I wish to express to Mr. Srgjan Kerim, President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-second session, Papua
New Guinea’s congratulations on his election. We
assure him of my country’s full cooperation during his
presidency. We compliment his predecessor, Her
Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for her
stewardship of our work during her tenure, and we
wish her well in her future endeavours.
I would like to express our support to the
Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon,
for his leadership of the United Nations. Let me thank
him, in particular, for his courage and strong leadership
on the issue of climate change. By the same token, I
would also like to thank the staff of the Secretariat and
all United Nations agencies who continue to give
valuable service to my country, Papua New Guinea.
On 18 September 2007, two days after
celebrating 32 years of independence, Papua New
Guinea convened its eighth National Parliament. This
was a result of another successful general election.
Democracy is a challenge, but Papua New Guinea
continues to thrive under it. My country of more than
800 tribes and languages continues to find in the
democratic principles the binding force and unity in
diversity in the 32 years of unbroken democracy.
Papua New Guinea remains committed to the
principles and purposes of the United Nations. We
agree with the President that we must continue to work
with common purpose to renew, modernize and
strengthen this Organization so it can rise to the
challenges of the twenty-first century.
The increasing incidence of human atrocities,
genocide and war, poverty, terrorism, HIV/AIDS, the
resurgence of malaria and tuberculosis, the
proliferation of small arms and light weapons, drug and
human smuggling, environmental degradation and
climate change are issues that, we believe, the United
Nations is best placed to address.
Again we agree with the President that global
challenges demand multilateral solutions. The United
Nations is the appropriate multilateral forum to take
such action. That is why the revitalization of the
General Assembly deserves our highest attention. To
revitalize the Assembly is also to renew our faith in
each other and in our common values and destiny.
We strongly endorse the President’s five priority
issues of climate change, financing for development,
achieving the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), countering terrorism, and the United Nations
reform agenda. To complement efforts in other forums,
Papua New Guinea with other countries of the Pacific
region has agreed to pool our limited resources under
the Pacific Plan, in order to address, as the basis of our
cooperation, many of these same issues, in particular,
sustainable development, climatic change and regional
integration.
Let me turn now to an issue which my country
feels strongly about: climate change. To be clear, we
are very concerned to see certain industrialized nations
attempting to avoid responsibility for their own carbon
emissions and shifting the focus to developing nations.
Only after industrialized nations take responsibility for
the consequences of their own actions will the pathway
become clear for lasting solutions.
However, as developing countries, we are willing
to contribute equitably towards a sustainable future.
During my earlier statements at the high-level event on
climate change, I put forward key principles needed to
guide future international agreements on climate
change after the year 2012.
The time for leadership is now. If we are to defeat
this self-inflicted calamity, we must succeed in six key
areas: we must construct a shared vision for lower
global greenhouse gas concentrations; we must
aggressively deepen reduction commitments by
industrialized countries; we must create more
mechanisms to provide positive incentives for
developing countries; we must launch a global
framework to reduce emissions from deforestation and
degradation; we must scale up adaptation financing for
future generations; and we must mobilize sufficient
and sustainable resources to support positive incentives
and adaptation.
The science is clear. Our planet is in distress. As
co-inhabitants of this world, we all must address the
root causes of the problem. To succeed, leadership is
required on both sides of the economic divide.
Together, and only together, we can grasp the
challenges before us and construct a sustainable future.
Papua New Guinea supports the ongoing reforms
in the United Nations Secretariat. In order to
strengthen it to better address some of the key
challenges facing the membership, reform should
reflect the geopolitical, economic and social realities of
today, taking into particular account the different levels
of development facing the membership. Above all, the
reform must be fair and equitable.
Global trade today is uneven and characterized
more by unfair trade practices by those already holding
decided advantages than by the opportunities it offers
to developing countries like Papua New Guinea. Our
efforts to develop a more equitable trading order are
hampered by the reluctance of our developed partners
to open their economies and engage in genuine
development discussions.
The Doha Round of negotiations are at a critical
juncture. We need to collectively ensure that those
negotiations are revived so that different trade needs of
its members are addressed.
Papua New Guinea has moved forward from an
export-driven economic growth strategy to a policy of
economic consolidation and empowerment. Its core
policy objective is to provide every Papua New
Guinean equal opportunity to build home, community
and country. To achieve this, strong emphasis will be
placed on agriculture, which has always been the
mainstay of our rural populace. Along with this aim,
relevant infrastructure will be built to support that
important sector.
The country’s five-year medium-term development
strategy is being reviewed to strengthen its alignment
with the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Achieving the MDGs by 2015 is a challenge that
requires our collective input in its implementation.
We call on development partners, including the
United Nations, to play a supportive role in
implementing and sustaining these activities. That can
be done through fair trade opportunities, equitable
markets, increased foreign investment, transfer of
technology, capacity-building and providing quality
overseas development assistance.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a serious threat to
social and economic security in many of our countries.
Greater efforts must be made to arrest it. In Papua New
Guinea, my Government has passed HIV/AIDS
legislation underpinned by a comprehensive HIV/AIDS
policy framework. We consider HIV/AIDS to be a
development issue and deal with it separately from
other health issues. But our experience suggests that
national action alone is not enough. A concerted global
response is required. HIV/AIDS is a threat that must be
addressed on all fronts and by all countries. We thank
the United Nations and its related agencies for their
efforts in addressing HIV/AIDS. We also thank former
President of the United States, Mr. Bill Clinton, for his
contribution to this work in my country.
Of equal importance are the battles against
malaria, tuberculosis and other preventable diseases.
While, as a global community, we have focused on
HIV/AIDS and avian flu, little attention is given to
malaria, which remains the biggest killer disease in my
country. We therefore thank Mr. Bill Gates for
assistance given to research work on malaria in Papua
New Guinea. We call upon development partners to
support Papua New Guinea and other countries in
addressing these challenges.
Despite many United Nations resolutions, the
conflict in the Middle East remains unresolved. Papua
New Guinea appeals to all parties to the conflict,
including those Powers that have the capacity to
influence a positive outcome, to make the necessary
concessions for a peaceful resolution to this long-
standing issue. We appeal to all parties to make full use
of the dispute-settlement procedures of the United
Nations.
The work of the Special Committee on
Decolonization remains unfinished. There are still 16
Non-Self-Governing Territories some in the
Pacific that have yet to exercise their right to self-
determination. The forthcoming referendum in Tokelau
demonstrates once again the true spirit of cooperation
between Tokelau and New Zealand. We congratulate
both Governments and assure the people of Tokelau of
our respect for their ultimate decision. In the same
vein, we hope that other Administering Powers will
follow the example of New Zealand and assist other
territories reach a decision of their choice.
While our world today provides untold
opportunities, we are at the same time faced with many
complex challenges. We must renew our commitment
to and faith in the United Nations and seek to reform it
in ways that are reflective of the realities of today.
Thirty-two years ago, when I brought my nation to take
its seat in the General Assembly, I said, and wish to
reaffirm today, that, within the limits of our resources,
Papua New Guinea will play an active and positive role
in the United Nations. That commitment remains.