General Assembly Session 60 meeting 8

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Alvaro Uribe Vélez, President of the Republic of Colombia.

President Uribe Vélez (Colombia)

Allow me to congratulate Sweden on its election to the presidency of the General Assembly.

Colombia reaffirms its commitment to the United Nations and to a broad and inclusive multilateralism. The reform process must have as its main objective the strengthening of States and of their capacity to respond effectively to the needs of their populations. The Millennium Development Goals are achievable, so long as we all make efforts and concessions. Developing countries will be able to meet the Goals when they are able to compete and to have free market access. That could be made possible through the elimination of subsidies, in particular those that benefit agriculture in developed countries.

With the achievement of the Goals, in addition to deepening an approach based on assistance and aid, countries must consolidate their national capacities and prospects for sustainable development, which provide for the generation of wealth, progress and prosperity. Colombia understands that we must be make haste to achieve the Millennium Development Goals so that in time we can achieve the democratic legitimacy that emerges from security, public freedoms, the independence of institutions and transparency.

In my country, we have incorporated the Millennium Development Goals into our national development plan and into a discussion project we have named "Visión Colombia Segundo Centenario", which will make it possible to achieve the Goals by 2015.

Hand in hand with democratic security to defeat terrorism and to guarantee the freedoms of all my compatriots, along with transparency and citizen participation to defeat corruption, we have made a commitment to eradicate poverty and improve equity.

Today, our social policy has seven pillars, some of which I would like to touch on.

An educational revolution, the axis of social cohesion, is the path by which we will be able to ensure equity, a fair distribution of income and the opening of new channels of social services, without which democracy remains only half realized.

We must also focus on strengthening micro-business and small and medium-sized enterprises in order to overcome the barriers blocking access to credit. We so despise the discrimination that sullies democracy and social protection that we are committed within three years to ensure access to health services for all the poor, to make strides in providing food for children and facilitate their access to education, and to provide care for the elderly.

By the end of this year, Colombia's goal is to have 500,000 families with children in school receiving State aid for the feeding and education of their children. In the near future that will rise to 1 million families. This will ensure that they are part of the educational revolution. By 2006, 10 million children will benefit from food aid programmes and 570,000 elderly will receive financial and food subsidies.

We are also making serious efforts to help the internally displaced, aiding some 20,000 ex-combatants from violent groups that have been reintegrated into society and 33,000 families in the Guardabosques forest protection programme, who are paid a stipend to give up drugs cultivation and who are now helping both in the recovery of tropical forests as well as keeping their areas free of illegal drugs. Aid to those three sectors of society -- the displaced, the reintegrated and the Guardabosques families -- will cost $300 million in 2006 alone.

With regard to the reform of United Nations organs, we believe that bodies entrusted with development should be strengthened and made into real forums for addressing the issues facing developing countries in all their diversity, including middle-income countries.

The proposal to create a peacebuilding commission must focus on establishing policies and strategies for national development programmes and initiatives for countries emerging from conflict.

The success of the United Nations will become clear when, having completed its mission, it withdraws from those countries that have asked for its help. It fails when it remains in place for decades and creates a dependency of the national structures on the international system. The United Nations fails when it takes over the State's responsibilities rather than creating a national capacity for autonomous and independent governance. The role of States cannot be replaced by the Organization. Every nation must be endowed with the means and mechanisms to overcome challenges and respond efficiently to the needs of its people.

Regarding the proposal to create a human rights council, we believe that it must be approached with a view to cooperating with States and building national capacity in each country. In the new council, the punitive approach and finger-pointing that have politicized the matter and weakened the capacity of the United Nations to contribute and support States in the promotion and protection of human rights must not prevail.

Consensus must guide decision-making in the reform process. Only in that way will it be possible to meet the expectations of true and significant change. We must all participate in the reform process, respecting the principle of sovereign equality and guided by the principles and purposes of the United Nations Charter.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Elías Antonio Saca González, President of the Republic of El Salvador.

President Saca González (El Salvador)

El Salvador sets great store by the United Nations as a forum for dialogue and understanding geared towards developing forms of collective cooperation for addressing the global threats of the twenty-first century.

From that perspective, we have participated with great interest in the comprehensive reform process of the United Nations system, in particular in order to endow it with greater democracy, transparency and legitimacy to respond in a balanced manner to the interests of all its Member States.

We believe that the outcome document of this Meeting will provide a basis for the ongoing process of change that the Organization truly requires. However, I must say that the outcome document does not meet our expectations and that discussion must continue until a broader consensus has been obtained. The implementation of the commitments that have been made will require effort, resources and, above all, political resolve on the part of States. We believe that the United Nations, with its wealth of experience, is the ideal institution for coordinating and harmonizing international cooperation towards consolidating those efforts, in particular with respect to fulfilling the Millennium Development Goals.

I wish to touch upon several issues that I feel to be of particular interest and great relevance to the goals we have established.

El Salvador shares the view that democracy does not belong to any single country or region. Instead, it is a universal right and our country therefore supports the establishment of the democracy fund.

We all know the negative impact that global challenges have had on peace, security, stability and the development of peoples. We believe that the most suitable mechanism for addressing such challenges is one based on global consensus and collective security, as enshrined in the Charter. In that context, we warmly welcome the proposal to establish a peacebuilding commission. We believe that such a commission would channel the peacebuilding processes by establishing close links between peacebuilding, political agreements, and short-, medium- and long-term security and development.

In all humility and great confidence, I reaffirm that the people of El Salvador offer one of the best examples of a true desire for peace. After many years of deadly conflict, the peace agreements of 1992 came into force under the auspices of this Organization and with the cooperation of friendly Governments. That, in turn, paved the way for the people of El Salvador to forge a society that now lives in peace and democracy and fights for its well-being and development.

My Government feels that comprehensive development must be one of the fundamental and priority objectives of the United Nations. We fully support the concept linking it intrinsically and interdependently to peace and security. We are committed to the Millennium Development Goals and support the establishment of a global partnership for development, which we feel should be based on solidarity and generosity, taking account of the differences between regions and countries, their level of development, capacities, resources and constraints.

El Salvador wishes to draw the attention of the international community to the category of low and medium income countries, to which we belong. Given our level of development, we have been marginalized from international cooperation, which has had an impact on our national development programmes and our attainment of the Millennium Development Goals. We believe that a special mechanism could be established to valorize the efforts of States to implement economic and social programmes and to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals. It would serve as a basis for identifying special treatment in technical and financial cooperation programmes as a way to reward and motivate such domestic development policies.

In that context, we feel that it is important to be able to depend on international support for the creation of innovative development financing mechanisms, including the cancellation of foreign debt in favour of social programmes, especially in the areas of education and health care.

Five years ago, we committed ourselves to attaining the Millennium Development Goals, and our people has expectantly watched us work towards their accomplishment. Fair and balanced globalization has provided many with an opportunity to progress towards greater development, and each and every country must shoulder its responsibility for accomplishing its own development agenda. We know that all national efforts must be supplemented and complemented by the solidarity and cooperation of the international community. As leaders, we are duty-bound to redouble our efforts to fully meet those objectives, and thus to work to improve the living conditions of all humankind by shaping a world that is freer, safer and free from misery for all -- a task to which we remain fully committed.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, President of the Republic of Guyana.

President Jagdeo (Guyana)

The international development goals, especially the Millennium Development Goals, which we set ourselves at the Millennium Summit five years ago and which we are called upon to review at this Meeting, have been a major benchmark for development. Addressing as they do such fundamentals as health and education, they constitute important prerequisites for our economic and social advancement.

Despite serious financial and human constraints, my country has made appreciable progress towards those objectives. Through a progressive poverty-reduction strategy and the allocation of more budgetary resources to the social sector, we have managed to reach the poor in our society and to provide them with increased opportunities to improve their lives.

Sad to say, however, our hard-won gains are now threatened by forces and influences that are well beyond our control. An example of this is the fact that, although Europe has declared support for the Millennium Development Goals, the European Commission has nonetheless made proposals to drastically reduce the price of sugar exports from the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of States, which, if implemented, will deal a devastating blow to their economies, forcing a large number of people into extreme poverty. In the case of Guyana, our economy stands to lose some $40 million per annum, a sum that negates the $8 million in debt relief which is expected to flow from the recent G-8 decisions. That action is typical of some developed countries, which, while giving with great fanfare some assistance to the developing countries, quietly take away even more through harmful trade and economic policies. Worse yet, despite their asseverations of partnership and commitment to consultation and coherence, they decide unilaterally on measures that adversely affect the lives of millions in the developing countries. As it is, therefore, we will be hard put to achieve the Millennium Development Goals within the time-frames set.

Altogether, our experience -- one that I know is shared by many others -- has been daunting. We cannot but conclude that, while the realization of the Millennium Development Goals provides the necessary foundation for national development, adequate economic and social progress cannot be achieved in the absence of a more comprehensive framework that encompasses significant development and investment flows, wider debt relief, more equitable trade and economic cooperation as well as the transfer of science and technology for development purposes.

These economic and social challenges are made, as the Secretary-General's report reminds us, all the greater by the political insecurity that is the defining reality of today's world. The threats to the security of States -- more particularly small and vulnerable ones -- have been greatly magnified by the spread of terrorism, transboundary crime, disease, arms and drug trafficking. Most of our countries are ill-equipped, because of scarce resources, to defend themselves against such encroachments.

