Papua New Guinea, 2005

I

bring greetings and congratulations to the President of

the General Assembly from the Government and the

people of Papua New Guinea on the occasion of the

sixtieth anniversary of the United Nations. I pledge my

delegation’s support in the discharge of his noble

responsibilities. I would like to commend again His

Excellency Mr. Jean Ping, Foreign Minister of Gabon,

for his stewardship of the work of the fifty-ninth

session of the General Assembly. I also pay tribute to

the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and his staff

for their continued efforts in servicing the needs of

Member States.

At the outset, I would like to convey the heartfelt

sympathy and condolences of the people of Papua New

Guinea to the Government of the United States of

America and its people with respect to the loss of lives

and the destruction of property in the Gulf states. We

wish them well for a speedy recovery and in their

reconstruction efforts.

The United Nations has come a long way since its

inception in 1945. The focus on international peace and

security remains relevant, although since then it has

taken on new and different dimensions, including the

evil of global terrorism.

The process of reform of the United Nations,

particularly the General Assembly, the Security

Council and the Secretariat must be reflective of the

changing landscape of today’s international realities.

The membership of the Security Council, both

permanent and non-permanent, must be expanded to

include equitable representation from developing

countries. Work on the reform agenda, as set out in the

outcome document (resolution 60/1) of the High-level

Plenary Meeting, must commence without any further

delay. We strongly support the early resolution of all

the outstanding issues, including those related to

human rights and to disarmament.

Convening the recently concluded summit

enabled us to see how much progress we have made in

the implementation of the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs) in our respective countries. Despite the

Government’s efforts to achieve the MDGs, Papua

New Guinea’s scorecard indicates that much more

needs to be done. We recognize that combating

poverty, HIV/AIDS, child and maternal mortality and

unemployment and promoting universal primary

education and gender equality are major challenges for

Papua New Guinea.

Important legislative, policy and administrative

instruments are now being put in place. The

Millennium Development Goals and targets have been

incorporated into our medium-term development

strategy, which ties the MDGs to our development

programmes through the national budgetary process. I

am happy to report that in July of this year the Papua

New Guinea National Parliament endorsed a

comprehensive national MDG report, compiled with

the kind assistance of the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP). This now paves the way for

concrete efforts at all levels of Government and by all

relevant stakeholders to implement its

recommendations.

We are extremely concerned about the spread of

HIV/AIDS in our country. Papua New Guinea has the

highest incidence of reported cases in the Pacific

region. Important national legislation and policies have

been put in place to address all aspects of that scourge.

These include placing the National AIDS Council

directly under the auspices of the Prime Minister’s

department. Papua New Guinea therefore fully

supports the efforts of the United Nations and the

international community to address that scourge. We

support in particular the leadership of the Secretary-

General in mobilizing international resources for the

Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria

and to combat other diseases.

Our development partners, including Australia,

New Zealand, UNDP, the Joint United Nations

Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and other United

Nations agencies, continue to support Papua New

Guinea’s efforts to address this critical issue. While we

appreciate such valuable assistance, it must be

coordinated effectively within the medium-term

development strategy policy framework if it is to have

maximum impact.

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International finance, especially foreign direct

investment and overseas development assistance, are

vital instruments that can help developing countries

such as mine to achieve the MDGs and other

international commitments and obligations. Our

Government is therefore committed to attracting

foreign direct investment to assist us with development

efforts in our country. At the same time, overseas

development assistance must be used effectively, as

measured against achievement of the national

development goals and priorities set out in the

medium-term development strategy.

While Papua New Guinea has a good debt-

servicing record, debt repayments still place

considerable strain on our ability to provide much-

needed services to our people. They affect the

country’s ability to implement the MDGs, the outcome

of the World Summit on Social Development and other

important development commitments.

Papua New Guinea commends the European

Union’s assistance to help highly indebted poor

countries (HIPC) with their debt servicing difficulties.

Consideration, however, must also be given to other

non-HIPC countries, such as mine, so that they can

benefit from such goodwill and assistance. In this

context, we support the proposal by President

Macapagal-Arroyo of the Philippines to extend debt

servicing assistance to highly indebted non-HIPC

developing countries, including Papua New Guinea,

under a debt-for-equity swap arrangement.

Trade is the engine of economic growth and

development. It is a critical prerequisite for sustained

efforts to achieve socio-economic development,

including the MDGs. Papua New Guinea was

heartened to hear some leaders of major developed and

developing countries at the summit indicating firm

commitments to address the current distortions on

international trade regarding the elimination of

agricultural subsidies and other trade barriers. That is a

positive signal of a move towards the creation of an

open, equitable and rule-based international trading

system.

