Bhutan, 2005

Allow me to begin by

extending my delegation’s warmest congratulations to

the President upon his assumption of the office of the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixtieth

session. We have full confidence in his ability to guide

our deliberations to a successful conclusion. I also pay

tribute to his predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for skilfully

conducting the work of the fifty-ninth session of the

General Assembly and for his efforts in preparing the

High-level Plenary Meeting, held from 14 to

16 September 2005.

It is appropriate that the theme for the sixtieth

session of the General Assembly is “For a stronger and

more effective United Nations: the follow-up and

implementation of the High-level Plenary Meeting in

September 2005”.

Indeed, this session has the responsibility to

implement the decisions of the High-level Plenary

Meeting. Our leaders have clearly pronounced that the

goals and objectives of the Millennium Summit and

other United Nations conferences and summits

represent the minimum required to deal with the issues

and challenges of our time. Their message is that 2005

should be a year for concrete action to deliver on those

goals and objectives. We must, therefore, summon

political will and assume moral responsibility to work

truly for the benefit of our peoples on whose behalf we

gather at the United Nations year after year.

In the report “In larger freedom: towards

development, security and human rights for all”

(A/59/2005), the Secretary-General argues that the

principles and purposes of the United Nations

contained in the Charter remain as valid and relevant

today as they were in 1945 and that what is now

required is for practice and organization to move with

the times. My delegation fully agrees with that view.

Our work must always be guided by the Charter, but

our approach must adapt to changing circumstances

and challenges. In doing so, we must move beyond

narrow national perspectives and interests and treat all

issues in a balanced and holistic manner.

As I stated at the High-level Plenary Meeting last

week, my delegation supports all initiatives to

strengthen the United Nations and its institutions. Of

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significant interest to my delegation is the

strengthening of this Assembly, which is the only

universal body in the United Nations. There is a clear

consensus within the membership on the need for

urgent and wide-ranging reform of the United Nations,

although differences remain on the nature and extent of

reform. The 2005 World Summit Outcome has

entrusted the sixtieth session with implementation of

certain reform decisions and at the same time with

carrying out further discussions and negotiations in

areas where consensus has not been reached. We must

continue with our efforts to find consensus in those

areas.

Among the issues that are unresolved is the

reform of the Security Council. We have debated this

issue for well over a decade, but have not yet reached a

decision. My country continues to call for early action

to enlarge the permanent and non-permanent

membership of the Security Council and to improve its

working methods. In this context, we reiterate our

support to include Brazil, Germany, India and Japan as

permanent members. Those countries have

demonstrated their capacity and will to contribute to

world peace and security. We also believe that Africa

should be adequately represented by permanent

membership on the Council.

Development is the most immediate and pressing

issue for the vast majority of Member States. No other

issue can be as central as development when millions

live in deprivation and despair; and global peace and

security cannot be truly achieved without advancing

development. In fact, partnership in other areas cannot

be sustained without genuine international cooperation

in development.

The shortfalls in our commitments to the

Millennium Summit and other major United Nations

conferences and summits are all too clear. More needs

to be done urgently to address the hurdles of

development, which range from finance to debt, trade,

global governance and systemic issues, the

environment and science and technology.

Adequate and predictable sources of financing are

crucial for the success of development efforts. We

therefore welcome ideas for innovative sources of

funding and calls for increased official development

assistance (ODA). In this regard, my delegation would

like to commend those countries that have achieved or

exceeded the ODA target of 0.7 per cent of gross

national product (GNP). We welcome the timetable

established by some countries to achieve the ODA

target by 2015 and urge others to do so expeditiously.

We also urge that 0.2 per cent of GNP be allocated to

least developed countries to enable them to achieve the

goals and objectives of the Brussels Programme of

Action and the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs). The recent decision of the Group of 8 (G-8)

to cancel the external debt of 18 highly indebted poor

countries, including 13 least developed countries, is a

welcome move. My delegation is hopeful that the same

consideration will be given to all least developed

countries.