Contemporary circumstances have brought us to a watershed moment. The multiplication of threats to our common existence, whatever their genesis, represents as foreboding a scenario as any the scourge of war could conjure up. We must act to contain such dangers by strengthening the United Nations so that it can perform its functions.

For more than a decade, we have been engaged in the examination of ways and means to reform the United Nations. On the basis of the recommendations that have emerged, we must take action at this session of the General Assembly to make the Organization more democratic in its decision-making and more effective in the discharge of the many mandates with which it has been entrusted.

Of particular urgency is the need to reform the Security Council -- the organ responsible for the maintenance of global peace and security -- to allow it better to cope with the various threats to our safe and secure existence. The records of the Working Group which was set up for this purpose will show that widespread agreement had been reached on the expansion of the Council in both categories of membership to provide greater balance in representation and greater credibility to the Council's activities. This has presented us with a window of opportunity which, if we do not take advantage of it, may close again and remain indefinitely closed.

Let us therefore not be faint-hearted, but rather boldly accelerate and complete the process of reform, so that the principles and purposes for which the United Nations stands may be fully implemented.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah (Sierra Leone)

This summit offers us a unique opportunity to improve the effectiveness of the United Nations system and to further strengthen international cooperation for global security and development.

The events of the past few days clearly demonstrate that we all are deeply committed to the achievement of those objectives. It is also clear that differences remain among us on the appropriate methods for accomplishing our objectives, as reflected in the outcome document that is before us for adoption.

We note the general progress that has been made by many countries towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We are concerned, however, that many sub-Saharan countries, particularly post-conflict countries, have not achieved as much as their efforts would have justified.

We are encouraged by the fact that several initiatives, including those by the Africa Commission, chaired by The Right Honourable Tony Blair, have been proposed to identify the obstacles to our progress and to determine the appropriate strategies for overcoming them.

Many of the recommendations from these initiatives have already been endorsed by the donor community, including the G-8 and multilateral financial institutions. We therefore urge that their implementation be accelerated, particularly in the areas of financing for infrastructural development, agriculture and capacity-building in the public sector. We should also move quickly to restructure the partnership between the donor community and recipient countries to allow for greater flexibility in the utilization of development assistance and better recognition of the development priorities set by our countries.

Efforts should also be made by the six out of 22 donor countries that have not pledged to achieve the 0.7 per cent of gross national product (GNP) for official development assistance, since their GNPs add up to roughly half of the global total.

Within our limited capacity, we have made considerable efforts to create a conducive environment for achieving the MDGS through the strengthening of democratic institutions, including the judicial system and public accountability mechanisms, principally the anticorruption commission. We have also decentralized Government to allow local communities to have greater say in the way they are governed and to be able to hold public officials accountable. We are restructuring our public financial management system to enhance transparency in the use of public funds. We have established an independent public procurement authority and introduced regular public expenditure tracking systems.

We have also developed a poverty-reduction strategy paper and adopted a national plan for meeting the MDGS. These actions are complemented by a far-reaching restructuring of our security institutions, namely the police and the armed forces, in order to enhance their operational effectiveness in defending the security of our country and to strengthen their respect for human rights.

With the assistance and cooperation of UNAMSIL and the International Military Advisory and Training Team, the Republic of Sierra Leone Armed Forces have assumed their full constitutional responsibility for the security of the State. We have also made special efforts to consolidate the peace by promoting national cohesion and by addressing the special needs of war victims, including through the payment of reparations as provided for by the Lomé Peace Agreement. In this connection, we would appreciate contributions from the international community towards the operationalization of a trust fund to be set up for that purpose.

We agree with the Secretary-General that the draft outcome document provides a basis for recommendations to reform the Organization. We welcome the agreements reached on several elements of the reform process, including the establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission and a Human Rights Council, as well as the conclusion of an international instrument against terrorism. We also welcome progress in the negotiations in the areas of Secretariat and management reform, impunity, peacekeeping and agreement to support the development of capacity-building programmes within the African Union over a period of 10 years.

We urge that effective measures be taken to implement decisions that have already been agreed, so that we can build a foundation for rapid progress towards reaching agreement on the outstanding issues. It is important to quickly resume negotiations on such outstanding issues as the reform of the Security Council and related institutions of the United Nations, in order to take full advantage of understandings already reached in other areas.

Speaking from this rostrum at the Millennium Summit five years ago, I, like other leaders, referred to the imperative of adaptation. We urged the United Nations to continue to adapt and equip itself to deal with the perennial problems of human insecurity and underdevelopment and, in particular, the new manifestations of those problems, namely, terrorism and extreme poverty. Five years on, rather than subsiding, those problems seem to have escalated, posing serious threats to international peace and security. We must therefore strengthen our resolve to adopt effective measures to eradicate those problems. A reinvigorated United Nations can play a crucial role in this endeavour.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni, President of the Republic of Uganda.

President Museveni (Uganda)

I am not able to read out my entire statement, as it is long; I will just summarize it.

Regarding the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), I would like to make three points. First, they are good minimum targets for the human race. Secondly, Uganda will not only achieve those Goals, but will surpass them -- a factor highlighted by our achievement of a human development index (HDI) rating of 0.508, terrorism in northern Uganda and other forms of interference notwithstanding. Thirdly, I suggest better prioritization in our strategy to achieve these goals.

First, these are, obviously, good minimum development and social goals. Following the Second World War and the emergence of the welfare State in Western countries, societies in North America, Western Europe and Japan attained and surpassed goals comparable to the Millennium Development Goals. Some of the formerly colonized Asian countries have done likewise. The challenge is to spread such achievements to the rest of the world. Hence the decisions of the 2000 Millennium Summit.

Secondly, Uganda will achieve those Goals. Our target of poverty eradication is not 28 per cent by 2015, but 10 per cent by 2017. In spite of the vicious terrorism campaign orchestrated against us by some of our neighbours for much of the 1990s, as well as the mistake of underspending on defence at one stage, Uganda's HDI value is now 0.508, and we have entered the medium-performing group of countries, having graduated from the low-performing group.

We have performed beyond the targets set in the following areas: the provision of safe drinking water; primary school enrolment; HIV/AIDS; and reducing poverty levels. Our performance in infant mortality and maternal mortality has not been so good.

The Bible, in Matthew 6:33, says, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and ... all these things shall be added unto you". My recommendation is that we first seek human resource development, that is, education and health for all; add value to the raw materials of Africa and the other backwater countries, which have been stolen for centuries; and expand trade-related infrastructure and increase market access to internal, regional and international markets. And then the rest will be added unto us. In other words, we need to empower each country, at the earliest opportunity, in order to be able to endogenously generate resources that will fuel the sustainable implementation of the MDGs in each country.

How will external aid sustainably fuel this implementation, given the complications and possible distortions that are concomitant with aid relationships? Aid-led vision has never worked. Vision-led aid can work; but such aid is not always available. Mr. McNamara, the former President of the World Bank, recently told me how glad he was that the South Koreans ignored his advice in the 1960s. He had opposed their plans to build an integrated steel industry.

In Uganda, most of our successes have been attained in the face of opposition, indifference or distracting, superficial heckling by quite a number of our external partners. I do not have time to go into all the details, but they can be read in my written statement. My question is, how can we sustainably implement the MDGs by depending on aid alone? The future of Uganda and the future of Africa is our responsibility; it cannot be the responsibility of the donors -- I do not like this emphasis on donors, as if they are the ones who own our countries. We are the ones who own those countries, and we are the ones to develop them primarily, with assistance from other people.

The 2005 Human Development Report states, on page 117,

"Sub-Saharan Africa graphically demonstrates how losses from trade can outweigh the benefits associated with aid and debt relief. If Africa enjoyed the same share of the world exports today as it did in 1980, its exports today would be some $119 billion higher (in constant 2000 dollars). That is equivalent to about five times aid flows and budget savings from debt service relief provided by high-income countries in 2002."

Thus, the money we are getting from aid is much, much less than we would earn from the removal of trade distortions.

I have two final points. My first point is in the form of a question to the General Assembly, and it is included in my statement. How can the MDGs be met if we do not solve the problem of employment, of job creation? Will aid alone solve this problem? If we look at the structure of employment comparing the United Kingdom and Uganda, the picture is as follows. In the United Kingdom, the people who work in agriculture are only 1.5 per cent of the working population. In Uganda, that figure is 82 per cent. The number employed in industry in the United Kingdom is 19.1 per cent versus 5 per cent in Uganda. Services, in the case of the United Kingdom, weigh in at 79 per cent; in the case of Uganda, that figure is 13 per cent. This is the crux of the problem -- a backward society. Can we maintain a backward society and, at the same time, achieve these MDGs, even if the countries of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development give aid up to the level of 0.7 per cent, as required?

Here, I would mention that my statement is available in written form, and I would like delegates to read all of it. It is 12 pages long; I could not read it out within the five-minute limit.

In conclusion: seek ye first Human Resource Development -- that is to say, education and health for all -- value added -- that is to say, industrializing our countries -- expanded trade-related infrastructure -- and the rest shall be added unto you.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Joseph Urusemal, President of the Federated States of Micronesia.

