Malta, 2005

I would first like to

congratulate Mr. Jan Eliasson upon his election to the

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presidency of the General Assembly at its sixtieth

session. He has an important and challenging task

ahead. In carrying out his duties, he can be assured of

my full support and of that of the Maltese delegation.

I take this opportunity to express our appreciation

to the outgoing President of the fifty-ninth session, His

Excellency Mr. Jean Ping. The last 12 months have

demanded exceptional leadership and commitment

from the presidency of the General Assembly. I wish to

join others in congratulating Mr. Ping on the firm and

successful way in which he has guided this Assembly

in the preparations leading to the summit which was

just concluded.

The summit has passed on to us significant tasks

in the continuing endeavour to sustain and reinforce

the processes of multilateral cooperation. It is right that

we should take as the central theme of our discussions

the follow-up and implementation of the summit

conclusions.

In the light of the discussions our leaders had last

week, we approach these responsibilities all the more

inspired by the imperative for collective action. Such

action is incumbent on the international community, as

much in dealing with the short-term challenges it has to

overcome as in defining the long-term objectives

which it seeks to achieve.

Among the most immediate and visible

challenges confronting us is the way in which we

respond to the natural disasters which at one time or

another engulf peoples and societies around the world.

The past 12 months have produced awesome evidence

of the way in which humanity remains subject to the

forces of nature.

The tsunami late last year and Hurricane Katrina

only a few weeks ago are only the most prominent

among recent major catastrophes which intensify both

our sense of vulnerability and our sense of solidarity.

In extending our expression of grief and sympathy to

the Governments and people afflicted by such

disasters, the Maltese people have also extended their

offers of succour and relief.

While times like these remind us that nature can

be unpredictable in its ferocity, they also teach us that

it must always be treated with respect. If managed

responsibly, nature’s resources can improve our lives

considerably. However, if those resources are

ruthlessly exploited, humanity will be the ultimate

loser.

It is unfortunate but true that the blind forces of

nature are not the only cause of extensive suffering

among fellow human beings. Political and economic

developments, over which Governments, individually

or collectively, have at least some element of control,

are also factors in play. Nowhere are the combination

of natural and man-made causes more dramatic than in

those instances of unregulated and often tragic

migration flows.

Over the last few years, Malta, like many

countries, has been caught in the worrisome increase of

unregulated human trafficking across the

Mediterranean. In our case, as a small island with a

very high population density, the problem quickly

assumed crisis proportions.

Malta has a strong and longstanding commitment

to help those who need humanitarian assistance. We

shall stand by that. We are deeply conscious that long-

term action in this area needs to be premised on

profound respect for human dignity and strict

adherence to the rule of law, including international

humanitarian law.

However, the international community must not

allow the rights of refugees and persons requiring

humanitarian status in accordance with international

law to be undermined and prejudiced by international

criminal organizations specialized in human trafficking

activity. In our case, our ability to respond to genuine

cases is fast becoming overwhelmed by the huge

increase in illegal immigrants, who are the object of an

international criminal network of human traffickers.

Illegal immigration constitutes a collapse of the

international legal order and must be addressed

unequivocally by the world community as such in

order to ensure that the rule of international law is

restored in that regard. Countries of origin and transit

need to assume their responsibility to uphold the rule

of law by vigorously clamping down on international

criminal activity in human trafficking. The United

Nations and its agencies, particularly the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, are

called on to address this issue, which, if it is not

addressed, could prejudice the rights of genuine

refugees and persons qualifying for humanitarian status

in accordance with international law.

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At the same time, the spirit of solidarity inspiring

action in this area needs also to be put to use in

addressing the roots of illegal economic migration, a

phenomenon that is harmful not only to the individuals

themselves — who fall victim to callous criminal

organizations, often paying with their lives — but also

to the economic and social development of the

countries of origin.

For that reason, we welcome the summit

statement reaffirming the principle of solidarity and

burden-sharing with regard to assisting genuine

refugee populations and their host communities. In that

context, we look forward to the General Assembly’s

high-level dialogue on international migration and

development, to take place in 2006. It will give us an

important further opportunity to discuss the

multidimensional aspects of that problem and identify

appropriate ways of dealing with them. Malta will take

an active and constructive part in that dialogue.

