PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS SIGNING OF TREATY BY MAJOR NUCLEAR POWERS SIGNALS END OF TESTING EVEN BEFORE IT COMES INTO FORCE

24 September 1996

Press Release
GA/9097

PRESIDENT CLINTON SAYS SIGNING OF TREATY BY MAJOR NUCLEAR POWERS SIGNALS END OF TESTING EVEN BEFORE IT COMES INTO FORCE

19960924 Assembly Also Hears Statements by Prime Minister of Latvia, Foreign Ministers of Russian Federation, Ireland, United Kingdom, Belgium and Croatia

President William J. Clinton of the United States told the General Assembly today that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, which he had been the first to sign this morning, was the shared reward of hard negotiation. The signatures of the world's declared nuclear Powers along with the vast majority of its nations would immediately create an international norm against nuclear testing even before the Treaty entered into force.

In his address to the Assembly, President Clinton went on to list six priority goals of his country's disarmament policy which included bringing into force the Chemical Weapons Convention, reducing the risk of an outlaw State building a nuclear device, reducing nuclear arsenals, strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency, strengthening compliance with the Biological Weapons Convention, and negotiating a worldwide ban on anti-personnel land-mines.

Mr. Clinton said the United States was paying its dues to the United Nations and was committed to paying off its accrued obligations.

Yevgeny M. Primakov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said there were three conditions for the transformation of international relations during the post-cold war period: first, that old fronts of bloc confrontation should not be replaced with new lines of division; second, the idea of leader and follower, of winners and losers of the cold war which paved the way for the establishment of a unipolar world, was an unacceptable concept to the overwhelming majority of the international community; and third, that the successful movement towards a stable peace lay in the coordinated activities of the international community.

Other speakers, including members of the European Union, joined the United States and the Russian Federation in emphasizing the significance of today's signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Responding to opponents of the Treaty, some supporters who had signed the new international instrument this morning said the agreement could only contribute to the

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promotion of the nuclear non-proliferation regime and would objectively stimulate a gradual transition to nuclear disarmament.

Dick Spring, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the continuing financial crisis at the United Nations undermined the climate of partnership and the capacity to implement current programmes. The Union recognized the need for financial reform and had proposed a comprehensive plan, including adjustments in the scale of assessments. However, all Member States were obligated to discharge their arrears and pay their assessed contributions. The European Union was determined to equip the United Nations for the tasks of a new century.

Other statements were made this morning by the Prime Minister of Latvia and the Secretary for Foreign Affairs of the United Kingdom, as well as the Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Belgium and Croatia.

The Assembly will continue its general debate at 3 p.m. today.

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to continue its general debate. Following an address by the President of the United States, the Assembly was scheduled to hear statements by the Prime Minister of Latvia, as well as by the Foreign Ministers of Ireland (on behalf of the European Union), Russian Federation, United Kingdom, Belgium and Croatia.

Statements

WILLIAM J. CLINTON, President of the United States, said that in the coming century, some nations would be tempted to fight wars for territory. But the greater menace to freedom and security would come from a nexus of new threats: rogue States, terrorists, international criminals and drug traffickers. Those forces find advantage in freedom and technological progress. They would be all the more lethal if they gained access to weapons of mass destruction. The challenge then was to seize the opportunity created by change and to move strongly and swiftly against the dangers change could bring.

Before entering the Assembly Hall, he said he had the honour to be the first to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). He thanked all those who had made the Treaty possible, particularly the Netherlands and Australia. The Treaty was the shared reward of hard negotiations. Some had criticized it for not mandating total disarmament by a certain date. They should not forsake the benefits of the achievement by ignoring the tremendous progress which had already been made. The signature of the world's declared nuclear Powers -- United States, China, France, Russian Federation and the United Kingdom -- along with those of the vast majority of its nations, would immediately create a norm against nuclear testing, even before the Treaty formally entered into force.

Some of the very changes that had made progress possible had created new risks, he continued. It was necessary to reduce global stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction and to reduce the danger that lethal materials could wind up in the wrong hands, while developing effective defences if that should happen. The United States had six priority goals to further lift the threat of weapons of mass destruction. First, people must be protected from chemical attack by bringing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and Their Destruction into force as soon as possible. "I deeply regret that the United States Senate has not yet voted on the Chemical Weapons Convention, and I want the world to know I will not let this Treaty die."

Second, he said the risk must be reduced that an outlaw State or organization could build a nuclear device by negotiating a treaty to freeze the production of fissile materials for use in nuclear weapons. Third, there

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must be a continued reduction of nuclear arsenals. Fourth, the treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) must be strengthened and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) given a stronger role. Fifth, people must be protected from those who would use disease as a weapon of war by giving the Biological Weapons Convention [Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction] means to strengthen compliance. Sixth, he appealed again for the swift negotiation of a worldwide ban on the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel land-mines.

