It is a great honour
to deliver these remarks on behalf of Montenegro. At the
outset, allow me to address two friends and colleagues.
I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to
preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh
session. You will enjoy, as always, the full cooperation
and support of Montenegro in this important task. I
would also like to pay tribute to Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz
Al-Nasser for his contribution to the work of the
General Assembly, especially in promoting mediation
as a means of settling disputes by peaceful means.
I extend special appreciation to Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for his efforts to promote multilateralism
and joint action in ensuring a peaceful, secure and
prosperous world. I would especially like to reiterate
our satisfaction with his recent successful visit to
Montenegro, which confirmed the strong partnership
between the United Nations and my country.
Montenegro has always been strongly committed
to multilateral cooperation and respect for the purposes
and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations. We have demonstrated this in our region by
promoting good-neighbourly relations and regional
cooperation, as well as worldwide through support
for and participation in global efforts to build and
maintain peace.
The High-level Meeting on the Rule of Law that
preceded the general debate once again stressed the
importance of democratic governance and respect
for human rights. These are preconditions for the
prosperity of all our citizens and of society as a whole.
Failure in this regard is our common concern. We
therefore stress the individual responsibility of all
countries to strengthen the rule of law and promote
human rights, as well as the role of the United Nations
in providing adequate and efficient support to these
efforts. Respect for the rule of law at the international
level, national ownership of rule of law activities, and
the incorporation and effective implementation of
international norms within our domestic legal systems
are our key objectives.
Strengthening international partnership in
maintaining and building peace and security is
crucial. As a Mediterranean country, we share the
concerns of the international community for the recent
developments in the southern Mediterranean and the
Middle East.
The scale and consequences of the violence in
Syria serve as a stern reminder of the importance of
preventive measures in preserving international peace
and security; hence the need to enhance United Nations
preventive capacities and the role of dialogue and
mediation in peaceful conflict resolution. Montenegro
strongly advocates an approach that emphasizes the early prevention and elimination of threats before they
evolve into sources of conflict.
The responsibility to protect and its
operationalization remain a key task. In the era
of accountability, perpetrators of crimes against
humanity should not go unpunished. Countries need
to demonstrate strong commitment to the rule of law,
respect for human rights and freedoms, democracy and
non-use of force in settling disputes.
Montenegro stands ready to increase its participation
in peacekeeping operations, in accordance with its
capacities and in line with international efforts. We
support in particular United Nations initiatives aimed
at improving civilian protection and the development
of civilian capacities for maintaining stability by
advancing the mandates of peacekeeping missions.
In that context, we fully support the implementation
of Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and
strengthening the role of women in conflict and post-
conflict situations.
My country is firmly dedicated to the comprehensive
implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-
Terrorism Strategy, as well as the United Nations
sanctions regime. With regard to the Global Strategy
review, we fully endorse the proposal of the Secretary-
General to appoint a United Nations counter-terrorism
coordinator in order to improve strategic coordination,
coherence and substantive implementation of the
Strategy.
We strongly support global efforts for disarmament
and non-proliferation, while stressing that the
fight against transnational threats, such as human
trafficking, cybercrime and the illicit drug trade,
require a comprehensive approach.
As a multicultural country, Montenegro builds
its society on principles of understanding, tolerance
and mutual respect. Diversity does not divide but
enriches our society, thanks to tradition and trust built
throughout the long Montenegrin history. As we have
recently witnessed, differences can be abused and
easily turn into senseless acts of violence against the
innocent, which is unacceptable. My country therefore
remains committed to promoting intercultural dialogue,
tolerance and respect at all levels.
In the six years following the restoration of its
independence, Montenegro has achieved significant
progress, both in internal development and in
international relations. We have very good relations
with all our neighbours, while the region as a whole
stands before a unique challenge to demonstrate that it
is capable of reinforcing overall cooperation.
Montenegro actively participates in all regional
processes and initiatives aimed at intensifying mutual
and constructive cooperation and strengthening
security and stability in South-East Europe. After
its turbulent past, the region is brought together by
the common strategic goal of European integration.
Although there remain issues that need international
assistance and support, we have achieved a new
level of trust, development and maturity that have
resulted in the individual progress of each country in
European and Euro-Atlantic integration. The opening
of European Union accession negotiations in June this
year and our continuous progress on our Euro-Atlantic
path represent strong recognition of the results we have
achieved. We are fully focused on and committed to
continuing the implementation of reforms and reaching
the highest international standards, in particular in the
areas of the rule of law, human rights and freedoms, and
democratic governance. Strengthening institutional and
human capacities will reinforce our political stability
and economic prosperity, as is essential in this time of
ever-evolving crises that affect us all.
Progress in the integration processes does not mean
the absence of problems. We attach great importance
to resolving issues essential for the development of our
society, such as the empowerment of women, improving
the situation of the Roma population, and settling the
status of refugees, internally displaced persons and other
vulnerable groups. We are fully committed to tackling
these complex challenges through efficient and lasting
solutions and models for the better social integration
of every individual. We are particularly aware of this
at times when social and economic disparities become
more visible and demand stronger efforts by the State
for their elimination.
The promotion of and respect for human rights
are important goals in our internal and foreign policy
agenda. We are therefore confident that Montenegro
will gain the trust of States Members of the United
Nations this coming November and be elected to the
Human Rights Council for the period 2013-2015. We are
strongly committed to contributing to the efficiency and
effectiveness of the Council and the system of protection
and improvement of human rights and freedoms.
Support for the United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights, full cooperation with the Council and its special procedures, and active promotion of human
rights and freedoms at the international level in order
to respond in a timely manner to situations of human
rights violations in the world — these will be major
guidelines for our activities in the Council.
The results of the implementation of the United
Nations Delivering as One reform programme speak
in favour not only of reform of the Organization,
but also of even greater effectiveness in adapting
the United Nations to the development needs of a
country. Montenegro has achieved tangible progress
in implementing an integrated programme and, to
a certain extent, is already implementing the joint
programming model as a next phase of Delivering
as One. Strengthening national ownership and joint
programming, as well as making use of the relative
advantages of the various United Nations agencies,
are fundamental principles on which our cooperation
programme is based up to 2016. We will continue to
support all efforts aimed at improving the United
Nations system and its effectiveness and operational
activities in the field.
Sustainable development, poverty reduction and
economic growth, conflict and post-conflict situations
are just some of the issues that require joint action.
In that context, sustainable development with all its
pillars stands out as our priority. Montenegro is among
the countries that are on track to meet the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). In that regard, we stress
the importance of the MDGs as a basis for defining
sustainable development goals, which must be a central
part of the global post-2015 development agenda and
thus help us to form a clear expression of political
commitment to sustainable development. We stand
ready to actively contribute to shaping and determining
the necessary indicators, as well as timelines for
their implementation. We believe that the question
of sustainable development, as well as the issue of
reaching legally binding agreements on climate change
within the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change, must involve compromise on the part
of United Nations Members. We therefore hope to see
positive developments at the Doha Conference.
A shared determination, openness and willingness
to reach compromise and accept reality are all truly
necessary in order for us to move forward. Our
commitment to meeting the MDGs should not be
neglected, however difficult the economic and financial
situation worldwide. Eradicating poverty, and creating partnerships with civil society and the private sector so
as to enable us to achieve sustainable energy for all by
2030, as well as the Zero Hunger Challenge launched
by the Secretary-General, are our common objectives.
Together we can achieve those goals.
At a time when interdependence and integration
are major trends in global politics, no country on its
own can handle the increasingly demanding challenges
posed by modern society. Cooperation is a prerequisite
for success. I am confident that small countries like
Montenegro can play an important role and be part of
the solution. We remain dedicated to the principles of
cooperation and mutual trust, and strongly committed
to contributing to strengthening the United Nations
system and its role in global governance, at both the
national and the international levels.
Before I conclude, allow me to add a small, personal
note. The first time I attended the General Assembly,
I was an attaché from the then Socialist Federative
Republic of Yugoslavia. Today, many years and three
different States later, I have the privilege of standing
before the Assembly as head of the delegation of my
country, Montenegro. The world may have changed in
ways we never anticipated, but our Organization and
what it stands for have weathered the challenges and
remain globally important and equally valuable for
every one of us.


We have gathered
here to ponder and work together in order to build a
better life for the entire human community and for our
nations.
