SPEAKERS IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY"S DEBATE ADDRESS ISSUES OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY, PROBLEMS OF GLOBALIZATION

Press Release
GA/9769

SPEAKERS IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY’S DEBATE ADDRESS ISSUES OF STATE SOVEREIGNTY, PROBLEMS OF GLOBALIZATION

Prime Minister of Fiji, Foreign Ministers of Czech Republic, San Marino, Turkey, Hungary, Slovenia, Oman, Suriname Make Statements

With the disappearance of the cold war it seems that a new form of imperialism has emerged, along with its twin brother, neo-colonialism, Laisenia Qarase, Prime Minister and Minister for National Reconciliation and Unity of Fiji, told the General Assembly this morning as continued the general debate it began on Monday, 11 September.

He said the United Nations should be ever watchful of the disturbing trend that the fundamental principles of respect for national sovereignty and of non- interference in the internal affairs of an independent State were being eroded. Stridency of political rhetoric, smart sanctions and threats of more sanctions would not really assist Fiji in bringing about a speedy and amicable resolution of the political situation. The opposite was true: sanctions had only served to harden attitudes of one community against the other.

Several other speakers also addressed the issue of sanctions. The Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Jan Kavan, said the last 10 years had provided ample proof that in Cuba, Iraq and Yugoslavia, blanket economic sanctions had been unable to achieve their objective. Poorly nourished, isolated and sick people were unlikely to rise against a governing elite untouched by the consequences of sanctions. His Government supported smart sanctions targeted against leading representatives of a state that refused to observe international law.

Yousef Bin Al-Alawi Bin Abdullah, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Oman, said the mechanism of sanctions had become a weapon that had harmed the basic rights of people and society, which contradicted the letter and spirit of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Oman called on the Security Council to adopt new policies and effective mechanisms that would relieve the suffering imposed on states such as Iraq, Libya and the Sudan.

Addressing the issue of globalization, he said there were indications that wealthy countries used the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a tool to advance their own interests, to open the markets of developing countries for their own trade and to target developing countries’ natural resources, regardless of any negative economic and social impact. If the WTO was transformed into a “wrestling

General Assembly Plenary - 1a – Press Release GA/9769 18th Meeting (AM) 16 September 2000

arena”, then globalization and free trade would not be able to meet the needs of developing countries.

Maria Levens, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Suriname, said a consensus had been reached that globalization must be considered in the wider context of development and the shared responsibility to ensure, through a more inclusive, transparent and participatory decision-making process in international economic issues, that the benefits of globalization were accessible to all on an equitable footing. Unfortunately globalization and trade liberalization had not created the necessary conditions to accelerate growth and development for small and vulnerable States. Those countries had been further marginalized in world economic affairs and were threatened by the provisions of the WTO.

The Foreign Minister of Turkey, Ismail Cem, said the rapprochement between Greece and Turkey had already brought about very positive results, revealing once again that the Turkish and Greek people were not for confrontation but for cooperation and friendship. The settlement of the Cyprus issue must be compatible with existing realities of the island.

The Ministers for Foreign and Political Affairs of San Marino, Gabriele Gatti; Hungary, Janos Martonyi; and Slovenia, Alojz Peterle, also spoke.

The Assembly will meet again at 3 p.m. today to continue its general debate.

General Assembly Plenary - 3 - Press Release GA/9769 18th Meeting (AM) 16 September 2000

Assembly Work Programme

The General Assembly met this morning to resume its general debate. The scheduled speakers are the Prime Minister and Minister of National Reconciliation of Fiji and the Foreign Ministers of the Czech Republic, San Marino, Turkey, Hungary, Slovenia, Oman and Suriname.

