Allow me to congratulate the
President of the General Assembly on his election to
serve during the sixty-eighth session of the Assembly. I
repose full confidence in him to steer the deliberations
of the Assembly to a fruitful conclusion, and I assure
him of our full cooperation in the discharge of his
important responsibilities.
I take this opportunity to extend my sincere thanks
to the outgoing President, Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for having
successfully presided over the Assembly at its sixty-
seventh session. I would like to express my sincere
appreciation to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his
able and visionary leadership and excellent reports on
issues before the Assembly.
I bring with me a message of peace and non-violence
from Lumbini, the birthplace of Gautama Buddha, the
apostle of peace, and the greetings and best wishes
of the Government and people of Nepal. Nepal has
unflinching faith in the principles and purposes of
the United Nations as enshrined in its Charter. Nepal
upholds the centrality and indispensability of the
United Nations in forging global peace and security,
development and human freedom, as well as its role in
the promotion of multilateralism, befitting the needs of
our age.
It is an irony that one eighth of the world population
has to live without enough food at a time when 150 per
cent of the Earth’s annual regenerative capacity is being
consumed, and that nearly 1 billion people will still be
forced to live in extreme poverty in 2015. Looking at
this unfair and unjust scenario, one can hardly envision
global sustainability without a system of economic
growth and development that ensures the progress and
well-being of people on this planet in an equitable,
inclusive and judicious manner. We can hardly realize
sustainable development when pervasive poverty,
unsustainable consumption and production patterns,
and spiralling environmental degradation are allowed
to continue.
Nepal attaches great importance to the full
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs). At the United Nations Conference on
Sustainable Development, our countries demonstrated
the wisdom to take the MDGs forward with greater
vigour through universally applicable sustainable
development goals. The report of the High-level Panel
of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Development
Agenda reminds us that there is a need to build on
the foundations of the MDGs, leaving no one behind
in global development efforts. Clearly, any new
development agenda that does not keep the elimination
of extreme poverty at centre stage loses the spirit of
sustainability. I therefore call upon all Member States
to direct concerted efforts to completing the unfinished
tasks of the MDGs before embarking on a post-2015
development agenda and any subsequent sustainable
development goals.
The High-level Panel has set forth a vision for
shaping a common destiny for the global community
through inclusive economic growth, human progress
and sustainable development. That collective vision
needs to be translated into concrete action with
deliverable goals and targets that can be measured
globally and locally, based on the Rio principles.
We underscore the need to breathe life into the
post-2015 development framework with the principles
of universal human rights, equity and sustainability.
To that end, we should take into account its global
applicability, on the one hand, and regional, national
and subnational circumstances and priorities, on the
other. We believe that all processes relating to the
sustainable development goals should reconcile these
fundamental aspects, especially in the interests of the
poor and marginalized countries and societies. Nepal is
constructively engaged in mainstreaming the concerns
of the least developed countries (LDCs) into the new
global development agenda.
While no country is immune to the ominous effects of
climate change, countries like Nepal disproportionately
have to bear the brunt, in stark contrast to their
negligible contribution to greenhouse-gas emissions.
Nepal is the fifth most vulnerable country in terms
of climate change risks. The risk of multiple disaster
in overwhelming proportions and the increased
vulnerability we have to face also threaten our fragile
mountain ecosystem and fabulous diversity, as well as
lives, livelihoods and heritage in Nepal.
We welcome the understanding reached in Doha
by the Member States on a firm timetable to adopt a
universal climate agreement, during the eighteenth
session of the United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change. We call on all for an early conclusion
to climate change negotiations, with binding emission
commitments and guaranteed, enhanced, predictable
and easily accessible financing for the most vulnerable
countries, such as Nepal, to enable their speedy
implementation of suitable adaptation and mitigation
measures.
