Laos, 2013

On behalf of the Government of the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic, I sincerely congratulate you, Sir,

on your election as President of the General Assembly

at its sixty-eighth session. I would like to assure you of

our full support and cooperation in discharging your

noble duty. I would also like to commend Mr. Vuk

Jeremi. for his successful completion of his mandate as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh

session.

The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic offers its condolences to the Government and

people of Kenya on the loss of life as a result of the

terrorist attacks last week in Nairobi, and I join the

international community in condemning that inhumane

act.

The year 2013 marks a new turning point in

promoting international cooperation for development

and in addressing global poverty. At the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development held in

Brazil in 2012, world leaders initiated an international

consultative process to chart a vision and concrete

action for enhancing sustainable development in the

post-2015 era. This clearly demonstrates that poverty

eradication and sustainable development remain our

overriding priorities.

In recent decades, despite the tremendous efforts

of the international community to achieve poverty

eradication and development targets, 1.2 billion poor

people — 22 per cent of the world population — still

live in poverty. In addition, the environment continues

to be threatened and damaged, which has led to climate

imbalance and the frequent recurrence of natural

disasters that were rarely seen in the past. Moreover,

political and social unrest and armed conflicts continue

to rage in different parts of the world with no sign of

imminent resolution. Likewise, the global and regional

economic and financial crisis has intensified, with

long-term effects on developing countries, especially

least developed countries.

These situations in the development, political,

socioeconomic and environmental spheres continue

to obstruct and impede all nations from attaining

the sustainable development goals, including the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Against that

backdrop, it is more crucial now than ever before for

the international community to redouble its efforts to

strengthen development cooperation based on sincere

and mutual assistance for the benefit of all and for a

secure world. As the world today becomes increasingly

interdependent, no single country can thrive and

survive without the engagement and cooperation of the

international community.

In that context, global institutions such as the

United Nations have an important duty to advocate

on behalf of international development cooperation.

I commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his

tireless efforts in promoting international cooperation,

including between the United Nations and regional

organizations throughout the world, in a complex and

challenging global environment.

A nation’s political stability and security are vital

factors for enabling an environment and conditions

conducive to advancing sustainable development.

However, many regions of the world are experiencing

social unrest, political strife and military confrontation,

which pose a major threat to global and regional peace

and security. In that regard, we share the common

concern over the deteriorating situation in the Middle

East, which has lasted for years now. We call on all

parties concerned to work together and to find a

peaceful solution in order to save the lives of innocent

people. In that spirit, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic welcomes the agreement reached by Russia

and the United States on Syria’s chemical weapons.

The international community must devote urgent

attention to the issue of Palestine on the basis of the

principle of creating the two independent States of

Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace. In

that regard, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

commends the efforts of Israel and Palestine to resume

peace negotiations, which mark an important milestone

for the promotion of peace in that region.

The unilateral embargo on the Republic of Cuba,

an independent State, is unjust and contrary to

international law, and has a severe negative impact on

the lives of the peace-loving Cuban people. Therefore,

it is now time to put an end to the embargo.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic has always

attached great importance to creating a peaceful

environment and to safeguarding political stability in

the interest of national development, with a view to

graduating from least-developed-country status. To that

end, the Lao Government has made the utmost effort

to pursue a consistent foreign policy and to promote

international cooperation at all levels. We continue to

fulfil our international obligations to maintain peace

and to promote the rule of law attentively.

In this regard, the Lao Government has mapped

out a policy for governing the State by the rule of law

and the promotion and protection of the fundamental

rights of people of all backgrounds. The Lao People’s

Democratic Republic is party to many international

human rights instruments. We have enacted and

amended a national law on human rights, including the

rights of women and children.

To continue fulfilling its international obligations,

the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has presented

its candidatures for membership of the Human Rights

Council, for the term of 2016-2018, and of the Executive

Board of the United Nations Development Programme/

United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office

for Project Services for 2016-2018. We hope that the

Lao People’s Democratic Republic will be given an

opportunity to work with the international community

within the aforementioned frameworks.

At the regional level, the Lao People’s Democratic

Republic has played an active part in the process of

community-building of the Association of Southeast

Asian Nations (ASEAN), which consists of three

pillars: the political-security community, the economic

community and the sociocultural community. We

believe that the political and economic strength of

the ASEAN community will form a solid ground for

regional cooperation, thereby contributing to the

maintenance and promotion of peace, security and

development in the region and the world at large.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic played an

important role as Chair of the framework of cooperation

between the continents of Asia and Europe — the Asia-

Europe Meeting (ASEM) — from 2010 to 2012, and

was greatly honoured to host the ninth ASEM Summit

on 5 and 6 November in Vientiane, under the theme

“Friends for peace, partners for prosperity”, which was

successfully concluded. At the Summit, leaders from

the two continents had a constructive exchange of views

on the ways and means to promote peace and enhance

development cooperation in their respective regions

for the benefits of the peoples of Asia and Europe, as

well as to ensure their legitimate rights to live in peace

and to improve their well-being. The Lao Government

was proud to have been given the opportunity to fulfil

that important obligation, and I take this opportunity

to express my deep gratitude to all friendly countries

and the international community for their support and

assistance to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic,

which led to the successful outcome of the Summit.

Despite various achievements in its socioeconomic

development, as both a least developed and a landlocked

country the Lao People’s Democratic Republic remains

vulnerable and continues to face numerous challenges

in its development and poverty-reduction efforts, as

clearly reflected in the recent third national MDG

progress report, issued early this month. If it is to achieve

all the MDGs, the country must continue to overcome

daunting challenges, such as child malnutrition, gender

inequality in education and the impact of unexploded

ordnance contamination. Nevertheless, the Lao

Government will continue to lead its people in moving

ahead together with the international community in

tackling numerous challenges in order to achieve the

MDGs.

The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is among

those countries most affected by cluster munitions and

unexploded ordnance, which continue to pose major

constraints to national socioeconomic development

and poverty reduction. In that regard, the Lao People’s

Democratic Republic calls on all countries to consider

acceding to the Convention on Cluster Munitions with

a view to ensuring a total ban on those weapons and to

helping to address the impact of cluster munitions.

In 2014, the group of landlocked developing countries

(LLDCs) will hold a 10-year Review Conference on the

Implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action to

address the particular problems and special needs of

the LLDCs. Adressing the specific problems of LLDCs

has become a regional and international obligation.

Regardless of their development level, these countries

will not be able to address the impacts of their landlocked

condition without international cooperation, especially

from transit countries and development partners.

In that context, the 2014 Review Conference will

be of great importance not only for the LLDCs, but

also for all development partners. The Conference will

provide an excellent opportunity for the international

community to identify the emerging challenges and

engage in new cooperation aimed at addressing the

impact of the landlocked status faced by the LLDCs.

We have high hopes and expectations for the outcome

of the Conference, which could adopt a new policy

direction and more concrete measures reflecting the

current development environment. This could form the

basis for addressing the specific problems faced by the

LLDCs in the next decade.

The success of the Conference would certainly

demonstrate the spirit of genuine partnership and

mutual assistance among members of the international

community. Therefore, in my capacity as chair of the

group of LLDCs, I call on all parties, international

organizations — including the United Nations

system — international financial institutions, the

private sector and non-governmental organizations to

participate actively in the preparation and organization

of the Conference in view of ensuring its successful

outcome.