Let me begin by offering my
congratulations to you, Madam President. We would
also like to thank former Assembly President Jan
Eliasson for his able leadership over the past year. Our
deep appreciation also goes to Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, who has served the Organization with skill and
devotion.
Palau joins others in welcoming Montenegro, the
newest State Member of the United Nations. We look
forward to its participation in our debates.
Participation in the United Nations has special
meaning for Palau. We were the last country to emerge
from the United Nations Trusteeship System. During
trusteeship, it was the United Nations that showed us
that every country, regardless of size, had a role to
play. The United Nations provided our nation with a
platform from which we could achieve independence
and establish our sovereignty. For that we are forever
grateful.
Palau is often seen as a paradise of swaying palm
trees and ocean breezes. But that simplistic view fails
to recognize the challenges we face as a small island
developing State. In this shrinking world, the actions of
distant countries are having a profound effect on us.
We come to the Assembly now, asking for its help once
again as we face those difficult issues.
One of the issues that we hope the General
Assembly will act on this year is deep-sea bottom
trawling. As the Secretary-General has reported,
bottom trawling is responsible for 95 per cent of the
worldwide damage to seamount ecosystems. It is an
irresponsible practice, and Palau has passed a law
banning all bottom trawling within our waters. In doing
so, Palau followed the lead set by Japan, the United
States, Norway, Australia and many other responsible
countries.
It is now time to ensure that similar measures are
taken for international waters. That is why Palau has
joined with our Pacific colleagues in Tuvalu, the
Marshall Islands and Micronesia to propose an interim
prohibition on unregulated bottom trawling. Our
proposal represents the strong determination of our
region to protect the oceans upon which we all
ultimately rely.
Another issue of great importance is that of
global warming. Coral bleaching, a rise in sea level and
altered fish migration all threaten the future of Palau
and other small island nations. Reversing that trend is
one of our top priorities. We continue to urge the
international community to act aggressively to reduce
emissions that lead to global warming.
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Palau is a democratic society. Our children know
the importance of culture and community. We
guarantee human rights in our nation. We also know
that flying our flag here at the United Nations carries
with it certain obligations, and we have met them all.
Palau has deployed peacekeepers to regional and
international missions. When natural disasters strike,
Palau responds willingly and voluntarily. When the
international community called upon countries to
preserve biodiversity, Palau came forward with the
Micronesian Challenge. That initiative will protect 462
coral species, which represent 58 per cent of all known
corals.
Our future as a nation and the future of our
children depend upon the viability of our environment,
especially of the oceans. Palau relies on the health of
its amazing reefs and waters to provide food for our
people and to support our tourism industry. Without
those we will not be able to develop a sustainable
economy that will allow our children to live and work
in their homeland. To provide for them, we look to the
United Nations for leadership and support. To that end,
Palau remains open to ideas for harmonizing the
environmental agencies at the United Nations. We
applaud efforts to streamline the process of accessing
those agencies; that would make them more responsive
to small nations. In the same vein, Palau would like to
state that difficulties in accessing assistance in
claiming our extended continental shelf have made it
clear that we will have a hard time meeting the 2009
deadline for submissions.
Last year, in this historic Hall, we noted our
concern that the United Nations, its offices and
organizations did not have a permanent representative
in Palau. In June, it was announced that a coalition
comprised of the United Nations Development
Programme, UNICEF and the United Nations
Population Fund would open a total of eight new
offices in Pacific island countries, including Palau. We
welcome that historic accomplishment. It is a giant step
towards harmonization within the United Nations. For
Palau, it will give us one of the tools we need most for
sustainable development, namely, local capacity-
building.
Let us not forget the continuing threat of
terrorism. We recognize that terrorism anywhere is a
threat to people everywhere. We have looked for
assistance to improve our anti-terrorism capacity. Palau
has met, and worked with, the Counter-terrorism
Executive Directorate to advance our requests for
assistance, particularly in the area of combating
money-laundering and the financing of terrorism.
Unfortunately, the efforts of the Directorate have been
insufficient. Our hope is that, during the sixty-first
session of the General Assembly, the United Nations
will be able to help smaller countries in addressing that
threat.
We would also like to take a moment to thank a
few of the many partners that have assisted Palau this
past year. The efforts of the Global Environment
Facility (GEF) Small Grants Programme deserve
special recognition. The GEF programme in the North
Pacific has resulted in an effective mechanism to
protect our environment through grass-roots projects.
Palau has also partnered with a number of
countries that have supported our development. First,
the United States has provided in-country diplomatic
representation and years of support. We acknowledge
the generosity of the United States in responding to
natural disasters in Asia and the Pacific region. We
thank them for that. Japan has also provided invaluable
assistance to Palau. The addition of Japan as a member
of the Security Council would help inform other
Council members that are less familiar with our
regional needs and concerns. We have supported, and
continue to support, the G-4 draft resolution, and hope
that the Assembly will address the draft resolution this
year.
Taiwan has been another steady supporter of
Palau’s development. We continue to assert that the
world would benefit from Taiwan’s membership in the
United Nations and other international institutions.
This year, Palau co-sponsored a draft resolution calling
for a proactive role for the United Nations in
addressing the tensions in East Asia. We were
disappointed that the actions of the General Committee
prevented a debate on that draft resolution.
Palau would also like to recognize Australia’s
steadfast commitment to stability in our region, as well
as its dedication to capacity-building. Through such
initiatives as its patrol boat programme, Australia
enables Palau to address illegal, unregulated and
unreported fishing, which threatens our sovereignty
and the marine habitats that surround our island nation.
We call on all parties in the Sudan to work
together to mitigate the humanitarian crisis in Darfur.
As Mr. Jan Eliasson stated on 11 September,
19 06-53317
“we have ... seen the horrors of Cambodia,
Rwanda and Srebrenica without taking action.
The same tragedy must not befall the people in
Darfur or elsewhere. The responsibility to protect
must move from declaration to action.”
(A/60/PV.100, p. 6 )
Lastly, Palau would like to take this opportunity
to express our hope that the Middle East peace process
can be successfully restarted. We are hopeful that the
expanded United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon
(UNIFIL) will bring peace and security to both Israel
and Lebanon. We stress the need for full
implementation of Security Council resolution 1701
(2006), including its preamble. We join the call for the
unconditional release of the kidnapped Israeli soldiers.
It is critical that the reconstructed UNIFIL force be
effective and capable of enforcing the arms embargo as
called for.
On behalf of Palau, a small island nation in the
wide Pacific Ocean, let me thank the entire Assembly
in my country’s native language. Kom Kmal Mesulang.
God bless you all.