I would
like to begin by extending my warmest congratulations
to you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency at the
sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly. I have
every confidence that under your distinguished
leadership this session will indeed yield fruitful results.
May I also take this opportunity to pay tribute to
Secretary-General Ban Ki moon. We deeply appreciate
his wholehearted commitment and selfless dedication
to the noble and lofty goals of this august
Organization.
Since their launch in 2000, we have made
headway towards achieving the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs). Yet progress varies
greatly across regions and countries and is uneven in
terms of targets. Among other things, maternal and
child health warrants our special attention as the most
off-track goal in most regions. Indeed, improving
maternal and child health is the best investment we can
make to carry momentum over to all other closely
related goals. In view of the importance it attaches to
this goal, the Republic of Korea has joined the Group
of 8 Muskoka Initiative for Maternal, Newborn and
Child Health. Furthermore, Korea fully supports the
Secretary-General’s pursuit of the Global Strategy for
Women’s and Children’s Health, and it welcomes the
enthusiasm of all stakeholders for this important
initiative, as was demonstrated at this week’s meeting.
With only five years remaining until 2015, the
prospects for meeting the MDGs are not altogether
encouraging. It is high time for the international
community to renew its resolve and galvanize global
efforts to achieve these vast and meaningful goals. I
earnestly hope that, when we gather again in 2013 to
review progress, we will find that implementation of
the commitments at the High-level Meeting held earlier
this week exceeds our most optimistic expectations.
We must bear in mind that the success of the
MDGs hinges on honouring development commitments
and redoubling efforts to strengthen global partnership.
In full recognition of this, the Republic of Korea has
embarked on a midterm plan to triple its official
development assistance (ODA) budget over the next
five years to 0.25 per cent of gross national income,
despite tight financial constraints.
As a new Member of the Organization for
Economic Cooperation and Development Assistance
Committee, Korea is seeking to improve the quality of
its development assistance by undertaking far-reaching
reforms in its ODA system. Last year, basic laws on
ODA were enacted as the first step forward. Korea will
also align its development policy to reflect the actual
needs of the recipient countries and encourage their
taking ownership. With its unique experience of fast
economic and social development, Korea will do its
utmost to play a bridging role between the donor and
recipient countries.
Next year, Korea will host the Fourth High-Level
Forum on Aid Effectiveness in Busan. The Korean
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Government will make every possible effort to ensure
that this forum serves to map out a new direction for
international development cooperation that can address
evolving global needs.
It is indeed our common belief that development
cooperation is an investment for all. A sustainable and
balanced world economy requires us to narrow down
the persistent development gap. This is the shared goal
of the Group of 20 (G-20) and the United Nations. The
G-20 leaders have agreed to place development as a
crucial new item on the agenda for the upcoming G-20
summit in Seoul this November. The G-20
development agenda will concentrate on building
capacity to promote economic growth in the
developing world. In this way, the Group of 20 is
expected to complement the ongoing development
agenda, including the MDGs.
Global financial safety nets will be another new
agenda item at the Seoul summit. Robust and reliable
global financial safety nets are vital, especially for
developing countries, which are most vulnerable to
volatile global capital flows. The Seoul summit will
focus on faithful implementation of the previous
agreements, which will help to bring back the stability
of the global market at an early date. Leaders will
continue to coordinate their policies for a strong,
sustainable and balanced growth of the world economy.
Reforms of international financial institutions and
financial regulations will also be central to the
discussion at the G-20 summit.
As the G-20 President this year, Korea is
committed to ensuring a successful outcome for the
summit, one that will contribute to overcoming the
current crisis and to working out the post-crisis
management of the world economy.
In discussing economic growth, particular
emphasis must be placed on green growth. Indeed, this
lies at the heart of sustainable development. In an
effort to curb greenhouse gas emissions, Korea has set
a voluntary reduction target of 30 per cent against the
business-as-usual levels by 2020. Together, we will
gradually shift the growth paradigm from an energy-
intensive to a green growth economy.
As part of the efforts to promote the green growth
strategy in the international community, we launched
the Global Green Growth Institute last June. We hope
that this institute will become an integral part of the
global endeavour to move towards sustainable
development as Korea strives to share green growth
vision and assistance with developing countries.
On the peace and security front, peacekeeping
operations have become the most visible and defining
feature of the United Nations. The increasing demand
and growing complexity of peacekeeping operations
call for continuous improvement in the operation of the
missions.
Strategic goals should be set more clearly. The
troops should be deployed more swiftly. Operations
should be conducted in a more professional and
disciplined way. To this end, all stakeholders, including
troop-contributing countries and financial contributors,
should focus on close coordination and cooperation.
The Republic of Korea has been a committed
contributor to United Nations peacekeeping efforts.