Last week’s summit provided important new

guidelines in many critical areas requiring collective

action. In the area of development cooperation, there

has been a rededication to the objectives first defined

in the Millennium Development Goals. Malta joins its

partners in the European Union in strengthening its

commitment towards increased and more effective

development assistance in the coming years. We have

set ambitious goals for the successful completion by

next year of the World Trade Organization’s Doha

Round of multilateral trade negotiations.

Malta’s national contribution will be

commensurate with its possibilities and its level of

economic development. Nevertheless, it will take

inspiration from our constant endeavour to strengthen

and enlarge the areas of peace, prosperity and security

for all peoples of the world. We will have a renewed

opportunity to reaffirm those commitments in

November, when Malta hosts the next Commonwealth

Heads of Government Meeting and assumes the

chairmanship of the Commonwealth for the next two

years.

Peace and prosperity must be rooted in human

dignity. Our leaders devoted a significant part of their

discussions last week to the question of human rights.

The summit decisions on this subject may not have

gone as far as some of us would have wished.

Nevertheless, they were an important step towards the

objective of equipping the United Nations with a more

effective institutional structure to deal with the defence

and promotion of human rights worldwide. In the

current session of the General Assembly, we will aim

to bring to fruition the summit’s decisions in the area

of human rights, especially the establishment of the

Human Rights Council.

Another area where questions of human dignity

are of paramount importance relates to the principle of

the responsibility to protect. Our leaders have taken a

brave step by reconciling the different strands of that

principle, which seeks to encapsulate an important

moral duty in the development of the law of nations.

Respect for State sovereignty, the strict parameters on

the use of force and the overarching commitment to

respect and defend human dignity and the right to life

owed to all individual human beings are all vital

aspects of the decisions taken by the summit in this

regard. Further work in that area must continue to be

inspired by the sense of solidarity which is shared by

people around the world and the common, worldwide

ethical responsibility to act to defend the innocent.

Effective post-conflict peacebuilding is an

important dimension in which the international

community can give practical expression to the notion

of collective responsibility. We therefore strongly

welcome the agreement to establish the Peacebuilding

Commission, which underlines and reinforces the

United Nations capacity in the area of peacekeeping

and peacebuilding. That is an area of international

cooperation where the interface between action at the

regional and global levels is critical. The task entrusted

to us by the summit to finalize the modalities of the

Peacebuilding Commission by December this year is

among the most far-reaching responsibilities of the

current session of the General Assembly.

Another area where international cooperation is

especially important concerns the fight against

terrorism. Notwithstanding the differences that might

remain on the precise interpretation and scope of the

concept, there is a widespread commitment to resisting

and eliminating that outrageous and horrific attack on

the everyday order and serenity of life in our societies

and the right of ordinary people to a secure and

peaceful life. On the basis of that recognition, we urge

immediate steps to intensify and expand concrete

actions that respond to the immediate concerns of our

citizens. The elements of a counter-terrorism strategy

announced by the Secretary-General earlier this year

provide a useful pointer in the right direction.

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We need to take our collective action against

terrorism further. Malta believes that no terrorist action

is ever excusable, and our action against terrorism must

be unequivocal, firm and decisive at all times and in all

instances. However, we must deeply analyse and

examine the roots of the problem. In particular, we

must not be passive when we see situations around the

world where States have been unable to provide a

social welfare net for their peoples and where, as a

consequence, the poor and the desperate conglomerate

around extremist organizations, which may also

practice terror while simultaneously providing welfare

assistance to strengthen their popular base. Social

responsibility for the provision of welfare should be in

the hands of the State, which represents society in all

its diversity. In my view, it is imperative that

international development programmes should also

have that particular focus. The ultimate objective of the

current session of the General Assembly should

continue to be progress towards the conclusion of a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

Aside from agreeing on a new set of tasks and

measures for reform, at last week’s summit our leaders

reaffirmed and further developed the concepts and

principles that lie at the heart of the United Nations.

Those concepts and principles will inspire the

deliberations of the Assembly’s current session as it

considers the many specific issues on its agenda.

Issues of peace and security are a major part of

that agenda. They are particularly poignant today, the

International Day of Peace.

Malta welcomes the recent evolution of the

situation in Palestine, marked by Israel’s

disengagement from the occupied territories in Gaza

and parts of the West Bank. We urge the parties

concerned to maintain the momentum for peace that

has been created. We acknowledge and salute the bold

and tough decisions taken by both the Israeli and the

Palestinian leadership, which are making this

development possible. We have a clear sense of the

complexities and sensitivities involved for both sides

in pursuing their respective actions.

