Mr. Chairman,
My delegation welcomes the report of the Secretary-General, “In Larger Freedom”, and we associate ourselves with the general comments made at the consultations earlier this month by the Pacific Islands Forum group and the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS).
We are pleased to have this opportunity to express our views on Cluster Three issues, as discussed by the Secretary-General in section IV of his report, “Freedom to live in dignity”. We are generally supportive of the proposals made by the Secretary-General on these issues. However, we wish to make some brief comments on a few specific topics.
On the rule of law, human rights and democracy:
My delegation supports the call by the Secretary-General for leaders at the Summit to reaffirm their commitment to human dignity by taking actions to strengthen the rule of law, ensure respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, and promote democracy, in order to further the implementation of these core principles in all countries.
On the responsibility to protect:
We support the Secretary-General’s call for leaders to embrace the notion of a “responsibility to protect” in cases of genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. The primary responsibility for protection of civilians will always remain a national one. However, when faced with clear evidence of massive human rights violations such as genocide, if a State is unable or unwilling to protect its own citizens, the international community has a moral responsibility to take collective action. How can we witness tragedies like the genocide in Rwanda; proclaim that such atrocities will “never again” be allowed to take place; yet fail to give any meaning to such proclamations?
On the Democracy Fund:
My delegation agrees with the Secretary-General that all countries should commit to support democracy – both “at home” and abroad – and that there is a need to strengthen the UN’s capacity to assist countries that are trying to establish or strengthen their democracy. In this regard, we support the proposal to establish a “Democracy Fund” within the UN, and we look forward to hearing further details regarding the modalities of the Fund.
On international justice:
We were pleased that the Secretary-General’s report acknowledged the important contribution that the establishment of the International Criminal Court has made to the further progression of international justice and the rule of law. We hope that this can be duly reflected in the outcome of the Summit.
The role of the International Court of Justice must also be recognized, and we support the Secretary-General’s call for leaders to consider means to strengthen the Court’s work.
Mr. Chairman,
These are the preliminary views of my delegation on some specific areas of concern. We look forward to working with you and other delegations in this ongoing process to ensure that the Summit outcome is productive and meaningful for us all.
Thank you.
