I would like to
congratulate Mr. d’Escoto Brockmann on his election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-third
session. The Australian delegation looks forward to
working closely with him throughout the session.
 We gather together at a time of great challenge to
the international system — a challenge that reminds us
afresh that we live in a world where our
interdependence is now greater than at any time before,
an interdependence that therefore demands our
international cooperation now more than at any time
before.
 There are many who criticize the United Nations.
And those of us who know this institution well know
that it is not immune to criticism. But those who argue
against this Organization advance no credible argument
as to what should replace it. Whatever its
imperfections, the United Nations represents a
necessary democracy of States — States who resolved,
out of the carnage of the last world war, that
cooperation should always be preferred to conflict, that
our national interests are invariably best served by the
simultaneous prosecution of the international interest,
and that the purposes of our common humanity should
prevail over the narrow interests of the few.
 When the nations of the world met in San
Francisco in 1945, the United Nations was conceived
as a bold experiment — one that ran contrary to the
grain of the international order that had preceded it,
where conflict was the norm and cooperation the
exception; one in which the international community,
for the first time, began to imagine how through an
international institution we could not just protect the
sovereignty of States, but equally advance the
protection of peoples and the dignity of individuals.
 Beyond that, we began to advance the idea that
through the other great international institutions — the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
and the International Labour Organization (ILO) — we
could fashion an international economic order that
recognized the unfolding reality of economic
interdependence.
 These were the ideals we set for ourselves more
than half a century ago. And while the history of our
achievements since then has been mixed, the ideas and
the ideals on which these institutions were constructed
nonetheless remain as valid now as they were back
then.
 The failures that we have seen in recent times do
not lie in the institutions alone. The failure lies more in
the poverty of our political will to animate those
institutions to discharge the purposes for which they
were created. And that is our collective responsibility.
 The global financial crisis of today presents us
afresh with a critical opportunity to act
comprehensively and collectively for the long term,
rather than selectively and separately for the short. In
the post-war period, the quantum of financial
institutional failure seen these last weeks has been
great. The quantum of government intervention in
financial markets has been significant. The quantum of
the impact by one market on another has been
unprecedented. What we have seen in financial markets
should bring home to us all that the central organizing
principle of this twenty-first century is interdependence.
 For the century just past, interdependence may
have been one option among many. For the century that
is to come, there is no longer an alternative.
Interdependence is not the expression of sentimental
idealism. Instead, it is a recognition of the new realism
of our current times, which represents the cumulative
impact of the globalization of our engagement with
each other over many decades. Through unprecedented
trade flows, unprecedented investment flows and
unprecedented financial flows, we now see the
globalization of our economy; the globalization of
security, arising from the searing impact of
11 September when the obscenity visited on this great
city caused us all to conclude that terrorism was the
enemy of all civilized humanity, not just of some

37 08-51851

nations; and the globalization of the environment, as
we have come to recognize that carbon emissions from
one part of the planet affect all parts of the planet and
therefore radically affect the future of the planet itself.
 What all these things tell us is this:
interdependence is the new realism of this twenty-first
century. And unless as a community of nations we rise
to this new challenge, our future is bleak indeed.
 The global financial crisis is a call to the global
community to act. Financial markets are a public good.
The stability of global financial markets is a public
good. If Governments fail to protect this public good,
then those who suffer are the working people of the
world, whose jobs, whose homes and whose standard
of living depend on it.
 It is Governments rather than speculators that
have the central responsibility for determining the rules
that govern the way markets work. A decade ago, the
global economy and global financial markets were
buffeted by the Asian financial crisis, and as a global
community we resolved that we would act to reduce
the risk of such systemic crises in the future. The
problem is, a decade on, that systemic lessons were not
learned.
 Now we face a financial crisis of truly global
proportions. We must therefore ask ourselves three
questions: What went wrong? What needs to be done
now to fix the problem of financial market instability
for the long term? And most critically, how do we
marshal the political will to do so?
 First, what went wrong? There has been a failure
of internal governance within financial institutions.
There has also been a failure of external oversight.
Regulators have not always recognized the systemic
risk posed by significant financial institutions.
 So what must now be done?
 The immediate task is to rebuild confidence in
the financial system by ensuring that central banks
provide adequate liquidity, by enabling the
recapitalization of critical financial institutions and by
ensuring their continued solvency. Over the longer
term, the challenge is to reform financial markets and
regulatory systems so as to reduce the chances of these
events repeating themselves in the future. To this end,
together with other States, we would argue that the
following reform programme be implemented.
 First, systemically important financial institutions
should be licensed to operate in major economies only
under the condition that they make full disclosure and
analysis of balance sheet and off-balance sheet
exposures. Systemically important financial institutions
are not just commercial banks but can include
investment banks, insurance companies, hedge funds
and financial clearing houses.
 Which institutions are systemically important will
vary in a given country over time. The central bank in
each country should have responsibility for the
stability of the financial system. That should be
embedded in globally agreed best-practice standards
for financial regulation and should be assessed by the
IMF.
 Secondly, we need to ensure that banks and other
financial institutions build up capital in good times as a
buffer for bad times, using predictable rules.
Supervisory frameworks need to be countercyclical,
not pro-cyclical. The Basel rules need to address this.
 Thirdly, financial institutions need to have a clear
incentive to promote responsible behaviour rather than
unrestrained greed. Regulators should set higher capital
requirements for financial firms that have executive
remuneration packages rewarding short-term returns or
excessive risk taking. Again, the Basel rules need to
address this.
 Fourthly, supervisory systems must be compatible
with accounting principles that reflect reasonable
assessments of the value of assets over time. We need
to make sure that accounting rules foster a more
medium-term perspective and that they do not
encourage institutions to believe that risk is low merely
because current asset prices are high or recent asset-
price volatility has been low. The Basel rules also need
to address this.
 Fifthly, the IMF should be given a strengthened
mandate for prudential analysis. Conservative and
consistent prudential standards should be applied to all
financial institutions of systemic significance.
Furthermore, the IMF and the Financial Stability
Forum should develop early warning systems that
signal impending institutional vulnerabilities and
provide advice on remedial policies. Collectively, those
institutions have led the development of the initiatives
that represent the core of the financial-market reform
agenda that I have just described. However, those
institutions are, by their very nature, bureaucratic, and

08-51851 38

the reform processes they initiate are constrained by a
lack of political authority.
 That brings me to the third question arising from
the current crisis: how are we to go about
implementing this reform agenda for the long term?
 What is required is political will, exercised
through ministerial forums working in cooperation
with the IMF, the Financial Stability Forum and the
Group of Twenty (G20). The G20 is well placed to
provide the political authority to have such actions
implemented urgently and comprehensively. In that
context, Australia will work intensively with the
forthcoming Chairs of the G20 — in particular the
United Kingdom in 2009 — to ensure that financial
stability is at the centre of the work programme and to
initiate arrangements to strengthen G20 input into
shaping the work of the IMF and the Financial Stability
Forum and the implementation of agreed outcomes.
 At their meeting in November, the G20 finance
ministers should review the progress made in adopting
the current Financial Stability Forum
recommendations, reinforce the agreed deadlines for
finalizing their implementation and agree with the
Forum on a clear timetable for the action plan.
 As countries with systemically important
economies, G20 members should demonstrate their
commitment to best-practice financial regulation and
disclosure by providing better information regarding
the stability of their domestic financial systems and
cross-border exposures to the IMF and the Financial
Stability Forum. The IMF and the Financial Stability
Forum should provide regular scenario analysis to the
G20 to facilitate clear engagement on the risks facing
the global financial system. Such analysis should be
included in an enhanced version of the IMF’s Global
Financial Stability Report.
 The purpose of this reform agenda is to provide a
real political mandate for our international regulatory
institutions to do their job in defending the integrity of
the international financial system.
 One of the greatest challenges we face is climate
change and the threat it poses to the environment. In
December last year, after many years of delay,
Australia ratified the Kyoto Protocol. We are
determined to be part of the solution to climate change,
not just a part of the problem. We have acted to begin
the process of developing a comprehensive emissions
trading or carbon pollution reduction scheme to bring
down carbon dioxide emissions over time. We will also
implement a national energy efficiency strategy as well
as a renewable energy strategy. Developing and
deploying new technologies will also be part of our
response to climate change.
 The Australian Government has decided to
establish a global centre to drive the demonstration and
commercialization of carbon capture and storage
technologies. Building on existing national and
regional initiatives, that project will bring together the
best researchers in the world to develop the best
technology to apply. As the world at present is
planning to generate 45 per cent of its electricity from
coal by 2030, we can no longer afford to delay acting
on such technology. Australia invites all Governments
and corporations of goodwill to participate in the
Global Carbon Capture and Storage Institute.
 The United Nations and we, its Member nations,
have a responsibility to protect the nations and peoples
of the world. We must protect people from terrorism,
and that must include a commitment to support those
nations on the front lines of the struggle. Australia is
working closely with the Government of Afghanistan
and with our global partners to bring security and
stability to that country. We can never again allow it to
become a haven for terrorists.
 Australia is also an active contributor to global
efforts to prevent the spread of weapons of mass
destruction. We continue to urge nations to sign and
ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty so
that it can enter into force.
 We remain concerned that States such as Iran and
North Korea continue to defy the international
community and to fail to comply with demands for a
full declaration and accounting of their nuclear
programmes. Their actions are undermining the global
consensus on containment of the spread of nuclear
weapons.
 This year, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) celebrates its fortieth
anniversary. As a middle Power and a long-standing
member of the NPT, Australia is committed to working
with other nations towards the goal of the eventual
abolition of nuclear weapons. Australia, together with
our close friend and partner Japan, has established an
International Commission on Nuclear Non-Proliferation
and Disarmament to create the political and policy

