Cambodia, 2002

I should like at the outset to join other

speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your election to

the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-

seventh session. We are fully confident that, under your

able leadership, the work of the General Assembly will

further advance the cause of international cooperation

in the interests of humankind.

I would also like to take this opportunity to

welcome the Swiss Confederation, which has become

the one hundred and ninetieth Member of our world

Organization. I am also pleased to extend a warm

welcome to the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste,

which will soon be joining our global Organization.

I believe that we are living in a fragile and fast-

changing world, a world of uncertainties and

turbulence that has been seriously threatened by

terrorism, the negative aspects of globalization, the

rising effects of global warming and the impact of

climate change. The effects of these rising forces

underline our common vulnerability and recall the

urgent need for more effective sustainable development

in the world, without which the survival of humanity

may be jeopardized. I therefore believe that the

common challenge we face today is perhaps the lack of

collective wisdom and political will to make our world

a better place for all, including future generations.

The recent World Summit on Sustainable

Development in Johannesburg rightly discussed the

fundamental issues confronting humanity: climate

change, global sustainable development and poverty.

The dramatic appeal made by many leaders of the

world at that Summit must be taken very seriously as

an important message about the need to save the Earth

from destruction and to reverse the global trends of

widening development gaps, increasing poverty and

environmental destruction.

With respect to the environment, I believe that

humanity as a whole is now confronting severe global

warming, unprecedented flooding and the increasingly

disastrous effects of greenhouse gases. This is no

longer just a scientific theory, but a living reality. For

the first time this year, we have experienced mega-

floods and serious droughts across continents — from

Asia to Europe, from Africa to South America — that

have wrought immense destruction and cost billions of

dollars. We must seek to reverse these negative trends

for the survival of humanity. In this regard, I think that

we should all welcome and strongly support the bold

message of the World Summit on Sustainable

Development, the ultimate goal of which was to ensure

the survival of humanity and to fight poverty and

environmental destruction.

I also wish to recall the 2000 Millennium

Declaration, which centred on fighting poverty,

combating HIV/AIDS, ensuring sustainable

development and forging a common partnership for

development. In the same vein, the United Nations

International Conference on Financing for

Development, held in March in Monterrey, Mexico,

called on the developed countries to provide greater

assistance to the least developed. Without adequate

resources, it will be difficult for the least developed

countries to break out of the vicious cycle of poverty

and to catch up with the current process of

globalization. I believe that this is a question not of

generosity, but of human dignity and of sharing the

wealth of the world in which we all live in the most

equitable way.

(spoke in English)

As the world continues to be shaped by the forces

of globalization, we are witnessing growing disparities

and development gaps between the haves and have-

nots. As a double-edged sword, globalization could

either help to propel humanity as a whole to greater

prosperity or further marginalize the poor. I believe

that reducing poverty could contribute to some extent

to the fight against terrorism and effectively manage

the growth of transnational issues, such as human

trafficking and the prevalent HIV/AIDS epidemic.

In this context, the Cambodian Government,

under the leadership of Prime Minister Samdech Hun

Sen, has made the fight against poverty a top priority

of its strategy. In addition, human rights and

democracy in Cambodia have been further

strengthened. In February this year, Cambodia for the

first time organized free and fair local elections as part

of its decentralization policy and its efforts to

strengthen grass-roots democracy. Moreover,

Cambodia remains committed to contributing actively

towards the realization of integration of the

Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), so

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that ASEAN may move forward in a collective spirit

and play its constructive role in deepening East Asian

cooperation as a whole. In this regard, the forthcoming

Greater Mekong subregion and ASEAN summits in

Phnom Penh in early November will be important

venues for ASEAN leaders to further promote ASEAN

integration and build closer cooperation in East Asia,

encompassing the 10 nations of South-East Asia,

China, Japan and the Republic of Korea.

On regional issues that concern the whole

international community, I wish to raise the Middle

East conflict first. I believe that the international

community has to help find a viable solution which

could bring lasting peace to the region. Cambodia

strongly believes that violence in any form is not a

solution. On the contrary, violence provokes more

violence. The Palestinian people have an inalienable

right to dispose of their own State, living in peace with

Israel. I think that both sides must have the wisdom to

understand that they are condemned to living side by

side forever. Therefore, it is better for both sides to

remain at peace with each other than to engage in

endless war.

Secondly, with regard to the Iraqi situation,

Cambodia believes that Iraq's acceptance of the return

of United Nations weapons inspectors is an important

step that will certainly contribute to defusing the

situation in the region.

Thirdly, on the Kashmir problem, I believe that

we need to avoid the escalation of that conflict. If not

properly managed, the Kashmir conflict could seriously

escalate and thus threaten regional peace and security

not only in South Asia, but also in South-East Asia. We

must do what we can to ensure that the terrorists cannot

seize the opportunity of that conflict to further

complicate the present situation.

On a more optimistic note, I believe that the

recent positive developments in the Korean

peninsula — especially the resumption of North-South

dialogue and the historic visit of Japanese Prime

Minister Koizumi to Pyongyang — are significant

milestones towards the normalization of the situation

there.

As far as the fight against terrorism is concerned,

Cambodia has signed and is in the process of acceding

to all 12 conventions related to the combat against

terrorism. ASEAN, for its part, has been forceful and

decisive in coming up with a number of initiatives and

measures. The ASEAN leaders, at their Seventh

Summit in Brunei in November 2001, adopted the

ASEAN Declaration on Joint Action to Counter

Terrorism. In addition, there have been a number of

agreements and specific action plans that ASEAN and

the ASEAN Regional Forum have put in place in order

to tackle the threats of terrorism in our region. In July

this year, ASEAN and the United States signed an anti-

terrorism declaration as a framework for more

cooperation to prevent and combat global terrorism.

Now, I wish to address the issue of reforming the

United Nations, particularly the Security Council,

which I believe we should not simply ignore or take a

status quo approach to. I believe that the United

Nations cannot continue to work in its current modus

operandi if we want to further improve this important

global institution and to have it truly reflect the needs

and political realities of the world in the twenty-first

century, to which it should be adapted as soon as

possible. Any attempt to further delay United Nations

reform, in my view, will only undermine the credibility

of this universal institution.

Accordingly, I wish to reiterate Cambodia's call for the

expansion of the Security Council to include other new

members. In that regard, Cambodia would support

Japan, the Federal Republic of Germany and India as

new permanent members of the Security Council,

taking into account the growing political and economic

roles of those countries in world affairs.

In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that peace,

stability and poverty are all interrelated and affect all

peoples and nations of the planet. From that point of

view, it is essential that we continue to work together

to build a caring community of nations, where the

development gap between the developed and the

developing countries is reduced, the threat of terrorism

is totally eliminated, the menace of the HIV/AIDS

pandemic is curbed, poverty is alleviated and global

warming is kept in check. That will be possible only by

building better cooperation and closer partnership,

fostering mutual respect, cultivating greater tolerance

and enhancing the spirit of a real United Nations for

all. I strongly believe that we can do that through

collective will and strong determination, as well as

better ethics and moral responsibility, which will help

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us make a better world for all peoples in the twenty-

first century.