President Urusemal (Micronesia)

We gather this year against the backdrop of many recent natural disasters. The despair caused by these natural disasters and their apocalyptic nature has shocked us all. Please allow me to offer, on behalf of my Government and people, our deepest sympathy and sincere condolences to the Government and people of the United States and to other Governments whose people have been devastated by the ravages and furies of these natural calamities.

The recent spate of devastation caused by these natural disasters brings into sharper focus the extreme vulnerability of low-lying coastal areas and small island developing States. It further highlights the daunting challenges posed by extreme weather on our ability to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and to pursue sustainable development.

No amount of engineering advances can fully defend and save our small island developing States and low-lying coastal areas from the perils of the surging waters and rising tides of the sea, caused by the adverse impact of climate change. The stronger and more frequent hurricanes and typhoons in the Caribbean and the Pacific yet again prove this fact.

I am convinced, however, that if all nations, developed and developing, in this Assembly approach the critical problem of climate change and global warming in a concerted effort, what no engineering feat can arrest will and can be mitigated by renewed political will and commitment to carry out our obligations pursuant to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol and other relevant international agreements. We, therefore, appeal to those countries that have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol to do so without delay.

Our global world demands concerted global action to mitigate the adverse impact of climate change. My delegation has strongly supported the call to initiate negotiations to develop a more inclusive international framework for climate change beyond 2012. To be effective and of any relevance, the framework must include all major emitters, both developed and developing countries. In this vein, let us approach the concept of common but differentiated responsibilities, not as a licence to pollute but as a mandate to preserve Mother Earth.

Five years ago we committed ourselves to the Millennium Declaration. The MDGs remain relevant as the basis of our sustainable development. Unfortunately, it is the experience of my country, and our general observation in Micronesia, that we face an uphill battle in meeting and implementing these Goals. It is widely recognized that Oceania remains one of the identified regions of the world that is worst off in meeting its Millennium Development Goals. Even with this recognition, we find more often than not that the international community has not followed up with fair and proportionate allocation of resources to these more vulnerable small island developing States. For too long, our islands of the Pacific have been overlooked.

We, therefore, appeal to the United Nations and the international donor community to apply a fair and more proportionate allocation of development assistance to our region if we are to achieve these goals.

We are very encouraged by the commitments made by many developed members of this Organization to meet the internationally agreed goals of 0.5 per cent of gross national product as official development assistance (ODA) by 2010 and 0.7 per cent by no later than 2015. As a beneficiary of this development assistance, Micronesia remains grateful for the support of our donor partners and the international donor community for the continued assistance extended to us. We support the call made by many in this Assembly to those countries that have not done so to make every effort to achieve the agreed goals of ODA.

While grateful for the assistance of the United Nations in our national development efforts, we recognize the need for further strengthening of cooperation and closer linkage between the United Nations and many of its Member States in the Pacific, such as my country. I refer here to the need to establish a physical presence of the United Nations system within our national borders. The United Nations system must be seen to be directly involved in our development process and our national efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals on a sustained and regular basis. Such presence can only contribute to better coordination, strengthening our capacity, a more effective use of resources and an effective delivery of assistance. It would demonstrate the United Nations system's commitment to its most vulnerable members.

In this era of advances in information and communication technology, my Government applauds the United Nations and the International Telecommunication Union for their commitment to ensuring that information and communication technologies are placed in the service of humankind in the ongoing noble task of economic development. For island countries like the Federated States of Micronesia, whose population is spread over a vast area of the Pacific Ocean, access to reliable and affordable information and communication technology is critical to our nation-building. It is for this reason that my Government strongly supports the Declaration of Principles and Plan of Action as adopted during the first phase of the World Summit on the Information Society and looks forward to the convening of the second phase in Tunisia in November 2005.

Ever since the earliest days of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, the people of Micronesia have placed their faith in the United Nations Charter. As we leave this critical High-level Plenary Meeting, that faith is refreshed and strengthened. I call upon all Member States to apply the outcome of this meeting in order to achieve real momentum towards enrichment of the lives of all people, especially the most needy among us.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Anote Tong, President of the Republic of Kiribati.

President Tong (Kiribati)

It is indeed a pleasure for me to represent the people of Kiribati at this august gathering, to extend their greetings to all and to present their views on the agenda before us.

At the outset, allow me to thank our gracious host, the people and Government of the United States of America for their hospitality. Allow me also to congratulate our Co-Chairpersons for their effective leadership of this meeting, which I am confident, will be successful.

We gather here on the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations, confronted with the daunting and ongoing challenge of making this world in which we all live better for us, our children and our children's children. The task before us is not an easy one. The decisions we must make here will affect the future of this Organization and the future of humanity.

We all agree that development, in particular sustainable development, is fundamental to the achievement of international peace and security. We also agree that the main responsibility for the achievement of sustainable development lies, in the first instance, with individual countries, but we also acknowledge the fact that developing countries, in particular small island developing States, cannot achieve this on their own.

A more effective and meaningful partnership is required in order to achieve sustainable development. The framework for these partnerships has been developed over the past sixty years and includes international initiatives, such as the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, the Brussels Programme of Action for Least Developed Countries, the Mauritius Strategy, the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and the Monterrey Consensus.

Regional initiatives, such as the Pacific Plan, have also been or are in the process of being developed to encourage South-South cooperation. These initiatives will also benefit from these partnerships.

My Government is committed to fulfilling the development aspirations of our people. Our national policy objective is to achieve the equitable distribution of development benefits to all our people based on the principles of good governance.

We are committed to the Millennium Declaration and are on track in our national efforts to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. These have been integrated and mainstreamed into our national development strategy formulated through a multisectoral and multi-stakeholder consultative process.

Implementation of our national development strategy is progressing positively. This is a result of a good partnership that has been forged between my Government, our development partners, civil society and the private sector. We recognize and value the inputs and involvement of all stakeholders in the development process.

We acknowledge the invaluable support our development partners have extended and call on them to assist in the implementation of the initiatives mentioned earlier, especially for the developing countries and the small island developing States.

We recall their commitment to increase their official development assistance to a level equivalent to 0.7 per cent of their gross national income. We applaud those countries that have voluntarily met these targets and call upon those which have yet to do so to exert more effort in this regard.

We firmly believe that we are able to achieve sustainable development and reduce reliance on international aid assistance. The abundant fisheries resources within our exclusive economic zone -- currently being harvested exclusively by distant-water fishing nations -- could provide the basis for this. We are encouraged by the ongoing negotiations for an economic partnership agreement with the European Union in the area of fisheries, because this provides an opportunity for a genuine partnership through investment in this sector.

We seek to maximize returns from our fisheries resources and to this end endorse the report on the work of the United Nations Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea at its sixth meeting. We welcome in particular the conclusions that: resource owners should participate in fisheries activities in order to achieve better economic returns and to enhance their role in resource management; distant-water fishing nations should negotiate access agreements with developing coastal States on a basis that is equitable and sustainable; and distant-water fishing nations should increase progressively the participation of coastal States in fisheries activities, including the processing of the catch within the territory of the resource owners, thereby creating employment and further contributing to the sustainable development of developing coastal States.

We note with deep regret and concern the devastating impact of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans, causing thousands of deaths and extensive damage. We offer our deepest sympathies to those affected by this natural calamity and pray that they find peace and comfort during this difficult time.

This recent disaster is a stark reminder of the extreme vulnerability of all mankind, regardless of nationality, to the forces of nature. A vulnerability that is so many times magnified for low-lying small-island States like Kiribati. I would like to place on record today our invitation to this august gathering to undertake a risk assessment of the likelihood of similar disasters occurring in small-island States and to make a conscious decision on the most appropriate response.

We commend and are grateful for the efforts of those organizations and countries that are assisting us in our efforts to adapt to the short-term effects of climate change. But, given the small land masses of low-lying coral atolls, there is a limit to the extent to which their populations can adapt.

With regard to peace and security, we agree that the foundation for sustainable development is a peaceful, secure and stable environment.

We are committed to international efforts aimed at disarmament and non-proliferation. In that regard, we have become a party to major international treaties on this subject.

The new global challenges posed by terrorism and transnational organized crime do not respect borders. We must not be complacent in our efforts to collectively tackle those challenges. Kiribati is committed to the international fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime. I am pleased that yesterday, I signed the thirteenth counter-terrorism convention and deposited with the Secretary-General our instruments of accession to four of the counter-terrorism conventions and major treaties on transnational organized crime. Soon, we will also be acceding to the remaining eight counter-terrorism conventions and depositing our instruments of accession with the appropriate depositaries.

We have also adopted legislation to implement all counter-terrorism conventions and major treaties on transnational organized crime. While this is an important step forward, the challenge of effectively enforcing and implementing the legislation still lies ahead. We will therefore continue to need assistance in those areas that are beyond our capacity.

With regard to strengthening the United Nations, Kiribati firmly supports comprehensive reform of the Organization to better align and equip it to respond effectively to the challenges of this ever-changing world. We also support the provision of sufficient resources to the Organization to enable it to fulfil its mandated role on the basis of equitability and differentiated responsibilities.

We reaffirm our commitment to the values and principles upon which the United Nations was founded. We recall Article 4 of the Charter, which invites "all other peace-loving states" to join this global Organization. To that end, we reiterate our call for the Organization to discard its exclusionary practices and embrace as equal partners all nations, such as Taiwan, that are able and willing to contribute to international collaborative efforts in the pursuit of global peace, security and development. For it is only when all nations are treated as equal partners in the international community that we can expect significant strides to be made in our collective efforts.

