Maldives, 2004

First, let me extend to

you, Mr. President, my delegation’s warmest

congratulations on your election to preside over the

Assembly at its fifty-ninth session. My delegation has

every confidence in your sagacity to guide this session

and its deliberations to a fruitful conclusion.

It is also my pleasure to pay tribute to your

predecessor, Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, for the

commendable manner in which he discharged his

responsibilities as the President at the fifty-eighth

session.

As well, I wish to take this opportunity to

compliment the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on

his diligence in promoting peace and pursuing the

noble principles of this Organization. My delegation

sincerely wishes him every success in his daunting

task.

The unfolding international events bring to the

fore the question of multilateralism and the vital role

the United Nations has to play in addressing global

crises and problems and in promoting a world order

based on the rule of law and the collective

responsibility of all nations and communities.

The global challenges that we face today are

numerous. While goals are set and programmes

launched for eradicating poverty, achieving universal

primary education, promoting gender equality,

reducing child mortality, fighting HIV/AIDS and

protecting the environment, hundreds of innocent lives

are lost every day as a result of conflict and civil war.

Terrorism has not been defeated. On the contrary,

it is re-emerging in uglier manifestations in the most

unexpected places, killing innocent people, including

children. The disappointing impasse on global

disarmament and the dreadful odds of further

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction make us

ill at ease and cause us to lose hope for a peaceful

world.

We in small States feel more vulnerable to these

challenges and threats, as our security is entirely

dependent on the prevalence of global security and the

observance of the rule of law by all States. Clearly, the

concerns of small States cannot be confined only to the

issues of the environment, climate change, sea-level

rise and sustainable development. The ominous threats

that are emerging on the political and security fronts of

the contemporary world have far-reaching implications

for us as well.

Not too infrequently, we witness small States

being victimized by non-State actors such as terrorists,

mercenaries, insurrectionary gangs and organized

crime networks, whose calculated assaults disrupt

socio-economic and political development of small

States, endangering peace and security. It would be

imprudent to ignore the wider implications of the

presence and activities of such perilous actors on

international peace and security. Solutions to those

threats can only be sought through international

cooperation, vigilance and timely action.

It is imperative that the international community

takes on the crucial responsibility of protecting the

security of small States, as stipulated by General

Assembly resolutions 44/51, of 8 December 1989,

46/43, of 9 December 1991, and 49/31, of 9 December

1994. With its global spread and ability to work in

collaboration with regional institutions, we see the

Organization as the most appropriate body to address

such issues.

Terrorism poses grave threats to regional as well

as international peace and security. The train bombings

in Madrid; car bombings and terrorist attacks in Iraq,

Indonesia and Saudi Arabia; and, most recently, the

hostage-taking tragedy in a Russian school, are all grim

reminders of the particularly insidious nature of

terrorism. I am sure that I echo the unanimity of the

international community in reiterating that the war

against terrorism should continue to remain a principal

priority on the international agenda. My Government

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believes that early adoption of the proposed

international convention on terrorism would be a

crucial step in effectively combating that dreadful

menace.

Expanding globalization and increasing trade

liberalization, contrary to the hopes for a healthier

global market, have had a distressing price tag for

small economies, especially for small island economies

such as the Maldives. Limited natural resources and the

narrow economic base of small island economies

severely restrict their scope for diversification and their

ability to attract foreign investment. Those

disadvantages call for special considerations, including

a level of preferential treatment, on an exceptional

basis, to ensure the sustainable development of small

island developing States.

While the Maldives is beset by the entire range of

economic problems inherent to small island developing

States, the recommendation by the Committee for

Development Policy (CDP) to graduate us from the list

of least developed countries has compounded the

challenges to our development. We do take pride in our

achievements in the social and economic sectors during

the last two decades. However, we fear that graduation

may cause enormous and irreparable damage to our

economy, in the absence of a suitable mechanism to

ensure sustained socio-economic development. In that

context, we welcome the recommendation of the CDP

and the decision of the Economic and Social Council

earlier this year indicating the need to formulate

smooth transition strategies for least developed

countries prior to their graduation.

