A/70/PV.15 General Assembly

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka, President of the Republic of Belarus.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka, President of the Republic of Belarus, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Lukashenka (spoke in Russian): Seventy years ago, after the end of the Second World War, humankind cherished the hope that a just world order, based on mutual understanding and cooperation, might be established. However, what followed after that — the Cold War — once again split the world into opposing blocs. After the break-up of the Soviet Union and the socialist camp, many thought that military conflicts and the reasons for confrontation between States would finally disappear. Alas, those hopes have not yet been realized. Unfortunately, we must admit that our world has not become more stable, predictable *1529425* 15-29425 (E) or comfortable for the majority of people on the planet, despite the enormous work and tremendous efforts made to implement the large-scale plans of the United Nations. At the Summit three days ago we adopted an ambitious agenda for the United Nations for the next 15 years in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1). That outcome document focuses on five strategic areas that are vitally important for all of us, namely, people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnership. Those notions did not emerge from nowhere. They are a logical continuation of the efforts made to achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Nevertheless, those efforts now give rise to conflicting emotions. Yes, there have been certain shifts, including a reduction in global poverty levels, an increase in the level of protection, improvements in maternal and child health, and expanded access to education. But despite those achievements, we have to acknowledge that we have not had a qualitative breakthrough for the good of human civilization. Moreover, we see that the world today is being engulfed by new challenges, and old problems are being exacerbated. Those challenges and problems do not concern just one area, but rather all the most important aspects of human activity. First, today we are confronted with entirely new geopolitical realities and military conflicts. Many speakers before me have already mentioned that fact. Unprecedented tension has arisen in international relations. Threats are coming to the fore for which there are as yet no answers. Focusing on minor disputes, the global community has overlooked the emergence of aggressive global terrorist groups. The entire system of international security is undergoing a most serious crisis. There is a loss of mutual trust between global players. There is an unwillingness to compromise. There is a return to elements of a bloc-like confrontation that have, in fact, basically put the world on the brink of a new war. There are continuing attempts to impose a particular development model on other countries. What does that lead to? As a result of foreign interference, the export of colour revolutions and artificial regime changes, countries that used to be stable have now been plunged into chaos and anarchy. All of that is covered over with the gloss of democracy. Instead of the promised democracy and prosperity, people in those countries are living through extreme suffering or have been forced to flee. Crowds of migrants are besieging Europe today. And that too has now become an acute international problem. Today we are increasingly dependent on each other. The actions of one country have direct implications for the interests of many others. Invulnerable countries no longer exist. We must honestly acknowledge that today we do not have an effective system of checks and balances. The States that claim global leadership cannot, unfortunately, escape the temptation to use force and economic blackmail in order to promote their own interests. The world has come perilously close to a de facto renunciation of the principles of international law as they are enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations. That is why I am deeply convinced that the Organization badly needs a new wide-ranging discussion of the principles for the future coexistence of States and peoples. I have already mentioned that before, but I want to emphasize once again that the Organization must not become a forum for mutual recrimination and confrontation among States. There is no alternative to dialogue. We will have to deal with our problems collectively. One can of course build new walls and draw new dividing lines, but that will not make our problems disappear. Secondly, global economic threats are a serious challenge to world stability. Currency wars, sanctions, the redivision of commodity markets, unfair competition and other negative phenomena compound the global crisis. Attempts on the part of a number of leading States to solve their problems at the expense of other countries also add to the confrontation and the feeling of estrangement. We can get out of that deadlock only through comprehensive cooperation among the economies of all countries and through the search for the best paths to sustainable development for the benefit of the global community, not just for an individual country. At the same time, it is important to support the poor and poorest States. It is only through common efforts that we will able to forge a new formula of universal, mutually beneficial cooperation. Belarus suggests that the idea of the integration serves as a foundation for such universal cooperation, as one of the more topical trends of the modern world. Just take a look at how many new integration groups have emerged recently. Today we talk about the prospects for cooperation between the European Union and the Eurasian Economic Union, about the large-scale Great Silk Road project, about creating the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Transatlantic Free Trade zones and dozens of others. If we succeed in avoiding unnecessary and dangerous competition among integration models, and instead make them compatible with and complementary to each other, ideally we will establish a global integration structure that would cover our entire planet and closely link the various regions and whole continents. Such a paradigm could provide for the peaceful coexistence of the various nations and States, united by the common purpose of progress and prosperity. The value of the integration process lies in its democratic nature. To a certain extent, it equalizes the opportunities for all stakeholders and enables both small and middle-sized countries to develop their potential and become an important link in that process. The key prerequisite for integration is mutual benefit. However, the desire to reap immediate unilateral advantages is the root of evil. We need to realize our responsibility for the future and think of what we will leave behind. We must not forget that extreme poverty in some regions of our planet, outrageous social inequalities within societies, disproportion among States and the lack of opportunities, above all among young people, create fertile ground for international terrorism and organized crime. The social, humanitarian and ecological spheres comprise a third cluster of global threats. Of late, we have been hearing resounding calls from several countries for maximum freedom. Such calls put the basic foundations of human society, including such concepts as family, morals and virtue, to the test. Irresponsible social ideas may lead to new divisions among the various cultures and give birth to harsh religious rejection in ethnic conflicts. Have those social innovators considered the consequences of their words and actions, I wonder? The same selfish attitude is characteristic of humankind’s approach to nature. For many years now, the international community has been trying, with no success, to meet the challenges of climate change. Many simply prefer to shift the burden of responsibility onto others, onto the next generation. Thinking about such problems, one cannot help arriving at a certain idea. It seems there is one deep- rooted source of those crises and challenges. It is an artificial cult of individual rights and human freedoms at the expense of collective social interests. Under the guise of protecting human rights, advocates of such ideas seek to justify the ousting and overthrow of Governments, the destruction of States and wars over resources. Chaos and anarchy are proliferating. A predatory attitude towards nature and the pursuit of easy profits are being fostered. That leads to the degradation of human consciousness, in which someone’s perverted whims are treated as the norm. Such approaches give a green light to social degradation and the decay of moral principles and human values. The very boundary between good and evil disappears. Belarus does not claim to have ready-made recipes for resolving those issues, but we sincerely believe that the answer lies in the realm of those ideas that were proposed to the world 70 years ago by the founders of the United Nations. First and foremost, I refer here to the unconditional condemnation of violence. Wars must not be an instrument for settling scores between States. “Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding,” said the wise Einstein. It is hard to argue with that. It is only through self-restraint that we can ensure the well-being and protection of everyone, the powerful and the vulnerable alike. That is precisely the essence of international law, which is the only alternative to the law of the jungle. Belarus will always support any and all efforts and initiatives aimed at strengthening the system of international law. That is our key foreign-policy priority. However, international law alone cannot safeguard peace and security globally. What is also needed is to create decent conditions of life for every single individual at the national level. I am deeply convinced that only a strong State can adequately cope with such a task. It is paradoxical that humankind has entered the twenty-first century with a large number of failed and ineffective States. What is a failed State? It is basically one characterized by the absence of the rule of law and stability and by glaring inequality and extreme poverty, the lack of motivation and the absence of healthy moral values among the young. We in Belarus understand that very well. Over the past two decades, we have been purposefully building a sovereign State with a socially oriented economy. We have paid and are continuing to pay the utmost attention to policies that strengthen the family and help young people fully realize their potential. Let me be frank: we are very concerned by the ongoing destruction of traditional family values that is taking place in several countries. We particularly do not like being invited to accept certain moral deviations and various social innovations as natural. I will not to dwell on that problem too much. I am afraid that I will get bogged down here and will be criticized, but I feel compelled to ask the following: who will give birth to children? We will do everything to ensure that our grandchildren and their descendants preserve socially nurtured moral values and good traditions of spirituality and culture. I can assure everyone here with absolute confidence that anarchy, lawlessness and violence will never find a place on the soil of Belarus, no matter what guise they take, including democracy. We are sufficiently strong and self-assured not to let them in from the outside. As before, a stable Belarus will continue to remain a provider of regional and international security. We intend to build equal, mutually beneficial and respectful relations with all countries around the world. Good neighbourliness and mutual assistance are of special value to us. That is why today we strive for a peaceful settlement of the crisis in brotherly Ukraine, as well as in other hotspots on the planet. Belarus will continue to be actively engaged in collective efforts to meet global threats and challenges, first and foremost within international organizations. Those organizations have invaluable experience, expertise and potential. Belarus can offer the international community its experience, although limited, in tackling a number of problems  — for example, the Chernobyl disaster and the elimination of its consequences, and dealing with the issue of trafficking in people. Thinking about our national developmental experience, I can reach the following conclusions. Only an alliance of strong, responsible and effective States, united by the system of international law, can adequately respond to modern global threats and challenges. For that, the role of the United Nations is crucial. These days we hear a lot of criticism about the United Nations. Of course, the Republic of Belarus shares the key idea that the Organization cannot remain static, it should keep abreast of the times. For us, there is an obvious need to reform the structures and activities of the United Nations while maintaining the inviolability of the purposes and principles of its Charter. It is also important to understand that the United Nations, as I have said on many occasions, is all of us together. The well-being of the world community will depend on how coordinated and constructive we are. Far be it from me to want to sound prophetic, once again, on the second day of our work, but today one cannot help feel that we are witnessing the spectre of a massive new war. We must not allow that sinister vision to turn into a reality. Yesterday we discussed very important issues and the agenda for the future of the United Nations. But when we talk of sustainable development, that may well sound like sacrilege to millions of people, both old and young, because they are dying. What we must do is come together and adopt one decision, and one decision only, namely, to put an end to all wars and conflicts that have erupted and are currently ravaging our planet. In conclusion, I would like to quote another eminent person, Nelson Mandela. That unbroken fighter for justice in the world once said, “Sometimes it falls on a generation to be great. You can be that generation.” I hope very much that such a destiny will indeed befall our generation. I am confident that we will find the strength and common sense to do whatever it takes to change the world for the better. That is the only option we have.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Belarus for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Muhammadu Buhari, President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Buhari: On behalf of the Government and the people of Nigeria, I would like to congratulate the President and his country on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its seventieth session. May I also express appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Sam Kahamba Kutesa, and to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, both of whom worked tirelessly to ensure the proper articulation of the post-2015 development agenda and to maintain the focus and commitment to the ideals of the United Nations. I also thank the Secretary-General for his recent visit to Nigeria, where we held very useful discussions. Fifty-five years ago, almost to the day, my predecessor, Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, stood in this forum to declare Nigeria’s desire to develop and maintain friendly relations with all countries. He also assured the world of our country’s commitment to upholding the principles upon which the United Nations was founded. My country has lived by that conviction, even when, for instance, judgements went against us in territorial disputes with our neighbours. We respected those judgements and abided by them as a mark of respect for the rule of law and the Charter of the United Nations. Nigeria’s record in the service of United Nations peacekeeping operations is second to none. I myself, as a young officer in the Nigerian army, did several tours of duty in the Congo and Lebanon. Nigeria has contributed to United Nations peacekeeping efforts in Ethiopia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Darfur. Furthermore, we are proud of our contributions to other activities of the United Nations, including the Peacebuilding Commission, the Human Rights Council and security-sector reform. We are gratified to note that most countries have pledged their commitment to the post-2015 development agenda in the form of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) contained therein, along with their means of implementation. That successor framework to the Millennium Development Goals has come with lofty aspirations and, if I may say so, heroic assumptions. Nonetheless, the new Goals target broad- ranging development cooperation by the international community up to the year 2030, and they deserve universal support. That is because the SDGs mirror the hopes and aspirations of much of the world. I should stress that for the newly adopted SDGs to be truly global, they must be practical. In that regard, the Agenda’s core objectives of eradicating poverty and reducing inequalities must be met within the framework of revitalized global partnership support and concrete policies and actions, as outlined in the Addis Ababa Agenda on Financing for Development. Luckily, those two core objectives of the SDGs are precisely at the centre of the agenda of Nigeria’s new Administration. It must be emphasized that foreign direct investment, supplemented, where suitable, by official development assistance, as outlined in the Addis Ababa Agenda, are necessary, though not sufficient, conditions for accelerated development in countries that are trying to catch up. In that connection, I would like to appeal to industrialized countries to redeem their pledges to devote 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product to development assistance. With the sole exception of the United Kingdom, all the countries concerned, so I am told, have still to meet that United Nations requirement. With the SDGs, we have the opportunity to improve the lives of people, not just in the developing world but in all nations. The Secretary-General himself has listed six essential elements for delivering on the SDGs, namely, dignity, prosperity, justice, partnership, planet and people. As a prerequisite to those elements, and as we look at history and remember the terrible events that gave rise to the birth of the United Nations in 1945, I would like to propose a seventh essential element, namely, peace. Peace is close to the hearts of Nigerians, as we are in the front line in the war on terror. Boko Haram’s war against the people of Nigeria, Chad, the Niger and Cameroon may not attract as much worldwide attention as the wars in the Middle East, but