Luxembourg, 2013

The President of the General Assembly has chosen for

this session and this general debate the theme “The post-

2015 development agenda: setting the stage”. He has

thus called on the Assembly to be bold and ambitious,

to work together towards the same objective, to prove to

the world that we will not accept defeat, and to exert our

collective responsibility in order to eradicate poverty

and promote sustainable development.

Luxembourg stands ready to do so. We are ready

to work towards a renewed global partnership based

on a common understanding of our shared humanity,

on a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation and mutual

accountability, and on coordinated action that embraces

security, development, governance, human rights and

the rule of law.

To live free from fear, conflict and violence

is the most fundamental human right, and yet we

witness unspeakable violations of human rights and

international humanitarian law every single day. The

use of missiles, bombs, cluster munitions and chemical

weapons, the systematic imposition of sieges, forced

displacements, torture, sexual violence, violations

and abuses committed against children, more than

2 million refugees, more than 100,000 dead — these

are the chilling results of two and a half years of brutal

repression and conflict in Syria. The list of war crimes

and crimes against humanity committed on a daily

basis continues to grow.

Against such horror, I repeat once again that the

situation in Syria must be referred to the International

Criminal Court. Allow me to quote High Commissioner

for Refugees António Guterres:

“Syria has become the great tragedy of this

century — a disgraceful humanitarian calamity

with suffering and displacement unparalleled in

recent history”.

The Syrian people need assistance now, and they

have the right to such assistance under the most basic

criteria codified in international humanitarian law. The

Syrian authorities must urgently meet the demands of

humanitarian actors by immediately facilitating their

free and unimpeded access to the affected populations.

It is urgent to remove bureaucratic obstacles, to

ensure the delivery of medical supplies, to institute

humanitarian pauses, to open up humanitarian routes

and to allow access to populations in need across

borders and across conflict lines.

As a non-permanent member of the Security

Council, Luxembourg is working with Australia to

amplify the demands of humanitarian actors to the

parties to the conflict in Syria and to secure them in a

unified message from the Security Council. I hope that

those efforts will come to fruition very soon.

While we have been able to make progress in

past few days on the issue of chemical weapons, and I

hope we will adopt, a few hours from now a Security

Council resolution establishing a strong and binding

mechanism to ensure the control and destruction of

the Syrian chemical weapons as soon as possible. Yet

we cannot and must not forget the humanitarian crisis

that continues to unfold in Syria and its neighbouring

countries, particularly Lebanon and Jordan but also in

Iraq and Turkey. For its part, Luxembourg has fulfiled

the pledges it made in Kuwait City on 30 January last,

and we have just decided to increase our humanitarian

aid to the populations affected by the Syrian crisis to

€7.6 million.

The vigorous appeal made on Tuesday by the

Secretary-General should resonate with all of us. Let us

break our deafening silence and live up to our collective

and individual responsibilities. We all agree that a

lasting solution to the conflict in Syria can only be

political. Here too, let us live up to our responsibilities;

let us seize the momentum created by the agreement

on chemical weapons, set a date for the “Geneva II”

conference, and encourage the parties to participate

therein in order to start down a road, on the basis of

the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012 (S/2012/523,

annex), leading to a cessation of hostilities and to a

necessary political transition in Syria that meets the

legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.

Tragic as it may be, the situation in Syria must not

lead us to forget the plight of the Palestinian people.

We must not forget the urgent need to see the creation

of a contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living

in peace and security, side by side with the State of

Israel. I welcome the commitment and resolve of the

Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry,

to restart direct negotiations between the Israelis and

Palestinians. I also praise the political courage and

the sense of responsibility shown by the Israeli and

Palestinian authorities in accepting to return to the

negotiating table. Eight rounds have been held since

14 August. We hope that the negotiations will intensify

in October and lead to a result within the agreed time

frame of nine months.

We all know that this initiative is probably our last

opportunity to act. We must not let it slip away. If we do,

it could lead to dramatic consequences. The time has

come to make difficult decisions, to take the necessary

historic measures in line with the long-term interests of

the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. The time has come

to implement the two-State solution. This is no time

for unilateral acts that fuel the dynamic of mistrust.

Building illegal settlements and destroying Palestinian

homes and infrastructure in the West Bank, including

in East Jerusalem, must stop immediately. The attacks

on Gaza must stop. All violence must stop.

With its partners in the European Union,

Luxembourg stands ready to pursue its active

contribution to the ongoing efforts, in close cooperation

with key stakeholders, the Quartet and countries in the

region. There can be no security in Israel without a

viable Palestinian State. There can be no security in

the region without peace in all countries of the Middle

East.

We must shake up the status quo. We must break

the cycle of violence. This imperative also applies to

the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great

Lakes region. We dearly hope that the Peace, Security

and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and the Region, signed on

24 February in Addis Ababa, represents a turning point

for consolidating peace and regional stability. The

second meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism,

held at the level of the Heads of State and Government

on Monday in New York City, led to the adoption of

regional benchmarks and indicators on progress, which

will facilitate the implementation of the Framework.

This is an important first step. It must be

followed by concrete action at the political, security

and economic levels. The parties must fulfil all their

commitments diligently and in good faith, including a

commitment neither to tolerate nor to provide assistance

or support of any kind to armed groups, in particular

the Mouvement du 23 mars, which continues to operate

in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We

must tackle the root causes of recurring violence and

lay the foundation for reviving the regional economy

in order to initiate a virtuous circle that will allow the

people of the region to start down the the path towards

sustainable development.

