Solomon Islands, 2010

It is indeed an

honour for me to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of the

Government and people of Solomon Islands, as

President of the General Assembly at our sixty-fifth

session. Your term in office coincides with economic

turmoil, the impacts of climate change, growing social

and security concerns and threats of unilateralism that

are challenging multilateralism from all fronts. My

delegation is pleased with the manner in which you

have convened and concluded three high-level

meetings, on the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), biodiversity and the Mauritius Strategy. That

is a clear indication of why we are confident in you and

of your vast experience as you oversee this principal

body of the United Nations for the next 12 months.

My delegation takes this opportunity to

acknowledge as well the leadership and contributions

of your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali

Abdussalam Treki. His support for multilateralism has

placed us on firm footing in preparing for this session.

We see around us the growth of democracy,

corporate power and the emergence of new powers, all

offering new perspectives and opportunities. New

international cooperation is linking development,

finance, raw materials and markets. That development

calls for increased collaboration and a new framework

to facilitate the emergence of a new economic order.

Solomon Islands, under its new foreign policy, will

establish relationships with all six regions of the

United Nations.

Solomon Islands believes in multilateralism and

acknowledges the importance and value of having a

closer working relationship between the United

Nations and Member States. My Government stands

ready and committed to work with the United Nations

in enhancing its presence in my capital. In that

connection, we renew our call to upgrade the United

Nations Sub-office in Honiara and appoint a resident

representative as its head.

My delegation acknowledges United Nations

outreach to Solomon Islands this year by convening the

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United Nations national competitive recruitment exam

in December. We welcome that engagement, as it

provides an opportunity for successful citizens to fill

our national quota of international civil servants

serving our family of nations.

Democracy is one of the core principles of the

United Nations Charter. People continue to be the

source of the legitimacy of this Organization and

remain the basis of authority of this Assembly.

Solomon Islands registers its appreciation of the

Secretariat’s Department of Political Affairs and the

United Nations Development Programme for their role

in coordinating some 400 local and international

observers who monitored last month’s general election.

We are equally pleased to note the positive

pronouncement by the various local and international

monitors that Solomon Islands’ national election was

conducted in a free and fair manner. A number of

electoral reform recommendations were made, and my

Government will act on them with a view to improving

our national electoral system.

The essence of progress and prosperity lies in

having a clear and firm leadership, an obedient

bureaucracy and a sense of vision. My Government is

committed to providing those, and we will work

tirelessly to offer our people a life of normality, dignity

and freedom.

The challenge of nation-building is huge and

costly for any developing country. For that reason,

each country has to define for itself the type and form

of democracy it wants to adopt, for democracy cannot

be imposed. In that connection, Solomon Islands

continues to advocate genuine dialogue and

engagement with Fiji over confrontations and sanctions

and to support Fiji’s effort to determine its destiny.

Solomon Islands joins the international

community in calling for the lifting of the 49-year-old

economic embargo against Cuba. Such an embargo

belongs to a different time and era. It is our hope that

the power of reaching out to our neighbours will break

down artificial ideological barriers.

Solomon Islands will be undergoing the universal

periodic review during this session. My delegation

takes this opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of

Solomon Islands to the principles and purposes of the

United Nations Charter, including respect for human

rights and fundamental freedoms for all. Solomon

Islands finds it regrettable to see those principles

sacrificed by some who continue to divide this

Assembly. Solomon Islands recognizes the Geneva-

based Human Rights Council and its role and

impartiality as the appropriate institution to deal with

issues of human rights.

This year marks the seventh anniversary of my

country’s relationship with the Regional Assistance

Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The current

partnership framework promotes greater coherence and

predictability in enhancing the quality of the

cooperation to meet the country’s development needs.

The relations between Solomon Islands and RAMSI

have brought political and financial stability. However,

the underlying causes of conflict remain unaddressed.

Issues of tolerance and respect for our diverse cultures

have placed much stress on our road to peace. My

Government remains committed to addressing those

issues.

In June this year, the Foreign Minister of the

United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah

Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brought together Pacific small

island developing States and our Middle East brothers

to discuss cooperation, including the Arab Peace

Initiative in the Middle East. Solomon Islands supports

all peace initiatives, including proposals to normalize

relations between the entire Arab region and Israel. The

complexity of the Middle East conflict needs a regional

solution, and we strongly feel that parties to the

conflict will need to sow conditions for peace as we

work to have a two-State solution. We are heartened to

see negotiations proceeding. However, we would like

to see all stakeholders involved in the process.

My delegation welcomes the outcome of this

summer’s Non-Proliferation Treaty Review

Conference. The existence of nuclear weapons

continues to pose a significant threat to humanity.

History has shown the deep horror and devastation of

nuclear weapons. Solomon Islands supports the total

elimination of all nuclear weapons as the only absolute

guarantee for a safe and secure world.

