Maldives

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of my country, to congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly. His election to that high office 29 demonstrates the international community's respect for and confidence in his ability to guide the work of this session successfully. It also demonstrates the trust and high regard that the international community has for the Republic of Korea and for the important role that country is playing in the international arena to foster peace and security in the world. I would also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland, for the exemplary manner in which he guided the work of the fifty-fifth session. Allow me also to congratulate the Secretary- General, His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, on his reappointment to head the Organization for a second term. His dynamic leadership has earned the United Nations the confidence of the international community and has raised fresh hopes about the Organization's ability to facilitate a world atmosphere more conducive to peace, justice and human dignity as we enter the twenty-first century. The award of the Nobel Peace Prize to the Secretary-General and to the United Nations is testimony to that confidence. Nearly 13 years ago, the Maldives woke up to the horrors of terrorism when a band of foreign terrorists attacked Male, our capital island, without the slightest warning or provocation, killing many innocent people and destroying property. By their faceless act of violence, they changed the peaceful life we had had in our country for centuries into one full of fear and apprehension. On 11 September this year, the most powerful country, the United States of America, itself became a target and the victim of a horrendous act of terrorism. The world community was shocked and promptly condemned the barbaric attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, and the murder of thousands of innocent people. Consistent with its stand against terrorism, the Maldives found itself among the first States to condemn those attacks in the strongest possible terms. The tragedy of 11 September has reminded us that terrorism is one of the biggest challenges facing the world community today. It has emerged as an enemy of nations, be they large or small, and as a vicious threat to humanity. In combating such a cruel enemy, it is important that international action against terrorism be supported and that it be complemented by measures at the regional and national levels. At the international level, the legal doctrine against all aspects of terrorism must be strengthened and universalized. Concomitantly, action at the regional and national levels must be brought into line with international obligations in fighting this global menace. The United Nations, as the global organization responsible for international peace and security, must play the pivotal role in this fight against terrorism. My country fully supports the early convening of a high- level conference, under the auspices of the United Nations, to formulate a clear definition of terrorism and to draw up a joint, far-sighted reaction to the ever- growing phenomena of terrorism in its various forms and manifestations. We are also looking forward to the early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism and of an international convention for the prevention of acts of terrorism using nuclear, biological or chemical material or agents. As a people who have devoted themselves to the practice of Islamic faith and values for nearly a millennium, we are deeply offended by the notion that terrorism is linked to Islam or to Muslims. On the contrary, Islam advocates peace, compassion, tolerance and peaceful coexistence. The projection and portrayal of Islam as an enemy of civilization or of the free world is an insult to its noble principles. It is a perverted view and a falsification of Islam and its principles. Such perversions are nothing but propaganda hatched by evil people who wish to breed hatred among human beings; their claims are no less harmful than terrorism itself. At the Millennium Summit last year, our leaders charted a course for a better world, a world in which the whole of humanity can prosper in mutual respect and dignity. Navigating smoothly along that course will be a difficult task. We have to be ready to boldly address the challenges in our way. Over the past year, we met in several special sessions to address some specific important issues. On each and every such occasion, we demonstrated our firm resolve to uphold the objectives set forth in the Millennium Declaration. The major cross-cutting theme that runs deep in all these issues is the dehumanizing scourge of poverty. Poverty remains the major stumbling block for sustainable social and economic development in the developing world. Eradicating poverty, therefore, is core to the attainment of peace and development. Let us therefore make the elimination of poverty our top priority and pursue 30 vigorously the target set by our leaders during the Millennium Summit: to halve poverty by 2015. The commitments we have undertaken at such conferences involve high price tags. Unless new and additional financial resources are made available in a timely and predictable manner, no action plans or programmes can be implemented. It is therefore a collective responsibility of the entire international community, including the private-sector stakeholders and civil society, to muster the necessary political will that is so vital in this regard. We are eagerly looking forward to the International Conference on Financing for Development to be held in Mexico early next year. We hope that that event will provide the international community with an opportunity to agree on new, innovative and additional sources and strategies to mobilize funds for development. Globalization is now a reality. Many in the developed world are enjoying the unprecedented yield of globalization, while its powerful forces are depressing the fragile economies of many developing and least developed countries, including structurally weak countries. The uneven playing field has indeed contributed to widening the gap between the rich and the poor. In fact, the obstacles to the development of the least developed countries have grown in number and magnitude over the years and have marginalized those countries in the world economy. My country, the Maldives, is heartened by the goodwill and solidarity extended by the international community to the least developed countries during the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries held in Brussels early this year. It is now time for delivery on the commitments made at the Brussels Conference. Unless those commitments are fulfilled, the plight of the least developed countries will continue to worsen. The special