the suffering is just as great and the human cost is equally high. This is a war about values between progress and chaos. It concerns democracy and the rule of law. Boko Haram celebrates violence against the weak and the innocent and, deplorably, hides behind its perverted interpretation of Islam. Boko Haram is as far from Islam as can possibly be imagined. Many of my colleagues present in this forum want to know how our new Government intends to tackle the huge problems that we have inherited. Friends of Nigeria and foreign investor partners will be encouraged to know that the new Government is attacking the problems we inherited head-on. We intend to tackle the inequalities arising from massive unemployment and the previous Government’s policies that favoured a few people to the detriment of the many. We intend to emphasize quality technological education for development and lay a foundation for the comprehensive care of the aged, the disadvantaged and the infirm. But for now, terrorism is the immediate problem. Accordingly, the new Nigerian Government, which I have the honour to head, has moved with dispatch to implement a bold and robust strategy to defeat Boko Haram. Nigeria and its neighbours — Cameroon, Chad, the Niger and Benin — are working together to face the common threat within the regional framework of the Lake Chad Basin Commission. We have established a multinational joint task force to confront, degrade and defeat Boko Haram. We have driven them away from many of their strongholds, killed or captured many of their operatives and commanders and freed several hundreds of hostages. One of our major aims is to rescue the Chibok girls alive and unharmed. We are working around the clock to ensure their safety and eventual reunion with their families. The Chibok girls are constantly on our minds and in our plans. Terrorism is by no means the main or the only evil threatening and undermining the well-being of societies around the world. Corruption, cross-border financial crime, cybercrime, human trafficking, communicable diseases, climate change and the proliferation of weapons are all major challenges of the twenty-first century that the international community must tackle collectively. I would like to reaffirm the Nigerian Government’s unwavering commitment to fighting corruption and illicit financial flows. By any measure, corruption and cross-border financial crimes are impediments to development, economic growth and the realization of the well-being of citizens across the globe. Nigeria is ready and willing to partner with international agencies and individual countries on a bilateral basis to confront crime and corruption. In particular, I call upon the international community to urgently redouble its efforts to strengthen the mechanisms for dismantling safe havens for the proceeds of corruption and for ensuring the return of stolen funds and assets to their countries of origin. The world is now facing another big new challenge, that is, human trafficking. It is an old evil that has taken on an altogether new and dangerous dimension, which threatens to upset international relationships. We in Africa are grieved to see in the international media the hundreds of thousands of our able-bodied men and women who are fleeing to Europe, with thousands dying in the process in the desert or drowning in the Mediterranean. We condemn in the strongest possible terms traffickers in human beings and will support any measures to apprehend and bring them to justice. At the same time, we greatly appreciate European Governments, particularly those of Italy and Germany, for their understanding and humane treatment of those refugees. Last year, our continent faced the dreadful outbreak of Ebola. We sincerely thank the international community for its collective efforts to contain that deadly disease. We are not out of the woods yet, but we would like to express our appreciation to the United States, the United Kingdom, France and China, which, in collaboration with the host countries, provided outstanding assistance to stop the spread of Ebola and to care for those infected. Nigeria fully subscribes to and endorses Goals 13, 14 and 15 of the Sustainable Development Goals with regard to climate change. In Nigeria, desertification and land erosion and degradation, which lead to biodiversity loss, are real threats to our environment and, under the auspices of the Lake Chad Basin Commission, we will propose a regional approach to combating those environmental challenges. In that connection, we look forward to the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris in December. That Summit should give humankind hope that the looming threat faced by many communities around the world is being addressed. We are witnessing a dreadful increase in conflicts fuelled by the availability of small arms and light weapons. I call upon all Member States to show the political will needed to uphold the Charter of the United Nations in that regard. For a start, robust implementation of the Arms Trade Treaty will guarantee that small arms and light weapons are transferred only in a legal manner. Arms traffickers and human traffickers are two evil species that the international community needs to eradicate. As we engage in these annual debates, we must remind ourselves of the principles that led to the founding of the United Nations years ago. Among them are the peaceful coexistence and self-determination of peoples. In that context, the unresolved question of self-determination for the peoples of Palestine and Western Sahara, both nations having been adjudged by the United Nations as being entitled to that inalienable right, must now be resolved without any further delay or obstacle. The international community has come to pin its hopes on resolving the Palestinian issue through the two-State solution, which recognizes the legitimate right of each State to exist in peace and security. The world has no more excuses or reasons to delay the implementation of the long list of Security Council resolutions on that question, nor do we have the moral right to deny any people their freedom or condemn them indefinitely to occupation and blockade. The United Nations is 70 years old. As the world’s forum, it can count many more than 70 major achievements. It is my hope that in the next 70 years it will take control of the climate, help to eliminate communicable diseases, eliminate major and local conflicts and thereby eliminate the refugee problem, take major steps towards reducing harmful inequalities among nations and within nations and, above all, eliminate nuclear weapons.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Gabonese Republic.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Ali Bongo Ondimba, President of the Gabonese Republic, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Bongo Ondimba (spoke in French): This session is being held at a time when humankind is facing numerous challenges, some more difficult than others. Migration crises, humanitarian crises, immigration crises, deadly conflicts, terrorism, economic crises, climate change and pandemics are the challenges we face. It is obvious that, 70 years after the establishment of the United Nations, we are increasingly aware of the dangers that those situations pose, both for us and for future generations. That explains our presence and activities here and elsewhere in an effort to coordinate our many actions. More than ever before, the eyes of our peoples are on the United Nations. More than ever before, our Organization has shown itself to be a unique forum that is universal in nature and where humankind’s diverse concerns and aspirations can be wholly expressed. The topic of this session provides us with an opportunity to take a look at how our Organization works. It also affords us a chance to develop forecasts and new prospects for the Organization’s future activities, by basing them on the main pillars of its agenda, namely, peace, security and human rights. It is time to acknowledge the solid nature of the United Nations and its leadership, expressed through Member States constantly working together to manage international affairs. Together, we organized the fight against poverty and major diseases such as HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, and we are now conquering Ebola. Together, we have fought for the rights of vulnerable persons such as the disabled, the elderly, indigenous peoples and women and children, including widows and orphans. We should underscore, in passing, that in 2010 the General Assembly, on Gabon’s initiative, adopted the resolution to establish International Widows Day (resolution 65/189). We have come together to respond to humanitarian emergencies, global warming and other cross-border threats. Together, we are working to effectively respond to the many security challenges stemming from terrorism and other cross-border threats. Together, we have made progress in the area of international criminal justice in order to be more effective in combating impunity. Working together, we have also fostered dialogue among cultures and civilizations, strengthened relations among the peoples of the world and lowered identity barriers. Despite our many efforts, however, international peace and security unfortunately continue to be threatened, as we witness in the emergence of new challenges. Our Organization must adopt a new structure in order to adapt to the new international environment. New threats have emerged in the form of terrorism, maritime piracy, trafficking of all kinds and smuggling. Such threats call for new kinds of responses. My country welcomes the fact that the Security Council is taking those new threats under its consideration. It is in that regard that Gabon contributed, when we were a member of the Security Council in 2010-2011, to adopting a historic resolution on the impact of the HIV/ AIDS epidemic on international peace and security (Security Council resolution 1983 (2011)). In that same vein, I would like to mention the Security Council presidential statement on the illicit circulation of small and light weapons in Central Africa (S/PRST/2010/6). On the initiative of Gabon and Germany, the General Assembly adopted, on 30 July 2015, a resolution on illegal trafficking in wildlife (resolution 69/314). I am delighted at the large number of sponsors, which reflected an unprecedented level of support from the international community on the matter. That resolution also reflected our willingness to pool our efforts — countries of origin, transit and destination — in order to end that phenomenon. I believe that we will be more effective if we work together. Gabon would like to encourage the Organization, particularly the Security Council, to continue efforts to overcome those threats, with a view to developing more suitable and comprehensive responses to the current security challenges. Several crises continue in Africa despite the efforts of the Security Council, the African Union and subregional organizations. In the Central African Republic in particular, despite the progress made this year, the situation remains fragile and a cause for concern. Events in recent days have proved that the stability in the country must be strengthened. We must redouble our efforts to move towards a transition. I invite the stakeholders to exercise greater restraint and to prioritize dialogue so as not to undermine efforts being made to restore peace in the country. The international community must work together to assist the Central African Republic in holding elections before the end of the year. That country will then be able to put an end to the current troubled period in its history. In the Middle East, the situation between Israel and Palestine remains a source of concern. The international community must become more involved in efforts to resume the peace negotiations. Resolving other, similarly complex situations in other regions of the world has proved that there is no challenge that cannot be overcome. The establishment of a Palestinian State remains the only viable prospect for guaranteeing peace in the subregion. We must work together to ensure that the State of Palestine and Israel can coexist in peace and mutual acceptance. I would also like to welcome the positive developments this year in the relations between Cuba and the United States of America in the wake of the normalization agreement and the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. I would like to believe that this development will soon result in the lifting of the embargo against Cuba. The nagging question of the ongoing threat posed by the excessive accumulation of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, can be resolved only within the framework of multilateral mechanisms, such as the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). My country remains firmly committed to the international system of non-proliferation, as enshrined in the relevant instruments, such as the NPT. That is why I welcome the recent agreement between the international community and the Islamic Republic of Iran concerning its nuclear programme. The terrorist threat continues to expand throughout the world. Besides the Middle East, Africa has become a new theatre of operations for a number of terrorist groups. In West Africa and Central Africa, the Boko Haram sect spreads terror and resists countermeasures by the countries on the front line. In East Africa, especially in Somalia, Al-Shabaab commita devastating atrocities and continues to challenge the African Union Mission in Somalia. If we are to be more effective in the fight against terrorism, we must necessarily strengthen international cooperation. We must pool our efforts to address that scourge. With good international cooperation we could benefit from the increased monitoring of the financial flows that fuel the phenomenon. My country reaffirms its solidarity with all initiatives to combat international terrorism in all its forms. There has been significant and undeniable progress in the area of human rights worldwide. Through United Nations assistance, political systems have become open and national institutions ensuring equality and justice for all have been put into place within nations. At the request of the Member States, the United Nations undertook the reform of the Commission on Human Rights and transformed it into the Human Rights Council. The goal was to make the body more proactive, less politicized and, above all, more effective. I welcome the part that my country played in that effort. The support that Member States gave the Gabonese presidency of the Council enabled Gabon make significant progress towards achieving the objectives intended by that reform. I wish to thank Member States for that support. For my country, the improvement of human rights must first be considered from an educational, not a political, point of view. The United Nations must engage in an ongoing dialogue with Member States to help them overcome the challenges that they face with regard to respect for human rights. Confrontation in that area does not appear to be constructive to me. The maintenance and consolidation of peace necessarily depends on the reform of the Security Council. That ambition also calls for the reform of peacekeeping operations. Gabon reiterates its support for making the Security Council more democratic so that it involves all regions when it developments and implements its decisions. It is from that perspective that we reiterate our full commitment to the African position, as expressed in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, and to the ongoing intergovernmental negotiations on the issue. The time is opportune to translate the reform, which has been accepted and desired by all, into action. The question of the use of the veto is an integral part of the Security Council reform process. My country supports the initiative of France and Mexico on the rational use of the veto by the Council’s permanent members. For several years, peacekeeping operations, which are the specialized arm of the Security Council, have been the subject of profound restructuring. I welcome the recommendations of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations. I am particularly interested in the recommendations concerning the use of new technologies and improved communications between local populations and mission personnel, on the one hand, and between the Secretariat and contributing countries, on the other. I also support that sustainable development during the post-conflict phase is being taken into account. Furthermore, in order to be more effective, peacekeeping missions should receive predictable financing and clear mandates of limited duration so as to avoid their becoming unduly long. In certain circumstances, the mandates must be more robust, especially when there is no alternative but to impose peace. In that case, based on Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations, we should be able to provide peacekeeping operations with mandates that authorize the military to resort to force to impose peace. We must be able to give peacekeeping operations the mandate to create conditions for peace rather than to maintain a fragile peace framed by a ceasefire agreement. The revitalization of the work of the General Assembly is another aspect of United Nations reform desired by the majority of Member States. I welcome resolution 69/321 on that issue, adopted on 11 September 2015. I am convinced that the resolution will strengthen the Assembly, which is the most representative body of the United Nations. Climate change, another new threat to international peace and security, is increasingly affecting our ecosystems and the survival of the planet. If we do not act today, the consequences will be devastating — floods in some areas, droughts in others and even breaches of the peace in certain cases. My country notes the relative progress made in the process of negotiations in Bonn. However, I note that just two months before the upcoming twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris, those negotiations are far from attaining any preliminary agreement before we set to work in earnest to conclude an agreement at the Conference. The gravity of the situation requires that we, leaders of the world, be able to courageously overcome our differences and make every effort to reach agreement in Paris. The climate situation continues to deteriorate. In the opinion of the experts, the year 2014 was the warmest ever, and everything suggests an increase of 4°C, 5°C or 6°C in global warming if nothing is done today. It is therefore time for us to assume our responsibilities and make the right decisions, the decisions that our peoples expect of us. It is a question of the survival of humankind and the legacy we bequeath to future