Portugal, 2014

At the outset, I

should like to congratulate the President on his election,

which testifies to the strong commitment of Africa to

the United Nations and to multilateralism. I also wish

to express my appreciation for the dedication to the

Assembly of his predecessor Ambassador John Ashe. I

reiterate my gratitude to the Secretary-General for his

leadership at the helm of our Organization and for his

relentless efforts in favour of peace in such a difficult

and complex time in international life. I commend him

also for convening the Climate Summit, which has

renewed political support for the achievement in 2015 of

a fair, universal and legally binding climate agreement.

Portugal, and the European Union as a whole, will

continue to work tirelessly and in an inclusive manner

towards the achievement of that goal.

During this session, we face the enormous challenge

of renewing and building upon the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs), with a view to adopting

the post-2015 development agenda. The President may

count on the support and commitment of Portugal on that

and other issues and in the ongoing work of the General

Assembly, which is the first home of multilateralism

and of legitimate international collective action. The

commitment of Portugal to the United Nations, to the

Charter and to its principles and values is firm, resolute

and enduring.

At this Assembly session, Portugal is a candidate

for the Human Rights Council for the 2015-2017 term.

We hope to have the support of all members in the

upcoming election. If elected, Portugal will be serving

for the first time as a member of such an important

body.

Last April Portugal underwent its second Universal

Periodic Review by the Human Rights Council. Our

positive national human rights record was widely

acknowledged. Portugal has actively participated in

multilateral human rights forums, in particular in the

Human Rights Council, submitting annual resolutions

on the right to education and on economic, social and

cultural rights. We hope to be able to make an even

greater contribution to the Human Rights Council over

the coming three years, as we deeply believe in the

Council’s ability to strengthen the capacity of States to

comply with their human rights obligations.

In that context, Portugal has submitted a bold set of

pledges and commitments that will guide the discharge

of our mandate with the purpose of promoting and

protecting the universality, indivisibility, inalienability

and interdependence of all human rights — civil,

cultural, economic, political and social. Through our

actions during our last mandate in the Security Council,

in 2011 and 2012, we demonstrated that consistently

promoting and upholding human rights was a priority

for us. If elected to the Human Rights Council, Portugal

will engage in its work, fully committed to a strong,

independent and effective multilateral human rights

system. Portugal is in fact a party without reservations

to eight core United Nations human rights treaties and

all their optional protocols.

We continue to witness events that we expected to

see eradicated in the twenty-first century — large-scale

human rights violations, the deprivation of vast

populations of their most elementary dignity, and a

disregard for basic international principles such as the

territorial integrity and sovereignty of States. Today

the Charter of the United Nations remains as relevant

as it was 69 years ago. In order to deal with the crises

we face today we must base our search for fair, legal

and lasting solutions on the generous and ambitious

principles and norms of the Charter. The Charter

offers the necessary institutional mechanisms, but their

functioning and effectiveness depend on the political

will of all Members of the Organization.

Terrorist, extremist and radical groups deserve our

most vehement repudiation and condemnation. They

constitute, in the first instance, a threat to States and to

the populations of the territories in which they are based.

They also present a risk to regional and global peace,

security and stability. That menace requires concerted

and firm responses from the international community.

The self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and Syria

(ISIS) is a sinister example of that kind of criminal and

barbaric action. It must be fought and neutralized. The

Security Council summit and resolution 2178 (2014),

which it adopted on the worrying phenomenon of

foreign terrorist fighters, were important steps in that

direction.

The Middle East continues to require special

attention. In Iraq we have been witnessing inhumane

terrorist actions targeting defenceless populations,

victimizing mainly women, children and persons

belonging to ethnic and religious minorities. The

situation in Iraq cannot be disconnected from the

prolonged conflict in Syria, where the levels of violence

and suffering are, by their dimension and duration,

beyond words. All parties must assume responsibility

for finding a political transition to a democratic and

pluralistic society.

