Maldives, 2005

Mr. President, on

behalf of my delegation, allow me to congratulate

Mr. Jan Eliasson on his election to preside over this

session of the General Assembly. I should like also to

take this opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor

for the exemplary manner in which he guided the work

of the fifty-ninth session of the Assembly.

Allow me also to thank the Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his inspiring report entitled “In

larger freedom: towards development, security and

human rights for all”.

It was 40 years ago today that the Maldives was

admitted to the membership of the United Nations. We

are very proud of that milestone. We were then the

smallest country to have joined the United Nations, a

fact which led to questions being asked in some

quarters as to the viability of full membership for small

States and their ability to assume it. We survived the

so-called mini-State debate, thereby reinforcing the

concept of the sovereign equality of all States,

regardless of size. We also survived the cold war

without losing the peace and stability that have been so

essential to the social and economic progress of our

people.

But today we are facing a much more challenging

task and much more serious questions about the

economic viability of the country, whose economy has

been devastated by the Indian Ocean tsunami.

Compared to other affected countries, the loss of life

and property damage in the Maldives were small in

absolute numbers. But in proportionate terms, we are

the worst-affected country.

Some 62 per cent of the gross domestic product

has been destroyed. More than 7 per cent of the

population is internally displaced. The social and

economic infrastructure was damaged or destroyed in

over one quarter of all inhabited islands, 12 of which

are now nothing but rubble.

Given the nationwide scale of destruction, timely

assistance from the international community was

crucial in dealing with the emergency relief

requirements. We thank all nations, peoples and

organizations for their generosity.

I would also like to extend a special vote of

appreciation and thanks to President Bill Clinton, the

United Nations Special Envoy for Tsunami Recovery,

for his commitment and leadership in coordinating

international efforts to assist affected countries with

the recovery. We are particularly grateful for his

continued engagement, given that nearly nine months

after the tsunami, the situation in the country has not

eased.

There are still major funding gaps in the national

economic recovery programme. An economy which

had grown at an average of 8 per cent per annum

during the past two decades is now forecast to contract

by 3 per cent. Rising oil prices, unforeseen tsunami-

related expenditures and tourism revenue shortfall are

creating significant financial pressures requiring, for

the first time in our history, budget support from

donors.

As a small country, the Maldives lays great store

on assistance from the international community for its

survival. We hope that our appeals for assistance will

result in the extension of the support that is required to

tide us over the current blip in the economy.

It is ironic that just six days before the tsunami

struck, the Assembly had voted to begin a transition

period for the Maldives for graduation from least

developed country status. While we recognize the

achievements of our people through their diligent

efforts and the support of the donor community, it is

vital that trade preferences and other concessions not

be phased out through graduation before the country

recovers from the extensive destruction caused by the

tsunami.

The tsunami that struck the Indian Ocean was a

grim reminder of the ferocity of the elements and the

helplessness of communities exposed to natural

disasters. Just as we support the establishment of a

tsunami early warning system for the Indian Ocean,

our thoughts are also with the millions of people in the

United States, India, China, Japan and elsewhere who

recently have faced extreme weather events which

brought unprecedented death, destruction and pain. Our

hearts go out to those in New Orleans affected by

Hurricane Katrina.

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One cannot overstate the importance of protecting

the environment and saving lives. There is no longer a

frontline comprising only small low-lying island

States. Indeed, climate change can cause destruction

anytime and anywhere. Prevention is the only option

when there is no cure. We hope that the Kyoto Protocol

will be implemented with full effectiveness.

Small States have the narrowest margins of safety

and the least ability to mitigate or overcome

environmental catastrophes. We would like to assert

the critical importance of the early and effective

implementation of the Mauritius Strategy for Small

Island Developing States.

Not only is the Maldives seeking to build back

better after the tsunami but we are also going through a

historic transformation of the governance structures of

the country. The Agenda for Democracy and Reform

being pursued by the Government focuses not only on

making the Maldives a twenty-first century democracy,

but also on strengthening human rights protection.

