On behalf of
the Philippine Government, we offer our warmest
congratulations to Mr. Kutesa on his election as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-ninth
session. I assure him of the Philippines’ steadfast
support as he provides the leadership and inspiration
in the daunting task of continuing the pursuit of a
transformative and inclusive post-2015 development
agenda. In choosing the theme for his presidency, he
has positioned people at the centre of this development
agenda. This people-centred agenda is also at the core
of President Benigno S. Aquino III’s Social Contract
with the Filipino People, which is underpinned by a
regime of good governance.
I would like to address the following issues, which
are consistent with both the President’s Social Contract
and the United Nations post-2015 development agenda:
progress on the Millennium Development Goals; climate
change and disaster-risk reduction and management;
the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham; the
Ebola virus disease outbreak; peace, security and the
rule of law; disarmament, peacekeeping, migration,
the protection of women and children; and the call for
United Nations reforms.
Fourteen years ago, a shared vision of a decent and
secure life for all our peoples motivated us to adopt
the Millennium Development Goals. We all vowed to
undertake a mission to fight poverty and disease; grant
children of school age access to primary education;
improve gender equality, care for mothers and children;
provide our communities with safe drinking water;
protect our environment from further degradation;
and mobilize international partnerships and resources
to help those in great need. Today, based on the latest
report on the Millennium Development Goals, our
collective efforts have reduced by half the number of
people living in extreme poverty, provided over 2 billion
people with access to safe drinking water, and achieved
success in the fight against malaria and tuberculosis.
But, with one year to go, much remains to be done.
The Philippines’ scorecard shows that we have made
considerable progress in the areas of extreme poverty
eradication, under age 5 mortality, the fight against
both malaria and tuberculosis, access to safe drinking
water, and gender equality. Like many other developing
nations, however, we continue to face challenges in
other areas. We have recently taken pause to consider
new strategies. We have also realized the importance of
strengthening good-quality data collection and analysis
as a tool for measuring our Millennium Development
Goals and to aid our decision-making.
A year ago, before this very same Assembly, the
Philippines called for a post-2015 development agenda
anchored in respect and promotion of human rights,
accountable governance and inclusive development
(see A/68/PV.22). All our current national efforts are
founded on these pillars.
The greatest challenge to the Philippines in
meeting the Millennium Development Goals has been
the series of disasters that have visited our country.
Super-typhoon Haiyan, the strongest typhoon to have
hit landfall in recorded history, had a significant impact
on the modest progress we had achieved towards the
Millennium Development Goals. This and the disasters
in other parts of the world remind us of the urgent need
to address climate change.
Two months ago, we completed a comprehensive
rehabilitation and recovery plan for the Haiyan-affected
areas. The comprehensive plan requires a considerable
amount of resources and effort, but the Philippines
and its international partners are determined to see
this massive rebuilding and rehabilitation plan to full
completion. We are resolute in not only building back,
but building back better. Once again, let me reiterate
the Filipino people’s gratitude for the outpouring
of assistance from the international community for
the victims and survivors of Haiyan. Its response
and solidarity were indeed timely, overwhelming
and inspiring. At this time, we look forward to the
forthcoming Third World Conference on Disaster Risk
Reduction in Sendai, Japan, and to the first-ever World
Humanitarian Summit in Istanbul, Turkey, during
which we hope to share the lessons we have learned
from Haiyan.
Just as the international community mobilized
as one in extending help to the Philippines in the
aftermath of Haiyan, it should also do so in the case of
two present-day scourges: the so-called Islamic State
in Iraq and the Sham (ISIS) and the Ebola virus disease
outbreak. The Philippines condemns the war crimes
and crimes against humanity being perpetrated by ISIS.
We support Security Council resolution 2178 (2014) on
foreign terrorist fighters, adopted on 24 September,
because we believe that resolute and immediate action
is necessary to suppress that group. As a responsible
member of the international community, the Philippines
will do its part in the global efforts to thwart ISIS and
its false ideologies.
On the Ebola virus disease outbreak, the Philippines
recognizes its threat to global health and its impact on
development. Based on our capacity, we will support
the international community’s efforts in arresting the
spread of this scourge through the auspices of the World
Health Organization.
Development efforts are jeopardized by setbacks
brought about by threats to peace, security and the rule
of law. We must ensure that conflicts do not undermine
any development agenda that we pursue. We must
rededicate ourselves to the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations and relevant international
conventions and agreements to resolve all conflicts
peacefully and in accordance with the rule of law.
