Luxembourg, 2012

On behalf of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg,

let me congratulate President Jeremić on his election

as President of the General Assembly. He can count on

the full support of my country as he assumes this major

responsibility.

The General Assembly is the central body of the

United Nations architecture. Here all Member States

are represented, and each has a vote, irrespective

of its size, its population or its economic power. The

Assembly truly is the concert of nations embodying

the principle of the sovereign equality of all Member

States. To President Jeremić, the conductor of the

concert of States here assembled, we wish inspiration,

passion and wisdom.

Luxembourg is proud to have been part, since the

very beginning, of the peace project that is the United

Nations.

Our then Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr. Joseph

Beck, in presenting the Charter of the United Nations

Charter — signed a few weeks earlier in San Francisco —

to the Luxembourg Parliament on 9 August 1945, spoke

the following visionary words:

“It is in the work of the United Nations that our

country found the hope of rebirth in its darkest

hour; it is within the United Nations that it has

taken up its place as an independent State, as a free

country; it is among these peaceful countries, just

united by the Organization of San Francisco in the

wonderful hope of a lasting peace, that it will find

the guarantees of a future which are necessary for

its renewal”.

History has vindicated him. Determined, with the

other peoples of the United Nations, to save succeeding

generations from the scourge of war, Luxembourg

found in the United Nations and in multilateralism

in general the ideal framework to flourish as an

independent, sovereign State, free to choose for

itself. Luxembourg has been able to prosper thanks

to the peace it has enjoyed since 1945. In return, we

have resolutely committed ourselves, within the

United Nations, to contribute to building peace and

to promoting sustainable development for the greatest

number possible.

President Jeremić has rightly chosen the peaceful

settlement of disputes as the theme of the general

debate at the current session. It is one of the overarching

objectives of our Organization, aimed at enabling it to

maintain international peace and security. To settle

disputes peacefully, the Charter has attributed a major

role not only to the Security Council, but also to the

General Assembly and to the International Court of

Justice.

The Syrian crisis, which has lasted already 18

months, continues to get worse. It has now claimed more

than 20,000 victims. Repercussions on neighbouring

countries continue to intensify. The crisis is a call on

our collective conscience and puts our commitment to

the test. Some are tempted to accuse the United Nations

of inaction. However, the fault lies elsewhere. Those

responsible for the terrifying violence, the war crimes,

the egregious human rights violations and crimes

against humanity committed in Syria will one day

have to answer for them. Such is Luxembourg’s firm

conviction.

The failure to this day of attempts to resolve the

Syrian crisis through peaceful means must not lead

us to neglect the quest for political solutions to other

crises.

Luxembourg has consistently advocated a peaceful

settlement of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. That

conflict has been going on for far too long. It is

essential that the parties resume direct negotiations and

negotiate a sustainable peace among themselves, with

the support of the Quartet. The path will no doubt be

arduous, but the objective is worth it for the Israelis, the

Palestinians and the region as a whole. We would like to

see an independent, democratic, contiguous and viable

State of Palestine, living side by side with the State of

Israel in peace and security.

Luxembourg has for many years now supported the

building of the Palestinian State at both the political

and the economic levels. We also support Palestine’s

aspirations to assume its place among the nations of the

world. We provide financial support to the Palestinian

Authority in order to assist it in making its public

administration and basic social services work, and we

are also a reliable partner of the United Nations Relief

and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near

East. Under an agreement signed in February 2012, Luxembourg will provide assistance in the amount of

€15 million to Palestine refugees throughout the period

2012-2015.

Allow me to give a few other examples to illustrate

how Luxembourg is contributing to the peaceful

settlement of international disputes. First, as was

recalled during the High-level Meeting on the Rule of

Law, Luxembourg was one of the very first States to

recognize the jurisdiction of the International Court

of Justice as compulsory. The Court elucidates and

develops international law and thereby strengthens

peaceful relations between States. Next, Luxembourg

supports preventive diplomacy and mediation activities

as well as the good offices undertaken by the United

Nations. Our support in that area also benefits regional

organizations, such as the African Union. Finally,

Luxembourg also supports civil society, as it did

in 2010, when it backed the mediation efforts by the

Community of Sant’Egidio between political and civil

society actors in Guinea and the Niger.

Luxembourg, a multicultural and multilingual State

by virtue of its history, its geographical location and the

composition of its population, has often played the role

of mediator between its large European neighbours and

within the European Union.

Building on a balanced foreign policy, free

from the legacy of a colonial past and defined by

an unwavering commitment to multilateralism,

Luxembourg is at the service of the United Nations

when it comes to playing the role of honest broker and

assuming the responsibilities that come with that role.

In 2009, moreover, Luxembourg had the honour of

chairing the Economic and Social Council at a crucial

juncture marked by the devastating effects of the global

economic and financial crisis of 2008.

My country has also been a linchpin of the

Peacebuilding Commission since its inception in 2005.

Since February 2011, the Permanent Representative of

Luxembourg to the United Nations, Ambassador Sylvie

Lucas, has chaired the Guinea configuration of the

Peacebuilding Commission. Luxembourg is honoured

to be able to marshal the efforts of the international

community in support of the authorities in Conakry,

who have asked to be assisted in three priority areas:

national reconciliation, security sector reform, and

youth and women’s employment. Our commitment

stems from our conviction that we need to adopt a

global approach towards peacebuilding and towards the maintenance of international peace and security — an

approach that recognizes the intrinsic link between

security and development.

