First, let me
join other speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your
assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly
at its sixty-second session. I should also like to pay
high tribute to Her Excellency Sheikha Haya Rashed
Al-Khalifa for her leadership during the previous
session. My great appreciation goes as well to
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his dedication and
initiative in addressing the many challenges
confronting the United Nations.
In the face of new challenges, the United Nations
needs to transform itself from forum to actor. The
demands of the twenty-first century call for the
creation of a United Nations that is proactive. I
commend the Secretary-General’s determination to
bring about this change. It is no coincidence that, given
the current international environment, Japan also has
embarked on a proactive foreign policy. With our
approaches thus in harmony, Japan and the United
Nations can and must work together. In my remarks
this evening I will emphasize two areas in which the
cooperation between the two actors may be optimized:
climate change and African development. I will also
touch on the need for United Nations reform, notably
the reform of the Security Council, so that the United
Nations may address those missions effectively.
In the era of globalization, the international
community has come to face new challenges that reach
across borders. In particular, climate change will be a
crisis for all humanity, not only the people of today but
also the generations of the future. Now is the time for
all of us to take action for future generations, giving
special consideration to vulnerable countries. Let us
leave behind discord and division among nations and
shift gears to combine our efforts in order to face this
common challenge. The Intergovernmental Panel on
Climate Change (IPCC) has indicated that the fact of
global warming is unequivocal, so world leaders have
the responsibility to make bold new political decisions
to address this growing challenge. With such
responsibility in mind, Japan presented a new proposal
on climate change in May and has proposed that we
collectively embrace a long-term vision for developing
innovative technologies and building a low-carbon
society. Japan has also called for a mid-term strategy
for a new framework that includes all major emitters of
greenhouse gases.
We need to tackle climate change without pause
up to and beyond 2012. In this regard, I highly
commend the political commitment expressed by world
leaders at the high-level event held on 24 September
under the initiative of the Secretary-General. Japan for
its part will contribute to the negotiations for an
international agreement through the Group of Eight
(G-8) Hokkaido-Toyako Summit to be held next year,
and will feed the results back into the United Nations
process.
Japan has gained in international competitiveness
by improving energy efficiency and decreasing oil
consumption during a period in which its gross
domestic product (GDP) doubled. We are ready to
share our technologies and experience, which hold the
key to achieving environmental preservation, energy
security and economic growth in tandem. At the same
time, each and every one of us needs to move forward
from mere ideas and reconfigure our own way of life.
Japan is promoting a new national campaign aimed at
reducing the carbon dioxide emissions of individual
households, in addition to the introduction of the Cool
Biz casual dress code initiative. The spirit of
mottainai rejecting wastefulness and the Three
Rs initiative to reduce, reuse and recycle waste also
contribute to this aim. It is my intention to globally
broaden the campaign to restructure our lifestyles. To
that end, my Government values exchanges with
corporations, academics, non-governmental
organizations and various other actors in public
forums, while at the same time cooperating with the
United Nations Global Compact.
Another priority area for Japan is African
development. Africa as a whole is now undergoing
positive change. Peace is being consolidated in several
former conflict areas. Meanwhile, many countries, both
with and without natural resources, are growing
robustly.
For Africa to become a more vibrant continent, a
continent of greater hope and opportunity, three things
are particularly important in addition to the prevention
and resolution of conflicts. First and foremost,
economic growth must be enhanced and sustained.
Secondly, human security needs to be ensured through
the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), the consolidation of peace and the
establishment of democratic governance. Finally, the
issues of the environment and climate change must be
addressed.
Japan will host the fourth Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD IV) in
Yokohama in May 2008. TICAD, whose first meeting
was held in 1993, is a process open to all. The TICAD
process places particular importance on African
ownership and true partnership with the international
community. The three areas that I have just mentioned
will be the focus of the discussion at TICAD IV, which
will be a fresh opportunity to mobilize the knowledge
and resources of the international community for
African development. South-South cooperation
between Asia and Africa will remain a key feature in
the TICAD process.
Without peace in Africa, the world at large will
not enjoy peace and prosperity. Japan cannot ignore the
situation in Darfur. Faced with the world’s worst
humanitarian crisis, Japan has provided assistance
amounting to approximately $85 million. Japan also
welcomes the establishment of the African Union-
United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur and looks
forward to its early deployment as well as to steady
progress in the political process in Darfur. Japan
intends to further enhance its contribution for the
consolidation of peace and stability in Africa.
Peace paves the way for development and human
security. However, achieving peace is not an easy task.
Iraq, for example, is struggling to achieve security and
reconciliation, and the foundation for peace remains
weak. Japan has been assisting the reconstruction
efforts of the Iraqi people by measures such as
dispatching its Self-Defence Forces and providing
official development assistance of up to $5 billion.
To help in the reconstruction of Afghanistan,
Japan has played a leading role in the field of
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration and the
disbandment of illegal armed groups, working in close
cooperation with the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan. Japan hosted the Conference
on Disbandment of Illegal Armed Groups in Tokyo in
June this year to contribute to the rebuilding of
Afghanistan through joint efforts with the United
Nations.
