United Nations on a new course. We wish him well
in his future endeavours as he leaves office. It is now
up to us Member States to summon sufficient will to
make his vision a reality.
 The world today is faced with challenges of
extreme poverty and underdevelopment, conflicts
among and between nations and terrorism, which have

37 06-53341

given rise to increased insecurity all over the world. In
addition, human trafficking is on the increase
worldwide. Often, innocent women and children in
search of a better life, are sold and made to engage in
illicit activities. That is a gross violation of human
rights, which must be seriously addressed by the
international community.
 The 2005 Summit Outcome set a global agenda to
address those challenges. Much has been achieved, but
more remains to be done if we are to build a world
body that is effective and relevant to the challenges
faced. Indeed, as Mr. Kofi Annan has indicated in his
“In Larger Freedom” report,
 “we will not enjoy development without security,
we will not enjoy security without development,
and we will not enjoy either without respect for
human rights.” (A/59/2005, para. 17)
 The guiding principles of the United Nations
Charter incorporate the promotion and protection of
human rights and fundamental freedoms. We believe
that without the protection of those rights and
freedoms, meaningful development cannot be
achieved.
 As one of the 47 Member States elected to the
newly established Human Rights Council, Zambia is
committed to upholding the tenets of human rights in
our country and the world at large. In that regard,
Zambia commends the United Nations for establishing
the Human Rights Council, and as a pioneer member,
pledges to give it all the support that it will require. We
commit ourselves to assist in formulating rules and
structures designed to ensure a strong Council that is
transparent, non-selective and non-politicized and that
promotes dialogue and cooperation among Member
States.
 I am pleased to state that Zambia has made
progress in consolidating human rights and good
governance. Zambia has further strengthened the rule
of law and upheld the highest standards of individual
freedoms for all citizens, without discrimination based
on sex, colour, race or religious affiliation. In that
regard, we appeal to the international community to
assist us to strengthen and build the capacities of
human rights institutions and all related institutions
that have an important role to play in the promotion
and protection of human rights and fundamental
freedoms.
 Permit me at this juncture to thank the
international community for electing Zambia to the
Human Rights Council, with the second highest
number of votes.
 With regard to increased global insecurity,
Zambia reaffirms that a new vision of collective
security is required. Member States of the United
Nations expect the collective mechanism to address
threats, such as war, weapons of mass destruction,
terrorism, organized crime and civil conflict, infectious
diseases, extreme poverty and environmental
degradation. If the United Nations is to strengthen the
operations of that collective mechanism, Member
States must work through the United Nations Security
Council and other United Nations agencies to develop
stronger anti-terrorism, nuclear non-proliferation,
disarmament and crime prevention regimes.
 Zambia will continue to actively pursue measures
intended to curtail terrorism through various actions,
including taking appropriate national legislative
reforms. To that end, we welcome the recent adoption
by the General Assembly of the Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy and look forward to the adoption of
the comprehensive convention on international
terrorism.
 Our Organization cannot afford to avoid
addressing situations that threaten international peace
and security, such as the recent case of Lebanon.
Pitifully, we witnessed a case of the inaction of the
Security Council, a body charged with the
responsibility of maintaining international peace and
security. That state of affairs only reaffirms the need to
reform the Security Council, with regard to its working
methods and the enlargement of its membership. In that
regard, Zambia reaffirms Africa’s well-known position
on the matter.
 At this stage, I would be remiss if I did not
mention the Great Lakes region, which is emerging
from a protracted period of conflict, followed by a
period of successful transition towards democracy. The
International Conference on the Great Lakes Region
will hold its second summit in Nairobi in December
2006, to adopt the draft pact on security, stability and
development in the region. In that regard, we need the
continued political and financial support of the
international community to ensure its adoption.
 It is important to confirm that the peacebuilding
and development process in the Great Lakes region has

