SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, UN REGIONAL GROUPINGS AND GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED AS ASSEMBLY GENERAL DEBATE CONTINUES
Press Release
GA/9314
SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM, UN REGIONAL GROUPINGS AND GEOPOLITICAL REALITIES AMONG ISSUES ADDRESSED AS ASSEMBLY GENERAL DEBATE CONTINUES
19970929 Great Powers Want UN 'Just Credible' To Be Instrument of Their Will, Singapore Says; Egypt Qualified To Be Council Permanent Member, It StatesThe root cause of the stalemate on Security Council reform was that no great Power was willing to submit its own vital interests to United Nations jurisdiction, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, S. Jayakumar, told the General Assembly this morning as it continued its general debate.
The great Powers did not want a strong United Nations, but one that was just credible enough to serve as an effective instrument of their will and policy, he stated. Crucial ambiguities in their positions would continue to hold up progress unless clarified. Prospects for further progress on Council reform were not good and should not be linked to the Secretary-General's critically important managerial, administrative and structural reforms.
Also addressing Security Council reform, Egypt's Minister for Foreign Affairs, Amre Moussa, said while his country was committed to complying with all Organization of African Unity (OAU) agreements, the rotation criteria needed to include the degree of present and future economic development, history, and the geographic location and size of a country's population. Egypt's regional and international contributions in Africa, the Arab and Islamic worlds, the Middle East region, as well as towards developing countries and emerging economies, qualified it to shoulder the responsibilities of permanent membership in an expanded Council.
The Permanent Representative of New Zealand, Michael Powles, said United Nation regional groupings should be revised to reflect current geopolitical realities. It was anomalous that his country's Pacific neighbours, co-members of the South Pacific Forum, belonged to the Asian Group, while New Zealand, for historical reasons, belonged to the Western European and Other Group. Developments in other regions would result in further anomalies in the present structure.
The Prime Minister of Saint Kitts and Nevis, Denzil Douglas, said his Government would not support United Nations restructuring which merely
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transferred resources from one organ to another without proper safeguards to ensure efficiency and accountability. Reforms would have to balance and protect the interests of all Member States and not simply appear to reward or benefit a privileged few.
Statements were also made by the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea, Sudan, Israel and the Republic of Moldova.
The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general debate.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to continue its general debate. Scheduled to address the meeting were the Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Kitts and Nevis; the Foreign Ministers of the Republic of Korea, Singapore, Egypt, Sudan, Israel and the Republic of Moldova; and the Chairman of the delegation of New Zealand.
Statements
DENZIL DOUGLAS, Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Saint Kitts and Nevis, said the United Nations should ensure that the concerns of Member States, particularly of those in the developing world, were not compromised or seen as secondary. It was essential that the Organization became a catalyst for improving the quality of life of all citizens and a champion of fundamental rights and freedoms. With many States and peoples standing at the crossroads of tremendous change, the United Nations must be allowed to assume an even greater role. The developing world faced further marginalization by the increasing reduction in well-needed aid and technical assistance. He urged the United Nations to work more closely with developing countries to devise new ideas and pragmatic approaches to improve the standard of living of the world's poor.
Turning to the issue of reform, he said it was important to consolidate some service areas of the Organization, but that restructuring must herald real changes and increased benefits for Member States. His Government could not support a mere transfer of resources from one organ to another without the proper safeguards to ensure efficiency and accountability. In addition, development reforms should not sacrifice the effectiveness and distinctiveness of existing organs. In order for reforms to work they must balance and protect the interests of Member States and not simply appear to reward or benefit a privileged few. He appealed to all States to be careful not to confuse the need for genuine systemic reforms with legally assessed financial obligations to the Organization.
