Mr. President,

Check against delivery As you assume the Presidency of this 71st session of the United Nations General Assembly, I wish to recognize this historic occasion for Pacific Islanders, and express my congratulations. I also thank President Mogens Lykketoft for his leadership during the 70th session.

Mr. President,

After ten years of service, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon deserves great praise for his effective leadership, championing many issues important to Small Island Developing States (SIDS), including the political momentum to address climate change, and his push to catalyze the initial capitalization of the Green Climate Fund. Sadly, funds generously contributed have been slow in flowing to the needy states, contributing to painful delays in implementation of mitigation and adaptation projects.

Mr. President,

The Federated States of Micronesia celebrates its 25th year of membership in this organization. At the time we joined, following the end of the cold war, there was a great sense of optimism that long-standing obstacles to world peace and progress had been relegated to the past. Today, while there has been progress toward the great goals of this body, it must be said that much remains to be done:

Reform of our United Nations, most importantly our Security Council, has remained on our agenda now, for a quarter of a century, with characters from an era that needs forgetting.