The President of the General Assembly has chosen for
this session and this general debate the theme “The post-
2015 development agenda: setting the stage”. He has
thus called on the Assembly to be bold and ambitious,
to work together towards the same objective, to prove to
the world that we will not accept defeat, and to exert our
collective responsibility in order to eradicate poverty
and promote sustainable development.
Luxembourg stands ready to do so. We are ready
to work towards a renewed global partnership based
on a common understanding of our shared humanity,
on a new spirit of solidarity, cooperation and mutual
accountability, and on coordinated action that embraces
security, development, governance, human rights and
the rule of law.
To live free from fear, conflict and violence
is the most fundamental human right, and yet we
witness unspeakable violations of human rights and
international humanitarian law every single day. The
use of missiles, bombs, cluster munitions and chemical
weapons, the systematic imposition of sieges, forced
displacements, torture, sexual violence, violations
and abuses committed against children, more than
2 million refugees, more than 100,000 dead — these
are the chilling results of two and a half years of brutal
repression and conflict in Syria. The list of war crimes
and crimes against humanity committed on a daily
basis continues to grow.
Against such horror, I repeat once again that the
situation in Syria must be referred to the International
Criminal Court. Allow me to quote High Commissioner
for Refugees António Guterres:
“Syria has become the great tragedy of this
century — a disgraceful humanitarian calamity
with suffering and displacement unparalleled in
recent history”.
The Syrian people need assistance now, and they
have the right to such assistance under the most basic
criteria codified in international humanitarian law. The
Syrian authorities must urgently meet the demands of
humanitarian actors by immediately facilitating their
free and unimpeded access to the affected populations.
It is urgent to remove bureaucratic obstacles, to
ensure the delivery of medical supplies, to institute
humanitarian pauses, to open up humanitarian routes
and to allow access to populations in need across
borders and across conflict lines.
As a non-permanent member of the Security
Council, Luxembourg is working with Australia to
amplify the demands of humanitarian actors to the
parties to the conflict in Syria and to secure them in a
unified message from the Security Council. I hope that
those efforts will come to fruition very soon.
While we have been able to make progress in
past few days on the issue of chemical weapons, and I
hope we will adopt, a few hours from now a Security
Council resolution establishing a strong and binding
mechanism to ensure the control and destruction of
the Syrian chemical weapons as soon as possible. Yet
we cannot and must not forget the humanitarian crisis
that continues to unfold in Syria and its neighbouring
countries, particularly Lebanon and Jordan but also in
Iraq and Turkey. For its part, Luxembourg has fulfiled
the pledges it made in Kuwait City on 30 January last,
and we have just decided to increase our humanitarian
aid to the populations affected by the Syrian crisis to
€7.6 million.
The vigorous appeal made on Tuesday by the
Secretary-General should resonate with all of us. Let us
break our deafening silence and live up to our collective
and individual responsibilities. We all agree that a
lasting solution to the conflict in Syria can only be
political. Here too, let us live up to our responsibilities;
let us seize the momentum created by the agreement
on chemical weapons, set a date for the “Geneva II”
conference, and encourage the parties to participate
therein in order to start down a road, on the basis of
the Geneva communiqué of 30 June 2012 (S/2012/523,
annex), leading to a cessation of hostilities and to a
necessary political transition in Syria that meets the
legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people.
Tragic as it may be, the situation in Syria must not
lead us to forget the plight of the Palestinian people.
We must not forget the urgent need to see the creation
of a contiguous and viable Palestinian State, living
in peace and security, side by side with the State of
Israel. I welcome the commitment and resolve of the
Secretary of State of the United States, John Kerry,
to restart direct negotiations between the Israelis and
Palestinians. I also praise the political courage and
the sense of responsibility shown by the Israeli and
Palestinian authorities in accepting to return to the
negotiating table. Eight rounds have been held since
14 August. We hope that the negotiations will intensify
in October and lead to a result within the agreed time
frame of nine months.