39 08-51851

consensus necessary to elicit a real result on
non-proliferation and disarmament in advance of the
2010 NPT Review Conference.
 The United Nations own security machinery must
also be effective. The Security Council needs reform.
Australia supports expansion of its permanent
membership to reflect changes in the world since 1945,
and our nation will be a candidate for a non-permanent
seat for the 2013-2014 term. Australia once again
wishes to play its part in advancing the international
security order.
 Prosperity comes from economic growth. It
comes from nations trading with one another. That is
why it is so important that we conclude the Doha
Round of world trade talks this year. It is why we must
also implement the Millennium Development Goals,
consistent with our solemn commitment in this place at
the dawn of this millennium.
 Progress in achieving the Goals has been mixed.
We need to redouble our efforts to reduce poverty, to
provide education for children and to ensure that
people in the developing world have access to health
care. Australia is committed to increasing its official
development assistance to 0.5 per cent of its gross
national income by 2015. Australia now resolves to do
much more — much, much more — to make poverty
history. It is unforgivable that poverty and conflict,
such as those in Darfur, continue to claim the lives of
innocents in the face of inaction by Governments.
 Development is also about protecting human
rights. Sixty years ago, this body adopted the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. We must commit afresh
to protecting the rights that that charter identifies.
 As nations, we should also commit afresh to
righting past wrongs. In Australia, we began that
recently with the first Australians, who have the oldest
continuing culture in human history. This year, on
behalf of the Australian Parliament, I offered an
apology to Indigenous Australians for the wrongs that
they had suffered in the past. That was the right thing
for Australia to do.
 Our membership in the United Nations is a key
pillar of our foreign policy. Our priorities are regional,
but our interests are global. We work with partners
around the world to meet shared challenges. Through
our membership in the United Nations, we are
committed to using creative middle-Power diplomacy
to help overcome the great challenges of our age —
challenges that are beyond the power of individual
nation-States to resolve, that can be overcome only
through unprecedented cooperation between States.
That is because the problems that we seek to solve in
this Hall and through the organs of the United Nations
touch every one of our peoples. To advance prosperity
and stability at home, we must advance prosperity and
stability around the globe.
 Australia was one of the founding Members of
the United Nations. Our Foreign Minister at the time,
Herbert Evatt, made a significant contribution at the
San Francisco Conference, particularly on the part of
small and medium-sized countries. He ensured that the
role of the General Assembly was protected in the
structure of the Organization as a whole.
 Sixty years ago this week, he was elected
President of the General Assembly at its third session.
Evatt was a patriotic Australian. Evatt was equally a
passionate internationalist. Sixty years later, this
institution, together with other international institutions
of our current order, have yet to realize the vision of
those who founded it. Yet the need today, in this age of
unprecedented global interdependence, is greater than
ever before.
 And so it falls to this generation to now summon
the political faith and to exercise the political will
necessary to act for the common purposes of the planet
we all share.


We live in an era when the
world is becoming increasingly interdependent.
Nothing illustrates this interdependency more than the
Asian financial crisis of a decade ago and the current
financial crisis gripping the world’s largest economy.
The problems may have local roots, but, given the
severity of the situation, their effects will transcend
borders. The world economy, and by extension the

08-53135 18

stability of nations, depends on the stability of the
financial markets.
 In recent months, the world has also been
challenged by the soaring prices of fuel and food,
particularly such staples as rice. Those daunting
challenges add an extra burden to developing
countries. The answer to those problems lies not in
multiplying the number of world summits and
conferences but in taking concrete actions towards
implementing the commitments made.
 My own country has the potential to contribute to
energy and food security in our region. We are willing
to do our part. We are making concerted efforts to
produce more crude oil and natural gas to meet the
needs of the domestic market as well as for export. We
also have huge potential to produce hydroelectric
power. Moreover, as the agriculture sector is the
mainstay of Myanmar’s economy, we are focusing on
expanding the cultivation of paddy, beans and pulses.
We have also introduced new industrial crops, such as
jatropha, for use in the production of biofuels.
 Developing countries like my own need to have a
level playing field in order to promote the economic
prosperity and social progress of our people. Subsidies
and protectionist policies distort markets and do great
harm to developing countries. Political and social
progress can be achieved only through development,
never through coercive economic measures. Such
measures only serve to worsen the plight of the people,
particularly the most vulnerable among them, women
and children.
 Unilateral sanctions have been imposed on my
country. Those sanctions are unwarranted. Unilateral
sanctions are also against international law. They are
not only unfair but immoral. They are counter-
productive and deprive countries of their right to
development and do not function as a solution to solve
the problem.
 Myanmar has abundant land and natural
resources with which to make a meaningful
contribution to the energy and food security of our
country and beyond. But in order for us to fulfil our
potential we need unfettered access to markets. We
need modern technology; we need investment. The
sooner the unjust sanctions are revoked and the barriers
removed, the sooner the country will be in a position to
become the rice bowl of the region and a reliable
source of energy.
 That brings me to the matter of making the
United Nations an Organization better suited to meet
the challenges of the twenty-first century. Only a more
democratic Organization will be able to respond to the
needs of Member States and serve the interests of the
international community as a whole. Reform of the
Organization, particularly reform of the Security
Council, has been on our agenda for some time.
However, progress has been extremely slow. The role
and authority of the General Assembly as the principal
deliberative and representative organ must be
enhanced, including in the maintenance of international
peace and security.
 Reform of the Security Council has eluded us for
over a decade. Myanmar believes that the membership
of the Security Council should reflect current reality.
We believe in an increase in the membership of the
Council in both the permanent and the elected
categories. Reform should not be confined to an
increase in membership but must also include
improvement in the Council’s working methods. Above
all, it should result in a Security Council that is
transparent, credible and democratic.
 Here, I would like to stress that attempts to
initiate formal or informal discussions in the Security
Council on situations that do not constitute a threat to
international peace and security are contrary to the
letter and the spirit of the Charter. This is a view that
Myanmar shares with the Non-Aligned Movement,
which constitutes a clear majority of the membership
of our Organization.
 The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
adopted in 2000 are imperatives that the international
community has set for itself. We have now passed the
midpoint, but progress has been uneven. Much more
remains to be done if the Goals are to be achieved by
2015. While national Governments have the primary
responsibility to ensure progress, the international
community must help by creating an environment that
will enable developing countries to turn faltering steps
towards development into firm strides. Fulfilment of
official development assistance commitments,
increased investment flows, improved market access
and resolution of the debt problem are needed to enable
the developing countries to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals.
 For its part, Myanmar is striving to promote better
living standards for its people. The implementation of