The ongoing Doha round of negotiations, as well

as the economic partnership agreement negotiations

between the European Union and the African,

Caribbean and Pacific countries must place greater

emphasis on development. The particular development

needs of small island developing States — the result of

their physical and structural disadvantages — must

also be given priority in the negotiating process.

As a young democracy, Papua New Guinea is

committed to fighting corruption and upholding the

principles of good governance and the rule of law.

Corruption, in particular, is the main impediment to

progress and development in developing countries such

as Papua New Guinea. The victims of corruption are

the poor, who are deprived of basic goods and services.

That is a great challenge for us, and we are determined

to combat it. Taking a step forward, Papua New Guinea

has ratified the United Nations Convention Against

Corruption. Other policies and administrative and

legislative measures have been put in place, along with

existing constitutional provisions on the leadership

code governing the conduct of leaders.

The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons

is a also a major threat to the peace and security of our

country. Small arms and light weapons almost

destroyed our country. The Bougainville crisis was

fuelled by large quantities of small arms and light

weapons. Papua New Guinea will seek the cooperation

and support of neighbouring countries to put an end to

the traffic in small arms and light weapons to the

region. We therefore support the ongoing work at the

United Nations to address that critical issue.

The resolution of the Bougainville crisis was a

success story for the United Nations in the history of

peacekeeping efforts throughout the world. We thank

the United Nations — especially the Security Council

and the Secretary-General — and our friends in the

Pacific region, including Australia, New Zealand, Fiji,

Solomon Islands, Vanuatu and Tonga, for assisting us

in concluding the peace process. Peace and normalcy

are now being consolidated, with the election of the

first Autonomous Government by the people of

Bougainville. They must be strengthened through

social and economic development throughout the

island. Basic goods and services are being restored and

the infrastructure redeveloped on the island, but we

will require the continued support of the international

community in those efforts. We also look forward to

the assistance of the proposed Peacebuilding

Commission in such endeavours.

Papua New Guinea, like many other small island

developing States, suffers from natural disasters, such

as volcanic eruptions, floods, cyclones, landslides,

droughts and even tsunamis. The ongoing and never-

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ending cycle of natural disasters continues to pose

great difficulties for Papua New Guinea’s achievement

of social and economic progress, including its

achievement of the MDGs and other development

objectives. Papua New Guinea therefore supports the

establishment of early warning systems for all natural

disasters and hazards.

Papua New Guinea’s coexistence with the

environment was enshrined in the preamble of our

national Constitution at the time of the country’s

independence in 1975. That constitutional imperative

guided our commitment to implement the sustainable

development goals and objectives resulting from the

Rio Earth Summit, including the World Summit on

Social Development outcome, the Barbados

Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development

of Small Island Developing States and, more recently,

the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation

of the Barbados Programme of Action.

Those multilateral commitments are vital if we

are to ensure the proper management of our country’s

rich natural resources and address critical issues, such

as poverty eradication, climate change, sea-level rise

and natural-disaster management.

Legal and policy frameworks have been put in

place to enable us to pursue development in a

sustainable manner. Our Government is committed to

undertaking economic development activities, such as

mining, forestry and agriculture, in a sustainable

manner.

We call upon the United Nations and the

international community to recognize the weakest,

smallest and most vulnerable peoples of the small

island developing States. The recently adopted

Mauritius Strategy identifies certain commitments that

must be fulfilled if we are to address the sustainable

development and other development aspirations of

small island developing States. The international

community must, including at this General Assembly

session, translate those commitments into action,

through projects relating to water, sanitation and

renewable energy and by addressing training and

capacity-development needs. In this regard, we support

the call for the mobilization of financial resources on a

more predictable basis so as to implement the strategy

as articulated in the summit outcome document.

As a Member of the United Nations, we

emphasize that all nations have a critical responsibility

to address climate change, including sea-level rise. If

we are to achieve lasting climatic stability, we must

have a global commitment to the objectives of the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change. The relationship between environmental

sustainability and poverty is becoming increasingly

clear. Papua New Guinea is therefore of the view that,

when addressing tropical forestry, the world must

better align market incentives with sustainable

outcomes.