The condition of poverty had been linked with the destiny of small States for too long, he said, adding that his Government was concerned by the apparent ease with which both were dismissed. Instead of supplying crucial support, the developed world had increased its tendency towards isolation and neglect. In the current wave of globalization, economic stability had become the soft underbelly of Caribbean security, its prospect for sustainable development. If those economies were not strengthened and given appropriate assistance, their tremendous intellectual talents would be wasted and their political and social fabrics would be put at risk. Small countries needed institutional support to help prepare their youth for changing world circumstances. Such preparation would help to make them more self-sufficient and responsive to the unpredictable changes taking place in the world around
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them. Sustainable development in the Caribbean was in everyone's best interest.
The recent panel ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) on the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group (ACP) banana regime had dealt the banana producing countries in the region a tremendous blow, he said. It was inconceivable that the insignificant but important percentage access comprised by ACP countries in that market could pose any meaningful threat to the collaborative interests of multinational producers. The banana and sugar industries in the Caribbean were major employers and foreign exchange earners, and they were being challenged, with the ultimate objective of dismantling them completely. In addition, ACP countries did not have ready access to essential technologies vital to making their industries and human resources more competitive and efficient. His Government believed that trade liberalization without the proper mechanisms to protect the small and weak did not promote fair trade.
He called for the abandonment of the practice of using gross national product (GNP) per capita to measure the standards of living for people in the developing world. The developed world and multilateral agencies should not deny assistance to countries on the basis that such a country had reached an artificial threshold. Were people in the developing world not entitled to a higher standard of living or must they exist only at levels which the developed world considered acceptable indicators of human progress? It was the duty of Member States to ensure that new resources were targeted for development. Such processes would have to be guided by and nourished with vision, political will and an appreciation of the global imperatives of sustainable development and poverty eradication.
The special circumstances and vulnerability indices of small States must be at the forefront of the international debate, he said. The unfortunate situation on the island of Montserrat clearly demonstrated that it took only one violent act of nature to destroy the entire social fabric of a people. His Government had extended a hand of support to the people of Montserrat, and it urged the international community to join the Caribbean in taking prompt, decisive and tangible steps to assist that country. Montserrat was a microcosm of the precarious existence of small island States. Saint Kitts and Nevis urged the international community to fulfil its promises under the 1994 Barbados Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States and other commitments to the developing world.
YOO CHOONG-HA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, said while reform was a prerequisite for a more efficient United Nations, it was clear that the Organization could not make an efficient transition into the twenty-first century without more reliable financial support. Only when Member States discharged their financial obligations in full, on time and without conditions would the United Nations safely and smoothly reach its
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ultimate destination of ensuring a better future for mankind. His Government pays its assessed dues in full and on time, and it would also participate actively in efforts to adopt a more equitable scale of assessments during the current session. His Government would also consider a gradual move from group C to group B in terms of peacekeeping assessments.
Reform of the Security Council was another crucial task, he said. Every effort should be made to work out a consensus formula while bearing in mind that "haste makes waste". The emergence of a number of medium-powered countries able to make meaningful contributions to international peace and security had been a significant and promising development in international relations over the last 50 years. Any plan to reform the Security Council should provide those countries with opportunities to serve in the Council with reasonable frequency commensurate with their capabilities and contributions.
The reform should also be based upon the reflections of the problems and shortcomings associated with the Council's operations so far, such as systems of permanent membership and the right of veto, he said. As a member of the Council for the years 1996-1997, the Republic of Korea had actively participated in making important decisions to enhance peace and stability in third world countries plagued by civil conflicts. During his country's presidency last May, the Council had organized an open debate on the refugee issue which resulted in the adoption of a presidential statement in June on the "the protection for humanitarian assistance to refugees and others in conflict situations".
Given the magnitude of the scourge of anti-personnel landmines, the Republic of Korea had decided to extend for an indefinite period its moratorium on the export of landmines which was due to expire at the end of this year, he said. His Government felt, however, that each country's legitimate security concerns should be given due consideration in addressing the matter. He reiterated that while his Government fully supported the crusade to protect innocent civilians from landmines, a sweeping ban could not be a satisfactory answer to a country like the Republic of Korea which faced the real and present risk of a recurrence of all-out war, and whose capital was situated 25 miles from the military demarcation line. His Government felt that the adoption of the draft convention on the banning of anti-personnel landmines in Oslo two weeks ago had failed to reflect the exceptional nature of the security situation in the Korean Peninsula.
