GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCLUDES TWO-WEEK GENERAL DEBATE, WITH FOCUS ON GLOBALIZATION, FINANCIAL CRISIS

2 October 1998

Press Release
GA/9464

GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCLUDES TWO-WEEK GENERAL DEBATE, WITH FOCUS ON GLOBALIZATION, FINANCIAL CRISIS

19981002 `Unique Opportunity' to View World Problems Says Assembly President, Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Haiti, Angola, Georgia, Uzbekistan Address Assembly

As the General Assembly concluded its general debate this afternoon, the President of the Assembly, Didier Opertti (Uruguay), told delegations that the two-week forum had provided a unique and invaluable opportunity to see how governments viewed the world in the final years of the century, what problems had an impact on the peace, security and prosperity of nations and what direction the international community should take in order to resolve them.

During its debate, which began on 21 September, the Assembly heard statements from 180 participants, including addresses from 26 heads of State, one Vice-President, one Crown Prince, 15 Prime Ministers, 14 Deputy Prime Ministers and Foreign Ministers and 105 Foreign Ministers.

For the first time, the general debate of the Assembly was addressed by Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and President of the Palestinian Authority. The President of South Africa, Nelson Mandela, also addressed the Assembly, for possibly the last time.

The issue of globalization dominated the debate. While many speakers emphasized the "irreversible" nature of the process, others stressed that the United Nations and the international community must take urgent steps to manage it and reduce its harmful effects. There were many calls for the establishment of a mechanism to achieve that objective. Prior to the general debate, a high-level dialogue was convened from 17 to 18 September on the social and economic impact of globalization.

Many speakers also linked the world economic and financial crisis to globalization and stressed the need for new financial architecture to avoid a possible global depression. In addition, many participants stressed the need

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for countries to be in charge of determining the pace and sequence of capital flows and a trade system that was transparent and based on well-established norms.

Addressing the Assembly in this afternoon's debate, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Rwanda, Anastase Gasana, said that many wondered if his country had a presence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The question was not, however, who was in there, but why and for what reasons? What had the Organization done when alerted to atrocities by high-ranking Congolese officials? Would the United Nations and the international community wait for genocide to be committed in that country before dispatching a commission of inquiry? Could the International Criminal Court take some measures now? Those were the real questions that should be asked.

The Vice-Minister of External Relations of Angola, Joao Bernardo Miranda, said Jonas Savimbi of the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) had deliberately deceived the United Nations and the international community when he declared that UNITA was totally demilitarized. Instead, it maintained active military units and refused to abandon illegally occupied areas. The UNITA had unleashed attacks against local authorities, the national police and the armed forces. It had also massacred civilians and targeted United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian convoys.

Statements in the general debate were also made by the Foreign Ministers of Guinea-Bissau, Haiti and Georgia, as well as the Chairman of the Delegation of Uzbekistan.

The Assembly also heard statements in exercise of the right of reply by the representatives of Ethiopia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Spain, Eritrea, Rwanda and Indonesia.

The Assembly will meet again at 10 a.m. Monday, 5 October, to consider the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization.

Assembly Work Programme

The Assembly met this afternoon to conclude its general debate. It was expected to hear addresses by the Foreign Ministers of Guinea-Bissau, Rwanda, Haiti, Angola and Georgia, as well as the representative of Uzbekistan.

Statements

FERNANDO DELFIM DASILVA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Guinea-Bissau, said that solutions to international terrorism, poverty, underdevelopment and great pandemics must not be left to the countries affected by such conditions. International law must guide the international community in seeking solutions to conflict.

His Government welcomed the positive development in the Lockerbie affair, he said. He hoped that decisions taken by the Organization of African Unity (OAU), the League of Arab States and the Non-Aligned Movement, would bring justice to the situation, taking into account the rights of each party. The concerns of the Libyan authorities were legitimate and should be respected, in the name of the neutrality and fair play that must govern judicial procedures.

