Mauritius

May I, on behalf of my delegation, and in my own name, extend our sincere congratulations to Mr. Srgjan Kerim on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. I assure him of our fullest support and cooperation in the daunting tasks that lie ahead of us. His election is a personal tribute to his engagement and rich experience in international politics and diplomacy. Allow me also to convey our sincere appreciation and thanks to his predecessor, Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa, for the effective and efficient manner in which she conducted the business of the sixty-first session. May I also take this opportunity to pledge my delegation’s support to the new Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in his efforts and approach in charting out a vision for the Organization that will respond to the needs and aspirations of the twenty-first century. International peace and security constitute the bedrock of the Organization. We have come a long way since 1945 in securing peace and security in many parts of the world. However, a lot remains to be accomplished in order to have a conflict-free world. We are seriously concerned about what is happening in the Middle East. Conflicts in some parts of Africa continue to be a major source of concern to us. The trail of violence and death continues to plague the Middle East. In order to give peace a chance and allow it to take root in those regions and manifest its positive effects in the day-to-day lives of citizens, we need to redouble our efforts and explore all possible avenues to achieve peace, stability and security, in the larger interests of the citizens of those countries. The fragility of the Middle East situation, and in particular the question of Palestine, needs a holistic approach that, inter alia, includes linkages embedded in the socio-cultural, political, economic and security issues of the region. I should also once again like to reiterate our full support for the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian State side by side with the State of Israel. With regard to Darfur, we welcome the African Union-United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur which is expected to assume the peacekeeping and peacebuilding operations there. We call on all the parties concerned in the conflict to demonstrate their real commitment and resolve to engage fully in the search for lasting peace. In Somalia, despite the serious efforts to contain violence during the past six months, the situation remains highly volatile. In that context, I would like to add my voice to the call made by the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mr. Konaré, to the Secretary-General to consider the possibility of deploying a United Nations force to assist the African Union Peace Support Mission in Somalia. The President returned to the Chair. The world today is confronted with growing threats of terrorism be it home-grown, cross-border, regional or international in nature. That scourge should be confronted with all the means at the disposal of the international community. We also believe that more effective and efficient mechanisms should be put in place to capture the financiers of terrorist organizations. The United Nations remains the cornerstone of the fight against terrorism. Mauritius has lent, and will continue to lend, its fullest support to the numerous initiatives and resolutions of the United Nations on counter-terrorism. We are happy to note that the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism entered into force in July of this year. The world of the twenty-first century is a world of interdependence, with the national frontiers between peoples and countries falling faster than we had envisaged. This has brought about the interphase and interaction between peoples from different parts of the world. We are today living in a world intertwined with interreligious and intercultural predicaments. Mauritius, as the Assembly is aware, is a multi- ethnic and multicultural society. Unity in diversity is the solid foundation on which we have built the framework for the peaceful coexistence of peoples of different faiths and cultures. Cultural diversity, understanding and respect for different faiths and religions are today part and parcel of Mauritian society. We warmly welcome the convening of the High- level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace, which is to be held in October 2007 at United Nations Headquarters, for the promotion of tolerance, understanding and universal respect on matters of freedom and religion. We will certainly be part of the Dialogue. Furthermore, we reaffirm our determination to support all initiatives that promote a culture of peace and tolerance. We are also happy to note that the General Assembly recently adopted resolution 61/271 to observe and celebrate the International Day of Non-Violence on 2 October each year in recognition of the great apostle of peace and non-violence, Mahatma Gandhi. Mauritius is a strong advocate of all human rights and fundamental freedoms so much so that the founding fathers of our constitution ensured that human rights figured prominently therein. Since our independence, in 1968, we have persistently endeavoured to place our citizens at the core of all forms of human rights and have ensured that they enjoy all political and civil rights irrespective of their status, colour or creed. We have enacted several pieces of legislation and we continue to enhance our legislative and institutional framework for the further protection and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms. We have set up the National Human Rights Commission, the Sex Discrimination Division, the Office of the Ombudsperson for Children and the Human Rights Centre to ensure and promote compliance with fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual and the international instruments on human rights. Mauritius is party to all major international and regional human rights treaties. We continue to extend our unwavering support to the United Nations in the promotion and protection of human rights. As a member of the Human Rights Council, we are lending our fullest support to make it more effective, efficient and relevant in the eyes of the world. Our quest for