Cambodia, 2005

I wish to join other

representatives in congratulating you, Sir, on your

unanimous election as the President of the General

Assembly at its sixtieth session. I am confident that,

under your able guidance, the General Assembly will

respond wisely and effectively to the needs and

expectations of the international community. I would

like to assure you of Cambodia's full support and

cooperation as you carry out the duties and tasks of

your high office.

While commending the efforts and contributions

of Mr. Jean Ping, President of the General Assembly at

its fifty-ninth session, I wish also to express my

appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his

political vision and his firm commitment to the efforts

to strengthen and revitalize the role of the United

Nations in securing international peace, strengthening

international security and forging international

cooperation.

In these times of uncertainties and difficulties,

when the world seems to be inundated by conflicts and

tribulations, the summit of the General Assembly and

the outcome document reaffirmed our commitment to

the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and

provided us with a new hope for achieving our noble

goals of strengthening peace and stability in the world,

a sine qua non for the development and prosperity of

all humankind. Admittedly, the outcome document did

not respond to all of our concerns, but it gave us a

framework for our future action. It is important for us

to keep hope alive and to maintain our commitment to

global peace and to taking the necessary steps to ensure

that that noble goal will one day be achieved.

As a country that has just emerged from many

years of war and internal conflicts, Cambodia

understands the paramount importance of peace.

Cambodia is firmly convinced that more weapons will

not bring more security to the world. Disarmament,

like any other matter on our agenda today, cannot be

dealt with in isolation. There is an urgent need for that

matter to be dealt with at the national, regional and

international levels. We are of the view that the

promotion of confidence-building measures is

necessary in that endeavour. The experiences gained by

the Regional Forum of the Association of South-East

Asian Nations ó now in its eleventh year of existence

ó have confirmed the rightness of that approach.

This explains the rationale behind Cambodia's

ratification of the Convention on the Prohibition of the

Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of

Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction on

19 July 2005. Cambodia is a proponent of the

reinforcement of international law, which, inter alia,

incorporates the major instruments to curb the arms

race, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We note with dismay and

deep concern that the recent NPT Review Conference

ended without achieving any results, and we regret the

failure to reach consensus on that very crucial issue in

the outcome document of the High-level Plenary

Meeting. Cambodia profoundly believes in the

necessity and benefit of disarmament. We believe that

people need food, not weapons.

After 11 September 2001, security perceptions

have changed drastically. Nobody and no country is

safe from terrorism, which has caused untold suffering

and death among innocent people and knows no

distinction between the rich and the poor, the powerful

and the powerless, between a super-Power and a little

speck in the ocean, as we have seen in many parts of

the world. When death strikes, we are all the same. The

security of our people cannot be assured and ensured

through weaponry and sophisticated technology alone.

Another threat created by the force of nature,

Hurricane Katrina, which devastated the States of

Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and even Florida,

reinforced us in that conviction. The human brain is a

decisive factor of and the essence behind our efforts to

counter security threats and threats of any other nature.

Therefore, it is more important than ever that our

strategies be preventive, comprehensive, inclusive and

global in nature. I would like to take this opportunity to

express, on behalf of the people and the Royal

Government of Cambodia, my profound condolences to

the families of the victims who have lost their lives, as

well as deepest sympathy for the survivors of that

tragic incident.

During the summit, our leaders endorsed the

Secretary-General's identification of elements of a

counter-terrorism strategy. Such a strategy would

contribute to our concerted efforts to fight terrorism in

all its forms and manifestations, which would be

undertaken in full respect of human rights and

fundamental freedom. I hope that our joint efforts will

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lead to an agreement on the comprehensive convention

on international terrorism.

As part of the Government's policy of playing an

active role in international efforts to combat terrorism,

in particular by fulfilling its obligations spelled out by

the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United

Nations, Cambodia has implemented some necessary

measures recently. Among other things, we are in the

process of finalizing our national anti-terrorism law.

As we have learned through our experience over

the years, the causes of terrorism do not arise

spontaneously. Only through continuous and consistent

efforts to promote tolerance, social development,

economic growth and democracy, and to build a global

coalition involving all civilizations, all religions, all

cultures and all political systems can we fight injustice,

poverty and the other roots of those malicious and

often lethal acts. Those long-term measures are of

significance in our mission effectively to prevent acts

of violence and extreme aggression.

