Samoa, 2007

Samoa would like to congratulate the President on his election as President

of the General Assembly. We fully support the agenda

that will guide our work during his tenure. In the same

spirit, Samoa would like to extend its best wishes to

the new Secretary-General as he leads our Organization

through new and uncharted waters during these

difficult times.

The High-level Event on Climate Change held

earlier this week underscored two fundamental truths,

namely, that climate change is solvable with the

solution firmly in our hands and that the United

Nations continues to be an indispensable institution in

our search for answers to the global challenges

confronting humankind. From all accounts, the

High-level Event was a considerable success; but

success is measured not in the number of statements

delivered, nor in the level of participation, but in the

political will to translate undertakings into concrete

results on the ground to usher in an effective and

comprehensive post-Kyoto agreement. The time for

rhetoric is over. We need to convert our good words

into deeds.

Climate change, like many other global

challenges, crosses borders uninvited. It has no respect

for national sovereignty and does not discriminate

between countries whether rich or poor, large or

small, resilient or vulnerable. Its dire consequences are

real and everywhere for all to see, including those who

would prefer to remain unconvinced. Climate change

cannot be wished away. Even those countries that have

been in denial to date must surely now accept the

weight of scientific evidence and concede that climate

change, facilitated largely through human-induced

activities, poses one of the gravest threats to

humankind and to the continuation of life in our world

as we know it today.

Obviously, we have failed badly as custodians of

the planet and its future. But apportioning blame for

the present state of our environment is itself yet

another human failing. It serves no useful purpose.

Being judgmental will not restore our environment.

Those who exploit the traditional divide between

developed and developing countries, and ideological

and political differences, do so conveniently to mask

their unwillingness to be part of the solution to an

impending catastrophe.

Climate change is a societal problem that requires

a decisive response from the world community. It is a

global challenge that should unite us. In division there

is little we can do. But as a truly united world

community there is a great deal that could be achieved

to at least arrest, and even reverse, the threat of climate

change. A timely example of what can be achieved

when the political commitment to cooperate is present

is the Pacific Alliance for Sustainability, an innovative

approach by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)

for expedited access to GEF resources by Pacific island

countries to meet some of the adaptation and

mitigation needs associated with climate change.

The United Nations remains our last best hope to

provide the political will and the necessary

commitment to turn the tide against climate change.

Samoa calls upon those Member States of the

Organization in a position of world leadership to lead

the charge in finding and implementing solutions to the

causes of climate change. As present custodians of our

world’s environment, we owe it to our children and to

future generations to do what needs to be done quickly

and decisively, before we run out of time. It is

therefore imperative to complete a post-2012 climate

change agreement that is effective, binding, capable of

being swiftly implemented and universally owned and

respected by the 192 Member States of the United

Nations.

In the global work that needs to be done to

address climate change, and indeed in any of the other

weighty challenges facing our world, we of course look

to nations in positions of leadership to lead by good

example. In the all-important pillars of the United

Nations concerning economic development, human

rights, peace and security nations in leadership roles

must as a matter of principle protect the interests of the

weak and vulnerable. They should accord priority and

give their full attention to finding solutions to issues of

global concern.

In the same way that nations in leadership roles

are called to account in doing the right thing for our

world, so must all the Member States of the United

Nations uphold their part of the bargain in the work

that needs to be done. Without that cooperation from

all Member States, reaching the objectives we all know

should be achieved will continue to elude us. Solutions

to liberate our world from the tyranny and futility of

war, the social and economic inequalities that we are

trapped in and the uncontrolled and wild spread of

epidemic diseases have all been mapped out. They

have been discussed, debated, negotiated and, in most

cases, agreed to over the life of the Organization.

As with climate change, global long-term

challenges that continue to remain unsolved should be

approached collectively and positively within the

framework of the United Nations. An integrated

approach is desirable, given the interconnectedness and

the mutually reinforcing nature of the issues. That calls

for visionary and far-sighted leaders, statesmen and

stateswomen who are not deterred from making the

right decisions.

That is much to ask for in a world of unequal

resource endowments, size, status and strength

where national interests take precedence over the

global good and where policies are selected, not

because they are the right and correct thing to do, but

because of their acceptability to the voting

constituents, how much they cost and who pays the bill

at the end of the day. But times are changing.

The world is one global family, and no country

exists in isolation. Interdependence is the norm, and

none is immune from the reaches of the global

problems challenging our very existence. As history

has shown, no one country, however powerful and

willing, can remain aloof and be able to solve all those

problems on its own. The United Nations therefore

remains the best means to achieve multilateral

cooperation in so many important areas. With unity of

purpose and mind among the membership of the United

Nations, we would have every reason to be optimistic

about finding solutions to the problems that beset our

world.

That is why Samoa supports the efforts to

strengthen and reform the United Nations and its

constituent parts to make them cost-effective and

efficient when responding to the needs of stakeholders.

