General Assembly Session 62 meeting 4

The President

In accordance with the decision taken at its 3rd plenary meeting, held on 21 September 2007, the General Assembly will hear a presentation by the Secretary-General of his annual report on the work of the Organization under agenda item 109. I give the floor to the Secretary-General.

The Secretary-General

Mr. President, I would like to congratulate you on your election. Welcome, all, to New York in this wonderful season. For me, it is both a pleasure and an honour to be with you for the opening of the general debate of the sixty-second session of our General Assembly. I believe that this year will be the most intense in our history. I also very firmly believe that, together, we can make it one of the most fruitful.

We have gotten off to a good start. Last week, we were able to bring together a high-level meeting of the Millennium Development Goals Africa Steering Group, which is a clear priority. Leaders from around the world also met to discuss the course to be taken in the Middle East, in Afghanistan, in Darfur and in Iraq.

And yesterday we had a very productive conference on climate change. The aim was to marshal energies, political determination and to coordinate our action by all meeting under the same roof, that of the United Nations, so that we will all be united in combating climate change. It was already any enormous undertaking, and it is in this way that I hope that we will work together in the future.

The Secretary-General

May I repeat, it is a model of how I hope we can work together in the future.

Looking to the coming year, and beyond, we can foresee a daunting array of challenges to come. They are problems that respect no borders, that no country, big or small, rich or poor, can resolve on its own.

More than ever, we live in an era of collective action. Often it seems as though everybody wants the United Nations to do everything. We cannot deliver everything, of course. But that cannot be an excuse for doing nothing.

Hence the theme of these remarks -- "A Stronger United Nations for a Better World".

Our changing world needs a stronger United Nations. We all understand the importance of a strong, robust, empowered Secretariat. My vision is an administration focused on results -- efficient, directed, pragmatic and accountable -- an administration representing excellence, integrity and pride in serving the global good.

To deliver on this vision, we must modernize ourselves. We need an internal climate change at the United Nations. We need to think freshly about how we do our work. Our main themes should be to simplify, rationalize and delegate.

To deliver on the world's high expectations for us, we need to be faster, more flexible and mobile. We need to pay less attention to rhetoric and more attention to results -- to getting things done.

I place a very high priority on implementing the management reforms that the General Assembly has previously approved to promote greater transparency, accountability and efficiency. I welcome the progress we have made over the past nine months in streamlining our budget processes, crafting our Capital Master Plan and putting our financial house in order. I am especially grateful to the 102 Governments that have paid their annual budget assessments in full.

Together, we successfully reorganized our peacekeeping operations, affecting more than 100,000 United Nations personnel in 18 multinational missions. I plan to continue the effort by strengthening the Department of Political Affairs. We must become more proactive in responding to crises. Well-planned and well-executed preventive diplomacy can save many lives and forestall many tragedies -- a core Charter responsibility of our United Nations.

I will leave no stone unturned to end the tragedy in Darfur. The Government of Sudan must live up to its pledge to join comprehensive peace talks and implement a ceasefire. We must also move forward with the agreement that ended the long-running civil war between north and south and prepare for elections in 2009.

The crisis in Darfur grew from many causes. Any enduring solution must address all of them -- security, politics, resources, water, humanitarian and development issues. There, as elsewhere, we must deal with the root causes of conflict, however complex and entangled.

Peace in the Middle East is vital to the stability of the region and the world. We know what is required -- an end to violence, an end to occupation, the creation of a Palestinian State at peace with itself and Israel, and a comprehensive regional peace between Israel and the Arab world.

With renewed leadership from the Arab world and the United States, coupled with the efforts of the Quartet representative, Mr. Tony Blair, the elements for a renewed push for peace are being brought together.

We also sincerely hope that the Lebanese people, through national reconciliation, will be able to restore political and social stability by electing their new president in accordance with their constitutional process.

Iraq has become the whole world's problem. With the newly adopted Security Council resolution 1770 (2007), the United Nations has an important role to play in promoting political negotiation and national reconciliation, as well as in providing humanitarian assistance to the Iraqi people. But we recognize that the safety and security of United Nations staff is paramount.

In Afghanistan, we must work more effectively with our partners to deal with drug trafficking and the financing of terrorism.

We are closely following events in Myanmar. We again urge the authorities in Myanmar to exercise utmost restraint, to engage without delay in dialogue with all the relevant parties to the national reconciliation process on the issues of concern to the people of Myanmar. In this regard, my Special Adviser is expected to visit Myanmar very soon.

