Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2009

A few weeks

ago, the Empire State Building was lit up in orange, the

national colour of the Netherlands. The reason was

that, precisely 400 years ago, the Dutch East India

Company commissioned Henry Hudson to find a

shorter sea route to Asia via the north. After a brutal

voyage filled with hardships, Hudson decided to

change course. He never found his shortcut to Asia, but

he did become the first person to map the area around

the river that would one day bear his name, including

the place where we are gathered today. Ever since then,

the origin of the great city of New York has been

closely linked with the courage and resolve of Henry

Hudson. Today more than ever before, we must make

those qualities our own.

In the past year, we have faced the harsh reality

of a financial and economic system on the brink. The

crisis has been so severe and so rapid that courage and

resolve are now required of us all — the courage to

place shared values and interests above narrow self-

interest, the resolve to adapt existing global

governance structures to a new reality and the courage

to make decisive choices that take account of all

interests, especially those of the world’s weakest and

poorest people. That is my clear message to the

General Assembly.

The Dutch Government has no doubt that a

strong, decisive and efficient United Nations will be

vital to that process. Only an integrated global

approach will deliver the stability, solidarity and

sustainability that the world needs so badly. The last

few days in New York and Pittsburgh have shown that

there is a clear realization that the world has changed

and that we must work together more closely than ever

before. Our interdependency gives us a shared

responsibility. We can see now that the problems we

face are too big for any single nation.

There is therefore strong will to address the

underlying causes of the economic crisis, to work on

systemic imbalances and to once again make finance a

tool for growth. The agreement we reached in

Pittsburgh on a framework for strong, sustainable and

balanced growth is a big step forward. It shows that

there is a widely shared conviction that we have much

to gain from stability, solidarity and sustainability, both

as individual countries and collectively. I would like to

say a few words about each of those core concepts.

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The current crisis offers clear proof that in a

globalized world instability anywhere is a threat to

stability everywhere. The international policy response

has shown that that is widely understood in the

financial and economic context. That is a positive sign,

even if there is still a long way to go. The Pittsburgh

agreement on compensation systems should end a

bonus culture that has grown out of control. We cannot

allow the greed of a few to endanger the jobs of many.

We must therefore prevent that kind of crisis from ever

happening again.

Mr. Valero Briceño (Bolivarian Republic of

Venezuela), Vice-President, took the Chair.

Institutional reform should not stop with the

financial and economic sector. There is a clear need for

new arrangements that will allow us to manage a range

of global governance issues at the same time. In the

long term, the greatest threat to a stable world order is

to allow the crisis to push the world’s other great

problems into the background: climate change, for

example, the energy and food crisis or the pressing

issues of peace and security, poverty and human rights.

We cannot let that happen. In some cases, we simply

have to honour commitments that we have already

made, such as the Millennium Development Goals. In

others, we need the courage to see beyond this crisis to

the world of tomorrow, as we must show at the climate

summit to be held in Copenhagen.

In any event, the current situation demands that

we place our common global values and interests

above our acute domestic problems, however serious

they may be. Therefore, now more than ever, we need a

strong, decisive and efficient United Nations. We need

it here in New York, but we especially need it on the

ground. In that context, I would highlight the vital

importance of the One United Nations Initiative, which

needs follow-up, and soon.

Stability cannot be achieved without respect for

human rights. As friends of the Iranian people, we are

concerned about the worsening human rights situation

and the violent crackdown on popular protests. The

Iranian nuclear issue represents a major challenge to

international peace and security, to regional stability

and to the non-proliferation regime. The recent

revelation of a nuclear facility that was long kept secret

is additional reason for great concern. It calls for a

strong reaction by the international community and for

total transparency by Iran. Iran must regain the trust of

the international community, comply with relevant

Security Council resolutions and contribute to peace

and stability in the Middle East.

In June of this year, the United Nations showed

leadership by holding a major conference here in New

York on the effects of the crisis for developing

countries. The Netherlands fully supported that

initiative, as there can be no stability without

solidarity. After all, there is nothing more destabilizing

than poverty, hunger and a future without hope. The

economic crisis and rising food prices are threatening

to sweep away a great deal of hard-won progress. In

2009 alone, the number of people forced to live on less

than $1.25 a day will grow by at least 55 million.

There is a real danger that those who had no part

in causing the crisis will be the people who suffer most

deeply. In rich countries the crisis means the loss of

jobs and assets. In developing countries it means rising

child mortality and rising hunger. Therefore, in rich

countries the crisis is serious; in poor countries it is a

matter of life and death.

Let the donor countries honour an old promise

and set aside at least 0.7 per cent of their national

income every year for development aid; and let the

current crisis also inspire recipient countries to use the

funds as effectively as possible. Now more than ever,

public support for development aid depends on

transparency, good governance and an effective fight

against corruption.

I would also add that international solidarity is

not simply a question of development budgets. It also

concerns the private sector. More and more businesses

now recognize the importance of corporate social

responsibility. I believe there is still a world to be won

in that regard, not only for society but also for

companies themselves. Corporate social responsibility

makes good business sense.

My third subject, sustainability, is essentially

about making choices and sacrifices, not for our own

sake but for future generations. This session of the

General Assembly is our last major stop on the road to

Copenhagen. We should be aware that the progress we

make there will affect the lives of our children, our

children’s children and so on, down through the

generations. That must be our main motive for seeking

a radical change in the way we live.

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In Copenhagen we must reach an ambitious, fair

and comprehensive agreement. We must be ambitious

and set our sights high. Therefore, at Copenhagen the

Netherlands will call for worldwide carbon dioxide

emissions to be halved from 1990 levels by 2050. We

should be fair to developing countries. Every country

should contribute to the common goal according to its

means. Every country will be expected to play its part.

But those that need help in designing and

implementing sound adaptation policies must receive

it. That is why the Netherlands has set aside

€500 million to promote the use of renewable energy in

developing countries.

Comprehensive also means that we should not

simply pave the road ahead with good intentions, but

with concrete agreements — for example, agreements

on developing the global carbon market, on sharing

knowledge and on financial arrangements. We simply

cannot fail at Copenhagen.

The world is much smaller than it was in the days

of Henry Hudson, but it is far more complex as a

result. Any solution to the issues I have raised today

starts with recognizing our mutual dependence and

responsibility. Within the concepts of stability,

solidarity and sustainability we will find the shared

values and interests that should guide us on the road

ahead. It is a road that requires courage. But to echo

the words I heard recently from the Italian Nobel Prize

winner and senator for life Rita Levi-Montalcini, on

her one-hundredth birthday, “Don’t fear difficult

moments. The best comes from them.” Let us go

forward in that spirit.