His delegation welcomed the adoption of the "Agenda for Development" by the last session of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General's reform proposals designed to enhance the United Nations' economic and social initiatives as well as its development activities, he said. His Government supported the suggestion of enhancing the coordinating role of the Economic and Social Council and the strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, and expected that various
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proposals for the financing of United Nations development activities would be discussed in full by the current session. The Republic of Korea was now a member of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), had also participated in bilateral cooperation projects with the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA) since 1995, and planned to undertake a programme for the development of Africa for 1998-2000. In May, his Government had, jointly with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), established the International Vaccine Institute, which was devoted to the research and development of vaccines for children around the world, especially those in developing countries.
He said that if inter-Korean relations were to be moved forward and the outstanding problems of the peninsula were to be resolved peacefully, there was "no alternative to dialogue and reconciliation between the South and the North of Korea". It was regrettable that recent preparatory meetings for the Four-Party Talks had ended without tangible results, but they would continue their patient effort to engage "North and South" in a process of dialogue and appreciated the continued support of the international community. Meanwhile, the Republic of Korea would continue to provide humanitarian assistance to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, including, in close cooperation with the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) and other interested countries, assistance to vulnerable groups such as malnourished children.
S. JAYAKUMAR, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Singapore, said the entire Security Council reform process was in danger of being lost in a wilderness of logical contradictions and ambiguities. Prospects for further progress on Council reform were not good and should not be linked with the Secretary- General's managerial, administrative and structural reforms. It was not clear that the current permanent members really wanted change except on their own terms and without any erosion of their current status. Crucial ambiguities in their positions had held up progress and would continue to do so unless clarified.
He said the root cause of the current reform stalemate was the fact that no great Power had ever been willing to submit its own vital interests to United Nations jurisdiction. What the great Powers wanted was not a strong United Nations but one that was just credible enough to serve as an effective instrument of their will and policy. Only small countries were more inclined to take the United Nations on its own terms. That was not because small countries were necessarily more virtuous but because they had fewer options.
The concepts of selecting individual countries for the Council by a two-thirds majority vote of all United Nations Members and subjecting the developing countries to a rotation within regions were problematic. It was doubtful that a country could legitimately represent a region if it was chosen from outside that region. Also the rotational system could not work in any region except Africa, where it was already established in principle.
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Germany and Japan should be the new permanent members if eventual agreement on expansion of the Security Council was reached, he said. However, the differential selection process for Japan and Germany and developing countries could be discriminatory. It might lead to divisions for most regions or a situation where the elevation of Japan and Germany would not be matched by the selection of developing countries from Asia, Africa and Latin America for permanent status.
The issue of veto power for the new permanent members of the Council was intrinsic to the very notion and definition of permanent membership and could not be deferred to a later date, he went on, noting that even current permanent members, who supported the addition of Japan and Germany to the Council, had been silent about the issue of whether or not the new permanent members would have veto power.
Further, he said, some permanent members were opposed to the expansion of the Council beyond 21 from its 15 current members. That effectively blocked any expansion of the Council. Even expansion to 21 with new permanent members from Japan, Germany and three developing countries would mean only one additional non-permanent seat for the remaining Members of the United Nations. That situation would be unacceptable to the majority of Member States.
The Security Council was not necessarily the only important United Nations body, he said. Although the Council was empowered to act on behalf of Member States as a whole on matters of peace and security, it had no direct mandate to act on many other urgent international questions such as development and the environment. Thus the critical importance of the Secretary-General's reform proposals. They could make an immediate and tangible difference to issues that affect the entire international community and which are beyond the scope of the Security Council.
