GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE FOCUSES ON CENTRAL ROLE OF UNITED NATIONS IN GLOBAL PROBLEM-SOLVING

Fifty-eighth General Assembly

Plenary

11^th & 12^th Meetings (AM & PM)

GENERAL ASSEMBLY DEBATE FOCUSES ON CENTRAL ROLE

OF UNITED NATIONS IN GLOBAL PROBLEM-SOLVING

Need for Reform of Security Council, International Financial Bodies

Highlighted by 27 Speakers, Including 16 Heads of State, Government

The central role of the United Nations in resolving the world’s multiple crises was the keynote theme today, as the General Assembly entered its third day of general debate, hearing 27 speakers, including 16 heads of State and government.

Cementing that central role with a renewed spirit of multilateralism required the reform of the world body’s Security Council, as well as the major international financial institutions, government leaders said.

Underscoring the influence exerted by the United Nations, Vladimir Putin, President of the Russian Federation, raised the example of Iraq, often cited by Member States in the past two days as evidence of the danger unilateralist action posed to the continued relevance and credibility of the Organization.  Although there had initially been strong differences over the way to resolve the crisis, the situation had, ultimately, returned to the legal sphere of the United Nations, he stressed.

Furthermore, he said, only the direct participation of the United Nations in the reconstruction process would give the people of Iraq the opportunity to decide their future independently. 

Also emphasizing the interest shared by Member States in helping Iraq’s citizens to embrace the rights and freedoms they had for so long been denied, Jack Straw, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, defended the decision taken by the Coalition, emphasizing his belief that the authority of the Organization itself had been at stake.  In the quest to ensure the continued efficacy of the United Nations, collective action must not become synonymous with inaction.

However, declaring the Security Council’s failure to achieve consensus on Iraq a vivid example of the Organization’s problems, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Prime Minister of India, said its methods and procedures should be re-evaluated to reflect changes in the rest of the world.  To be truly representative of modern realities, this reform must reflect the collective will of the international community, and while it was true that the single veto was an anachronism, a requirement of unanimity on every issue might be equally self-defeating.

Alternately, the Security Council might be reformed as suggested by Mahathir Mohamad, Prime Minister of Malaysia, with the replacement of the single-country veto by a modified veto in which two vetoes, backed by three other members of the Security Council, would be needed to block a resolution.  Yet, even that modified veto should be eliminated eventually in favour of majority decisions taken by the Council as a whole.

Also introducing the need to reform the major international financial institutions, Mr. Mahathir said the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the World Trade Organization (WTO) were instruments of hegemony, the same sentiment more mildly phrased by Pierre Charles, Prime Minister of Dominica, who said that although the world had changed considerably, the present institutions for global governance -– the United Nations, World Bank, IMF and the WTO -– continued to operate on outdated political and economic foundations.  

In Dominica, a poor economic situation had necessitated the implementation of an austerity programme in tandem with a standby agreement with the IMF, he continued.  Yet, as the country struggled to eradicate the mono-crop nature of its economy, the ongoing economic re-engineering required urgent complements of new foreign direct investment, official development assistance (ODA), technology transfer, and deepened international cooperation. 

Furthermore, highlighting the harmful impact of the existing agricultural subsidy regime, Mr. Charles stressed the adverse effects of the WTO’s banana regime, which would bring to an end preferences and quotas for bananas exported to the European Union, while Blaise Compaoré, President of Burkina Faso, hailed the rejection of unfair trade schemes at last week’s World Trade Organization meeting in Cancun.  Such practices benefited farmers and large-scale manufacturers in the North, but meant certain death for peasants in the South.

This failure of the recent Cancun WTO round should be a wake-up call for everyone, declared Néstor Carlos Kirchner, President of Argentina.  It was ridiculous to call upon countries to pay their debts when they were hampered from selling their products in the international marketplace. 

Modern reality, he added, highlighted the need to ensure that global financial institutions operated within the framework of fair and open trade.  The “crushing, gigantic” debt developing countries owed to financial institutions and private creditors needed to be addressed, and while it was true that debt-bound nations should assume the responsibility of their actions, the institutions that encouraged that debt should also own up to their responsibilities.

