Lithuania, 2010

I am delighted and

privileged to address this Assembly. I believe that this

is the right place to discuss the issues of greatest

concern to the international community. Recent years

have been marked by many challenges. All countries,

large and small, had to tackle the financial and

economic downturn. They also had to deal with the

painful consequences of natural and man-created

disasters. In a global world, all our countries must

share responsibility for the future. The scale of our

deeds and the openness of our hearts will make the

difference, not the size of our countries and territories.

Here, I would like to share some views of my country,

Lithuania.

Let me start with our proposals in the fields of

security and the environment. Lithuania has launched

an initiative to introduce in the General Assembly a

draft resolution on sea-dumped chemical weapons.

Lithuania wants to strengthen international efforts in

raising public awareness about dangerous munitions

buried in the sea. It is in every country’s interest to

support a voluntary information exchange in order to

strengthen common security. Everyone must be aware

how lethally dangerous these dumped chemicals still

are. We need to have guidelines on how to behave in

case of disaster. That is why United Nations

involvement and an eventual resolution on this issue

are so indispensable. That is why I call on the United

Nations to take a much more active role in very

concrete projects, even if they may not seem big

enough for global attention.

Gender equality is another topic of vital

importance for the nations of the world. We decided to

promote it in the framework of the Community of

Democracies. That is another example of precisely

focused action. Gender equality issues are rarely

associated with issues like overcoming the economic

crisis or stopping climate change. However, it has been

estimated that the elimination of gender discrimination

in the labour market in Europe, for example, could

increase gross domestic product by as much as 30 per

cent.

It seems that the Lithuanian people have decided

to test this estimate in practice, and I can give an

example. It is no surprise to us that women in

Lithuania hold a number of top positions in politics and

business. It is only natural that Lithuanian women have

made their own the famous saying: When the going

gets tough, the tough get going. But we still need much

more coordinated effort. Gender equality on a global

scale will become possible only when a certain level of

security and economic development is achieved. Let us

all put all our efforts together to eradicate intolerance

and discrimination, which so often are the main

reasons for the many conflicts in the world. By doing

this we also pave the road to achieving the Millennium

Development Goals that we all aspire to. European

Union activities such as the European Institute for

Gender Equality, based in Lithuania, can serve to lead

other regions. I strongly hope that the high-level

meeting on gender equality issues which will be held

within the framework of the Community of

Democracies in Vilnius, Lithuania, on 30 June next

year will explore many more new ideas and good

practices.

Security, the environment and gender equality: all

are interdependent, and all need to be adequately

addressed on the international agenda. That is a

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prerequisite for ensuring sustainable development. The

European Union has been for years the largest and

most responsible donor worldwide, the best example

for any country willing to contribute. These European

values are very dear to my country, which has been a

member of the European Union since 2004. Lithuania

has limited resources, but we have provided

humanitarian aid to Haiti, Pakistan, Moldova, Ukraine,

Russia and other countries.

We have engaged in such difficult initiatives as

the training of the national security forces of

Afghanistan. Working together with the people of Ghor

province in Afghanistan, Lithuania has funded a

number of community-based education programmes,

built 19 schools which have opened up their doors also

for girls, founded the first public library in the

province’s capital of Chaghcharan. That is our modest

contribution, but it works. I am sure that each time we

implement a concrete project we move closer to

achieving our global objectives all together.

I invite all the leaders gathered here to contribute.

We should welcome, support and multiply any and

every constructive effort, however small it may seem

to us. Only joint efforts and concrete deeds will bring

positive change to international politics. Let us develop

initiatives, let us implement them, let us implement the

best practices and let us work together.