UNdemocracy - General Assembly Session 59 meeting 10

Date	24 September 2004
Started	15:00
Ended	21:10

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A-59-PV.10 2004-09-24 15:00 24 September 2004 [[24 September]] [[2004]] /

The President: Mr. Ping (Gabon)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

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Address by Mr. Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde

The President

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Cape Verde.

Mr. Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The President

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Rodrigues Pires (Cape Verde)

I should like at the outset, Mr. President, to hail your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. I would also like to extend to you our best wishes for success in carrying out your mandate, a mandate which reflects the honour bestowed on your country, the Republic of Gabon, by the international community.

I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Kofi Annan, for his selfless commitment to the causes of the United Nations and of Africa in particular.

I believe this is also an appropriate time to pay tribute to and commend the actions of the former President of the General Assembly, Mr. Julian Hunte, for his considerable contribution to promoting the universality of the United Nations.

My country, the Republic of Cape Verde, is among the small island States. We believe that our States, as a result of their specific characteristics, deserve a special hearing from the international community. In the economic, social and ecological spheres, those States are confronting shortcomings and restrictions specific to them, and these must be duly taken into account.

Through its own efforts, but also through the necessary contribution of the international community, Cape Verde is now preparing to better itself and its condition as a least developed country (LDC). My country continues to suffer from a precarious situation which cannot be ignored or minimized. In addition, the small island States often represent unique physical and human realities which form a genuine heritage of mankind. For these and other reasons, I would like here to launch an appeal in favour of the small island States.

The international community is going through a particularly complex period marked by challenges of many kinds. We are aware that it is only by focusing on peace, stability, security, dialogue and respect for diversity of interests and cultures, in an atmosphere of freedom, that we can create an international environment conducive to the just settlement of the serious problems we are encountering today.

War does not have to be inevitable. Moreover, given the very advanced stage of civilization which mankind has achieved, I think it would be relevant to ask whether it is time to leave behind the concept formulated by the outstanding nineteenth-century German military theoretician Clausewitz, who stated that war is a continuation of policy through other means. I think, rather, that it is by relying on negotiations, dialogue and the acknowledgement of the legitimacy of the interests and rights of all parties, that we can tap the potential for avoiding the need for war as a means of resolving national or international disputes.

Finally, it is with respect for international law, drawn up with the participation of all and equally shared and respected by all -- a respect which permeates the principles and purposes of the United Nations -- that we can find a response leading to a peaceful, prosperous and just world: the world which mankind clearly wishes to see.

I would like to reiterate here and now our absolute rejection of the unwarranted use of violence and our unequivocal condemnation of the use of terrorism as a way of resolving political disputes. The trivialization of life and death, which is utterly condemnable, also dehumanizes its proponents and opens the way to the worst kinds of wrongs in relations between human communities. This is why the struggle for peace cannot be halted, and why everyone, especially the United Nations, has the imperative duty to contribute to breaking the cycle of violence and opening the way to peaceful coexistence among nations and human communities.

Among the other social ills afflicting our planet which can be effectively combated are hunger and poverty. Their eradication is in fact one of the objectives of the Millennium agenda. I am convinced that success in combating hunger and poverty will have unquestionably positive global effects that would promote unity and harmony within the human family, and would strengthen human rights, including the most sacred and vital right -- the right to life. It would also promote the material and moral enrichment of all of human society. It would contribute to the creation of conditions that are a prerequisite for improving international security by lessening migration and bridging the gap between rich and poor, thus eliminating the reasons for the frustration of millions of poor and hungry individuals throughout today's world.

Another tragedy that requires action is HIV/AIDS, which is mortgaging the future of many countries, particularly in Africa. There is an urgent need to advance and guarantee effective international solidarity in order to root out from the daily lives of millions of human beings the spectre of hunger, poverty and pandemic illnesses. It is my belief that mankind has the resources and potential which will allow us to realize this marvellous dream.