Least developed countries face severe structural
constraints and multiple vulnerabilities, and are
the furthest off track in achieving the Millennium
Development Goals and other internationally agreed-
on development targets. The Istanbul Programme
of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the
Decade 2011-2010 (A/CONF.219/3/Rev.1) has outlined
eight priority areas to be implemented in order to
overcome those constraints and enable half of the
LDCs to graduate from that status by the year 2020.
However, in order to achieve that urgent but ambitious
goal, external and internal enabling environments must
be created through synergistic efforts on the part of the
LDCs and their development partners. Integrating the
Programme of Action’s priorities into all our relevant
plans and programmes and the ongoing post-2015
development discourse in the United Nations is a must
to that end.
Nepal has set itself the goal of graduating from
LDC status by 2022. The Government is committed to
pursuing that goal by mainstreaming the internationally
defined priority areas. I ask for genuine partnerships
and enhanced cooperation in efforts towards a full,
effective and speedy implementation of the Istanbul
Programme of Action and other internationally agreed-
on development goals, with sufficient and predictable
funding mechanisms for our goal to become a reality.
Nepal’s ability to benefit from trade-induced growth
is constrained by the structural problem posed by the
high transit-transport costs that its landlocked nature
imposes. Our remoteness from markets, marginalization
and lack of integration into regional and global value
chains all limit the competitiveness of our trade and
our attractiveness as an investment destination. Despite
the tremendous advances in technology and innovation
that global trade has benefited from, Nepal has yet to
catch up with that trend, owing to its lack of the basic
transport and trade infrastructure that facilitates trade.
We look forward to the 10-year review process
of the Almaty Programme of Action: Addressing the
Special Needs of Landlocked Developing Countries
within a New Global Framework for Transit Transport
Cooperation for Landlocked and Transit Developing
Countries, and to forging a successor plan of action
capable of addressing landlocked developing countries’
specific concerns and development aspirations.
LDCs are still waiting for results from the Doha
Development Round and the full implementation of
the decisions of the Sixth Ministerial Conference of
the World Trade Organization (WTO) in Hong Kong
and subsequent meetings. Forty-nine LDCs represent
less than 1 per cent of world trade. The recent Fourth
Global Review of Aid for Trade further confirmed its
capacity to deliver and noted that together with the
Enhanced Integrated Framework as a vehicle, it helps
to address supply-side constraints, enhance productive
capacity and promote economic diversification. We
will participate in the ninth Ministerial Conference of
the WTO in Bali in December, with the expectation
that LDCs’ core issues — the full implementation of
the duty- and quota-free provision, the adoption of
simple and flexible preferential rules of origin and the
operationalization of a service waiver for LDCs — will
be addressed effectively.
The structural deficiency and democratic deficit
of globalization must be addressed by making it
more inclusive and responsive to the needs of poor
and marginalized people around the world. More
attention must be given to international migration
and its potential contribution to the development of
countries of destination and origin, and to ensure
that globalization is also fair to the bottom billion of
the South. International migration is a cross-cutting
developmental issue of common concern.
Migration is significant all over the world, but
more so in countries like Nepal, where nearly 1,500
people leave for foreign employment every day. While
remittances constitute nearly 25 per cent of Nepal’s
gross domestic product, Nepalese migrant workers fill
labour-market gaps and contribute significantly to the
well-being of the people and the economic development
of their destination countries. It is extremely important
to keep human values and dignity at the centre of
administration and governance related to migration. It
is also essential to define the roles and responsibilities
of countries of origin, transit and destination in order to
ensure the basic rights of migrant populations and show
respect for their contribution to development.
North-South, South-South and triangular types of
cooperation are becoming more significant than ever
before for forging an inclusive development agenda
and ensuring that equality and justice prevail in
the world. It is vital that the North make good on its
commitments for resources to the developing South.
Likewise, South-South cooperation should be promoted
by sharing development experience and transferring
technology, and by exploiting latent synergies and
complementarities in developing and integrating trade,
investment and infrastructure facilities.