19 08-53135

the MDGs is inextricably linked to the implementation
of our national development plan. The national plan
focuses on the promotion of equitable and balanced
socio-economic development of both rural and urban
areas. In recent years, we have made significant
progress in areas such as poverty alleviation, the
promotion of health and education.
 In the health sector, Myanmar has been
implementing a national plan that accords priority to
the eradication of major diseases such as HIV/AIDS,
malaria and tuberculosis. The high-level multisectoral
committee on AIDS has been overseeing HIV/AIDS
prevention and care activities in our country since
1989. The activities undertaken by the committee
include active surveillance, prevention of mother-to-
child transmission and community, institution and
home-based care services. These activities are carried
out by the Government in close cooperation with
international organizations such as the World Health
Organization, UNICEF and the World Food Programme,
and with national and international non-governmental
organizations in order to reach out widely to vulnerable
groups.
 As a result, Myanmar has not only levelled the
rate of HIV/AIDS infection but also reduced it. I would
like to emphasize that if we are to achieve a more
dynamic and effective global response to HIV/AIDS,
adequate resources must be made available. Moreover,
allocation of resources for HIV/AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis must be based on need rather than on
political considerations.
 With regard to education, we envision a system
for our people that will generate a learning society
capable of meeting the challenges of the information
age we live in. Long-term investment in the education
sector is being made with the aim of building human
resource development. The Government has been
expanding the number of basic, primary, post-primary,
middle and high schools throughout the country in
order to provide access to education for all. We
strongly believe education to be a fundamental
requirement for the attainment of sustainable
development. It is also a prerequisite for the
achievement of other MDGs.
 I am happy to be able to say that, as a result of
our efforts, the literacy rate of those 15 years old and
above has risen to 94.8 per cent. Likewise, the rate of
enrolment in primary schools has reached 98 per cent.
 Myanmar also accords priority to creating job
opportunities in rural areas as part of its poverty
alleviation strategy. In that regard, development
projects to improve economic, educational and health
conditions in rural areas are being implemented all
over the country.
 The Secretary-General’s initiative to convene
today’s Ministerial Meeting on Reducing Disaster
Risks in a Changing Climate is indeed timely. We in
Myanmar can relate to the growing concern of the
world regarding climate change and its adverse effects.
We felt the full brunt of the devastating consequences
of climate change last May, when a powerful cyclone
slammed into the Ayeyarwaddy delta. Cyclone Nargis
left unprecedented death and destruction in its wake.
The pain and sorrow felt by the survivors of the
devastating storm continue even today.
 There is, however, a silver lining in the dark
clouds. The Myanmar nation was united in its response
to the emergency. The outpouring of generosity was
overwhelming. People from all walks of life, regardless
of their own difficulties, donated, in cash and in kind,
for the victims. The United Nations, States members of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, donor
countries, non-governmental organizations and
individuals from around the world also responded
generously. We have been able to demonstrate
willingness and ability to work in concert with the
international community. We have been able to rebuild
better and stronger homes, schools and monasteries.
The paddy fields destroyed by the storm have been
replanted.
 I would like to take this opportunity to express
our heartfelt appreciation to our friends from far and
near who came to our assistance in our time of need.
 Myanmar is home to over 100 national races, and
national unity is of paramount importance.
Accordingly, we have been resolutely pursuing a policy
of national reconciliation. Our endeavours have
resulted in the return to the legal fold of 17 armed
groups. We have effectively put an end to the decades-
long insurgency. Peace and stability now prevail in
almost all parts of the country.
 We have also been implementing a seven-step
political road map to democracy. The representatives of
former armed groups, together with the representatives
of political parties, ethnic nationalities and other
representatives, took an active part in the National

08-53135 20

Convention process. The National Convention laid
down the fundamental principles to be enshrined in a
new constitution. Based on those principles, a new
Constitution was drafted and was put to a nationwide
referendum last May. The people of Myanmar
overwhelmingly approved the draft constitution.
 The fifth step of the road map, general elections,
will be taken in 2010. Necessary measures are being
undertaken for the elections. All citizens, regardless of
political affiliation, will have equal rights to form
political parties and to conduct election campaigns.
The Government will make every effort to ensure that
the elections are free and fair. The international
community can best assist Myanmar’s democratization
process by respecting the will of its people, expressed
in the recent referendum.
 The daunting challenges of the twenty-first
century can be addressed only through international
cooperation. We can solve international problems of
economic, social, cultural or humanitarian character
only by working together. To do this, powerful
countries should refrain from practicing hegemonic
policies through either political or economic pressure.
 In the global village in which we live, mutual
respect, understanding and tolerance must be the
values that we espouse. Let us work together to give
our global village a peaceful and prosperous future.


Allow me
first of all to congratulate Mr. Miguel d’Escoto
Brockmann on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-third session. He can count on the
full cooperation of the Togolese as he carries out his
noble task. We would also like to pay tribute to the
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the insight
and determination which he has demonstrated in
leading the Organization since taking up his post.
 At the high-level meeting on Africa’s
development needs, held here on 22 September,

08-53129 24

Member States noted that despite the efforts that have
been made, the situation in Africa demands continued
serious consideration by the international community
in order to help Africa face up to the many challenges
it faces. It was also stressed that the fight against
poverty and the fight for sustainable development
cannot succeed without considerable official
development assistance and fairer trade between
nations.
 In that regard, it is unfortunate that the North-
South dialogue has been exhausted, as evidenced by
the recent failure of the World Trade Organization
negotiations in Geneva. Indeed, while international
trade should become a tool for development, the
balance of global economic power, which was
responsible to a great degree for the dependence of
countries of the South on their partners in the North,
will continue to deteriorate. Most countries perceive
globalization as the status quo, which makes the
objectives of development and social justice even more
difficult to achieve. To think that, when the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) were adopted in 2000,
many of us were hopeful that they would be achieved.
For that reason we call upon the international
community, especially the countries of the North, to
respect the commitments made.
 We note with concern that today new and even
greater challenges are being added to the long list of
those which our States already face. The sharp rise in
the price of oil and other raw materials, as well as the
increasing demand for energy, along with the effects of
the global food and financial crises are among these
new challenges.
 The current food crisis will not fail to have
catastrophic consequences if aid to agriculture is not
reviewed and increased; it is unfortunate that such
assistance was cut by half between 1992 to 2000. It
should also be stressed that few resources have been
allocated to agricultural infrastructure, to irrigation and
to supplying water to the population.
 We venture to hope that the new partnership
established on 4 June in Rome between the Alliance for
a Green Revolution in Africa, the United Nations, the
Food and Agriculture Organization, the International
Fund for Agricultural Development and the World
Food Programme will contribute to an appropriate
response to the situation.
 Togo has suffered the negative effects of a long
political and economic crisis. However, since President
Faure Essozimna Gnassingbé’s accession to power in
May 2005, the Togolese Government has sought
suitable solutions to the major concerns of the Togolese
people by implementing a pragmatic policy based on
national reconciliation, poverty reduction and
strengthening democracy and the rule of law.
 In that context, the head of State worked to
conclude a comprehensive political agreement in
August 2006, which was signed by the major political
parties and which opened the way for the holding of
legislative elections in October 2007. There is little
need to remind members that those elections took place
in a peaceful, transparent and safe environment. They
led to the establishment of a broad-based Government
and a pluralistic National Assembly, which shows the
commitment of the head of State to strengthen the
democratization process in an atmosphere of
understanding and national unity.
 We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate
our thanks to the friendly countries and multilateral
partners that have fully resumed their cooperation with
Togo following the implementation of the agreements
signed. In order to consolidate that commitment
process, the Togolese Government is working tirelessly
to see through the institutional and constitutional
reforms provided for by the comprehensive political
agreement.
 In the legal field, it has undertaken to modernize
the justice system, so as to guarantee its independence.
In the same vein, national consultations aimed at
establishing a Truth, Justice and Reconciliation
Commission were launched on 15 April 2008. The
Commission will be charged with shedding light on
acts of political violence committed in the past and
finding ways to compensate the victims. The results of
those consultations have just been submitted to the
head of State.
 Similarly, in its search for better strategies to
fight corruption and improve good economic
governance, Togo recently signed a memorandum of
understanding with the African Peer Review
Mechanism, by which it agrees to submit to periodic
reviews by the other members of the African Union
(AU) and to be directed by the jointly adopted
parameters for political, economic and financial
governance in Africa. As part of the financial reform,