Also addressing the General Assembly today were the Presidents of Cyprus, Albania, Guyana, Madagascar and Comoros.  The Minister of State, Chief of the Government and Director of External Relations of Monaco also spoke today.

The Prime Ministers of Andorra, Ireland, Malta and Rwanda also addressed the General Assembly, as did the Vice-President of Sierra Leone.

The Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel also spoke during today’s general debate.

The Ministers for Foreign Affairs of Mali, Kazakhstan, Iran, Armenia, Poland, Austria and the Republic of Korea also addressed the General Assembly today, as did the Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy and Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden.

Speaking in exercise of the right of reply were representatives of Pakistan, Azerbaijan, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and India, as well as the Observer for Palestine.

The General Assembly will continue its general debate at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 26 September.

Background

The General Assembly continued its general debate this morning.

Statements

TASSOS PAPADOPOULOS, President of Cyprus, said his country was about to fulfil its most ambitious aspiration –- joining the European Union.  After having signed the accession treaty in April, it expected to become a full member in May.  Cyprus was already working with the Union and had been participating in meetings and conferences with the body.

From Baghdad to Jakarta, and from Russia to India, he said, the international community must defend freedom, democracy and human rights with determination.  At the same time, all must exercise caution to ensure that cherished global values were upheld.  Since the threat of terrorism was far from being stamped out, broad and genuine cooperation -- under the aegis of the United Nations -- was needed if any headway were to be made.  For its part, Cyprus had ratified all international conventions on terrorism, and had recently ratified the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel.

He went on to say that the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction had rightly become a top priority for all nations, particularly since there was a high risk of such weapons being acquired by terrorist networks.  The United Nations had a vital role to play in that area.  Its efforts to ensure universal accession to, and compliance with, multilateral treaties, as well as maintaining verification, monitoring and export control mechanisms were all crucial.  His country had ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Ottawa Convention earlier this year.  The Government planned to begin clearing all minefields in the buffer zone within the next two months, and, in November, would start destroying an appreciable number of stockpiled anti-personnel mines.

Turning to the international scene, he said the recent Security Council resolutions on Iraq had been an encouraging sign that the international community could move beyond past divisions and face the future in the spirit of cooperation.  Now, the unique capabilities of the United Nations for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction must be used to ensure that a secure, sound and democratic Iraq emerged, and that an internationally recognized and sovereign government was established.  Also on the Middle East, he stressed that the Quartet-backed “Road Map” represented an opportunity that could not be missed.  He reiterated his country’s belief in the need for a just settlement, in accordance with international law, United Nations resolutions and agreements reached between the parties.

On the home front, he said the people of Cyprus were still suffering serious violations of their human rights.  The country worked hard to protect and promote the human rights of its citizenry under the harsh circumstances imposed by the invasion and occupation of a significant portion of its territory.  It was striving to discover the fate of all persons –- both Greek and Turkish Cypriots –- missing since the Turkish invasion of 1974.  The cooperation and political will of Turkey were absolutely necessary to resolve that purely humanitarian issue.

Cyprus had struggled for 29 years to find a solution to the myriad problems caused by the Turkish invasion and occupation of the northern part of its country, he said.  Despite all efforts, Turkish intransigence had not been curbed, and its defiance of numerous United Nations resolutions continued unabated.  Such a stance was not only contrary to international relations, but “incomprehensible”.  He thanked the Secretary-General for his good offices and his Special Advisor, Alvaro de Soto, for their efforts to bring about a final resolution.  Despite the bitter disappointment for all involved that the recent round of negotiations had failed, Cyprus vowed not to give up.  He hoped the other side would soon return to the negotiating table, cooperate constructively and demonstrate the necessary political will to yield a settlement.

VLADIMIR V. PUTIN, President of the Russian Federation, said that time had made clear the universal importance and irreplaceable nature of the United Nations.  In Iraq, although there had initially been strong differences over the way to resolve the crisis, the situation had, ultimately, returned to the legal sphere of the United Nations.  The Russian position with regard to Iraq remained clear and consistent:  only the direct participation of the United Nations in the reconstruction of the country would give its people an opportunity to decide their future independently.  Moreover, the active and practical assistance of the United Nations for Iraq’s economic and civil transformation would enable the country to take a new and worthy place in the world community.

