YouSaid · the spoken record

Johnson Toribiong

lines on the record: 42
first: 2009-09-24
most recent: 2011-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“I believe that the United Nations cannot fully and properly address the issues of health, aviation safety and climate change unless Taiwan is allowed to participate in the activities of the World Health Organization, the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Once again, I appeal to the world to allow Taiwan to participate in these important United Nations entities. Finally, Palau is a relatively new State, having joined the world community in 1994. Thus, we remember well the jubilation of our new-found freedom and independence. I take this opportunity to congratulate the people of South Sudan on attaining their independence and taking their rightful place here, in United Nations.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I would like to thank His Excellency 29 11-50871 Mr. Ban Ki-moon for his visit. It is a testament to the fact that the countries of our region, even the smallest and most vulnerable among us, have something important to say and to contribute to our world. I would also like to express Palau’s gratitude for the strong support and friendship of all of our partners, new and old. In particular, I would like to thank the United States of America, Japan and the Taiwan province of China. In order to further promote the efficacy, goals and ideals of the United Nations, we recommend that Taiwan be invited to participate meaningfully in the United Nations system.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Once again, I wish to bring to the world’s attention the fact that the fierce battles fought by foreign armies over Palau’s islands during the Second World War left explosives scattered across our land and in our waters. Some of those explosives, which number in the thousands, are still live. I appeal to the conscience of the world and, especially, of those responsible, to help us remove this danger from our midst. I would like to thank the Secretary-General for attending the recent meeting of the Pacific Islands Forum, held earlier this month in Auckland, New Zealand. That meeting was the Forum’s fortieth anniversary and was the first time that a United Nations Secretary-General has attended our regional meeting and the first time that a United Nations Secretary-General has visited a Pacific small island developing State.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Stakeholders from non-governmental organizations and civil society were also invited to become involved in the operations of the task force and contributed significantly to Palau’s national report. By all accounts, Palau’s response was a great success. The Human Rights Council unanimously adopted our report. The most repeated recommendation from Human Rights Council members was that Palau should establish a National Human Rights Institution. I have taken this recommendation to heart and am pleased to announce that Palau will establish a National Human Rights Institution. I am also pleased to announce that, as of this week, Palau is now a signatory to all core international human rights conventions. I hope others will assist Palau as we build our institution and work to fulfil our obligations under those conventions.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I hope that others will cooperate to help Palau connect to the world, and that leaders will answer the Commission’s clarion call to ensure that all people have access to broadband networks by 2015. Palau is also reaching out to the world on human rights. In February, we began our Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review. As a former practicing attorney and human rights advocate, I have been an ardent supporter of this process from the outset, and so I have committed Palau’s limited resources to ensuring a complete and meaningful outcome. As evidence of that commitment, I established a task force chaired by our Minister of State and comprised of officials from across a broad spectrum of our Government.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Palau is currently connected to the Internet by satellite. However, the service is poor and the cost unaffordable for most of our people. Last year’s report of the International Telecommunication Union’s Broadband Commission confirms that broadband access is a prerequisite to achieving the Millennium Development Goals. According to the report, a 10 per cent increase in broadband penetration in developing countries increases GDP by 1.4 per cent. Imagine what a 100 per cent increase could do. In light of that report, I have signed Executive Order No. 297 establishing a presidential task force to acquire a submarine fibre optic cable so that Palau will be better equipped to meet its Millennium Development Goals.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“At the opening of last year’s General Assembly, His Excellency Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon stated that “At the United Nations, we find the proper path in community, global cause … and mutual responsibility for a destiny we share” (A/65/PV.11, p. 1). That sentiment means, first and foremost, that countries must do no harm, particularly to the most fragile among us. We should find guidance in the international rule of law. Nations must respect fellow nations. Whether the issue is destructive fishing practices, nuclear radiation or excessive emissions, nations must work together and cease to cause transboundary harm. I would like to share with the Assembly a number of important initiatives that Palau is undertaking to connect with the international community, literally and in spirit.