Coming from Iran — the land of glory and beauty,
the land of knowledge, culture, wisdom and morality,
the cradle of philosophy and mysticism, the land of
compassion and light, the land of scientists, scholars,
philosophers, masters of literature and writers, the
land of Avicenna, Ferdowsi, Hafiz, Maulana, Attar,
Khayyám and Shahriar — I represent a great and
proud nation that is one of the founders of human
civilization and an inheritor of respected universal
values. I represent a conscious nation that is dedicated
to the cause of freedom, peace and compassion, a
nation that has experienced the agony and bitter times
of aggression and imposed wars and that profoundly
values the blessings of peace and stability.
I am now here for the eighth time in the eighth year
of my service to the noble people in this Assembly of
sisters and brothers from across the world to show to
the world that my noble nation, like its brilliant past,
has a global vision and welcomes any effort intended
to provide and promote peace, stability and tranquillity,
which can be only realized through the harmony,
cooperation and joint management of the world.

I am here to voice to the Assembly and to the
whole world the divine and humanitarian message of
the learned men and women of my country, a message
that Iran’s great orator and poet, Saadi, presented to
humanity in his eternal poetry:
“Human beings are members of a whole,
In creation of one essence and soul,
If one member is afflicted with pain,
Other members uneasy will remain.”
I have talked over the past seven years about the
current challenges, solutions and prospects of the
future world. Today, I want to raise and discuss such
issues from a different perspective. Thousands of years
have passed since the children of Adam — peace be
upon him — started to settle down in various parts of
the Earth. Peoples of different colours, inclinations,
languages, customs and traditions persistently pursued
their aspirations to build a noble society for a more
beautiful life, blessed with lasting peace, security and
happiness.
Despite all of the efforts on the part of righteous
people and justice-seekers and the sufferings and pains
endured by masses of people in the quest to achieve
happiness and victory, the history of humankind is
marked, except in rare cases, with unfulfilled dreams
and failures.
Imagine, for a moment, that there had been no
egoism, distrust, malicious behaviour or dictatorships,
with no one violating the rights of others. Imagine that
humanitarian values had been viewed as the criterion
for social dignity instead of aff luence and consumerism
Imagine if humankind had not experienced the
Dark Ages and if the centres of power had not hindered
the flourishing of knowledge and constructive thoughts.
Imagine if the Crusades and the ensuing periods of
slavery and colonialism had not happened, and if the
successors of the Dark Ages had followed a course
based on humanitarian principles.
Imagine if the First and Second World Wars in
Europe, the wars in Korea, Viet Nam, Africa, Latin
America and in the Balkans not happened, and if,
instead of the occupation of Palestine and imposition
of a fake Government, displacement and genocide of
millions of people around the globe, the truth behind
those wars based on justice had been revealed. Imagine
if Saddam Hussein had not invaded Iran and the big Powers had supported the rights of the Iranian people
instead of siding with Saddam.
Imagine if the tragic incident of 11 September and
the military actions against Afghanistan and Iraq that
left millions killed and homeless had not happened, and
if, instead of killing and throwing the culprit into the
sea without trial or without informing the world and
people of America, an independent fact-finding team
had been formed to make the general public aware of
the truth behind the incident and to prepare the way for
the perpetrators to be brought to justice.
Imagine if extremism or terrorism had not been
used to secure political goals, if arms had been turned
into pens, and if military expenditures had been used to
promote well-being and amity among nations. Imagine
if the drums of ethnic, religious or racial conflicts not
been beaten, and if differences had not been used for
the purpose of advancing political agendas.
Imagine if the right to criticize the hegemonic
policies and actions of world Zionism had been
recognized so as to allow the world media to report
freely and shed light on the realities, instead of making
deceitful gestures of seeming to back freedom but in a
way that offends the sanctities and most sacred beliefs
of human beings and divine messengers, who, as the
purest and most compassionate human beings, are the
gift of the Almighty to humankind.
Imagine if the Security Council had not been under
the domination of a limited number of Governments,
thus preventing the United Nations from carrying out
its responsibilities in a just and equitable manner.
Imagine if international economic institutions had
not been under outside pressures and were allowed
to perform their duties and functions by using their
expertise based on fairness and justice.
Imagine if world capitalists had not weakened or
victimized national economies in order to make up for
their own mistakes. Imagine if integrity and honesty
had prevailed in international relations and if all nations
and Governments were treated equally and justly in
global efforts to build and expand happiness for all
humankind. And imagine if tens of other unfavourable
situations had not occurred throughout history, how
beautiful and pleasant our lives and how lovely the
history of humankind would have been.
Let us take a look at the state of the world today.
With regard to the economic situation, poverty is on the rise and the gap between the rich and the poor is
widening. The total foreign debt of 18 industrialized
countries exceeds $60 trillion, while the repayment
of half of that amount would be sufficient to eradicate
poverty in the world. Economies dependent on
consumerism and the exploitation of people only serve
the interests of a limited number of countries.
The creation of worthless paper assets through
influence and control over the world’s economic
centres constitutes the greatest abuse in history
and is considered a major contributor to the global
economic crisis. It has been reported that $32 trillion
in paper assets were printed by one Government alone.
Development planning, based on a capitalist economy,
which runs in a vicious circle, triggers unhealthy and
devastating competition and is a failed practice.
With regard to the cultural situation, from the
standpoint of the politicians who control the centres of
world power, concepts such as moral principles, purity,
honesty, integrity, compassion and self-sacrifice are
typically rejected as defunct and outdated notions and
an impediment to the accomplishment of their goals.
They openly talk about their disbelief in the relevance
of ethics to political and social affairs.
Authentic and indigenous cultures, the product
of centuries — old national efforts, the common
denominator of which reflects profound human feelings
and love towards beauty and is the force that breeds
diversity, cultural life and social dynamism, are under
constant attacks and risk extinction. A specific lifestyle,
devoid of individual or social identity, is being imposed
on nations by the organized and systematic destruction
and the humiliation of identities.
The family, the most noble social institution and
a centre emanating love and humankind, has been
seriously weakened and its constructive role is on the
decline. The sublime role and nature of women as
heavenly beings, manifestations of the divine image
and beauty and the main pillars of every society, have
been damaged and abused by the powerful and the
wealthy. The human soul has become frustrated and the
essence of humankind humiliated and suppressed.
With regard to the political and security situation,
unilateralism, the application of double standards
and the imposition of wars, instability and foreign
occupation in order to ensure economic interests and
expand dominance over sensitive centres of the world
have become the order of the day. The arms race and intimidation by nuclear weapons and weapons of mass
destruction by the hegemonic Powers have become
prevalent. Testing new generations of ultra-modern
weaponry and the pledge to disclose those armaments
in due time is now being used as part of a new language
of threat against nations to coerce them into accepting
a new era of hegemony. The continued threat by the
uncivilized Zionists to resort to military action against
our great nation is a clear example of this bitter reality.
A state of mistrust has cast its shadow on international
relations, while there is no trusted or just authority
to help resolve world conflicts. No one feels secure
or safe, even those who have stockpiled thousands of
atomic bombs and other arms in their arsenals.
With regard to the environment, which is a common
resource and heritage of all humankind that ensures
man’s survival, it has been seriously damaged and
devastated as a result of the irresponsible and excessive
use of resources, particularly by capitalists across the
world. That situation that has caused massive drought,
flood, and pollution, inf licting irreparable damage and
seriously jeopardizing human life on Earth.
Despite advances in scientific knowledge and
technology, the aspirations of Adam’s children have
not yet been fulfilled. Does anybody believe that the
continuation of the current order is capable of bringing
about happiness for human society? Today everyone
is discontented and disappointed with the current
international order. Human beings do not deserve the
continuous sufferings brought about by the present
situation. The God of wisdom and compassion, who
loves all human beings, has not ordained such a destiny
for humankind. He has ordered humans, as the supreme
creatures, to make the best and most beautiful life on
Earth along the lines of justice, love and dignity.
We must therefore think of a solution. Who is
responsible for all the sufferings and failures? Some
people try to justify it by saying that everything is
normal and a ref lection of divine will, thereby putting
the blame on States for all prevalent vices and evils.
They are of the opinion that it is States that succumb to
discrimination and tyranny. It is States that surrender
to dictatorship and greed.
It is States that submit to the hegemony and
arrogance of expansionist Powers. It is States that are
influenced by the propaganda tactics of other Powers,
and most of the evils in our world are the result of their passivity and willingness to live under the sway of the
world Powers.
Such are the arguments raised by those who tend
to blame States for the unfavourable conditions that
prevail around the world, with the aim of justifying
the attitudes and destructive behaviour of the ruling
minority. Such supposedly genuine claims can in no
way justify continuing with the current oppressive
international order, because in fact poverty is being
imposed on States, and the Powers’ are pursuing their
ambitions and goals either by deceit or by resort to
force. To justify their inhuman actions, they promote
the theory of the survival of the fittest.
