As he is not personally able to participate in this general debate, the President of the Republic of Benin, Mr. Boni Yayi, has asked me to represent him. At the outset, I would like congratulate the President on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session and, through him, to honour his country, Antigua and Barbuda, for that success, which demonstrates the trust that it enjoys within the international community. I would also like to congratulate the outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Vuk Jeremi., who demonstrated great leadership in fulfilling his very busy term of office. I would also like to thank Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his efforts at the head of the world Organization, in particular since January 2012, as part of the implementation of his programme “The future we want” (resolution 66/288, annex). Benin fully supports the implementation of that programme, which focuses on issues that are fully consistent with the views and priorities of the Governments of the least developed countries (LDCs), in particular those of my Government with regard to governance matters, namely, sustainable development and preventing conflicts, disasters and violations of human rights, as well as ensuring the participation of all stakeholders in the management of public affairs. Two years from the 2015 deadline established for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), we can see that major efforts have been made by States to achieve the Goals. Assessments conducted at different levels have shown that least developed countries are falling far behind in implementing the Goals, in spite of the significant progress that has been made. Nevertheless, it is a fact that achieving the Goals has become a top priority of my Government’s work and mobilizes a significant share of available resources. We should therefore welcome the campaign started in April to commence the countdown of the last 1,000 days leading up to the 31 December 2015 deadline. We have reason to hope that the new dynamic and the new life that has been breathed into efforts of the international community will enable significant improvement in the performance of least developed countries. Benin has taken that opportunity to develop a road map that includes a stopwatch for the last 1,000 days in order to speed up the achievement of the Goals by 2015. My country is one of 16 African countries deemed able to achieve at least five of the eight MDGs by that date. I would like to commend the leadership of the United Nations and its relevant bodies, as well as other partner agencies, in mobilizing energies to assist States in achieving the Goals. It is important to fully include in the post-2015 development agenda those MDGs that have not been achieved on time and give them top priority in order to ensure there is continuity with the new normative framework established by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Rio de Janeiro and the demands that will result from the goals currently being developed. In that regard, the main theme for the general debate of the sixty-eighth session — “The post-2015 development agenda: setting the stage” — is quite timely and perfectly in line with the consultations that have taken place at various levels to develop that agenda. Thanks to the meticulous clarification of issues and challenges by the High-level Panel of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda, appointed by the Secretary General to present recommendations to him, we have a galvanizing vision and appropriate materials to build a unique, coherent programme regarding all those points, and pragmatic enough to ensure that everybody on the planet is placed on a sustainable development path so everyone can have access to shared a prosperity that leaves no country or person aside. The post-2015 development agenda must be universal in nature. It must also be broken down into specific measures targeting reforms and corrective measures needed to re-establish any balances that have been upset or threatened. From that standpoint, it is of crucial importance that the situations of greatest current concern to the international community should enjoy particular attention, as stipulated in principle 6 of the 1992 Rio Declaration. We should therefore strongly support what is stated in the Secretary-General’s report entitled “A life of dignity for all” (A/68/202), that the needs of the least developed and most vulnerable countries should form the basis for defining the goals of the programme. It is a welcome fact that the situation in those countries has already been the subject of significant thinking, with key action programmes that cover periods that go far beyond 2015. In that regard, the Istanbul Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the Decade 2011-2020 is and should be perceived as an integral part of the post-2015 development agenda. Its main aim is to ensure the transition of half of the 49 least developed countries to a higher-income level by 2020. Against that backdrop, Benin is quite clear about its responsibility as the head of the global coordination bureau for the LDCs. We intend to propose the holding of an international conference on the theme “New partnerships for developing the productive capacities of LDCs in the context of the implementation of the Istanbul Programme of Action”, to be held in Cotonou in April 2014. That effort already enjoys strong support from the United Nations and some development partners from diverse cooperation frameworks, whether they are North-South, South-South or according to other types of triangular partnerships. I appeal for goodwill to help make that voluntary initiative a decisive turning point in terms of mobilizing the necessary resources to help least developed countries make the leap to industrialization based on their competitive advantages. That route offers LDCs a possibility for creating decent jobs so they can make the most of their demographic advantages and turn that into a factor for stability and prosperity. We must enhance the role of quality, relevant and transformative education at the heart of the social, economic and development agendas — an education system focused on the real needs of society and the modern world. In that regard, I welcome the establishment by the Secretary-General of the Global Education First initiative, which is a platform for leading an open debate on the aims of education in the current context and to prepare children for living active, productive and personally enriching lives. That is a prerequisite for meeting the challenge of social inclusion of young people. Benin has been honoured to participate actively since February in the work of the group of Member States championing the initiative. I urge the international community to support that noble project, which is a guarantee of adequate, inclusive training for youth. I call on all countries to join the Initiative in order to contribute to the collective thinking and its efficient implementation. At Rio de Janeiro we affirmed the inextricable link that exists among the economic, social and environmental pillars of sustainable development. However, that vision will not materialize if we set aside the existing relationship among peace, security and development. We should invest more in guaranteeing peace and security as an essential factor for sustainable development. At a time when we are thinking about the broad outlines of the post-2015 development agenda, we should also forge a consensus on the path to