Let me first of
all say that I am happy to see the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, represented by Ambassador
Kerim, presiding over the General Assembly at its
sixty-second session.
 My country extends to him wishes for the greatest
success in accomplishing his mission. We would like to
assure him of our full cooperation. Please also allow
me to pay tribute to Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa of the
Kingdom of Bahrain for the skill with which she
conducted the work of the sixty-first session.
 I would also like to welcome the presence among
us of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the
United Nations. I congratulate him on his accession to
this post of the highest prestige in our Organization.
The vast experience and the qualities of a diplomat that
he is known for are a guarantee of success in this lofty
function. I am convinced that he will be able to work
for the benefit of our Organization in continuing the
efforts of his predecessor, Mr. Kofi Annan, to whom I
would like once again to pay tribute.
 The general debate in this Assembly is a special
moment in international life. Indeed, it is an
opportunity every year for heads of Member States to
take stock of the world’s affairs, to exchange views in
this regard and to reflect the aspirations of their
nations.
 The sixty-second session of the General
Assembly opens this year again in a rather troubled
international context. At the dawn of the twenty-first
century, the challenges facing humanity are more
pressing and more complex with each passing day,
giving rise alternatively to hope and fears.
 The first of these challenges to which I would
like to refer here today has to do with peace and
security. International events today highlight even
more than before the paramount need to breathe new
life into efforts for disarmament and non-proliferation.
Nuclear proliferation is a threat, not only to
international peace and security but also to the very
survival of humankind. Attempts by terrorist
organizations to acquire weapons of mass destruction
are also indicative of the reality of this threat.
Terrorism, indeed, is a particularly great danger to the
international community, a threat that we can only face
through concerted and resolute global action.
 It is because of this conviction that Cameroon has
in the past year contributed to the adoption by the
General Assembly of the Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy. Once again, I would like to salute this historic
accomplishment. For the first time, Member States
have decided to take up concrete political, operational
and legal measures to coordinate their fight against
terrorism. They have committed themselves to
strengthening their capacity to react, as well as the
capability of the United Nations in this regard. They
have agreed to address situations that could lead to the
extension of this scourge. Today, the problem is to
apply this fundamental text, both in letter and spirit.
My country would like to reaffirm its availability and
its determination in terms of taking on commitments in
this work.
 In many regions around the world, peace and
security continue to be seriously threatened. For years
now, the unrest in the Middle East has been a serious
threat to international peace and security. The
evolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict causes deep
concern. It is paramount that Israel and the Palestinian
Authority resume a constructive dialogue. That is the
only way, in the opinion of my country, to move
forward toward a settlement. Cameroon is convinced
that only the efforts of all concerned parties, supported
by the Great Powers and based on the principle of two
States   Israel and Palestine   coexisting in peace
and security, will make it possible to reach a definitive,
fair and just settlement to this conflict.
 In Lebanon, as in Iraq, reconciliation among the
various communities of these countries is the only
hope for a sustainable stability.
 In Africa, in spite of initiatives undertaken by the
international community, there remain a number of
hotbeds of tension. Please allow me to highlight some
of these.
 The crisis in Côte d’Ivoire seems to be reaching a
turning point. We are convinced that, with the firm and
sincere commitment of all parties and the support of
the international community, this fraternal country will
have definitively turned a particularly painful page in
its history. The people of Côte d’Ivoire, we are sure,
will be able to persevere in their choice of peace and
national reconciliation. It is extremely important that
they work together in good faith for a full and rapid
implementation of the Ouagadougou peace agreement.
 The situation in Somalia continues to threaten
peace and security in the region. Cameroon is deeply
concerned by acts of violence in Somalia. We would
like to congratulate the mission of the African Union
for the support that it has extended to the Transitional
Federal Institutions. We are sure that the speedy
deployment of the envisaged United Nations force will
definitely have a positive effect on the stability in that
country and on the security of the population.
 The human toll of the Darfur crisis causes
profound concern. It seems to us of paramount
importance that all efforts be undertaken to break the
tragic cycle of violence in that region. The effects of
the crisis have already been deeply felt by
neighbouring States and threaten to extend further. It
should be understood that Cameroon welcomes the
announcement of the deployment of the hybrid United
Nations-African Union peacekeeping operation in
Darfur. I am convinced that this operation will make it
possible to stabilize the situation in the area and save
innocent lives. My country welcomes the fact that the
Government of Sudan has unconditionally accepted the
deployment of this mission. In our opinion, this is a
decisive stage in the resolution of the crisis. At the
same time, Cameroon believes it is very important to
continue efforts to address the causes of the conflict,
by relaunching the political process and by
implementing a real programme of development in the
region, specifically by ensuring access to water
resources.
 Cameroon follows with close attention the
developments in the situation in Chad and the Central
African Republic. Those fraternal countries with which
we have long common borders have, for a number of
years, been facing instability fomented by various
insurgent groups. That situation poses a serious threat
to peace and stability in those countries and to the
security and well-being of their populations and
triggers a true humanitarian tragedy in the region. It
also causes cross-border insecurity that affects other
countries in the region, including Cameroon. For that
reason, my country resolutely supports the upcoming
deployment of a multidimensional presence of the
United Nations and the European Union on the borders
of Chad, the Central African Republic and the Sudan. I
wish to reiterate from this rostrum that my country is
ready to cooperate fully with the United Nations in the
implementation of that operation.
 With regard to the Democratic Republic of the
Congo we welcome the progress accomplished towards
peace in terms of establishing democratic institutions
in that country. The situation in the eastern part of the
country continues to be a source of concern to the
international community. It seems to us that seeking a
solution to the crisis of the two Kivus should be based
first and foremost on political and diplomatic methods
corresponding to the problem at hand.
 The challenges we must face in terms of peace
and security are considerable. However, they must not
eclipse in our minds the equally significant challenges
confronting us in other areas. It seems crucial to me
that every necessary effort be exerted to reach the
Millennium Development Goals. This year we are
reaching the midpoint of the timetable we have
established for ourselves in that regard. It is very
important that States live up to the commitments made,
to the extent possible. The reduction in official
development assistance in 2006 underlines the need for
donors to try to increase the level of their aid so that
the goals set for 2010 and 2015 may be reached.
 Furthermore, I wish again to state the hope that
the negotiations of the Doha Round are completed on
schedule and ensure that the interests of the countries
of the South are protected and that the globalization of
trade retains its significance.
 I cannot remain silent about the terrible
experience of thousands of young people from Africa
who, for a number of years now, have set forth at risk
to their lives in their attempts to reach Europe   in
their eyes the new promised land. That migration keeps
increasing and is of course attributable to the
difference in the level of development between the
North and the South. In that regard, the countries of
origin, the countries of transit and the receiving
countries must intervene to seek humane solutions that
take into account the underlying causes of that
phenomenon. It is indeed clear that neither controls nor
repatriation will offer an adequate or sustainable
response to the problem.
 The issue of climate change is becoming one of
the most important and most urgent issues of our time,
as has been recognized by all, and it is urgent that we
act. The destinies of future generations depend on that.
In that context I wish to congratulate the Secretary-
General for his initiative in convening the High-level
Event on Climate Change, which has just been
concluded here.
 The holding of negotiations in December 2007 in
Bali, Indonesia, on the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and on the post-Kyoto
regime should also be a focus of our attention.
Furthermore, we welcome the intention of the Tunisian
Government to organize from 18 to 20 November
2007, an international conference on the effects of
climate change and strategies for adaptation on the
African continent and in the Mediterranean region. In
that domain we should try to reach a global agreement
that would be part of the United Nations Framework
Convention process and which would tackle the matter
of climate change in all its aspects.
 The challenges we have just discussed can only
be taken up on a global scale. The United Nations
should be at the forefront of that struggle and for that
purpose needs the active cooperation of all its
Members, particularly the great Powers. But it should
also constantly adapt itself to the changing realities of
our time so as to be in a position to efficiently fulfil its
mission.
 Accordingly, Cameroon attaches the greatest
importance to the reform of the United Nations. It
supports a progressive, gradual reform of the current
United Nations system which would take into account
the changing balances in the world in recent years and
the emergence of many new States. It is our intention
to continue to cooperate with other Member States for
a renewed United Nations, a model of modern and
effective governance, in its participation in world
affairs.


Mr. President, the Holy See takes this opportunity to
congratulate you on your election and looks forward to
working with you. At the same time, it is my pleasure
to greet the Secretary-General, His Excellency
Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and wish him well at his first full
session of the General Assembly.
