PEACE INDEPENDENCE
DEMOCRACY UNITY PROSPERITY
PERMANENT MISSION OF THE
LAO PEOPLE'S
DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC TO
THE
UNITED NATIONS
Statement
by
H.E. Mr. Somsavat
LENGSAVAD
Deputy Prime Minister,
Minister for Foreign Affairs,
Head of Delegation of
the Lao People's Democratic Republic
at the Plenary Session
of the Millennium Summit
New York, 7 September
2000
Mr.
President,
On behalf of the
delegation of the Lao PDR, I would like to convey my sincere congratulations to
you on your unanimous election as President of this historic Millennium Summit.
The Lao delegation wishes you all the best in carrying out your high duties. To
that end, we pledge to you full support and cooperation.\
May I also take this opportunity to thank His
Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations for his
comprehensive report and for the important statement he delivered to this
Millennium Summit.
Mr. President,
Our world is at the dawn
of the new millennium. Humankind has an aspiration to live in peace and shape a
prosperous and sustainable future. At the same time, we have encountered many
challenges and favorable opportunities. In this context, our Millennium Summit
is highly important in identifying various problems in order to take
appropriate measures to remove the negative factors and make use of positive
ones to achieve the ultimate goal of all nations.
Mr. President,
In the past half
century, the world has recorded unprecedented economic achievements thanks to
rapid advancement of science and technology. As a result, many countries now
have attained high level of development. However, unfortunately the gap between
the developed and developing countries is further widening. While the living
standard in some countries has improved, almost half of the world population
still live in extreme poverty. They have to continue their struggle for
survival with less than 2$ per day and as many as 1.2 billion people manage to
subsist on less than I$ a day. In this respect, we highly value the United Nations
Millennium Declaration, which foresees a visionary solution to the urgent and
complex issue of poverty eradication. Among other things, it appeals to the
developed or more fortunate countries to grant free access to their markets for
goods produced in poor countries, especially in the Least Developed Countries,
the Land-Locked Developing Countries and Small Island Developing States
and provide more generous development assistance, particularly, to those
countries, which are applying their resources to poverty reduction. Besides, we
are of the view that the United Nations, through its operational activities for
development, will continue to have a crucial role to play in achieving our
common development objectives in this new millennium. The Lao Government, like
all other developing countries, has given a priority to poverty eradication by
integrating it into the national policy and program. Unfortunately, due to the
underdevelopment of our economic foundation, our efforts have not yet produced
a fully satisfactory outcome.
The issue of heavy
indebtedness has become one of the obstacles to economic development in
developing countries, in particular, in the least developed nations. Therefore,
a pondered consideration for solutions to the debt problem in various forms
would be necessary and become an integral part of the contribution by the
international community to development for the Least Developed Countries, in particular the poor and heavily indebted among them and
suffering from severe natural calamity. This would allow them to acquire basic
resources for building national economic foundation that would lead to self-sufficiency
in the long run. Without an appropriate solution plan for debt relief in the
new millennium, our endeavour to eradicate poverty in the developing countries
would be just a pipe dream.
Another issue, which is
of concern for the majority of countries in the world, in particular, for weak
nations, is the concept of "humanitarian intervention". This concept
could become quite easily a cover for gratuitous interference in the internal
affairs of sovereign states. Therefore, we are of the view that at the turn of the new millennium, it is imperative that all general
principles of international law as well as the United Nations Charter, in
particular, the principle of sovereign equality of all member states, respect
for national sovereignty of independent states and non interference in the
internal affairs of each other be strictly observed.
Mr. President,
Today a durable peace has not yet been ens , ured. The
unjustified stockpiling and development of nuclear weapons and other weapons of
mass destruction continue to be a serious threat to the survival of humankind.
Moreover, some major powers have updated their strategic defense doctrines and
set out new rationales for the use of nuclear weapons. Nevertheless, in the
last NPT Review Conference held last June in New York, the nuclear weapons
States have, for the first time ever, agreed to eliminate all of their nuclear arsenals.
This has been a step that will lead to a complete nuclear disarmament. Based on
these positive results, the nuclear and non-nuclear weapon states must
work together seriously and take concrete steps that would pave the way towards
building a world free from nuclear weapons. The Lao PDR together with the ASEAN
countries has
agreed to make Southeast
Asia a zone free of nuclear weapon and now is at its last stage of the
ratification process of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
Mr. President,
Building a prosperous,
more secure and equitable twenty first century is a task that requires the will
and determined efforts of the entire world community. In this process, the
United Nations has a crucial role to play. Therefore, it is imperative to
reform the United Nations - our universal organization, in particular,
its Security Council. Regarding the issue of the Security Council reform, we
maintain our firm position in favour of the expansion of both categories of
permanent and non-permanent membership of the council, including both
from developing and industrialized countries. Such a newly
restructured Security Council would gain more
legitimacy and would be in a much better position to carry out its
responsibilities in the face of the new challenges of the present era. No less
important, let us also resolve to ensure that the United Nations is given the
necessary resources so it can live up to its enormous tasks in development assistance. The Lao PDR will continue to
cooperate with all members of the United Nations in making this reform possible
and hopes that the renewed and strong United Nations will help transform our
planet into a better place to live.
Mr. President,
Our world of today is
faced with both great opportunities and challenges offered by globalization.
Our common and daunting task is, therefore, to ensure that
globalized world would be beneficial for all and
not just for some. In this effort, we should do more than just talk. Let us
agree on a common vision of our future. The Lao PDR will together with all
peoples over the world undertake appropriate action to prove our commitments.
In this spirit, I wish the present Summit a successful conclusion.
Thank you.