Maldives, 2012

At the outset, I express my

delegation’s warmest congratulations to the President on

assuming office to preside over the General Assembly

at its sixty-seventh session. I would like to record our

deepest appreciation to his predecessor, His Excellency

Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his untiring efforts

in steering the deliberations of the sixty-sixth session to

a successful conclusion.

I also wish to congratulate the Secretary-General,

His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his extraordinary

report (A/67/1) presented to the Assembly on Tuesday.

Despite the many unprecedented challenges facing the

United Nations today, we remain confident that the

Secretary-General’s leadership and the resolve of the

Organization and of humankind will not waver.

I represent a small yet proud island nation that has

long advocated for an effective international framework

for the security of small States, that has vigorously

campaigned for international actions to combat climate

change and that has contributed to breaking the

international silence on the human rights implications

of climate change.

I come from a nation that has successfully moved

from an authoritarian system to a multiparty democratic

system of governance — a historic transition achieved

purely by peaceful means. That is why Maldivians show

their solidarity with people everywhere in the world

who struggle to replace despotism with democracy.

That is why we support the ongoing democratization

process in the Middle East and North Africa, and that

is why we applaud Tunisia and Egypt for holding their

first post-transition elections in a free and fair manner.

While the democratization processes in other

countries in the region are on an upward trajectory, we

see violence and human rights violations in Syria. We

urge the Syrian security forces and anti-Government

armed groups to immediately cease all hostilities and

violence. We welcome the latest findings of the United

Nations commission of inquiry on the human rights

situation in Syria.

We strongly believe that tolerance and mutual

respect should prevail among different religions and

cultures to ensure that the world we live in remains

peaceful and harmonious for the future of our children.

The Maldives strongly condemns the recent anti-Islamic

video demeaning our Prophet Muhammad — peace be

upon him. Freedom of expression should not be used as

an excuse to insult religions, incite hatred or provoke

communal violence. While the video has provoked

demonstrations around the world, the Maldives does

not believe that violence is the way to respond to such

low-level blasphemous acts.

The Maldives has also condemned the attack on

the United States Consulate in Benghazi, which took

the life of the United States Ambassador to Libya. On

behalf of the Maldivian people, I express my deepest

condolences to the United States Government and the

families of the bereaved.

My delegation and I express the wishes of the

Maldivian people to see the day that the Palestinian

people join the United Nations as a full Member. The

Maldives strongly calls on all Member States to support

the true aspirations of the Palestinian people and their

right to self-determination in a Palestinian State.

In June we, the leaders of the world, agreed

to signal our solid political commitment towards

establishing sustainable development goals. We believe

that those goals would further strengthen the social,

economic and environmental well-being of nations.

The 2015 development agenda should recognize the

particular characteristics and needs of small States. It

should support the creation of a stronger international

architecture to achieve a sustainable future for all.

Climate change remains the most important and

complex developmental challenge that small States face.

We face the threat of rising sea levels. We experience

ocean acidification, changes in average temperature

and variable precipitation. Coastal erosion is a serious

problem in the Maldives, affecting more than 113

islands. An additional 120 islands need emergency

water during the dry season. The Government now

spends more than 27 per cent of our national budget on

building our resilience to combat the effects of climate

change.

The Maldives reiterates its call for a binding

agreement to reduce global carbon emissions. The world

cannot afford to wait any longer for such an agreement;

nor can we. The absence of a global accord is no excuse

for doing nothing. The Maldives is one of the smallest

island economies in the world. Our contribution to

global emissions is 0.003 per cent, yet we are the most

vulnerable to the effects of climate change. For that

reason, we are also taking difficult and bold measures

to combat climate change. We were among the first

countries in the world to eradicate chlorof luorocarbons

well ahead of time. We intend to become the first to

eradicate hydrochlorof luorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2020.

And we intend to become the first to ban the import

of HCFC-based equipment. A number of our islands

are also scaling up renewable energy, not only to avoid

spending 20 per cent of our gross domestic product

on importing fossil fuel, but also to reduce harmful

emissions.

Hence, we are converting to solar or hybrid sources.