In this spirit, I am pleased to share the Philippine
experience in building peace in the southern
Philippines. With the signing of the Comprehensive
Agreement on the Bangsamoro, we are optimistic
that peace dividends in the form of investments, jobs,
economic opportunities, access to basic services and
infrastructure will finally redound to the benefit of
our Muslim brothers and sisters. We are grateful to
the United Nations and the international community
for their role in supporting us through the long and
challenging journey of this peace process.
As we herald these achievements of peace at home,
however, we face the reality of exacerbating tensions in
our regional seas. Again, the Philippines has resorted
to the rule of law in trying to resolve these tensions.
The Philippines believes that the core instrument for
resolving maritime disputes is the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). We have
invited a State party to settle our maritime disputes
peacefully through UNCLOS, including its provisions
on dispute settlement, specifically arbitration under
annex VII to the Convention.
However, it has refused to join us and has continued
to unilaterally embark on an expansionist claim that
violates the legitimate rights of the Philippines and
other littoral neighbours under UNCLOS, such as their
exclusive economic zones and continental shelves.
Instead of peacefully resolving the maritime disputes
within the framework of UNCLOS, the said State
has embarked on a series of dangerous, reckless and
forceful activities in an attempt to impose unilateral
change in the maritime status quo of the South China
Sea. Those unilateral activities escalated the tensions
and threatened peace and stability in the South China
Sea.
In 2012, after forcibly occupying the tiny rocks of
Scarborough Shoal, within 126 nautical miles of the
Philippine island of Luzon, the aforementioned State
refused to abide by a mutual agreement to de-escalate
tensions by not withdrawing its vessels from the said
rocks. Earlier this year, said State imposed a unilateral
moratorium on fishing in some areas of the South
China Sea that infringes on the legitimate sovereign
rights of the Philippines and other coastal States to
their exclusive economic zones. In the past two years,
it has undertaken massive land reclamation activities in
Johnson Reef, Mckennan Reef, Hughes Reef, Cuarteron
Reef and Gaven Reef in the Spratly Islands.
Those unilateral activities, among others, form part
of a pattern of forcing a change in the maritime status
quo in order to advance a so-called nine-dash line
position, an expansive claim of indisputable sovereignty
over nearly the entire South China Sea, which is in
contravention of both the 2002 China and Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Declaration on
the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea and the
UNCLOS. The Philippines supports the Secretary-
General’s call for States parties to clearly define and
publicize the limits of their respective maritime zones
so that parties will have greater certainty concerning
their maritime spaces.
UNCLOS provides a viable mechanism for
resolving conflicts, inter alia through arbitration.
Arbitration is an open, friendly and durable mechanism
for the peaceful settlement of maritime disputes.
Arbitration, in defining maritime entitlements, is
intended to benefit all. Therefore, the Philippines is
more determined than ever in its pursuit of all possible
means under international law to keep the conflict from
escalating and undermining regional peace, security,
and stability.
At the 47th meeting of the Ministers for Foreign
Affairs of ASEAN, in Nay Pyi Taw, the Philippines
proposed the triple action plan to reduce tensions.
Our triple action plan proposal contains immediate,
intermediate and final approaches to address the
provocative and destabilizing activities in the South
China Sea. It is a positive, comprehensive and
constructive framework that brings together various
initiatives that the Philippines and other countries have
been advocating on the issue of the South China Sea for
several years.
As an immediate approach, the triple action plan
calls for the cessation of specific activities that escalate
tensions in the region, pursuant to paragraph 5 of
the 2002 ASEAN-China Declaration on the Conduct
of Parties in the South China Sea. Paragraph 5 calls
for, first, self-restraint; secondly, no inhabitation of
uninhabited features, including massive reclamation;
and thirdly, the handling of differences in a constructive
manner. For the intermediate approach to managing
tensions until a final resolution is achieved, the triple
action plan highlights the need for the full and effective
implementation of the Declaration and the expeditious
conclusion of a code of conduct. As a final approach, the
triple action plan underscores the need for a settlement
mechanism to bring the disputes to a final and enduring
resolution anchored in international law.