In a time of challenge and change, the United Nations was more important than ever because the world was more interdependent than ever, he said. The turbulence of change had tempted some people -- including, unfortunately, some Americans -- to direct frustration at the outside world, and especially at the United Nations. They ignored all that the United Nations was doing to lift millions of lives -- preserving the peace, vaccinating children, caring for refugees and sharing the blessings of progress around the world. "The vast majority of Americans support the United Nations -- not only because it reflects our ideals, but because it reinforces our interests." The United States was working hard with other Members to streamline its operations and reign in its budget. For the fifty-first year in a row, the United States would be the largest financial contributor to the United Nations. He added that his country was paying its dues and hoped soon to be paying off its obligations.

Last year, he said he had asked the assembled nations to commit to zero tolerance for aggression, terrorism and lawless behaviour. That had not happened as yet. Zero tolerance meant the pressure must be kept on the rogue States and no aid, no quarter should be given to terrorists who slaughter the innocent and drug traffickers who poison children. Zero tolerance required the isolation of States that refused to play by the rules of civilized behaviour. The declaration on crime and public security, which he had proposed last year, must be adopted. It includes a sanctuary pledge. He also called on every Member State to ratify 11 international conventions that would help prevent and punish terrorism and to criminalize the use of explosives in terrorist attacks. He had requested more than $1 billion from Congress for counter-terrorism measures and the United States would target more than $100 million worth of defence equipment, services and training to a number of Latin American and Caribbean countries to help stop the flow of drugs.

ANDRIS SKELE, Prime Minister of Latvia, said the establishment of a mechanism to halt armed conflict was no closer than the ideal of a world without war. Latvia, as a member of the joint Baltic Battalion, would soon become active in United Nations peace-keeping in an effort to strengthen the overall mechanism for peace-keeping and peacemaking. Reducing the possibility of local conflicts was an important aspect of global security. International

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terrorism, illegal trade in weapons and narcotics, and the displacement of civilians were consequences that were limited to the conflict zones.

He announced that he would sign the CTBT today. The Treaty would move the world closer to peace, but efforts to control conventional weapons must continue. Latvia, which supported the Chemical Weapons Convention, was concerned that the two largest producers of chemical weapons had not yet ratified the Convention. Human rights must remain a priority for the United Nations and resources must be allocated to support human rights activities. Latvia had received invaluable assistance from the United Nations during its recent work to establish an independent institution to protect human rights.

Latvia continued its efforts to integrate into the European and global economic systems, he said. His Government was also involved in efforts to improve the work of the United Nations by supporting its restructuring and revitalization. Addressing the Organization's financial situation, he said the contributions of each Member State must reflect its capacity to pay. A new and innovative financing mechanism was necessary, the introduction of which would strengthen the currently weak financial discipline exhibited by Member States. In regard to reform of the Security Council, equitable geographic representation must be achieved, he concluded.

DICK SPRING, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister for Ireland, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said some progress had been made at the United Nations to rationalize activities in the economic and social fields and in enhancing efficiency and better management. None the less, the multilateral approach was threatened if the international community could not respond to recent challenges. A renewed commitment to collective action, guided by a strong vision and leadership, must be sustained by the political will of each Member State. The European Union remained committed to the United Nations and was determined to equip it for the tasks of a new century.

On conflict prevention and crisis management, he said existing mechanisms for mediation, conciliation and the use of good office could be more vigorously used. Post-conflict rehabilitation must be better coordinated. Support of the European Union for the peace-keeping role of the United Nations was undiminished, and as provider of the majority of personnel to current peace-keeping operations, the European Union wished to pay tribute to the memory of those peace-keepers who had given their lives.

The United Nations could not stand alone, he said, and closer cooperation and mutual support between the United Nations and regional organizations was welcome. Meetings of regional organizations convened by the Secretary-General had been important innovations.

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He noted that today, along with other members of the European Union, he had signed the CTBT. He said efforts to ban chemical and biological weapons should lead to the negotiation of a "cut-off" treaty. The European Union would focus on measures to put an end to indiscriminate killing and maiming caused by anti-personnel land-mines. Conventional arms control also required attention.

He said the Union would continue to support, materially and politically, the United Nations work on human rights. Adequate financing for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights was vital. A new global offensive against poverty was overdue and the European Union would place priority on the war against poverty and on United Nations efforts for Africa. Also, major programmes were needed to support the economic and social advancement of women.

He said the continuing financial crisis at the United Nations undermined the climate of partnership and the capacity to implement current programmes in many areas. The European Union recognized the need for financial reform and had proposed a comprehensive plan, including adjustments in the scale of assessments. However, all Member States were obliged to clear their arrears and pay their assessed contributions.

