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INFO RUEHGG/UN SECURITY COUNCIL COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 USUN NEW YORK 000887 
 
C O R R E C T E D C O P Y IN PARAGRAPH 8 LINE 9 ADDED TWO WORDS 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: UNGA ECON PGOV PREL AORC KPKO US ZI NR PS
EN, IV, UV, LE, SO, MK, DO, KR, PK, AC, KU, MP 
SUBJECT: UN GENERAL DEBATE CONTINUES (SEPTEMBER 25 AM) 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000887  001.4 OF 003 
 
 
 ¶1. SUMMARY: The UN General Debate continued on September 25 
on a range of topics from climate change to UN reform 
(particularly Security Council membership), the 
Israel-Palestine dispute and multilateralism.  The following 
heads of state or government spoke: Zimbabwe; Nauru; Palau; 
Estonia; Cote d'Ivoire; Burkina Faso; Lebanon; Somalia; 
Macedonia; Dominica; Kiribati; Pakistan; Palestinian 
Authority; Antigua and Barbuda; Kuwait; and Mauritius.  Full 
text of statements is available on at 
www.un.org/ga/64/generaldebate, video archives are at 
www.un.org/webcast/2009.html.  END SUMMARY 
 
¶2. Zimbabwe:  President Robert Mugabe reaffirmed Zimbabwe's 
position that the UN General Assembly is the "best forum to 
tackle global issues" but that it needs to serve the 
collective interest of all of its members, not just a select 
few.  He advocated for Africa's position for two more 
permanent seats on the Security Council with veto power plus 
two additional non-permanent seats.  Mugabe called for an 
increase in investment in agriculture in developing countries 
in addition to the removal or reduction of agricultural 
subsidies.  He also urged the international community and 
pharmaceutical companies to make anti-retroviral drugs more 
accessible.  Although he complimented the United States on 
the recent non-proliferation agreement with Russia, he 
criticized the United States (and the E.U.) for imposing 
sanctions on Zimbabwe and for continuing the embargo on Cuba. 
 
¶3. Nauru:  President Marcus Stephen called for the 
revitalization of the multilateral system to make it more 
equitable and representative.  Stephen urged Member States 
not to lose focus of the MDGs, and invited the United Nations 
to open a field office in Nauru.  He advocated for immediate 
action to address climate change and for developed countries 
to provide one percent of GDP to developing countries for 
adaptation and mitigation efforts.  He closed with a request 
to include Taiwan more substantively in UN activities and to 
make Japan, India, Germany, and Brazil permanent members of 
the Security Council. 
 
¶4. Palau:  President Johnson Toribiong began his address by 
thanking the permanent members of the Security Council for 
recognizing Palau's sovereignty.  Like other small island 
countries, Toribiong expressed his concern over the effects 
of climate change and hopes the Summit on Climate Change in 
Copenhagen will yield concrete results.  He identified Japan 
for a permanent seat on the Security Council and also 
recommended including Taiwan in UN activities.  Toribiong 
stated that Palau is ending all commercial shark fishing in 
its waters and called for a worldwide moratorium on deep sea 
trawling. 
 
¶5. Estonia:  President Toomas Hendrik Ilves implored 
countries to avoid protectionist policies in the wake of the 
financial crisis.  He encouraged Member States to reach a 
comprehensive and binding agreement at the Summit on Climate 
Change in Copenhagen including a "polluter pays" principle. 
Ilves expressed his support for the stability and security of 
both Georgia and Afghanistan and warned members not to 
underestimate cyber threats.  He closed with a push for 
Security Council restructuring, gender reform, and 
humanitarian issues. 
 
¶6. Cote d'Ivoire:  President Laurent Gbagbo said his country 
had been hit hard by the energy, food, and financial crises. 
Gbagbo appealed for reform of the international monetary and 
financial systems and noted that reform is essential if the 
United Nations does not want to become obsolete.  He 
commented that there needs to be more dialogue on religion 
and peace among member nations and that countries need to 
focus on the MDGs. 
 
¶7. Burkina Faso:  President Blaise Compaore observed that it 
was not fair that African nations were the ones most affected 
by the economic crisis even though they did not cause it. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000887  002.4 OF 003 
 
 
Similarly, he noted that climate change severely affected 
Africa (most recently with floods) and hoped that the Summit 
on Climate Change in Copenhagen would yield bold decisions. 
Compaore called for peaceful resolutions to problems in 
Sudan, Madagascar, and Guinea.  He concluded by thanking 
President Obama for leading the Security Council resolution 
on non-proliferation and by calling for reform of the 
Security Council. 
 
¶8. Lebanon:  President General Michel Sleiman focused his 
entire speech on the Palestine-Israel issue.  He criticized 
Israel for its settlement construction and use of force and 
for not wanting peace.  Sleiman reaffirmed his country's 
position that it is not in the Palestinian refugees' national 
interest for Lebanon to allow permanent settlement in its 
territories.  He called on the international community to 
follow through with Security Council Resolution 1701 which 
he said requires Israel to withdraw from certain areas. 
 
