Prime Minister Joseph Muscat in his first address to the General Assembly of the United Nations this evening insisted that irregular immigration, human trafficking and modern-day slavery were everyone’s problem and they needed regional and global solutions.

He focused a major part of his speech on the Millennium Development Goals and said the poor did not have the luxury of time to await decisions.

"Humanity cannot wait for a better time when there is no financial crisis. We, the international community, need to forge ahead with dogged determination to reach all our goals."

Malta, he said, had a long history of solidarity with other nations.

"Our accession to the European Union took this solidarity a step further and my country assumed responsibilities and obligations in the context of overseas development assistance with developing countries. This remains a cornerstone of Malta’s external relations and we remain firmly engaged to seek the eradication of poverty and the sustainable development of societies in need. We are proud to form part of the EU which is the world’s largest donor of development aid worldwide and we are committed to reach the goals that we have set and to be a reliable partner for those in need."

Equally, he said, he was proud to recall that this year marks 25 years since Malta proposed to the UN that the conservation of climate should be part of the common concern of mankind, a concept that launched the process leading to the United Nations climate change convention.

"Malta is proud to have been at the forefront of that discussion and we are adamant to keep this issue alive for we are conscious of the fact that climate change hits hardest the world’s most vulnerable."

MIGRATION

Malta also saw the need to act in other ways.

"When rickety boats laden with irregular migrants reach our shores, we see the suffering and the loss of dignity etched on these people’s faces. We understand that they are caught in a web of poverty and exploitation. We feel for those fleeing persecution and poverty, in search of safety and prosperity. And we do everything we can to provide them with the help they need, offering refuge and respite.

"Yet Malta cannot do this alone. The international community must do more in the face of this ongoing situation that is nothing but tragic evidence of our global failures."

"Irregular immigration, human trafficking and modern-day slavery are everyone’s problem. And we all have to share in solving it, not only regionally but also globally."

NO DEVELOPMENT GOALS WITHOUT PEACE

Dr Muscat said there could be no sustainable development goals without peace, without fighting corruption, without respect for human rights and without economic equity.

"The news headlines may not shock us anymore but those living in fear of their lives and those of their families, do not live to make the news. They look to survive. Whether scrapping for food or sheltering from bullets, whether hiding daughters from falling victims to rape as a tool of war or keeping sons from being forcibly recruited as child soldiers, millions of people all over the world live dreading tomorrow. Each day they die a little bit more.

And we do bear responsibility for this, for not safeguarding their sense of belonging as equal human beings on this earth. Malta firmly believes that the United Nations can and must do more to safeguard human dignity and to stir the conscience of humanity. No undertaking can be as fundamental as addressing the needs of the peoples of the world and no organisation is better placed to see to this than the United Nations."

ARAB SPRING

Referring to the Arab Spring, he said more could be done by the community of nations to support the fragile democracies that were struggling to take root where dictators formerly ruled. More could and should be done to ensure that the economies of the region were able to flourish, intra-regional trade supported, and cultural exchanges fostered. And more needed to be done to stop the violence and bloodshed.

Referring to Syria, he said the world needed to act to stop this wildfire.

"We need to stop the further descent into brutality and carnage. And those responsible must be brought to international justice."

Watch the speech above or read the full text by clicking on the pdf below.