SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR STRENGTHENED MULTILATERALISM TO ANSWER THOSE WHO SAY 'CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS' IS INEVITABLE
Press Release
SG/SM/6425
SECRETARY-GENERAL CALLS FOR STRENGTHENED MULTILATERALISM TO ANSWER THOSE WHO SAY 'CLASH OF CIVILIZATIONS' IS INEVITABLE
19971216 Addressing Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations in Kuala Lumpur, Kofi Annan Praises Malaysia as Voice of 'an Outward-Looking Country'Following is the text of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's address to the Institute for Diplomacy and Foreign Relations, in Kuala Lumpur today:
It gives me great pleasure to be with you this evening and to be visiting Malaysia as it hosts the thirtieth anniversary celebration of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN). Malaysia is a good friend and partner of the United Nations: active in its debates, a generous contributor to peacekeeping, committed to its objectives and universal ideals.
As one of the most advanced economies in the developing world, Malaysia has unique stature and a singular voice. It is the voice of an outward-looking country, engaged not only in the international trading system, but also in the wider, multilateral quest for global peace, development and human rights. It is the voice of a multiracial society that seeks for all its people a culture of tolerance, inclusion and social cohesion. It is, simultaneously, a voice of the South and a voice of the future for all nations.
Malaysia has also been a strong advocate of regional and international cooperation. "Prosper thy neighbour" is a term used often by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in arguing for global and regional policies that give greater consideration to the needs and vulnerabilities of developing nations. These countries merit our support and solidarity, both in finding their footing at home and in becoming better integrated into the global economy.
"Prosper thy neighbour" is more than a slogan. It is a practical approach that reflects an understanding that more and more aspects of contemporary life transcend borders. Today's problems are too complex and interdependent for any single nation, no matter how powerful or rich in resources, to address on its own. In a world of global threats and global opportunities, all countries stand to benefit from international cooperation. And no country is exempt from the risks of doing without it.
Intergovernmental organizations, such as the United Nations and ASEAN, were founded with just these principles in mind. The ASEAN has become one of the
world's most successful regional groupings. It is today the cornerstone of regionalism in Asia. I am pleased to note that ASEAN is close to realizing the vision of its founders: building a community comprising all 10 countries in the South-East Asian region.
ASEAN's most notable success has been its remarkable progress in economic and social development. Per capita gross domestic product has nearly doubled since 1980, even though population increased by more than a third over the same period. But this is just one measure of the region's well-being.
Another is trade, in which ASEAN has been particularly dynamic. While world trade has been growing at a rate of 7.4 per cent per year, trade within ASEAN and between ASEAN and other developing countries has been growing at roughly 19 per cent annually. Intra-ASEAN trade, valued at $3.7 billion when trade preferences were put in place in 1976, reached $53 billion in 1994: more than one fifth of the region's total trade. This rapid growth is being complemented by similarly impressive gains in investment and industrial collaboration. Indeed, the developing countries are becoming the global economy's new frontier for expanding trade, investment, production and finance.
The ASEAN has also served as an important forum for reducing regional tensions and resolving intra-regional differences. It is a highly diverse grouping of nearly 500 million people, but its members face common challenges: ensuring economic development while preserving the natural environment; encouraging greater enjoyment of individual rights; sustaining traditional values in the midst of rapid modernization; and promoting good governance, transparent administration and the development of civil society.
These and other "quality of life" issues have arisen as a result of the dramatic transition the region has undergone in a relatively short time. The ASEAN is by no means alone in confronting such questions. They are on the agenda of other regions and of the United Nations itself.
Today, regionalism and globalization coexist in welcome harmony. Once, it was feared that regional groups would tend to be inward-looking rather than globally engaged. It was thought that, in matters such as trade, regional groups would resort to protectionism instead of maintaining a commitment to open markets.
The experience of recent years shows that this need not be the case. Almost all members of the World Trade Organization now participate in one or more of the 88 regional agreements that are currently in force. Regionalism is enabling developing countries to improve their competitiveness and their ability to navigate in the global economy. The open regionalism which characterizes Malaysia's and other developing countries' cooperation is in fact strengthening the global system, enhancing that system's links and helping spread more equitably the benefits of globalization.
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The issue today is no longer globalization versus regionalism. Rather, it is how to maximize the benefits of regional cooperation while minimizing any possibility that it might undermine multilateral principles. Regionalism, instead of detracting from multilateral action, is fast becoming one of its main pillars.
The United Nations has both a global and a regional perspective. The globalization of the policy-making process on major issues of concern to humankind -- such as the environment, population, human rights, trade and development -- is reflected in United Nations conferences held throughout the 1990s. As a global institution, the United Nations possesses the credibility, expertise and network needed to address these and other issues in a comprehensive manner. Throughout the world, our services in the fields of peacekeeping, conflict resolution, development and democratization remain in great demand.
