Latvia, 2007

I wish to begin by congratulating

you, Mr. Kerim, on your assumption of the post of

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-second

session. Your wise and energetic leadership will reflect

the abilities of the people of your country and of our

region as a whole. I also wish to congratulate and

extend my best wishes to the Secretary-General,

Mr. Ban Ki-moon, and to pledge him my full support.

It is evident that the Secretary-General recognizes the

multitude of challenges the world is facing today. Only

two days ago, I took part in the high-level meeting on

climate change here at the United Nations. That

meeting was organized by the Secretary-General to

highlight the urgent need for decisions that will prevent

long-term negative consequences. Now we must all

work together towards achieving a satisfactory

outcome to the Bali Conference, which is to be held at

the end of this year.

I welcome the fact that the Security Council was

able to adopt the groundbreaking resolution 1769

(2007), which authorized the deployment of the Hybrid

Operation in Darfur. It is now imperative that the

resolution be translated into reality. We all recognize

the difficulties involved. It is also imperative to

continue the political process. Only a negotiated

solution has the potential to bring sustainable peace to

that long-suffering region.

To a great extent, the stability and prosperity of

Iraq depend on support from its region. We therefore

welcome the fact that the Security Council could unite

to adopt resolution 1770 (2007). That resolution gives

a renewed and strengthened mandate to the United

Nations Assistance Mission for Iraq. With the launch of

the International Compact with Iraq, last May, the

world community now possesses an effective

instrument for rendering further assistance to the areas

in Iraq where it is most needed. The Compact has

already been used to achieve positive results. We

encourage the Government of Iraq to continue to take

steps towards promoting economic reform and

achieving peace and stability for its people.

Just a couple of weeks ago, I visited Afghanistan.

I had a chance to meet with President Karzai,

representatives of the Afghan Government, Latvian

troops and civilian experts. The message from all those

meetings was clear. Providing assistance through the

International Security Assistance Force is just one side

of the coin; the other entails contributing to building a

solid foundation for the country’s sustainable

development.

Latvia is present in Afghanistan as part of both

the international military and the civilian rebuilding

effort. Latvia’s Government is contributing financially

to the reconstruction of infrastructure in Afghanistan.

However, it is my strong conviction that the key to

success in Afghanistan is cooperation cooperation

among countries and international organizations. To

succeed, the European Union, the United Nations,

NATO and others must adopt a comprehensive, long-

term approach to development assistance for the

country.

In the Middle East, the past year has brought no

significant breakthrough. Yet, we continue to place our

trust in the work of the Quartet, which supports the

efforts of responsible regional States in helping to calm

the situation. It is a crucial tool to promote a

negotiated, comprehensive, just and lasting peace in

the Middle East, in line with the relevant resolutions of

the Security Council. I am sure that the Quartet’s

newly appointed Special Envoy will use his great

experience and make sincere efforts to fulfil his

challenging mandate.

The international community is currently also

seized of the matter regarding the final status of

Kosovo. The Secretary-General has endorsed the

Comprehensive Proposal of his Special Envoy Martti

Ahtisaari. The Proposal currently remains the only

viable diplomatic solution on the table. The active

involvement of the European Union is important to

achieve a lasting solution. We urge both parties to

show flexibility and commitment to a peaceful

negotiated outcome. We sincerely hope that the

ongoing talks under the auspices of the Contact Group

troika will result in success.

In my previous capacity as a surgeon, I

performed many operations. But I also closely

followed the recovery process of every one of my

patients. I ensured that they got the necessary post-

operative treatment and encouraged them to maintain

healthy habits. In that phase I had to rely heavily on

the work of my able and dedicated team. Likewise, it is

not enough for the Security Council to prescribe

peacekeeping operations, crucial as they are for

international peace and security. The whole United

Nations system is necessary for the long-term recovery

of conflict zones.

In that regard, I would like to pay special tribute

to the peacekeepers and to the United Nations staff

working in difficult conditions on the ground. It is our

duty in our capitals, and here at United Nations

Headquarters, to support their efforts, each Member

State according to its capacity. At the same time, we

expect high standards in peacekeeping forces.

For many decades, Latvia suffered extensively

from foreign occupation. Now that we have regained

our freedom, we hope to prevent the suffering of

others. We wish to promote the healing process. The

international community must bring to justice those

who have committed war crimes and massive

violations of human rights. Latvia commends the work

of the International Criminal Court. We have placed

our hopes in the Peacebuilding Commission that it

will be an effective tool for consolidating long-term

peace.

Even where military conflict is not a factor,

human security in many parts of the world is

undermined by poverty, hunger and disease. The 2007

Millennium Development Goals Report gave us some

good news. However, it warned us that the Goals will

not be achieved by the year 2015 certainly not in

sub-Saharan Africa unless our efforts are scaled up.

Latvia therefore supports the call to review progress

towards the Millennium Development Goals and

accelerate action.

Latvia is a candidate in the 2010 elections for the

Economic and Social Council. We have know-how to

share, and we also have empathy for the pain that

reforms may cause. As an emerging donor, we have

undertaken commitments in the area of overseas

development assistance. We believe that our recent

intensive and successful experience in development

will be an asset to the work of the Council.

Latvia has a strong commitment to

multilateralism and the values embodied in the Charter

of the United Nations. We want to see an Organization

that embodies effectiveness, efficiency and authority. It

is regrettable that the reform process launched at the

2005 World Summit has been slow and uneven. We

recognize the forces that make the reform so difficult,

but we must not give in to fatigue and frustration.

Management reform is vital. I already mentioned the

dire necessity for a comprehensive approach among the

different international players on the ground. Likewise,

there is a great need for system-wide coherence of the

various United Nations funds and programmes. The

provision of aid should be targeted and efficient. Our

focus should be on those in need. We look forward to

assessing the results of the “One UN” pilot

programme, which is now under way in eight volunteer

countries.

The beginnings of the new Human Rights

Council were a cause for concern. Still, we are

confident that after making important decisions on

institution-building earlier this year, Member States

will take full advantage of the Human Rights Council.

We have to live up to our task to further promote and

protect human rights. The Council now has the tools,

but it will be up to Member States to use those tools. It

will be up to Member States to advance the credibility

of the United Nations as an Organization able and

willing to protect and promote human rights.

Latvia has always placed the promotion of human

rights among its top priorities. In the light of that

commitment, we have decided to aim for membership

in the Human Rights Council in the 2014 elections.

No reform will be more difficult or more

significant than that of the Security Council. The

Security Council has had many achievements.

However, we share the widespread belief that the

composition and the working methods of the Council

need to be brought up to date. We have stated many

times our reasons for supporting the model of reform

being promoted by the G4 nations, namely, Brazil,

Germany, India, and Japan. We consider it to be the

best of the models currently available. We welcome the

prospect of intergovernmental negotiations beginning

in the current session and hope that they will produce

early positive results.

The United Nations is as important as ever, being

the only truly universal forum for global dialogue. We

must not forget that it is also the only truly universal

forum for decision-making and action. But above all,

we must emphasize that this is the forum where all

States, big and small, have a voice. This is also a forum

where all States have a responsibility to contribute.

Latvia looks forward to a fruitful sixty-second

session of the General Assembly.