Vietnam, 2013

It is a distinct honour for me to address this forum.

I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to

Mr. John Ashe on his assumption of the presidency of

the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. I am

certain that under his leadership, the Assembly will

successfully define the post-2015 development agenda

at this session. I would also like to express my deepest

respect to the Secretary-General for his significant

contributions to the continuing work of the United

Nations.

Over the past 100 years, the miraculous advances

of science and technology have changed our world

profoundly, making it appear smaller. People’s lives

have improved. Yet along with those accomplishments

have come latent dangers. The long-standing dream

shared by people across the world of living a safe,

peaceful, prosperous and happy life free from hunger

remains far from achieved.

Humankind yearns for peace, so why is it that

many regions remain under the constant threat of

disputes, conflicts and wars? The global economy is

growing, so how is it that billions of people still live in

abject poverty? Science and technology have brought

about outstanding advancement, so why have natural

disasters, epidemics and pollution become increasingly

severe and unpredictable? Those questions impose an

enormous responsibility on all of us, as the community

of nations.

Throughout history, wars have destroyed many

civilizations. In only the past 100 years, two world

wars and many others — including that in Viet

Nam — have cost millions of lives and produced

devastating consequences over generations. While

peace, cooperation and development are the dominant

trend, the threat of war is ever present.

Violence in the Middle East and North Africa is of

grave concern. The latest instance in Syria, involving

the use of chemical weapons, needs to be strongly

condemned. We must give peace every possible chance

and find solutions to eliminate chemical weapons, in

accordance with international law and United Nations

resolutions.

Unpredictable developments in the Korean

peninsula persist. Territorial disputes still rage in the

East China Sea and South China Sea. Just one single

incident or ill-conceived act could trigger conflict, or

even war.

In the East China Sea, through which over half

of the world’s shipping passes, maintaining maritime

security and freedom of navigation is critical, not only

to the region but to the world. Viet Nam consistently

pursues a policy of peaceful resolution of disputes to

defend its legitimate interests and fully respect those of

the global community, in accordance with international

law, the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law

of the Sea, the Declaration on the Conduct of Parties

in the South China Sea, other regional agreements, and

efforts to elaborate a code of conduct.

Ho Chi Minh used the words of Thomas Jefferson

in Viet Nam’s Declaration of Independence:

“All men are created equal. They are endowed

by their Creator with certain inalienable rights;

among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of

happiness”.

All human life is precious, irrespective of race, religion

or gender. Taking a single life causes heart-breaking

pain to any family, be it here in Manhattan or far away

in a remote corner of the Earth. Therefore, any effort

to prevent conflict must be valued and supported. Any

effort to preserve peace must be fully exhausted. Any

act to provoke war must be condemned and stopped. A

physician must do whatever is possible to cure a patient

if there is but a glimpse of life left. And we must devote

all of our efforts to preserving peace if there is but a

feeble sign that war can be averted, for war will take the

life of not only one, but many people, including many

women and children.

Peace can be built and preserved only when

all countries respect each other’s independence,

sovereignty and cultural traditions, without imposing

one’s own morality on another. Conflict and war can be

averted only if we eliminate actions that run counter to

the Charter of the United Nations and international law,

dominance and power politics.

Strategic trust among nations must be constantly

nurtured with honesty, sincerity and concrete actions.

In the lifting of the embargo against Cuba or the

recognition of the right of the Palestinian people to

self-determination, for example, the role of the United

Nations and the Security Council should be promoted.

The international community expects the major Powers

to set an example for others in peacebuilding. The

Security Council should be the fulcrum in building

consensus for driving all nations to join hands in

preserving peace. The deadly hand of war, conflict,

terrorism and violence lies in wait to take the lives

of hundreds, thousands or even millions of innocent

people. Let us not offer war a hand or look away. Let

us stop it.

I share the Secretary-General’s view that the

Millennium Development Goals are our most successful

endeavour against hunger and poverty to date, but let us

not forget that close to 40 per cent of global wealth rests

in the hands of no more than 1 per cent of the world’s

population. The gap between rich and poor continues

to widen. Over 1 billion people still live in extreme

poverty. Hundreds of millions of people, especially

children, continue to be hungry and food insecure,

ill and without basic medicines, and they face a grim

future due to the lack of educational opportunities.

