Malta, 2009

I would like to congratulate

Mr. Ali Treki on his unanimous election to preside over

the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. His

election is a deserved tribute to his personal qualities

as a seasoned politician and diplomat and also to his

country, Libya, with which Malta has long-standing

ties of friendship and cooperation. I am sure that under

his wise leadership and experience this august

Assembly will be guided throughout his term to a

successful and fruitful outcome.

My delegation’s thanks and appreciation are

extended to his distinguished predecessor, Father

Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann, for the dedicated manner

in which he presided over the work and activities of the

sixty-third session.

Malta would like to take this opportunity to

commend and thank the Secretary-General for his

unstinting efforts in guiding our Organization in the

maintenance of international peace and stability

worldwide. Under his leadership the United Nations

has made important strides in raising awareness and in

many instances responding effectively to the critical

situation of the poor and more vulnerable. It was

therefore of great satisfaction to my Government and

the Maltese people that we had the honour and

privilege to welcome him to Malta last April.

This year Malta is marking three important

anniversaries. The first is the forty-fifth anniversary of

our country’s independence, on 21 September 1964;

the second is the fifteenth anniversary of the coming

into force on 21 March 1994 of the United Nations

Framework Convention on Climate Change; and the

third is the fifteenth anniversary of the coming into

force on 16 November 1994 of the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Over the past 45 years, Malta has made good on

the pledge it made when it joined this Organization. In

this regard, I would like to avail myself of this

opportunity to renew today, on this forty-fifth

anniversary of Malta’s United Nations membership,

our pledge and our unwavering faith and trust in the

ideals and purposes enshrined in the Charter of the

United Nations.

One of the issues which in the coming weeks will

be at the top of the international agenda is the

Copenhagen Summit. Two days ago, this Hall

witnessed one of the largest-ever gatherings of Heads

of State and Heads of Government to debate the future

of our planet Earth. During this unique summit we all

agreed that the challenges posed by climate change

have become the most urgent and critical faced by

humankind.

It will be recalled that in 1988, when Malta took

the initiative to formally submit the issue of climate

change as a political item on the agenda of the forty-

third session of the General Assembly, few of us would

have thought at that time that this issue of climate

change would become in the span of two decades one

of the principal critical issues dominating the

international environmental concerns of this new

century. Throughout these 20 years, Malta has been in

the forefront of those ensuring that climate change

continues to be one of the top-priority issues of our

times. Our commitment of 20 years ago remains

steadfast and as strong as ever. As we have heard

during the past few days, the outcome of the

Copenhagen Summit must signal a turning point. Malta

strongly believes that it is the duty of all countries,

large and small, rich and poor, to contribute their fair

share to this concerted effort, which must be global if it

is to succeed.

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On 16 November of this year, Member States will

commemorate the fifteenth anniversary of the coming

into force of the United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea, which has been described as the

constitution for regulating humankind’s activities

relating to the oceans. It was 42 years ago that, in this

Hall, Malta once again called on Member States to

undertake a reform of the law of the sea, which

eventually culminated in the adoption of the current

Convention on 10 December 1982.

It is also necessary to see the 1982 convention in

the light of some pressing and contemporary problems

which are either being addressed inadequately or not

being addressed at all. Among these deficiencies are

the provisions dealing with piracy, illicit traffic in

narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances, the rules

relating to the protection and preservation of the

marine environment and the rules dealing with

submarine cables and pipelines. Examples of omissions

are the trafficking of human beings, the safety and

security of navigation, the transportation of weapons of

mass destruction, and climate change.

In the light of the issues I have just mentioned,

Malta feels that the time has come for the General

Assembly to examine possible approaches to a review

of the 1982 Convention on the Law of the Sea. In this

context, Malta would like to propose that the General

Assembly, through its relevant bodies, undertake

appropriate consultations among its Member States to

revise the Convention in view of the passage of time

and the emergence of new and critical issues over the

years. My delegation will be ready to enter into

consultations with other interested Member States to

advance this proposal further.

Just as it was necessary in 1948 to recognize the

need for a universal declaration of human rights as a

fundamental condition for the enjoyment of freedom,

justice and peace for all men and women around the

world, so it has become vital now to have a

concomitant declaration on human duties of the present

generation, including our responsibilities towards

future generations. We have the overall task of

conserving the human species in the sacredness of its

life and in its continuity, as well as of preserving the

environment, in all its manifestations. We believe that

such a declaration emanates naturally from that

doctrine of the common heritage of mankind, which

my country first mooted before this Assembly in 1967

and which eventually led to the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Malta believes that human duties are intrinsic to

the personality, oneness and uniqueness of the human

being, and are as inalienable as human rights. Those

duties do not arise from laws or obligations but are

inherent to the human being. Such duties relate to

human beings themselves and to their fellow beings,

and in a special manner to their family, to the

community at all levels and to the natural and cultural

environment in which their life evolves. The envisaged

declaration, strengthening and fulfilling the thrust of

the 1948 universal instrument, should mark the work of

this Assembly as a consummate service to the

international community. It should stand out as a major

achievement of the United Nations at the beginning of

the third millennium of our era. It is in this spirit that

Malta proposes that consideration be given to the

drafting of such a declaration on human duties and

responsibilities.

