I extend my
heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Joseph Deiss on his
assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly
at its sixty-fifth session. I also express my appreciation

10-54959 32

to His Excellency Ali Abdussalam Treki for his efforts
as President at the previous session. I should also like
to express my respect to His Excellency Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for his leadership.
 Sixty-five years ago, in the aftermath of the
Second World War, Japan faced the same challenges as
those that today confront developing countries. Japan
received a great deal of support from the international
community in its struggle to overcome those
challenges. It is for that reason that Japan feels
strongly about attainment of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), which is a main focus of
the General Assembly this year.
 At this time, the international community faces a
series of challenges, including poverty, hunger,
infectious diseases, the proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction and missiles, regional conflicts and
global environmental issues. It is an honour for me to
have this opportunity to share with the General
Assembly my thoughts regarding the role Japan should
play in the international community, building on our
own experiences.
 Let me start by sharing a philosophy that I
cherish, namely, that the primary role of the leader of a
country should be to create a society in which human
suffering is reduced to a minimum. I believe that it is
the duty of all political leaders to minimize, to the
extent possible, sources of human suffering such as
poverty, disease and conflict. With that philosophy in
mind, I shall now discuss Japan’s concrete
contributions in four areas: development, the global
environment, nuclear disarmament and non-
proliferation and peacekeeping and peacebuilding.
 The first area of our contribution is assisting the
development of the developing countries. After the
Second World War, Japan achieved economic
reconstruction owing in part to international assistance.
Later, through rapid economic growth, Japan became
one of the major economic Powers. With such history
behind it, Japan cannot overlook the realities of the
world today, where a billion people suffer from hunger,
where nearly a million die each year of malaria and
where poverty keeps some 72 million children out of
school.
 Japan attaches great importance to achieving the
MDGs. I attended the MDG summit the day before
yesterday (see ), where I announced our new
contributions in the areas of health and education —
the Kan commitment — based on our desire to save all
fledging lives and to enable all children to go to
school. Over the course of five years, we will provide
$5 billion in health assistance and $3.5 billion in
education assistance. Our commitment in the area of
health includes a contribution of up to $800 million to
the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and
Malaria. Our assistance in the area of education will
provide a high-quality educational environment for
more than 7 million children.
 Japan will continue to work comprehensively on
development assistance in accordance with the concept
of human security, and will lead the efforts of the
international community towards meeting the MDGs.
As a part of those efforts, my country proposes to
convene an international conference in Japan next year
in order to strengthen coordination among a broad
range of stakeholders, including Governments and
international and non-governmental organizations, and
to in follow up on the High-level Plenary Meeting on
the MDGs.
 Reinforcing assistance to Africa, in particular,
where progress towards the achievement of the MDGs
is slow, is one of the priorities of the international
community. Attaining the MDGs in Africa is an
important pillar of the Tokyo International Conference
on African Development (TICAD) process. Japan is
enhancing its efforts in areas such as health, water and
sanitation, education and food. Japan will continue and
strengthen its assistance in order to honour our
commitments made at TICAD IV, including the
doubling of our official development assistance and
providing support in order to double private investment
to Africa by 2012.
 The second area of our contribution is the global
environment. At last year’s United Nations Climate
Change Conference, Japan announced its target of
reducing emissions by 25 per cent compared with 1990
levels by 2020. That is premised on the establishment
of a fair and effective international framework in which
all major economies participate, as well as on their
agreement on ambitious targets.
 Small island States face the danger of being
submerged as a result of climate change. With a view
to adopting a new, comprehensive and legally binding
document, Japan will continue to coordinate with other
States and the United Nations to lead international
negotiations to ensure the success of the sixteenth

33 10-54959

session of the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change, to be held at the end of this year. We will also
steadily support developing countries that are
vulnerable to the negative impacts of climate change,
including those taking mitigation measures such as
reducing emissions through public-private partnerships.
 Next month, the tenth meeting of the Conference
of the Parties to the Convention on Biological
Diversity will be convened in Nagoya, Japan, under the
theme “Living in harmony with nature”. At that
meeting, we must come to an agreement on beginning
new actions in order to halt the rapid progression of
biodiversity loss. The greatest challenges in that regard
include setting a common global action target and
establishing a new international regime in the area of
access and benefits-sharing in connection with genetic
resources. As Chair of the meeting, Japan is
determined to play an important role in these efforts.
 The third area of our contribution is nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation. I believe that given
that the invention of nuclear weapons and the
subsequent threat to the survival of the human race was
man’s doing, the solution to the problem must be
within the reach of man’s efforts. Japan, as the only
country that has ever suffered the devastation of atomic
bombings, has a moral responsibility to take concrete
steps to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.
Japan is determined to lead the international
community in those endeavours.
 Every year for the past 65 years, peace memorial
services have been held in Hiroshima and Nagasaki to
pray for a world without nuclear weapons. Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon visited Japan in August this year
and was the first Secretary-General to attend the
Hiroshima peace memorial ceremony and visit
Nagasaki. I would like to thank him once again for
making that visit. A representative of the United States
was also in attendance at the Hiroshima ceremony,
along with representatives of other countries. I very
much welcome their decision to attend, which will
contribute to increasing momentum towards a world
without nuclear weapons.
 Japan bears a responsibility to all humankind to
pass on to future generations an awareness of the
catastrophic nature of nuclear weapons. With that goal
in mind, I decided to appoint atomic bomb survivors —
known in Japan as hibakusha — as special
communicators for a world without nuclear weapons. I
have asked them to send out messages to the world
about the horror of the use of nuclear weapons and
about the value of peace, which only those with first-
hand experience can convey.
 Japan will coordinate with other countries and
civil society to promote education on disarmament and
non-proliferation issues. At the sixty-fourth session,
Japan submitted a draft resolution entitled “Renewed
determination towards the total elimination of nuclear
weapons”, which the General Assembly adopted in
December as resolution 64/47, with the United States
as a co-sponsor for the first time. Japan is determined
to continue its efforts to strengthen the trend of
broadening support for that resolution in the
international community.
 The steady implementation of the agreement
achieved at the Review Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
held in May, is essential. On the occasion of the
opening of the new session of the General Assembly,
Japan and Australia co-hosted a meeting of foreign
ministers from like-minded countries on the issue of
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We also
launched a new group dedicated to working towards a
world without nuclear weapons. We intend to deepen
discussions on reducing the role and number of nuclear
weapons in the world.
 Here, I must make reference to the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea and Iran. The nuclear and
missile-development programmes of the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea pose a threat to the entire
international community. Japan urges the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea to take concrete actions in
accordance with the series of relevant Security Council
resolutions and the joint statement of the Six-Party
Talks. Moreover, the steady implementation of the
relevant resolutions by all Member States is essential.
 Japan has not altered its intention to
comprehensively resolve outstanding issues of concern,
settle the unfortunate past and normalize relations in
accordance with the Japan-Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea Pyongyang Declaration. To that end,
it is absolutely indispensable to resolve the abduction
issue. If the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
takes constructive and sincere steps such as
implementing its agreement with Japan, Japan is ready
to respond in kind.

