Ambasador's Opening Speech 2

Mr. President, Secretary General, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen, It is an honour for me, as the Ambassador of the Kingdom of Bhutan, to speak to you today about the important issues confronting humanity as we approach the end of the first decade of 21st century. For the next three days, delegates from more than sixty five countries will discuss exchange views about these various challenges that we face and among the various issues that will be in focus, my country would like to request the member nations to heed and pay special attention to the call for democracy raised by the peaceful monk protestors of Myanmar. We urge that increased pressure be put on the Myanmarese government and the countries which sustain and wield a great influence on this brutish military junta and press it to speed up the democratic process it has grudgingly promised last year after the visit of UN envoy Mr. Ibrahim Gambari and free the imprisoned democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi immediately. We would also like to urge member nations to pay close attention to issues regarding the preservation of our fragile environment and fully support resolutions on climate stress, the drafting of a comprehensive treaty on carbon emission to succeed the Kyoto Protocol, the protection of habitat of endangered species and the prevention of illegal wildlife trade. Other two issues which gravely concern us are the recent tensions over the question of Arctic Sovereignty and the Iranian Nuclear Programme. We would like to urge the concerned nations to exercise maximum restraint and engage in meaningful dialogue to reach amicable solutions which will not only be in the specific interests of the nations involved but the world as a whole. In this endeavour, as with the others that will be discussed during this General Assembly meeting, I would like to assure you all that Bhutan will do its part as a responsible member nation. Thank you very much!