PROCESS OF REFORM HAS BECOME REALITY, USHERING UNITED NATIONS INTO NEW STAGE OF ITS HISTORY, ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT STATES

23 December 1997

Press Release
GA/SM/27

PROCESS OF REFORM HAS BECOME REALITY, USHERING UNITED NATIONS INTO NEW STAGE OF ITS HISTORY, ASSEMBLY PRESIDENT STATES

19971223 In Concluding Statement before Suspending Fifty-Second Session, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine) Highlights Actions on UN Financial Situation

Following is the statement of the President of the General Assembly, Hennadiy Udovenko (Ukraine), before concluding the main part of the Assembly's fifty-second session, on Monday, 22 December:

Before closing this part of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, let me offer a few preliminary observations and assessments of what we have together managed to accomplish since we started our deliberations.

First, I wish to report that during the last three months, the General Assembly considered 138 items. In this regard, it is worthwhile to note that all of them were important, and, in my view, we have managed to develop productive discussions. Despite the divergence of views presented by various delegations and the political sensitivity of some of the issues, the atmosphere of cooperation and mutual respect of national positions have prevailed in the General Assembly's deliberations. The General Assembly adopted 270 resolutions, 76 per cent of them by consensus, and 77 decisions on the major issues facing our Organization today. The subjects covered reflected the breadth and scope of responsibilities standing before this Organization at the time of its renewal and new global challenges.

At the same time, I hope you would agree with me that this part of the session has been, to an extent, a special one. It has been marked by the consideration by the General Assembly of the institutional reform in the United Nations system, the outlines of which had been suggested by Secretary-General Kofi Annan. This issue dominated the general debate during the work of the high-level segment of the session. It was also the subject of thorough discussion during the deliberations at the plenary and at informal meetings. These broad discussions have demonstrated a notable convergence in aspirations and intentions of the Member States concerning the need to renovate the Organization, so that it is better prepared to face new realities and challenges.

As a result of innovative thinking and political will to reach a desired goal, the General Assembly introduced a new format of deliberations -- the Open-ended Informal Consultations of the Plenary. This allowed all delegations, both small and big, to actively participate in the discussions on this important item. Moreover, it enabled them to contribute equally to the final results of this lengthy but worthy exercise.

It took 16 meetings of the Open-ended Informal Consultations, a number of the so-called "informal informals" conducted by the "Friends of the President", as well as a number of meetings and consultations held at the Office of the President of the General Assembly before we could conclude our discussion on the report of the Secretary-General, "Renewing the United Nations: measures and proposals". As you know, the General Assembly adopted two resolutions in which it commended the Secretary-General for his efforts and outlined further steps necessary for the implementation of his proposals aimed at strengthening the existing institutional and operational machinery and introducing new mechanisms required for the successful functioning of the United Nations.

In this regard, I would like to thank all the "Friends" and "super-Friends" of the President, as well as all the delegations for their active and constructive participation in our deliberations on the report of the Secretary-General. It is important for me to report to you that, in accordance with the request of Member States, the views and comments made by delegations in the course of these discussions were sent to the Secretary-General with a request to take full account of them in the process of the reform implementation.

Although there are many issues which are still waiting to be resolved in the process of United Nations reform, including action on setting up a revolving credit fund, a re-examination of the role of United Nations agencies, establishment of "sunset provisions", today, we have a reason to assert that the process of reform has become a reality. It was endorsed by the concrete decisions of the General Assembly, which, no doubt, ushered the United Nations to a new stage of its history.

It has happened because of a true spirit of consensus which emerged in the course of our deliberations on this issue, and which will be invaluable in our further efforts to develop and complete this process of reform. By engaging in it, we strive to make the more effective United Nations contribute better to the people of our global village in their efforts to build a safer, healthier, more just and prosperous world.

The issue of the Security Council reform also attracted considerable attention of Member States. It was raised in the course of the general debate by almost 160 heads of delegations, which is a clear indication of the membership's strong interest in the issue.

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The comprehensive exchange of views on this subject during our discussions in the plenary was remarkably explicit and straightforward, and although it demonstrated that all Members shared the same belief in the need for changes in the composition of the Security Council and the methods of its work, it also proved once again that there was no clear consensus on how to arrange these changes.

The General Assembly agreed not to take a decision on this matter at this stage. However, it will continue its work on this issue, starting from the second half of January next year, in the format of the relevant open-ended working group.

Referring back to my opening statement, I would like to reiterate the two principles which, in my opinion, should govern our approach to any issue relating to the reform of the United Nations, including that of the Security Council: these are realism and responsibility. We have to be very realistic about and responsible for the proposals on the future of this main body of our Organization.