The Philippines is pursuing such a resolution
through arbitration and believes that the arbitration
decision will clarify maritime entitlements and will pave
the way for the full resolution of the maritime disputes
in the South China Sea. Those approaches under the
triple action plan can be pursued simultaneously, and
they do not prejudice territorial claims. We enjoin all to
be united in addressing the challenge of resolving this
issue in accordance with the rule of law.
On disarmament, the Philippines is deeply
concerned about the threat of weapons of mass
destruction, from the Middle East to the Korean
peninsula. The Philippines has remained firm in
its position on the total and complete elimination
of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons. The
Philippines strongly believes that the conference on
the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear
weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction
should be convened as soon as possible. The Six-Party
Talks on the Korean peninsula should restart. We need
a successful outcome to the 2015 Review Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons to ensure the credibility of the Treaty.
The Philippines strongly supports the ongoing
discourse on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear
weapons that has been gaining ground within and
outside the United Nations. We will continue to lend
our voice to calls for nuclear disarmament until we have
reached the goal of global zero. The Philippines also
deplores the use of landmines and improvised explosive
devices and the illicit trade in small arms and light
weapons, which, unfortunately, still continue around
the world.
United Nations peacekeeping missions are crucial
to international peace and security. The Philippines,
through its continuous participation in peacekeeping
missions, has shown its steadfast commitment to
contributing to that worthy cause. Let me take this
opportunity to thank our partners in the international
community for their invaluable assistance in recent
incidents involving our Philippine peacekeepers,
specifically in the United Nations Disengagement
Observer Force in the Golan Heights. Our collective
action has highlighted the importance that the
international community continues to accord to United
Nations peacekeeping.
In the face of grave danger, Filipino peacekeepers
have bravely helped to safeguard world peace. They have
served with honour, distinction and professionalism in
implementing peacekeeping mandates. We are deeply
concerned about the continuing and emerging dangers
faced by all United Nations peacekeepers, and urge the
United Nations and all fellow Member States to ensure
that those dangers are addressed comprehensively.
We believe that outstanding operational and tactical
issues relating to United Nations peacekeeping must be
resolved at the highest levels as soon as possible. The
Philippines reiterates its solid commitment to upholding
multilateral peacekeeping, collective security and the
rule of law.
When we speak of inclusive development, we must
take into full account the invaluable contributions
that migrant workers make to global development and
progress. Their well-being is a shared responsibility
and part of the international community’s commitment
to promoting inclusive societies. Those migrants are
especially vulnerable in times of conflict and should
not be forgotten. They deserve the complete support
and cooperation of the international community in
ensuring their safety, security and well-being. For such
an important task, all countries — whether receiving,
transit or sending — must be fully involved.
We are also alarmed that migrants, particularly
women and children, continue to be victims of
trafficking. National and international efforts to
prevent trafficking, prosecute traffickers and assist
in the recovery and rehabilitation of victims must be
strengthened. From a broader perspective, we should
fully respect the rights of migrants by according them
equal treatment in all countries. The Philippines will
continue to support efforts to protect the basic rights of
migrants, recognize their contributions to development
and secure for them a place in the inclusive societies
that we envision in the post-2015 development agenda.
As we discuss and negotiate the best ways to deliver
and implement the post-2015 development agenda, we
should take concrete action on the proposed United
Nations reforms that have been the subject of years of
discussions and dialogues. The Philippines supports
change and reform in the United Nations to strengthen
its ability to meet new demands and deliver its mandate
in the most effective, transparent, accountable and
efficient manner. Reforms should include a better
selection process for the Secretary-General, the
President of the General Assembly and executive heads
of the United Nations; an increase in the membership
of the Security Council; a review of the use of the veto
power in the Security Council; an increased budget
for peacekeeping missions; and ways to make full and
effective use of partnerships across the range of United
Nations activities. For example, if we were to elect a
woman to be the next Secretary-General of the United
Nations, that would be a powerful signal on gender
equality and empowerment.
As we set the stage to roll out a new set of goals
for the post-2015 development agenda, let us not lose
track of the equal importance of an enabling political
and social environment to support the goals. When
conflicts and insecurity endure, when disasters strike,
when pandemics break out, when terrorism spreads
and when the Earth’s bounties are confronted with
depletion, we face the real danger that our development
agenda will fail. It is our responsibility, therefore, as
States Members of the United Nations, to exert every
effort and expend every resource at our command to
make the United Nations the instrument for promoting
peace, progress and development.