 Less than a year ago, the General Assembly
approved the project to renovate these United Nations
Headquarters. Such material renovation seems an
appropriate reminder for States of the need to be
constantly renewed in the pursuit of the great
objectives that inspired the creation of the Organization
of the United Nations.
 Sixty-two years ago, the United Nations was
established in order to save future generations from the
scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in fundamental human
rights and in the dignity and value of the human
person, to ensure respect for international law and to
promote social progress in universal freedom. Today,
once more, we must reaffirm those values in order to
deliver a forceful “no” to war and an equally forceful
“yes” to human dignity.
 The Preamble of the Charter of the United
Nations, in its reference to the fundamental rights and
the dignity of the human person, uses the word “faith”
and links it to dialogue and cooperation among nations.
In this way it is affirmed that there is such a thing as
universal and transcendent truth about man and his
innate dignity, which is not only prior to all political
activity but determines it, so that no ideology of power
can eliminate it.
 This innate dignity also determines the just
measure of national interests, which may never be
considered absolute, and in defence of which not only
is it never right to harm the legitimate interests of other
States, but there is an obligation at the same time to
help promote the common good of all people. Respect
for human dignity, therefore, is the deepest ethical
foundation in the search for peace and in the building
up of international relations corresponding to the
authentic needs and hopes of all the peoples of the
Earth. To forget or to accept partially and selectively
that principle is what lies at the origin of conflict,
environmental degradation and social and economic
injustice.
 The terrorist attacks that marked the beginning of
the twenty-first century have given rise to pessimistic
visions of humanity based on a supposed clash of
civilizations. At times, people respond by returning to
extreme forms of nationalism, or by extending
justification for the use of force, or by further
relativizing values essentially tied to human dignity, in
particular the universal right to life and to religious
freedom.
 Nowadays, the binomial “culture and religion” is
increasingly heard in this Hall. The Holy See welcomes
the initiative to hold a High-level Dialogue on
Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and
Cooperation for Peace, which will take place here on
5 October under the leadership of the General
Assembly President. Indeed, dialogue among peoples
of different cultures and religions is not an option; it is
something that is indispensable for peace and for the
renewal of international life.
 The Holy See hopes that the increased interest on
the part of non-religious bodies and institutions will
contribute to a greater respect for religious freedom
everywhere. Today, the right to religious freedom
continues to be disregarded, and even violated, in
certain places. Such violations have become a pretext
for various other forms of discrimination. If religious
leaders and believers expect States and societies to
respect them and acknowledge their religions to be true
instruments of peace, they themselves must respect
religious freedom; they must show that they pledge to
promote peace and shun violence; they must
demonstrate that religion is not and must not become a
pretext for conflict; and they must declare without
ambiguity that to promote violence or to wage war in
the name of religion is a blatant contradiction.
 At the difficult crossroads at which humanity
finds itself today, the use of force no longer represents
a sustainable solution. It is important to help the
Conference on Disarmament find a way out of the
impasse in which it has been languishing for more than
a decade, to relieve the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons from the severe strain to which it
has been increasingly subjected lately, and to give new
impetus to recognizing the value of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. This year’s fiftieth
anniversary of the entry into force of the Statute of the
International Atomic Energy Agency is a most fitting
occasion to reaffirm our commitment to a peaceful
future through the non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons, the reduction and definitive dismantling of
existing nuclear weapons and the non-discriminatory,
peaceful and safe use of nuclear technology.
 Moreover, this Organization must take further
steps on arms control in the field of conventional
weapons, including small arms and light weapons. The
Holy See associates itself with all appeals that
underline the importance of adopting a common
approach aimed at combating not only illegal traffic in
such weapons but also other connected activities, such
as terrorism, organized crime and trafficking in drugs
and in precious raw materials.
 Another important area in which the Holy See
urges serious and effective action on the part of the
international community is that of cluster munitions. A
rapid response to this problem is becoming an ethical
imperative because of the high cost in human life, the
majority of the victims being civilians, especially
children.
 This Organization has expressed its willingness
many times to devote more resources to conflict
prevention, particularly in the area of mediation. In this
regard, the Holy See has a particular interest in the
efforts of the Department of Political Affairs to create a
standing team of expert mediators as part of the
Secretary-General’s goal to make more effective use of
his good offices for conflict prevention. While the
multiplication of peace operations could mean that
there has been a failure to prevent conflict situations
from erupting into full-scale armed conflicts, it is also
a sign of the trust that the international community
places in the mechanisms of the United Nations and in
their cooperation with regional agencies. In this
context, we look forward to the day that peacekeeping
efforts in Darfur will finally be fully operational.
 I wish to recall the contribution of the United
Nations towards a just and final solution to the
conflicts that for too long have caused bloodshed in the
Middle East. There is need for renewed commitment
on the part of all Member countries in the pacification
and reconstruction of long-suffering Iraq, a
reconstruction that is more moral and political than
economic. There is a need for renewed commitment in
the search for a solution through dialogue of the
conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, one which is
capable of recognizing the legitimate expectations of
each side.
 Renewed commitment is needed in ensuring that
Lebanon will continue to be a free and independent
country, a democratic, multicultural and multi-
confessional society, equitable and respectful of all
people and of the various trends present in its midst,
like a common home open to others. This is
particularly necessary in the present crucial period
leading to an election of the new head of State.
 Finally, I cannot but make reference to what is
happening in Myanmar, which these days occupies the
attention and concerns of the General Assembly and of
the whole international community. I wish to reiterate
the appeal made yesterday by Pope Benedict XVI:
through dialogue, good will and a spirit of humanity,
may a solution to the crisis be found quickly for the
good of the country and a better future for all its
inhabitants.
 The creation two years ago of the Peacebuilding
Commission was based upon the conviction that it is
not enough to put an end to wars, but it is also
necessary to help reconstruct individual lives and the
social and institutional fabric. Now, the biggest test for
the international community is to give the
Peacebuilding Commission the mandate and the means
to prove on the ground that it can successfully manage
and support the difficult transition from war and
misery to peace and development.
 Many of the problems that are attributed today
almost exclusively to cultural and religious differences
have their origin in economic and social injustice.
Freedom from want, illness, hunger and ignorance is a
necessary precondition for a serene dialogue of
civilizations. Forty years ago, in his encyclical
Populorum Progressio, Pope Paul VI stated that
development is the new name for peace. The Holy See
is concerned about the inability of rich countries to
offer the poorest countries, especially those in Africa,
financial and trade conditions capable of promoting
their sustainable development.
 I salute the high-level event on climate change
held here on 24 September. The Holy See wishes to
underline once again the moral imperative incumbent
upon each and every one of us in safeguarding the
environment   our fundamental common good.
 We are approaching the sixtieth anniversary of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, yet many
have never heard of it or been given the benefits of its
principles. Those rights are not based on the mere will
of human beings, or in the reality of the State or in
public powers, but rather are grounded in the objective
requirements of the nature bestowed on man.
 The most important part of our work in that
context is to ensure that the right to life is respected
everywhere. That fundamental right must be protected
from conception until natural death. Therefore, we
must work to stop and reverse the culture of death
embraced by some social and legal structures that try to
make the suppression of life acceptable by disguising it
as a medical or social service. In that sense, the
abolition of the death penalty should also be seen as a
consequence of full respect for the right to life.
 The legitimate quest for equality between men
and women has achieved positive results. Nevertheless,
inequalities in the exercise of basic human rights
unfortunately still persist in many places. That leads to
a breakdown in the social fabric and results in women’s
objectification and exploitation. The vindication of
equality needs to be accompanied by the awareness
that it goes hand in hand with and does not endanger,
much less contradict, the recognition of both the
difference and the complementarity between men and
women.
 The Holy See looks forward to the
commemorative high-level meeting on the follow-up to
the outcome of the special session on children,
scheduled for 11 and 12 December 2007. It will be an
opportunity to refocus our commitments to children
and to redouble our efforts to promote their rights, end
violence against them and support the family.
 Faith in human dignity demands that the problem
of migration be approached in the context of human
rights, family rights and children’s rights. While it is
essential to fight human trafficking and legitimate to
curb illegal migration, no one can justify measures
which put lives at risk or gravely offend human dignity
and human rights. The Holy See welcomes the
momentum created by the first meeting of the Global
Forum on Migration and Development, held in
Brussels in July, and looks forward to more progress in
that regard.
 We must continue to ensure that peace and
security and development and human rights are
effectively combined and mutually reinforcing, in
order to show the international community that the
renovation of United Nations Headquarters is not only
physical, but also a renewal of the Organization’s
ideals and intentions. A renewal that reaches into the
deepest corners of the Organization is one in which all
nations of the world will rightly take pride.