Yet in principle, what most Governments and States
and their peoples are seeking is fairness; they submit
humbly to what is right and what they want is to foster
dignity, prosperity and constructive relations. The
vast majority of people have no interest in expanding
their territories, nor do they seek enormous wealth.
They have no disputes among themselves on matters
of principle and have never played a part in unleashing
the disastrous events of history. I do not believe that
Muslims, Christians, Jews, Hindus, Buddhists or others
have any problems among themselves, or are hostile
to one another. They get along comfortably and live
together in an atmosphere of peace and amity. They are
all devoted to the cause of justice, purity and love.
The general tendency of States has always been
to work towards positive common aspirations to the
qualities that reflect great beauty and nobility, divine
and human. The current abysmal state of the world
and the bitter incidents of its history are due mainly to
iniquitous management by the self-proclaimed centres
of power, which have dedicated themselves to the Devil.
The order that is rooted in the anti-human concepts of
slavery and colonialism, old and new, is responsible
for poverty, corruption, ignorance, oppression and
discrimination in every corner of the world.
The current world order has certain characteristics.
It is founded on materialism and thus is unmoored
from moral values. It has been shaped by selfishness,
deception, hatred and animosity. It believes in
labelling human beings, humiliating other nations and
dominating and trampling on the rights of others. It
seeks to expand its domination by spreading discord
and conflict among ethnic groups and nations. It aims
to monopolize power, wealth, science and technology.
The policies of the world’s main centres of power are based on the principles of domination and conquest.
Such Powers seek only supremacy; they do not desire
peace and they definitely do not promote it in the
service of their nations.
Are we to believe that those who spend hundreds
of millions of dollars on election campaigns have the
interests of the peoples of the world at heart? Despite
what the big political parties in the capitalist countries
claim, the money that goes into election campaigns is
usually nothing but an investment on the part of the
ruling parties. In such countries, people have to vote for
parties that represent only a small percentage of voters.
The will and views of the masses have little impact or
influence on big decisions, especially those concerning
major domestic and foreign policies in the United States
and Europe. Their voices go unheard even when they
constitute 99 per cent of their societies. Human and
ethical values are sacrificed in order to win votes, and
any willingness to listen to the demands of the people
has become merely a tool to be used at election time.
The current world order is discriminatory and based on
injustice.
What should be done, and what is the way out of the
current situation? There is no doubt that the world is in
need of a new order and a fresh way of thinking. We
need an order that recognizes man as God’s supreme
creature, possessing both material and spiritual
qualities and a pure and divine nature, filled with the
desire to seek justice and truth; that aims to restore
human dignity and believes in universal happiness and
the possibility of perfection; that seeks peace, lasting
security and welfare for everyone, in all walks of life,
around the globe; that is founded on trust and kindness
and brings our thoughts, hearts and hands closer
together and in which rulers love their people; that is
just and fair, makes everybody equal before the law,
and has no double standards; that allows world leaders
to see themselves as committed servants of their people,
not their superiors; and that sees authority as a sacred
gift from a people to its rulers, not an opportunity to
amass power and wealth.
Can such an order exist without the contribution
of all to the way the world is run? It is abundantly
evident that when all peoples and Governments start
to think, commit themselves to the aforementioned
principles, focus on internationally important issues
and participate in decision-making, it will be possible
for their desires to be realized. In raising collective
awareness, the possibility of governing the world jointly becomes more real and the chances of putting it
into practice increase.
Together, therefore, we must trust in God Almighty
and stand up to the rapacious minority with all our
strength in order to isolate them, so that they can no
longer decide the destiny of other nations. We must
believe in the bounty of God’s blessing and mercy
and seek it within the integration and unity of human
society. Governments that are born of free national will
must believe in their own unlimited capabilities and
know that they can achieve victory if they fight fiercely
to combat an unjust world order and to defend human
rights.
We must lay the ground for united world rule by
insisting on justice in all its aspects, strengthening
unity and friendship and expanding economic, social,
cultural and political interaction in independent and
specialized organizations. We must care about the
interests of all the people of the world and join hands
to reform the current United Nations entities with joint
efforts and cooperation. The United Nations belongs to
its Member States, and therefore the existence of any
discrimination among those Members is a great insult
to all. Any discrimination or monopolization of power
in the Organization is unacceptable.
We must make a more coordinated effort to create,
promote and firmly establish the language needed
to enable us to design the bodies needed for a united
world rule that is imbued with justice, love, freedom
and amity. Participation in global management is the
basis of lasting peace.
The Non-Aligned Movement, the second largest
transregional group after the United Nations, held its
sixteenth summit in Tehran with the motto of “Joint
global management”, cognizant of the importance
of this issue and of the shortcomings of the current
mismanagement in the emergence of crises and
problems afflicting the world today. During the summit,
participating Heads of State and representatives of
more than 120 countries underscored the necessity of
more serious and effective participation of all nations
in global management.
Fortunately, we are now at a historic juncture. On
the one hand, Marxism is no longer around; it has been
practically eliminated from management systems. On
the other hand, capitalism is bogged down in a self-
made quagmire. Indeed, it has reached a deadlock and
appears to be unable to come up with any noteworthy solutions to the world’s various economic, political,
security and cultural problems. The Non-Aligned
Movement is proud to again emphasize the rightfulness
of its historic decision to reject the power polarities and
unbridled hegemony ruling the world. On behalf of the
members of Non-Aligned Movement, I would like to
invite all the countries in the world to play a more active
role in making it possible for everybody to contribute to
global decision-making processes. The need to remove
structural barriers and to encourage the process of
universal participation in global management has never
been greater.
The United Nations lacks the efficiency to bring
about the required changes. If this inefficiency persists,
nations will lose hope in the ability of global structures
to defend their rights. If the United Nations is not
restructured, international interactions and the spirit of
collective global cooperation will be tarnished, and the
standing of the United Nations will be damaged.
The United Nations, which was established with
the purpose of expanding justice and reinstituting
universal human rights, has in practice been engulfed
by discrimination, preparing a supportive ground for
domination by a few powerful countries. Consequently,
United Nations inefficiency has increased. Moreover,
the existence of the veto right and monopolization of
power in the Security Council have made it nearly
impossible to defend the rights of the nations.
The issue of United Nations restructuring is vital;
the need has been emphasized time and again by State
representatives. That goal that yet to be accomplished.
I would like to urge the States Members of the United
Nations and the Secretary-General and his colleagues
to place the issue high on their agenda and to devise
an appropriate mechanism to make it happen. The
Non-Aligned Movement stands ready to aid the United
Nations in that essential endeavour.
Creating peace and lasting security with a decent
life for all, although a great and historic mission, can
be accomplished. Almighty God has not left us alone in
that mission and has said that it will surely happen. If
it does not, then that will contradict his wisdom. God
has promised us a man of kindness, a man who loves
people and absolute justice, a man who is a perfect
human being, named the Imam Al-Mahdi — a man
who will come in the company of Jesus Christ and the
righteous. By using the inherent potential of all the
worthy men and women of all nations — I repeat, the inherent potential of all the worthy men and women of
all nations — he will lead humanity into achieving its
glorious and eternal ideals.
The arrival of the ultimate saviour will mark a new
beginning, a rebirth and a resurrection. It will be the
beginning of peace, lasting security and genuine life.
His arrival will be the end of oppression, immorality,
poverty and discrimination and the beginning of
justice, love and empathy. He will come, and he will
cut through ignorance, superstition and prejudice by
opening the gates of science and knowledge. He will
establish a world brimming with prudence, and he
will prepare the ground for the collective, active and
constructive participation of all in global management.
He will come to grant kindness, hope, freedom and
dignity to all humankind as a gift. He will come so that
humankind will taste the pleasure of being human and
being in the company of other humans.
He will come so that hands will be joined, hearts
will be filled with love, and thoughts will be purified and
will be at the service of the security, welfare, happiness,
well-being and peace of all. He will come to return all
the children of Adam, irrespective of their skin color,
to their innate origin after a long history of separation
and division, linking them to eternal happiness and joy.
The arrival of the ultimate saviour, Jesus Christ and the
righteous, will bring about an eternally bright future
for humankind, not by force or by waging wars but
through thought-awakening and developing kindness
in everyone. Their arrival will breathe new life into the
cold and frozen hearts and bodies of the world. He will
bless humankind with a spring that puts an end to our
winter of ignorance, poverty and war with the tidings
of a season of blossoming. He will end the winter of
ignorance for humankind.
