Laos, 2001

On behalf of the delegation of the Lao

People’s Democratic Republic, allow me to join

previous speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your

well-deserved election to preside over the fifty-sixth

session of the General Assembly. It is a tribute to the

important contributions your country, the Republic of

Korea, has made throughout the past years to the work

of our Organization.

I should also like to take this opportunity to pay

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

his outstanding and effective leadership of our

Organization. The prestigious Nobel Peace Prize

conferred on him is both a recognition of his personal

achievements and an affirmation of the great and

legitimate mission undertaken by the United Nations.

We wish him well and much success in his second term

as head of the United Nations during the next five

years.

The general debate of the fifty-sixth session of

the General Assembly was not able to proceed as

planned, as a result of the terrorist attacks of 11

September, which caused thousands of deaths. In the

wake of this tragic event, the Government of the Lao

People’s Democratic Republic condemned the terrorist

acts while reaffirming its consistent policy of

cooperating with the international community in the

fight against terrorism in all its forms. In this respect,

in late October, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

decided to become party to five international

conventions on the fight against terrorism.

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This tragedy has generated a set of ensuing

events. The Government of the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic views the current situation with

great concern and considers that it is high time that our

Organization played a growing role, in conformity with

the United Nations Charter, in the combat against

terrorism and for the peace and security of the peoples

of the world.

Since its inception, the United Nations has made

an important contribution to the maintenance of world

peace and international security, as well as to

cooperation and development in all areas of human

endeavour. Last year, at the historic Summit, the world

leaders reaffirmed the relevance and importance of our

Organization in the new, globalized world. At that

same Summit, we also pledged our commitment to

ensuring that the United Nations adapts to new areas

and strengthens its capacity to deal with the challenges

of maintaining world peace and promoting the

development of all countries.

Several issues inherited from the last century

failed to be addressed. Although the Open-ended

Working Group on Security Council reform has spared

no effort to fully carry out its mandate, the key issues

of the reform of the Council remain unsettled.

Therefore, we reaffirm our position in favour of the

expansion of both the permanent and non-permanent

membership of the Security Council. Equally, we

support the efforts to address the issue of the right of

veto and to find a solution acceptable to all Member

States.

The situation in the Middle East has recently

reached levels of increased violence, causing loss of

life, destruction, damage to property and deep sorrow

and a desire for revenge among both the Palestinian

and Israeli peoples. The Lao People’s Democratic

Republic reaffirms its support for the establishment of

an independent Palestinian State and for respect for

Israel’s right to existence. That would contribute to

guaranteeing long-lasting peace and security in the

Middle East.

Almost every year, the General Assembly has

overwhelmingly adopted a resolution on lifting the

commercial and economic embargo against the

Republic of Cuba. However, those resolutions have not

been effectively implemented. The Government of the

Lao People’s Democratic Republic appeals to the

United States and Cuba to jointly reach a rapid solution

in the interest of the peoples of the two countries,

which would contribute to promoting peace and

developmental cooperation in the region and the world.

On the Korean peninsula, several events have

marked the progress made towards the unification of

Korea, such as meetings and exchanges of visits of

leaders at all levels, reunions of families long kept

apart and humanitarian assistance. The Lao

Government has followed these developments closely

and commends the positive results. Nevertheless, we

are deeply concerned about the situation prevailing in

the region and hope that under the wise guidance of the

leaders of the two countries, the peaceful unification of

an independent Korea will be achieved so as to meet

the fervent aspirations of the Korean people and to

contribute to peace, stability and cooperation in East

Asia and throughout the world.

In South-East Asia and the Asia-Pacific region,

several outstanding activities to promote peace and

cooperation have gained prominence in the region and

throughout the world. In Hanoi, the Association of

South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Regional Forum

reaffirmed the importance of preventive diplomacy,

confidence-building measures and avoiding military

confrontation. The Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation

(APEC) meeting in China was a historic rally of unity

in the fight against terrorism and in setting goals for

economic recovery. The Summit of ASEAN members

plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea, held in

Brunei early this month, stressed the need to combat

terrorism in all its forms, overcome economic recession

and promote development cooperation.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic notes

with satisfaction that the Third United Nations

Conference on the Least Developed Countries, held in

May this year, adopted a more realistic plan of action

to enable the least developed countries to emerge

decisively from abject poverty and be integrated into

the global economic system. We very much hope that

the international community will make joint efforts to

achieve the development objectives enunciated in that

plan of action.