Once again we come to the Assembly without

progress in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The

expectations that we all shared here a year ago have been

dashed. The recurring cycle of hostilities must come

to an end. The conflict we saw in Gaza this summer

must not happen again. I wish to take this opportunity

to congratulate Egypt for brokering the ceasefire and to

recognize the efforts of other regional and international

partners, including the Secretary-General and United

States Secretary of State John Kerry.

There will be no lasting peace or stability in

the Middle East without a solution to that issue. I

reiterate my country’s support for a solution based on

United Nations resolutions, establishing a sovereign,

independent and viable Palestinian State, living side by

side with the State of Israel, whose legitimate security

concerns must be guaranteed.

The positive signs that we saw a year ago regarding

the Iranian nuclear programme were confirmed with

the signing of the Joint Plan of Action in Geneva. A

new political impetus is now needed. Portugal supports

and encourages the ongoing negotiations with a view to

a comprehensive agreement.

The events of 2010 and 2011 in Northern Africa

had an unprecedented political, economic and social

impact. The countries there are now confronted with

significant challenges with regard to the consolidation

of political reforms, sustainable economic growth and

security. Portugal is currently co-chairing the Western

Mediterranean Forum, also known as the 5+5 Dialogue,

which brings together 10 countries from the northern

and southern shores of the Mediterranean. We wish

to strengthen the contribution of that platform to the

enhancement of cooperation and confidence-building

among its countries.

Libya is an important partner in that Forum, and it

is with great concern that we see the deterioration of the

situation in that country. The international community

must give its assistance to the political transition

process, but it is paramount that all Libyan stakeholders

commit to an inclusive, genuine and fruitful national

dialogue.

In Europe, the Ukrainian crisis and the illegal

annexation of Crimea brought back tensions that we

thought were outdated. We welcome the ceasefire

agreement and appeal for its full implementation.

Portugal encourages the parties actively to seek a

lasting political solution that respects the sovereignty,

territorial integrity, unity and democracy in Ukraine.

Africa is a significant partner for Portugal.

African States are not only political partners but also,

increasingly, business and investment partners in a

relationship based on parity and mutual benefits, which

drive job creation and economic development. While

fully respecting Africa’s ownership, we also seek to

contribute to international efforts, notably those of

the United Nations, aimed at stabilizing conflicts or

preventing security risks in Africa. Therefore, Portugal

is participating in the United Nations Multidimensional

Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. We also stand

ready to engage in multinational efforts to strengthen

security in the Gulf of Guinea, and we are willing

to cooperate in the reinforcement of the maritime

capacities of the countries of the region.

In recent months we have received good news from

the Republic of Guinea-Bissau, a friendly country and

member of the Community of Portuguese-speaking

Countries (CPLP). The restoration of constitutional

order, the holding of free elections and the inauguration

of legitimate democratic institutions, two years after the

April 2012 coup d’état, are surely praiseworthy signs of

hope. The enormous socioeconomic difficulties and the

recurrent and severe political instability that Guinea-

Bissau has been suffering for a decade and a half did

not prevent the people from electing their new leaders

through free, transparent and orderly elections.

The opportunity to turn the page of history must

now be seized. The people of Guinea-Bissau and the

authorities are taking the right steps. Consolidating the

progress achieved requires support from the international

community. International partners can and must play a

decisive role in areas such as financial assistance and

building technical capacity, underpinning the priorities

identified by Guinea-Bissau. Further, we believe that a

stabilization force based on the Economic Community

of West African States (ECOWAS) Mission in Guinea-

Bissau, possibly enlarged to incorporate new African

partners and mandated by the United Nations, would

be appropriate. Therefore we welcome the initiatives

supporting Guinea-Bissau undertaken by the United

Nations, together with, in particular, the African Union,

the CPLP, ECOWAS and the European Union.

