Luxembourg, 2008

“[We] will not enjoy development without security, we

will not enjoy security without development, and we

will not enjoy either without respect for human rights”

(A/59/2005, para. 17). In this year when we celebrate

the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights, that fundamental observation by former

Secretary-General Kofi Annan continues to be as

relevant as ever, and it must continue to guide our

actions and those of our Organization and our

Governments.

I should like briefly to recall the two high-level

events that we have attended in the past few days: that

on Africa’s development needs and that on the

Millennium Development Goals. Those meetings

showed that some progress has been made — and there

has been unquestionable progress that must be

acknowledged: for example, we have seen a drop of

400 million in the number of people living in extreme

poverty, a drop of 27 per cent in the mortality rate of

children under the age of five, increased investments in

education and health and progress regarding gender

equality. But they also emphasized the absolute need to

strengthen our efforts if we want to achieve the goals

that we set ourselves by consensus in 2000, all the

more since the rise in food and fuel prices and the

slowing of the world economy that we have seen in

recent months threaten our achievements.

41 08-52265

Luxembourg has resolutely focussed its

cooperation policy on the eradication of poverty,

particularly in the least developed countries. Its actions

are conceived in the spirit of sustainable development,

including its social, economic and environmental

aspects, with men, women and children at their core.

Today, my country spends 0.92 per cent of its gross

national income on official development assistance,

and we expect to continue on that track in order to

achieve the goal of 1 per cent in the coming years.

Together with others, we shall invest our efforts to

ensure that the commitments entered into 2005 at the

European level are fully respected at the Doha

Conference on Financing for Development.

While establishing a true development

partnership must be based on shared responsibilities by

donor and recipient countries, and while we are

counting on strengthened action by developing

countries with regard to good governance, the rule of

law, capacity-building and ownership of their own

development, respect by developed countries of their

commitments regarding the quality and quantity of

assistance is an important basis for such a partnership,

particularly with respect to Africa. Nevertheless, I

would like to recall that the European Union and its

member States account for 55 to 60 per cent of global

worldwide development assistance.

I would not like to omit a subject that was at the

centre of our discussions last year and that has a major

impact on the potential of countries’ development:

climate change. It is essential to continue along the

course started in Bali and to conclude in Copenhagen a

post-Kyoto regime that does not impede, but rather

supports, the sustainable economic development to

which the developing countries aspire. Mechanisms

making an effective transfer of technology possible and

appropriate financing available are, in our view,

indispensable tools for the post-2012 regime, with

respect to both mitigation and adaptation as part and

parcel of an effective global multilateral regime, with

legally binding emission reduction targets for

industrialized countries and with contributions by each

according to their means.

Luxembourg, for its part, decided at the

beginning of the year to systematically integrate the

question of adaptation to climate change into its

development programmes.

However, climate change has a potential impact

not only on development but on the security of

countries. The initiatives of small developing Pacific

island countries to refer this issue to the Assembly

seems to me most timely. It favourably complements

the initiative by the Maldives at the seventh session of

the Human Rights Council to take up the relationship

between climate change and the full enjoyment of

human rights. As I have already had the opportunity to

say from this rostrum, to successfully take on climate

change we must tackle it in all its complexity and face

it in a concerted manner. What better framework to do

so than the United Nations?

Since development needs, particularly in Africa,

have been at the centre of our attention this week,

allow me to say a few words about some of the

conflicts in Africa which impede the development of

the countries they are ravaging, and in whose solution

the United Nations is heavily invested — unfortunately

not always with the desired results.

The conflict of Darfur is in its sixth year now,

and images of people devastated by attacks,

displacement, precarious life in the camps and the daily

fear of fresh violence continue to haunt the media, and

also our minds. International efforts and efforts of the

United Nations to resolve the crisis, particularly

through joint deployment with the African Union of the

largest peacekeeping mission ever decided on, and the

central role of mediation in the search for a political

solution may continue to be in vain if the parties to the

conflict, blinded by their short-term interests, continue

to lack the necessary political will to commit

themselves to a lasting solution.

For a solution to Darfur to be lasting, it must

comprise a number of components: security, by

cessation of hostilities and a return to calm on the

ground; political, by the conclusion of an agreement

for the sharing of power and resources; humanitarian,

through effective measures to respond to immediate

humanitarian needs and development needs of the

population; and judicial, of course, by the end of the

widespread impunity for the crimes committed in

Darfur and bringing to justice the main perpetrators of

the atrocities there to make a true reconciliation

possible. Peace and justice should go hand in hand in

Darfur, just as throughout the world. That is one of the

fundamental principles that guide Luxembourg’s

foreign policy. We cannot, nor should we, close our

eyes to the serious crimes committed in Darfur. Any

08-52265 42

political solution that would indefinitely put off justice

in Darfur would be flouting even further the rights of a

population that has been suffering for too long.

The European Union and my own country are

endeavouring to make their contribution with the

deployment of the European Union force (EUFOR) in

Chad and the Central African Republic, a force charged

with protecting the refugees of Darfur as well as

internally displaced persons, and allowing the

humanitarian community access to those vulnerable

people in a volatile security environment. EUFOR

must pave the path for a United Nations force starting

in the spring of next year. It is important that this

transition occur under good circumstances, according

to the timetable, and that the force can deploy fully, in

the interest of achieving lasting stability in the

subregion.