Together with our partners in the European

Union, Malta wishes to encourage this latest

development as a path towards the full resumption of

the Middle East peace process. This calls for a

continuing determination by both sides not to allow

obstacles to stand in the way of their carrying out the

next set of actions called for under the Quartet road

map: Israel’s freezing of all settlement activity, and the

cessation of all violent attacks by Palestinians against

Israelis everywhere.

We are convinced that the ultimate objective —

the existence of two neighbouring, viable sovereign

States, living in peace and security, is within reach and

certainly worth the effort and sacrifice involved at this

stage.

In the Mediterranean, regional cooperation

continues to be strengthened through the Barcelona

process and other initiatives for subregional

consultation. Within the broader framework of the

European Neighbourhood Policy, countries to the north

and the south of the Mediterranean are working

together on a wide range of actions to further peace,

prosperity and progress in their region.

Those actions include areas of primary interest

for Malta and its immediate neighbours, such as the

management of migration flows, the promotion of

human rights, democratization, counter-proliferation

and counter-terrorism efforts, the acceleration of

increased market integration and the objective of

improving the social and economic living conditions of

all peoples in the region, especially the most

vulnerable among them. The further economic, social

and political integration of the Euro-Mediterranean

region is the primary challenge of the countries

belonging to it and would have beneficial

consequences for the international community as a

whole.

Malta is particularly interested in developments

relating to the future enlargement of the European

Union. Following the entry of Bulgaria and Romania in

2007, the next stages of that process could encompass

a number of countries in our region, such as Croatia

and Turkey. Malta believes that the further enlargement

of the Union would provide an impetus for positive

reform in European countries in general and for the

creation of a wider European area of peace, stability,

democracy and human rights dedicated to the

prosperity of its peoples in a spirit of solidarity.

Malta welcomes the fact that the European Union

is increasingly acting as a promoter of peace and

cooperation in regions beyond its immediate vicinity.

That is the case with regard to the framework for wider

cooperation provided by the Strategic Partnership with

the Mediterranean and the Middle East.

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The expansion of political rights and political

participation is an essential dimension of the broader

strategy to combat extremism in its various

manifestations throughout the world. Malta welcomes

the intensifying transatlantic engagement in this regard

which, especially in the Middle East, seeks to foster

wider participation in support of home-grown

economic, political and educational reform efforts for

societies in the region.

The European Union is also cooperating

increasingly with the African Union in the

implementation of actions and decisions agreed within

the framework of the United Nations. We hope that that

encouraging development will further reinforce the

many peacekeeping, humanitarian relief and

reconciliation efforts under way in many parts of the

African continent.

The institutional set-up and functioning of the

United Nations have been the subject of intense

scrutiny in recent months. This has laid bare some of

the weaknesses of our Organization. At the same time,

it has highlighted the many areas in which our

Organization is playing a unique and indispensable role

in the process of multilateral cooperation. Regrettably,

instances of human and institutional failures have been

brought to light. At the same time, the much larger

number of instances where the institutions are working

well and where individuals are acting with admirable

commitment and dedication have also been given

prominence. In particular, developments in recent

months have placed in a sharper focus the commitment

and dedication of the Secretary-General, Kofi Annan,

in carrying out his exceptionally complex and

demanding task.

I would like to take this opportunity to express

our deepest admiration and support for the Secretary-

General for the major contribution that he has been

making towards effective multilateralism and respect

for the international rule of law.

Our challenges have never been as global as they

are today. Recent natural disasters have emphasized to

all of us our vulnerability as the human race.

Globalization in all its aspects, including global

communication, has not only brought home to us the

immediacy of events and information, but has also

further accelerated dynamic change in all aspects —

political, economic and social — in all societies on

Earth. The situation of constant flux and dynamic

change further increases the need for the United

Nations to be a reformed, effective focal point for the

international community, one that is ready to respond

to, and proactively work to meet, the challenges of

peace, security and development.

This year, which marks the sixtieth anniversary of

the United Nations, it is useful for us to approach the

exercise of reform keeping in mind the words of the

Secretary-General in his report, “In larger freedom”,

that

“the principles and purposes of the United

Nations, as set out in the Charter, remain as valid

and relevant today as they were in 1945, and that

the present moment is a precious opportunity to

put them into practice”. (A/59/2005, para. 153).