10-54959 34

 On the Iranian nuclear issue, it is important for
the international community to work in unity to
implement firmly the relevant Security Council
resolutions and to urge Iran to take realistic decisions.
Japan will continue to urge Iran to make efforts to
dispel the suspicions of the international community.
We will also work together with the international
community for a peaceful and diplomatic resolution of
this issue.
 The fourth area of our contribution is
peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Japan, which
underwent reconstruction from the destruction of war
and achieved economic growth, is deeply aware of the
importance and value of peace. Our efforts in the area
of peacekeeping and peacebuilding are a manifestation
of our determination to act proactively towards
achieving true peace.
 There is a common assumption that
peacebuilding activities aimed at promoting health and
education, industrial development and employment
should begin after peacekeeping is concluded.
However, in order to realize true peace, it is imperative
to work on peacebuilding efforts in tandem with
peacekeeping activities from the earliest stages of the
latter. In April this year, as President of the Security
Council, Japan hosted an open debate of the Council on
post-conflict peacebuilding (see S/PV.6299). Japan will
make efforts to advance this seamless approach to
peacebuilding in the world, based on the perspective of
human security.
 In Haiti, which was devastated by unprecedented
damage following the tragic earthquake earlier this
year, a team of engineers from the Japan Self-Defence
Forces is actively contributing to the United Nations
peacekeeping operation’s recovery efforts. In flood-hit
Pakistan, we currently have helicopters of the Self-
Defence Forces providing assistance as an international
disaster relief team. With regard to Timor-Leste, we
recently took the decision to send military liaison
officers to the United Nations peacekeeping operation
on the ground. Japan will continue to actively
participate in United Nations peacekeeping and
disaster relief operations.
 Furthermore, we will make concrete efforts in
such areas as investing in peace using official
development assistance, providing assistance to
training centres for peacekeeping operations and
developing human resources, such as in the training of
civilian peacebuilding experts in Asia.
 Of all the places in the world where
peacebuilding efforts are under way, Afghanistan in
particular is at a crucial stage. At this moment, it is
Afghanistan that poses the greatest challenge for the
international community in terms of peacebuilding, and
it is to Afghanistan that Japan is providing its most
intensive assistance. Japan, in cooperation with various
partners, has supported the Afghan Government’s
efforts in a comprehensive and integrated manner,
focusing on three pillars: the improvement of security,
including police training; reintegration through
vocational training for former Taliban rank-and-file
soldiers; and job creation and sustainable and self-
reliant development through agricultural assistance and
similar strategies.
 Japan will cooperate with the Republic of Turkey
in assisting in Afghan police training by providing
funding as well as police personnel, with a view to
improving security in Afghanistan. We also recently
disbursed $50 million in assistance for the
reintegration of insurgents. Japan will provide its
assistance in such a way that the people of Afghanistan
will be able to perceive a tangible improvement in their
livelihoods. I wish to stress the importance of United Nations
reform. The United Nations is the only universal
international organization with the goal of promoting
world peace and prosperity. Ensuring a functional
United Nations that is capable of effectively addressing
diverse global issues is of the utmost importance. To
that end, all Member States must work proactively to
promote structural reform and functional reinforcement
of the United Nations. The United Nations, for its part,
must continuously maintain the understanding and trust
of Member States by ensuring its own transparency and
accountability.
 The role of the Security Council is particularly
important for the United Nations to perform effectively
in resolving global challenges. For the Security
Council to be effective, it needs to have legitimacy and
reflect the current realities of the international
community. In that regard, reform of the Security
Council is indispensable.

35 10-54959

 I believe that Japan, as the only country that has
ever suffered the devastation of atomic bombings and
as a country that does not possess nuclear weapons, is
well suited to play a role in the Security Council in the
twenty-first century. I wish to express once again
Japan’s determined aspiration to take on further
responsibilities for international peace and security as a
permanent member of the Security Council.
 Japan is confronted today by various social and
economic challenges, including an ageing society, a
declining birth rate, fiscal problems and energy
dependency on other countries. I regard those
challenges as global, as many countries are destined to
face them sooner or later. It is my belief that Japan will
be able to contribute to the world by providing an
innovative model, developed through its own national
experience, for solving problems facing the world now
and in the future. Japan is determined to tackle those
challenges aggressively.
 Compared with the magnitude of the
responsibility we bear to the future of humankind, the
differences that divide nations are not great. I am
convinced of that. Everything rests on the decisions
and actions we take today. Let each one of us take that
thought to heart as we begin the new session of the
General Assembly and seek to achieve good results in
our deliberations.


The mission of the United
Nations is to protect the dignity, security and well-
being of all human beings. Therefor, peace, security,
stability and general welfare constitute the tenets of
Turkey’s work and action in the United Nations. Since
this Assembly gave us an overwhelming mandate for
Turkey’s non–permanent seat on the Security Council,
we have worked hard, sincerely, objectively and
effectively to contribute to peace, security and the
welfare of the international community.
 In these two years, we have tried to offer added
value, in a fair and principled manner, in addressing
various global and regional issues. We have sought to
advance the discussions within the Council on an issue
to which we have always accorded high priority:
peacekeeping and peacebuilding. Indeed, this
afternoon, we will be holding a Security Council
summit to exchange views and ideas on this matter at
the highest political level. Furthermore, next Monday,
we will hold a thematic debate of the Security Council
on counter-terrorism.
 Terrorism is indeed a leading and most pressing
challenge for the international community on the
global scale. It cannot be countered without sincere,
effective, cohesive and concrete international
cooperation. I would like to recall that our struggle
against terrorism is bound to fail unless we fight all
terrorist organizations, irrespective of their supposed
political, ideological, ethnic or religious aims.
 The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
is one of the risks of our contemporary world. We
cannot overcome that menace unless all Member
States, including nuclear States, adopt a just and
principled approach to their respective policies.
Establishing a credible global non-proliferation regime
will not be possible if we ignore the de facto existence
of nuclear weapons in certain countries at the heart of
some of the world’s most delicate regions.
 In this context, I would like to call on all Member
States to intensify their efforts to create a zone free of
weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, as was
envisaged in Security Council resolution 687 (1991),
and as has been repeatedly called for by the General
Assembly. We also support the calls made in May at
the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for
convening a conference on a zone free of weapons of
mass destruction in the Middle East in 2012. I believe
that such an initial step would be a sine qua non for all
non-proliferation initiatives in the rest of the world.
 In responding to those security challenges, we
should keep in mind that global problems cannot be
solved unilaterally, bilaterally or within a small circle
of like-minded nations. Therefore, it is more important

25 10-54827

today than ever for us to adopt a multilateral approach
to global problems.
 One such problem is the current global economic
crisis. Though we are in a slow recovery, the impact of
the crisis is still being felt today. We must draw the
proper lessons from it in order to avoid a recurrence of
similar shocks in the future. That crisis was caused by
the irresponsible acts of some financial institutions in
the most developed markets. Ordinary people have
paid the highest price for the mistakes of a few in
developed nations. The current economic crisis
revealed once again the weakness and deficiencies of
the existing global and national financial and economic
architectures, which lack effective governance and
regulations to oversee reckless financial institutions.
 The Turkish economy, however, has managed to
stay on course in spite of the world economic crisis,
thanks to previously undertaken comprehensive
economic and financial measures. Within the Group of
20 (G-20), we strongly support the efforts of
international forums aimed at restoring global growth
and streamlining financial practices. We believe that
the G-20 should continue to play a central role in
putting together the right policies and measures to
those ends.
 The situation of the least developed countries has
worsened in the aftermath of the global crisis. Every
effort should therefore be made to integrate those
countries into the global economy. In that endeavour,
we should act according to the principles of free and
fair trade and avoid protectionist tendencies. It is with
these thoughts that we look forward to the Fourth
United Nations Conference on the Least Developed
Countries, to be organized next year in Istanbul.
 During the past decade, Turkey’s economic
indicators improved, as did its development assistance.
Our relatively greater means have enabled us to
contribute more to the development of others. Turkey
has now evolved into an emerging donor. With the
contribution of Turkish-based non-governmental
organizations, our overall development assistance
exceeds $1.5 billion annually. Through the Turkish
International Cooperation and Development Agency,
we allocate that amount to diverse capacity-building
projects, in fields such as health, education, agriculture
and infrastructure.
 Developing nations are also more exposed than
others to the gravest threats of four interconnected
problems: global warming, climate change, epidemics
and food security. In recent years, tragedy has struck
many nations because of the adverse impact of climate
change around the world. Some parts of our planet are
experiencing severe drought, while others have been
hit by devastating floods. The current plight of
Pakistan is a reminder that this has become a pressing
issue that calls for urgent remedial action. We must
acknowledge that a sustainable environment is an
indivisible global public good for humankind. We must
therefore assume collective responsibility for
preserving it. Billions of lives, not just today but also
of future generations, will depend on the actions we
take now.
 The global food crisis is another urgent concern.
It poses a worrying challenge to coming generations.
These compelling economic, demographic, ecological
and biological challenges oblige us to redefine the
notion of security. Such issues no longer fall into the
category of soft risks, but rather pose a clear and
present threat to humankind.
 In the face of such overwhelming threats, it is
time to take global action within the United Nations
framework. To that end, I call on Member States to
explore the possibility of establishing a global rapid-
reaction capability to effectively tackle natural and
ecological disasters, food shortages and epidemics.
This would also help to maintain international peace
and security by mitigating threats that arise from weak
governance, the collapse of public order and domestic
or inter-State conflict over diminishing natural
resources.
 If we allocate a small fraction of our defence
expenditures to financing and establishing a
peacekeeping capability, we will have more cost-
efficient results in maintaining peace and stability in
the world. Moreover, if we could pool some of our
defence equipment — equipment that has lost its
effective utility in military terms but is still relevant for
disaster-relief operations — we could swiftly improve
such rapid-reaction capability. Of course, existing
regional capacities could be instrumental in this global
endeavour. All such resources should be channeled
directly to those in need, and not eroded by excessive
administrative costs.
 On the political side of our agenda, there is no
shortage of enduring regional issues. Because of time

