A/71/PV.16 General Assembly
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
United Nations A/71/ PV.16 General Assembly Official Records Seventy-first session 16th plenary meeting Thursday, 22 September 2016, 6.25 p.m. New York President: Mr. Thomson ......................................... (Fiji) In the absence of the President, Mr. El Haycen and security and preserving the legal and institutional (Mauritania), Vice-President, took the Chair. pillars that form the foundation of today’s world order. The effectiveness of that cooperation, and our ability to The meeting was called to order at 6.25 p.m. strike a reasonable balance between national interests and those of the international community as a whole, Agenda item 8 (continued) will also determine to a large degree our success in solving other no less important global problems in the General debate areas of the environment, energy, food security and The Acting President (spoke in French): I now in combating terrorism, drug trafficking and other call on His Excellency Mr. Rashid Meredov, Deputy challenges. Chairman of the Cabinet of Ministers and Minister for Unfortunately, we are currently witnessing complex Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan. processes that are undermining global cooperation in Mr. Meredov (Turkmenistan) (spoke in Russian): those areas, foremost among them the ever-expanding First of all, I have the honour to convey to the peoples of area of the world with potential for conflict and the the nations represented here greetings and best wishes spread of breeding grounds for tension. Conflicts are for their peace and prosperity from His Excellency escalating in various parts of the globe, and the parties Mr. Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov, President of involved in them increasingly resort to the use of force Turkmenistan. and military means. We are seeing brazen disregard and at times outright contempt for the rules of international I would like to congratulate Mr. Peter Thomson on law. his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its seventy-first session and to wish him every success In view of the situation, Turkmenistan calls on in his responsibilities. I would also like to express our Member States to evaluate such manifestations clearly appreciation to Mr. Mogens Lykketoft, President of and unambiguously and to join in supporting strict and the Assembly at its seventieth session, for his effective scrupulous adherence to the principles and purposes of work. the Charter of the United Nations and the foundational international conventions, accords and agreements The current state of global realities and the nature designed to resolve conflicts. We urge Member and direction of their political, economic and social States to launch broad-based consultations with a processes require Governments and major international view to identifying uniform conceptual approaches organizations to cooperate ever more closely and to de-escalating conflict based on international legal with greater coordination if they are to achieve their standards and under the leadership of the United Nations principal shared goal of ensuring international peace as a universal mechanism for settling disputes. We think This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the translation of speeches delivered in 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-0506 ([email protected]). Corrected records will be reissued electronically on the Official Document System of the United Nations (http://documents.un.org). 16-29565 (E) *1629565* A /71/PV.16 22/09/2016 it would be advisable to convene a special meeting of international cooperation, including that of the United the General Assembly, within the framework of the Nations Regional Centre for Preventive Diplomacy for seventy-first session, devoted to strengthening the role Central Asia. of international law in the maintenance of global peace Exactly a year ago today, within these very walls, and security. the World Summit adopted the long-term 2030 Agenda The role of the peacebuilding tools at the for Sustainable Development and the 17 Sustainable international community’s disposal is growing, Development Goals (SDGs). These are our common particularly the potential of the notion of neutrality and responsibility, our common objectives. In that context, its conceptual foundations as a basis for strengthening I would like to specifically stress the need for the general stability and security. That received special implementation of the SDGs in the national plans and emphasis at the high-level international conference held programmes of all States Members of the United Nations. in Ashgabat in December 2015 to mark the twentieth Turkmenistan will responsibly and constructively anniversary of Turkmenistan’s neutral status. We take continue to address those issues. Turkmenistan, jointly this opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the with the United Nations Development Programme Member States and international organizations that and other United Nations agencies, has developed participated in the forum and contributed to its success. appropriate indicators for the elaboration of its national The conference’s final document reflects a willingness programmes. Just a few days ago, those indicators were within the United Nations to consider Turkmenistan’s officially adopted by the Government of Turkmenistan. proposal for proclaiming an international day of neutrality. Our country has prepared a draft resolution One of the main focuses of the General Assembly for the General Assembly on the subject, and we urge at its current session is the desire for Member States the States Members of the United Nations to launch a to continue the wide-ranging dialogue on climate discussion of the text during this session. change as the most important element of the United Nations comprehensive strategy for the achievement The civilized world is facing a threat that transcends of the SDGs. In our view, national and international national borders and political and ideological doctrines. instruments are the most important tools for meeting Terrorism falls outside human morality and threatens the SDGs. It is appropriate to recall that Turkmenistan’s to undermine the entire world order and its principles, President, speaking at the United Nations Conference values and foundations. It is precisely for that reason that on Sustainable Development, said that progress could the fight against it must be conducted simultaneously not be selective and that development would not at the global, regional and national levels, taking into be truly sustainable and long-lasting unless it were account the specific circumstances and political and comprehensive and the undeniable right and heritage social realities of each. of all nations, States, regions and continents, without For the States of our region, it is crucial that we exception. ensure effective, coordinated action through the Turkmenistan fully embodies that tenet in its implementation of the United Nations Global Counter- main approach to the global environmental agenda. Terrorism Strategy in Central Asia. The work in that Our country has begun to implement its national area has recently been significantly intensified and development plans, which are aligned with the multilateral cooperation in various fields has been Sustainable Development Goals, with a true sense of strengthened. Major international forums on the issue, responsibility. At the legislative level, we have adopted organized on Turkmenistan’s initiative, have helped to the national climate change strategy, which provides for give our joint efforts an essential, clearly defined and a gradual transition to environmental safety standards substantive regional context. The major documents in all major spheres of industrial activity. The strategy adopted on the issue in 2011, the Ashgabat Declaration envisages the priority development of high-technology and Action Plan on countering terrorism in Central industries and the creation of conditions for the Asia, will serve as its road map. We believe that they development of the green economy as a fundamental contribute to multilateral efforts aimed at combating element for the functioning of our entire infrastructure. the terrorist threat, and their practical implementation will go a long way towards ensuring our shared Tomorrow, Turkmenistan will sign the Paris success in this work. We look forward to more active Agreement on Climate Change. We regard that 2/25 16-29565 22/09/2016 A /71/PV.16 step as a landmark in the overall implementation of States to intensify their efforts in that area, on the basis environmental tasks and goals. In that connection, of the Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction we believe that it is high time to fulfil the core of the 2015-2030, which was adopted last year at the Sendai Paris Agreement by intensifying United Nations efforts Conference. aimed at developing new international rules linked to Today, as a result of various circumstances, we climate change and environmental protection. are facing acute problems because of the number of At the same time, we need to begin preparing migrants, refugees and stateless people. It is apparent specific regional plans for the near and medium term. that there are no magic formulas for solving these We suggest the convening next year, under the auspices problems. Nevertheless,