AMRE MOUSSA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Egypt, said it was important the United Nations reform process conformed with the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter and the mandates and terms of reference of the Organization's main organs. The Assembly had to decide upon the reform proposals, and decisions should reflect a consensus built through serious intergovernmental dialogue with maximum transparency.
Egypt concurred with the Secretary-General that reform of the United Nations administrative machinery was not a substitute for the political will of Member States, he said. Administrative reform could not resolve conflicts of interests among States. The first step towards United Nations reform must lead to the creation of a strong, collective will to strengthen the Organization through a comprehensive approach that combined departments with overlapping activities and slashed a number of posts.
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However, rationalizing expenditures must not be at the expense of efficient performance nor diminish the ability to implement programmes adopted by Member States. Reforms should also not adversely affect the equitable geographic distribution of posts in the Secretariat.
The Organization's real threat was the financial situation resulting from the non-payment by some big Powers of their assessed contributions, he stated. Conditional payment would only complicate the reform process. The decline in the resources allocated to development, particularly operational activities, had a negative impact on the implementation of many programmes. A review of financing for development was needed to ensure effective delivery. A system-wide integration among the United Nations development programmes was also important. Ideas were needed on how to achieve more comprehensive coordination throughout the system as well as the decentralization of the working methods of the regional economic commissions.
Legislation in the field of human rights needed to better reflect the diversified backgrounds and contributions of various cultures and civilizations, he said. It would spare the international community any accusation of negligence or bias towards a singular cultural concept.
There should be no partial or selective expansion of the Security Council and its restructuring should not be subject to any imposed time-frame, he said. The use of the veto should be curtailed and the improvement of the Council's working methods should be given equal importance. Any resolution with possible Charter amendment implications as to the size, composition or allocation of seats must be adopted in strict conformity with Article 108 of the Charter, which concerns "amendments". If there was no agreement on the expansion of permanent membership, only the non-permanent seats should be expanded.
While Egypt was committed to complying with all Organization of African Unity (OAU) agreements, the rotation criteria needed to include the degree of present and future economic development, history, and the geographic location and size of a country's population, he said. Egypt's regional and international contributions in Africa, the Arab and Islamic worlds, the Middle East region, as well as towards developing countries and emerging economies, qualified it to shoulder the responsibilities of permanent membership in an expanded Council, where all regions of the world would have a balanced and equitable representation.
The veto power should only apply to actions taken under Chapter VII of the Charter, he said. Sanction regimes imposed by the Council should be re- evaluated to take into account humanitarian aspects. Specific time-frames for sanctions should be considered.
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The peace process in the Middle East was based on implementation of Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), he said, adding that at the essence of those principles was the "land for peace" formula. Each party had to uphold the spirit of peace and should not hasten to impose or codify the fait accompli or undermine those principles. Despite the difficulties, those principles led to confidence-building, the nucleus of which was peace.
The Israeli Government's policies on settlements and pushing things towards confrontation were to blame for the current loss of momentum of the peace process, he said. The Council of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the League of Arab States had recently considered the crisis of the peace process due to Israeli policies and had adopted a unified Arab position. It rejected the Israeli Government policies, upheld the relevant Security Council resolutions, reiterated the Israeli breach of the principles of the peace process and called for negotiations on three bilateral tracks to be resumed.
The Arab League had also welcomed the American position manifested during the visit paid by the United States Secretary of State in which she reaffirmed the terms of reference of the Madrid Peace Conference, in particular the "land for peace" principle, the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions, realization of the legitimate political rights of the Palestinian people and the commitment to abstain from taking unilateral measures that undermine the permanent status negotiations.
Efforts should proceed to free the Middle East from all weapons of mass destruction and their delivering vehicles, he stated. The General Assembly should take the necessary steps to ensure Israel's accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the prompt undertaking of negotiations to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
MICHAEL POWLES (New Zealand) said the Secretary-General's reform package should be viewed as a whole. Difficulties with individual elements should not be allowed to unpick the overall good. He appealed to Member States to give the Secretary-General their generous support. Small countries, like New Zealand, and developing countries stood to benefit most from the Secretary- General's efforts. New Zealand supported efficiencies -- not cost-cutting, which sought to save money without regard to the impact on the Organization.
