Samoa would like to congratulate the President on his election as President
of the General Assembly. We fully support the agenda
that will guide our work during his tenure. In the same
spirit, Samoa would like to extend its best wishes to
the new Secretary-General as he leads our Organization
through new and uncharted waters during these
difficult times.
The High-level Event on Climate Change held
earlier this week underscored two fundamental truths,
namely, that climate change is solvable with the
solution firmly in our hands and that the United
Nations continues to be an indispensable institution in
our search for answers to the global challenges
confronting humankind. From all accounts, the
High-level Event was a considerable success; but
success is measured not in the number of statements
delivered, nor in the level of participation, but in the
political will to translate undertakings into concrete
results on the ground to usher in an effective and
comprehensive post-Kyoto agreement. The time for
rhetoric is over. We need to convert our good words
into deeds.
Climate change, like many other global
challenges, crosses borders uninvited. It has no respect
for national sovereignty and does not discriminate
between countries whether rich or poor, large or
small, resilient or vulnerable. Its dire consequences are
real and everywhere for all to see, including those who
would prefer to remain unconvinced. Climate change
cannot be wished away. Even those countries that have
been in denial to date must surely now accept the
weight of scientific evidence and concede that climate
change, facilitated largely through human-induced
activities, poses one of the gravest threats to
humankind and to the continuation of life in our world
as we know it today.
Obviously, we have failed badly as custodians of
the planet and its future. But apportioning blame for
the present state of our environment is itself yet
another human failing. It serves no useful purpose.
Being judgmental will not restore our environment.
Those who exploit the traditional divide between
developed and developing countries, and ideological
and political differences, do so conveniently to mask
their unwillingness to be part of the solution to an
impending catastrophe.
Climate change is a societal problem that requires
a decisive response from the world community. It is a
global challenge that should unite us. In division there
is little we can do. But as a truly united world
community there is a great deal that could be achieved
to at least arrest, and even reverse, the threat of climate
change. A timely example of what can be achieved
when the political commitment to cooperate is present
is the Pacific Alliance for Sustainability, an innovative
approach by the Global Environment Facility (GEF)
for expedited access to GEF resources by Pacific island
countries to meet some of the adaptation and
mitigation needs associated with climate change.
The United Nations remains our last best hope to
provide the political will and the necessary
commitment to turn the tide against climate change.
Samoa calls upon those Member States of the
Organization in a position of world leadership to lead
the charge in finding and implementing solutions to the
causes of climate change. As present custodians of our
world’s environment, we owe it to our children and to
future generations to do what needs to be done quickly
and decisively, before we run out of time. It is
therefore imperative to complete a post-2012 climate
change agreement that is effective, binding, capable of
being swiftly implemented and universally owned and
respected by the 192 Member States of the United
Nations.
In the global work that needs to be done to
address climate change, and indeed in any of the other
weighty challenges facing our world, we of course look
to nations in positions of leadership to lead by good
example. In the all-important pillars of the United
Nations concerning economic development, human
rights, peace and security nations in leadership roles
must as a matter of principle protect the interests of the
weak and vulnerable. They should accord priority and
give their full attention to finding solutions to issues of
global concern.
In the same way that nations in leadership roles
are called to account in doing the right thing for our
world, so must all the Member States of the United
Nations uphold their part of the bargain in the work
that needs to be done. Without that cooperation from
all Member States, reaching the objectives we all know
should be achieved will continue to elude us. Solutions
to liberate our world from the tyranny and futility of
war, the social and economic inequalities that we are
trapped in and the uncontrolled and wild spread of
epidemic diseases have all been mapped out. They
have been discussed, debated, negotiated and, in most
cases, agreed to over the life of the Organization.
As with climate change, global long-term
challenges that continue to remain unsolved should be
approached collectively and positively within the
framework of the United Nations. An integrated
approach is desirable, given the interconnectedness and
the mutually reinforcing nature of the issues. That calls
for visionary and far-sighted leaders, statesmen and
stateswomen who are not deterred from making the
right decisions.
That is much to ask for in a world of unequal
resource endowments, size, status and strength
where national interests take precedence over the
global good and where policies are selected, not
because they are the right and correct thing to do, but
because of their acceptability to the voting
constituents, how much they cost and who pays the bill
at the end of the day. But times are changing.
The world is one global family, and no country
exists in isolation. Interdependence is the norm, and
none is immune from the reaches of the global
problems challenging our very existence. As history
has shown, no one country, however powerful and
willing, can remain aloof and be able to solve all those
problems on its own. The United Nations therefore
remains the best means to achieve multilateral
cooperation in so many important areas. With unity of
purpose and mind among the membership of the United
Nations, we would have every reason to be optimistic
about finding solutions to the problems that beset our
world.
That is why Samoa supports the efforts to
strengthen and reform the United Nations and its
constituent parts to make them cost-effective and
efficient when responding to the needs of stakeholders.