25 08-53129

soon the post of auditor-general and a national audit
office will be set up. A Government audit programme
is in the process of being finalized.
 The torrential rainfall that struck our country last
July sorely tested our Government’s efforts. It led to
countless human injuries and material and financial
losses, including the collapse of a dozen bridges, the
flooding of railways and the destruction of roads,
villages and fields. That disaster, the second of its kind
in a year, makes it very difficult to move from region
to region.
 The solidarity shown to our country enabled us to
assist the affected and to start rebuilding some of the
infrastructure. Here, I should like to express our deep
gratitude to Ghana, Benin, France, China, the United
States of America, Brazil and all the other countries,
organizations and institutions that helped us.
 As members can see, in spite of our efforts the
overall situation in our country is far from satisfactory.
Therefore, our country deserves more substantial
support. In that regard, the positive results of the Togo
Development Partners Conference, held in Brussels on
18 and 19 September, leads us to hope that the
international community is ready to play a decisive
role in assisting our country to get back on its feet.
 We would like once again to express our
profound thanks to all those who contributed to the
success of that conference, in particular the European
Union, France, Germany, the United States of America,
Portugal, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, the Niger, the World
Bank, the International Monetary Fund, the Islamic
Development Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the
Central Bank of West African States, the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the
West African Economic and Monetary Union.
 For decades, Togolese diplomacy has worked to
strengthen friendship and cooperation among States
and peoples. Thus, at both the bilateral and the
multilateral levels, Togo has always done its utmost to
achieve the peaceful settlement of disputes with the
purpose of maintaining peace and stability wherever
threatened. Those actions, undertaken through dialogue
and consultation, are part of the efforts made by
African countries to ensure better living conditions for
their populations. Togo believes that dialogue and
consultation must be the preferred ways to settle
ethnic, religious or territorial disputes, which are true
obstacles to harmonious coexistence among States and
peoples.
 Along those lines, it must be recalled that the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which is at the core of the
political and security problems in the Middle East,
continues to be the focus of the highest concern for the
international community. In order to promote peace
and stability in that region, the international
community must make a greater effort to find a just
and lasting peace between Israelis and Palestinians.
 In that regard, Togo welcomes the ongoing
dialogue between the parties and hopes that the various
initiatives will lead to a comprehensive solution, based
on the principle of two States, Israeli and Palestinian,
living within secure and internationally recognized
borders.
 Afghanistan and Iraq, which are experiencing a
major lack of security, deserve special attention. We
therefore call on the international community to
increase its assistance to the Governments of those
countries in their fight against terrorism, so as to
promote peace and reconstruction.
 In Africa, while it is true that glimmers of hope
are to be seen in the settlement of crises, one cannot
but condemn situations such as those persisting in
Darfur and Somalia. We call on the various actors to
demonstrate more courage and political will to get out
of the vicious circle of violence and, thus, give peace a
chance.
 Because of the orientation of its foreign policy,
the Togolese Government endorses all initiatives aimed
at preventing, fighting and eliminating the causes of
conflict, in particular the trafficking of and illegal trade
in small arms. For that reason, it did not hesitate to
support the proposal to draft and adopt a binding
international instrument on the trade in small arms.
Along those same lines, Togo was involved in activities
linked to promoting and safeguarding international
peace and security, as demonstrated by its participation
in the various peacekeeping operations of the United
Nations, the African Union and ECOWAS.
 Today more than ever, the world needs security
and peace in order to devote its energies to eliminating
hunger, illiteracy and disease. To that end, it is more
urgent than ever to make concerted efforts to fight
inequality, injustice and exclusion.

08-53129 26

 In our respective countries, we must build
societies where humanism and solidarity will reign in
peace and security. We believe that that is one of the
purposes of the founders of the United Nations and
which we must strive to achieve now, at the beginning
of the twenty-first century.


It is an honour for me, as
President of the Republic of Sierra Leone, to deliver
my first speech to this Assembly. I wish to congratulate
Mr. D’Escoto Brockmann on his assumption of the
high office of President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-third session, and to assure him of Sierra Leone’s
support and cooperation as he undertakes the
challenging responsibility of presiding over our
deliberations during this session. I should also like to
express my gratitude to his predecessor for the efficient
way in which he guided the Assembly during its last
session.
 The sacred duty of this Organization to save
succeeding generations from the scourge of war was
tested in fire in Sierra Leone, but today my country
demonstrates what the United Nations can achieve
when its Members work closely together. The people of
Sierra Leone know the value and relevance of the
United Nations and appreciate its continuing support as
we reconstruct our society from war to peace and work
with determination to build a better future.

25 08-51845

 The theme for this general debate, “The impact of
the global food crisis on poverty and hunger in the
world as well as the need to democratize the United
Nations”, is important and timely. Africa has a
disproportionate share of the world’s poor and hungry,
and the need for urgent and concerted action is
compelling. The rising cost of food has had a negative
impact on our resources and poses a threat to our
national stability and the stability of other countries in
West Africa. It is vital that Africa increase food
productivity and achieve food self-sufficiency. African
farmers need to adopt higher-yielding land practices,
with increased use of seeds, fertilizers and irrigation.
 In that connection, we welcome the work of the
Alliance for a Green Revolution in Africa, chaired by
former Secretary-General Kofi Annan. The Alliance
recognizes that massive investment in agriculture is the
key to a long-term solution to the continent’s food
crisis. That will enable Africans to grow enough of
their own food and become less dependent on handouts
from donors. Sierra Leone, like many other countries
in Africa, is suitably positioned to benefit from such
investment because of its vast arable land, abundant
water resources and the fact that over 70 per cent of its
population is engaged in farming or farming-related
activities. If that problem is going to be resolved, it is
essential to end the agricultural subsidies and trade
barriers that impoverish African farmers.
 I have had the privilege to coordinate the African
Union committee of 10 heads of State and Government
charged with the mandate to promote the African
Common Position on the Reform of the United
Nations. In that capacity, and as Head of State of Sierra
Leone, I welcome the theme “the need to democratize
the United Nations” as part of this year’s work of the
General Assembly.
 The need to democratize and reform the
Organization is of vital importance. However, reform is
not an end in itself but a means to an end. We support a
strong and effective United Nations that can meet the
ever-increasing and complex array of challenges in the
twenty-first century. We are convinced that a more
representative and effective United Nations will
strengthen the loyalty and commitment of Member
States and make the Organization more responsive to
the needs of our time.
 It should be recognized that reform efforts have
achieved some modest successes. However, one of the
most critical and urgent issues on our current reform
agenda — reform of the Security Council — remains
unresolved. We need to make the Security Council
more representative of today’s realities. The current
composition of the Security Council contradicts basic
principles of democratic representation. Africa has
outlined its collective position in the Ezulwini
Consensus. Africa will negotiate in good faith, and we
expect others to do the same in the best interest of the
Organization. The status quo is not an option. Africa,
with 53 countries constituting about a quarter of the
United Nations membership, deserves permanent
representation in the Security Council. We believe that
the Security Council should be enlarged sooner rather
than later.
 The United Nations has had an important role in
global peace and the development of justice. Sierra
Leone’s peace and stability are due largely to United
Nations peacekeeping, a visible and an important
aspect of the Organization’s work. The Peacebuilding
Commission, the Peacebuilding Fund and other United
Nations agencies are helping us in critical ways to
achieve our development priorities and to meet the
challenges of post-conflict reconstruction.
 The United Nations-backed Special Court for
Sierra Leone and the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission have made extraordinary contributions to
establishing the rule of law and fighting against
impunity so that the people of Sierra Leone can put
their tragic past behind them and look forward to the
future. Without reconciliation, tolerance and the rule of
law, there will be no true and lasting peace.
 The Special Court has established legal principles
that will endure beyond its anticipated closure in 2010.
I want to commend the efforts of the Special Court to
engage both my Government and the international
justice community in making preparations for any
residual issues that might remain following its closure.
The facilities of the Special Court in the heart of our
historic capital, Freetown, will be inherited by Sierra
Leone, and we will explore the best possible use for
them.
 In recent years, Sierra Leone has made real
progress in consolidating democracy and good
governance by conducting successive free, fair and
non-violent presidential, parliamentary and local
Government elections. We are on the right path. On
behalf of all Sierra Leoneans, I would like to thank

08-51845 26

members of the international community for their
invaluable contribution to our electoral process, and
particularly for their logistical and technical support
that enabled the various institutions to perform their
respective tasks.
 But we are the first to acknowledge that much
more needs to be done to achieve sustainable peace and
development. War and deadly conflicts have social and
economic consequences long after the fighting has
ended. A peaceful country requires more than the
absence of war. Development remains the foremost
need of all Sierra Leoneans. Moreover, it is the
foundation of security, and it makes political rights
meaningful.
 One can be secure only if one has food, shelter,
clean water and protection from disease. That is why
the monumental task of poverty eradication is one of
the national priorities of my Government. My
Government is completing a second-generation poverty
reduction strategy to guide us in the process. We have
also developed a comprehensive strategy for the
nation’s development over the next five years, called
the Agenda for Change. The Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) are also central to our work. Despite the
enormous difficulties on the development front and in
achieving the MDGs, we are resolved to improve the
lives of our people and to respond constructively to
their needs and aspirations. International support
remains crucial, however, if we are to consolidate hard-
won gains. It is our hope that the United Nations and
other development partners will continue to be our
steadfast allies in our ongoing struggle for economic
progress and development.
 The mission of the United Nations — to serve the
cause of peace, to advance development and to protect
the human rights of all — is more important than ever.
The United Nations is a unique forum where the weak
and the strong, the poor and the prosperous can have
their voices heard. Sierra Leone reaffirms its
commitment to the ideals and principles of the United
Nations and will continue to be a constructive partner
and member of this Organization.