generations. Africa and South America, which are the two lungs of the planet, have a fundamental role to play in the negotiations. That is why I appeal to the Heads of State and Government of those two regional poles to conduct constant consultations during the Paris negotiations. It is commonly said that climate change has a close connection with the migration crisis. The fight against climate change will certainly help reduce extreme poverty. The desired solutions involve, among other things, the development of the energy and water sectors, but they must also include increased Government investment in such areas as education and professional training. Africa needs electricity and water. Africa also needs to create jobs to improve the well-being of its populations. Providing responses to the climate change through the development of a new economic model will enable people to remain in their home countries. It is therefore important that the international community mobilize to set up coping mechanisms to mitigate the effects of global warming. Since the Copenhagen Conference, Gabon has, through me, has continued to call for the adoption of a universal and binding agreement on climate change. The upcoming Paris Conference in December will enable us to achieve that vital objective. To achieve it, we must avoid the mistakes made in Copenhagen. The crucial nature of the Conference is such that it cannot be postponed for another year, because what is at stake is the survival of humankind. If we postpone it, it will be too late. Over the course of recent decades the world has changed at a fast pace, an evolution that unfortunately is in contrast with the inflexibility of the ideas, institutions, rules and practices that form the framework of global governance. A new architecture whose legitimacy is founded on the participation of all in the management of the affairs of the world is now necessary. The United Nations must resolutely embark on the path of reform if it wishes to continue to play a strategic and diplomatic role at the highest global level. Now that democracy is a cardinal value, the organization of world affairs should no longer be based on the precept of balance of power. An international system based on power, whether balanced or coordinated, has the disadvantage of promoting hierarchy and the marginalization of small States and accentuating the absence of reciprocity. On the other hand, multilateralism, of which the United Nations is the guarantor, favours collective security over the balance of power, inclusion over selection. Seventy years after the establishment of the United Nations, the growing number of its States Members shows that the world has definitely opted for multilateralism. Such intention necessarily involves an innovative political plan based on the principles of equality, inclusion, indivisibility and reciprocity. That is the primary goal of the United Nations. May the Almighty help us to achieve it.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Gabonese Republic for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Paraguay.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, President of the Republic of Paraguay, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Cartes Jara (spoke in Spanish): Seventy years ago, on the still smoking ruins of the Second World War, the United Nations was born, with the purpose of maintaining international peace and security and promoting cooperation among all the nations of the world. The Republic of Paraguay was one of the 51 States that signed the Charter of the United Nations, which has become a historic contribution to the international community. For Paraguay, the right to equality and respect for sovereignty among States, both large and small, justifies the reasonable hope for the full strengthening of the United Nations. I express my best wishes to the President of the General Assembly for the successful conduct of proceedings at the current session. I would also like to express my singular appreciation for the work of Mr. Ban Ki-moon, whom we had the honour to receive in my country in February. His visit further strengthened our connections with, and commitment to, the Organization and multilateralism. I take this opportunity to reiterate to the Secretary-General my gratitude for recognizing the work and results of our Government’s fight against poverty and expressing his appreciation of the abundant clean and renewable energy that Paraguay is blessed with. The strengthening of the Organization should have as its specific goal the building of a truly fair and caring world in which human dignity is universal. That means rectifying the inequities and inequalities that still cast a shadow on the world order, a feat whose realization will depend on the extent to which international law is complied with and the dream of a peaceful era and well-being shared among all our nations is fulfilled. With regard to Paraguay, the main objective of our Government is to reduce poverty in the short term in the context of a State policy aimed at its eradication. To that end, we are maintaining and increasing the scope of our social programmes, especially those focusing on extreme poverty and providing conditions-based assistance. We rely on an arsenal of programmes that provide opportunities, employment and decent housing and ensure respect, equity and access to education, health and high-quality utilities as we wage our unceasing battle to eradicate extreme poverty in our country. These programmes provide comprehensive and permanent solutions that enable people to become independent agents and develop their full potential. We seek inclusive economic growth for our country, so that progress reaches all Paraguayans. We are encouraged by the fact that Paraguay is one of the countries with the highest economic growth rates in the region. That has been achieved by maintaining strict fiscal discipline and by improving our production capacity and competitiveness. To the added value of our raw materials, which requires domestic and international investments, we are exponentially adding that of the construction industry, which is rapidly changing the profile of our cities. Similarly, we aim to expand and modernize our infrastructure in the conviction that by transforming the country, we are reducing poverty. We consistently uphold the importance of young people. Paraguay is a young country; 75 per cent of its population is below 40 years old. That represents a great deal of human capital. I welcome the enthusiasm of young people, in particular Paraguayan students, who in recent days made a united appeal for transparency in public administration and for quality education in Paraguay. We have confidence in the immense potential of our youth, and we firmly believe in the importance of access to high-quality education if we are to achieve the full progress of our nation. That is why we created a scholarship programme, the first phase of which will allow 1,500 Paraguayan professionals to complete master’s degrees and doctorates in the best universities around the world. On 17 September, our Government, which is committed to transparency and to fighting corruption and its corrosive effects on the foundations of society, enacted the instrument regulating the law on free access to public information and government transparency, which allows all citizens to exercise their constitutional right to be informed. We are promoting a culture of transparency and, from the beginning of our term of office, we have affirmed that what is public should be in the public domain. Those national efforts will not be enough without international policies that promote effective cooperation, fair-minded exchanges and adequate complementarity among countries and regions. That triad — cooperation, exchange and complementarity — urgently requires a new paradigm, which the United Nations should help in creating. We are living in the age of globalization. A few keystrokes and, thanks to technology, the whole world is within range. Almost instantly, we are aware of what is happening halfway across the world. Moreover, technology affects us directly and personally. We live connected. Within that context, how does one board the development train? The twenty-first century society requires a key asset: human skills. The new challenges are meant for qualified individuals, and they are such that fitness for survival is in direct proportion to the degree of one’s real and effective academic training. Following the political and industrial revolutions and, together with globalization, the knowledge revolution has taken place. This means that the human element remains the most important and essential resource, provided that people are sufficiently trained. Education is the key. Therefore, it is imperative that UNESCO be strengthened. Developed countries should be driven by a sense of fairness and moral obligation to increase their contributions to its financing. An excellent education and scientific research should not be the preserve of some countries, but rather should be a universal public good. We witness with great concern today a huge and endless exodus of families fleeing conflicts. I am referring to our brothers in Syria and in other countries faced with the violence of radical and intolerant groups. We cannot turn our backs on this current human tragedy. We call on the Organization to appeal to Member States, in particular the States in the affected region, to adopt the necessary measures in favour of this extremely vulnerable sector of civil society. Paraguay reaffirms that disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control are essential factors for international peace and security and provide the guarantee that the most vulnerable countries need in order to ensure sustainable economic and social development. We thank the member States of the International Atomic Energy Agency for the confidence they have shown in Paraguay by unanimously electing it to the Board of Governors. As a Governor, we will act with absolute impartiality and balance in promoting and ensuring the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Another major issue of concern is the preservation of the environment. Paraguay, like many developing countries, gives priority in its national policies to the preservation of the integrity and diversity of the natural legacy bequeathed to us by our ancestors. We are aware of the immense responsibility incumbent upon humankind to safeguard the resources on which its existence depends. It is with this awareness and commitment that Paraguay encourages the rational management of natural resources and promotes the use of renewable sources of clean energy, in harmony with nature and in pursuit of development. The whole world heard the urgent call of His Holiness Pope Francis, which was repeated last Friday in the Assembly (see A/70/PV.3). He appealed to us to protect our common home, to engage in urgent discussions on how we intend to build the future of the planet and to unite the whole human family in pursuit of sustainable and comprehensive development. In a masterly fashion, the Holy Father described climate change as a global issue with major environmental, social, economic, distributional and political dimensions, characterizing it as a current challenge for humankind and one whose worst impacts would probably be felt in the developing countries over the coming decades. He went on to say that environmental and social deterioration had the greatest impact on the weakest of the planet, and that this inequity affects entire countries as well as individuals, requiring us to think about the issue of ethics in international relations. In preparation for the next session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for later this year in Paris, we must redouble our efforts with a view to making serious political commitments to mitigating, alleviating and reversing the devastating consequences of climate change. Being a landlocked developing country, as Paraguay is, has some adverse effects. To address that situation, we are proposing, together with 32 other landlocked developing countries, that the more developed economies accord us special and differential treatment, including the removal of high tariffs and non-tariff barriers, thereby enabling us to be more competitive. True integration also entails the transfer of knowledge and capital investment and a balance in terms of trade and bilateral and multilateral treaties. The reduction of asymmetries depends on economic, social and cultural integration, with a view to a common destiny, not on draconian policies in which weaker countries have to bear the brunt of the burden. Democracy is a political system in expansion, and it is based on the indivisible principles of equality, freedom and sovereignty. If we want democracy to prevail in our own countries, it is only to be expected that we would also want to prevail at the United Nations. We must aim at ensuring that democracy, equity and geographical representation prevail in its various organs. To that end, Paraguay supports a reform of the Organization that would strengthen the General Assembly, the most representative organ within the Organization, and restore to it its legitimate powers, which must be interdependent with those of the Security Council, in accordance with the terms of the 1945 Charter. Paraguay is following with great interest developments with regard to the reform and expansion of the Security Council. We believe that it is necessary to improve the Council’s working methods and to make its management more transparent, and that the views and ideas of non-members of the Council on issues related to international peace and security that will undoubtedly have an impact on them should be heard. Paraguay welcomes the efforts undertaken by the Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan to reduce tension across the Taiwan Strait, efforts which have contributed greatly to ensuring peace and stability in East Asia. Our Government advocates continuing the pragmatic dialogue and mutually beneficial interaction between both sides of the Strait, parties that are also recognized by the international community. Similarly, Paraguay reaffirms its commitment to supporting the peace process in the sister Republic of Colombia, initiated by President Juan Manuel Santos Calderón, and hopes that the conflict, which has claimed thousands of innocent lives, will soon be resolved. We welcome the agreement reached on 23 September in Havana. It signals an important step towards achieving the long-awaited peace in that sisterly nation, which is linked to my country by honourable historical traditions. The promotion of human rights is a priority issue if we are to move towards a more balanced, fair and dignified world. For us, the rights to freedom, free assembly, human integrity and quality of life are essential. So long as there is discrimination, whether it be racial, religious, political or gender-based, our human rights record will be deficient. It is in the light of this vision that Paraguay is becoming a first-time member of the Human Rights Council, where it is to be one of the Vice-Presidents. Owing to the social dimension that we give to these inalienable rights, we also aspire to join the Economic and Social Council for the period 2019-2021. Paraguay, with its preponderance of young people, is inspired to vigorously promote their active participation in building a more just and free society and the protection of the rights of children and women. Fate has given us the huge responsibility of governing and representing our nations at a time when international solidarity has become imperative. Paraguay brings from the beating heart of America its continued and caring commitment to the beautiful 70-year-old dream of strengthening peace and security in the world. Today’s reality also calls upon us, more than ever before, to protect our common home — our damaged and mistreated planet. Let us fully meet this challenge so that we can bequeath to future generations a world at peace that is fairer, healthier and more inclusive and is a better place to live. May God bless us all.