Papua New Guinea, 2006

I

wish to convey Papua New Guinea’s congratulations to

you, Madam President, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-first

session. I assure you of my country’s full cooperation

during your presidency. We compliment your

predecessor, Mr. Jan Eliasson, for his stewardship of

our work during his tenure. We also congratulate him

on his appointment as Sweden’s Foreign Minister and

wish him well.

On 10 October 1975, 24 days after Papua New

Guinea attained political independence, I stood at this

very rostrum and addressed the Assembly with a lot of

hope and expectations. Like many developing countries

coming out from the colonial yoke, Papua New Guinea

committed itself to the principles and purposes of the

United Nations. I said: “I state our fundamental

commitment to the maintenance of peace throughout

our world and our undertaking to uphold the principles

of the Charter of the United Nations Organization.”

We believed that the United Nations was the most

appropriate body to achieve our aspirations of

meaningful economic development, respect for our

sovereignty and the attainment of a peaceful and secure

world. The harsh reality today is that these aspirations

remain largely unfulfilled for many of us. Our record

will indicate lost opportunities to realize the promise of

a better world.

Our world today is marked by an inequitable

global trading order and a hostile security environment.

Wanton globalization and unfettered trade

liberalization are affecting many of us in ways that are

detrimental to the livelihood of our people. Unilateral

actions by the big and powerful to resolve disputes are

no longer incidental, but are the order of the day. We

note the increasing incidence of human atrocities,

genocides, wars, poverty, terrorism, the emergence of

HIV/AIDS, and an increase in malaria and

tuberculosis. Our streets and communities are littered

with small arms and light weapons. The smuggling of

drugs and humans and other illegal activities are on the

rise. Environmental degradation and climate change

continue unabated. We must confront these issues

urgently. To complement efforts in other forums, Papua

New Guinea, with other countries of the Pacific region,

has agreed to pool its limited resources under the

Pacific plan to address these issues.

Papua New Guinea continues to believe that the

United Nations offers the best hope for its Member

States to address these ongoing concerns and other

emerging challenges facing humanity today. In this

regard, my country supports the ongoing United

Nations reform initiatives that seek to make its

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operations more effective and responsive. We must

ensure that its collective security mandates and

functions, and its various organizations, are

strengthened and not weakened. We are pleased to note

the establishment of the Human Rights Council and

Peacebuilding Commission. Papua New Guinea

believes in a revitalized General Assembly whose role

and authority reflect its broad membership. We must

press on with the reform of the Security Council with

courage and boldness so that it reflects the political and

economic realities of today. An expanded Security

Council must be more democratic and transparent. Its

membership must include developing countries, while

maintaining geographic balance and representation.

Global trade today is characterized more by the

unfair practices of those already holding decided

advantages than by the opportunities it offers to

developing countries such as Papua New Guinea. Our

efforts to develop a more equitable trading order are

hampered by the reluctance of our developed partners

to open their economies and engage in genuine

development discussions. Adding insult to injury, many

of our developed partners have yet to meet the targets

they agreed with respect to Official Development

Assistance.

While we appreciate the efforts of some of our

developed partners to ease the burden of debt under the

Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, we are

disappointed that many of them have not shown the

same leadership on the Doha Development Round,

leading to its collapse. We are calling for developing

countries to join us in framing a new and true

development round. We must exercise leadership rather

than passively allowing others to chart our future.

Despite these difficulties, Papua New Guinea is

pursuing economic development programmes that are

based on an export-driven economic growth strategy.

At the heart of this policy objective is the focus on

rural development. We have developed a five-year

medium-term development strategy and aligned it with

the Millennium Development Goals. Achieving those

goals by 2015 is a tremendous challenge for Papua

New Guinea but we have taken the first step in

providing budget funding for its implementation. We

call for the support of the United Nations system and

other genuine development partners to meet these vital

commitments.

As a result of better policy coordination, stricter

implementation of structural reform and prudent

financial and economic management, Papua New

Guinea has attained macroeconomic and fiscal

stability. Our economy is growing, interest rates have

fallen, and the exchange rate has been stabilized. Our

foreign exchange reserves are at an all-time high. We

are using these gains to reinvest in productive sectors

of our economy and in delivering services to our

people. Development partners must play a supportive

role to sustain these gains. This can be done through

fair trade opportunities, equitable markets, increased

foreign investment, transfer of technology, capacity-

building and providing quality overseas development

assistance.

I now turn to an issue about which my country

feels strongly, that of climate change and sea-level rise.

For us this is not academic, it is reality. Small islands

and low-lying atolls in Papua New Guinea and the

Pacific region are being submerged by rising sea

levels. As I speak, my own people are being resettled

to higher ground. Papua New Guinea’s strong position

on the environment is drawn from the preamble to our

national Constitution, which states:

“We declare our fourth goal to be for Papua New

Guinea’s natural resources and environment to be

conserved and used for the collective benefit of

us all, and be replenished for the benefit of future

generations.”

That constitutional imperative underpins my country’s

whole approach to sustainable development objectives,

including those contained in the Johannesburg Plan of

Implementation and the Mauritius Strategy.

Environmental degradation is occurring at a

frightening pace. Scientific studies suggest that climate

change is causing increasing incidences of

environmental catastrophes such as hurricanes,

tsunamis, landslides and flash floods. Our planet is in

distress. As co-inhabitants of this world we must all

equally share responsibility to address the root causes

of this problem. We urge industrialized countries to

reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. We call upon

those that have not yet done so to accede to and ratify

the Kyoto Protocol.