At the same time, deforestation, exhaustive

exploitation of natural resources, pollution and other

factors have led to global warming, rising sea levels,

unpredictable weather, natural disasters and new

epidemics. Those grave dangers are driving poorer

nations into deeper destitution.

We must rally together to escape poverty, fight

disease, protect the environment, respond to natural

disasters and build a greener and more just world.

Poor countries and peoples need to lift themselves out

of poverty with the help of wealthier people and more

developed countries. That help must arise not only from

a sense of philanthropy — as we say in Viet Nam, whole

leaves wrap torn ones — but above all from a sense of

responsibility and understanding of our joint destiny.

After all, poorer people and nations have contributed

to the wealth of richer nations and people, and they

deserve a more prosperous future.

I urge the global community to craft, with a sense

of responsibility and humanity, an ambitious post-

2015 development agenda and to redouble our efforts

to promote peace, to end hunger and poverty and to

protect our planet. Together we can develop a road map

of actions for poorer nations to effectively participate

in international agreements and institutions and to

face and overcome global challenges and dangers in

the spirit of the motto adopted by Alexandre Dumas’s

musketeers — “One for all and all for one”.

As a Vietnamese, what I have shared with the

Assembly comes from experiences soaked in sweat

and blood. Just a few decades ago, the very name “Viet

Nam” was synonymous with war, division, blood and

tears. A remote country called Viet Nam suffered

15 million tons of bombs — four times the amount used

in the Second World War. Each Vietnamese bore nearly

10 times his or her weight in bombs, not to mention our

population’s suffering from over 70 million litres of the

silent but deadly Agent Orange/dioxin compound.

According to a traditional Vietnamese expression,

benevolence triumphs over brutality and virtue drives

out tyranny. With courageous sacrifice and creativity

and with the support of peace-loving people, nations

and international organizations, Viet Nam has defended

its independence, united and rebuilt from the ashes of

war, and left the past behind to become an active and

responsible member of the international community.

Viet Nam has integrated the Millennium Development

Goals into the formulation and implementation of our

development strategy, and it has balanced economic

development and social security. We have received a

United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization

award for our outstanding achievements in poverty

reduction, Because we consider people the goal

and centre of development, Viet Nam pays special

attention to providing health care, education and the

means of communication even for people in remote,

underdeveloped areas and among our ethnic minorities.

Viet Nam is working actively with other members of

the Association of Southeast Asian Nations community

to build it into a common house for all South-East

Asian nations that were once deeply divided by war.

That work vividly embodies our aspirations to a bright

future of peace, cooperation and prosperity, to unity in

diversity, and to the accomplishment of the Millennium

Development Goals.

Having survived devastating wars of aggression

and extreme poverty, our aspirations to peace and

prosperity burn ever more brightly. We are committed

to doing more to participate in peacebuilding, poverty

reduction, environmental protection and other efforts.

We stand ready to join United Nations peacekeeping

operations. We are willing to share our resources and

experience as a tribute to the international friends who

have supported us in our struggle for independence,

unification and poverty reduction.

Viet Nam remains and always will be a reliable

partner and responsible member of the international

community. In the area of food, for example, Viet

Nam, a country that has traditionally suffered from

hunger, has become a leading rice exporter. We have

achieved national food security but consider it our

responsibility to help maintain global food security.

We not only export, but also help countries to become

self-reliant in food production, as we have done in

Cuba, Mozambique, Angola, Mali, Madagascar,

Myanmar and elsewhere. We hope developed countries

and international organizations will participate in

supporting similar programmes as a meaningful and

substantive multiparty model of cooperation.

I am deeply convinced that the post-2015

development agenda will be created and finalized

for a world free from war and hunger and devoted to

peace and cooperation, for sustainable development

and prosperity for humankind, and for our evergreen

planet. Viet Nam commits itself to that purpose.