I would
like to convey to you, Sir, the warmest congratulations
of the delegation of the Principality of Monaco on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its
sixty-fifth session. I would like to reiterate to you that,
in my capacity as a member of the Bureau, I will spare
no effort to contribute to the success of your mandate
in the service of the Member States and the
Organization.
We are preparing to begin our work on an
optimistic note because of the international
community’s unfailing recommitment to the
Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as of
the belief, reaffirmed in the general debate now
drawing to a close, that the United Nations is at the
heart of global governance and remains, despite the
many difficulties, our best hope for ensuring peace,
development and justice.
Economic growth, which is indispensable to
development and therefore to peaceful international
relations, cannot take off in the absence of well-defined
and fair international rules and without respect for the
rule of law at the national level. Our Organization has
contributed tirelessly in recent years to strengthening
the capacities of Member States to enable them to
provide their citizens with the institutions necessary for
them to flourish in their communities. The rule of law
is also a guarantee that the fight against corruption is
not just a vain promise, that respect for human rights is
universal and that justice is independent and impartial.
The benefits of economic growth must be shared
and equitable. They must take into account the needs of
the most deprived and contribute to social cohesion
with a view to attaining the MDGs and involving the
full participation of all partners.
That is the thrust of Monaco’s commitment
within the Global Governance Group — the 3G —
5 10-55408
whose members are convinced of the need to involve
the Secretary-General of the United Nations in the
work of the Group of 20 (G-20), given relevance of the
General Assembly agenda to international governance.
In that regard, I draw attention to the ministerial
declaration of the Global Governance Group adopted
on 27 September, with a view to contributing to the
reflections of the working group on the development of
the next G-20 summit, in Seoul in November.
As His Serene Highness Prince Albert II recalled
before the Assembly, the Principality is determined to
act as a responsible partner in solidarity and will
continue its mobilization efforts, both through its
official development assistance as well as through the
provision of emergency assistance to populations
struck by natural disasters (see A/65/PV.4).
At a moment when the presence and activities of
the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees are increasingly needed and increasingly
dangerous, the cause of refugees and displaced persons
must more than ever be placed in our policies and be
backed unconditionally by the international
community. Here we wish to express our recognition of
the devotion of the thousands of people who labour
under the banner of the United Nations, at times
risking their lives, both in humanitarian emergency
situations and in peacekeeping operations.
The role of women in driving development is
now clear to all. I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-
General and the Deputy Secretary-General for having
strengthened the role of women within the United
Nations. Monaco welcomes the appointment of Ms.
Michelle Bachelet to head up UN Women and assures
her of our full support.
The Principality has also endorsed the conviction
that investing in the health of women and children is
indispensable for building societies that are more
stable, more peaceful and more productive, for
reducing poverty and for stimulating economic growth.
In that vein, we support the Global Strategy for
Women’s and Children’s Health, which represents an
additional step towards the full empowerment of
women.
As atrocities continue to be perpetrated against
civilians, especially the cowardly crimes of sexual
violence, we pay tribute to the courage of Special
Representative Ms. Margot Wallström and her
commitment to making the international community
aware of its responsibility and to ensuring the effective
implementation of resolution 1325 (2000) as we
approach the tenth anniversary of its adoption.
With your leadership, Mr. President, and our
common will, the General Assembly has the means to
demonstrate its central role in the major themes for our
future at a moment when we are all aware of the
shameful damage caused to the planet by the
overexploitation of its wealth and biodiversity. We
therefore attach the greatest importance to the
preparation of the Rio+20 Conference and hope that
the green economy and the opportunities it affords will
become a major vehicle for sustainable development.
You can also count on the support of our
delegation, Sir, with regard to the upcoming summit on
non-communicable diseases and the consultative
process on revision of the statute of the Human Rights
Council and the Peacebuilding Commission, which
must take into account the presidential statement
adopted at the ministerial-level meeting of the Security
Council on 23 September (S/PRST/2010/18).
At the beginning of the twenty-first century, our
deliberations must contribute to bringing together and
harmonizing our actions. Only our Organization
possesses both the means and the legitimacy to
successfully establish effective global governance, and
we must all show pragmatism and work in a
constructive spirit to achieve our goals.
The interdependence of the global challenges
which all of us are facing requires us to define together
a set of rules aimed at coordinating our policies and
managing relations between Governments, the private
sector and civil society. We share your belief,
Mr. President, that our Organization should be at the
heart of that new multilateralism, which should be
founded on integration and solidarity.