We are gathered here at a time when the world is facing pressing global challenges and security threats that
must be addressed collectively and with urgency. Our
planet is heating up owing to the clear and imminent
danger of climate change. Terrorism is rearing its ugly
head once again. The global village is gripped with fear
of the spreading Ebola epidemic. Tension and mistrust
are building up among the major Powers, reminiscent
of the rivalry of the Cold War. The number and scale
of regional and local conflicts is growing in some parts
of the world. One billion people are still trapped in
poverty. The world we want is still a distant dream.
Climate change is no longer merely an issue for
scientific argument; it is one of survival that requires our
urgent action. Many developing countries economically
dependent on agriculture, as well as small island States,
will bear the brunt of its impact. It is of the utmost
importance that we agree a new global commitment
on climate protection and emissions-reduction
objectives. My delegation is therefore thankful to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for organizing the
Climate Summit 2014, whose message that urgent and
united action is needed was loud and clear. Myanmar
will continue to work together with the international
community towards a meaningful, implementable and
universal climate agreement in Paris in 2015.
In support of the vision of the President of the
General Assembly for a transformative post-2015
development agenda, we must intensify our efforts at
this session to set the world on the path to sustainable
development in its economic, social and environmental
dimensions. In that process, we must also work together
to find effective means for implementation, including
the mobilization of financial and technological support,
in order to ensure the success of the new agenda and the
sustainable development goals.
The Ebola outbreak in West Africa, with its
unprecedented nature and scope, is alarming. We must
not see that outbreak as unique to one particular people
or place. It is a common challenge to all of humankind.
Myanmar welcomes the swift and timely response by
the Secretary-General in proactively establishing the
United Nations Mission for Ebola Emergency Response.
Terrorism cannot be condoned for any reason
or under any circumstances. Ruthless killings and
atrocities in the name of religion must not be tolerated.
Myanmar has always opposed terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations. We are not oblivious to the fate
of those who have fallen victims to terrorism. The
international community must be united to eliminate
those horrible crimes. In that regard, my delegation
fully supports the statement issued by the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Foreign Ministers
a few days ago here in New York.
Myanmar firmly believes in the continued relevance
and legitimacy of the United Nations in world affairs.
We will continue to actively cooperate with it, in line
with the principles of our foreign policy. Thanks to the
positive changes in Myanmar, the cooperation between
Myanmar and the United Nations is now better than
ever. The United Nations and its agencies are showing
greater interest in Myanmar, extending a helping hand
to the people of Myanmar in all aspects of their lives.
The Government, for its part, is facilitating the effective
implementation of the United Nations missions.
The maintenance of international peace and
security is one of the main purposes of the United
Nations. Myanmar, as a peace-loving nation, abhors
weapons of mass destruction and is fully cognizant of
the danger of nuclear weapons. To that end, Myanmar
has annually submitted, since 1995, a draft resolution
on nuclear disarmament. We will do so once again
at the present session of the General Assembly. We
encourage all Member States to positively support
our draft resolution. If we follow the road map in the
resolution with a strong political will, a world free of
nuclear weapons will be within our grasp soon.
I would like to inform the Assembly that Myanmar
is making domestic preparations with a view to
ratifying major international disarmament instruments.
Considerable achievements have been made in that
process. I am pleased to announce that the Pyidaungsu
Hluttaw, our Union Parliament, has just approved
Myanmar’s accession to the Biological Weapons
Convention.
The winds of change have blown across Myanmar
over the past three years. The scope and pace of
positive changes in Myanmar have earned remarkable
recognition and encouragement from the international
community. Those changes have contributed to raising
Myanmar’s profile in the regional and international
arena. On the regional stage, Myanmar held the Chair
of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral
Technical and Economic Cooperation until March this
year. After successfully carrying out that responsibility,
we are now shouldering the prestigious responsibility of
chairing ASEAN. Under our chairmanship, ASEAN is
exerting its efforts to speed up the ASEAN community-
building process with the theme of “Moving forward in
unity to a peaceful and prosperous community”.
Myanmar is advancing well on the path of peaceful
democratic transition, which began over three years
ago by setting in motion various waves of political
and economic reforms. The first wave was the
peaceful transformation from a military Government
to a multiparty democratic system, where all political
forces are working together to overcome differences
through dialogue in our two houses of Parliament. An
all-inclusive political system has been established,
bringing in all stakeholders in the process through
national reconciliation. The first wave of reform
brought about national reconciliation, the granting of
a series of amnesties, the creation of greater political
space, freedom of the media, freedom of expression,
and freedom of association and peaceful assembly. It
was followed by the second wave of reform, unleashing
an array of political, economic, administrative and
private sector development reforms. Now, the third
wave of reform has been launched, which aims at laying
down a firm foundation for a new democratic State and
delivering benefits to the people by fulfilling their
socioeconomic needs. We are determined to keep the
reforms on track through ensuring peace, stability and
national reconciliation.
Since our democracy is still in its infancy, we are
facing a multitude of daunting challenges, like other
countries in transition. The Government has a long to-
do list despite its limited capacity. We are determined to
overcome the challenges and we are convinced that we
will achieve our objectives. We need the international
community’s understanding and continued support in
our efforts for economic development and capacity-
building to lay a solid foundation for a democratic
society.
One of the issues that attracts domestic and
international attention is the process of amending
Myanmar’s present Constitution. In that regard,
the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw set up the Constitutional
Amendment Review Joint Committee in July last
year. Further, after soliciting suggestions and
recommendations from the general public and political
parties, the Constitutional Amendment Implementation
Committee was formed to address the issues of
constitutional amendment based on the suggestions
received.