With the acceleration of the Government’s reform

programme over the past two years, sweeping changes

have been brought to the political landscape of the

Maldives. Political pluralism has been strengthened by

introducing, for the first time in the country’s history, a

multiparty system. The country is also undertaking

unprecedented legal and judicial reforms aimed at a

comprehensive modernization of the criminal justice

system in order to bring it into compliance with

international norms and standards.

A Constitutional Assembly is in session to draw

up a modern democratic constitution to embed liberal

democracy in the country and strengthen adherence to

international standards in civil liberties and the

protection of human rights.

Just last week, the Maldives signed on to the

Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture

and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or

Punishment. We are already committed to full

transparency and openness in safeguarding human

rights in the Maldives. We believe that the engagement

of the international community is one of the strongest

safeguards in protecting human rights. We have already

acceded to a number of conventions on human rights

and we are confident that the measures currently under

way in the national reform programme will enable us

to fully comply with and become parties to the

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

and the International Covenant on Economic, Social

and Cultural Rights.

To recall Sir Winston Churchill, it would not be

enough to say that we will do all that we can. Rather,

we would like to say that we will do all that is

required, and then some, to ensure that our people live

in larger freedom, as envisaged in the United Nations

Charter.

We are mindful that under Article 2, paragraph 7,

of the United Nations Charter Member States are not

required to submit matters within their domestic

jurisdiction for settlement in United Nations forums,

but the Maldives believes that its aspirations to build a

modern and mature democracy are important enough to

be articulated before this Assembly. Moreover, given

our limited resources and dearth of technical expertise,

the support of the international community is vital for

the success of the ambitious democracy project being

pursued by the Government. We are indeed encouraged

by the initiative to establish a Democracy Fund. I

gratefully acknowledge the support being extended to

us by the United Nations system and our bilateral

partners in this historic enterprise in the Maldives.

Today, on the occasion of the fortieth anniversary

of the admission of the Maldives to the United Nations,

my President wrote to the Secretary-General thanking

him and the United Nations membership for their

collaboration and support over the past four decades on

matters of crucial national interest to the Maldives: we

recall the support given by this Assembly to the

requirements of protection and security of small States;

we acknowledge the important role played by the

United Nations membership in advancing efforts to

protect the global environment; and we are gratified by

the assistance that we are getting towards the

attainment of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). Already we are on track for attaining most of

the MDGs.

We hope that the outcome document of the High-

level Plenary Meeting (resolution 60/1) will expedite

the march of countries towards attainment of the

MDGs and towards conquering disease, despair and

deprivation.

The July bombings in London and other incidents

of terrorism have shocked and horrified us. We hope

that measures agreed upon to combat international

terrorism, strengthen peace and international security,

promote peacebuilding and strengthen the United

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Nations machinery on human rights protection will be

followed up effectively.

Sound multilateralism is crucial to our quest for a

better world in an age of globalization. It is therefore

important that the effectiveness of the United Nations

be strengthened.

We welcome the proposals made by the

Secretary-General on all aspects of United Nations

reform. While we recognize the need for

comprehensive reforms, we hope that the reforms of

the Security Council will be completed before the

year’s end in order to enable it to reflect more fully the

realities of the twenty-first century. Our support of the

Group of Four proposal is based on those

considerations and we hope that there will be wide

support for it.

We have consistently expressed concern about

conflict and tension in the Middle East. We are

encouraged by the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza

Strip. We hope that this will be a first step in the

movement towards a just and lasting peace in the

Middle East.

In conclusion, allow me to reiterate the firm

commitment of the Maldives to the principles and

purposes enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We

will work with the other members of the international

community to uphold and promote those lofty

objectives.

We seek a world, as envisioned 60 years ago in

the United Nations Charter, of all peoples living in

larger freedom, free from want, free from fear and with

the dignity that God almighty bestowed on all of us.