SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS REFORM, REGRET AT LACK OF RESOURCES EXPRESSED IN ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON ANNUAL REPORT OF SECRETARY-GENERAL
Press Release
GA/9352
SUPPORT FOR UNITED NATIONS REFORM, REGRET AT LACK OF RESOURCES EXPRESSED IN ASSEMBLY DEBATE ON ANNUAL REPORT OF SECRETARY-GENERAL
19971110 Negative Effects of Globalization, Reduction of Development Aid Among Areas of Concern; Members Urged to Pay Assessed Contributions In FullSeveral speakers voiced support for United Nations reform but expressed concern over the lack of resources, the reduction in official development assistance (ODA) and the negative effects of globalization, as the General Assembly this morning met to consider the Secretary-General's annual report on the work of the Organization.
Also this morning the General Assembly decided to postpone consideration of the item entitled, "Question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) and to include it in the provisional agenda of the fifty-third session.
In the debate on the Secretary-General's report, the representative of the Philippines said the report reflected the "creeping marginalization" of the United Nations on development policy, despite the adoption of the Agenda for Development earlier this year. The report made little reference to the United Nations role in the area of macro-economic decision-making and policies.
The Minister of State for External Affairs of India said that while developing countries were crucial to world growth, that had not been reflected in their gaining enhanced participation in rule-setting or decision-making processes. The Security Council's legitimacy would be enhanced when developing countries were represented equitably in its permanent membership.
The representative of Slovenia said negative trends in ODA and slow progress in implementing commitments made at the world social summit in Copenhagen were reasons for concern. He said the success or failure of development policies hinged on events in Africa.
The representative of Iraq said the Secretary-General's report described sanctions as valuable to the Security Council's work, but overlooked the framework of the United Nations Charter. The sanctions imposed on Iraq were not in accordance with the principles of the Charter. The report dealt with the sanctions against Iraq as if they were permanent.
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The representative of Italy said Security Council reform was urgent but not at the cost of hasty agreements on unresolved issues. Italy and other Members had taken steps to prevent Council reform from being bound by a time- frame that would threaten the principles of the Charter. Current negotiations were not meant to block the ambitions of one or two States, but aimed at the good of the entire membership.
Statements were also made by Colombia, Brazil, Argentina, Belgium, Malaysia, Guyana, Iran, United States, Austria, United Kingdom, Romania, Germany, Ireland and Bangladesh.
The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 12 November, to consider the report of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Assembly Work Programme
The General Assembly met this morning to consider the Secretary-General's annual report on the work of the Organization, and also the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas).
Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
The Assembly had before it the report of the Special Committee on the Situation with Regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples (document A/52/23 (Part VII) Chapter XI).
The report contains a draft resolution (document A/AC.109/2096) adopted by the Committee in June requesting Argentina and the United Kingdom to consolidate dialogue and cooperation by resuming negotiations for a peaceful solution to the sovereignty dispute over the Falkland Islands (Malvinas), in accordance with the provisions of relevant Assembly resolutions.
The Committee reiterated its firm support for the mission of good offices of the Secretary-General in order to help the parties comply with Assembly resolutions on the question. It decided to keep the question of the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) under review, subject to Assembly directives.
Report on Work of Organization
The Secretary-General's report (document A/52/1), which he presented to the Assembly on 22 September, is divided into three parts. Part I, entitled "Contours of the New Era", highlights some of the key forces transforming the world; Part II, "Managing Change", presents an overview of United Nations activities in the past year; Part III, entitled "The Steps Ahead", reflects on his reform proposals submitted to the Assembly on 16 July.
In reporting on the Organization's work in the past year, the Secretary- General reviews the following areas: good governance, human rights and democratization; international economic cooperation and sustainable development; development operations; preventive diplomacy and disarmament; humanitarian action, peacekeeping and peace-building; and new transnational threats.
(For further details on the Secretary-General's report, see Press Release SG/2039-GA/9303-ORG/1248 issued on 22 September.)
Question of Falkland Islands (Malvinas)
The President of the Assembly, HENNADIY UDOVENKO (Ukraine), announced that, following consultations regarding the agenda item on the question of the
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Falkland Islands (Malvinas), and taking into account the Assembly decision 51/407 of 25 October 1996, it was proposed to postpone consideration of the item and include it in the provisional agenda of the Assembly's fifty-third session. The Assembly agreed.
Secretary-General's Report: Statements KHALED S.H. AL-HITTI (Iraq) said the Secretary-General's report presented conclusions on certain problems without exploring the future of issues such as poverty, international relations, development and disarmament. It described sanctions as valuable in regard to the work of Security Council, but while this may have been correct it overlooked the framework of the United Nations Charter. Sanctions had to be imposed according to all the peaceful and preventive means stipulated in the Charter, and this was not the case with Iraq.