Statements

LAISENIA QARASE, Prime Minister and Minister for National Reconciliation and Unity of Fiji, thanked all Governments who had shown understanding for the complexities of the situation in Fiji as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country, and who accepted that solutions to the political crisis could be developed by the people of Fiji themselves, without external interference. With the disappearance of the cold war, it seemed that a new form of imperialism had emerged along with its twin brother, neo-colonialism. He was concerned that some of the fundamental principles of the Organization -- respect for national sovereignty and of non-interference in the internal affairs of an independent State -- were being eroded.

The United Nations should be ever watchful of that disturbing trend, he said. Stridency of political rhetoric, smart sanctions and threats of more sanctions would not really assist his country in bringing about a speedy and amicable resolution to the political situation. The opposite was true: they had only served to harden attitudes of one community against the other. Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans made up 52 per cent of the population of 800,000, the Indian community 43 per cent. Ethnicity was only one basis of difference. Other factors were land ownership, religion, and culture and value systems. Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans had a hierarchical social structure. In the Indian and other communities, people were much more individually based.

He pointed out that the Fijian and Rotuman communities felt threatened by certain policies which the non-indigenous leadership had implemented, following their decisive victory in the national elections of May 1999, resulting in a coup d’état and mass looting, destruction of property and threats to people, the victims of which were unfortunately mainly members of the Indian community. The Fiji military forces responded to a request from the police to take over control of law and order, and abrogated the 1997 constitution. However, the civilian Interim Administration was committed to returning Fiji to constitutional parliamentary democracy, promulgating the new constitution in August next year and general elections following within 12 months.

To deal with the inter-ethnic crisis, he had taken the initiative to establish a Ministry of National Reconciliation and Unity and a Council for National Reconciliation and Unity, he said. Foundations had to be built and reinforced for living together in all aspects of a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society. Proposals were under consideration to include compulsory study of the Fijian language and culture in schools. A more social interaction and cohesion at the neighbourhood and community level must be encouraged. Most importantly, a consensus on national leadership and power sharing must be developed.

He said he was committed to building a united Fiji with a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural society, where all the different communities could live together in peace, harmony and prosperity, where the aspirations of the Fijians and Rotumans were realized and where the provision of important social services, such as education and health to all communities, was a priority, so that the quality of life of all people would be continuously improving.

JAN KAVAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said the start of the 1990s was characterized by buoyancy and great expectations in handling long-term development connected with the era of communism in the world, the onset of democracy and the stress on the importance of observing universal human rights. Bound up in this optimism were expectations that were sometimes unrealistic. The inhabitants of the world, suffering from the ravages of war, poverty, disasters and various forms of oppression, expected action from the United Nations today. It had to reflect the reality of today, not that of 50 years ago, in order to overcome its impotence, sometimes veiled in high-sounding but empty phrases.

Globalization did not stop at Forty-second Street, he said. It was rushing around the world with the force of a typhoon. If it did not embrace solidarity and social justice, it would continue to divide the world between winners and losers. Peacekeeping remained a key instrument wielded by the international community as it established peace and peaceful co-existence between States. An increase in the effective capacity of the United Nations Secretariat was required to enable it to act by means of the reorganization of its Department of Peacekeeping Operations. The new millennium had to see a new, enlarged and more representative Security Council, preferably with five additional permanent seats.

The United Nations in the new millennium needed a sustainable and equitable system of financing, through adjustments in the scale of assessment both for the regular and peacekeeping budget, he said. The Czech Republic was highly appreciative of the work done by the international criminal tribunals investigating the crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and supported the establishment of a similar body to punish crimes in Cambodia and Sierra Leone. Developments in international law were bound up directly with the issue of human rights. Accepting limits in absolute sovereignty for the sake of human rights was a matter of political principle and morality.