universal respect for human rights demands that the perpetrators of massive violations be brought to justice promptly. Impunity gives rise to violations. We cannot but admire the Buddhist monks of Myanmar and the courage of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi, whose party won a democratic and fair election in 1990, only to be removed from office by a military coup. She has now spent 11 of the last 17 years under house arrest. And now the legitimate stirrings of the people’s will are being brutally repressed in blood, as we are speaking here at the United Nations. It is our duty to let the people of Myanmar know that the free nations of the world stand by them. But we need to do more than just stand by them. The time has come for the most stringent sanctions to be taken against the military junta that has proved again and again that it is totally impervious to good sense and common humanity. I am proud to say that in 1997, in my first term as Prime Minister, I took the decision to stop buying rice from Myanmar. I applaud the decision of the President of the United States of America to apply sanctions. All of us should do the same. The military junta must be sent a clear message: that the free world will not tolerate gunning down people who are demanding freedom and justice. While the Assembly has made responding to climate change the thrust of the general debate, Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has qualified climate change as the defining issue of our era. We cannot agree more with that. Climate change affects all of us. Indeed, if it is not addressed head on, it will have irreversible consequences and devastating effects on the survival of human beings and the habitability of our planet Earth. We all have a stake in addressing climate change and global warming. We commend the laudable initiative of the Secretary-General in convening the High-level Event on Climate Change on 24 September. We remain confident that the strong message that has emanated from the High-level Event will provide the necessary impetus and political will and act as a catalyst to the Bali meeting later this year. However, in our approach to finding a global solution to climate change we should avoid making those who bear the least responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions and who are yet the hardest-hit, pay the price on the same scale as others who have led to the increase in global warming as early as the eighteenth century. Mauritius, for its part remains committed to the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The rise in sea level constitutes a danger that threatens most of the low-lying island developing States. Those States have limited capacity to withstand the negative effects of natural disasters and external economic shocks. Their sustainable development becomes more trying and rigorous in the light of their inherent vulnerabilities. Mitigation and adaptation capabilities of countries may vary depending on the level of their economic development. Small island developing States (SIDS) face, in their adaptation choices, fundamental constraints of inadequate data and technical capacity, weak institutional capacity and limited financial resources. In that respect we call for the full and effective implementation of the commitments, programmes and targets adopted in the Barbados Programme of Action and the Mauritius Strategy for the Further Implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States. A special SIDS fund to assist the development and implementation of adaptation measures in the same manner as the special fund for the least developed countries under the umbrella of the Global Environment Facility (GEF), and regional climate observational systems to better monitor climate variations associated with global warming and sea-level rise, need to be set up. While it is true that if the present pace of climate change goes unchecked, the face of the world may change dramatically in the next hundred years with devastating effects for future generations, it is equally true that underdevelopment, poverty, hunger and diseases such as HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis in the developing world are the present challenges that require the immediate and undivided attention of the world as laid down in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The 2007 Millennium Development Goals midterm report underscores that “the MDGs will be attained only if concerted additional action is taken immediately and sustained until 2015” (Millennium Development Goals Report 2007, p. 4). Africa, unfortunately, in spite of serious and strenuous efforts, continues to lag far behind on the MDGs. Mauritius for its part, is on track to meet the MDGs by the year 2015. Nonetheless, since my Government took office in 2005, we have allocated considerable resources in our national budget for the empowerment of the poor and the social uplifting of vulnerable groups. The development challenges of Mauritius go well beyond the achievement of the MDGs. In order to improve the prospects for attaining the MDGs, it is essential for donors and development partners to honour their undertakings and commitments made at the 2002 Monterrey International Conference on Financing for Development. In that respect, we hope that the follow-up International Conference on Financing for Development in 2008 will provide the much-awaited response from the concerned parties to adequately address international commitments on financing for development. In our efforts to find ways and means to alleviate and ultimately eliminate poverty in our subregion, Mauritius, jointly with the Southern African Development Community will be hosting an International Conference on Poverty Alleviation and Development in April 2008. While there is no denying the fact that globalization has led in its wake to economic growth in the world including developing countries, it is also true that many countries, especially the most vulnerable ones, are unfortunately not reaping the benefits of globalization. This is particularly true of LDCs, lower- and middle-income countries and countries in transition, which continue to face huge difficulties in integrating the globalizing economy. We call for a new global strategy that would create an