Now we can sense the sweet scent and the soulful
breeze of the spring, a spring that has just begun and
that does not belong to a specific race, ethnicity, nation
or region, a spring that will soon reach all the territories
in Asia, Europe, Africa and the Americas. He will be
the spring of all the justice seekers, freedom lovers
and the followers of heavenly prophets. He will be the
spring of humankind and the greenery of all ages. Let
us join hands and clear the way for his eventual arrival,
with empathy and cooperation, in harmony and unity.
Let us march on this path to salvation for the thirsty
souls of humankind to taste immortal joy and grace.  Long live this spring, long live this spring — again
and again, long live this spring.


Let me start by congratulating
Mr. Jeremić on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I have no doubt
that under his able leadership the work at this session
will progress to a successful conclusion. I also wish
to acknowledge the excellent work of his predecessor,
Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, who guided
the affairs of the sixty-sixth session with diligence
and consummate skill. I must seize this opportunity to
applaud Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for the able
manner in which he has continued to guide and lead the
Secretariat of our Organization.
When I addressed the Assembly last year on the
theme of the role of mediation in the settlement of
disputes by peaceful means (see A/66/PV.11), the world
was witnessing important and dramatic changes. The
Arab Spring had broken out, setting new political
standards for social contracts between Governments
and the governed. Also, South Sudan, today sitting at
the family table of the United Nations, had just gained
independence.

Since then, we have witnessed considerable
progress and also some setbacks. Knowing that the
future remains uncertain and perilous, we have always
believed that much more needs to be done to protect
our gains, including developing new strategies for
preventing and resolving conflicts.
The situation in Syria, which continues to weigh on
the collective conscience of the world, is a case in point.
Every day since the conflict began, innocent people
continue to lose their lives and livelihoods, while tens
of thousands of others f lee into neighbouring countries
seeking refuge. I seize this opportunity to call on
the Syrian people, in the face of a seeming lack of
concerted positive international action, to pause and
find a solution to the crisis in a way that will benefit
the Syrian nation.
Indeed, it was in the context of tackling the many
crises that plagued our world that I proposed the
establishment of a conflict mediation commission, under
the Secretary-General’s Office, to further strengthen
the early warning and peacebuilding initiatives of the
United Nations. Experience elsewhere gives us reason
to believe that there is value in the creation of such a
mechanism. Nigeria stands ready to work with other
countries to make the protection of innocent civilians
caught in conflict situations a priority of the United
Nations.
I see a consonance between the theme of the sixty-
sixth session and that of sixty-seventh session — the
adjustment or settlement of international disputes or
situations by peaceful means. Both are concerned with
the peaceful settlement of disputes. This consonance, in
my view, is evidence of the United Nations continuous
and justifiable preoccupation with issues of peace and
security.
Membership in the Security Council in 2010 and
2011 afforded Nigeria an opportunity to work with
others to promote the complex peace and security agenda
of the United Nations. It was indeed a privilege for us
to contribute to the United Nations and international
efforts to make the world a safer and better place.
Nigeria and other emerging nations continue to
demonstrate the capacity to add value to the work of
all the organs of the United Nations, including the
Security Council. For that reason, we must now commit
ourselves to accelerating the long-overdue reforms of
the Security Council. They will no doubt make the
Council more equitable, more inclusive and more effective. Nigeria believes that a reformed Security
Council with expanded permanent membership would
benefit from the unique experiences and capacities that
regional representatives could bring to bear on its work.
It is a matter of great concern that many regions
of the world, including the West African subregion,
are plagued by political crises and insurgency. In
some parts of my own country, for instance, we are
experiencing threats from extremist and militant
activities with quasi-terrorist tactics. Our response has
been multifaceted, as we seek to address the root causes
of those threats, exploring opportunities for dialogue
and improving law enforcement to ensure public safety
and security.
International cooperation has also been a key factor
in tackling our security challenges. We have signed
bilateral agreements with our neighbours: Cameroon,
the Republic of the Niger and Chad. On the multilateral
front, the Lake Chad Basin Commission has been an
excellent platform for cooperation. Those efforts are
aimed at safeguarding the security of our individual
countries and denying extremists the use of our region
as sanctuary. We are confident that those measures will
stem the f low of and access to small arms and light
weapons, which have indeed become Africa’s weapons
of mass destruction and the most potent source of
instability. Indeed, the free f low of small arms and light
weapons from the developed countries that manufacture
them to Africa is one of the greater challenges the
continent is facing in the contemporary world.
Nigeria continues to regard the General Assembly
as a veritable platform for collective action to address
issues of common interest to all nations. One such issue
deserving the serious attention of the United Nations
is the adoption of a legally binding arms trade treaty.
I believe that important instrument could galvanize
the international community to regulate the transfer
of conventional weapons and curb the illicit trade in
small arms and light weapons. There is no doubt that
the absence of a global consensus on controlling the
f low of such weapons, including small arms and light
weapons, is fuelling conflicts, constraining growth and
development and increasing human rights violations.
A ray of hope was offered early this month with
the successful conclusion of the second United
Nations Conference to Review Progress Made in the
Implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent,
Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, including the
unprecedented adoption of an outcome document under
Nigeria’s presidency. We expect that those positive
achievements will have an impact on the entire United
Nations disarmament process, including the Conference
on Disarmament, the Disarmament Commission and
other disarmament mechanisms.
The correlation between disarmament, peace
and security, and development is axiomatic and
self-evident. The work of the United Nations
Commission on Life-saving Commodities for
Women and Children — which I have the honour to
co-chair with Mr. Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of
Norway — recognizes the need to serve and improve
the health of women and children for the benefit
of the future progress of the world. That is indeed a
laudable achievement, for which we commend the
vision of the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon.
The Commission’s overarching objective is to provide
medical resources and other life-saving commodities
in a more affordable, accessible and timely manner,
thereby saving the lives of at least 4 million women and
children worldwide by 2015 and helping to achieve the
health-related targets of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Concerned with the unf lattering
statistics on maternal and child mortality in Nigeria,
my Government has adopted measures for reversing
that unhappy trend, in close collaboration with the
Commission and the related Every Woman Every Child
movement.
We believe, therefore, that it is time that the world
looked beyond 2015 to the post-MDG era. The year
2015 is not a destination but only a milestone on the
long journey to a better, safer, healthier and more caring
world. It is in that spirit that Nigeria will participate in
the forthcoming intergovernmental process to consider
the development of specific and action-oriented
sustainable development goals beyond 2015.
Sustainable development and progress are two
ultimate aspirations of any nation, and they cannot be
achieved without peace and security. Guided by that
realization, Nigeria has committed and shall continue
to commit itself to the attainment of regional and
international peace and security, in close collaboration
with the United Nations, the African Union and
the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS).
Recently, however, our subregion has suffered
some setbacks in terms of unconstitutional change of Governments and the emergence of insurgency, among
others. In Mali, the political crisis stemming from that
reality has escalated to an insurgency that is threatening
the unity of the country. Nigeria and ECOWAS are
working in concert to address that threat, which has the
potential to spill over into neighbouring countries and
destabilize the entire region. Guinea-Bissau is another
f lashpoint of instability in the subregion in which
Nigeria and the Economic Community of West African
States are engaged. Indeed, the contact group, headed
by Nigeria, was set up by the authority of the Heads of
State and Government of ECOWAS to help establish
a transitional Government with a view to returning
that country to political and constitutional order. In
furtherance of that objective, Nigeria provided the sum
of $10 million to the interim Government in Guinea-
Bissau to assist in the stabilization of the country.
The overall security situation in the West African
subregion should continue to be a matter of interest and
concern to the rest of the international community. I
believe I speak for many in the Assembly when I state
that West Africa can ill afford renewed insurgency.
Although ECOWAS is taking measures to address the
situation in Mali, particularly in the north, the urgent
assistance of the United Nations and the support of
other partners will be needed to build on recent gains
to secure peace and stability in Mali and across the
subregion.
Nigeria’s long-standing commitment to the
promotion of issues of particular concern to Africa
is widely acknowledged. Nigeria has stood firm and
played critical roles in all the recent developments in
Africa, including the struggle for independence and
self-determination and the fight against apartheid,
colonialism and discrimination.
Today, we are in the vanguard of the fight against
extremism, terrorism and all forms of mindless
violence. We shall remain undeterred and unf linching
in our resolve to protect our citizens and other persons
living within our borders and to extend such protection
wherever we can to other countries in our region.
