At the outset, on behalf of
the Lao delegation, I would like to congratulate you,
Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, on your election as
President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fourth
session. I trust that, under your able presidency, our
session will be guided to a successful outcome. Let me
also take this opportunity to express our deepest
appreciation to His Excellency Mr. Miguel d’Escoto
Brockmann, who presided over the sixty-third session
with dedication and distinction. By the same token, I
convey our great appreciation to Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon for his leadership and his commitment to
the work of the Organization at a time when our world
is facing numerous grave challenges.
In recent years, the international situation has
undergone rapid changes and faced various challenges.
The United Nations, a unique world body, has been
playing an increasingly important role in maintaining
international peace and security and promoting the
peaceful settlement of disputes and international
cooperation for development. In this rapidly changing
world, it is our common duty and responsibility as
Members of the United Nations to ensure that the
Organization carry out its mandate effectively. To this
end, United Nations reform is crucial and should be
comprehensive, transparent and balanced, while the
Organization should maintain its intergovernmental,
universal and democratic character, consistent with the
Charter.
The revitalization of the General Assembly,
reform of the Security Council and the strengthening of
the Economic and Social Council and specialized
agencies should be guided by the principles of
democracy, transparency and accountability with a
view to making this universal Organization a body that
truly represents the interests of all Member States and
seeks their benefit. In this context, the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic welcomes the launching of
intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council
reform and will continue to contribute to these
important efforts in this new phase of the Security
Council reform process.
The ongoing impasse within the multilateral
disarmament machinery continues to undermine
international peace and security. The existence of
nuclear weapons remains a grave threat to the existence
of all humankind. It is therefore vital to reaffirm the
importance of States honouring their nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation obligations. The
upcoming 2010 Review Conference will be a great
opportunity for the States parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to demonstrate
strong political commitment by making a collective
effort to resolve the current stalemate on the
non-proliferation and disarmament agenda. In this
regard, it is encouraging that the third session of the
Preparatory Committee for the 2010 Review
Conference successfully adopted the agenda and all
significant procedural decisions, which will
undoubtedly lay an important foundation for a
productive and successful Review Conference in 2010.
In conjunction with arms reduction and nuclear
disarmament, the issue of explosive remnants of war,
including cluster munitions and unexploded ordnance
(UXO), continues to threaten and pose serious
obstacles to socio-economic development and poverty
eradication efforts in more than 80 countries across the
world. Among these, the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic is the most affected. The victims of cluster
munitions in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic —
where approximately 300 victims have been recorded
every year for the 30 years since the war ended —
account for 50 per cent of the global total of cluster
munitions victims. This is due to the fact that 37 per
cent of national territory remains contaminated by
UXO. Enormous financial resources would be needed
39 09-52586
to resolve this problem, and it would take a great
length of time to clear UXOs from those areas needed
most for development and the everyday livelihoods of
communities. However, a precise estimate has yet to be
made as to how many hundreds of years it would take
to clear all UXO-contaminated areas across the
country.
In light of the adverse impact of cluster
munitions, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic
attaches great importance to the Convention on
banning and eradicating cluster munitions. In this
context, we welcome and commend those countries
that have signed and ratified the Convention, and hope
that other countries that have not done so will follow
suit so that Convention may enter into force as soon as
possible. In order to prepare for the future
implementation of the Convention, the Lao
Government has offered to host the first conference of
States parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions
after it enters into force. We hope that our offer will
receive broad support from all countries and
international organizations.
Despite the fact that peace, development and
cooperation are the lodestars of our times, tensions,
conflicts, violence, terrorism and threats to security
persist in various parts of the world. The Lao People’s
Democratic Republic is deeply dismayed by the
prolonged conflict in the Middle East, which continues
to inflict immense suffering on millions of people in
the region, in particular the Palestinian people, who
have been struggling to exercise their legitimate and
inalienable rights to self-determination and statehood.
Although we have heard in the course of our general
debate many expressions of encouragement and
renewed hope for addressing the Middle East problem,
this can be realized only if all parties concerned
demonstrate their commitment to addressing the
impasse with a view to realizing the vision of two
States, Israel and Palestine, living side by side in peace
and security within recognized borders, in accordance
with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
We also remain concerned over the decades-long
economic, commercial and financial embargo imposed
on the Republic of Cuba. It is now time to end these
sanctions.