I hope that the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council will be successful in finding out whether the so-called "magic formula" of enlargement of the Security Council exists in reality, and I hope we will be able to approach the end of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly with a clearer vision of the future Security Council.

The process of United Nations reform, as we are aware, has been taking place against the background of a precarious financial situation in the Organization.

The seriousness of the financial situation in our Organization warranted the holding, at the request of the Secretary-General, of a meeting of the respective Open-ended High-Level Working Group.

This matter will continue to be the object of a careful study in the Working Group on the Financial Situation of the United Nations during the upcoming months.

During the past months, the General Assembly witnessed a number of important achievements in the field of international security and disarmament.

The General Assembly had an important exchange of views in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) on the issue of anti-personnel landmines, which also received great scrutiny from the international public opinion. It took place against the backdrop of the successful conclusion of the "Ottawa process", and the General Assembly marked this historic event by adopting a resolution on the Convention on the

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Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.

I cannot avoid mentioning the General Assembly's another contribution to the process of disarmament. After this session, according to a resolution adopted by the Assembly, the world will have one more nuclear-weapon-free zone -- now it will be Central Asia. The proposal for the establishment of Central Asia as a nuclear-weapon-free zone received support from all Member States, and a resolution on this issue was adopted without vote.

Another source of satisfaction from the work of this session is the adoption by the General Assembly of the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing. It has become possible as a result of a compromise reached among Member States. It will certainly fill in the lacuna existing in the international law on terrorism and will be an important step forward in combating this evil.

As a result of our common efforts, we have also come as close as never before to the establishment of the international criminal court. Today, there is no doubt about the importance and the necessity of creating such body, and at this session, the draft statute of this court has obtained its concrete contours.

The General Assembly also accomplished a great deal in furthering cooperation in the areas of sustainable development and international economic cooperation, as well as on a number of other important issues.

Today, development has become a priority matter for the Organization, and it is rightly perceived to be inseparable from other important issues as, for example, the maintenance of international peace and security.

This understanding helped the delegations to iron out their differences regarding certain aspects of development, in particular with regard to the concept of sustainable development. It is to the benefit of all of us and the Organization that a consensus emerged.

Of particular importance is the resolution adopted by the General Assembly which establishes a process for the convening, before the end of 2001, of a high-level international forum on financing for development. I would like also to attach particular significance to the decision on the renewal of the dialogue on strengthening international economic cooperation for development through partnership.

The General Assembly also dwelt extensively on other items, including the promotion of human rights, as well as issues related to narcotic drugs. On the latter, the General Assembly made specific proposals for the preparatory work for its special session, which is to take place from 8 to 10

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June next year. In its resolution on the Third Decade to Combat Racism and Racial Discrimination, the General Assembly decided to convene a world conference on racism and racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance not later than the year 2001.

We also dealt with the issue of reviewing and adopting the new scale of assessments. The elaboration of the latter was proposed and justified by many delegations on the grounds that any budget, if we wish it to be sound, should be based on a proper taxation.

Given the financial constraints of the United Nations, as well as its difficult and overloaded agenda, deliberations on this issue have proven to be quite complex. Most of them were conducted in the Fifth Committee (Administrative and Budgetary), and at the end of this part of the General Assembly we have managed to adopt a new scale of assessments.

I have highlighted this achievement of the fifty-second session deliberately because it leads the Organization away from the brink of bankruptcy and opens the possibility for the United Nations to enjoy financial stability in the future.

During this session, we agreed also on the programme budget for the next biennium, which reflects also the measures and proposals of the Secretary-General concerning the programme of United Nations reform.

It should be especially noted that it happens only once in six years when the discussion on the scale of assessments coincides in time with the discussion on the budget. This circumstance added some difficulties to the work of the General Assembly on these issues, but, judging by the final results, we may say that this exercise was a success.

In conclusion, I would like to say that we managed to reach a broad agreement on most of the issues, as well as on the strategies in addressing them. We also managed to succeed in resolving many controversial issues without losing the spirit of cooperation and mutual understanding.

Before suspending the fifty-second session of the General Assembly, let me extend my sincere appreciation to all the delegations for your assistance and very instrumental cooperation and for you active work during these months.

I would also like to express my special thanks to Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the staff in the Secretariat, whose close cooperation I have enjoyed throughout the whole three-month period of our work.

My words of gratitude go also to all Vice-Presidents of this Assembly and all Chairmen, Vice-Chairmen and Rapporteurs of the Main Committees for their excellent contribution to our common achievements.

I wish you all Happy Holidays and a Happy New Year.

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