I am happy to have this
opportunity to address the General Assembly at its
sixty-second session. I convey my congratulations
Mr. Kerim on his election as President of the Assembly
at this session. The Malawi Government would like to
assure him of our support in carrying out his duties as
President.
 I also take this opportunity to thank our hosts,
President George W. Bush and the Government and the
people of the United States of America, for the
hospitality accorded to me and my delegation since our
arrival in the state of New York.
 I commend the previous President of the
Assembly, Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed
Al Khalifa, for the sterling leadership, direction and
guidance she gave in steering the Assembly at its sixty-
first session.
 I wish to focus my address on Malawi’s efforts to
meet the objectives of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Malawi believes that the MDGs are the
tools for enhancing growth and development and for
improving the livelihood of people in the poor
countries of the world. I am pleased to state that my
country is making steady progress in the
implementation of the MDGs. We have adopted the
Malawi Growth and Development Strategy as a home-
grown overarching national policy for creating new
wealth, for achieving sustainable economic growth and
development and for combating the poverty that still
engulfs many of our people.
 The people of Malawi share a common vision to
eliminate poverty in the shortest period possible by
transforming the country from a predominantly
importing and consuming to a predominantly
manufacturing and exporting economy. That, we
believe, will enable our country to position itself
within the global economy and to compete favourably
in the world markets.
 To achieve that vision, we are implementing a
sound system of economic governance in both the
public and private sectors. That includes fighting
corruption, reform of the public and private sectors,
safeguarding human rights and the rule of law,
increasing social protection for vulnerable groups, and
developing infrastructure for development. My
Government has also placed research, science and
technology, including information and communications
technology, gender empowerment and environmental
protection, at the top of our development paradigm.
 Based on the limitation of our resources, financial
and human alike, we have identified six priorities
within priorities that we believe can pull Malawi out of
the poverty trap. Those include agricultural
development and food security, irrigation and water
development, transport and communications
infrastructure development, energy and power,
integrated rural development, and management and
prevention of HIV and AIDS. I am pleased to report
that the Malawi Government began to implement those
priorities in 2004 and that, by 2006, we had achieved a
phenomenal growth rate of 8.5 per cent. We therefore
believe that the selection of these top priorities is a
good one. We are also implementing an effective
system of income distribution targeting the rural poor. I
can therefore boldly say that the Malawi Government
is confident that most of the Millennium Development
Goals will be met or even surpassed by the year 2015.
 I now wish to briefly review some of the
Millennium Development Goals. For instance, we are
certain to decrease by half the proportion of the
population that suffers from extreme poverty and
hunger, and to improve their nutritional status by the
year 2015. Malawi has also made significant progress
in the past three years in reducing poverty. In 1998, for
instance, people living below the poverty line
represented 53.9 per cent of the total population. That
number was reduced to 45 per cent in 2006.
 For the past two years, Malawi has achieved a
high rate of agricultural production and food security.
Presently, Malawi has a food surplus amounting to 1.4
million metric tons over and above our national food
requirement. We are now able to export food to other
countries in southern Africa.
 Malawi has one of the highest budgetary
allocations to agriculture and food security. We are
empowering smallholder farmers to access essential
farm inputs, mainly seeds and fertilizer, through a
subsidy programme. We also support the development
of viable small-, medium- and large-scale irrigation
schemes to reduce dependence on rain-fed agriculture.
 The other aspect of the MDGs that Malawi
considers critical is the reduction in maternal and child
mortality. Here again, my country has achieved
remarkable progress, largely through the adoption of
the Essential Health Package as the main strategy for
the delivery of a cost-effective package of health
services through a donor-funded sector-wide approach
programme. We are also addressing the challenge to
reduce the under-five mortality rate by two thirds by
the year 2015 and to reduce the maternal mortality
ratio by three quarters.
 We have identified several highly preventable and
treatable diseases, such as malaria, pneumonia,
diarrhoea and malnutrition. Malawi is therefore on
track towards attaining the Millennium Development
Goals. We have reduced the rate of child deaths per
1,000 from 189 live births in 2000 to 133 in 2006.
 In the fight against malaria, Malawi has so far
distributed about 5 million insecticide-treated mosquito
nets to various households. The percentage of pregnant
women and children under five sleeping under treated
nets increased from 8 per cent in 2000 to 20 per cent in
2006. In 2007, we plan to give out 3 million more
mosquito nets with support from the Global Fund and
President George Bush’s Malaria Initiative in that area.
 One of Malawi’s biggest challenges is the
management and prevention of tuberculosis, whose
prevalence rate is very high, especially with regard to
patients having HIV and AIDS. The Malawi
Government has therefore declared tuberculosis to be
an emergency and launched a five-year plan for
addressing the problem.
 I am pleased to state that Malawi is one of the
few African countries that have been successful in
meeting the challenges of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
Malawi has also been successful in its public
awareness campaign about the HIV/AIDS epidemic
and its consequences. In 2004, Malawi had 14
voluntary counselling and testing centres, and those
have now been increased to 250. Over 5 million people
within Malawi have been tested within a period of less
than three years. With the support of the Bill Clinton
Foundation, Malawi now has over 130,000 people
receiving free antiretroviral drugs. Additionally, in the
prevention of mother-to-child transmission of HIV and
AIDS, we are now reaching over 60 per cent of
pregnant women in Malawi. The General Assembly
may wish to note that the Malawi national HIV and
AIDS and antiretroviral therapy programmes are
among the fastest growing in the world and that the
pandemic is showing signs of a decline.
 I wish to reiterate the statement I made to this
Assembly in 2006 that we should regard HIV and
AIDS not only as a medical crisis, but also as having
economic, socio-cultural and political dimensions. That
being the case, the solution to the crisis must be
comprehensive and holistic. I have therefore
established a Department of Nutrition, HIV and AIDS
in my Office as a technical arm in implementing the
Millennium Development Goals. I am also pleased to
report that, from 2004 to date, Malawi has developed a
national nutrition policy and accompanying documents
as a guide for action. As a result, 350,000 orphans are
now getting nutrition support. That has reduced the
negative impacts of malnutrition, HIV and AIDS, such
as absenteeism, and many of those affected now return
to work quickly and are reintegrated into the economy.
 The Government of Malawi recognizes that water
is life. We have therefore placed high priority on the
development of our water resources. We are
rehabilitating water-supply schemes and are
constructing many earthen dams country-wide to allow
rural communities access to clean water. Currently,
about 66 per cent of the population has access to safe
and clean water. Malawi is therefore confident that the
MDG on access to water for all will be achieved before
2015.
 In the area of universal primary education, the
MDGs have set the target for universal primary
education for both boys and girls. Malawi has a very
high budget allocation for education, science and
technology, in order to meet the relevant MDG. To
date, 60 per cent of Malawi’s children are enrolled in
primary schools. We are also creating a conductive
teaching and learning environment in order to reduce
absenteeism, poor performance and drop-out rates.
 Malawi is on the right path to achieving the Goal
on the management of natural resources and
environmental sustainability. We have reviewed our
natural resources policies, legislation and programmes
to curb the misuse and abuse of natural resources and
to prevent environmental degradation. My Government
is involving rural communities in the management of
such existing resources as forestry, as well as in annual
national tree planting for reforestation and the
prevention of soil erosion and desertification.
Furthermore, the Government is implementing
management programmes for the sequestration of
carbon, as well as other ecosystem services to
encourage the extensive planting of trees.
 In the area of gender equality the MDGs set out
to promote gender equality and the empowerment of
women by integrating targeted programmes for women
to enable them to become part of economic growth.
Malawi has a high level of female adult illiteracy,
namely, 48 per cent   as compared to 24 per cent for
men. However, girls in Malawi also have a high drop-
out rate from the formal schooling system, as well as
high vulnerability to HIV and AIDS infection. We are
addressing those problems.
 My Government is also empowering women in
the political, economic and social areas. In the past
three years, there have been more women in ministerial
and other management positions than ever before. The
following key positions are now held by women: the
posts of attorney-general, deputy governor of the
Reserve Bank of Malawi, five full Cabinet ministers,
one deputy minister, chairperson of the human rights
commission, clerk of Parliament and several
ambassadors, principal secretaries and chairpersons of
statutory corporations.
 I would like to conclude by stating that Malawi
has successfully positioned itself to attain the MDGs.