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The International Court of Justice has already confirmed that customary international law obliges States to ensure that activities within their jurisdiction or under their control respect the environment of other States. Similarly, Article 194, paragraph 2, of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea provides that States shall take all measures necessary to ensure that activities under their jurisdiction or control do not spread or cause damage by pollution to other States. It is time we determined what the international rule of law means in the context of climate change. The International Court of Justice is mandated to do just that.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The General Assembly, in its consensus resolution 63/281, invited the relevant bodies of the United Nations to intensify their efforts in considering and addressing climate change, including its possible security implications. With this in mind, Palau and the Republic of the Marshall Islands will call on the Assembly to seek, on an urgent basis and pursuant to Article 96 of the Charter of the United Nations, an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice on the responsibilities of States under international law to ensure that activities emitting greenhouse gases that 11-50871 28 are carried out under their jurisdiction or control do not damage other States. The case should be clear.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“But have we made progress? While sea levels have risen, emissions continue unabated. We are still without a binding agreement. This past July, the Pacific small island developing States banded together to put before the Security Council modest, achievable and prudent proposals for addressing the security threats of climate change. But our voices were drowned out by other States’ priorities. I can only agree with the views expressed in the Council by the United States: the failure of some States to acknowledge the clear-cut security implications of climate change is pathetic. However, we will not be deterred. Leaders of the Pacific States have declared that the urgent social, economic and security threats posed by climate change require action in every international forum.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“But the supreme law of our land cannot protect us from potential radiation coming from outside our borders. We fear the possibility that someday our fish may not be safe to eat and our water may not be safe to drink. And so we ask the world to redouble its efforts to eliminate the threat of nuclear radiation. Thirdly, as I speak, people are suffering from the effects of climate change. As our corals die, shores erode and waters rise, people feel helpless and hopeless. Traditionally, we would appeal for divine intervention. But this is not a problem from above; it is manmade. It poses an existential threat that exemplifies the issue of transboundary harm. Today, I regret to say that we are nowhere close to a solution. Next year will mark the twentieth anniversary of the signing of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We who live in the Pacific see the ocean as our farm, the source of our sustenance and livelihood. At the biggest-ever Pacific Tuna Conference, to be held in Palau in early December, that concept of a tuna conservation zone will be considered and applied to our region of the world. We should continue our efforts to maximize the benefits to our islands of sustainable tuna fishing in our waters. Secondly, we fear that this year undetectable amounts of nuclear radiation may have entered our territory. This is a particularly insidious form of transboundary harm. I was involved in writing Palau’s Constitution, which bans the presence of any nuclear material in our territory. We are proud to have been the first in the world to institute such a prohibition.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“The international community must find a way to make regional fisheries management organizations more accountable, so that the world can see whether countries are living up to their commitments. And global fisheries should be fair. If distant water vessels want to come to fish for our resources, they must respect our laws and those of our region. They should fish within our prescribed limits and share the mutual benefits with us in a fair and equitable manner. Fishing is not a right. It is a privilege. For too long, the exploitation of tuna has overridden efforts to conserve it. This imbalance is not sustainable and must be reversed. This should be done by creating a tuna conservation zone to make the conservation of this valuable resource paramount and to maximize the benefits to the nations in our region where tuna is harvested.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“Our ocean’s health depends on sharks, so I am delighted that earlier today several representatives of States in different parts of the world joined me to declare our shared commitment to conserving the ocean’s vast biodiversity and nurturing and protecting shark sanctuaries. But that is just the first step. Global fisheries should be sustainable. Reckless practices that harm our fisheries and threaten our food security should stop. That means that shark finning should stop. Bottom trawling, which destroys the base of the marine food web, should also stop. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reports that 85 per cent of global fish stocks are now fully or overexploited. These are the worst numbers on record.