Concerning the Security Council, Kiribati supports the expansion of the permanent and non-permanent Council memberships to better reflect the realities of our world today. We strongly believe that Member States that are major contributors to United Nations programmes, especially those involving the maintenance of global peace and security, should be accorded permanent membership.

We note that a deadline has not been set for the finalization of negotiations on Security Council reform, and we urge that the same deadline for other components of reform -- for example, the establishment of a Human Rights Council -- be applied to Security Council reform to maintain the momentum of the process.

Our peoples demand that we, as world leaders, work individually and collectively to improve the world in which we live. That is an important responsibility we owe to the people we serve. To fulfil that responsibility, we need to work together and address the challenges we all recognize: challenges to development, challenges to security in its widest context and challenges to our working together as an international community.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Charles Gyude Bryant, Chairman of the National Transitional Government of the Republic of Liberia.

Mr. Bryant (Liberia)

The people of Liberia extend their profound thanks to the United Nations for its continued assistance in dealing with the challenges that our country has faced. Indeed, we are grateful to all who have stood by us, and continue to do so, to bring about the significant transformation we see in our country today. We wish to acknowledge the invaluable role being played by the United Nations Mission in Liberia and by the troop-contributing countries.

With the critical assistance of the United Nations and with commendable donor partnership, our Transitional Government has made definite gains in the execution of its mandate. The guns are silent, our disarmament and demobilization process has been a resounding success, rehabilitation and reintegration are ongoing, our people are returning to their communities, Government authority has been extended throughout the country and elections are on schedule for 11 October.

Although there is a shortfall in funding for the critical elements of reintegration and security sector reform, those processes are also ongoing. Let me emphasize that the net effect of successful reintegration and security sector reform in Liberia will be sustainable peace and stability not only for our country, but for the entire West Africa subregion.

There is an encouraging sense of renewed hope in the emergence of democratic and stable post-conflict countries in our region. However, the challenges of rebuilding communities and directing people -- particularly our young people -- away from deviant social behaviours remain daunting.

Sixty years ago, our country was among those that brought this institution into being. Since then, global priorities have changed. Millions of the world's people -- particularly women and children -- continue to live in life-threatening poverty and ignorance. More than 20,000 people die daily because of poverty and diseases; yet, many of those diseases are preventable and curable.

The Millennium Declaration and the Brussels Programme of Action offer realistic ways forward to effectively overcome such worldwide scourges as poverty, global warming, HIV/AIDS, malaria, cancer and other fatal diseases, particularly as they affect poorer Member States.

We believe that Member States must commit themselves now, more than ever before, to respect human rights and the dignity of all persons, irrespective of the size and global standing of their respective countries. This approach can help to minimize the polarization of international politics as we have known it, especially since in recent history, our world has witnessed the exploitation of the poor not only by rich nations, but also by rich individuals in poor countries in support of terrorism. That is why my Government fully supports the ongoing consultations for reform of the United Nations. We must however, ensure that the reform process is based on broad consultation and consensus involving all Member States.

The success of Liberia's transition process thus far demonstrates how much can be achieved by the international community through the United Nations. Let me seize this opportunity to once again thank the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, under whose inspired leadership the international community rallied to our cause. We will continue to count on the international community as we strive to peacefully attain the last component of our two-year mandate -- the holding of free, fair and transparent elections -- and thereafter undertake the overwhelming post-conflict reconstruction agenda that awaits the democratically elected Government in a conflict-free Liberia.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I would like at this point to inform members of the programme of work for this closing meeting of the High-level Plenary Meeting. First, we will continue to hear statements by Member States, which will be followed by brief oral summaries of the work of the four round tables. Thereafter, the Assembly will take action on draft resolution A/60/L.1, entitled "2005 World Summit Outcome". The Secretary-General will be present at the time of the adoption of the draft resolution. After that, the Assembly will continue with the remaining speakers. That will be followed by closing remarks by the Co-Chairpersons and the closure of the High-level Plenary Meeting.

For us to avoid working late in the evening, it is now very important that statements not exceed five minutes. I appeal to all to respect that time limit.

As members are aware, draft resolution A/60/L.1, which contains the draft 2005 world summit outcome, was distributed during the meeting this morning. In that connection, I would like to inform members that the draft resolution contains a few technical errors: in paragraphs 60 (a), 163 and 164 (c). The correct version of those paragraphs is now being distributed in the General Assembly Hall.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Emile Lahoud, President of the Lebanese Republic.

President Lahoud (Lebanon)

I am honoured to represent my country at this extremely important meeting of world leaders to assess action on the commitments we made at the Millennium Summit five years ago, most notably on upholding the principles of human dignity, equality and justice and on the establishment of a just and permanent peace worldwide, and to review the steps taken and achieved in that regard.

Allow me to commend the Co-Chairpersons and thank them for their fine handling of the Meeting and their efforts to ensure the Meeting's success. I would like also to thank the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, for all his endeavours and, most notably, for his valuable report entitled "In larger freedom" (A/59/2005), which provides a precise diagnosis of our world's challenges and problems and a blueprint for a new era of cooperation in tackling them.

Security challenges to our world stand out as particularly imminent. The global reach of terror makes it imperative for us to look carefully at the main roots of that plague and not be satisfied with merely fighting its symptoms. A politically secure world community can be achieved only through a multilateral world order based on respect for the rule of international law, human rights and the non-discretionary implementation of the resolutions of world legitimacy.

In that regard, the Middle East region, to which Lebanon belongs, remains a prime example of a region suffering from the endemic failure to implement resolutions of world legitimacy.

That question leads us directly to the debate surrounding the need for and the importance of an immediate and radical overhaul of the United Nations. In that regard, Lebanon welcomes the creation of a Peacebuilding Commission, as proposed by the Secretary-General, and hopes to see the adoption of his proposals for the Security Council to properly weigh considerations grounded in principle when contemplating the use of force.

The Security Council must be reformed to make it more inclusive and more representative of the current make-up of the United Nations. Needless to say, Lebanon attaches a great deal of importance to this matter; that emanates from its great appreciation of the roles of the United Nations and the Security Council and from its respect for their resolutions.

I would like to stress here that Lebanon will continue to look to the United Nations and the international community to support our people's aspirations and our Government's broad and bold programme of reforms. Their interest in my country exemplifies the world's support of freedom in its broader sense and gives precedence to the language of moderation.

In Lebanon, in keeping with the Millennium Development Goals, we have established two institutions: the Fund for Social and Economic Development and the Project for Domestic Development. In that regard, in cooperation with the United Nations, in 2003 the Government of Lebanon released its first report on the Millennium Development Goals and will publish a follow-up report in 2007. The report noted great progress in the fight against poverty, the great efforts made in making primary education accessible to all, greater gender equality and a dramatic decrease in infant and maternal mortality.

Lebanon supports the French proposal for the participation of the International Civil Aviation Organization in support of developmental programmes in poor countries. That would surely lead to greater justice and stability worldwide.

Lebanon's message to the Assembly is that of a small country that has endured wars, occupation and conspiracies for more than three decades. We stress the responsibility of all nations and peoples to safeguard peace, preserve security and further world justice.

The will for change derives from respect for human values, no matter how hard the path looks. It is our collective responsibility to achieve such change. It is well within our grasp to make the Millennium Development Goals a reality.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, President of the Republic of the Maldives.

President Abdul Gayoom (Maldives)

Let me begin by congratulating the Co-Chairpersons on their election to jointly preside over this important summit.

I also commend the Secretary-General for his inspiring report.

Before I proceed further, I extend sincere condolences to the American people and Government following the tragic deaths and massive destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina. Despite the smallness of our country and its severe economic difficulties, I am happy that we were able to make a modest contribution to the efforts to alleviate the suffering of the people affected by the hurricane.

Time, indeed, is precious. Therefore, I shall not spend the time allotted to me speaking at length. I would rather dial 999, for my people are today facing an unprecedented crisis.

Five years ago, I left this Hall not only sharing the euphoria over the Millennium Declaration, but also with the confidence that the Maldives could and would achieve the Millennium Development Goals. As our 2005 country report would show, the Maldives has already achieved the Goals of halving poverty and achieving universal primary education. We are also on track to achieve the targets of reducing child mortality, attaining greater gender equality and improving maternal health.

But today I speak with a heavy heart, grieving over the losses my people have suffered as a result of the devastating tsunami of last December. The Maldives is the only country to have faced a nationwide disaster from the tsunami. Our economic asset losses are estimated at a staggering 62 per cent of our gross domestic product. Tourism, which has been the engine of our national economic growth for the past three decades, has suffered a sharp decline. Livelihoods destroyed by the tsunami have not been restored. Surging oil prices are draining our foreign exchange revenues. And, for the first time ever, the Maldives is in need of significant budgetary support.

Clearly, if that alarming trend continues, our ability to catch up with the Millennium Development Goals will continue to slip. We are indeed grateful to all those who assisted us in the relief phase following the tsunami. Many continue to help us with the recovery, and we thank them all. Much as we believe that development is our responsibility, our means of self-reliance are woefully insufficient.

