It is indeed an
honour for me to congratulate you, Sir, on behalf of the
Government and people of Solomon Islands, as
President of the General Assembly at our sixty-fifth
session. Your term in office coincides with economic
turmoil, the impacts of climate change, growing social
and security concerns and threats of unilateralism that
are challenging multilateralism from all fronts. My
delegation is pleased with the manner in which you
have convened and concluded three high-level
meetings, on the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), biodiversity and the Mauritius Strategy. That
is a clear indication of why we are confident in you and
of your vast experience as you oversee this principal
body of the United Nations for the next 12 months.
My delegation takes this opportunity to
acknowledge as well the leadership and contributions
of your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Ali
Abdussalam Treki. His support for multilateralism has
placed us on firm footing in preparing for this session.
We see around us the growth of democracy,
corporate power and the emergence of new powers, all
offering new perspectives and opportunities. New
international cooperation is linking development,
finance, raw materials and markets. That development
calls for increased collaboration and a new framework
to facilitate the emergence of a new economic order.
Solomon Islands, under its new foreign policy, will
establish relationships with all six regions of the
United Nations.
Solomon Islands believes in multilateralism and
acknowledges the importance and value of having a
closer working relationship between the United
Nations and Member States. My Government stands
ready and committed to work with the United Nations
in enhancing its presence in my capital. In that
connection, we renew our call to upgrade the United
Nations Sub-office in Honiara and appoint a resident
representative as its head.
My delegation acknowledges United Nations
outreach to Solomon Islands this year by convening the
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United Nations national competitive recruitment exam
in December. We welcome that engagement, as it
provides an opportunity for successful citizens to fill
our national quota of international civil servants
serving our family of nations.
Democracy is one of the core principles of the
United Nations Charter. People continue to be the
source of the legitimacy of this Organization and
remain the basis of authority of this Assembly.
Solomon Islands registers its appreciation of the
Secretariat’s Department of Political Affairs and the
United Nations Development Programme for their role
in coordinating some 400 local and international
observers who monitored last month’s general election.
We are equally pleased to note the positive
pronouncement by the various local and international
monitors that Solomon Islands’ national election was
conducted in a free and fair manner. A number of
electoral reform recommendations were made, and my
Government will act on them with a view to improving
our national electoral system.
The essence of progress and prosperity lies in
having a clear and firm leadership, an obedient
bureaucracy and a sense of vision. My Government is
committed to providing those, and we will work
tirelessly to offer our people a life of normality, dignity
and freedom.
The challenge of nation-building is huge and
costly for any developing country. For that reason,
each country has to define for itself the type and form
of democracy it wants to adopt, for democracy cannot
be imposed. In that connection, Solomon Islands
continues to advocate genuine dialogue and
engagement with Fiji over confrontations and sanctions
and to support Fiji’s effort to determine its destiny.
Solomon Islands joins the international
community in calling for the lifting of the 49-year-old
economic embargo against Cuba. Such an embargo
belongs to a different time and era. It is our hope that
the power of reaching out to our neighbours will break
down artificial ideological barriers.
Solomon Islands will be undergoing the universal
periodic review during this session. My delegation
takes this opportunity to reaffirm the commitment of
Solomon Islands to the principles and purposes of the
United Nations Charter, including respect for human
rights and fundamental freedoms for all. Solomon
Islands finds it regrettable to see those principles
sacrificed by some who continue to divide this
Assembly. Solomon Islands recognizes the Geneva-
based Human Rights Council and its role and
impartiality as the appropriate institution to deal with
issues of human rights.
This year marks the seventh anniversary of my
country’s relationship with the Regional Assistance
Mission to Solomon Islands (RAMSI). The current
partnership framework promotes greater coherence and
predictability in enhancing the quality of the
cooperation to meet the country’s development needs.
The relations between Solomon Islands and RAMSI
have brought political and financial stability. However,
the underlying causes of conflict remain unaddressed.
Issues of tolerance and respect for our diverse cultures
have placed much stress on our road to peace. My
Government remains committed to addressing those
issues.
In June this year, the Foreign Minister of the
United Arab Emirates, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah
Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, brought together Pacific small
island developing States and our Middle East brothers
to discuss cooperation, including the Arab Peace
Initiative in the Middle East. Solomon Islands supports
all peace initiatives, including proposals to normalize
relations between the entire Arab region and Israel. The
complexity of the Middle East conflict needs a regional
solution, and we strongly feel that parties to the
conflict will need to sow conditions for peace as we
work to have a two-State solution. We are heartened to
see negotiations proceeding. However, we would like
to see all stakeholders involved in the process.
My delegation welcomes the outcome of this
summer’s Non-Proliferation Treaty Review
Conference. The existence of nuclear weapons
continues to pose a significant threat to humanity.
History has shown the deep horror and devastation of
nuclear weapons. Solomon Islands supports the total
elimination of all nuclear weapons as the only absolute
guarantee for a safe and secure world.