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It takes international cooperation to protect our marine resources and environment. Palau and other Pacific small island developing States have undertaken innovative measures to ensure the continued viability of our stocks. We have limited purse seine fishing, agreed to close the “donut holes” between our jurisdictions and implemented a Vessel Day Scheme. 27 11-50871 Two years ago, from this very rostrum, I announced the creation of the world’s first shark sanctuary. Since that time, countries and territories across the globe have joined Palau in this effort. Today, more than 2.7 million square kilometres of ocean are safe for sharks.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“We therefore rely on our partners, the international system and on the international rule of law to provide a remedy. I would like to speak today about three pernicious types of transboundary harm. First, I point to the state of global fisheries. Palau’s fish are among the most valuable in the world, but they are in danger. Distant water boats do not respect our borders, laws or traditions. These boats come in great numbers for tuna in the Western and Central Pacific region, where Palau is located. At present, our region’s tuna is being taken for pennies on the dollar. These boats also hunt, fin and sell sharks for a tiny fraction of what tourists will pay to see those sharks alive in our waters. Like the ocean’s currents, efforts to protect the marine environment must flow across boundary lines.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“It is an honour and a privilege to address the General Assembly once again on behalf of the people of Palau. For thousands of years, Palau was blessed by a natural bounty that sustained our livelihood and bound us together as a people. We lived in remoteness and isolation by respecting the environment and managing our natural resources for the benefit of every generation. Today, however, we find ourselves to be innocent victims of transboundary harm. Forces beyond Palau’s control, and not of our own making, are ravaging the oceans, damaging the land and reefs, threatening our way of life and, in the worst-case scenario, our very existence. Although we do our best to act responsibly and sustainably, there is only so much my country can do on its own to protect itself.”
2011-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 66 (2011)
“I therefore invite investors and entrepreneurs from all over the world to come to Palau to invest and establish partnerships with our talented people, so that we can create a vibrant economy for now and for our future.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Some of those explosives still lie there, live, and pose an extreme danger to the lives and limbs of our people. We appeal to the conscience of the world, especially those responsible, to remove this danger from our midst. As a developing nation, Palau is thankful for the grants provided to us by our allies, friends and partners. They have been invaluable. But our developing economy faces a crisis that grants alone cannot address. Without a strong local economy based on private enterprise and the free market, our young people will continue to leave our shores to pursue better employment abroad. We need more than just humanitarian grants; we need private investment to spur and sustain our economic development.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“When I began my address, I related the success story that was Palau’s emergence from trusteeship. As I wind down my remarks, I will speak candidly about our challenges. Today, Palau still feels the pain from the wounds inflicted during our colonial days. Damage was done to our islands. One, for example, was stripped of much of its resources, making it difficult for those who live there to sustain the livelihood they once enjoyed. This happened to our once phosphate- rich island of Angaur. We call on the international community for appropriate relief for this historic and lasting injury — a relief that will heal the gaping wounds on our island, ease our pain and bring justice to our people. In addition, as a result of the fierce battles fought over our islands during the Second World War, explosives were rained down on our land.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We therefore 10-54959 20 welcome all efforts to add the Middle East to the list of nuclear-weapon-free zones. The SARS pandemic shone a bright light on the gaps in our collective ability to prevent the spread of diseases internationally. With the participation of Taiwan, we can now help to fill those gaps. We congratulate the world community on making itself healthier by granting Taiwan observer status at the World Health Assembly. Given the importance of a universal approach to global problems, Palau advocates for Taiwan’s inclusion in the activities of the International Civil Aviation Organization and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The world needs its input to ensure civil aviation safety and security, and to effectively tackle climate change for the benefit of all.