First of all, I wish to
warmly congratulate His Excellency Mr. Kerim of the
Republic of Macedonia for his election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-second
session. I am confident that, under his able guidance,
this year’s session will be concluded with success. My
appreciation also goes to Her Excellency Ms. Haya
Rashed Al-Khalifa of the Kingdom of Bahrain for her
brilliant leadership as the President of the sixty-first
session, which produced significant achievements
during the past year.
I am also very delighted to express my most
cordial felicitations to His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-
moon on his appointment as the United Nations
Secretary-General. I have no doubt that under his wise
leadership our world body will certainly become even
more relevant and effective in responding to the
challenges facing us in the twenty-first century.
Today, the world continues to confront a myriad
of problems, ranging from peace and security to
development, such as terrorism, regional conflicts,
poverty, global warming, pandemic diseases, and so
forth. These old and new emerging crises are indeed of
global proportion, which require greater collective
efforts by the world community. Therefore, as United
Nations Member States, we have to share the common
responsibility to address these issues more effectively
for the sake of humanity.
Concerning weapons of mass destruction
(WMDs), it is imperative that all States fully comply
with the existing non-proliferation legal instruments in
order to build a better and safer world for all,
particularly the Non-Proliferation Treaty and the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, which laid
down a long-term perspective toward achieving a non-
proliferation regime for WMDs and preventing them
from falling into terrorist hands, which could trigger
the gravest of dangers to the international community.
Combating terrorism remains one of the top
priorities for all Governments. No single country can
deal with this unconventional threat without
cooperation and concerted efforts, which should be
further strengthened, particularly in the areas of
education and information-sharing among law
enforcement authorities and intelligence agencies.
In terms of security, we certainly cannot
underestimate the illegal use and circulation of small
arms and light weapons, as they can be an equally
dangerous source of terrorism, violence and regional
conflicts. In this context, Cambodia believes that the
2001 United Nations Programme of Action on Small
Arms should remain the cornerstone for us all to work
together to address this issue. In Cambodia, the Royal
Government has developed a number of programmes,
ranging from law enforcement on arms control to a
programme of weapons for development, which has
successfully led to the seizure and destruction of more
than 200,000 small arms and light weapons.
Likewise, landmines still remain a serious threat
to many nations in the developing world, especially
those facing armed conflicts as well as those emerging
from war. These “silent killers” have destroyed the
lives of many innocent peoples and maimed countless
others. Landmines are not only a security problem, but
a humanitarian one, as the victims become permanently
traumatized and physically handicapped, while their
families suffer untold misery and spiritual and material
deprivation. Landmines also have great impact on the
economy and development, as the victims constitute a
heavy economic and social burden for governments.
In Cambodia, the Royal Government is
continuing its campaign of mine clearance by placing
the demining operation in its national agenda, such as
the Cambodian Millennium Development Goals and its
“Rectangular Strategy”. By July this year, more than
1.5 million landmines had been cleared. To share our
own experiences with other countries that are also
victims of landmines, Cambodia has dispatched 135
deminers of the Royal Cambodian Armed Forces to
Sudan for demining action under the umbrella of the
United Nations peacekeeping operation.
Everyone nowadays recognizes that climate
change has become one of the most serious threats to
humanity and affects the whole world in this new
century. To reverse this negative megatrend, Cambodia
is of the view that all countries should effectively
implement the relevant United Nations instruments,
especially the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol. We also
call on countries that produce more greenhouse gases
to commit to gradually reducing their emissions as
much as possible.
At the same time, we need to develop and share
know-how on bioenergy in order to take measures
against global warming. In addition, we need to stop
the deforestation in the developing countries by
assisting them with appropriate measures and
resources.
In the framework of the Association of South-
East Asian Nations (ASEAN), our leaders will sign
three important documents related to climate change,
energy and environment during the coming ASEAN
Summit in November of this year in Singapore. The
signing of these declarations clearly reflects the
political commitments that ASEAN, both collectively
and individually, has attached to the issues of climate
change.
