Finland, 2013

We have convened here

in New York at a time that poses enormous challenges

to the authority and credibility of the United Nations.

First, we are at a crossroads where we have to decide

the future course to attain sustainable development.

Speaking for Finland at the Rio de Janeiro Conference

on Sustainable Development (Rio+20), I stressed

that, faced with advancing climate change and the

accelerating loss of biodiversity, we might, at best,

have only a few decades in which to reach ecologically,

socially and economically sustainable development.

Decisive action based on a sense of urgency is needed

to turn the tide globally before it is too late. Either

we succeed in that together or we are going to perish

together.

This week, we have taken stock of progress towards

the Millennium Development Goals. They have been a

powerful tool to direct our action. In the near future,

we are expected to agree on a new development agenda,

a new set of goals that, in my view, could be called

sustainable development goals. A green economy is not

a luxury, but a prerequisite, for poverty reduction and

sustainability. In short, the new agenda must be even

bolder and more ambitious than the previous one. Its

implementation will require action in all countries.

Secondly, we are facing a failure of the United

Nations to act in its core domain, that is, in maintaining

peace and security. One hundred and ten thousand

people have been killed and 2 million people have

been forced to leave their homes in Syria, where a

tragic civil war has been going on for more than two

years. The United Nations has been unable to act to end

that appalling bloodshed. That is another of the major

challenges for the credibility of the United Nations. Let

me elaborate on those challenges.

With more than a threefold increase in the world’s

population since the founding of the United Nations

and with unprecedented technological progress and

the ever-increasing exploitation of natural resources,

the world has changed irrevocably. We must now

arrange our existence with our natural environment

in a new way. As the Secretary-General has said,

sustainable development is the pathway to the future.

Ecological sustainability — respecting the planetary

boundaries — is the foundation for all development.

The alarming trend in climate change underlines the

urgent need to heed those limits. We must work together

towards a comprehensive climate agreement by 2015.

The consequences of climate change are already to be

seen worldwide. The impacts are predicted to intensify

in the coming years and decades. For instance, billions of

people lack access to safe water sources and sanitation.

Without radical reforms, that number is expected to

rise dramatically. There is also significant potential for

conflicts over water and other natural resources in the

coming years.

Considerable progress has been made in reducing

extreme poverty. Millions of people have had a

chance to lift themselves out of poverty. However,

inequality still persists, and in many cases is increasing

both within countries and between them. In several

countries not a single Millennium Development Goal

will be attained. More than 1 billion people still live in

extreme poverty, and they are falling behind. Poverty

can be eradicated only within the context of sustainable

development. Development must be ecologically,

economically and socially sustainable. It must be firmly

anchored in human rights and the values encapsulated

in the Millennium Declaration. Peace and security are

a precondition for sustainable development.

The post-2015 process must also include a

financing strategy for sustainable development. We

are honoured, together with Nigeria, to be co-chairing

the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on

Sustainable Development Financing, mandated by

the Rio+20 Summit. We will work hard to achieve a

strategy proposal that is action-oriented and inclusive

and covers a broad range of different aspects of

development financing.

I am convinced that sustainable development

financing must be based on national resource

mobilization and management. Nations should mobilize

their own resources through inclusive economic

action and through responsible international trade and

investments. Developing national taxation systems

and tax-revenue collection, as well as addressing

unregulated capital flight and putting an end to illegal

tax evasion and tax havens, should be central elements

in sustainable development financing. Our own national

experience shows that taxation is an effective means of

addressing inequality.

Direct foreign investment can be a driver for

growth and development. Investment should be

sustainable, accountable and adhere to norms of

corporate social responsibility in creating economic

and social development. The current proliferation of

bilateral investment agreements, already numbering in

the thousands, is not the best way to manage investment

flows or set the rules they should follow. As part of

our efforts to promote sustainable and fair financial

governance, Finland supports efforts to create an

international investment regime that is transparent,

balanced and equitable.

The sustainable development goals must be

universal, and they must integrate different dimensions

of development. Fears that sustainable development

would challenge the traditional development agenda

are unfounded. These agendas are not competing, but

complement each other. We must do our utmost to

agree on a new way to sustainable development in the

very near future. Our planet and its citizens cannot

wait. We, the States Members of the United Nations,

are shouldering a great responsibility in that respect.

We must be able to deliver as the United Nations.

We also have more traditional security challenges

at hand. The conflict in Syria has seriously undermined

the authority and credibility of the United Nations.

The United Nations has not been able to act in its core

domain in maintaining peace and security. Both the

Syrian Government and the international community

have failed to implement their responsibility to protect.

The situation in Syria started as a peaceful and

justified call for reforms. The Government’s response

then turned it into an increasingly violent conflict and

a breeding ground for terrorist extremism. That has led

to humanitarian suffering, which has already reached

historic proportions. The use of chemical weapons on

21 August near Damascus can be a turning point in the

conflict: the universal condemnation of their use as a

war crime for which those responsible must be brought

to justice through referral to the International Criminal

Court. Finland welcomes the agreement reached on

a strongly worded Security Council resolution to

collect and destroy chemical weapons in Syria under

international control. There can be no impunity for the

perpetrators of war crimes and other atrocities.

