Maldives

At the outset, I express my delegation’s warmest congratulations to the President on assuming office to preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would like to record our deepest appreciation to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his untiring efforts in steering the deliberations of the sixty-sixth session to a successful conclusion. I also wish to congratulate the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his extraordinary report (A/67/1) presented to the Assembly on Tuesday. Despite the many unprecedented challenges facing the United Nations today, we remain confident that the Secretary-General’s leadership and the resolve of the Organization and of humankind will not waver. I represent a small yet proud island nation that has long advocated for an effective international framework for the security of small States, that has vigorously campaigned for international actions to combat climate change and that has contributed to breaking the international silence on the human rights implications of climate change. I come from a nation that has successfully moved from an authoritarian system to a multiparty democratic system of governance — a historic transition achieved purely by peaceful means. That is why Maldivians show their solidarity with people everywhere in the world who struggle to replace despotism with democracy. That is why we support the ongoing democratization process in the Middle East and North Africa, and that is why we applaud Tunisia and Egypt for holding their first post-transition elections in a free and fair manner. While the democratization processes in other countries in the region are on an upward trajectory, we see violence and human rights violations in Syria. We urge the Syrian security forces and anti-Government armed groups to immediately cease all hostilities and violence. We welcome the latest findings of the United Nations commission of inquiry on the human rights situation in Syria. We strongly believe that tolerance and mutual respect should prevail among different religions and cultures to ensure that the world we live in remains peaceful and harmonious for the future of our children. The Maldives strongly condemns the recent anti-Islamic video demeaning our Prophet Muhammad — peace be upon him. Freedom of expression should not be used as an excuse to insult religions, incite hatred or provoke communal violence. While the video has provoked demonstrations around the world, the Maldives does not believe that violence is the way to respond to such low-level blasphemous acts. The Maldives has also condemned the attack on the United States Consulate in Benghazi, which took the life of the United States Ambassador to Libya. On behalf of the Maldivian people, I express my deepest condolences to the United States Government and the families of the bereaved. My delegation and I express the wishes of the Maldivian people to see the day that the Palestinian people join the United Nations as a full Member. The Maldives strongly calls on all Member States to support the true aspirations of the Palestinian people and their right to self-determination in a Palestinian State. In June we, the leaders of the world, agreed to signal our solid political commitment towards establishing sustainable development goals. We believe that those goals would further strengthen the social, economic and environmental well-being of nations. The 2015 development agenda should recognize the particular characteristics and needs of small States. It should support the creation of a stronger international architecture to achieve a sustainable future for all. Climate change remains the most important and complex developmental challenge that small States face. We face the threat of rising sea levels. We experience ocean acidification, changes in average temperature and variable precipitation. Coastal erosion is a serious problem in the Maldives, affecting more than 113 islands. An additional 120 islands need emergency water during the dry season. The Government now spends more than 27 per cent of our national budget on building our resilience to combat the effects of climate change. The Maldives reiterates its call for a binding agreement to reduce global carbon emissions. The world cannot afford to wait any longer for such an agreement; nor can we. The absence of a global accord is no excuse for doing nothing. The Maldives is one of the smallest island economies in the world. Our contribution to global emissions is 0.003 per cent, yet we are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. For that reason, we are also taking difficult and bold measures to combat climate change. We were among the first countries in the world to eradicate chlorof luorocarbons well ahead of time. We intend to become the first to eradicate hydrochlorof luorocarbons (HCFCs) by 2020. And we intend to become the first to ban the import of HCFC-based equipment. A number of our islands are also scaling up renewable energy, not only to avoid spending 20 per cent of our gross domestic product on importing fossil fuel, but also to reduce harmful emissions. Hence, we are converting to solar or hybrid sources. A total of 20 islands in the Maldives will switch to renewable energy sources for power by next year. Those measures are part of a national initiative to transform the country’s economy into a low-carbon one. If we can take those measures, why cannot the larger States, endowed with more resources, take stronger measures? That requires political commitment and difficult choices. I therefore call upon carbon-emitting countries to develop and utilize clean and renewable energy to reduce their carbon footprint. Climate change is just one of many challenges faced by the Maldives. The country’s transition to democracy, which has reached a critical point, is another pressing challenge that we are determined to overcome. Four years ago, the Maldives held its first competitive, multiparty presidential elections. That was a watershed moment in the country’s long march towards democratic governance. Four years after that historic election, in October 2008, people in the Maldives ask if their lives are any better. The answer, regrettably, is, not yet. Multiparty democracy in the Maldives has so far been deeply divisive. It is also polarizing, tearing apart families and the fabric of a small, homogenous society. Political leaders elected to office by popular vote chose to act with impunity. Centuries-old values of respect and tolerance have been replaced by intolerance and hatred in the islands where almost everyone literally knows everybody else. That is not because there is any inherent deficiency in the democratic form of governance; rather, it is because the road to liberal democracy is always rocky and long and must be navigated by a political leadership with an unshakeable commitment to the principles and values of democracy. The past eight months have been particularly challenging for the consolidation of democracy in my country. The elected President of the country resigned in February, and later claimed that he was forced to do so. The Government opened a commission of inquiry to investigate the allegations. Some of our friends rushed to conclusions, and that did not make it any easier for us. Some big States and some not so big States took sides in a domestic political crisis and contributed to making a bad situation worse. While the Government was striving to strengthen the country’s institutional capacity to manage the new democracy, some international actors continued to publicly criticize the country’s young institutions. We look for new ideas and are receptive to good ones, irrespective of where they come from. That is why we engage in international cooperation. We expect the result of international cooperation to help, not hinder, a country’s march towards a better, more democratic society. It is supposed to build a country’s institutions and to gain public confidence. International cooperation should not be used to undermine national capacities. It should not be used as an excuse for larger countries to interfere in the domestic politics of small States. Small States are vulnerable in many ways. We alone are not able to stop larger and stronger countries from dictating terms. Our vulnerability is particularly acute when there is discord and system breakdowns in our countries. This is the time when the larger States should help the smaller States in the international system. The history of a nation is never a single event or a single person. The life of our nation is composed of the lives of all of us who live there. We are the building blocks in the evolution of our countries. The knowledge, education, experience and commitment we bring to our nation are what shapes our history. They make our history unique. Respect for us and our small nation requires that our external partners not underestimate our capacity to contribute to the shaping of our own destiny. Nations must be allowed to resolve their problems on their own. The international community should not take punitive actions against any sovereign State unless there is verifiable and blatant abuse of human rights. Yet I believe that international cooperation can and should promote positive change in emerging democracies. I believe that international organizations such as the United Nations can play a pivotal role in strengthening democratic institutions in such nations. I believe that some of the advanced democracies can also help small States with technical expertise in consolidating democracy. To do that, it is important to recognize the unique challenges and characteristics of small States. It is important to protect the social fabric of the tightly knit societies in our countries. It is important to review current approaches and modalities for extending international cooperation in the promotion of democracy. It is important that international cooperation not be seen to be promoting a particular ideology. It should not be seen to be taking sides in domestic politics. International cooperation should be seen to promote and encourage a home-grown democracy that is consistent with universally accepted values and principles. Regular, free and fair elections are a fundamental component in any democracy. Yet holding elections is not, by itself, a sufficient condition for consolidating democracy. It requires patience. It requires making hard choices and compromises. And it requires cultivating and nurturing democratic values. My Government is implementing a comprehensive plan to nurture such values in the Maldives. We are committed to creating an environment that guarantees individual freedom, where human rights are fully protected, where democratic values flourish and where human innovation thrives. We are committed to creating a democratic and free society that is able to shape its own destiny.