Palau, 2000

It is indeed an honour and a

privilege for me to address this body on behalf of the

Government and the people of the Republic of Palau.

President Kuniwo Nakamura sends his warm greetings

and wishes everyone a successful deliberation during

this fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. He

also wishes to congratulate and welcome the newest

Member of the United Nations, our good Pacific

neighbour and friend, Tuvalu.

During the recently concluded Millennium

Summit, we addressed many global issues that pose

problems and threats to mankind at the national,

regional and international levels. These problems must

be seriously looked into by this body and other

international and regional organizations so that their

solutions may be found or remedies provided to

alleviate the suffering they impose on our world and its

peoples. These problems – ranging from hunger,

poverty, tuberculosis, malaria and the spread of

HIV/AIDS to global warming and environmental

degradation and vulnerability – are not just the

responsibilities of the countries or regions that are most

affected; every member of the global community must

play its part in order for this planet and its inhabitants

to survive these destructive forces.

Today, we live in an era in which the production

of food is at an all-time high. Advanced technology in

the area of food production, improved farming and

agricultural methods are readily available and can be

successfully applied to widespread areas that are

traditionally not suitable to agriculture and farming.

In a similar context, medical research and

information can and should be shared universally. An

integrated approach to intervention in the field of

HIV/AIDS is critically called for in many developing

countries. Collaborative health-research projects

focusing on the biology of this disease and the

development of tools for its prevention and control —

including diagnostics, drugs and vaccines — must also

be made available and affordable to the many third

world countries seriously plagued by this disease. As a

global community charged with the responsibility for

the security of mankind, we must confront the real

danger of HIV/AIDS and work collectively towards the

eradication of that horrible disease.

Uncontrolled and unregulated human activities

have affected and will continue to affect our

ecosystem, thereby endangering and threatening our

very existence. Global warming is a difficult and

scientifically complicated phenomenon. Even today,

scientists are still divided on this issue, particularly on

its causes and effects. While some agree that the

emission of greenhouse gases and human and industrial

activities are responsible for climate change and global

warming, others maintain that the changes occur

naturally and that, because the earth is so resilient to

such changes, none of these occurrences will have

permanent effects.

However, as a small island country in the Pacific,

Palau has seen and experienced the actual impact of sea

level rise, unpredicted weather patterns and an extreme

rise in sea water temperature, all of which are signs and

indications of global warming and climate change.

Many island countries all over the world have also

experienced these catastrophic changes. Let us, as

world leaders, work individually and collectively

towards the real resolution of global warming. The

blueprint and foundation of this important task are set

23

forth in the United Nations Framework Convention on

Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol. Let us fulfil

our roles.

During the Millennium Summit, we also

presented institutional issues that should be seriously

considered by the entire membership of this

Organization. Two further issues were raised by Palau

during the Summit: open membership and

representational participation in all bodies of the

United Nations. The lack of action on these issues on

our part, as a body, is quite contrary and detrimental to

the objectives of the United Nations.

With regard to open membership, Palau believes

that any State that meets the traditional and standard

definition of independent State should be allowed

membership in the United Nations. To that end, it is the

position of the Republic of Palau that the contributions

of Taiwan to the global community, particularly the

developing countries, more than qualify the Republic

of China on Taiwan to fully participate in the United

Nations as a full-fledged Member. We strongly support

full membership of the Republic of China on Taiwan in

the United Nations and appeal to all States members of

this body for their support.

Countless achievements concerning the welfare

and security of this planet and its inhabitants have been

accomplished by this body since its inception 55 years

ago. Many important organs and bodies within the

United Nations have been created, and some have even

been reorganized since then to further promote and

enhance the institution's objectives and goals.

However, one very important organ within the

United Nations system, the Security Council, has

remained virtually unchanged since its inception. Palau

truly believes that this important organ should be

reorganized and restructured to increase both

permanent and non-permanent members in order to

strengthen the Council's work and effectiveness. We,

therefore, maintain our support of the Millennium

Declaration, expressing the determination to intensify

our efforts to achieve a more comprehensive reform of

the Security Council.

Reform can only materialize if we all agree to a

common formula by which the number of permanent

and non-permanent members should be increased. The

Republic of Palau further maintains that any increase in

the permanent membership of the Security Council

should reflect a Member State's contribution to

international peace and security and its capability to

effectively carry out the objectives of the Council. A

few countries have surely reached that plateau to serve

as permanent members of the Security Council.

Finally, the Republic of Palau reaffirms its

commitment to global partnerships in this world of

interdependent economies as an essential step towards

the achievement of sustainable development. At the

fifty-fourth United Nations General Assembly, the Vice

President of the Republic of Palau, His Excellency

Thomas Remengesau, Jr., addressed the Assembly and

spoke of a tri-partite scientific project involving the

United States of America, Japan and Palau that was

still in its developmental phase. I am deeply honoured

today to inform this Assembly that last month the

Government of Japan completed the constructional

phase of the project and officially handed over the

facility to the Government of the Republic of Palau.

The next phase is to furnish the facility with the right

equipment and tools necessary for scientific research.

When fully completed, the Centre will provide

scientists and researchers with a state-of-the-art facility

for research in the area of coral reefs and marine

organisms. Medical research can and will also be

conducted in this facility. In addition, the Centre will

serve as a tourist attraction, as different exhibits on

marine life and a large aquarium will be on display.

At this juncture, I would like to convey our

gratitude and thanks to the Governments of Japan and

the United States of America for their support in this

noble endeavour and welcome any input and

contributions from the scientists and researchers of the

rest of the Member States to utilize the facility, since

we all work towards the common goal of safeguarding

and utilizing our environment for the betterment of

humanity.

The Palau International Coral Reef Centre project

is a clear example of cooperation between developed

and developing nations in promoting sustainable

development. Financial resources and mechanisms,

environmental utility and transfer of sound technology,

cooperation and capacity-building have been made

available to support this important initiative.

The Republic of Palau continues to be challenged

and challenges every Member State to build on the

achievements of the last eight years that have passed

since the Rio Summit, to look critically at the problems

24

that are still facing us and to make firm commitments

on further progress.