An approach based on efficiencies would reinvigorate the United Nations by reinvesting the money saved from outdated administrative practices, he said. That was central to the Secretary-General's package. His proposal for a "development dividend", which would channel resources freed by administrative efficiencies into strengthening the United Nations development activities, was most welcome. The sort of management reforms proposed in the package would allow more to be delivered in terms of substantive programmes. At a time when development funds were diminishing, the significance of that step would not be lost.
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New Zealand had increased its overseas aid by 40 per cent since the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), he said. Its contributions to the United Nations system had also increased by nearly 50 per cent over the last five years. The global trend, however, was the opposite, particularly among the larger traditional donors, making it harder for governments to meet their Charter commitment to promote the economic and social advancement of all peoples. The "Agenda for Development" could not be implemented without adequate funding. The reforms were designed to deliver more for development and boost the confidence of the United Nations. Ted Turner's billion-dollar grant to assist United Nations agencies in key developmental activities had given the Organization a real boost and could be a catalyst for leveraging further private sector funds for development.
Member States needed to trust the Secretary-General to fulfil his responsibilities under the Charter -- to give effect to the policy directions that they set, he said. Priorities set for the United Nations needed to be clear and realistic. The Organization could not be given more new mandates and achieve them within current resources. Having set the priorities, Member States must resist the temptation to micromanage, which would involve a sea of change in the way they had become accustomed to operating. The Organization's most important resource was its people. If the best and brightest were to be attracted to and retained by the United Nations, they must be recruited, trained, promoted and paid according to procedures which were as good as the best employed by Member States. The Secretary-General had the right to expect the full support of those who worked for him.
Turning to Security Council reform, he said his country would judge specific proposals by the yardstick of democracy and representativeness of the institution as a whole. Increasing the proportion of permanent to non- permanent members in the Security Council ran counter to those principles. Nor could a package on Council reform be acceptable without substantive proposals to open up and modernize the workings of the Council. Member States must continue to participate in the debate in the search for a consensus solution.
Commenting on financial reform, he said New Zealand was strongly concerned about the crisis facing the United Nations. No Member State was entitled to withhold payments unilaterally. All assessed contributions must be paid in full, on time and unconditionally, and it was a violation of international legal obligation to do otherwise.
He said United Nations regional groupings needed to be revised to bring them up to date with present geo-political realities. It was anomalous that his country's Pacific neighbours, co-members of the South Pacific Forum, belonged to the Asian Group, while New Zealand, for historical reasons, belonged to the Western European and Other Group. Developments in other regions would result in further anomalies in the present structure. At some
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future stage, they saw long and complex negotiations over regional seat allocations for a revised system of regional groups. New Zealand would join others in negotiating a new and equitable allocation of seats.
ALI OTHMAN MOHAMED TAHA, Minister for External Relations of the Sudan, expressing support for the Secretary-General's reform proposals, said the reform programme should strengthen the ability of the United Nations to respond to humanitarian, social and developmental issues. Furthermore, the reform should consolidate the participation of the developing countries in the Organization and their fair representation in the Secretariat. The Sudan was particularly interested in reform of the Security Council -- to the enlargement of its permanent and non-permanent membership, and the improvement of its methods of work. Enhancing transparency and democracy in the work of the Council should be in accordance with the principles and provisions of the Charter, which specified the Council's duties in conflict resolution through peaceful means; not as a tool to punish nations. Reaffirming the necessity of observing equitable geographical representation and preserving the principle of sovereignty of States, he reiterated the Sudan's commitment to the New Delhi Declaration of the Non-Aligned Movement, as well as the African position taken at the Harare Summit. It was important to link the right of veto to the other reform aspects.