There was a problem in the efficiency and impact of blanket economic sanctions, he said. The last 10 years had provided ample proof that in Cuba, Iraq and Yugoslavia, blanket economic sanctions had been unable to achieve their objectives. Poorly nourished, isolated and sick people were unlikely to rise against a governing elite untouched by the consequences of sanctions. The result was that changes in the conduct of the rulers were even more unlikely. The Czech Republic supported smart sanctions targeted against leading representatives of a State that refused to observe international law. The appointment of a panel of experts on that issue, and subsequent discussion of a report drawn up by the panel, would be of immense benefit in improving the collective efforts to achieve peace and security by punishing the perpetrators and not the victims.

GABRIELE GATTI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of San Marino, said that debt relief must form an integral part of the contribution offered by the international community to worldwide development. It was unacceptable that half of the world’s population still lived in extreme poverty. The indifference to this problem was a shame for all humanity, since all were aware that poverty often triggered domestic and international conflicts and led to exploitation and underdevelopment. The international community must concentrate its efforts on the protection of the most vulnerable and must pay special attention to women and children as the main victims of poverty, violence and exploitation.

Prompted by the conviction that legal cooperation at the international level was crucial to the protection of the rights of the child, San Marino had been the first country to sign the Protocol on child pornography, and the second country to sign the Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflicts, he said. It was actively preparing to participate in the World Summit, to be held in September 2001, when progress made over the last decade in the protection of children would be reviewed.

The technological revolution, he said, had caused radical changes in international relations. Information technology and the Internet should be increasingly used by the poorest countries as instruments of development. San Marino was committed to take part in recent United Nations projects aimed at reducing illiteracy through computer science and promoting the use of new technologies in developing countries.

The international community had a duty to contribute to the consolidation of democracy in Africa, he said. The international community had a moral obligation to put an end to the conflicts afflicting many African countries and to counter the growing instability caused by ethnic and territorial divisions. If international peace was to be attained, the right of each individual to live in peace and security must be guaranteed. San Marino, as the first European country to ratify the Statute of the International Criminal Court, hoped that other parliaments would ratify the Statute so as to reach the minimum number enabling the Court to be operative and become a juridical and moral authority.

ISMAIL CEM, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Turkey, said the rapprochement between Turkey and Greece had already brought about very positive results. During the year, nine agreements had been signed for cooperation in a variety of areas ranging from the economy to culture. The positive developments revealed once again that the Turkish and the Greek people were not for confrontation, but for cooperation and friendship. Turkey and Greece could overcome all their bilateral problems as long as there was communication and cooperation on the civic level, supported by the firm political will of the administrators.

The settlement of the Cyprus issue must be compatible with the existing realities on the island, he said. It was out of the questions for an international organization to impose its own solution on the parties. The membership of "Cyprus" in the European Union, of which Turkey was not a full member, would be contrary to the London and Zurich Agreements. Based on the realities of Cyprus, a confederation consisting of two States would be a model whereby the two independent entities, by virtue of agreement between themselves, transferred some of their functions to the confederal body. At the third round of proximity talks in Geneva, President Denktash had presented comprehensive proposals for a confederal setup, he recalled.

He said one of the tools at the disposal of the United Nations to respond to violations of international peace and stability was sanctions. Effectiveness of sanctions had two important aspects. The first one was whether the applied sanctions served their intended purpose. That, in turn, would bring into question whether the sanctions were properly targeted and whether there was universal compliance. The second aspect concerned proper implementation. The collateral effects of the sanctions on third States, and especially the uneven burden they placed on countries neighbouring the target State, were issues to be addressed. The adverse effects of sanctions on innocent people, especially on children, women and the elderly, should be minimized.

Global inequity threatened to become a source of political and social instability, he said. To eliminate poverty, good governance, transparency and participation should be attained and strong social safety nets should be built. But those would not yield the results being sought if adequate allocations to educate people were not made. Turkey applauded the growing role of the United Nations in the economic and social sphere. With its role in breeding a culture of international cooperation and solidarity, the United Nations had indeed been a source of inspiration.