Conflicts around the world have continued to

affect the political, economic and social development

of many countries and a large part of our societies. It is

tragic that in the past decade more than two million

innocent children were killed and six million seriously

injured in conflicts. The role of the United Nations in

preventive diplomacy and support to peace processes

must enjoy strong and sustainable political backing

from Member States.

A number of hotspots, from Somalia and

Afghanistan to the Democratic Republic of the Congo

and the Middle East, continue to challenge our

collective search for peaceful and long-lasting

solutions for these war-torn countries and regions.

Malta therefore welcomes our Organization’s

engagement through its peacekeeping missions and

peacebuilding mechanisms to foster political dialogue

and reconciliation among the warring parties. We

believe that assisting countries emerging from conflict

in the rebuilding of the lives of their populations would

contribute in no small way to providing the necessary

support to nationally driven efforts in the achievement

of sustainable peace and development.

One of the long-standing issues of which the

United Nations has been seized since its inception is

the question of the Middle East. Indeed, peace in the

Middle East continues to evade our ongoing efforts.

Malta reiterates its vision of a two-State solution, with

55 09-52425

both States living in secure and guaranteed frontiers,

each recognizing the other’s sovereignty, and the right

to peaceful coexistence. Malta calls in both parties to

engage fully in resumed negotiations to this end,

resulting in a viable Palestinian State on the basis of

the June 1967 borders. This is not a view which we

have adopted today. It is a vision that has been ours for

decades, believing as we do that peace in the Middle

East determines peace in the Mediterranean and

beyond.

Malta’s strategic geographic location in the

Mediterranean has placed it in the privileged yet

responsible position of building bridges between the

two continents. In fact, Malta’s vocation towards peace

and security in the Mediterranean continues to occupy

an important place of my Government’s foreign policy

priorities. During the past 12 months, Malta has

continued to build on the achievements made so far by

enhancing the dialogue between countries in the

Mediterranean region and the European Union and also

with the League of Arab States. It is with a strong

sense of political commitment and direction that we in

Malta bear the responsibility of hosting the liaison

office aimed at strengthening cooperation between the

European Union and League of Arab States, which is

due to be opened this coming October. Malta believes

that the liaison office will render a major contribution

to deepening mutual understanding through practical

cooperation between Europe and the Arab world, as

well as enhancing intercultural dialogue.

Members will recall that last year I raised the

issue of the influx of illegal immigrants who risk their

lives in crossing the Mediterranean to seek a new

beginning. I had indicated that our size and our

financial and human resources, which are very limited,

make it extremely difficult for Malta to cope with the

large number of these unfortunate people arriving on

our shores on their way to mainland Europe. Malta has

always dealt with this situation with great

responsibility, humanity and benevolence, paying due

respect to every human being without any exception.

And we will continue to do so. At the same time, the

problem of illegal immigration is an international

phenomenon driven by external factors which cannot

always be prevented or even mitigated by the countries

directly affected by the problem. We therefore strongly

feel that the United Nations should address the issue of

illegal immigration in a holistic way so as to find

solutions to a humanitarian problem that Malta and

other like us, especially in the Mediterranean, are

currently facing. Much more needs to be done, and all

of us, including countries of origin and countries of

transit, need to step up our efforts in order to deal with

this challenge.

My Government is deeply appreciative of those

countries that have come forward to assist us in coping

with this phenomenon, including the United States of

America, France, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Portugal,

Slovenia and Slovakia. My Government also hopes that

other countries will come forward to assist in

alleviating the burden which Malta carries — a burden

so acutely disproportionate to the country’s population,

wealth and land area.

In his report on the work of the Organization, the

Secretary-General has laid emphasis on the need to

embark on a multilateral effort of immense magnitude

“that draws upon the strengths and contributions of all

the countries of the world, as well as their citizens”

(A/64/1, para. 4). Malta believes that such an effort

must find its foundations in this Organization where all

Member States are equal and where the many

challenges facing humankind can be addressed in a

cohesive and coherent manner. The global challenges

which the United Nations faces are our challenges. We,

as Member States, have an obligation and the

responsibility to ensure that our Organization lives up

to the commitments and decisions that we, as heads of

State and Government, solemnly undertake to

implement in the best interests of our constituencies

and societies.

Allow me to conclude by stating that Malta

continues to strongly believe that together, as Members

of the United Nations, we can and should continue to

support the Organization, our Secretary-General and all

those who contribute to making our world a better

place for present and future generations. I know that

Malta intends to do so.