follow and the means to strengthen the bases of international law pursuant to respect for the essential principles of the Charter of United Nations, to which all States Member of the Organization have freely acceded. We must constantly strive to bolster the ramparts of peace; without them, any development will be in vain, in the light of the destruction that comes from conflicts triggered by their violation. I would take as an example the atrocities that we see, sometimes at a frightening level, such as what occurred in Syria with the use of banned chemical weapons, which we condemn in the firmest possible terms. We must reinforce the clout of the international regulatory regimes and make progress in the area of disarmament, whose paralysis carries great risk for humankind. In that regard, too, we welcome the conclusion of the Arms Trade Treaty. We must better harness the mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes and conflict prevention. The partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations is a valuable tool for building a more integrated and solidarity-based world. That solidarity must be clearly displayed against the rise of a violent extremism that is increasingly dangerous when it takes root in our societiees by associating itself with transnational organized crime networks. All those all equally pressing challenges that the international community needs to address. We would benefit from adopting a preventive and proactive, as well as healing, approach in order to improve the health of our planet and constantly expand the vital space necessary for ensuring that humans flourish, if we really want to ensure the universal access to peace and shared prosperity that we all so sorely want. The very encouraging way in which the crisis in Mali was managed is to the credit of the partnership between the United Nations and regional organizations. It proved what the international community can achieve if it uses its levers of our collective security system in time. Benin has been honoured to take an active part, alongside other African countries, in the noble mission of rebuilding the State in Mali. The election of President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita is the start of a new era where Mali is returning to the family of free nations struggling to bring happiness to their peoples. In that connection, the policies adopted in the United Nations integrated strategy for the Sahel must be decisively implemented in order to transform challenges into opportunities for growth and progress for the peoples of the region for the certain benefit of international peace and security. We must also commend the efforts undertaken to stabilize the countries of the Great Lakes region, especially the Democratic People’s Republic of the Congo, as well as Somalia, where the African Union has shown its ability to restore and rebuild peace, with, of course, the support of the United Nations. The case of the Central African Republic gives us pause, as it requires a commitment from the international community commensurate with seriousness of the current challenges. The resurgence of piracy and armed robbery at sea in the Gulf of Guinea has had an enormous impact on the economies of the countries of the Atlantic coast and in the hinterlands. The initiatives undertaken with the support of the United Nations and the backing offered by our bilateral partners have enabled us to set up information-sharing centres pursuant to resolutions 2018 (2011) and 2039 (2012) of the Security Council. That was the aim of the joint summit on maritime security of the Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and the Commission of the Gulf of Guinea that took place in Yaoundé on 24 and 25 June. That followed the meeting of Foreign Ministers and Defence Ministers of ECOWAS, ECCAS and the Gulf of Guinea Commission that took place in Cotonou on 18 and 19 March. After Yaoundé, there was the Malabo summit of the Heads of State of the Gulf of Guinea Commission held on 9 July, which took the historic decision to open the Gulf of Guinea Commission to all States in the area of the Gulf of Guinea, which gives the arrangements an inclusive technical consultation framework. Strengthening regional cooperation means that we need to set up an international support mechanism to improve cost-sharing in order to guarantee lasting results. It is important for the Security Council to adopt a new resolution to that effect. More than ever, the United Nations must stand firm in its role as the best forum for a fruitful multilateralism, where different initiatives come together to give the necessary impetus for more inclusive and less unjust global governance that finds comprehensive, lasting solutions to crises of every stripe that trouble the world with disastrous repercussions on human security and human rights. The delays in the establishment of a Palestinian State with all the attributes of an independent and sovereign State, including full membership in the United Nations, living side by side with the State of Israel within secure borders and with full international guarantees is still a subject of concern. In that regard, Benin welcomes the efforts of the Obama Administration that have led to the renewal of dialogue between the Palestinians and Israelis. Along the same lines, the paralysis in the United Nations with respect to different political and military crises shows how urgent it is to reform the international system, in particular the Security Council. Achieving that reform would be real proof of the commitment of the United Nations to inclusive and less polemic management of the great problems of today. The Government of Benin is firmly committed to the universality, indivisibility and interdependence of all human rights, which it considers to be the third pillar of the United Nations system. They are considerations that govern our participation in the work of the Human Rights Council, where we strive to promote a correlation between the behaviour of States and the international obligations they have undertaken through a mutual open dialogue and mutually enriching cooperation as the most effective way for developing and protecting universally recognized human rights and the fight against impunity. Governments must undertake to create more cohesion between stakeholders and to ensure understanding and consensus on essential matters and avoid internal divisions that undermine the State while negative forces are constantly striving to wreak havoc. My Government is committed to strengthening the principles of democracy and the implementation of effective local development policies. My Government remains convinced that promoting, developing and shoring up democracy, far from being a luxury, is a vital and unavoidable necessity for all African States. That is why Benin is striving each day to find the ways and means to strengthen and streamline its political system so as to permanently anchor it in universal values. I remain convinced that democracy can be viable and useful for the people only if it contributes to development, to promoting the dignity and fundamental rights of citizens, to strengthening social justice and to maintaining peace and international security. In conclusion, I would like to express the compassion of the people of Benin to the brotherly people of Kenya for the tragedy they have experienced following the recent terrorist attack. The same compassion goes out to all those people in the world who are suffering from intolerance and its attendant violence.