Portugal, 2010

I

wish to begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your

election as President of the General Assembly. The

Assembly is the central body of the United Nations

architecture. Here, all Member States are truly

represented and each has a vote, irrespective of its size,

population or economic power. Here is where the

central decisions that determine the functioning of the

other bodies are made. Here, we are all permanent

members, embodying the principle of the sovereign

equality of all States.

Here in the General Assembly, Portugal is guided

by the objective of doing its best to strengthen the

United Nations. There are no true alternatives to the

Organization. Its unique role in managing international

relations is more evident than ever, and it is our duty to

further enhance this role in order to attain a progressive

and solid strengthening of the United Nations. I repeat,

there are no alternative mechanisms to the United

Nations. For this reason, all Member States should

work to reinvigorate the Organization.

Portugal is guided by the principles of national

independence, respect for human rights, equality

among States, peaceful solutions to conflicts and

international cooperation as the main elements that

drive development and the progress of humankind.

These principles are all inscribed in the Portuguese

Constitution.

These are also the purposes and principles of the

United Nations Charter. Allow me to underline some of

them, which today are more important than ever:

maintaining international peace and security, the

development and progress of all peoples, friendly

relations among all nations based on sovereign

equality, international cooperation in solving

economic, cultural and humanitarian crises and the

promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms.

The maintenance of international peace and

security, is surely one of the noblest of our objectives.

The Charter defines the way we, the United Nations,

should act together to prevent or remove threats to

peace and how to respond to acts of aggression or other

violations of our universal principles.

Portugal has been an active contributor to United

Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations in

Europe, Asia, Africa and Oceania. Our efforts have

always been global and generous. Tens of thousands of

Portuguese have participated in peace operations. We

are now present in places as diverse as Afghanistan,

South Lebanon, Timor-Leste, the Western Balkans,

Chad and the Democratic Republic of Congo.

We participate in United Nations peacekeeping

operations and other missions according to our means

and, quite frequently, above and beyond what our size,

would require. Nevertheless, we continue doing it with

the firm conviction that collective security calls for

collective efforts. Moreover, the United Nations can

continue to count on the Portuguese contribution to this

collective endeavour.

Looking at the present challenges to international

peace and security, allow me to refer to the situation in

the Middle East, a conflict involving many negative

influences in the relations between several peoples and

cultures. The coming year will be critical to the peace

process. The choice is clear: peace or a return to

instability.

We welcome the return to direct negotiations

aimed at reaching a two-State solution. We all have to

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join efforts for the creation of an independent,

democratic, contiguous and viable Palestinian State

living side by side, in mutual peace and security, with

the State of Israel.

I would also like to mention Afghanistan where

the international community has assumed a firm

commitment to support reconstruction and

development. The results of the Kabul Conference will

have to be complemented at the upcoming NATO

summit in Lisbon, with a view to ensuring a

sustainable transition process, mainly led by the

Afghans themselves.

International peace and security require effective

multilateral action among United Nations bodies.

Effective multilateralism needs to be based on working

structures with which every Member State feels

comfortable. The United Nations is indispensable. It

alone is capable of confronting global threats, it alone

has the capacity to respond to acute natural disasters,

as we have seen in several recent situations, like the

Haitian earthquake or the Pakistan floods, and it alone

can effectively shelter and feed millions of refugees

worldwide, thanks to the outstanding work of the

Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees, led by

António Guterres, one of the most distinguished

Portuguese political leaders.

It is especially urgent to reform the United

Nations and to adapt it to today’s international realities.

Any reform must be based on the objectives that

inspired its creation. Its pivotal place at the centre of

the international architecture has to be preserved, for

the United Nations is the only forum where no one

feels excluded, the only body where all States,

including small and medium-sized countries, have their

own voice and their own say in solving global

problems.

The establishment of the Peacebuilding

Commission — an idea put forward by Portugal — was

a significant step in the reform process. But we also

have to look at the Security Council with a view to its

enlargement. I sincerely believe that we can all succeed

in reshaping the Council and making it more

representative, more efficient and more transparent.

Mr. Ould Hadrami (Mauritania), Vice-President,

took the Chair.

In our view, it is illogical that countries like

Brazil or India, which have an irreplaceable role in

today’s international economic and political life, are

still not permanent members of the Security Council.