His Government understood that if it wanted to shape political independence it needed to provide for all sectors of its population, he said. Eleven years of struggle for national liberation had left an indelible mark on the people of Guinea-Bissau. Because it was a poor country with limited resources, international assistance would be needed. Furthermore, the Government had attempted to lay the foundation for a democracy that respected law and human rights, but State building was a long process.

On 7 June, he continued, Guinea-Bissau had experienced an unprecedented crisis that shook the country just when it was making progress in democracy, human rights and economic matters. Aggression from the national army had endangered law and order and violated the constitution. For the past four months that act had threatened the country's foundation of law and democratic institutions. The great loss of human life and material damage had forced people to flee. The rapid response team formed by the Governments of Senegal, Portugal and France had been able to evacuate citizens and a large number of them had found refuge in Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Cape Verde and Portugal.

Regional organizations, such as the OAU and the United Nations, had condemned the challenge to the legal Government of Guinea Bissau, he said. The communities of Portuguese-speaking countries and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had set up a constructive dialogue to restore peace and stability to the country. He hoped his country could overcome the attempted coup d'état through decisive action from the international community. A fundamental respect for pluralist democracy, good governance and human rights must be proclaimed.

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ANASTASE GASANA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Rwanda, said the Secretary-General's working visit to Rwanda last May had allowed him to take stock of the after-effects of the genocide, which Rwanda suffered in 1994. His Government appreciated all the help provided for the reconstruction of the country.

The Democratic Republic of the Congo continued to be a cause of concern for the international community, he continued. Today, that country was experiencing the darkest times in its history because genocide was being committed there on the orders of its highest authorities. Since 2 August, Rwanda -- along with the whole world -- had been witness to a rebellion against President Laurent Kabila. The crisis in the country was totally internal and that fact had been recognized by the Foreign Ministers of the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

Rwanda had joined the mediation efforts to find a peaceful solution to the crisis, he said. However, President Kabila believed that the solution lay in the persecution and massacre of the Banyamulenge, the Tutsi, the Rwandans who lived in the Congo and those Congolese who refused to implement his macabre project. The increase in human rights violations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was very disturbing, as was the racial and ethnic hatred and genocide. Summary executions, massive arrests and forced disappearances were widespread there.

Racist theories that had been invented and orchestrated by Rwanda's former President, Juvénal Habyarimana, to demonize the Tutsi, had been resuscitated by President Kabila in order to demonize the whole of Rwanda and its people, he continued. President Kabila was inciting people to mindless violence towards everybody opposed to his Government or belonging to the Tutsi. He had referred to the Rwandan people as snakes, insects and microbes that needed to be eradicated. Attempts had been made to export war to the territory of Rwanda.

His Government believed that the solution lay in the political negotiations between the Kabila Government and the rebels, he said. The question of nationality and citizenship needed to be addressed among the Congolese. His country could no further tolerate having stateless people on its border. The neighbours of the Democratic Republic of the Congo suffered from the crisis in that country and the people guilty of atrocities in Rwanda in 1994 still found refuge there. The negotiations must also encourage the emergence of the leadership that the country so urgently needed to avoid a future of genocide.

He hoped that the United Nations would quickly condemn the genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and take the necessary steps to stop it, before it was too late, he said. His country was alerting the international community, so that no one could argue that they had not been informed of the acts of genocide in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The United Nations

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High Commissioner for Refugees and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights had been informed that people would be killed.

Many wondered if Rwanda was present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he said. The question was not who was in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, but why and for what reasons? What had the United Nations done when alerted to the atrocities by several high-ranking Congolese officials, including the former Minister of the Interior? Would the United Nations and the international community wait for genocide to be committed in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and then, afterwards, dispatch a commission of inquiry? Could the International Criminal Court take some measures now? Those were the real questions that should be asked.

