SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES VALUE OF UN AS FORUM AND MECHANISM TO ADDRESS GLOBAL ISSUES IN ADDRESS TO RIO BRANCO INSTITUTE IN BRASILIA
Press Release
SG/SM/5902
SECRETARY-GENERAL STRESSES VALUE OF UN AS FORUM AND MECHANISM TO ADDRESS GLOBAL ISSUES IN ADDRESS TO RIO BRANCO INSTITUTE IN BRASILIA
19960229 ADVANCE TEXT Following is a text of Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali's address to the Rio Branco Institute in Brasilia on 29 February 1996:It is a great pleasure for me to be here in Brasilia. I am especially pleased to have this opportunity to address the Rio Branco Institute.
In this new era of international diplomacy, the world has come to rely upon the high quality of Brazil's contribution. Your professionalism, your determination, and your unique perspective are a remarkable asset for the international community. In deploying these assets for the advancement of humanity as a whole, Brazil has demonstrated the grandeur of spirit that is the hallmark of a great nation.
Brazil's commitment to the United Nations has been strong and practical. In 1992, Brazil hosted the United Nations Conference of the Environment, and Brazilian diplomacy was one of the keys to Rio's success. One year latter, in Vienna, Brazil was again instrumental in helping to forge a global consensus on the vital question of human rights.
Last year, the General Assembly confirmed my nomination of Rubens Ricupero as Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). I also wish to acknowledge the indispensable efforts of my Special Envoy for the Guatemala Peace Process, Gilberto Schlittler. They are but two of many Brazilians who have served the United Nations with honour, and with distinction.
Since 1957, 1,156 Brazilians have participated in United Nations peace-keeping operations. We honour their service, and we honour the memory of the nine Brazilians who have lost their lives in the cause of peace.
It is especially fitting therefore, that I begin my remarks in recalling the efforts of the United Nations in Angola, in Cambodia, El Salvador, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Namibia -- I begin with these names because I wish to mention some successes of the United Nations. When the news is primarily
about the crisis of the day, long-term achievements are too easily overlooked. The challenges of the post-cold war era make one thing clear. The need for international cooperation through which States can serve both their own and their common interests, is now greater than ever before.
Enhancing peace, achieving progress towards development, promoting human rights, advancing international law -- these were the goals of those who created the United Nations 50 years ago. They are the goals of today. The United Nations helps its Member States achieve these objectives in ways that no other institution can. Let me mention four:
One, in the United Nations, Member States have a unique forum for dialogue and forging consensus.
The cause of democracy has found a home in the United Nations. A new international consensus has been created. Broad support has been mobilized. Advocates of democracy have used the high political visibility of the United Nations to gain commitments, and win wider support. The impact has been felt on the ground, not just in theory.
In January 1992, shortly after I became Secretary-General, the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division was established. To date, the United Nations has provided electoral assistance to over 60 countries worldwide. Starting with education about elections, the United Nations role has also included logistics, observations and verification of elections. In some countries the entire organization and operation of the elections has been a United Nations responsibility.
But holding elections is often only the beginning of democratization. In the past, countries willing to support elections were reluctant to go further. But the United Nations has served as a forum for consensus on the need to create a culture of democracy. Today, the United Nations supports democratization through drafting constitutions, strengthening human rights laws, enhancing judicial structures, and helping armed opposition movements transform themselves into political parties.
Last year, at the request of the General Assembly, I reported on ways in which the United Nations can provide support for new or restored democracies. Soon, I will present a companion to my Agenda for Peace, and Agenda for Development -- entitled An Agenda for Democratization. Democratization is a new task for the United Nations. But the United Nations is already at the forefront in helping countries worldwide make their way toward democracy. Brazil, by your example, and by your leadership, must continue to be a strong voice for this most important endeavour.
The recent violent overthrow of the elected government in Niger has global meaning. International principles vindicated in Haiti must not today be
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compromised in Niger. I have condemned the overthrow of the elected government of Niger in the strongest terms. I do so again today.
Two, in the United Nations, Member States have a unique vehicle for facilitating international agreement.
Through the United Nations, States have been able to reach agreement on issues that long defied resolution. The lengthy negotiations that achieved the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is an example. The search for a common law for the oceans is as old as seafaring itself. The Convention produced a new international framework for managing marine resources. It specified the rights and duties of States seeking to exploit the wealth of the sea. It gained agreement on complex issues of navigation. It formulated uniform rules for the high seas. Accomplished through the United Nations, the Law of the Sea Convention stands as one of the great accomplishments of this century.
The negotiations at the United Nations over the extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty are another example of the United Nations in use. It was in the United Nations General Assembly that the idea of a nuclear non-proliferation treaty first gained momentum, and acquired acceptance. The Treaty is a centrepiece of international security. Its importance cannot be overemphasized. The Treaty has been vital in the effort to stem the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and reduce arsenals. The agreement reached at the United Nations last year to extend the Treaty indefinitely is an important success for the United Nations, and for the interests of all States.
