Papua New Guinea, 2007

I wish to express to Mr. Srgjan Kerim, President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-second session, Papua

New Guinea’s congratulations on his election. We

assure him of my country’s full cooperation during his

presidency. We compliment his predecessor, Her

Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for her

stewardship of our work during her tenure, and we

wish her well in her future endeavours.

I would like to express our support to the

Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon,

for his leadership of the United Nations. Let me thank

him, in particular, for his courage and strong leadership

on the issue of climate change. By the same token, I

would also like to thank the staff of the Secretariat and

all United Nations agencies who continue to give

valuable service to my country, Papua New Guinea.

On 18 September 2007, two days after

celebrating 32 years of independence, Papua New

Guinea convened its eighth National Parliament. This

was a result of another successful general election.

Democracy is a challenge, but Papua New Guinea

continues to thrive under it. My country of more than

800 tribes and languages continues to find in the

democratic principles the binding force and unity in

diversity in the 32 years of unbroken democracy.

Papua New Guinea remains committed to the

principles and purposes of the United Nations. We

agree with the President that we must continue to work

with common purpose to renew, modernize and

strengthen this Organization so it can rise to the

challenges of the twenty-first century.

The increasing incidence of human atrocities,

genocide and war, poverty, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, the

resurgence of malaria and tuberculosis, the

proliferation of small arms and light weapons, drug and

human smuggling, environmental degradation and

climate change are issues that, we believe, the United

Nations is best placed to address.

Again we agree with the President that global

challenges demand multilateral solutions. The United

Nations is the appropriate multilateral forum to take

such action. That is why the revitalization of the

General Assembly deserves our highest attention. To

revitalize the Assembly is also to renew our faith in

each other and in our common values and destiny.

We strongly endorse the President’s five priority

issues of climate change, financing for development,

achieving the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), countering terrorism, and the United Nations

reform agenda. To complement efforts in other forums,

Papua New Guinea with other countries of the Pacific

region has agreed to pool our limited resources under

the Pacific Plan, in order to address, as the basis of our

cooperation, many of these same issues, in particular,

sustainable development, climatic change and regional

integration.

Let me turn now to an issue which my country

feels strongly about: climate change. To be clear, we

are very concerned to see certain industrialized nations

attempting to avoid responsibility for their own carbon

emissions and shifting the focus to developing nations.

Only after industrialized nations take responsibility for

the consequences of their own actions will the pathway

become clear for lasting solutions.

However, as developing countries, we are willing

to contribute equitably towards a sustainable future.

During my earlier statements at the high-level event on

climate change, I put forward key principles needed to

guide future international agreements on climate

change after the year 2012.

The time for leadership is now. If we are to defeat

this self-inflicted calamity, we must succeed in six key

areas: we must construct a shared vision for lower

global greenhouse gas concentrations; we must

aggressively deepen reduction commitments by

industrialized countries; we must create more

mechanisms to provide positive incentives for

developing countries; we must launch a global

framework to reduce emissions from deforestation and

degradation; we must scale up adaptation financing for

future generations; and we must mobilize sufficient

and sustainable resources to support positive incentives

and adaptation.

The science is clear. Our planet is in distress. As

co-inhabitants of this world, we all must address the

root causes of the problem. To succeed, leadership is

required on both sides of the economic divide.

Together, and only together, we can grasp the

challenges before us and construct a sustainable future.

Papua New Guinea supports the ongoing reforms

in the United Nations Secretariat. In order to

strengthen it to better address some of the key

challenges facing the membership, reform should

reflect the geopolitical, economic and social realities of

today, taking into particular account the different levels

of development facing the membership. Above all, the

reform must be fair and equitable.

Global trade today is uneven and characterized

more by unfair trade practices by those already holding

decided advantages than by the opportunities it offers

to developing countries like Papua New Guinea. Our

efforts to develop a more equitable trading order are

hampered by the reluctance of our developed partners

to open their economies and engage in genuine

development discussions.

The Doha Round of negotiations are at a critical

juncture. We need to collectively ensure that those

negotiations are revived so that different trade needs of

its members are addressed.

Papua New Guinea has moved forward from an

export-driven economic growth strategy to a policy of

economic consolidation and empowerment. Its core

policy objective is to provide every Papua New

Guinean equal opportunity to build home, community

and country. To achieve this, strong emphasis will be

placed on agriculture, which has always been the

mainstay of our rural populace. Along with this aim,

relevant infrastructure will be built to support that

important sector.

The country’s five-year medium-term development

strategy is being reviewed to strengthen its alignment

with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

Achieving the MDGs by 2015 is a challenge that

requires our collective input in its implementation.

We call on development partners, including the

United Nations, to play a supportive role in

implementing and sustaining these activities. That can

be done through fair trade opportunities, equitable

markets, increased foreign investment, transfer of

technology, capacity-building and providing quality

overseas development assistance.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a serious threat to

social and economic security in many of our countries.

Greater efforts must be made to arrest it. In Papua New

Guinea, my Government has passed HIV/AIDS

legislation underpinned by a comprehensive HIV/AIDS

policy framework. We consider HIV/AIDS to be a

development issue and deal with it separately from

other health issues. But our experience suggests that

national action alone is not enough. A concerted global

response is required. HIV/AIDS is a threat that must be

addressed on all fronts and by all countries. We thank

the United Nations and its related agencies for their

efforts in addressing HIV/AIDS. We also thank former

President of the United States, Mr. Bill Clinton, for his

contribution to this work in my country.

Of equal importance are the battles against

malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.

While, as a global community, we have focused on

HIV/AIDS and avian flu, little attention is given to

malaria, which remains the biggest killer disease in my

country. We therefore thank Mr. Bill Gates for

assistance given to research work on malaria in Papua

New Guinea. We call upon development partners to

support Papua New Guinea and other countries in

addressing these challenges.

Despite many United Nations resolutions, the

conflict in the Middle East remains unresolved. Papua

New Guinea appeals to all parties to the conflict,

including those Powers that have the capacity to

influence a positive outcome, to make the necessary

concessions for a peaceful resolution to this long-

standing issue. We appeal to all parties to make full use

of the dispute-settlement procedures of the United

Nations.

The work of the Special Committee on

Decolonization remains unfinished. There are still 16

Non-Self-Governing Territories some in the

Pacific that have yet to exercise their right to self-

determination. The forthcoming referendum in Tokelau

demonstrates once again the true spirit of cooperation

between Tokelau and New Zealand. We congratulate

both Governments and assure the people of Tokelau of

our respect for their ultimate decision. In the same

vein, we hope that other Administering Powers will

follow the example of New Zealand and assist other

territories reach a decision of their choice.

While our world today provides untold

opportunities, we are at the same time faced with many

complex challenges. We must renew our commitment

to and faith in the United Nations and seek to reform it

in ways that are reflective of the realities of today.

Thirty-two years ago, when I brought my nation to take

its seat in the General Assembly, I said, and wish to

reaffirm today, that, within the limits of our resources,

Papua New Guinea will play an active and positive role

in the United Nations. That commitment remains.