In the forested rural areas of my country, the only

real options for economic growth often require the

destruction of natural forests — either when clearing

for agricultural commodities such as coffee, or through

the sale of hardwood timber. Furthermore, the

International Panel on Climate Change found that,

during the 1990s, an estimated 20 to 25 per cent of

annual global carbon emissions were generated through

land-use change, primarily from the degradation of

forest resources. That is the second largest source of

global carbon emissions — second only to the

combustion of fossil fuels. That has to change if we are

to take responsibility to help with issues related to

climate change.

Papua New Guinea is part of a new Coalition for

Rainforest Nations, including Costa Rica and other

countries, and is requesting a global discussion on

access for ecosystem services to the global carbon

markets as a means to alleviate this problem. Simply

put, the present incentives offered by international

markets for agriculture, forestry and emissions

reductions lead directly to deforestation, environmental

degradation and further poverty. We invite more like-

minded nations to join our efforts to create new

markets and to reform outmoded market and regulatory

mechanisms. That is necessary if we are to contribute

more effectively to environmental sustainability,

economic development, climate stability and poverty

reduction.

Oceans and fisheries issues are critical to Papua

New Guinea and to other Pacific island countries.

Oceans and fisheries sustain the livelihood and well-

being of our people and contribute significantly to our

small economies. Sustainable development is a priority

for Pacific island countries, including Papua New

Guinea. We are concerned about the ongoing illegal

fishing activities in the region. We require the support

and assistance of development partners with technical

capacities to strengthen our surveillance capabilities

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and with regulatory regimes to address these issues of

vital importance.

Papua New Guinea fully supports the entry into

force of the Western and Central Pacific Tuna

Convention. Papua New Guinea welcomes any

assistance that United Nations agencies — including

the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United

Nations — and other bilateral and multilateral partners

can provide to permit effective functioning of the

Convention secretariat.

The security of Pacific island countries depends

on the collective security efforts of the region and of

the wider Asia-Pacific region. Our regional security

cooperation is attested to in the successful mission

carried out by the Regional Assistance Mission to the

Solomon Islands, organized under the aegis of the

Pacific Islands Forum.

Papua New Guinea condemns international

terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Our

support in the fight against this evil is unwavering and

resolute. We have ratified most of the counter-terrorism

treaties, pursuant to Security Council resolution 1373

(2001). However, our efforts are being hampered by

technical and resource constraints; hence the need for

the support and assistance of the international

community to ensure effective implementation of those

commitments.

Over the years, Papua New Guinea has called for

bold decisions and leadership on the part of both Israel

and Palestine to exercise restraint and resolve their

disputes through peaceful means. We commend Prime

Minister Sharon and President Abbas for their bold and

strong leadership towards the resolution of this long-

standing issue.

We fully support the positive efforts being carried

out in Iraq and Afghanistan as democracy and the rule

of law take root. These will be enhanced through

economic and social development as well as through

vital infrastructure development. Those efforts,

however, must be supported by the international

community.

We are halfway through the Second International

Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. Progress

must be made to ensure that all the remaining 16

non-self-governing territories, including New

Caledonia, exercise their inalienable right to self-

determination by 2010. We are following the positive

developments taking place in Tokelau, where the

Government of New Zealand is helping the people to

freely exercise their right to self-determination.

South-South cooperation among developing

countries is critical. It paves the way for enhanced

trade relations and cooperation in areas related to the

transfer of technology and know-how to address issues

affecting those countries, including the fight against

HIV/AIDS and the eradication of poverty. Papua New

Guinea welcomes the establishment of the South Fund

for Development and Humanitarian Assistance and the

Government of Qatar’s initial pledge to contribute $20

million to the Fund. We commend the pledges by India

and China to contribute $2 million each to the Fund. It

is a significant step forward for developing countries to

assist needy Members, including small island countries

with vulnerable economies. We call upon the

developed countries to recognize this valuable effort

and to provide support to the Fund.

Papua New Guinea will assume the chairmanship

of the Pacific Islands Forum commencing in October.

As Chair, Papua New Guinea will provide leadership in

our collective efforts to address critical issues facing

member countries, including the adoption of the

Pacific Plan, which is built upon four main pillars,

namely regional security, economic growth, sustainable

development and good governance in the region. It

must become a vehicle for translating the Mauritius

Strategy and the outcomes of the World Summit on

Sustainable Development and the High-level Plenary

Meeting into action on the ground in our respective

member countries. We therefore welcome the support

of our development partners in the implementation of

the Plan after its adoption at the upcoming Forum

meeting to be held at Port Moresby, Papua New

Guinea, in October this year.