Allow me at the outset to
extend to Mr. Kerim my delegation’s warmest
congratulations on his election to preside over the
sixty-second session of the General Assembly. His
election to that high office is a tribute to his wisdom
and skill, as well as a true reflection of the important
role played by his country in the international arena. I
assure him of my delegation’s full cooperation in his
work.
At the same time, allow me to place on record my
delegation’s profound gratitude and appreciation to his
predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for the
commendable manner in which she guided the work of
the sixty-first session.
Let me also take this opportunity to express my
delegation’s deep appreciation to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his dedication and
leadership. The Maldives pledges its full support for
the Secretary-General’s untiring work in promoting the
noble principles of this Organization.
It is indeed a privilege for me to address the
General Assembly on this historic day, when the
United Nations is observing the International Day of
Non-Violence. On this day, we pay special tribute to
Mahatma Gandhi, one of the greatest men of all times.
The Maldives has always been a country which
has promoted peace, non-violence, tolerance and
human rights. However, the spectre of terrorism visited
the Maldives this past weekend. On Saturday
afternoon, an improvised explosive device was
detonated in the commercial area of our capital, Malé,
injuring 12 innocent bystanders. That unprovoked
attack was the first of its kind in our history. I would
like to extend our sincere sympathies to those who
were injured and to their families.
The Maldives is a country renowned for its
tranquillity and warm welcomes. Our people are united
in shock and outrage that this happened on our soil.
That shock is matched by a determination that such
cowardly acts of aggression will not be allowed to
undermine or jeopardize the maintenance of our
peaceful and harmonious society. On behalf of the
people of the Maldives, I would like to take this
opportunity to thank our many friends in the
international community for their expressions of
support and solidarity. I would particularly like to
thank those countries that have provided us with their
expertise, technical advice and assistance in the
ongoing investigations. Finally, I would like to
commend the work of our domestic law enforcement
and other agencies that have reacted to the incident
with such speed and professionalism. The incident
serves as a reminder that no State is immune from the
scourge of terrorism. The Maldives utterly condemns
all acts of terrorism, wherever they are perpetrated.
The Maldives, as a low-lying small island State,
is particularly vulnerable to the perils of global climate
change, a point brought sharply into focus by the
recent sea swells that submerged a large part of the
country. For the past 20 years, the Maldives, along
with its partners in the Alliance of Small Island States,
has thus been at the forefront of efforts to bring the
issue of climate change and its devastating impact on
small island developing States to the world’s attention.
Addressing this Assembly in 1987 at the high-
level debate on environment and development, the
President of the Republic of Maldives, Mr. Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom, said:
“The profound dilemma of environmental
transition is a global one, and its implications are
worldwide and long-term. Though the Maldives
and other low-lying archipelagic nations may
have to suffer the most immediate and the most
extreme effects of a global sea-level rise, there is
a potential danger to a significant portion of the
world’s population in the near future … No one
nation, or even a group of nations, can alone
combat the onset of a global change in
environment.”
Since that ground-breaking debate, the
international community has convened numerous
conferences and summits at which it has agreed on a
wide range of plans and programmes of action aimed at
addressing global climate change. However, as a
community of nations we must regretfully concede
that, all too often, the reality of implementation has
failed to match the ambitions of rhetoric.
Twenty years on, greenhouse gas emission levels
are continuing to increase unabated and the
consequences of global warming are becoming ever
more apparent. One can only therefore conclude that
the past 20 years have been an era of missed
opportunities.
Despite those stark facts, last week’s high-level
debate on climate change has once again given us some
hope and encouragement. As a result of a palpable
change in world opinion, there is now a real sense of
international momentum leading towards December’s
crucial Conference in Bali. We believe that the
Conference offers us a chance to overcome the failed
promises and missed opportunities of the past, and to
build a new global consensus on climate change.
We must take collective responsibility and agree
to an integrated and comprehensive approach to
climate change that recognizes and covers all four
pillars of climate change policy mitigation,
adaptation, technology transfer and funding. While the
necessary steps are clear, the crucial question, as
always, is whether the international community has the
political will to undertake those steps; to build on the
commitments entered into in Rio, Kyoto,
Johannesburg, New York and elsewhere; and to secure
a successful outcome from the Bali process.
