Year after year the international community meets in
New York in September to debate the major issues of
concern to humankind. This traditional encounter is of
special importance in that it enables us to grasp very
directly and intensively, in all their complexity, the
challenges that confront us, but also to bolster our
determination to search for common solutions. That is
the very essence of the effective multilateralism that,
with great conviction, my country, Luxembourg, has
placed at the heart of its international action.
And what could be a stronger illustration of this
shared perception of what is at stake globally and this
resolve to seek viable solutions in the short, medium
and long, even very long, term than the high-level
event organized at the beginning of the week at the
initiative of the Secretary-General devoted to the
problems of climate change?
As already said on behalf of the European Union
by the Prime Minister of Portugal
whose statement I fully support, it is essential that
December's Bali negotiations on an effective and
viable post-Kyoto regime get off to a successful start.
That is our most basic responsibility vis-a-vis present
and future generations. For its part, as a member of the
European Union and a State party to the Kyoto
Protocol, Luxembourg, which has already undertaken
weighty individual commitments, is ready to engage
with great resolve in the quest for innovative and bold
solutions.
In order to address successfully the problems of
climate change, we must tackle them in all their
complexity. In this regard, it should be noted that in the
absence of concerted and energetic international action,
there is a great risk that countries and populations that
have contributed the least to the emergence of this
phenomenon are likely to be the ones to bear the
heaviest adverse consequences.
This, as I see it, is a political problem and, I
would say, a moral problem of the first order. More
than ever, the issue of development and hence of
sustainable development both in the North and in the
South must remain in the forefront of international
attention. Important decisions have already been taken.
Here, I would refer in particular to the decision taken
by the European Union in 2005 under the Luxembourg
presidency to attain the objective of 0.7 per cent of
gross national income for official development
assistance (ODA) by 2015. Faced with the risk of
stagnation in ODA, we must redouble our efforts to
meet our commitments.
A member of this all-too select Group
with ODA that in 2007 reached close to 0.9 per cent of
gross national income, and looking forward to
achieving the objective of 1 per cent that we have set
for ourselves Luxembourg can only look forward to
the expansion of this club.
The year that lies ahead is crucial from the
standpoint of development. There will be a need to
undertake resolutely, and in a way that seeks a
convergence, the World Trade Organization trade
negotiations, the follow-up to Monterrey in the area of
financing for development, and the implementation of
the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Only if we
adopt generous and courageous policies will we be able
to build on these advances and reduce the delays that
unfortunately persist, particularly in a number of
sub-Saharan African countries, with regard to the
achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.
The convening in 2008 of a high-level meeting on
mid-term implementation of the Millennium
Development Goals would undoubtedly be a good
opportunity to take stock and relaunch our efforts. Here
I would also applaud the recent establishment at the
initiative of the Secretary-General of the Millennium
Development Goals Africa Steering Group. I am
convinced that this will make a significant contribution
in terms of coordination and intensification of efforts
vis-à-vis a continent with which Luxembourg
maintains relations of intense and multifaceted
cooperation.
The problems associated with climate change and
sustainable development bring me to another subject
that is dear to my heart and is at the core of the
international activities of the Luxembourg Government:
humanitarian action. When it first discussed the
question of climate change (see S/PV.5663), the
Security Council highlighted the numerous complex
interactions that could exist among natural disasters,
the stepping up of violent conflicts within and among
States and humanitarian disasters in various parts of
the world. We must tackle these emergency situations
on the operational level, seeking to make our action as
efficient and prompt as possible. But there is also a
need increasingly to place these emergency situations
in their political, socio-economic and cultural context
in order to try to mitigate their effects and, as far as
possible, to prevent recurrence.
It is from this standpoint that a new Luxembourg
Government strategy in the area of humanitarian crisis
management has recently been presented. The strategy
that rests on three pillars: emergency relief;
rehabilitation and reconstruction in the transitional
phase; and prevention.
On the basis of the United Nations finding that
one euro invested in prevention may make it possible
to save eight euros in crisis response and resolution,
nearly 5 per cent of the Luxembourg humanitarian
budget will henceforth be devoted to a proactive,
preventive approach.
The 2005 World Summit Outcome, which is more
than ever the road map for international action,
stressed the fundamental finding according to which,
“development, peace and security and human rights are
interlinked and mutually reinforcing. For my part, I believe that this is a cardinal
principle that should guide and inspire all action by the
United Nations and its Member States from an overall
standpoint of coherence in addressing the great
problems of the time: conflicts in Africa and I am
thinking particularly of the situations with tragic
humanitarian consequences currently prevailing in the
Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, and, to be sure, Zimbabwe; the Middle East,
where it is important to support fully ongoing Israeli
and Palestinian efforts and to progress ultimately
towards a negotiated solution of two States living side
by side in peace and security, and also towards a
lasting solution for the whole region; and Afghanistan,
Burma/Myanmar and other hotbeds of violence and
instability. There is no denying that we must take into
account simultaneously the dimensions of peace and
security, human rights, States rights, the rule of law
and socio-economic development.
I would like now to speak of the courage of the
Burmese monks and other citizens who for weeks have
been peacefully expressing their aspiration to
democracy and respect for human rights. I condemn
most energetically the violence of the Burmese security
forces against these peaceful demonstrators and call the
authorities to put an end to it.
The imperative that I mentioned a moment ago
can also be seen very clearly in the work of a new and
innovative organ, of which Luxembourg has been a
member since the beginning of the year: the
Peacebuilding Commission. The integrated
peacebuilding strategies for each of the countries
concerned should take into account all the factors
involved in order once and for all to break the cycles of
violence and place those countries on a stable track
towards development. I would like also to mention in
this context the essential dimension of reconciliation
and combating impunity and to applauding in
particular the activities of the various international
courts, in particular the International Criminal Court.
