Vietnam, 2011

On behalf of

the Vietnamese delegation, I wish to congratulate you,

Sir, on your unanimous election as President of the

General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session. I am

confident that your diplomatic skills and experience

will help to ensure the great success of the current

session. I would like to take this opportunity to express

my deep appreciation to Mr. Joseph Deiss for his

significant contributions to the fruitful outcome of the

sixty-fifth session.

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The Vietnamese delegation also wishes to

congratulate His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon on his

reappointment as Secretary-General. We believe that,

with the cooperation of Member countries, the

Secretary-General will make ever greater contributions

to the operations of the United Nations and, thus, to

global peace and development. We most warmly

welcome the Republic of South Sudan as the

193rd Member of the Organization.

Today, peace, cooperation and development

remain the over-arching themes of our time. Yet

tensions and conflicts persist in most continents and

regions, owing to unresolved differences within nations

and the threat and use of force. Climate change, natural

disasters, pandemics, transnational crime, the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and

international terrorism are still the challenges that

demand effective responses. The world economy’s

unstable recovery, coupled with economic downturns

in many developed nations, has exposed developing

countries to the risks of even more unequal terms of

trade, rising protectionism, dwindling financial

resources and the erosion of gains relating to the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Multilateral

negotiations on issues of common interest, such as

disarmament and climate change, have not yielded

results that meet our expectations.

The current situation compels nations to promote

dialogue and cooperation so as to surmount common

challenges, man-made and natural alike. Peace,

security and stability remain the intense desire of all

nations and are prerequisites for development. The key

to success lies in each nation’s own efforts, as well as

in enhanced international cooperation and

multilateralism based on respect for the fundamental

principles of international law and the Charter of the

United Nations, while taking into account the

legitimate interests of all countries, especially

developing ones. In that regard, Viet Nam commends

you, Mr. President, on the theme that you have

proposed for the general debate, namely, the peaceful

settlement of disputes.

As rightly pointed out by the Secretary-General,

never has the United Nations been so relevant and so

urgently needed by so many people around the world.

It must deliver concrete results that make a real

difference in the daily lives of the world’s people. With

its universal membership, the Organization

undoubtedly enjoys a unique legitimacy and should

thus be at the forefront of global governance and

multilateral cooperation.

Over the past several years, the United Nations

has played a crucial role in ending conflicts and

promoting peace processes in various regions. We

deeply value the initiatives that place the needs of the

poorest and most vulnerable at the centre of the

international agenda, as well as initiatives to mobilize

resources and capacities to fulfil internationally agreed

action plans, including the MDGs; facilitate

multilateral negotiations on climate change, as well as

on disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons

of mass destruction; provide solutions to such pressing

issues as desertification, non-communicable diseases,

nuclear safety and security; and respond to the global

financial and economic crisis. We cannot help

mentioning the efforts of the United Nations funds,

programmes and specialized agencies to establish

norms and set agendas in accordance with their

mandates, so as to assist developing countries in their

development endeavours.

At the same time, the international community

looks to the Organization as a source of inspiration and

strength, as a universal organization that can act

decisively to counter any tendency that may undermine

its credibility or contradict its fundamental values and

founding purposes and principles. The Organization is

therefore expected to uphold the values of peace and

security, international law and multilateralism. It is

also expected to become more responsive and effective

on the ground, with the ultimate objective of better

serving the needs and interests of Member States, in

particular the developing countries.

As world peace and security are always our top

priority, the United Nations should continue its

concerted and coherent efforts to promote the peaceful

settlement of civil wars and local conflicts in various

regions of the world, especially those in North Africa

and the Middle East, while preventing others from

erupting.

We must cultivate a culture of peace and dialogue

and promote the peaceful settlement of disputes. In that

regard, Viet Nam supports efforts to end violence and

strengthen national reconstruction and reconciliation in

Afghanistan and Iraq. As regards Palestine’s

application for full membership in the United Nations

Organization, Viet Nam wishes to underline the fact

that we recognized the State of Palestine in 1988. We

27 11-51670

have always supported the just struggle of the

Palestinian people for their inalienable rights,

including the right to establish an independent and

sovereign State that coexists peacefully with Israel

with the pre-June 1967 borders. In that spirit, we affirm

our strong support for Palestine’s efforts to soon

become a full United Nations Member.

We support United Nations efforts to translate the

outcomes of the 2010 Review Conference of the

Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons and the recently concluded High-

level Meeting on nuclear safety and security into

concrete results. We also support the Organization’s

efforts to revitalize the work of the Conference on

Disarmament and move multilateral disarmament

negotiations forwards.

In parallel with security concerns, the

international community, with the United Nations at

the centre, should work for more equal international

relations, a fairer international economic and financial

architecture and more just institutions. Developing

countries must have a greater role and say in

international governance. They should be enabled to

take part in the globalization process in a more

proactive and effective manner. Developed countries,

for their part, should deliver on their obligations and

commitments, including the maintenance of

macroeconomic stability, contribution to the successful

conclusion of the Doha Round, the elimination of

unfair trade measures and an increase in development

assistance.