A total of 20 islands in the Maldives will switch to

renewable energy sources for power by next year. Those

measures are part of a national initiative to transform

the country’s economy into a low-carbon one. If we

can take those measures, why cannot the larger States,

endowed with more resources, take stronger measures?

That requires political commitment and difficult

choices. I therefore call upon carbon-emitting countries

to develop and utilize clean and renewable energy to

reduce their carbon footprint.

Climate change is just one of many challenges

faced by the Maldives. The country’s transition to

democracy, which has reached a critical point, is

another pressing challenge that we are determined to

overcome. Four years ago, the Maldives held its first

competitive, multiparty presidential elections. That

was a watershed moment in the country’s long march

towards democratic governance. Four years after

that historic election, in October 2008, people in the

Maldives ask if their lives are any better. The answer,

regrettably, is, not yet. Multiparty democracy in the

Maldives has so far been deeply divisive. It is also

polarizing, tearing apart families and the fabric of a

small, homogenous society. Political leaders elected

to office by popular vote chose to act with impunity.

Centuries-old values of respect and tolerance have been

replaced by intolerance and hatred in the islands where

almost everyone literally knows everybody else. That

is not because there is any inherent deficiency in the

democratic form of governance; rather, it is because

the road to liberal democracy is always rocky and long

and must be navigated by a political leadership with an

unshakeable commitment to the principles and values

of democracy.

The past eight months have been particularly

challenging for the consolidation of democracy in my

country. The elected President of the country resigned

in February, and later claimed that he was forced to do

so. The Government opened a commission of inquiry to

investigate the allegations. Some of our friends rushed

to conclusions, and that did not make it any easier for

us. Some big States and some not so big States took

sides in a domestic political crisis and contributed to

making a bad situation worse. While the Government

was striving to strengthen the country’s institutional

capacity to manage the new democracy, some

international actors continued to publicly criticize the

country’s young institutions.

We look for new ideas and are receptive to good

ones, irrespective of where they come from. That

is why we engage in international cooperation. We

expect the result of international cooperation to help,

not hinder, a country’s march towards a better, more

democratic society. It is supposed to build a country’s

institutions and to gain public confidence. International

cooperation should not be used to undermine national

capacities. It should not be used as an excuse for larger

countries to interfere in the domestic politics of small

States.

Small States are vulnerable in many ways. We

alone are not able to stop larger and stronger countries

from dictating terms. Our vulnerability is particularly

acute when there is discord and system breakdowns in

our countries. This is the time when the larger States

should help the smaller States in the international

system.

The history of a nation is never a single event or

a single person. The life of our nation is composed of

the lives of all of us who live there. We are the building

blocks in the evolution of our countries. The knowledge,

education, experience and commitment we bring to

our nation are what shapes our history. They make our

history unique. Respect for us and our small nation

requires that our external partners not underestimate

our capacity to contribute to the shaping of our own

destiny. Nations must be allowed to resolve their

problems on their own. The international community

should not take punitive actions against any sovereign

State unless there is verifiable and blatant abuse of

human rights.

Yet I believe that international cooperation can

and should promote positive change in emerging

democracies. I believe that international organizations

such as the United Nations can play a pivotal role in

strengthening democratic institutions in such nations.

I believe that some of the advanced democracies

can also help small States with technical expertise in

consolidating democracy.

To do that, it is important to recognize the unique

challenges and characteristics of small States. It is

important to protect the social fabric of the tightly knit

societies in our countries. It is important to review

current approaches and modalities for extending

international cooperation in the promotion of democracy.

It is important that international cooperation not be

seen to be promoting a particular ideology. It should

not be seen to be taking sides in domestic politics.

International cooperation should be seen to promote and

encourage a home-grown democracy that is consistent

with universally accepted values and principles.

Regular, free and fair elections are a fundamental

component in any democracy. Yet holding elections is

not, by itself, a sufficient condition for consolidating

democracy. It requires patience. It requires making hard

choices and compromises. And it requires cultivating

and nurturing democratic values. My Government is

implementing a comprehensive plan to nurture such

values in the Maldives. We are committed to creating an

environment that guarantees individual freedom, where

human rights are fully protected, where democratic

values flourish and where human innovation thrives.

We are committed to creating a democratic and free

society that is able to shape its own destiny.