FRITZ LONGCHAMP, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship of Haiti, said that about 10 days ago Hurricane Georges struck with fury some of the countries in his region. In Haiti, the provisional toll was heavy, including 150 dead, 500,000 left homeless and total estimated losses of $200 million. He appealed to the international community for its continued support in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts, and especially for draft resolution A/53/L.2 on special assistance to the affected countries.

He said that over the past 10 years, international relations had changed considerably with new opportunities for closer cooperation between States. Globalization had led to spectacular developments in the area of communication. Yet, the international scene remained disconcerting. He hoped, for example, that recent discussions would revive the stalled Middle East peace process. Regarding Kosovo, Angola, Afghanistan and the Great Lakes region, he regretted the indescribable suffering that had been caused by those armed conflicts. The international community must work to restore peace to those regions.

International terrorism had resumed in a troubling fashion with the events in Africa and Northern Ireland, he continued. He called on the international community to adopt effective measures to combat the problem of terrorism. Drug trafficking, arms trafficking and organized crime continued to threaten the integrity of countries and undermine the basis of societies. Further cooperation at the bilateral, regional and international levels was necessary to combat those issues. Haiti had adopted a rigorous policy, including legislative measures, to combat the trafficking of narcotic drugs.

The world economic situation at the end of the century had given rise to many concerns, he said. Globalization, which was to have accelerated growth and development, had demonstrated a tendency to further inequality and slow growth. The gap between the countries of the North and South had widened and poverty was increasing throughout the world. Entire populations were suffering from malnutrition and abject poverty. Further destruction of the environment was increasingly threatening the survival of mankind. Haiti --

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and other less developed countries -- continued to be marginalized. The international community must redouble its efforts to combat poverty.

The scope of current problems posed a major challenge to the international community, he said. The United Nations was the ideal forum to discuss those matters and find solutions. It had to play the role entrusted to it: to ensure international security and contribute to socio-economic development. The Organization had to meet challenges by effectively using its resources and adapting to changes in the international situation. He welcomed the process of reform, which would breathe new life into the Organization. Reform of the Security Council, which had been discussed for the past five years, was very important. Greater participation in the Council's decision-making processes and more transparency was needed.

In conclusion, he said Haiti was in the midst of establishing an electoral council for the holding of free and fair elections, with the participation of all sectors of society. He hoped that would help overcome the crisis the Government was currently facing.

JOAO BERNARDO MIRANDA, Vice-Minister of External Relations of Angola, said conflict resolution and prevention should be given high priority to alleviate tension around the world. Early warning mechanisms would enable the international community to prevent potential conflicts and avoid past errors, such as those seen recently in Africa. He agreed with the recommendations in the Secretary-General's report on the prevention of conflicts in Africa. Special mechanisms for the supervision of small arms exports to armed groups and restrictive measures against States who violated such measures would also help stop weapons proliferation. As for United Nations reform, Africa should have at least two permanent seats on a reformed Security Council membership. He also supported Brazil's claim to a permanent seat.

Angola was facing a difficult and critical phase in its history, he continued. The peace process had suffered serious setbacks because of the systematic non-compliance with the Lusaka Protocol, Security Council resolutions and Angolan laws by the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA). Jonas Savimbi had demonstrated his unwillingness to transform UNITA into a civilian political party. Further, he had deliberately deceived the United Nations and the international community when he declared UNITA was totally demilitarized. Instead, it maintained active military units with sophisticated weaponry and had hindered the normalization of State administration by refusing to abandon areas it illegally occupied.

He said UNITA had unleashed attacks against local authorities, the national police and the armed forces. Also, it had massacred civilians and targeted United Nations peacekeepers and humanitarian convoys. The 14 heads of State and government of the SADC held Mr. Savimbi solely and exclusively responsible for the current stalemate in the application of the Lusaka

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Protocol. He had abused the good faith of his countrymen who had believed in UNITA as a credible political alternative.

