At the outset, Mr. Minister, I would like to welcome your presence in the Chair at this important meeting.

First of all, I would like to say something on the substance of the declaration and its key terms.

At the outset, I would like to extend our gratitude to the Romanian Presidency of the Council for the month of October 2005.

Mr. MINE (Japan) Mr. President, at the outset I would like to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency.

Mr. STREULI (Switzerland) (translated from French) Mr. President, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your appointment as President of this Conference.

President Gašparovič At the outset, allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session.

Mr. Grigore (Republic of Moldova) At the outset, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Motoc (Romania) (spoke in French) Permit me at the outset to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this important meeting today.

Mr. Litavrin (Russian Federation) (spoke in Russian) At the outset, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as Chairman of the Disarmament Commission.

At the outset, I would like to thank President Møse, President Pocar and Prosecutors Del Ponte and Jallow for their reports.

Mr. Gill (India) At the outset, please allow me to express our deep appreciation to the President of the General Assembly for his introductory remarks.

Mr. Kingibe At the outset, may I welcome the remarks that the Special Representative of the Secretary General just made regarding Darfur.

President Duarte Frutos (spoke in Spanish) At the outset, I would like to express the condolences of the people of Paraguay over the tragedy caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. Calderón (Peru) (spoke in Spanish) At the outset, I express to you, Mr. Chairman, my delegation's satisfaction at seeing you leading the Committee's discussions.

Mr. Kuchinsky (Ukraine) I would like at the outset to congratulate you, Madam, on the successful and productive Danish presidency of the Security Council this month.

Mr. Adamia (Georgia) At the outset, I would like to express my delegation's congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as the Chairman of the First Committee.

Mr. Erwa (Sudan) (spoke in Arabic) At the outset, I should like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council at this very historic time for my country.

Mr. Menon (Singapore) Mr. President, at the outset, I would like to thank you for having convened this resumed session of the fifty ninth General Assembly.

Ms. Kawaguchi (Japan) At the outset, Sir, I wish to say how pleased I am to participate in this Council meeting today held under your presidency.

Ms. Lintonen (Finland) At the outset, I would like to convey my delegation's deep condolences to the families of the victims of the bomb attacks that occurred yesterday in Jordan.

Mr. Rock (Canada) Let me say at the outset how much the Government of Canada appreciates the opportunity to take part in this discussion today.

First, however, allow me, Madam President, to take this opportunity to extend the appreciation of my delegation for the convening of this meeting in connection with the subject of post conflict peacebuilding.

Mr. Idohou (Benin) (spoke in French) I would like at the outset to pay tribute to the humanitarian aid workers for their inestimable efforts to halt the humanitarian crisis in Darfur and elsewhere in Africa.

Mr. Abel (Brazil) (spoke in Spanish) I should like at the outset to acknowledge the young people of Brazil and my colleagues from the National Youth Secretariat, who are joining in our work via the Internet.

Ms. Smith (Australia) Please allow me to begin by again extending the Australian Government's condolences to the people affected by the South Asian earthquake, particularly in Pakistan.

Mr. Alkatiri (Timor Leste) At the outset, I would like to express the solidarity of the Timorese people with the victims of Hurricane Katrina and with the people and the Government of the United States.

Mr. Dauth (Australia) At the outset, let me affirm our full support for the statement delivered by my friend the representative of Samoa on behalf of the Pacific Islands Forum.

Mr. Ramírez (Paraguay) (spoke in Spanish) I would like at the outset to welcome the efforts made so far to fulfil the commitments undertaken in the Monterrey Consensus of March 2002.

Mr. Meyer (Canada) Let me first join others in extending our deep condolences and sympathy with regard to the victims of the natural disasters in South Asia and Central America.

Mr. Gallegos Chiriboga (Ecuador) (spoke in Spanish) I wish at the outset to extend to you, Sir, the most cordial congratulations of the Government and people of Ecuador on Argentina's well deserved election to the Council.

Mr. Chaabani (Tunisia) (spoke in French) At the outset I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Secretary General of the United Nations for his comprehensive reports on fisheries and on the oceans and the law of the sea.

President Fox (spoke in Spanish) I should like at the outset to express Mexico's sincere condolences to the people and the Government of the United States for the tragic loss of life and material damage caused by Hurricane Katrina.

Mr. PARK (Republic of Korea) Mr. President, at the outset, I would like to pay tribute to your tireless efforts to enable the CD to get back to the commencement of substantive work.

Mr. Vassilakis (Greece) I would first like to thank you, Mr. President, for convening today's meeting on the very serious subject of small arms and light weapons.

Mr. Park Hee Kwon (Republic of Korea) At the outset, on behalf of my delegation, allow me to thank Judge Shi Jiuyong, President of the International Court of Justice (ICJ), for his lucid introduction to the Court's report.

Mr. Mayoral (Argentina) (spoke in Spanish) At the outset, Mr. President, I should like to thank you for convening today's open debate to discuss this important item at the request of the countries members of the League of Arab States.

President Bakiev (spoke in Russian) At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the important post of President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth anniversary session and to wish you every success in your responsible and difficult task.

Mr. Zhang Yishan (China) (spoke in Chinese) At the outset, I wish to thank you, Sir, for arranging this meeting, which gives us the opportunity to exchange views on the issue of small arms and light weapons.

Mr. De La Sablière (France) (spoke in French) I would like at the outset to thank Ambassador Denisov, Chairman of the Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), for his report, and to say how much we appreciate his work as Chairman of the Committee.

President Ahmadinejad (spoke in Farsi English text provided by the delegation) At the outset, I wish to express my appreciation to the Secretary General and my pleasure at participating in this gathering of colleagues, heads of State and Government, and representatives.

Mr. Kafando (Burkina Faso) (spoke in French) I should like at the outset, on behalf of my delegation, to join previous speakers in expressing to you, Sir, heartfelt congratulations on your election to the chairmanship of the Committee.

Mr. Al Bader (Qatar) (spoke in Arabic) At the outset, I would like to apologize on behalf of Ambassador Al Nasser, who is unable to make this statement as he had to travel outside of the United States.

Mr. Mekdad (Syrian Arab Republic) (spoke in Arabic) I should like, first of all, to thank you, Mr. President, for having convened this meeting to consider the tragic effects of the natural disaster that struck South Asia and South East Asia. We would also like to thank the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the current Chairman of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, for having taken the initiative to call for this meeting on what is known worldwide as the tsunami disaster.

Mr. Le Luong Minh (Viet Nam) At the outset, on behalf of the delegation of Viet Nam, I wish to express to you, Mr. President, and to your staff our great appreciation for your swiftness in reconvening this session of the General Assembly.

Mr. Sumaida'ie (Iraq) (spoke in Arabic) At the outset, I join preceding speakers in condemning the 9 November terrorist attacks in Amman, which killed and injured dozens of innocent civilians.