We know that no country has unilaterally defeated
the dark forces of violence and terrorism. They
evidently represent an evil that requires international
collaboration. We therefore call upon the international
community and all like-minded stakeholders to address
the matter with all the seriousness it deserves. I cannot end my statement without alluding to the
importance of the support that Nigerians are continuing
to give to the United Nations in not only advancing but
also upholding international peace and security. We
shall strengthen and deepen our cooperation with the
United Nations in peacekeeping operations around
the world. We shall remain focused and committed to
ensuring a meaningful and effective contribution to
its presence and, if need be, to crucial peacekeeping
operations, particularly in Africa.
The events of recent weeks have demonstrated how
increasingly interconnected our world has become and
the extent to which an incident in one area can cause
reverberations in others. The lesson is that freedom
of expression should not be construed as a licence to
incitement. The freedom that we all hold dear and true
should be exercised wisely and consciously. Freedom of
expression and religious tolerance must not be mutually
exclusive but should be complementary to each other.
We eschew violence and deplore needless loss of lives
and destruction of property. We condemn the deliberate
denigration of religious and cultural beliefs and
sensitivities, which in turn leads to counter-reactions.
As the world grows in knowledge and prosperity,
so must humankind grow in maturity and wisdom. Care
and compassion for our fellow beings must inform all
our actions. We must ensure that no nation and no part
of the world is left behind in terms of human progress.
Working together with commitment and common
purpose, we can succeed in building an inclusive, safer
and prosperous world for present and future generations.
The United Nations must lead that effort with renewed
commitment.


To begin
with, I offer my deep congratulations to Mr. Vuk
Jeremić on his election as President of the General
Assembly to steer its work at its sixty-seventh session.
We trust in his capacity to ably manage the affairs of
the Assembly during this session. I would like also to
thank Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, President of
the General Assembly at its previous session, for all of
his efforts. We also commend Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his
wise management of the affairs of the United Nations
and his interest in the developments in my country.

During the past few weeks the Islamic world has
experienced a wave of outrage and anger as the result of
a film containing explicit denigrations directed at the
Muslim Prophet Muhammad, peace be upon him, and
the values of true Islam. It is deplorable that a campaign
exists with the aim of deliberately insulting Islam and
Muslims in order to distort their image worldwide and
to sow seeds of hatred between nations and religions.
Yet given all of that, such behaviour has attracted
people who defend the film based on the justification
of freedom of expression. Those people, however, must
not overlook the fact that there should be limits on the
freedom of expression, especially if such freedom is
used to blaspheme the beliefs of nations and defame
their religious figures and symbols.
While my country has strongly denounced
the film, it has also called for respect for religions
and religious figures, enhanced understanding and
dialogue between religions and civilizations, and the
adoption of international instruments to prevent any
further similar practice or abuse of the right to freedom
of expression. My country also calls for adherence to
peaceful expressions of opinion, while denouncing
violence and incitement to hatred that contradict the
values of true Islam.
The current session of the Assembly is being held
within the context of important global developments
and events that are directly affecting political,
economic, social, security and environmental situations
in all nations of the world. Those circumstances have
resulted in various pressures on all international actors
and have destructively impacted the least developed

countries — the so-called the countries of the
South — including my country, the Republic of Yemen.
These days we are celebrating the fiftieth
anniversary of the 26 September 1962 Revolution and
the forty-ninth anniversary of the 14 October 1963
Revolution. I therefore take the opportunity to extend,
from this international rostrum, my warmest greetings
and best wishes to the great people of Yemen on this
occasion. No doubt, the 50 years since the Yemeni
revolution have contributed to sparking the Yemeni
people’s aspirations for change and for freedom,
equality and national dignity that resulted in a new
reality where the wheel of change continues to turn,
despite all difficulties obstacles and barriers.
Recently, we experienced the historic achievement
of a peaceful transfer of power for the first time in the
country. That transition would not have been possible
without the Yemeni people’s determination to fulfil
the goals of the revolution: freedom, sovereignty,
an end to autocratic and family rule forever, and the
establishment of a republican regime governed by the
Constitution under a new social contract between the
State and its people.
All Members know that Yemen is one of the so-
called Arab Spring countries. We Yemenis experienced
a difficult situation for over a year that could have
led to catastrophe. However, the country avoided that
trajectory because the disputing parties were wise
enough to follow a role model designed to reach an
agreement. Thus, they accepted the political settlement
under the initiative of the Cooperation Council for the
Arab States of the Gulf (GCC) and its implementation
mechanism, which had become the accepted reference
for all parties and enjoyed international support.
Early presidential elections were conducted
representing a public referendum for change. The
referendum granted the new authorities full legitimacy
to pursue the implementation of the provisions of the
GCC initiative with a view to steering the country
towards the safe side and a brighter future where
people have faith in their future and can freely and with
conviction choose their rulers and thus contribute to
building the new Yemen.
In that respect, please allow me to express my
gratitude and appreciation to the Custodian of the Two
Holy Mosques, King Abdullah Bin Abdulaziz Al-Saud
of Saudi Arabia, the leaders of the GCC countries
and the Secretary General of the GCC, Mr. Abdellatif
Zayani, for all of the various forms of attention and
support they have extended towards the political
settlement of the crisis.
Thanks also go to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon;
the five permanent members of the Security Council;
Mr. Jamal Benomar, Special Adviser of the Secretary-
General on Yemen; the League of Arab States and its
Secretary General; and the European Union for all
of their efforts to bolster the political settlement and
provide the necessary economic support to Yemen in
all areas, including for convening the national dialogue
conference.
The conference will outline the future of Yemen by
addressing various situations such as conflict, war and
pending problems, including the monopoly of power
and wealth. The aim is to build a modern civil State
based on the principles of the rule of law, equality,
inclusion, equal opportunity, the fair distribution of
wealth, participation in decision-making and managing
elements linked to the new State’s sovereignty at the
national level under a political regime to be decided by
the people of Yemen in the awaited national dialogue
conference. I stress that the doors of the national
dialogue conference are open to all Yemeni parties
and all issues and demands. The conference shall be
the means for correcting mistakes, achieving national
reconciliation and developing the principles of a
modern civil Yemeni State, under a unified Yemen, as
stipulated by Security Council resolutions.
The current political arrangements in Yemen
for the implementation of the settlement agreement
and resolutions 2014 (2011) and 2051 (2012) have the
support of the brothers and friends of Yemen. However,
Yemen still faces many political, economic, security
and social obstacles and impediments. Those obstacles
represent weaknesses and jeopardize the progress
and prosperity of Yemen in the coming decades. It is
a fact that 95 per cent of the Yemeni people have the
willingness and ambitions to move with the rest of the
world into the twenty-first century. The political and
social problems and the escalating political conflicts,
anarchy and acts of violence and extremism shall never
stand as obstacles in the way of the Yemeni people.
Therefore, the right way to address the situation in
Yemen is to adopt an overarching vision that takes into
account all circumstances and conditions related to the
country’s history and geography and the challenges of
the present and the future. A key factor is the strategic
location of Yemen at the juncture of trade routes and in the heart of international sea navigation routes. Yemen
faces the security challenges of organized crime, piracy
and terrorist acts, in addition to the influx of illegal
migrants and refugees to its coasts.
There is an increasing trend of unemployment
among young people under 30, who represent 70 per
cent of the total population of the country. The youth
look forward to a better future and a modern civil State.
That requires the international community and donor
countries to understand those factors and to provide
urgently needed support to our country in various
fields, including in the areas of establishing a modern
civil State based on democracy, good governance,
respect for human rights and social justice. There
is a need to abandon the traditional standard and
bureaucratic mechanisms adopted by donor countries
and international parties supporting the path towards
settlement in Yemen.
As for us, we stand ready to provide a favourable
and appropriate atmosphere for their work, absent of
any complex Government bureaucracy, by adopting a
high level of transparency and removing any obstacles
they may face. I confirm that it is investment that
results in stability, and not vice versa.
Terrorists, who have pervaded our country for more
than 10 years and were recently poised to seize control
of different Yemeni regions and provinces, represent a
huge threat to local, regional and international peace
and stability. Although, following the heroic acts of the
Yemeni armed forces and local popular committees and
a series of defeats, Al-Qaida is today much weaker than
before, we cannot underestimate its desperation. Due to
its failure to adapt after its successive defeats, Al-Qaida
has equipped its members with explosive belts and
transformed them into time bombs against innocent
and unarmed people. That has resulted in Al-Qaida
losing any local or national sympathy.
We reaffirm our commitment to eradicating
terrorist elements and demand that its sources of
internal and external support be eliminated. We invite
our international partners in the fight against terrorism
to provide more logistical and technical support to our
security forces and counterterrorism units, and that
they expand intelligence cooperation and coordination
in that field.
