Papua New Guinea, 2001

On behalf of

the people and Government of Papua New Guinea, I

wish to join previous speakers in congratulating the

President on his election to this prestigious post.

His election shows the high esteem in which the

international community holds both him personally and

his country, the Republic of Korea.

My delegation is confident that, through his great

diplomatic skills and leadership, which is already

evident, he will continue to guide the work of this

session of the General Assembly to its successful

conclusion.

I also take this opportunity, through him, to

express my delegation’s sincere appreciation to his

predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Harri Holkeri, for his

outstanding leadership and stewardship in facilitating

the work of the historic Millennium Summit and the

fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly.

We also congratulate and pay tribute to Mr. Kofi

Annan for his re-election to the office of Secretary-

General of the United Nations and for the award of the

Nobel Peace Prize.

Papua New Guinea is resolute in its commitment

to the purposes and principles of the United Nations

Charter. Papua New Guinea acknowledges the value of

many of the United Nations treaties and declarations,

including those that advance human rights, the rule of

law and good governance. Many of these principles are

enumerated in our national Constitution.

We acknowledge that the Organization has had

some limitations, many of which are self-inflicted. We

note that the United Nations is now in a much healthier

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financial position than ever before. However, there is

no room for complacency in the pursuit of its reform

programme. The United Nations bodies and systems

must be restructured to reflect new dynamics and

geopolitical changes and to create hope for all at the

beginning of the new millennium.

We believe that our common global and regional

problems cannot be resolved under the auspices of

violence, terrorism, war and destruction; nor can they

be resolved in a vacuum. The United Nations provides

a forum and an avenue for fostering dialogue for

peaceful resolution of disputes.

An effective Security Council, we believe, should

be representative of all subregions of the world. My

Government also believes that the use of the veto

power should be limited to Chapter VII issues, while

the working methods and deliberations of the Council

should be more transparent and democratic.

Papua New Guinea’s development aspirations

have been compromised by problems associated with

the downturn in the global economy, the economic

crisis within the Asia-Pacific region and natural

disasters, over all of which we have little control. The

Government has addressed these challenges through a

comprehensive programme of structural adjustments.

We have worked hard to make sure that these structural

adjustments are made in the public sector in order to

stimulate and expand growth in the private sector.

The measures we have adopted have stabilized

the economy. However, as we look into the future, we

cannot but hope that the incidents of 11 September will

not unduly affect our future recovery. Judging by the

evidence of a downturn in the United States economy,

it seems clear that every effort is required to make the

International Conference on Financing for

Development next year a success.

We are grateful to the Friends of Papua New

Guinea group, comprising Australia, Japan, the

European Commission and China, among others, which

have been generous in assisting our Government in its

development efforts. The World Bank, International

Monetary Fund and Asian Development Bank have

also been very positive in their responses to our

policies.

My country has experienced an unfortunate and

terrible conflict and has been trying to build mutual

confidence and security by pursuing a progressive

political settlement, including through restoration and

development for the past four years in its Bougainville

Province. We have utilized the Melanesian way of

building consensus between all parties to the conflict.

The consensus is now reflected in the Bougainville

Peace Agreement, signed by the parties on 30 August

this year. The Government is resolute in its desire to

implement the Agreement. It has completed work on

drafting amendments to our Constitution to provide for

greater autonomy, a referendum and amnesty. Together

with ongoing efforts to implement other aspects of the

Agreement, the parties are expected to facilitate

progress on weapons disposal and associated issues,

such as reconciliation and the unification of political

and administrative structures in Bougainville. A special

session of Parliament will be been convened next

week, on 22 November, to continue to debate the

Agreement. Parliament will deliberate on the

constitutional amendments on or soon after 14

December this year.

We wish to place on record our deep appreciation

to the United Nations, in particular Ambassador Noel

Sinclair and his team on Bougainville, the United

Nations Development Programme, the European

Union, individual European Union members and the

Governments of Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand,

Solomon Islands and Vanuatu for their continuing and

constructive roles in Bougainville.