Korea dispatched 240 contingent troops this year alone
to the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti to
help rebuild the country shaken by a tragic earthquake.
Currently, some 650 Korean soldiers are serving in
11 peacekeeping missions, including the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. We believe that our
newly enacted law on participation in peacekeeping
operations will further enhance our response capacity
in United Nations peacekeeping and peacebuilding
operations.
One of the most urgent security challenges today
is the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
their means of delivery. It is imperative to further
strengthen international disarmament and
non-proliferation regimes built around the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
In this regard, Korea welcomes the adoption of
the Final Document at the 2010 NPT Review
Conference in May. We trust that this hard-won
achievement will lay the groundwork for future
progress in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
The nexus between weapons of mass destruction
and terrorism also poses a grave risk to global security.
With this shared understanding, the leaders at the
Nuclear Security Summit held in Washington, D.C.,
last April recognized the potentially catastrophic
consequences of nuclear terrorism and committed to
strengthening nuclear security. It was agreed that
concrete steps for securing nuclear materials should be
taken to prevent them from falling into the hands of
terrorists. We look forward to follow-up discussions on
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nuclear security at the second Nuclear Security
Summit, which is to be held in Korea in 2012.
In August, President Lee Myung-bak of the
Republic of Korea proposed a new vision of the
peaceful reunification of Korea, which will serve to
stabilize inter-Korean relations and ultimately bring
about a reunified Korea. To make this vision reality, we
will work earnestly to build three communities: a peace
community to ensure security and peace on the Korean
peninsula; an economic community to develop North
Korea’s economy and eventually achieve inter-Korean
economic integration; and a community of the Korean
nation which will ensure the dignity, freedom and
human rights of all individuals.
However, this vision for peaceful reunification is
not without obstacles. Sixty years after the outbreak of
the Korean War in 1950, there still remain threats to
peace on the Korean peninsula. A case in point is the
sinking of the Republic of Korea’s naval vessel, the
Cheonan, by a North Korean torpedo attack on
26 March this year. The international community sent a
firm and unified message to North Korea by adopting
the Security Council presidential statement of 9 July.
North Korea must take responsibility for its
unprovoked attack and refrain from any further
provocations.
The biggest obstacle in our path towards a peace
community is the resolution of the North Korean
nuclear issue. Unless North Korea forgoes its nuclear
weapons programme, no sustainable peace can be
achieved on the Korean peninsula and beyond.
Through the adoption of Security Council
resolutions 1718 (2006) and 1874 (2009), the
international community urged North Korea to abandon
all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes
in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. In
order to secure the lifting of sanctions and the ending
of isolation, North Korea should make the strategic
decision to live up to its commitments to
denuclearization. A nuclear-free North Korea would
also open the way to saving its people from the current
miserable human rights and humanitarian situation.
Last year, on this very occasion, President Lee
proposed the “grand bargain” initiative: a single
comprehensive agreement that encompasses all steps
for North Korea’s denuclearization and the five parties’
corresponding measures. Together with the
international community, we will work tirelessly to
persuade North Korea to make the right choice — a
choice that will ensure a better future for both its
country and its people. Once North Korea demonstrates
genuine change in its behaviour and attitude, my
Government is prepared to engage in meaningful
dialogue and cooperation with North Korea.
We are witnessing many global challenges that
are testing the international community. These
challenges cannot be addressed by one country alone or
even by a group of countries. They summon us as
global citizens to fulfil a common purpose. They call
on the United Nations to assume the mantle of global
leadership. In order to effectively address the
increasingly diverse and interconnected challenges, the
United Nations should heighten its reform efforts
aimed at broadening its operational response capacity.
The launch of UN Women is a clear testimony to
the world community’s efforts towards this end. Korea
commends that historic move to step up progress in
meeting the needs of women and girls worldwide. UN
Women will greatly contribute to enhancing system-
wide coherence, bringing together resources and
mandates for greater impact. We also welcome the
recent appointment of Michelle Bachelet at its helm.
Furthermore, the upcoming review of the Human
Rights Council represents an excellent opportunity to
muster our collective efforts to make the Council more
effective and efficient at fulfilling the promises we
made at its establishment. The Republic of Korea looks
forward to working closely with the international
community in this joint effort.
No reform of the United Nations can be complete
without Security Council reform. It is crucial that the
Council be more representative, effective and
accountable. To this end, the Republic of Korea will
continue to play a constructive role in finding the
widest possible agreement on the major issues relating
to Council reform.
The challenges facing the United Nations are
formidable. We may succeed in some endeavours and
not in others, but we should not forget that the United
Nations is the best source of hope for many who are
suffering from armed conflicts, extreme poverty and
human rights abuses across the globe. The Republic of
Korea remains fully committed to playing its due part
in the efforts of the United Nations to translate those
hopes into reality.