Recently, he continued, party leaders, cadres and general UNITA officers denounced Mr. Savimbi's behaviour and created a Renovation Committee that removed him from the leadership of the party. The Government recognized the Renovation Committee as the only partner in the implementation of the remaining tasks of the Lusaka Protocol. The SADC countries also recognized it. The international community should support and promote the new UNITA leadership, as it assumed its role in Angola's young democracy.

IRAKLI MENAGARISHVILI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Georgia, said his Government had repeatedly underscored the threat to global stability caused by the "spreading disease of aggressive separatism" and the ineffectiveness of joint efforts to cope with it. Moreover, internal conflicts spawned on the fertile soil of separatism were the major impediment to development.

The conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, should be resolved within the framework of Georgia's territorial integrity, and the undelayed return of hundreds of thousands of refugees and displaced persons should be ensured, he said. No real progress in the settlement of the conflict had been achieved. The violence of last May in the Gali region of Abkhazia -- resulting in the deaths of more than 60 civilians, the burning of some 1,400 houses and the expulsion from their homes of more than 40,000 people -- had added to existing problems and further burdened the humanitarian organizations and donor countries.

He said that the tragedy in the Gali region had been preceded by the unfulfilled resolutions of the Security Council and by decisions adopted at the Budapest and Lisbon summits of the Organization on Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on the ethnic cleansing of the Georgian population in Abkhazia. Thus, Georgia was once again confronted by the acute problem of implementing the decisions of the international community. What was needed was more active work conducted in the framework of the Geneva process on the question of Abkhazia's political status.

The full functioning of the United Nations Observer Mission in Georgia (UNOMIG) should be resumed on an urgent basis and in accordance with its mandate to ensure the freedom of activities, he said. In the light of the recent attacks against four UNOMIG members, Georgia emphasized the importance of the Secretary-General's proposal concerning the deployment o self-protection units. Unfortunately, that question had become the subject of endless discussions. It was unclear how the deployment of a self-protection unit would contradict the interests of one party over another. Rather, that would facilitate UNOMIG's intensive monitoring function and contribute to regional peace.

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The current situation called for a number of measures by the international community, he said. Among them, economic programmes for post-conflict peace-building should be elaborated as part of the peace process. The success of the peace process, itself, depended on the elaboration and effective implementation of confidence-building measures between the parties. The grave humanitarian situation should be addressed, perhaps by a separate international act designed to protect the multitude of refugees. He added that a comprehensive political settlement of the Abkhazian conflict should be based on the right of its multinational population to self-determination within the internationally recognized borders of Georgia and within the framework of democratic governance, which included the active participation and monitoring of relevant international instruments.

ALISHER VOHIDOV (Uzbekistan) noted the dangerous developments in Afghanistan, South Asia and Tajikistan and said that the subregion in general carried great potential for conflict. The Afghan conflict threatened to spread to neighbouring countries. His Government's initiative to impose an arms embargo on Afghanistan should assist in settling the Afghan problem. Calls to halt arms and ammunition deliveries to all parties of the conflict had been reflected in numerous Council resolutions, although realization of such an embargo required an efficient mechanism within the Organization's framework. The only effective international means capable of launching a peace process was the "Six plus Two" Group (China, Iran, Pakistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, plus the United States and the Russian Federation), which was based on a proposal by Uzbekistan. The task of that Group was not the conviction of warring factions. Rather, it was to find a way to stability and peace.

He went on to say that no State alone could resolve transnational security problems, such as illicit drug trafficking, terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Today, in some European countries, up to 90 per cent of consumed drugs originated in Afghanistan. The international community needed to adopt coordinated measures against illicit drug trafficking and should develop international principles for cooperation in fighting drugs, which should reflect regional interests. He called for special programmes of mutual assistance and solidarity between the countries of Central Asia and the European Union.

Existing international mechanisms to fight terrorism, including political isolation, economic sanctions and direct military influence, were not producing desired results, he said. Coordinated and distinct actions were needed from the entire international community. A new approach to terrorism was needed urgently and he proposed the establishment of a United Nations functional commission for the prevention of terrorist activities. The major task of the commission would be to draft recommendations on the means for fighting against that phenomenon. His Government welcomed consideration of that complex issue in international law. By means of legal norms, the United

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Nations would be able to charge the organizers and perpetrators of terrorist acts.