In forums that have discussed the economic future of the Maldives, we have signalled the critical importance of the decade ahead of us. One need only look at the demographic challenge facing the country. Over the past 40 years, the population has tripled. Furthermore, we have a very young population. Although we have successfully brought the population growth rate down, the task is only half complete. We now need to ensure that every working-aged Maldivian finds gainful employment. Achieving the target of environmental sustainability is also a formidable challenge. The recent environmental tragedies around the world show yet again that we all have much to do to protect our global environment. Indeed, the decade ahead will make or break our vision 2020.

Despite the unprecedented setback caused by the tsunami, we are resolute in our quest of the Millennium Development Goals. Our view is that, even though a goal may become elusive, we should neither change the target nor abandon our vision. Rather, we should speed up our actions, as we have done in the pursuit of our national agenda for democratization, reform, good governance and human rights protection.

But for our people to enjoy the fruits of greater democracy, we need urgent international economic and financial assistance. At this critical time, a mere smooth transition period of graduation from the status of least developed country would not be adequate. It is imperative that our country's graduation be deferred until we return to pre-tsunami levels of development.

If a country of a mere 300,000 people cannot be saved from poverty, despair and ruin, the credibility of our hopes to save the entire world in 10 years will indeed be in serious doubt. Small States like the Maldives happen to be on the front line of most of the crises that afflict or threaten the world. From environmental degradation through international lawlessness to energy crises, it is the small States that are often the first victims. But the good news is that we, the small States, will also be among the first to know if the world has really found the will to act. I hope that, as I conclude my remarks, my urgent call will have gone through to 999.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Bingu Wa Mutharika, President of the Republic of Malawi.

President Mutharika (Malawi)

I am pleased to be given this opportunity to make a contribution on the structure, challenges and implementation of and follow-up to the Millennium Development Goals. But before doing so, I wish to underscore the fact that the rationale for the Goals is as valid today as it was some five years ago.

Let me start by stating that my country, Malawi, has made heroic efforts in meeting the Millennium Development Goals. Our report, entitled "Malawi and the Millennium Development Goals: challenges and achievements" has been distributed. The report presents in a graphic form what we had planned to do in order to achieve the Goals; the challenges we are facing; our achievements despite the challenges; and the way forward.

As can be seen from the report, we in Malawi have taken the stand that, while the challenges are indeed enormous and while we need huge resources to succeed, we will still forge ahead to achieve whatever we can with our limited financial resources and capacity. I am pleased to state that we have made a solid start and hope that the United Nations will recognize those efforts.

In our efforts to implement the Millennium Development Goals during the past five years, we have learned a number of lessons that are essential in meeting the targets laid down in the Goals by the year 2015.

The first lesson is that the MDGs made assumptions that cannot be validated. For instance, the Goals were set on the assumption that the goods, services, food and income required to meet them were readily available and could be produced and sourced in the poor African countries, and that what we needed was merely to reorganize the distribution structures. That is not the case. The reality is that no goods and services are available, and hence our countries cannot meet the MDGs without first creating new wealth.

Above all, the United Nations ignored the need to establish new production structures in sub-Saharan Africa to supply the goods and services needed to meet the MDGs. In short, the MDGs were based on a supply of services that do not exist in the poor countries. That is the greatest challenge related to the MDGs.

The second MDG-related assumption is that institutional capacity is available in all of the poor countries. The United Nations appears to have underestimated the challenges that sub-Saharan African countries face in putting together a system of good governance that would have resulted in kick-starting macro-economic growth in the context of a stable political and economic environment. It also underestimated the devastating impact of HIV/AIDS on the growth process.

The third assumption is that the United Nations underestimated the flight of capital and the erosion of growth due to external debt servicing. It also assumed that there would be a fair and equitable global trading system that would boost the exports of the poor countries. In other words, it ignored the reluctance by industrialized countries to conclude the Doha round of multilateral trade negotiations, which would have given African countries greater access to the global markets for their products.

In other words, the poor countries cannot benefit from globalization if the industrialized countries are not cooperative.

Before concluding my remarks, let me underscore the fact that the Millennium Development Goals present a serious challenge to both developing and developed countries. We will therefore require greater cooperation among nations than ever before to achieve the Goals. We have no choice but to cooperate.

In conclusion, let me offer Malawi's deep condolences to President George Bush and to the Government and the people of the United States of America for the heavy loss of life and property due to Hurricane Katrina. Malawi is praying for the people of that great nation to overcome that great catastrophe.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency The Honourable Laisenia Qarase, Prime Minister of the Republic of the Fiji Islands.

Mr. Qarase (Fiji)

My country offers its congratulations to the presidency of the special plenary and extends its compliments to both Co-Chairpersons and to the Secretary-General.

May I, on behalf of the Government and the people of the Fiji Islands, extend to the President and the people of the United States our sincere sympathy with respect to the widespread devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina. Our prayers and condolences go to those who lost their loved ones and their homes.

I commend Mr. Kofi Annan for his incisive report covering many aspects of United Nations and international affairs, including the Millennium Development Goals. It contains much that will take us further along the difficult road to development, freedom and peace on earth.

Fiji congratulates the Secretary-General for the initiative he has taken to begin the implementation plans to reform and strengthen the United Nations in the context of its various responsibilities.

What is now required, if we are to complete the journey, is an effort of our collective will. It requires sacrifices and compromises and a renewed commitment of support both to the United Nations and to one other. If this can be accomplished, we can achieve the United Nations mission to benefit humankind.

Let us ensure then that from here on the United Nations goes forward in a spirit of renewal and reform that generates real hope, purpose and prosperity for the global family.

We must all help to create a United Nations that is more efficient and accountable. It must function always with integrity and urgent concern for the needs of the Member States. Above all, we must help the United Nations to concentrate, as never before, on reducing the shameful gap between developed and developing countries.

Fiji reaffirms its commitment to what the United Nations stands for. As always, we are for peace; that is why we have sent so many of our soldiers and police officers to serve with United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding forces. Many precious lives have been lost, but we have accepted that ultimate sacrifice as our contribution to the global effort for peace and security.

There should be no pause in United Nations endeavours to establish and maintain international peace, security and stability. This remains the primary role of the United Nations, and we support all measures to strengthen it.

Fiji acclaims the proposal to create a Peacebuilding Commission. We will gladly share with such a Commission our own experience of reconstructing our country following the civil unrest which almost tore the country apart in 2000. With God's help, we quickly restored our economy and began the task of bringing our diverse communities together. The ongoing challenge for our country is to strengthen the foundation for unity and harmony.

In adopting many measures and initiatives to create a culture of peace, we have attached the utmost importance to reconciliation and forgiveness. Now we seek to take this forward by introducing, through legislation, the concept of restorative justice.

Fiji is fully dedicated to a Security Council membership which reflects current geopolitical realities. We support the inclusion of India and Japan to join with the United States and China as permanent representatives from the Pacific and Asia region.

We look forward to the moment when peace finally reigns in the Middle East, and we commend all of those countries that are helping to promote that global cause.

With respect to our Pacific Ocean region, it is our fervent hope that the Korean people as a whole will find lasting harmony. On the future of Taiwan, Fiji recognizes that this is a domestic issue and encourages and supports its resolution through dialogue and mutual agreement.

This age of globalization is marked by the adoption of universal principles governing such matters as democracy, human rights and trade and development. Today, I reaffirm here that Fiji accepts those precepts; there is no question about that. But we also say that countries like ours, which is undergoing a profound transition, should not be held to unrealistic standards. We need time to evolve and to adapt. We need time for adherence. Do not judge us by what might be inappropriate at our stage of development. Measure us by the progress we are making towards the universal ideals and the level of our commitment to change.

Fiji fully respects the principle of equal human rights. We endorse the proposal for a Human Rights Council that would be directly accountable to the General Assembly.

For our country, it is vitally important, as a factor for long-term stability, always to maintain a careful balance between the rights of individuals and those of communities. The special interests of the indigenous people, including their right of ownership to their natural resources, must also be protected. We therefore strongly endorse the proposal to bring before the Assembly a final draft declaration on the rights of indigenous peoples. It has particular relevance for a multicultural country such as ours.

In accordance with the Millennium Development Goals, we are pursuing many policies to improve the quality of life of our citizens. For Fiji and other vulnerable States, there is one overriding issue that is critically vital to our economic survival: market access and remunerative prices for our exports. What meaning do the Millennium Goals have if developing countries cannot gain access to markets or a fair return on their exports?

There must be real recognition of the economic disparities and the conditions of inequality that make a mockery of the very idea of free trade. The removal of the certainty of access through the termination of quotas and reductions in assured commodity prices, without accompanying financial assistance or trade support measures, pose a serious threat to our economic growth and sustainability. Unrealistic and inequitable world trade policies simply make it that much harder for our countries to eliminate poverty.

I therefore commend those developed States that are prepared to support developing nations and assist them in cushioning the impact of World Trade Organization compliance. I pay particular tribute to the European Union for its willingness to provide that type of assistance to its developing partners in Africa, the Caribbean and the Pacific. We call on our European Union (EU) partners to provide adequate long-term support as the EU begins to reduce preferential access for sugar from African, Caribbean and Pacific States.

I also express our appreciation to our close neighbours Australia and New Zealand for their support in helping us gain better access to their markets and their important areas of development assistance.

The Millennium Development Goals can be met, but only if the United Nations commits itself to trade reforms that reflect a realistic appreciation of the plight of all developing countries, including vulnerable island nations.

May we find the strength and the conviction to do what is right.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Amadou Hama, Prime Minster of the Republic of the Niger.