Another conflict in Africa which concerns us

greatly is the one in Somalia. Somalia has been in the

grips of civil war for more than a generation now, and

the consequences are felt throughout the entire region

of the Horn of Africa. The signing of the Djibouti

agreement several weeks ago between the Transitional

Government and an opposition party will perhaps open

the way to a lasting stabilization of Somalia. Only by

consolidating the political situation and improving

security can the international community fully carry

out its peacekeeping efforts in that country in the wake

of the African Union, which has deployed a

peacekeeping force under extremely trying

circumstances. I welcome the efforts under way in the

Security Council to give concrete form, when

conditions permit, to the firm commitment entered into

by the international community and the United Nations

to help Somalia.

Much more could, indeed, be said about the

situation in Africa. We are concerned over the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, where fighting has

recently resumed. In Zimbabwe, one must hope that all

forms of intimidation and violence will now be ended

so that that battered country can recover. However,

more could also be said about the positive

developments in Liberia and Sierra Leone, where it has

been possible to put in place an integrated strategy for

peacebuilding and to draw up a reliable way out of the

crisis.

The sum of $700 billion has been at the centre of

concerns over financial policy this week. It appears

that this staggering sum has been deployed in order to

repair the damage of the capitalism of the casino-like

banking sector that relies on debt and speculation to

achieve precarious growth. Imagine, for a moment, this

sum being applied to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals upheld by this Assembly in 2000

and 2005. Millions of children could survive. Millions

of women would not die during or after childbirth.

Much progress could be made against AIDS and

malaria, or in education and training programmes for

millions of poor people who live on one or two dollars

a day. Take a moment to reflect on this.

I also want to mention another topic which

concerns us a great deal, one where our Organization,

in cooperation with the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the European

Union, should play a central role, namely, the conflicts

in Georgia.

As the President of the French Republic,

representing the European Union, said a few days ago

from this rostrum, the European Union wants to act for

peace. It is prepared to make its contribution,

particularly by deploying an on-the-ground observer

mission, and in the international discussions that

should begin in mid-October in Geneva, with a view to

a peaceful and lasting solution. Such a solution should

be based on full respect for principles of independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity, and we condemn

any action at odds with those principles. Additionally,

we feel it is important to see that an independent

investigation be carried out on the Georgian conflict.

It is said that war kills truth first. The European

Union has committed itself to stopping the violence

and getting the troops out of Georgia, which will

undoubtedly help the Georgian people in both

humanitarian and security terms. The real reasons for

the outbreak of this conflict cannot be left to historians.

Light must be shed on the situation. Therefore and

most importantly, in order to avoid similar cases in the

future, the raison d’être of the United Nations is to

prevent the outbreak of armed conflict. If a conflict

arises it is incumbent on all of us to investigate the

reasons and the circumstances in order to prevent other

clashes.

I also want to share what was said by the

President of the European Council regarding another

topic, particularly after having heard the statement last

Tuesday of the President of the Islamic Republic of

43 08-52265

Iran before the General Assembly (see ). It is

intolerable that Iran should call for the destruction of

the State of Israel. We cannot tolerate such anti-Semitic

comments, particularly from this rostrum here in our

Organization.

As so often, shadows of darkness and rays of

hope become intermingled when we analyse

international situations, but one constant remains true:

the importance of an effective multilateral system.

The United Nations could be even more effective

if it were to continue its internal reform efforts.

Unfortunately, there is a certain fatigue with regard to

reform of the Organization. This is particularly

regrettable because global challenges cannot wait. A

more cohesive and effective Organization would

benefit us all. Let us not hesitate to redouble our efforts

to honour our reform commitments of 2005.

With regard to the reform of the Security

Council, I am pleased that we are finally going to begin

intergovernmental negotiations at the beginning of

2009. I hope that those negotiations will quickly

achieve results. I also hope that the reformed Council

will be more representative, but above all, I hope that it

will perform better and be more transparent, thereby

ensuring greater effectiveness and enhanced legitimacy

and implementation of its decisions.

Other areas of reform agreed in 2005, such as the

management of the Organization, have not yet been

addressed. I therefore encourage the Secretary-General

to pursue his effort to reform human resources

management on the basis of the three pillars of

transparency, effectiveness and the taking of

responsibility.

With regard to system-wide coherence, we should

pursue our efforts in the areas of operational activities,

commercial practices and environmental initiatives. We

must essentially move away from the fragmented

system that has evolved in the course of the past

60 years of United Nations history.

In conclusion, I think it very important to once

again draw the Assembly’s attention to our collective

decision regarding the responsibility to protect people

against genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and

crimes against humanity. We should continue to work

on the concept of the responsibility to protect, which

should be implemented in the framework of criteria

and conditions set out in the final document of the

2005 Summit (resolution 60/1), so as to progressively

establish an irrefutable basis upon which the

international community can act in accordance with a

given situation.

As a founding Member of the Organization, my

country endeavours to contribute to the purposes and

principles of the Charter through resolute and ongoing

solidarity, through concrete involvement in efforts

aimed at development, peace, security and respect for

human rights, and through the determined pursuit of a

multilateral approach with the United Nations at the

core. It is in that same spirit that, as we did in 2001,

Luxembourg has presented its candidacy for a

non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the

period 2013 and 2014. That too is how we intend to

continue to shoulder our share of responsibility in this

Assembly.