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Paraguay for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Uhuru Kenyatta, President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Kenyatta: It is a pleasure for me to be addressing the General Assembly at its seventieth session. Let me begin by congratulating the President on his election at this historic session. We are confident that his vast diplomatic experience will enable him to steer the proceedings and contribute to the achievement of the objectives that he has set. Kenya fully supports his leadership and will constructively engage with him as we strive to realize those objectives. Seventy years ago, in the aftermath of the Second World War, the United Nations was established with the objective of saving succeeding generations from the recurrence of war. Thereafter, the world took up the challenge of defeating colonialism and its ideologies. That era was also seen as the precursor to greater global equality, increased social equity and the beginning of the fight against mass poverty. It also led to the growth of democracy and freedom. Today, the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations is being celebrated against a backdrop of numerous global challenges. The adverse effects of globalization, the debilitating consequences of the world economic and financial crisis and the negative effects of climate change have increased the vulnerability of the global economy and affected the States Members of the United Nations to varying degrees. Today, as in the past 70 years, the challenges faced by developing countries, together with their aspirations, including peace and security, development, the protection of human rights, environmental conservation and global governance, remain as real and relevant as ever. They are expected to continue to be the primary concerns for a number of Member States over the coming years. The maintenance of international peace and security continues to face increasing challenges owing to the growing intensity and complexity of conflicts in the Middle East and Africa, especially in the Great Lakes region, the Horn of Africa and the Sahel. The continuing grave security situation in Eastern Africa and further afield is of particular concern to Kenya, which has continued to invest millions of dollars in the maintenance of regional peace and security, while many Kenyans have lost their lives in the quest for peace. We therefore urge the international community, in particular the Security Council, to shoulder its responsibilities in such a way as to make a direct impact in the resolution of those conflicts. There is a need to promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, to provide access to justice for all and to build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels, as stated in Goal 16 of the Sustainable Development Goals, in order to realize sustainable peace all over the world. Global terrorism and violent extremism remain a major threat not only to the Republic of Kenya, but also to the entire world. To date, Al-Shabaab terrorists have been targeting the civilian population in Kenya on the pretext that Kenya has deployed its troops in Somalia. The continued threat by Al-Shabaab has had a major impact on Kenya’s national security and economy in general. Kenya therefore calls upon the international community to take strong and enforceable action in combating Al-Shabaab, together with other terrorist groups, including foreign fighters. At the same time, we must collectively address the radicalization of youth as the pipeline for global terrorism, including its financing at the grass-roots level, where most young people are radicalized. Somalia is an important neighbour of Kenya. Kenya and Somalia share strong historical, cultural and trading ties that have benefited both societies. Somalia remains of major concern to the international community, and to Kenya in particular, owing to long-standing crises and the security situation, which remains a grave threat to peace and security in the East Africa region and throughout the Horn of Africa. While Al-Shabaab’s capacity to launch terrorist acts inside Somalia has greatly diminished owing to the presence of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) and its troops, Al-Shabaab’s continued presence in Somalia has a negative impact on the security, stability and prosperity of that country. The Kenya Defence Forces, within the framework of AMISOM, will continue working closely with the Somali National Army. In spite of the threat posed by Al-Shabaab to Kenya, we will continue to stand firm in support of the Somali Government and the people of Somalia. We therefore call on the international community to support the Federal Government of Somalia in securing its territory. We remain committed, together with other international partners, to providing the necessary support to the Federal Government of Somalia in implementing its Vision 2016. Kenya is also preocupied by the emerging governance and humanitarian crisis in South Sudan in the aftermath of the political crisis that occurred in 2013. The crisis in South Sudan remains an issue of great concern not only to Kenya, but to the region of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD) and to the larger international community. Kenya welcomes the recently signed peace treaty, calls upon both parties to seek a peaceful solution to the conflict and urges the international community, especially the United Nations, to support the IGAD-Plus peace process and other initiatives geared to the realization of a comprehensive, just and sustainable peace in South Sudan. That should be achieved through the enforcement of the peace and security arrangements, support for the institutions of governance and democracy, support for the demilitarization of South Sudan and a response to the current humanitarian crisis. South Sudan needs to find the path of peace, development and reconstruction, and that needs to happen urgently. At the beginning of this millennium we adopted the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Since then, the MDGs have galvanized and catalysed international action in support of eradicating poverty and realizing other social targets. The MDGs demonstrated that a set of development goals and targets could be important drivers of change. Indeed, where successfully implemented, the MDGs have had a positive impact on the lives of millions of people. But, at best, the results have been uneven. Many developing countries remain off track and have not been able to meet their 2015 deadline. It was therefore necessary to begin a global process to shape a new development agenda, with the starting point being the unfinished business of the MDGs and the creation of a truly transformative and inclusive development agenda as was agreed at the 2012 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, held in Rio de Janeiro. The new Agenda — Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) — therefore seeks to address transformative challenges that cut across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of development. But transformative and inclusive development does not mean that we can abandon our responsibility to support the countries in the greatest need. On the contrary, as the international community, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that no one is left behind and that no country is left behind. The year 2015 will be remembered in history as the time when it was decided at important conferences that the world should be on a sustainable development path. These began with the third World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction in March, then the third International Conference on Financing for Development in July, and the General Assembly, with its very recent adoption of the new Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1), whose ambitious outcome has put us on a a new sustainable development path, with a new set of Goals. The forthcoming Paris session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is also expected to reach an inclusive, balanced, ambitious and acceptable climate change agreement, including its financing, that, we hope, will this time turn plans into actions. The Paris Conference must succeed; failure in this case cannot be an option. The third United Nations World Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction, held in Sendai, Japan, underscored the importance of promoting efforts to reduce disaster risks at the international and regional levels, as well as at the national and local levels. The Conference noted that the cost of addressing disaster risk remained a huge burden to many countries. As a result, efforts to address poverty eradication and food security, among other challenges, have continued to be undermined. Going forward, the Conference agreed that it would be important to mitigate the risks of disaster by implementing resilience measures. Member States would have to undertake to reduce disaster losses in terms of lives and the social, economic and environmental assets of communities. The Conference called for the full commitment and involvement of all actors concerned, in particular Governments, regional and international organizations and civil society, including volunteers, the private sector and the scientific community. The Conference also called on Governments to mobilize the required means of implementation in order to address disaster risk reduction, which involves building capacities, especially in defining risk and mainstreaming risk pricing, in order to inform priorities in public expenditures. For effective implementation, capacity-building should cover enhanced global risk analysis and extend to local authorities and others at the subnational level. In order to address risk reduction, sound follow-up mechanism for monitoring and accountability are needed. We are glad to note that disaster risk reduction is part of the new Sustainable Development Agenda. At the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in July in Addis Ababa, important decisions were reached to follow up on the commitments made in Monterrey and Doha and to further strengthen the financing of the sustainable development framework. The Conference outcome document focused on both financial and non-financial means of implementation. The required resources will have to be obtained through domestic resource mobilization, domestic and international private finance, business finance and international public finance, which includes official development assistance (ODA). However, domestic resource mobilization remains key in raising the resources needed to finance development. That means addressing fiscal constraints in the available fiscal space and strengthening the capacities of tax authorities. The non-financial means, which include international trade as an engine of development, debt and debt sustainability, and the taking on of system,ic issues, have also to be implemented. This being said, the role of ODA remains key to upholding the credibility of international development cooperation. It is therefore imperative that development partners continue to redouble their efforts to support and finance programmes in developing countries. Kenya places great importance on domestic resource mobilization to cover both its recurrent and its development commitments. We have noted the importance of public international finance as a complement to domestic public resources, and we have therefore put in place a national external resources policy with emphasis on sourcing concessional or semi-concessional support for key projects. To effectively coordinate the architecture for the delivery of external aid, we have put in place initiatives to fully implement the 2005 Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. Kenya therefore remains committed to adopting appropriate follow-up and review mechanisms, which will ensure that all the means of implementation are reviewed periodically. Going forward, we need to address capacity deficits in key institutions, such as our national statistical offices, in order to enable them to capture the timely and reliable data required for the follow-up and review process. I wish to express my appreciation to the Secretary- General for the successful outcome of the Summit on the post-2015 development agenda. A few days ago, we adopted a bold, ambitious and transformative Agenda for Sustainable Development for the next 15 years. This pact was a culmination of more than three years of intergovernmental negotiations, which began with the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development. We are glad to note that the Agenda recognizes as its overarching goal ending poverty in all its forms everywhere. The Goals and targets set by the Agenda are universal and will apply to all countries, while different realities and capabilities are nevertheless recognized. This new Agenda acknowledges that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security; at the same time, peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. That calls for building peaceful, inclusive and well-governed societies, with responsive institutions as the basis for shared prosperity. Fundamentally, the Agenda recognizes that we cannot reach our development goals without addressing human rights and complex humanitarian issues at the same time. The Agenda addresses the requirements for all humankind to be able to live decent lives, free from poverty, hunger and inequality, with all men and women, girls and boys, able to develop their full potential. It commits all of us to being responsible global citizens, caring for the less fortunate and for our planet’s ecosystem and making action commitments regarding the climate, on which all life depends. It is important to note that the Agenda received valuable inputs from civil society, the private sector, academia and parliamentarians, as well as from millions of people from every corner of the world who shared their vision of the world we want. Kenya is proud and honoured to have played an important role in the post-2015 development agenda process by co-chairing the Open Working Group on Sustainable Development Goals and by co-facilitating the intergovernmental negotiations on the post-2015 development agenda. It is now the responsibility of all countries to implement this new universal development Agenda. The relevant means for achieving this have been developed and integrated into the Sustainable Development Goals, to be complemented by the outcome of the third International Conference on Financing for Development, to which I referred earlier. Implementation and follow-up will be critical. We will therefore need all partners on board to make it a success. To complete our new path to sustainable development, all of us in Kenya look forward to the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris in November and December. COP21 is a crucial conference, during which global leaders will need the political will to reach the expected outcome that will enable the Conference to achieve a new international agreement on climate that is applicable to all countries, with the aim of keeping global warming below 2°C. We therefore commend the efforts of France and all others in facilitating the United Nations search for consensus in climate negotiations. Similarly, Kenya will continue to constructively engage to ensure that we reach a meaningful universal climate change agreement that takes into account the issues affecting the developing world. Kenya is happy to note that the efforts to deepen our regional integration within the East African Community continue to bear fruit. The East African Community remains one of the fastest-growing regional integration bodies and we hope this will continue. The East African Community is committed to widening and deepening cooperation among partner States in political, economic and social fields for our mutual benefit. Over the years, the East African Community has expanded its membership from three founding partners to five, which are now Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. This signifies a wider market that bears great strategic and geopolitical significance and prospects for a renewed and reinvigorated East African Community. Much progress has been made and recorded in the East African Community since the establishment of the East African Customs Union in 2005. We are glad that much more progress continues to be recorded since the establishment of the Common Market in 2010. The Protocol Establishing the East African Monetary Union is already in place and its implementation under way. We remain committed to fast-tracking the process toan East African federation as a demonstration of the determination of the people of East Africa to construct a powerful and sustainable East African economic and political bloc. Looking into the future, the new 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development has brought a new dawn for global development. We must collectively avoid the pitfalls of the past 70 years. We must, as a matter of priority, focus all efforts towards ending poverty and promoting sustainable peace and security. We should remain ambitious, yet at the same time practical, in order to bring real change to the lives of the poor around the world, as well as to guarantee the sustainability of our planet. Kenya will remain robust in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. We will build on our experience from the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). At the same time, Kenya will continue to pay special attention to fundamental sustainable development issues that were previously left out of the MDG framework, especially strengthening the means of implementation and revitalizing global partners for sustainable development, as well as the promotion of peaceful and inclusive societies, which remains critical to the realization of peace, security and sustainable development. In conclusion, I assure the Assembly that Kenya remains committed to continuing to play its rightful role in the global community, remain an anchor of peace and security in our region, and foster regional, continental and global cooperation for accelerated economic and social development and prosperity for all.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Defence Forces of the Republic of Kenya for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Senegal.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Macky Sall, President of the Republic of Senegal, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Sall (spoke in French): Senegal, through me, warmly congratulates the President and wishes him every success in conducting the work of this session. We thank his Ugandan predecessor for his service to the Assembly. Seventy years after the creation of our Organization, we are walking in the footsteps of the founding fathers to renew our collective faith in the ideals of peace, security, development and respect for human rights. Those values inspire the principal mission of the Organization of preserving the world from the scourge of war, creating the conditions necessary to the maintenance of justice, promoting social progress and ensuring a better standard of living in greater freedom. Seventy years later, that mission has become more burdensome and our world increasingly complex. Seventy years on, peace, which is not only the absence of war, but also development and human security, remains threatened by extreme poverty, hunger, disease and the unprecedented degradation of the environment. It is Senegal’s hope that the Paris Cl;imate Change Conference will be successful and adopt binding commitments to controlling global warming and mobilizing adequate financial resources and transfers of environmentally friendly technologies. We face other changes, because the world is still struggling to overcome the hideous mask of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and violent extremism. Human beings are being targeted, rejected and attacked due merely to the color of their skin, their beliefs or social background. Migrant workers are being discriminated against and excluded from public policies, even though they are contributing by the sweat of their brow to the prosperity of their host country. No country can be indifferent to the tragedy of war. As a welcoming and hospitable country, Senegal appeals for greater openness and generosity for migrants. These are individuals who have been forced to leave their countries in a quest to save their lives. Indeed, we face many urgent problems. Nonetheless, the promise of a better world is still within our reach, and we can achieve it if we accept that this is a plural world, that all cultures and civilizations are equal in dignity and that change is the main dynamic that shapes the course of history. Over the years, 142 countries have joined the 51 founding Members of the Organization. Through the wealth of their contributions and the diversity of their needs, Member States confer an unequalled degree of universality upon the United Nations system. The world in 2015 is therefore not the same as the world of 1945, and if we wish to keep the promises made in the Charter of the United Nations, we must abandon our old ways of doing business. Common sense requires that we change our vision of the present and of the future. That is what will ensure that our Organization will remain faithful to its vocation