06-53341 38

reached a very advanced stage at all the three-
dimensional levels, namely: international partnership,
regional ownership and national stewardship. The
vision for integrated and sustainable human
development in the Great Lakes region is now
reassured. The cessation of conflicts in the region, has
already fed into the collective will to transform the
subregion into a place of sustainable peace, political
security and development.
 Extreme poverty and deprivation breed disease.
The number of people living with or affected by
HIV/AIDS and the deaths caused by AIDS have
continued to grow in the world today. Furthermore,
between 350 and 500 million people per year are
exposed to malaria, which is estimated to be the
number one cause of mortality in most developing
countries.
 Zambia, like many of the developing countries
adversely affected by those diseases, supports all the
efforts made by the international community in
combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. We
therefore welcome the creation of an international drug
purchase facility to combat HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis
and malaria. This will not only facilitate easy access to
medicine but will also lower the costs and therefore
benefit many countries, especially in the developing
world.
 Poverty in the world today accounts for many of
the social and economic injustices that people are
subjected to in many developing countries. Four years
ago, a bargain was struck in Monterrey between
developed and developing countries on the
implementation of a comprehensive strategy bold
enough to achieve the United Nations Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015. Developed
countries were urged to support those efforts with
action on aid, trade and debt relief.
 While we commend the developed countries for
taking tangible steps to fulfil their commitments, we
call upon them to do so as a matter of urgency. It is
saddening to note that six years after the Millennium
Declaration was signed, the majority of our people in
Africa are still exposed to abject poverty and live on
less than $1 per day. Although there has been
significant progress in achieving the MDGs, much
more remains to be done in order to reverse the
negative trends of poverty and the continued
marginalization of people across the world.
 We call for the removal of the unjust multilateral
trade system, which continues to hamper the fair
participation of the developing and least developed
countries in the global market. We would like to draw
the attention of the Assembly to the role of our
developing partners, particularly, in the quick and
concrete implementation of the Doha Development
Agenda. It should be pointed out that with fair trading
practices, developing and least developed countries
would take a significant step towards self-sustenance
and reduce dependence on aid.
 Furthermore, we welcome the outcome of the
Gleneagles Summit, at which the leaders of the Group
of Eight pledged to increase aid to Africa by
$25 billion a year by 2010. We also express our
gratitude to those leaders for extending and deepening
debt relief to the poorest countries through the
Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative. That Initiative has
resulted in 100-per-cent cancellation of the debt owed
to the international multilateral financial institutions by
the poor countries that have reached the completion
point under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt
Initiative. Zambia is one such country. In addition, our
gratitude goes to the other cooperating partners for
agreeing to expand aid to developing countries by
approximately $50 billion. Those resources will indeed
contribute to the advancement of the MDGs.
 Although in the recent past we have seen an
increase in the commitment of aid resources and action
and a reaffirmation of the principle of mutual
accountability, there is still an urgent need to ensure
that aid is managed efficiently and used effectively for
the achievement of the MDGs. It is equally important
to closely monitor the donor commitments and aid
flows targeted at achieving the MDGs that we have set
for ourselves to improve the lives of the poor and most
vulnerable in the global community. The people in the
developing countries have been listening attentively to
the promises that we have made in various
international forums. They continue to monitor those
commitments. Their expectations and aspirations are
very high. It is therefore incumbent on us to ensure that
those commitments and promises are fulfilled.
 The twenty-first century has been declared the
century for the development of Africa. Let us therefore
show true commitment to that cause. In a world where
there is no true partnership between the rich nations
and the poor nations, there can be no global security,
no universal justice, no human rights and no

39 06-53341

meaningful development. More than ever before, all of
us — rich and poor nations alike — have to work
together to create a sense of equal partnership. We all
need to fulfil our commitments within a given time
frame and enter into new ones in order to reach our

goal of a world free of hunger, extreme poverty and
disease — indeed, a world where we can live in a
secure, clean and sustainable environment.