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Palau can only add its voice to the chorus of support for a just, comprehensive and regional solution in accordance with the Road Map, the Arab Peace Initiative and the relevant Security Council resolutions. We welcome the opportunity to actively support the process in the General Assembly this fall. Indeed, world peace hinges on peace in the Middle East. Palau also supports the efforts of the international community on disarmament and the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Palau’s was the world’s first nuclear-free Constitution, and so the elimination of nuclear weapons is of special concern to us. Having experienced the horror and devastation of war, we and our neighbours long for the day when the entire world is free of nuclear weapons.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Our position on the issue has been stated clearly and continually in the negotiation room. If we as an organization are to maintain our relevance, we must reform the Council so that its membership reflects the ever-evolving membership of the General Assembly. Palau strongly supports expanding Security Council membership, particularly by adding Japan as a permanent member. On the issue of security, Palau is hopeful that the return of Israelis and Palestinians this month to the negotiating table will bear fruit. The crucible of the world’s Abrahamic faiths should not be the land of so much turmoil. The resolution of this intractable problem is of the utmost importance so that the region and its reality may reflect its historic message of peace on Earth.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“The accelerating conflict and dislocation caused by climate events warrant an urgent response from the Security Council. We repeat our call for Security Council action on this resolution. After personally visiting the Pacific islands earlier this year, His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates, convened an historic summit between the Arab League and the Pacific SIDs. The summit was a success. Our two regions, which had never before engaged bilaterally, found a new understanding of shared goals, culture and traditions. Palau is grateful to the League of Arab States for being the first regional group to recognize the potential of the Pacific SIDs as a strong, viable and cohesive unit. We are hopeful that this is the year when we will make substantive progress on Security Council reform.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Along with other leaders of countries parties to the Naura Agreement, we limited purse seine fishing, agreed to close the doughnut holes between our jurisdictions, and implemented a vessel day scheme. These are steps which we believe are vital to ensuring the continued viability of our stocks. When Palau and other Pacific small island developing States (SIDs) joined together at the sixty- third session of the General Assembly to initiate resolution 63/281, “Climate change and its possible security implications”, we did so recognizing that not only is climate change a development issue, but has now risen to the level of a security issue. The successful adoption of resolution 63/281 by consensus was a landmark occasion for Pacific SIDs and a step forward for the international community.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Palau is doing all it can, but this work cannot stop at the boundary of any one country. We are all connected. This is why I am proud that President Lobo Sosa of Honduras and I signed this week a joint declaration calling on all other nations to stop unsustainable shark fishing. Moreover, according to scientific studies, such as that entitled “Patterns and ecosystem consequences of shark declines in the ocean”, the health of sharks is linked directly to the health of tuna. Palau and other countries rely on tuna as their principal fisheries resource, and the world community relies on it as an important food source. We must work together to ensure the continued viability of this important stock. This past year, I hosted a summit of the parties to the Nauru Agreement to take steps to ensure that tuna remains plentiful.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“For too long, we have focused our attention primarily on commercial interests. We have abused nature and must change our thinking. We must reorient our priorities to put biodiversity and the welfare of our ecosystems first. In so doing, we can serve both our long-term commercial interests and protect the natural bounty that sustains us. One issue that symbolizes the threat to our biodiversity succinctly is the fight to conserve our oceans. Last year, I declared the world’s first shark sanctuary from this podium. It was a good first step. I also advocated for an end to unsustainable, cruel and wasteful shark finning on the high seas at the resumed Review Conference on the United Nations Fish Stocks Agreement. We cannot accept the loss of 73 million sharks a year for a pot of soup.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We consider the MDGs to be a minimum, and we will continue to strive for higher goals, including the goal of combating the ever-increasing spread of non- communicable diseases such as diabetes, cancer, heart disease and obesity, which the Pacific Islands Health Officers Association has declared a regional epidemic in the Pacific. We are a small country, but blessed in many ways. I reiterate that we have risen to achieve the MDGs by caring for our God-given resources. We have put in place a system domestically to conserve and preserve our terrestrial and marine biodiversity. We have also joined with our Pacific neighbours to address the health of our oceans together through the Pacific Oceanscape programme. 19 10-54959 Palau, and indeed the entire world, is connected by a web of life that is in peril.