Samoa

Samoa warmly congratulates you, Mr. President, on your election to steer the course of the Organization’s work at this critical time in its 59-year history. I know that you will continue the good work of your predecessor in highlighting the multidimensional nature of international security and the need to reform the United Nations so that our Organization responds more effectively to the current and emerging challenges facing our world. Hardly a week goes by without an act of terrorism somewhere in the world assailing our senses. Such murderous acts, regardless of the cause or grievance advanced by their perpetrators, are utterly indefensible. Many innocent lives continue to be wasted, with people killed or maimed and multitudes displaced by heinous acts designed to undermine and destabilize the collective efforts of the international community to achieve peace and security for our societies. Samoa condemns, in the strongest terms, all acts of terrorism and will continue to take actions and contribute our support to the campaign against it. Besides terrorism, other scourges to world peace and to the stability of our nations persist. The threat of weapons of mass destruction, poverty and hunger, environmental degradation, the trafficking and smuggling of human beings, HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis are becoming perennial major threats to global security. The campaign against terrorism can still be successful, but not merely by force of arms. Preventing safe havens for terrorists and closing off their sources of financing are just as crucial. But no less important is the necessity of addressing the root causes that feed terrorism. No sensible administration can fail to be moved by the tragedy of Beslan and the humanitarian catastrophe of Darfur. The imperatives for action by the Organization and the international community to address those events and their causes have been eloquently articulated by leaders who have spoken earlier from this rostrum. I wish only to recall and emphasize that actions to arrive at solutions to those events and others like them must be carried out in accordance with the rule of law. With regard to Iraq, Samoa deplores the daily violence that has killed and maimed so many people and the circumstances that have brought it about. We fully support the re-establishment of Iraq’s sovereignty, and we pray for the success of a credible election process to create an Iraqi Government with a popular mandate. Likewise, we can only pray and hope that a workable solution will be found soon for the Israeli- Palestinian conflict, before many more lives are lost on both sides. Last month, Samoa hosted, in the capital, Apia, the annual Pacific Islands Forum Summit of leaders. As the representative holding the current chairmanship of that group, I wish to inform the Assembly that the Pacific leaders again noted the dangers to the world of terrorism, and — to the Pacific region, in particular — of transnational crime, illicit drugs and the spread of small arms assault weapons. Consequently, the Pacific Islands Forum countries have strengthened their cooperation in counter-terrorism measures, as well as emphasized national efforts and regional cooperation in combating transnational organized crime and in building border-control capacities. The Pacific Islands Forum is also committed to collective arrangements and mechanisms to assist regional Governments to recover from national conflicts and crises. The success of these arrangements, undertaken with the support of the United Nations, is already evident in the positive results of the Regional Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands. While much more remains to be done, Solomon Islands is making good and steady progress, and the Forum will remain engaged in sustaining the mission. Similarly, peace has been achieved in Bougainville, with elections for an autonomous Bougainville Government to be held by the end of the year. The roles of the Governments of Papua New Guinea, Australia and New Zealand, with the support of the Pacific Islands Forum, working together with the 5 United Nations Observer Mission, is critical in guiding Bougainville during this important period. An important feature of the response mechanism put in place by the Pacific Islands Forum to assist regional Governments is its flexibility. The Pacific Islands Forum is now in the process of responding to a crisis in one of our member countries resulting from causes quite different from those in Solomon Islands and Bougainville. In recognition of the importance of good governance for economic growth and sustainable development, the Pacific Islands Forum has invited its members to become parties to the United Nations Convention against Corruption. In strengthening further the institutions of good governance in Pacific nations, the important role of non-State actors and civil society was highlighted by the Pacific leaders. One issue that the Pacific islands have brought to the attention of the United Nations over the years that remains relevant — not only for the Pacific — and that, very importantly, is advancing the cause of nuclear non-proliferation, is that of the South Pacific Nuclear-Free-Zone Treaty. The Pacific Forum has again called on the United States to ratify the Protocols to the Treaty. Although the Pacific Islands Forum has been heavily engaged in overcoming crises with which some of the regional Governments are grappling, several Pacific island nations, in addition to Australia and New Zealand, have nevertheless been contributing in ways we can to the United Nations peacekeeping efforts. As for my own country, we provide police to the United Nations peacekeeping missions in Timor-Leste and Liberia, in addition to those we have committed to Solomon Islands. Clearly, our small nations are trying hard to contribute to the security and peace initiatives of the United Nations. However, national obligations — including reporting obligations for the various conventions and United Nations resolutions on security and terrorism — place an onerous burden on the infrastructure and administrative capacity of small States. We therefore seek the understanding of the Organization and encourage the appropriate United Nations bodies to explore innovative ways to help small States meet their commitments. Mr. Spencer (Antigua and Barbuda), Vice- President, took the Chair. The challenges to and special needs of small island developing States are well known, and are reflected in the Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, which has been in place for the past 10 years. Sadly, despite the commitments made 10 years ago at Barbados and during the 1999 mid-term review in this Hall, the achievement of those goals continues to elude us. It is our fervent hope, however, that the International Meeting due to take place in Mauritius next January to comprehensively review the Barbados Programme of Action will provide an opportunity for the international community to demonstrate the political will and commit sufficient resources to allow our small island developing nations to overcome the unique challenges we face. The series of hurricanes that wrought massive devastation in some island nations of the Caribbean and in the United States is a stark reminder of the extreme challenges faced by small island developing States and of their vulnerability to disasters. Our Pacific island nations, including my own country, know from our bitter experience of cyclones that regularly batter our region about the disheartening effect of such disasters in setting back, in a matter of hours, the hard-earned development achievements of many years. The concerns and the vulnerability of our nations are therefore quite real. While we accept the primary responsibility for achieving the goals of the Programme of Action, the reality is that the support of the international community is indispensable to its success. We therefore call on the United Nations system and the international community to provide the necessary support to complement ongoing and future programmes, as well as for the implementation and monitoring of the Mauritius outcomes for the sustainable development of small island developing States. Likewise, the importance of multilateral institutions such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) in this process cannot be overemphasized. We therefore urge GEF to apply its rules of access and to simplify its disbursement procedures in order to take 6 into account the special circumstances of small island developing States. Trade is a vital component of sustainable development, especially for small island developing States. We therefore continue to urge that the vulnerabilities of small States be taken fully into account in the World Trade Organization negotiations, particularly with regard to special and differential treatment for small economies. The review of the Millennium Development Goals next year will provide an opportunity for the international community to take stock of progress and to identify remedial strategies and commitments for the further realization of those Goals. Samoa remains committed to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The election of the second Deputy Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court just two weeks ago completes the process of the full institutionalization of the Court. Samoa warmly welcomes the broad complement of judges and officers of the Court and adds its voice in urging other United Nations Members to accede to the Rome Statute for the establishment of the Court. Given its role in upholding international humanitarian standards and in protecting human rights, the Court deserves the support of the international community to give it the full universality it requires. We thank the Secretary-General and the previous President of the Assembly for their very commendable work in advancing the revitalization and reform of the Organization. To this end, Samoa fully supports the work of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and looks forward to its report at the end of the year. We believe that the outcome of United Nations reform should include the restoration of the primacy of the role of the General Assembly and the attainment of a more effective and efficient Secretariat. In particular, we support the enlargement of the Security Council and strongly recommend the inclusion of Japan and Germany as permanent members. Finally, I offer Mr. Ping my delegation’s full support in the discharge of his numerous responsibilities, and I wish him well in his presidency.