Africa, as well, has to be considered in this

enlargement of the permanent membership. It is of the

utmost importance that Africa be fairly treated, given

the remarkable political and economic progress we all

have witnessed on that vast continent — continent with

which Portugal feels a permanent affinity. It is only

natural that we have been so closely linked to the

strengthening of relations between Africa and the

Europe Union (EU), having hosted the summit in

Lisbon where the Joint Africa-EU Strategy was

designed. We are now looking forward to the third

Africa-EU summit.

The implementation of the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) is urgent. Let me

congratulate the Secretary-General and the members of

the General Assembly on the results achieved at the

recent High-level Meeting. We are firmly committed to

applying the agreed political vision to mobilize efforts

to meet the targets over the next five years.

International stability cannot be achieved and

maintained without economic and social prosperity

worldwide. The present economic and financial

situation shows that we all benefit from common

solutions to global problems. In this context, I call for

a reinforced participation of developing countries and

regional groupings and communities in ongoing

debates, including the reform of the international

financial organizations and their interaction with the

United Nations system.

Another field where interdependence urges us to

act jointly is climate change. It is a matter of survival.

We shall do our part to ensure that the Cancún summit

is a step in the right direction. Portugal has consistently

worked to reduce its carbon footprint by investing

solidly in renewable energy. I am proud to be able to

announce that we have already met the target that my

country announced here last year. Portugal is already

producing 45 per cent of its electricity from local

renewable sources, and by 2020 it intends to reach

66 per cent. It now holds the fifth place in Europe —

and in the world — in terms of use of renewable

energy. It has the largest wind park in Europe — and

the second largest in the world — and it holds the

record for the highest amount of wind energy

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generated. It has the largest photovoltaic park in the

world and is a leader in the area of electric vehicles.

Portugal is now considered one of the 10 most

promising countries for energy investment.

Portugal has been sharing this experience and this

knowledge with a number of developing countries, and

we continue to intensify this cooperation through

concrete partnerships and technology transfer and

knowledge, supporting efforts towards adaptation and

mitigation, in accordance with the commitments made

in Copenhagen. Some of our partners are least

developed countries and small island developing

States. They are among those that pollute the least but

suffer the most from climate change. It is urgent that

the international community take the necessary

measures to reduce their vulnerability.

This year marks the beginning of the United

Nations Decade for Deserts and the Fight Against

Desertification. Portugal recognizes the right to water,

as well as the right to education, adequate housing and

health. Ensuring that every human being has access to

drinking water and adequate sanitation is also a good

way of accelerating the implementation of the

Millennium Development Goals.

My country, an independent State for almost

1,000 years, commemorates this year the centennial of

the Portuguese Republic. We are today a democracy

with solid credentials in terms of human rights and

their promotion worldwide. We firmly believe in the

rule of law and have learned through our own

experience that peace and prosperity are attainable only

when they are truly and freely shared by all States.

Portugal is also a country that is accustomed to

listening to its partners. We are members of the

European Union, the Atlantic Alliance, and the

Community of Portuguese-speaking Countries,

currently presided over by Angola, which I

congratulate. Portuguese is the fifth most widely

spoken language in the world and is present on all

continents. Portugal also participates in the Alliance of

Civilizations, a forum that is at the forefront of the

much-needed intercultural dialogue among regions,

which is ably led by Jorge Sampaio, former President

of my country.

Portugal’s action at the United Nations is rooted

in our capacity for open dialogue with every Member

State and in our ability to build bridges and forge

consensus. We always seek to defend our values

through dialogue, not by imposing our views. Our

attitude is not driven by any temporary need to please

some constituencies. We aspire to be judged by our

actions. This is our motivation for seeking active

participation in all United Nations bodies for which the

composition is rotational.

This universal vision of dialogue and openness to

the world characterizes our current candidature for a

non-permanent seat on the Security Council.

We belong to the United Nations because we

strongly believe in its values, objectives and

universality; because we maintain that mutual respect

should be the cornerstone of international action; and

because we think that the strengthening of the United

Nations and its activities is surely one of the most

noble and idealistic objectives of all those who, like

the Heads of State and Government participating here,

strive each and every day to achieve a better world.