Climate change continues to be a pressing
concern and to pose enormous challenges to the
survival of humankind. Against this backdrop, global
measures that conform to the principle of common but
differentiated responsibility are urgently required. To
this end, the integration of the three pillars of
sustainable development — economic development,
social development and environmental protection —
should be enhanced with a view to effectively
implementing the Bali Action Plan.
In this context, we highly commend the
Secretary-General for his initiative to convene the
high-level Summit on Climate Change on
22 September 2009, at which world leaders had the
opportunity to discuss concrete measures and potential
solutions to the consequences of climate change, as
well as to prepare for the Climate Change Conference
to be held in Copenhagen, Denmark. Furthermore,
world leaders have made strong commitments to taking
the necessary action to reduce greenhouse gas
emissions, promote the green economy, provide
mitigation and adaptation assistance, and generate
alternative energy, including through technology
transfer from developed to developing countries, in
order to enable the latter to adapt to the consequences
and impacts of climate change.
The Lao People’s Democratic Republic welcomes
and supports the recommendation to launch a new
Global Compact entailing a green New Deal, which
would no doubt provide an excellent platform for
addressing the current global challenges, promoting
investment in the green economy, laying the
foundations to deal with the crucial long-term issues,
and helping to create a future based on a low-carbon
economy, renewable energy and energy efficiency.
The multiple global crises, especially the
financial and economic crises, have had many adverse
effects on developing countries, in particular on the
most vulnerable groups. This is due primarily to the
lack of basic infrastructure, access to markets,
resources and modern technology, and to the fact that
capacity to provide financing and investment remains
low. In response, various forms of consultation and
approach have been undertaken in an attempt to
mitigate the long-term impacts of the crisis. In this
regard, we welcome the initiatives of the Group of
Eight, the Group of 20 and other international forums
to build a mechanism that will help find solutions to
the crisis, including the recommendations of the high-
level Conference on the World Financial and Economic
Crisis held here in June this year.
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As one of the most vulnerable countries in the
world, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic is of the
view that all initiatives and measures undertaken must
be implemented effectively and in a timely manner. In
particular, it is important to address the
unpredictability and vulnerability of commodity
markets, provide preferential treatment to goods from
developing countries, especially those from the most
vulnerable ones, ensure the smooth resolution of debt
issues, improve technology transfer mechanism and
reform the international financial system.
The fourth United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries, to be held in early 2011,
will provide a good opportunity for the international
community to review its responsibilities and
commitments pledged to the least developed countries,
as well as to identify obstacles and constraints and seek
possible solutions to them, particularly in the wake of
such a profound economic and financial crisis.
The solid political stability and social order in the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic have provided
favourable conditions for national economic
development. Nevertheless, the Lao People’s
Democratic Republic has also been adversely affected
at a certain level by the recent global economic and
financial crisis. The crisis has caused a slowdown in
economic development, with growth of the main
economic sectors such as industry, services and
agriculture decreasing by 2 to 3 per cent. The trade
sector was also affected, with exports dropping by
28 per cent.
Against this backdrop, the Lao Government has
undertaken urgent action by identifying eight measures
and 80 priority areas to address. As a result of such
action, the Lao People’s Democratic Republic has been
able to mitigate the adverse impact of the crisis to a
certain degree. However, owing to the uncertainty of
today’s global economy, the Lao People’s Democratic
Republic, like other developing countries, remains
vulnerable and still needs the support and cooperation
from the international community to respond to the
crisis, with a view to preventing long-term impacts,
which may occur at any time, and to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and our ultimate
national goal of being removed from the list of least
developed countries by 2020.
Today, more than ever, the international
community has the responsibility, as well as the
opportunity, to promote solidarity and strengthen
international cooperation in jointly addressing these
global problems, as no country can weather alone the
threats and challenges confronting it. In this spirit, the
Lao People’s Democratic Republic reiterates its
unshakable commitment to continue full cooperation
with the international community in pursuit of a world
free from fear and want, rooted in a new, just and
equitable order. I believe that, with great solidarity, we
will be able to achieve the aforementioned goals.