JANOS MARTONYI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Hungary, said the last decade had showed that, with the end of the cold war, the North-South issue had replaced East-West rivalry. No effort should be spared to bridge the divide between developed and developing countries. Pressing matters included the eradication of poverty, environmental issues, transnational organized crime, international terrorism, HIV/AIDS and other diseases, drug trafficking, migration and the incitement to extremism and hatred on the Internet, he said. In order to address these problems, international legal norms and principles needed to be created and/or implemented.

Some internal conflicts produced massive and systematic human rights violations, he said. The international community could not accept States violating the human rights of their own population with impunity, hiding behind specific principles of the Charter. Hungary, due to its proximity with the former Yugoslavia, had witnessed the inefficiency of the international community in dealing with the conflict. The Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe was a well-designed initiative for prevention and the reconstruction of the region. In order to maintain stability, Hungary would contribute to the strengthening of democracy and respect for human rights in the region. A change towards democracy in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia would, no doubt, lead to increased stability in the region and would bring to an end the isolation of Serbia.

One of the major international problems was linked to the question of classic weapons and weapons of mass destruction. The Non-Proliferation Treaty Conference was an important step towards a safer world. The final document adopted by the Review Conference reaffirmed the central role of the treaty and the need for international cooperation, and it was hoped that the Programme of Action would be implemented shortly. Hungary attached importance to the initiation of work on the treaty prohibiting the use of fissile matter for military purposes and the prohibition of biological weapons.

The International Criminal Court was an immense achievement, imposing rules of international humanitarian law and bringing impunity to an end. Hungary would spare no effort in working towards universal acceptance of the Court, he said. The desire for a reform of the United Nations had been transformed into an imperative. Procrastination could no longer be tolerated. The first task was to face up to the challenges that awaited the United Nations in the third millennium, including the reform of the Security Council and the reform of the current financing system of the United Nations. The quicker reforms were achieved, the sooner people around the world would be reassured.

ALOJZ PETERLE, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovenia, said that the United Nations had the obligation to protect civilian populations, particularly the most vulnerable. The strengthening of international law would be an important element in achieving this aim, as would the exploration of new methods of conflict prevention and the elaboration of a doctrine for humanitarian intervention. Slovenia was pleased with the proposal made by Canada on the establishment of an independent international commission on intervention and state sovereignty. Slovenia would look closely into how it could extend more assistance to developing countries. It had just signed the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, and looked forward to the early functioning of the International Criminal Court.

Slovenia, he said, was determined to help in the process of strengthening the United Nations. It stressed the need for the enlargement of the Security Council in its permanent and elected membership. The credibility of the United Nations depended on its ability to carry out its responsibilities in full, especially regarding the maintenance of peace and security. The reform of the financing of peacekeeping operations would be a necessary condition for a renewed role of the United Nations in this field. A new scale of assessments that would more accurately reflect the capacity to pay should be adopted during the current session. Slovenia would be ready to pay its share for peacekeeping operations in full, beginning next year.

The illicit flow of small arms and light weapons required the international community’s additional efforts, he said. The upcoming International Conference on Small Arms and Light Weapons should pave the way for regulating and controlling the situation. Member States should also continue to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of mine action programmes and mine victim assistance. Slovenia would continue to support the efforts of the International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance to extend its efforts to the whole region of south- east Europe.

Slovenia was aware, he said, that there would be no self-sustaining peace and stability in south-east Europe without the full cooperation and integration of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. For obvious reasons, this could not be the current regime in Belgrade. The international community must cooperate with and encourage the forces within the country that were striving for democracy, peace, reconciliation and economic recovery. Slovenia wished to see the new democratic Federal Republic of Yugoslavia become part of a stable and prosperous south-east Europe, and hoped that it would soon join the countries of the region in the United Nations, as well as in other international and regional organizations.

