UNITED NATIONS MUST ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION, FOREIGN MINISTER OF THAILAND TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
Press Release
GA/9315
UNITED NATIONS MUST ADDRESS CHALLENGES OF GLOBALIZATION, FOREIGN MINISTER OF THAILAND TELLS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
19970929 Minister Is among Several Speakers Stressing Need For Strengthened Global Development Role for OrganizationWhile attending to traditional challenges, the United Nations must address the many complex new challenges of globalization, the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Prachuab Chaiyasan, told the General Assembly this afternoon as it continued its general debate. The currency crisis in his country and other South-East Asian nations had shown the important role the Organization must play in coordinating global macroeconomic policy, he said.
Even successful developing countries had not escaped the tremendous turmoil brought by integration into global markets, he said. Closer coordination and cooperation was needed between the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and major industrial countries, to provide integrated support to countries whose economies were still weak.
The Foreign Minister of the Philippines, Domingo L. Siazon Jr., said although globalization had brought unprecedented opportunities for both the developed and developing worlds, its benefits had remained unevenly distributed. Developing countries still suffered from external debt and protectionism in developed markets. The existence of unbridled international speculation and of other market ills had hindered rather than helped development, and was a powerful rationale for strengthening the United Nations role in global development.
The representative of Namibia said that while it was claimed that developing countries had more than doubled their real per capita income over the past 30 years, in reality only Asia had made relative progress. Developing countries must have free access to world markets without conditions if globalization was to benefit all countries.
Statements were also made by the President of Bolivia, the Foreign Ministers of Lebanon, Burkina Faso and Nepal, and the representative of Kuwait. The representatives of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation and the Republic of Korea, and the Observer for Palestine spoke in exercise of the right of reply.
The General Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 30 September, to continue its general debate.
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this afternoon to continue its general debate. It was expected to hear statements by the President of Bolivia, the Foreign Ministers of the Philippines, Thailand, Lebanon, Kuwait, Burkina Faso and Nepal, and the representative of Namibia.
Statements
General HUGO BANZER SUAREZ, President of Bolivia, said Latin American countries were adopting a different approach in their relations with the economically advanced countries. The old defensive and mistrusting attitude had yielded to the conviction that it was necessary to merge Latin America's economy into the current of productive and technological development, to attract investments, and to open markets for its products. Concurrently, the region needed to preserve its identity, uphold its values and attend to its interests, without losing sight of the fact that the key to its strength lay in its own markets and resources.
He reaffirmed his Government's concern about the laying of landmines. It was incomprehensible that those same borders across which countries were seeking to promote trade and integration should be sown with devices of war that menaced civilian populations and threatened their fundamental rights. That matter was of particular relevance for Bolivia, due to the well-known and acknowledged fact that Chile had laid a significant number of mines along their common border. Removal of those mines was of the utmost urgency, in keeping with the commitments assumed in Oslo and the dictates of morality.
The exceptional growth experienced by Bolivia's eastern regions called for a more intense and productive relationship with its neighbours on the Atlantic, he said. That effort coincided with one of the most impressive development ventures in the history of America, that was taking place in Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Argentina and Uruguay. Investments and technology were being allowed to flow freely in the region. Those countries must endeavour to constitute a genuine common market, which should help to enhance the character and quality of their role in the world economy.
He said that Bolivia's demand to return to the Pacific Ocean, with sovereign rights and a port of its own, was a goal that could not be renounced, a vital condition of its development and, above all, an historical claim that could not be compromised. Recovery of its maritime role was essential for fulfilling Bolivia's position as a crossroads and a point of convergence. Bolivia would appeal to the international community as often as necessary in order to call attention to a problem that had already been deemed a matter of permanent hemispheric interest. His Government, as always, remained ready to explore avenues to constructive dialogue.
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Illicit drug trafficking unjustly distorted the reality of Bolivia and interfered with the proper conduct of external cooperation, he said. Bolivia had done a great deal to contain that problem, and it had not permitted drug trafficking to irredeemably taint its economic, institutional and political structures. His Government would hold dialogues with peasant producers of coca in order to eradicate illegal crops. It would not rest until drug traffickers were banned from Bolivia forever. The time had also come to reassert the principles of shared responsibility. The characteristics and scope of the problem called for resolute action by all countries, especially those which were affected by consumption and had sufficient economic resources to combat that terrible evil.