We are optimistic that many of those objectives will be
attained. We therefore appeal to the United Nations to
recognize Malawi’s heroic efforts and assist us to
maintain the development momentum.
 I would also like to appeal to our development
partners to support Malawi’s policy to manufacture
new goods and to provide new services to meet the
MDGs. We need support to conduct our own research
and to apply science and technology   including
information and communication technology   to
create new wealth, to build new capacity and to move
Malawi from poverty to prosperity.


The pleasure is mine at
this juncture, to join the other Members of the United
Nations family in congratulating you, Mr. President on
your election as President of the General Assembly at
its sixty-second session. We wish you success in all
your efforts and assure you of our full cooperation. We
also wish to express our appreciation to your
predecessor, Sheika Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for the
diligent manner in which she spearheaded the work of
this body at its sixty-first session.
In similar vein, we express our continued support
for the endeavours of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon.
We are confident that he will continue to provide
committed leadership to this Organization in the
defence and promotion of its noble principles and
values in every corner of the globe.
 I begin my address on a sad note. It is with much
pain that I must inform this body that the person who
brought Saint Lucia to independence and consequently
to this body and who, but for the will of the Almighty
would have addressed you today   Sir John George
Melvin Compton, our first and latest Prime Minister
was laid to rest in Saint Lucia last Tuesday,
18 September. Our nation and region suffered a great
loss, but we remain committed to seizing every
opportunity to carry on his life’s work of aiding the
cause that needs assistance against the wrong that
needs resistance, and in so doing continue to honour
him. What I am about to say reflects his thoughts on
and aspirations for this Assembly and for the United
Nations Organization in general.
 We note that a significant part of our journey
towards the realization of the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs) has been covered in terms of time and
that in some respects there has been some achievement
to date. However, it is also true that only mixed
progress, regionally and internationally, has been
recorded so far. Millions continue to live in conditions
of abject poverty, despite the commitments made in
2000 and 2005. The sad fact is that a great deal of work
still remains to be done, and urgently, if we are to
achieve the MDGs and see real changes in the
conditions of existence for such large numbers of
people.
 We would be well advised to embark upon a
period of serious reflection and stock-taking, an
exercise involving an honest assessment of our
achievements and failures, with a view to repositioning
ourselves as necessary to ensure that we achieve the
noble objectives set out in the Millennium
Development Goals by the projected year 2015.
 On our own front, Saint Lucia has made
significant strides over the years towards the
achievement of the MDGs. We intend to continue on a
steady path towards that end. Not only has the country
attained universal primary education, but a programme
of universal access to free secondary education for our
young citizens has been introduced.
 Saint Lucia’s progress in the health sector is also
evident. Over the last 25 years, the country has
experienced significant improvements in most health-
related indicators, including life expectancy,
immunization coverage and infant mortality, while
significant reductions have been experienced in respect
of communicable diseases and lifestyle-related
illnesses. A universal programme of free health care is
currently in the early stages of implementation.
 Over the years, too, Saint Lucia has consistently
worked toward a reduction in the incidence of
non-communicable diseases. Serious attention has also
been given to combating the HIV/AIDS problem,
which remains a major challenge to Saint Lucia and
other countries in the Caribbean region. Efforts to
address this issue are being pursued, mainly through
education, including the elimination of stigma
associated with this disease, early detection and
treatment programmes and the provision of free or
subsidized antiretroviral drugs.
 As a small island developing State, Saint Lucia
finds it beneficial to undertake this daunting task
through regional and international cooperation.
Accordingly, through the Pan-Caribbean Partnership
against HIV/AIDS, we collaborate with other countries
in the wider Caribbean region in addressing the
pandemic. While this regional mechanism, which
includes the 15 members of the Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) as well as other countries in the wider
Caribbean region, has facilitated our cooperative
approach to addressing this challenge, it is clear that
increased and sustained international cooperation is
critical to our efforts if we are to succeed in our fight
against this disease. In this regard, we welcome the
assistance being provided by the Global Fund to Fight
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, working with other
partners, and we look forward to its continued support.
 Let me take this opportunity to thank our
traditional friends and donors, such as the United
Kingdom, the United States, Canada, France, the
European Union and the Commonwealth, to name the
most prominent, who over the years have provided
much financial and technical assistance to our country
and to the region. We also welcome the contribution of
those other States and institutions that have
demonstrated their readiness to work with us in the
realization of our development objectives. We are, of
course, always willing to develop new beneficial
relationships and to collaborate with all who
understand and appreciate our efforts and our
principles. In this regard, we take special note of the
announcement by Norway of its pledge of $1 billion
over 10 years to support the Millennium Goals on child
and maternal support.
 Within the context of South-South cooperation,
Saint Lucia will continue to work with other
developing country partners in its quest for economic
and social development. In the light of the positive
benefits gained from cooperation programmes with
those partners, we remain convinced that, according to
the United Nations Development Programme
Administrator’s report on this issue, South-South
cooperation is one of the main drivers of development
effectiveness, requiring its integration in the
development cooperation activities of all the
organizations in the United Nations system.
 Saint Lucia therefore welcomes continued United
Nations support for efforts geared towards
strengthening and advancing South-South cooperation.
We are convinced that this cooperation modality should
be strengthened in partnership with our developed
country partners and other stakeholders and should
therefore complement rather than substitute for North-
South cooperation.
 The Government of Saint Lucia reiterates its
commitment to the ideals of regionalism and to the
deepening of the integration process within our region.
Saint Lucia continues to partner with sister States of
the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States and the
wider Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to develop
mechanisms, including the Eastern Caribbean States
Economic Union and the Caribbean Community Single
Market and Economy, to enhance the prospects for
improving the quality of life of our people. We
therefore welcome the assistance of this body and that
of those who have travelled the road to regionalism
before us.
 Saint Lucia is pleased to note that Haiti’s march
toward democratic governance, recommenced just over
one year ago, continues to be assisted and sustained by
the generous efforts of the international community.
While we had hoped for a longer mandate period for
the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti in
that country, we accept the decision of the Security
Council to extend that mandate to enable it to continue
to work towards ensuring that Haiti’s political and
social stability are restored and maintained.
 Under no circumstance should Haiti be left
stranded in midstream, as the consequences would be
too catastrophic to contemplate. We continue,
therefore, to call for the sustained release of pledged
development resources so that the Government and the
people of Haiti may continue to meaningfully, and in a
sustainable manner, address the numerous challenges
facing their country.
 Saint Lucia places great importance on the
follow-up of the international development agenda
espoused in the Monterrey Consensus on financing for
development. Given the plethora of challenges
confronting developing countries such as Saint Lucia
in this increasingly globalized and inequitable
international economy, financing for development
continues to be key to the achievement of the MDGs
and the internationally agreed development goals.
 Saint Lucia recognizes the important
commitments made over the years by some developed
country partners with regard to development finance.
We also appreciate the pledges made to significantly
improve the level of official development assistance
(ODA) in order to achieve the goal of 0.7 per cent of
developed countries’ gross domestic product.
Moreover, we are pleased about the Group of Eight
decision in 2005 to forgive the debt of some African
countries, and its more recent decision to double
development assistance to Africa.
 We lament, however, that, despite these
commitments, development assistance declined in
2006. Moreover, development financing continued to
be subject to conditionalities imposed by donors and
failed to meet and support the nationally defined
priorities of developing countries. It is our hope that
the 2008 Doha Review Conference will seriously
address those concerns in the light of the significance
of financing for development at this stage of our
journey towards 2015.
 Saint Lucia is well aware of the increasing
interdependence that characterizes this international
community, the importance of building partnerships
and the need to work within a multilateral framework
in order to meet the challenges of this century. For this
reason, we welcome the continued search for ways to
reposition the United Nations system so it can better
fulfil its mandate in accordance with its Charter. While
we are conscious of the magnitude of the task of
reforming the United Nations, we remain confident that
Member States will bring the requisite political will to
bear on the process.
 Saint Lucia continues to underscore the
importance of social and economic development, basic
human rights, mutual respect and goodwill among
nations, and their relevance to the maintenance of
international peace and security. For these reasons, we
are concerned that peace and security remain the
exclusive preserve of the Security Council and a few
select Member States. Saint Lucia continues to support
reform and expansion of the Security Council aimed at
making it more representative. It is our hope that this
reform would reflect the role and contribution of
developing countries in helping to resolve the ever-
growing and increasingly complex challenges of
today’s world.