circumstances and needs of the small island developing States (SIDS) have been recognized and acknowledged by this Assembly on numerous occasions. The Barbados Programme of Action very clearly spells out these special needs of SIDS. Although many SIDS may appear to be relatively more prosperous on the basis of per capita income level, it is also a documented fact that, due to the special characteristics of small islands, they are generally among the most economically vulnerable and handicapped countries in the world today. As a country with little more than a quarter of a million inhabitants spread over more than 200 islands, bereft of natural resources and with a fragile economy based on fisheries and tourism, which are sensitive to the harsh realities of ecology and the environment, the Maldives provides a perfect example of this dilemma of the small island developing States. The stable political environment that the Maldives has enjoyed for the past two decades, combined with the continued flow of assistance from our development partners, have indeed given us the opportunity to improve the quality of life of our people. Our efforts towards development have remained relentless, as the structural constraints we face are both persistent and formidable. Given these realities, my country is convinced that the present criteria for identifying least developed countries need to be refined to reflect the impediments in full. We appeal to the Committee for Development Policy and the international community to consider these realities on the ground and to look beyond abstract indicators into the inherent vulnerabilities of small island developing States in determining the criteria for graduation. We do not wish to remain indefinitely in the category of least developed countries. However, should graduation be thrust upon us prematurely, its negative consequences could easily overwhelm us and result in serious erosion of our achievements. We need to strengthen the capacity of our human resources and institutions to cope with existing and emerging challenges to our development efforts. We need to find ways and means to diversify our economic base and strengthen its sustainability. We welcome the recent resolution adopted by the Economic and Social Council to extend our transition period until the next triennial review of the list of least developed countries in 2003. At the same time, we wish to reiterate our belief that ensuring a smooth transition for graduating countries, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 46/206, is an essential obligation of the entire international community. Indeed, a decision that affects the future destiny of a nation should not be based on hastily compiled information that may contain erroneous assumptions and dubious facts that could mislead the competent authorities, leading them to reach questionable conclusions. 31 The state of the global environment remains a major concern of the international community. A decade after the adoption of Agenda 21, its effective implementation has proven to be a difficult task. The pleas of small island developing States for new and additional resources to implement the Barbados Programme of Action remain to be heeded. The Kyoto Protocol is yet to come into force. Meanwhile, scientific predictions on the future of the global environment remain alarming. Unless swift and concrete action is forthcoming, global environmental degradation will continue to threaten the survival of humankind and our planet. The consequences of a mere one-metre rise in the mean sea level on small island developing States, such as the Maldives, is now a well- documented fact. We, therefore, urge the international community to accelerate its efforts to agree on a legally binding greenhouse gas emissions reduction regime and to facilitate the Kyoto Protocol's early entry into force. In this connection, we are encouraged by the positive developments achieved in Marrakech last week and hope that these developments will facilitate an early entry into force of the Protocol. A year from now, we will gather in Johannesburg, South Africa, for the Rio + 10 Summit to take stock of our labour over the past decade to protect and preserve the global environment. My country believes that this would be an excellent opportunity for the international community to reinvigorate its efforts and rededicate its commitments to protect and preserve the global environment. The Maldives attaches great importance to the efforts of the international community to foster sustainable social development. The five-year review of the Copenhagen commitments and Beijing Platform for Action, carried out last year, and the recently concluded review of the implementation of the outcome of the Second United Nations Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat Agenda), as well as the World Conference against Racism and Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance have added renewed impetus to the efforts of the international community to achieve social harmony. The HIV/AIDS pandemic has become a major impediment to social development. The Maldives, too, has not been immune to the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Although the number of cases may be relatively low in our country, we are fully aware of the potential threat that looms over us. We pledge our full support to the Programme of Action adopted by the special session of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS early this year, and we call on the international community, including the private sector stakeholders, to commit the financial resources required to implement the Programme of Action. My country wholeheartedly supports the just struggle of the Palestinian people. My country commends the efforts of the co-sponsors of the Middle East peace process to help put the talks back on track. We strongly believe that the Mitchell report should be implemented urgently to pave the way for restarting the stalled peace process. Disarmament and arms control measures continue to remain a high priority on the international agenda. While we were encouraged by the positive outcome of the NPT Review Conference last year, we would like to reiterate the need for continuing efforts to strengthen and enforce the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Similarly, we look forward to the day when the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) will come into force. In conclusion, allow me to reaffirm the firm commitment of the Maldives to the principles and objectives enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We will work with the other members of the international community to uphold and promote these lofty objectives. We remain convinced that the United Nations is the only organization that is capable of creating a more peaceful and prosperous world for humanity.