Monaco, 2012

The

Secretary-General has shared with us the priorities that

he plans to implement during the sixty-seventh session

of the General Assembly. His warning concerning

the multiplicity of new threats and his clear-sighted

recognition of their interconnections should inspire and

guide our work.

The maintenance of international peace and

security — need it be said again — are the very

essence of the mission of our Organization. What

do we see before us? Crises and threats to peace and

security are multiplying and are often even mutually

reinforcing, along with the endangerment of human

rights. What global vision do we share of the challenges

that confront our planet, its States and its peoples? By

bearing in mind that it is our mission and urgent need

to uphold our vision, which calls on us to support the

five priorities of the programme of action that have

been drawn up for the next five years and submitted

to us by the Secretary-General. Since he has invited

us to so, we wish to underline the need to prioritize

the strengthening of the United Nations system as well

as the development of partnerships in all areas of its

activity.

The President rightly sought to focus the general

debate of this session on the subject of the peaceful

settlement of international situations and disputes. This

historic debate, launched at the beginning of the week

by the General Assembly, has shown that respect for the

rule of law, at both the national and the international

levels, is indispensable for the establishment of

responsible societies that are able to promote cooperation and ensure the well-being of their citizens.

Recent history leads us to take a serious look at the

current difficulties confronting the world. While last

year we welcomed the magnificent spark of democracy

that was kindled in the Arab world, it is intolerable now

that minority factions and extremists are threatening

the hopes and dampening the expectations of people

who aspire to live in liberty.

The Government of the Principality of Monaco

echoes those who have condemned the acts of violence

perpetrated both by the authorities and by opposition

groups in the Syrian Arab Republic, where the

situation only continues to deteriorate. I would also

like to convey my full support for the efforts made by

the International Committee of the Red Cross and its

resolve in seeking to ensure that humanitarian needs

are met. Clearly, that is involves ensuring that each and

every one respect the rule of international humanitarian

law as the minimum requirement for meeting the basic,

elementary moral standards of our peoples, standards

that do not, unfortunately, seem to be shared by all.

We are equally concerned by the recent events in

the Sahel region, including in Mali, which are growing

worse. The Principality of Monaco, which is involved in

various humanitarian efforts in the region, supports all

such actions by the international community, given the

urgency and gravity of the situation. We will support

a strategy established by the United Nations that can

address the issues of security, governance, development,

human rights and humanitarian aspects. The values that

we are committed to uphold in adopting the Charter of

the United Nations are based on our common humanity

and on the recognition of our differences, which are at

the very core of our humanity.

Allow me, in that regard, to pay tribute to all those

who have been committed to serving those values on

the ground, often paying with their lives. They seek to

uphold the aims and principles that bring us together

here in this forum. Our authorities have resolutely

condemned all attacks perpetrated against diplomatic

and consular missions and personnel. We must all

ensure the obligation of guaranteeing their protection

in all circumstances.

At a time when the world is facing worrying

developments, the theme that the President has selected

for this session of the General Assembly merits the

unanimous support of all in our community. Aware of

the challenges, I would like to take the opportunity to

commend Mr. Vuk Jeremić, President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, on his election

and to assure the Assembly of my delegation’s full

support.

More than ever before, we need to resort to the

peaceful settlement of our disputes and seek to prevent

rather than react to events. In the 1950s, Secretary-

General Dag Hammarskjöld urged us to be mindful of

the need to respond at an early stage to crises in order

to avoid the outbreak of disputes between parties or the

conf lagration of a dispute into an open conflict, or in

the event that a conflict does break out, to ensure that

it can be contained.

We have been caught unaware and so many ongoing

problems in the year 2012 have gone unsolved. We have

been largely successful in ensuring that international

law prevails over the right to wage war. However, the

involvement of our Organization in conflict prevention

still falls quite short, as avowals and statements of intent

on their own are insufficient. It is therefore our common

duty to strengthen understanding, tolerance and mutual

respect. As was recalled by the Secretary-General here

on 13 September, as well as by his predecessor, one of

the strongest factors for conflict prevention, and thus

for the inculcation of an authentic culture of peace, is

education. That kind of prevention is aimed at enrolling

the young generations to whom we owe a future.

The challenges are manifold. Among them, I would

single out the economic and financial crisis, which has

affected the overwhelming majority of our States since

2008. We can overcome the crisis, creating employment

while protecting our environmental heritage. But

in order to do so, we need an ambitious long-term

vision, and that is why, in spite of the budget cuts,

the crisis has compelled us to realize that we cannot

afford to lose sight of the Millennium Development

Goals — elimination of poverty and hunger; education;

child and maternal health; and combatting pandemics,

including HIV/AIDS and malaria, which sap humankind

of its strength — which must remain uppermost on our

agenda.

The upcoming deadline must encourage us to do

still more to intensify our efforts in order to ensure their

achievement. In 2015, we will adopt a new programme

of action, based on the results achieved and on the new

challenges to be met.

In his address to the United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development, His Serene Highness Prince Albert II of the Principality of Monaco welcomed the

fact that we are progressing towards a shared definition

of sustainable development goals. Those goals will

frame our actions at the international, national and local

levels, and in turn, that will make the implementation of

our commitments more effective and more transparent.

One of those objectives should emphasize

the sustainable development of oceans and on the

importance of the blue economy.

That objective should concern all sectors that

depend on ocean resources and maritime areas. It

is urgent that that objective be comprehensive and

sustainable so that those sectors can continue to benefit

from economic, social and environmental services.

Accordingly, our delegation will support all initiatives

seeking to improve the coordination and effectiveness

of the United Nations work in the oceans. Indeed, we

believe that that is the right path to follow in order to

ultimately ensure the sustainable use and management

of the oceans and thereby their conservation.

The fate of future generations lies in our hands.

For that reason, we are obliged to ensure that the Doha

Climate Change Conference is a success. It is therefore

crucial that we reach agreement on the establishment

of a second period of commitments under the Kyoto

Protocol. We therefore commit ourselves to working

positively and effectively in the negotiations on reaching

a new global post-2020 climate agreement, taking into

account the needs of the most vulnerable.

His Serene Highness Prince Albert II welcomes

the celebration next year of the twentieth anniversary

of Monaco’s joining the United Nations as a Member

State. In that connection, Monaco wishes to express

its resolve to contribute to the further strengthening of

our Organization to the extent that a small State can

do so. Members may rest assured that the Principality

welcomes the Assembly’s two-fold intention of

further involving itself in the field of development

and establishing an advisory framework that seeks to

enhance the cooperation between the General Assembly

and international financial institutions.

On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the

Forum of Small States, of which Monaco is a member,

and also in its capacity as a member of the Global

Governance Group, the Principality intends to play its

full role in the work of those bodies. The magnitude of

the challenges and crises that we all face have shown

that the size of a State is not the deciding factor when

it comes to resolving such problems. Rather, it is solely

our ability to work together and cooperate that enables

us to respond to everyday needs and that will lead us on

the path towards international peace and security.