New Zealand, 2011

As we say in Maori,

to all peoples and to all voices, greetings, greetings,

greetings to all.

I speak at the end of a period of intense United

Nations dialogue and engagement. This year’s general

debate provides unparalleled opportunities to reaffirm

the unique multilateral role of the United Nations. And

there has been much to debate. The events set in

motion by a single Tunisian street vendor have

transformed much of the Middle East and North Africa.

People have displayed extraordinary courage in

claiming their rights and freedoms. The transition from

dictatorship to democracy will not be easy; it will not

be quick; but it must be achieved.

For others, the struggle continues. We still look

for change in Yemen; we still look for change in Syria.

Other challenges are highlighted by this debate. We

heard from the President of South Africa and others

how the global community must move swiftly to avert

humanitarian disaster in the Horn of Africa.

We heard from the President of Nigeria how

terror networks threaten international peace and

security, and from the President of Tanzania about

growing piracy on Africa’s eastern coast, from Somalia

to Mozambique. We heard calls from the Indonesian

Foreign Minister for bold measures to avert a renewed

global financial crisis, and we heard from the President

of Brazil about the challenge of empowering women to

participate in political decision-making.

As this debate has demonstrated, much more

remains to be done. Lives have also been wrenched by

natural disasters in many countries, including my own.

On 22 February 2011, we experienced what my Prime

Minister called New Zealand’s darkest day. An

earthquake struck Christchurch, our second-largest

city. A total of 181 people were killed, a loss we share

with 15 other countries whose citizens also died. We

were humbled by the support we received, and, once

again, I thank those who gave that help.

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Despite that disaster and the literally thousands of

aftershocks that have followed, New Zealanders remain

resilient and optimistic. Christchurch is being rebuilt.

Our economy is bouncing back and the country is

returning to normal, not least by currently hosting the

Rugby World Cup, a celebration of a game we love, in

the country we love.

Despite some cause for economic optimism, the

events of just the past week suggest that the world still

faces what we have long feared: a second and even

more disastrous decline into a double-dip recession.

We do not relish the prospect of being dragged into

another recession that is not of our own making. We

caution others larger than ourselves against repeating

the mistakes of the 1930s, when autarkic protectionism

only deepened the Depression and led to war.

Instead, a successful conclusion of the Doha

Round is one of the keys to prosperity, particularly for

those of the global South. The February Christchurch

earthquake was followed by the devastation wrought

on our close friend and neighbour Japan. I reiterate our

heartfelt sympathy to Japan, so steadfast in its support

for New Zealand in our time of need. Those disasters,

and others elsewhere, reinforced the importance of

effective disaster preparedness, response and recovery.

New Zealand will work with the United Nations,

non-governmental organizations and international

agencies so that the lessons learned from Christchurch

are shared with others so that those in regions as

vulnerable as ours can be better prepared. Indeed, in

those regions, disaster preparedness is no desktop

exercise; it is a matter of survival.

Likewise, for our Pacific neighbours, another

high risk, climate change, is no abstract threat,

confined to thousands of pages of reports and esoteric

debate; it is a fundamental question of existence. For

the Pacific, climate change is a grave and present threat

to livelihoods, security and well-being.

The Secretary-General experienced those

challenges first-hand when he visited several Pacific

States, including one post-conflict society, and another

whose people see, on a daily basis, the dangers of

rising oceans. He experienced real vulnerability when

he saw that his hotel room, in addition to the towels

and the telephone, was equipped with a lifejacket. And

he saw the impact of rising oceans on the viability and

survival of many communities when his plane had to

be “wheels up” from the country’s airport — its major

link with the world — before the tide came in.

Much more of that, and whole populations will be

on the move, as they will be in other regions of the

world as well, and that will have with implications for

regional and international stability and security. Faced

with that, it is self-evident that all relevant

international forums, including the Security Council,

must play their part in addressing the challenge. That

means taking urgent and effective action on emissions

reduction. It means strengthening adaptation in

developing countries, particularly the most vulnerable.