10-54827 26

constraints, I will touch only briefly on some of them
here.
 Permanent peace in the Middle East is the key to
a peaceful and stable future for the world.
Unfortunately, the absence of peace there has had
serious and adverse strategic consequences for the rest
of the world. Turkey has therefore always supported
every effort aimed at reaching a comprehensive peace
in the Middle East. In this understanding, we
appreciate President Obama’s efforts and welcome the
direct negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians.
We hope that this new engagement can take us closer
to a viable and fair settlement.
 On the other hand, it will be very difficult to
make progress towards permanent peace unless we put
an end to the humanitarian tragedy in Gaza. In this
context, the attack in May of the Israeli armed forces
on the international humanitarian aid convoy on the
high seas resulted in grave civilian casualties and was
an unacceptable act, in clear violation of international
law. In the light of international law, Turkey expects a
formal apology and compensation for the aggrieved
families of the victims and the injured people.
 Therefore, we attach particular importance to the
work of the panel of inquiry and the fact-finding
mission. We are pleased to have received the report
(A/HRC/15/21) of the fact-finding mission established
by the United Nations Human Rights Council. The
report offers a solid legal framework for establishing
the facts of the incident. We also look forward to the
successful completion of the work of the panel.
 As for Iraq, the elections of 7 March marked a
new period for the people of that country.
Nevertheless, the post-election political stalemate is
aggravating the security situation and hindering the
launch of a comprehensive reconstruction programme.
We sincerely hope that the new Government in Iraq
will reflect the balance that emerged at the elections.
The new Government must be inclusive, effective and
democratic. In the aftermath of the withdrawal of
foreign combat troops, we also urge all neighbours of
Iraq to act responsibly and support the territorial
integrity, political unity and sovereignty of Iraq. We
must all help the Iraqi people in their quest for a better
future.
 Our contributions to international efforts in the
search for an urgent and peaceful settlement of the
Iranian nuclear issue will also continue. This
controversy can be resolved only in conformity with
International Atomic Energy Agency norms and
obligation under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, and in respect for the right to the
peaceful use of nuclear energy. In this vein, the Tehran
Declaration and the July gathering in Istanbul provide
a window of opportunity to be seized. We believe that
there is no alternative to diplomacy.
 As a Balkan country, Turkey attaches cardinal
priority to the peace, stability and economic
development of the Balkans. In recent years, we have
actively engaged in result-oriented initiatives in the
Balkans by intensifying our high-level bilateral visits
to Belgrade and Sarajevo. Moreover, the launching of
trilateral cooperation mechanisms with Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Serbia, on the one hand, and with
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, on the other, was
of historic significance. Through these mechanisms, we
are trying to create a new atmosphere of mutual
understanding and cooperation among those nations. I
believe that the integration of the western Balkan
countries into the European and Euro-Atlantic
structures would be a decisive final step for the
resolution of conflicts in the region.
 As for the Caucasus, we remain committed to
pursuing our efforts in search of a comprehensive and
sustainable peace in the region, while respecting the
principle of territorial integrity. In recent years, we
have all seen how frozen conflict can easily turn into
active clashes in the region. Given this context, we
attach particular importance to the peaceful resolution
to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.
 Any failure in Afghanistan will certainly have
unpredictable consequences for the international
community. Therefore, Afghanistan deserves our close
attention and sincere commitment. Afghanistan is
going through a historic process of transformation. As
military operations continue, there must be a
simultaneous and growing emphasis on civilian efforts
to win the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.
Turkey’s commitment to Afghanistan is open-ended.
We will continue our assistance as long as the Afghans
require it.
 Supporting Pakistan’s democracy is also of
singular importance, not only in and of itself, but also
to the stability of the region as a whole. In the wake of
the terrible disaster caused by the floods, it is critically

27 10-54827

important to support the people and the democratic
Government of Pakistan in healing their wounds.
 Africa is another region that requires the
international community’s collective responsibility and
action. The burden of resolving the overwhelming
problems of that continent cannot be placed on the
shoulders of Africans alone. It is in this understanding
that Turkey has devised a comprehensive policy that
includes effective political, social and economic
measures to help address the challenges that Africa
faces.
 On the Cyprus issue, our long-standing
commitment and full support of a just and lasting
settlement remains unchanged. We share the vision of
the Secretary-General that a settlement will be within
reach before the end of this year, but this process
should not be open-ended. A positive outcome
emerging from these negotiations would rapidly
transform the eastern Mediterranean into a pillar of
peace, stability, cooperation and welfare in the
European Union.
 The Turkish Cypriots have shown that they are in
favour of a settlement, as clearly manifested in the
2004 referendum, but they continue to suffer unjustly
from the absence of a settlement. I would like to repeat
the call made by the Secretary-General to the
international community to take the necessary steps to
eliminate the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots and
enable their integration into the greater world.
 In conclusion, I wish to reiterate our view that the
United Nations can and should play an even larger role
in chartering a better future for humankind. It is up to
us, the Member States, to provide the United Nations
with the necessary political support and concrete tools
so that it can fulfil that role. I assure the Assembly that
Turkey, for its part, will continue to lend its full
support and cooperation to the United Nations in our
quest to leave a much safer, more prosperous, cleaner
and healthier world to our children.


Allow
me to congratulate Mr. Deiss on his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth
session. He has taken on that formidable task at a
crucial period for our United Nations. I assure him of
Micronesia’s full support. I would also like to pay
tribute to his esteemed predecessor for his
distinguished leadership.
 Sadly, I wish to begin my statement by
expressing the sincere sympathy of the people and
Government of the Federated States of Micronesia for
the many victims of recent natural disasters
everywhere. Having been victims of natural disasters
ourselves, our hearts go out to the victims of the recent
hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides and floods that are
now occurring on an unprecedented scale and with
increasing frequency and devastating intensity all over
our planet. Overwhelming evidence points to one
common denominator in all those events, and that is
global climate change.
 I am deeply honoured to address the General
Assembly, at its sixty-fifth session, for the first time on
behalf of the Federated States of Micronesia. This
Assembly accords Micronesia and the small island
developing States an extraordinary privilege to bring to
the whole world the most pressing issues affecting us
that demand our collective response.
 Despite the many years of negotiations to curb its
devastating effects, the climate change crisis continues
to haunt us. The negotiating process has moved along
very slowly, while in stark contrast the rapid increases
in the incidence and severity of environmental hazards
continue to take their toll, with devastating results. I
cannot help but think of the needless human suffering
everywhere, and what the future holds for my country
and the small island developing States if business
continues as usual.
 As a small island developing State, Micronesia’s
future is intrinsically linked to the global climate. That
is why we are gravely concerned by the acute
environmental problems related to the extreme
vulnerability of our islands to sea-level rise and
climate change. Those threats are indisputable, and
delays in adopting a comprehensive and legally
binding agreement to avert this global disaster are
without excuse.
 In Micronesia, we are deeply disappointed at the
glacial progress in the negotiating sessions and climate
change meetings of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change. At the same time, we
are growing increasingly alarmed by the prospect of
shrinking ambitions for the meeting in Cancún,
Mexico, later this year. That is not an acceptable
response to a crisis of enormous proportions, certainly
not for Micronesia and not for any of the small island
developing States, who need fast action. This is an
issue of survival for us.
 We must find a better response — a genuine
response that supports mitigation and adaptation
measures that will achieve significant reductions in