as the unique hub where our efforts can work together towards a common end. It makes sense to enlarge the Security Council to ensure that it reflects these new realities that we all represent here. Senegal, which is a candidate this year for a non-permanent seat on the Council, reasserts its commitment to the African Common Position on Security Council reform, in line with the Ezulwini Consensus. It makes sense to reform global economic and financial governance through a more equitable representation of the new realities and greater flexibility with regard to access to credit, to put an end to the paradox of resources that are available but not accessible. In our mining industries, it makes sense to establish, along with transparency, codes and contracts that are fairer and more equitable, reward and protect the investor and preserve the interests of States and local populations. It makes sense to combat more vigorously illicit financial flows that cost Africa between $30 billion and $60 billion per year — a loss that is more than official development assistance. If Africa were to receive fair payment for its resources and recover the equivalent of 17 per cent of those assets that have been fraudulently invested abroad, it could settle the entirety of its debt and finance its own development needs. As the current President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), I am pleased to say that our subregion has continued on the path of progress. Economic growth remains above the global average and our democracy, in spite of everything, is being consolidated. We are also determined to pursue our efforts for peace and stability. I reiterate the unfailing commitment of ECOWAS to the Peace Agreement in Mali, while respecting national unity and the territorial integrity of the country, and to a successful transition in Burkina Faso. I call upon the international community and the Security Council in particular, to remain attentive to Burkina Faso. We also support Nigeria and other countries in their fight against Boko Haram. We support stable institutions in Guinea-Bissau. We will also continue to work together to eradicate the remnants of the Ebola virus in affected countries. As Chair of the Oslo Group on foreign policy and global health, Senegal will hold consultations during this session to draw the lessons from this health crisis. As we move forward on the path of peace, we must strive towards a comprehensive, fair and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict pursuant to the vision of two independent States living in peace within secure and internationally recognized borders. Throughout the world, peace is our common good. Along with democracy, human rights and cultural diversity, it is the corpus of values of the International Organization of La Francophonie, of which Senegal is currently holding the presidency. Our commitment to these ideals makes Senegal the seventh-largest troop contributor to peacekeeping operations among 128 countries. It has more than 3,600 troops deployed in eight missions. Last year, the Security Council established a medal in memory of my compatriot, the late Captain Mbaye Diagne, to honour the men and women who, in serving peace, have demonstrated exceptional courage. As a member of the United Nations Assistance Mission for Rwanda, Captain Diagne was killed on 31 May 1994 when a shell exploded as he was returning from one of his many rescue missions in the field. He was just 36 years old and was ready to go home. Senegal and his family are proud that his memory will be honoured in this manner. We have a wise saying in my country — man alone can save man — that heightens our sense of human solidarity and fraternity. May the spirit of Captain Mbaye Diagne inspire our joint march towards a better world of peace that is more just and welcoming for everyone.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Senegal for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Mali.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Ibrahim Boubacar Keita, President of the Republic of Mali, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Keita (spoke in French): On behalf of the Malian delegation, I would first like to warmly congratulate the President on his accession to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventieth session. There can be no doubt that his election on 15 June not only recognized his qualities as an experienced diplomat but was also a tribute to his country, the Kingdom of Denmark, which has an excellent relationship with my country that is cooperative in every way. I would like to assure him that my delegation is completely at his disposal in his efforts to achieve full success for his mandate. I would also like to express our great appreciation to his predecessor, our brother Mr. Sam Kutesa of Uganda, for his outstanding and effective conduct of the work of the preceding session. In the same spirit, I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Ban Ki-moon, the eighth Secretary-General, for his dedication and unwavering commitment to peace and security. Before going any further, I, like others before me, would like to salute the memory of the victims of the disaster in Mina, Saudi Arabia, from Mali and other countries in the Islamic community. In these tragic circumstances, on behalf of the people of Mali, I would like to express my deepest condolences to the families of the victims and wish the injured a speedy recovery. We sometimes see coincidences in the history of peoples and institutions. One such is the symbolism of today’s date, 28 September 2015, which marks the fifty-fifth anniversary of the admission of my country, Mali, into the United Nations, pursuant to resolution 1491 (XV), adopted by the Assembly at its fifteenth session, and for that I would like to express my profound gratitude to the Republic of Tunisia and to Sri Lanka, known then as Ceylon, under the leadership of Mrs. Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Between 28 September 1960 and today, successive Governments of Mali have spared no effort to fashion a better world, free of the spectres of conflict and war, whose main victims are women, children and the elderly. Coming as I do from Mali, I know of what I speak. In its continuing quest for peace, the Government of Mali, under my authority, has always preferred the path of dialogue to the language of arms in the multidimensional crisis that we are in the process of resolving. In that regard, the Government of Mali has always complied with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council and the decisions and recommendations of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Non-Aligned Movement. It was as part of that dynamic that I took the initiative to engage my Government in the inter-Malian negotiations in Algiers, supported by international mediation that included representatives of the United Nations, under the auspices of Algeria. I am happy to be able to commend here the personal commitment of Algeria’s President, our big brother Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika. After eight months of discussion with our brothers in the north who had taken up arms, I am particularly pleased to present the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali. Arriving at the Agreement through the Algiers process has been difficult, but it is done. While not a panacea and not without problems, the Agreement gives us a general framework within which we can work towards a lasting and sustainable peace. This consensus peace Agreement, which can serve as a general framework for every Malian party in every aspect of life, is the first in Mali’s history. It represents a new social pact for Mali and Malians, and a new collective commitment to peace and concord in our country. The Agreement has just sealed forever the reunion of the children of Mali. It is the result of the will of all the Malian parties and the commitment of all involved to reaching the stage we are now in, that of implementing the Agreement. For us it is a balanced compromise that takes into consideration all our essential and legitimate concerns, including the issues of Mali’s territorial integrity, national sovereignty and balanced development of every region of the country. That is what is most important to us and is what the Agreement grants and guarantees us. I would also like to express to all those here today my country’s commitment and to give our thanks for everyone’s assistance. Few countries in recent years have been on the receiving end of such assistance as has Mali in this stage of its national reconstruction. That is why we will not drag our feet. We have our Agreement, and we have now created its implementation framework, the Comité de suivi de l’accord, put together immediately after the signing of the Agreement, which has already got down to work. We have taken measures to build confidence among all our citizens and to assure them of our unflagging commitment to implementing peace and build a new Mali. Without peace, we cannot succeed. We were elected by the people of Mali, despite the grave crisis we have endured, specifically to rebuild our country. I would also like to say that the people of Mali hope to be supported in this implementation phase of the Agreement for Peace. Implementing a peace agreement is a delicate business, and it needs support. That is why we have scheduled a conference in Paris on 22 October to raise funds for the development of Mali. God willing, we will hold the conference and, hopefully, many of our friends here today who have helped us so much will come. For its part, the Government of Mali has developed and submitted to the Comité de suivi a comprehensive action plan for implementing the Agreement and an emergency plan for the interim period. I should stress that the Comité de suivi has warmly welcomed that approach. However, it is worth pointing out that signing the Agreement is not an end in itself but requires that we pool all of our efforts to implement it, and that is a major challenge that we can rise to, God willing. That is why I repeat my call to come to the conference in Paris on 22 October. The Government of Mali reiterates its call to all signatory parties to the Agreement as well as the international community to pool their efforts and information to expel from the Sahel and Mali’s national territory our common enemy, namely, terrorist groups and narco-jihadists who seek only to satisfy their criminal appetites by means of fear and terror. I welcome the adoption of Security Council resolution 2227 (2015), which renewed for the third time the mandate of the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali, whose remarkable work accomplished to date I salute. I assure the Mission of my support and assistance for the success of our shared mission. On the same note, I want to express the gratitude of the Government of Mali for the international mediation led by Algeria, which included the United Nations, the African Union, ECOWAS, the European Union, the OIC, Burkina Faso, Mauritania, the nNiger, Nigeria and Chad. I do not think I have left anyone out. I also welcome the role and the decisive contribution of France in Mali and all the sacrifices made in this regard. I also welcome the equally important role of the United States of America in the peace process. To all the friendly nations and the international partner organizations that have expressed solidarity vis-à-vis Mali by sending us their children or their experts to defend the values that form the basis ​of our humanity, I renew here the sincere thanks of the Malian people. I bow reverently — very piously — to the memory of all victims, civilian and military, Malian or foreign, fallen on the field of honour in Mali for the defence of human dignity, freedom and democracy. I salute and thank UNESCO, under the leadership of our friend Irina Bokova, for the remarkable work accomplished to preserve the cultural heritage in our closed, revered city of Timbuktu. The fate suffered by the mausoleums, which modern-day barbarians consigned to collective memory, is well known. What we saw happen in Palmyra had occurred earlier in Mali, together with the terror that the International Criminal Court (ICC) has begun to address. We welcome the recent decision by the ICC on this new crime. When representatives of 50 nations signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco on 26 June 1945 and when Charter entered into force on 24 October 1945, many States here today had not yet attained independence. We are pleased that, 70 years later, the United Nations now has 193 Members, all committed to preserving the ideals of San Francisco, based on the three pillars of peace and security, development and human rights. That is why the delegation of the Republic of Mali, which I have the honour to lead, is pleased with the General Assembly’s extremely appropriate decision to make the theme of the general debate “The United Nations at 70 — a new commitment to action”. This theme, the choice of which is of proven relevance, will undoubtedly permit all world leaders and lovers of peace, freedom and justice to make an objective assessment of the progress the Organization has made and to consider the future with a critical eye trained on the difficulties encountered in the past, particularly in areas where the United Nations and the international community are called upon to make greater efforts to meet current and future challenges. At this time of reckoning, we welcome the important progress made in implementing the provisions of Chapter VI of the Charter on the pacific settlement of disputes through negotiation, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, all of which have resulted in the prevention, management, maintenance and consolidation of peace in the world. We also welcome the significant progress achieved in the processes of decolonization, disarmament and the promotion of human rights. Indeed, we appreciate the true value of building agreements under Chapter VIII of the Charter, in particular between the Security Council and the African Union Peace and Security Council. While these successes show the ongoing relevance of certain principles set forth in the Charter of the United Nations, we must recognize that their implementation has been made possible thanks to the political will of Member States and the effectiveness of the staff of the United Nations system, including peacekeepers, who work tirelessly, under Chapter VII to bring about a better world. I wish to express to all of them the deep gratitude of the Government and the people of Mali. In a constantly changing world, the United Nations is required to adapt to new challenges. Part of the latest dynamic will be the implementation of post-2015 development agenda, entitled “Transforming our world: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”, which we recently adopted (resolution 70/1). A perfect example of a country of the Sahel, my country, Mali, has suffered the brunt of the effects of climate change because of the fragility of its natural ecosystem. The accretion of sand, the drying up of the Niger River, and the degradation of the soil and vegetation cover with unsuspected consequences are prime illustrations of what we have had to confront. Therefore, the Government and the people of Mali strongly hope that the conclusions of twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to be held in Paris in December, will lead to the conclusion of a legally binding agreement for the preservation of what remains of our environment. In addition to this major challenge, there is the need to promote global economic governance and the financing of development. The results of the third International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Addis Ababa in July 2015, offer hope in terms of mobilizing the international community to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, consistent with the Monterrey Consensus of 2002 and the Doha Declaration of 2008. As a landlocked developing country and among the least developed countries, Mali welcomes debt relief for heavily indebted poor countries and commends the countries that have achieved or even exceeded the target threshold of setting aside 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product for public aid. That is indeed to be welcomed. In this regard, I reaffirm from this rostrum the recognition of my Government of all the generous donors who, in May 2013 in Brussels, were willing to commit to the economic recovery of Mali, through pledges totalling €3.5 billion. I would also like to take this opportunity to call on countries that have not yet done so to keep their commitments with a view to the effective mobilization of the pledged sums, because sometimes the distance between the cup and the lip is great. With respect to the sources of innovative financing, the Government of Mali supports and strongly encourages the UNITLIFE initiative based on the simple principle of assigning a tiny part of the immense wealth created by the use and exploitation of extractive resources in Africa to the fight against malnutrition, so that the globalization of solidarity responds to the globalization of the economy. Through this initiative, the Government of Mali plans to collect a percentage of the revenues from mining, especially gold, for the purposes of investing the funds in the fight against malnutrition in our county, because that will free up opportunities for tomorrow. Malnutrition affects our most vulnerable groups, including the one that will bear the future — our young people — with all the evils that it can cause, in particular cretinism, which no one should wish to have, just when we need to have qualified, fit-for-purpose human resources. One of the greatest challenges in the world today concerns international migration, a phenomenon whose alarming growth can be attributed to poverty, natural disasters, man-made catastrophe and, I am sorry to say, the cynicism of organized criminals, because criminality certainly exists. The evidence lies in the tens of thousands who are willing to lose their lives through illegal migration in the sands of the desert and the depths of the ocean, as we are seeing today in the Mediterranean. The comprehensive approach that the delegation of Mali proposes depends on intensifying the dialogue among countries of origin, transit and destination in order to find appropriate solutions capable of connecting the requirements of security, development, respect for human dignity and solidarity, which are in fact a single package. If we achieve this, migration will take place in a humane and orderly fashion, benefiting migrants and the countries of origin and destination. With respect to security, the United Nations now needs to strengthen its tools and mechanisms with