Cambodia highly appreciates the United Nations
initiative of convening the High-level Event on
Climate Change here in New York on 24 September
this year. We hope that that high-level meeting will
lead to significant and concrete actions to address
opportunely this very critical issue. However, I believe
that a world summit under the auspices of the United
Nations would keep climate change alive on the agenda
of world’s leaders. A global problem needs a global
solution.
With regard to the regional situation, Cambodia
welcomes the agreement reached in February this year
through the process of the six party talks leading to the
closing down of the nuclear facilities in the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea. This is a very positive step
for peace, security and stability in the region. We hope
that it will serve as an effective tool to pave the way
for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, we
applaud recent active diplomatic initiatives, in
particular the high-level talks between the Prime
Minister of Israel and the President of the Palestinian
Authority. We hope that those meetings and activities
will lead to a definitive solution that establishes a State
of Palestine, coexisting permanently and peacefully
side by side with Israel, in order to end the killing and
suffering of their peoples and for the sake of peace and
security in the region.
With regard to the current appalling situation in
Iraq, we applaud the recent decision of the United
States to sizeably reduce the number of its troops in the
country. However, the final and decisive solution will
depend on how the Iraqi people reconcile among
themselves. That is a sine qua non for ending the civil
war in the country. Otherwise, I fear that chaos will
ensue after the withdrawal of United States troops.
In the light of our own experience, I believe that
the only option that will bring peace and stability to
Iraq is national reconciliation, with a win-win policy
for Shiites and Sunnis. But the main question that we
should ponder is: who or which country can contribute
to the initial process of confidence-building before any
genuine reconciliation can be achieved?
This year marks the halfway point between the
adoption of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) in September 2000 and the target date of
2015. Notwithstanding some overall progress,
developing countries have been experiencing
difficulties in meeting the MDG targets. This is despite
the outcomes of the many high-level meetings that
have been taking place throughout the world aimed at
improving economic development and the livelihoods
of peoples in developing countries, such as the
Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of
Implementation. In reality, however, the situation of
developing countries has not improved much. What we
need now is strong commitment and political will on
the part of all, in particular those in the developed
world, to ensure that globalization will be a
globalization of wealth for all peoples living on this
planet. I hope that that is not just a dream, but a goal
for all.
The Royal Government of Cambodia has come up
with its own MDGs, in addition to the rectangular
strategy and the national strategic development plan
2006-2010, to work to achieve sustainable
development and poverty reduction. The carrying out
of those national blueprints has yielded strong
economic growth that has averaged more than 11 per
cent over the past three years.
Therefore, at the Annual Ministerial Review of
the Economic and Social Council, held in Geneva in
July of this year, Cambodia was invited, together with
five other countries, to make a national presentation on
actual progress made in achieving our MDGs.
Concerning our Organization, the United Nations,
we are more than ever convinced of the urgent need for
comprehensive reform and not just of the Security
Council because we need to mobilize our collective
efforts and wisdom to address, in a responsive and
comprehensive way, the problems we are facing in the
twenty-first century.
There is no doubt that the status quo does not
correspond with the challenges confronting the world
today. Cambodia is of the view that United Nations
reform must be comprehensive. Therefore, instead of
focusing primarily on reform of the Security Council,
perhaps we can start with reform that can garner a
consensus. For example, we could begin by
considering how to make the Economic and Social
Council more effective and more relevant so that it can
deal with the problems of development in the context
of the MDGs. Then, of course, we also need to
empower the General Assembly so that it can play a
prominent role in addressing today’s global problems
as a democratic, deliberative, policymaking and
representative organ of the United Nations. Next,
having built up momentum and consensus by
reforming both the Economic and Social Council and
the Assembly, we could move on to reform of the
Security Council to ensure that it reflects today’s
realities, with equitable representation for developed
and developing countries.
To conclude, I would like to say that our world is
currently facing serious threats of great proportion and
severe regional crises. At the same time, development
and poverty remain high on the agendas of countries in
many parts of the world. Therefore, the United Nations
must play a more leading role if it is to respond
effectively to those challenges.