For many years now, the international community

has recognized that the landlocked developing

countries are one of the three vulnerable and

disadvantaged groups of developing countries. Their

vulnerable and disadvantaged condition is attributed to

lack of access to the sea, remoteness from world

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markets and prohibitive transport costs, averaging 14

per cent of export earnings, compared to only 8.8 per

cent for other developing countries.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic, in its

capacity as Chairman of the Group of Landlocked

Developing Countries, would like to appeal the General

Assembly to endorse the recommendation made by the

fifth Meeting of Governmental Experts from

Landlocked and Transit Developing Countries and the

donor community to convene in 2003 an international

ministerial meeting of landlocked and transit

developing countries and the donor community on

transport cooperation, with the objective of addressing

the special problems and needs of the landlocked

developing countries. In this connection, we wish to

welcome the Government of Kazakhstan’s offer to host

the meeting.

By the end of 2000, there were 36.1 million

people worldwide who had tested HIV-positive, of

whom 90 per cent live in developing countries. It is our

hope that the international community will take

necessary drastic measures, including through the

provision of additional and sustained resources, to

implement the Declaration of Commitment on

HIV/AIDS, adopted during the last special session of

the General Assembly.

Another issue of global concern is narcotic drugs.

The production and abuse of drugs have increased and

have become a cause of crime affecting many social

dimensions. Realizing their own responsibilities,

ASEAN Governments and China convened an

international conference in October 2000 in Thailand,

where a plan of action to make ASEAN a drug-free

zone by 2015 was adopted. Also, a ministerial meeting

between four countries — China, Laos, Myanmar and

Thailand — was held in August this year with the

objective of curbing drug production and trade and the

importing of chemical precursors in the subregion.

In an effort to achieve the goals established by

the Political Declaration of the General Assembly

special session held in 1998 and to fully eradicate

opium production, the Government of the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic has mobilized the people and,

together with donors and international organizations,

has taken various measures through tailoring projects

involving crop substitution, preventive education,

drug-addiction rehabilitation and law enforcement. As

a result, in the course of just three years, between 1998

and 2000, opium-cultivated areas have been reduced

from 26,000 hectares in 1998 to 17,000 hectares in

2000. The aggregate opium production has also

declined from 140 tons to 117 tons for the same period.

Moreover, on 12 October 2001, the Lao Government

launched a National Anti-Narcotic Campaign, chaired

by the Prime Minister, with a view to ensuring that

Laos is a drug-free country with a social order and a

bright future for the next generation.

In general, over the last year, the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic has enjoyed firm political

stability and progressive development in all sectors,

especially in food security. All this was reflected in the

solemn celebration of the twenty-fifth founding

anniversary of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

and the successful conclusion of the Seventh Congress

of the Lao People’s Revolutionary Party. These historic

events have profoundly enhanced national patriotism, a

sense of self-reliance, self-resilience and ownership for

the Lao people. In carrying out our mandated task, we

have concentrated all our efforts and untapped strength

to achieve the goals of poverty reduction by halving

the number of families currently living under the

poverty line, stopping slash-and-burn practices, fully

eradicating opium production by the year 2005, and

creating an environment that will enable the country to

quit once and for all the status of least developed

country by the year 2020.

The first year of the twenty-first century has

witnessed new challenges that pose anxiety and

concern for all people worldwide. However, the

twentieth century has created institutional foundations

for strengthening the legal and cooperative framework,

modern technology and partial reform of our

Organization. In addition, dialogue and cooperation

between countries in the economic, social and cultural

fields and in other areas as well continue to be a

general trend in the world. In this spirit, I believe that

the United Nations, a unique and truly universal

Organization, reaffirmed by world leaders at the

Millennium Summit last year, should play a significant

role in addressing these new challenges so that we can

turn our world into a peaceful, happy and prosperous

one.