Philippines, 2009

Allow me to warmly congratulate Mr. Ali Abdussalam

Treki on his well-deserved election to preside over the

General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I assure

him of the full cooperation of the Philippines as he

discharges the duties of his high office.

We are gathered here today, in this parliament of

nations, to find meaningful solutions to the conflicts

and crises facing our world today. Although there are

signs of global recovery, now is neither the time for

complacency nor for a return to business as usual. Our

drive to enhance global development has clearly

slowed, while the challenges to peace remain starkly

before us.

Through globalization, we have witnessed

unprecedented material progress and record poverty

alleviation. Yet the poorest 40 per cent of the world’s

population still live on less than $2 per day. Nor have

we resolved the climate change and food crises that

oppress hundreds of millions of human beings.

A large part of global development has been the

result of labour, including that of migrant workers.

However, despite their contributions to the global

economy, many migrants remain exposed to

exploitation and abuse. Moreover, the peace dividend

expected from the end of the cold war never

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materialized, while we continue to confront nuclear

proliferation and violent conflict. The shortage of aid

resources and instability in trade and investment are

generating a global development emergency. Many

nations will not attain the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). Development gains are being tragically

lost.

Our march of progress must not stall — not on

our watch and not while we have the will, the vision

and the means to build a better world inspired by a

shared commitment to justice, fairness,

non-discrimination, progress and peace. We should do

so by focusing on the five great challenges of our time.

The first challenge pertains to promoting nuclear

disarmament and non-proliferation. The second

involves managing the global crisis to encourage

equitable recovery, fairer globalization and faster

poverty alleviation. The third entails protecting and

promoting the rights of migrants, who continue to

contribute to global development and the well-being of

our societies. The fourth has to do with the taking of

urgent measures to effectively address the adverse

effects of climate change without further delay. And

the fifth has to do with reducing the number of

conflicts and expanding mutual understanding and

respect through greater interfaith and

inter-civilizational dialogue.

(spoke in English)

Nuclear weapons and their technology are a

threat to international peace and security, and the

Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is our central

mechanism to contain, and eventually eliminate, that

threat. The May 2010 NPT Review Conference, over

which the Philippines will preside, will be the next

opportunity for all of us to act on that matter in a

concerted manner. We can be encouraged by certain

recent developments on that front.

A constructive atmosphere prevailed during the

meetings of the Preparatory Committee for the Review

Conference. President Obama has announced that he

will lead the United States to ratify the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is another key

pillar of the global disarmament and NPT system. In

addition, the United States and Russia are making

headway, under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,

to reduce their deployed nuclear warheads and delivery

systems beyond the Treaty’s upcoming expiry in

December. In addition, the South-East Asia Nuclear-

Weapon-Free-Zone and other regional nuclear-weapon-

free zones are continuing to reinforce the NPT system.

Those positive developments inspire the Philippines in

steering the Review Conference to conduct

negotiations and consultations in an open and

transparent manner. In that spirit, we reiterate our call

for the few remaining countries that have not yet done

so to accede both to the CTBT and the NPT, in order to

give greater hope for lasting peace and security for our

world.

The global financial and economic crisis is

placing intolerable strain on the poorest of the poor and

undermining years of efforts to attain internationally

agreed development goals, including the MDGs, and to

combat ill-health and hunger. The crisis has been

accompanied by increases in unemployment, with

concomitant declining incomes and demand. The

International Labour Organization estimates that

unemployment could rise by 50 million by the end of

2009, thereby bringing the global unemployment rate

to more than 7 per cent.

The Philippines and many other nations are

implementing stimulus packages, accelerated

employment-generation programmes and enhanced

social safety nets. In the Philippines we have

strengthened our banking sector and fiscal position

through tough reforms that have blunted the full force

of the global crisis. The Philippines is one of the few

economies that continues to have positive growth in its

gross domestic product. However, we cannot ignore the

impact of the global crisis elsewhere in our

interdependent world. The Philippines therefore joins

other nations in the General Assembly in calling for a

united effort in the United Nations to act for the

common good of all our peoples.

The United Nations Conference on the World

Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on

Development, which was held in this very Hall last

June, presented Member States with lines of action that

we must take now to stimulate the global economy,

improve regulation and monitoring and reform

processes and institutions to prevent any recurrence of

the crisis.

