His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam delivers a titah during the General Debate of the 70th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly. | INFOFOTO
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA: His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah ibni Al-Marhum Sultan Haji Omar ‘Ali Saifuddien Sa’adul Khairi Waddien, Sultan and Yang Di-Pertuan of Brunei Darussalam said that preventive diplomacy is a cost-effective means of addressing conflicts and certainly an integral part of conflict prevention efforts,©BRUDIRECT.COM reported.
Delivering a titah during the General Debate of the 70th Session of the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, His Majesty said this is a long-term process and a worthwhile investment in which the UN has made some headway.
Citing World Bank figures, His Majesty said the average cost of a civil war is equivalent to more than 30 years of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth for a medium-sized developing country.
His Majesty also said the cost of peacekeeping during and after a civil war is also extremely high and that above all, it is impossible to place a value on the loss of lives.
The General Debate session was held at the General Assembly Hall, United Nations Headquarters Building, New York, the United States of America.
His Majesty said the UN’s existence for the last 70 years is testament to its relevance. It has become the world body that its members look up to on all aspects of humanity, and it has no equal.
The UN was established in 1945 in the wake of the mass destruction brought about by the World War II, where restoring peace and security was its main focus.
His Majesty added that today, the UN’s mandate has grown to include emerging challenges and evolving threats, such as the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, climate change, pandemic diseases, terrorism, and violent extremism. As part of a comprehensive global mandate, the UN has also been tasked to address multi-dimensional socio-economic matters.
His Majesty also said the UN is not a panacea for all the world’s woes, but added that this has not diminished the organisation’s overall success. His Majesty thereby commended the role of all the UN agencies in their valuable work to improve people’s lives around the world.
His Majesty lauded the successful containment of pandemic diseases – which posed a serious threat to the world’s population – as one profound achievement of the UN. In 1980, the World Health Organisation (WHO) succeeded in completely eradicating smallpox, and more recently worked with affected countries to contain the breakout of MERS and Ebola.
His Majesty said that over the years, UN humanitarian workers and peacekeepers had risked their lives to carry out their work, with some losing their lives in the line of duty.
His Majesty added that these brave individuals would always deserve the highest respect for their commitment and sacrifice to make the world a safer place.
His Majesty further stated that, with a membership of 193, the expectations will inevitably be high on the effectiveness of the UN in addressing the ever-increasing issues that affect the lives of the people it represents.
His Majesty was thereby pleased that the UN’s new development agenda embraced most, if not all, of such concerns.
His Majesty said the inclusiveness of the Post-2015 Development Agenda signified the trust and faith that the member states have in the UN.
His Majesty said it was therefore important for the member states to fulfil their national and collective responsibilities to implement such an agenda, and to realise their peoples’ hopes and dreams for a better life.
His Majesty said that Brunei Darussalam’s admission into the UN in 1984 was a global endorsement of its sovereignty and territorial integrity as a fully independent nation. Brunei Darussalam has since benefitted extensively from this membership.
His Majesty further said the UN had provided Brunei Darussalam with a platform to enhance its bilateral and multilateral relations with its friends and partners. Through the UN, Brunei Darussalam had also been able to demonstrate its unwavering commitment to the maintenance of peace, stability and development.
His Majesty pointed out that Brunei Darussalam firmly believes that tolerance, compassion and social harmony are essential for lasting peace and security. This had resulted in the close-knit community its people enjoy to this day. His Majesty emphasised that such values have been the foundation of the country’s stability and prosperity, which has provided an enabling environment for development.
With regards to the Southeast Asian region, His Majesty said the Asean member states’ shared principles of territorial integrity, non-interference, consensus, the rule of law and good governance guide their efforts towards closer cooperation for peace, stability and prosperity.
His Majesty also said it is these national and regional experiences which constituted Brunei Darussalam’s contribution to the UN as part of the multilateral process.
It was through the UN that His Majesty envisioned the creation of a caring global community with similar values and principles, which can unleash its member states’ potential to work and achieve greater things together.
To bring the nations closer together, His Majesty called for the nurturing of more cultural exchanges to foster greater understanding and empathy with one another to enable member states to live as a family of nations.
In such manner, the nations may be able to prevent new conflicts from happening and better utilise resources for socioeconomic development.
His Majesty further said UN member states highly valued the important work of the Good Offices of the Secretary-General, Special Envoys and Resident Political Missions as some of the key tools of preventive diplomacy. However, more could be done to enhance conflict prevention.
His Majesty agreed with the Secretary-General’s view that, to move forward, the UN members have to strengthen the partnerships between the UN and regional or sub-regional organisations.
Such organisations have a unique influence and easier access to crisis situations in their respective regions, where the UN should be able to leverage on this strength to diffuse tension before they escalate into conflict.
His Majesty highlighted that through the Asean Regional Forum (ARF), Asean member states along with other member participants had long worked together towards creating an atmosphere of trust and confidence.
Two years ago, the Asean member states adopted a work plan on preventive diplomacy, and its implementation had made significant progress and contributed towards the maintenance of peace and security in the region.
His Majesty thanked the UN for the coaching and training programmes to help Asean implement the plan.
His Majesty believed that the UN was in the best position to promote the necessary cooperation and partnership based on mutual respect, understanding and tolerance, which can prevent wars and conflicts, religious persecutions, violent ideological confrontations, and terrorism. Since its previous gathering, the UN had witnessed the tragic loss of life caused by terrorist acts in various parts of the world.
His Majesty said such acts were unacceptable, and Brunei Darussalam joined others in condemning terrorism, and in rejecting extremism and radicalism. His Majesty reiterated Brunei Darussalam’s support for all efforts by the international community to prevent and eliminate all forms of terrorism.
In this regard, Brunei Darussalam also supported intercultural dialogues amongst peoples of different religions and cultures, and initiatives such as the Alliance of Civilizations; Global Movement of Moderates; King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Centre for Interreligious and Intercultural Dialogue; World Against Violence and Violent Extremism; and the Summit on Countering Violent Extremism.
His Majesty said it was crucial for the UN member states to address the root causes of terrorism and extremism in a comprehensive manner. They needed to ensure that irresponsible parties did not exploit the despair and suffering of others to fuel their own extremist agendas. His Majesty said this was why the member states needed to resolve the plight of the Palestinian people, which remains the core of conflict in the Middle East.
His Majesty further said Palestinians had been struggling to achieve self-determination for more than 60 years, with a lasting peaceful solution long overdue.
In this regard, His Majesty was pleased to see that Palestine had been accepted as a member in various international bodies, and this was reflected in the historic decision of the General Assembly to have the flag of Palestine flying proudly together with flags of other sovereign and independent nations. These positive developments should contribute towards attaining recognition for the rights of the Palestinian people to statehood.
His Majesty ended the titah by reiterating Brunei Darussalam’s commitment to continue working with others to ensure that the UN remains a strong force for peace, security and human rights.
After all, the success of the United Nations lies in its own collective efforts that form the true strength of the organisation.
Accompanying His Majesty were Pehin Orang Kaya Laila Setia Dato Seri Setia Awang Haji Abdul Rahman bin Haji Ibrahim, Second Minister Finance at the Prime Minister’s Office; Pehin Orang Kaya Pekerma Dewa Dato Seri Setia Lim Jock Seng, Second Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade; and Dato Paduka Haji Abdul Ghafar bin Haji Ismail, Permanent Representative of Brunei Darussalam to the United Nations.