We support in particular the recommendation to

decide post-graduation transition arrangements on a

case-by-case basis and to establish ad hoc country

advisory groups to help formulate those arrangements.

We strongly feel that it is important for the Economic

and Social Council to formally endorse the

arrangements proposed by the ad hoc country advisory

groups while mandating the CDP with the task of

monitoring the progress of newly graduated countries

for any disruptions in their development.

Allow me, at this juncture, to register our sincere

gratitude and appreciation to our development partners

and the members of the Group of 77, the Group of

Least Developed Countries and the Bureau and

members of the Economic and Social Council for the

understanding and the care with which they are

proceeding on this crucial and important issue.

The state of the global environment is as

depressing as ever. Statistical information and

projections are alarming and disturbing, not only to

small island developing States but also to the entire

international community. Those figures and predictions

reveal the severity of environmental problems and the

potential threats to human existence unless swift

remedial measures are implemented.

The frequency with which we have been

witnessing natural disasters such as hurricanes and

cyclones around the world demonstrates the urgent

need to tackle environmental issues on a global scale.

Many small island developing States suffer

disproportionately from such hazards, underscoring the

vulnerability of small island developing States in that

regard. As we recently witnessed in Grenada, a single

hurricane can lay waste to decades-long developmental

progress in a matter of a few hours.

We will soon be meeting in Mauritius to review

the progress made over the past decade in the

implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action

for the Sustainable Development of Small Island

States. If we are to make the forthcoming meeting in

Mauritius a success, we need to muster the necessary

political will to channel resources and to ensure the

comprehensive realization of the objectives of the

Barbados Programme of Action.

The complexity and magnitude of ever-

developing global challenges demand that a reformed

United Nations be assigned the central role in dealing

with them. While those reforms should cover the entire

United Nations system and its bodies, the focus is once

again justly being drawn to the urgency of the need to

restructure the Security Council, making the Council

more reflective of the realities of the present-day world

and more representative of the capacity and

commitment of Member States to contribute to

international peace and security. It is disappointing,

though, that no common view has emerged on that

issue. We feel that we should go ahead with the

enlargement of the Security Council, both in the

permanent and non-permanent categories and including

in that enlargement countries such as Japan and other

Member States that have the capacity and the

commitment to serve as permanent members and that

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would represent the wider membership of the present-

day United Nations.

The international treaty regime has to be

expanded and strengthened so that emerging problems

can be dealt with more effectively. We feel that that

task should be a priority in enforcing the principles for

which the United Nations stands and the values of

peace, security, justice, equality, human rights,

democracy and rules-based international order that it

has advocated. In that context, we applaud the remarks

made by the Secretary-General at the opening meeting

of the General Assembly, and wish to express our

support for his efforts to reform the United Nations

system.

The rapid socio-economic development attained

by the Maldives in the past two and a half decades is in

no small part grounded in the political stability that we

have enjoyed during that period. To emphasize further

the need to promote and sustain the values of

democracy and respect for human rights, President

Gayoom proposed a sweeping agenda for political

reform in early June of this year. The Government

remains firmly committed to carry out the reform

agenda, which has been welcomed and supported by

both the people of the country and its friends in the

international community. A special people’s assembly

was convened, as required by the Constitution, and was

charged with the task of debating reforms to the current

Constitution proposed by the Government and civil

society.

We seek the support and assistance of our friends

in the international community in our pursuit of that

unprecedented reform agenda. The solidarity of the

international community at this crucial hour of need

would reinforce our resolve and help us move ahead

with the reform agenda with increased veracity and

diligence.

My Government is also committed to respecting

and observing human rights through adherence to

relevant international conventions. In that regard, I am

pleased to announce that the Maldives will this week

sign a framework agreement with the International

Committee of the Red Cross. We will also keep under

consideration the signing of other important

instruments, such as the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court.

Before concluding, I should like to reaffirm our

commitment to the principles enshrined in the Charter.

My country believes this Organization to be the best

suited to working for the betterment of humanity and

the maintenance of international peace and security.