 Many, if not all of our countries celebrate our
sovereignty with pomp, ceremony and pride, and in
accordance with that sovereignty, we take our seat in
this body. All of the rules and requirements for
membership are spelled out in the Charter of our noble
institution. Within this body our relationship with our
partners is based on a commitment to the principles of
mutual respect and understanding. For this reason, we
recognize that the Republic of China   Taiwan   a
democratic country of over 23 million people, has
continued to abide by the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations, although it is not a
Member of the United Nations. Taiwan has made
significant contributions to global development by
providing economic and technical assistance to other
developing countries in their pursuit of development
and their attainment of the MDGs.
 We believe that sovereignty is derived from the
will of peoples and from the realization or actualization
of the right to self-determination. We are therefore
saddened that the will of the people of Taiwan,
expressed by their duly elected representatives,
continues to be ignored by this body. Saint Lucia
therefore looks forward to the day when Taiwan will
assume its place alongside other countries of the world
in the halls of this Organization.
 For small States, peace and security are critical to
their sustainable development. Thus, the spread of
small arms to our region continues to be an especially
disturbing issue and is a major contributing factor to
crime and insecurity. This situation is particularly
ironic given the fact that neither arms nor ammunition
are produced in our region. We therefore call on those
States that produce small arms and ammunition to
enact appropriate measures to reduce their illicit
export, which threatens the security and stability of the
Caribbean.
 Saint Lucia and other small island developing
States continue to express concerns about our extreme
vulnerability to the adverse impacts of climate change.
Small islands and low-lying coastal areas are
threatened daily by the impact of a rising sea level,
while others are already experiencing the untold effects
created by the increase in the melting of polar ice and
the consequent loss of significant portions of their land
mass.
 For us, this climate change issue is directly
related to our development. It threatens the very core
of our social, economic and political security. It
threatens our very existence.
 The dangers we face as a result of the hazardous
level of greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere are well known and documented. Urgent,
resolute action is therefore required to reverse this
situation.
 Saint Lucia welcomes the efforts currently being
made to place the issue of climate change more visibly
on the agenda of the United Nations. We acknowledge
the recent G-8 commitment to work positively within
the framework of the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change to address the issue.
We maintain the view that this important issue should
be discussed within the appropriate forums in order not
to lose sight of the real development-related objectives
that vulnerable small island developing countries like
Saint Lucia are seeking to promote.
 Saint Lucia joins with other members of the
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) in calling for
the problems of the rise of sea level and climate change
to be addressed as a matter of urgency. We will
continue to play our part through the development of
appropriate national development strategies and the
creation of mechanisms to enable us to mitigate against
and adapt to the adverse impact of climate change. We
stress, however, that the largest producers of
greenhouse gases must bear the responsibility for the
damage being caused to the global environment and in
particular to the vulnerable countries whose
sustainability and very existence are increasingly
threatened by their actions.
 We remain concerned that the international
community has yet to honour its responsibility and
commitment to the full implementation of the
Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of
the Programme of Action for the Sustainable
Development of Small Island Developing States. We
insist on the urgent and proper mainstreaming of the
Strategy into the appropriate work programmes of the
United Nations agencies and international conventions.
We look forward to the thirteenth meeting of the
Conference of Parties on Bali in Indonesia in
December of this year, where we hope significant
negotiations will be launched with a view to seriously
addressing the disastrous effects of climate change on
small island developing States. It is our wish that this
Conference of Parties should seek to achieve
substantial and legally binding emission reductions in
the shortest possible period, as well as explore ways to
significantly increase the level of resources available to
developing countries, and to the small island
developing States, in particular, to assist in adapting to
the impacts of climate change.
 While economic and trade policy reform, in
principle, holds much promise for small developing
countries, the international community must
understand that the “one size fits all” approach to trade
arrangements is inappropriate and unrealistic and will
not advance the cause of equitable global economic
development. This approach has led to a reversal in
many small States of the progress made through hard
work and sacrifice by their populations.
 This fact is most evident in the case of Saint
Lucia and other small banana- and sugar-producing
countries of the Eastern Caribbean. The mindless
application of inappropriate rules has caused much
pain among the same populations that are being
challenged to meet the MDGs. Saint Lucia therefore
reiterates its call for the establishment of a set of
trading rules flexible enough to take into account the
concerns of small States, assist them in promoting
economic development, provide opportunities for their
people and, consequently, assist them in achieving the
MDGs by the stipulated deadline date.
 Lastly, and looking towards the future, children
are the future, and poverty impacts children
disproportionately, seriously affecting their ability to
achieve. Unless we can all maintain the development
momentum achieved by previous generations, the
future of our children, and indeed our societies, will be
characterized by insecurity.
 Saint Lucia therefore looks forward to the high-
level plenary meeting devoted to the follow-up to the
outcome of the special session on children, to be
convened in December to evaluate progress made in
the implementation of the Declaration and Plan of
Action (resolution S-27/2, annex), bearing in mind that
several of the time-bound and quantified commitments
should have already been met.
 We in Saint Lucia will continue to spend a
considerable amount of our resources on our children,
and we hope that the international community will
come to the aid of all those who recognize the future in
children, providing for them an enabling environment
for advancement through opportunity, safety, love and
peace.


Mr. President, at the outset I should like to offer you
my sincere congratulations on your brilliant election to
the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-
second session. I assure you of my delegation’s full
cooperation. It will spare no effort to contribute to the
success of the deliberations of this session, at your
side, of course, because Benin is one of the Vice-
Presidents.
 I also pay tribute to the excellent job done by
your predecessor, Her Excellency Mrs. Haya Rashed
Al-Khalifa. Throughout her term she was able to give
new momentum to the General Assembly by
relaunching the dialogue on the implementation of the
global partnership for development. Under her clear
direction our delegations were able to thoroughly study
the many questions that have been pending within the
framework of the implementation of the conclusions of
the 2005 Summit, and they have been able to assess the
challenges to be met.
 We also express appreciation to the new United
Nations Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban
Ki-moon. He has been able to follow in the footsteps of
his illustrious predecessor, Mr. Kofi Annan, by
maintaining the pace of his reforms. Mr. Ban has not
only maintained the momentum of the reforms but has
also given them a visible personal mark that denotes a
will to streamline in an innovative and consensual way
the use of resources available for concrete action in
keeping with the perils that confront us.
 We support the United Nations, which must assert
itself as an effective organization, capable of serving as
a melting pot for multilateral, inclusive, productive and
conclusive cooperation in the search for appropriate
solutions to the many challenges of our time.
 These challenges include ongoing conflicts, the
rise of extremism, the weakening and destabilization of
entire regions, the continued impoverishment of the
most vulnerable populations and the practice of trade
subsidies and protectionism in developed countries.
They deny us our comparative advantages and stifle
our producers by distorting the international market. It
is necessary and urgent to establish a safety net so that
African countries affected by subsidies can compensate
for the enormous losses that they suffer. In addition,
social inequalities between States and within our
societies are ever greater. The proliferation of endemic
diseases decimates human resources. Malnutrition,
desertification and coastal erosion dangerously reduce
vital space and accentuate competition for survival,
together with repeated flooding resulting from global
warming linked to climate change.
 We have indeed made considerable progress since
the Rio Summit in terms of the implementation of
instruments for global governance in the area of the
environment. Given the warnings and many alarms that
scientists have sent us in recent years we now need to
accelerate their comprehensive implementation,
because they give clear guidance to the efforts
undertaken by men to restore control over phenomena
and changes that jeopardize the conditions of our
existence on Earth. It is urgent to maximize synergies
within the framework of the implementation of these
instruments to ensure greater effectiveness. That is one
of the urgent tasks to be put on the agenda of the
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change scheduled
for December 2007 in Bali, Indonesia.
 The risks stemming from climate change are
terrifying, particularly for low-income coastal
countries such as Benin. They dictate that we act in
advance instead of in response because we need to deal
with well-established contingencies via a precautionary
approach and by consistent implementation of the
principle of common but differentiated responsibility.
Beyond the vast investments required to deal with
coastal erosion and the deterioration of lands, the
eradication of poverty and improving the living
conditions of the poorest sections of the population are
essential aspects of efforts undertaken to strengthen the
resistance of our societies to the negative impacts of
climate change.
 Above all we must increase our efforts to
transform our patterns of consumption and global
energy policies by using renewable energy sources. By
way of example, switching from firewood to solar
stoves would save many hectares of forests that are
annually decimated by the poorest populations to
ensure their energy supplies. It has been established
that the manner in which the world’s energy needs,
particularly those of developing countries, will be
covered in the decades to come will be key to our
ability to address climate change. We need to carry out
a change of mindset to bring about a change in
behaviour. To do this, the question of financing needs
to be resolved in a clearly understood spirit of
international solidarity and interdependence.