As a small, least developed and landlocked

country, Bhutan sees official development assistance as

its primary source of financing for development. In this

regard, my delegation would like to place on record its

deep appreciation of the bilateral and multilateral

partners that are actively supporting our development

efforts. Despite a significant increase in its own

resources, my country will have to rely on ODA for

some time in its efforts to realize the MDGs as well as

for overall development.

The continued support of the international

community for our development efforts is crucial at the

present juncture. Decades of gradual but deliberate

change in the system of governance of the country,

spearheaded by His Majesty King Jigme Singye

Wangchuck, are entering a critical phase. A draft

constitution for the country is currently under

discussion. Its adoption in the near future will

transform the country into a parliamentary democracy.

For this system of governance to succeed, it is

imperative that the country be able to maintain the

current level of progress in the social, economic and

other fields.

My country attaches great importance to the

conservation and protection of the environment, as

human life is fundamentally dependent on natural

systems and resources. There cannot be sustainable

development without environmental sustainability. We

must commit ourselves to meeting the goals of, inter

alia, the World Summit on Sustainable Development,

Agenda 21 and the Kyoto Protocol. In Bhutan, we have

made serious efforts to integrate the principles and

practices of environmental sustainability into our

development policies and programmes. As a result of

our conservation efforts, Bhutan has successfully

maintained 72.5 per cent of its land area under forest

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cover. Our modest achievement in this area was duly

recognized by the United Nations Environment

Programme (UNEP) in April 2005 when it awarded to

His Majesty the King and the people of Bhutan a

UNEP Champions of the Earth 2005 award.

My country fully supports the establishment of a

worldwide early warning system for all natural

hazards. Situated in a very fragile mountain ecosystem,

Bhutan is prone to glacial floods and other natural

disasters, including earthquakes. The solidarity that the

international community demonstrated last year when

many countries in the Indian Ocean rim were

devastated by the tsunami was exemplary and is worth

replicating in other areas.

Terrorism is a pernicious threat to peace and

security. It cannot be justified under any

circumstances. It is imperative for the international

community to act resolutely to root out this menace.

We condemn terrorism in all its forms and

manifestations. Bhutan supports all efforts to conclude

a comprehensive convention on international terrorism

and other initiatives. Small and poor developing

countries are particularly vulnerable and are in need of

international support to fight terrorism. They are also

vulnerable to transnational crime and need assistance

to deal with it.

International migration is on the increase today.

Migration offers opportunities and at the same time

presents serious challenges to both source and recipient

countries. Associated with it is the problem of illegal

immigration, which presents serious challenges,

particularly to small countries such as my own. It is

therefore important for a high-level dialogue on

international migration and development to be held by

the General Assembly in 2006 to address all issues

associated with migration.

My delegation supports the Secretary-General’s

continuing efforts to organize annual multilateral treaty

events in conjunction with General Assembly sessions.

In this context, we are pleased to report to the

Assembly that Bhutan acceded to the following treaties

last week: the United Nations Convention against

Corruption; the Optional Protocol to the Convention on

the Rights of the Child on the Involvement of Children

in Armed Conflict; and the Optional Protocol to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of

Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

Bhutan, as a responsible Member State, fully

upholds all relevant international treaties and

conventions. However, our desire to accede to them is

consistently constrained by lack of capacity to deal

with the range of issues they contain and by the

difficulties of meeting reporting and other obligations.

This is a serious hurdle faced by many small countries,

especially least developed countries. There is a genuine

need to look at ways to simplify reporting and other

obligations and to provide technical and financial

assistance to countries in need.

We must heed the call of the Secretary-General

who has said,

“Our action must be as urgent as the need,

and on the same scale. ... Only by acting

decisively now can we both confront the pressing

security challenges and win a decisive victory in

the global battle against poverty by 2015”.

(A/59/2005, para. 23)

We believe that the time to act is now. We must not let

the opportunity slip. I wish the General Assembly

continued success at this session.