I should
like to begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-third session.

13 08-51606

 I should also like in particular to thank Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon for the excellent report he has
prepared on the activities of the Organization in the
past year (A/63/1), as well as for his concern in
ensuring that the issues of Lebanon are at the centre of
debate. In its close pursuit of the situation in Lebanon,
the United Nations has established the foundations and
principles necessary to face the crises and challenges
that have undermined the stability and prosperity of
our country. I would like to note in particular the role
of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL) and pay tribute to the sacrifices of its
personnel. I note also that in his report the Secretary-
General notes that there is strong cooperation between
UNIFIL and the Lebanese army. I would like to
confirm that Lebanon cares a great deal about the
security and safety of those troops, especially vis-à-vis
the terrorist attacks of which they have been the target.
 Lebanon is the cradle of an ancient civilization.
Its peace-loving people set sail from their shores
towards the European continent, carrying with them
elements of an advanced alphabet and spreading in the
Mediterranean realm and whatever horizons they were
able to open the spirit of communication, dialogue, and
free exchange.
 Lebanon, which believes in human and cultural
values, is one of the oldest parliamentary democracies
in the Middle East. Its constitution of 1926 embraces
freedom of opinion, freedom of belief and justice and
rejects confessionalism and fanaticism. In its
endeavour to put this democracy into practice, our
nation experienced a distinctive alternation of power
despite all the crises, aggression and wars it has
known. Today, our country is preparing for new
parliamentary elections.
 The young Lebanese nation that emerged in 1943,
however, suffered from the aftermath of the catastrophe
that befell Palestine in 1948. It has received on its
narrow territory hundreds of thousands of Palestinian
refugees. Since the late sixties, it has been subject to
two large-scale Israeli invasions and to a series of
Israeli devastating attacks that wreaked havoc in terms
of lives, property and infrastructure. The records kept
by this Organization bear witness to that brutality.
 I recall the two massacres of Qana that were
perpetrated against innocent children, women and the
elderly, as well as the aggression of July 2006 in which
tens of thousands were killed and wounded and
displaced which led to the destruction of bridges and
civilian facilities in various parts of the country. The
Israeli bombardment of the Jiyeh power plant and its
fuel storage tanks caused an environmental catastrophe
resulting from an oil slick along the Lebanese
coastline. That prompted the General Assembly of the
United Nations to request Israel to provide immediate
and adequate compensation to Lebanon for the damage
and pollution it caused. Israel must pay due
compensation for the full damage it caused through its
repeated aggression against Lebanon.
 The United Nations has not hesitated to shoulder
its responsibilities towards Lebanon. The Organization
issued a series of resolutions in support of Lebanon’s
independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial
integrity, notably Security Council resolutions 425
(1978), which called for an immediate and
unconditional Israeli withdrawal from all Lebanese
territory, and 1701 (2006), which “calls upon the
Government of Israel ... to withdraw all of its forces
from southern Lebanon”. Lebanon reiterates its
commitment to the full content of that resolution.
 Mr. Yañez-Barnuevo (Spain), Vice-President, took
the Chair.
 However, the intransigence of Israel and its
failure to comply with the will of the United Nations
Security Council pushed Lebanon to adopt, in
conjunction with diplomacy, other legitimate options.
In 2000, thanks to its people, army and resistance,
Lebanon was able to force Israel to withdraw from
most of the Lebanese territory that it occupied. This
year, successful efforts were made, with the help of the
United Nations, to complete the liberation of the
Lebanese prisoners and detainees from Israeli prisons.
 Despite these achievements and its continued
commitment to the resolutions of international
legitimacy, Lebanon still faces a host of urgent risks
and challenges that require the following.
 First, the international community should compel
Israel to fully implement resolution 1701 (2006) and
stop its serious threats to launch a new war against
Lebanon. Such threats are acts of aggression that
adversely affect the Lebanese State, the national
economy and civil society.
 The second challenge is the recovery or liberation
of the remaining occupied Lebanese territory in Shabaa
Farms, the hills of Kfarshuba and the northern part of

08-51606 14

the village of Al-Ghajar, and the upholding of our
rights to our water.
 Thirdly, Israel must be forced to stop its
extensive air breaches of Lebanon’s sovereignty. In its
most recent briefing to the Security Council, the
Department of Peacekeeping Operations confirmed the
provocative nature of those actions.
 Fourthly, we must obtain all the maps of
landmines and cluster-bomb sites left behind by Israel
on Lebanese soil. Their presence constitutes a direct
threat to the civilian population, especially children. It
deprives farmers and families of their livelihood and
prevents them from cultivating their land. The States
concerned are therefore called upon to meet their
pledges to provide the necessary resources for
demining declustering programmes.
 Fifthly, we need to confront terrorism in all its
forms and to maintain internal civic peace. The
Lebanese army and the internal security forces have
been subjected to brutal attacks by terrorist groups in
recent years. They were forced to confront such
terrorist groups and make costly and huge sacrifices to
defend the dignity of the Lebanese people and their
security and stability. In their efforts to combat Israeli
terrorist operations, the Lebanese security services
managed to arrest the head of an Israeli network that
carried out espionage and assassination operations on
Lebanese soil.
 The sixth challenge is to develop a
comprehensive national strategy to protect and defend
Lebanon, which would be adopted and coordinated
through genuine national dialogue, which we held on
16 September. That is in accord with the Doha
Agreement, which is based on the sincere will for
national reconciliation and on extending the authority
of the Lebanese State over all of its territory.
 On this occasion, Lebanon reiterates its
commitment to the international tribunal established
under Security Council resolution 1757 (2007) to
investigate the crime of the assassination of martyr
Prime Minister Rafik Hariri and his companions.
Lebanon is cooperating with the relevant organs of the
United Nations to bring the truth to light and to achieve
the process of justice away from any politicization.
 Lebanon closely follows the developments of the
situation in the Middle East. In view of its commitment
to just Arab causes, especially the cause of Palestine,
Lebanon reiterates its commitment to the process of
achieving a just and comprehensive peace in the region
and to the Arab peace initiative that was unanimously
adopted by Arab leaders at the 2002 Beirut Summit.
Having said that, Lebanon stresses the need for Israel
to withdraw from all Arab territories that are still under
occupation and stresses the inalienable right of the
Palestinian people to return to their land and to
establish their independent State on their national soil.
 We call on the international community to assume
its full responsibilities to provide the necessary
financial resources to the United Nations Relief and
Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East
(UNRWA) and to support the work carried out by the
Lebanese State in this area, until a just solution to the
Palestinian problem is found.
 From this rostrum, Lebanon cannot but draw the
attention of the international community once again to
its absolute rejection of any form of resettlement of the
Palestinian refugees on its territory, for the following
main reasons.
 First, the resettlement of the Palestinian refugees
in Lebanon runs counter to their right to return to their
homeland and homes, which is reaffirmed by the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the
relevant United Nations resolutions.
 Secondly, it is difficult for a small country like
Lebanon, with limited resources and a population
below 4 million people, to provide a decent livelihood
for more than 400,000 Palestinian refugees on its
territory at a time when large segments of the Lebanese
people are emigrating in search of their own
livelihoods.
 Thirdly, the resettlement of Palestinian refugees
is explicitly rejected in the preamble to the Lebanese
Constitution, and by the Taif Agreement, which has
been recognized and enshrined by resolutions of the
United Nations and constitutes a key element of
consensus in Lebanon.
 While the issue of Lebanon is at the centre of
attention of the United Nations, the agenda of our
General Assembly is full of items and of political,
economic, social and environmental topics that are still
waiting for a comprehensive solution. In that context,
Lebanon interacts in a special way with the needs and
aspirations of the African continent, where hundreds of
thousands of Lebanese citizens have been living on its