The African continent, of which my country and your country, Mr. President, are a part, continue to be faced with enormous and varied challenges. Regarding the critical issue of peace and political stability, we also note a genuine commitment on the part of African States to resolve conflicts and eliminate hotbeds of tension. But the political will of States, regional organizations and the African Union is not enough, and the international community's commitment and its indispensable contribution in the form of adequate resources are necessary for peace and security to become a reality for all our peoples within a reasonable period of time.

Peace is not merely the absence of war. Genuine peace requires sufficient time and confidence-building among parties, as well as a strategy for building peace. So too, peace and stability within States require institutions and policies that are inclusive and that respect and engage all sectors of nations and meet their legitimate political and economic aspirations, while at the same time ensuring the protection of their cultural identity.

There can be no doubt that, owing to profound changes in the scientific, technological and socio-political fields, a huge movement of democratization of human societies is under way, backed by the institutions of the rule of law. However, mere political democracy is not sufficient. The ordinary citizen must be guaranteed participation in public affairs and a decent, worthy and dignified life, since there can be no freedom without dignity.

It must also be recognized that there are still tenuous vestiges of the old orders, which must once and for all be rooted out and eliminated from relationships between individuals and communities, such as racism, religious and cultural discrimination, gender inequality, and scorn for the fundamental rights of indigenous human communities in various countries.

We must also ask whether democracy within States is reflected in relations among States, particularly when we note the existence of an imbalanced world in which the inequality of power between the haves and the have nots continues to grow day by day. Therefore, there is a critical need to promote the democratization of international relations by seeking better balance in relations among States. International democracy based on dialogue and cooperation among States and among cultures, on tolerance and respect for cultural diversity among communities and on human solidarity and respect for the legitimate political and material interests of all parties, of nations large and small would show itself in the implementation of genuine multilateralism in global governance. Herein undoubtedly lie the foundations for triumph over today's challenges and the assurance of a safe, peaceful, predictable and prosperous future for humanity.

In several months, the United Nations will mark 60 years of rich and intense life that has been filled with challenges, upheavals and extremely complex problems, but that has also been marked by innumerable victories and hopes for humanity. My country joined the community of nations in large part because of the intervention of the United Nations to promote the freedom and human rights of colonial peoples, for which we shall always be grateful. I believe that, in the light of the profound changes that have occurred over the past six decades in all areas of the international arena and the emergence of a new balance of forces and extremely complex challenges requiring urgent and immediate responses, it is becoming clear that we need to move forward with reform of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council. In my view, the planned reform should, in addition to reflecting new global geopolitical realities, guarantee representativity and appropriate intervention and participation for all continents and all communities. From that perspective, we would then have a more balanced international community and a more equitable sharing of responsibility in the building of humanity's future.

Before concluding, I should like to highlight the successful actions carried out in the past few years by the United Nations under the leadership of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, who has enabled us to keep on the international agenda substantive issues that confront many societies daily, which has enabled this universal institution to be in direct contact with concerns and challenges that are worrisome to all members of the human family.

Here, I should also like to honour the memory of all those who have served the United Nations and fallen victim to senseless acts resulting from intolerance and the terrorism of radical movements. I emphasize the need for all countries and all formal and informal institutions to guarantee and respect the security of such noble men and women, for they are on a mission to serve all of us.

I hope, Sir, that this fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly, which is taking place under your presidency, will provide new gains for peace, justice, social progress and global stability.

Finally, I should like to reiterate the words of Pope John Paul II, the unquestionable moral authority of our time, in his appeal to world leaders on 1 January this year:

"The United Nations ... needs to rise more and more above the cold status of an administrative institution and to become a moral centre where all the nations of the world feel at home ..."

The President

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Cape Verde for the statement he has just made.

Mr. Pedro Verona Rodrigues Pires, President of the Republic of Cape Verde, was escorted from the General Assembly Hall.