The urgency of agreeing to a legally binding
agreement on climate change in Cancún, Mexico,
cannot be overemphasized. It is a common concern that
binds the world together. Our planet is already
absorbing more heat and getting warmer. The global
temperature has risen by 0.7°C in the past century.
Under current trends, science tells us that the
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temperature will further increase by 4 to 7°C by the
end of this century, threatening the survival of many
States, including Solomon Islands. It is critical that we
have a clear plan for stabilizing greenhouse gas
emissions. Solomon Islands supports the call of the
small island developing States to restrict the
temperature rise to below 1.5°C and to bring down
greenhouse gas concentration to well below 350 parts
per million.
Noting that there is limited atmospheric carbon
space left, a carbon-budget approach is an option for a
just and fair way to prevent the global temperature
from reaching irreversible levels. It takes into
consideration the development needs and space
concerns of developing countries and our shared
responsibilities and rights in meeting the demands of
the health of our atmosphere.
On the issue of United Nations system-wide
coherence, the General Assembly in July established a
new gender entity, UN Women. That body will further
strengthen United Nations capacity and effectiveness in
advancing the status of women worldwide. Solomon
Islands looks forward to cooperating with the new
entity.
As regards Security Council reform, my
delegation is pleased to see informal intergovernmental
negotiations carried forward into this session.
Negotiations are now focused on a common text, which
we hope will be further streamlined in achieving our
goal of making that principal United Nations organ
more representative, efficient and responsive to the
emerging global threats of this century.
The Pacific Ocean covers a third of the world’s
surface and accounts for a quarter of the world’s tuna
industry. In May this year, eight Pacific small island
developing States, including Solomon Islands, set up
the secretariat of the Parties to the Nauru Agreement
(PNA) in the Marshall Islands. The PNA countries
agreed to coordinate the management and conservation
of their tuna resources, so as to guarantee sustainability
and greater economic benefits from their resources.
The closing off of the high seas pockets within the
respective countries’ exclusive economic zones is to
prevent illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing and
to provide a safe haven for fish to breed.
On the issue of the establishment of a regional
marine scientific centre, in accordance with the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, my
delegation is pleased to note that the matter is reflected
in the Secretary-General’s report. The Pacific
subregion values such a centre, which my Government
offers to host. We will pursue this regionally and
internationally, in the spirit of the Convention and the
Mauritius Strategy Initiative.
This year Papua New Guinea, the Federated
States of Micronesia and Solomon Islands made a
presentation on our joint submission to the
Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. We
hope to do the same with our remaining submissions at
an appropriate time.
Solomon Islands is encouraged by the further
growth of positive developments and engagements
with regard to the Taiwan Strait. That must be
internationally recognized, commended and supported.
The moderate and pragmatic path adopted by both the
People’s Republic of China and Taiwan about the
Taiwan Strait contributes to international peace and
security.
Solomon Islands continues to support Taiwan’s
meaningful participation within the United Nations
system. My delegation is heartened to note Taiwan’s
participation as an observer at the World Health
Assembly in both 2009 and 2010. That is a gesture of
the improved cross-Strait relations. Taiwan has
registered its interest in participating in two United
Nations treaty organizations this year: the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation
Organization. My country supports such participation.
The two organizations deal with two global issues that
are of common concern to all the world. Climate
change and aviation issues need the participation of all
countries for aviation safety and the health of our
atmosphere. My delegation finds it regrettable that the
UNFCCC secretariat has adopted a narrow position on
a matter that requires the parties to the Convention and
to the Kyoto Protocol to decide on.
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are
internationally agreed development benchmarks. The
Solomon Islands scorecard remains mixed, uneven and
generally off track in terms of meeting our 2015 Goals.
The international programme for the Solomon Islands
for achieving the MDGs is defined in the Mauritius
Strategy and the Brussels Programme of Action. Both
frameworks outline the Solomon Islands’ special
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situation, one that requires special international
attention.
The review of the Mauritius Strategy held last
week revealed that international commitments to the
Barbados Programme of Action remain wanting and
disappointing. The vulnerability of small island
developing States (SIDS) has worsened. To address this
partnership gap, Solomon Islands calls for a special
category for SIDS within the United Nations system.
There is also a need for a firmer link between the SIDS
Programme and the United Nations Development
Assistance Framework, to ensure that support is
received from within our Organization.
This session will also see the convening of the
Fourth United Nations Conference on the Least
Developed Countries, in May 2011. We are equally
pleased that the General Assembly launched a process
of national, regional and global reviews during the last
session. We look forward to working with all in
achieving a comprehensive, action-oriented and
meaningful outcome to the Conference. My delegation wishes to acknowledge our new
partners Luxembourg and Portugal, for their support,
respectively, for the Melanesian Spearhead Group and
Solomon Islands external students. We remain grateful
to all partners from the South and North, including
Cuba, Italy, Papua New Guinea, Taiwan and our
traditional partners the European Union, Australia,
New Zealand, Japan and my regional neighbours.
In conclusion, I would like to assure the President
of the support and cooperation of the Solomon Islands
during his term in office.