Bhutan, 2007

I offer my delegation’s

congratulations to the President for his election as the

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-second

session and assure him of our support and cooperation.

My delegation would also like to convey our

appreciation to his predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed

Al-Khalifa, for the able manner in which she guided

the work of the Assembly at the sixty-first session. We

also convey our appreciation to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for the excellent leadership he

provides to our Organization.

We are gratified that climate change and the

Millennium Development Goals are among the top

priorities of this session’s presidency. The irony of

climate change is that its worst impact will be on the

developing world, particularly small and island

developing countries, who are least responsible for the

problem. As complex as the issue is, climate change is

inextricably linked to development and the debate

engenders issues of equity, fairness and the right of

countries to grow economically. The challenges of

climate change must, therefore, be addressed within the

framework of sustainable development bearing in mind

the principle of common but differentiated

responsibilities.

Bhutan has two major concerns about climate

change. First is the potential adverse impact on

agriculture, which is the mainstay of 79 per cent of our

population. Second, more serious and immediate, is the

rate at which Himalayan glaciers are receding. Bhutan

has approximately 3,000 glacial lakes, of which 24

have been identified as potentially dangerous. Floods

caused by glacial lake outbursts have caused

devastation in the past, and future outbursts will be far

worse. Our capacity to carry out research, monitor

developments, forecast outbursts and take mitigation

measures is severely constrained by a lack of scientific,

technical and financial resources.

In the Millennium Declaration of 2000, world

leaders undertook to channel the fruits of globalization

to benefit all people and lift one sixth of humanity

from extreme poverty. At the midpoint between the

adoption of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) and the target date of 2015, reports, including

the 2007 Millennium Development Goals Report,

provide a mixed picture at best. The Secretary-General

has rightly said that the world does not need new

promises to achieve the MDGs. What is needed is

urgent and concerted action by political leaders and

stakeholders to meet, in their entirety, the commitments

made in the Millennium Declaration and in the

Monterrey Consensus adopted at the 2002 International

Conference on Financing for Development and at the

2005 World Summit.

The 2006 midterm comprehensive global review

of the implementation of the Programme of Action for

the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-

2010 revealed that the least developed countries were

unlikely to achieve all the goals and objectives of the

Programme of Action, and therefore the MDGs, if

trends continued. It is the moral and political

imperative of the international community to help the

least developed countries through strong supportive

global programmes, measures and policies. However,

one year later, the situation remains largely unchanged.

Geographical constraints present enormous

challenges to landlocked developing countries. Bhutan

is working closely with the group of landlocked

developing countries to address those challenges

through the cooperation of transit countries and the

international community. The needs of the landlocked

countries are well-documented and there is a road map

for global partnership set out in the Almaty Programme

of Action.

Bhutan has made tremendous socio-economic

progress during the past 45 years. However, there are

many hurdles to overcome before we can stand on our

own feet and be self-reliant. We are determined to

achieve the cherished goal of self-reliance at the

earliest time possible. Until then, we will have to rely

on external assistance and support. Here, I would like

to record my country’s appreciation to bilateral and

multilateral donors.

We hope that under the leadership of the

President the Assembly will undertake results-oriented

intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council

reform in order to bring that issue to its logical

conclusion. As we have stated before, Bhutan supports

India, Japan and their G4 group partners for permanent

membership. We also support Africa’s claim for

permanent seats.

My country has as much interest in the work of

the Security Council as others and would like to see it

adapt to current demands and realities. Since becoming

a Member in 1971, my country has served in a number

of important bodies of the United Nations, but not in

the Security Council. We are confident of our capacity

to contribute directly to the work of the Council.

Bhutan therefore announced in 1999 its candidature for

a non-permanent seat for the period 2013-2014. If

realized, Bhutan would gain entry into the Council

after four decades in the United Nations. It is our

sincere hope that the General Assembly will support

Bhutan’s candidacy during the elections in 2012.

Terrorism strikes at the very foundation of

humanism and cannot be justified under any

circumstances. This evil must be countered through

cooperation at the bilateral, regional and global levels.

At the global level, greater efforts must be made to

implement the United Nations Global Counter-

Terrorism Strategy and conclude a comprehensive

convention on international terrorism. Within our

region, the leaders of the South Asian Association for

Regional Cooperation, at their 14th summit meeting,

held in New Delhi in April 2007, reaffirmed their

commitment to collectively fight terrorism. That is a

positive development, but more needs to be done to rid

the region of this menace.

Allow me to briefly apprise this body of

developments in my country. The development model

pursued by Bhutan is based on the philosophy of

“Gross National Happiness”, a concept conceived by

our fourth King, His Majesty Jigme Singye

Wangchuck, in the early 1970s. Gross National

Happiness is premised on the belief that, if happiness is

the ultimate desire of every individual, then it is the

responsibility and purpose of the State to create

conditions that enable citizens to realize this desire. We

are glad that the concept of Gross National Happiness

is drawing increasing global attention and we stand

ready to share our experiences in this regard.

Bhutan is now set on the irreversible path to a

full-fledged democratic constitutional monarchy. The

people of Bhutan are looking forward to 2008, when

parliamentary democracy will be introduced. Next

year, Bhutan will also celebrate the formal coronation

of His Majesty Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck and

the centenary of the Wangchuck dynasty. As we stand

at the threshold of these momentous developments, the

people of Bhutan look to our friends and well-wishers

and the global community for support and inspiration.

Before I conclude, allow me to refer to the

comments made yesterday by the honourable Foreign

Minister of Nepal regarding the problem of the people

in camps in Nepal. As her comments were less than

objective, it is important that misperceptions be

clarified. It is disingenuous on her part to blame

Bhutan for the lack of progress in our bilateral talks

when it is widely known that disruptions to the

bilateral process resulted from the political instability

in her country, which were accompanied by frequent

changes of Government and positions on the issue.

Bhutan for its part has always been committed to the

bilateral process and has not deviated from the

understandings and agreements reached between the

two countries.

The issue is a highly complex one that does not

lend itself to conventional solutions. The genesis of the

problem lies in illegal immigration. The camps were

established without any screening procedures when

only 304 people, claiming to be refugees from Bhutan,

arrived in eastern Nepal. Screening procedures were

put in place by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Refugees only after two and a half

years, and by then the number had reached its present

proportion. In view of the complexity of the issue, the

two Governments had agreed that the bilateral process

was the only way to find a solution. In this regard, we

appreciate the offer of the United States of America

and other countries for third country resettlement, as it

would help address that humanitarian problem.

While the Royal Government remains committed

to the bilateral process, it has serious security concerns

with Maoist infiltration of the camps and the formation

of several radical groups, who have publicly stated

their objective of destabilizing Bhutan and disrupting

the country’s first parliamentary elections next year.

In conclusion, I would like to once again convey

my delegation’s full support to the President and wish

the General Assembly every success at it sixty-second

session. Tashi delek.