Maldives, 2007

Allow me at the outset to

extend to Mr. Kerim my delegation’s warmest

congratulations on his election to preside over the

sixty-second session of the General Assembly. His

election to that high office is a tribute to his wisdom

and skill, as well as a true reflection of the important

role played by his country in the international arena. I

assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation in his

work.

At the same time, allow me to place on record my

delegation’s profound gratitude and appreciation to his

predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for the

commendable manner in which she guided the work of

the sixty-first session.

Let me also take this opportunity to express my

delegation’s deep appreciation to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his dedication and

leadership. The Maldives pledges its full support for

the Secretary-General’s untiring work in promoting the

noble principles of this Organization.

It is indeed a privilege for me to address the

General Assembly on this historic day, when the

United Nations is observing the International Day of

Non-Violence. On this day, we pay special tribute to

Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest men of all times.

The Maldives has always been a country which

has promoted peace, non-violence, tolerance and

human rights. However, the spectre of terrorism visited

the Maldives this past weekend. On Saturday

afternoon, an improvised explosive device was

detonated in the commercial area of our capital, Malé,

injuring 12 innocent bystanders. That unprovoked

attack was the first of its kind in our history. I would

like to extend our sincere sympathies to those who

were injured and to their families.

The Maldives is a country renowned for its

tranquillity and warm welcomes. Our people are united

in shock and outrage that this happened on our soil.

That shock is matched by a determination that such

cowardly acts of aggression will not be allowed to

undermine or jeopardize the maintenance of our

peaceful and harmonious society. On behalf of the

people of the Maldives, I would like to take this

opportunity to thank our many friends in the

international community for their expressions of

support and solidarity. I would particularly like to

thank those countries that have provided us with their

expertise, technical advice and assistance in the

ongoing investigations. Finally, I would like to

commend the work of our domestic law enforcement

and other agencies that have reacted to the incident

with such speed and professionalism. The incident

serves as a reminder that no State is immune from the

scourge of terrorism. The Maldives utterly condemns

all acts of terrorism, wherever they are perpetrated.

The Maldives, as a low-lying small island State,

is particularly vulnerable to the perils of global climate

change, a point brought sharply into focus by the

recent sea swells that submerged a large part of the

country. For the past 20 years, the Maldives, along

with its partners in the Alliance of Small Island States,

has thus been at the forefront of efforts to bring the

issue of climate change and its devastating impact on

small island developing States to the world’s attention.

Addressing this Assembly in 1987 at the high-

level debate on environment and development, the

President of the Republic of Maldives, Mr. Maumoon

Abdul Gayoom, said:

“The profound dilemma of environmental

transition is a global one, and its implications are

worldwide and long-term. Though the Maldives

and other low-lying archipelagic nations may

have to suffer the most immediate and the most

extreme effects of a global sea-level rise, there is

a potential danger to a significant portion of the

world’s population in the near future … No one

nation, or even a group of nations, can alone

combat the onset of a global change in

environment.”

Since that ground-breaking debate, the

international community has convened numerous

conferences and summits at which it has agreed on a

wide range of plans and programmes of action aimed at

addressing global climate change. However, as a

community of nations we must regretfully concede

that, all too often, the reality of implementation has

failed to match the ambitions of rhetoric.

Twenty years on, greenhouse gas emission levels

are continuing to increase unabated and the

consequences of global warming are becoming ever

more apparent. One can only therefore conclude that

the past 20 years have been an era of missed

opportunities.

Despite those stark facts, last week’s high-level

debate on climate change has once again given us some

hope and encouragement. As a result of a palpable

change in world opinion, there is now a real sense of

international momentum leading towards December’s

crucial Conference in Bali. We believe that the

Conference offers us a chance to overcome the failed

promises and missed opportunities of the past, and to

build a new global consensus on climate change.

We must take collective responsibility and agree

to an integrated and comprehensive approach to

climate change that recognizes and covers all four

pillars of climate change policy mitigation,

adaptation, technology transfer and funding. While the

necessary steps are clear, the crucial question, as

always, is whether the international community has the

political will to undertake those steps; to build on the

commitments entered into in Rio, Kyoto,

Johannesburg, New York and elsewhere; and to secure

a successful outcome from the Bali process.