I cannot pass up the opportunity to draw attention
to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen as a result of the
terrorism and acts of violence in Sadah and the events of the past year that have resulted in the displacement
of more than 500,000 people from their villages, in
addition to the increasing number of refugees from
the Horn of Africa region. That led the United Nations
and its agencies to launch an appeal for approximately
$600 million. However, the funding gap stands at
50 per cent of the required amount. I therefore call
on brotherly and friendly countries to respond to the
appeal of the United Nations to enable it to meet the
basic needs of internally displaced persons and refugees
in our country.
It has been more than six decades since the General
Assembly, which I have the honour to address today,
issued the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It
is deplorable that, after all these years, many nations
still suffer violations of their rights and dignity. The
Palestinian people have been subjected to a gruesome
escalation of Israeli violence. Israeli settlements are
expanding, innocent Palestinians are maimed, activists
are besieged, prisoners and detainees are oppressed
and the attempts of the Israeli side to demolish the
Al-Aqsa Mosque are continuing. That requires a
stronger role and a more united and effective presence
of the United Nations and its various agencies against
Israeli arrogance and f louting of the resolutions of
the international community and its rejection of all
peaceful proposals and initiatives.
The lack of international pressure on Israel
represents a key failure in international justice standards.
The role of the United Nations and international forces
in achieving justice and freedom requires the exertion
of pressure to implement international resolutions. In
that regard, I ask: has Israel forgotten that its State
was created on the basis of an international resolution?
We declare our full support for the application of the
State of Palestine to become a full State Member of
the United Nations in order to affirm its legitimacy
and to ensure respect for its recognized rights under
international law.
We also call on the United Nations to adopt
appropriate solutions to end the crisis and internal war
in Syria and to put an end to all forms of violence against
thousands of civilians in Syria, including women and
children. Proposed initiatives and announced peaceful
solutions shall be revived to end the crisis and to
make a success of the mission of the Joint Special
Representative of the United Nations and the League of
Arab States for Syria, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi.

I reiterate the call on all concerned parties in Syria,
the Government and the insurgents, to heed and respond
to repeated calls to initiate dialogue and make mutual
concessions as the only way to stop the bloodshed.
The only option for our brothers in Syria is to agree
on an initiative to mark the path towards change and a
peaceful transfer of power through the ballot box.
There is no doubt that Somalia has been living in
dire crisis since the early 1990s. Yemen and Somalia
have deep historical relations and both provide
strategic depth for each other. On that basis, Yemen
played a leading role in restoring peace and stability
in Somalia by supporting the reconciliation efforts
and hosting various rounds of negotiations between
different parties. Yemen did not stop there; it opened its
doors to more than a million Somali refugees, despite
the difficult circumstances Yemen is encountering and
all the economic, health and security impacts of the
refugee process.
While we congratulate the Somali people on their
success on their accomplishing a peaceful transfer of
power and electing Mr. Hassan Sheik Mohamud as their
new President in a democratic environment, we hope
that those elections will lead to reconstruction of State
institutions; the restoration of peace and security to
Somalia; and an end to the humanitarian suffering and
its consequences, including the suffering of a million
Somali refugees in our country. We reaffirm the
Republic of Yemen’s position of support for the elected
Somali president and the Government he is forming. We
will spare no effort to enhance relations between our
two brotherly countries for our mutual benefit and in
the interests of security and stability and of countering
terrorism and piracy in the region.
In that context, the continuing and intensive influx
of migrants and asylum seekers into Yemen represents
a real threat to national security, peace and stability
in the region. It is essential that the international
community share that burden with Yemen, especially
since Yemen’s resources are being drained. Under the
exceptional conditions that Yemen is dealing with, it is
extremely difficult for us to cope with the continued
f low of arrivals.
The brutal ethnic cleansing of Muslims in Myanmar
makes it incumbent on the international community to
pay attention to that humanitarian tragedy and take
concrete steps to stop the series of violent and savage
acts being committed against that group. Considering the acts of ethnic brutality and other practices that have
occurred in recent months, it is not enough to issue
statements condemning and denouncing them. An
international committee should be set up to investigate
human rights violations against Muslims in that
country, deliver humanitarian aid to them and provide
guarantees to protect them against further violence and
atrocities.
Finally, I would like to reiterate my thanks to the
President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-
General. We greatly appreciate the role of the United
Nations as an international platform that brings together
all countries and nations of the globe for the sake of
peace, security, freedom, human rights and coexistence
between nations, religions and civilizations and their
common interests.


I would like to congratulate
Mr. Jeremić on his election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-seventh session and to commend
Ambassador Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for the
manner in which he guided the proceedings of the
Assembly last year.
Just over two weeks ago, Somalia took a bold and
decisive step away from decades of division, disorder
and conflict, and instead towards the reconstitution
of a more representative, more democratic Somali
Republic, at peace with itself, with its neighbours and
with the rest of the world. On 1 August this year, a
National Constituent Assembly adopted the new Somali
Constitution and on 20 August a new Parliament was
sworn in, which elected our new President, Hassan
Sheikh Mohamud, on 10 September. In the coming
weeks, the President will appoint a Prime Minister and
a new cabinet will be duly established.
Let me take this opportunity to convey the sincere
regrets of President Mohamud. He would have liked to
be here himself to address the Assembly on this great
occasion. However, the tremendous scale and urgency
of the challenges facing him as leader of Somalia and
the demands of his new role did not permit him to travel
here to New York to present his remarks in person. He asked me to come here to convey his warm greetings
and his vision for Somalia’s future.
For more than two decades of crisis, the Somali
people have suffered and endured, but we have not done
so alone. The United Nations has stood by us, providing
humanitarian assistance to those of our people in need,
helping us to rebuild from the ruins of war, bringing
us time and again to the negotiating table to resolve
our differences and maintaining the dignity of the
Somali nation by keeping our f lag f lying throughout
these long, dark years. As we emerge from the long,
dark days, I wish to express my personal thanks, and
those of the Somali people, to the Secretary-General
and his Special Representative, Augustine Mahiga, for
their tireless support and crucial role in helping to open
this new chapter in Somali history.
Somalia’s progress is also due in great measure
to the self less courage and sacrifice of our brothers
and sisters in the African Union, including our closest
neighbours, whose forces have fought long and hard,
with so many laying down their lives in the battle to
give our children a better future. With the support of
the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM)
and other partners, our armed forces are becoming
increasingly experienced and capable, but we will need
AMISOM’s steadfast presence and mentoring for some
time to come, and we call upon our brothers in the
African Union to renew their commitment as we move
forward to assume our own responsibilities in full. We
thank our international partners who are diligently
supporting AMISOM, especially the European Union
and the United States, among others.
The members of the League of Arab States and
the Organization of Islamic Cooperation have also
extended the hand of friendship to the Somali people
during these difficult times. We are especially grateful
to the Government and people of Turkey for their faith,
courage and leadership in ending our long isolation and
building bridges between Somalia and the rest of the
world.
But now, with all these partners standing by us we
must increasingly learn to travel our own path with our
own energies, developing the ability to stand on our
own feet and step free from reliance on our kind friends.
Already, the Somali diaspora from around the world are
returning to the country with investment and skills that
will build the future Somalia. We can also learn from
how peace and growing prosperity have developed in other parts of the country. We must build on the return
of normality in Mogadishu, and elsewhere in Somalia,
and on the growing public confidence in the future. It
is the Somali people in the villages and the nomadic
pastoralists, with their resilience, drive and dynamism,
who are best placed to lend real stability to Somalia’s
future.
The end of Somalia’s transition was brought about
by the tremendous joint efforts of the Transitional
Federal Government, Somali regional administrations,
civil society and our traditional elders. Against all
odds, within one year Somalis were able to adopt a new
provisional Constitution, create a new Parliament and
elect a new President, heralding the beginning of a new
era. This one-year experience has shown several things.
When we put our minds to it, we Somalis are capable
of overcoming tremendous obstacles and delivering
on expectations. It has shown that we can effect our
political transitions within our own country. It has
shown that Somalis are indeed ready for a new chapter
and are calling for a permanent Government that can
build on the foundations of this remarkable year.
Somalia’s transition has officially ended, but
the work of rebuilding our nation continues. The
new administration has four short years to translate
agreements and objectives made on paper into concrete,
tangible progress for our people, and to place Somalia
firmly on an irreversible path to enduring peace and
growing prosperity.