MARTIN ANDJABA (Namibia) said savings from reform measures should be channelled to the Organization's highest priority, which was alleviating poverty and enhancing the prospects of developing countries. A revolving credit fund, capitalized up to a level of $1 billion through voluntary contributions, should be established. Nevertheless, the Organization could only execute its mandate to the fullest when all Member States equipped it to do so. All assessed contributions must be honoured.
If globalization and liberalization of the world economy were to benefit all countries, developing countries must have free access to world markets without conditions, he said. It should not be a matter of survival of the fittest. Preferential treatment should be extended for developing countries.
While it had been stated that developing countries had more than doubled their real per capita income over the past 30 years, in reality only Asia had made relative progress, he said. The gap in living standards between the advanced economies and Africa continued to widen, and official development assistance (ODA) was on the decline.
Full implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa was one effective way of addressing Africa's limited capacity to take advantage of the new global situation, he said. Regional integration was a strategic imperative. The members of the South African Development Community (SADC) had embarked upon a common strategy to promote the region as an attractive trading and investment partner. There were increasing trade flows, and the political and economic risks had been greatly reduced.
Development must be one of the centrepieces of United Nations activities, he said. The proposed Deputy Secretary-General should concentrate on the Organization's development activities. Mobilization of resources for implementation of the consensus of the Open-ended Working Group on the "Agenda for Development" was important and should not be delayed. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) had a clear and indispensable mission.
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He said Namibia was one of those countries seriously affected by desertification and drought. It was very important that an independent financial mechanism be created for the implementation of the upcoming first conference of the parties to the Convention to Combat Desertification in those Countries Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification, particularly in Africa.
Nuclear weapons and their proliferation continued to be a cause of concern to the international community, he said. It was hoped that with the conclusion of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), serious negotiations would now begin on the elimination of nuclear weapons. The total elimination of those weapons was the only genuine guarantee for non-nuclear- weapon States against the threat of their use.
DOMINGO L. SIAZON, Jr., Foreign Minister of the Philippines, said peace reigned in his country. Last year an historic agreement was concluded, bringing peace to Mindanao after more than a quarter century of secessionist rebellion. The leader of the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) was now the elected Governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao and Chairman of the Southern Philippines Council for Peace and Development. In addition, MNLF fighters were now being integrated in the Philippines Armed Forces and its National Police.
On 27 March, the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zone Treaty entered into force, he said. Nuclear-weapon States were urged to support the Treaty by becoming parties to its Protocol. Global safety also demanded control of the proliferation of conventional arms, particularly small arms and anti- personnel landmines, whether deployed or in national stockpiles. His Government would sign the Treaty banning anti-personnel landmines in December. The Philippines would also continue to support the efforts of the United Nations, individual governments and non-governmental organizations to clear mine fields, assist mine victims, and rehabilitate areas plagued by such devices.
The potential for conflict had shifted almost entirely from the global to the regional level, he said. Responding to this new reality, the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) had created the ASEAN Regional Forum, a ministerial-level multilateral forum for promoting regional security dialogue and cooperation. Disputes in the South China Sea, however, remained a source of tension. In 1992 in Manila, ASEAN issued a Declaration on the South China Sea, which called for disputes to be settled exclusively by peaceful means and for the exercise of self-restraint by all. Saddened by the recent events in Cambodia's political life, ASEAN had also initiated a dialogue to address the issue, even as it anticipated the early admission of Cambodia into the ASEAN family.
The implementation of Agenda 21 must be accelerated, he said. A priority was to address the lack of financial resources, technology, know-how
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and international cooperation that inhibited the promotion of worldwide sustainable development. In December, another discussion would be held under the Framework Convention on Climate Change to control harmful emissions. Emission reduction targets must be agreed upon.
More must be done to deepen and broaden respect for the rights of women, he said. The Convention on the Rights of the Child must effectively be implemented and a protocol that would organize global measures against child slavery, prostitution and pornography must be appended to it. In addition, there was a call for universal adherence to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. Next year, the Philippines would host the Regional Ministerial Meeting for Asia and the Pacific on Organized Transnational Crime and Corruption.