Two years ago, at this same rostrum, as the conclusion
of my statement (see A/59/PV.10), I quoted these
famous verses of the Spanish poet Antonio Machado:
 “Traveller, your footsteps
 Are the road, and nothing else;
 Traveller, there is no road.
 The road is made by walking;
 Walking makes the road.”
 What a road we have travelled since then. Indeed,
the opening of the sixty-first session of the General
Assembly is above all the opportunity for us to look
back and assess the progress we have made,
particularly since the September 2005 World Summit,
but also to try to assess the work that still needs to be
done to implement the noble ambitions we all agreed

06-53323 10

upon one year ago in this Hall where we meet every
year as a real parliament of nations. On that historic
occasion, we forcefully reaffirmed that peace and
security, development and human rights are the pillars
of the United Nations system and constitute the
essential element of a more just and a more peaceful
world order.
 One year later, what have we accomplished, and
how can that progress be assessed in the light of these
criteria: the reality of the situation, and the way in
which the complex international situation and the
never-ending future are evolving?
 When we look at the current situation, we have to
see that areas of shadow coexist with reasons for hope,
and we have some cause for concern. More than ever,
the Middle East is the centre of deep political, military,
socio-economic and cultural tensions, with military
confrontation on Lebanese lands and bombings in
northern Israel, to mention only the most recent
examples. A month of war has left behind it a terrible
legacy of death and injury, destruction and
contamination by mines and unexploded ordnance, as
well as major economic consequences. My country
immediately joined international solidarity efforts. The
Stockholm conference enabled us to coordinate
international support and to move towards
reconstruction under the aegis of the United Nations
and the Lebanese Government.
 But beyond that immediate reaction, now that a
cessation of hostilities has been brought about — late,
it is true — we now have to consolidate the ceasefire
and lay the foundations of a sustainable political
process, the principal elements of which are defined in
Security Council resolution 1701 (2006). As reaffirmed
a few days ago from this podium by the current
President of the European Council, Ms. Tarja Halonen
(see ), the European Union is prepared to
fully play its role in this context. Already, European
contributions — to which my country is committed to
participate — constitute what Secretary-General Kofi
Annan has called the backbone of a strengthened
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL).
 So the task of supporting the emergence of a fully
sovereign and independent Lebanon which can exercise
its sovereignty and a monopoly on armed force
throughout its territory must be completed; all regional
players must make their contribution to this process.
By bringing about the lifting of the blockade of
Lebanon, and by concretely addressing the issue of
prisoners, the Secretary-General has laid the
foundations for a lasting solution. We thank him for his
effective work.
 I was in Beirut, Tel Aviv and Ramallah a few
days ago, and I realized once again the extent to which
the absence of true peace in this region has had a
negative effect on civilian populations, particularly in
the occupied territories, where the humanitarian
situation is getting worse day by day. I also realized the
extent to which confrontation, violence and despair
tend to spread and become entrenched. It is this
grievous machine that we have to stop. More than ever
before, it is clear that there can be no military solution
or unilateral solution to the continuing conflicts in the
region.
 On 15 September, the ministers for foreign affairs
of the European Union reaffirmed our full support for
the search for a negotiated solution. We welcomed the
announcement by President Abbas with regard to an
agreement on the formation of a government of
national unity, and we expressed the hope that such a
government’s programme would reflect the principles
of the Quartet. Two days ago, as we know, the Quartet
too endorsed that position.
 However, persistent tension in the Middle East
must not divert our attention from Africa. That
continent continues to be scourged by poverty, disease
and armed conflict. But at the same time there is hope,
thanks to the continent’s extraordinary vitality and
creativity. Although far too many internal conflicts and
international crises remain in many areas in Africa —
for example, in Côte d’Ivoire; the Sudan, in particular
the Darfur region, where a large-scale humanitarian
crisis is looming; the Horn of Africa; and other areas as
well — there are some signs of hope, sometimes fragile
to be sure, are to be seen in countries as diverse as
Liberia, Sierra Leone and the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, where an electoral process of
unprecedented scale is under way with the massive
support of the United Nations and the European Union,
among other partners.
 The African Union is also playing an increasingly
positive role in crisis management on the African
continent, as illustrated by its action in Darfur through
the African Union Mission in Sudan (AMIS). It is
essential that this crucial action be speedily taken up
by the deployment of an enlarged United Nations

