Cambodia, 2007

First of all, I wish to

warmly congratulate His Excellency Mr. Kerim of the

Republic of Macedonia for his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-second

session. I am confident that, under his able guidance,

this year’s session will be concluded with success. My

appreciation also goes to Her Excellency Ms. Haya

Rashed Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain for her

brilliant leadership as the President of the sixty-first

session, which produced significant achievements

during the past year.

I am also very delighted to express my most

cordial felicitations to His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-

moon on his appointment as the United Nations

Secretary-General. I have no doubt that under his wise

leadership our world body will certainly become even

more relevant and effective in responding to the

challenges facing us in the twenty-first century.

Today, the world continues to confront a myriad

of problems, ranging from peace and security to

development, such as terrorism, regional conflicts,

poverty, global warming, pandemic diseases, and so

forth. These old and new emerging crises are indeed of

global proportion, which require greater collective

efforts by the world community. Therefore, as United

Nations Member States, we have to share the common

responsibility to address these issues more effectively

for the sake of humanity.

Concerning weapons of mass destruction

(WMDs), it is imperative that all States fully comply

with the existing non-proliferation legal instruments in

order to build a better and safer world for all,

particularly the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the

Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which laid

down a long-term perspective toward achieving a non-

proliferation regime for WMDs and preventing them

from falling into terrorist hands, which could trigger

the gravest of dangers to the international community.

Combating terrorism remains one of the top

priorities for all Governments. No single country can

deal with this unconventional threat without

cooperation and concerted efforts, which should be

further strengthened, particularly in the areas of

education and information-sharing among law

enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies.

In terms of security, we certainly cannot

underestimate the illegal use and circulation of small

arms and light weapons, as they can be an equally

dangerous source of terrorism, violence and regional

conflicts. In this context, Cambodia believes that the

2001 United Nations Programme of Action on Small

Arms should remain the cornerstone for us all to work

together to address this issue. In Cambodia, the Royal

Government has developed a number of programmes,

ranging from law enforcement on arms control to a

programme of weapons for development, which has

successfully led to the seizure and destruction of more

than 200,000 small arms and light weapons.

Likewise, landmines still remain a serious threat

to many nations in the developing world, especially

those facing armed conflicts as well as those emerging

from war. These “silent killers” have destroyed the

lives of many innocent peoples and maimed countless

others. Landmines are not only a security problem, but

a humanitarian one, as the victims become permanently

traumatized and physically handicapped, while their

families suffer untold misery and spiritual and material

deprivation. Landmines also have great impact on the

economy and development, as the victims constitute a

heavy economic and social burden for governments.

In Cambodia, the Royal Government is

continuing its campaign of mine clearance by placing

the demining operation in its national agenda, such as

the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals and its

“Rectangular Strategy”. By July this year, more than

1.5 million landmines had been cleared. To share our

own experiences with other countries that are also

victims of landmines, Cambodia has dispatched 135

deminers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to

Sudan for demining action under the umbrella of the

United Nations peacekeeping operation.

Everyone nowadays recognizes that climate

change has become one of the most serious threats to

humanity and affects the whole world in this new

century. To reverse this negative megatrend, Cambodia

is of the view that all countries should effectively

implement the relevant United Nations instruments,

especially the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. We also

call on countries that produce more greenhouse gases

to commit to gradually reducing their emissions as

much as possible.

At the same time, we need to develop and share

know-how on bioenergy in order to take measures

against global warming. In addition, we need to stop

the deforestation in the developing countries by

assisting them with appropriate measures and

resources.

In the framework of the Association of South-

East Asian Nations (ASEAN), our leaders will sign

three important documents related to climate change,

energy and environment during the coming ASEAN

Summit in November of this year in Singapore. The

signing of these declarations clearly reflects the

political commitments that ASEAN, both collectively

and individually, has attached to the issues of climate

change.

