Partnerships vital to meeting global challenges, European nations tell UN

Cooperation among nations is essential to tackling challenges ranging from development to climate change, top officials of European nations said today at the General Assembly’s annual high-level segment as it entered its second day.

Finnish President Tarja Halonen spotlighted the needs and vulnerabilities of small island developing States (SIDS) in the face of global warming.

“Climate change is hard reality to them,” she said in her address to the Assembly. “Mitigating and adapting to its effects is crucial for their survival.”

Ms. Halonen asserted her country’s commitment to reaching a new, ambitious climate agreement to meet Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s “50-50-50” challenge.

By 2050, he said earlier this month, the world’s population will have grown by almost 50 per cent, and global greenhouse gas emissions will have to be slashed by half by that year if climate change is to be kept in check.

“In order to reach our goals, we must mobilize all available resources,” the Finnish leader said. “Cooperation to tackle climate change must involve States, NGOs [non-governmental organizations], the private sector and fellow global citizens.

Appointed by the Secretary-General, Ms. Halonen, together with South African President Jacob Zuma, co-chairs the newly-created United Nations High-Level Panel on Global Sustainability.

That 21-member body, which seeks to find a solution to challenge of lifting people out of poverty while promoting sustainable development, had its first meeting earlier this month.

Also underscoring the need for cooperation to find solutions to global problems today was President Pál Schmitt of Hungary.

The recent economic and financial crisis have plunged millions into poverty, while catastrophes such the Haiti earthquake and floods in Pakistan have claimed many lives, he said.

The growing number of disasters underlines the need for prevention, preparedness and risk reduction activities, while efforts to promote sustainable economic growth are also essential.

“Hungary believes that in order to achieve success and effectively meet the needs of vulnerable or disadvantaged groups amidst these turbulent times, a partnership-based approach is to be adopted in this regard,” he said.

Countries gathered at UN Headquarters in New York earlier this week to reaffirm their commitment to achieving the eight Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their target date of 2015.

President Filip Vujanovic of Montenegro stressed the need for cooperation in combating terrorism. “Montenegro is of the opinion that only through coordinated efforts of the international community can global terrorism be efficiently defeated,” he said. “We support various UN documents on fight against corruption, organized crime, illicit traffic in narcotic drugs and trafficking in human beings.”

On attaining the MDGs he said Montenegro supported partnership relations between the European Union and Africa, as well as efforts undertaken with a view to solving development challenges and eradication of poverty on the African continent.

Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn of Luxembourg told the Assembly today that his country welcomes the renewed pledges to fight poverty.

“The establishment of a true partnership for development is based upon shared responsibilities for both donor and recipient countries,” he said.

The official added that developed countries must promote good governance, the rule of law, capacity-building and development ownership, while for their part, wealthier nations must fulfil their aid commitments, especially for Africa.

In his address to the Assembly, Latvian President Valdis Zatlers underscored the “irreplaceable” role the UN plays in maintaining international peace and security.

“We must continue to work with all the means at our disposal to create a more stable world,” he said.

This year marks Latvia’s 20th anniversary of freedom after five decades of Soviet occupation, Mr. Zatlers said.

The country’s experience “show that it is possible to overcome even the deepest of divisions,” he said, adding that “while honouring our history, we can extend a hand of cooperation and look into the future with hope.”

For his part, President Toomas Hendrik Ilves of Estonia stressed that “the credibility of the UN in the promotion of peace and security rests on the commitment of all Member States,” with all countries sharing the responsibility to refrain from any threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State.

On Georgia, Mr. Ilves called for the continuation of talks co-chaired by the UN, the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to peacefully resolve the “drawn-out conflict.”

Romania’s Prime Minister, Emil Boc, told world leaders gathered at UN Headquarters that his country continues to be concerned with protracted conflicts in the extended Black Sea area and the South Caucasus.

“While solutions to these conflicts continue to be explored in the agreed formats, they must also be monitored by the larger UN membership, as a way to encourage dialogue and to ensure that developments remain in the boundaries of international law and UN resolutions,” he said.