Central to the reorganization is a revitalized General
Assembly as the primary policy- and
decision-making organ of the United Nations. It should
also include a functioning Security Council, whose
membership should be increased in both categories to
mirror present day realities, including those with the
capacity and the disposition to contribute to the
Council’s work and its legitimacy. Moreover, we
encourage the efforts under way to streamline the work
of the different United Nations agencies to eliminate
wastage of resources and unnecessary duplication of
time and effort.
In the Pacific region, the long-promised United
Nations presence in island States where the
Organization is not represented has yet to materialize.
That is unfortunate, given the time that has passed and
the importance island leaders attach to the enhanced
visibility of the United Nations to assist in forging
partnerships and building capacity to help sustain the
development efforts of island nations.
Samoa recently hosted the largest-ever South
Pacific Games in the event’s 43-year history. The fact
that Samoa was able to successfully stage that largest
of the Pacific regional events notwithstanding the
paucity of its resources demonstrated the importance to
small island developing States of working successfully
with their development partners. In the particular case
of the South Pacific Games, Samoa needed to
demonstrate the importance of sports to the
socio-economic development of our young people,
both at the national and at the wider Pacific regional
levels, in making submissions for assistance to its
development partners.
The People’s Republic of China was able to
respond positively to the call to provide critical
infrastructure to meet the requirements of the Games.
Similarly, in other key sectors such as education and
health, Samoa’s other development partners have
accepted our requests and agreed to work with us in
our efforts to improve those vital areas.
The decision by the Economic and Social Council
early this year to graduate Samoa from the status of
least developed country is a clear reflection of the
immense value to Samoa of the contribution of its
development partners including Australia, China,
the European Union, Japan, New Zealand and a host of
multilateral institutions, such as the United Nations,
the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, the
International Monetary Fund and the Commonwealth,
to name some.
As is well known, we argued strongly at the
Economic and Social Council debate and at the
General Assembly the case of the continued
vulnerability of our small, isolated island economy,
with all its attendant disadvantages, its lack of natural
resources and its vulnerability to devastating natural
disasters. None of those conditions and risks will
disappear after Samoa graduates from the group of
least developed countries. We therefore ask our
development partners for their continued understanding
and support of Samoa’s development efforts in the
future.
People trapped in the different troubled spots of
the world will not be able to experience true peace
unless they are consulted and have a voice in any
negotiated solution conducted in a spirit of genuine
goodwill to find outcomes that create conditions for
harmonious coexistence. Samoa therefore welcomes
the recent attempt to resume the Middle East peace
process and the new hope it rekindles that perhaps a
durable solution may finally be achieved, where
Palestinians live in a permanent and an independent
State of their own alongside a secure and safe Israeli
State.
The Sudan’s agreement to the African Union-
United Nations Hybrid Operation is a courageous first
step towards solving the humanitarian situation in
Darfur and deserves full support. Hopefully, it will
signal the end to the long and horrific suffering of
innocent people caught in the midst of that tragic
conflict.
Iraq’s early gains through its democratically
elected Government are being eroded daily by
disruptive elements bent on derailing the process to
return the country to normalcy. Ultimately, it is the
Iraqi leadership that should promote and manage any
national reconciliation process to guarantee its long-
term sustainability. However, it is also clear that, with
the wider international community now able to play a
more active role in Iraq, their understanding and
contributions will be critical in helping with the efforts
to bring peace to Iraq.
I have on previous occasions from this rostrum
expressed Samoa’s unwavering support for the
peacekeeping work of the United Nations. I again
reaffirm that support, which is underpinned by my
country’s contribution and involvement in the United
Nations peacekeeping missions in Timor-Leste, Liberia
and the Sudan. Additionally, Samoa continues to be an
integral part of the Regional Assistance Mission to the
Solomon Islands under the umbrella of the Pacific
Forum.
Terrorist acts committed the world over, under
whatever pretext or purpose, are deplorable and
morally unjustified. In its various forms and
manifestations, terrorism is responsible for the
permanent scars of horror and fear that have gripped
international attention in recent years. Terrorism should
therefore be condemned in the strongest way possible,
to send out the clear and unequivocal message that it is
neither accepted nor condoned and that perpetrators
should not expect any sympathy for their actions.
Samoa strongly supports the anti-terrorism
resolutions of the United Nations. We have put in place
the relevant legislative framework and have
implemented measures in line with intergovernmental
efforts to combat international terrorism.
In concluding my statement, I wish to again
emphasize the important role of nations in key
positions of leadership in the achievement of the
objectives of the Organization, whether in
peacekeeping, the environment, poverty alleviation, the
fight against terrorism or the many other challenges
that threaten our world. They must lead by good
example, make decisions and take action based on the
well-founded conviction that what they do is morally
and ethically correct for the ultimate benefit and
greater good of the world. When nations with
leadership roles and responsibilities are able to do that,
they will find ready support from the rest of the
Organization’s membership.