Vanuatu, 2005

I bring warm greetings

from the people of the Republic of Vanuatu.

At the outset, I wish to congratulate you, Sir, on

your assumption of the presidency of the General

Assembly at its sixtieth session. I assure you of my

Government’s support for the work of the United

Nations under your stewardship. I take this opportunity

also to acknowledge, with deep admiration, the sterling

dedication of your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, who

meticulously steered the work of the fifty-ninth session

to its conclusion. I would like also to pay tribute to the

Secretary-General for his active role and for his

resilience in continuing the work of United Nations

reform.

We come to the Assembly annually to reaffirm

our faith and confidence in the purposes and principles

of the Charter. This year is especially important, since

leaders are meeting five years after the Millennium

Summit to take stock of the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). Although the outcome document has

been adopted, we are extremely disappointed with the

omission of numerous paragraphs. The farcical ending

of the negotiations resulted in a dilution of the quality

of the final document. The United Nations must, in

future, avoid becoming a rubber stamp for the

powerful.

The world is at a crossroads. Our meeting is

taking place at a critical juncture. Civil and political

strife, wars, poverty, diseases, famine, drought, natural

disasters, terrorism, minority oppression and

environmental degradation are affecting the lives of

millions of people. The sacrilege of such human

suffering is unbelievable and painful to bear.

The United Nations must be able to do more and

must respond more promptly to such situations. It must

do so by improving its preventive-capacity

mechanisms so as to minimize the devastating impact

on peoples’ livelihood and to ease their suffering.

We must ask, therefore, whether we are really

doing enough for our peoples. Is this all about

impressive speeches, rhetoric and pretentious,

grandiose plans that detract from the real issues that

need addressing? My Government is disillusioned by

the lack of genuine goodwill and support that is being

offered to the United Nations.

I would like to reiterate my Government’s

message to the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth

session.

“The Achilles heel of the current structure is the

imbalance of power in the United Nations system.

It has become so chronic that it has weakened

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the multilateral focus, cohesiveness and

internationalism of the United Nations.”

(A/59/PV.14, p. 25)

The principles of democratization and good

governance, so actively advocated and championed by

some Members, must be reflected in the reorganization

and decision-making process of the United Nations

system.

If we are to get back on track, the United Nations

must be rejuvenated. It must be reinvigorated so that it

can reassume its legitimate and central responsibility in

addressing the causes of conflict, maintaining peace

and security and promoting the development agenda.

But if it is to do that, the Organization’s decision-

making and other processes must be transparent and

truly democratized. Some of us preach strongly on

democracy the world over, yet are unable to practice

and enforce those values when it really matters. We are

now on the threshold of a new beginning, so let us not

allow this new opportunity to pass.

At the summit, I said that tolerance and respect

must form the nucleus for any reform of the United

Nations. Only by enforcing those values will we come

to realize the true meaning of justice, equality and

human rights. The diversity of the developing world

presents huge challenges for us all. However, the

strong nations must be able to muster the political will

to effect changes. The big players need to transform

their philosophy and their mindset, because they have

been hindrances to the creation of an equitable system

of good governance within multilateral organizations

such as the United Nations.

The United Nations remains indispensable for

future peace and prosperity. Globalization has brought

nations together; we are interlinked and

interdependent, and that requires global cooperation

and governance from all responsible Members of the

Organization. Understandably, there are vested

interests held by the powerful. That requires genuine

cooperation and goodwill, and those interests and the

role of the United Nations must converge in order to

ensure compatibility with the international legal

framework.

My Government fully supports efforts to reform

the United Nations system so as to ensure a stronger

and more effective Organization. In this context, my

delegation shares the views of other delegations on the

need to revise the membership of the Security Council

so as to ensure fair representation of Member States

without affecting the authority of the Council. A more

representative Council will bring openness and

transparency, create confidence and improve

understanding and cooperation. The restructuring of

the Security Council membership is long overdue.

Diversity is essential in that respect.

I agree that terrorism is one of three main

scourges confronting humankind today — the others

being poverty and disease. My Government condemns

those deliberate callous and inhuman acts that have

taken the lives of innocent people. There is no just act

of terrorism. We agree that we must work collectively

in eliminating that deadly menace from the face of the

Earth. But the fight against terrorism must be balanced

and targeted so as to ensure that resources are equitably

channelled into meeting the Millennium Development

Goals.

The global economic situation today

discriminates against many of the developing

economies. Unfair trading practices and the imposition

of intrusive policies on national economies affect our

economies by opening them up to unfavourable

conditions that only favour the stronger nations. Such

negative actions marginalize nations and peoples.

Marginalization then breeds and incites resentment,

fuelling the hatred that eventually creates fertile

grounds for extremism to grow and flourish.

We have agreed on the establishment of the

Peacebuilding Commission, which will also enable

more work to be done to combat the spread of

terrorism, in particular by identifying areas where

international support and understanding are required.

Although we are injecting many resources into curing

the problem, we are not really preventing it from

emerging. The world needs a spirit of pacifism if real

peace is to prevail. In order to achieve that, the United

Nations needs moral leadership — leadership that

focuses on security and dignity for the human person.

