Allow me to warmly congratulate Mr. Ali Abdussalam
Treki on his well-deserved election to preside over the
General Assembly at its sixty-fourth session. I assure
him of the full cooperation of the Philippines as he
discharges the duties of his high office.
We are gathered here today, in this parliament of
nations, to find meaningful solutions to the conflicts
and crises facing our world today. Although there are
signs of global recovery, now is neither the time for
complacency nor for a return to business as usual. Our
drive to enhance global development has clearly
slowed, while the challenges to peace remain starkly
before us.
Through globalization, we have witnessed
unprecedented material progress and record poverty
alleviation. Yet the poorest 40 per cent of the world’s
population still live on less than $2 per day. Nor have
we resolved the climate change and food crises that
oppress hundreds of millions of human beings.
A large part of global development has been the
result of labour, including that of migrant workers.
However, despite their contributions to the global
economy, many migrants remain exposed to
exploitation and abuse. Moreover, the peace dividend
expected from the end of the cold war never
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materialized, while we continue to confront nuclear
proliferation and violent conflict. The shortage of aid
resources and instability in trade and investment are
generating a global development emergency. Many
nations will not attain the Millennium Development
Goals (MDGs). Development gains are being tragically
lost.
Our march of progress must not stall — not on
our watch and not while we have the will, the vision
and the means to build a better world inspired by a
shared commitment to justice, fairness,
non-discrimination, progress and peace. We should do
so by focusing on the five great challenges of our time.
The first challenge pertains to promoting nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation. The second
involves managing the global crisis to encourage
equitable recovery, fairer globalization and faster
poverty alleviation. The third entails protecting and
promoting the rights of migrants, who continue to
contribute to global development and the well-being of
our societies. The fourth has to do with the taking of
urgent measures to effectively address the adverse
effects of climate change without further delay. And
the fifth has to do with reducing the number of
conflicts and expanding mutual understanding and
respect through greater interfaith and
inter-civilizational dialogue.
(spoke in English)
Nuclear weapons and their technology are a
threat to international peace and security, and the
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is our central
mechanism to contain, and eventually eliminate, that
threat. The May 2010 NPT Review Conference, over
which the Philippines will preside, will be the next
opportunity for all of us to act on that matter in a
concerted manner. We can be encouraged by certain
recent developments on that front.
A constructive atmosphere prevailed during the
meetings of the Preparatory Committee for the Review
Conference. President Obama has announced that he
will lead the United States to ratify the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which is another key
pillar of the global disarmament and NPT system. In
addition, the United States and Russia are making
headway, under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty,
to reduce their deployed nuclear warheads and delivery
systems beyond the Treaty’s upcoming expiry in
December. In addition, the South-East Asia Nuclear-
Weapon-Free-Zone and other regional nuclear-weapon-
free zones are continuing to reinforce the NPT system.
Those positive developments inspire the Philippines in
steering the Review Conference to conduct
negotiations and consultations in an open and
transparent manner. In that spirit, we reiterate our call
for the few remaining countries that have not yet done
so to accede both to the CTBT and the NPT, in order to
give greater hope for lasting peace and security for our
world.
The global financial and economic crisis is
placing intolerable strain on the poorest of the poor and
undermining years of efforts to attain internationally
agreed development goals, including the MDGs, and to
combat ill-health and hunger. The crisis has been
accompanied by increases in unemployment, with
concomitant declining incomes and demand. The
International Labour Organization estimates that
unemployment could rise by 50 million by the end of
2009, thereby bringing the global unemployment rate
to more than 7 per cent.
The Philippines and many other nations are
implementing stimulus packages, accelerated
employment-generation programmes and enhanced
social safety nets. In the Philippines we have
strengthened our banking sector and fiscal position
through tough reforms that have blunted the full force
of the global crisis. The Philippines is one of the few
economies that continues to have positive growth in its
gross domestic product. However, we cannot ignore the
impact of the global crisis elsewhere in our
interdependent world. The Philippines therefore joins
other nations in the General Assembly in calling for a
united effort in the United Nations to act for the
common good of all our peoples.
The United Nations Conference on the World
Financial and Economic Crisis and Its Impact on
Development, which was held in this very Hall last
June, presented Member States with lines of action that
we must take now to stimulate the global economy,
improve regulation and monitoring and reform
processes and institutions to prevent any recurrence of
the crisis.