a view to creating a genuine response to the new threats of violent terrorism, drug-trafficking and related crimes. Despite the inroads we have made in the area of peace and security, it is regrettable that the international arena continues to to be characterized by the increasing violence perpetrated or masterminded by terrorist groups and narco-jihadists such as Ansar Dine, the Mouvement pour l’unicité et le jihad en Afrique de l’Ouest, Al-Mourabitoun, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, Al-Qaida, Al-Shabaab, and Boko Haram, which is now known as the Islamic State in Western Africa. It is clearly urgent to bridge the gap between security challenges and the United Nations peacekeeping doctrine. We should not forget that this doctrine was designed 60 years ago. I wish from this rostrum to reaffirm Mali’s active support for any initiative to reform the peacekeeping architecture by incorporating that new reality, because no country today can ignore the fact that terrorism has become a threat to international peace and security. Mali supports all initiatives for peace in the Middle East, especially any initiative that would enable the people of the region, especially the people of Palestine, to finally enjoy lasting and just peace through the two- State solution, which was adopted long ago and should finally be realized. The Government of Mali also welcomes the restoration of normal diplomatic between Cuba and the United States of America. I commend the efforts, courage and political realism of President Barack Obama and President Raúl Castro Ruz, as well as of Pope Francis. Pope Francis is a man of peace and a man of heart, as he showed last Friday when he addressed the nations of the world from this very rostrum (see A/70/PV.3). He played a very important role in the normalization of relations between Cuba and the United States, and I commend him for that. Clearly, our Organization has its work cut out for it. If it did not exist, it would surely have to be created. Reform of the Security Council is another major topic of discussion. Security Council reform will certainly be one of the most cross-cutting goals of our seventieth session. Mali supports the African Common Position, as articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration. We will continue to consult with other regional groups in order to forge the requisite political will to correct the historical injustice to which the continent of Africa continues to be subjected by virtue of its lack of representation as a permanent member and its underrepresentation as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. That is not normal and not right in the case of such an important continent — a continent of the future, as the whole world is well aware. United Nations reform should also include global economic governance in order to make the international financial institutions better able to assist the nations of the South to address the challenges of underdevelopment. In that regard, I urgently call on Member States, regional groups and the international community to tirelessly pursue the constructive dialogue that has been under way since 2009 so that United Nations reform can finally be achieved. Indeed, the amendments to Articles 23, 27, 61 and 109 of the Charter of the United Nations, which entered into force between 1965 and 1968, are sufficient proof that reform of the United Nations is far from being a Pandora’s box to be feared. We must therefore embark on reform with boldness and good will. Indeed, reform will allow the decision-making bodies of the Organization to reflect its geographical balance and to improve working conditions, including the relationship between the Security Council and the General Assembly. A reformed United Nations would gain credibility in the eyes of international public opinion and its decisions would have a greater chance of being accepted and implemented. To conclude, I reiterate the full commitment of the people of Mali to the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations, especially the preservation of future generations from the scourge of war.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Mali for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Rafael Correa, Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Correa (spoke in Spanish): We passionately support the proposal of our dear colleague and friend, President Luis Guillermo Solís Rivera of Costa Rica, that the next Secretary-General should be a woman. Our region is home to such exemplary women as Michelle Bachelet, Cristina Fernández, Dilma Rousseff, María Emma Mejía Vélez, Alicia Bárcena Ibarra and others. It is nothing short of heroic for members of the Assembly to be sitting here when there were 18 speakers yesterday morning and 16 in the afternoon, for a total of 34, and we are two hours behind. I thank United Nations staff for working beyond the call of duty, but I think it is time for us to change our methodology, because this does not make much sense. This is the third meeting I have attended. It is 9.30 p.m. and I am speaker number 34. If I am unable to move hearts in three minutes then I am going to move chairs, because people are just going to get up and leave. So I thank everyone for being here. Things could have been worse. Evo Morales Ayma could have been next. I offer him my fond greetings. The United Nations was born on 24 October 1945 from the ashes of the Second World War to maintain international peace and security. After the suffering of the Holocaust, we thought that peace meant only the absence of war, but in the twenty-first century, 70 years later, peace should above all mean presence — the presence of justice, the presence of dignity, the presence of development. As Gandhi said, “Poverty is the worst form of violence.” The Community of Latin American and Caribbean States has proclaimed our region a continent of peace, but the offensive opulence of a few coexisting with the most intolerable poverty is a daily assault on human dignity. Peace without justice is nothing more than pacification. The 164 million people living in poverty in Latin America, of whom 68 million live in extreme poverty, are still waiting for justice, freedom and real democracy — not democracy reduced to holding periodic elections. Overcoming poverty is the greatest moral imperative for our planet, because today, for the first time in the history of humankind, poverty is the fruit not of scarcity of resources or natural factors but of unjust, exclusionary systems that are the product of twisted power structures. As far back as two centuries ago, the liberal French philosopher Frédéric Bastiat said as much when he denounced the fact that “When plunder becomes a way of life for a group of men in a society, over the course of time they create for themselves a legal system that authorizes it and a moral code that glorifies it.” Let those who want to steal such sublime concepts as freedom understand that there can be no freedom without justice. And that is not all. In regions with the kind of inequality that exists in Latin America, only by seeking justice will we achieve true freedom. Therefore, we must not settle for minimalist goals, as we did with the Millennium Development Goals. A perspective based on bare minimums legitimizes our current reality, which places the beneficiary in a position of inferiority with respect to others and makes no attempt to remedy the distances or power relations between individuals and societies. As Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said this morning, “our aim is not just to keep people alive, but to give them a life” (see A/70/PV.13) — a dignified, full life with conditions equal to those enjoyed by every other human being. We believe that the 17 Goals of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) come closer to that aspiration. We are setting shared Goals not only for life’sfor minimums but social maximums — the sumak kawsay or well-being of our ancestral peoples, which represents a way of living with dignity, satisfying basic needs but in harmony with oneself, with one’s fellow human beings and with different cultures, as well as with nature. However, as we said yesterday in this same Hall (see A/70/PV.10), the absence in the 2030 Agenda of a specific goal on freedom of movement is a highly regrettable omission. If, on the one hand, we promote the free circulation of goods in search of maximum profit, while, on the other hand, we criminalize the free movement of persons in search of decent work, we have an immoral paradox that is simply intolerable and unsustainable from an ethical point of view. It is one of the biggest contradictions of neoliberal globalization, which seeks not to create global societies but merely global markets and exists only to benefit capital and not human beings. The solution is not more borders but solidarity and humanity, as well as the creation of conditions for prosperity and peace that remove the incentive for migration. But there is great news. The Sustainable Development Goals, as their name indicates, place a major focus on caring for the planet. Generally speaking, there have been improvements in the efficiency of productive process, including a reduction in the intensity of global energy. In other words, the quantity of energy required for one unit of production registered a 1.2 per cent drop between 1971 and 2009. But despite technological advances and the dematerialization of the economy, there is ever greater consumption of global energy. Emissions have multiplied by a factor of 3.6 in 50 years, which translates into an annual average growth of 2.6 per cent. If that trend continues, in 28 years current emissions will have doubled. The evidence suggests that energy consumption and the generation of emissions are directly proportionate to income levels, which allows consumption to trump efficiency. The inhabitant of a wealthy country produces 38 times more carbon emissions than someone who lives in a poor country, all of which leads to the principle of shared but differentiated responsibilities. Of course, there are also environmental effects linked to poverty, such as soil erosion and the lack of proper solid waste treatment, inter alia. Another problem is that the gap in energy efficiency between rich and poor countries remains abysmal and continues to grow over time, having increased by a factor of 4 to 5 between 1971 and 2010. Overcoming such gaps depends on access to knowledge, science and technology. Here, too, there is a huge disparity between rich and poor countries. Rich countries file 1,360,000 patents every year, while all the poor countries combined file only 9,170 patents. Global inequities are reflected not only in the distribution of emissions, but also in the impact of global warming and climate change. Countries like Ecuador contribute less than 1 per cent of total carbon emissions, yet they suffer the effects of climate change. For example, the only penguin that lives directly on the equator — spheniscus mendiculus, commonly known as the Galapagos penguin — is endangered due to the warming of surface marine waters. It is therefore vital to move towards a universal declaration on the rights of nature. The primary universal right of nature should be for it to continue to exist, but it should also be able to continue to provide our societies with the necessary sustenance to enable them continue to live according to sumak kawsay. That should be a core idea for avoiding certain forms of fundamentalism. The human being is not the only important being in nature, although he remains the most important. Nevertheless, in spite of those common but differentiated responsibilities and the role played by access to knowledge, science and technology, paradoxically, there is now a new unjust international division of labour. Rich countries generate knowledge that they privatize, and many poor or middle-income countries produce environmental goods that are consumed for free. Knowledge in general is a good that enjoys free access — in other words, exclusion is technically impossible or very costly. To avoid free access, to privatize that good, institutional barriers are raised, namely, intellectual property rights. The countries of the Amazon Basin also produce free-access goods, in this case environmental goods that regulate the global climate and without which life on the planet would worsen considerably. Despite that, the big global polluters pay nothing for consuming those environmental goods and services. Sometimes it is thought that the generation of environmental goods has no cost. The reality is that it can be very costly, not in terms of direct costs but in terms that what we are renouncing to continue those environmental goods: the opportunity cost. By the way, today many demand that we should not exploit the oil in the Amazon, without citing any moral grounds for that assertion. But that involves a huge cost in terms of non-received income, and for every passing day it means a child is unable to go to school, a community goes without drinking water or people are dying due to perfectly avoidable illnesses, true pathologies of misery. If we were compensated for the consumption of environmental goods, we would no longer need financing for development. Conservation is another fundamental idea for any debate on sustainability. In poor countries — or in countries with poor people — conservation would not be possible if it did not generate clear, direct improvements in the standards of living of the population. As Pope Francis said in his encyclical Laudato si’, a true ecological approach always becomes a social approach. Access to science and technology is vital for poor countries in their struggle against climate change and poverty. As Paraguay’s President, Horacio Manuel Cartes Jara, said moments ago, it is vital to declare technologies that mitigate climate change and their respective effects as global public goods and to guarantee their free access. The new international division of labour is a complete paradox. The goods of free access should have no rival in terms of consumption; they should have no marginal cost if they are consumed by an additional person. As a result, when more people use that good, the better. That is normally the characteristic of knowledge, science and technology. As George Bernard Shaw once said very rightly, if you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples, then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas. Contrariwise, when a good becomes scarce or is destroyed little by little as it is consumed, as is the case with environmental goods, that is when the consumption should be restricted to avoid what Garrett Hardin called the tragedy of the commons. Why is not the obvious being done? Indeed, why is the complete opposite being done? It is not a technical problem, but a political one. The unjust new international division of labour is nothing other than the distorted logic of privatizing the benefits and socializing the losses. Nothing justifies that approach, just power. Just imagine for a moment that the situation was reversed: the generators of environmental goods and services were the rich countries, and the poor or middle-income countries were the polluters. Is there any doubt that by now they would not have invaded us to demand from us “fair compensation”? This is an impressive difference, but the problem of climate change only be controlled with simply more justice, in this case environmental justice. Unfortunately, as Thrasymachus said more than 2,000 years ago in his dialogue with Socrates, justice is nothing other than the advantage of the stronger. At the end of 2015 we will meet in Paris for the twenty-first Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. If we fail at that meeting and do not reach binding agreements to protect the only planet that we have, our civilization could start to be buried. But if we gain a victory we will celebrate twenty-second conference with an environmental manifesto that was first written in 1225 by Saint Francis of Assisi, who expressed gratitude for Brother Wind, for the air, the sky, the clouds, the serene heavens and all time. Ecuador looks on with hope at the restoration of diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States of America. We hope that that process leads to the lifting of the embargo and the closing of the base at Guantánamo. It will not be a concession of any power, rather it will be a triumph of justice and dignity of the Cuban people. I was saddened to hear President Obama say that he proposed ending 50 years of embargo not because it was a violation of international law, of the rights of the Cuban people, of human rights, but because it had not functioned. There is no concession on that: what we are talking about is the justice and dignity of Cuban people after 50 years of heroic resistance. Our peoples will never again accept trusteeship, interference or intervention. Seared into our memory are the abuses and violence of the past, even though we are asked to forget them and to look only to the future. Ecuador supports Argentina in its sovereign right to the Malvinas Islands, a disgraceful and completely unacceptable vestige of colonialism in the twentieth century. We recognize the State of Palestine. It should be a State Member of the Organization, a fully fledged Member within its 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital. We welcome the recent agreements reached between the Colombian Government and the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia. Ecuador hopes for peace for Colombia, and we support them in that endeavour. Ecuador also expresses solidarity with the Syrian people, the victim of a conflict that has destroyed families, goods and people. Certain Powers ignored the principle of non-interference in foreign affairs and have only exacerbated the violence. We hope that peace will be restored for the Syrian people, and we reiterate that only they can decide on their own future. Ecuador profoundly values its relationship with Africa and will be hosting the fourth Africa-South America Summit in May 2016, to which all the countries of the two regions have been invited. In October 2016 we will be hosting the United Nations Conference on Housing and Sustainable Urban Development, which is held only every 20 years. A new urban agenda will be drafted at that meeting, and we firmly believe in the right to inclusive cities with sustainable urban growth. Finally, I would like to take this opportunity to condemn once again before the world an environmental disaster that was 85 times worse than the British Petroleum spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010, and 18 times worse than the Exxon Valdez spill off the coast of Alaska in 1989. I am referring to the contamination left behind by the Texaco oil company, which maintained operations in the Ecuadorian Amazon until 1992 and was bought by the multinational oil company Chevron in 2001. Chevron, the third-largest company in the United States, was sued approximately 20 years ago by indigenous communities of the Amazon who had been affected by the pollution. It is a strictly a private civil case, Amazon Defence Coalition vs. Chevron-Texaco. Chevron spent the previous decade fighting to keep the case from being tried in New York, where the company has its corporate headquarters, preferring to have it adjudicated where the offence was allegedly committed, in the province of Sucumbios in Ecuador. Nevertheless, as Chevron lost the case and was ordered to pay a large sum, it has spent 10 years destroying the reputation of the same courts that it had enthusiastically defended when it thought that it could buy them off, while spending hundreds of millions of dollars in a global campaign to discredit Ecuador. Transnational corporations must cease their abuses against the States and peoples of the South. Ecuador calls upon Member States to participate in drafting a binding treaty to sanction transnational corporations when they violate human rights or pollute the environment. We invite those present to visit Ecuador and put their hands into the hundreds of pools left by Texaco, so that they can feel for themselves the oil waste that was left behind, 20 years after the oil company left our country. That is the dirty hand of Chevron. Faced with Chevron-Texaco’s arrogance, its billions of dollars and the infamy of this corrupt and corrupting company, Ecuador will fight back with the most lethal of any weapon ever invented: the truth.