The protection and promotion of human rights is
one of the key focuses of Luxembourg’s foreign policy.
I continue to place great hope in the new Human
Rights Council, which has just finished setting up its
institutional structures, including, in particular, the
universal periodic review mechanism, which is a
significant innovation.
Faithful to its convictions and commitments, my
country fully associates itself with the initiatives
announced by a group of States from all parts of the
world aimed at making progress in the international
debate on the question of abolishing the death penalty.
In this rapid overview of the international
situation in the area of peace and security, allow me to
linger for a moment on an important issue that is of
such concern to both the United Nations and the
European Union, namely Kosovo. The last act of the
Yugoslav tragedy, an urgent solution for the Kosovo
issue must be found. The Special Envoy of the
Secretary-General, President Ahtisaari, has been
working energetically to establish, in keeping with the
established guidelines, the basis of the future status of
Kosovo. The Troika of representatives from the
European Union, the United States and Russia is also
committed to a final attempt to bring the two parties
together. These efforts have been continued in recent
days in New York. As members know, the parties are
even now meeting in this building; I have high hopes
that dialogue will ensue. The Troika has agreed to
submit its report to the Secretary-General by
10 December. I reiterate that the European Union is
ready to fully assume its responsibilities in the region,
for which a European future lies ahead.
I turn my attention to another issue that is of
concern to international public opinion and whose
potential impact on peace and security is very
worrisome: the area of disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation. A few days ago, I had the
opportunity to state the views of the Luxembourg
Government at the General Conference of the
International Atomic Energy Agency in Vienna. Here at
the General Assembly I advocate once again for
continued efforts in the area of nuclear disarmament
and a strengthening of the non-proliferation regime, of
which the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons is and should remain the keystone.
I would also like to speak briefly about other
types of arms with destabilizing effects or unacceptable
consequences for civilians; small arms and light
weapons and sub-munitions. I hope that significant
advances may soon be made, on those two categories
of weapons in particular. The Luxembourg Government
for its part intends to participate actively in this debate
and is currently preparing a bill forbidding the
manufacture, storage, utilization and trade in weapons
employing sub-munitions.
The quest for international disarmament and the
strengthening of international regimes on weapons of
mass destruction consistently remain objectives of the
Luxembourg Government, because of the serious
concern we feel as we observe certain current
developments with regard to respect for existing
international norms, in particular with reference to the
Iranian issue.
While the agreement that has just been concluded
between the secretariat of the International Atomic
Energy Agency specifically Mr. ElBaradei and
the Islamic Republic of Iran goes in the right direction,
we note with concern that Iran has not yet taken the
necessary measures to bring itself into conformity with
the three relevant resolutions of the Security Council. I
appeal to Iran finally to take that action and to suspend
all activities linked to enrichment.
On the set of issues that I have just mentioned,
the Charter has entrusted a central role to the Security
Council. It is essential for the Council to adapt to the
political realities of the beginning of the twenty-first
century by enlarging its membership in the categories
of permanent and non-permanent members,
guaranteeing an appropriate place for the small States
that represent the vast majority of States Members of
the Organization. It is important also to modernize the
Council’s functioning for the sake of enhanced
effectiveness and transparency, with broader
involvement for the entire membership. On the basis of
the consensus decision that was adopted at the end of
the sixty-first session of the General Assembly (see
A/61/PV.109), I venture to hope that significant
progress will be achieved in the area of Security
Council reform in months to come. My country is
eager to make its contribution to the achievement of
the purposes of the Charter and to shoulder its share of
responsibility in international peace and security, and
thus wishes to become for the first time since it
placed its signature on the San Francisco Charter in
1945 a non-permanent member of the Security
Council for 2013 and 2014.
Security Council reform is an important portion
of the United Nations reform agenda outlined at the
2005 Summit. If recourse to a multilateral machinery,
with the United Nations at its core, is to be credible,
then the tool made available to the international
community must be commensurate with the
developments of our time and capable of responding
adequately to the expectations of efficiency and
effectiveness harboured by States and peoples
worldwide.
The reform effort should be pursued and
supported with conviction by a revitalized General
Assembly, exercising its prerogatives with energy and
discernment and achieving its priority objectives.
Reform, and thus the modernization of multilateralism,
can succeed only if it rests on the common will of all
Member States.
That applies in particular to the field of system-
wide coherence in operational activities. To overcome
the fragmentation that has developed over more than
60 years of United Nations history, to restore to the
system and its actors a more effective capacity for
action, particularly at the level of the countries and
populations concerned, and to strengthen operational
coherence in the eight areas covered by the report of
the High-level Panel (A/61/583) are primary objectives
for the performance and thus the credibility of the
United Nations system. They are also decisions that
need to be taken courageously and proactively in the
appropriate forums.
While the success of reform would be reflected in
a win-win-win situation for donor countries, recipient
countries and the United Nations as a whole, as
Mr. Ban Ki-moon has rightly said, the failure of reform
would be likely to marginalize the entire system over
the long term. The choice is before us; we must
shoulder our political responsibilities.
More than ever, effective multilateralism is a
great hope of our populations aspiring to a more just,
more peaceful and more prosperous world, where the
great ecological balance is preserved and where every
man and every woman can live in dignity and in full
enjoyment of his or her human rights. Let us not
disappoint that expectation.
And let us remember this very wise saying from
the Roman philosopher Seneca: It is not because it is
difficult that we do not dare to do it; it is because we
do not dare to do it that it is difficult.