United Nations A/64/PV.93 General Assembly Official Records Sixty-fourth session 93rd plenary meeting Friday, 11 June 2010, 10 a.m. New York President: Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki........................... (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) The meeting was called to order at 10.15 a.m. I would like to congratulate His Excellency Joseph Deiss, former President of the Swiss Agenda item 4 Confederation, on his election as the President of the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly. Election of the President of the General Assembly I would also like to take this opportunity to Election of the President of the General acknowledge and welcome the presence of the Minister Assembly for the sixty-fifth session for Foreign Affairs of the Swiss Confederation, Her The President (spoke in Arabic): In accordance Excellency Ms. Micheline Calmy-Rey. with rule 30 of the rules of procedure of the General I am sure that Member States appreciate the Assembly, I now invite members of the General wealth of knowledge and experience that Mr. Deiss Assembly to proceed to the election of the President of brings to this high office, which will enable him to the General Assembly for the sixty-fifth session. carry forward our collective endeavour and further May I recall that, in accordance with paragraph 1 advance the important work of the General Assembly. of the annex to General Assembly resolution 33/138, of His perspective as a result of having served as Minister 19 December 1978, the President of the General of Foreign Affairs and Minister of Economy of Assembly for the sixty-fifth session should be elected Switzerland will certainly guide and benefit the from among the Group of Western European and other discussions related to the whole host of issues and States. challenges of peace and security, development and human rights, which are at the heart of our agenda. In that connection, I have been informed by the Chairman of the Group of Western European and other Mr. Deiss’s advocacy for, and leadership of, his States for the month of December 2009 that the Group country’s campaign for accession to the United Nations has endorsed His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss of is a strong indication of his support for multilateralism Switzerland for the presidency of the General and for the Organization. I hope that will contribute to Assembly for the sixty-fifth session. our ongoing efforts to further strengthen the United Nations and promote its purposes and principles. Taking into account the provisions of paragraph Together, through cooperation, harmony and understanding, 16 of General Assembly decision 34/401, I therefore we can attain the necessary respect, support and declare His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss of consensus of Member States to promote our common Switzerland elected by acclamation President of the objectives. General Assembly for the sixty-fifth session. This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room U-506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum. 10-40163 (E) *1040163* A/64/PV.93 As we begin the transition to the next session, let and capital, create a network that underpins this me assure the President-elect of my openness and interdependence. Everything is moving faster and is availability at all times, and of my full cooperation and closer by. In that environment, new global challenges assistance on behalf of Member States — and that of have emerged: climate change, the economic and social my Office — in laying the groundwork for the sixty- crisis, terrorism, international crime and extremism of fifth session and ensuring a smooth and efficient start all sorts have now joined war and poverty and demand to it. I wish the President-elect every success. urgent collective efforts. More than ever before, we must act together in order to be effective. I now invite His Excellency Mr. Joseph Deiss, who has just been elected President of the General Therefore, despite those changes, the message Assembly for the sixty-fifth session, to take the floor. that I would like to underscore is that the values that the United Nations embraced at its founding are as Mr. Deiss (Switzerland) (spoke in French): The relevant as ever in overcoming the challenges facing mission of the United Nations is to protect the dignity, humankind today. I therefore invite members to turn security and well-being of all human beings. once again to the founding of our great Organization to This honour for Switzerland gives me great joy breathe new life into the purposes and principles set and represents a personal challenge for me. I would out in Article 1 of the Charter: peace and security, like to thank all members of the General Assembly, and friendship among nations and international in particular the members of the Group of Western cooperation. Peace, friendship and cooperation must European and other States, for the trust that they have remain the keywords of our work and of our action — placed both in my country and in me. I promise one words which our determination will fill with meaning. and all that I will be worthy of the mandate of I am sure that members understand that the terms President of the General Assembly for its sixty-fifth of the Charter mean that our purpose here is not merely session, with which the Assembly has just entrusted to defend our particular national interests. We are also me. called upon — and the Charter is absolutely clear about I would also like to express my gratitude to the this — to be friends who work together to find President of the Assembly at its sixty-fourth session, constructive solutions for the dignity, security and His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, for his well-being of all. It is with that in mind that I will enlightened leadership of the Assembly and the gladly accept the leadership of the General Assembly generous spirit with which he has introduced me to my and extend my commitment to its members. new position. Finally, I would like to thank His My country, Switzerland, which the Assembly Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his has just honoured with its trust, has a paradoxical tireless efforts on behalf of the ideals of the United Nations history. It is one of the oldest and most Organization. I assure him of my full cooperation and reliable pillars of the United Nations — I am thinking of my loyalty. especially of Geneva — while here, in New York, it is The United Nations was created almost two thirds known for being one of the most recent Members. We of a century ago thanks to the determination of its are quite proud of being one of the oldest democracies founders to prevent the recurrence of the suffering and in the world. A mountainous, poor and landlocked hatred that ravaged the world in two horribly deadly country when it was founded, the Helvetic conflicts. The community of peoples that they founded Confederation has now become prosperous and is the is very different today from what it was at San result of the solidarity of the 26 member states and of Francisco. It is global, first of all because the their declared determination to accept their diversity representatives of its 192 Member States are far more and to live together. numerous than they were then and now exemplify all In 1848, after several centuries of cooperation, the diversity of the world’s States. our states adopted a federal Constitution that has It is also global because it is interdependent. The weathered every challenge to date. Its updating some progress made in information technology, which we years ago has made it possible to further strengthen its could not even have imagined just a few decades ago, fundamental principles. The preamble to our and the increasing flows of persons, goods, services Constitution was enhanced by a phrase that I would 2 10-40163 A/64/PV.93 like to quote here: “Knowing that ... the strength of the and steadfast conviction. Recent decades have seen community is measured by the well-being of the remarkable economic growth that has lifted millions of weakest of its members”. I hope that will also be our human beings out of poverty. The unparalleled motto in the course of the sixty-fifth session of the solidarity shown in response to the recent natural General Assembly. I assure the Assembly of the loyalty disasters is proof of the generosity of each and every and the tireless commitment of Switzerland to further one of us. But why wait for the next earthquake or the ideals of the United Nations. other natural disaster before acting? I am convinced that it is in this forum that we can find the energy It is customary for the President-elect to needed to set in motion a movement of peace, altruism announce the themes and focuses that will be his or her and friendship between peoples. priorities and that will mark our work. The sixty-fifth session will open with a debate on a fundamental issue, Our mission is to do our utmost as we work namely, making progress towards the achievement of together for the well-being of our planet and of the Millennium Development Goals. Those Goals humanity. The whole world looks to us with hope, and remind us that poverty is multifaceted and requires we do not have the right to let the world down.