Cambodia highly appreciates the United Nations

initiative of convening the High-level Event on

Climate Change here in New York on 24 September

this year. We hope that that high-level meeting will

lead to significant and concrete actions to address

opportunely this very critical issue. However, I believe

that a world summit under the auspices of the United

Nations would keep climate change alive on the agenda

of world’s leaders. A global problem needs a global

solution.

With regard to the regional situation, Cambodia

welcomes the agreement reached in February this year

through the process of the six party talks leading to the

closing down of the nuclear facilities in the Democratic

People’s Republic of Korea. This is a very positive step

for peace, security and stability in the region. We hope

that it will serve as an effective tool to pave the way

for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

Concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we

applaud recent active diplomatic initiatives, in

particular the high-level talks between the Prime

Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian

Authority. We hope that those meetings and activities

will lead to a definitive solution that establishes a State

of Palestine, coexisting permanently and peacefully

side by side with Israel, in order to end the killing and

suffering of their peoples and for the sake of peace and

security in the region.

With regard to the current appalling situation in

Iraq, we applaud the recent decision of the United

States to sizeably reduce the number of its troops in the

country. However, the final and decisive solution will

depend on how the Iraqi people reconcile among

themselves. That is a sine qua non for ending the civil

war in the country. Otherwise, I fear that chaos will

ensue after the withdrawal of United States troops.

In the light of our own experience, I believe that

the only option that will bring peace and stability to

Iraq is national reconciliation, with a win-win policy

for Shiites and Sunnis. But the main question that we

should ponder is: who or which country can contribute

to the initial process of confidence-building before any

genuine reconciliation can be achieved?

This year marks the halfway point between the

adoption of the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) in September 2000 and the target date of

2015. Notwithstanding some overall progress,

developing countries have been experiencing

difficulties in meeting the MDG targets. This is despite

the outcomes of the many high-level meetings that

have been taking place throughout the world aimed at

improving economic development and the livelihoods

of peoples in developing countries, such as the

Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of

Implementation. In reality, however, the situation of

developing countries has not improved much. What we

need now is strong commitment and political will on

the part of all, in particular those in the developed

world, to ensure that globalization will be a

globalization of wealth for all peoples living on this

planet. I hope that that is not just a dream, but a goal

for all.

The Royal Government of Cambodia has come up

with its own MDGs, in addition to the rectangular

strategy and the national strategic development plan

2006-2010, to work to achieve sustainable

development and poverty reduction. The carrying out

of those national blueprints has yielded strong

economic growth that has averaged more than 11 per

cent over the past three years.

Therefore, at the Annual Ministerial Review of

the Economic and Social Council, held in Geneva in

July of this year, Cambodia was invited, together with

five other countries, to make a national presentation on

actual progress made in achieving our MDGs.

Concerning our Organization, the United Nations,

we are more than ever convinced of the urgent need for

comprehensive reform and not just of the Security

Council because we need to mobilize our collective

efforts and wisdom to address, in a responsive and

comprehensive way, the problems we are facing in the

twenty-first century.

There is no doubt that the status quo does not

correspond with the challenges confronting the world

today. Cambodia is of the view that United Nations

reform must be comprehensive. Therefore, instead of

focusing primarily on reform of the Security Council,

perhaps we can start with reform that can garner a

consensus. For example, we could begin by

considering how to make the Economic and Social

Council more effective and more relevant so that it can

deal with the problems of development in the context

of the MDGs. Then, of course, we also need to

empower the General Assembly so that it can play a

prominent role in addressing today’s global problems

as a democratic, deliberative, policymaking and

representative organ of the United Nations. Next,

having built up momentum and consensus by

reforming both the Economic and Social Council and

the Assembly, we could move on to reform of the

Security Council to ensure that it reflects today’s

realities, with equitable representation for developed

and developing countries.

To conclude, I would like to say that our world is

currently facing serious threats of great proportion and

severe regional crises. At the same time, development

and poverty remain high on the agendas of countries in

many parts of the world. Therefore, the United Nations

must play a more leading role if it is to respond

effectively to those challenges.