It is also my pleasure to speak on behalf of the

Bougainville parties and the Government to thank the

Secretary-General and all members of the Security

Council, past and present, for continuing to renew the

mandate of the United Nations Political Office in

Bougainville. We are confident that the Security

Council will continue to provide all the assistance we

need with respect to arms collection, storage and

disposal.

The process of decolonization will not be

completed until the people of the remaining 17 Non-

Self-Governing Territories have exercised their right to

self-determination and/or achieved self-government.

Papua New Guinea welcomes the cooperation of

the Government of France with regard to the progress

made in implementing the Nouméa Accords and setting

in motion the eventual exercise of the right of self-

determination by the people of New Caledonia,

especially the indigenous Kanak people.

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We acknowledge the full cooperation of the

Government of New Zealand in the progress made so

far with respect to the question of the Tokelau Islands.

My Government notes the progress made in East

Timor. We heartily welcome the announcement of 20

May 2002 as the day the people of East Timor will

attain independence and nationhood. We look forward

to welcoming them as a full Member of this family of

nations.

Papua New Guinea continues to urge the other

administering Powers to cooperate with the Special

Political and Decolonization Committee in

implementing and completing its mandate soon.

The future of each of the remaining Non-Self-

Governing Territories can be assured only by a

positive, constructive and, above all, transparent

approach to developing a unique solution for each of

them.

The fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly

established the Consultative Process on oceans to

improve the coordination and management of the

programmes associated with the use, development and

protection of the oceans and seas. The Consultative

Process has been successful in bringing to the fore, and

focusing the attention of Member States on, a number

of issues.

The Pacific Islands Forum group includes small

island developing States that are custodians of the

largest ocean space. This ocean space is rich in natural

and marine resources. However, the small island

developing States of the region have limited human,

financial and technological capacities to harvest,

control, manage and secure these resources for the

benefit of our current and future generations.

It has been said that to divert the poor from the

call of the evil, it is not enough to appeal to their

stomachs only. Rather, one must appeal to their

aspirations as well. We joined others having particular

interest in the sustainable use and management of the

fish stocks in our region to establish the Convention on

the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory

Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean

in September 2000. The next meeting of the signatories

to this Convention will be held in Papua New Guinea

early next year.

We welcome Malta’s lodgement last Sunday of its

instrument of ratification of the Agreement for the

Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations

Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December

1982 relating to the Conservation and Management of

Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish

Stocks. The Agreement, which will now come into

force on 11 December 2001, called on States to

cooperate to enhance the ability of developing States,

in particular the least developed and small island

developing States, to conserve and develop their own

fisheries for such stocks. For all small island

developing States in the Pacific, financing for

development has to be linked to the development of

their fisheries sector.

In order to emphasize my point, I have provided

some data on the last page of my written statement.

The Assembly will note that the Central and Western

Pacific fishery is valued in excess of $2.5 billion per

annum, while the Pacific small island developing

States earn an average of only $66 million per annum

in licensing fees. For the small island developing States

of the Pacific to attain sustainable growth and

development, this situation has to change.

Last year my delegation also welcomed the

conclusion by the International Seabed Authority of the

exploration code for seabed mining. Continuing work

is to be undertaken with respect to a code for

exploration for polymetallic sulfides and cobalt-rich

crusts. Papua New Guinea has particular interest in

polymetallic sulfides.

My delegation would like to thank once again the

Secretary-General of the International Seabed

Authority, Ambassador Satya Nandan, for his report on

the work of the Authority. We welcome the execution

of contracts by pioneer investors and urge the

remaining pioneer investor to follow suit as soon as

possible.

Papua New Guinea supports the principles

contained in the Barbados Programme of Action and in

Agenda 21 of the United Nations Conference on

Environment and Development. We continue to support

the principles contained in the Kyoto Protocol and the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change. We once again stress the urgent need for

developed countries to make a concerted effort to

reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.

My delegation welcomes the achievements of part

two of the sixth session of the Conference of the

Parties to the climate change Convention, held at Bonn

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last July, and the successful completion of the recent

seventh session of the Conference, held at Marrakesh,

Morocco.

