Madam
President, at the outset, on behalf of the Vietnamese
delegation, may I extend our warmest congratulations
to you, the third woman in United Nations history to be
elected as President of the General Assembly. I am
confident that, under your wise leadership, this sixty-
first session will be crowned with success. I also wish
to convey our deep appreciation for the tremendous
efforts undertaken and active contributions made by
His Excellency Mr. Jan Eliasson during his presidency
of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session.
As His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan’s last term of
duty as Secretary-General of the United Nations comes
to a close, I wish, on behalf of the Vietnamese
Government, to express our deep appreciation for his
dedication and commitment to our Organization. His
visit to Viet Nam last May was another milestone in the
history of the ever-growing Viet Nam-United Nations
cooperative relationship.
The 2005 World Summit lit up our hopes for the
achievement by the international community of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) set out by our
leaders at the Millennium Summit in 2000. One year
has elapsed, and, regrettably, the picture of the world
we see today is made up of paradoxes. Although the
trend of peace, cooperation and development continues
to prevail, so do the unilateral use of force, escalation
of regional and ethnic conflicts and international
terrorism. We have also seen serious hardships faced
by developing countries under the pressure of
globalization, and inequality in international economic
relations. Poverty, epidemics, drugs and transnational
crime pose even greater threats to hundreds of millions
of people around the world.
Against this backdrop, in the view of the
Vietnamese delegation, continued joint efforts to create
a favourable environment for the achievement of the
MDGs are even more imperative. We consider the
theme chosen for this sixty-first session of the General
Assembly, focusing on global partnership for
development, to be highly relevant.
Peace and socio-political stability are
indispensable to development. In turn, positive
economic development and improved living standards
of people help to consolidate peace and stability in
every country and region and the world as a whole. It
is essential that nations work together to settle
differences and disputes through dialogue, abandon the
use of force in their relations and fully comply with the
United Nations Charter and international law in order
to build a peaceful and stable environment in the
interest of all.
I wish to reaffirm Viet Nam’s strong support for
efforts to reach early peaceful settlements of
international and regional conflicts and differences,
including the nuclear issues on the Korean Peninsula
and in Iran, and the crisis in the Middle East, where the
recent hostilities in Lebanon, which caused heavy loss
of innocent life and destruction of the country’s
infrastructure, serve as a typical example of harm
brought about by unilateral actions.
In this connection, I wish to state Viet Nam’s
consistent policy of supporting the just struggle of the
Palestinian people for their inalienable rights. I call on
all parties concerned to implement the United Nations
33 06-53341
Security Council resolutions on the Middle East,
including resolution 1701 (2006), and soon arrive at a
fair and lasting solution for peace and stability in the
region.
Viet Nam is deeply concerned by the upsurge of
terrorism in the world. We will continue to support the
joint efforts of the international community to combat
terrorism on the basis of the fundamental principles of
the United Nations Charter and international law, as
well as respect for national sovereignty. The deep roots
of terrorism, including poverty, inequality and
injustice, must be eliminated. What should also be
mentioned here is the unfortunate reality that, in many
cases, the suppression of terrorist organizations,
including those targeting Viet Nam, is being
undertaken selectively, with double standards. It is our
view that such conduct may leave room for more
international terrorist acts.
Achievements in science and technology,
especially information technology, and globalization
have brought about great opportunities for all
countries. They have also brought about the dark side
of international economic relations. A widened
development gap between the rich and the poor poses
potential threats to world peace and security. In the
Outcome Document of the 2005 World Summit, our
leaders called for the establishment of a global
partnership for development to enhance cooperation in
all financial, trade and investment areas and called for
increased assistance to developing countries,
considering that such steps by the international
community would contribute to establishing a
favourable environment for the achievement of the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Such global partnership is yet to be seen, and we
are concerned with increasing adverse impacts of
globalization. The failure of the Doha Round, the
strengthening of protectionism in a number of
developed countries and fluctuating oil and gold prices
are causing more and more difficulties for developing
nations in their efforts to achieve the MDGs. A typical
example of this situation is the anti-dumping tariff
imposed on Vietnamese catfish and shrimp in past
years and on footwear at present; this measure is
affecting the lives of millions of poor people. It runs
counter to World Trade Organization (WTO) rules and
the spirit of trade liberalization pursued by Member
States. It should also be pointed out that the increased
integration of developing nations in the world economy
is indeed an important element in ensuring the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs).
Developing countries should be supported and
assisted to join the World Trade Organization (WTO)
as early as possible. Non-tariff barriers under the guise
of hygiene and safety standards, among others, should
be removed to facilitate developing countries to access
the markets of the developed economies. We have on
many occasions expressed our view that, in our times,
embargo and sanctions are completely obsolete
policies. We once again call for an early lifting of the
unilateral economic and trade embargo against Cuba.
Viet Nam welcomes the fact that a number of
countries have set up road maps to allocate 0.7 per cent
of their gross national product to official development
assistance without any conditions. Technology transfer,
capacity-building and human resource development
should be further promoted. We welcome initiatives to
settle the debts of poor countries, the solutions outlined
in the Monterrey Consensus and the recent efforts of
the international community towards this end. The
United Nations should work out, especially at the
national level, measures to further incorporate the
MDGs in the implementation of global commitments
undertaken during the past decade in the areas of
women, children, population, development, HIV/AIDS
prevention, housing, environment and social
development.
Viet Nam supports efforts to strengthen
multilateral mechanisms in which the United Nations
plays a central role with a view to building and
ensuring a peaceful and stable environment in the
world. The United Nations should be reformed to
improve its effectiveness, democratization and modes
of operation on the basis of the fundamental principles
enshrined in its Charter.
While welcoming initial successes in the United
Nations reform process, such as the establishment of
the Human Rights Council and the Peacebuilding
Commission, we realize that much remains to be done.
Measures are needed to consolidate the central role and
power of the General Assembly. The Security Council
should also be reformed in both its composition and
methods of work to ensure that it really represents the
concerns and interests of all United Nations Members
as stipulated in the Charter.
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Viet Nam has made remarkable progress in
implementing the MDGs and we are in a good position
to meet the 2015 deadline. Based on our own
experience, we believe that each country should, first
and foremost, strive to create and maintain a peaceful
environment for development, mobilize broad
participation by people of all walks of life in poverty
reduction efforts and reserve preferential treatments for
the poor, vulnerable groups and people living in remote
and difficult areas, with a view to helping them catch
up with the majority. Furthermore, effective prevention
of natural disasters and mitigation of their
consequences are crucial factors.
To create a peaceful environment for national
development, Viet Nam will continue with its foreign
policy of sovereign independence, peace, cooperation
and development. We continue to be a friend and
reliable partner of all countries in the international
community striving for peace and cooperation and we
will continue to actively participate in regional and
international cooperation.
We are in the final stage leading to accession to
the World Trade Organization. Viet Nam is also
running for non-permanent membership of the United
Nations Security Council for the term 2008-2009. In
pursuing our policy of international integration and in
contributing to the common endeavours of the
international community, we look forward to continued
support from all Members of the United Nations.