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Statement by
H.E. Ambassador Maged Abdelaziz
Permanent Representative of the Arab
Republic of Egypt
To the United Nations
Before
The Second Committee
On
Agenda item (19): Sustainable Development
New York, 31st October 2011
Check against delivery
Mr. Chairman,
I would like to thank the Secretary General for his reports under
Agenda item (19): Sustainable development, and to associate my remarks
with the statement delivered by Argentina on behalf of the Group of 77 &
China, as well as the statement delivered by Qatar on behalf of the Arab
Group.
Mr. Chairman,
During past sessions of the General Assembly we addressed the
causes & implications of the global challenges & crises that are still
hampering growth & development. In spite of our efforts & some positive
signs, the prospects for the future are still grim. The world economy is in an
uncertain state, millions of jobs are being lost, countries are raising barriers
to free trade, and many developing economies are struggling to manage high
external debt levels. Moreover, climate change has had catastrophic
implications on patterns of food production & prices and has contributed to
the return of a devastating food crisis in the region of East Africa and
beyond.
This situation necessitate that we all reflect on how to redirect the
multilateral action into the right direction, so as to succeed in making the
transition to a more resilient world economy, one that is effectively based on
sustainable development. A more integrated approach is needed to confront
them. An approach that recognizes their interlinkages, avoids dealing with
them in separate tracks and incorporates the economic, environmental and
social aspects, so as to achieve sustainable development in all its
dimensions.
Mr. Chairman
Few months separate us from the Rio+20 Conference, which should
offer the opportunity to assess the progress made to date & the remaining
gaps in implementation. While the 1992 Rio Conference laid the foundation
of the concept of sustainable development, we hope that the Rio+20
Conference will re-launch the reinvigorated era of sustainable development
for the next 20 years and beyond, through the elaboration of an international,
long-term, action oriented agenda that would include the establishment of
clear mechanisms for follow up and evaluating the implementation of
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commitments made in all United Nations Conferences in the economic fields
and the new commitments to be made in Rio+20.
In this respect, Egypt is deeply concerned by the reluctance of
developed countries to adhere to their commitments as well as to the
previously agreed principles & objectives in the economic, social and
environmental fields. We are also alarmed by their attempts to renegotiate
those commitments agreed by consensus, as we have witnessed in recent
intergovernmental processes. Much stronger political commitment is needed
to ensure that sustainable development is achieved based on past and new
commitments.
Climate change is one of the areas where we have failed to
collectively act in a responsible & integrated manner. Egypt would like to
reiterate the position of the Group of 77 & China that the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary
intergovernmental forum for negotiating the global response to climate
change. It is important to reach an agreement on both tracks of negotiations
so as to put in place a just international system to deal with this phenomenon
on the basis of the Kyoto Protocol & the long term cooperative action
mechanism. It must also be founded on the implementation of commitments,
based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, through
joint international efforts led by developed countries, given their historical
responsibility.
Furthermore, concrete measures are needed to ensure the
implementation of the Bali Strategic Plan for Capacity Building and
Technology Transfer. Egypt is concerned by the slow pace of
implementation of this plan, which compromises the ability of developing
countries to address global challenges and achieve sustainable development.
Energy & its production is also an issue of great priority to achieve
sustainable development. We need to move urgently towards shaping a
comprehensive United Nations energy agenda that includes the creation of
an effective mechanism for the transfer of advanced energy technologies,
particularly in the field of new & renewable energy. We welcome declaring
2012 the “International Year of Sustainable Energy for All” & look forward
to the Secretary-General’s strategy in this regard.
Agriculture is becoming increasingly vulnerable to the effects of
climate change, in many ways, with change in temperature, precipitation and
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climatic variability affecting the timing and length of growing seasons and
yields, and thereby exacerbating land degradation and contributing to water
scarcity. The importance of investing in agriculture, especially sustainable
agriculture, is paramount as current agriculture technology and practices
cannot achieve the necessary increase in food production to feed a 7 billion
population without further contributing to greenhouse gas emissions, water
pollution and land degradation.
Water is also essential for achieving sustainable development and the
MDGs. Properly managing water is an essential component of growth, social
and economic development, poverty reduction and equity, as well as
sustainable environment.
Mr. Chairman,
Egypt believes that addressing land degradation, drought and
desertification should be a priority when dealing with several global policy
challenges. Dry lands and degraded lands hold the key to future food
security. Thus, fighting desertification, land degradation and drought provide
the adequate answer to many questions and help addressing many global
challenges. We cannot adapt to climate change or mitigate its effects without
resorting to Sustainable Land Management. Further, it will be impossible to
protect our planet against the loss of biodiversity, without addressing
desertification, land degradation and drought. Moreover, it will be
impossible to achieve the MDGs without fulfilling the needs of over one
billion people living in dry lands.
Desertification has its greatest impact in Africa, where large parts of
the continent are desert or dry lands. The region is afflicted by frequent and
severe droughts. This imposes difficult socio-economic conditions on
African countries. Recently, the horn of Africa region was hit by the worst
drought cycle in 60 years, which had led to starvation and the loss of crops
and livestock. The United Nations officially declared famine in the region,
where hundred thousands of people have fled their homes and crossed
borders in search of water, food or aid. This reflects well the severity of the
problem of drought and desertification and the imperative for action. In this
regard we welcome the convening of the High-Level meeting on
Desertification, Land Degradation and Drought in the context of sustainable
development and poverty eradication, on 20 September 2011.
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As we embark into the road to Rio+20 Conference, Egypt stresses the
need to put desertification as a high priority issue which must be addressed
accordingly on equal footing with climate change, biodiversity, food
security, energy, water and other challenges of global nature that require
concerted global action.
Mr. Chairman,
As stressed earlier in this statement, only an integrated approach to
sustainable development, incorporating its economic, social, and
environmental dimensions, will ensure progress in addressing the multiple
and interrelated crises and challenges we face. Egypt believes that this
should be reflected in our discussion of the Agenda Item on sustainable
development. A way to achieve is that could be the reconsideration of the
structure of this Agenda Item, so that it is not restricted to environmental
issues, and incorporates economic and social issues related to achieving
sustainable development.
Thank you.
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