Papua New Guinea, 2004

My

delegation warmly welcomes you to the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session and

pledges our support. We acknowledge that you are also

from our Forum of Small States group and therefore

share our common problems and challenges. Please

convey my delegation’s commendation to your

predecessor, the Honourable Julian Hunte, Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Saint Lucia, for his strong

leadership of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session.

Let me also take this opportunity to thank the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and his staff for

the good work they continue to do for our global

community.

We currently live in a changing world, one which

past generations would even be amazed at. One of the

greatest achievements of the United Nations system is

the process of decolonization which has seen more than

70 countries, including my own, take their rightful

place in this Assembly. The process will not be

complete, however, until the remaining 16 Non-Self-

Governing Territories, including New Caledonia and

Tokelau, have exercised their inalienable right to self-

determination.

The world continues to witness great leaps in

technology, but at the same time we have also seen an

increase in some global dilemmas — poverty and

hunger, the ravages of HIV/AIDS, wars, conflicts and

terrorism, among others.

Each of our countries face numerous challenges

in this changing world and many of them are common

to all of us, regardless of our size, location and status

as developed or developing countries. Under the

circumstances, and more than ever before, we need to

work together as a community of nations to help each

other address those challenges. Nowhere is that more

evident than in the domain of international peace and

security. A terrorist act committed in one State today

also affects others elsewhere in the global community.

We condemn the recent tragedy in Beslan, Russia,

the bombing of the Australian Embassy in Jakarta and

the ongoing terrorist acts in the Middle East, Iraq, and

other parts of the world. We also condemn the recent

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tragedy in Darfur, the Sudan, and commend Canada

and Japan for their generous assistance.

In circumstances like the foregoing, those most

affected are innocent civilians, especially women and

children. We therefore support the Secretary-General’s

efforts to rally the international community to

subscribe to the treaties on the protection of civilians.

In many cases, terrorists also take the lives of

United Nations and other humanitarian workers who

are doing unselfish and dedicated work under difficult

circumstances to serve our common humanity. In that

regard, we urge all Member States to support the

Convention on the Safety of United Nations and

Associated Personnel.

The situation in the Middle East remains

intractable, requiring constant and deliberate attention

by the United Nations, especially by the Security

Council. Our own experience in the Bougainville

conflict has taught us that there can be peace if all

parties really desire it and are willing to resolve their

differences. We therefore urge all parties to the conflict

in the Middle East — including Israel and Palestine, as

well as the major players, particularly the Quartet — to

formulate a peace plan that is mutually acceptable to

all.

Papua New Guinea concurs with Secretary-

General Kofi Annan’s recent statement to the

Assembly at its 3rd meeting, which highlighted how

important it is for the rule of law to prevail if we are to

achieve peace and security in the world.

Like many other Member States, Papua New

Guinea has acceded to the various counter-terrorism

treaties, pursuant to Security Council resolution 1373

(2001). We believe that the reporting obligations under

the provisions of those treaties should be streamlined

to include regional reports, which would solve many

capacity issues for small nations with limited

resources. Because many of our regional legal, military

and law enforcement agencies meet regularly, those

meetings could provide the opportunity to compile

regional reports on our fight against international

terrorism. We believe that there is every desire to fulfil

treaty obligations; but if some of the more onerous

tasks can be lightened for the small countries through

regional reports, bodies like the Counter-Terrorism

Committee, the Security Council, the General

Assembly and other related agencies could be better

served.

The small States are doing their best to fulfil their

obligations. Like many other Members States, we take

seriously our responsibilities and obligations to fight

the scourge of international terrorism and related issues

including the trafficking of people.

The Pacific region advocates that the United

Nations continue to closely and seriously study the

notion of collective security along with collective

action, ideas upon which many of our actions to bring

stability to our region continue to be based.

We are custodians of the biggest ocean and its

resources. Papua New Guinea, in particular, is

endowed with 5 to 7 per cent of the world’s

biodiversity. We therefore share a common

responsibility to ensure the protection and conservation

of those resources which are of vital importance to

humanity.

We encourage sustainable logging practices in

order to avoid the denuding of our vast rainforest

resources. We condemn destructive fishing methods

and urge all Member States to adhere to sustainable

management and conservation regimes in order to meet

future demands.

At the Pacific Islands Forum, our leaders recently

adopted a new vision for the Pacific region in the form

of the Pacific Plan, which embraces four key areas:

economic growth, sustainable development, security

and good governance.

The Pacific Islands Forum will be engaging with

the European Union and other development partners to

advance the interests of the region, especially those of

economic growth and sustainable development.

I share the view enunciated by other speakers that

there can be no security without development, and that

equally, there can be no development without peace

and security. As important links, both need to be

addressed simultaneously if we want peace and

sustainable development to prevail.

We are pleased to see regional solidarity and

assistance in conflict situations bear good results in

Bougainville and in our neighbour, the Solomon

Islands. We also note that other regional actions taken

by our leaders, such as the establishment of the Pacific

Transnational Crime Coordination Centre in Fiji,

enhance law enforcement and intelligence sharing in

the region.