The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, are just two of the many agreements negotiated and concluded within the framework of the United Nations. These agreements help make the world better and safer. They are a contribution to our common future.
Three, in the United Nations, Member States have a means to deal with global problems beyond the control of any one State, acting alone.
The globalization of markets, the breakdown of political barriers, the exploitation of technology -- all have created new opportunities. But they have also created new challenges. Governments increasingly recognize the frustration of conducting a national policy in the face of global forces. And new threats -- such as terrorism, pollution and climate change, drug trafficking and money-laundering, the spread of diseases, the mass movement of people across borders -- all defy local solution.
Through the United Nations Member States can address global problems and advance their collective interests. An example is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, agreed to at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. This landmark Convention launched a global process of cooperation to keep
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greenhouse gases within safe limits. The United Nations provides the home for multiple environmental conventions of great importance to Member States: these include conventions on biological diversity, on hazardous wastes, trade in endangered species, and the agreement to control substances that deplete the ozone layer.
Last year the World Summit on Social Development in Copenhagen addressed poverty, unemployment and social breakdown. These are old problems -- traditionally the responsibility of each nation to solve on its own, for its own people. Today they are also recognized as global problems, which require global effort. At Copenhagen a start was made towards combined and effective action across borders.
The effects of environmental degradation, or terrorism, or organized crime, or social decay can cross national boundaries. But when this happens it is not possible to rely -- as it would be in an individual country -- on a common legal framework, on uniform regulatory controls, or on the powers of a national government. International cooperation is the only effective answer. Facilitating international cooperation is why the United Nations is needed. It is why the United Nations exists.
Four, in the United Nations, Member States have a mechanism for sharing burdens and responsibilities.
The United Nations was not established as a substitute for individual action by Member States. But in some cases it can provide useful alternatives to such action. In other cases it can be a valuable supplement to unilateral action. When emergencies arise, Member States may choose to respond on their own. They may choose to act as part of a coalition. And they may choose to act through the United Nations.
With or without the United Nations, countries with the capacity to do so, can act unilaterally when they wish. In the United Nations, the veto power guarantees this. The cold war demonstrated it. The United Nations can act only where it is allowed to act. But where interests are shared, and where the costs and burdens of action can also be shared -- why not do so? Through the United Nations all States share in the duties and benefits, the United Nations can be a cost effective way to contain regional conflict, promote democracy and human rights, contain refugee flows, and bring stability to troubled regions.
If the United Nations is not used, Member States would have fewer options when emergencies arise. Often, they would have to act unilaterally. Or they may not be able to act at all. If the United Nations is not used, States with the capacity to act on a global scale would face far greater pressures to act alone to solve humanitarian catastrophes, potentially destabilizing conflicts, or aggression in a multitude of forms. They would have to bear far greater burdens. The responsibility would fall on such a State. The costs, entirely so.
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Worldwide, in the aftermath of the cold war, there is renewed debate over the meaning of international commitments, and the extent of international responsibilities. Ultimately, I believe the issue is one of community -- creating a community, maintaining a community, participating in a community. In many places today, citizens lament the loss of community in their daily lives. Today, crimes are committed in full view. Some turn away, others pretend not to notice, many simply observe and keep quiet.
As social ills have become more visible, many have sought refuge behind higher and higher walls. Many have become emotionally detached from their fellow citizens. And international affairs, many have scorned the concept of international community. Increasingly, we hear that far-away problems need not, should not, concern us. Many advocate, and many congratulate themselves for not getting involved.
The carnage in Liberia was dismissed as someone else's problem. The fight to restore democratic government to Haiti was dismissed by some as someone else's struggle. A mentality of detachment threatens to become a new model for international relations.
As individuals, we must decide -- What are our responsibilities? What is our role? On what basis do we wish to interact? Member States must decide the answers to these same questions. The choices made will shape the local communities in which we live. And they will determine the nature of the international environment in which we must coexist.
The United Nations is not, and could never become, a global government. It is not an institution for the redistribution of wealth from rich to poor nations. It is not a strong bureaucracy with an agenda of its own. It is not a sub-contracting agency for international security. It has zero military capability outside the authority and the forces which Member States provide.
But the United Nations is the only machinery we have for collective cooperation among all nations. It is the only global tool for promoting peace and security. It is the only worldwide institution for furthering development. It is the only universal mechanism for protecting human rights. It is the only shared framework for strengthening international law.
Therefore, let me end as I began -- with the human rights mission in Guatemala, with the elections in South Africa, and with peace and democracy in Mozambique. In working to address our shortcomings, let us also remember these successes.
I appreciate this opportunity to speak with you. I wish you success. I am convinced that your success, will be our success.
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