From my first day in office, I have stressed the importance of disarmament, as mandated most recently in the General Assembly's support for my proposal to establish an Office for Disarmament Affairs. We must reinvigorate our efforts to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related technology, especially to prevent such material from falling into the hands of terrorists. I am encouraged by recent progress on the issue of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. I sincerely hope that the forthcoming inter-Korean summit meeting will create a historic momentum to bring peace, security and eventually a peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. I am confident that we will reach a negotiated solution with the Islamic Republic of Iran. Our ultimate goal remains the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction. If we fail, these weapons may one day eliminate us.

We at the United Nations must take the long view, in politics as in life. Even as we deal with the here and now, we must think about tomorrow. Yesterday, I spoke about climate change as a defining issue of our time. We all agreed: now is the time for action. Let us go to Bali and make a breakthrough. We also agreed that solutions to global warming cannot come at the expense of economic development, the second pillar of the work of the United Nations. Issues of development and social equity cannot take a back seat to issues of peace and security.

This year marks the midpoint for our Millennium Development Goals. We have had successes. Around the world, unprecedented numbers of people are lifting themselves out of poverty. Yet the rising tide of globalization has not lifted all boats.

We see this most acutely in Africa, home to most of what one World Bank economist calls "the bottom billion" of the world's poor. We must pay careful attention to these nations with special needs. We must heed the voices of the world's poorest peoples, who too often go unheard.

That is why I convened the Millennium Development Goals Africa Steering Group earlier this month, bringing together leaders of major multilateral development organizations.

Our Millennium Development Goals remain achievable so long as we help the poorest nations break free of the traps that ensnare them. Some of those traps relate to bad governance, others to disease and poor health care. It is intolerable that HIV/AIDS continues as a modern-day scourge. It is intolerable that almost 10 million children die each year before their fifth birthday, mostly from such preventable diseases as malaria. It is a scar on the moral conscience of the world.

This is not to say that we will do things that these countries should, and can and do, do for themselves. The "Asian Miracle" has shown that successful development owes much to smart choices and rigorous execution.

For our part, we must try to make our multilateral development programmes more effective and coherent, to better integrate our efforts in health, education, agriculture and infrastructure so as to deliver better results.

For their part, donor nations must do more to deliver on their promises of aid, debt relief and market access. Open, fair and non-discriminatory market access, trading and financial systems are critical to the future of every developing country, in Africa and elsewhere. That is why we must do our utmost to advance the Doha Development Agenda, with its emphasis on development and aid for trade.

The third pillar of the United Nations, human rights, is codified in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which marks its sixtieth anniversary in 2008. The Human Rights Council must live up to its responsibilities as the torchbearer for human rights consistently and equitably around the world. I will strive to translate the concept of our responsibility to protect from words to deeds, to ensure timely action so that populations do not face genocide, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.

Our international tribunals continue their work, from Rwanda to Sierra Leone and soon in Lebanon. The age of impunity is dead.

Meanwhile, the brave and exceptionally committed United Nations humanitarian aid workers do their best to save lives. They help protect civilian populations from the degradations of armed militias, children from starvation and women from shameful violence.

This year did not bring a natural disaster on the scale of the 2004 tsunami, but the intensity of floods, droughts and other extreme weather, perhaps made worse by climate change, have brought pain and suffering to many millions. This, above all, is the United Nations front line. We stand up to help those who cannot help themselves.

The Secretary-General

I am often filled with a sense of deep humility in the face of the great challenges ahead of us. So many hopes have been placed in us, but it is our duty to respond to these hopes with perseverance, patience, courage and discipline. We must transform the way in which the United Nations does its work, the way that we work. Let us focus more on results, rather than bureaucratic procedures. The pendulum of history is swinging in our favour. Multilateralism is back. An increasingly interdependent world acknowledges that the United Nations is the best way -- in fact the only way -- to take up the challenges of the future.

The President

There are over 180 languages spoken in the five boroughs of New York. This cosmopolitan city really is a microcosm of the world. What better place than this to bring together at the highest level all 192 Member States of the United Nations?

We are here today to debate the urgent challenges that our peoples and nations face collectively and individually. This is one of the rare occasions each year when so many heads of State and Government gather together in one place. What a unique opportunity. This historic Hall is indeed the parliament of the peoples of the world.

It is therefore my sincere honour and pleasure to welcome you all to the general debate. The theme for this year's debate is "Responding to Climate Change". I would also like to use this opportunity to draw your attention to the other key priorities we will work on together during the sixty-second session.

As I set out in more detail at the opening of this session, in consultations with members, I identified five priority topics that we need to address in this session: climate change, financing for development, the Millennium Development Goals, countering terrorism and renewing the management, effectiveness and coherence of the Organization, including Security Council reform. I believe that those five priorities represent an equilibrium of interests that all Member States can identify with and take forward successfully together.