Indeed, to ensure lasting peace, one must tackle the

root causes of conflicts. Luxembourg is concentrating

on two of these: social inequalities resulting from

persistent poverty, and the increasing scarcity of natural

resources as a result of climate change.

The fight against poverty is one of our stated

priorities. Since 2000, Luxembourg has reached the goal

set by the United Nations of dedicating at least 0.7 per

cent of its gross national income to official development

assistance. In 2009 and 2010, that assistance exceeded

the threshold of 1 per cent of our gross national income.

The Government of Luxembourg is determined to

maintain that effort despite budgetary constraints. Our

assistance is benefiting the least developed countries

in particular. Here again, we exceed the goal set by the

United Nations by dedicating more than 0.2 per cent

of our gross national income to those countries, the

majority of which are in Africa.

Beyond simple statistics, those figures reflect our

spirit of solidarity towards developing countries. That

spirit drives not only our political decision-makers

and our development cooperation experts but also the

numerous citizens who are acting through civil society

organizations. My family is proud to participate in that

movement of solidarity. My wife, the Grand Duchess,

invests herself fully in the social sector as a UNICEF

Eminent Advocate for Children, notably in Burundi.

She has been passionate about microfinance for many

years and has completed numerous projects in that area.

As the report of the Secretary-General (A/67/1)

highlights, we have achieved, worldwide, some essential

targets of the Millennium Development Goals ahead

of time. However, the effects of global warming are

catastrophic and are threatening to undo the progress

that has been accomplished. In the least developed

countries, the situation is particularly worrisome. It is

therefore essential that we act resolutely in that area.

Progress has been made at the Conferences of the

Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention

on Climate Change in Cancún and then in Durban. We

now need further commitments to be made in terms of

reducing carbon emissions. Another major challenge

lies in the mobilization of adequate financial and

technological resources to enable the most vulnerable

countries, in particular, the least developed countries, the landlocked developing countries and the small island

developing States, to adapt to the effects of climate

change. Luxembourg is acting to meet that challenge.

We have thus decided to join an important programme

of support for renewable energy that would meet the

specific needs of Pacific small island developing States.

I personally attended the United Nations Conference

on Sustainable Development in Brazil in June in order

to show how high a priority the sustainable development

of our planet is for my country. None of us has the

means to make it on our own. Our interdependence

pushes us to act together. It is a matter of survival. And

it is within the United Nations that we must organize

our collective survival.

I would be remiss if I failed to mention another

priority for Luxembourg in terms of conflict

prevention, namely, disarmament and non-proliferation.

Luxembourg promotes the constant search for security

at the lowest level of armaments. It is a party to all

relevant global and regional treaties and conventions

and, despite the setback that the international

community suffered this year, we remain committed

to working towards an arms trade treaty, which would

help Member States to effectively combat the scourge

of uncontrolled arms circulation.

When conflicts break out despite attempts to

prevent them, Luxembourg does not shy away from

committing itself. My country participates quite

regularly and actively in peacekeeping operations. At

the present time, Luxembourg troops are contributing

to efforts under the United Nations mandate in Kosovo,

Lebanon and Afghanistan. Through its contributions

to European Union missions, Luxembourg has also

assumed responsibilities in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, in the fight against piracy off the coast of

Somalia and in the Sahel region, where the international

community must redouble its efforts to prevent terrorist

groups linked to transnational organized crime from

taking root.

All the areas of action I have touched upon here

show how indispensable the United Nations is. If

we are convinced of the relevance of a multilateral

approach founded on the United Nations, we must

give the Organization the means to be a true centre

of multilateral action. For that, we need to continue

to press ahead with United Nations reform, including

Security Council reform. We are all aware of the need

to make the Security Council more inclusive and more representative of today’s realities and to make it more

effective and transparent by continuing to improve its

working methods.

Africa should finally take its rightful place on the

Council, in particular among the permanent members.

It is also important to ensure adequate representation

for small States, which represent the vast majority of

the Member States of the Organization.

Luxembourg’s action in the United Nations

since 1945 can be summarized by three key words:

commitment, solidarity, responsibility. Yet, although

Luxembourg has consistently proved its solidarity and

commitment and has taken on responsibilities at the

United Nations, it has not ever had the honour of serving

on the Security Council. Building on its commitment to

peacekeeping operations and peacebuilding activities,

Luxembourg declared its candidature 11 years ago

for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for

the period 2013-2014. Luxembourg stands ready to

share primary responsibility for the maintenance of

international peace and security, which the States

Members of the United Nations have conferred on the

Security Council under the Charter.

Commitment to effective multilateralism does not

depend on size. During his official visit to Luxembourg

on 17 April 2012, when he addressed our Parliament

and thus our country, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

made the following eloquent pronouncement:

“You have shown that it is not the size of a nation’s

territory that makes the difference. It is the size of a

nation’s heart. It is the breadth of a nation’s vision.

It is the depth of a nation’s promise to the wider

world.”

That recognition honours us. It has further strengthened

Luxembourg’s resolve to prove itself up to the task and

to serve the United Nations.