enabling economic environment for development. It would require greater coherence between the international trading, monetary and financial systems. We therefore reaffirm our dedication to the establishment of a new international economic order which emphasizes globalization with a human face whose benefits will be more widely shared. More than six years after the 2001 Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS “Global Crisis Global Action”, the pandemic still remains a global crisis requiring global action. The negative impact of HIV/AIDS on human resources in the 25-45 age group, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa is simply overwhelming. The alarming rate with which the HIV/AIDS pandemic is ravaging innocent lives in our societies has far-reaching implications for our socio- economic development. It undermines the efforts towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The prevalence of HIV/AIDS in Mauritius is merely 0.2 per cent, with between 20 and 30 per cent of the cases affecting vulnerable groups, such as prison inmates and intravenous drug users. Our policies are geared towards containing the level of contamination, in particular by combating transmission via the sharing of contaminated needles. We are providing substantial funds for the development of a needle exchange programme and a public awareness information and communication campaign on HIV/AIDS. I wish here to put on record our appreciation to the Clinton Foundation for having included Mauritius amongst the countries that can benefit from the Clinton Foundation HIV/AIDS Initiative. Every year at this time heads of State and Government meet here in this Assembly, because we believe in the virtues of multilateral diplomacy. All of us here are sincerely concerned about the multiple tensions across the world. I am convinced that we all wish to make our full contribution to the search for practical, viable and long-term solutions. We are all inspired by the same will to manage our differences in dialogue and understanding. We want to call attention to the problems of globalization and participate in launching and strengthening the economies of our countries. We recognize and welcome the enormous role that the United Nations plays on the international scene, a role that needs to be considerably enhanced. The scope of diplomacy has considerably widened in recent years. Through the lever of international relations, the United Nations has the means and the duty to promote cooperation based on conflict prevention and the efficient management of natural disasters. But the United Nations still needs improvement in its structure and functioning, and we hope that reform will soon be brought about. We continue to follow with keen interest and participate actively in the ongoing reform process of the United Nations, particularly on the question of the reform of the Security Council, the revitalization of the General Assembly, system-wide coherence, the mandate review and the management reform. For us, meaningful reform of the United Nations must first pass through a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council. At the 2005 World Summit, we expressed our resolve to support early reform of the Security Council with a view to making it more broadly representative, efficient and transparent. There has been enough talk on this subject and it should not remain as mere words and intentions. My Government welcomes the decision of the Open- ended Working Group dealing with the reform of the Security Council, which has decided, inter alia, to start intergovernmental negotiations on the reform of the Security Council. We are convinced that the intergovernmental negotiations should be results- oriented. Mauritius remains committed to the African common position, which calls for two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats for Africa in a reformed Security Council. We continue to support the legitimate aspirations of the Latin American and Caribbean countries for a permanent seat. Mauritius reiterates that a permanent seat for India in the Security Council is long overdue. As the largest democracy and a secular state, India is a living example of the peaceful coexistence of major religions, cultures and faiths. India can be a source of inspiration as well as a testing ground for the outcome of the forthcoming United Nations High-level Dialogue on Interreligious and Intercultural Understanding and Cooperation for Peace. In 1965 at the Constitutional Conference for the granting of independence to Mauritius, the Chagos Archipelago, among many other islands, formed an integral part of the territory of Mauritius and should have remained as such in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and General Assembly resolutions 1514 (1960) and 2066 (1965). Resolution 1514 (1960) states, inter alia: Any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and the territorial integrity of a country is incompatible with the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. (para. 6) The excision of the Chagos Archipelago by the colonial Power at the time of our independence constitutes a dismemberment of our territory in total disregard of resolutions 1514 (1960) and 2066 (1965). Furthermore, it is also a violation of the Charter of the United Nations itself. We therefore, once again, reiterate our request to the United Kingdom to engage in bilateral dialogue with us as soon as possible with a view to enabling us exercise our sovereignty over the Chagos Archipelago. Equally, on the question of our sovereignty over Tromelin, we note the progress registered at the recent Mauritius-French joint commission. The United Kingdom and France, two permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, are two major and important economic, trade and development partners of Mauritius. We fully appreciate their continued support in the development of our country. We have been striving to reach an amicable agreement on these issues but we cannot and will not compromise on our territorial integrity and our sovereignty over those islands. To conclude, I should like to reaffirm my country’s full faith in the United Nations. It remains the only organization that offers us hope for peace and security for a better world for future generations.