10-55109 12

greenhouse gas emissions and thus preserve the
integrity of our Earth’s environment and also the
livelihoods of its inhabitants. My island nation and the
small island developing States, for that matter, are not
major contributors to the causes of climate change. All
present know that. But we are nevertheless determined
in our efforts to contribute to finding solutions.
 For its part, Micronesia continues to take the lead
to combat climate change by utilizing the opportunities
under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that
Deplete the Ozone Layer. Through the Montreal
Protocol we can solve a big part of the climate change
problem. That is why Micronesia has developed a
proposal with the support of Mauritius, the Marshall
Islands, Seychelles and the Philippines that calls for
the phasing down of the production and use of
hydrofluorocarbons. Under our proposal we will be
able to eliminate one of the greenhouse gases listed
under the Kyoto Protocol, and we are encouraged that
other countries, such as Canada, the United States and
Mexico, already have come forward with similar
proposals.
 Frankly, we have been delighted by the interest
shown in our proposal so far, and I commend it to the
Assembly’s attention. Today, I encourage all
delegations to consider supporting it. Our collective
action is imperative if we are to effectively curb and
reverse global warming. That is the kind of
collaboration that I encourage here.
 Just as we are delighted by our Montreal Protocol
proposal, we are equally proud of an initiative within
our Pacific region, launched in August by the
Governments of the Republics of the Marshall Islands
and Palau and my own Government at the margins of
the forty-first Pacific Islands Forum meeting in
Vanuatu. This is the Green Energy Micronesia
Initiative, which calls for a 20 per cent improvement in
energy efficiency by suppliers in areas such as
transportation and electric power generation, a 30 per
cent improvement in energy use by end users and a
20 per cent electricity generation through renewable
energy by 2020. As island countries with a total
dependence on fossil fuels for our energy generation, it
is no longer economically, financially and
environmentally sustainable to continue down that
path. We must look towards developing, utilizing and
embracing our renewable sources of energy.
 Our prospect for success will remain grim with
our limited capacity and available financial resources.
We encourage and call upon our development partners
and the international community to support our efforts,
including through increased financial support, transfer
of technology and capacity-building.
 In our seemingly idyllic settings as island
nations, it may seem to many around the world that we
live an easy life and demand action only from others.
However, the reality is that our island nations are
actively playing our part in maintaining, and promoting
the protection of, our Planet Earth. We accept our
responsibility for conserving the biodiversity of our
islands and waters and for using resources in a
sustainable manner.
 That is why Micronesia and our Micronesian
sister nations the Republics of the Marshall Islands and
of Palau, as well as the Territory of Guam and the
Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands,
continue to promote the Micronesia Challenge to
conserve at least 30 per cent of the near-shore marine
resources and 20 per cent of terrestrial resources across
our Micronesian region by 2020.
 Given our individual limitations, we can confront
these challenges only through regional collective
actions. I want to express our utmost gratitude to those
countries and international organizations that continue
to support the Micronesia Challenge and help us
achieve our goals. Being small island countries with
limited resources, we see realistic success in
collaborative partnership with the international
community.
 Micronesia will continue to address the
protection of the ocean and its resources. As a Pacific
island country with one of the largest exclusive
economic zones in the Western and Central Pacific
Ocean, we ascribe particular importance to the ocean
and its resources. The ocean has a fundamental and
critical bearing on our food security and economic
future. However, human activities on the planet are
significantly affecting our ocean and can bring about
disastrous consequences for our food security and
sustainable development.
 Illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing in our
zone remains of great concern, as that abhorrent
practice continues with its sophistication and
multinational criminal operations. We do maintain high
expectations that through the support of the

13 10-55109

international community we can combat that illegal
activity, which threatens the sustainability of our fish
stocks and deprives our people of potential economic
benefits.
 To reverse already discernable trends towards the
disappearance of key tuna species that were once
thought inexhaustible, early this year the leaders of the
Pacific countries that are parties to the Nauru
Agreement signed the Koror Declaration, agreeing to
introduce further conservation measures to protect key
tuna stocks. One of the measures agreed to is to close
off additional high-seas areas to purse seine fishing by
vessels licensed to fish our Nauru Agreement waters.
 Micronesia is fully committed and will work with
its fellow parties to the Nauru Agreement and the wider
international community to ensure the sustainability of
our tuna resources. We will hold violators accountable
through internationally agreed mechanisms to prevent,
deter and eliminate illegal, unreported and unregulated
fishing in our waters and the Western and Central
Pacific Ocean region.
 Our oceans and our exclusive economic zones are
getting a great deal of international attention because
of the potential for economic exploitation. We assign
the highest priority to greater economic participation in
all aspects of that exploitation. Increased economic
participation is a major goal for all countries in the
Pacific having considerable marine resources — not
just Micronesia.
 However, our participation in the exploitation of
our own marine resources for economic development is
held back by a lack of experience and because much of
our basic infrastructure still needs to be supported and
developed. On the overall scoreboard, the Pacific small
island developing States have not claimed their rightful
share of their own fisheries resources. International
support has to be given to help us build our capacities
not only in negotiating agreements and developing our
fisheries industries but in realizing a greater share of
the benefits from the catch of fish stocks from our own
exclusive economic zone.
 In this review year for both the Millennium
Development Goals and the Mauritius Strategy for
Small Island Developing States, we must take full
advantage of both occasions and rise to the challenge
to meet our world’s new and emerging needs.
 One of the major preoccupations of the General
Assembly over the last 15 years has been the reform of
the United Nations. I do not need to belabour the issue,
as all present are aware of Micronesia’s long-standing
position, especially in regard to the reform of the
Security Council. For permanent membership, we
reiterate our support for Japan and India from our Asia
and Pacific region. From other regions, Germany and
Brazil also deserve equal consideration. We call for
accelerated efforts to bring the negotiations to a
successful conclusion.
 Peace in the Middle East remains elusive, but we
have high hopes that the resumption of direct talks
recently in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere between
the Israelis and the Palestinians will pave the way to a
lasting peace and a final settlement with a two-State
solution. The whole world has a stake in the Middle
East peace process. Micronesia fully supports the peace
process and urges all members of this Assembly to play
a constructive role and work towards an outcome that
brings permanent peace and security to the Middle
East. I want to express my profound gratitude to the
United States, Egypt, Jordan and the Quartet for their
critical roles and leadership in finding a solution to this
formidable challenge. For it to be met, we must
respond with our collective action and support.
 I have been most privileged to have this
opportunity to address the Assembly on behalf of my
small island country. As I close my statement, I want to
reassure this Assembly that Micronesia will continue to
do its part as a responsible Member of this
Organization.


Last September, I had the
privilege of addressing this Assembly for the first time
as Palau’s Head of State (see A/64/PV.7). It is an
honour for me to do so once again this year.
 Palau’s national story is one of achievement and
success. Palau was the last country to emerge from
United Nations trusteeship. The Constitution of our
new country incorporated the rights and freedoms
enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights and is a testament to the efficacy of the United
Nations. The United Nations also helped us form a
strong partnership with the United States of America,
our former Administering Authority. This partnership
was renewed on 3 September when the United States
and Palau entered into a new agreement that will assist
Palau in its efforts to achieve economic self-
sufficiency, and for this we express our profound
gratitude to the United States of America.
 Palau is also proud of our role in the international
community, joining international conventions and
meeting our international obligations. Our officers are
helping to maintain peace in fragile States. We have
deployed peacekeepers to Darfur, Timor-Leste and
Solomon Islands.
 For Palau, environmental sustainability is not a
recent construct. Respect for the environment and its
preservation is Palau’s most deeply ingrained tradition
and is at the heart of our culture. Palauans have always
known that caring for the long-term health of the
environment is the foundation of our progress and
survival.
 With our traditions as our bedrock, I am pleased
to say that Palau has virtually achieved our Millennium
Development Goal (MDG) targets, according to the
United Nations-sanctioned report. Palau has succeeded
in achieving universal literacy, gender equality,
maternal health and access to education. We have
eliminated poverty and hunger and reduced child
mortality to a degree comparable to even the most
advanced developed countries. We thank, among
others, our closest friends and allies: first the United
States, then Japan and the Republic of China on Taiwan
for helping us reach this point.
 We consider the MDGs to be a minimum, and we
will continue to strive for higher goals, including the
goal of combating the ever-increasing spread of non-
communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart
disease and obesity, which the Pacific Islands Health
Officers Association has declared a regional epidemic
in the Pacific.
 We are a small country, but blessed in many
ways. I reiterate that we have risen to achieve the
MDGs by caring for our God-given resources. We have
put in place a system domestically to conserve and
preserve our terrestrial and marine biodiversity. We
have also joined with our Pacific neighbours to address
the health of our oceans together through the Pacific
Oceanscape programme.