Putting democratic values into practice, the
Government is placing much more emphasis and
consideration on the aspirations of our people as a whole.
Accordingly, we are laying foundations to successfully
conduct an independent, free and fair election within
a legal framework that does not compromise national
sovereignty. In that context, Myanmar recently received
the visit of a needs assessment mission from the United
Nations. All existing political parties are expected to
take part in the elections. The final decision will be
made by the people on election day.
Peace and stability are prerequisites for political
stability and for the socioeconomic development of
the country. Strengthening national reconciliation is
an integral part of our reform process. We are working
together with all ethnic armed groups in good faith to
reach a nationwide ceasefire agreement. So far we have
already reached such an agreement with 14 out of the 16
groups. We are now working on a draft framework for
political dialogue that will pave the way for bringing an
end to the six-decade long conflict.
The Government is serious in its commitment to
the success of the peace process. It is open to discussing
all issues, except those that could undermine the unity
and sovereignty of the State. The political dialogue will
also become a historic forum for discussion of all issues
of national concern. We are confident that we are now
getting closer to achieving a comprehensive and lasting
peace.
There has been steady progress in the promotion
and protection of human rights in my country. A
series of presidential amnesties have been granted,
which creates an enabling environment for everyone
to participate in the parliament, political parties, civil
society organizations and labour organizations. The
Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, which
was first established in 2011, was reconstituted very
recently with a view to functioning as an independent
entity. Many complaint mechanisms, including the
Commission, have been made available to citizens so
that they can file complaints in the event of violation
of their rights.
In this new era, press and media freedom is one of
the most visible outcomes of the reforms. In contributing
to the all-inclusive reform process, the media is getting
more space now. The abolishment of decades-old press
censorship, the publishing of a multitude of private
newspapers and journals and the enactment of a new
media law are among the significant achievements in
our media landscape.
With firm resolve, Myanmar is now combating
human trafficking, preventing gender violence and
protecting children. Sexual violence is a crime strongly
abhorred in our traditional values and national culture.
It is strictly forbidden by law. At the global summit
in London in June this year, Myanmar joined the
Declaration of Commitment to End Sexual Violence
in Conflict. Its signing of the Declaration reflects
the country’s State policy of zero tolerance for use
of rape or sexual violence as a weapon of war. The
Armed Forces of Myanmar are making important
progress in its implementation of the action plan to
end the recruitment of child soldiers in Myanmar. Due
to our strong commitment, there is no new underage
recruitment, unwittingly or otherwise.
All major human rights concerns have been
addressed to a larger extent in the new Myanmar than
before. We have now reached the middle tier of the
human rights ladder. That progress is contributing to
the better enjoyment of human rights and fundamental
freedoms by the people of Myanmar. Therefore, we are
now fully convinced that Myanmar should no longer
remain on the agendas of the Human Rights Council
and the Third Committee of the General Assembly.
We are also paying great attention to and making
efforts to address the issue of the communal violence
that had occurred between the two communities in
Rakhine state. The history, diversity and complexity
of the issue must be fully understood before jumping
to conclusions. The situation should not be looked at
in a superficial manner. The international community
should contribute pragmatically and objectively to
finding a durable solution. In addressing the root
cause, we are working for peace, stability, harmony
and development for all the people in Rakhine state.
An action plan is being finalized and will soon be
launched. Once in place, it will be implemented in a
systematic and timely manner.
I take this opportunity to thank all international
partners for contributing to our efforts to address the
current needs of the affected people. As development
is one of the main challenges in Rakhine state, I
would also like to invite the international community,
particularly the United Nations, to provide much-
needed development assistance there.
The Government of Myanmar has been focusing on
poverty reduction and rural development with a view
to lifting the living standards of rural and urban people
alike. We are striving to realize the structural changes
from an agriculture-based economy to an industrial
one. As those efforts become increasingly crystallized,
we have been enjoying steady economic growth. We
have achieved a growth rate in our gross domestic
product of 5.6 per cent, 7.3 per cent and 8.7 per cent in
the past three years, respectively.
That encouraging trend in economic growth and
overall progress in our reform process has made us take
an important decision. Taking this opportunity, I would
like to announce that Myanmar is fully determined and
has initiated the internal process to graduate from its
least developed country (LDC) status. In that regard,
President U Thein Sein has communicated to the
Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, our intention
and determination to graduate from LDC status. A
high-level national committee and subcommittees are
actively coordinating domestic measures, including
a transition strategy, for our graduation. We are now
working closely with the relevant United Nations
agencies for technical and necessary assistance.
Myanmar has made tremendous progress over the
past three and a half years, since it began wide-ranging
reforms in transition to democracy. Myanmar’s success
in peaceful transformation was even lauded as a model
in the world today. Despite all those achievements,
there remain many challenges and hurdles on our path
to democracy and development. We are fully aware of
those daunting challenges. We will not be complacent.
We are resolute and determined to continue our
unrelenting efforts aimed at reform and the building of
a democratic State.
Myanmar is changing, and changing in the right
direction. We are laying a solid foundation for a
democratic State in which we can live in harmony, peace
and prosperity. Developments in Myanmar should also
be viewed in a more balanced and objective manner. It
is the primary responsibility of the people of Myanmar
to realize their long-held aspirations for democracy,
peace and prosperity. The continued support and
understanding of the international community would
contribute positively to Myanmar’s reform process.
Rome was not built in a day.