I would like to congratulate
you, Mr. President, on your election to the presidency
of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. We
are confident that with your vast academic and political
experience, you will provide the Assembly with the
necessary leadership in the year ahead. Allow me to
also commend your predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. Ali Treki, for his many initiatives and guidance in
steering the sixty-fourth session to a successful
conclusion.
My delegation welcomes your proposal on
“Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in
global governance” as the theme for the general debate
of this session. That theme is most appropriate, as it
comes at a time when the world looks to the United
Nations for its stewardship in addressing the multiple
global crises, the devastating effects of climate change
and the issue of the maintenance of global peace and
security. The United Nations has long been recognized
as an indispensable global Organization due to its
mandate, and must continuously adapt itself to deal
with the challenges confronting the world so that its
pivotal role in global governance is maintained. No
other multilateral organization or intergovernmental
grouping, without the legitimacy of universal
membership, can hope to replace the centrality of the
United Nations in global affairs.
The vast majority of Members of the United
Nations are small States. The principle of sovereign
equality enshrined in the United Nations Charter
establishes that all States, regardless of size, wealth,
relative power, population or level of development, are
accorded equal opportunity to participate and
contribute to the work of the United Nations, its
principal organs and its high-level posts. That, in fact,
is the bedrock upon which this House was founded 64
years ago. It is a principle that must remain in the
forefront and help chart our course further as our
dialogue on United Nations reform continues.
How can we, as Members of the United Nations,
credibly espouse equity among nations and peoples if
we fail to practise it among ourselves? After 39 years
of membership, Bhutan continues to believe that the
United Nations still has room and a role for smaller
States, as equal partners in global affairs, including in
the maintenance of international peace and security.
For that reason, Bhutan is seeking membership in the
Security Council in a non-permanent seat for the term
2013 and 2014.
Last week at the High-level Plenary Meeting, our
heads of State and Government acknowledged the
plight of millions of people living in poverty and
agreed to recommit themselves to keeping their pledge
on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The
successful achievement of the MDGs by all Member
States will serve as a measure of the effectiveness of
the United Nations. The United Nations must therefore
continue to provide the necessary leadership to foster
renewed global partnership to enable the realization of
all the MDGs by 2015.
On 20 September, Bhutan’s Prime Minister
highlighted to this gathering the need to move beyond
conventional development practices (see A/65/PV.3).
He therefore proposed the inclusion of happiness as the
ninth Millennium Development Goal. My delegation is
hopeful that that proposal of my Prime Minister will
receive the support of the United Nations membership.
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My delegation is pleased to note that the reform
agenda initiated following the World Summit in 2005 is
beginning to yield results. In that regard, we welcome
the Assembly’s unanimous adoption of the resolution
on system-wide coherence (resolution 64/289) early in
July 2010, which, inter alia, established UN Women.
The creation of UN Women effectively consolidates all
the existing mandates and functions relating to women
and constitutes an important step in fulfilling the
commitments undertaken in the Fourth World
Conference on Women, held in Beijing. We are
confident that that entity will address the global issues
of gender equality and women’s empowerment with
great vigour.
Bhutan has long been convinced that no society
can be a happy one if it is not inclusive. Promoting the
conditions that will enable the pursuit of national
happiness by all our citizens, so that, regardless of
race, sex, language, religion, politics or other status,
they may enjoy a good quality of life in a progressive
and prosperous country is not only one of the
objectives of government, it is our moral obligation.
This spirit is further reaffirmed by our Constitution,
which guarantees the fundamental rights of all
Bhutanese, thus demonstrating that Bhutan is
committed to building an inclusive society, one that
enables all Bhutanese, including those with disabilities,
to lead fulfilling lives, to contribute and to participate
as full members of society. My Government was
therefore particularly pleased to sign the United
Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities on 21 September 2010.
We are also pleased to note that resolution 64/289
on system-wide coherence will contribute to the
enhancement of the operational activities of the United
Nations, making the funding system more systematic
and harmonizing the overall governance structure. This
would improve the capacity of the United Nations to
more effectively deliver assistance to countries, thus
strengthening its development pillar.