19 10-54959

 Palau, and indeed the entire world, is connected
by a web of life that is in peril. For too long, we have
focused our attention primarily on commercial
interests. We have abused nature and must change our
thinking. We must reorient our priorities to put
biodiversity and the welfare of our ecosystems first. In
so doing, we can serve both our long-term commercial
interests and protect the natural bounty that sustains us.
 One issue that symbolizes the threat to our
biodiversity succinctly is the fight to conserve our
oceans. Last year, I declared the world’s first shark
sanctuary from this podium. It was a good first step. I
also advocated for an end to unsustainable, cruel and
wasteful shark finning on the high seas at the resumed
Review Conference on the United Nations Fish Stocks
Agreement. We cannot accept the loss of 73 million
sharks a year for a pot of soup.
 Palau is doing all it can, but this work cannot stop
at the boundary of any one country. We are all
connected. This is why I am proud that President Lobo
Sosa of Honduras and I signed this week a joint
declaration calling on all other nations to stop
unsustainable shark fishing.
 Moreover, according to scientific studies, such as
that entitled “Patterns and ecosystem consequences of
shark declines in the ocean”, the health of sharks is
linked directly to the health of tuna. Palau and other
countries rely on tuna as their principal fisheries
resource, and the world community relies on it as an
important food source. We must work together to
ensure the continued viability of this important stock.
This past year, I hosted a summit of the parties to the
Nauru Agreement to take steps to ensure that tuna
remains plentiful. Along with other leaders of countries
parties to the Naura Agreement, we limited purse seine
fishing, agreed to close the doughnut holes between
our jurisdictions, and implemented a vessel day
scheme. These are steps which we believe are vital to
ensuring the continued viability of our stocks.
 When Palau and other Pacific small island
developing States (SIDs) joined together at the sixty-
third session of the General Assembly to initiate
resolution 63/281, “Climate change and its possible
security implications”, we did so recognizing that not
only is climate change a development issue, but has
now risen to the level of a security issue. The
successful adoption of resolution 63/281 by consensus
was a landmark occasion for Pacific SIDs and a step
forward for the international community. The
accelerating conflict and dislocation caused by climate
events warrant an urgent response from the Security
Council. We repeat our call for Security Council action
on this resolution.
 After personally visiting the Pacific islands
earlier this year, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin
Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab
Emirates, convened an historic summit between the
Arab League and the Pacific SIDs. The summit was a
success. Our two regions, which had never before
engaged bilaterally, found a new understanding of
shared goals, culture and traditions. Palau is grateful to
the League of Arab States for being the first regional
group to recognize the potential of the Pacific SIDs as
a strong, viable and cohesive unit.
 We are hopeful that this is the year when we will
make substantive progress on Security Council reform.
Our position on the issue has been stated clearly and
continually in the negotiation room. If we as an
organization are to maintain our relevance, we must
reform the Council so that its membership reflects the
ever-evolving membership of the General Assembly.
Palau strongly supports expanding Security Council
membership, particularly by adding Japan as a
permanent member.
 On the issue of security, Palau is hopeful that the
return of Israelis and Palestinians this month to the
negotiating table will bear fruit. The crucible of the
world’s Abrahamic faiths should not be the land of so
much turmoil. The resolution of this intractable
problem is of the utmost importance so that the region
and its reality may reflect its historic message of peace
on Earth. Palau can only add its voice to the chorus of
support for a just, comprehensive and regional solution
in accordance with the Road Map, the Arab Peace
Initiative and the relevant Security Council resolutions.
We welcome the opportunity to actively support the
process in the General Assembly this fall. Indeed,
world peace hinges on peace in the Middle East.
 Palau also supports the efforts of the international
community on disarmament and the prevention of the
proliferation of nuclear weapons. Palau’s was the
world’s first nuclear-free Constitution, and so the
elimination of nuclear weapons is of special concern to
us. Having experienced the horror and devastation of
war, we and our neighbours long for the day when the
entire world is free of nuclear weapons. We therefore

10-54959 20

welcome all efforts to add the Middle East to the list of
nuclear-weapon-free zones.
 The SARS pandemic shone a bright light on the
gaps in our collective ability to prevent the spread of
diseases internationally. With the participation of
Taiwan, we can now help to fill those gaps. We
congratulate the world community on making itself
healthier by granting Taiwan observer status at the
World Health Assembly. Given the importance of a
universal approach to global problems, Palau advocates
for Taiwan’s inclusion in the activities of the
International Civil Aviation Organization and the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change. The world needs its input to ensure civil
aviation safety and security, and to effectively tackle
climate change for the benefit of all.
 When I began my address, I related the success
story that was Palau’s emergence from trusteeship. As I
wind down my remarks, I will speak candidly about
our challenges. Today, Palau still feels the pain from
the wounds inflicted during our colonial days. Damage
was done to our islands. One, for example, was
stripped of much of its resources, making it difficult
for those who live there to sustain the livelihood they
once enjoyed. This happened to our once phosphate-
rich island of Angaur. We call on the international
community for appropriate relief for this historic and
lasting injury — a relief that will heal the gaping
wounds on our island, ease our pain and bring justice
to our people.
 In addition, as a result of the fierce battles fought
over our islands during the Second World War,
explosives were rained down on our land. Some of
those explosives still lie there, live, and pose an
extreme danger to the lives and limbs of our people.
We appeal to the conscience of the world, especially
those responsible, to remove this danger from our
midst.
 As a developing nation, Palau is thankful for the
grants provided to us by our allies, friends and
partners. They have been invaluable. But our
developing economy faces a crisis that grants alone
cannot address. Without a strong local economy based
on private enterprise and the free market, our young
people will continue to leave our shores to pursue
better employment abroad. We need more than just
humanitarian grants; we need private investment to
spur and sustain our economic development. I therefore
invite investors and entrepreneurs from all over the
world to come to Palau to invest and establish
partnerships with our talented people, so that we can
create a vibrant economy for now and for our future.


I am happy to congratulate you, Sir, on your
election to preside over the General Assembly during
the current session. I wish you every success in
managing our business.
 It would be remiss of me not to express our
appreciation to your predecessor for his efforts during his
stewardship of the Assembly during the previous session.
 I also wish to express the appreciation and thanks
of my delegation to the Secretary-General for his
efforts in the maintenance of international peace and
security, which will not be achieved until the world
gets rid of all weapons of mass destruction and
implements the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
(NPT) with respect to all, without distinction.
 I remind the Assembly that my country has
stressed the important need to amend the NPT so as to
enable the International Atomic Energy Agency
(IAEA) to perform its tasks and verify the reduction of
nuclear arsenals, whose existence is the most
dangerous threat to mankind. Equally important, we
must encourage States to possess and use nuclear
energy for peaceful purposes. We have affirmed many
times that the voluntary initiative of our country to
reject all activities related to the production of prohibited
materials should be a role model for countries
possessing, or seeking to possess, nuclear power.
 The United Nations was established to meet the
needs and concerns of Member States. An honest and
strict evaluation of the current situation and the
Organization’s achievements shows that we still need to
work in unison to support it. Here we should
contemplate the suggestions of our brother, the Leader
of the Revolution, Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi, in his
address to the Assembly during the sixty-fourth session.
 The United Nations is at a crossroads. It must be
reformed in order to achieve equality for all States.
This is the real reform to which we all aspire: that the
General Assembly become the main legislature, the organ
that can produce binding resolutions, as it represents the
real parliament of the world. The Security Council, on
the contrary, should be the executive tool,
implementing the resolutions of the Assembly. We have
time and again called for permanent membership to be
given to certain Member States, but, in order for the
Council to accommodate small States as well, the ideal
solution is to give Security Council membership to
regional groups. That would secure the representation
on the Council of all nations, without the exclusive
veto right, which is contrary to democracy.
 The African continent, which has been deprived
of fair representation on the Security Council, should

10-55276 2

have a permanent seat. That is a legitimate request. It
would put the African continent on an equal footing
with all the other geopolitical groupings. The speedy
pace of development in developing countries and the
need to narrow the painful gap between the developing
and developed countries require international cooperation
within the framework of a new and effective partnership.
 It goes without saying that the underdevelopment
and poverty of most nations are the remnants of
colonization and plunder, the theft of their resources and
the illegal usurping of their riches. The former colonizers
should apologize for those actions. It is time the
Assembly took the necessary measures to criminalize
colonialism, put the blame on the countries concerned and
make them accountable for their historical responsibilities.
 Nations suffered immensely from the two world
wars, after which the United Nations was established.
Since then the world has witnessed wars of aggression
and illegal interventions which are a flagrant violation
of all international customs and conventions.
 The invasion of Iraq is a shameful example of
such unfair and heinous wars. In order to achieve
international justice, the United Nations is called upon
to establish an international investigative panel to
understand the motivation behind the invasion and to
investigate the mass killings and executions of
prisoners of war, including the head of State.
 At this forum last year, the Leader of the
Revolution, our brother, Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi,
also raised the question of the political assassination of
many personalities, including Dag Hammarskjöld,
John Kennedy, Patrice Lumumba, Martin Luther King,
Maurice Bishop and many Palestine Liberation
Organization leaders. Those assassinations shocked the
conscience of the world and created anger and rage the
world over. However, justice was not done; the
perpetrators enjoyed, and continue to enjoy, impunity.
My country has called for an effective international
instrument to secure an honest investigation of all the
circumstances that led to the assassinations.
 An alternative Headquarters for the United
Nations has been suggested. We all know that certain
considerations were in play in choosing the host
country for the current Headquarters. But for the good
conduct of our work, and to facilitate the work of the
diplomatic missions accredited to the United Nations,
it is imperative to choose another Headquarters, in
another country. We must study all the bids presented
by other countries, at the forefront of which is the offer
by the Jamahiriya to host the Headquarters.
 Anti-personnel mines are weapons used by weak
States to defend their territories against invaders and to
protect themselves. Strong and mighty States do not need
such weapons, because they possess advanced arsenals. In
this connection, the Convention on the Prohibition of the
Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-
Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, the Ottawa
Treaty, should be amended in a way that takes into
account the security interests of small States. The drafters
should have included a provision for compensation to be
paid to the States where such mines have been planted.
My country suggests a review of the Treaty.
 We must distinguish between the heinous
phenomenon of terrorism and the deliberate biased
distortion of the struggle of nations languishing under
occupation. The Palestinian people are waging an
incredible struggle against enemies nourished by a
racist creed, who deny the right of that oppressed
people to existence and self-determination.
 The world understands the suffering and losses of
the Palestinian people over 62 years. We cannot deny
the facts of history. This question cannot be settled
through the so-called peace process, because it will go
on indefinitely. The solution, rather, is the establishment
of one democratic State in which all can coexist,
without discrimination, in accordance with the
suggestion by our brother Muammar Al-Qadhafi in his
“White Book” regarding Isratine.
 In the framework of strengthening cooperation
between the States of the South and those of the North,
my country is to play host in October to an Arab-
African summit. We shall also host, in November, a
summit of Africa and the European Union, which will
be a major transformation in the relationship between
all the States concerned. We call on all stakeholders
and all States to take part in the two summits at the
highest level, as they are of prime importance.
 In current circumstances, and in the framework of
today’s challenges, we have great hope that bold
measures will be taken to strengthen the General
Assembly, its authority and effectiveness so that it
better represents the interests of all nations.