And it means acknowledging and planning for the

security implications before they become threats to

regional and international security.

This year’s Durban meeting must set us on the

road to full implementation of the Cancun agreements.

New Zealand is committed, both through the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

negotiations and its active assistance in the Pacific and

elsewhere, to integrate adaptation and mitigation

measures into its development activities.

New Zealand also initiated the Global Research

Alliance on Agricultural Greenhouse Gases. Supported

by more than 30 countries, the Alliance seeks to ensure

that reducing agricultural emissions does not

compromise global food security.

Increased agricultural productivity — the ability

of many countries to feed themselves — is one of the

great achievements of recent decades. Constraining

agricultural production would put much of the world’s

population at risk, and no country will do that. We

must therefore maintain investment in agricultural

research, so that productivity and efficiency gains can

continue, but with fewer greenhouse-gas emissions.

That is what the Global Alliance is all about.

New Zealand takes pride in its diversity. We are

indigenous Maori; we are European; and we are the

many peoples from the Asia-Pacific region and

elsewhere who now call New Zealand home. We are

also proud to be part of the Pacific Islands Forum, the

foremost regional body. For 40 years, it has been

central to the region’s efforts to address its own

problems, be they the special development challenges

of small, isolated, vulnerable island States, or halting

and healing the impacts of violent conflict. It has done

that in the time-honoured Pacific way, through

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respectful dialogue and cooperation and then through

joint action.

Three weeks ago, at the Forum’s fortieth

anniversary meeting in Auckland, Pacific leaders

honoured that legacy by agreeing on measures aimed at

converting Pacific potential into Pacific prosperity.

The themes of their discussions will resonate in

other regions: strong, sustainable economic growth,

protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring that

they are healthy and educated and that they can have

long lives.

A key focus of that meeting was the alarming

incidence of non-communicable diseases, a scourge

that is rapidly encircling the globe. Almost half of all

New Zealand deaths relate to cancer and heart disease,

but the situation is even more critical in many Pacific

island countries, where diabetes in particular

approaches epidemic proportions. We thank those who

brought that cause here to the United Nations,

particularly the countries members of the Caribbean

Community.

With the 2012 United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development (Rio+20) very much in mind,

Pacific Forum leaders also focused on sustainable

development. Rio+20 will be an opportunity to assess

the progress made since the 1992 Conference, take its

agenda forward and highlight best practices. For

example, New Zealand’s aid programme includes

energy, agriculture and tourism initiatives that promote

sustainable development.

Pacific peoples were navigating their ocean, the

world’s largest, at a time when others were still

confined to their coastal waters. New Zealand Maori

call the Pacific the ocean guarded by the god Kiwa.

Our region is uniquely dependent on its ocean. For

those who call the Pacific home, the “green economy”

is in reality a blue economy. Our ocean underpins

livelihoods, food security and economic development.

That is why Pacific leaders have focused on ensuring

its sustainable development, management and

conservation. That is why they made addressing

acidification, pollution and illegal, unreported and

unregulated fishing urgent matters. That is why our

leaders want us to work towards integrated ocean

management, with our own Pacific Oceanscape

framework as a very good model. And that is why they

called for Rio+20 to recognize the Pacific’s economic

and environmental significance, and its contribution to

sustainable development. At Rio+20, we will seek the

support of the United Nations for that blue economy.

We work to protect the health of people and their

environment, but we must also enhance collective

security by advancing the disarmament agenda. Over

the coming year, we must focus on the full

implementation of the action plan agreed at the 2010

Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. As coordinator

for the New Agenda Coalition, a group of non-nuclear-

weapon States committed to a nuclear-weapon-free

world, New Zealand will soon introduce a draft

resolution highlighting the work that will be required

to achieve its implementation during the coming

review cycle of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons. We commend that draft resolution

for the Assembly’s consideration.

There have been gains over the past year with

respect to conventional disarmament, but we have yet

to see the results of those achievements. There has

been pleasing progress towards an arms trade treaty,

but hard work remains. Next year’s Diplomatic

Conference must deliver a treaty establishing the

highest possible common international standards for

conventional arms transfers.