He said Iraq wondered how preventive sanctions could be included under title of preventive diplomacy. To date, the sanctions imposed on his country had led to the death of one and a quarter million Iraqi people and exposed countless children to malnutrition. If sanctions were peaceful, then the United Nations would not have to review them through the Working Group on Sanctions. The Secretary-General's report dealt with sanctions against Iraq as if they were permanent.
The United Nations, he went on, needed to inquire with its staff about Iraq's compliance with sanction requirements. The representative of the United States had rejected contracts for medicine and certain parts for trucks used in the transport of food. Malnutrition was still a serious problem. Iraq had always asked for differentiation between the essential issues and the secondary ones, and it cooperated with the Special Commission at all times. Iraq was committed to observing the relevant resolutions of the Security Council so that the unjust sanctions against it could be lifted.
FELIPE MABILANGAN (Philippines) called for a more conducive environment for development. He said globalization should not be considered the panacea or substitute for international policies aimed at correcting economic imbalances. The Secretary-General's report reflected the "creeping marginalization" of the United Nations on development policy, despite the fact that the Agenda for Development was adopted earlier this year. The report made little, if any, reference to the role of the United Nations in macro-economic decision-making and policies, or to issues relating to international cooperation on such matters as finance, technology and investment. Member States must correct the situation and restore development policy issues to the United Nations agenda.
He said the Philippines applauded the Secretary-General's preventive diplomacy efforts, but regretted that Member States had not yet agreed on a definition of the concept. His country supported the call of the Non-Aligned Movement for the definition and principles of "preventive action" to be considered by the General Assembly. He said Member States also needed to
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study the reforms put forward in paragraph 174, which suggested rebalancing the functions between the Organization's legislative bodies and the Secretary- General; any reconfiguration must aim at strengthening the role of the General Assembly as defined in the United Nations Charter.
JUAN CARLOS LONDOÑO (Colombia) said the world climate today was one of globalization, integration and multilateral trade. However, not everyone shared the benefits of that new climate. For example, Africa benefited from only 4 per cent of total direct foreign investment. In his report, the Secretary-General stated the need to combine national growth policies with external assistance to help facilitate the development of the less developed countries. A great deal still needed to be done in various areas, including stepping up efforts against weapons proliferation.
He said there was a need for clarification regarding the establishment of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The establishment of the Office was not, as mentioned in paragraph 31 of the Report, the result of a Security Council decision, but originated with a proposal of the Colombian Government with the support of the Office of Human Rights.
DANILO TURK (Slovenia) said increasing violence had an impact on the United Nations today. Political and social disintegration were rising. The transnational expansion of civil society also bred organized crime, money- laundering and terrorism. Two of the most challenging tasks facing the Organization were the promotion of human rights and good governance. Current United Nations activities in human rights confirmed their universality, but there must be scope for individual cultures.
He said negative trends in official development aid and slow progress in implementing commitments made at the World Social Summit in Copenhagen were reasons for concern. Again, the role of enlightened States was crucial. The success or failure of development policies hinged on events in Africa. A prosperous and politically stable Africa would contribute to international peace and security.
Cooperation for an improved United Nations raised three questions: financing, the Secretary-General's reforms, and reform of the Security Council. Member States must pay their outstanding contributions in full and on time. Narrow interests of States or groups of States should give way to the common interest. Reform of the Security Council was one of the most important issues at the present time.
HENRIQUE VALLE (Brazil) said the Secretary-General's analysis of what he called "the contours of a new era" was a lucid attempt to capture in suspended animation the elements of a quickly shifting international environment. It was no surprise that the picture which emerged was one fraught with
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contradictions. Wealth and economic growth coexisted with extreme poverty. While democracy made significant inroads, multiple forms of tyranny and intolerance threatened individual freedoms, and although the prospects for peace had seldom been more encouraging, a number of conflicts continued to deny various regions of the world the more beneficial aspects of globalization.
He said Brazil agreed with the Secretary-General that "an important task for the years ahead would be to develop forms of partnership between developed and developing countries". The work of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) should continue to promote a fuller integration of developing countries into the international trading system. The need for financial and technological support to developing countries in their efforts to pursue environmental goals remained a priority.