In further efforts to assure regional security, his country supported a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, he said. The issue had taken on new importance in light of the recent nuclear testing in South Asia. In addition, more attention must be given to protecting the environment. The drying out of the Aral Sea had caused ecological, socio-economic and demographic problems. The crisis could result in an enormous ecological and humanitarian disaster, having an impact on more than 35 million people living in its basin. The crisis could not be localized by humanitarian assistance. It was an ecological crisis that needed a long-term programme to resolve the situation, such as a regional commission within the United Nations framework, on the ecology of the Aral Sea.

DOMINGOS FERREIRA (Sao Tome and Principe), speaking on behalf of his country's Foreign Minister, Homero Salvaterra, said Africa continued its process of healing and struggle towards development. In the last decade many countries on the continent had become independent, democratic and ready to participate in the open market. Many African countries, however, had become poorer due to bad management and different types of crises that gave them very few possibilities to develop. As poverty increased, political instability was creating violent conflicts. The situation merited the attention of the international community which could help prevent armed conflicts by creating an environment for dialogue and reconciliation, based on democratic principles, good governance and respect for the human rights of minorities.

The situation in Guinea-Bissau required the international community's special attention in order to promote dialogue between all parties in the conflict, he said. Sao Tome and Principe appealed to both parties to create a good environment to secure peace, tranquillity and bring back the normal functioning of the democratic institutions and respect for the constitution.

Discussing the situation in Angola, he called on the international community to help avoid another war in that country. He also appealed to UNITA and the Government of National Reconciliation to fulfil all the objectives of the Lusaka Protocol and work for peace and development.

The situation in Central Africa and the Great Lakes region was the most worrying on the continent, he said. That subregion was in flames, which could spread into other countries. The international community and all countries in the subregion must look for a solution.

Besides the African continent, he said, there were other conflicts, such as in East Timor where the people had been suffering under foreign occupation. The East Timorese were fighting for self-determination and the right to freely choose their own destiny, in accordance with the United Nations Charter. Sao Tome and Principe appealed to the United Nations and the international

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community to continue to support negotiations to reach a peaceful ending of the conflict.

Statements in Right of Reply

Mr. YIMER (Ethiopia), speaking in exercise of the right of reply to the statement made by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Eritrea, said that this morning's statement contained the usual litany of distortions regarding the current crisis between Ethiopia and Eritrea. They represented the futile attempts of the Eritrean Government to cover up its aggression against Ethiopia and the occupation of Ethiopia's territory by force. The Eritrean leadership was trying to divert the attention of the international community from the real issue, namely blatant aggression by one State against another. That was not surprising since aggressors always presented themselves as victims. Although Eritrea tried to portray the crisis as a border dispute, it stemmed from the aggression committed by Eritrea against Ethiopia on 12 May 1998.

First, Eritrea said it was committed to the peaceful settlement of disputes between States, but what it was actually committed to was the use of force to settle disputes, he continued. Second, Eritrea's Foreign Minister was surprised by the eruption of conflict with Ethiopia, which was peculiar coming from an aggressor following deliberate planning and preparation. Third, he said that the attack by Ethiopia against Eritrea in the Badme region on 6 May was the root cause of the dispute. No third party had ever hinted that Ethiopia attacked Eritrea at any time. The Committee of Ambassadors of the OAU concluded in their report that what happened between 6 and 12 May constituted a fundamental element of the crisis. Fourth, the Eritrean Minister had repeatedly denied that Eritrean troops had crossed internationally recognized borders between Ethiopia and Eritrea. In that, he was trying to deny the undeniable. Fifth, he had accused Ethiopia of portraying Eritrea as a warmongering nation. Their behaviour had given them that identity, not any propaganda campaign by Ethiopia. Sixth, the Eritrean Minister claimed that Ethiopia had rejected all overtures by third parties for a peaceful resolution of the dispute. That was a twisting of the truth. Every step of the way, Ethiopia formally accepted third party proposals.