¶9. Somalia:  President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed listed 
three priorities for his country: 1) to improve the security 
situation, 2) to promote reconciliation and 3) to provide 
humanitarian assistance to displaced persons.  He said 
Somalia is rebuilding its naval forces and coast guard to 
combat piracy.  Ahmed commented that terrorism is not 
confined to Somalia and that it should be tackled with 
international assistance.  He plans to institute a 
transparent system of government which will respect 
individual freedoms, gender and rights, and encourage foreign 
direct investment and individual ownership.  Ahmed requested 
that the Security Council revisit its arms embargo resolution 
against Somalia to help him rebuild his country's security 
forces. 
 
¶10. Macedonia:  President Gjorge Ivanov highlighted the 
importance of the MDGs, fighting climate change, regional 
cooperation, and multilateralism.  Macedonia hopes to join 
the European Union and NATO soon.  Ivanov reproached Greece 
and stated that Macedonia was entitled to a solution that 
affirmed its right to "self determination and self 
identification." 
 
¶11. Dominica:  President Nicholas Joseph Orville Liverpool 
reiterated Caribbean Community (CARICOM) concerns that the 
economic and food crises affected island nations the hardest. 
 He welcomed the USD 15 billion from the G-8 for food 
security but warned that countries need to remove agriculture 
subsidies.  Liverpool expects a solution to the "Earth 
Crisis" at the Summit on Climate Change in Copenhagen.  He 
expressed concern over the situation in Haiti but embraced 
the appointment of former U.S. President Clinton as Special 
Envoy for Haiti.  Finally, Liverpool demanded the removal of 
the U.S. embargo on Cuba. 
 
¶12. Kiribati:  President Anote Tong centered his address on 
the issue of climate change and called for a global compact 
on climate change for "if we don't act now, who the hell is 
going to do it?"  Tong noted that Kiribati does not want to 
graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status as it 
relies heavily on assistance provided to LDCs.  Kiribati 
supports allowing Taiwan to participate more meaningfully in 
the United Nations. 
 
¶13. Pakistan:  President Asif Ali Zardari, with a picture of 
Benazir Bhutto at his side, described Pakistan's transition 
to democracy and his plans to make democracy sustainable and 
irreversible.  Zardari highlighted his goals for Pakistan: 
the return of internally displaced persons to their homes, 
reconstruction, economic development, market access, and 
counterterrorism.  He advocated for a resolution to the 
Kashmir dispute, support for Palestine, the release of Aung 
San Suu Kyi in Burma, friendship with India, and promotion of 
non-proliferation.  Zardari petitioned for foreign direct 
investment in agriculture, mega-hydroelectric projects, and 
infrastructure deals. 
 
USUN NEW Y 00000887  003.4 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶14. Palestinian Authority:  President Mahmoud Abbas described 
the situation in the Middle East as a "lack of commitment to 
the (U.N.) Charter."  Abbas welcomed President Obama's 
support for the two state solution and called on the 
international community to exert pressure on Israel to stop 
its settlement activities, release the approximately 11,000 
prisoners, and lift the siege on the Gaza Strip. 
 
¶15. Antigua and Barbuda:  Prime Minister Winston Baldwin 
Spencer advocated the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas 
(ALBA) as an alternative to the Washington Consensus, 
espousing its principles of solidarity, cooperation, and 
respect for sovereignty.  He criticized institutions such as 
the IMF for their conditionalities and blamed developed 
countries for the current climate change problem.  Spencer 
backed non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament, the end to the 
U.S. embargo on Cuba, gender equality, women's empowerment, 
and a permanent memorial to victims of the transatlantic 
slave trade. 
 
¶16. Kuwait:  Prime Minister Sheikh Nasser Al-Mohammad 
Al-Ahmad Al Jaber Al-Sabah highlighted Kuwait's successes, 
such as topping the Arab states in the fields of education 
and health and ranking third globally in combating drug use 
and trade.  Al-Sabah supported the recent Security Council 
resolution on non-proliferation and urged that Israel join 
the Non-Proliferation Treaty and be subject to review by the 
International Atomic Energy Agency.  Kuwait condemned the 
terrorist acts in Iraq and stressed the importance of a 
unified and peaceful Iraq.  He condemned Israel for its 
"illegal policies and practices in contradiction to 
international law and relevant U.N. resolutions."  Al-Sabah 
called for the peaceful resolution of the Iran nuclear 
dispute and for Iran to settle the Emirates Islands argument. 
 
 
¶17. Mauritius:  Prime Minister Navinchandra Ramgoolam 
appealed for Bretton Woods institutions reform and protested 
that for too long global economic decisions were made by too 
few.  He called for a Marshall Plan for developing countries 
and for the successful achievement of the MDGs and Doha 
Round.  Ramgoolam contended that countries that polluted the 
most should shoulder more of the burden.  He advocated for 
the Human Rights Council, the International Criminal Court, 
the release of Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma, and for permanent 
positions on the Security Council for India, a Latin American 
country, and an African country.  Ramgoolam criticized the 
unconstitutional governments in Madagascar and Honduras, and 
the United Kingdom for not returning the Chagos Archipelago. 
RICE