Climate change and its dramatic effects are increasingly visible and increasingly violent. The irony is that those least responsible for it will suffer most. Yesterday, many participants reaffirmed that and sent a strong political message that the time for action had come. That is why I have proposed creating a comprehensive road map to guide the way forward for the United Nations system and its Member States.

First, we need to take stock to outline the instruments we have and the structures necessary to address climate change. Then, we need a clearer vision of the way forward. And finally, we must formulate a strategy to get us there together. Modernizing our management and implementing greater coherence across the system will enable the Organization to deliver better results on all the priorities I have outlined. And to make swift progress, I call on all members today to renew their support for the Secretary-General in his endeavour to advance the agenda of the United Nations and to make it more effective and modern.

Together, dealing systematically with substance, the General Assembly can demonstrate its global leadership on these important issues. To revitalize this House is also to renew our faith in each other and in the Organization's cherished values.

The basic values, norms and principles of international relations are undergoing a profound transition. This is characterized by great opportunities as well as by great challenges.

The patterns of life of individuals and communities are increasingly shaped by global economic forces. Overall, our wealth is increasing. More and more people are benefiting from the expansion of trade, commerce and new jobs in a system based on the rule of law and human rights. But for the benefits of development to be sustained, they have to be shared by all. Sharp social divisions and inequalities continue to persist. About half the world's people still live on less than two dollars per day. In a world where we are confronted by images of prosperity, the burden of the expectation of a better future is growing daily. Education, the key to empowerment, is for some more accessible. Yet, each day, 100 million young children do not receive an education. Let us spare no effort in moving the world towards a sense of genuine belonging, shared opportunity and responsibility.

Achieving the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is not solely a test of our ability to deliver on our promises. It is, above all, a test of our moral convictions. That is why, in consultation with the Secretary-General, I intend to work closely with members to hold an MDG leaders meeting here at the United Nations during this session.

The President

In this era of globalization, we face other challenges. Capital flows are becoming more and more complex, volatile and opaque. We are increasingly vulnerable to the new threats to which we need to respond. Terrorism, arms trafficking, weapons of mass destruction, pandemics and the consequences of climate change are but a few examples. That is why I am calling upon members to take every opportunity offered to us in the course of this session to move towards sustainable peace, in particular in the Middle East, Iraq, Afghanistan and Darfur.

We must rise to those challenges in this increasingly fast-paced world. Political decision-making processes can seem very slow and too cumbersome. As Ms. Al Khalifa said during the previous General Assembly session, we are facing a growing gap between the actions that we must take and the multilateral means at our disposal to do so.

The President

By confronting the challenges of our time and nurturing new patterns of cooperation, we can forge a new culture of international relations, demonstrate the courage to rise above ourselves and achieve our common goals. We must act with purpose, determination and vision, all of us accepting our shared but differentiated responsibility to work together for change. If fully implemented, the commitments made at the 2005 World Summit and at other summits and conferences can create the conditions for lasting prosperity and stability based on the principles of peace and security, international development, human rights and the rule of law.

To demonstrate this and to achieve more during this session and in the future, the General Assembly should be more of a dialogue, not a monologue; it should be more engaging and insightful; it should be more focused on results and should continually strive to exemplify the spirit of cooperation and mutual respect.

There is an old saying: "Keep your mind level. If the mind is level, the whole world will be level". It is my hope that that spirit will guide us in our joint efforts, not only during this session, but in the future. Acting in that manner requires us to realize that all the distinctions of the world are caused by the discriminatory views of the mind.

Before giving the floor to the first speaker for this morning, I should like to remind members that the list of speakers has been created on the basis that statements will have a time limit of 15 minutes per statement to enable all the speakers to be heard at any given meeting. Within this time frame, I should like to appeal to speakers to deliver their statements at a normal speed so that interpretation may be properly provided.

I should also like to draw the General Assembly's attention to the decision made by the Assembly at previous sessions, namely, that the practice of expressing congratulations inside the General Assembly Hall after a speech has been delivered are strongly discouraged. In that connection, I should like to invite speakers in the general debate after delivering their statements to exit the General Assembly Hall through room GA-200, located behind the podium, before returning to their seats.

May I take it that the General Assembly agrees to proceed in the same manner during the general debate of the sixty-second session?

The President

Finally, I should like to draw it to the attention of members that during the general debate, official photographs of speakers are taken by the Department of Public Information. Members interested in obtaining those photographs are requested to contact the Photo Library of the United Nations.