15 08-51606

generous soil for over a century, contributing to
Africa’s prosperity and development under difficult
circumstances. Accordingly, we support the political
declaration issued yesterday at the high-level meeting
on Africa’s development needs. We therefore believe
that a major international effort should be undertaken
to finance programmes to combat poverty, disease and
illiteracy as a means to preserve human dignity and to
prevent further armed conflicts on that continent.
 Similarly, we hope that a more effective project
to build solidarity in the face of natural disasters will
be quickly and efficiently finalized in view of the
increasing risks arising from climate change, global
warming, environmental degradation and the spread of
wildfires in forests and green spaces.
 Deeply rooted in history and, with the rise of
nationalist movements, a contributor to the shaping of
the Arab renaissance at the political, cultural,
intellectual and social levels, as well as a founding
member of the League of Arab States, Lebanon is
devoted to preserving Arab solidarity. In that context,
we need to revisit the concept of cooperation and good-
neighbourliness between countries to consolidate peace
and solidarity in the world. That approach will
contribute to preserving human rights, and humanity
will thus be able to prevent other world wars, regional
conflicts and the transnational phenomenon of
terrorism, as well as upheavals in our globalized
economies, global crises and food crises. All of those
matters represent major threats that could spark new
wars that might spill over onto the regional level and
from one continent to the next.
 We need to push for United Nations reform in
order to meet that new international challenge.
Lebanon is extremely pleased to announce that we
have been nominated once again to a non-permanent
seat on the Security Council for the biennium 2010-
2011. We are of course committed to making a positive
and constructive contribution to the Council and hope
that we will have the support of all friendly and
brotherly States.
 Lebanon’s philosophy has been based on dialogue
and coexistence from the day its citizens approved the
National Covenant in 1943, and subsequently when
they approved the 1989 National Reconciliation
Agreement in Taif. Those themes were also repeatedly
stressed in the 2008 Doha agreement. In the face of
worsening international conflicts that herald a potential
clash of civilizations, Lebanon might well represent a
needed international example as a living laboratory of
dialogue of cultures and religions.
 In his Apostolic Letter of 1989, His Holiness the
late Pope John Paul II described Lebanon as “more
than a country; it is a message of freedom and a model
of pluralism for both the East and the West”. Moreover,
in his homily delivered during his apostolic journey to
Lebanon in 1997, John Paul II characterized Lebanon
as “a country of many religious faiths, [which] has
shown that these different faiths can live together in
peace, brotherhood and cooperation”. With 18 different
sects coexisting on its soil, and having successfully
preserved its democratic system and fundamental
freedoms in spite of all sorts of challenges, Lebanon
aspires today to become an international centre for the
management of dialogue of civilizations and cultures,
hoping that the forces of good in the world will prevail
and that we can be constructive in our efforts to reach a
just and comprehensive solution to all aspects of the
conflict in the Middle East as soon as possible.


Sixty-three years
after its formation, the United Nations remains the
world’s central international body. Only here do all
countries come together to devise solutions and to
forge collective action on global challenges. And these
are particularly challenging times. As the Secretary-
General and many others have noted, we are facing a
global financial crisis, a global energy crisis and a
global food crisis. More than ever before, we are an
interconnected and interdependent world community.
The Charter goals of peace and prosperity require the
full support of all United Nations Members. New
Zealand was a founding member in 1945, and our
commitment to this body is as strong now as it was
then.
 At such a difficult time in the world we need
leadership, courage and a recommitment of our
resources to tackle the issues before us. When the food
crisis was first in the headlines, the Secretary-
General’s High-Level Task Force provided a
mechanism for us all to respond. Having contributed
nearly $NZ 10 million to date, New Zealand is among
those assisting with urgent food security needs and
medium-term policy responses. A successful
conclusion of the Doha Development Round would
alleviate much of the pressure on the demand-supply
imbalance.
 On the development theme of this sixty-third
session, New Zealand fully associates with the
Millennium Development Goal (MDG) Global Call to
Action Campaign. Support is urgently needed to
revitalize collective efforts, including developing and
strengthening partnerships between traditional and new
donors, the private sector and civil society, and through
South-South cooperation. We are set to play our part.
 New Zealand is significantly stepping up official
development assistance (ODA) from 0.27 per cent of
gross national income in 2007 to 0.35 per cent by
2010-2011. That 62 per cent increase will take New
Zealand aid to over $NZ 600 million.
 We are acutely aware that the Pacific is the
second region after sub-Saharan Africa that is least
likely to meet the MDG targets. We are therefore
looking to direct our increased ODA there, through a
Pacific strategy, which focuses poverty reduction
efforts around four key pillars: strengthening
governance, achieving broader-based growth and
sustainable livelihoods, improving health and
education, and reducing vulnerabilities, including to
climate change.
 In these challenging times, we look to the United
Nations to deliver effectively for development, for
peace and security and on human rights. Our
Organization must continue to evolve along with the
changing demands on it. Momentum needs to be
maintained in the modernization of the United Nations.
We share the Secretary-General’s vision for that and
support his proposals to fix the human resources
management system, which he has characterized as
dysfunctional.
 I would now like to turn to the challenges of
peace and security around the world, from which our
own region is not immune. At the Pacific Islands
Forum held in Niue last month, New Zealand and other
members of the Pacific Forum community expressed
profound disappointment at Fiji’s lack of progress
towards restoring democratic government. The Forum
communiqué urged the interim regime in Fiji to fulfil

08-53141 26

its promise to hold elections in accordance with Fiji’s
existing constitution by March next year. Leaders also
acknowledged that there were long-term issues to be
resolved in Fiji and supported a Commonwealth-led
independent and inclusive political dialogue process to
address them. That will not only create a more
conducive environment for elections, but also enable a
newly elected Government to engage with key
stakeholders to promote national reconciliation. New
Zealand urges all United Nations Members to support
the steps taken by the Pacific Islands Forum to
encourage Fiji to return to democratic and
constitutional government as soon as possible.
Mr. Nsengimana (Rwanda), Vice-President, took
the Chair.
 Our region is also home to Timor-Leste, a partner
and friend of New Zealand. We are pleased to see
encouraging progress since last year’s elections,
especially the building of institutions and improving
governance. That was achieved despite assassination
attempts on Timor-Leste’s leadership. The United
Nations Integrated Mission in Timor-Leste (UNMIT)
and the International Stabilization Force continue to
play a valuable role in helping to maintain security.
New Zealand strongly supports the UNMIT mandate
and its extension beyond February 2009. Planning for
security in the longer term, to ensure appropriately
sized and resourced institutions with clearly delineated
roles and responsibilities, is also a key issue, and we
stand ready to help.
 Also within our region, the political, economic
and human rights situation in Myanmar remains
troubling. We urge the Myanmar authorities to achieve
national reconciliation through open and constructive
dialogue and to respect universal human rights in the
country, consistent with international obligations. We
support the efforts of the United Nations to sustain a
dialogue with the Myanmar Government in order to
build foundations for the future.
 On the African continent, the humanitarian
disaster caused by the conflict in Darfur is
unacceptable. The targeting of civilians by State and
non-State parties, is a flagrant breach of international
human rights law. The widespread absence of justice
and accountability for such human rights violations and
the impunity that this promotes represent major
obstacles to improving the human rights situation in
Darfur.
 In the case of Zimbabwe, the recent
announcement of a power-sharing agreement offers
hope that the long period of violent repression and
human rights abuses by the previous Government can
be brought to a close. The international community
will be watching closely to see that all parties fulfil the
commitments that they have made to bring about
peace, respect for political freedom and human rights
and a Government which reflects the will of the
people.
 Let me turn now to the Middle East. New
Zealand continues to be strongly supportive of all
attempts to find a lasting solution to the Arab-Israeli
conflict. We share the international community’s vision
for a viable and territorially contiguous Palestinian
State, existing side by side in peace and security with
the State of Israel.
 In Afghanistan, despite political progress, the
overall situation is fragile. The international
community needs to devote more resources to ending
the conflict and to assisting the people of Afghanistan
in their efforts to stabilize and rebuild their country.
New Zealand has expressed a strong commitment to
restoring peace and security in Afghanistan with our
assistance, both military and developmental, totalling
more than 160 million New Zealand dollars to date.
 Closer to home, New Zealand welcomes the
recent improvement in cross-Strait relations. Cross-
Strait stability is vital to the security of the greater
Asia-Pacific region. We encourage China and Taiwan
to maintain the dialogue which has been established.
 New Zealand remains a strong supporter of
efforts to protect and maintain the international rule of
law. To that end, one of the most significant advances
in recent times has been the establishment of the
International Criminal Court (ICC). When the ICC was
first established, it was widely considered to herald the
beginning of a new era in international criminal justice.
The Court has now reached a crucial stage in its
development, and it has become clear that the
establishment of a global justice system brings with it
many challenges. It is of the utmost importance that
States rise to those challenges. To fail to do so would
be a betrayal of the victims of egregious crimes. New
Zealand urges States to make every effort to ensure the
independence and success of the Court. The Court
needs our full support and cooperation to ensure that
individuals responsible for the most serious violations

