Lao

At the outset, I would like to extend my sincere congratulations to His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss on his election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. I am fully confident that with his vast experience he will be able 31 10-54965 to lead this session to great success. May I also commend His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdulssalam Treki, President of the Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, for his effective leadership. I would also like to applaud Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his leadership in fulfilling effectively the various duties and tasks mandated to address the current emerging challenges and constraints. The global state of affairs today has undergone rapid change and become more complex, offering both opportunities and challenges. Global and regional peace and security are threatened by conflicts and armed confrontation. Severe and unprecedented natural disasters have become a regular phenomenon that we have to live with. The tragedies caused by natural catastrophes, such as in Haiti, China, Pakistan and elsewhere, have intensified and are coupled with the economic crisis that we are already facing. No one can deny that those calamities and challenges are mostly the result of our own human action. National challenges have gone beyond national boundaries and become matters of international concern, matters that a single country or even a group of countries cannot overcome alone. Therefore it is the full responsibility of the international community as a whole to tackle them. Against that backdrop, it is time for us to fully realize all the promises and commitments that we have made. The United Nations reform process, which has been pending through past decades, should continue in a more concrete manner with a view to ensuring mutual benefits for all Member States. The reform should also seek to ensure a relevant and effective role for the United Nations as the only universal body addressing global challenges. To achieve those objectives, it is critical that all Member States enhance cooperation in a sincere and trustworthy manner and avoid taking advantage of one another. Peace and stability are still threatened by weapons of mass destruction, especially nuclear weapons. The results of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held in May this year did not by any means meet our expectations in addressing the non- proliferation of nuclear weapons and making our world free of nuclear weapons. Consensus is far from being reached due to manifest suspicion and distrust. Therefore it is time to build trust and confidence in order to create an enabling international environment for a nuclear-free world. The use and proliferation of weapons of all forms undoubtedly have a long-term impact on the lives of people and impede national socio-economic development efforts. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic is still badly suffering the consequences of wars that ended several decades ago. The legacies of the Indochina war include a huge amount of remnants and unexploded ordnance, which have continued to kill and injure innocent people. That is a major obstacle to the possibility of an ordinary daily life for the Lao people. Over 30 per cent of Lao soil is heavily contaminated by unexploded ordnance, and that is a major constraint and challenge in the country’s efforts to achieve its national socio-economic objectives and to attain the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Convention on Cluster Munitions, which entered into force on 1 August 2010, is a result of the close cooperation and shared commitment of the international community to put an end to the serious impact of cluster bombs and to thus free people from that danger. As the country most affected by unexploded ordnance, especially cluster munitions, it is a great source of pride for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to have played an active part in the Oslo process, which led to the adoption of this Convention. We will continue to cooperate closely with the international community to ensure that it is fully implemented. In that context, it is a great honour for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic to host the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Vientiane from 8 to 12 November 2010. That event that will be an important milestone for the Oslo process and provide an opportunity for the international community to reaffirm its strong determination to address the challenges caused by cluster munitions. The First Meeting of States Parties will offer us an excellent occasion to chart a clear vision and adopt appropriate mechanisms to ensure the effective implementation of the Convention. On that note, once again I would like to extend my Government’s cordial invitation to all United Nations Member States, international organizations and non-governmental organizations to participate and play 10-54965 32 an active part in the discussions and ensure the successful outcome of the Meeting. Regional peace and security remain critical for ensuring global peace. We share a common concern over the situation in the Middle East, which has caused great suffering and immense loss of lives and property in the region, especially for the Palestinian people. It is my fervent hope that the resumption of peace talks between Israel and Palestine, with the participation of the United States, will lead to a solution and the realization of the vision of two States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace and security and within internationally recognized borders, as stipulated in the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. The Republic of Cuba is a sovereign and politically stable State that has enjoyed peace and security for several decades. Nevertheless, for over half of a century, the people of Cuba have been affected by the economic, trade and financial embargo imposed on them by the United States. Indeed, such an embargo constitutes a clear violation of the United Nations Charter and international law. Therefore, in order to respond to the legitimate interests of the two countries and peoples — Cuba and the United States — the embargo should now be lifted. The cooperation among South-East Asian countries has been steadily expanding. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has set the objective for 2015 of building our community with three pillars, namely, the ASEAN Political-Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community and ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community. To attain that objective, ASEAN has laid an important socio- economic foundation, including the Free Trade Area among ASEAN countries as well as Free Trade Areas between ASEAN and China, ASEAN and the Republic of Korea, ASEAN and Japan, and ASEAN and Australia-New Zealand. Furthermore, the ASEAN Master Plan on connectivity will be adopted at the Seventeenth ASEAN Summit, to be held in Hanoi in October 2010 to support the ASEAN Free Trade Area. The successful cooperation within ASEAN has contributed to the effort to narrow the development gap within ASEAN as well as between ASEAN and other countries. It also helps the ASEAN countries attain the MDGs. While the world is facing a financial and economic crisis, coupled with various natural calamities, the most impacted are the least developed countries (LDCs), the poor and the vulnerable in the society. The international community’s main objective in attaining the MDGs is to ensure that the lives of the poor and disadvantaged are improved and that the number of LDCs is reduced. That would demonstrate that we can achieve the MDGs. In that context, the ten-year review of the implementation of the Brussels Programme of Action for LDCs, to be held in 2011, is crucial. We will assess whether the seven commitments that we endorsed together in 2001 have been fulfilled. In that connection, I commend the Secretary-General for setting up a group of eminent persons on least developed countries to advise on support for LDCs. The year 2010 is of great significance for the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Our country has completed the implementation of the Sixth Five Year Socio-Economic Development Plan and has already started the preparation for the Seventh Plan, for 2011- 2015. Over the past years, our socio-economic development has been steadily progressing. The economy has grown at an average rate of seven per cent annually, poverty has continuously declined, and the living standard of the multi-ethnic Lao people has gradually improved. All that success has been due to the right policy and the timely measures undertaken by the Government. The decisive factor in creating an enabling environment for socio-economic development in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is political stability and social order that our nation has enjoyed over the past three decades. Nevertheless, to a certain extent, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic remains challenged by the global financial and economic crisis, and that is contributing to the decline of our economic growth. Against that backdrop, the Government has adopted immediate measures that have helped to alleviate the impact of the crisis. However, due to the uncertainty of the state of today’s global economy, like other developing countries, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is still vulnerable, and thus requires the assistance and support of the international community in addressing the impact of the crisis over the long term. Such assistance will help the country overcome any future problem resulting from the current crisis, enable us to 33 10-54965 achieve the MDGs and, ultimately, leave the status of least developed country by 2020. The Lao People’s Democratic Republic reiterates once again its firm commitment and willingness to work closely with the international community to build a peaceful world under a just and more democratic new order, based on cooperation with all countries, in tackling the various global challenges facing us. I am convinced that only through genuine partnership will we be able to ensure that the world is secure, peaceful and prosperous.