Bhutan, 2004

On behalf of the

delegation of Bhutan, allow me to congratulate you,

Sir, on your election to your important post. I assure

you of my delegation’s support and cooperation as you

guide the work of this important body for the year. We

are confident that, with your vast experience and able

leadership, our deliberations will be productive. May I

commend Mr. Julian R. Hunte for his stewardship and

contribution to the work of the fifty-eighth session of

the General Assembly.

The task before the fifty-ninth session of the

General Assembly is daunting, given the array of

issues and challenges facing the international

community. Among them is the issue of reform of the

United Nations. In that regard, the General Assembly’s

resolutions on the revitalization of its work and the

reform initiatives in other organs and agencies are

timely and welcome, as they will serve to ensure the

United Nations continued relevance and effectiveness

in a rapidly changing world. My delegation looks

forward to the recommendations of the High-level

Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change set up by the

Secretary-General to examine the current challenges to

peace and security.

Much of the ongoing debate on United Nations

reforms has justifiably centred on the reform of the

Security Council as the organ charged with the

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maintenance of international peace and security. In a

world torn by old and new conflicts, the Security

Council must evolve in order to remain effective and to

enjoy the confidence of all member States. Its

composition must change to reflect the wider

membership of the United Nations and the new

geopolitical and economic realities of the present-day

world. Bhutan supports the call for an expanded

Security Council through increased membership of

both the permanent and non-permanent categories.

Among others, Bhutan strongly believes that India and

Japan, in view of the important roles they play in

international affairs, are pre-eminently qualified for

permanent membership in an expanded Council.

The toll of innocent human beings falling prey to

terrorism continues to mount by the day. Gruesome

acts of terrorism in different regions of the world,

including the recent brutal killing of schoolchildren in

Beslan and the cold-blooded murder of Nepalese and

other innocent people in Iraq and elsewhere, have

raised the level of horror to new heights. We strongly

condemn those senseless killings. Even my country has

not been spared the scourge. Having exhausted all

peaceful means to prevail upon the heavily armed

foreign militant groups from north-eastern India to

leave our territory, the Royal Government was

compelled to use force to remove them in mid-

December 2003. Most recently, two people were killed

and 27 injured by a bomb blast in a marketplace in a

border town in southern Bhutan.

There is an urgent need to take concerted action

to fight terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Every nation gathered here, by having signed the

Charter of the United Nations, ascribes to the universal

code that the methods which terrorists employ to

achieve their aims, especially the targeting and killing

of innocent civilians, cannot be justified.

Conflicts and crisis situations continue to disrupt

the political stability, security and socio-economic

well-being of millions around the world. Many such

conflicts are fuelled by conditions of poverty and

underdevelopment. Recognizing that interrelationship,

the international community has taken numerous

initiatives in recent years. Several major conferences

have been convened, including the Millennium

Summit, that have provided a comprehensive set of

time-bound targets to be achieved in order to secure a

more peaceful, prosperous and just world.

However, those targets remain distant for many

and the gap between the rich and the poor is getting

wider among and within nations. The Global

Monitoring Report 2004 of the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund indicates that economic

growth in many developing countries remains below

the level considered necessary to reach the Millennium

Development Goals. If the Goals are to be achieved by

the target date, the report states, all parties urgently

need to do much more. The Monterrey Consensus

reinforced the objectives of the Millennium

Development Goals and emphasized the roles of all

parties involved in the process of financing for

development. While developing countries have to

accelerate reforms, developed countries must provide

more aid, foreign direct investment, debt relief and

more open access to their markets.

It is against that background that my delegation

welcomes the 2005 high-level plenary meeting to

review the integrated follow-up and implementation of

the outcomes of the United Nations conferences and

summits. My delegation hopes that the review will lead

to further concrete action by all stakeholders.

Furthermore, as a landlocked, least developed country,

my delegation hopes to see the issues and challenges

identified in the Almaty and Brussels Programmes of

Action receive the highest priority during the review.

May I mention that the Royal Government of

Bhutan, under the leadership of His Majesty the King

and guided by the development philosophy of gross

national happiness, has been making concerted efforts

to ensure the all-round development of the country and

to realize the agreed goals of the various international

conferences, in particular the Millennium Summit. I

am pleased to report that, with the continued support of

our development partners, Bhutan is hopeful of

achieving the Millennium Development Goals by 2015.

In that regard, I take this opportunity to express the

deep appreciation of the Royal Government and people

of Bhutan to the United Nations and other donors for

their contributions to the development of my country.

As I conclude my statement, I would like to pay

tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for

his strong leadership and relentless efforts to advance

the cause of peace, development and security. We will

continue to benefit from his vision and leadership for

the next two years. As he leaves his post at the end of

2006, our work to find a suitable replacement to lead

the United Nations has to begin soon and in earnest.

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My delegation believes that, in keeping with the

principle of equitable geographical representation, and

in consideration of Asia’s being the most populous

continent with the largest regional grouping of 55

members in the United Nations, a Secretary-General

from Asia would be both timely and appropriate.