The crisis resulted in the displacement of over 200,000 Ethiopians, he said. Those remaining under Eritrean occupation were suffering from inhumane treatment, ranging from outright physical torture to forcible imposition of Eritrean nationality on the threat of losing their right to farm their plots of land.

MONGA MULENDA MAKONGA (Democratic Republic of the Congo), speaking in exercise of the right of reply to the statement made by the Foreign Affairs Minister of Rwanda, said most delegations had urged the quick cessation of hostilities. The Democratic Republic of the Congo could not emphasize enough that there was no basis for Rwanda's aggression. It was trying to cover their

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crimes and occupation of the Congolese territory. They had occupied Kivu and it was a real catastrophe. There were cases of rape, plunder, deportation and harassment by occupying troops. Occupying troops from Rwanda had killed a minister while he was performing service and also raped people in villages. Those were ethnic crimes against innocent Congolese people. They were not only committing every crime in the book, but transporting an attitude of ethnic hatred to his country. Many Rwandan leaders had lived in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for many years and had not been killed or hurt. Rwanda, on the one hand, said the situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo was an internal matter, but on the other hand, it claimed the right to intervene at any time. That was nothing but aggression. What was happening in Bukavu and Goma was an attempt to restore ethnic supremacy. The aggression caused instability in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It was creating an unnecessary flow of refugees and that had an effect on border villages. The lack of security in the region could only be resolved if Rwanda agreed to democratize itself.

INOCENCIO F. ARIAS (Spain), speaking in exercise of the right of reply to the statement made by the Deputy Prime Minister of Equatorial Guinea, said he wanted to use the opportunity to reiterate that the Government of Spain firmly rejected and unreservedly condemned any terrorist acts no matter where they were committed or who had committed them.

It was the firm position of his Government, as expressed a few days ago very clearly by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Spain in the general debate, that terrorism was a serious threat to national and international security, to peaceful relations among States and to the functioning of democratic institutions.

HAILE MENKERIOS (Eritrea) said he had no interest in wasting time by engaging in useless polemic with a party that felt that hollow sophistication could make up for realities. Eritrea chose to present in writing at a later time, its response verifying the facts concerning Ethiopia's flagrant violations of Eritrean sovereignty by the use of force, its criminal violation of the human rights of Eritreans and Ethiopians of Eritrean origin residing in Ethiopia. His country's contributions to a peaceful solution had been frustrated by the Ethiopian Government, which had continued to stick to its use of force.

PIERRE-EMMANUEL UBALIJORO (Rwanda) said after having heard the reply by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, he wanted to put on record that the statement by the Foreign Minister of Rwanda had been based on pure and concrete facts. The purpose of the Minister's statement was to describe the tragic and worrisome situation on the ground that had developed into untold tragedy. In his speech, the Foreign Minister had used quotations as he made reference to cases of public incitation from the Democratic Republic of the Congo authorities to commit genocide. He was glad that the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was not able to refute or deny those

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facts. Over and over again the international community had been alerted. He had attached utmost importance to facts such as the description of killings in today's Herald Tribune.

MARTY NATALEGAWA (Indonesia), responding to the reference to East Timor by the representative of Sao Tome and Principe, said it was a historical fact that the people of East Timor had already chosen to be integrated with Indonesia. He quoted General Assembly resolutions regarding that issue and said that Indonesia had consistently cooperated with the Secretary-General in the search for a just, comprehensive and internationally acceptable solution of that issue. His country had granted East Timor special status which demonstrated its sincere commitment to the resolution of the problem. The tripartite dialogue could bring further progress and his Government felt profound regret that Sao Tome and Principe had ignored the facts.

