Laos, 2009

At the outset, on behalf of

the Lao delegation, I would like to congratulate you,

Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, on your election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth

session. I trust that, under your able presidency, our

session will be guided to a successful outcome. Let me

also take this opportunity to express our deepest

appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Miguel d’Escoto

Brockmann, who presided over the sixty-third session

with dedication and distinction. By the same token, I

convey our great appreciation to Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon for his leadership and his commitment to

the work of the Organization at a time when our world

is facing numerous grave challenges.

In recent years, the international situation has

undergone rapid changes and faced various challenges.

The United Nations, a unique world body, has been

playing an increasingly important role in maintaining

international peace and security and promoting the

peaceful settlement of disputes and international

cooperation for development. In this rapidly changing

world, it is our common duty and responsibility as

Members of the United Nations to ensure that the

Organization carry out its mandate effectively. To this

end, United Nations reform is crucial and should be

comprehensive, transparent and balanced, while the

Organization should maintain its intergovernmental,

universal and democratic character, consistent with the

Charter.

The revitalization of the General Assembly,

reform of the Security Council and the strengthening of

the Economic and Social Council and specialized

agencies should be guided by the principles of

democracy, transparency and accountability with a

view to making this universal Organization a body that

truly represents the interests of all Member States and

seeks their benefit. In this context, the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic welcomes the launching of

intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council

reform and will continue to contribute to these

important efforts in this new phase of the Security

Council reform process.

The ongoing impasse within the multilateral

disarmament machinery continues to undermine

international peace and security. The existence of

nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the existence

of all humankind. It is therefore vital to reaffirm the

importance of States honouring their nuclear

disarmament and non-proliferation obligations. The

upcoming 2010 Review Conference will be a great

opportunity for the States parties to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to demonstrate

strong political commitment by making a collective

effort to resolve the current stalemate on the

non-proliferation and disarmament agenda. In this

regard, it is encouraging that the third session of the

Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review

Conference successfully adopted the agenda and all

significant procedural decisions, which will

undoubtedly lay an important foundation for a

productive and successful Review Conference in 2010.

In conjunction with arms reduction and nuclear

disarmament, the issue of explosive remnants of war,

including cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance

(UXO), continues to threaten and pose serious

obstacles to socio-economic development and poverty

eradication efforts in more than 80 countries across the

world. Among these, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic is the most affected. The victims of cluster

munitions in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic —

where approximately 300 victims have been recorded

every year for the 30 years since the war ended —

account for 50 per cent of the global total of cluster

munitions victims. This is due to the fact that 37 per

cent of national territory remains contaminated by

UXO. Enormous financial resources would be needed

39 09-52586

to resolve this problem, and it would take a great

length of time to clear UXOs from those areas needed

most for development and the everyday livelihoods of

communities. However, a precise estimate has yet to be

made as to how many hundreds of years it would take

to clear all UXO-contaminated areas across the

country.

In light of the adverse impact of cluster

munitions, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

attaches great importance to the Convention on

banning and eradicating cluster munitions. In this

context, we welcome and commend those countries

that have signed and ratified the Convention, and hope

that other countries that have not done so will follow

suit so that Convention may enter into force as soon as

possible. In order to prepare for the future

implementation of the Convention, the Lao

Government has offered to host the first conference of

States parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions

after it enters into force. We hope that our offer will

receive broad support from all countries and

international organizations.

Despite the fact that peace, development and

cooperation are the lodestars of our times, tensions,

conflicts, violence, terrorism and threats to security

persist in various parts of the world. The Lao People’s

Democratic Republic is deeply dismayed by the

prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which continues

to inflict immense suffering on millions of people in

the region, in particular the Palestinian people, who

have been struggling to exercise their legitimate and

inalienable rights to self-determination and statehood.

Although we have heard in the course of our general

debate many expressions of encouragement and

renewed hope for addressing the Middle East problem,

this can be realized only if all parties concerned

demonstrate their commitment to addressing the

impasse with a view to realizing the vision of two

States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace

and security within recognized borders, in accordance

with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

We also remain concerned over the decades-long

economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed

on the Republic of Cuba. It is now time to end these

sanctions.