Given the continued need to draw on the thinking

and action towards a more stable and healthy global

economic environment, we wish to recommend that the

United Nations convene a meeting in the General

Assembly or the Economic and Social Council to

follow up the Outcome of the Conference on the World

Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on

Development (resolution 63/303), which was held in

June 2009.

In the meantime, the United Nations should

undertake measures to prevent the unilateral use of

economic means against developing countries. Viet

Nam strongly calls for an end to the economic embargo

against the Republic of Cuba.

Moreover, to promote inclusive and sustainable

development, political commitment and efforts, with

the central coordinating role played by the United

Nations, must be doubled for the attainment of

equitable and sustainable development for all. Four

years from the agreed target date of 2015, it is essential

that the global partnership for development be

expanded, both in breadth and depth, so as to provide

countries in need with relevant policy experience,

resources and best practices to achieve the MDGs and

maintain the process thereof.

Equally important is to begin developing a vision

for a global development platform for the post-2015

period. We must also work much harder together to

ensure the fruitful outcomes of the forthcoming

seventeenth session of the Conference of Parties to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change in South Africa and the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development in Brazil.

Viet Nam is committed to working with other

Member States to revitalize the General Assembly as

the principal deliberative, policymaking and

representative organ, to enhance the overarching role

of the Economic and Social Council in the

development sphere, and to enlarge Security Council

membership and improve its working methods. We also

look forward to more coherent, consistent and effective

development activities of the United Nations system so

as to align them effectively with the national priorities

of recipient countries. In an effort to contribute to

United Nations reforms, Viet Nam has been active in

implementing the Delivering as One initiative and,

together with the United Nations and other partners,

has made tangible progress.

Viet Nam welcomes the adoption of resolution

65/281 on the review of the Human Rights Council. We

wish to stress that the operation of the Human Rights

Council and other United Nations human rights

mechanisms should continue to be improved in order to

become more effective, consistent and efficient, while

focusing more on dialogue and experience-sharing. To

further contribute to that end, we have presented Viet

Nam’s candidature for membership of the Human

Rights Council for the term 2013-2016.

The year 2011 is important for Viet Nam since we

have successfully organized the eleventh party

congress and the elections of State bodies. We have

also adopted a socio-economic development strategy

for the next decade. During the past 25 years of

comprehensive renewal, Viet Nam has made significant

achievements in many aspects and the country has

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integrated extensively into international life. We have

managed to establish and strengthen stable and long-

term frameworks of relations with major countries and

global and regional economic and political centres.

Building on those achievements, in the coming

period, Viet Nam is determined to comprehensively

step up the renewal process, with higher quality and

effectiveness, as well as national industrialization and

modernization, in combination with the development of

a knowledge-based economy.

In an effort to broaden and deepen our relations

with other countries, Viet Nam will continue an

independent foreign policy for peace, cooperation and

development. Viet Nam is a reliable friend and partner,

as well as a responsible member of the international

community, working for the prosperity of every nation,

national independence, global peace, democracy and

social progress.

We shall enhance international integration and

proactively participate in and contribute to regional

and international multilateral forums, such as the

United Nations, the Asia-Europe Meeting, the Asia-

Pacific Economic Cooperation, the Non-Aligned

Movement and the Group of 77 and China, on solving

global issues of nuclear security, nuclear disarmament,

crime prevention, climate change, sustainable

development and cooperation on the Mekong River.

Furthermore, we are always willing to share with

other countries our experiences in South-South and

tripartite cooperation, financing for development,

enhancing aid effectiveness and mainstreaming the

MDGs into national socio-economic strategies.

We shall work closely with the other members of

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

and other stakeholders for peace, stability, cooperation

and development in South-East Asia, East Asia and

beyond through ASEAN-led mechanisms and

instruments, such as the Treaty of Amity and

Cooperation in Southeast Asia, the South-East Asia

Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone, the ASEAN Regional

Forum and the East Asia Summit.

In that regard, Viet Nam welcomes and supports

contributions to peace and security in the Eastern Sea.

Like other ASEAN members, Viet Nam is strongly

committed to dialogue and confidence-building

mechanisms and stands ready to support and

participate in any effort to find peaceful settlements to

disputes, in accordance with international law,

including the 1982 United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea, and that are acceptable to all parties

concerned. Pending such a solution, we will, along

with the parties concerned, strictly observe the

Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the Eastern

Sea. We welcome the stated commitments to working

together towards the conclusion of a code of conduct in

the foreseeable future.

This year’s session of the General Assembly is

taking place at a crucial juncture as the world is faced

with daunting challenges. It is my firm belief that only

by undertaking joint efforts and enhancing multilateral

cooperation could we meet the expectations and

aspirations of our peoples and manage to set out the

right direction for the long-term development of the

United Nations. Viet Nam remains strongly committed

to that endeavour.