Papua New Guinea is prepared to play its part to

protect and conserve the world’s tropical rainforest

with the aim of stabilizing the earth’s climate. The

findings of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate

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Change suggest that an estimated 20 per cent to 25 per

cent of annual global emissions were generated

through land-use change, primarily from the

degradation of forest resources. In this context it is

crucial for us to protect the tropical rainforests through

sustainable and fair market-based incentives.

The dilemma is that for some of us the forestry

sector is a major revenue earner, a provider of much-

needed employment, a facilitator of important

infrastructure projects, and a catalyst for the provision

of basic services in rural areas. The present incentives

offered by international markets for agriculture,

forestry and emissions reductions are inadequate.

These are perverse incentives from the standpoint of

the environment. Papua New Guinea, along with Costa

Rica, has formed a new Coalition for Rainforest

Nations that includes many other countries in Africa,

Asia, Latin America and the Pacific. Together we are

pursuing an initiative to access global carbon markets

and to support efforts to reduce rates of deforestation.

Simply put, this approach seeks to recognize the

contribution of resource owners to conserving and

protecting rainforests for the benefit of mankind. We

invite more nations to join our efforts to create new

markets and reform outmoded market and regulatory

mechanisms. That is necessary if we are to contribute

more effectively towards environmental sustainability,

economic development, climate stability and poverty

reduction.

The initiative on deforestation is part of a broader

agenda being pursued by my Government to implement

the Millennium Development Goal to ensure

environmental sustainability. We are convinced that by

implementing the seventh goal we will harness our

ability to achieve environmentally and socially

sustainable economic growth. Many times developing

countries are drawn into false promises of international

investment. Often we find our natural resources

exploited, leaving us with neither the resource nor the

money. We will not allow this to continue. We want

wealth from our natural resources to remain within our

nations to fuel our economic growth.

The threat of HIV/AIDS is real in many of our

countries and has serious implications for social and

economic development. In Papua New Guinea my

Government has passed HIV/AIDS legislation,

underpinned by a comprehensive HIV/AIDS policy

framework. To ensure close scrutiny I have vested my

department with the responsibility of overseeing

implementation. In addition, I have appointed a special

minister to assist me in providing political leadership

on this particular issue. But our experience suggests

that national action alone is not enough. It requires a

concerted global response. This is a war that must be

waged on all fronts and by all countries. We thank the

United Nations and its related agencies for their efforts

to address this issue. We also applaud the bold

leadership of former United States President Mr. Bill

Clinton and of Mr. Bill Gates in this regard.

Of equal importance are the battles against

malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.

While we, as a global community, have focused on

HIV/AIDS and bird flu, this has diluted our attention to

malaria, which remains the biggest killer disease in my

country. I call upon our development partners to

support Papua New Guinea and other countries in

maintaining perspective on these challenges.

Terrorism in all its forms and manifestations is a

serious threat to international peace and security. It

must be condemned irrespective of who perpetrates it.

All countries and peoples of the world have a serious

responsibility to stand united and fight this evil.

However, Papua New Guinea is concerned about the

erosion of the international community’s moral

authority to address this issue. It is unhelpful to our

credibility if certain of our members choose to address

this issue in flagrant violation of international norms

and universally agreed conventions. As with other

cross-border challenges, Member States will require

the support of the United Nations and development

partners with capacity-building and other necessary

resources to effectively fight global terrorism.

The conflict in the Middle East, despite various

United Nations resolutions, remains unresolved. Papua

New Guinea appeals to all parties to the conflict,

including those Powers with the capacity to influence a

positive outcome, to make the hard concessions

necessary for a peaceful resolution of this long-

standing issue. The recent confrontation in Lebanon

resulted in the loss of innocent lives and massive

destruction to infrastructure. Papua New Guinea

appeals for restraint by all parties and urges that full

use be made of the dispute settlement procedures of the

United Nations. Comprehensive and lasting solutions

must be found to the issues that led to the conflict.

Neighbouring countries and the international

community as a whole can make positive contributions

by shepherding a process that allows for genuine

23 06-52879

dialogue to take place. We commend the United

Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) and

European countries such as France, Italy and Germany

and others that are contributing troops to maintain the

ceasefire.

Papua New Guinea is extremely concerned about

the proliferation among States of nuclear, chemical,

biological and other weapons of mass destruction. We

continue to maintain that there is no real justification

for the retention and further development of these

instruments of war. We call upon all countries to ratify

the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and other

related treaties to reduce the threat to international

peace and security by weapons of mass destruction.

Sadly, we were reminded by the Secretary-General

yesterday of the apathy that surrounds actions on non-

proliferation and disarmament.

The work of the United Nations Special

Committee on Decolonization remains unfinished. We

still have 16 non-self-governing territories, some in the

Pacific, that are yet to exercise their right to self-

determination. The referendum in Tokelau

demonstrated a true spirit of cooperation between

Tokelau and New Zealand. We congratulate both

Governments and assure the people of Tokelau of our

respect for their decision to remain in free association

with New Zealand.

I conclude by saying that the world has changed

in ways that not only provide opportunities, but also

offer more complex challenges for Members of the

United Nations. The emergence of a trend over the

years to try to resolve these challenges outside the

principles and framework prescribed by the United

Nations has resulted in a world worse than the founders

of the Organization envisaged. We must renew our

commitment and faith in the United Nations and seek

to reform it in ways that reflect the realities of today.

At this juncture I take the opportunity to pay a

special tribute to the outgoing Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his outstanding contribution to the

United Nations and the world. We wish him well. As

this is likely to be the last General Assembly session in

which I take part, I take this opportunity to thank all

those who have contributed in one way or another in

support of Papua New Guinea since independence.

When I brought my nation to take its seat in this

Assembly 31 years ago I said, and I reaffirm today, that

within the limits of our resources Papua New Guinea

will play an active and positive role in the United

Nations.