Turkey, 2008

At the outset, I wish to extend our

sincere congratulations to Mr. Miguel d’Escoto

Brockmann on his election as President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-third session. I would also like to

take the opportunity to pay tribute to the President of

the General Assembly at its sixty-second session,

Mr. Srgjan Kerim, for his able leadership during his

past term.

For Turkey, the United Nations Charter reflects

the common aspirations and conscience of humanity.

The United Nations provides a political and moral

compass for our endeavours towards a just

international order — a better order that will prevent

new conflicts, ensure that human rights are upheld and

lead to more equitable and sustainable distribution of

prosperity.

In this framework, we believe that the most

pressing task before the international community is to

bridge, as quickly as possible, the enormous gap

between the wealthiest and the least fortunate. We have

certainly made considerable progress in that direction,

including towards meeting the Millennium

Development Goals; however, our common fight

against poverty, illiteracy, epidemic diseases, child

mortality and climate change is still far from over. On

the contrary, volatile fuel prices, the food crisis and the

global economic slowdown have brought about an even

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more challenging development and security

environment. Under such circumstances, the fight

against terrorism, racism, xenophobia and all forms of

religious discrimination and extremism takes on

particular importance.

We must indeed remain extremely vigilant

against the risk of further alienation between different

cultures and religions. In that respect, we regard the

Alliance of Civilizations initiative, which we

cosponsored with Spain under the auspices of the

United Nations Secretary-General, as an important

instrument that can help us avoid such a dangerous

track.

Turkey will continue to be a leading country in

further advancing the goals of this initiative which

enjoys worldwide backing, including from the

European Union and the Organization of the Islamic

Conference. We hope that the Group of Friends of the

Alliance of Civilizations, which now consists of

14 international organizations and 76 countries

representing different regions ranging from Latin

America to Africa and Asia, will keep growing. In this

vein, we look forward to hosting the second Forum

meeting of the Alliance of Civilizations in Istanbul

next April.

As I said, a top priority issue on our agenda is the

need to address the problems of the developing world.

There is no question that developing countries should

get all the assistance they need to achieve sustainable

development. They must be supported under a renewed

global development agenda and through increased

foreign investments and enhanced trade facilities. For

its part, Turkey is trying to contribute to this

endeavour, first and foremost through increased

development assistance. Turkey also provides special

facilities for development, health, education and

agricultural projects in various parts of the world. As a

result of such fast-growing aid programmes, Turkey is

now recognized as an emerging donor country by the

international community.

The United Nations Ministerial Conference of the

Least Developed Countries which Turkey hosted in

Istanbul last year has clearly demonstrated our

commitment to humanitarian and development

assistance. We have now offered to host the Fourth

Ministerial Conference. Similarly, the first-ever

Turkey-Africa Cooperation Summit held in Istanbul

last month provided an important opportunity to

explore new avenues of cooperation with the African

continent.

Turkey is also committed to combating global

warming, which has serious implications for the entire

world, but more so for the developing countries.

Driven by that conviction, we are taking active part in

negotiations to shape our new global climate change

agreement, which will replace the Kyoto Protocol.

Turkey also pays special attention to the global

water crisis. In that regard, we hope that the Fifth

World Water Forum which we will host in Istanbul next

March will inspire new thinking and concrete action on

this important question.

If I may now turn to the political issues besetting

our region, I am pleased to note that Turkey has been

actively contributing to the advancement of peace by

facilitating dialogue. We have also been working hard

to build a sense of co-ownership of regional issues

among our neighbours through a series of regional

cooperation initiatives. Encouraged by its strong

regional ties, Turkey has launched another initiative

designed to prevent further conflict in the recently

traumatized South Caucasus. In that regard, I believe

that the Caucasus Stability and Cooperation Platform

proposed by Turkey could be an instrumental

framework for building a climate of confidence in the

region that will allow discussion of our common

problems in a democratic setting.

In the light of impressions from my visits to our

neighbours Armenia and Azerbaijan and those of Prime

Minister Erdogan to the Russian Federation and

Georgia, all parties concerned seem receptive to the

idea; we hope they will give it a chance to work. I

sincerely believe that a positive perspective thus

created will help to solve frozen conflicts, including

occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, on the basis of respect

for the principle of territorial integrity. No doubt, such

a perspective will also help improve the bilateral ties

between the countries of the region.

The President returned to the Chair.

It is also well past time to settle the conflicts of

the Middle East, at the core of which lies the

Palestinian question. Turkey actively supports all

endeavours to bring about a lasting solution to that

central problem and alleviate the plight of the

Palestinian people. Turkey is also making every effort

to help advance the Syrian and Lebanese tracks. One

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recent example is the indirect peace talks that Syria

and Israel started under Turkey’s auspices this past

May in Istanbul.

In Iraq, too, Turkey stands firmly with the Iraqi

people and Government. Besides our bilateral efforts, I

am particularly pleased to see that the Neighbouring

Countries process, which I initiated five years ago, is

functioning well. If the international community’s

efforts are to succeed, the Iraqi people need to settle

their differences through dialogue and compromise on

controversial issues, among them the final status of

Kirkuk.

Afghanistan is another country where Turkey is

investing heavily in the future of a nation with which

we have special historical ties. Turkey will continue to

contribute to the security of the Afghan people and to

their reconstruction efforts. We will also continue our

initiatives to create an atmosphere conducive to

regional ownership and cooperation, in particular

between Pakistan and Afghanistan. That is equally vital

for the common struggle against terrorism and for the

stability of the region.

Finally, an urgent and peaceful settlement of the

question of Iran’s nuclear programme, in conformity

with International Atomic Energy Agency norms and

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

obligations and respecting the right to the peaceful use

of nuclear energy, remains high on Turkey’s active

diplomatic agenda.

I am convinced that would-be solutions to

individual conflicts in the Middle East will be

sustainable only if we adopt a comprehensive approach

based on a positive vision for the future. That is why I

invite all the parties to give serious consideration to the

longstanding idea of collective arrangements for

conflict prevention and resolution that would promote

regional security and stability by building confidence,

facilitating political dialogue and encouraging

economic and cultural cooperation in the Middle East.

Turkey gives full backing to diplomatic efforts

towards a political settlement in Cyprus. The solution

lies in the establishment of a new partnership State

composed of two constituent States of equal status. The

process towards that goal should be based on the

United Nations parameters of bi-zonality and the

political equality of the two sides. We welcome and

firmly support the comprehensive settlement

negotiations recently started between the two leaders

under the good offices of the Secretary-General.

At the same time, I believe that efforts to end the

unfair isolation of the Turkish Cypriots who voted

courageously in favour of the Comprehensive

Settlement of the Cyprus Problem in 2004 — a plan

that was unfortunately rejected by the other side — are

long overdue.

Before concluding, I would like to stress the

indispensable nature of the United Nations in resolving

all those matters. Indeed, without an effective and

functional world body, it is impossible to realize the

hopes and expectations of our nations. That is why we

attach the utmost importance to reforming and further

strengthening the United Nations system as a whole. It

is also why Turkey is constantly stepping up its

engagement in and contributions to all aspects of the

United Nations agenda, ranging from development and

peacekeeping to human rights.

It is also with that sense of responsibility that

Turkey has decided to put forth its candidature for a

non-permanent seat on the Security Council for 2009

and 2010. Turkey has not been represented in the

Council for nearly half a century, and we believe that

the main tenets of our foreign policy, together with our

economic, social and cultural attributes, will allow us

to bring added value to the work of the Council. I hope

that the General Assembly, with its valuable support,

will do us the honour of granting Turkey the

opportunity to do so.