Sixty years ago, the United Nations was

established to spare future generations from the

scourge of war. However, the foundation of peace lies

in the success of our respective Governments, their

peoples and the world community at large in forging

their future and the future of their children through

better health care, education and economic and

professional opportunities in a safe and secure social

environment that abides by the rule of law and the

culture of merit and honesty.

It goes without saying that development is the

cement for peace. Development in one part of the

world cannot be sustained without development

elsewhere. Cambodia believes in national ownership in

devising strategies to develop itself. We also believe in

the crucial importance and necessity of international

partnership. We equally believe in the importance of

good governance at the national, international and

corporate levels. How could we explain our mutual

dependency otherwise? Transparency and mutual

accountability are the best guarantees of a successful

partnership.

Cambodia has expressed its full commitment to

the Millennium Declaration. In 2003, Cambodia

localized the global Millennium Development Goals,

which it calls the Cambodia Millennium Development

Goals (CMDGs). The CMDGs, which reflect the

realities of Cambodia, are based on a strong national

consensus. Specific indicators have been adopted for

each CMDG, including the benchmarks and the short-,

medium- and long-term values to be achieved by 2005,

2010 and 2015. In all, the CMDGs cover nine areas of

long-term and short-term goals, 25 overall targets, and

106 specific targets covering extreme poverty and

hunger; universal, nine-year basic education; gender

equality and women's empowerment; child mortality;

maternal health; HIV/AIDS, malaria and other

diseases; environmental sustainability; global

partnership for development; and demining,

unexploded ordinance and victim assistance.

At present, Cambodia is in the process of

preparing a national strategic development plan for

2006-2010 by combining its earlier socio-economic

development plan and its national poverty reduction

strategy processes and integrating them into the

CMDGs. The resulting CMDG-based national poverty

reduction strategy will be rooted in the ìrectangular

strategyî for growth, employment, equity and

efficiency, which provides the political platform of the

Royal Government in the third legislature (2004-2008)

of Cambodia's National Assembly.

Our progress towards achieving the Millennium

Development Goals is constrained by a number of

impediments, including the chronic shortage of

investment funds to meet our priority requirements.

That resource gap needs to be bridged through

increased flows of external finance. That is necessary

since the current concessions given by the international

community to least developed countries like Cambodia

provide only limited benefit to us and need to be

supplemented by increased inflows of development

finance. If we are to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals, greater financial inflows through

aid, reduced debt servicing and increased current

account inflows are critical to bridging the resource

gaps and fostering the required growth.

It is in that connection that we would like to

reiterate our call for the implementation of the Brussels

Programme of Action for the Least Developed

Countries. We welcome the establishment of timetables

by many developed countries to achieve the target of

0.7 per cent of gross national income for official

development assistance by no later than 2015 and to

reach at least 0.5 per cent by 2009. We urge those

developed countries that have not yet done so to make

concrete efforts and invite them to establish timetables

for achieving the target of 0.7 per cent. We also urge

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those developed countries to achieve the target of 0.15

to 0.20 per cent of gross national income for official

development assistance to the least developed

countries.

The Royal Government of Cambodia welcomes

the resumption of the six-party talks on the Korean

peninsula. Equally crucial is the continuation of the

inter-Korean dialogue. It is our belief that open

channels of communication are essential in building a

strong foundation for attempts to pursue peace and

stability in the Korean peninsula.

We also welcome the recent positive

developments in the Middle East and continue to

encourage the implementation of the road map and the

relevant Security Council resolutions. After all the

years of war and conflict, we reiterate our call on both

sides to continue taking steps towards peace, no matter

how small they might seem at the time, in order to give

the children of Palestine and Israel the opportunity to

live in harmony.

The dire situation in Africa deserves our outmost

concern and action. Too many African children and

adults have suffered too long from too many conflicts.

At the end of the day, the world community, through

the United Nations and the Group of Eight leading

industrial countries should strive to make more

efficient efforts and to take timely action to tackle the

severe plights of numerous innocent people in sub-

Saharan Africa.

It is important for us never to lose hope, because,

as history has shown us, hope is what carries us

through difficult times and dreadful challenges.

Because of hope, we lend a hand to others. Because of

hope, we let ourselves be assisted by others. Although

we are indeed facing an uphill battle in our attempts to

overcome the challenges of peace, security and

development together, our noble goals to provide a

better future for our children and grandchildren will be

achieved. Let us have faith in our common house, the

United Nations.