At the Millennium Summit, three years ago, he continued, he had warned the world that terrorism was a common enemy of the United Nations.  Yet, not until the events of 11 September 2001 had the international community taken the message to heart.  The United Nations was duty-bound to become the basis for the global anti-terrorism coalition.  The Organization should also continue its humanitarian activities, which consumed the lion’s share of its efforts and yet rarely made for front page news.  Its work helped millions of suffering people and lent the Organization indisputable political and moral authority.  As part of its own contribution to humanitarianism, the Russian Federation had written off $27.2 billion in debt, and granted considerable tariff preferences to developing countries.  It had also become a donor to the World Food Programme (WFP).

The United Nations surely needed improvement, he said, but one should be careful when interfering with the mechanisms of its work.  All attempts to modernize the United Nations should be preceded by serious analysis.  With regard to the Security Council in particular, the depth of existing differences, and the need to keep it functional, should prompt stage-by-stage, cautious reform.  Developed countries had a special responsibility for the destiny of the world and that leadership role entailed great obligations.  First and foremost, was to take account of the interests of the international community as a whole.  Powerful States must be able to see and address the problems of smaller and economically weak countries.  In that context, intensified regional integration would provide a path to growing economic prosperity and, consequently, to containing potential threats and maintaining a general strategic balance.

Present-day threats to civilization should be countered only with collective responses, he concluded.  Thus, a vision combining political and, when necessary, military measures was needed.  Improving United Nations peacekeeping and peace-enforcement missions should remain high on the Organization’s agenda, including through their more rapid and efficient deployment.  Moreover, preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction should be pursued through universalizing existing non-proliferation regimes, strengthening international verification instruments and introducing safe technology for the production of nuclear energy.  For its part, the Russian Federation would not be the first to deploy offensive strike weapons in outer space.

NÉSTOR CARLOS KIRCHNER, President of the Argentine Republic, said that, in light of recent events, it was time to seriously consider the notion of reforming the United Nations, revitalizing the Assembly and forging a rational instrument to face international threats.  Multilateralism had always been the principle at the heart of the Organization and its work.  But even though cooperation and dialogue had paved the way, an objective look at the situation today showed the technological, military and economic supremacy of one country over all the rest.  It was, therefore, necessary to reconfirm the principle that inspired the creation of the United Nations.

Still, a reaffirmation of the Organization’s founding principles could not be mere rhetoric, he said.  It required a twofold approach:  intellectual openness, and rethinking traditional rules to address new realities.  Multilateralism and security were inseparable elements but not the only ones in that new equation.  There were many non-military threats to international order that needed to be faced, particularly the growing disparity between rich and poor.  Globalization must be made to work for all, he said, adding that hunger, exclusion, and illiteracy were breeding grounds for terrorism.  They also sparked mass migration from poor countries, robbing them of precious human resources and curtailing sustainable development.

He went on to say that modern realities also highlighted the need to ensure that global financial institutions operated within the framework of fair and open trade.  That required all nations to realize that security was not just a military concept, but one which encompassed social, economic and political concerns.  It was imperative that the issue of the “crushing, gigantic” debt developing countries owed to financial institutions and private creditors be addressed.  While it was true that debt-bound nations should assume the responsibility of their actions, the institutions that encouraged that debt should also own up to their responsibilities.

Without concrete international assistance to help highly indebted countries to regain their economic solvency and payment ability, creditors would have to face their losses without any other options, he said.  The debt burden was crippling many countries’ efforts to meet the basic needs of their people, and that must be addressed, because, so far, no one had figured out a way to collect a debt from the dead.  Concurrently, tariff quotas and other measures that distorted trade rules and international marked realities must be dealt with.

He said the failure of the recent Cancun World Trade Organization (WTO) round should be a wake-up call for everyone.  It was almost ridiculous that countries should be called on to pay their debts when they were hampered from selling their products in the international marketplace.  Further, he said it was necessary to redesign the international financial institutions so that the prosperity of some was not contingent on the despair of others.  The new millennium should herald an age of cooperation between debtors and creditors, he added.