11 06-53323

mission, as provided for in Security Council resolution
1706 (2006).
 With the creation and the operationalization a few
months ago of the Peacebuilding Commission, another
World Summit commitment has now been met. The
United Nations now has an innovative instrument to
manage post-conflict situations in order to ensure
optimal transition from peacekeeping and urgent
humanitarian assistance to restarting the development
process. We wish every success to this new body,
which certainly gives rise to great hope throughout the
world.
 Before leaving the issue of peace and security, I
must briefly mention two subjects that have a major,
horizontal impact: terrorism and the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction and their delivery
systems.
 With regard to the scourge of terrorism, concerted
and decisive action at the international and region
levels must obviously be taken. I am pleased that at the
end of its sixtieth session, under the energetic
presidency of Mr. Jan Eliasson, whom I congratulate
for his work, the General Assembly adopted the United
Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy (resolution
60/288). The Strategy must both address the conditions
that encourage the spread of terrorism and seek to
prevent and act against terrorism, including through the
various bodies of the United Nations, while at the same
time guaranteeing respect for human rights and the rule
of law. As European Union ministers for foreign affairs
declared a few days ago, that latter consideration
applies in particular to the treatment of all detainees, as
well as to the problematic issue of secret detention
centres.
 The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their delivery systems continues to give rise to
grave concern at the international level. The attitude
and the activities of North Korea in the area of nuclear
proliferation recently led the Security Council
unanimously to adopt its resolution 1695 (2006).
 Another subject of concern is Iran. In its
resolution 1696 (2006), the Security Council defined
the main parameters which will guide the way in which
the Iranian nuclear issue is approached by the
international community and the European Union,
which has been in discussion with Iran for more than
two years. If those demands — particularly the
suspension of all enrichment activity — are met,
negotiations on a comprehensive agreement can begin
and confidence can be restored.
 The Summit Outcome Document (resolution
60/1) highlighted in particular the importance of
development, which directly affects the fate of billions
of human beings. While 2005 was the year of great
development commitments, with the holding of the
Group of Eight Summit at Gleneagles and the decision
taken by the European Union — under the Luxembourg
presidency — to meet the target of 0.7 per cent of
gross national income in official development
assistance by 2015, 2006 has been the year of
implementation, particularly with the adoption of
resolution 60/265, which reflects the international
consensus in that area.
 For its part, Luxembourg continues to be proud of
its participation — still too limited unfortunately — in
the 0.7 per cent club, with 0.82 per cent of its gross
national income devoted to official development
assistance in 2005. We hope to reach 1 per cent within
the next few years.
 The meeting held earlier this week to consider the
implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action
for the Least Developed Countries showed once again
that the establishment of a true development
partnership remains a priority and urgent task.
Unfortunately, that also remains true for international
action against HIV/AIDS, which was the subject of a
high-level meeting in June.
 Concerned about improving the quality and
effectiveness of aid to the most impoverished, my
country looks forward with great interest to the
proposals of the High-level Panel on United Nations
System-wide Coherence which will be made public in
the next few months. The maxim “development is the
other name for peace” remains amazingly current.
 In September 2005, the participants in the
Summit formally recognized that development, peace,
security and human rights are linked and mutually
reinforcing. To strengthen the international framework
for the promotion and protection of human rights, the
General Assembly decided in March 2006, as we know,
to replace the old Commission on Human Rights with a
Human Rights Council. While the new Council’s first
session enabled it to make some important progress in
terms of standards, we must now bolster its
establishment by providing it with all the means and
instruments it needs — including special procedures —