Climate change continues to be a pressing

concern and to pose enormous challenges to the

survival of humankind. Against this backdrop, global

measures that conform to the principle of common but

differentiated responsibility are urgently required. To

this end, the integration of the three pillars of

sustainable development — economic development,

social development and environmental protection —

should be enhanced with a view to effectively

implementing the Bali Action Plan.

In this context, we highly commend the

Secretary-General for his initiative to convene the

high-level Summit on Climate Change on

22 September 2009, at which world leaders had the

opportunity to discuss concrete measures and potential

solutions to the consequences of climate change, as

well as to prepare for the Climate Change Conference

to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Furthermore,

world leaders have made strong commitments to taking

the necessary action to reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, promote the green economy, provide

mitigation and adaptation assistance, and generate

alternative energy, including through technology

transfer from developed to developing countries, in

order to enable the latter to adapt to the consequences

and impacts of climate change.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic welcomes

and supports the recommendation to launch a new

Global Compact entailing a green New Deal, which

would no doubt provide an excellent platform for

addressing the current global challenges, promoting

investment in the green economy, laying the

foundations to deal with the crucial long-term issues,

and helping to create a future based on a low-carbon

economy, renewable energy and energy efficiency.

The multiple global crises, especially the

financial and economic crises, have had many adverse

effects on developing countries, in particular on the

most vulnerable groups. This is due primarily to the

lack of basic infrastructure, access to markets,

resources and modern technology, and to the fact that

capacity to provide financing and investment remains

low. In response, various forms of consultation and

approach have been undertaken in an attempt to

mitigate the long-term impacts of the crisis. In this

regard, we welcome the initiatives of the Group of

Eight, the Group of 20 and other international forums

to build a mechanism that will help find solutions to

the crisis, including the recommendations of the high-

level Conference on the World Financial and Economic

Crisis held here in June this year.

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As one of the most vulnerable countries in the

world, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is of the

view that all initiatives and measures undertaken must

be implemented effectively and in a timely manner. In

particular, it is important to address the

unpredictability and vulnerability of commodity

markets, provide preferential treatment to goods from

developing countries, especially those from the most

vulnerable ones, ensure the smooth resolution of debt

issues, improve technology transfer mechanism and

reform the international financial system.

The fourth United Nations Conference on the

Least Developed Countries, to be held in early 2011,

will provide a good opportunity for the international

community to review its responsibilities and

commitments pledged to the least developed countries,

as well as to identify obstacles and constraints and seek

possible solutions to them, particularly in the wake of

such a profound economic and financial crisis.

The solid political stability and social order in the

Lao People’s Democratic Republic have provided

favourable conditions for national economic

development. Nevertheless, the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic has also been adversely affected

at a certain level by the recent global economic and

financial crisis. The crisis has caused a slowdown in

economic development, with growth of the main

economic sectors such as industry, services and

agriculture decreasing by 2 to 3 per cent. The trade

sector was also affected, with exports dropping by

28 per cent.

Against this backdrop, the Lao Government has

undertaken urgent action by identifying eight measures

and 80 priority areas to address. As a result of such

action, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been

able to mitigate the adverse impact of the crisis to a

certain degree. However, owing to the uncertainty of

today’s global economy, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic, like other developing countries, remains

vulnerable and still needs the support and cooperation

from the international community to respond to the

crisis, with a view to preventing long-term impacts,

which may occur at any time, and to achieving the

Millennium Development Goals and our ultimate

national goal of being removed from the list of least

developed countries by 2020.

Today, more than ever, the international

community has the responsibility, as well as the

opportunity, to promote solidarity and strengthen

international cooperation in jointly addressing these

global problems, as no country can weather alone the

threats and challenges confronting it. In this spirit, the

Lao People’s Democratic Republic reiterates its

unshakable commitment to continue full cooperation

with the international community in pursuit of a world

free from fear and want, rooted in a new, just and

equitable order. I believe that, with great solidarity, we

will be able to achieve the aforementioned goals.