The most urgent challenge is to restore peace
and security throughout Somali territory. Our forces,
together with our African Union allies, are making
great progress in that regard. But a stable peace
cannot be achieved through military means alone. We
must practise the politics of inclusion, establishing
a credible, representative, inclusive and capable
Government — a Government by the people, for the
people, not a Government of the few, serving the
interests of the few. Initially, that Government must be
about delivering real governance and connections with
the people. It must be about the process of building
local representation, addressing community justice
and seeking to build basic services, rather than about
distant institutions of Government from Mogadishu,
or even provincial centres. Power and responsibility
must be devolved as close to the people as possible, in
accordance with the principles of federalism. It will be
important to recognize the existence of other Somali
authorities, as well as de facto political and military forces across the country, with which we will work to
establish a vibrant, prosperous and stable representative
Government democracy, firmly adhering to and
grounded in Somali and Islamic values.
We will also require a fair and independent judiciary,
one resistant to executive interference, and one that will
meet the needs and earn the trust of ordinary citizens,
while bringing an end to the culture of impunity that
has gripped our nation for the past two decades.
We have repeatedly extended an olive branch to the
Government’s adversaries, and, although this has been
repeatedly rejected, our new President will continue
to reach out and offer peace. Al-Shabaab is a complex
and heterogeneous movement. Most of its members are
ordinary citizens who have aligned themselves with
Al-Shabaab out of fear or a sense of grievance. At the
same time we must also be honest with ourselves and
admit that some of the members come from a nationalist,
conservative faction of our fractured country, which
has been disillusioned and damaged by decades of
conflict, and they have sought refuge in an extreme and
harsh source of justice and security. To them we must
prove that there is a better way. To them we have always
said and will continue to say, “Brothers and sisters, lay
down your arms and let us talk”.
We Somalis have a saying — after every war comes
peace. So let us remember that we have no choice as a
nation but to live together. Let us settle our differences
through dialogue and compromise, so that there is no
longer any justification for any Somali to take up arms
against another. To those few ideological extremists in
Al-Shabaab’s ranks who remain committed to the use
of terror and the murder of innocents to achieve their
aims, we say, “There is no place in Somali society, nor
in international society, for you and your violent creed.
We will fight you until Somalia is once again a nation
founded on the peace, tolerance and management that
constitute the true spirit of the great religion of Islam”.
As we focus our energies on these immediate
challenges, we must nevertheless keep our longer-
term goals clearly in view. The new Government
understands clearly that its purpose is not to entrench
itself indefinitely in power, but to lay the foundation
for a democratic system of governance, anchored in
Islamic values and based on universal, competitive
elections, by August 2016.
The new Government has just four short years
within which to establish the states and regions of this federation, and to do so in a way that unifies our people
rather than dividing them. We must validate the new
Constitution through consultation and referendum, and
establish systems of governance that serve the interests
of the Somali people. We must design representative
electoral systems that serve to heal the divisions of our
society rather than to aggravate them.
As we move away from transitional Government
into the era of permanent Government, we must establish
a new compact for national coexistence in which the
aspirations of all Somalis, not only some, are reflected.
We recognize that the bonds of love and solidarity that
bound us together in 1960 have been heavily damaged
and sorely tested. The talks initiated earlier this year
between the Transitional Federal Government and the
Somaliland administration have begun well, and we
intend to continue them. We will not use military or
political coercion to bring out an artificial unity; we
want a genuine unity that results from negotiations,
mutual respect and mutual agreement.
The durability of our stabilization efforts will
depend in large part upon our ability to revive and
develop the Somali economy. Security and durable
peace cannot exist without jobs and food, and therefore
we must work hard to ensure that food is on the table of
the average Somali family, to create job opportunities
and to enable Somalis to work for themselves.
Our country is abundant in resources; we have the
longest coastline in Africa, 9 million acres of fertile
land, the highest per capita number of livestock in the
world. We have oil and minerals. We are strategically
located at the gateway of the Middle East and Africa,
at the conf luence of the Indian Ocean and the Red Sea.
Our challenge as Somalis is to use those resources to
bring our country and our people back onto the global
economic playing field.
On the topic of resources, we are committed
to strengthening the Government’s financial
accountability. Somalia is a poor country, and we
cannot afford corruption. We seek the assistance of our
international partners in establishing and strengthening
transparent systems of public financial management.
The problems of Somalia have spilled far beyond
our borders. Foreign countries have taken in hundreds
of thousands of Somalis f leeing the crisis in our country,
at considerable sacrifice to their own citizens; Somali
pirates have become the scourge of shipping far from
our shores. Extremists from across the world have used our territory as a base from which to plan and launch
attacks against foreign countries.
As Somalia reclaims its status as a full member
of the international community, we must acknowledge
our responsibility as a nation, both for the proliferation
of these problems and for their eventual resolution.
We recognize the urgency of tackling these threats
to international security, but we are also conscious of
their complexity and of the fact that lasting solutions
can be achieved only through ref lection, consultation,
the force of law and only, as a last resort, the judicious
use of force. We intend to engage with our international
partners on all of these fronts, as we strengthen our
internal capacity to address these challenges.
The road ahead is long, but we, the Somali people,
are committed, and we are ready. We have created the
guideposts, and we have chosen a new leadership to
help us move forward. We are grateful for the support
of the world community; we would not be here today
without its moral, political and financial support. Most
dear to us is the personal sacrifice made by our African
brothers and sisters who came in person to help us
protect our country and people. We cannot thank them
enough, and we hope one day to be able to repay them.
As many today have noted, the United Nations
was founded on the conviction that the nations of the
world could come together in the spirit of cooperation
to tackle their common problems for the sake of the
whole of humanity.
The world is going through a challenging
period — economic crises, religious tensions and
resource disputes. Every nation has its own challenges
and priorities. And yet we come together as the United
Nations to forge a common way forward, because we
recognize that this small Earth is all the space we
have, and we must find a way to share it and coexist
peacefully.
As Somalis, we have learned this hard lesson
through bitter experience, and we are living through
it every day, each time another young man chooses
to take his own life and the lives of others; each time
a young mother has to bury a child. Let us not forget
that in rebuilding a nation, or in steering the world to
a better place, we are dealing with the lives of human
beings, each life as precious as the next. For the future
of our children, we must work harder to make our world
peaceful and prosperous. In that context, on behalf of the Somali people, I
want to convey our condolences to the United States
and Algeria on the recent violent loss of their senior
diplomats. Diplomacy is a peaceful calling and the
foundation of the United Nations, and we must protect
diplomats for their important role in promoting dialogue
and better understanding across countries and cultures.
The members of the Assembly are not strangers
to conflict and war. Many countries have experienced
violence and destruction equal to or greater than my
own. But few other countries in modern times have
experienced such a prolonged period of statelessness:
a nation without a recognized Government, a valid
passport or a convertible currency.
But it is not just the material attributes of statehood
that we have missed. To be stateless in this world of
States is injurious to a people’s identity, to its rights and
privileges as a nation, and to its dignity. It is time for us
to reclaim Somalia’s rightful place in the community of
nations, to shoulder our duties and obligations, and to
place our country in the service of peace, security and
prosperity on this planet we share.


Allow me to
congratulate the President on his assumption of the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh
session. I assure him of the full support and cooperation
of the Jamaican delegation. I would also like to place on
record my delegation’s appreciation to His Excellency
Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser for his invaluable
guidance of the work of the Assembly during its sixty-
sixth session. I also thank the Secretary-General,
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and the staff of the Secretariat for
their dedication and hard work in serving Member
States.
There is a tale of a young woman from a rural
village in Jamaica who was approached by a political
candidate seeking to represent her community. “What
is it you want most from your representatives?” the
candidate asked. The young woman considered the
question for a moment. Slowly and thoughtfully she
replied, “All I want is an opportunity. I want you to
provide me and my family with a living environment in
which I can work, contribute and prosper. Most of all, I
want you to provide for my family an environment that
is safe and secure”.
For hundreds of years, our respective peoples have
looked to their leaders with great expectations. They
elected Governments that they felt could provide them
with the greatest sense of well-being and security. Historically and to the present day, they looked to
heads of State and Government to provide them,
their families, their communities and ultimately their
respective nations with leadership and direction that
foster that all-important sense of well-being and of
feeling secure. Over time, across the world, there has
been an increasing sense of impatience and agitation
born of a sense of growing global insecurity.
Accordingly, the United Nations agenda has
expanded its focus to address the multifaceted
challenges of food security, climate change, global
pandemics and the global economic and financial
crisis. We have already witnessed citizens from several
nations spring into action with demands for change.
Others chose to occupy various spaces in protest. In the
light of that reality, many of those here — indeed, many
of us as leaders — stand as buffers between apathy and
anarchy.
