On behalf of His Majesty the Sultan and
the people of Brunei Darussalam, I wish to congratulate
you, Sir, on your election as President of the General
Assembly at its sixty-eighth session. We thank our
former President, Mr. Vuk Jeremi., for his efforts and
contributions over the past year.
Let me begin by expressing our sincere condolences
to the Government and the people of Kenya and to the
families of the victims of the terrorist attack. Such an
act deserves our condemnation. Our deepest sympathies
also go to those affected by the recent earthquake in
Pakistan.
Thirteen years ago before the Assembly, our
leaders made a promise to our peoples to fulfil their
hopes and expectations for a better life. This is why we
see the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as a
highly important global partnership. It has shown us
that progress can be made if we work together locally,
regionally and internationally. I would therefore like to
place on record our expression of appreciation to our
Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and his predecessor,
Mr. Kofi Annan, for the support and commitment
provided by the United Nations to realize that historic
initiative.
We are now approaching the end of the 15-year
period. Like many other nations, Brunei Darussalam
has been able to learn much from its experiences in
implementing the MDGs. We understand the high
expectations for all to do well. However, we need to
consider the problems that some Member States are
struggling with. Those include limitations to natural
resources, political conflict, socioeconomic problems
and natural disasters. That is why this year’s theme is
so appropriate. It is focused on setting the stage. For
us in Brunei Darussalam, it means having a national
vision — Brunei Vision 2035 — that clearly provides
direction towards attaining a dynamic and sustainable
economy in the interests of our people.
In line with the Vision, we place great emphasis
on helping our younger generation realize their hopes.
We have done this by providing quality education,
encouraging innovation and creating better job
opportunities. We also do what we can to assist fellow
developing countries, either bilaterally or in partnership
with other countries and international organizations,
in human resource development, offering scholarships
to study in Brunei Darussalam and training under
community outreach programmes within the region. We
hope that the people-to-people approach will promote
cultural exchanges and understanding.
At the same time, our regional work has been
strongly influenced by other Member States’ efforts
to achieve the MDGs. Within the Association of
Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), we have an agreed
plan to achieve an ASEAN community by 2015. Brunei
Darussalam, as this year’s ASEAN Chairman, has
chosen the theme “Our people, our future together”.
It signifies our people’s role in ASEAN’s community-
building efforts. In addition, we have also encouraged
our member States to start working on an ASEAN
plan beyond 2015, to further strengthen our mission
in promoting peace, stability and prosperity. We will
also continue to work together to strategically position
ASEAN in the wider region and the world at large.
In that regard, we are pleased that Secretary-
General Ban Ki-moon has accepted our invitation to
come to Brunei Darussalam for the fifth ASEAN-
United Nations Summit. We look forward to sharing
our views and experiences with him, and hope that will
strengthen cooperation between our Association and
the United Nations.
We are also encouraged by the recommendations
put forward in the recent report of the High-level Panel
of Eminent Persons on the Post-2015 Agenda on how
we can better assist our people in their daily lives by
providing food security and quality education and
eradicating extreme poverty. Overall, the MDGs have
offered us many lessons indeed, and now it is time for
all of us to move forward. Regardless of the statistics
of who has achieved the goals and who has not, we feel
that much has been attained through the very concept of
the MDGs. The Goals have opened up opportunities to
every Member to develop in its own way and to involve
its people in that development, even beyond 2015.
Unfortunately, the options open to some people are
severely limited. That is so when the basic, fundamental
right of self-determination has been denied. We refer
particularly to the people of Palestine, whom we
believe can attest to that. Their legitimate struggle for
a homeland of their own remains unresolved. Hence,
we support the calls of the international community for
intensified efforts towards realizing this basic right,
which we take for granted today.
The date of 29 November 2012 was indeed a
memorable day in the history of Palestine, when it was
accorded observer State status in the United Nations
(see A/67/PV.44). I would like once again to express
our support for Palestine’s full membership and for its
people’s legitimate struggle to exercise their right to
their own independent and sovereign State.
The worsening situation in Syria continues to be of
serious concern. We join the international community
in condemning the use of chemical weapons, which
has caused the loss of lives in that country. More
importantly, we support all efforts, particularly those
of the United Nations, to find a peaceful solution to the
crisis. In that regard, we welcome the United States-
Russia framework agreement for the elimination of
Syrian chemical weapons and the recent adoption of
Security Council resolution 2118 (2013) on Syria.
Before I conclude, we would like to thank the
Secretary-General and all his staff, as well as the
United Nations Volunteers, for their hard work. We
highly respect the peacekeepers for the sacrifices they
have made in the maintenance of international peace
and stability. We hope that our efforts within various
United Nations agencies and bodies will lead us to the
future that we all want.