The rising tide of globalization had brought unprecedented opportunities for both developed and developing worlds, but its benefits remained unevenly distributed, he said. Developing countries still suffered from the old problems of external debt and protectionism in developed markets. The existence of unbridled international speculation and of other market ills that hindered rather than helped development was a powerful rationale for strengthening the United Nations role in global development.
A fundamental objective of United Nations reform should be the restoration of development to the centre of its agenda, he said. Discussions on Security Council reform also must be accelerated. The Philippines favoured enlarging the Council's membership in a manner that would make it more representative of the developing regions and more reflective of modern global realities. New permanent members should enjoy the same rights as current permanent members, and the use of the veto should be limited.
PRACHUAB CHAIYASAN, Foreign Minister of Thailand, said that while the situation in Cambodia was very different from the one faced before the signing of the Paris Peace Accord, finding a solution was no less difficult. Clearly, the world could not turn its back on Cambodia, But the Cambodians themselves must be willing to give peace a chance. As in Cambodia, there were some problems so deep-rooted that they resisted the best efforts of the international community. The United Nations offered the best hopes to resolve such situations.
While tending to traditional challenges, the United Nations must also address the many complex new challenges of globalization, he said. Even the more successful developing countries had not escaped the tremendous turmoil that integration into the global market would bring, as evidenced by the currency crisis in Thailand and many other countries in South-East Asia. To thrive under economic globalization, developing countries had to fully understand how market forces worked and adapt themselves accordingly. Financial liberalization required a high degree of discipline from both the
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public and private sectors, as well as vigilance in improving prudential regulations. Moreover, a more comprehensive macro-economic analysis was needed in order to improve the monitoring of current economic conditions. Nonetheless, Thailand's basic strengths remained, he said. It was firmly committed to free and open markets and to promoting regional cooperation and economic liberalization. It was also determined to achieve good governance and greater democracy. On Saturday, the Thai Parliament approved the new draft Constitution, which emphasizes transparency, accountability and the role of public participation. Thailand's political reform went hand in hand with its economic reform. It was implementing the conditions of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) rescue package and also working with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.
Thailand's experience showed that the United Nations had an important role to play in coordinating macro-economic policy at the global level, he said. Closer cooperation and coordination was needed between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, the World Trade Organization (WTO) and major industrial countries, to provide integrated support to enhance capacity-building in those countries whose economics were still weak. Globalization had its winners and losers. The weakness and strength of all countries should be taken into account.
He said Thailand was committed to supporting the United Nations and welcomed the Secretary-General's reform initiatives and proposals. It attached great importance to strengthening the Organization's role in promoting international cooperation for economic and social development. Promotion of sustainable development should be the central priority of United Nations activities. While the reform plan required more thorough consideration, Thailand supported designating the proposed United Nations development group -- comprising the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) -- to supersede the sectoral group of development operations. Hopefully, that would facilitate consolidation and cooperation among United Nations agencies without compromising their identity. Thailand also welcomed the creation of a "development dividend" by shifting resources from administration to development activities. However, down-sizing should not be an end in itself. Reform should concentrate on how to manage funds and implement programmes to achieve the common goal of equitable development.
Another important point in the Secretary-General's reform plan was the proposal to mobilize more resources for the United Nations operational activities, he said. Thailand saw the United Nations as the main forum for the creation of an equal and workable partnership between developed and developing countries, responsive to the needs and aspirations of the developing world. The steady decline in voluntary contributions to core resources had inhibited the capacity of the United Nations funds and programmes. Thailand supported the Secretary-General's proposal on innovative means of mobilizing new financial resources for development. The private
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sector was potentially an important source of financial support, as demonstrated by the proposed donation of $1 billion from Ted Turner. However, private sector funds should be additional to and must not replace official development assistance.
Restructuring the Security Council was vital to United Nations reform, he said. Thailand and its ASEAN partners believed that the veto power should be curtailed, with a view to its eventual elimination. The Council should be expanded to enhance its democratic and representative nature, while paying due regard to its efficiency and effectiveness. Member States must pay their assessed contributions in full and on time and without conditions. In 1997, Thailand was among the 28 countries which paid their contributions to the regular budget in full and on time.