A comprehensive "Peace Agreement" signed in April between the Government and the fighting factions and the political entities in southern Sudan provided for a lasting settlement to the Sudanese problem and for peaceful coexistence, he said. It clearly specified the question of the division of power between the federal authority and the State governments. It also addressed the criteria for wealth sharing and allowed the possibility for southern Sudanese to exercise the right to self-determination through a referendum at the end of a transitional period of four years. It would have a considerable influence on the guarantee of human rights. A Presidential Decree granted unconditional general amnesty for all crimes and lawsuits committed during the 14 years preceding the signing of the Agreement. Last week, an agreement was reached with the only remaining faction that still carried arms to resume peace talks on 28 October in the Kenyan capital under the auspices of the Inter-Governmental Authority on Development.
He called on the United Nations, international financial institutions and partners in development to contribute in the resettlement of the returnees by shifting from humanitarian assistance to programmes of rehabilitation and the provision of developmental assistance. The Sudan had undertaken serious steps to reduce public expenditure, privatize the public sector, abolish restrictions on internal and external trade and promote investment, he said. Those policies had reactivated the economy, reduced the inflation rate and stabilized the exchange rate. Noting that insufficient external resources to boost production was a major obstacle to economic reform, he urged donor
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countries and international financial institutions to provide the necessary assistance.
The debt problem must be addressed within a comprehensive international framework and not on a bilateral basis, he said. African States had taken steps towards the revitalization of the African Economic Community and the sub-regional economic organizations, all of which needed the support and assistance of the international community. Peace was necessary to guarantee security and accelerate the continent's development. He hoped positive developments in Liberia would encourage Somalia and Congo-Brazzaville to stop bloodshed, and that the endeavours led by the West African countries would solve the problems facing Sierra Leone. Africa needed assistance in anti- personnel landmine clearance left behind by civil wars in a number of its countries, including his own. The Sudan supported efforts of the OAU to restore peace and stability in many African States. The functions of African peacekeeping forces should be harmonized with OAU resolutions. Africa should have the right, through its organizations, to lead and initiate in that matter. Referring to the "exasperating effects" of sanctions, particularly those imposed on Libya, he said the issue should be settled on the basis of the proposal presented by the OAU and the Arab League, supported by the Non- Aligned Movement.
The Sudan believed that a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East could not be achieved without the total commitment to the principles of justice and the complete preservation of the rights of the Palestinian people and the Arab countries in the region, and through the commitment to the agreements and accords reached by the concerned parties. Israel should stop its settlement policies and withdraw from the occupied Arab territories on the basis of the relevant Council and Assembly resolutions.
DAVID LEVY, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, said Israel had endured many tests and suffered ongoing terrorist attacks in the past year. All Israel was united in its deep desire for peace and for a life of calm and security. If trust could be restored and if the principle of reciprocity would be honoured, it would be possible for Israel to proceed. His Government had already proven its willingness to do so in its decisions and actions since taking office, including its signing and implementation of the Hebron Agreement in all its aspects. Peace could not live side-by-side with the continuation of incitement, hostility, violence and terror. The existence of two parallel tracks, with negotiations being pursued while a second track of violence continued unimpeded, was totally unacceptable and a direct affront to the very concept of peace.
Israel stood firm in its call upon the Palestinian Authority to fulfil its promise to fight against terrorism, he said. The Authority must act in full cooperation with Israel against violence. In response to the repeated crises in the peace process caused by the failure of the Palestinian Authority
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to live up to its commitments, Israel proposed that a binding code of conduct for relations in the region be adopted. That code should include: rejection of violence as a means for achieving political goals; preservation of the framework of direct negotiations, and agreement to refrain from attempts to transfer the disputes and negotiations onto the international stage; institutionalizing permanent channels of communication, including in times of crises; cessation of incitement, of the call to violence and jihad, and replacement with the language of reconciliation and mutual respect; and the advancement and encouragement of normalization and support for regional activities.