Mr. YIMER (Ethiopia) said that the Eritrean delegation had chosen not to reply to his statement and he stood by his earlier statement.

Mr. MULENDA MAKONGA (Democratic Republic of the Congo) said it was difficult for people of integrity to understand lies and explain other people's hallucinations regarding his country. Let them withdraw from the Democratic Republic of the Congo instead of insisting on their futile approach.

President of the General Assembly DIDIER OPERTTI (Uruguay) said that the present forum had provided a unique and invaluable opportunity to see how governments viewed the world in the final years of the century, what problems had an impact on the peace, security and prosperity of nations and what direction the international community should take in order to resolve them.

Addressing the issue of economic development, he said there was mounting interest in securing a deeper understanding of globalization, so its effects could be managed to ensure it did not simply benefit a few, while harming the weakest and most vulnerable. However, while globalization inspired feelings of unease and distrust among some, among others it appeared to have sharpened awareness of "the need for us to work together". Global problems called for a global response. That inescapable truth was now clearly and urgently understood, he said.

Turning to the issue of peace and security, he said the Organization's difficulties in taking rapid, effective action to avoid breaches of the peace or to restore peace inevitably meant that there must be a focus on conflict- prevention mechanisms. The peoples of several African regions were currently enduring unspeakable privations as a result of natural disasters and serious internal and interstate conflicts. It was clear from all the statements made in the debate that the Assembly wished to devote special attention to the situation in Africa. He hoped that the Assembly would be able to consider the issue in depth, on a priority basis, and that it would succeed in determining

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how the United Nations could provide African countries with rapid, effective assistance.

Continuing, he said the debate showed that the international community was becoming impatient with the lack of progress in the search for solutions to other conflicts whose prolongation posed a serious threat to peace and security. Some of those conflicts were included in the agenda and he hoped for the adoption of substantive, meaningful resolutions on them. In that regard, "we have seen some encouraging signs which we all hope will have a positive impact on the overall situation in the Middle East". He referred to statements made by Israel and Palestine in the debate confirming their respective desire to complete the peace process, and their willingness to resume negotiations leading to a positive end to that long-standing conflict.

He said ways would have to be found to promote the strengthening of the legal framework needed to put an end to the arms race, the proliferation of nuclear weapons and nuclear testing. In that context, he mentioned the imminent entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. "We must vigorously promote universal accession to the Convention in order to ensure the complete elimination of those lethal, cowardly and impersonal devices", he said.

The problem of terrorism was one of the topics singled out with the greatest frequency, he noted. On the basis of the numerous references to the issue, it could easily be concluded that governments hoped that the Organization would continue the battle against terrorism by expanding the legal framework for its suppression. It was also hoped that progress would be made in achieving the goal of reducing organized crime, particularly that associated with drug trafficking and the illicit transfer and trafficking of individuals.

He said the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights began an irreversible process of internationalizing the protection and guarantee of those rights. That process, in recent years, had culminated in the establishment of international tribunals for the prosecution and punishment of perpetrators of grave human rights violations and other serious crimes. However, vast segments of humanity continued to suffer violations of their rights. The Organization, and the Assembly, must complete the institutional legal framework to protect those rights. The adoption of the draft declaration on the protection of human rights defenders, which "we hope will be by consensus", would be the best tribute that the Assembly could give at the fiftieth anniversary celebration.

He said he also hoped that the Assembly could adopt significant decisions on the strengthening of humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, the protection of the rights of women and children and, especially, the role of children in armed conflicts. The topic of United Nations reform had also

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been a recurring theme of the statements. "We all recognize that reform will be the outcome of a process that must be carried out with caution, on the basis of an intellectual undertaking that requires deep thought, careful analysis, a spirit of cooperation and time." He trusted that when the moment came to restart negotiations, it would be possible to reach basic agreements that would "place us on the road to a lasting solution acceptable to us all". However, the efforts to strengthen the functioning of the Organization would be futile, if its economic situation remained permanently precarious.

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