 The international community will need to deliver
on the pledges made in Monterrey and Gleneagles by
mobilizing the funds to ensure implementation of the
national programmes of action and adaptation and the
implementation of the Millennium Development Goals.
It is fortunate that the high-level dialogue to be held in
New York on 23 and 24 October 2007 and the meeting
to be held in Qatar in 2008 will give us an opportunity
to bring about a thorough evaluation of the situation in
order to seek the optimum solutions to the problems
before us.
 Assessing performance in the area of financing
for development is how we should measure the
effectiveness of international financial institutions. Our
hope is that appropriate reforms will be undertaken so
that they will be able to fully shoulder their
responsibilities in terms of mobilizing resources for
poor countries so that they can make up the lag.
 Special attention needs to be given also to
internal constraints related to governance and to the
meagre mobilization of local resources that curb
economic and social development. The Government of
Benin, for example, has intensified its efforts to root
out corruption and promote transparent and effective
management of public finances. Our efforts in these
areas are coupled with measures to facilitate
investment, including the establishment of a
presidential investment council and the proclamation
of free nursery and primary schooling, measures that
have been judged to be essential for the continued
strengthening of democracy, economic growth and
social progress. The assistance from the international
community is greatly appreciated and is now being
directed exclusively to the goals agreed upon. In this
regard, Benin has joined the peer review mechanism
instituted by the African Union within the framework
of the promotion of good governance and
peacebuilding continent-wide.
 Our search for solutions to the new threats can
only progress if we are able to preserve international
peace and security. It is disappointing that our efforts
since the 2005 Summit to reform the body which has
the primary responsibility for this, have been less than
conclusive. We need to rekindle our fervour in order to
give the Organization a Security Council that is more
representative in terms of its membership and more
transparent and effective in its working methods.
Whatever the formula decided upon, reform of the
Security Council cannot be viable if it does not take
into account the realities of today’s world, which differ
greatly from those of the 1940s. It cannot be fair if it
does not rationally rectify the boundless harm done to
Africa by excluding it from the category of permanent
members of the Security Council.
 Reform of the Council will undoubtedly reflect
on its authority and its ability to fulfil its mandate in a
satisfactory manner with respect to the situations
concerning the fundamental principles of the Charter,
such as the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, which
is more than 50 years old now. That conflict continues
to destabilize the Middle East, and it cannot be
otherwise so long as the vision of two sovereign,
contiguous States has not been implemented and the
occupied territories, including the Golan Heights and
the Shaba’a farmlands, have not been returned.
 We are also concerned by the continued arms race
and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
as well as the stalemate in the multilateral negotiations.
We need to stem the illicit trafficking in small arms and
light weapons by adopting and implementing a treaty
on arms trafficking. The proliferation of non-State
armed groups, widespread violations of international
humanitarian law and war crimes against civilian
populations, particularly against women and children
in situations of conflict, must continue to be given our
unswerving attention. The perpetrators of these crimes
need to be tried by the International Criminal Court,
whose role as a deterrent needs to be enhanced by
greater cooperation with the Security Council and the
authority to initiate proceedings itself. We welcome the
fact that great progress has been made in the
deployment of a United Nations mechanism for
monitoring and outreach on the recruitment and use of
children in armed conflicts and on the possibility of it
being extended.
 Cooperation between the United Nations and the
African Union within the framework of the
implementation of the Union’s 10-year plan of support
for capacity-building needs to be continued in
accordance with the spirit of Chapter VIII of the
Charter. Management of the situation in Darfur has
given us a field for experimentation that will enable us
to draw lessons to strengthen the effectiveness of this
cooperation beyond the constraints and handicaps by
looking at optimal solutions. We welcome the
establishment of the hybrid force. Our hope is that its
numerical and logistical capacities will enable it to
deal with the crisis. We hope that similar efforts will be
undertaken for Somalia.
 The promotion of human dignity is necessary to
be able continually to strengthen international peace
and security. It is at the heart of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, proclaimed on
10 December 1948. We commemorate its sixtieth
anniversary next year. This is an opportunity to
undertake singular and proactive action to disseminate
human rights for rural and peri-urban populations and
communities, which are for the most part illiterate.
These social strata have been cut off from the benefits
of human rights but would be empowered and would
become responsible for their own fulfilment if given
access to human rights.
 My country, which is firmly committed to
democracy, here reiterates its unswerving commitment
to make an effective contribution commensurate with
its means to the protection and promotion of human
dignity. That is the aim of my country’s proposal for a
new agenda item at the current session of the General
Assembly with the consensus title of “Celebration of
the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights”. A draft resolution will be submitted
and negotiated under this item. It could also serve as
the framework for the proclamation of an international
year for the promotion, dissemination and
appropriation of human rights.
 In that connection, my country, together with the
United Nations Democracy Fund (UNDEF) and all
interested parties, proposes to organize an international
conference in 2008 on the challenges and issues
involved in democratic changes of government. I urge
all United Nations Member States to support these
initiatives so that they will come to pass for the
betterment of our peoples.


I am honoured to join
previous delegations in congratulating the President on
his election as President of this Assembly at its sixty-
second session. Let me assure him of Grenada’s
unconditional support as he guides our important and
crucial deliberations towards a fruitful and tangible
conclusion.
 I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to Mrs.
Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, who laboured tirelessly
during her presidency of the Assembly at its sixty-first
session, and to her timely and productive initiatives. In
addition, my delegation would like to renew its support
to the Secretary-General in his endeavour to advance
the agenda of the United Nations and to make it more
effective.
 In his opening remarks to this General Assembly
the President identified five areas as our priorities:
climate change, economic development, the
Millennium Development Goals, terrorism and United
Nations reform. Grenada salutes that vision in
recognizing the critical issues facing our world today,
and it is through this lens that I would like to project
the views of my country.
 On the question of climate change, we applaud
the Secretary-General for convening the recently
concluded High-level Event on Climate Change, and
we are satisfied that this will provide the stimulus and
momentum required for the forthcoming negotiations
in Bali. Indeed, for this sixty-second session, my
delegation welcomes the tremendous emphasis being
placed on climate change and, based on the statements
made thus far, we are heartened to note the
overwhelming commitment to preparing a better world
for our future generations.
 The recently concluded event was not our first
attempt. Climate change was also addressed in Rio de
Janeiro, Barbados and Mauritius. It seems that we are
blessed with a penchant for songs of praise in this
multilateral temple of commitment and sacrifice. The
chorus of our voices reverberates loudly in these halls
of wisdom, only to sound a hollow note as we exit the
archways of these chambers and backslide into reality.
As in all of these conferences, the real challenge that
we face is to convert what seems like a religious
fervour into good deeds in the neighbourhood of our
global village. As we preach, so too must we become
converts. Let us move from resolutions to results.
 As we head towards Bali, we must craft a
negotiating table that extends well beyond the
dimensions of the intergovernmental process. That
table must have seats for the unborn generations, as
well as seats for this generation wishing to taste the
social and economic prosperity of a new world order.
 Because of sea-level rise, we in the small island
States face the spectre of environmental refugees and
our people are already being displaced. For example,
the Maldives with its 1,900 islands, that country has
undertaken significant expenditure building sea
defences and in creating safe zone resettlements for its
people.
 The low-lying islands and countries of the world
deserve a far more robust and accountable response
from the international community. In that regard, we
welcome the investigation in the Maldives of the
human dimensions of climate change.
 As Grenada knows so well, the effects of climate
change represent the most dangerous threat to the
economic development, peace and security and
territorial existence of small island States. We therefore
welcome the efforts of the British Mission here in New
York, which has worked ceaselessly to raise awareness
and understanding of the threat posed by climate
change, echoing the very concerns that many small
States and low-lying coastal nations have raised over
the last 15 years.
 In fact, one thing that has become painfully clear
to Grenada is how easily   in the blink of an eye
an entire country can be flattened. In our case, it was
the eye of Hurricane Ivan. Hurricanes and cyclones are
appearing in unusual latitudes and with greater
ferocity. They are appearing further south in the
Atlantic, affecting islands like Grenada, and they are
appearing further north in the Indian Ocean and hit the
Seychelles for the first time in 50 years. Just this
summer we have seen two category five hurricanes,
Dean and Felix, make landfall in the Caribbean within
two weeks of each other, causing loss of lives and
hundreds of millions of dollars in damages.