The commitment of the international community is

all the more necessary in a situation that, regrettably,

has received far less attention. I am referring to

the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the Central

African Republic, affecting the entire population of

4.6 million people. Law and order and the rule of law

have collapsed. Human rights violations have become

commonplace, as have arbitrary arrests and detention,

torture, sexual violence against women and children,

rape and extrajudicial executions. According to our

sources, Séléka militias have also recruited and used

at least 3,500 child soldiers. No one can be indifferent

to those figures. The humanitarian situation continues

to deteriorate. The prevailing insecurity has further

reduced access to the affected populations. We must act

immediately.

Restoring security and law and order must be our

first priority. We strongly welcome the decision of the

African Union Peace and Security Council to authorize

the deployment of an international support mission

to the Central African Republic. The United Nations

should give its full logistical and financial support to

this African-led mission. Our credibility is at stake.

We all know the disastrous effects of the unregulated

trade in conventional arms — violent repression, armed

conflict, crime and widespread violence. That is why

the Arms Trade Treaty is so important. The General

Assembly adopted the Treaty by a very large margin

five months ago. Luxembourg is proud to have been

among the first sponsors of that important initiative.

We are proud to have signed the Treaty as soon as it was

ready for signature on 3 June. The national ratification

procedure has started, and members can count on our

support to ensure that the Treaty comes rapidly into

full force. In that regard, allow me to congratulate the

homeland of the President of the General Assembly,

Antigua and Barbuda, on having ratified the Treaty.

I also welcome the fact that more than 110 States

Members of the United Nations, including the United

States of America, have already signed this new legal

instrument.

The Arms Trade Treaty is a significant step forward

for international law, international humanitarian law

and human rights. In that context, I welcome yesterday’s

important Security Council debate on the impact of the

illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse

of small arms and light weapons on international peace

and security (see S/PV.7036), as well as its adoption of

resolution 2117 (2013). The Council has thereby rightly

underscored the need for an integrated response from

the international community that takes into account the

negative effects of those illicit activities on security,

governance, the rule of law and development, as well

as the links between such activities and other threats

to international peace and security such as terrorism,

piracy and transnational organized crime.

The recent callous attack on a shopping centre

in Nairobi has again demonstrated the importance of

our ongoing vigilance in the fight against terrorism.

This unacceptable act must encourage us to further

support African efforts aimed at freeing Somalia from

the threat of Al-Shabaab. During the New Deal for

Somalia conference held on 16 September in Brussels,

I had the opportunity to reaffirm that Luxembourg

remained committed to working alongside Somalia.

We are convinced that with the determined support of

the international community — the African Union and

the United Nations in particular, the Government and

people of Somalia will be able to continue their journey

towards peace, security and prosperity.

The risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction remains just as real a threat as the threat of

terrorism. Yesterday, negotiations between the Islamic

Republic of Iran and the E3+3 Governments, led by

the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign

Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Ashton, resumed here

in New York. We support those efforts. We seek solid

negotiations quickly leading to concrete outcomes and

a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.

Sanctions are not in and of themselves an end.

They are a global response to Iran’s refusal to meet its

international obligations and to cooperate fully with the

International Atomatic Energy Agency. We encourage

the new Iranian leadership to engage in constructive

dialogue, to take the measures necessary to prove to the

international community that its nuclear programme is

intended for exclusively peaceful purposes, and to turn

a new leaf in its relations with the global community.

I hope that the recent phone call between President

Obama and President Rouhani will help move the

situation in that direction.

When we talk about sustainable development and

the creation of the post-2015 development agenda, we

cannot ignore the devastating effects of conflicts and

violence on development. The crisis situations and

threats that I have just mentioned illustrate this clearly.

We must also speak firmly about governance that is

conducive to development, institutions that guarantee

the rule of law, freedom of expression, and transparent

and accountable Governments. We must talk about

justice, the fight against impunity and respect for

international law.

Luxembourg fully subscribes to the Secretary-

General’s call for the post-2015 objectives to be based

on the international norms and principles of human

rights. Those objectives must apply to everybody and

help address the global challenges of the twenty-first

century, building on the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). They must contribute to eliminating

poverty and promoting sustainable development, and

be integrated into one coherent framework.

The special event held the day before yesterday

by the General Assembly allowed us to take stock of

ongoing work towards achieving the MDGs and to

welcome significant progress made, but also to identify

the sectors where it will be important to redouble our

efforts. As the Secretary-General has reminded us,

the picture before us is only half finished. We must

therefore speed up the march towards attaining the

MDGs. We must renew our commitment. We must keep

our promises.

My country will continue to do its part. Since 2009,

our official development assistance has amounted

to 1 per cent of our gross national income. We are

determined to maintain this effort despite the crisis.

At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development in June 2012, we reaffirmed our

commitment to sustainable development in its three

interdependent dimensions: economic development,

social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We

reiterated our determination to address the threats that

climate change and environmental degradation pose to

humankind. With its European partners, Luxembourg

has made binding commitments to reduce its carbon

emissions and to mitigate the effects of climate change.

We are resolved to do our all to achieve a universal

climate agreement in 2015.

Last year in the Hall of the General Assembly,

our Head of State, the Grand Duke, underscored

Luxembourg’s willingness to serve the United Nations

(see A/67/PV.9). Today, I take this opportunity to thank

the Assembly for having elected my country to a two-

year term on the Security Council. That tenure, the first

in our history, is not only an honour but a responsibility

that we do not take lightly. Each day since 1 January,

Luxembourg has worked in concert with its partners

to contribute to the maintenance of international peace

and security and to assume our common responsibility

to prevent, to preserve and to protect. No task is more

noble. No task is more urgent in the current context.