27 08-53141

of international law are brought to justice without
delay.
 In this sixtieth anniversary year of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, we acknowledge the
many international human rights conventions that have
arisen out of that unique statement of overriding
principles. New Zealand played an active part in the
design of the new Human Rights Council, and we are
seeking election to the Council next year, so as to be
more closely involved in its work.
 The newest member of the family of human
rights treaties is the Convention on the Rights of
Persons with Disabilities, which New Zealand ratified
this month. We look forward to the first conference of
States parties, and to the opportunity the Convention
offers to make a real improvement in the lives and
human rights of disabled people everywhere.
 Finally, let me reiterate the importance that New
Zealand attaches to the concept of the responsibility to
protect. The United Nations, through the Security
Council, should be prepared to protect people against
ethnic cleansing, genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity when national authorities fail to do
so. There is a clear need to enhance early warning
systems to enable the Council to act in a timely
manner. We look forward to the report of the Secretary-
General on the responsibility to protect, and we stand
ready to help to take that important initiative forward.
 As we look forward to the year ahead, New
Zealand pledges to work actively with others in our
collective stewardship of the United Nations. We shall
play our part in the continuing, patient process of
renewing our Organization and of making it more
resilient and responsive.


The
sixty-third session of the General Assembly is taking
place against the backdrop of various international and
regional events and developments that are closely
linked to the peace and security of all humankind.
Among those are the global food crisis, the increase in
energy prices, global warming and climate change and
their negative and catastrophic repercussions for the
entire world, the global economic downturn that is
bordering on being a worldwide recession, the sharp
global increase in poverty, our diminishing collective
ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), the rising rate of infection with HIV, malaria
and other deadly diseases, and the fight against
terrorism. Egypt believes that all those challenges, as
well as others, are high priorities on the international
agenda. Their diagnosis and treatment require a
concerted international effort. We must all be fully
aware that jointly overcoming those problems depends
upon our collective diagnosis and our united stand in
addressing them.
 We need a new approach, vision and
methodology to deal with global problems.
Unfortunately, the existing frameworks have proven
incapable of dealing successfully and effectively with
the challenges under consideration. As an example,
Egypt believes that the global food and energy crises
require serious dialogue between importers and
exporters of energy and food. President Mubarak called
for such a dialogue at the recent African Union Summit
and at the Rome meeting of the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO).
 The channels currently available for addressing
and resolving the problems of food and energy are at
odds with each another, to say nothing of the fact that
none of them can provide for a genuine and meaningful
dialogue between importers and exporters. It was for
that reason that President Mubarak was keenly
interested in participating effectively in the emergency
summit convened by FAO, to which I have referred, on
the question of the rising price and availability of
foodstuffs.
 Along the same lines, President Mubarak has
strongly supported the African endeavour to adopt a
clear strategy to tackle that phenomenon. In turn, that
led to the adoption of the Sharm el-Sheikh declaration
at the last African Union Summit, which contains
Africa’s comprehensive vision for addressing the
matter. Egypt has also supported the strategy put
forward by the Secretary-General to deal with the
issue. We have also called for utilizing that strategy as
the basis for more effective international action.
 In an effort to translate the growing international
concern into an integrated plan of action to address that
phenomenon, Chile, Indonesia and Egypt have
proposed that that question and its repercussions
should be a main theme at this session of the General
Assembly. In that connection, I would like to thank the
President for his positive response to our initiative and
also for including the issue of strengthening
international democratic action at the United Nations.
 By the same token, urgently establishing
collective international political will is necessary to
deal with climate change. As one of the countries
vulnerable to the repercussions of that phenomenon,
Egypt is acutely aware of its gravity. While reiterating
our full support for the Bali Plan of Action and Road
Map, we call for focused international attention on the
issue of categorizing low-lying coastlines, which
applies to Egypt. A list of the States most vulnerable to
climate change is needed so the United Nations and the
international community can provide them with the
necessary support as a matter of priority, including
technological and financial support.
 Based on our belief in globally addressing those
urgent economic challenges, Egypt and Norway are
facilitating the current negotiations at the United
Nations on the final document of the Review
Conference on the Implementation of the Monterrey
Consensus on Financing for Development. The goal is
to amend the international development agenda for the
upcoming stage, while taking into consideration the
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9 08-53122

agreements reached in all the international meetings
and conferences held thus far.
 Egypt believes that using language that implies
double standards is an affront to human rights. Despite
the fact that everyone is adamant in declaring that
human rights constitute an indivisible whole, the
reality, which we need to change, is that economic,
social and cultural rights are not, unfortunately,
accorded the same attention as civil and political
rights. That adversely affects public perception in
many of our societies, in particular those that face dire,
and occasionally destructive, economic and living
conditions. For such people, talking incessantly about
human rights is a luxury they cannot afford, and results
in the neglect of their basic requirements for
sustenance. The promotion of economic and social
rights must therefore be viewed as crucial to
strengthening the human rights regime, which is
essential to promoting the awareness and practice of
the components of that regime.
 In that regard, I wish to discuss the important
question of using the concept of freedom of expression
to incite hatred based on religion. With the utmost
respect for the value and importance of freedom of
expression, I emphasize that we reject repeated affronts
to religions and holy symbols being portrayed as a
legitimate exercise of freedom of expression: there are
many glaring slogans in whose name crimes have been
committed against thousands and millions of people by
offending them and their religious beliefs. Egypt calls
upon everybody to consider this matter judiciously and
objectively with a view to striking the proper balance
that protects freedom of expression while respecting
the rights and sentiments of all. Egypt will continue to
seek such a balance, with the aim of reaching a
consensus on the content of draft United Nations
resolutions on this matter.
 Here, I wish to convey to the Assembly that we
are concerned by the unconstructive cultural friction
that the world is witnessing, which causes severe
divergence in opinion and action; this in turn inflames
public emotions and increases the nature and severity
of the polarization and confrontation between the
followers of different cultures and creeds. This matter
must not be ignored.
 The international community’s approach to
disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation is
marred by defects, double standards and regression.
This is a matter of concern for us. Egypt has always
shown great interest in these matters, as best embodied
in Egypt’s call to rid the Middle East of all weapons of
mass destruction. Our interest in this matter is based on
our unwavering belief that security and military
balance, especially in conflict areas, contributes to
laying solid foundations for peace between countries
and peoples.
 However, achieving genuine peace and security
in any region requires, among other things, the
establishment of just and parallel international and
regional mechanisms in the areas of disarmament, arms
control and non-proliferation. It is notable that,
unfortunately, prominent members of the international
community are unduly lax regarding Israel’s nuclear
capability and the extent to which this constantly
threatens the security of the Middle East. This occurs
as attempts are being made to enhance the obligations
included in international mechanisms without paying
attention to the issue of achieving the universality of
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons and subjecting all nuclear facilities in the
Middle East to the comprehensive safeguards system of
the International Atomic Energy Agency.
 Egypt will nonetheless persist in its endeavours,
through existing mechanisms and forums and in
coordination with friendly States that understand the
reality and danger of the situation, in order to change it
and to warn of the danger that failing to achieve
universality for the NPT in the Middle East would
entail.
 In my statement today, I have given precedence
to international over regional issues. This in no way
diminishes the significance of crises, problems and
difficulties at the regional level. Rather, it reaffirms the
importance that Egypt attaches to the international
situation and international problems in general.
 At the regional level, as members know, Egypt is
persistently involved in painstaking efforts to keep
open a window of hope that would allow the
Palestinians to achieve their legitimate ambition to
gain an independent State on the Palestinian territories
occupied on 5 June 1967, with East Jerusalem as its
capital. The current situation, thanks to the efforts of
the United States, might suggest to some that there is
hope for a real settlement between the Israelis and
Palestinians before the end of the year. However,
through diligent monitoring of the situation, we
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08-53122 10