It is a great honour for me
to come to this rostrum to speak on behalf of the
people and Government of Brazil. I bring the greetings
of President Lula.
 Within days, over 130 million Brazilians will go
to the polls and will write another important chapter in
the history of our democracy. During President Lula’s
two terms, Brazil has changed. Sustained economic
growth, financial stability, social inclusion and the full
exercise of democracy have converged and reinforced
each another. Over 20 million Brazilians rose out of
poverty, and many others out of extreme poverty.
Nearly 30 million people joined the middle class.
 Strong and transparent public policies reduced
inequalities in income, access and opportunities.
Millions of Brazilians rose to dignity and real
citizenship. The strengthened domestic market
protected us from the worst effects of the global crisis
set in motion by the financial casino in the richest
countries in the world.
 Brazil is proud to have achieved almost all of the
Millennium Development Goals and to be well on the
way to meeting them all by 2015. The inability of any
country to achieve those Goals must be seen as a
failure of the entire international community. The
promotion of development is a collective responsibility.
Brazil has been working to assist other countries to
replicate its successful experiences. In the past years
Brazil’s actions on the international stage have been
driven by a sense of solidarity. We are convinced that it
is possible to have a humanistic foreign policy without
losing sight of national interests. That policy is
supported by South-South cooperation. The IBSA
Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation, created by
India, Brazil and South Africa, finances projects in
Haiti, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Palestine,
Cambodia, Burundi, Laos and Sierra Leone. Brazil has
substantially increased its humanitarian aid and the
number of its cooperation projects with poorer
countries.
 Africa occupies a very special place in Brazilian
diplomacy. Since taking office, President Lula has been
to Africa 11 times and visited over 20 countries in the
continent. We have set up an agricultural research
office in Ghana, a model cotton farm in Mali, a
manufacturing plant for antiretroviral drugs in
Mozambique and professional training centres in five
African countries. Through trade and investment, we
are helping the African continent to develop its
enormous potential and reduce its dependency on a few
centres of political and economic power.
 Brazil is particularly concerned about Guinea-
Bissau. It is not by isolating or abandoning Guinea-
Bissau that the international community will help it
address the challenges it still faces. We need intelligent
modalities for cooperation, which can promote
development and stability and encourage the necessary
reforms, especially with regard to the armed forces.
 This year, in which a significant number of
African countries celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of
their decolonization, Brazil renews its commitment to
an independent, prosperous, just and democratic
Africa.
 There are few places where international
solidarity is more needed than Haiti. We joined the
United Nations in mourning the tragedy that took the
lives of hundreds of thousands of Haitians. We
ourselves lost great Brazilians, including Dr. Zilda
Arns — a woman who dedicated her life to the poor,
especially children — Mr. Luiz Carlos da Costa,
Deputy Head of the United Nations Stabilization
Mission in Haiti, and 18 of our peacekeepers.
 We would like to express our compassion for the
suffering of the Haitian people and, above all, our
admiration for the stoicism and courage with which
they have been facing adversity. The Haitian people
know that they can count on Brazil to not only help
them maintain order and defend democracy, but also
assist in their development. We are keeping our
promises and will keep a watchful eye on the situation
to ensure that the commitments of the international
community go beyond rhetorical statements.

10-54827 6

 In recent years, the Brazilian Government has
invested heavily in South America’s integration and
peace. We have strengthened our strategic partnership
with Argentina. We have reinforced MERCOSUR,
including through financial mechanisms unique among
developing countries.
 The establishment of the Union of South
American Nations (UNASUR) aims at consolidating a
genuine zone of peace and prosperity. UNASUR has
already demonstrated its value in promoting
understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflicts
among and within countries in South America and has
made foreign interference in our region even more
unwarranted. By creating the Community of Latin
American and Caribbean States, launched in Bahia,
Brazil and confirmed in Cancún, Mexico, we have
reaffirmed the region’s willingness to extend to Central
America and the Caribbean the integrationist ideals
that animate South Americans.
 Brazil reiterates its condemnation, shared by all
in Latin America and the Caribbean, of the illegitimate
embargo against Cuba. Its sole result has been to
hamper the efforts of millions of Cubans in their
struggle for development.
 We condemn anti-democratic moves, such as the
coup d’état in Honduras. The return of former
President Zelaya without threats to his freedom is
indispensable for the full normalization of Honduras’
relations with the region as a whole.
 When President Lula first spoke in this Hall, in
2003, the world lived under the shadow of the invasion
of Iraq. We hope we have learned the lessons of that
episode. Blind faith in intelligence reports tailored to
justify political goals must be rejected. We must ban
once and for all the use of force that is inconsistent
with international law. Furthermore, it is fundamental
to value and promote dialogue and the peaceful
resolution of disputes.
 In order to achieve a truly secure world, the
promise of the total elimination of nuclear weapons
must be fulfilled. Unilateral reductions are welcome
but insufficient, especially when they occur in tandem
with the modernization of nuclear arsenals.
 As President Lula has often stated,
multilateralism is the international face of democracy.
The United Nations must be the main center of
decision-making in international politics.
 The changes that have occurred in the world over
the past few decades and the series of crises we have
faced in food security, climate change, the economic
and financial sphere and peace and security make it
urgent to redefine the rules that govern international
relations.
 The financial crisis of 2008 accelerated change in
global economic governance. The Group of Twenty
(G-20) replaced the Group of Eight as the primary
forum for deliberation on economic issues. The G-20
was a step forward, but it must be adjusted to ensure,
for instance, greater African participation. The
relevance and legitimacy of the G-20 can be preserved
only if it maintains frank and permanent dialogue with
all the nations represented in this General Assembly.
 At the height of the crisis, we succeeded in
avoiding the worst-case scenario: a surge of
uncontrolled protectionism, which would have thrown
the world into a deep depression. But the developed
countries have not demonstrated the necessary
commitment to global economic stability. They
continue to let themselves be guided by parochial
interests. Nowhere is that more evident than in the
Doha round of negotiations in the World Trade
Organization. A balanced solution to that negotiating
process, which has lasted for almost 10 years, would
promote economic expansion and the development of
the poorest countries, with the end of distorting
subsidies and protectionist barriers. After all, poor
countries are the greatest victims of the narrow and
selfish view that still prevails in international trade.
 Reforms have also been insufficient in the
financial sector. Unjustified resistance is preventing the
implementation of agreed-upon changes. Obstinacy in
maintaining anachronistic privileges perpetuates and
deepens the illegitimacy of institutions.
 Another major challenge we face is achieving a
global, comprehensive and ambitious agreement on
climate change. In order to move forward on this
matter, countries must stop hiding behind each other.
Brazil, like other developing countries, has done its
part. But in Copenhagen, several delegations,
especially from the rich world, sought excuses to evade
their moral and political obligations. They forgot that
one cannot negotiate with Nature.
 A positive outcome of the sixteenth Conference
of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, with real progress in

