Annual general debate at UN ends with popular topics

    UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 29 (Xinhua) -- The annual（每年的） general debate in the 192-member General Assembly concluded on Wednesday after six days of discourse 1 on topics ranging from the global economy to UN reform, from peacekeeping to nuclear non-proliferation（不扩散）.

    "The current international economic and financial crisis（金融危机） marks the closing of a cycle of growth and demands a new way of thinking about development," said Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro.

    "As a consequence of its highly negative impacts, the equation of market, state and society is seriously challenged, and the debate on the future of the logic 2 of economic accumulation and the rules of functioning of the system has also come into question," he said.

    Pointing out Uruguay has always been supportive of UN peacekeeping operations (PKOs) and now has 2,500 blue helmets deployed 3 around the world, however, he said Uruguay is concerned with a lack of capacity in peacekeeping missions to handle difficult international crises.

    Indian Minister of External Affairs S.M. Krishna said the expansion of terrorist threats and the proliferation of economic crises have challenged previously 4 （以前的）held notions of global governance.

    "We must, therefore, not just reaffirm the central role of the UN in global governance but restore and reinforce it reflecting contemporary realities," he said. The world body needs "urgent reform" in order to meet emerging global challenges and to that end, Krishna called for Security Council reform.

    India has been advocating for a permanent seat on the panel of 15.

    "The Security Council spends most, if not all of its time, on issues pertaining 5 to the developing world," he said.

    Since 1994, a General Assembly working group has been focusing on Security Council reform, including the issue of equitable 6 representation and expansion of membership. The Council remains 7 unchanged since its membership expanded from 11 to 15 nations in 1963, with five permanent members who hold veto power.

    Thai Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya said: "The world is divided not simply into haves and haves-not countries. but rather into haves-more and haves-less ones, into North and South.

    Thailand believes to bridge development gap global economic growth should be balanced and inclusive."He said, Thailand believes in greater South-South cooperation.

    "It is fellow developing countries that best understand what is required to help push development forwards," he said.

    "We have achieved most of the UN Millennium 8 Development Goals ( MDGs) and stand ready to share our knowledge and experience, especially in alleviating 9 poverty and improving wellbeing in other countries."The Democratic（民主的） People's Republic of Korea wants to safeguard peace and security and promote socio-economic development and common prosperity in and around the Korean peninsula, said Pak Kil Yon, DPRK vice 10 minister of foreign affairs.

    His nation's ideal for its foreign policy is "independence, peace and friendship," Pak said. It is "the long-cherished desire" of the entire Korean nation to put an end to the history of disgraceful division forced upon by foreign forces and to live peacefully on a reunited island, Pak said.

    DPRK still opposes nuclear war, nuclear arms race and nuclear proliferation, he said. "The denuclearization of the Korean peninsula is the policy goals maintained consistently by the government of the DPRK for peace and security in Northeast Asia and the denuclearization of the world.""As already clarified, our nuclear weapons are not a means to attack or threaten others, but a self-defensive deterrent 11, to all intents and purposes, to counter aggression 12 and attack from outside," said the vice foreign minister.

    DPRK is willing to join in international efforts for nuclear non-proliferation and safe management of nuclear material, he said.

    Ambassador Jorge Valero of Venezuela said the world organization "reflects the existing and unjust power relationships in the world," and must be reformed.

    "This forum 13 -- as it is today -- helps to reproduce those unjust relations inherited from the Second World War, becoming more exclusive and authoritarian 14 as neo-liberal globalization advances," Valero said.

    He said the permanent and non-permanent seats of the Security Council should be increased to include more developing countries.

    Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia called on the world organization to work towards a peaceful Middle East free of nuclear weapons.

    Churkin said freeing the Middle East of the threat of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs) should be a high priority.

    "It is necessary to continue efforts towards an international conference in 2012 on the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and other WMDs and their means of delivery in the Middle East pursuant to the decision of the NPT (Nuclear Non- Proliferation Treaty) Review Conference," Churkin said.(本文由在线英语听力室整理编辑)