FARES BOUEZ, Foreign Minister of Lebanon, said his country supported United Nations reform, particularly of the Security Council. There should be enhanced numerical and geographic representation on the Council to reflect changed realities and alleviate misgivings. The role of the General Assembly should be enhanced and the issue of development made a high priority. Lebanon also attached great importance to the work of the economic and social regional commissions.
In the name of cost and budget cuts, many United Nations agencies -- including the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) -- had lost their ability to give adequate social, health and education services to refugees in host countries such as Lebanon, which thus became doubly responsible for their welfare, he said. That responsibility was difficult to shoulder. The international community must redress the injustice inflicted on the Palestinian refugees. That bitter situation could sometimes be seen in attempts to bring pressure to bear on host countries, aimed at forcing them to assimilate their refugee populations. The international community was duty-bound to continue rendering assistance to the Palestinian refugees, who were awaiting a political solution in accordance with their right to return. That right was a pillar of the peace process.
The new Israeli Government had totally dashed Lebanon's hopes for peace, he said. The principle of land for peace had been trashed and Israel had recanted on finding a solution to the question of Jerusalem, while continuing the process of annexing it. It had recanted on the need to implement international resolutions and wanted to open them up for re-interpretation. It had also reneged on commitments to withdraw from the occupied Syrian Golan and had annexed it as well. In total disregard of its obligation to freeze settlement activities, Israel had gone on a settlement-building frenzy. It invalidated all previously agreed commitments entered into by previous Israeli Governments.
Plagued by an increasingly tense atmosphere within Israel, the Israeli Government had escalated the situation along its borders and in areas under
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occupation, to camouflage the blow it had dealt to the peace process, he said. It remained faithful only to the principles of provocation and defiance. Israel had continued to carry out its aggression against Lebanon and the western Beqaa, to mobilize Israeli public opinion against peace, and to preempt and render politically meaningless all international initiatives. Attacks continued, through artillery shelling, air raids and operations inside Lebanon's territories, against villages and cities, children, women and the elderly. Destruction and demolition continued, as did the detention of Lebanese citizens in Israeli military camps. Neither the United Nations nor international organizations were allowed to visit them.
He said Lebanon's position was for a complete Israeli withdrawal to the internationally recognized borders, to enable Lebanon to regain sovereignty over its territories. Israel camouflaged its unwillingness to withdraw completely by relocating its forces or redeploying them, by requesting maintenance of inspection posts, by imposing conditions that limited the State's authority, and by giving the upper hand to the militias that it established. Israel also attempted to control the authority of the Lebanese Army and to impose conditions that would restrict Lebanese sovereignty.
The international community was duty-bound to act through the United Nations, he said. The United Nations had entrusted the issue to others on many occasions, hoping a solution might be found, and it had refrained from enforcing its resolutions -- unlike in many other States. The time had come for the United Nations to return to the basics of peace as agreed to in Madrid, including: the principle of land for peace; implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions; the resumption of negotiations; immediate cessation of settler activities; a solution to the question of Jerusalem; withdrawal from the Palestinian territory and recognition of the political rights of the Palestinian people; withdrawal from the Syrian Golan to the line of 4 June 1967; full withdrawal from southern Lebanon and its western Beqaa to the internationally recognized borders. A peace that ignored those basics was doomed to failure and could set the whole region on fire.
Sheikh SABAH AL-AHMAD AL-JABER AL-SABAH, First Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of Kuwait, said his country supported the Secretary-General's reform proposals, which were pragmatic and focused on performance efficiency and cost-effectiveness. His drive to improve the Organization's financial situation through better internal control mechanisms was appreciated.
The United Nations working group which had been examining the question of reform and expansion of the Security Council membership for the past four years should take new global realities into consideration. Membership composition should reflect the collective will to address new challenges. Permanent members of the Council should have the firm will, the military muscle, the financial resources and the sense of initiative and crisis- management expertise needed to act decisively without trepidation when the situation warranted. Council membership was not a privilege as much as a
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responsibility. It should not be a means for posturing; rather it should be a statement of conviction. The new Council should reflect a world shifting towards globalization and transparency in order to provide a better sense of security and peace to countries in the South and the North, in the East and the West.