7 10-54827

forests, financing for adaptation and mitigation and a
reaffirmation of the Kyoto commitments, is
indispensable. The Mexican presidency can count on
Brazil’s engagement to achieve this objective.
 In 2012, we will host, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,
the Rio+20 Conference. On behalf of the Brazilian
Government, I invite all delegations to fulfill the
promise of truly sustainable development.
 The reform of global governance has not yet
reached the field of international peace and security. In
the economic and environmental areas, the wealthiest
nations have already understood that they cannot do
without the cooperation of the poor and emerging
countries. When it comes to war and peace, however,
the traditional players are reluctant to share power.
 The Security Council must be reformed and
expanded to allow for greater participation by
developing countries, including as permanent
members. We cannot continue with working methods
that lack transparency and that allow the permanent
members to discuss behind closed doors and for as
long as they wish issues that concern all mankind.
 Brazil has sought to live up to what is expected
from all Security Council members, including non-
permanent ones — namely, that they contribute to
peace. For this reason, we made a serious effort to find
an instrument that could enable progress towards a
solution of the Iranian nuclear question. In so doing,
we relied on proposals that had been presented as a
unique opportunity to build confidence between the
parties. The Tehran Declaration of 17 May, signed by
Brazil, Turkey and Iran, removed obstacles that,
according to the very authors of those proposals, had
previously prevented an agreement.
 The Tehran Declaration does not exhaust the
issue and was never intended to do so. We are
convinced that, once back to the negotiating table, the
parties will find ways to resolve other issues, such as
20 per cent enrichment and the stock of enriched
uranium accumulated since October 2009. In spite of
the sanctions, we still hope that the logic of dialogue
and understanding will prevail. The world cannot run
the risk of a new conflict like the one in Iraq. We have
been insisting, therefore, that the Iranian Government
maintain an attitude of flexibility and openness towards
negotiations, but it is necessary that all those
concerned also demonstrate such willingness.
 We are closely following developments in the
peace process in the Middle East. We hope the direct
talks between Palestinians and Israelis launched earlier
this month will produce concrete results that lead to the
creation of a Palestinian State within the pre-1967
borders, a State that ensures for the Palestinian people
a dignified life, co-existing side by side and in peace
with the State of Israel.
 However, it is not the format of the dialogue that
will determine whether it will yield results. What
matters is the willingness of the parties to reach a just
and lasting peace. That will be easier with the
involvement of all those concerned. Freezing the
construction of settlements in the occupied territories,
lifting the Gaza blockade and ending attacks against
civilian populations are crucial elements in the process.
 In his visit to Israel, Palestine and Jordan in
March, President Lula spoke with government leaders
and representatives of civil society about those issues.
We frequently receive in Brasilia the leaders of various
countries of the region, who seek support in resolving
problems that have afflicted them for decades and have
not been solved through the traditional means and
actors. Brazil, which has about 10 million people of
Arab descent and a sizeable Jewish community living
together in harmony, will not shy away from making its
contribution to the peace that we all yearn for.
 Brazil’s commitment to the promotion of human
rights is also unwavering. We favour a non-selective,
objective and multilateral treatment of human rights,
without politicization or bias, in which everyone — the
rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak — is
subject to the same scrutiny. In our view, the exercise
of human rights is more effectively ensured by
dialogue and cooperation than by arrogant attitudes
derived from self-declared moral superiority.
 During his eight years in office, President Lula
has developed a foreign policy that is independent, free
of any sort of submission, and respectful of Brazil’s
neighbours and partners. It is an innovative foreign
policy, which does not distance itself from the
fundamental values of the Brazilian nation: peace,
pluralism, tolerance and solidarity.
 Just as Brazil has changed and will continue to
change, the world is also changing. We must deepen
and accelerate this process. With the technology and
wealth at our disposal, there is no longer any
justification for hunger, poverty and epidemics of

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preventable diseases. We can no longer live with
discrimination, injustice and authoritarianism. We must
face the challenges of nuclear disarmament, sustainable
development and freer and fairer trade. Rest assured,
Brazil will continue to fight to make these ideals a
reality.


Allow me, Sir, at the
outset, to extend to you my delegation’s warm
congratulations on your election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. I would
like to assure you of my delegation’s full cooperation
in the discharge of your high responsibilities. My
delegation would like to register our appreciation to the
outgoing President, Mr. Ali Treki, for his able
leadership during the sixty-fourth session. We would
also like to take this opportunity to express our
appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, for
his tireless efforts to ensure that the Organization lives
up to the purposes and principles set out in its Charter.
 Allow me to begin my statement today by
reviewing some salient aspects of the political and
economic transformation in Ethiopia.
 Such a review should of necessity begin with the
democratization process in Ethiopia, which is now
almost completing its second decade. In the political
transformation in Ethiopia over the past two decades,
our single-minded focus has been on building
institutions of democracy, good governance and the
rule of law. The essence of all our endeavours in that
regard has been the devolution of power to the people.
Our federal democratic order, built on the basis of
unity in diversity, has laid the foundation for lasting
peace and security. The democratization process that
Ethiopia has embarked on is irreversible and is taking
deep root at the level of the State and the society at
large.
 Still, a democratization process in any country is
not an end in itself. The whole purpose is to create an
environment conducive to bringing about a better life
for the people. That inevitably leads me to our
economic policy and strategy. Today in our country
accelerated development is in full swing, while a
democratic culture and its institutional underpinnings
are developing at the grass-roots level.
 The successful results achieved during the last
seven years and the challenges and experience gained
in the process of implementing the previous five-year
economic plan have helped in the formulation of the
next five-year plan — officially called the Growth and
Transformation Plan — covering the period of 2011 to
2015. The objective of that plan is to lay the necessary
basis for nation-building by creating and strengthening
a stable, democratic, developmental State and to
achieve the economic and social goals in the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
 At the end of the five-year period the net result of
all our efforts will be that poverty in our country has
been made history. We are confident that by that time
our people will celebrate, together with the
international community, the end of an era of food
insecurity and dependency on food aid. That historic
event will give us an opportunity to extend our deep
gratitude to all our partners for their assistance in our
difficult times. We pledge to redouble our efforts and
utilize their assistance for rapid development of our
country that will extricate us from food insecurity once
and for all.
 As regards the Millennium Development Goals,
the High-level Plenary Meeting of the sixty-fifth
session of the General Assembly, held here in New
York just last week, was timely. The outcome
document of that forum (resolution 65/1) should not be
just an appeal but a new pact, binding on stakeholders
with respect to renewed commitment to ensure that the
collective promises made at the dawn of the new
millennium are kept. The action agenda designed to
achieve the Millennium Development Goals by 2015
must ensure the mutual responsibility and
accountability of all stakeholders.
 We in Ethiopia have made substantial progress on
all fronts towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals. We have taken full charge of our
destiny, devised our own strategy and maximized the
mobilization of our domestic resources to achieve the
MDGs. The results so far have been very encouraging.
Over the past seven years, the Ethiopian economy has
performed well, having achieved an annual average
growth rate of 11.6 per cent. The robust economic
growth we have achieved has created the basis for
similarly robust growth in social indicators, and hence
on progress in achieving the Millennium Development
Goals.
 Assessing the state of the MDGs today would not
be complete without some reflections on Africa from
the perspective of economic and social development

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and its organic link to the MDGs. In that connection, I
can do no better than to refer to what Mr. Zoellick,
President of the World Bank, said at the High-level
Plenary Meeting on the MDGs (see A/65/PV.3). The
most important point he made was that he believed in
Africa and that Africa can be a global pole of growth
and attract investment on African terms. That is what
we have been saying all along. He also said that one
needs to work with developing countries as clients, not
as development models from textbooks, and to help
them to solve problems, not to test theories. We in
Africa know what we can do; we want to know what
the rest of the world will do to help us achieve our
goals.
 The issue of climate change remains among the
most critical challenges facing humankind today. Much
has been said, from Rio to Kyoto to Copenhagen. What
has been promised has thus far resulted in far less than
the urgency of the matter merits. We believe that time
is running out, and we are concerned that national
agendas of zero-sum preferences are overshadowing
the real urgency of addressing the matter in an
accelerated and coordinated manner. The upcoming
Cancún meeting on climate change should be different
from its predecessors. It should come up with a legally
binding commitment, coupled with the political will, to
allocate the necessary resources for adaptation and
mitigation efforts, especially for the most vulnerable
and exposed countries.
 On energy and development, it has always been
self-evident that access to energy is key to fighting
poverty. It is central to development. Yet, 1.4 billion
people worldwide are without electricity, 80 per cent of
whom live in rural areas. Given the urgency of this dire
situation, we fully support the goal of universal energy
access by 2030, as set by the United Nations.
 As the prevalence of conflicts around the world
clearly indicates, international cooperation is of
paramount importance to complement the efforts of the
United Nations in the area of peace and security. In
that regard, Ethiopia, as a founding Member of the
United Nations, has always been at the forefront in
discharging its responsibilities in the area of peace and
security. Since the early 1950s, Ethiopia has been an
active participant in United Nations peacekeeping
operations. At the moment, Ethiopia is among the
major troop-contributing countries to United Nations
peacekeeping missions.
 Among the challenges that the international
community faces in the area of peace and security is
the scourge of terrorism. Like many other countries, we
have been at the receiving end of this problem. We
believe that unreserved international cooperation is the
only viable way to combat terrorism. Ethiopia will
continue to do its level best in that regard.
 Any discussion of peace and security on the
international scene today will inevitably have to take
up the situation in the Horn of Africa. It is regrettable
that we still cannot talk about the situation in Somalia
with a great deal of optimism. On one hand, the threat
of extremism continues unabated in Somalia, as does
the danger posed by international terrorist networks
and their sponsors to Somalia, and beyond. On the
other hand, it is clear that there is little chance for
making progress in Somalia until there is harmony and
greater seriousness of purpose at the highest level
within the Transitional Federal Institutions of Somalia.
 The Council of Ministers of the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD),
which met here in New York on 22 September
preceding the mini-summit on Somalia convened by
the Secretary-General on 23 September, expressed its
regret with regard to differences within the leadership
of the Transitional Federal Government. It called upon
them to strengthen their cohesion and work together to
address the multiple challenges facing the country.
Furthermore, the Council of Ministers reaffirmed the
Djibouti process as the sole basis for peace and
reconciliation in Somalia, expressed concern about the
proliferation of initiatives and urged the United
Nations and other stakeholders to engage within the
region and with IGAD.
 With regard to the situation in the Sudan,
Ethiopia is of the firm view that conceivably there is
no other conflict on the continent today comparable to
that of the Sudan. Hence, we believe that success in the
Sudan will mean significant success for Africa as a
whole. By the same token, failure may entail a serious
catastrophe for Africa. That is why the African Union
has given its unreserved attention to the issue, as
illustrated by the effort of the High-Level
Implementation Panel led by former President Thabo
Mbeki. We would like to express our appreciation to
the Secretary-General for holding a timely high-level
meeting on the Sudan here on 24 September. The
outcome of the meeting has been encouraging.

