Denmark

My Government agrees entirely with the Secretary-General’s remarks at the opening of this debate. The world is on the eve of a great transition. The problems we face have grown much more complex, and our challenges are increasingly those of collaboration rather than confrontation. The quality of life in most parts of the world has improved tremendously over recent decades, 39 08-53135 but challenges remain, not least in sub-Saharan Africa. New challenges, such as climate change, migration, increasing energy and food prices and financial instability, could all potentially give rise to embedded conflicts and further polarization. As President Sarkozy said last week in his capacity as President of the European Union (EU), continued reform of the United Nations is crucial to improving the ability of the United Nations to carry out its core business, which is and remains problem solving. We must continue the progress made on system-wide coherence and on the Delivering as One agenda. As regards Security Council reform, Denmark welcomes the agreement to initiate intergovernmental negotiations in the near future. At the election of Security Council members next month, Iceland is the candidate for membership representing all the Nordic countries. We are strongly backing Iceland’s candidature. On climate change, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change reports have served to crystallize an international consensus on the need for action. That consensus has been nurtured by the determined leadership of the Secretary-General, promoting global action to curb global warming, with the United Nations at its centre. Economic growth and environmental protection are fully compatible. The challenge is to establish a framework for low-carbon growth, in which increased energy efficiency, increased use of renewable sources of energy, carbon capture and storage, and the development of a global carbon market are vital elements. Denmark will host the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in 2009. The goal is to reach an agreement on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, making it an ambitious and truly global instrument. Momentum for a new comprehensive and ambitious international climate agreement is growing day by day. During the past weeks, we have witnessed new cruel and meaningless acts of terrorism. The evil terrorist attack in Islamabad on the Marriott Hotel on 20 September resulted in the loss of many innocent lives. Most of those who died were Pakistanis, but other nationalities were also included, one Danish person among them. That attack and others came only a few weeks after United Nations Member States had reaffirmed their commitment to the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. We must respond to such despicable acts of fanaticism with great determination to strengthen international cooperation in that area. All United Nations bodies must join in the fight against terrorism. We hope that, at its present session, the General Assembly will finally agree to a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. In addition, we must focus on due process and sanctions, as it is becoming increasingly clear that a lack of adequate due process is hampering the efficiency of the sanctions system. Sixty years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, severe violations of human rights continue to take place. Extremists are trying to instigate a clash of civilizations by creating mistrust and polarization among various civilizations, cultures and religions. It is a major challenge for the United Nations to counter those trends and to promote the universality of human rights. The number of armed conflicts is steadily decreasing. The United Nations has played a major role in ensuring that positive trend. However, several bloody and difficult conflicts remain high on the international agenda. In Afghanistan, measurable progress has been made, but the security situation remains challenging. Corruption and drugs are undermining the achievements made and the long-term development of the country. Denmark has significantly increased its engagement in the United Nations-mandated, NATO- led mission, and we have doubled our development assistance to Afghanistan. Much has been achieved, but the United Nations needs to play a much stronger role in coordinating the international engagement. A lack of success in Afghanistan would have serious regional ramifications. In Africa, the deployment of the African Union- United Nations Hybrid Operation in Darfur has been delayed owing to various factors, including actions by the Government of the Sudan allowing attacks and killings to go on. Those responsible for the grave crimes committed in Darfur must be held accountable. Fighting impunity is a prerequisite for sustainable peace. We thus stress the need to comply with Security Council resolution 1593 (2005) and express our strong support for the International Criminal Court. 08-53135 40 In Zimbabwe, we hope that the power-sharing agreement will pave the way for durable peace and a return to democracy and rule of law, ending the suffering of the people of that country. In Somalia, the international community is trying hard to improve the deplorable situation on the ground and the prospects for a long-term political solution. The scourge of piracy is one of the factors undermining stability in Somalia. The Danish navy is taking an active role, together with the navies of other nations, in addressing that problem off the coast of Somalia and in the region. We need to increase our common efforts to address all aspects of fighting piracy, including strengthening the international legal framework for handling detained persons. Through the Copenhagen Process Denmark has taken the lead on the broader issue of handling detainees in armed conflict. We believe that there are already valuable lessons here that can also be applied in relation to piracy. In the Middle East, in spite of continuing violence, effective regional and international diplomacy has contributed to breaking the political deadlock in Lebanon. The Palestinians and the Israeli Government are also making progress. We urge the parties to the Middle East conflict to honour road map commitments and to settle their differences in accordance with the international agreements and the Arab peace initiative. I should