MAHATHIR MOHAMAD, Prime Minister of Malaysia, said that the world today had seen the resurgence of European imperialism.  At first, it had appeared that the renewed imperialism would be limited to economic strangulation and financial emasculation, but now one witnessed physical occupation by foreign forces and the installation of puppet regimes.  The United Nations itself, on which so much hope had been pinned -- and despite the safeguards supposedly provided by the Permanent Five, was collapsing, helpless to protect the weak and poor.  “Its organs have been cut out, dissected and reshaped so they may perform the way the puppet masters wanted”, he said.

The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO) had been turned into instruments of hegemony, he warned.  It was not surprising that disparities between the rich and the poor had become far greater.  Moreover, as the agencies of an impotent United Nations were turned into the national organs of the powerful, small nations were left unprotected, with no defence against trumped-up charges.  For all those reasons, there was a great need to restore the integrity and credibility of the United Nations.

Malaysia, he warned, had not yet recovered fully from the Asian financial crisis of 1997.  The original financial crisis had been followed by the collapse of the “dot com” companies and massive cheating by the huge multinational corporations.  Then the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 had precipitated an unprecedented tightening of security worldwide and the invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq.  As a result of those actions, the world now lived in fear -– the rich fearing terror attacks and the poor fearful of becoming targets of suspicions and pre-emptive aggression.  Next, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) arrived, threatening to bankrupt airlines and the tourism industry.

The unipolar world, led by a democratic nation, was leading the rest of the international community to economic chaos, political anarchy, uncertainty and fear, from which the world would not recover.  If the world wanted democracy, the rule of law and respect for human rights, the powerful had to demonstrate their commitment to those noble ideals.  They could begin by restructuring the United Nations, in particular through the abolition of the undemocratic single country veto, which should be replaced with a modified veto in which two vetoes, backed by three other members of the Security Council, would be needed to block a resolution.  Yet, even that modified veto should be eliminated eventually in favour of majority decisions taken by the Council as a whole.

PATRICK LECLERCQ, Minister of State, Chief of the Government and Director of External Relations of Monaco, said dedication to the obligations of United Nations membership was vital for small States, who depended upon all being bound by the same rule of law and treated with equal dignity and respect.  Yet, one witnessed a glaring difference between those ambitions collectively espoused and action actually observed.  While it would be pointless to ignore those discrepancies, the role of the United Nations as the forum in which States were held to account, as members of the international community, to the collective demands of that community, was of utmost importance.  The Organization, he continued, must be made more effective in order to ensure that respect for its principles and objectives took precedence over self-justified action, to ensure that a common approach took precedence over unilateral action.

While participating in the many activities pursued by the Organization, he warned, small States must be reasonable about the contributions they could make.  Focusing its own efforts in the areas of sustainable development and humanitarian work, Monaco’s priority areas included education, health, protection of children, development and the protection of the environment.  The country had focused on specific projects aimed at improving the living conditions of their beneficiaries, such as establishing and continuing support for schools, occupational training centres, health-care facilities and investing in local communities through the implementation of micro-credit programmes.

Monaco had also been particularly active in protecting the marine environment, he said.  Prince Albert I of Monaco had helped to found the study of oceanography in the late nineteenth century, and the country had been the source of many initiatives related to protecting its immediate environment –- the Mediterranean Sea, but also of broader use in monitoring pollution and protecting biodiversity while supporting sustainable development.

Resolutely committed to participating in the international community’s fight, Monaco had ratified the 12 main international instruments on terrorism, he added.  It had been the first State to ratify the Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.  And in the same spirit, the country had joined all relevant institutions to fight the trades in narcotics and human trafficking, as well as the illegal financial flows they engendered.  Finally, consistent with its involvement in the Olympic movement, Monaco welcomed the inclusion of the sub-item on the Assembly’s agenda related to an “International Year for Physical Education and Sport”.

ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE, Prime Minister of India, said that as the international community gathered today in the wake of so many momentous events, it was necessary to ponder the fundamental role and reach of the United Nations.  While the Organization had been founded over 50 years ago as a guarantor of world peace and freedom, those honest hopes had not materialized.  There had been difficulties in ensuring a world without strife or free from war. The Organization had often been unable to prevent conflict or make headway in resolving hostilities.