Mr. Hama (Niger)

Allow me at the outset, on behalf of the Niger and the delegation accompanying me, to associate myself with the heartfelt congratulations extended to the Co-Chairpersons, on their election to preside over our work. Knowing their personal qualities, I remain convinced that under their enlightened leadership the outcome of our discussions will meet our expectations.

The people of the Niger, facing an acute food crisis following a farming season marked by severe food shortages and locust invasions, expresses its full gratitude to the agencies of the United Nations system and to the entire international community for the efforts made to help our country in such difficult circumstances.

We express our complete gratitude to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who visited our country to provide his support to the people of the Niger. The situation, far from being merely the result of present circumstances, clearly reveals the extreme fragility of our system of production and, furthermore, the precariousness of the situation and the living conditions of the people of the Niger. In short, it explains my country's shortcomings in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

In the light of the Niger's experience this year, five years after our solemn Declaration of 2000, today it has to be acknowledged with great bitterness that many countries, including mine, remain very far from achieving the Millennium Development Goals. For many of those countries, the situation has even deteriorated greatly. Poverty has worsened, becoming the scourge of modern times. The economies of many developing countries have declined, making them victims of the inequality of the international trading system, the steady decline in official development assistance, their excessive foreign debt burden and low levels of investment. Globalization has become one more painful ordeal for countries such as the Niger, which, despite its real economic potential, is condemned to living in the most abject poverty, and its people are condemned to live in despair and all manner of frustration. In such a situation, how can a country such as mine achieve the Millennium Development Goals?

In spite of the structural constraints on the economy of the Niger, since 2001 the Government has been firmly committed to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. It has worked to strengthen its cooperation with international financial institutions and has undertaken to draft and implement our poverty-reduction strategy and the special programme of the President of the Republic, Mr. Tandja Mamadou. Following the actions taken in that framework, meaningful progress has been made in the areas of democracy, basic freedoms, governance, access to basic social services and economic reforms. Furthermore, the results obtained so far demonstrate that my country has not been idle and that, despite its scarce resources and constraints of all kinds, it is striving to end the vicious circle of poverty.

It is normal to expect that well-managed countries, those that have carried out good economic reforms and created conditions that promote democracy and good governance, would show the best economic and social performance. Furthermore, in the opinions of the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Union, the United Nations Development Programme and many other bilateral and multilateral development partners, the Niger is well-managed. Thus, we are faced with a paradox that throws up a challenge to both rich and poor countries. Simply put, freedom, good governance and good macroeconomic policies in themselves are not enough to escape the poverty trap.

I believe we need considerable, ongoing contributions of outside resources to finance more ambitious investments in infrastructure and the productive sectors, which create jobs for young people.

I would like to speak about additional resources beyond the contribution of debt cancellation pledged by the Group of Eight, which we welcome. Such additional resources are increasingly difficult to find, in a situation where the Bretton Woods institutions, while reducing the debt burden of the Niger, require our country not to contract new loans for investment unless 60 per cent of such financing consists of grants. That condition is simply unrealistic. It is simply not feasible. Really, it is tantamount to making development financing for our countries dependent on grants.

Are grants in themselves sufficient for the economic development of a country? Definitely not. For proof, we need only turn to the Millennium Project report, in which the financing requirements of a country such as mine in order to attain the Millennium Development Goals are estimated at $900 million per year. At present, we receive only $120 million in combined loans and grants. Worse, the amount of official development assistance we receive is declining annually. Today it stands at barely half its level of 15 years ago. The Niger receives just $20 per inhabitant per year, which equals $1.60 per person per month.

Progress on achieving the Millennium Development Goals by the target dates set is a matter of shared responsibility. The rich countries need to be convinced that the fight against poverty is closely linked to the burning questions of the moment, in particular to the genuine concerns of security and immigration.

What we need then is a big push -- that is, massive resources capable of profoundly transforming the structure of our economies in order to create a productive, diversified base that could better integrate our countries into international trade and provide work for unemployed young people who, in the years to come, if nothing is done as of now, will explode like a bomb and wreak havoc in the world.

Consequently, the many pledges made here by the rich countries must be delivered upon very quickly if we want to genuinely achieve the MDGs and ensure social peace in our countries. For our part, shouldering our responsibility will mean working to strengthen democracy and good governance, peacebuilding and fighting against blind violence and terrorism.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

The Assembly will now hear an address by Her Excellency Mrs. Lineth Saborío, Vice-President of the Republic of Costa Rica.

Mrs. Saborío (Costa Rica)

Today, on the sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations, I am honoured to reaffirm Costa Rica's unconditional commitment to the principles and purposes of this Organization. We reaffirm our faith in the United Nations as the international community's main instrument to maintain peace.

We reiterate our full confidence in this Organization's capacity to fight for human rights and the well-being of all peoples. We renew our commitment to universal disarmament and to the efforts to promote sustainable development. For these reasons, we deem it indispensable for the United Nations to play a leading role in the creation of a better world.

In the area of international peace and security, we affirm our full confidence in the Security Council as the legitimate mechanism to confront the main threats to peaceful relations among nations. We reaffirm our commitment to Security Council reform with a view to making it more democratic, transparent and effective on the basis of the principles of sovereign equality among all States, rotation, periodic elections and accountability. We favour an increase in the number of non-permanent members of the Security Council with the right to be re-elected, and we support a deep reform of its working methods. In order to increase the Council's legitimacy and efficiency, we have advocated for the elimination of the right of veto in matters such as genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and massive violations of human rights. Regrettably, that initiative was not reflected in this summit's draft outcome document (A/60/L.1). We believe that the question of limiting the right of veto should be reconsidered in the coming months.

Costa Rica firmly supports all efforts to strengthen the international human rights mechanisms. We endorse fully the idea of transforming the Commission on Human Rights into a Human Rights Council and would have liked the outcome document to contain concrete provisions on the mandate and structure of the new Human Rights Council. In their absence, we must devote the coming months to designing that new institution. Furthermore, we endorse the idea of increasing substantially the budget of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and we welcome the initiatives to strengthen the monitoring mechanisms established by treaties with a view to creating, in due time, a unified system. In order to protect persons living with disabilities, we believe that it is necessary to conclude as soon as possible the convention on the rights of persons with disabilities.

We stress the importance of law and justice in international relations, and we reaffirm our faith in the International Court of Justice as the best mechanism for the peaceful settlement of disputes. We should like, therefore, to urge all nations to accept, without conditions, the jurisdiction of the Court. Similarly, we reaffirm our support for the work of the International Criminal Court as an indispensable instrument to prevent and punish crimes committed against humanity.

We regret that the draft outcome document does not mention either the International Criminal Court or the need to prevent impunity at the global level. We also regret the fact that the outcome document does not reaffirm commitments already made regarding disarmament, non-proliferation and small arms.

We are convinced that the United Nations must take the leading role in the fight against international terrorism. Therefore, we should like to reiterate the proposal made last year by His Excellency Mr. Abel Pacheco de la Espriella, President of Costa Rica, to create a High Commissioner against Terrorism, as an independent, professional and permanent body, located within the Secretariat, with a view to ensuring greater coordination and better use of the resources available at the global level for the fight against terrorism. Furthermore, we support the rapid conclusion of the Comprehensive Convention against International Terrorism by the end of this year.

Regarding development, I wish to reiterate our call to fulfil the Millennium Goals. In particular, we urge the developed nations to honour their commitment to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross national product to development assistance and to eliminate all barriers and subsidies that have a negative impact on the exports of developing countries.

Similarly, it is essential for us to always keep in mind the importance of ecologically sustainable development and, in particular, the need to protect our natural resources. In this context, I should like to highlight the initiative led by Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea of creating a "Rainforest Coalition" to protect all forests and ensure payment for the environmental services that they provide us.

Regarding management, and with a view to ensuring the unique legitimacy of this Organization, we consider it indispensable to strengthen the Organization's monitoring and oversight mechanisms, and we request the General Assembly to consider in depth the recommendations of the Volcker report. We believe it is necessary to face up with absolute transparency to the mismanagement cases and the allegations of corruption that have surfaced within the Organization in recent months.

Today we have been called upon to reaffirm our faith in this Organization and in its capacity to create the necessary conditions for human development, such as universal access to health services, education, social security, housing, safe water and job training. These topics must have the same priority in our Organization's agenda as the challenges of ensuring lasting peace and of eradicating terrorism.

At this point in the history of humankind, it is absolutely necessary to create the conditions for an inclusive, just and equitable global society. Such are the real prerequisites for attaining peace and security.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I call now on His Excellency Mr. Rashid Meredov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan.

Mr. Meredov (Turkmenistan)

First of all, I should like to express sincere gratitude for the honour of addressing you from this rostrum and to convey, on behalf of the President of Turkmenistan, Saparmurat Ataevich Niyazov, best wishes for peace and prosperity to the peoples of all nations.

This session has special value for Turkmenistan, which this year is celebrating the tenth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of its resolution 50/80 A, on the permanent neutrality of Turkmenistan. President Niyazov had proposed that initiative at the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. Turkmenistan values its universally recognized international legal status of permanent neutrality and demonstrates with practical actions its commitment to its international obligations in this regard and to the high ideals of the community of nations.

As the major international organization, and by virtue of its universality and vast political experience, the United Nations occupies a unique place in the system of international relations. It plays a major role in solving the most urgent problems of modern times.