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Palauans have always known that caring for the long-term health of the environment is the foundation of our progress and survival. With our traditions as our bedrock, I am pleased to say that Palau has virtually achieved our Millennium Development Goal (MDG) targets, according to the United Nations-sanctioned report. Palau has succeeded in achieving universal literacy, gender equality, maternal health and access to education. We have eliminated poverty and hunger and reduced child mortality to a degree comparable to even the most advanced developed countries. We thank, among others, our closest friends and allies: first the United States, then Japan and the Republic of China on Taiwan for helping us reach this point.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“This partnership was renewed on 3 September when the United States and Palau entered into a new agreement that will assist Palau in its efforts to achieve economic self- sufficiency, and for this we express our profound gratitude to the United States of America. Palau is also proud of our role in the international community, joining international conventions and meeting our international obligations. Our officers are helping to maintain peace in fragile States. We have deployed peacekeepers to Darfur, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands. For Palau, environmental sustainability is not a recent construct. Respect for the environment and its preservation is Palau’s most deeply ingrained tradition and is at the heart of our culture.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“Last September, I had the privilege of addressing this Assembly for the first time as Palau’s Head of State (see A/64/PV.7). It is an honour for me to do so once again this year. Palau’s national story is one of achievement and success. Palau was the last country to emerge from United Nations trusteeship. The Constitution of our new country incorporated the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and is a testament to the efficacy of the United Nations. The United Nations also helped us form a strong partnership with the United States of America, our former Administering Authority.”
2010-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 65 (2010)
“We note with satisfaction the decision by the People’s Republic of China to invite Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly. The health and safety of the world’s peoples are at the heart of the ideals of the United Nations. In order to further promote those ideals, we recommend that Taiwan be invited to participate meaningfully in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change coming up in Copenhagen and other international organizations and forums. We have heard the voices of world leaders from countries small and large, powerful and vulnerable. We have heard the voice of science. Let us heed those voices, fulfil our obligations to our people, now and in the next generation, and work for a strong economy and a healthy planet.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The continuing downward cycle created by their departure must be stopped, or else it will destroy the very fabric of our society. Our allies and partners can help us stop this cycle by promoting the development of private enterprise through investment in our country. We need capital and entrepreneurial expertise. I implore our allies and partners to consider providing incentives to their nationals to encourage them to invest in our islands, to come to our islands and launch partnerships with our talented people to create a viable economy. Let us once and for all put aside the fiction that we need handouts. What we need are partners and investment to help advance our economy, put an end to the out-migration of our people and propel Palau towards economic self-sufficiency.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I will therefore work for the establishment of OTEC, the Organization of Tuna Exporting Countries, and I now call on our friends in OPEC to come forward and help us to understand and obtain fair value from our threatened resource and to make tuna fishing sustainable. I come now to the economic crisis that my country is facing. As a developing nation, we are grateful for the grants provided by our allies and partners to advance our development. They have been helpful. Mr. Martínez Bonilla (El Salvador) Vice- President, took the Chair. But we must acknowledge that outright grants do not always create meaningful employment. Jobs created are illusory and temporary. In the absence of a strong local economy, our children, our most valuable resource, are leaving our shores for opportunities elsewhere.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“We call upon all nations to join us. The need to save sharks and our environment far outweighs the need to enjoy a bowl of shark’s fin soup. It is anomalous that Palau is experiencing economic difficulty while it sits in the middle of the richest fishing grounds in the world, the Pacific Ocean. We can no longer stand by while foreign vessels illicitly come to our waters to take our greatest resource, our tuna stocks, without regard for their conservation and without regard for adequate compensation to the island States that own the fishing grounds and rely on this resource. Palau believes that the best model for a regional effort to conserve our tuna resources and maximize the benefits to us is the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC).”