A few weeks
ago, the Empire State Building was lit up in orange, the
national colour of the Netherlands. The reason was
that, precisely 400 years ago, the Dutch East India
Company commissioned Henry Hudson to find a
shorter sea route to Asia via the north. After a brutal
voyage filled with hardships, Hudson decided to
change course. He never found his shortcut to Asia, but
he did become the first person to map the area around
the river that would one day bear his name, including
the place where we are gathered today. Ever since then,
the origin of the great city of New York has been
closely linked with the courage and resolve of Henry
Hudson. Today more than ever before, we must make
those qualities our own.
In the past year, we have faced the harsh reality
of a financial and economic system on the brink. The
crisis has been so severe and so rapid that courage and
resolve are now required of us all — the courage to
place shared values and interests above narrow self-
interest, the resolve to adapt existing global
governance structures to a new reality and the courage
to make decisive choices that take account of all
interests, especially those of the world’s weakest and
poorest people. That is my clear message to the
General Assembly.
The Dutch Government has no doubt that a
strong, decisive and efficient United Nations will be
vital to that process. Only an integrated global
approach will deliver the stability, solidarity and
sustainability that the world needs so badly. The last
few days in New York and Pittsburgh have shown that
there is a clear realization that the world has changed
and that we must work together more closely than ever
before. Our interdependency gives us a shared
responsibility. We can see now that the problems we
face are too big for any single nation.
There is therefore strong will to address the
underlying causes of the economic crisis, to work on
systemic imbalances and to once again make finance a
tool for growth. The agreement we reached in
Pittsburgh on a framework for strong, sustainable and
balanced growth is a big step forward. It shows that
there is a widely shared conviction that we have much
to gain from stability, solidarity and sustainability, both
as individual countries and collectively. I would like to
say a few words about each of those core concepts.
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The current crisis offers clear proof that in a
globalized world instability anywhere is a threat to
stability everywhere. The international policy response
has shown that that is widely understood in the
financial and economic context. That is a positive sign,
even if there is still a long way to go. The Pittsburgh
agreement on compensation systems should end a
bonus culture that has grown out of control. We cannot
allow the greed of a few to endanger the jobs of many.
We must therefore prevent that kind of crisis from ever
happening again.
Mr. Valero Briceño (Bolivarian Republic of
Venezuela), Vice-President, took the Chair.
Institutional reform should not stop with the
financial and economic sector. There is a clear need for
new arrangements that will allow us to manage a range
of global governance issues at the same time. In the
long term, the greatest threat to a stable world order is
to allow the crisis to push the world’s other great
problems into the background: climate change, for
example, the energy and food crisis or the pressing
issues of peace and security, poverty and human rights.
We cannot let that happen. In some cases, we simply
have to honour commitments that we have already
made, such as the Millennium Development Goals. In
others, we need the courage to see beyond this crisis to
the world of tomorrow, as we must show at the climate
summit to be held in Copenhagen.
In any event, the current situation demands that
we place our common global values and interests
above our acute domestic problems, however serious
they may be. Therefore, now more than ever, we need a
strong, decisive and efficient United Nations. We need
it here in New York, but we especially need it on the
ground. In that context, I would highlight the vital
importance of the One United Nations Initiative, which
needs follow-up, and soon.
Stability cannot be achieved without respect for
human rights. As friends of the Iranian people, we are
concerned about the worsening human rights situation
and the violent crackdown on popular protests. The
Iranian nuclear issue represents a major challenge to
international peace and security, to regional stability
and to the non-proliferation regime. The recent
revelation of a nuclear facility that was long kept secret
is additional reason for great concern. It calls for a
strong reaction by the international community and for
total transparency by Iran. Iran must regain the trust of
the international community, comply with relevant
Security Council resolutions and contribute to peace
and stability in the Middle East.
In June of this year, the United Nations showed
leadership by holding a major conference here in New
York on the effects of the crisis for developing
countries. The Netherlands fully supported that
initiative, as there can be no stability without
solidarity. After all, there is nothing more destabilizing
than poverty, hunger and a future without hope. The
economic crisis and rising food prices are threatening
to sweep away a great deal of hard-won progress. In
2009 alone, the number of people forced to live on less
than $1.25 a day will grow by at least 55 million.
There is a real danger that those who had no part
in causing the crisis will be the people who suffer most
deeply. In rich countries the crisis means the loss of
jobs and assets. In developing countries it means rising
child mortality and rising hunger. Therefore, in rich
countries the crisis is serious; in poor countries it is a
matter of life and death.
Let the donor countries honour an old promise
and set aside at least 0.7 per cent of their national
income every year for development aid; and let the
current crisis also inspire recipient countries to use the
funds as effectively as possible. Now more than ever,
public support for development aid depends on
transparency, good governance and an effective fight
against corruption.
I would also add that international solidarity is
not simply a question of development budgets. It also
concerns the private sector. More and more businesses
now recognize the importance of corporate social
responsibility. I believe there is still a world to be won
in that regard, not only for society but also for
companies themselves. Corporate social responsibility
makes good business sense.
My third subject, sustainability, is essentially
about making choices and sacrifices, not for our own
sake but for future generations. This session of the
General Assembly is our last major stop on the road to
Copenhagen. We should be aware that the progress we
make there will affect the lives of our children, our
children’s children and so on, down through the
generations. That must be our main motive for seeking
a radical change in the way we live.
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In Copenhagen we must reach an ambitious, fair
and comprehensive agreement. We must be ambitious
and set our sights high. Therefore, at Copenhagen the
Netherlands will call for worldwide carbon dioxide
emissions to be halved from 1990 levels by 2050. We
should be fair to developing countries. Every country
should contribute to the common goal according to its
means. Every country will be expected to play its part.
But those that need help in designing and
implementing sound adaptation policies must receive
it. That is why the Netherlands has set aside
€500 million to promote the use of renewable energy in
developing countries.
Comprehensive also means that we should not
simply pave the road ahead with good intentions, but
with concrete agreements — for example, agreements
on developing the global carbon market, on sharing
knowledge and on financial arrangements. We simply
cannot fail at Copenhagen.
The world is much smaller than it was in the days
of Henry Hudson, but it is far more complex as a
result. Any solution to the issues I have raised today
starts with recognizing our mutual dependence and
responsibility. Within the concepts of stability,
solidarity and sustainability we will find the shared
values and interests that should guide us on the road
ahead. It is a road that requires courage. But to echo
the words I heard recently from the Italian Nobel Prize
winner and senator for life Rita Levi-Montalcini, on
her one-hundredth birthday, “Don’t fear difficult
moments. The best comes from them.” Let us go
forward in that spirit.