He said the European Union attached great importance to the work of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia; as its work was vital to the development of justice, confidence and democracy in the region. There must be adequate follow-up to last week's elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Speaking as Foreign Minister of Ireland, he said substantial advances had been made during the last year towards lasting peace and a comprehensive political settlement in Northern Ireland. Final agreement required the support of political representatives in both communities and the support of the majority from both parts of Ireland. The Irish Republican Army (IRA), by terminating its cease-fire last February, obligated the two Governments to cease ministerial dialogue with Sinn Fein. While Sinn Fein had a potentially valuable role to play, political dialogue was possible only in the context of democracy and non-violence. The continued support of the international community was an invaluable asset.

YEVGENY M. PRIMAKOV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation, said there were three conditions for the transformation of international relations during the post-cold war period. First, the old fronts of bloc confrontation should not be replaced with new lines of division. His country could not accept either the expansion of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) military infrastructure to the area of the former Warsaw Treaty or a transformation of that alliance into an axis of a new European system. Instead, a genuinely all-European system of

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international relations should be created. While accepting the realities of the political situation in the region, he said it was necessary to speed up the evolution of the North Atlantic alliance and its shift from the old functions of deterrence to the functions of partnership.

The threat of new lines of division also manifested itself outside of Europe, he stated. Intolerance against the extremism of certain Islamic groups should not develop into a trend to rank the entire Muslim world as enemies of modern civilization. He said his country advocated resolute opposition to extremist and terrorist forces which were especially dangerous when they enjoyed state support. No effort should be spared to prevent any State from rendering such support. It was time a universal convention, covering all States without exception, was developed within the United Nations to deny political asylum anywhere to persons engaging in terrorist activities. No sanctions, however, should be used as means to punish peoples or as an instrument to overthrow governments. In the overall maintenance of international peace and security the United Nations should use sanctions only in exceptional cases, after all other means had been totally exhausted. The United Nations system of sanctions needed modernization.

The second condition for achieving durable peace, he continued, was the "emancipation from the mentality of 'those who lead' and 'those who are led'". Such a mentality drew on illusions that some countries had emerged as winners from the cold war, while others lost. That was not the case. The mentality of leader and follower directly paved the way for the establishment of a "unipolar world". Such a world order was unacceptable to the overwhelming majority of the international community; no State wielded sufficient power to address individually a host of problems.

He said the third condition for the successful movement towards a stable peace lay in the coordinated activities of the international community. The important tasks of such action were the settlement of conflict, new steps towards the reduction of arms, strengthening of the humanitarian as well as legal components of security, and assistance to countries which experienced difficulties in their development. The priority of such a strategy was the settlement of regional and local conflicts.

He said the adoption of the CTBT was a huge step in the arms reduction process. To those who opposed it, he said the Treaty could not only contribute to the promotion of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, but would also objectively stimulate a gradual transition to nuclear disarmament on a multilateral basis.

MALCOLM RIFKIND, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, said there should be no doubt about Britain's continuing commitment to Hong Kong's future, well into the next century. As long as the promises of the Joint Declaration signed with China became

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reality, Hong Kong would have a bright future as part of China and as one of the world's leading cities. He also urged other countries to join the United Kingdom in pledging moral and material support to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). "The more we accept that international law must be the foundation of international relations, the safer we shall all be."

The world was safer today with the historic signing of the CTBT, he said. It showed how, by acting with determination and by making sacrifices, the world could reap the benefits of the end of the cold war. If the Treaty was to be fully effective, however, it must command universal support. On the question of terrorism, the United Kingdom was proposing for adoption at the current session of the Assembly, a declaration that acts of terrorism -- including the financing, planning and incitement of those acts -- were contrary to the purpose and principles of the Organization.

The Secretary of State said reform must be part of the solution to the United Nations financial crisis. There must be a thorough updating of the system of assessing contributions, so that contributions will match ability to pay. All Members must pay what they owe, and promptly. It was also important, during the coming year, to resolve the long-standing question of Security Council enlargement. The United Nations must be made fit for the new millennium.

Three months ago, the "Group of Seven" industrialized countries committed themselves to a partnership for development, he said. Both the developing and developed countries must share responsibility for creating the conditions for economic growth. For the developing countries, that meant keeping taxes low, preventing subsidies from distorting markets, keeping exports unimpeded by heavy tariffs, and allowing domestic markets to operate with little interference. For the developed world it meant removing shackles such as the debt burden, which hindered developing economies as they tried to enter the global market. Britain had suggested helping the poorest, most indebted countries through such measures as bilateral debt relief and getting the multilateral agencies to share more of the burden. Such measures needed to be implemented flexibly and soon.