The fundamental provisions of the United Nations Charter have now been further developed in the Millennium Declaration, which is based on the principles of sustainable development, strengthening peace and collective security, promotion of human rights and the rule of law. It is these principles that constitute a basis of our interaction for the future.

One of the Organization's main tasks is preventing threats to the world community. This in turn requires establishing a system of preventive measures and defining the legal tools and mechanisms for implementing them. Fully aware of the value of preventive action, Turkmenistan is engaged in practical approaches to promoting such action. In particular, Turkmenistan was the venue for the first round of the Forum on Conflict Prevention and Sustainable Development for Central Asia, which took place under United Nations auspices. We consider this to be an important process necessary for enhancing understanding and cooperation among States.

In our view, the attention that the United Nations devotes to issues of strengthening security and preventive activities in Central Asia is timely and necessary. In this connection, the idea of establishing the Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for Central Asia, with its headquarters in our capital, Ashgabat, is a significant international initiative. We are grateful to the Secretary-General for his intention to create the Centre, as set out in his annual report on the work of the Organization (A/60/1, para. 32). We are also grateful for the support of so many States for this important international initiative. The creation and functioning of the Regional Centre will promote comprehensive understanding and resolution of questions related to the prevention of conflict situations, combating terrorism and illegal drug trafficking and promoting sustainable development in Central Asia.

A key activity of the international community is the fight against terrorism and transnational organized crime. In this context, Turkmenistan, having supported the United Nations initiative to create an international coalition against terrorism, has become an active participant in it. Not only do we resolutely condemn acts of terrorism worldwide; we are also implementing specific legislative and practical measures to fight this scourge and prevent its spread.

Turkmenistan supports effective implementation of a comprehensive system of counter-terrorism measures, including active cooperation from States in finding and bringing to justice those who plan and perpetrate acts of terrorism. In this connection, we consider it timely and necessary that a comprehensive convention on international terrorism be completed and adopted.

The non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is a pressing issue being considered at the present High-level Plenary Meeting. As a party to the main international non-proliferation instruments, our country -- whose neutral status involves such important obligations such as not to produce, deploy or proliferate weapons of mass destruction -- fully supports the efforts of the international community in this area and participates in their implementation. One practical step is Turkmenistan's active participation under United Nations auspices in the process aimed at establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia.

One of the primary tasks facing the world community is fighting and preventing disease. In this area, Turkmenistan is closely cooperating with the United Nations and other international organizations in implementing its national health programme. As a result of such interaction, we have put in place a number of joint projects and programmes whose effectiveness has been recognized at the international level.

Another important theme of this Meeting is ensuring ecological sustainability. The solution of these tasks in Turkmenistan is addressing this issue both nationally and through the implementation of international environmental programmes. Our close partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme, the Caspian Ecological Programme, the Aral Sea Rescue Fund and a number of other international environmental initiatives shows how regional and global environmental protection issues can be tackled.

The human dimension has a special place in the Millennium Declaration. Here, Turkmenistan consistently undertakes efforts to create and develop genuine guarantees to ensure the rights of citizens. Our country is carrying out such activities together with international organizations, primarily United Nations humanitarian agencies. As a result of this kind of constructive partnership, we have established a dialogue with the Commission on Human Rights and are actively interacting with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights; this has produced practical results. Specifically, just over a month ago, more than 16,000 refugees living in Turkmenistan were granted Turkmenistan citizenship or residence permits by decree of the President of Turkmenistan.

We shall continue our efforts on all these issues and stand ready to cooperate with all States and international organizations.

We share the widely held view that today the United Nations requires effective reform, but only if such reform strengthens the Organization and broadens its role in the world. We believe that one key area is strengthening the role of the General Assembly as the primary consultative and representative body of the United Nations. This, in turn, calls for improving the model for General Assembly activities, so that it reflects modern-day problems facing the world community.

A prominent aspect of reforming of the United Nations is improving the work and the structure of the Security Council. Given the significance of that body, we believe that the optimal composition must be adopted on the basis of broad agreement.

The initiative to create the Peacebuilding Commission and proposals to specifically define its activities as a United Nations institution along the lines of the Economic and Social Council are timely and significant.

In conclusion, I would like to note that only by pooling our common efforts and being aware of the role and responsibility of every country will we ensure successful implementation of the Millennium Development Goals and resolve the diverse tasks facing Member States.

The Co-Chairperson (Gabon)

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. S. Jayakumar, Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore.

Mr. Jayakumar (Singapore)

This is not the best of times for the United Nations. The Organization is under attack -- and from many directions. However, tension between the interests of nations and the idea of the international community is inherent in the very nature of the State system. Seldom in the 60 years of its existence has the United Nations been entirely free of crisis and controversy. Debate over the role of the United Nations and its future is a sign of its continued engagement with the issues of our day.

We may complain about the United Nations, yet we instinctively turn to it as we seek to organize life in an ever more interdependent world, confronted with such urgent new challenges as terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, pandemic diseases and tsunamis. By and large, those controversies are over the extent to which and how best the United Nations should be involved. But that the United Nations should be involved is taken for granted.

The real problem is perhaps not that the United Nations is ignored, but that all too often we demand too much of the United Nations. The continuing validity of Charter principles does not absolve its Members of national responsibilities in an international system in which the State is still the central actor and State interests are the essential motor of international relations. The United Nations is only one diplomatic instrument in a repertoire.

At the same time, it is a fact that only the United Nations has a global mandate and near universal legitimacy. It is the only Organization equipped to facilitate cooperation between sovereign nation-States. Therein lies the crux of the issue. The United Nations Charter principles are vitally valid, but the Charter is not a sacred text because principles need to be operationalized to be relevant. United Nations reform is not something that should seize us only on anniversaries. It would be a mistake to consider the sixtieth or indeed any other anniversary as a make-or-break occasion. Change and adaptation must be a continual part of the evolution of every living entity.

The key purpose of this year's gathering is to review the progress made since the Millennium Summit five years ago. Improving the lives of our peoples is the criterion by which history will judge us. It is from that perspective that I will offer my delegation's comments on three core areas contained in the outcome document: management, human rights and peacebuilding.

Management reforms directly pit the interests of Members against those of the Organization as a whole. They are difficult, but they cannot be avoided, as they are vital to restoring public confidence and support. The demands on the United Nations are always growing, but resources are finite. More effective use of available resources is therefore imperative if development and other goals are to be achieved.

The draft outcome document has set out a comprehensive set of proposals, and in that regard the proposals for an independent oversight advisory committee to assist the General Assembly and for an evaluation of the United Nations entire internal control and oversight system acquire special urgency under current circumstances.

On human rights, empowering our peoples with economic, social as well as political and civil rights must be both the end and the means of development. My delegation has an open mind on the proposal to transform the Commission on Human Rights into a human rights council, but the question is: Are the essential problems only structural? It is a fact that all but a handful of what are asserted to be rights are essentially contested concepts. The basic function of the United Nations is to enforce agreed norms as well as to expand the consensus on what constitutes agreed norms. But the penchant of some States to present their views as universal norms inevitably provokes resistance, unnecessarily politicizes the process and is ultimately unhelpful to the cause of human rights. Unless that deeper issue is adequately addressed, any change will be only superficial.

On peacebuilding, stability and the ability to govern are fundamental prerequisites for development. Bitter experience has shown us that instability in one State can have a powerful contagion effect far beyond its borders. The manner in which internal developments in one State have wider ramifications is only one illustration of how narrow notions of sovereignty no longer hold today. We believe that the proposal to create a peacebuilding commission is worthy of support, but given the complexities and sensitivities inherent in its proposed functions, we must be flexible in our approach and envisage changes in structure and functions over time and in different circumstances. In so doing, we must acknowledge that the concept of absolute sovereignty will not always be a viable operating principle. For that reason, establishing a peacebuilding commission will be a contentious enterprise, but that should not deter us from pursuing a worthy goal.

In the run-up to this sixtieth anniversary summit, expansion of the Security Council has dominated discussions on United Nations reform. That is to be expected, as the Security Council lies at the heart of the United Nations system. Because of the huge stakes, national positions have become sharply polarized. Singapore continues to believe that there should be an expansion of the Security Council to better reflect contemporary geopolitical realities. However, our view is that the new permanent members should not have the veto, because that would make it even more difficult for the Security Council to be an effective instrument of world peace.

Let us continue to explore compromises on the reform of the Security Council and other issues that are before us. We should not, because of our inability to make progress on any one particular issue, lose interest in the other issues that are no less important. Where there is consensus, let us take big strides. Where the issues are still contentious, let us be prepared to take smaller steps.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Aboul Gheit, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt.

Mr. Aboul Gheit (Egypt)

It gives me pleasure to deliver the statement of Mr. Hosni Mubarak, President of the Arab Republic of Egypt, to the High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly on the occasion of its sixtieth anniversary.

In September 2000, we identified our common vision for the future of the United Nations and committed ourselves to undertaking certain responsibilities towards our peoples, our societies and the international community at large. We also committed to shouldering our responsibility towards our Organization, which we established 60 years ago as a forum to uphold the principles of human dignity, equality and justice and to maintain international peace and security.