06-53323 12

to promote the cause of human rights and to react
swiftly and effectively to specific situations of serious
human rights violations.
 Likewise, we welcome the recent conclusion of
the negotiations on a draft international convention on
the rights of persons with disabilities. We hope that
that important instrument can be adopted this fall by
the General Assembly. Another significant innovation,
adopted at last year’s Summit — the notion of the
“responsibility to protect” in case of genocide, war
crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity —
should be applied in accordance with the criteria and
conditions defined in the Summit Outcome Document
so that it can progressively become an undisputed
standard to guide the action of the international
community as the situation requires.
 While peace and security, development and
human rights are the three basic pillars on which the
United Nations is based, those fundamental values can
be fulfilled and fully expressed in real terms only
through an effective and credible multilateral system.
Multilateralism must not remain only a word. In the
light of recent events in the Middle East, no nation,
large or small, can escape the conclusion that
multilateralism offers the only viable framework for
finding solutions to the conflicts and threats that
confront us.
 It is our responsibility to provide the multilateral
system with adequate means to carry out its principal
missions. We must also ensure that the working
methods and decision-making procedures of our bodies
are defined and structured so that they can produce the
best results and can best meet the legitimate
expectations of Member States. Achieving a better
cost-effectiveness ratio to benefit our peoples must be
an objective of all Member States, large or small, of
the North or the South. What is at stake is the
credibility — perhaps even the survival — of
multilateralism as a way to manage the major problems
shared by humanity.
 Some progress was made over the past year in
reforming administrative and financial management,
but much remains to be done. We must unite to bring
about essential reform to transform the United Nations
into an instrument fully capable of addressing the
grave and multiple challenges at the beginning of the
twenty-first century.
 In that context, we cannot overlook the organ to
which the Charter of the United Nations entrusts a vital
role in the maintenance and preservation of
international peace and security: the Security Council.
For many years, ways and means to strengthen the
legitimacy and effectiveness of that essential body
were the subject of in-depth discussions, without any
significant progress being made. For our part, we are
convinced that Security Council reform remains
indispensable. It must be carried out both to strengthen
the Council’s representativity — by increasing the
number of its permanent and non-permanent members,
but without overburdening its functioning by granting
the right of veto — and to improve its rules of
procedure in order to enhance the effectiveness and
transparency of its work and, thus, the legitimacy of its
action.
 I should like to conclude by referring to the
person who has guided us and provided us with
benchmarks as he has led the Organization for the past
10 years. I am, of course, speaking about our
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. Although there is
still some time before the end of his mandate — and I
am sure that he intends to carry out a number of
important missions before then — it is important that I
now pay tribute to him and thank him for the work
accomplished over the course of a lifetime devoted to
serving the Organization.
 The country that I have the honour to represent in
this Hall, Luxembourg, also intends to be an important
part of the life and the future of the Organization,
which, more than 60 years after its establishment,
continues to represent a noble ideal and hope for
millions and millions of men and women. Luxembourg
wants to put itself at the service of that ideal and of the
international community and to shoulder its part of the
responsibility in that regard. That is why, five years
ago, we decided to submit our candidacy for a non-
permanent seat on the Security Council for the
biennium 2013-2014. Luxembourg, a founding
Member of the United Nations that has not yet held a
Council seat, views this candidacy as a new expression
of its commitment to the purposes and principles of the
Charter, to peace and security, development and human
rights and to an effective multilateral system.
 Despite difficulties and obstacles, we must
persevere, through dialogue and diplomacy, to fashion
a United Nations worthy of our expectations. As we do
so, let us be inspired by the reflection of the great

13 06-53323

Michelangelo, who said, “The greatest danger is not
that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too
low and we reach it”.