Central to the reorganization is a revitalized General

Assembly as the primary policy- and

decision-making organ of the United Nations. It should

also include a functioning Security Council, whose

membership should be increased in both categories to

mirror present day realities, including those with the

capacity and the disposition to contribute to the

Council’s work and its legitimacy. Moreover, we

encourage the efforts under way to streamline the work

of the different United Nations agencies to eliminate

wastage of resources and unnecessary duplication of

time and effort.

In the Pacific region, the long-promised United

Nations presence in island States where the

Organization is not represented has yet to materialize.

That is unfortunate, given the time that has passed and

the importance island leaders attach to the enhanced

visibility of the United Nations to assist in forging

partnerships and building capacity to help sustain the

development efforts of island nations.

Samoa recently hosted the largest-ever South

Pacific Games in the event’s 43-year history. The fact

that Samoa was able to successfully stage that largest

of the Pacific regional events notwithstanding the

paucity of its resources demonstrated the importance to

small island developing States of working successfully

with their development partners. In the particular case

of the South Pacific Games, Samoa needed to

demonstrate the importance of sports to the

socio-economic development of our young people,

both at the national and at the wider Pacific regional

levels, in making submissions for assistance to its

development partners.

The People’s Republic of China was able to

respond positively to the call to provide critical

infrastructure to meet the requirements of the Games.

Similarly, in other key sectors such as education and

health, Samoa’s other development partners have

accepted our requests and agreed to work with us in

our efforts to improve those vital areas.

The decision by the Economic and Social Council

early this year to graduate Samoa from the status of

least developed country is a clear reflection of the

immense value to Samoa of the contribution of its

development partners including Australia, China,

the European Union, Japan, New Zealand and a host of

multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations,

the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the

International Monetary Fund and the Commonwealth,

to name some.

As is well known, we argued strongly at the

Economic and Social Council debate and at the

General Assembly the case of the continued

vulnerability of our small, isolated island economy,

with all its attendant disadvantages, its lack of natural

resources and its vulnerability to devastating natural

disasters. None of those conditions and risks will

disappear after Samoa graduates from the group of

least developed countries. We therefore ask our

development partners for their continued understanding

and support of Samoa’s development efforts in the

future.

People trapped in the different troubled spots of

the world will not be able to experience true peace

unless they are consulted and have a voice in any

negotiated solution conducted in a spirit of genuine

goodwill to find outcomes that create conditions for

harmonious coexistence. Samoa therefore welcomes

the recent attempt to resume the Middle East peace

process and the new hope it rekindles that perhaps a

durable solution may finally be achieved, where

Palestinians live in a permanent and an independent

State of their own alongside a secure and safe Israeli

State.

The Sudan’s agreement to the African Union-

United Nations Hybrid Operation is a courageous first

step towards solving the humanitarian situation in

Darfur and deserves full support. Hopefully, it will

signal the end to the long and horrific suffering of

innocent people caught in the midst of that tragic

conflict.

Iraq’s early gains through its democratically

elected Government are being eroded daily by

disruptive elements bent on derailing the process to

return the country to normalcy. Ultimately, it is the

Iraqi leadership that should promote and manage any

national reconciliation process to guarantee its long-

term sustainability. However, it is also clear that, with

the wider international community now able to play a

more active role in Iraq, their understanding and

contributions will be critical in helping with the efforts

to bring peace to Iraq.

I have on previous occasions from this rostrum

expressed Samoa’s unwavering support for the

peacekeeping work of the United Nations. I again

reaffirm that support, which is underpinned by my

country’s contribution and involvement in the United

Nations peacekeeping missions in Timor-Leste, Liberia

and the Sudan. Additionally, Samoa continues to be an

integral part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the

Solomon Islands under the umbrella of the Pacific

Forum.

Terrorist acts committed the world over, under

whatever pretext or purpose, are deplorable and

morally unjustified. In its various forms and

manifestations, terrorism is responsible for the

permanent scars of horror and fear that have gripped

international attention in recent years. Terrorism should

therefore be condemned in the strongest way possible,

to send out the clear and unequivocal message that it is

neither accepted nor condoned and that perpetrators

should not expect any sympathy for their actions.

Samoa strongly supports the anti-terrorism

resolutions of the United Nations. We have put in place

the relevant legislative framework and have

implemented measures in line with intergovernmental

efforts to combat international terrorism.

In concluding my statement, I wish to again

emphasize the important role of nations in key

positions of leadership in the achievement of the

objectives of the Organization, whether in

peacekeeping, the environment, poverty alleviation, the

fight against terrorism or the many other challenges

that threaten our world. They must lead by good

example, make decisions and take action based on the

well-founded conviction that what they do is morally

and ethically correct for the ultimate benefit and

greater good of the world. When nations with

leadership roles and responsibilities are able to do that,

they will find ready support from the rest of the

Organization’s membership.