Another of the greatest challenges facing the

United Nations is to strengthen the capacity of the

global community to respond promptly and effectively

to climate change and natural disaster. In 1997, Papua

New Guinea experienced drought and frost caused by

El Niño and in 1998 came the tsunami and the La Niña

phenomenon, bringing floods and landslides and

leaving death and destruction in their wake. We

acknowledge the prompt and generous support of our

neighbours in dealing with the effects of such disasters.

Global warming has also brought increased numbers of

cases of diseases such as malaria to the higher-altitude

and most populous region of our country. The threat of

increased incidence of malaria in that region is real,

and could negatively affect the demographics of the

country. There is definitely a link among climate

change, natural disaster and the spread and increased

incidence of disease.

Nor is Papua New Guinea exempt from the HIV/

AIDS epidemic or from tuberculosis. We are grateful to

Australia and to other partners which have provided

assistance in that field of health care. We also welcome

again last year’s announcement by the Japanese

Government that it would set aside substantial financial

resources for disease eradication programmes in

developing countries.

The forthcoming International Conference on

Financing for Development and the World Summit for

Sustainable Development must be platforms for

launching new and innovative methods for realigning

the policies of the Bretton Woods institutions so that

they focus more on development and on the eradication

of poverty. There must be a concerted effort to link

new and innovative financial instruments to the

delivery of specific outcome-oriented approaches.

There must be flexibility in assisting developing

countries, especially small island, landlocked and least

developed countries. As I have said before, for the

peoples of the Pacific islands to become meaningful

participants in the globalization process, new financial

instruments and mechanisms should be developed to

facilitate the transfer of technological capacity and

expertise in the fisheries sector.

Papua New Guinea is committed to peaceful

dialogue among nations and condemns those that

employ terrorism against people or that finance, recruit

or train terrorists or mercenaries. The barbaric acts of

11 September have been described in many ways.

Some have called them horrendous, despicable and the

work of evil-doers. The use of any adjective to describe

the horror and the continuing threat to human security

only adds to the esteem in which some hold the

perpetrators. The use of qualifiers to describe the

innocence of the deceased lends legitimacy to those

acts and shields the nakedness of their wilful and

wrongful nature.

Papua New Guinea condemns the 11 September

attacks on the United States and supports the ongoing

campaign by the United States and its allies against

terrorism. On behalf of the Government and the people

of Papua New Guinea, I convey our heartfelt

condolences to the immediate families and other

relatives of all those who had their lives brutally taken

away from them in New York, Washington, D.C., and

Pennsylvania. My Government is committed to

implementing Security Council resolution 1373 (2001)

and is in the process of examining all existing

conventions relating to terrorism with a view to

acceding to them early next year.

Papua New Guinea also notes the death several

days ago of the political leader of the people of the

Indonesian province of Irian Jaya, Mr. Theys Eluay,

under questionable circumstances. As a neighbouring

country which shares a common border with that

province, Papua New Guinea is concerned about the

likely spillover effect of new developments in the

province. We urge Indonesia to undertake a thorough,

impartial and transparent investigation into Mr. Eluay’s

death, to make public the results and to bring to justice

those responsible.

My Government is committed to a stable,

peaceful and environmentally safe world and therefore

supports the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and of the

Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty. We call on all

that have nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass

destruction, including biological weapons, to stop

testing, manufacturing and storing them, and

furthermore to take steps to destroy them.

We also support efforts to ban transboundary

movements of radioactive and other hazardous wastes

through the Pacific region. We call on those States that

previously conducted nuclear-weapon tests or that have

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discharged chemical or other non-degradable wastes in

our subregion to adequately compensate and provide

appropriate medical assistance to the scores of persons

and families affected. Remedial action should be taken

to clean up the damage done to the environment.

Global and regional partnerships to promote

change are the key to addressing the challenges that the

world will face in the twenty-first century. Papua New

Guinea believes that a challenge for Member States is

to reshape the Organization so that it can serve as an

effective tool for implementing our collective desire: to

make the global village a better place for all.