He said that emphasis on economic and social development as a crucial factor in ensuring conventional security required a comprehensive approach to development, including the involvement of international institutions. All members of the world community should renounce violence, recognize the legitimate interests of others, respect their rights, and give due priority to development matters. They should also reject the arms race and abstain from behaviour and policies that endangered peace and security. The prosperity of the North paled when viewed through the prism of poverty in the South. The security of Europe would really be incomplete if Africa was marginalized by neglect. There would be little peace of mind in America while Asia continued to undergo population explosion.
Kuwait welcomed the movement towards prohibition of the production, stockpiling and use of landmines, he said. It would be a similar measure to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Kuwait also welcomed the regulations concluded to control arms, to reduce the nuclear threat and to tighten controls over arms trade, especially in the area of ballistic missiles, and to increase transparency regarding weapons. The United Nations had contained many dangers and defused several crises, although many regional problems remained unresolved flash points of tension.
Kuwaitis recalled the Council's response to the aggression by the Iraqi regime against their country in August 1990, characterized by firm rejection, resolute confrontation and decisive action in the form of a series of resolutions that aborted the aggression, he said. That case, with all its dimensions and ramifications, had become an historical precedent for dealing with any similar aggression, irrespective of its origin, against any State.
Iraq, however, despite the dire need of its people for an end to economic sanctions imposed had not, as yet, fulfilled basic conditions required for lifting them, he said, citing the question of Kuwaiti and third- country prisoners and detainees. That purely humanitarian issue affected several hundred families who still did no know the whereabouts of their loved ones. The Iraqi regime had been exploiting their destiny as bargaining in its diplomatic manoeuvres. Iraq also refused to return a lot of Kuwaiti public and private property, primarily the air defence system -- units and other military equipment -- as well as important State documents. Iraq had also failed to eliminate weapons of mass destruction and indulged in a policy of procrastination, subterfuge and deception, he said. It hid certain categories of weapons, only to acknowledge later that those weapons existed in its arsenal. It denied having certain types of missiles and biological
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components, only to recant its assertions once the international teams of inspectors discover them.
He welcomed Council resolution 1115 (1997), adopted after Council members realized that Iraq was not really serious in dealing with the inspection teams. In fact, the lives of some inspectors had been endangered due to interference by the Iraqi side. Kuwait also welcomed Council resolution 1111 on the extension of the implementation of the provisions of resolution 986 (1995), which aimed at alleviating the suffering of the Iraqi people. Their hardship was due to the failure of the Iraqi regime to meet its obligations. Kuwait had experience first-hand the vicious intentions of Iraq's territorial expansion, regional hegemony and military superiority at the expense of neighbouring countries and to the detriment of regional peace and stability. It therefore affirmed the need to preserve the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq.
His country was also concerned over the continued occupation of three United Arab Emirates islands by Iran, he said. Kuwait was fully committed to the decision taken by the Gulf Cooperation Council on the subject. He called on Iran to respond favourably to the peaceful initiative launched by the President of the United Arab Emirates, to engage in a sincere dialogue that took into account the inalienable rights of the United Arab Emirates to the islands in question and to resolve the dispute along the line of good- neighbourly relations, international treaties and the United Nations Charter.
Turning to the question of the Middle East and the success of the peace process, he said there were crucial matters that affected world peace and security. Kuwait regretted the paralysis of that process that left frustration and tension throughout the regions. The current stalemate was the result of new concepts by the Israeli Government regarding the frame of reference underlying the peace process in the region. Israel had backtracked from the rules and principles worked out at the Madrid Conference and replaced them by new elements. Israel had not committed itself to implement bilateral agreements reached with the Palestinian Authority, including withdrawal from all occupied territories, particularly Jerusalem. Also, Israel had not ceased its policy of annexing Arab Jerusalem.
He called on the co-sponsors of the peace initiative to maintain even- handedness, while doubling their efforts to revive the stalling peace process. Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan, which had been under occupation since 1967, was also essential for a complete peace process. Kuwait supported Syria's position that negotiations with Israel should resume from the point where they halted, instead of beginning new rounds without any frames of reference. Israel was duty-bound to implement all provisions of Security Council resolution 425 (1978) and to preserve Lebanon's sovereignty and territorial integrity.