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the Constitutional President of the Republic of Ecuador for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the Constitutional President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations His Excellency Mr. Evo Morales Ayma, Constitutional President of the Plurinational State of Bolivia, and to invite him to address the Assembly. President Morales Ayma (spoke in Spanish): I am enormously happy to be here, on behalf of the Bolivian people, to express our feelings and to talk about our experiences and our actions to date. As everyone else has mentioned, we are here on the seventieth anniversary of the founding of the United Nations. The Organization was founded to seek peace after the two World Wars. I feel it is important to make an in-depth economic, political, social, cultural and environmental assessment following 70 years of the existence of the United Nations. What has it achieved? In the eyes of the people, wars and invasions continue even after 70 years of the United Nations. What is the cause of those wars and invasions on several continents? It is due to the ambition of some regions and nations and to policies that concentrate capital in only a few hands and in only some countries, which are administered by oligarchies along with transnational companies. I therefore feel that, 70 years after its founding, the United Nations has not fulfilled its goals of peace and stability in the world. This morning we heard various statements. Starting with President Obama (see A/70/PV.13) and then other Presidents from other continents, all of us are seeking peace. But I want to say to everyone here, representatives of all the peoples of the world, that there will be no peace without social justice. Calls were made against terrorism and armed insurgent groups on several continents — that they have never been able to understand their demands — while certain Powers want to understand how those problems can be solved. I also heard statements condemning social movements and confusing them with terrorist movements. I came out of social movements and the indigenous movement. Those of us from social movements are not terrorists, but rather contribute to social peace with results, as well as equality, dignity and justice. I also want to say to those who have championed capitalism for the past 70 years that capitalism has failed. It is a failed model because, as many also said this morning, it has brought humankind only crises —humanitarian, financial, energy and food crises. The common thread of the various statements was that nearly half the inhabitants of the world are going hungry and that untold billions of dollars in economic resources are being devoted to destroying Mother Earth — or Planet Earth, as it is called in the West. Some have said that $100 billion is needed to confront and reduce global warming. Has it occurred to anyone how much money is being spent to destroy the planet, and how many countless billions are spent to invade countries? I listened intently to the words of my brother Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, as he despaired at what the Libyan and Syrian peoples were going through. What is the cause for their suffering? Let us not forget that the United States Government overthrew Al-Qadhafi. This morning they called him a tyrant: the military intervention by the United States and NATO was to target the tyrant, the President at the time. But Mr. Al-Qadhafi was not really the target. The goal was Libya’s oil. I ask members to ask themseles to whom Lybia’s oil belongs. Does it belong to the Libyan people or the Libyan State? Or does it belong, in fact, to a few American and European transnational corporations? Imagine: they used fallacious arguments to intervene and, now that the poor Libyan people have been torn apart, they are no longer interested in them, for the economic and natural resources are now in the hands of the transnationals. That is capitalism. I could speak about the many countries that were taken over before and since the founding of the United Nations, not to mention the situation in Syria and other countries. That is why we are convinced that capitalism is not the solution for life, and even less for humankind. That is the profound difference between us. Some presidents at times speak in half-truths here; they do not speak the truth about what is happening in the world. While some may think that they are going to live better, such apolicy is not going to resolve social problems or humanitarian issues. Living well, as our brother the President of Ecuador says, is the very synthesis of community-based socialism, while living better is the synthesis of capitalism. There is a profound difference between the two. By living well I mean living in solidarity and in complementarity — not just in solidarity with other human beings, but living in harmony with Mother Earth. For us in social movements, especially the indigenous movement, it is about Mother Earth. We are convinced that the human being will be unable to live without Mother Earth, and that Mother Earth would get along better without human beings. There is one other thing that many may not understand, but I still want to say it. Under this way of living, basic services cannot be under private business. That comes from our significant experience. Basic services were once privatized in Bolivia — water, energy, electricity and telecommunications. Through our Constitution we decided that basic services were a human right and could never be private businesses. For we are talking about water, which is life. Also with respect to living well, we are convinced that natural resources can never belong to foreigners or to transnational corporations. Let me comment from my own experience. After coming to power, we heard from the vigorous voices of my people and social forces in Bolivia. On 1 May 2006, in due homage to workers, we nationalized the fossil fuel industry and recovered our natural resources. During the campaign we said that there could be no masters or owners, and maybe just partners. I shall give just one statistic in that regard. Prior to our taking office, income from oil leases stood at barely $300 million. Since the law on hydrocarbons was changed and we nationalized the industry, that income had risen to $5.6 billion by 2014. Imagine how much money was stolen from us in Bolivia under imperial domination and the neoliberal model. We went from $300 million in 2005 to $5.6 billion in 2014. For a country of 10 million inhabitants, those economic resources are exceedingly importance for economic freedom. That is why we are convinced that natural resources should belong to the people and be under the administration of the State. That is our experience and that is how we have freed ourselves economically. That is why we do not believe in capitalism. Why the interventions into other countries? To take dominion over natural resources so that they can then continue to concentrate capital in the hands of a few. Secondly, let me also say that we will face a huge responsibility in December in Paris concerning the environment. As Presidents — at least as I see it — it will be important that we take with us proposals from our peoples. After consulting my brothers and sisters in Bolivia, we will take with us policies, projects and programmes aimed at cleaning up and healing Mother Earth. If we do not take on the responsibility for saving Mother Earth, future generations will hold us responsible. I will mention another personal experience, and I apologize for speaking even more about myself. When I travel to the countryside in Bolivia, one can no longer tell what season it is. A friend from the tropics called me at one or two in the morning one day and asked what I was doing. I said that I was in bed, and asked the same question in turn. He told me he was leaving the house to go to the river because it was too hot to sleep, and of course they still had no shower. The entire family was going to the river at that hour to protect themselves from such a high temperature. The current increase in global temperature is less than 1°C; what will happen if the temperature rises 2°C? Some experts have predicted that, if we do not stop global warming, by 2030 the temperature could rise 4°C or 5°C. I feel that future generations will become anti-imperialists and anti-capitalists because that is the legacy of capitalism. Northern countries are now telling us that we should be the stewards of the forests for them. But we are not going to be their stewards, and they should not transfer their obligations and responsibilities to us in developing countries. So that is another responsibility we have. We must go to Paris bearing our awareness of the responsibility to find a way to save Mother Earth. I invite participants to attend the international event of the worldwide social movement that will be held in Bolivia from 10 to 12 October, and to bring with them the proposals and ideas of their peoples. We need not be subjected to the initiatives of the American empire or of the multinationals. Now is not the time to be pursuing alien policies. Today I heard two very interesting and very different statements: one by President Obama and the other by the President of China. What did President Obama say to us about providing security to his country and to his allies? What did he say about combating terrorism? He said that he could provide war and interference. What did the President of China offer us? Assistance and cooperation. That State is not an expansionist one. I commend social movements. Our movements engender unity and integration for liberation, not invasion policies for the purposes of domination. We have profound differences. We welcome the words of the Chinese President, who again has offered us assistance and cooperation. We acknowledge his country’s leadership. From the media, we are also aware that the United States is in hock to China. Well, that is their problem. I hope the press is not lying. But they still threaten interference as a way to dominate the peoples of the world. There is a debate under way. Some this morning talked about democracy. I would say that there are two types of democracy. There is the democracy of the people and there is the democracy of transnationals. The democracy of the people involves the social movements in which people organize themselves. But what does social movement democracy consist of? We do not just have representative and participatory democracy. In my experience, first as a union leader and now as President, we have always taken decisions with the leaders. There have always been differences: some sectors are more ambitious than others, and some of their demands can be both unattainable and undesirable. But the people understand. Policies are decided and programmes proposed in a joint manner. Our responsibility lies in how to meet the demands and carry out the economic and social proposals and programmes. In the other type of democracy, which is supposedly representative, voting ends on the day of the elections. But who governs then? Let us be honest. It is not President Obama who governs, but the bankers, businessmen and transnationals who govern. What kind of democracy is that? They deceive the people into voting, and then they do not govern. I heard a candidate say in the media that he financed both Republicans and Democrats: “I command them”. That is not democracy; that is capitalism. Humankind faces serious problems. That is why we are convinced that, if we want to end poverty, we need to end the capitalist system. There is no other way. Moreover, I am also convinced that the new millennium should be a millennium of the peoples, not that of hierarchies or monarchies. However, I respect their rights. If monarchy is their way, we respect that. But it cannot be monarchy exported from Europe to Latin America. That must end. This is not the time for oligarchies, and much less the financial oligarchies that exist today. That is why we have an obligation to work together to combat the problems we face. While 70 years after the inception of the United Nations there may no longer be coups d’état and military takeovers, what we now have are soft coups, espionage and the stopping of presidential planes. I do not understand these times. Now there are military bases. That is why, honestly, I do not share such policies. I do not know the degree of certainty or resolve with which they said it, but those detained for their opposition in the past have expressed the notion that ideas could not be imprisoned. We see so many terrorists, criminals and corrupt presidents who violate human rights — after killing 30, 40, 50 or 70 people — coming to the United States. If we are fighting against terrorism, crime and drug traffickers, why are those drug-traffickers, terrorists and corrupt politicians who violated human rights not thrown out of the United States and tried in their own countries? I cannot comprehend how the United States has become a graveyard for corrupt people and criminals, but that is what has happened. And some authorities and Governments wonder why they do not agree with imperialism and capitalism. I also want to take this opportunity to address the serious issue of migration, which I did not hear other Presidents mention. Migrants are being criminalized and deported. I speak as an inhabitant of Abya Yala, our home continent called America. Europeans invaded us 500 years ago. Did my grandparents criminalize those who invaded us? But they put in place policies to exterminate indigenous peoples. They pillaged our natural resources. Yet there were never provisions or programmes in place to expel them. Some of our brothers are today leaving Latin America for Europe or the United States to work, and are finding themselves criminalized and persecuted. Money has its tax havens under capitalism, while human beings suffer hellish poverty, and migrants are expelled. That is why we propose to work together to create universal citizenship. We all have a right to live wherever we wish in the world. Globalization should not simply be a matter of trade and money, but it ought be for all human beings around the world. Our brother migrants should never be expelled. On its part, Bolivia never deports anyone. Our companies are now no longer the masters or the owners, now they simply provide services in our country. The important issue of drug trafficking is another legacy of capitalism. We have nationalized the fight against drug trafficking and, in cooperation with several South American countries, have also regionalized the effort. It is very important to be aware of United Nations statistics. Drug trafficking has been guided by purely geopolitical interests. Look at the United Nations statistics. Look at those of South American countries and to those on other continents. What are the results where military bases are set up and many billions of dollars are invested? Zero. Instead, drug trafficking has increased. After having genuinely nationalized, we in Bolivia are better off without military bases, the American Drug Enforcement Administration or the economic resources that the United States should provide as part of a shared responsibility. I am not calling for such aid, but we welcome Europe’s unconditional contribution to the fight against drug trafficking. We see the results of the fight against drug trafficking. I wish to reiterate that we countries with anti-imperialist Governments are accused of not complying with certain regulations and of being drug traffickers, while pro-imperialist and pro-capitalist countries, where drug trafficking has increased, are congratulated for their efforts. What a lie! I am not complaining, but I would simply ask members to take a look at the United Nations statistics on the fight against drug trafficking. Fortunately, other countries have already understood the results we have achieved in Bolivia, and we are now debating the model of combating drug trafficking in Bolivia. We never said that we would attain zero coca production, but also that we cannot be free cultivation of coca. If we had more technology, such as radars, the results would be much better than at present. I inherited from the former Government more than 30,000 hectares of coca leaf plantations. This year, without the death of a single peasant, we have 24,400 hectares for traditional consumption. Look at the United Nations statistics and at those of other countries of the world. I join the many other presidents in welcoming the agreement between Cuba and the United States of America to establish diplomatic relations. But I have something I would like to share with everyone, and I hope that I am not tiring members. When I took up my functions of President, I visited the Ambassador of the United States of America, when we still had an Ambassador. He was giving me instructions: “President Evo, you cannot have diplomatic relations with Cuba, Venezuela or Iran.” Then a group of United States Congressmen came and they instructed me, “President Evo, you cannot have relations with those three countries.” Of course, I refused. I