The theme for this year’s session of the Assembly,
“Bringing about adjustment or settlement of
international disputes or situations by peaceful means”,
is most appropriate and timely, given current events in
a number of countries and regions that pose a threat to
international peace and security. It reflects the call by
that young woman, who simply asked her representative
to provide for her and hers an environment that is safe
and secure. Yet her request is not as simple as it appears.
The insecurity, impatience and unease that have
emerged worldwide are explosive accelerants. They
emerge from the heartbreaking scourge of poverty that
was so aptly described by the Jamaican national hero,
Marcus Mosiah Garvey, who reminded us that poverty
is
“a hellish state to be in. It is no virtue. It is a crime.
To be poor is to be hungry without possible hope
of food; to be sick without hope of medicine; to be
tired and sleepy without a place to lay one’s head;
to be naked without the hope of clothing; to be
despised and comfortless”.
We must seek to rid ourselves of the conditions that
lead to poverty. We must pursue social and economic
policies that will ensure social equity and justice for
our people and increase their well-being and sense of
security. That can be achieved only if we, as Member
States, work together in good faith to secure the
sustainable future we agreed to at Rio de Janeiro. Let
us create the future we want, and let us put our people
first. The global economy continues to be beset by
uncertainty. That is compounded by the lingering
negative effects of the financial and economic crises.
The global shocks have affected all our peoples.
They threaten our communities, weaken our families
and challenge individuals everywhere, regardless of
hemisphere or region or whether they live in so-called
developed or developing countries or in the north, south,
east or west. Some have fewer options than others. That
is a vicious circle of insecurity.
We must not forget that a significant proportion
of the world’s poorest citizens live in middle-income
countries. That diverse group includes both large
developing economies and small island developing
States, such as those in the Caribbean. Many of us face
common challenges. Several are highly indebted and
extremely vulnerable to external shocks and natural
disasters. We face significant obstacles in our efforts to
spur economic recovery and growth. We are hampered
by the volatility of energy and food prices, decreases
in export commodity prices, and weak capital inf lows.
Increasing food prices create untold hardships for many
of our people, particularly the most vulnerable in our
societies. Small countries need greater support in order
to build resilience to economic and environmental
shocks.
I come to the Assembly today from such a nation.
Jamaica is a nation small in size but enormous in
spirit — a nation with a people whose speed defies
the laws of physics, whose musical messages have
inspired positive and revolutionary global change and
whose minds have given the world myriad solutions in
areas that include science, law and medicine. Yet many
nations like Jamaica have great possibility and potential
that are not reflected in, or ref lective of, their current
economic indicators.
Reforms in global economic governance,
including of the international financial institutions,
are required in order to take into account the need
of small and vulnerable economies for special and
differential treatment. Refocusing financial f lows in
the development agenda will also go a long way in
helping to bolster our natural resilience and resolve.
We commend the United Nations Conference on Trade
and Development on the work it has done over the last
48 years to advance the trade and development agenda
and assist developing countries. There is still much to
be done, and we look forward to working with the full
range of development partners.

Women and children make up one particularly
vulnerable group of our world. What we call external
shocks cause real and serious dislocation in their daily
lives. Too many mothers have to face tough choices to
meet their basic needs. Too many children are subjected
to violence and abuse. Children, especially girls, are
being used as pawns for economic gain, including
through human trafficking and other exploitive actions.
Human trafficking is a dastardly threat to the welfare
of our women, girls and boys. Our ancestors fought for
our freedom. It is disgraceful that at this juncture of
world history we should see the emergence of a form
of modern-day slavery that allows women, girls and
boys to be traded as chattel. Many vulnerable young
women are deceived and lured away by attractive
offers to get them and their families out of poverty.
They then find themselves in a strange land, with no
support, no identity and no hope of returning home;
sold into modern-day slavery, their very bodies used as
a currency of exchange.
Jamaica is resolute in its commitment to
strengthening local and national programmes to
eliminate violence against women and children. At the
same time, I call on the international community to take
bold action to address this scourge. Issues that affect
women and children must be central to decision-making
processes. We look forward to continued collaboration
with UN-Women and the international community to
help break this cycle of exploitation and insecurity.
The devastating impact of HIV/AIDS and
non-communicable diseases also propels the cycle
of global insecurity. Jamaica is cognizant of the
considerable investment that the United Nations and the
international community have made in the fight against
HIV/AIDS. That support has allowed developing
countries, including Jamaica, to make a difference in
the lives of those affected. Nevertheless, inadequate
human and financial resources constrain our ability to
scale up testing and treatment, as well as to implement
programmes for increasing awareness and reducing the
risk of new infections.
The developing world and lower-income populations
are hardest hit by the impact of non-communicable
diseases (NCDs). The high social and developmental
costs of NCDs demand concerted policy action at the
national and international levels. We must implement
the outcomes of the High-level Meeting on NCDs held
last year. We are on the threshold of 2015, the target date
for the achievement of the Millennium Development
Goals. The results thus far have been uneven. We
need to reinvigorate Millennium Development Goal
8, the Global Partnership for Development. I wish
to underscore the situation associated with our
middle-income country status. Country categorizations
should not serve as obstacles to delivering support to
the world’s poorest and most vulnerable. We urge that
middle-income countries not be pushed to the margins of
the development agenda, nor be put on the fringe of the
development assistance provided by the international
community. A review of the factors used by the relevant
multilateral agencies in measuring a country’s wealth
is urgently needed. We are supportive of the proposals
put forward by the Economic Commission for Latin
America and the Caribbean for an alternative but
complementary approach to the criterion of per capita
income in the allocation of financing for development.
I now turn to global political developments. The
cycle of insecurity transcends borders. Recent events
have called attention to the fragility of peace and
security in many parts of the globe, and underscore the
importance of respect for the rule of law, democracy
and good governance. Jamaica reiterates its adherence
to the principles of the United Nations Charter,
multilateralism and the inviolability of diplomatic
institutions in the conduct of relations among States.
We will continue to add our voice to the ongoing work
at the United Nations to secure human rights, justice,
social equity and the peaceful settlement of disputes.
Transnational crime, narco-trafficking and the
illicit trade in small arms and ammunition are major
components of the cycle of insecurity. They continue
to endanger lives, undermine the rule of law and
fuel violent crime. We remain resolute in our call for
encouraging partnerships in fighting this scourge, and
will continue to work with all delegations to achieve a
comprehensive and robust arms trade treaty.
The conflict in Syria poses a real threat to
international peace and security. We are deeply
concerned at the escalating internal violence and the
resulting loss of life. It is our conviction that this
conflict can still be resolved through political and
diplomatic means.
We continue to urge the leaders of Israel and the
Palestinian Authority to resume negotiations as early as
possible, based on the two-State solution and relevant United Nations resolutions. Those resolutions address
Israel’s right to exist within secure borders, as well
as the aspirations of the Palestinian people to self-
determination and statehood.
We must ensure that the United Nations remains
relevant to its membership through a process of
reform of its organs, including the Security Council.
Negotiations should proceed urgently towards a
satisfactory conclusion.
More than two years after the devastating
earthquake, Haiti’s plight remains deeply troubling.
We are concerned that only a disappointing fraction
of the pledges made have been disbursed, and yet the
humanitarian situation in Haiti is perilous. As a close
friend and neighbour of Haiti, with strong historical ties,
I encourage members of the international community to
make good on their commitments. The Haitian people
need our continued support.
The long-standing trade and economic embargo
against Cuba, another close neighbour and friend of
Jamaica, has had severe negative effects on its growth
and development. Jamaica reiterates its call for an end
to the embargo against Cuba and the extraterritorial
measures aimed at extending its reach to include third
countries.
Jamaica continues to work with our partners to
erect a memorial at the United Nations to honour the
victims of slavery and the trans-Atlantic slave trade.
We are grateful for the generous contributions received
to date to erect the permanent memorial, and reiterate
the call for continued financial support.
Fifty years ago, upon gaining our independence,
Jamaica committed itself to the aims of the United
Nations and fully accepted the responsibilities of
membership. Our national pledge commits each and
every Jamaican to stand up for justice, brotherhood
and peace and to play our part in advancing the welfare
of the whole human race. We will not resile from that
commitment.
Let us work together to end the cycle of global
insecurity. Let us provide an opportunity for every man,
woman and child to fulfil their God-given potential. I
leave members with the words of Robert Nesta “Bob”
Marley, who sang: “One love, one heart”. I hope that the
peoples of the world will one day live together in peace,
love, security, unity and prosperity.