 In Grenada’s case, the destruction was twice its
gross domestic product. However, with the help of
God, the resilience of the Grenadian people, the help
from our Caribbean and international friends including
the United States of America, and with the leadership
of my Prime Minister, we continue our aspirations to
build back better. In that regard, I would like to pay
special tribute to the People’s Republic of China,
whose generous assistance and commitment to our
development have been greatly appreciated by the
Government and the people of Grenada. Because of
their help, Grenada was able to host Cricket World Cup
2007 at our new stadium, which was financed and
constructed by the People’s Republic of China.
 Despite all concerted efforts, climate change has
led to a downward assessment of our sovereign credit
rating and Grenada is now under the guidance of the
International Monetary Fund. Grenada cannot borrow
money on the international market to replant its
nutmeg, to mend its coastal infrastructure, or to
upgrade its tourism industry. As a result, we have
imposed a reconstruction levy on our people, at a time
when global energy and food prices are increasing. The
economic burden of global warming is hitting the
pockets of ordinary women and men in the streets of
Grenada, the poor farmer, the hardworking teacher and
the waiters and waitresses in our hotels. Those ordinary
island citizens are paying the price for the lifestyles of
the major emitters.
 A new paradigm is needed within the United
Nations system and the Bretton Woods institutions.
Within that paradigm must lie an understanding that
small island developing States have an environmental
and economic vulnerability that warrants a new set of
metrics, a new set of rules and a new level of support.
 As we head towards a post-2012 agreement, we
need aggressive mitigation targets. Those targets are
critical for us, because sea temperature rise is already
causing bleaching of the coastal reefs. Loss of those
ecosystems has a harmful impact on fish stocks, one of
our main sources of protein and foreign exchange.
 The Caribbean Community Climate Change
Centre has said that a further one degree temperature
rise will lead to significant loss of tuna and dolphin
stocks. And to compound the matter, in Mauritius and
the Seychelles, tuna stocks are diving deeper seeking
cooler waters. In recent years, the fish catch has
dwindled and revenues have diminished. To alleviate
those problems, more investment is now needed in new
studies, as well as in fishing technologies, equipment
and practices.
 As we approach the Bali meeting, Grenada
reiterates its position, articulated by the Alliance of
Small Island States, that the viability and adaptability
of the most vulnerable, such as small island developing
States, must be the fundamental benchmark against
which all negotiations are framed. In the efforts to
mitigate climate change, no nation must be left behind.
Let that be our guiding principle, if we are to make
meaningful progress in Bali.
 While these negotiations are ongoing, my country
and many other islands and low-lying countries are
taking all necessary steps to cushion the fallouts and
dislocations. Adaptation funding and funding for
economic development are almost indivisible.
 Grenada calls for the urgent completion of the
institutional arrangements for the Adaptation Fund, in a
manner that guarantees that priority should be given to
the needs of the small island developing States. On the
question of the Global Environmental Facility, we
welcome the energy, enthusiasm and flexibility of its
new Chief Executive Officer. We are, however,
disappointed with the implications of the Resource
Allocation Framework. Nonetheless, we look forward
to strengthening the working relationship with the
Facility following reforms that make it more
responsive to the needs of small island States.
Climate change, energy, economic development
and the Millennium Development Goals are so tightly
interwoven that over the long term, we cannot tease out
any one thread without weakening the fabric of our
common aspirations for prosperity and peace.
 It is well known that women are the most affected
by poverty and suffer the highest levels of
marginalization. As the United Nations continues its
study of the issue of gender architecture and the
general advancement of women, Grenada sees the
empowerment of women as being critical for our own
development. We therefore urge other States to
contribute to the many bodies of the United Nations
that promote and seek to secure avenues for women in
the development process. Let us contribute to their
budgets and not to their demise; for even if only a few
benefit, that sets the stage for others to follow. In our
view, the advancement of women represents a most
powerful force for social and economic progress.
Investment in gender mainstreaming is an investment
in social justice, economic diversity and political
stability.
 The United Nations must lead by example.
Guided by the tenets of the Millennium Development
Goals, Grenada is working assiduously to improve the
status of women. Several years ago only a few women
held high political or other public offices in Grenada,
but today we are proud to report that approximately 50
per cent of the Cabinet of our executive branch is made
up of women and that many others hold top positions
within the public service.
 The challenge facing the vulnerable States of the
world can be resolved only if we ourselves transform
our thinking and reform our methodologies. For that
reason, we support the revitalization of the General
Assembly. My delegation joins the call for the
expansion of the membership of the Security Council
in both categories to allow for a Council more
representative of the 192 States and five regions which
it represents. That way we can achieve much in
assembling a stronger and more powerful Council
which will be better able to fulfil its mandate in a fair,
just and transparent manner.
 Grenada, as small as it is, has the honour to
highlight its humble but valuable contribution to the
securing of stability in Haiti. This year Grenada has
increased its deployment of police personnel to the
United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti. We
encourage others to give whatever support they can, no
matter how minute, to the efforts of international
peacekeeping initiatives. We are, however, hopeful that
very soon our unit and others like it will no longer be
needed.
 In closing, I must indicate that despite the
challenges I have outlined relating to our economic
viability and territorial integrity, we still have to pay
close attention to terrorism and other threats to world
peace and security. Grenada therefore remains steadfast
in its commitment to the international community to
fight terrorism in all its forms and to ensure that the
seeds of that poisonous weed never take root on our
shores. Grenada is convinced that a free and
democratic world is our best hope and therefore
pledges its full support towards the betterment of lives
worldwide. I call on all nations, big and small, rich and
poor, to contribute even more to that noble task.
 We are all obviously singing from the same song
sheet. Let us harmonize the sound of our voices to
amplify action for the citizens of our world. It must
echo triumphantly across the generations, so that when
it is replayed with fidelity to our children and our
grandchildren they will listen with dignity, and not
with disdain.


Allow me to begin by
expressing my sincere appreciation and congratulations
to you, Mr. President, upon your election to the
presidency of the United Nations General Assembly at
its sixty-second session and to wish you full success in
this challenging endeavour. At the same time, I should
like to extend my appreciation to Her Excellency
Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa for her excellent
work as President at the sixty-first session. Romania
fully subscribes to the statement delivered by His
Excellency José Socrates, the Prime Minister of
Portugal, on behalf of the European Union. I would
also like to add some reflections on the interests of my
country. Romania remains firmly attached to its
engagement in favour of efficient multilateralism on all
three pillars of United Nations activity   peace and
security, human rights and sustainable development.
 Romania wishes to be an active participant in all
ongoing reform processes according to the guidelines
we accepted in the Millennium Summit Outcome. It
seems there is a quasi-consensus on the principle of the
enlargement of the Security Council but not yet on the
practical ways in which this could take place. We all
know that this is because the structural reform of a
principal organ has profound political implications. It
seems also that there is little disagreement on the
general principle that the Security Council should
reflect the geopolitical configuration of the present-day
world. We believe that the comprehensive solution
offered by an intermediary stage should be regarded
positively, precisely because at this stage it is general
enough to allow everybody to see that the new
configuration would come closer to one’s aim. Let us
see if it stands the test of substantive negotiations.
Nevertheless, negotiations on the enlargement of the
Security Council should not prevent progress and
decisions being made on other dimensions, namely,
improving the working methods of the Security
Council, particularly on the issue of the transparency
of Security Council activity and the possibility of
limiting veto use. Finally, with 23 members the Eastern
European Group should be entitled to at least one
additional seat in the Security Council in any formula
to be agreed upon. It should also be re-emphasized
that, despite being the most dynamically growing
regional group within the United Nations General
Assembly, the Eastern European presence in
managerial positions in the United Nations Secretariat
and in United Nations bodies is still minimal.
 Romania follows with particular attention the
latest developments in Kosovo. The solution for the
status of the province of Kosovo needs to be in line
with the international law in force. We welcome the
efforts of the Troika to facilitate the negotiations
between the two parties. The direct talks that were held
today here in New York represent a positive evolution,
and similar meetings should be organized in the
months to come. Direct negotiations between Belgrade
and Pristina will contribute to reaching a genuine
compromise that will support the stability of the
Western Balkans and the European perspective of this
region.
 In Iraq positive developments in the area of
institution building, interfaith reconciliation and
security must be consolidated through regional and
international support. The new Security Council
resolution 1770 (2007) represents a broad United
Nations mandate to provide assistance for development
and reconstruction and mediation for political dialogue
at the national and regional levels. We welcome the
ministerial meeting on Iraq on 22 September last,
chaired by the Prime Minister of Iraq and the United
Nations Secretary-General. We believe that the efforts
of the international community with regard to Iraq will
bear fruit. Romania is present on the ground and stands
with the people and Government of Iraq.