To build peace, it is essential for the international
community to ensure a seamless and comprehensive
effort to fulfil tasks ranging from resolving conflicts to
assisting reconstruction. As current Chair of the
Peacebuilding Commission, Japan is resolved to make
a significant contribution to such international efforts.
One concrete measure that has been taken is the launch
of the Hiroshima Peacebuilders Centre to train civilian
experts in Asia to better respond to various needs on
the ground.
Free and fair elections and democracy are also
essential for the consolidation of peace. Japan spares
no effort to provide assistance in order to promote
democratization. Japan has dispatched election
observer missions to a number of countries, including
Timor-Leste and Sierra Leone. Japan has also provided
election-related support and dispatched arms monitors
to Nepal.
It is extremely regrettable that the crackdown on
the demonstrations in Myanmar has caused casualties,
including the death of a Japanese citizen. Japan calls
on the Government of Myanmar to exercise utmost
restraint and to refrain from the use of oppressive
force. Japan demands that the Government of Myanmar
make every effort to resolve the situation through
dialogue.
Along with democracy, the rule of law helps to
lay the groundwork for peace and prosperity. To
promote the rule of law in the international community,
Japan will accede to the Statute of the International
Criminal Court next month, and is helping to improve
legal systems in developing countries. In February, in
order to give proactive support to the norm-setting role
of the United Nations, Japan signed the International
Convention for the Protection of All Persons from
Enforced Disappearance and today I have signed the
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.
Behind those endeavours lies the conviction that
the international community must cooperate in
addressing international challenges based on such
fundamental principles as freedom, human rights,
democracy and the rule of law. The primary pillar of
such fundamental values is respect for human dignity.
The issue of abductions by the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea poses a serious challenge to human
dignity. It is essential that the international community
send a strong message calling for the earliest resolution
of the abduction issue so that the victims and their
families may be reunited and have an opportunity to
recapture their former happiness. Japan will continue
to work towards the resolution of this issue as well as
the settlement of the issues of the unfortunate past
through dialogue in accordance with the Pyongyang
Declaration. With hope for an improvement of the
human rights situation, Japan will also pursue the
adoption of a draft resolution on the situation of human
rights in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea at
this session of the General Assembly.
The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
and their means of delivery is another challenge that
requires the undivided attention of humankind. From
that point of view I welcome the Security Council’s
adoption by consensus of a series of resolutions on the
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran. It is
now up to all of us to translate the will of the
international community into concrete action through
full implementation of the relevant resolutions. Japan
will continue its efforts to achieve the denuclearization
of the Korean peninsula through the Six-Party Talks.
Japan will also continue to urge Iran to heed the
unanimous voice of the international community and
suspend its enrichment-related activities.
Nuclear disarmament should receive no less
attention. I reiterate here the determination of my
country to reinforce international efforts for nuclear
disarmament, as the only country in the world that has
suffered nuclear devastation. Japan will again submit a
draft resolution at this session of the General Assembly
to map out concrete measures towards the total
elimination of nuclear weapons.
The issue of terrorism also requires sustained
efforts as it becomes increasingly complex. In that
regard, Japan welcomes the adoption of Security
Council resolution 1776 (2007). For our own part, we
will make efforts to continue our refuelling activities in
the Indian Ocean to fulfil our role as a responsible
member of the international community. Japan also
supports the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy (resolution 60/288). Furthermore, to
strengthen the legal counter-terrorism framework I call
upon every State to exercise the utmost flexibility for
an early conclusion of the negotiations on a draft
comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
In the face of a variety of threats to international
peace and security, the Security Council has come to
play a more relevant role than ever before. For the
Security Council to live up to its expected
responsibilities, we need to make it more
representative and effective. I therefore renew Japan’s
determination to pursue early reform of the Security
Council, with the expansion of both the permanent and
non-permanent membership. As has been reiterated
time and time again, no reform of the United Nations
will be complete without reform of the Security
Council. The momentum for such reform, renewed by
former Assembly President Al-Khalifa, must be
strengthened as we enter the sixty-second session. All
Member States must work together so that we can
achieve concrete results through intergovernmental
negotiations during this session.
What is required today is not to wait for change,
but to bring it about. The question is not what to expect
of the United Nations, but how we may revitalize the
Organization. We need to enhance the capacity of the
United Nations to deal with new challenges.
In addition to striving to implement Security
Council reform, Japan will actively engage in efforts to
strengthen the ability of the United Nations to maintain
international peace and security. Japan also supports
the ongoing endeavours to enable the United Nations
system to work more coherently and effectively in the
areas of development, humanitarian assistance, the
environment and human rights. At the same time, we
need to achieve concrete results in management
reform.
In connection with reform, let me remind
Member States that world leaders took a major step
forward in 2005 by resolving to delete the long-
obsolete “enemy States” clauses from the United
Nations Charter at the earliest opportunity (see
resolution 60/1, para. 177). Next year, Japan will take
centre stage in international efforts. At TICAD IV in
Yokohama and the G-8 Summit at Tokyo, Japan will
set forth principles for dealing with imminent
international challenges. I hope to bring back solid
results to New York a year from now.
Let me conclude my remarks by renewing Japan’s
unwavering commitment to work, in close cooperation
with the United Nations, to change the world for the
better.