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The sustainable fisheries resolution adopted by the General Assembly in 2007 (resolution 62/177) urged nations and regional fishery management organizations to stop trawling in sensitive areas by 2009. We have waited for compliance, which has not come, and we now renew our call for a worldwide moratorium on this practice. An equally destructive fishing practice is shark- finning. We have banned it in Palau and call upon the world to address this issue in order to save sharks from extinction. The physical strength and beauty of sharks are a natural barometer of the health of our oceans. Therefore, I declare today that Palau will become the world’s first national shark sanctuary, ending all commercial shark fishing in our waters and giving a sanctuary for sharks to live and reproduce unmolested in our 237,000 square miles of ocean.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“As Mahatma Gandhi said, “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed”. This is why the world must declare a bul on destructive fishing practices like deep-sea bottom trawling, unsustainable harvesting of shark for their fins and overexploitation of tuna stocks. The odious fishing practice of bottom trawling, where a weighted net is dragged along the sea floor, crushing nearly everything in its path, is contributing to the rapid loss of a critical ecosystem, our coral reefs. We have outlawed deep-sea bottom trawling in Palau, but, no matter what we do in our own waters, there must be an international solution. For several years, we, along with our Pacific neighbours, have advocated a 09-52463 8 moratorium on this practice.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“This is why Palau and the Pacific Small Island Developing States initiated General Assembly resolution 63/281, on “Climate change and its possible security implications”. We look forward to meaningful action by the Security Council on that resolution. Palauans have lived throughout history in symbiosis with the sea. Now, though, the sea, which has long been the source of our sustenance, is simultaneously rising in rage to destroy us and becoming barren. This fury was caused by abuses by humankind, and we therefore must take every necessary action to allow the oceans to heal themselves. In days gone by, the traditional chiefs of Palau would declare a bul — a moratorium to protect a resource that had become scarce. This traditional concept, now popularly known as conservation, shows the way for us to move forward.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Furthermore, Palau has signed the Statute of the International Renewable Energy Agency, and we look forward to the exciting work that will emanate from the United Arab Emirates. We are hopeful that the combined efforts of all our nations will lead to a fruitful outcome in Copenhagen. We note in particular the statement of the new Prime Minister of Japan, Mr. Yukio Hatoyama. Japan’s vision and commitment to save our planet are inspiring. This is one of the many reasons we support a permanent seat for Japan on the Security Council. We reiterate that climate change is indeed a cross-cutting issue and that all aspects of it, especially the security impact of climate change, need to be examined.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“Climate change, environmental degradation and the world financial crisis are challenges that we will only be able to overcome if we work with the international community. We associate ourselves with the statements of concern on climate change which we heard in this Hall earlier this week. We applaud the commitments made and note that we must use our best efforts to stop this slow-moving tsunami that threatens to engulf us. To this end, Palau and our neighbours in the Federated States of Micronesia and the Republic of the Marshall Islands have adopted a joint policy, known as Green Energy Micronesia (GEM) to move to renewable energy as a pillar of our collective energy security.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“The United States was our Administering Authority, and we express our deep appreciation to it for becoming our close partner under the Compact of Free Association, a relationship we cherish and one that we hope will endure. As a new and young Member, Palau has shouldered its responsibilities in the community of nations, including the deployment of peacekeepers to Darfur, Timor-Leste and the Solomon Islands. When signing international conventions and meeting our counter-terrorism obligations, as set forth by the Security Council, we remember and honour the legacy of the United Nations. While our political progress has been satisfactory since independence, I must report to you that we are now confronted with several looming threats to our continued peaceful way of life, and indeed to our very existence.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)
“I am speaking for the first time as Head of State. However, in 1977 I appeared with my country’s delegation before the Trusteeship Council, seeking independence. In 1994, the trusteeship ended and we took our place as a Member of the United Nations. Our independence is testament to the success of the International Trusteeship System, for which we are grateful. The legacy of our experience is a Constitution that incorporates the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: freedom, democracy, equal protection and the rule of law. We thank the permanent members of the Security Council, which recognized our sovereignty: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the French Republic, the Russian Federation, the People’s Republic of China and the United States of America.”
2009-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 64 (2009)