We all know that this initiative is probably our last
opportunity to act. We must not let it slip away. If we do,
it could lead to dramatic consequences. The time has
come to make difficult decisions, to take the necessary
historic measures in line with the long-term interests of
the Israeli and Palestinian peoples. The time has come
to implement the two-State solution. This is no time
for unilateral acts that fuel the dynamic of mistrust.
Building illegal settlements and destroying Palestinian
homes and infrastructure in the West Bank, including
in East Jerusalem, must stop immediately. The attacks
on Gaza must stop. All violence must stop.
With its partners in the European Union,
Luxembourg stands ready to pursue its active
contribution to the ongoing efforts, in close cooperation
with key stakeholders, the Quartet and countries in the
region. There can be no security in Israel without a
viable Palestinian State. There can be no security in
the region without peace in all countries of the Middle
East.
We must shake up the status quo. We must break
the cycle of violence. This imperative also applies to
the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Great
Lakes region. We dearly hope that the Peace, Security
and Cooperation Framework for the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and the Region, signed on
24 February in Addis Ababa, represents a turning point
for consolidating peace and regional stability. The
second meeting of the Regional Oversight Mechanism,
held at the level of the Heads of State and Government
on Monday in New York City, led to the adoption of
regional benchmarks and indicators on progress, which
will facilitate the implementation of the Framework.
This is an important first step. It must be
followed by concrete action at the political, security
and economic levels. The parties must fulfil all their
commitments diligently and in good faith, including a
commitment neither to tolerate nor to provide assistance
or support of any kind to armed groups, in particular
the Mouvement du 23 mars, which continues to operate
in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. We
must tackle the root causes of recurring violence and
lay the foundation for reviving the regional economy
in order to initiate a virtuous circle that will allow the
people of the region to start down the the path towards
sustainable development.
The commitment of the international community is
all the more necessary in a situation that, regrettably,
has received far less attention. I am referring to
the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in the Central
African Republic, affecting the entire population of
4.6 million people. Law and order and the rule of law
have collapsed. Human rights violations have become
commonplace, as have arbitrary arrests and detention,
torture, sexual violence against women and children,
rape and extrajudicial executions. According to our
sources, Séléka militias have also recruited and used
at least 3,500 child soldiers. No one can be indifferent
to those figures. The humanitarian situation continues
to deteriorate. The prevailing insecurity has further
reduced access to the affected populations. We must act
immediately.
Restoring security and law and order must be our
first priority. We strongly welcome the decision of the
African Union Peace and Security Council to authorize
the deployment of an international support mission
to the Central African Republic. The United Nations
should give its full logistical and financial support to
this African-led mission. Our credibility is at stake.
We all know the disastrous effects of the unregulated
trade in conventional arms — violent repression, armed
conflict, crime and widespread violence. That is why
the Arms Trade Treaty is so important. The General
Assembly adopted the Treaty by a very large margin
five months ago. Luxembourg is proud to have been
among the first sponsors of that important initiative.
We are proud to have signed the Treaty as soon as it was
ready for signature on 3 June. The national ratification
procedure has started, and members can count on our
support to ensure that the Treaty comes rapidly into
full force. In that regard, allow me to congratulate the
homeland of the President of the General Assembly,
Antigua and Barbuda, on having ratified the Treaty.
I also welcome the fact that more than 110 States
Members of the United Nations, including the United
States of America, have already signed this new legal
instrument.
The Arms Trade Treaty is a significant step forward
for international law, international humanitarian law
and human rights. In that context, I welcome yesterday’s
important Security Council debate on the impact of the
illicit transfer, destabilizing accumulation and misuse
of small arms and light weapons on international peace
and security (see S/PV.7036), as well as its adoption of
resolution 2117 (2013). The Council has thereby rightly
underscored the need for an integrated response from
the international community that takes into account the
negative effects of those illicit activities on security,
governance, the rule of law and development, as well
as the links between such activities and other threats
to international peace and security such as terrorism,
piracy and transnational organized crime.