We uphold the view, close to the ideals of the
Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), that an environment of
lasting peace and security, conducive to people-centric
development, can be created only through strengthened
multilateralism. As a distinct multilateral forum and
moral voice of the developing world, NAM has a
greater role to play in fostering international peace and
security at the United Nations and beyond. We believe
that NAM should pursue the issues of reforming the
United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions,
which shape global social and economic policies in
general, and financial architecture in particular, in
order to make them more inclusive and responsive to
the needs of the developing world.
Nepal reiterates its call for the general and
complete disarmament of all weapons of mass
destruction — biological, chemical, radiological and
nuclear — in a time-bound manner. Our efforts to
achieve the goal of total nuclear disarmament must be
matched by efforts to achieve the non-proliferation of
other weapons of mass destruction. As host this year
to the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and
Disarmament for Asia and the Pacific in Kathmandu,
we stand for strengthening regional initiatives for
peace through dialogue, education and awareness, and
for subsequent confidence-building measures. Nepal
supports establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones,
keeping outer space free of weapons and keeping small
arms and light weapons out of the reach of illicit hands.
The Arms Trade Treaty is a landmark achievement of
this year.
Nepal unequivocally condemns terrorism in all
its forms and manifestations perpetrated anywhere
in the world under any pretext. Our hearts go out to
the victims of terrorism, most recently in Kenya and
in Pakistan, which only strengthens our resolve to
fight the menace. We call for the early conclusion of a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism to
fight that heinous crime against humanity.
As a country emerging from conflict, Nepal
underscores the importance of addressing issues of
exclusion, discrimination, inequity, corruption and
the violation of human rights, and it also supports the
strengthening of the rule of law at the national and
international levels.
Nepal is concerned about the long, drawn-out
peace process in the Middle East. We are overdue in
fulfilling our commitment to a comprehensive, lasting
and judicious solution to the problem. We support
the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people to an
independent and sovereign Palestine State, based on
United Nations resolutions and a solution that enables
Israel and Palestine to live as neighbours within secure
and recognized international boundaries.
The situation in Syria is of serious concern to us
all, due mainly to the violent conflict and its attendant
large-scale humanitarian tragedy. We believe the
international community should facilitate the easing
of tensions and confrontation through diplomacy and
dialogue towards a peaceful and durable political
solution. We condemn the recent use of chemical
weapons in Syria and call for the total destruction of
chemical-weapons stockpiles in all parts of the world.
I reiterate my country’s principled position that the
protracted embargo on Cuba is unjustified and needs to
be ended immediately and unconditionally.
Nepal supports the early and peaceful unification of
the Korean peninsula through dialogue and negotiations
based on the will of the Korean people.
Needless to say, making women partners in all
efforts for peace, security and development at all
levels, treating them equally without discrimination,
and ensuring the protection of their basic rights to
unleash their potential have positive implications for
the advancement of society as a whole. Moreover, their
mainstreaming and empowerment through access to
power and productive resources directly contribute to
comprehensive development. In Nepal, constitutional,
legislative and institutional provisions ensure equal
rights to women and their meaningful participation
in and contribution to society, focusing on capacity-
building, institutional strengthening, legal protection,
empowerment and gender mainstreaming.
We are committed to our national, regional and
international commitments and obligations to human
rights, despite our protracted political transition, low
level of economic growth and capacity constraints.
Peace, democracy, human rights and development
reinforce each other and impinge upon the people’s
uninterrupted participation in governance and an
inclusive development process. The National Human
Rights Commission and several other human rights
institutions seek to safeguard the human rights of
our people. We are strengthening their institutional
capacity to deliver on their constitutional and statutory
responsibilities, including ensuring the rights of
women, children and persons with disabilities. The
current national plan, policies and programmes of the
Government are geared towards the empowerment of
all the people, regardless of class, creed, gender or
ethnicity, and embarking on a path of socioeconomic
development that is inclusive, fair, equitable and just for
all, in line with the country’s national and international
commitments.
