Portugal, 2009

I

wish the President all the best for this General

Assembly. Along with Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon, he can count on Portugal’s firm support in

his work. Allow me to begin by endorsing fully

Sweden’s intervention as the country holding the

presidency of the European Union.

Fighting climate change is both a moral

imperative and a matter of survival. This is no longer a

long-term issue. Its consequences are evident

everywhere; from the small island States to Portugal,

we can all witness it. The time to act is now. I

congratulate the Secretary-General on the timely high-

level meeting on climate change. The objective of

mobilizing political will and vision for the climate

negotiations has been fulfilled. The process of political

consciousness-raising is done. Governments are now

better prepared to take the decisions necessary for an

ambitious agreement in Copenhagen. At December’s

Climate Change Summit, every State should take on

bold commitments, to the extent that their respective

responsibilities and capacities allow, so that the post-

2012 world can meet the challenge. If, however, we

leave Copenhagen with limited results and small,

insignificant reforms, we will be failing in our historic

responsibilities.

We are all affected by climate change, but it is

obvious that the consequences are not equally

distributed. The least developed countries and small

island States, despite being the lowest polluters, suffer

the most from the effects of climate change, and their

greater vulnerability imposes a larger responsibility on

the international community. Being part of a

community means having a responsibility to the other

members of the community; so, when we talk about the

international community, we automatically imply that

it is our duty to support these countries in their

adaptation and mitigation efforts.

The General Assembly’s resolution 63/281, on

the impact of climate change on global security, is a

good step forward. But it must be followed up. The

United Nations should promote in-depth debates on

this matter at all relevant levels during the session we

are now starting. Portugal is a country that has built its

history through an extraordinary relationship with the

sea. It is, therefore, natural for us to promote the

sustainable development of oceans and their resources

with a coherent and coordinated approach. We see this

as a strategic issue for the whole world. In this regard,

Portugal has contributed in multiple contexts, including

to the maritime policy of the European Union and the

ocean strategy of the Community of Portuguese

Speaking Countries (CPLP).

The preservation of the environment must also

tackle the energy question. Climate change brings

challenges but also great opportunities. Fully conscious

of this, Portugal is strongly committed to renewable

energy sources: solar, wind, hydro, biomass and wave

power. In 2010 we plan to produce 45 per cent of our

energy from renewable sources. By 2020 we will reach

60 per cent. Furthermore, Portugal has one of the

lowest carbon-emission rates per capita in the

European Union, and we are ready to share our

experience in this area with all interested Member

States.

A year ago, when we gathered in this Hall for the

opening of the sixty-third session of the Assembly, the

world was waking up to an economic and financial

crisis that we are still dealing with today. Recent

positive signs bear witness to the results of

international cooperation in the face of this common

threat, but we are aware that the effects of this crisis

continue to be felt in the daily lives of millions of

people all over the world, and that the most vulnerable

are once again the main victims. We are convinced that

the international financial system must be guided by

principles of responsibility and transparency, and that

regulation and supervision must be strengthened. We

can and should make sure that international markets

are based on the values, principles and standards of

conduct that we share.

We should also ensure that the benefits of

economic globalization have a more universal impact.

The United Nations Global Compact is an important

contribution to this end. The solution to this issue was

not, is not and will never be protectionism. Closing the

door on our neighbours and partners means leaving

people in poverty and failing to solve our medium- to

long-term domestic problems. It is therefore crucial

that we bring the Doha Round to a rapid conclusion in

a way that corresponds fully to the sustainable global

development objectives that have been outlined. At the

same time, we renew our firm commitment to the

Millennium Development Goals. We cannot allow the

economic crisis to affect the gains we have achieved

through this process. A State that forgets the common

good will sooner or later find instability, poverty and

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insecurity knocking at its door. Portugal, with its sense

of collective responsibility and international cohesion,

will continue to contribute to the limits of its capacity.

We concentrate a large part of our action on

development aid in Africa, where poverty is most

marked. In this regard, I would like to mention that

Portugal is currently a co-president of the Africa

Partnership Forum and, in this capacity, in concert with

our African partners, we have communicated to the

G-20 the specific concerns and interests of the

continent in areas such as the response to the economic

and financial crisis and climate change. In the context

of Africa, we continue to be firmly committed to

implementing the first European Union Action Plan

and Common Strategy, adopted at the second European

Union and Africa Summit in Lisbon in December 2007.

Allow me at this point to salute the people of

Guinea-Bissau for their conduct of the recent elections

in their country. It is now up to the Guinean institutions

to maintain and consolidate peace and stability, and it

is up to the international community to increase its

assistance in order to strengthen the building of

institutions and security sector reform in Guinea-

Bissau. Portugal will continue to be strongly

committed to this process, bearing in mind the wishes

expressed by the democratically elected institutions of

Guinea-Bissau.

This month we celebrate the tenth anniversary of

the self-determination referendum of Timor-Leste, and

we take this opportunity to pay a heartfelt tribute to the

East-Timorese people. The referendum was the

corollary of the affirmation of Timor-Leste’s identity

and its admirable will towards peace and development

as a sovereign nation.

Guinea-Bissau and Timor-Leste are two countries

that demonstrate the growing involvement of the

Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries in

promoting peace, democracy, human rights, political

stability and social and economic development. One of

the fundamental pillars of that organization, over

which Portugal currently presides, is the promotion of

the Portuguese language, one of the five most widely

spoken languages in the world and the vehicle of

communication for more than 250 million people,

connecting States and peoples in all corners of the

world. It is therefore ever more pressing and fair that

Portuguese be made an official or working language in

international organizations. Portugal is also assuming

the pro tempore presidency of the Ibero-American

Conference on Culture, whose summit will take place

this year in Estoril, Portugal, with innovation and

knowledge as its theme.