He said in Latin America and the Caribbean, mutually reinforcing prospects for economic growth and vigorous democracy had established a solid basis of trade-induced integration, setting the stage for continuous peace and development. The United Nations had contributed to promoting such changes and could do more in the future. He said that if the Security Council was expected to play a more active role in guaranteeing safe conditions for humanitarian assistance, as outlined in the relevant chapter of the report, such efforts should be attempted in parallel with multilaterally defined diplomatic agendas. Furthermore, it was necessary to preserve the role of the General Assembly in the humanitarian domain, whenever international security was not an overriding concern.
FERNANDO PETRELLA (Argentina) said it was an era of contradictions, where globalization and integration coexisted with fragmentation and marginalization. The United Nations needed to generate progress in the areas of sustainable development, protection of human rights and the maintenance of international peace and security.
The reduction of official development assistance (ODA) was one of the greatest paradoxes of our day, he said, and the role of the United Nations in the field of development must be reviewed. Argentina supported efforts aimed at improving the cost benefits of development programmes.
He said the protection of human rights was inseparable from the maintenance of international peace and security. All countries should be involved in the process. Today's conflicts were "inter-State" in nature and required more sensitivity on the part of the Security Council, which must address very carefully the use of sanctions taking account of their negative effects on the civil population. The United Nations must try to improve the deployment time of troops and the system of early warning. Argentina would sign the agreement to ban anti-personnel land mines in Ottawa in December.
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ALEX REYN (Belgium) said his country supported the Secretary-General's intention to make the United Nations simpler, more integrated and more focused. The reform proposals would adapt the Organization to keep the needs of the modern world. They required the firm commitment of all Member States and a fast, unambiguous, collective response. That would breathe new life into the relationships between the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Economic and Social Council.
Three aspects of the report should be stressed, he said. First, the new world environment required more systematic cooperation between the United Nations and all the other players working to promote political and economic security on all levels. Second, it was time to implement lasting solutions to the Organization's financial difficulties. Third, the delicate matter of Security Council reform was imperative in order to avoid unproductive conflict. It should not be indefinitely postponed.
HASMY AGAM (Malaysia) commented on the issue of globalization in the Secretary-General's report and said there was urgent need for "critical regulatory safeguards in respect of international financial markets". The United Nations should contribute to international efforts to arrive at those safeguards. On the issues of international economic cooperation, sustained economic growth and sustainable development, he said the critical challenge was to rationalize the collective commitments -- particularly financial commitments -- made at the United Nations and at various global conferences. It was perhaps time to consider whether the Secretary-General should attend meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization.
He said all countries should expand, enhance and contribute to the exchange of knowledge and experiences in the field of human rights. The Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights had an important role to play in promoting that cooperation.
On the question of disarmament, he said Malaysia believed the Organization could play a more significant role. Despite some positive developments in the past year, Member Sates could not be too sanguine about those achievements in the absence of progress in the further reduction of nuclear weapons leading to their total elimination. On the issue of preventive diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes, he said such activities should continue to be undertaken within the provisions of the United Nations Charter and the mandate given to the world body.
He referred to the financial situation of the Organization and said failure by Member States to pay mandatory contributions constituted a direct attack on United Nations programmes and action.
PAULETTE CORNETTE (Guyana) said the first report of the new Secretary- General was an assurance that the Organization was in capable hands. She
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referred to UNCTAD and approved its review of the relationship between globalization and development. She said Guyana was also pleased that the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) had examined compatibility between international trade and a more open international system. Globalization threatened to negate gains developing countries had made, at the very time they were struggling with poverty.
She said such developing countries could improve their economic situation only through partnership with developed ones and with the United Nations. She added that the determination by UNCTAD that the state of the environment had deteriorated did not augur well for developing countries whose economies depended on a healthy environment. The Secretary-General's reform proposals, when adopted, should better enable the United Nations to assist developing countries in attaining their goals, but adequate financing was necessary. Private capital flows were selective and promises of ODA had not been realized. The most reliable source of funding had been United Nations funds and programmes; the Organization should maintain that priority.
MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI (Iran) said the imperative of nuclear disarmament should, in no circumstances, be overshadowed by the ongoing negotiations on conventional weapons. He hoped that in the process of United Nations reform and restructuring of the disarmament machinery, the priorities stipulated in the first special Assembly session on disarmament would be given due consideration. With regard to peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building, he said the Assembly should exercise its paramount role in defining the objectives. The success of peacekeeping operations depended on genuine multilateral cooperation and compliance with the principles of international law, particularly the provisions of the United Nations Charter.
He said that, while the collective campaign of the world community to define, promote and protect human rights across the globe represented a great achievement of humanity at large, the imperative of a balanced approach to all aspects of human rights -- civil, political, economic, social and cultural -- should not be neglected. In the area of development, which should be considered as the most pivotal issue on the United Nations agenda, a number of disquieting trends needed to be addressed. He cited the shift away from multilateralism on the part of the developed world and continuing decline in ODA. Comprehensive development of poorer countries was the prerequisite for peace and security at the global level, and deserved the undivided attention of the whole international community.