The agreement has to be followed through with a

political solution to the conflict. That is the only way

to stop the violence. That means negotiations. The

international community, the parties to the conflict and

especially the Security Council must take responsibility

for working towards political negotiations. We continue

to support the initiative of the United States and Russia

of proposing the “Geneva II” conference, as well as

the mediation by the United Nations and Arab League

Joint Special Representative, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi.

All permanent members of the Security Council must

shoulder their responsibility.

The humanitarian suffering of the Syrian people

continues. We all must intensify our work to help

the refugees and support the neighbouring countries

bearing the heaviest burdens. The United Nations

will also need to have a strong presence in Syria after

the arms have fallen silent. Finland stands ready to

contribute to a possible United Nations peacekeeping

operation to be established in Syria.

The resumption of direct final status negotiations

between the Palestinians and the Israelis is long-awaited

and most welcome news. Since the Oslo agreement 20

years ago, it has been clear that the best outcome for all

the parties is a two-State solution, which can accomplish

a reign of peace and security for the two peoples. We

may still have at hand perhaps the last chance for such

a resolution of the conflict. When I say “perhaps the

last chance”, it is not because I think there may be more

chances later, but rather it is because, at worst, the last

chance may already have been missed. But it is our duty

to make the effort to achieve a negotiated two-State

solution.

Finland commends Secretary Kerry’s dedication

and the personal commitment demonstrated by the

parties. The entire international community must lend

all its support for the negotiations to succeed. That must

be concrete and effective support. The role of regional

partners is crucial, and I welcome the efforts made by

the League of Arab States in reviewing the Arab Peace

Initiative.

The situations in both Syria and the Middle East

and between Israel and the Palestinians have been

the subject of important mediation efforts. I call for

stronger political will and determination to resolve

those conflicts. The parties must work harder and the

Security Council, especially its permanent members,

must shoulder their responsibility. While those efforts

have yet to meet with success, I believe that we also

have ample evidence to show that mediation works.

Measures under Chapter VI of the Charter of the United

Nations deserve more attention, although sometimes

action under Chapter VII is also needed. Finland and

Turkey continue to co-Chair the Group of Friends

of Mediation and to work to strengthen preventive

diplomacy, including mediation in the United Nations.

Mediation can succeed only with political will from

the parties and the international community. Successful

mediation also calls for the full and equal participation

of women at all stages. Women are certainly most often

the victims of conflicts, but we should also understand

that they are essential participants for any mediation

efforts to bear long-lasting success.

Efforts to promote peace and security in the Middle

East should go in parallel with the pursuit of the long-

time goal of the establishment of a zone free of nuclear

weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in

that region. I encourage all regional parties to continue

to engage constructively with the facilitator and the

four conveners, as well as with one another, to pave

the way for a conference on the establishment of such

a zone.

All our failures and disappointments notwithstanding,

there has also been one true success story for the United

Nations this year. I am referring to the Arms Trade Treaty

(ATT), which was adopted in April after decades of

effort. It was a success not only for the United Nations

system but for the whole international community

and the arms control regime. The importance of the

Treaty has been confirmed by the growing number of

signatories after 3 June, when the ATT was opened

for signature. We hope and expect that the signing of

the ATT by the United States will be followed by the

signing of all other permanent members of the Security

Council as well. I should also like to congratulate those

countries that have already ratified the Treaty, thereby

paving the way for its early entry into force. My own

country, Finland, is well on its way to ratifying the ATT

as soon as possible.

Only when the Treaty enters into force and is

implemented will it make a real difference in saving

lives, minimizing human suffering and lessening

criminality and threats to civilian populations by

providing the highest common standards for the

trade in arms, ammunition and components. Once

again, I should like to thank and congratulate the

non-governmental organization community for its

dedication and tireless efforts in favour of the ATT.

They never lost their faith and pushed Governments

hard to achieve that result. But our work is not yet done.

Together we must continue to secure the 50 ratifications

needed and ensure more to support for the ATT. We

must also persuade those countries that abstained in the

voting to support a regulated arms trade and the Treaty

so as to make it universal.

Finland, as one of the seven co-authors, has from the

beginning been and will in future be very much involved

with the Arms Trade Treaty. This week, the co-authors

organized a high-level event to promote the signing

of the Treaty. We are also prepared to assist countries

that have difficulties in ratifying and implementing

the Treaty. When implemented, the Treaty should also

have a major impact on development, particularly in the

least developed countries, where conflicts are a major

obstacle to development.

The success or failure of the United Nations

ultimately depends upon us, the Member States. There

is no alternative to the United Nations. Let us give it a

chance. That is what our peoples expect from us.