The post-Monterrey Conference era poses

extreme challenges for the economic survival and

socio-economic stability of many of the small island

developing nations like Vanuatu. We urge our

development partners to honour their commitments to

reach the 0.7 per cent target for official development

assistance (ODA). In this context we welcome the

commitments from the United States of America

through the Millennium Challenge Account. We also

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welcome commitments by Qatar, the European Union

and the People’s Republic of China. Furthermore, we

look forward to the coming to fruition of initiatives by

France and other countries.

The pivotal role of trade as the engine for

economic growth cannot be overemphasized, but, as

many of my colleagues from the small island States

and the least developed countries have stated, market

access and special preferential treatment must be

provided.

Furthermore, many of us are restricted by

inflexible and immoral conditions that inhibit new

financing and development initiatives. We continue to

call for trade and investment and labour export to help

our economies to grow.

My Government’s national development priorities

focus on building the productive sector. The

Government’s prioritized action agenda highlights the

policy areas that we believe to be essential in meeting

our development objectives. It is the catalyst for

Vanuatu’s medium- to long-term strategic planning,

which emphasizes the need to empower our rural

population through infrastructure- and capacity-

building initiatives. The development policy

framework is consistent with achieving the MDG

targets, and the development strategy is being refined

to give equal consideration to our other international

commitments and the Pacific Plan. We appeal to our

development partners to assist us in the effective

implementation of our strategy.

A fundamental lesson to be drawn from Vanuatu’s

reforms is that they have been forced from outside,

without being adapted to our national circumstances.

From Vanuatu’s perspective, externally driven reforms

must be buttressed by an equal partnership that

respects local traditions and cultures and the rights of

all citizens, without disturbing the essential uniting

mechanisms of society that have successfully held us

together. Vanuatu embraces democracy and the

concepts of good governance and transparency, but

those far-reaching principles must be tailored to

traditional systems without affecting their relevance

and significance.

With regard to the environment, we urge our

development partners to actively support the effective

implementation of the Mauritius Strategy. The

challenges confronting island States are ominous, and I

repeat the call that more recognition should be given to

accommodate our natural characteristics and

vulnerabilities. We also urge States that have not yet

done so to act responsibly by ratifying the Kyoto

Protocol as soon as possible.

On the question of the shipment of radioactive

materials and hazardous waste, improvements in

safeguards and assurances should not have to await a

calamity. Preventive measures must be the course of

action to take. The risks posed by the forces of nature,

coupled with increased terrorist activities, are too

grave for enhanced safeguards to deal with. The world

would be better off banning such shipments rather than

endlessly trying to perfect safeguards approaches that,

at best, only limit such serious risks. Complacency

would be our greatest mistake.

The Charter of the United Nations espouses the

principles that continue to guide the Organization’s

efforts in the process of self-determination. That right

must be progressively advanced. The United Nations

must be consistent and not lose sight of the

fundamental right of self-determination for those who

are working their way out of the shackles of colonial

rule. Ruling and sovereign authorities must ensure that

the process remains on track.

Where the United Nations has failed to fully

comply with the appropriate legal procedures, it is only

proper that such instances be adequately addressed to

allow justice to prevail for the victims. Circumventing

the issue only exposes the dark history and raises

serious questions about the credibility, relevance and

integrity of the United Nations. Only in an open and

consistent manner can we redress past failures and

provide a stronger basis for the advancement of United

Nations ideals.

Such contradictions simply make a mockery of

the fundamental principles of human rights and self-

determination clearly enshrined in the Charter of the

United Nations. How can we call for respect for human

rights, yet blatantly ignore the pleas of the millions

calling out for justice? The United Nations cannot, and

must not, continue to turn a blind eye to its own past

failures. It is morally, politically and legally wrong to

do so.

The continuing disputes raised over the

implementation of United Nations resolutions are clear

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examples challenging the integrity and validity of the

United Nations. We cannot ignore the calls of the West

Papuans in their quest for justice. We urge the United

Nations to act responsibly in revisiting the case of West

Papua. However, we are encouraged by the Indonesian

Government’s efforts to address alleged human rights

abuses. We also welcome decisions empowering West

Papuans to manage their own affairs in collaboration

with the central Government.

The United Nations must also explore various

avenues to end the economic embargo imposed on

Cuba. Countless resolutions have been adopted to no

effect, and the Cuban people continue to be

marginalized in the multilateral trading system. This is

a critically challenging responsibility. Some may see it

as an improbable task, but it must be addressed with

genuine support and goodwill on the part of the

relevant authorities and sovereign States.

In conclusion, I hope that the Creator’s wisdom

will prevail as we continue our journey. Despite all our

differences and diversities, human security for all is

our main goal and should remain the focus of the

United Nations agenda. The cardinal question is, will

Members allow the United Nations to undertake

serious reforms in meeting the challenges ahead? And

will the Organization be capable of guaranteeing a

future of peace and prosperity that is not reserved only

for the big players but will be enjoyed by all? Will the

United Nations become a juggernaut for the stronger

nations? A famous biblical verse reminds us about the

fundamental wisdom of building on rock instead of

sand. The future remains in our hands, and the

Republic of Vanuatu will play its part.

May our beloved almighty Creator bless us all.