13 10-55396

 It goes without saying that the referendums in
Southern Sudan and Abyei should be held on time and
strictly in conformity with the terms of the
Comprehensive Peace Agreement. However, we
believe that, irrespective of the outcome of the
referendums and without in any way detracting from
the historic significance of that date, the parties should
not fix their minds solely on 9 January 2011. The
parties ought to recognize that here are several
commonalities, interests, bonds and values between the
peoples of the Sudan, north and south, that transcend
the decision to be taken in January 2011. That is why it
is of paramount importance that negotiations on post-
referendum issues should be conducted in earnest and
with the seriousness of purpose that the issues deserve.
 When we talk of security in the Horn of Africa
region and the southern Red Sea, we cannot avoid
raising our concern once again about the destructive
role that the Government of Eritrea has continued to
play since independence. We in the IGAD region have
time and time again warned the United Nations, as well
as the international community, that the Eritrean
regime is the principal destabilizer in our subregion,
with its utter contempt for international law and the
norms of international behaviour.
 It is indeed regrettable that the Security Council
is not taking the necessary steps to compel Eritrea to
live up to what is expected of it under Council
resolution 1907 (2009). Despite the sanctions, Eritrea
is still the principal architect of the complicated
situation in Somalia, through its training, arming and
nurturing of extremist elements such as Al-Shabaab
and Hizb al-Islam, who are causing havoc in that
country today.
 That reprehensible conduct on the part of the
regime has been by no means isolated or confined to
our subregion. On the contrary, it has been standard
behaviour for the Eritrean regime, extending far
beyond the subregion, to other parts of the continent
and sometimes even outside it.
 Consistent with its innate character, the regime
committed acts of aggression against practically all its
neighbours in the space of only a few years after its
independence. That is unprecedented for any newly
independent State, giving Eritrea the dubious
distinction of being an international pariah in the
family of nations. Therefore, if we are to achieve a
breakthrough in Somalia, the time is long overdue for
the Security Council to take resolute action and see to
it that its decisions are complied with.

 Since its founding more than six decades ago, the
United Nations, as the principal global player on the
international scene with multifarious responsibilities,
has, under the circumstances, lived up to the vision set
for it in the Charter. There is no gainsaying the fact
that if the United Nations did not exist, we would have
had to create it. It is an indispensable Organization,
particularly for us in the developing world. However,
while underscoring its importance, we should not lose
sight of the need for its reform, which is an ongoing
process. That is how we can ensure the Organization’s
viability. Ethiopia will always be ready to give
whatever support is necessary to that end.
 When we talk of the United Nations as a global
actor, the importance of cooperation between the
United Nations and our continental organization, the
African Union, need hardly be emphasized. Of
particular significance is the ongoing cooperation and
consultation between the United Nations Security
Council and the African Union Peace and Security
Council, in line with the provisions of Chapter VIII of
the Charter of the United Nations. We should continue
that cooperation, and Ethiopia will do whatever is
necessary in that regard.
 In conclusion, let me reiterate, as a founding
Member, Ethiopia’s enduring commitment to the ideals
of our Organization and the fulfilment of its objectives,
as set out in the Charter, which remains a living
document and a source of inspiration for the
international community.


It gives
me great pleasure to offer you, Sir, and your friendly
country, Switzerland, our warmest congratulations on
your election to preside over the sixty-fifth session of the
General assembly. I also wish to express our appreciation
to your predecessor, Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, of the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, for his fruitful efforts in
conducting the deliberations of the previous session.
 For more than 65 years, since its inception, the
United Nations has registered tangible achievements. It
has offered assistance and expertise in the socio-
economic and environmental spheres, as well as in the
cause of international security and peace, and has
contributed to the establishment of stability in a
number of regions of the world.
 The Sultanate of Oman hopes that at this session
the Assembly will make unprecedented progress in our
shared pursuit of international peace and security, as
well as prosperity.
 The international community meets today in
challenging times, faced with a whole range of thorny
issues, from ongoing political instability to security
challenges, financial crises, economic and environmental
problems, the nuclear question and non-proliferation. It
may be useful to recall here the lesson that such
challenges can best be met through dialogue and
positive participation by all, aimed at arresting threats
to international peace and security.
 The floods in Pakistan led to the dislocation of
more than 20 million Pakistanis, who have lost their
homes and are still experiencing tragic suffering,
despite the continuing international rescue efforts.
More outside assistance, expertise and capabilities are
needed to help Pakistan overcome this tragedy and
mitigate its consequences on the ground, as well as
push ahead with the reconstruction process.
 Those floods, the volcanic eruption in Iceland and
the H1N1 epidemic, for example, are recent phenomena
that have highlighted how interconnected the States of
the world are and the need for international
cooperation. What affects one corner of the world can
truly have sweeping impacts across the globe.
 The United Nations, its specialized agencies and
legal organs were established after devastating wars, in
the aftermath of the First and Second World Wars.
Although the international community has not yet been
able to find the means to resolve complex political
problems, the United Nations offers multilateral
mechanisms and goals that have played an enormous
part in the reduction or neutralization of many crises.
In addition, it plays key roles in helping developing
countries in numerous specialized fields related to
socio-economic development and the protection of the
environment.
 We believe that the effectiveness of the United
Nations must reach a new level. This requires that the
permanent members of the Security Council accept a
reorganization of the United Nations, including an
expansion of its administrative base, with fair management
of world trade interests, in a way which makes Member
States feel that it is an Organization for all.
 We look forward to seeing the international
community conduct a comprehensive review of the
requirements for international peace and security, in
view of all the lessons learned from wars in the past
century and in this century.
 We also look forward, Mr. President, along with
you and all Member States, to a world of lasting
security, characterized by good intentions and
confidence in the future, a world where all peoples
enjoy shining freedom and the beauty of life. We look
forward to the day when dialogue prevails on the basis
of accepting the other, regardless of social and cultural
variations between human communities. We believe
that dialogue between Governments, which differ in
their perspectives on issues, will lead to a clearer
system of global partnership and coexistence, in which
development, welfare and prosperity prevail.
 The Sultanate of Oman believes strongly that part
of its responsibilities in the context of development is
to make the Omani person the effective mover of the
wheel of development. Therefore, my country has
dedicated all resources towards that goal, especially
with regard to education at all levels and medical care
for every individual.
 The people of Oman and their Government play
their roles in society and participate effectively in
everything concerning the life of the Omani citizen
through the Council of Oman, with its two chambers:
the Council of State and the Consultative Council. The
role of the Omani citizen along the path of his country’s
development is central and indispensable, stemming
from the firm conviction of the leader of Oman’s
renaissance, His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said, that
life is created for mankind, male and female, that

10-55276 4

freedom is the core of life, and that free positive
expression is the seed of creativity, which is the fuel
for development. With that insightful vision of His
Majesty, the Sultanate of Oman is moving towards the
future with firm determination.
 We wish to stress our strong belief in the absolute
necessity of finding a solution to the chronic conflict in
the Middle East. Although we support the direct
negotiations between the Palestinians and the Israelis,
sponsored by the United States of America, we still
feel that the Israeli policy is vague with regard to
accepting Israel’s responsibility towards the requirements
of peace: the establishment of an independent, sovereign
and viable Palestinian State, with East Jerusalem as its
capital, and Israel’s withdrawal from all Arab lands to
the borders of 4 June 1967.
 We look forward to an active, positive and
continuing role by United States President Barack
Obama in order to reach a just and comprehensive
settlement. We call upon Israel to grasp this historic
opportunity to establish partnership in peace and
security with the Arab countries.