He said that a vivid example of some of the Organization’s problems became clear earlier this year when the Security Council failed to achieve consensus on Iraq.  But, he added, it was also necessary to recognize that international institutions could only be as effective as its members.  It was necessary to rethink some of the assumptions on the will and reach of the United Nations.  After the cold war there had been the mistaken assumption that the United Nations could fix all the world’s problems.  But, subsequently, all had realized the United Nations did not have magic powers to affect change in all the regions of the world overnight.

He went on to say that it was necessary to ensure that the methods and procedures of the Security Council were re-evaluated to ensure that body kept pace with changes in the rest of the world.  In order for the Council and the United Nations to be truly representative of modern realities, the reform must also reflect the collective will of the international community.  While it was true that the concept of a single veto was an anachronism, the requirement of unanimity on every issue might be equally self-defeating.  The Secretary-General had rightly emphasized the need to reform, and Member States should seek to implement any agreed changes within a specific time frame.

He said it was now imperative that the people of Iraq be empowered to rebuild their own nation and chart their own political course.  It was clear that the United Nations had a critical role to play in that regard.  The Organization had shown remarkable unanimity on the war against terrorism.  But unfortunately, that will had not translated into many credible advances, as terrorist acts continued to occur.  Sadly, the Organization often appeared to be bogged down with semantics and other superfluous issues, when in reality, there was much that could be done, and many instruments that had already been elaborated to confront and combat terrorism.

Turning to issues in his region, he said that in a statement before the Assembly yesterday, the President of Pakistan had made a public admission to sponsoring terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir.  While the Pakistani President had offered to enter into negotiations on the territory, India would not negotiate with terrorists.  If it did so, it would betray the people of Jammu and Kashmir.  When the cross-border terrorism stopped or was eradicated, then a dialogue could be held on other issues, he said.

MARC FORNÉ MOLNÉ, President of Andorra, said that the United Nations had never been more necessary, and yet, perhaps, until the bombings last month in Baghdad, its efficacy has never been so questioned nor its staff been the object of such massive direct attack.

There were two questions which must now be addressed.  First, could the United Nations effectively respond to threats to world stability, and second, to what degree would its Member States be willing to work within the framework of the United Nations?  He said a cooling of passions could enable leaders to address the difficult issues clearly.  The United Nations had a critical responsibility in fostering a constructive outcome for the Afghan and Iraqi people, as well as in resolving tension throughout the Middle East.  He was confident that the United Nations would be able to bring about stability in the region.

He said that although Andorra was small in scale, like many partners in the United Nations, what it had to contribute was larger than its proportionate geographic scale or the relative size of its population.  As he recalled Andorra’s historical beginnings in the Middle Ages, he said it was shameful that people in the twenty-first century “were being killed or killing in the name of their God”.  The work the United Nations accomplished, therefore, did not simply give lip service to diversity.  It was necessary to advance an ethic of diversity that went beyond recognizing the value of tolerance and multiculturalism, and strove to implement shared ethical beliefs in the service of world understanding.  Today’s world was one of vast contrasts, where technological progress, if used dangerously or simply without precautions, made life more dangerous on a global scale.  International cooperation was crucial to address issues such as pollution, global warming and arms proliferation.

The world needed to insist on a decent life for everyone, and that was why Andorra was committed to aiding development around the world, he said.  Since 1995, Andorra regularly increased its budgetary contributions, and it hoped to devote 0.7 per cent of its budget to foreign aid within two years.  Its philosophy of development supported the institutions of the United Nations, which was looking to small-scale solutions that fostered self-reliance and local initiative.  Andorra was particularly enthusiastic about projects aimed at children, education and those that helped women to establish their own businesses.  It also encouraged sustainable farming because proper farming practices provided the best defence against catastrophic failures.  In addition, Andorra hoped to become a member of the Food and Agriculture Organization next year.

BERTIE AHERN, Prime Minister of Ireland, said that, contrary to popular opinion, when the United Nations failed it was because governments, who represented the peoples of the United Nations, had failed, individually or collectively, to meet their obligations.  Too often, members sought to use the United Nations to pursue their own national interests by seeking to have it adopt resolutions that were partial or biased, by ignoring its resolutions when those did not suit them, and by encouraging action on certain issues and conflicts while blocking action, even consideration, of others.