My delegation recognizes the important role of
the General Assembly in setting the global agenda and
dealing with many of the important issues confronting
the international community today. With each passing
year, the responsibilities entrusted to the General
Assembly, as the chief deliberative and policy-making
body of the United Nations, continue to grow, and we
believe that the authority of the General Assembly
must be simultaneously enhanced to assume the
growing mandate entrusted to it. We therefore
appreciate the progress made by the Ad Hoc Working
Group on the Revitalization of the General Assembly,
where a number of key issues have been highlighted,
especially the strengthening of the Office of the
President of the General Assembly. We are confident
that, with the political determination of Member States,
those deliberations will result in a stronger United
Nations.
We are encouraged that, in the past year, the five
rounds of intergovernmental negotiations on the
question of equitable representation in and larger
membership of the Security Council and other matters
related to the Council, held under the chairmanship of
Ambassador Zahir Tanin of Afghanistan, is making
good progress. My delegation supports the expansion
of both the permanent and the non-permanent
membership of the Security Council to reflect the
contemporary realities and make it a more
representative body. We believe that India, Japan,
Germany and Brazil plus two countries from the
African continent, which have the capacity and
resources to shoulder the onerous responsibilities with
regard to the maintenance of international peace and
security, should be granted permanent membership.
Given the renewed commitment of the
international community to the MDGs with a view to
improving the lives of the people in the poorest
countries, it is most timely that the Fourth United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries
should take place in 2011 in Turkey. We thank the
Government of Turkey for its generous offer and
assistance in hosting this important Conference. We
also appreciate the efforts of the United Nations Office
of the High Representative for the Least Developed
Countries, Landlocked Developing Countries and
Small Island Developing States in coordinating
preparations for the Conference.
As we undertake preparations for this event, we
will look to you, Mr. President, for your support and
direction, so that the least developed countries (LDCs)
together with all our development partners cannot only
ensure a successful outcome, but also, more
importantly, give their people a chance for a better life.
We are confident that the Conference will build on the
successes of the Programme of Action for the Least
Developed Countries for the Decade 2001-2010 and
adopt new measures and strategies for the development
of the LDCs in the next decade.
27 10-55396
As most fittingly described, the other defining
challenge of our time, namely, climate change, requires
the collective and coordinated effort of all nations, as
its devastating effects know no bounds. My country has
full faith in the leadership of the United Nations and
believes in the centrality of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change in
addressing climate change. We are confident that the
ongoing negotiations will lead to a concrete,
comprehensive and equitable agreement at the
sixteenth session of the Conference of the Parties to the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change in Cancún later this year, as envisaged under
the Bali Action Plan. Success will be essential in
Cancún for small and vulnerable countries such as my
own, which bears a heavier burden as the result of
climate change. We must have the necessary resources
for mitigation and adaptation.
With the severe threats and damaging effects
caused by climate change in South Asia, as recently
occurred in Pakistan, it was no coincidence that the
sixteenth Summit of the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC), which Bhutan was
honoured to host in April this year, appropriately chose
climate change as its theme. In addition to adopting the
Thimphu Silver Jubilee Declaration, entitled “Towards
a Green and Happy South Asia”, the Summit also
adopted the Thimphu Statement on Climate Change.
The Statement outlines important initiatives to further
strengthen and intensify regional cooperation to
address the adverse impacts of climate change in South
Asia. One of the important outcomes of the Thimphu
Summit is the formulation of a common SAARC
statement on climate change, which Bhutan, as the
current SAARC Chair, will present at the forthcoming
Conference of the Parties in December in Cancún.
We are pleased to report that, as Bhutan
progresses into its third year as a democratic
constitutional monarchy, the foundations for a
sustainable and vibrant democracy are growing
stronger. The institutional arrangements for the three
branches of Government, as required under our
Constitution, are now complete and functioning with
the establishment of the Supreme Court earlier this
year. Likewise, all the constitutional bodies with
oversight functions have been firmly established, and
the media is performing its role as the fourth estate in
an atmosphere of freedom.
There is no doubt that, given the challenges
confronting our increasingly interdependent world, the
role of the United Nations is vital in addressing those
issues. In order to do so, the United Nations requires
the full support and commitment of the entire
membership. Only then will it be able to truly reaffirm
its central role in global governance. I therefore
conclude by assuring you, Mr. President, of my
delegation’s full support and cooperation, as you
embark on a year-long journey of further strengthening
this Organization.