Concerning good governance, our leaders

encouraged Pacific Member Governments to sign and

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ratify the United Nations Convention against

Corruption in accordance with the spirit of the

Biketawa Declaration.

Over the past several years, Papua New Guinea

has been the beneficiary of regional and international

assistance in the rebuilding and return to normalcy of

the island of Bougainville, after a decade-long conflict.

We thank the members of the Security Council, both

past and present, for their goodwill, patience and

understanding in what has been an extremely painful

experience for us. We have appreciated the support and

counsel of each member of the Council throughout that

important process. The conflict has greatly affected our

nation and we have learned many lessons. We are re-

establishing the rule of law in a profound and thorough

constitutional process which will result in a

democratically elected autonomous government for the

people of Bougainville. While we are close to

achieving that, we are equally mindful that each step

taken now to finalize and consolidate the Bougainville

constitution is critically important for the autonomous

government of Bougainville to be sustained

successfully.

We continue to receive valuable support and

assistance for the peace process from the Secretary-

General as well as from our Pacific neighbours:

Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Tonga, Vanuatu and the

Solomon Islands. Rebuilding and restoration of

services in Bougainville has been greatly assisted by

our development partners, including the United

Nations Development Programme, the United Nations

Children’s Fund, the European Union, Australia, New

Zealand and Japan, among others. We thank them all

and look forward to their continued support and

cooperation.

We continue to be concerned about the security

and vulnerability of many of our small island States.

As noted and endorsed by Pacific leaders at the recent

Pacific Islands Forum Summit in Samoa, the

forthcoming International Meeting on the 10-year

review of the Barbados Programme of Action, to be

held in Mauritius in 2005, will provide an opportunity

to discuss with our development partners the many

issues which confront small island States, including

those in our subregion.

Development of women and children through

sports must have a special place in our quest to

improve the socio-economic well-being of our people.

We are also working hard to implement the Millennium

Development Goals and the outcomes of the World

Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD).

The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to have

devastating consequences in many developing

countries. Our leaders in the Pacific region have

endorsed a regional strategy for HIV/AIDS noting the

need to address the issue urgently.

Small arms and light weapons will always

threaten the stability of many small States. Therefore,

we look forward to the continuing work towards a

United-Nations-supported action plan for dealing with

small arms.

Climate change is a threat to all humankind and

therefore deserves the attention of the international

community, which must work together to address it.

We are appreciative of the position of the United

Kingdom as underlined by Prime Minister, The Right

Honourable Tony Blair, in a recent statement

highlighting the threat of sea level rise and related

issues. I am aware that there are scientific studies

being carried out, but the real issue is that the effects of

climate change and global warming are being felt daily

by many island States. We in Papua New Guinea are no

more immune to climate change and sea level rise than

are many other small island States. The island

communities in Papua New Guinea, like those of our

neighbouring countries in the Pacific, are being

affected adversely by sea level rise. We empathize with

our colleagues from many other island States which

continually suffer from the effects of the problem. Our

plight is further compounded by natural disasters,

including the ravages of hurricanes, cyclones,

earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, floods and tsunamis.

In that context, our sympathies go to the peoples

and the Governments of the Caribbean region,

especially those of Grenada, Haiti, Jamaica, Cuba, the

Bahamas and the Dominican Republic, among others,

as well as to the inhabitants of cities and towns of the

southern states of the United States of America, which

have been devastated by the recent hurricanes.

As a global community we must pool our

resources and consider ways of mitigating the adverse

effects of climate change in order to help those States

which are vulnerable. We applaud the intention of the

Russian Federation to consider becoming a party to the

Kyoto Protocol and urge others to recognize their

responsibility to the global community by doing the

same.

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We look forward to the final report of the High-

level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change

appointed by the Secretary-General, which will form

the basis for high-level discussions on United Nations

reforms, including the expansion and composition of

the Security Council. We believe Council membership

should be expanded in both the permanent and the non-

permanent categories to take into account the lack of

sufficient representation of developing countries in the

Asia-Pacific, African and Latin American regions. We

also believe that Japan and Germany should be

seriously considered for permanent membership, with

equal privileges and obligations. Consideration may be

given to other countries with appropriate qualifications

and integrity, particularly from the developing world.

We also commend the indications from the Panel

that the definition of “hard” versus “soft” threats is no

longer relevant. That will allow a proper and objective

discussion to be held, given that the resonance of

perceived threats can be viewed differently depending

on where the threat is.

That said, Papua New Guinea believes that

reform of the United Nations system should be

comprehensive and that the General Assembly should

regain its pre-eminent role as the principal organ of the

United Nations. That will enable all Member States,

large and small, to engage more meaningfully in

addressing all challenges in an effective way in order

to help the United Nations fulfil its role in the pursuit

of a peaceful, just and prosperous world. That is the

purpose for which the United Nations was established.

As we move towards next year’s review of the

Millennium Development Goals and the sixtieth

anniversary of the United Nations, we should all look

at the dire needs of the majority of humanity. My

delegation believes that the Millennium Development

Goals provide the blueprint for achieving those

objectives.

Finally, let me conclude by reaffirming Papua

New Guinea’s support for the one-China policy, which

provides the sound basis for our bilateral relations with

the People’s Republic of China.