Our President arises in this Assembly as a
breath of fresh air and presides as an inspiration to
women, particularly in the Middle East, and to human
beings all over the world who treasure the stone that
the builder rejects and that becomes the head
cornerstone. I am sure that her presidency will make a
positive and lasting impact on our General Assembly. I
thank her very much for being and doing.
 Humanity’s condition today is difficult, complex
and challenging, yet pregnant with possibilities for a
better future. Everywhere the faces of men and women
are strained and anxious; yet, amidst the anxieties, pain
and sorrows there is joyous laughter, which soothes the
soul and summons the human race to embrace the
promise of a redeeming grace, which eschews hate,
greed, callousness, oppression, injustice and violence.
It is still possible for this divided world of inequity and
the inhumanity of man to man to sing with meaning
our redemption song of peace and justice, prosperity
and freedom, democracy and tolerance, unity amidst
diversity, equality and mutual respect.
 This quest to mend the broken world is grounded
in the ideals that constitute the core of the United
Nations. This idealism seeks not a world of perfection,
but one of goodness, one of civilization over
barbarism, of humanity over inhumanity. The world,
especially the majority of its inhabitants who happen to
be poor and disadvantaged amidst an orgy of plenty
that resides in a minority, looks to the United Nations
as their hope, as a brightness that illuminates, not
blinds. I bring this simple but powerful message from a
small, developing country in the nearby Caribbean Sea
on behalf of the marginalized of the world, without the
vanity of a pretentious hegemony, an arrogance of
power, or a triumphalism of a presumed manifest
destiny. It is both necessary and desirable to speak this
truth to power.
 So more than 80 per cent of the people who
reside in the developing world, and, indeed, all right-
thinking persons, want and demand in this regard
coherent leadership from a reformed United Nations
that is true to its central mandate to serve humanity
well. Unfortunately, the reformation of the United
Nations is moving at a snail’s pace, which frustrates its
work, undermines its efficacy, and damages its
credibility.
 To be sure, some modest progress has been made
by way of the establishment of a new Human Rights
Council and the Peacebuilding Commission. But,
frankly, too much time is wasted on fussing and
fighting on esoteric issues touching and concerning the
so-called mandate review and management reform,
rather than focusing on the critical matter of the
implementation of the “development resolution”
adopted by the General Assembly. In the process, too,
let us have a reform of the Security Council that is
meaningful and democratic.
 The world’s marginalized and disadvantaged look
askance at a United Nations that daily seeks to
choreograph the dancing of angels on the head of a pin.
They care very little for the bureaucratic harangue that
the United Nations “system-wide coherence” has been
addressed and enhanced, important as that may be for
some professional diplomats. The world’s people want
to know, and to see the practical evidence, that the
United Nations is tackling in a purposeful way the
issues of global poverty, environmental degradation,
climate change, the empowerment of women, the
protection of children, the promotion of peace and
security, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, the provision of
clean water and an adequate supply of food, among
other such telling requisites.
 Undoubtedly, many, if not most, of the
Governments of the rich and powerful countries show
signs of fatigue and disengagement towards the
developing world. This is evident in their parsimony on
official development assistance and their failure and/or
neglect to advance meaningfully the Doha
Development Round. Better must be done here.
 Please note that my strictures are levelled at the
Governments of those countries, and not their people
or their civilizations. Sufficient persuasive evidence
exists that the people in many, if not most, of these rich
countries are sensitive to the concerns of the
developing world, but their Governments do not
sufficiently reflect these sensitivities, despite their
occasional rhetoric to the contrary. Accordingly, the
peoples and civilizations across national boundaries
must link themselves in a tighter nexus or bond, with
or without the mediating formal state apparatuses, and
name and shame those Governments that ought to be
named and shamed.