also like to take this opportunity to strongly condemn the unacceptable remarks made by the President of Iran calling for Israel to be wiped off the map. In Burma, Cyclone Nargis killed more than 100,000 people earlier this year. The slow and inadequate reaction of the regime demonstrated its disregard for the welfare of its own people. The United Nations is working hard to ensure the initiation of a genuine political dialogue between the Government and the political opposition as well as the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. We strongly support those efforts. In August, war erupted in the South Caucasus. The conflict in Georgia has not only dramatically affected the region but clearly also entails repercussions that go beyond it. However, not least because of the European Union and its French presidency, the international community has been able to contribute constructively to the process. Now it is up to all parties to the conflict to fulfil the conditions set out in the six-point agreement and the Moscow agreement and to act in a positive spirit to find long- term solutions to the conflict in a peaceful manner that also respects Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. This year saw a new country appear in the Balkans. The United Nations has played a substantial role in promoting Kosovo’s development and is still present in Kosovo with the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK), together with a new substantial contribution from the EU regarding the rule of law: the European Union Rule of Law Mission Kosovo. By reconfiguring UNMIK, the United Nations has demonstrated substantial pragmatism and a willingness to cooperate actively with the EU. Later this year, the United Nations is expected to hand over to the EU Mission tasks related to the rule-of-law area, and we welcome that development. The good offices of the Secretary-General, the mediation and conflict prevention efforts of the United Nations and its peacekeeping operations, which now entail 19 missions and more than 130,000 staff members, remain the backbone of United Nations peace and security efforts. However, we need to improve the capacity of the United Nations system to assist countries in early phases of recovery after conflict as well as countries with very weak institutions that might easily fall into conflict. That means building a stronger bridge from humanitarian assistance, political good offices and peacekeeping efforts to early recovery, peacebuilding, reconstruction and transitional assistance aimed at sustaining State-building and preventing weak States from lapsing back into conflict or chaos. The creation of the Peacebuilding Commission and the Peacebuilding Fund was important in strengthening the Organization’s capacity and capability to build and cross that bridge, but so far it is only a footbridge. Much more engineering and craftsmanship are needed, including on the part of funds and programmes. At the 2005 World Summit, the concept of the responsibility to protect was endorsed. We must develop that concept further and ensure that States do their utmost to protect their own citizens from genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. We must discuss what the international community and the United Nations can do to assist States in meeting those obligations, and we 41 08-53135 must consider the means that are available to the international community when States manifestly fail to protect their populations. Last week, an impressive number of heads of State and Government took part in the first high-level follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and the establishment of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We are not on track, but we are not sidetracked either. We all have to make extra effort if we are to succeed, and we need to get our priorities right. A special focus on the empowerment of women is essential socially, politically and economically. Increased investments in women are crucial across all the MDGs, across all sectors. Gender equality is a basic human right, and it is smart economics, too. On that basis, the Danish Government has initiated a specific call to action on gender equality and the empowerment of women. Another cross-cutting factor that might determine success or failure for all countries is governance. Political leadership, democratic institutions, the rule of law and respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms are called for not only nationally, but also internationally. The international rule of law, with a strong emphasis on respect for the fundamental principles of international law, respect for human rights and fighting impunity, is a key to international peace and stability. The evidence is loud and clear, and we need to focus our efforts. The evidence is equally loud and clear in another area. Sub-Saharan Africa is lagging behind in its trajectory towards achievement of the MDGs. The Danish Government has therefore established an international high-level commission on effective development cooperation with Africa. The aim of the commission, in which a number of African leaders and United Nations officials are taking part, is to present creative and concrete recommendations regarding a cross section of young people, employment and economic growth. By May 2009, the commission will present its ideas and concrete proposals on how African countries and the international community can address those challenges prior to the 2010 review of the status of the implementation of the MDGs. In conclusion, let me reaffirm the interrelationship and interdependence of the issues that I have addressed. There can be no development without security and human rights, and vice versa. Progress is needed in all areas if we are to advance as a global community. And we must advance — in the area of development, in the area of peace and security, in the area of human rights and in the many areas that transcend borders. That can be achieved, however, only through multilateral cooperation in areas such as counter-terrorism, non-proliferation, pandemics and climate change. Multilateralism is our only response to the challenges, risks and opportunities of an interdependent and globalized world. It is our responsibility to ensure that the United Nations is properly equipped to address global challenges and global opportunities.