At the Millennium Summit, Heads of State and

Government made the historic and inspiring decision

to adopt the Millennium Development Goals. We now

have the responsibility to accelerate the achievement

of those Goals while at the same time preparing

a new development agenda. Portugal is strongly

committed to the definition of that new agenda. We

need a transformative new global partnership that

mainstreams human rights and combats inequalities. It

should also promote peaceful, stable and just societies,

advancing also the important issues of population and

development. Universality and shared responsibility

are key concepts in that regard. But the universality of

the post-2015 agenda should not be synonymous with

insensitivity to the specificities of the least developed

and most vulnerable countries, such as small island

developing States.

New challenges such as climate change, illicit

trafficking, piracy and pandemics are major threats

in today’s world. The outbreak of Ebola in Western

African countries demands strong, combined efforts by

the international community to contain and eradicate

that plague. Portugal is participating in the current

urgent global effort, notably in Guinea and in the

framework of the United Nations operation.

Despite the efforts of previous Presidents, the

reform of the Security Council has not yet happened.

Portugal’s position on that subject is well known. In

spite of persistent differences of approach among the

membership, we must not give up. Together we must

find a solution, making the Security Council a body

more representative of today’s world. The seventieth

anniversary of the United Nations is an opportunity to

bring about Security Council reform.

Portugal is by tradition a seafaring nation and has

recently adopted a new national maritime strategy

focusing on blue growth. We actively support United

Nations efforts for the sustainable management of

the oceans and their resources, and we co-chair the

working group that will complete the first global report

of the marine environment. We advocate the adoption

of an international instrument, in the framework of

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea,

on the conservation and sustainable use of marine

biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction. In

June 2015 Portugal will organize a major international

event on oceans, the “Blue Week”, to promote debate

on maritime issues in all their dimensions. We look

forward to broad participation in that event.

The Portuguese language is the principal link that

brings together the States belonging to the Community

of Portuguese-speaking Countries. It is a vehicle for

global communication spoken by about 250 million

people in their everyday lives, in commerce, trade,

business, culture and social networks. It is also an

official or working language in various international

organizations, including specialized agencies of the

United Nations. The CPLP has the ambition of having

Portuguese as an official language of the United Nations.

The summit in Dili last July confirmed the vitality of

the CPLP. On that occasion Timor-Leste assumed the

presidency of the Community, thus lending a whole

new dimension and scope to the CPLP by having its

presidency located for the first time in Asia.

I would be remiss not to refer to the fact that on

20 November we will be celebrating the twenty-fifth

anniversary of the United Nations Convention on

the Rights of the Child. Portugal is a party to that

instrument without reservations, as well as to its three

Optional Protocols. I take this opportunity to call for

the universal ratification of the Convention and its

Optional Protocols.

During this sixty-ninth session we will also have

before us a new draft resolution on establishing a

moratorium on the use of the death penalty. We hope

the draft resolution continues to enjoy significant and

increased support this year.

If we become a member of the United Nations

Human Rights Council as we hope, we will act in

accordance with the principles of cooperation and

dialogue. We will engage with all States and other

stakeholders in order to build bridges for the full

implementation of human rights norms and standards.

If we garner the trust of the Assembly, it will be a

privilege to work, as a Council member, with the new

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,

Prince Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, to whom I reiterate our

full support. I also wish to pay a special tribute to the

former High Commissioner, Ms. Navi Pillay, for her

outstanding job, often accomplished in particularly

difficult circumstances.

I conclude with a reference to the First World

War, a tragic event mentioned at the very beginning

of the United Nations Charter when it affirms the

determination “to save succeeding generations from the

scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought

untold sorrow to mankind”. As we mark the centenary

of the First World War and prepare the celebration

of the seventieth anniversary of our Organization,

we must bear in mind and reflect carefully on those

words of the Charter. The President can count on

Portugal’s commitment to the purposes and principles

of the Charter in the pursuit of peace, development and

respect for all human rights.