We must also maintain focus on small arms and

light weapons, which for many regions are their

weapons of mass destruction. The year 2011 marks the

tenth anniversary of the United Nations Programme of

Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit

Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its

Aspects. There has been much to celebrate, including

the first Open-Ended Meeting of Governmental Experts

on the implementation of the Programme of Action,

which I had the honour of chairing in May. But next

year’s Review Conference must work to ensure that the

Programme delivers on its potential for keeping

communities safe from such weapons.

To deal with all of that, we need a strong, nimble

and effective United Nations, and we need a Security

Council that reflects geopolitical realities — realities

that have changed since 1945. Today, some States

might credibly seek a fuller, longer-term Council role.

New Zealand supports change that acknowledges those

realities.

But most United Nations Members are not major

or emerging Powers, they are small States. They too

are crucial to the universality and legitimacy of the

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United Nations; they too must contribute at the Council

table. Let me put it simply: if we reform the Security

Council to provide a fuller, longer-term role for

emerging Powers, we must also ensure a role for small

States. Speaking as a small State, I say that we are the

United Nations. And so we agreed with the Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Trinidad and Tobago when he said

that the smallness of a country is not a deterrent to the

realization of big dreams (see ), and with

the Prime Minister of Cape Verde, who told us that

small States must have a greater voice in international

decision-making (see ).

There are real risks if we cannot achieve genuine

Security Council reform. Emerging Powers will be

denied a role consistent with their global significance,

and small States will continue to be squeezed out of

positions of responsibility. It is in everyone’s interests

that the Security Council be more representative. As

we saw earlier this year with respect to Libya, the

Council is an extraordinarily powerful instrument for

maintaining international peace and security. But with

extraordinary power comes extraordinary responsibility —

responsibility that must be exercised with regard for the

views of all countries, large and small.

The Council must also build on its partnerships

with regional groups, such as the African Union, which

increasingly plays a critical role in maintaining

regional and global peace and security. Recognizing

the importance of closer relations with Africa, we are

encouraging New Zealand investment in and trade with

Africa, supporting peace and security and providing

development assistance. Last week, we increased our

diplomatic engagement by appointing a dedicated

ambassador to the African Union and the Federal

Democratic Republic of Ethiopia.

New Zealand is proud of its history of active

contribution right across the United Nations agenda.

We have a strong record as an independent and

principled voice advocating collective security and the

rule of law. We take an even-handed approach to

security issues, as has been shown by our voting record

and our tangible contributions to peace processes. We

take seriously our international responsibilities.

That is why, in 2004, we announced that we

would seek a non-permanent Security Council seat for

the 2015-2016 term. Nearly 20 years have passed since

New Zealand’s last time on the Council. The time is

right for us to again bring the fresh, independent

perspective of a small Asia-Pacific country to the

Council. That candidature, which I confirm here today,

is based on the belief that States, large and small, have

a place at the Council table. Modern New Zealand was

founded on a compact, a treaty-based partnership with

its indigenous Maori people. That, and our diversity,

means a unique history and perspective on promoting

tolerance and conflict resolution; a perspective that we

have previously brought, to good effect, to the Council

table, and which we will bring again.

For the United Nations, 2011 has been a truly

historic year. The Organization has quickly responded

to change in the Middle East and North Africa. It

stands ready to provide post-conflict support, and not

just in Libya. It has been critical to relief in the Horn

of Africa. Its essential role in State recognition has

been at global centre stage. Even the most cynical, the

most jaded, have had to relearn that the United Nations

is at the epicentre of much that happens, and much that

matters. We need the United Nations. We need it to

address the woes of the world and to consolidate its

successes. Its fundamental importance stems from its

universality, its legitimacy and its mechanisms to

confront challenges. Its effectiveness depends on its

ability to adapt as those challenges emerge and on its

ability to address them together. Member States, large

and small, come together in that collective endeavour.

New Zealand, as always, stands ready to play its part.