The purpose of the code of conduct would be to facilitate uninterrupted negotiations and crisis management and to create an atmosphere of dialogue, he said. Israel reaffirmed its proposal to conduct accelerated negotiations on permanent status questions, according to an agreed timetable. His Government proposed conducting negotiations in which the sides would agree upon the desired outcomes and the way towards achieving them. It was only through direct negotiations that the peace process could be advanced and brought to a successful conclusion. Attempts to internationalize the dispute and to transfer the arena of negotiations to the United Nations and other international forums only served to create unnecessary obstacles and to rigidify already entrenched positions.
He said a comprehensive peace could not be achieved until Israel reached peace agreements with Syria and Lebanon. His Government could not accept the continued violence and terror on its northern border. The terrorist activities of organizations such as Hizbullah, the fear of Katyusha rockets and attacks upon Israeli cities and towns bore with them the threat of ongoing regional violence and continued bloodshed. There was no territorial dispute between Israel and Lebanon; his Government wished to see a sovereign, free and independent Lebanon act determinedly against the terrorist organizations which operated from its territory.
The decisions of the Foreign Ministers of the Arab League at their recent meeting in Cairo stood in direct contradiction to the aspiration for peace and undermined its foundations, he said. The attempts to prevent normalization with Israel and to freeze the level of existing relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours, to close liaison and interests offices and to reactivate the Arab boycott amount to a boycott of peace itself. The ongoing and intentional freeze of the multilateral talks also had a deleterious effect on the prospects of peace. The multilateral talks should serve as a platform and incentive for building peace. Both bilateral and multilateral channels should be promoted, and one should not be made conditional upon the other.
The Government of Iran continued to speak in terms which threatened Israel and called for its destruction, he said. Yet the international community continued to refuse to speak out against Iran's policies, its declarations and its actions. Iran's efforts to acquire operational weapons of mass destruction represented the greatest threat to security and stability in the Middle East and
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beyond. His Government called on the members of the international family of nations -- and particularly the United States and Russia, the European Union and the Commonwealth of Independent States -- to exercise the full weight of their influence to prevent that development, which represented an existential threat to Israel.
He went on to say that his Government attached great importance to the fundamental reform of the work of the United Nations. The Organization urgently required greater efficiency and a redirection of its valuable and limited resources towards its truly important tasks. At the same time, no reform could be completed as long as the question of Israel's membership of a regional group remained unresolved. The time had also come for the Assembly to reduce the number of resolutions on the Middle East adopted each year and to contribute positively to facilitating an atmosphere conducive to direct negotiations between the concerned parties.
NICOLAE TABAKARU, Foreign Minister of the Republic of Moldova, said the Secretary-General's proposed reform could succeed only if the financial obligations of Member States were fulfilled. At the same time, a review of the assessment contributions must take account of the capacity of an individual country to pay.
The Government of Moldova called for implementation of the comprehensive nuclear-test ban, which would enhance the security of the world. Recently, Moldova had signed the pact. The elimination of conventional arms should also be addressed, particularly anti-personnel landmines.
He said Moldova would like to contribute to the proposed United Nations rapid reaction force and intended to provide information on equipment and contingencies for that purpose to the Secretary-General. It was also considering involvement in general peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations.
The recent separatist trends in Moldova had nothing in common with the legitimate aspirations of people to self-determination, he said. In the United Nations Charter, self-determination was treated as a principle which could not interfere with that of territorial integrity. The dispute concerning the eastern region of Moldova had not yet found a solution. It was vital to encourage action by the international community and the United Nations in particular.
Separatist actions in eastern Moldova could threaten regional and sub- regional peace, he said. The involvement of major Powers was awaited. The issues concerning the eastern region of Moldova could have been solved without external assistance except for the direct and indirect involvement of outside Powers. Russian troops continued to be stationed in the country illegally. The deadline for their withdrawal, based on a 1994 agreement, had long passed. The time had come for their removal, which was supported by international organizations.
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