The urgency of agreeing to a legally binding

agreement on climate change in Cancún, Mexico,

cannot be overemphasized. It is a common concern that

binds the world together. Our planet is already

absorbing more heat and getting warmer. The global

temperature has risen by 0.7°C in the past century.

Under current trends, science tells us that the

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temperature will further increase by 4 to 7°C by the

end of this century, threatening the survival of many

States, including Solomon Islands. It is critical that we

have a clear plan for stabilizing greenhouse gas

emissions. Solomon Islands supports the call of the

small island developing States to restrict the

temperature rise to below 1.5°C and to bring down

greenhouse gas concentration to well below 350 parts

per million.

Noting that there is limited atmospheric carbon

space left, a carbon-budget approach is an option for a

just and fair way to prevent the global temperature

from reaching irreversible levels. It takes into

consideration the development needs and space

concerns of developing countries and our shared

responsibilities and rights in meeting the demands of

the health of our atmosphere.

On the issue of United Nations system-wide

coherence, the General Assembly in July established a

new gender entity, UN Women. That body will further

strengthen United Nations capacity and effectiveness in

advancing the status of women worldwide. Solomon

Islands looks forward to cooperating with the new

entity.

As regards Security Council reform, my

delegation is pleased to see informal intergovernmental

negotiations carried forward into this session.

Negotiations are now focused on a common text, which

we hope will be further streamlined in achieving our

goal of making that principal United Nations organ

more representative, efficient and responsive to the

emerging global threats of this century.

The Pacific Ocean covers a third of the world’s

surface and accounts for a quarter of the world’s tuna

industry. In May this year, eight Pacific small island

developing States, including Solomon Islands, set up

the secretariat of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement

(PNA) in the Marshall Islands. The PNA countries

agreed to coordinate the management and conservation

of their tuna resources, so as to guarantee sustainability

and greater economic benefits from their resources.

The closing off of the high seas pockets within the

respective countries’ exclusive economic zones is to

prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and

to provide a safe haven for fish to breed.

On the issue of the establishment of a regional

marine scientific centre, in accordance with the United

Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, my

delegation is pleased to note that the matter is reflected

in the Secretary-General’s report. The Pacific

subregion values such a centre, which my Government

offers to host. We will pursue this regionally and

internationally, in the spirit of the Convention and the

Mauritius Strategy Initiative.

This year Papua New Guinea, the Federated

States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands made a

presentation on our joint submission to the

Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. We

hope to do the same with our remaining submissions at

an appropriate time.

Solomon Islands is encouraged by the further

growth of positive developments and engagements

with regard to the Taiwan Strait. That must be

internationally recognized, commended and supported.

The moderate and pragmatic path adopted by both the

People’s Republic of China and Taiwan about the

Taiwan Strait contributes to international peace and

security.

Solomon Islands continues to support Taiwan’s

meaningful participation within the United Nations

system. My delegation is heartened to note Taiwan’s

participation as an observer at the World Health

Assembly in both 2009 and 2010. That is a gesture of

the improved cross-Strait relations. Taiwan has

registered its interest in participating in two United

Nations treaty organizations this year: the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

(UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation

Organization. My country supports such participation.

The two organizations deal with two global issues that

are of common concern to all the world. Climate

change and aviation issues need the participation of all

countries for aviation safety and the health of our

atmosphere. My delegation finds it regrettable that the

UNFCCC secretariat has adopted a narrow position on

a matter that requires the parties to the Convention and

to the Kyoto Protocol to decide on.

The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are

internationally agreed development benchmarks. The

Solomon Islands scorecard remains mixed, uneven and

generally off track in terms of meeting our 2015 Goals.

The international programme for the Solomon Islands

for achieving the MDGs is defined in the Mauritius

Strategy and the Brussels Programme of Action. Both

frameworks outline the Solomon Islands’ special

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situation, one that requires special international

attention.

The review of the Mauritius Strategy held last

week revealed that international commitments to the

Barbados Programme of Action remain wanting and

disappointing. The vulnerability of small island

developing States (SIDS) has worsened. To address this

partnership gap, Solomon Islands calls for a special

category for SIDS within the United Nations system.

There is also a need for a firmer link between the SIDS

Programme and the United Nations Development

Assistance Framework, to ensure that support is

received from within our Organization.

This session will also see the convening of the

Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least

Developed Countries, in May 2011. We are equally

pleased that the General Assembly launched a process

of national, regional and global reviews during the last

session. We look forward to working with all in

achieving a comprehensive, action-oriented and

meaningful outcome to the Conference. My delegation wishes to acknowledge our new

partners Luxembourg and Portugal, for their support,

respectively, for the Melanesian Spearhead Group and

Solomon Islands external students. We remain grateful

to all partners from the South and North, including

Cuba, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and our

traditional partners the European Union, Australia,

New Zealand, Japan and my regional neighbours.

In conclusion, I would like to assure the President

of the support and cooperation of the Solomon Islands

during his term in office.