Today, and while the world has witnessed significant events over the past five years, we gather once again in New York to consider which of those basic commitments we have managed to fulfil and to agree on the way forward towards achieving the other objectives that we have failed to fulfil. We should carry out our examination of the future with a common understanding of the nature of the threats and challenges we are facing, and on the basis of our conviction in the uniformity of our purposes and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter, which has been and will remain the solid foundation upon which we will stand and confront the threats and challenges facing the international community.

Before we address our ambitious plans to reform our Organization, we must first agree on a number of premises and basics to secure our path towards the realization of our common objectives.

First, what brings us together must not be the urge to impose our personal will, lifestyle and values. We must come together around the desire for mutual understanding and joint endeavour to identify and address the common risks facing humanity.

Secondly, we should view efforts to achieve economic development as a human commitment to which we must all subscribe, not as a means of exerting pressure to achieve non-development objectives.

Thirdly, any successful effort to achieve comprehensive development will remain hostage to our ability to achieve peace and stability and to consolidate the principles of international legitimacy, justice and equality. We must reject the concept of the use of force and forced occupation of the lands of others. We must resolve international conflicts through peaceful means, in accordance with the principles of international law and legitimacy.

In 2000, we made a commitment to promote democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including the right to development. Egypt has taken significant steps in that direction on the basis of plurality and increased participation in the decision-making process -- efforts that culminated in the holding of open presidential elections a few days ago, in which the candidates from 10 political parties competed, for the first time in Egypt's history, to win the confidence of the people.

We continue to support the structural reform of the human rights machinery and the establishment of the Human Rights Council. We stress that such reform should be substantive and not merely a change of names. We should also avoid politicizing such processes and engaging in double standards. We should reach common understandings that take into account cultural, educational and social diversity. And we should avoid using the proposed Human Rights Council to achieve political ends.

Egypt has also consistently called for the reform of the Security Council with view to adapting it to the needs of our changing world.

If the reform effort is to achieve its objectives, Egypt believes that it should be based on a number of principles, which I will briefly outline. First, we must restore the former balance between the main organs of the United Nations and return to the General Assembly its central role as the main legislative body, as enshrined in the Charter.

Secondly, we must reform the working methods of the Security Council to make it more transparent and credible. We should also increase the membership of the Council to make it more representative of the developing countries, particularly the African countries, which have not yet received their fair share of representation in the Council.

Thirdly, we must allow the Economic and Social Council to play a greater role in drawing up international policies in the economic and social areas and following up on their implementation. This would complement international efforts in the development process and help developing countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Fourthly, we believe that the Peacebuilding Commission will prove to be an efficient tool for building the national capacities of countries emerging from armed conflict and for assisting those countries on the path towards stability and reconstruction, without imposing trusteeship on them or undermining their national sovereignty.

All international efforts, including institutional reform within our Organization, must take place in parallel with efforts to combat terrorism. Egypt calls once again for a collective international effort, through the General Assembly, to deal with that scourge, which, if unchecked, will undermine all attempts by the international community to enhance international peace and security and to achieve development. The international community has yet to come up with a strategy in this regard, although it is crystal clear that no State, however powerful, can deal with the phenomenon alone.

We hope that our agreement, as reflected in the summit outcome document, will represent a new beginning for our common endeavours. We must ensure the implementation of that agreement so as to fulfil the common aspirations of our peoples for a better and more prosperous future through a new order based on cooperation, complementarity and international democracy -- one that guarantees their rights and requires them to fulfil their obligations.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I call next on His Excellency Mr. Nyan Win, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar.

Mr. Win (Myanmar)

I should like at the outset to convey the deepest sympathy of my delegation to those affected by Hurricane Katrina on the Gulf coast of the United States of America.

I should like, at this largest-ever assembly of world leaders, to congratulate Mr. Eliasson on his election to his high office.

In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders pledged that the world in 2015 would be better than the one that we lived in at that time. They made solemn commitments to implement the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which aim to guarantee peace and security through disarmament; alleviate poverty through development; and protect the environment and promote human rights, democracy and good governance through the establishment of agreed international norms. Progress in achieving the MDGs is far from what was originally envisaged. We should not despair, however, but must continue to endeavour to meet the agreed targets.

In the view of my country, priority areas include combating the scourge of terrorism and transnational crime; enhancing cooperation in meeting the challenges of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and those of nuclear disarmament; ensuring that development is sustainable and that the environment is protected; intensifying the international community's efforts to prevent, mitigate the effects of and eradicate communicable diseases, including the HIV/AIDS pandemic and avian flu.

In Myanmar, we are making satisfactory progress towards reaching the Millennium Development Goals by 2015. In our drive to eradicate poverty, we have achieved significant results through the designation of 24 special development zones in the states and divisions, with a view to achieving equitable and balanced development throughout the country.

In the area of ensuring education for all, according to our estimates, by 2015, net enrolment in primary level education will be 84.5 per cent. In the health sector, we have designated HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis as diseases of national concern. We are also actively participating in the international community's efforts to combat the scourge of HIV/AIDS through our membership in the Coordination Board of the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS).

Myanmar is endeavouring to achieve development, relying mainly on its own resources, without assistance, including from the international financial institutions. With external financial assistance, our development efforts could be accelerated.

If the world is to achieve economic development and social progress in a secure environment, then consolidated international efforts are urgently needed to solve global economic issues through implementation of the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration, by both developed and developing countries. The United Nations, as the only Organization with global reach and a global mandate, is the best entity to assist Member countries in those critical tasks. The United Nations must therefore be reformed so as to increase its efficiency and effectiveness and to strengthen its capacity to meet and overcome the threats and challenges of the twenty-first century.

The United Nations must be reformed, and its sacrosanct principles of national sovereignty, territorial integrity, equality, non-interference in internal affairs, settlement of disputes by peaceful means, and the non-use or threat of use of force should remain inviolate. Those guiding principles have withstood the test of time and are as relevant and valid today as on the day they were adopted.

We are confident that the Assembly will reaffirm the cardinal principles upheld and consolidated by the United Nations as the world body representing all nations on the basis of equality, solidarity, tolerance, cooperation and multilateralism.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I give the floor to His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Minister of Information and Culture, Personal Representative of the President of the United Arab Emirates.

Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan (United Arab Emirates)

Let me say at the outset that it gives me great pleasure to convey to the Assembly the congratulations of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates, on the election of Mr. Eliasson, the representative of a friendly country, as President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. I should like also to express our appreciation to the President of the Gabonese Republic for the efforts made by his country in guiding the work of the previous session of the General Assembly.

The United Arab Emirates expresses its appreciation for the efforts made by Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General, to strengthen and promote the role of the United Nations.

On this occasion, I should like also to convey, on behalf of the Government and the people of the United Arab Emirates, our heartfelt condolences and sympathy to the Government and the people of the United States of America and to the families of the victims of Hurricane Katrina for the tragic loss of life and property caused by the hurricane.

We consider this meeting a valuable opportunity to take stock of the progress made in the implementation of the Development Goals which we pledged in the Millennium Declaration, which represents a road map for international efforts to achieve prosperity and dignity for our peoples according to the principles of equality, justice and fairness. This meeting also provides an opportunity to develop a collective vision as to how to effectively address present challenges and the resulting new dimensions of collective security.

The United Arab Emirates reaffirms the central role of the United Nations and stresses the importance of its Charter -- the main point of reference for building international relations on the basis of respect, freedom, equality, tolerance and joint responsibility. In that context, the United Arab Emirates would like to re-emphasize the importance of strengthening the United Nations and the reform of its principal organs to enable it to meet its growing responsibilities and to strengthen its role.

The benefits of the progress made in the economic, social and humanitarian fields have reached only a very small number of peoples. Indeed, a large percentage of the world's population continues to suffer from poverty, hunger, serious diseases, unemployment, illiteracy and displacement. They suffer also from the negative effects of armed conflict and foreign occupation, in addition to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, transnational organized crime, drug trafficking, terrorism, and human rights violations, all of which pose grave threats to international peace and security, and impede sustainable development, which we are striving to realize.

The United Arab Emirates is firmly convinced that development is the most important issue of our time, since it represents the way to the elimination of poverty, hunger, and the achievement of security and stability for peoples. From that perspective, we emphasize the importance of addressing international challenges in the context of a clear vision of collective security based on the view that development and the welfare of the people are main concerns -- a vision that can be translated into a global partnership that ensures the commitment of developed and developing countries to take practical and concrete steps to expedite the implementation of the recommendations of all United Nations summits and conferences.

Proceeding from that conviction, we believe also that the international efforts towards development will not bear fruit in the absence of international peace and security, the achievement of justice and equity for all peoples, the respect of cultural diversity and the right of people to self-determination; and the end of foreign occupation wherever it exists, including the occupation since 1961 by Iran of the three islands which belong to the United Arab Emirates -- Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.

There should be a comprehensive and just settlement of the Middle East issue and the Palestinian question. We must strengthen international efforts to combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and to prevent the proliferation and production of weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons.

In conclusion, we renew our commitment to the spirit and objectives of the Millennium Declaration, and we hope that this meeting will succeed in reaching a common vision as concerns ways to eliminate the obstacles impeding the full implementation of the Development Goals and will enables us to translate our undertakings and commitments into a tangible reality.

The Co-Chairperson (Sweden)

I give the floor to His Highness Sayyid Haitham Bin Tariq Al-Said, Minister of National Heritage and Culture, Special Envoy of His Majesty the Sultan of Oman.