KAMLA SINHA (India), Minister of State for External Affairs, said what was missing from the Secretary-General's overview of current developments was the imperative and critical need for the world community to pursue the goal of nuclear disarmament, to which all Member States were committed, with the sense of urgency it deserved. This year there had been an impasse in the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission on the issue of nuclear disarmament.
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She said that while developing countries were increasingly crucial to world growth, that had not been reflected in their gaining enhanced participation in rule-setting or decision-making processes. The transnational forces that propelled global changes, particularly mobile investment and finance, were weakening the ability of national governments to influence economic and social outcomes. Most developing countries continued to suffer the problems of poverty, lack of adequate infrastructure, human resource development and technological deficit. There was need for an international consensus on the role of the United Nations in effectively facilitating the creation of a global economic environment conducive to sustained economic growth, that would ensure the availability of resources for investments in the social and environmental sectors, and for poverty eradication.
For the United Nations to be more effective, it had to become more representative and democratic in its functioning. The legitimacy of the Security Council would be enhanced when developing countries, who constituted the vast majority of the United Nations membership, were represented equitably in the category of permanent membership.
FRANK GUARINI (United States) referred to the "fiscal precariousness" of the United Nations. He called for "incremental adjustments" to make the Organization less dependent on any one State. The Assembly must approve changes in the scale of assessment for both the regular and peacekeeping budgets. He said reform was a process of strategically managing change in the world, but it could not go forward without the participation of Member States. The format and structure of the report were improved, and this reflected improved stewardship.
He said the consolidation of the Human Rights Centre into the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights would strengthen the Organization's human rights machinery. The United States also supported bringing together development activities in a development group chaired by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Administrator. Enhancing field-level coordination should be a priority. The UNCTAD needed further improvements to increase its efficiency. The consolidation of three Secretariat departments into the new Department of Economic and Social Affairs would also promote efficiency and cut expenses.
He said the Secretary-General's creation of a Department of Disarmament Affairs was welcome, but efforts must be made to ensure that it did not duplicate ongoing, related work. It was important to maintain budgetary restraint. The Department of Humanitarian Affairs was ineffective, and the Secretary-General was wise to abolish it and transfer its core functions to the new Office of the Emergency Relief Coordinator.
ERNST SUCHARIPA (Austria) said the Secretary-General's report indicated that the international scenario was marked by contradictory trends of integration
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and fragmentation. Progress towards reforms in 1997 had been less than satisfactory. There was much bemoaning of the lack of public interest in the efforts of the United Nations, and the Organization's failure to arouse media interest. Many people spent a great deal of time talking about action, but not nearly enough on action itself.
He said the tasks of the United Nations were manifold, extending from peace and security to sustainable development, from the eradication of poverty to the preservation of human rights and promotion of international law. A wide spectrum of support was needed for effective action. The potential of the Organization to address real needs must not be endangered by those who had lost faith. As the Secretary-General had said, reform was a process and not an event, and full participation and effort by all was necessary in that process.
STEPHEN GOMERSALL (United Kingdom) said he supported the Secretary- General's call for fundamental, not piecemeal, reform and also for developing the Organization's central role in peace, development, human rights and the environment. The Secretary-General must also be commended for the form and presentation of the report, which was to the point and forward-looking. The Secretary-General's decision to introduce the report in the plenary before the start of the Assembly's general debate was a bold, innovative step that gave more focus and a higher profile to the debate that ensued among ministers attending the session.
PETRU DUMITRIU (Romania) said that as indicated in the Secretary- General's report, it was not yet clear that globalization pushed mankind in the same direction. There were tendencies towards greater fragmentation. Therefore, the international community must strengthen multilateral mechanisms. The United Nations must not "be shaken by curable financial diseases and fixable structural weaknesses". It must "harness the mutual benefits of globalization while managing its adverse effects".
He said Romania agreed with the assertions in the report that good governance, human rights and democratization were vital to achieving peace, sustainable development and broadly shared prosperity. That issue had been stressed at the International Conference of New or Restored Democracies on Democracy and Development in Bucharest in September. The spirit of the conference's final document was reflected in the Secretary-General's report.
The United Nations, he went on, must foster a supportive framework and act as a counterweight to the current decline in ODA. On the report's section on preventive diplomacy, he said activities of the United Nations had discouraged escalation even in the worst cases. It also had a positive role in the prevention of internal conflicts by offering norms for international conduct. Romania supported the Secretary-General's reform package.