I can assure the Assembly that the Maldives will

play its part in this process. I am happy to announce

here today my Government’s intention to host a

preparatory meeting for the Alliance of Small Island

States in the Maldives in November. The purpose of

this meeting is to draft a collective stand on the

individual human dimension of climate change for

submission to the Bali Conference.

The Asian tsunami of 2004 represented the worst

natural disaster in the history of the Maldives. The

economic damage and losses alone were equivalent to

almost two thirds of the country’s gross domestic

product. Although much remains to be done to

complete the process of recovery, a considerable

amount has already been achieved. We need the

continued support of our development partners and the

international community to overcome the challenge of

tsunami recovery.

The devastating tsunami threatened to derail the

Maldives in its attempts to attain the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) and our planned

graduation from the list of least developed countries

(LDCs).

Despite the tsunami, the Maldives continues to

make strong progress towards the attainment of the

MDGs. The Maldives has already achieved Goal 1, the

eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, and Goal 2,

the achievement of universal primary education. We

are also on course to meet Goals 4, 5 and 6 on reducing

child mortality, improving maternal health, and

combating communicable diseases, respectively.

Consolidating and strengthening progress towards all

the MDGs is a key focus of the recently launched

seventh national development plan.

Buoyed by these successes, the Maldives will

next year begin its transition period for graduation

from LDC status. For the Maldives, graduation

represents a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is

recognition of the startling economic and social

development that the country has enjoyed over the past

30 years. On the other hand, graduation will bring with

it a range of new challenges. For example, we will

enjoy less favourable trading conditions and reduced

levels of development assistance. Adapting to this new

reality will not be easy. In that regard, I would like to

use my speech today to once again urge our

international partners to assist us in making the

transition as smooth as possible.

Next year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights. The Maldives Government is determined to

mark the occasion by completing the country’s current

reform agenda, an ambitious programme of reforms

designed to strengthen individual rights and freedoms,

ahead of multiparty elections under a new Constitution.

Since the start of the reform agenda in 2004, the

Maldives has made remarkable strides in the field of

human rights. An independent Paris Principles-

compliant Human Rights Commission has been

established. The Maldives has acceded to the two

major human rights covenants on civil and political

rights, and on economic, social and cultural rights.

Later today I will sign, on behalf of the Government,

the International Convention on the Rights of Persons

with Disabilities, meaning that the Maldives will have

signed or ratified eight of the nine core human rights

treaties. Last year, the Maldives also became the first

country in Asia to ratify the Optional Protocol to the

Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman

or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

However, the Government readily concedes that

much more needs to be done. Therefore, the

Government is proceeding in its work in close

cooperation with international human rights bodies.

For example, last year, the Maldives became one of the

few countries to extend a standing invitation to visit

the country to all United Nations human rights special

rapporteurs. In addition, earlier this year, the

Government invited the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a national

human rights adviser to the Maldives.

The Maldives reiterates its support for the right of

the Palestinian people to an independent homeland. We

therefore call on the international community, led by

the Quartet, to revive the peace process as a matter of

urgency.

The Maldives also calls on the international

community to continue and intensify its efforts to bring

peace and stability to Iraq and Afghanistan.

The Maldives also reiterates its steadfast

opposition to the development, proliferation or use of

nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass

destruction.

Strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations

to take on the new and emerging challenges of the

twenty-first century remains an important task. We are

encouraged by the progress that has been made in

implementing the wide-ranging United Nations reform

programme over the past two years. We sincerely

believe, however, that these reforms cannot fully

succeed without the much-needed and concurrent

reform of the Security Council. Maldives firmly

believes that an effective multilateral framework is

fundamental for the security of small States and that

such a framework should take into consideration

modern geopolitical realities.

In this regard, the Maldives reiterates its support

for the Group of Four (G-4) draft resolution on

Security Council reform. We hope, therefore, that we

will be able to make progress on Security Council

reform during this session.

Before I conclude, please allow me to reaffirm

our commitment to the principles enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nations and to offer our full

support to its continuing work for the betterment of

humanity and for the maintenance of international

peace and security.