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ABLASSE OUEDRAOGO, Foreign Minister of Burkina Faso, said African States had shown their resolve to cope with political instability and armed conflicts by the creation of mechanisms for their prevention. In 1945, Africa had no presence in the Security Council. Today, it intended to have its place in the Council recognized by the assignment of two permanent seats to Africa. The general plans for expansion of the Council must involve equitable representation for Asia, Africa and Latin America. The functioning of the Council must also be reviewed. The objectives enshrined in the Charter could only be maintained if there was justice within, as well as between, nations.
Disarmament efforts must work towards the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, nuclear, biological and chemical, he said. The circulation of small arms in Africa continued to be a serious problem and had increased the incidence of criminal acts in the region. There was concern about the progress of the Secretary-General's follow-up on the issue of the unlawful circulation of small arms.
He said the international environment was changing owing to three major developments: globalization, the opening of economic markets, and the revolution in communications and information. Africa, like a sick-bed patient, had heard and heeded the prognosis for its cure. The continent was obtaining some results, but those improvements might well be wiped out by globalization, leaving Africa further marginalized. In that respect, the "Agenda for Development" should be a catalyst for a new global partnership for development.
There was a need to review resolution 2758, which excluded the Republic of China on Taiwan from inclusion in the United Nations, he said. The Republic of China had relations of some kind with most States; its 21.5 million residents should be acknowledged.
Year after year, the principle of free trade was being ignored, he said. Cuba was a victim. The embargo against it, along with other obstacles to its freedom of trade, had continued. Efforts must be made by all parties to explore new, constructive solutions. He went on to say that poverty, the deteriorating environment, international terrorism, drug trafficking and major natural catastrophes were the major threats facing the world. The United Nations was an invaluable tool to protect against those threats.
KAMAL THAPA, Foreign Minister of Nepal, said the Secretary-General's proposals, particularly those on financial reform and reform of the Security Council, complemented the ongoing intergovernmental process to revitalize the United Nations. The Organization, if it was to perform the mission set by the Charter, could not limp from one year to another on the verge of bankruptcy. A change in the scale of assessments was overdue. No country should bear excessive burden, but the fundamental principle of any scale of assessments should be capacity to pay, calculated on the basis of that country's share of its global gross national product (GNP). It also did not make sense that half
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of the total membership was assessed the same amount of contribution. Countries, rich and poor, must pay their assessed share in full, on time and without conditions.
The Security Council should better reflect changes in contemporary political and economic realities, he said. It should be representative in composition, transparent in functioning and democratic in character. It must also reflect a balance between the North and the South. The contribution of Member States should be the guiding criterion for the selection of members for an expanded Security Council, in both permanent and non-permanent categories. Reform of the Council -- the principal instrument of the international community in the area of collective security -- must in no way diminish its capacity for prompt effective action in the maintenance of peace and security.
Too often in the past, the United Nations had suffered from the lack of a sorely needed capacity to act in the face of conflicts, he said. The Secretary-General must be encouraged and supported financially to make use of his high office in the resolution of emerging conflicts. When peacekeeping operations were mandated by the Security Council, the Secretary-General's capacity to organize and mount them, in a timely manner, should be strengthened. Peacekeeping was dependent largely on the maintenance, within the armed forces of Member States, of elements which could be made available promptly to the United Nations. There were now 66 countries participating in the United Nations stand-by arrangement, and it was high time that the rapidly deployable mission headquarters became operational.
The adoption of "An Agenda for Development" was a welcome sign for the renewal of development cooperation between North and South, he said. However, its usefulness could only be measured in terms of its faithful implementation. Additional resources were required, on an assured and predictable basis, to ensure sustainable development of the least developed and landlocked countries.
He went on to say that the rapid decline of the living standard in almost all the least developed and landlocked developing countries was testimony to the gross marginalization of those countries, despite the new trade regime which was supposed to usher in an era of prosperity throughout the world. That anomaly was further compounded by the accelerating reduction of the ODA to the least developed countries. For the least developed countries -- and the landlocked among them, which suffered from additional physical handicaps -- foreign direct investment could not be a substitute for ODA for some time to come.
Right of Reply
CHOE MYONG NAN (Democratic People's Republic of Korea), speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said he strongly rejected the allegations
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aimed at misleading world opinion. As for chemical weapons, the Republic of Korea and the United States had introduced them into the Korean Peninsula. The representative, therefore, had no right to talk about the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Democratic People's Republic of Korea had been the direct victim of a biochemical attack during the Korean war during the 1950s. It was the sovereign right of every State to decide whether or not to accede to the Convention.