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GERHARD HENZE (Germany) noted the "cluster" of good governance, human rights and democratization had rightly been identified by the Secretary- General as an essential building block for meeting the objectives of sustained development, prosperity and peace. However, those achievements would remain elusive if the international community failed to secure full and equal rights for women and girls, who constituted half the world population.
He said the United Nations was called on to promote the empowerment and full integration of women into the societies of the twenty-first century. A substantial part of the world population remained excluded from the new opportunities presented by globalization and technological innovations. Existing and emerging crises and conflicts had to be addressed more vigorously and systematically, with attention refocused towards the underlying causes of the problems.
Since damage prevention was less costly than damage repair, he went on, Germany had begun to refocus its attention on crisis prevention through the traditional instruments of development cooperation. Past experience had shown that the internal political and economic environment of a country was crucial to the success or failure of development. Therefore, Germany had identified those criteria which it believed were conducive to effective development: respect for human rights; popular participation in political decision-making; rule of law and guaranteed legal security; introduction of a social market economy; and developmental orientation of State action. Greater cooperation was necessary among States so that in the future sustained and uninterrupted development would be the rule, and the need for peacekeeping the exception.
FRANCESCO PAOLO FULCI (Italy) said there was a need for more open channels of communication between the United Nations and civil society. It was high time that the world Organization acknowledged the contribution that could be made to its work by civil society, particularly non-governmental organizations which provided much of the input to the international conferences of the 1990s in the economic and social fields.
On the issue of preventive diplomacy, he said the United Nations had neither the vocation, structure or resources to carry out peace enforcement operations. Instead, it should rely on regional organizations or coalitions. To strengthen every component of peace-keeping, the Secretariat should first define the concept of logistic support as the frame of reference for all peacekeeping initiatives.
He said Italy welcomed the Secretary-General's decision to establish the United Nations Development Group, which would be conducive to more efficient and effective programmes, although efficiency alone could not solve the problem of poverty or ensure sustainable development in developing countries.
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On United Nations reform, he said Italy was committed to changes in the Security Council, in view of the Organization's increased membership and the need to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century. However, reform should not be at the cost of hasty agreements on issues that were not fully resolved. No reform would be fair unless it was inspired by the principles of the Charter, including equality of States and equitable geographic representation. Italy and other Members had taken steps to safeguard the Security Council reporting process and to prevent Council reform from being bound by a time-frame that would threaten the principles of the Charter. It was not true that current negotiations were meant to block the ambitions of one or two States, but were directed at the good of the entire membership of the Organization.
JOHN H.F. CAMPBELL (Ireland) said the Secretary-General's report, shorter than in previous years, was more readable and underlined the essential role of multilateral diplomacy. The Secretary-General's analysis of the immense benefits and problems of globalization offered a clear call to reaffirm faith in multilateralism. The United Nations system held a central place in the process. The report rightly placed great emphasis on good governance, human rights and democratization. It was now possible to approach human rights in practical as well as principled terms from a truly global perspective.
In its overview, the report gave central emphasis to the place of development. The Secretary-General had noted that the United Nations development organizations faced enormous challenges with limited resources; enhanced support was necessary. The Secretary-General was right in seeing the current world situation as one which did not allow the United Nations to advance through incremental adaptation. He had made a clear case for a process of fundamental reform and his emphasis on that theme throughout the report gave it particular coherence and force.
ANWARUL KARIM CHOWDHURY (Bangladesh) said the chapters of the Secretary- General's report on peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building were comprehensive. However, on international peace and security, a brief overview of the evolving nature of peacekeeping would have been useful. Also, highlights of the work of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping could have been included. He said the reporting on arms control and disarmament was not comprehensive, and there was little focus on regional imperatives and efforts. The linkage between disarmament and development had not been articulated. The intention to bring disarmament to "centre stage" of the United Nations agenda would be meaningful only when the twin objectives were reduction of both military and non-military threats to peace and security.
On the subject of development, he welcomed the Secretary-General's view that a United Nations core mission was to facilitate the successful integration of marginalized countries as active participants in the world
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economy. But that introductory pledge was not reflected in the report's thematic section, and the absence of a conspicuous reference to the least developed countries was unfortunate at a time when most of the development objectives of the Programme of Action of the least developed remained unfulfilled.
He said human rights should be pursued in holistic terms and in their proper context. For decades, a partial and hence critically distorted approach, with an almost exclusive focus on civil and political rights, had failed the cause. He noted with satisfaction that due account had been taken of the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action, which was particularly significant given the ongoing reform and restructuring process.
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