We view the Global Jobs Pact put forward by the

International Labour Organization, which was endorsed

by the Economic and Social Council this past July, as

another important step towards recovering from the

crisis. We reiterate our call on all countries to resist

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protectionism in order to expand trade and investment

flows. We also call on developed nations to maintain

their commitments with regard to official development

assistance. Furthermore, the voice of the developing

world must now be fully heard in reforming

international financial and development institutions so

that we can forge a more equitable and stable global

economic system to avoid future crises.

Global migrants are among the groups most

adversely affected by the crisis. The international

community therefore has a shared responsibility to

ensure their protection, taking into full account the

special vulnerabilities of the gender and family

dimensions of the issue. The second Global Forum on

Migration and Development, which the Philippines was

privileged to chair in Manila, reinforced that important

message by focusing on the human face of migration

and on the human rights and empowerment of

migrants. We urge all nations to accede to the

International Convention on the Protection of the

Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their

Families, and to avoid unfair restrictions on, and unfair

treatment of, migrants.

We must carry the momentum of the Summit on

Climate Change, held here in New York, forward into

the negotiations under the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change on the road to

Copenhagen this December. The world expects nothing

less from us. The Philippines therefore calls on the

developed countries concerned to present their firm

post-Kyoto greenhouse gas emission targets, taking

into account the ideal levels suggested by the scientific

community. They must also assist developing countries

to mitigate and adapt to worsening climate change by

fulfilling their Framework Convention obligations to

provide technological and financial support. As a

coordinator of the G-77 in the talks, the Philippines

will continue to work with all parties to help to ensure

a positive outcome in Copenhagen.

The Philippines is doing its part to advance that

vital global agenda. We recently enacted a landmark

law to promote the development and use of renewable

energy resources, especially biofuels. Earlier this

month, the Philippines also hosted the International

Conference on Green Industry in Asia. The Manila

Declaration on Green Industry in Asia and the

Framework of Action adopted at the Conference

promote the integration of sustainable development

into industrial development processes for the transition

to resource-efficient and low-carbon industries. We

hope that elements of the Manila Declaration will

provide input for Copenhagen as well.

The international community must also focus on

the urgent need to reduce tension and conflict fuelled

by perceived differences between religions, faiths and

civilizations. If left unattended, such conflict can

fester, causing greater tension and untold human

suffering and violence, which extremists can exploit.

The urgency of the matter has prompted the Philippines

and many partner nations and organizations to promote

greater interfaith dialogue, both within the United

Nations system as well as at regional and national

levels. By building bridges of understanding, that

global advocacy enhances peace and development.

Every year, the Philippines has submitted to the

United Nations a draft resolution calling for

interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding

and cooperation for peace. The General Assembly has

always adopted it unanimously. Also at the United

Nations, we initiated the holding of the Ministerial

Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for

Peace, which includes countries from every region of

the world. In 2006, we also launched the global

Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace,

which is headquartered in New York and made up of 54

Governments, 15 United Nations agencies and 110

religious non-governmental organizations represented

at the United Nations. To reinforce that effort, the

Philippines will host the first special Non-Aligned

Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting on interfaith

dialogue and cooperation for peace and development in

Manila this December. We are pleased to invite all

United Nations Members and other interested nations

to that important seminal meeting.

(spoke in Spanish)

The spirit of multilateralism and prudent realism

also requires that we support United Nations

peacekeeping efforts. In crises and emergencies around

the world, we must do more collectively to alleviate

suffering and to help nations and communities to

achieve self-sustaining peace. The Philippines will

continue to be active in United Nations peacekeeping.

Indeed, the Philippines has become one of the largest

contributors of individual police officers to United

Nations peacekeeping operations. More than 600 of our

peacekeepers are serving with distinction around the

world. Next month, we will send a battalion in support

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of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force,

in the Golan Heights.

We stand on the cusp of history. It is in our hands,

here at the United Nations, to shape the changes and

trends necessary to bequeath to succeeding generations

a lasting legacy of a world of greater justice,

compassion and well-being. The Philippines is deeply

honoured to assist and cooperate with all nations in the

task of building a future where peace and prosperity

reign unceasingly for the benefit of all humankind.