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Agenda item 9 (continued)

General debate

Address by The Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa

The President

The Assembly will now hear an address by the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa.

The Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa, was escorted to the rostrum.

The President

I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa, and inviting him to address the General Assembly.

Mr. Malielegaoi (Samoa)

Samoa warmly congratulates you, Mr. President, on your election to steer the course of the Organization's work at this critical time in its 59-year history. I know that you will continue the good work of your predecessor in highlighting the multidimensional nature of international security and the need to reform the United Nations so that our Organization responds more effectively to the current and emerging challenges facing our world.

Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism somewhere in the world assailing our senses. Such murderous acts, regardless of the cause or grievance advanced by their perpetrators, are utterly indefensible. Many innocent lives continue to be wasted, with people killed or maimed and multitudes displaced by heinous acts designed to undermine and destabilize the collective efforts of the international community to achieve peace and security for our societies. Samoa condemns, in the strongest terms, all acts of terrorism and will continue to take actions and contribute our support to the campaign against it.

Besides terrorism, other scourges to world peace and to the stability of our nations persist. The threat of weapons of mass destruction, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, the trafficking and smuggling of human beings, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are becoming perennial major threats to global security.

The campaign against terrorism can still be successful, but not merely by force of arms. Preventing safe havens for terrorists and closing off their sources of financing are just as crucial. But no less important is the necessity of addressing the root causes that feed terrorism.

No sensible administration can fail to be moved by the tragedy of Beslan and the humanitarian catastrophe of Darfur. The imperatives for action by the Organization and the international community to address those events and their causes have been eloquently articulated by leaders who have spoken earlier from this rostrum. I wish only to recall and emphasize that actions to arrive at solutions to those events and others like them must be carried out in accordance with the rule of law.

With regard to Iraq, Samoa deplores the daily violence that has killed and maimed so many people and the circumstances that have brought it about. We fully support the re-establishment of Iraq's sovereignty, and we pray for the success of a credible election process to create an Iraqi Government with a popular mandate.

Likewise, we can only pray and hope that a workable solution will be found soon for the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, before many more lives are lost on both sides.

Last month, Samoa hosted, in the capital, Apia, the annual Pacific Islands Forum Summit of leaders. As the representative holding the current chairmanship of that group, I wish to inform the Assembly that the Pacific leaders again noted the dangers to the world of terrorism, and -- to the Pacific region, in particular -- of transnational crime, illicit drugs and the spread of small arms assault weapons. Consequently, the Pacific Islands Forum countries have strengthened their cooperation in counter-terrorism measures, as well as emphasized national efforts and regional cooperation in combating transnational organized crime and in building border-control capacities.

The Pacific Islands Forum is also committed to collective arrangements and mechanisms to assist regional Governments to recover from national conflicts and crises. The success of these arrangements, undertaken with the support of the United Nations, is already evident in the positive results of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands. While much more remains to be done, Solomon Islands is making good and steady progress, and the Forum will remain engaged in sustaining the mission.

Similarly, peace has been achieved in Bougainville, with elections for an autonomous Bougainville Government to be held by the end of the year. The roles of the Governments of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, with the support of the Pacific Islands Forum, working together with the United Nations Observer Mission, is critical in guiding Bougainville during this important period.

An important feature of the response mechanism put in place by the Pacific Islands Forum to assist regional Governments is its flexibility. The Pacific Islands Forum is now in the process of responding to a crisis in one of our member countries resulting from causes quite different from those in Solomon Islands and Bougainville.

In recognition of the importance of good governance for economic growth and sustainable development, the Pacific Islands Forum has invited its members to become parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In strengthening further the institutions of good governance in Pacific nations, the important role of non-State actors and civil society was highlighted by the Pacific leaders.

One issue that the Pacific islands have brought to the attention of the United Nations over the years that remains relevant -- not only for the Pacific -- and that, very importantly, is advancing the cause of nuclear non-proliferation, is that of the South Pacific Nuclear-Free-Zone Treaty. The Pacific Forum has again called on the United States to ratify the Protocols to the Treaty.