27 06-52988

 In this regard, the proposal before the United
Nations for an alliance of civilizations holds immense
promise, provided that it is not captured by those states
that hanker after an ignoble, unattainable,
unsustainable and fundamentally immoral hegemony.
Our Caribbean civilization, and its Vincentian
component, stands ready and willing to be part of this
magnificent quest for an ennobling brotherhood and
sisterhood of humanity.
 While many rich countries turn aside from the
development thrust of the world’s marginalized and
disadvantaged, there is an encouraging trend towards
more and better South-South cooperation. In the case
of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, we are benefiting
from a closer integration network through the
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States and the
Caribbean Community Single Market and Economy.
Further, countries such as Cuba, Venezuela, Mexico,
Malaysia and Taiwan, among others, have special and
model relations with our country.
 Recently, at the Summit of the Heads of State and
Government of the Non-Aligned Movement, held in
Cuba, the leaders of this 118-member body redefined
its purpose and mandate, in an increasingly unipolar
world, to embrace a thorough-going development
agenda and to facilitate the building of a more
peaceful, just and secure architecture of international
relations. This renewed enthusiasm of the Non-Aligned
Movement strengthens the hands and voices of those
who truly believe that a better, more civilized world is
possible and nigh.
 Next year, in March, people of African descent
and all freedom-loving peoples and nations will
commemorate and celebrate the two-hundredth
anniversary of the passage of the act abolishing the
British trade in African slaves to the Caribbean and the
Americas. This is an occasion for historical
reclamation and the righting of historic wrongs. The
trade in, and enslavement of, Africans was a monstrous
crime against humanity and an exercise in genocide
unmatched in the history of the Western world.
 European nations and their North American
cousins have failed and/or refused to acknowledge this
sufficiently or at all. There has been no apology for this
crime against humanity and this genocide, conducted
over a prolonged period. There has been no practical
recompense in the form of reparations to the affected
nations and peoples in Africa, the Caribbean and the
Americas. Surely, this issue must be put squarely on
the agenda of the United Nations for speedy resolution.
 Without in any way diluting the force of this
representation — indeed in bolstering it — we find it
necessary and desirable to link it in our Caribbean
region with the genocide of indigenous peoples,
including the Callinago and the Garifuna of Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, and the wholly wrong and
inhumane exploitation by colonialism and imperialism
of indentured labour from Africa, Madeira, India and
China after the abolition of African slavery in the
Caribbean. Europe has much to answer for on these
matters, and should be made to answer properly and
appropriately. Historic wrongs not righted remain scars
on the soul of the oppressor and the oppressed alike,
which continue to haunt over the ages; it is a hateful
burden that must be lifted. This dark night must give
way to a brightened day.
 Of all the tragedies engulfing our modern world,
few touch the human soul and spirit as does the
condition of the people in Darfur and Palestine. The
entire world knows who are responsible for the crimes
against humanity in Darfur and in all areas of the
Palestinian homeland. Yet the basic human and
national rights of the people in those geographic
regions are trampled upon daily by alien forces.
Meanwhile, the United Nations appears helpless and its
authority is undermined. Surely, the time is long past
for a resolution of these conflicts, and other enduring
conflicts worldwide, including Lebanon and Western
Sahara. Oppression will not endure indefinitely. That is
the powerful lesson of history. The people’s right to
self-determination must be fully respected.
 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is pleased to
see Haiti’s restoration to democracy. The cynical ouster
of the former democratically elected President, Jean-
Bertrand Aristide, in February 2004, ushered in
immense suffering in Haiti under a so-called interim
administration installed by imperialism. The Haitian
people, who endureth for ever, must be applauded for
their commitment to democracy and progress. Their
election of President René Préval represents a strong
rebuke of those who mistakenly believe that the
dangling of money is everything. We heartily
congratulate the new Haitian Government and pledge
to work closely with it in its efforts to develop its
heroic country, the land of Toussaint L’Ouverture.

06-52988 28

 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines again pleads
with the United Nations to permit Taiwan, a democratic
and progressive country of 23 million people and a
legitimate political expression of the Chinese
civilization, to be accorded its rightful admission to the
United Nations and its specialized agencies. There is
no adequate justification for the continued exclusion of
Taiwan from participation in the numerous global
exchanges in the several international bodies, including
the United Nations.
 Further, the United Nations has a major role to
play in ensuring an easing of tensions across the
Taiwan straits. Aggressive conduct must be restrained
in a context in which Taiwan is committed to peace and
a comprehensive political dialogue.
 Modern terrorism is a barbarism out of sync with
civilized life. It affects adversely not only powerful
nations, but developing ones in Asia, Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean. The evil of terrorism,
including state-sponsored terrorism, must be fought
relentlessly. It must be given no space to thrive. At the
same time, terrorism must be attacked sensibly and not
in a counter-productive way. Too many innocent lives
have been lost through terrorist acts. Saint Vincent and
the Grenadines pledges itself to continue to work
resolutely and fearlessly, without hypocrisy, with all
nations and the United Nations, to eliminate the
dastardly scourge called terrorism and its causes.
 Permit me to thank Secretary-General Kofi
Annan for his splendid work at the United Nations and
throughout the world. His accomplishments have been
immense, and we applaud him as his incumbency
draws to a close. We wish him and his family well.
 I conclude by reaffirming that it is our sacred
duty to humanity and those unborn to ensure that we
contribute to a safer, more peaceful, more prosperous,
more civilized world. We who have come from
yesterday with our limiting burdens must face
tomorrow with our enabling strengths. We must never
forget that in our work here at the United Nations it
becomes possible to glimpse morning before the sun,
possible to see early where sunset might stain
anticipated night. Let us thus not sleep to dream, but
dream to change the world, for the better.