understand that achieving a just and lasting settlement
of the conflict — one that provides an opportunity to
end Israel’s occupation of Palestinian territories and to
bring about a Palestinian State — requires serious
political will on the part of Israel. This must include
the dismantlement of settlements in tandem with
withdrawal from the land, and the restoration of
Palestinian rights.
 However, I must admit that we are sceptical about
the strength of the will and conviction of Israeli
decision makers. Hence the procrastination and
setbacks, as well as the hesitation in settling issues.
This is what leads to the widely condemned and
politically loaded settlement activities, which clearly
indicate the regression and weakness of the Israeli
side’s will for peace. This is also the reason for the
prolongation of the conflict, with its consequences that
the whole world knows only too well. But we in Egypt
will not lose hope; we will continue to work with
everyone in order to achieve the objectives of justice,
stability and security for the whole region.
 The situation in the Sudan also remains
disconcerting in the light of ongoing developments. We
have observed numerous foreign hands interfering with
Sudan’s security and stability, as if their objective were
to drive that country towards partition. In this context,
I would like to affirm that Egypt is working sincerely
with all loyal Sudanese parties, at the forefront of them
the Sudanese Government, in order to settle existing
problems. Allow me to note, in particular, the situation
in Darfur, which remains difficult, and the significant
Egyptian participation in the United Nations
peacekeeping force there, as well as our participation
in all dialogue forums that aim to settle the crisis. I
should also note our call for an international meeting to
address the crisis and to agree on a road map to end it.
Stability in the Sudan requires outside parties to refrain
from interfering in Sudanese affairs, just as it requires
support for the development process in that country.
Egypt will continue its diligent efforts to achieve the
interests of our brothers in the Sudan as well as the
country’s and the region’s unity and stability.
 In our region, the concept of regional security
should be construed broadly, and the security of the
Arab Gulf — which is currently in the international
spotlight — is one of Egypt’s principal concerns, not
only because of Egypt’s close relations with the
countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), but
also because of what Egypt represents in terms of
strategic depth for its Arab brothers and sisters of the
Gulf. Therefore, we follow closely all developments in
the region, in particular the recurrent discourse about
“new arrangements” there. We affirm that Egypt is
working in coordination with members of the GCC
with a view to protecting Arab national security and
ensuring that any such arrangements — if they come
into existence — will represent true security guarantees
for all parties.
 A great deal of work lies ahead of us at this
session. This requires open minds and outstretched
hands in order to meet the demands and aspirations of
our peoples for freedom, justice, dignity, security and
peace. Egypt will work throughout this session to
advance the components of our vision for the
international and regional situation, which I have just
elucidated.
 All of us bear the responsibility for this, just as
we shall all bear the consequences and the results. We
pledge to work with dedication and sincerity for a
successful session under your able presidency, Sir.


First, I
congratulate Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann on his
election to the presidency of the Assembly at its sixty-
third session. I wish him a successful presidency. I also

08-51839 36

salute Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and express my
highest regard for his commitment to peace, dialogue
and prosperity for all.
 The world grows in complexity, with its multiple
challenges and numerous risks and uncertainties. This
calls for increased multilateralism, more collective
responsibility and greater cooperation. In short, it
demands and expects more and better from the United
Nations.
 The world is undergoing a profound and
multifaceted crisis in the financial, energy, food and
environmental areas. Indeed, we face an environment
fraught with uncertainty in the short and long term,
underscored by financial instability, foreign exchange
volatility, escalating oil and food prices and a globally
troubled world economy. There is risk to our economic,
human, political and military security — in other
words, our general and collective security.
 On the one hand, organized transnational crime
and terrorism threaten international order and the rule
of law. On the other hand, the effects of global
warming and climate change, as well as the risks
imposed by their worsening, are real facts that confront
world leaders and institutions.
 World peace remains out of reach. Areas of armed
conflict still exist. Indeed, they resurge repeatedly or
persist at low intensity. In the meantime, new sources
of tension arise in many places. However, I believe we
agree that war is not the best way to overcome these
challenges.
 We also have failed to build security and trust
among all and for all, large and small, rich and poor.
Without security, without social stability, without
political and institutional cohesion, and above all
without mutual trust between the international political
actors, it is difficult to further the premises that may
contribute to ensuring a solution to major global
problems, resolving our main challenges, overcoming
extreme poverty and the most pervasive endemic
diseases, as well as moving past current global social
and economic imbalances.
 With the adoption of the Millennium
Development Goals the international community
expressly undertook to contribute to overcoming this
unsustainable situation. I therefore urge the Assembly
to work towards the preservation of an international
environment favourable to the achievement of the
commitment that we undertook — the social and
economic growth of the poorest countries, the
eradication of extreme poverty, the consolidation of
peace, dialogue and international cooperation towards
international balance, the defence of life and the
planet’s future.
 The current financial crisis is underscored by the
instability of the financial markets and the volatility in
the movement of capital, which put our worldwide
economic stability at risk. We must retain the global
financial architecture. It seems necessary for us to
agree on new forms of financial regulation that are
effective, trustworthy and acceptable to all.
 The food crisis has placed hundreds of millions
of people in a precarious situation. It is clear that
urgent action is required to ensure increased
agricultural production capable of meeting current and
future needs. That requires the promotion of
agricultural policies consistent with the demands of the
situation, the partnership of the rich and
technologically more advanced countries and technical
assistance from international organizations; it means
that attention must be given to modernizing and
increasing agricultural production and productivity in
the affected countries and regions. I think specifically
of my country and the African continent.
 Escalating oil prices have created serious
problems for the economies of the least developed and
non-producing countries. I ask, why not consider forms
of compensation for the poorest and most affected
nations in view of the enormous financial surpluses
that have been accumulated? Admittedly, such an act of
justice and solidarity would not be enough. We must
therefore act individually and collectively and continue
to promote energy alternatives and energy efficiency,
as well as encourage reduced dependence on fossil
fuels. Urgent and global measures are required to
overcome the serious environmental crisis and to
develop innovative and safe options for the future of
humanity. That is the challenge that we must take up
for the sake of the future and that we must overcome
for the benefit of all.
 We surely agree that humanity is at a decisive
moment in history that clearly runs counter to the
paradigms of its recent past — a time when a new
world is painfully coming into being.
 Recent experiences show that no single nation
can in isolation solve the great challenges and global

37 08-51839

problems which the world faces. However, our
universal institution does present the essential
conditions and the required collective responsibility for
such an endeavour. Therefore, it is incumbent on the
United Nations to shoulder the tremendous mission of
promoting more effective world governance.
 However, to perform such a role, which is now
more complex than ever, the United Nations is called
upon to adapt itself to the challenges of the twenty-first
century, to express the major shaping forces of the
contemporary world and to ensure and convey
confidence to all of its Member States. Accordingly,
the United Nations system must be reformed and
improved and, above all, the representativeness and
legitimacy of the Security Council must be urgently
expanded and strengthened.
 Thirty-five years ago, on 4 September 1973, the
Republic of Guinea-Bissau acceded to national
sovereignty. I salute the delegation of Guinea-Bissau in
this room. It is our firm conviction that our brother
nation will be able to overcome all the difficulties
currently facing it and to consolidate the foundations of
its stability under the rule of law.
 Allow me also to welcome the recent legislative
elections in Angola and to congratulate the people and
authorities of Angola for the responsible and transparent
manner in which those important elections were
conducted.
 I would further like to welcome the political
agreements that led to the end of the political crisis in
Zimbabwe. That is a testament to the emancipation of
our continent and to its aspiration to progress, and thus
helps to usher in the new era and the new world that
we so eagerly desire.