YOUSEF BIN AL-ALAWI BIN ABDULLAH, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Oman, said globalization presented many concerns and challenges to developing countries. There were indications that wealthy countries used the World Trade Organization (WTO) as a tool to advance their own interests, to open the markets of developing countries for their own trade and to target developing countries’ natural resources, regardless of any negative economic and social impact. If the WTO was transformed into a “wrestling arena”, then globalization and free trade would not be able to meet the needs of developing countries.

The fact that the Indian Ocean countries enjoyed natural resources and a geographic location poised between three continents, and based on the importance of that region as a vital economic vein for all its members and their people, Oman and a number of other countries had established and activated the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation, he said. The launching of that organization embodied the desire of its members to promote the new grouping’s huge potential and to create a huge market. Oman was presently working to establish regional cooperation for fisheries in the Indian Ocean and hoped that that initiative would bring many benefits in the service of regional stability and development.

Despite the fact that the Tripartite Camp David Summit on the peace process in the Middle East did not produce a final agreement between Palestine and Israel, it had opened the door for dialogue on the most complex issues, he said. Oman reaffirmed its full support of the Palestinian people for self-determination on their land. There was no sovereignty possible on the Holy Quds except that of the Palestinian State. Oman expected the State of Israel to understand that fact, which meant that the sovereignty of Palestine on the Holy Quds would allow Israelis full freedom of access to worship and conduct their rituals in peace. Israel should not feel exposed to security threats in the future because peace would build an effective relationship and partnership, serving mutual benefits and interests. That, by itself, was one of the most important guarantees of security and stability, based on economic development within the context of globalization.

Despite the fact that the regime of sanctions was intended as a political mechanism to guarantee that governments implement United Nations resolutions, the mechanism had now become a weapon that had harmed the basic rights of people and society, he said. That, no doubt, contradicted the letter and spirit of the International Declaration of Human Rights. Oman called on the Security Council to adopt new policies and effective mechanisms that would relieve the suffering imposed on States such as Iraq, Libya and Sudan. With regard to Iraq, it was not justified to punish a population simply on fear and suspicion. The Council should protect the Iraqi people from the deterioration of the human environment. The United Nations had a historical responsibility to cooperate with Iraq in order to minimize the widespread suffering that might befall its people in the future.

MARIA LEVENS, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Suriname, said globalization had generated new economic disparities, since the benefits of globalization remained highly concentrated in only a few countries. It had brought about increased vulnerability and economic instability, in particular to the least developed countries and to the structurally weak and vulnerable small States. A consensus had been reached during the Millennium Summit that globalization must be considered in the wider context of development. There must be a shared responsibility to ensure, through a more inclusive, transparent and participatory decision-making process in international economic issues, that the benefits of globalization were accessible to all on an equitable footing.

She said all nations had a collective responsibility to address current global concerns, such as underdevelopment and acute poverty, the growing inequality between States, violent conflicts and civil wars, which caused untold human suffering in the South and were fuelled by the global arms bazaar, environmental degradation, refugees and migration, HIV/AIDS and other threats to public health and the emergence of global criminal conglomerates. In order to prevent lagging behind, Suriname had launched an initiative to promote national access to information and communications services at all levels of education and in all areas of public domain.

Unfortunately globalization and trade liberalization had not created the necessary conditions for small and vulnerable States to accelerate growth and development. Those countries had been even further marginalized in world economic affairs and were threatened by the provisions of the World Trade Organizations.

The request for the early adoption of a vulnerability index by the international community was supported by Suriname.

The reform of the Security Council remained crucial for efforts to make the United Nations more effective in dealing with global peace and security issues, she said. Suriname held the view that the membership of the Council should be increased with members from both developed and developing nations. Furthermore, there must be an agreement on the relationship between the Council and other principal organs of the United Nations, such as the Economic and Social Council and the General Assembly. The United Nations played an important role as a universal forum to enable Member States to reach consensus on issues related to peace, security, development and international economic cooperation. It was vital to honour the commitments made to provide the financial means in a timely and predictable manner, in order to enable the United Nations to fulfil its mandates.

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