I can assure the Assembly that the Maldives will
play its part in this process. I am happy to announce
here today my Government’s intention to host a
preparatory meeting for the Alliance of Small Island
States in the Maldives in November. The purpose of
this meeting is to draft a collective stand on the
individual human dimension of climate change for
submission to the Bali Conference.
The Asian tsunami of 2004 represented the worst
natural disaster in the history of the Maldives. The
economic damage and losses alone were equivalent to
almost two thirds of the country’s gross domestic
product. Although much remains to be done to
complete the process of recovery, a considerable
amount has already been achieved. We need the
continued support of our development partners and the
international community to overcome the challenge of
tsunami recovery.
The devastating tsunami threatened to derail the
Maldives in its attempts to attain the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) and our planned
graduation from the list of least developed countries
(LDCs).
Despite the tsunami, the Maldives continues to
make strong progress towards the attainment of the
MDGs. The Maldives has already achieved Goal 1, the
eradication of extreme poverty and hunger, and Goal 2,
the achievement of universal primary education. We
are also on course to meet Goals 4, 5 and 6 on reducing
child mortality, improving maternal health, and
combating communicable diseases, respectively.
Consolidating and strengthening progress towards all
the MDGs is a key focus of the recently launched
seventh national development plan.
Buoyed by these successes, the Maldives will
next year begin its transition period for graduation
from LDC status. For the Maldives, graduation
represents a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it is
recognition of the startling economic and social
development that the country has enjoyed over the past
30 years. On the other hand, graduation will bring with
it a range of new challenges. For example, we will
enjoy less favourable trading conditions and reduced
levels of development assistance. Adapting to this new
reality will not be easy. In that regard, I would like to
use my speech today to once again urge our
international partners to assist us in making the
transition as smooth as possible.
Next year marks the sixtieth anniversary of the
adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. The Maldives Government is determined to
mark the occasion by completing the country’s current
reform agenda, an ambitious programme of reforms
designed to strengthen individual rights and freedoms,
ahead of multiparty elections under a new Constitution.
Since the start of the reform agenda in 2004, the
Maldives has made remarkable strides in the field of
human rights. An independent Paris Principles-
compliant Human Rights Commission has been
established. The Maldives has acceded to the two
major human rights covenants on civil and political
rights, and on economic, social and cultural rights.
Later today I will sign, on behalf of the Government,
the International Convention on the Rights of Persons
with Disabilities, meaning that the Maldives will have
signed or ratified eight of the nine core human rights
treaties. Last year, the Maldives also became the first
country in Asia to ratify the Optional Protocol to the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman
or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
However, the Government readily concedes that
much more needs to be done. Therefore, the
Government is proceeding in its work in close
cooperation with international human rights bodies.
For example, last year, the Maldives became one of the
few countries to extend a standing invitation to visit
the country to all United Nations human rights special
rapporteurs. In addition, earlier this year, the
Government invited the Office of the High
Commissioner for Human Rights to appoint a national
human rights adviser to the Maldives.
The Maldives reiterates its support for the right of
the Palestinian people to an independent homeland. We
therefore call on the international community, led by
the Quartet, to revive the peace process as a matter of
urgency.
The Maldives also calls on the international
community to continue and intensify its efforts to bring
peace and stability to Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Maldives also reiterates its steadfast
opposition to the development, proliferation or use of
nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass
destruction.
Strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations
to take on the new and emerging challenges of the
twenty-first century remains an important task. We are
encouraged by the progress that has been made in
implementing the wide-ranging United Nations reform
programme over the past two years. We sincerely
believe, however, that these reforms cannot fully
succeed without the much-needed and concurrent
reform of the Security Council. Maldives firmly
believes that an effective multilateral framework is
fundamental for the security of small States and that
such a framework should take into consideration
modern geopolitical realities.
In this regard, the Maldives reiterates its support
for the Group of Four (G-4) draft resolution on
Security Council reform. We hope, therefore, that we
will be able to make progress on Security Council
reform during this session.
Before I conclude, please allow me to reaffirm
our commitment to the principles enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations and to offer our full
support to its continuing work for the betterment of
humanity and for the maintenance of international
peace and security.