Allow me to extend warm
greetings to the President of the General Assembly
upon the assumption of his duties at the sixty-ninth
session. I also recognize the exemplary stewardship of
Mr. John Ashe, the outgoing President, and record our
appreciation of the Secretary-General’s stewardship of
the Organization during these difficult times.
What defines the great communities of our times
is their ability to overcome the unexpected and to
persevere and adapt to changing realities — from the
daunting effects of climate change and the ever-pressing
challenges of poverty and want to the uncontrollable
spread of disease. Communities everywhere are striving
to overcome such obstacles. When communities are
subject to challenges that are impossible to bear, they
think beyond the realm of possibilities and begin
seeking different answers to the same questions. That
is when they nurture their ability to bounce back
from adversity, shock and threats. The ultimate goal
of fostering resilience is to overcome the unexpected.
Sustainability is about managing, but resilience is
about thriving.
For the past eight decades, the Maldives has been
on a journey to consolidate democracy. Last year,
our democracy faced unprecedented challenges. Yet
we were able to overcome those hurdles entirely by
peaceful means. Even though it sometimes felt as if
we were quite alone in this fight, we are proud of what
we have achieved. We take pride in the fact that our
democracy is home-grown. Our systems are organic.
Our young institutions, as in the older democracies
of the world, are gradually settling into patterns and
traditions that are unique to our string of islands and in
harmony with our Islamic heritage and our traditions.
Our experience clearly shows that holding elections
or introducing a multiparty political system does not
instil democratic values in a society. Democracy
cannot be traced in the pages of laws. The only way
for a new home-grown democracy to achieve resilience
is to shift the way its people think. A transformation
in their normative framework is necessary. Democratic
values need to find a place in the hearts and minds
of the people. The Government of President Abdulla
Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the people of the Maldives
are determined to achieve a modern and authentic
Maldivian democratic State.
Promoting and protecting human rights is central
to Maldivian democracy. Our Constitution is very
clear on what those rights entail. Yet with every right
come responsibilities. It has been a daunting challenge
to make human rights a way of life. That is why the
Maldives advocates cultivating a culture of respect for
human rights. Policies need to be rights-based. People
need to be rights-minded.
People must lie at the heart of every decision we
make and every policy we adopt. The ultimate goal of
every action must be to improve the lives of our people.
The Government of President Yameen has embarked
on an ambitious programme aimed at realizing the
full potential of our young people. The goal of the
Government is to create opportunities that would help
to unleash their creativity. Young people are the future
of any country, and, without the full realization of their
productive capabilities, countries cannot prosper.
A few days ago, the United Nations marked an
important milestone: the twentieth anniversary of the
adoption of the Programme of Action of the International
Conference on Population and Development. Today, we
celebrate the achievement of many of the goals of that
Programme — most notably, low maternal and infant
mortality rates, gender parity in school enrolment and
equal pay for equal work.
Next year, we will celebrate the twentieth
anniversary of the adoption of another important
document, the Beijing Platform for Action. It is a fact,
not mere speculation, that for building resilience and
building sustainable societies, women’s contributions
are a necessity. Women have achieved remarkable
progress since the Beijing Platform. Maldivian women
are among the most emancipated in South Asia, with
no structural barriers to education, employment or
mobility. Still, much remains to be achieved. Just as
an example, I ask the Assembly to think back over
the past week of general debate. How many women
spoke at this rostrum? How many countries can claim
to have achieved parity between men and women
at decision-making levels? In the Maldives, we are
committed to empowering women and have adopted a
zero-tolerance policy towards violence against women.
The resilience of our people in overcoming adversity
in their lives is rooted in their ability to rise up from
the fear of want and the fear of need. The Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) were framed to do just
that. The MDGs committed to a new partnership to
reduce extreme poverty, halt the spread of HIV/AIDS
and provide primary education for all. The MDGs set
benchmarks and gave targets to Governments. Those
targets enabled them to plan effectively. The MDGs,
though remarkable for their time, were limited and are
now reaching their expiry date. We ardently believe that
the post-2015 development agenda must be inclusive,
transparent and people-centred. The new development
agenda should succeed where the MDGs failed.
At times, the violence, bloodshed, conflict and
upheaval that we witness on a daily basis seem
unbearable. In July 2014, we watched with grief the
horrendous attack on the Gaza Strip — another in a
countless cycle of aggression and brutality. Our hearts
bleed for the countless children who lost their lives, the
mothers who lost their children, the nation and the State
of Palestine, which lost countless citizens. After the
global outcry and the outpouring of condemnation, the
guns have stopped firing and the bombs have stopped
dropping. The world seems to have moved on to the next
crisis. The news cycles have found their next headline.
Yet, we recall here again, the siege is not over. The
blockade has not ended. Gaza has been destroyed and
its development set back several years. Palestinians are
still being denied their right to a sovereign nation of
their own, to their own lands and to the fruits of their
labour. Palestinian children are being denied a right to
determine their own destiny. Are we willing to let that
continue? We must do more to help realize the dream
of peace in the Middle East and a two-State solution.
We must resume peace talks with a clear goal and an
endpoint in mind.
The biggest challenge to our development and our
way of life is ignorance, violence, subjugation and
perpetual poverty. Misinformed yet talented young
people can easily be lured into fanaticism, radicalism
and extremism. Islam’s identity as a religion that
supports innovation, knowledge and scholarship is
slowly eroding away. The golden era of our religion is
almost forgotten.
Today, the world has a choice to make. Should we
allow extremists to shape our future? Or should we take
decisive actions to defeat the extremist ideologies? Our
answer to those questions will define the way in which
we deal with the so-called Islamic State and other
terrorist groups. Not only are those groups un-Islamic,
they are anti-Islamic. They are terrorist organizations,
not religious groups. Islam, our great religion of
peace, compassion and tolerance, is being hijacked by
radical and extremist elements to perpetuate hatred
and violence. We, the Government and the people of
Maldives, condemn in the strongest terms those groups,
their ideologies and their activities. We join our fellow
Muslims around the world in saying “not in my name”.
The unique challenges faced by small island
developing States are well known. Climate change
exacerbates those challenges. We remain hopeful that
a legally binding treaty will be agreed to next year in
Paris. The Maldives stands ready to do all it can to
make this hope a reality, for the sake of our children
and our nation.
Earlier this month, we agreed to a new highway
for development, the Small Island Developing States
Accelerated Modalities of Action Pathway. We commend
Samoa for its leadership in setting the vision for a new
gateway for small States. To make the partnership
enduring, we need the small island developing States to
make their voices heard and to be united in the quest.
The Maldives has therefore been inspired to take the
lead in forming the Alliance of Small Island States for
the purpose of facing the challenges of post-2015 and
beyond. We call on others to join us in that journey.
Nine days ago, on 21 September, we celebrated
49 years of membership in the United Nations. The
Maldives joined the United Nations a mere 58 days
after independence — we were the smallest Member
State at the time. As we look forward to celebrating
50 years of membership in 2015, the Maldives is happy
to note that the United Nations has served us well. We
joined the United Nations in 1965, amid questions over
the viability of small States. In the past 49 years, the
Maldives has taken the lead in showing the world that
small States are not only viable, but in fact valuable in
finding common solutions to common problems. Today,
at the United Nations, we continue to prove that small
States can also lead and that it is not size but smart
ideas that make a nation’s destiny.