said, “If we had the economic resources, we would have Embassies in every country of the world. No one is going to tell me with whom I can and cannot have diplomatic relations.” Since then, I have never accepted the instructions of the United States authorizing or not authorizing me to have diplomatic relations with Cuba or Iran. But now I congratulate the United States of America for having diplomatic relations with Iran and Cuba, and hopefully soon they will even have relations with Venezuela. Diplomatic relations with Cuba should not end with just an exchange of Ambassadors. Our great dream as the Bolivian people is that the United States will return Guantánamo to Cuba and that the economic blockade will be lifted once and for all. We hope that the words we heard this morning from President Obama will be followed up with action to lifte the economic blockade. President Castro, my brother, rightly said that with the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States we have declared a zone of peace. We might have a little problem in Colombia with the Fuerzas Armadas Revolucionarias de Colombia (FARC) but, fortunately, thanks to the support and mediation of Cuba, we were very pleased to hear about the preliminary agreement between FARC and the Government of Colombia. We commend the efforts and patience of President Santos Calderón in reaching that agreement. But I want to say to my FARC companions that we have had 50, 60, 70 years of revolutions with arms and bullets; now a revolution is achieved through the vote, awareness and the democratic struggle. That is our experience. Change can be made to the social and economic situation, not only here on this continent but also on other continents. When groups or social sectors are in the right and fight for the dignity and sovereignty of the people, people support that struggle, that quest to achieve liberation. We genuinely welcome that agreement. There is another issue in our continent, that of the Malvinas Islands. With apologies to Argentina, however, the Malvinas Islands do not just belong Argentina, but to all Latin America. How can they control an island that is so many thousands of kilometres away, and so near to our continent? That has to end. We hope for understanding in putting an end to such problems that we continue to have. We also have another pending matter, at The Hague. I welcome the presence of my Chilean brothers, who are filming me and listening attentively. One hundred and thirty-six years ago, through no fault of the Chilean people, a group of oligarchs, supported by British multinationals, invaded us for economic reasons. Just to refresh members’ memories, the invasion began on 14 February 1879. The first resistance took place on 23 March, after more than a month of invastion. I want to highlight this: after many commitments and offers from Chile, which I commend, I very much regret to say that none have been fulfilled. That is why we turned to the International Court of Justice, because Bolivia is a peaceful country under its Constitution. We do not have an expansionist mentality that makes us want to invade neighbouring countries. That is why we are petitioning the Court. Unfortunately, certain Chilean officials — not all — say they have no pending issues with Bolivia. Recently, the Court said there was a pending issue in our continent and it deemed itself competent to resolve the case between Chile and Bolivia. It is with humility and great dignity that Bolivia welcomes that the fact that the Court has acknowledged a pending case, as this is the world’s highest judicial body, created by the United Nations. I want to say to my Chilean brothers, and especially the Chilean people, that we do not want there to be any winners or losers. All we want is to resolve the question through dialogue and for the good of our peoples. That our great desire as Bolivians. It is not a matter of pitting anyone against each other. We are two neighbours, two brothers. How could be at odds all life-long? All we want is for what has been on offer to be fulfilled. I welcome the support of everyone. I very well understand the great solidarity that exists on this matter, and not only on the part of former presidents, Governments, social movements and institutions. Kofi Annan, a former Secretary-General of the United Nations, gave his timely support to the case, saying “resolve the matter of access to the sea”. Not just Pope Francis, but John Paul II also expressed his support. It is a matter of record. Four former United States Presidents and three Nobel Peace Prize laureates said that the issuse of access to the sea should be resolved. This is not just a claim, but our right. Sooner or later, as a matter of justice and with the support of the entire world, we will return to the Pacific with sovereignty. We hope that it will be through an agreed dialogue, for the good of all our peoples. I want to conclude by commending the work of the United Nations. Two weeks ago, we found out from the media that the Ambassadors and Government representatives from all over the world had adopted the principles and values ​of the Andean indigenous movement: do not steal, do not lie and do not be idle. Those are values from my family. I as President, as well as the Vice-President and Cabinet, apply those values. That is why we have moved ahead in such little time. Bolivia is no longer as it was before. We came to power when Bolivia was ranked the second-to-last country of the continent, the last country in South America. Thanks to the struggle of the Bolivian people, to our social movements and to the programme now in place, Bolivia is no longer a poorly viewed, small country, as it was before. I referred to our policies briefly a few moments ago. Those three values should the standard for transparent and honest governance in the service of our peoples throughout the world. In the name of the indigenous movement of Bolivia and the Andean region, we are happy and grateful to the United Nations for having endorsed those values. I also want to take this opportunity to commend and show my estimation for the joint efforts undertaken by Argentina, the Group of 77 and the General Assembly for adopting the Basic Principles on Sovereign Debt Restructuring Processes (resolution 69/319) and the necessary limits on the voracious transnational vulture funds. Such funds are yet another means to strangle and suppress the economies of sovereign countries, which we reject categorically. That is a way of defending the economic sovereignty of countries. Lastly, I thank Pope Francis for everything contained in his message. My mother raised me to be Catholic. Unfortunately, because of the shortcomings of some leaders of the Catholic Church, I have been disappointed by it. Because of Pope Francis, a brother who questions capitalism and does not submit to the god of money, my morale has been uplifted, and I feel more Catholic today. And so I want to commend Pope Francis’ message of peace. I now really do have a Pope. I know that Pope Francis, through masses and religious ceremonies, sends us his blessings and prayers. Because for the sake of life and for the sake of peace he is risking his life, we have the obligation to defend and help him. That is all I ask.

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the Constitutional President of Plurinational State of Bolivia for the statement he has just made.

The Assembly will now hear an address by the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan.

I have great pleasure in welcoming His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Abdullah, Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan, and inviting him to address the Assembly.

It gives me great pleasure, on behalf of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, to express my sincere congratulations on the President’s well-deserved election as President of the General Assembly at its seventieth session. I also express my deep gratitude to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his hands-on leadership of the Organization at a very demanding time. The state of the world today, 70 years after the founding of this unique Organization, is at best a mixed one. While the newly drafted Charter of the United Nations asserted its primary principles as the maintenance of international peace and security after the Second World War, today a set of threats, mostly created by humans, challenges societies throughout the world and pose a threat to security, basic rights, dignity, our ecosystem, health care, State viability, governance, national and community cohesiveness and even cultural and religious identity. However, it also poses a serious challenge to the United Nations existing mandate, structure, resources and traditional approaches to dealing with global issues. The Organization has tried its best to keep up with and adapt to an evolving environment, but if we look at the past seven decades, we see that our predecessors did their best to deal with a litany of conflicts, arms races, social and economic upheavals, ideological contests and geostrategic rivalries. But never has the world or the United Nations faced such fast-paced change, both constructive and harmful. Such abrupt fluctuations heighten expectations and immediate demands for solutions and answers. Those monumental tasks — coupled with population growth, unprecedented mobility, connectivity and access to information and technological know-how — necessitate constant negotiations, legal frameworks and new management and leadership skills. They also encompass inherent risks and security concerns. At the same time, as the world shrinks and the human village grows, we are faced with the ugly aspects of globalization and inter-dependence. We are seeing the emergence of societies of haves and have-nots, subgroups, disenfranchised communities, abject poverty, upscale corruption, injustice, repression, sectarianism, terrorism and criminality, among others. At some point, it is the United Nations and other specialized and multilateral organizations that will need to be ready to drive the agenda and provide the required platform for decision-making. We urge future reforms to take the needs of our times into account and to offer flexibility and fast-track problem management for the work at hand. Allow me to dwell on the case of my own country as a prime example of a nation in transition, as well as of a country exposed to multiple risks and threats at the forefront of our fight against international terrorism and extremism. Afghanistan is suffering, and its people demand solutions that are practical, verifiable and durable. The presence of terrorist sanctuaries and support networks in Pakistan continues to cause trouble inside Afghanistan. The Haqqani Network has been identified as a main culprit. It needs to be dismantled, as has been our demand in the past. Our demands are legitimate, as our people continue to suffer at the hands of terrorist elements who cross into Afghanistan and indiscriminately victimize our citizens. That matter needs to be addressed on a bilateral basis and facilitated by trusted international partners. As a case in point, over the past 48 hours, hundreds of militants, some of whom are foreign fighters, organized attacks in Kunduz province, where heavy fighting is raging. The day before, more than 10 spectators at a sports stadium were killed and many more were injured in Paktika when a bomb was detonated. Those attempts will fail to subdue us, just as they failed to do so on other occasions over the past few years. In the broader context, Afghanistan continues to be the victim of terrorist organizations and violent extremists, including Daesh-type cells that are trying to find a foothold. Another fact is clear to Afghans across the board, namely, were it not for an external support system, access to arms and munitions, rest areas and hospitals and funding and training, as part of strategic collusion with powerful elements in our neighbourhood, this guerrilla-style low-intensity warfare would have been history by now. We call on Pakistan to do what its leadership promised to us a few months ago when they agreed to crack down on known terror outfits, meaning the enemies of Afghanistan. We agreed to a paradigm change in our relations and engagement towards peace talks with the Taliban. Events turned out differently after it was divulged that the Taliban leader had been dead for over two years and the episode was a sham. A loss of trust can have irreparable consequences for all sides. We need to learn from that. We have reached the one-year mark for the anniversary of the national unity Government. I am delighted to report to the General Assembly that Afghanistan has achieved significant milestones in the past year. Thanks to the exemplary generosity of our friends, the progress made in Afghanistan over the past 14 years cannot be discounted. We succeeded in prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable, improving living standards, providing access to education to boys and girls and improving health-care quality. Life expectancy has increased by an average of 20 years since 2001, with Afghans living well beyond the mere 40 years of age that was once the norm. Improvement in the health of women and children is particularly notable, as illustrated by the 54 per cent increase in the number of infants delivered and the 62 per cent decrease in infant mortality. Thanks to the Government’s focus on gender equality, equity and equal opportunity, female political participation has also been strengthened. During the 2014 election, 35 per cent of voters were females. Women now claim 11 per cent of judgeships, with an additional 20 per cent in training. Moreover, we are also strengthening laws and regulations that deal with torture, and we are taking necessary measures to prevent and prosecute individuals involved in any form of torture, as per the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture. We sincerely thank the international community for the exemplary support it has provided and for the generosity and patience it has so tirelessly bestowed upon us as a war-torn nation. I would very especially like to mention the United States of America, NATO, the European Union and the entire donor community for the blood of their soldiers, the sacrifices of their civilian workers and their expertise and encouragement. As mentioned earlier, the recently escalating security issues have slowed down State-building and overall progress. But, through their patriotism and resilience, our national security forces have demonstrated their readiness to face the challenges posed by the Taliban and their terrorist and violent extremist groups. Furthermore, President Ghani and I prioritized a comprehensive reform agenda to root out corruption from our society and institutions and to promote transparency and efficacy at all levels of Government, the judiciary and at the national and subnational levels. An important component of our reform agenda concerns necessary changes in the work of our electoral institutions to strengthen the credibility and integrity of our future elections. In that respect, the reform commission recently presented a comprehensive set of recommendations, and we plan appropriate steps to implement them. We are confident that those efforts will go a long way in the consolidation of participatory democracy in our country. In addition to security challenges, the menace of the illicit drug trade in Afghanistan is having an adverse impact on the economy and society. However, we have a new comprehensive action plan to combat the drug economy more effectively. We appreciate the contributions made by donors, especially the assistance provided by the United States. We are determined to meet the 10-year-long goal of defeating narcotics once and for all. Regional cooperation on the drug problem is another key pillar of our strategy. Beyond cooperation on counter-narcotics, the unity Government is committed to enhancing regional engagement and building constructive relationships based on win-win formulas, and turning Afghanistan into a connectivity hub for energy, trade, transit, transport, pipelines and fibre optics. The sixth Regional Economic Cooperation Conference on Afghanistan, held in Kabul recently, agreed to work on ways to develop and consolidate partnerships towards promoting regional economic cooperation and integration in Afghanistan and across the region. Success stories are already taking shape, such as the Central Asia South Asia Electricity Transmission and Trade Project and the Trans-Afghanistan Pipeline, turning Afghanistan into a land bridge connecting China and India through South Asia and Central Asia to the Middle East and Europe. My Government has a strong political will to implement the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (resolution 70/1) with the support of the international community, while we implement the remainder of the Millennium Development Goals and targets. I would like to add Afghanistan’s voice in support of a reformed Security Council that is more inclusive, representative and transparent. Like most Member States, we agree that the Security Council is in dire need of comprehensive reforms to better confront twenty-first century challenges. My Government supports the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people. We reiterate our long-standing position that a two-State solution offers the best guarantee for long-term and sustainable solutions to the conflict. In addition, I would like to express my strongest condemnation of the terrible acts against humanity committed by all sides in Syria, especially the Islamic State in Iraq and Shams. The people of Syria and Iraq are suffering. As a war-ravaged country, we feel their pain, dispossession and trauma. I call upon the global community to take prompt and urgent action and to facilitate a political solution through talks. We look to the United Nations to remain beside us for years to come on our journey into the transformation decade. As we move forward, we expect a strategic realignment in the support role of the international community and the United Nations. In that regard, we welcome the outcome of the work of the tripartite review commission to determine the guiding principles of the United Nations future engagement in Afghanistan. In conclusion, let me reiterate my Government’s steadfast commitment to promoting the very principles on which the United Nations was founded. We are confident that, with the continued support of the family of nations represented in this noble Organization, we will realize our shared goal of a peaceful, stable and prosperous nation that is a catalyst for security and prosperity in our region and beyond.

I thank the Chief Executive Officer of Afghanistan for the statement he has just made.