But implementation depends greatly on regional, national and local bodies. Thus, the United Nations needs to develop strategic alliances with regional organizations such as ASEAN. Along with non-governmental organizations, the private sector, academic institutions and other civil society groups, regional groups are increasingly influential and effective. The international community, in its pursuit of the common good, must harness the myriad contributions that they are uniquely placed to make.
Even in 1945, when none of the regional organizations we know today were yet in existence, the drafters of the Charter of the United Nations were aware of the importance of cooperation with "regional arrangements". They devoted an entire chapter to the subject: Chapter VIII, which provides for regional approaches to the maintenance of international peace and security.
But primarily because of the cold war, the involvement of regional organizations in United Nations preventive diplomacy, peacemaking, peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building is relatively recent vintage. Cooperation between the United Nations and ASEAN in Cambodia was among the earliest such examples. During the period of the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) and since, we have devoted great energy and resources to the cause of Cambodian peace, development and democracy.
I regret that peace and democracy have proven so fragile in Cambodia, and that those developments have led to the postponement of Cambodia's entry into ASEAN. It is my hope that our ongoing efforts will help improve the current situation, for the sake of all Cambodians and so that the country can be admitted in due course.
The United Nations is also working closely with other regional organizations. With the Organization of American States (OAS), we are fielding a mission in Haiti for institution-building and human rights monitoring. A
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joint United Nations-Organization of African Unity (OAU) envoy continues to work for lasting peace in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.
We are cooperating with the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in Georgia and Tajikistan, and with the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) in Georgia. There has been an enormous amount of fruitful cooperation in the Balkans over the past five years with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, the OSCE and the Western European Union.
In recognition of the growing importance of such cooperation, the United Nations convened, in 1994 and again last year, meetings of the heads of a number of regional organizations to discuss ways of working together more effectively. The ASEAN was present in 1996, and I look forward to its involvement when the third such meeting is held next year.
For the moment, I am well aware that the people of South-East Asia are intently focused on their prospects for economic and social security. Recent developments, especially in the financial markets, have shaken the region's confidence. People are concerned about looming job losses, rising prices, austerity measures and a less favourable short-term economic outlook.
Nonetheless, most observers expect the region to overcome its immediate difficulties, regain its path of vigorous growth and fulfil its proven potential.
The prosperity of ASEAN is founded on a solid basis: industrial capacity, manpower skills, entrepreneurship and sound policies. With these fundamentals in place, with courage to carry out necessary reforms and with the help of the international community, I am sure that this region will revive its determination and dynamism.
South-South cooperation offers one formidable way to sustain the gains of recent years. Much of the dramatic growth the world has seen in recent years was led by countries from the South. "No one can do for us what we do not do for ourselves", says the San Jose Declaration on this subject. The ASEAN has taken the sentiment to heart, and as a group has been a leading exponent of South-South dialogue, exchanges, technical support and more.
It is worth noting that the "Group of 15", of which Malaysia and Indonesia are members, is one of the few economic groupings of developing countries that is transregional in scope. The United Nations, for its part, promotes South- South cooperation and is particularly well placed to serve as a forum in which countries and regions struggling to find the path to prosperity can share experiences and lessons learned.
The private sector offers another solid path to continued prosperity. Private businesses, corporations and entrepreneurs are the dominant engine of
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growth, the principal creator of value and wealth, the source of the largest financial, technological and managerial resources. This region has benefited greatly from private sector investment and activity. Given increasing constraints on official development assistance to members of ASEAN, more effective use of private capital becomes even more important.
Here, too, the United Nations can help. Since taking office, I have made constant overtures to the private sector, seeking to show them that there is a clear and demonstrable link between profitability and raising living standards for the world's poorest people. Profitability and equity are not mutually exclusive goals. Quite the reverse.
At the fifth ASEAN Summit, held in Bangkok in 1995, ASEAN leaders declared that ASEAN would explore ways to enhance cooperation with the United Nations, with a view to promoting peace and stability in the region. For my part, I am eager to explore how the United Nations and ASEAN can broaden and deepen the scope of our relations. The long presence in the region of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organization (WHO), Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), International Labour Organization (ILO) and others at work in the economic and social realms provides a solid foundation on which to build. Let us seize this opportunity.
In doing so we can strengthen multilateralism in an age which demands it in ever greater measure and force. We can buttress the principles of tolerance and cooperation in a world in which intolerance and unilateralism have all too many adherents. We can, by our example, provide a resounding answer to those who say a "clash of civilizations" is inevitable.
To some, multilateralism is an encroachment upon national sovereignty. I say without reservation that it is an asset: a way of sharing burdens, political and financial; of profiting from shared experience; and perhaps, most importantly, of expressing shared values that form a strong moral foundation amid the hatred and brutality which all too frequently run rampant in our world.
By working together in this spirit, ASEAN can realize its long-cherished dream of making South-East Asia a zone of peace, freedom and neutrality.
And by working with the United Nations -- a reformed and revitalized instrument of service to humankind -- ASEAN can uphold these important, universal values while securing for itself and all of Asia an even greater voice in world affairs.
I look forward to continuing this valuable, constructive partnership.
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