 Preventing and combating terrorism require
effective multilateralism, based on the norms of
international law. We must meet the threat of
international terrorism with concerted action. Global
action against terrorism requires measures to disrupt
groups involved in terrorist activities through
international cooperation. Our efforts to combat
terrorism must be unrelenting but they must respect
fundamental human rights and freedoms. Combating
terrorism must also take account of the social and
economic roots of terrorism. No country can ensure its
security alone. Romania supports efforts undertaken by
international, regional and subregional organizations to
build up international solidarity against terrorism in
accordance with international law, and it cooperates
bilaterally with other countries to prevent and combat
this scourge.
 The Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) remains the
pillar for the international legal system in the area of
nuclear non-proliferation. It is also an essential
instrument for promoting international peace and
security. Despite all the difficulties in recent years, the
NPT is still relevant and significant. The balance
between rights and duties enshrined in the Treaty is
essential for the stability of the international system.
The maintenance of the fundamental principles of the
Treaty on the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and
international cooperation, as well as guarantees to
observe non-proliferation requirements, are essential.
 Romania places a great deal of importance on
developing nuclear energy and promoting its peaceful
use in areas such as medicine, industry, agriculture and
in other areas of public usefulness. Romania also
agrees with the idea that adopting nuclear energy as an
ecologically sound alternative source of energy in the
context of implementing the Kyoto Protocol is an
important choice.
 The international community must give priority
attention to the threat of the proliferation of weapons
of mass destruction and access by terrorists to these
types of weapons. My country does not neglect
problems related to conventional weapons and firmly
supports the need to start structured consideration of
the question of a future international legal instrument
on the weapons trade.
 Romania is participating actively in peacekeeping
operations by providing military observers, staff
officers, guards and police officers to 10 peacekeeping
operations in four continents   Haiti, Congo, Ethiopia
and Eritrea, Sudan, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nepal,
Timor-Leste, Georgia and Kosovo. Romania is also
participating in peace operations in the Western
Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan.
 The Blue Helmets deserve the gratitude of host
countries and of the international community. We
believe that in setting up multinational forces under the
auspices of the United Nations we should take account
of the cultural and linguistic characteristics of the
country where the Blue Helmets are deployed.
 Romania, now a member of the European Union,
evolved under the political idea that democracy, human
rights and the rule of law are essential for the
development of our societies. That is why we would
like to commit to supporting, in an imaginative
fashion, human rights, democracy, tolerance and
diplomacy as a means for settling all disputes, as well
as dialogue between cultures and civilizations. It is
worthwhile recalling that Bucharest hosted the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) High-Level Conference on Combating
Discrimination and Promoting Mutual Respect and
Understanding in June 2007. That Conference was an
opportunity to highlight the need to react at the
political and institutional levels to combat all forms of
intolerance and discrimination in order to guarantee
respect for human rights and to ensure that every
citizen feels protected by the law and has concrete
proof of the solidarity of others when his or her rights
are flouted.
 I believe that the international community needs
to give deeper consideration to some sensitive issues in
order to adopt appropriate measures. I am thinking
about the need to ensure that the rights of children are
protected, and that is why Romania supports the
establishment of the post of Special Representative of
the Secretary-General to combat violence against
children.
 My Government pays particular attention to
action taken by the Human Rights Council, especially
since from last June to mid-2008 the chairmanship of
this new institution is held by Romania. The
institutional structure of this organization is almost
complete. What we have achieved is a compromise.
The new Council is not the irreproachable body that we
had imagined, but it needs to be used, because
promotion of respect for human rights is a battle we
must wage relentlessly. The General Assembly’s
approval of the report of the Human Rights Council,
which also includes the institutional package adopted
halfway through this year, will certainly help us meet
this goal. This new institution must put to greater use
its calling, which is to increase awareness of and
respect for human rights and to strengthen those rights
worldwide. It must also ensure that States honour their
commitments. Romania reiterates its confidence in the
capacity of the Human Rights Council to become a
sound and credible example in the institutional system
devoted to protecting human rights.
 Democracy is a global process. Twenty-five years
ago, less than one third of the States worldwide could
be deemed to be true democracies. Now that
percentage has increased considerably and represents
the standard. We believe that progress in the principles
of democracy and human rights in political decisions
represents a victory for us all. With the common efforts
of member States, a considerable number of resolutions
and declarations on various aspects related to
democracy have been adopted. For example, in 2000
the Commission on Human Rights adopted resolution
2000/47, “Promoting and consolidating democracy”,
introduced by my country.
 The resolution brought together, for the first time
in a single coherent document, the principles, values
and practices that represent a framework for actions
taken by governments to promote democracy.
 Of course there are close ties between democracy
and respecting human rights. That is the primary
message that Romania and other sponsors wanted to
transmit through resolutions on pursuing dialogue on
measures to promote and consolidate democracy,
democracy and human rights, and reinforcing the role
of regional, subregional and other mechanisms and
organizations to promote and consolidate democracy.
All those resolutions were adopted.
 We are also very pleased to see that the
Community of Democracies has now become an active
group committed to promoting the values and standards
of democracy. We are prepared to work with other
delegations that are members of the working group in
the Community of Democracies. Romania recently
took on the task of coordinating the group in
anticipation of the next ministerial conference, to be
held in Bamako.
 As a Member of the United Nations that benefits
from constant and sound economic growth, Romania
will join the group of donor countries by the end of this
year. Official development assistance designed as a
gradual and progressive commitment will now be a key
part of our foreign policy and an expression of our
international solidarity with countries in transition or
developing countries. We already have a national
strategy, an institutional structure and a budget with a
line item for official development assistance. Above
all, we have unswerving political commitment. We will
look closely at all options for providing voluntary
contributions through the United Nations system in
setting our initial priorities.
 On climate change, the United Nations clearly
has a key role to play in assisting regions devastated by
natural catastrophes. We are fully aware of the
staggering impact of climate change on human beings.
Let us recall the words of Immanuel Kant, who said
that “Two things fill the mind with ever new and
increasing admiration and awe: the starry heavens
above me and the moral law within me”. Let moral law
and reason prevail so that we can preserve the starry
sky. It is likely that the general degree of freedom has
never attained such a high level in the history of
mankind as it has in our day. If we are freer, more
informed and more aware than our forefathers, we also
have a greater responsibility to care for our
environment. This year, Romania, like other countries,
has suffered the consequences of climate change
extremely hot temperatures and drought followed by
torrential rains and flooding. Political leaders must
support the formulation of a new legal instrument.
They must support scientific research in order to
reduce the world economy’s dependence on fossil fuels
and to stimulate the discovery of new technologies.
 In 1990, Romania began political and economic
action towards sustainable development and a
sustainable economy. Thus, in 1994 Romania ratified
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change and in 2001 the Kyoto Protocol. Given these
almost unprecedented phenomena, we need to
consolidate regional and European capacity to act. To
that end, the relevant Romanian institutions have
considered holding a high-level regional meeting to
discuss policies in response to global warming, in
particular action and support mechanisms with regard
to problems related to drought. This initiative will be
concentrated on Central Europe and South-East
Europe.
 Romania places particular importance to the
dialogue among cultures and religions. We believe this
has become essential for meeting today’s global
challenges. My country is rich in cultural diversity. It
lies at the crossroads of cultures and civilizations and
is fully engaged in international and regional initiatives
to promote intercultural and interfaith dialogue. The
third European Ecumenical Assembly, which was held
at the beginning of September at Sibiu, Romania   the
European Capital of Culture for 2007   is a clear
recent example of our culture of dialogue.
 Today’s world is constantly changing and
requires increased cooperation within the international
community. That is why we welcome the joint
activities of the United Nations and the International
Organization of La Francophonie (OIF). From 25 to
29 September 2006, that forum met in Bucharest,
Romania. As host country for the eleventh Summit, our
country chaired the Conference of Heads of
Francophone State or Government, as well as the
Ministerial Conference of La Francophonie. In playing
this double role we felt it our duty to be very actively
involved not only in institutional reform but also in
furthering cooperation among French speakers.
 Despite criticism, deserved or not, the United
Nations is still a necessary organization without which
the international community would lose its way.
Economic globalization and the information society are
strengthening, not weakening, the universal calling, the
legitimacy and the moral authority of this
Organization. But it is up to us, the Member States, to
serve the Organization beyond our narrow or fleeting
interests.