Lao

On behalf of the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, I sincerely congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. I would like to assure you of our full support and cooperation in discharging your noble duty. I would also like to commend Mr. Vuk Jeremi. for his successful completion of his mandate as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. The Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic offers its condolences to the Government and people of Kenya on the loss of life as a result of the terrorist attacks last week in Nairobi, and I join the international community in condemning that inhumane act. The year 2013 marks a new turning point in promoting international cooperation for development and in addressing global poverty. At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development held in Brazil in 2012, world leaders initiated an international consultative process to chart a vision and concrete action for enhancing sustainable development in the post-2015 era. This clearly demonstrates that poverty eradication and sustainable development remain our overriding priorities. In recent decades, despite the tremendous efforts of the international community to achieve poverty eradication and development targets, 1.2 billion poor people — 22 per cent of the world population — still live in poverty. In addition, the environment continues to be threatened and damaged, which has led to climate imbalance and the frequent recurrence of natural disasters that were rarely seen in the past. Moreover, political and social unrest and armed conflicts continue to rage in different parts of the world with no sign of imminent resolution. Likewise, the global and regional economic and financial crisis has intensified, with long-term effects on developing countries, especially least developed countries. These situations in the development, political, socioeconomic and environmental spheres continue to obstruct and impede all nations from attaining the sustainable development goals, including the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Against that backdrop, it is more crucial now than ever before for the international community to redouble its efforts to strengthen development cooperation based on sincere and mutual assistance for the benefit of all and for a secure world. As the world today becomes increasingly interdependent, no single country can thrive and survive without the engagement and cooperation of the international community. In that context, global institutions such as the United Nations have an important duty to advocate on behalf of international development cooperation. I commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts in promoting international cooperation, including between the United Nations and regional organizations throughout the world, in a complex and challenging global environment. A nation’s political stability and security are vital factors for enabling an environment and conditions conducive to advancing sustainable development. However, many regions of the world are experiencing social unrest, political strife and military confrontation, which pose a major threat to global and regional peace and security. In that regard, we share the common concern over the deteriorating situation in the Middle East, which has lasted for years now. We call on all parties concerned to work together and to find a peaceful solution in order to save the lives of innocent people. In that spirit, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic welcomes the agreement reached by Russia and the United States on Syria’s chemical weapons. The international community must devote urgent attention to the issue of Palestine on the basis of the principle of creating the two independent States of Palestine and Israel living side by side in peace. In that regard, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic commends the efforts of Israel and Palestine to resume peace negotiations, which mark an important milestone for the promotion of peace in that region. The unilateral embargo on the Republic of Cuba, an independent State, is unjust and contrary to international law, and has a severe negative impact on the lives of the peace-loving Cuban people. Therefore, it is now time to put an end to the embargo. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic has always attached great importance to creating a peaceful environment and to safeguarding political stability in the interest of national development, with a view to graduating from least-developed-country status. To that end, the Lao Government has made the utmost effort to pursue a consistent foreign policy and to promote  international cooperation at all levels. We continue to fulfil our international obligations to maintain peace and to promote the rule of law attentively. In this regard, the Lao Government has mapped out a policy for governing the State by the rule of law and the promotion and protection of the fundamental rights of people of all backgrounds. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is party to many international human rights instruments. We have enacted and amended a national law on human rights, including the rights of women and children. To continue fulfilling its international obligations, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has presented its candidatures for membership of the Human Rights Council, for the term of 2016-2018, and of the Executive Board of the United Nations Development Programme/ United Nations Population Fund/United Nations Office for Project Services for 2016-2018. We hope that the Lao People’s Democratic Republic will be given an opportunity to work with the international community within the aforementioned frameworks. At the regional level, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has played an active part in the process of community-building of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), which consists of three pillars: the political-security community, the economic community and the sociocultural community. We believe that the political and economic strength of the ASEAN community will form a solid ground for regional cooperation, thereby contributing to the maintenance and promotion of peace, security and development in the region and the world at large. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic played an important role as Chair of the framework of cooperation between the continents of Asia and Europe — the Asia- Europe Meeting (ASEM) — from 2010 to 2012, and was greatly honoured to host the ninth ASEM Summit on 5 and 6 November in Vientiane, under the theme “Friends for peace, partners for prosperity”, which was successfully concluded. At the Summit, leaders from the two continents had a constructive exchange of views on the ways and means to promote peace and enhance development cooperation in their respective regions for the benefits of the peoples of Asia and Europe, as well as to ensure their legitimate rights to live in peace and to improve their well-being. The Lao Government was proud to have been given the opportunity to fulfil that important obligation, and I take this opportunity to express my deep gratitude to all friendly countries and the international community for their support and assistance to the Lao People’s Democratic Republic, which led to the successful outcome of the Summit. Despite various achievements in its socioeconomic development, as both a least developed and a landlocked country the Lao People’s Democratic Republic remains vulnerable and continues to face numerous challenges in its development and poverty-reduction efforts, as clearly reflected in the recent third national MDG progress report, issued early this month. If it is to achieve all the MDGs, the country must continue to overcome daunting challenges, such as child malnutrition, gender inequality in education and the impact of unexploded ordnance contamination. Nevertheless, the Lao Government will continue to lead its people in moving ahead together with the international community in tackling numerous challenges in order to achieve the MDGs. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is among those countries most affected by cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance, which continue to pose major constraints to national socioeconomic development and poverty reduction. In that regard, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic calls on all countries to consider acceding to the Convention on Cluster Munitions with a view to ensuring a total ban on those weapons and to helping to address the impact of cluster munitions. In 2014, the group of landlocked developing countries (LLDCs) will hold a 10-year Review Conference on the Implementation of the Almaty Programme of Action to address the particular problems and special needs of the LLDCs. Adressing the specific problems of LLDCs has become a regional and international obligation. Regardless of their development level, these countries will not be able to address the impacts of their landlocked condition without international cooperation, especially from transit countries and development partners. In that context, the 2014 Review Conference will be of great importance not only for the LLDCs, but also for all development partners. The Conference will provide an excellent opportunity for the international community to identify the emerging challenges and engage in new cooperation aimed at addressing the impact of the landlocked status faced by the LLDCs. We have high hopes and expectations for the outcome of the Conference, which could adopt a new policy direction and more concrete measures reflecting the  current development environment. This could form the basis for addressing the specific problems faced by the LLDCs in the next decade. The success of the Conference would certainly demonstrate the spirit of genuine partnership and mutual assistance among members of the international community. Therefore, in my capacity as chair of the group of LLDCs, I call on all parties, international organizations — including the United Nations system — international financial institutions, the private sector and non-governmental organizations to participate actively in the preparation and organization of the Conference in view of ensuring its successful outcome.