The private sector was the motor of development, and the United Kingdom was the third largest source of private investment to the developing world, he said. However, investment flows were still not reaching the poorest countries. Help must primarily be targeted at creating growth with equity, developing human resources to their full potential, and giving priority to the needs of the poor. The best help the developed world could give was buying the produce of the developing world, which meant demolishing the import barriers against them. Such protectionism was not simply selfish -- it was short-sighted. "Growth and prosperity in the developing world will, over time, increase, not diminish, the wealth of the industrialized world."

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He supported the proposal by the Director-General of the World Trade Organization, that the least developed countries be granted tariff-free access to the markets of the developed world. Free trade was not just helpful to developing countries but was a global good. Cutting tariffs and other import restrictions helped developing economies by cutting the costs of production and boosting efficiency, thus promoting exports and growth. The developed world could not allow the poorest members of the world community to become marginalized. "We must do our utmost to enable all Members of the United Nations to enjoy the fruits of integration into the global economy."

ERIK DERYCKE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium, said the opening of the new Assembly session was taking place as a large number of countries were moving "on the long road to nuclear disarmament". He said that earlier today Belgium had signed the CTBT.

At the end of the present century, he continued, the world had many things to fear, among them aggression and civil war. The crises felt in rich countries could not possibly compare with the dramatic consequences of war, and of underdevelopment, which pointed to a humanitarian deficit in poorer nations. The logic of the market, he said, appeared to be an exclusionary mechanism, segregating society. Freedom of the market could not be absolute.

The world should join in efforts, means and resources to combat the calamities of modern times, including unemployment, child prostitution, organ- trading, drugs and all international criminal activities. He recalled Belgium's participation in the World Congress against Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children, and the observance next December of the International Day for the Fight against Slavery.

He said preventive diplomacy should be one of the world's top priorities. Belgium did not, nor would it ever, ignore the need to turn its attention southward, to Africa in particular. It supported convening a conference on security and stability in the Great Lakes Region. He noted the offer of support of the Western European Union, of which Belgium held the presidency, to African peace-keeping operations; the Union's fact-finding mission in Ethiopia, Tanzania, Uganda and Kenya had returned with clear results "and we intend to pursue this course of action during our Presidency".

He also expressed Belgium's wish that a special representative of the United Nations Secretary-General be appointed as soon as possible to facilitate the democratic process in Zaire, during next year's elections.

Preventive diplomacy would fail, he continued, if weapons remained available to extremist groups. Anti-personnel land-mines were particularly inhumane weapons; Belgium regretted that so little progress had been made to date on that issue.

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MATE GRANIC, Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Croatia, expressed optimism about the successful completion of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) in the Danubian region. Thanks to the General Assembly and in part to the intervention of United Nations peace-keepers, he said, countries of the former Yugoslavia were moving towards peaceful resolution of mutual problems on a bilateral basis and through regular multilateral contacts.

With Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro) now prepared to resolve their political, security and development problems on a bilateral basis, the need for the continued presence of United Nations peace-keepers had come to an end.

He said any additional extension of the UNTAES mandate in Croatia could only delay achievement of the most critical goal set out by the mission -- the return of 80,000 non-Serb refugees and displaced persons to the region. Continued lack of progress in that regard could induce internal and external instability. The pace of peaceful reintegration of the Danubian region under the present UNTAES mandate should be completed on schedule.

He said that with the signing of the normalization agreement between Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, the mission of the group of United Nations military observers stationed on the Prevlaka peninsula would become obsolete in the near future. The two countries had agreed that the matter would be addressed as a security matter and resolved based on international principles. Therefore, it would no longer be necessary to raise the question of territorial adjustment of the five-century-old boundary between Croatia and Montenegro.

Croatia's foreign and internal policy would now focus on its timely integration into European regional organizations, he added. At the same time, Croatia remained committed to the stabilization of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Croatia would continue to cooperate with the international community to that end. Croatia was prepared to recognize the results of every democratic political process between the three constituent nations and the two entities in Bosnia. It also fully supported the implementation of the Federation accords.

He said Croatia aimed not only to ensure the survival of Bosnian Croats as a constituent people, but also to avoid any situation that could lead to a threatening instability of the region. Any change to the constitutional definition of the Federation as defined by the "1-2-3 formula" outlined in the Dayton agreement -- one country, two entities, three peoples -- was unacceptable to Croatia. Likewise, any attempt to change the present entities through over-centralization of Bosnia would be unacceptable. Any territorial

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adjustment at the expense of Bosnia or its two entities would be viewed as highly detrimental to the stability of the region, as it would be considered a threat to Croatia's security.

He said that by now, Croatia had accepted the fact that, due to the needs of multilateral crisis management in the region, the standards set for Croatia in areas of democratic development were much higher than other countries in transition. Croatia reiterated its commitment to democratic values, tolerance, openness and individual rights.

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