The recent callous attack on a shopping centre
in Nairobi has again demonstrated the importance of
our ongoing vigilance in the fight against terrorism.
This unacceptable act must encourage us to further
support African efforts aimed at freeing Somalia from
the threat of Al-Shabaab. During the New Deal for
Somalia conference held on 16 September in Brussels,
I had the opportunity to reaffirm that Luxembourg
remained committed to working alongside Somalia.
We are convinced that with the determined support of
the international community — the African Union and
the United Nations in particular, the Government and
people of Somalia will be able to continue their journey
towards peace, security and prosperity.
The risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction remains just as real a threat as the threat of
terrorism. Yesterday, negotiations between the Islamic
Republic of Iran and the E3+3 Governments, led by
the European Union’s High Representative for Foreign
Affairs and Security Policy, Ms. Ashton, resumed here
in New York. We support those efforts. We seek solid
negotiations quickly leading to concrete outcomes and
a diplomatic solution to the Iranian nuclear crisis.
Sanctions are not in and of themselves an end.
They are a global response to Iran’s refusal to meet its
international obligations and to cooperate fully with the
International Atomatic Energy Agency. We encourage
the new Iranian leadership to engage in constructive
dialogue, to take the measures necessary to prove to the
international community that its nuclear programme is
intended for exclusively peaceful purposes, and to turn
a new leaf in its relations with the global community.
I hope that the recent phone call between President
Obama and President Rouhani will help move the
situation in that direction.
When we talk about sustainable development and
the creation of the post-2015 development agenda, we
cannot ignore the devastating effects of conflicts and
violence on development. The crisis situations and
threats that I have just mentioned illustrate this clearly.
We must also speak firmly about governance that is
conducive to development, institutions that guarantee
the rule of law, freedom of expression, and transparent
and accountable Governments. We must talk about
justice, the fight against impunity and respect for
international law.
Luxembourg fully subscribes to the Secretary-
General’s call for the post-2015 objectives to be based
on the international norms and principles of human
rights. Those objectives must apply to everybody and
help address the global challenges of the twenty-first
century, building on the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). They must contribute to eliminating
poverty and promoting sustainable development, and
be integrated into one coherent framework.
The special event held the day before yesterday
by the General Assembly allowed us to take stock of
ongoing work towards achieving the MDGs and to
welcome significant progress made, but also to identify
the sectors where it will be important to redouble our
efforts. As the Secretary-General has reminded us,
the picture before us is only half finished. We must
therefore speed up the march towards attaining the
MDGs. We must renew our commitment. We must keep
our promises.
My country will continue to do its part. Since 2009,
our official development assistance has amounted
to 1 per cent of our gross national income. We are
determined to maintain this effort despite the crisis.
At the United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development in June 2012, we reaffirmed our
commitment to sustainable development in its three
interdependent dimensions: economic development,
social inclusion and environmental sustainability. We
reiterated our determination to address the threats that
climate change and environmental degradation pose to
humankind. With its European partners, Luxembourg
has made binding commitments to reduce its carbon
emissions and to mitigate the effects of climate change.
We are resolved to do our all to achieve a universal
climate agreement in 2015.
Last year in the Hall of the General Assembly,
our Head of State, the Grand Duke, underscored
Luxembourg’s willingness to serve the United Nations
(see A/67/PV.9). Today, I take this opportunity to thank
the Assembly for having elected my country to a two-
year term on the Security Council. That tenure, the first
in our history, is not only an honour but a responsibility
that we do not take lightly. Each day since 1 January,
Luxembourg has worked in concert with its partners
to contribute to the maintenance of international peace
and security and to assume our common responsibility
to prevent, to preserve and to protect. No task is more
noble. No task is more urgent in the current context.