We view the Global Jobs Pact put forward by the
International Labour Organization, which was endorsed
by the Economic and Social Council this past July, as
another important step towards recovering from the
crisis. We reiterate our call on all countries to resist
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protectionism in order to expand trade and investment
flows. We also call on developed nations to maintain
their commitments with regard to official development
assistance. Furthermore, the voice of the developing
world must now be fully heard in reforming
international financial and development institutions so
that we can forge a more equitable and stable global
economic system to avoid future crises.
Global migrants are among the groups most
adversely affected by the crisis. The international
community therefore has a shared responsibility to
ensure their protection, taking into full account the
special vulnerabilities of the gender and family
dimensions of the issue. The second Global Forum on
Migration and Development, which the Philippines was
privileged to chair in Manila, reinforced that important
message by focusing on the human face of migration
and on the human rights and empowerment of
migrants. We urge all nations to accede to the
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their
Families, and to avoid unfair restrictions on, and unfair
treatment of, migrants.
We must carry the momentum of the Summit on
Climate Change, held here in New York, forward into
the negotiations under the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change on the road to
Copenhagen this December. The world expects nothing
less from us. The Philippines therefore calls on the
developed countries concerned to present their firm
post-Kyoto greenhouse gas emission targets, taking
into account the ideal levels suggested by the scientific
community. They must also assist developing countries
to mitigate and adapt to worsening climate change by
fulfilling their Framework Convention obligations to
provide technological and financial support. As a
coordinator of the G-77 in the talks, the Philippines
will continue to work with all parties to help to ensure
a positive outcome in Copenhagen.
The Philippines is doing its part to advance that
vital global agenda. We recently enacted a landmark
law to promote the development and use of renewable
energy resources, especially biofuels. Earlier this
month, the Philippines also hosted the International
Conference on Green Industry in Asia. The Manila
Declaration on Green Industry in Asia and the
Framework of Action adopted at the Conference
promote the integration of sustainable development
into industrial development processes for the transition
to resource-efficient and low-carbon industries. We
hope that elements of the Manila Declaration will
provide input for Copenhagen as well.
The international community must also focus on
the urgent need to reduce tension and conflict fuelled
by perceived differences between religions, faiths and
civilizations. If left unattended, such conflict can
fester, causing greater tension and untold human
suffering and violence, which extremists can exploit.
The urgency of the matter has prompted the Philippines
and many partner nations and organizations to promote
greater interfaith dialogue, both within the United
Nations system as well as at regional and national
levels. By building bridges of understanding, that
global advocacy enhances peace and development.
Every year, the Philippines has submitted to the
United Nations a draft resolution calling for
interreligious and intercultural dialogue, understanding
and cooperation for peace. The General Assembly has
always adopted it unanimously. Also at the United
Nations, we initiated the holding of the Ministerial
Meeting on Interfaith Dialogue and Cooperation for
Peace, which includes countries from every region of
the world. In 2006, we also launched the global
Tripartite Forum on Interfaith Cooperation for Peace,
which is headquartered in New York and made up of 54
Governments, 15 United Nations agencies and 110
religious non-governmental organizations represented
at the United Nations. To reinforce that effort, the
Philippines will host the first special Non-Aligned
Movement (NAM) ministerial meeting on interfaith
dialogue and cooperation for peace and development in
Manila this December. We are pleased to invite all
United Nations Members and other interested nations
to that important seminal meeting.
(spoke in Spanish)
The spirit of multilateralism and prudent realism
also requires that we support United Nations
peacekeeping efforts. In crises and emergencies around
the world, we must do more collectively to alleviate
suffering and to help nations and communities to
achieve self-sustaining peace. The Philippines will
continue to be active in United Nations peacekeeping.
Indeed, the Philippines has become one of the largest
contributors of individual police officers to United
Nations peacekeeping operations. More than 600 of our
peacekeepers are serving with distinction around the
world. Next month, we will send a battalion in support
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of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force,
in the Golan Heights.
We stand on the cusp of history. It is in our hands,
here at the United Nations, to shape the changes and
trends necessary to bequeath to succeeding generations
a lasting legacy of a world of greater justice,
compassion and well-being. The Philippines is deeply
honoured to assist and cooperate with all nations in the
task of building a future where peace and prosperity
reign unceasingly for the benefit of all humankind.