In this regard, I wish to emphasize that, as

President of the CPLP and the Ibero-American

Conference, Portugal has, through regional institutions

and organizations, supported the participation and

involvement of emerging economies and developing

countries in the debate over the reform of the

international financial system.

Regarding the situation in Honduras, we call for

the speedy re-establishment of democratic and

constitutional legality, and we recall the inviolability of

the diplomatic mission of Brazil, under the principles

of the Vienna Convention.

The CPLP and the Ibero-American Conference

are true paradigms of intercontinental cooperation,

based on a communion of cultures and values. We also

consider these paradigms to be the spirit and the

essence of the Alliance of Civilizations. Thus, it is with

great satisfaction that we witness the enormous

progress in the work of the Alliance and that we shall

participate in the Third Forum of the Alliance, to be

held in Brazil in 2010, which will be an event in which

the CPLP will have a special role. I take this

opportunity to congratulate the High Representative of

the Secretary-General for his Office’s valuable work.

Portugal is proud to have been among the first

signatories of the Optional Protocol to the International

Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights,

which has just been opened for signature. We call on

all States Members of the United Nations to do so as

well, so that this new international human rights

instrument may enter into effect and bring about

respect for all human rights for every human being.

Equally fundamental in the defence and

promotion of human dignity is the continuous action of

the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees,

as well as the recent appointment of the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General on Violence

against Children. In both cases I would like to

highlight the committed, tireless and effective way in

which they have assumed their responsibilities.

Terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear

weapons are the greatest challenges to international

peace and security. In combating these threats it is

53 09-52604

essential that we implement the respective international

regimes and continue to invest in international

cooperation, in particular in the framework of the

United Nations. All States that signed the Nuclear

Non-Proliferation Treaty must honour their obligations

without reservations.

Regarding the maintenance of international peace

and security, we have never demanded so much from

the United Nations. If peacekeeping operations are to

have the outcome that they deserve, clear, credible and

achievable mandates are absolutely necessary, as is the

engagement of all Member States through contribution

of personnel.

Portugal has assumed its share, with both

financial and operational contributions. More than

20,000 members of Portuguese armed forces and 3,000

from the Portuguese police forces have participated so

far in peacekeeping operations. Today, we have

peacekeepers in Timor-Leste, Lebanon, Afghanistan

and Chad.

One of the main challenges to international peace

and security is the conflict in the Middle East. Portugal

reiterates its support for a two-State solution, with the

creation of an independent, democratic and viable

Palestinian State, to exist side by side in peace and

security with the State of Israel. But to attain this

objective it is paramount that Palestine have a territory

that enables it to exist as a State.

In this context, Portugal will continue to support

all efforts, in particular those of Egypt and the United

States, for the return to the negotiation process in

accordance with Security Council resolution 1860

(2009) and in accordance with the principles contained

in the various peace initiatives, particularly the Arab

Peace Initiative. We are living in a time of opportunity,

and it is fundamental that the increasingly united

opinion of the international community be fully

listened to by the parties.

In Iraq and in Afghanistan, we welcome the

progress achieved in the past few years, but we

recognize the need for the continued commitment of

the international community. I hereby affirm the

guarantee that Portugal will continue to assume its

share of the burden.

Climate change, the financial and economic

crisis, sustainable development, human rights, threats

to the international peace and security: to face such a

vast array of global challenges, there is no more

appropriate forum than the United Nations, no other

strategic agent that may transmit our collective

response.

Today, more than ever, the collective interest

reflects the national concern of each of us. Today, more

than ever, I subscribe to Dag Hammarskjöld’s vision of

a United Nations as a dynamic instrument to develop

means of executive action that is not limited to being

simply a mechanism consisting of static conferences

for the resolution of conflicts of interests and

ideologies. To ensure that the multilateralism we

profess is truly effective, to ensure that the primacy of

the United Nations in international politics and the

respect for international law is not mere rhetoric, to

ensure that this Organization is increasingly more like

the dynamic instrument that Dag Hammarskjöld

envisioned, we must further the reform of the United

Nations. We must seek in this General Assembly a

broad consensus that will enable what we all know is

necessary to take place, namely, the reform of the

Security Council.

In so doing we should ask ourselves whether a

Security Council without Brazil and India as

permanent members, and where Africa is not

represented with that same status, is a truly

representative Council. Is it consistent to defend a

more efficient and transparent Organization and yet to

have a Security Council without reform of its working

methods?

Let us not be satisfied with merely a discussion

of a better Organization. Let us build together a more

efficient, transparent and representative United

Nations.

Since 2000, Portugal has been a candidate for a

non-permanent seat in the Security Council for the

biennium 2011-2012. Our candidacy is consistent with

the history of our engagement with the United Nations,

our capacity to listen and dialogue with other peoples

and cultures, and our commitment towards fair and

balanced solutions in international issues. We are a

candidate in the name of representativeness and the

right of all countries, including those of small and

medium size, which constitute the majority of the

Members of this Organization, to be present in the

Security Council. We are a candidate for the benefit of

sustainable development and on behalf of the human

values that bind us together, of the inalienable rights of

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all human beings and of our common aspiration for a

more just and peaceful world.