As for the human rights issue, he said, the world community was gravely concerned with the human rights desert which existed in the Republic of Korea. The present social system in that country led to a systematic and consistent pattern of gross human rights violations. Its national security law denied rights and freedoms, including the right to choose one's ideology and freedom of expression and opinion, as stipulated in international human rights instruments. That law had produced large numbers of political prisoners and was still being used to suppress non-violent political activities by dissidents and student organizations. Hundreds of prisoners of conscience, including long-term political prisoners, had been languishing in prison for more than 40 years.
The United States and the Republic of Korea had explained that the "four party talks" were intended to ensure durable peace on the Korean Peninsula, he said. To achieve that, the present armistice system should be replaced and United States troops withdrawn. However, during the previous two rounds of preliminary talks, the Republic of Korea had strongly opposed negotiations on those issues, insisting instead that the talks focus mainly on the issue of "relations between North and South Korea". It was undesirable to address north-south relations at multilateral talks because the issue was internal.
The Republic of Korea had resorted to sinister attempts to undermine humanitarian aid by other countries and non-governmental organizations to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, he said. It claimed that food assistance had been diverted for use by the military and there would be good farming this year. In 1984, when the Republic of Korea was afflicted by floods, his Government had generously provided humanitarian help.
ALEXANDER S. GORELIK (Russian Federation) said the Foreign Minister of Moldova had stated earlier today that the presence of Russian troops on the territory of his country was a violation of international law. However, that statement was in direct contradiction to recent meetings between the Governments of Moldova and the Russian Federation. Russian troops were being systematically reduced. However, a complete withdrawal before there was a political solution in Dnestr would be destabilizing. There were major arms in the region. The Russian Federation was playing a major role in the peace negotiations in the region. A great deal of work was yet to be done. There were also complications created by Russia's own national problems. In earlier talks, the President of Moldova had shown a clear understanding of the
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situation. A settlement in Dnestr was possible, but the dynamics of the situation had to be understood.
SUNGNAM LIM (Republic of Korea) said it was preposterous that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea would address the question of human rights. Politically, it was well known that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was a repressive, totalitarian system. Economically, the basic human needs of ordinary citizens were not being met, despite the Government's characterization of the country as "a workers' paradise". Socially, they lived without the democratic principles of free speech. Amnesty International had reported the presence, on a large scale, of concentration camps for political prisoners throughout the country. Furthermore, it still dispatched armed soldiers to antagonize the Republic of Korea.
Mr. CHOE (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said he did not believe it was necessary to refute the allegations by the representative of the Republic of Korea, who was still making confrontational statements, even at the United Nations. In recent years, governments and non-governmental organizations had been providing aid to his country irrespective of their beliefs or social structures. His Government was grateful for such assistance. However, the Republic of Korea was attempting to create a negative atmosphere by saying that assistance should not be provided to his country because it had stocks of food. Faced with such unethical behaviour, how could his Government communicate with the Republic of Korea?
Mr. LIM (Republic of Korea) said he was disappointed that the Democratic People's Republic of Korea had failed to understand how other countries perceived it. The Republic of Korea had been the biggest donor to the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, providing it with food aid worth $280 million since 1995.
M. NASSER AL-KIDWA, the Permanent Observer for Palestine, said he had been surprised at the statement this morning by Israel's Foreign Minister, which portrayed a situation which was opposite to what was really happening. The Israeli Government had adopted policies which ran counter to the agreements between the parties. It had continued its settlement plans and confiscated Palestinian lands. It had also insisted on the sheer Jewishness of the city of Jerusalem. Such actions were accompanied by continued repression. Israel had failed to recognize its agreements with Palestine, as well as the relevant United Nations resolutions.
Terrorism should be condemned by both sides, he said. He wished to remind the Foreign Minister about the legitimacy of United Nations resolutions, including resolution 181 (1947) which had been the basis for the foundation of Palestine. International law and United Nations resolutions were valid and could not be replaced. Today, he had heard about more positive Israeli-Palestinian moves; it was hoped that they would be conducive to an improvement in relations, in accordance with the agreements between the two peoples. * *** *