Palau, 2006

Let me begin by offering my

congratulations to you, Madam President. We would

also like to thank former Assembly President Jan

Eliasson for his able leadership over the past year. Our

deep appreciation also goes to Secretary-General Kofi

Annan, who has served the Organization with skill and

devotion.

Palau joins others in welcoming Montenegro, the

newest State Member of the United Nations. We look

forward to its participation in our debates.

Participation in the United Nations has special

meaning for Palau. We were the last country to emerge

from the United Nations Trusteeship System. During

trusteeship, it was the United Nations that showed us

that every country, regardless of size, had a role to

play. The United Nations provided our nation with a

platform from which we could achieve independence

and establish our sovereignty. For that we are forever

grateful.

Palau is often seen as a paradise of swaying palm

trees and ocean breezes. But that simplistic view fails

to recognize the challenges we face as a small island

developing State. In this shrinking world, the actions of

distant countries are having a profound effect on us.

We come to the Assembly now, asking for its help once

again as we face those difficult issues.

One of the issues that we hope the General

Assembly will act on this year is deep-sea bottom

trawling. As the Secretary-General has reported,

bottom trawling is responsible for 95 per cent of the

worldwide damage to seamount ecosystems. It is an

irresponsible practice, and Palau has passed a law

banning all bottom trawling within our waters. In doing

so, Palau followed the lead set by Japan, the United

States, Norway, Australia and many other responsible

countries.

It is now time to ensure that similar measures are

taken for international waters. That is why Palau has

joined with our Pacific colleagues in Tuvalu, the

Marshall Islands and Micronesia to propose an interim

prohibition on unregulated bottom trawling. Our

proposal represents the strong determination of our

region to protect the oceans upon which we all

ultimately rely.

Another issue of great importance is that of

global warming. Coral bleaching, a rise in sea level and

altered fish migration all threaten the future of Palau

and other small island nations. Reversing that trend is

one of our top priorities. We continue to urge the

international community to act aggressively to reduce

emissions that lead to global warming.

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Palau is a democratic society. Our children know

the importance of culture and community. We

guarantee human rights in our nation. We also know

that flying our flag here at the United Nations carries

with it certain obligations, and we have met them all.

Palau has deployed peacekeepers to regional and

international missions. When natural disasters strike,

Palau responds willingly and voluntarily. When the

international community called upon countries to

preserve biodiversity, Palau came forward with the

Micronesian Challenge. That initiative will protect 462

coral species, which represent 58 per cent of all known

corals.

Our future as a nation and the future of our

children depend upon the viability of our environment,

especially of the oceans. Palau relies on the health of

its amazing reefs and waters to provide food for our

people and to support our tourism industry. Without

those we will not be able to develop a sustainable

economy that will allow our children to live and work

in their homeland. To provide for them, we look to the

United Nations for leadership and support. To that end,

Palau remains open to ideas for harmonizing the

environmental agencies at the United Nations. We

applaud efforts to streamline the process of accessing

those agencies; that would make them more responsive

to small nations. In the same vein, Palau would like to

state that difficulties in accessing assistance in

claiming our extended continental shelf have made it

clear that we will have a hard time meeting the 2009

deadline for submissions.

Last year, in this historic Hall, we noted our

concern that the United Nations, its offices and

organizations did not have a permanent representative

in Palau. In June, it was announced that a coalition

comprised of the United Nations Development

Programme, UNICEF and the United Nations

Population Fund would open a total of eight new

offices in Pacific island countries, including Palau. We

welcome that historic accomplishment. It is a giant step

towards harmonization within the United Nations. For

Palau, it will give us one of the tools we need most for

sustainable development, namely, local capacity-

building.

Let us not forget the continuing threat of

terrorism. We recognize that terrorism anywhere is a

threat to people everywhere. We have looked for

assistance to improve our anti-terrorism capacity. Palau

has met, and worked with, the Counter-terrorism

Executive Directorate to advance our requests for

assistance, particularly in the area of combating

money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.

Unfortunately, the efforts of the Directorate have been

insufficient. Our hope is that, during the sixty-first

session of the General Assembly, the United Nations

will be able to help smaller countries in addressing that

threat.

We would also like to take a moment to thank a

few of the many partners that have assisted Palau this

past year. The efforts of the Global Environment

Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme deserve

special recognition. The GEF programme in the North

Pacific has resulted in an effective mechanism to

protect our environment through grass-roots projects.

Palau has also partnered with a number of

countries that have supported our development. First,

the United States has provided in-country diplomatic

representation and years of support. We acknowledge

the generosity of the United States in responding to

natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific region. We

thank them for that. Japan has also provided invaluable

assistance to Palau. The addition of Japan as a member

of the Security Council would help inform other

Council members that are less familiar with our

regional needs and concerns. We have supported, and

continue to support, the G-4 draft resolution, and hope

that the Assembly will address the draft resolution this

year.

Taiwan has been another steady supporter of

Palau’s development. We continue to assert that the

world would benefit from Taiwan’s membership in the

United Nations and other international institutions.

This year, Palau co-sponsored a draft resolution calling

for a proactive role for the United Nations in

addressing the tensions in East Asia. We were

disappointed that the actions of the General Committee

prevented a debate on that draft resolution.

Palau would also like to recognize Australia’s

steadfast commitment to stability in our region, as well

as its dedication to capacity-building. Through such

initiatives as its patrol boat programme, Australia

enables Palau to address illegal, unregulated and

unreported fishing, which threatens our sovereignty

and the marine habitats that surround our island nation.

We call on all parties in the Sudan to work

together to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.

As Mr. Jan Eliasson stated on 11 September,

19 06-53317

“we have ... seen the horrors of Cambodia,

Rwanda and Srebrenica without taking action.

The same tragedy must not befall the people in

Darfur or elsewhere. The responsibility to protect

must move from declaration to action.”

(A/60/PV.100, p. 6 )

Lastly, Palau would like to take this opportunity

to express our hope that the Middle East peace process

can be successfully restarted. We are hopeful that the

expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon

(UNIFIL) will bring peace and security to both Israel

and Lebanon. We stress the need for full

implementation of Security Council resolution 1701

(2006), including its preamble. We join the call for the

unconditional release of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.

It is critical that the reconstructed UNIFIL force be

effective and capable of enforcing the arms embargo as

called for.

On behalf of Palau, a small island nation in the

wide Pacific Ocean, let me thank the entire Assembly

in my country’s native language. Kom Kmal Mesulang.

God bless you all.