Maldives, 2014

Allow me to extend warm

greetings to the President of the General Assembly

upon the assumption of his duties at the sixty-ninth

session. I also recognize the exemplary stewardship of

Mr. John Ashe, the outgoing President, and record our

appreciation of the Secretary-General’s stewardship of

the Organization during these difficult times.

What defines the great communities of our times

is their ability to overcome the unexpected and to

persevere and adapt to changing realities — from the

daunting effects of climate change and the ever-pressing

challenges of poverty and want to the uncontrollable

spread of disease. Communities everywhere are striving

to overcome such obstacles. When communities are

subject to challenges that are impossible to bear, they

think beyond the realm of possibilities and begin

seeking different answers to the same questions. That

is when they nurture their ability to bounce back

from adversity, shock and threats. The ultimate goal

of fostering resilience is to overcome the unexpected.

Sustainability is about managing, but resilience is

about thriving.

For the past eight decades, the Maldives has been

on a journey to consolidate democracy. Last year,

our democracy faced unprecedented challenges. Yet

we were able to overcome those hurdles entirely by

peaceful means. Even though it sometimes felt as if

we were quite alone in this fight, we are proud of what

we have achieved. We take pride in the fact that our

democracy is home-grown. Our systems are organic.

Our young institutions, as in the older democracies

of the world, are gradually settling into patterns and

traditions that are unique to our string of islands and in

harmony with our Islamic heritage and our traditions.

Our experience clearly shows that holding elections

or introducing a multiparty political system does not

instil democratic values in a society. Democracy

cannot be traced in the pages of laws. The only way

for a new home-grown democracy to achieve resilience

is to shift the way its people think. A transformation

in their normative framework is necessary. Democratic

values need to find a place in the hearts and minds

of the people. The Government of President Abdulla

Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the people of the Maldives

are determined to achieve a modern and authentic

Maldivian democratic State.

Promoting and protecting human rights is central

to Maldivian democracy. Our Constitution is very

clear on what those rights entail. Yet with every right

come responsibilities. It has been a daunting challenge

to make human rights a way of life. That is why the

Maldives advocates cultivating a culture of respect for

human rights. Policies need to be rights-based. People

need to be rights-minded.

People must lie at the heart of every decision we

make and every policy we adopt. The ultimate goal of

every action must be to improve the lives of our people.

The Government of President Yameen has embarked

on an ambitious programme aimed at realizing the

full potential of our young people. The goal of the

Government is to create opportunities that would help

to unleash their creativity. Young people are the future

of any country, and, without the full realization of their

productive capabilities, countries cannot prosper.

A few days ago, the United Nations marked an

important milestone: the twentieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Programme of Action of the International

Conference on Population and Development. Today, we

celebrate the achievement of many of the goals of that

Programme — most notably, low maternal and infant

mortality rates, gender parity in school enrolment and

equal pay for equal work.

Next year, we will celebrate the twentieth

anniversary of the adoption of another important

document, the Beijing Platform for Action. It is a fact,

not mere speculation, that for building resilience and

building sustainable societies, women’s contributions

are a necessity. Women have achieved remarkable

progress since the Beijing Platform. Maldivian women

are among the most emancipated in South Asia, with

no structural barriers to education, employment or

mobility. Still, much remains to be achieved. Just as

an example, I ask the Assembly to think back over

the past week of general debate. How many women

spoke at this rostrum? How many countries can claim

to have achieved parity between men and women

at decision-making levels? In the Maldives, we are

committed to empowering women and have adopted a

zero-tolerance policy towards violence against women.

The resilience of our people in overcoming adversity

in their lives is rooted in their ability to rise up from

the fear of want and the fear of need. The Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) were framed to do just

that. The MDGs committed to a new partnership to

reduce extreme poverty, halt the spread of HIV/AIDS

and provide primary education for all. The MDGs set

benchmarks and gave targets to Governments. Those

targets enabled them to plan effectively. The MDGs,

though remarkable for their time, were limited and are

now reaching their expiry date. We ardently believe that

the post-2015 development agenda must be inclusive,

transparent and people-centred. The new development

agenda should succeed where the MDGs failed.

At times, the violence, bloodshed, conflict and

upheaval that we witness on a daily basis seem

unbearable. In July 2014, we watched with grief the

horrendous attack on the Gaza Strip — another in a

countless cycle of aggression and brutality. Our hearts

bleed for the countless children who lost their lives, the

mothers who lost their children, the nation and the State

of Palestine, which lost countless citizens. After the

global outcry and the outpouring of condemnation, the

guns have stopped firing and the bombs have stopped

dropping. The world seems to have moved on to the next

crisis. The news cycles have found their next headline.

Yet, we recall here again, the siege is not over. The

blockade has not ended. Gaza has been destroyed and

its development set back several years. Palestinians are

still being denied their right to a sovereign nation of

their own, to their own lands and to the fruits of their

labour. Palestinian children are being denied a right to

determine their own destiny. Are we willing to let that

continue? We must do more to help realize the dream

of peace in the Middle East and a two-State solution.

We must resume peace talks with a clear goal and an

endpoint in mind.

The biggest challenge to our development and our

way of life is ignorance, violence, subjugation and

perpetual poverty. Misinformed yet talented young

people can easily be lured into fanaticism, radicalism

and extremism. Islam’s identity as a religion that

supports innovation, knowledge and scholarship is

slowly eroding away. The golden era of our religion is

almost forgotten.

Today, the world has a choice to make. Should we

allow extremists to shape our future? Or should we take

decisive actions to defeat the extremist ideologies? Our

answer to those questions will define the way in which

we deal with the so-called Islamic State and other

terrorist groups. Not only are those groups un-Islamic,

they are anti-Islamic. They are terrorist organizations,

not religious groups. Islam, our great religion of

peace, compassion and tolerance, is being hijacked by

radical and extremist elements to perpetuate hatred

and violence. We, the Government and the people of

Maldives, condemn in the strongest terms those groups,

their ideologies and their activities. We join our fellow

Muslims around the world in saying “not in my name”.

The unique challenges faced by small island

developing States are well known. Climate change

exacerbates those challenges. We remain hopeful that

a legally binding treaty will be agreed to next year in

Paris. The Maldives stands ready to do all it can to

make this hope a reality, for the sake of our children

and our nation.

Earlier this month, we agreed to a new highway

for development, the Small Island Developing States

Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway. We commend

Samoa for its leadership in setting the vision for a new

gateway for small States. To make the partnership

enduring, we need the small island developing States to

make their voices heard and to be united in the quest.

The Maldives has therefore been inspired to take the

lead in forming the Alliance of Small Island States for

the purpose of facing the challenges of post-2015 and

beyond. We call on others to join us in that journey.

Nine days ago, on 21 September, we celebrated

49 years of membership in the United Nations. The

Maldives joined the United Nations a mere 58 days

after independence — we were the smallest Member

State at the time. As we look forward to celebrating

50 years of membership in 2015, the Maldives is happy

to note that the United Nations has served us well. We

joined the United Nations in 1965, amid questions over

the viability of small States. In the past 49 years, the

Maldives has taken the lead in showing the world that

small States are not only viable, but in fact valuable in

finding common solutions to common problems. Today,

at the United Nations, we continue to prove that small

States can also lead and that it is not size but smart

ideas that make a nation’s destiny.