Nepal is a founding member of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC)
and a member of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for
Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation
(BIMSTEC), through which we are actively involved in
forging a synergy of collective efforts in several areas
of regional cooperation, including poverty reduction,
trade expansion, investment promotion, connectivity
improvement and socioeconomic advancement. Nepal
is constructively engaged with arrangements such as
SAARC and BIMSTEC for peace and prosperity at the
regional level and with the United Nations at the global
level.
My delegation looks to the United Nations as the
repository of our hopes and a true upholder of the
universal values of peace, justice, equality, freedom and
human dignity. Given that the United Nations mandate
and structures were founded nearly seven decades
ago, its reform has been a continuous process aimed at
meeting the growing requirements of changing times.
There are growing concerns that the United Nations
bodies and the Bretton Woods institutions should be
made more democratic, accountable, financially stable
and responsive to all, as their decisions pervade the
social, economic and financial architectures of nation
States. Nepal supports the timely re-engineering of
those institutions in order to ensure the representation
of developing countries in their decision-making.
Nepal holds the view that the reform of the Security
Council should reflect changes in contemporary political
and economic realities. It should be more representative
in composition, transparent in functioning, democratic
in character, balanced between the North and South,
and above all be capable of taking prompt action when
peace is threatened.
For over six decades now, Nepal has consistently
contributed to the work of the United Nations,
particularly through peacekeeping missions around
the world, including in the most challenging situations.
More than 100,000 peacekeepers have served so far
with distinct professionalism, and 63 soldiers have laid
down their precious lives in the line of duty.
My country, Nepal, is in a crucial phase of
taking the peace process to a logical conclusion and
institutionalizing the gains made in the democratic
rights of the people, which came through various
continuous movements and struggles carried out over
decades. The country-driven and owned peace process
enjoyed the support of the United Nations and the
international community, for which we express our
deep appreciation.
The first Constituent Assembly, elected through
the democratic process in 2008, expired in May 2012
without completing its mandate of making an inclusive
constitution. In the aftermath of the dissolution of the
Constituent Assembly, attempts to form a consensus
Government, led by leaders of political parties, could not
coalesce in the absence of general consensus, even after
a series of attempts through dialogue and negotiations.
The country started to slide into political uncertainty in
the absence of certainty that an election would be held,
and more complications appeared imminent.
To overcome the situation, the major political
parties were guided by their collective wisdom to work
out an alternative outlet that resulted in the formation
of an apolitical and neutral Government, under the
leadership of the Chief Justice, with the aim of holding
free, fair and credible elections to a fresh Constituent
Assembly. In view of the demands of the situation to
form a Constituent Assembly that would function as
a pivotal institution for the balance of power, I had to
accept the responsibility in the larger interest of the
nation and the people and as a responsible citizen.
We have made the necessary preparations to hold
the elections on 19 November this year. We have been
trying our best to listen to the dissenting parties and
to bring them on board for the election through the
political process. There is no alternative to elections to
revitalize the democratic process and ensure political
stability. The election will provide a mandate by
the people for writing a constitution, advance civil
and political rights, ensure people’s sovereignty in
decision-making in State affairs and institutionalize
multiparty democracy, federalism and republicanism. It
will be instrumental in completing the remaining tasks
of the peace process. The settlement of political issues
through the democratic process will ensure political
stability and, eventually, will open up prospects for
broad-based economic development, to which the
people have aspired for so long. I express my sincere
thanks to the international community for the moral
and material support made available for the elections
and would like to convey how meaningful that gesture
of goodwill is to us.
It is my hope and belief that, with continuing
understanding, support and assistance on the part
of all friends of Nepal, we will be able to go beyond
the protracted political transition and focus on the
consolidation of the political accomplishments made
so far, the further democratization of the country
and economic development, so that we may graduate
from least-developed-country status by 2022. We are
fully confident that democracy provides leverage for
bridging differences and promoting peace, tranquillity
and prosperity.