Although the Pacific Islands Forum has been heavily engaged in overcoming crises with which some of the regional Governments are grappling, several Pacific island nations, in addition to Australia and New Zealand, have nevertheless been contributing in ways we can to the United Nations peacekeeping efforts. As for my own country, we provide police to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Timor-Leste and Liberia, in addition to those we have committed to Solomon Islands.

Clearly, our small nations are trying hard to contribute to the security and peace initiatives of the United Nations. However, national obligations -- including reporting obligations for the various conventions and United Nations resolutions on security and terrorism -- place an onerous burden on the infrastructure and administrative capacity of small States. We therefore seek the understanding of the Organization and encourage the appropriate United Nations bodies to explore innovative ways to help small States meet their commitments.

Mr. Spencer (Antigua and Barbuda), Vice-President, took the Chair.

Mr. Malielegaoi (Samoa)

The challenges to and special needs of small island developing States are well known, and are reflected in the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which has been in place for the past 10 years. Sadly, despite the commitments made 10 years ago at Barbados and during the 1999 mid-term review in this Hall, the achievement of those goals continues to elude us.

It is our fervent hope, however, that the International Meeting due to take place in Mauritius next January to comprehensively review the Barbados Programme of Action will provide an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate the political will and commit sufficient resources to allow our small island developing nations to overcome the unique challenges we face.

The series of hurricanes that wrought massive devastation in some island nations of the Caribbean and in the United States is a stark reminder of the extreme challenges faced by small island developing States and of their vulnerability to disasters. Our Pacific island nations, including my own country, know from our bitter experience of cyclones that regularly batter our region about the disheartening effect of such disasters in setting back, in a matter of hours, the hard-earned development achievements of many years.

The concerns and the vulnerability of our nations are therefore quite real. While we accept the primary responsibility for achieving the goals of the Programme of Action, the reality is that the support of the international community is indispensable to its success. We therefore call on the United Nations system and the international community to provide the necessary support to complement ongoing and future programmes, as well as for the implementation and monitoring of the Mauritius outcomes for the sustainable development of small island developing States.

Likewise, the importance of multilateral institutions such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in this process cannot be overemphasized. We therefore urge GEF to apply its rules of access and to simplify its disbursement procedures in order to take into account the special circumstances of small island developing States.

Trade is a vital component of sustainable development, especially for small island developing States. We therefore continue to urge that the vulnerabilities of small States be taken fully into account in the World Trade Organization negotiations, particularly with regard to special and differential treatment for small economies.

The review of the Millennium Development Goals next year will provide an opportunity for the international community to take stock of progress and to identify remedial strategies and commitments for the further realization of those Goals. Samoa remains committed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.

The election of the second Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court just two weeks ago completes the process of the full institutionalization of the Court. Samoa warmly welcomes the broad complement of judges and officers of the Court and adds its voice in urging other United Nations Members to accede to the Rome Statute for the establishment of the Court. Given its role in upholding international humanitarian standards and in protecting human rights, the Court deserves the support of the international community to give it the full universality it requires.

We thank the Secretary-General and the previous President of the Assembly for their very commendable work in advancing the revitalization and reform of the Organization.

To this end, Samoa fully supports the work of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and looks forward to its report at the end of the year.

We believe that the outcome of United Nations reform should include the restoration of the primacy of the role of the General Assembly and the attainment of a more effective and efficient Secretariat.

In particular, we support the enlargement of the Security Council and strongly recommend the inclusion of Japan and Germany as permanent members.

Finally, I offer Mr. Ping my delegation's full support in the discharge of his numerous responsibilities, and I wish him well in his presidency.

The Acting President

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa for the statement he has just made.

The Honourable Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Independent State of Samoa, was escorted from the rostrum.