What was needed, he said, was a viable system of global governance that could ensure international peace and security.  To be viable, such a system had to possess two essential qualities, effectiveness and legitimacy.  To be effective, it required the unambiguous support of the entire international community and its decisions must be respected.  To retain legitimacy, the system must be seen to work in the interests of the entire international community.  He appealed to all governments for a change in attitude towards the United Nations, and urged them to stop treating it as a tool useful only to the extent it could deliver their own national agenda.

His Government would be deeply concerned at the widespread acceptance of a doctrine of pre-emptive strike.  Given the ever more lethal nature of modern weapons, the risk of large-scale death, destruction and escalation were enormous.  More effective than striking pre-emptively was to pre-empt the risk of conflict through a wide range of steps in the diplomatic, economic, humanitarian and other areas.  To that end, more attention should be devoted to dealing with the root causes of conflict, identifying potential conflicts as early as possible and dealing with them before they got out of hand.

On the Middle East, he said the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people continued to pose a serious threat to world peace.  The experience of his own country had demonstrated clearly that far-sighted leaders could not allow their efforts to be held hostage by terrorists and extremists.  They had to look beyond the politics of the last atrocity.  Regarding Iraq, he stated that the Iraqis were suffering from events that, in most cases, were not of their making. They needed, and deserved the support of a united international community in the political and economic reconstruction of their country.

He said the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons posed a serious threat to international peace and security.  The world body should recommit itself to controlling their spread and working towards their complete elimination.  On Afghanistan, he noted that the Government and people of that country faced important challenges in the coming year, not the least of which were the adoption of a constitution and the holding of national elections.

The peace process in Northern Ireland remained a major priority of his Government, he said.  However, regrettably, due to diminishing trust between the political parties, the devolved political institutions in Northern Ireland were suspended nearly one year ago.  He called on all the pro-agreement parties to show leadership and courage, and face up to their responsibilities by taking decisions they knew were right.  As partners in that process, he and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were working closely to support and encourage all political and community leaders who were taking risks for peace.

EDWARD FENECH ADAMI, Prime Minister of Malta, said the attack on the United Nations headquarters in Baghdad on 19 August added an unwelcome dimension of tragedy and urgency to this year’s meeting.  Apart from being a human tragedy, it was also the first time there had been a direct and deliberate attack on the United Nations itself.  In that sense, the implications related to the structures and objectives of the international system.  In the United Nations, the international community possessed a system that was both vital and indispensable.  For too long, however, the international community had taken the system for granted.  Urgent reform was needed.  The Secretary-General’s advice that the action be radical must be heeded.

The regional dimension had been given importance in the original architecture of the United Nations Charter, he said.  Over the past year, Malta, together with nine other countries, successfully concluded negotiations to join the European Union.  Malta viewed joining the Union as a further means of reinforcing its long-standing commitment towards international cooperation.  He was gratified to see how much the Union was fast becoming one of the main partners of the United Nations in the collective endeavour towards global cooperation.  The partnership enhanced the opportunities for even the smaller members to play a positive and constructive role in many of the issues of global concern.  Among such issues, the question of security had become formidable, in particular, the ways in which terrorism and arms control had become intertwined.  That link had become a factor in the sometimes contrasting perceptions of the sources of security risks that were faced by States and differences of emphasis on action priorities.  When such differences found reflection within the Security Council, there was a risk of erosion in the still fragile structure of international legitimacy.

He said the Security Council must reach early agreement on the role the United Nations needed to play in the re-establishment of order and legitimacy in Iraq.  On the question of arms, he said at one extreme there was the outrageous reality of child soldiers brandishing conventional weapons.  At the other extreme, there is the increasingly credible prospect that terrorist groups will procure weapons of mass destruction.  Those extremes had intruded into the more traditional disarmament process that had moved forward hesitantly and intermittently over the years.  Yet, however hesitant, it had produced agreements.  Over the past few months, the European Union has been working on a comprehensive strategy on the issues of non-proliferation and weapons of mass destruction.  One of the key principles of the strategy was the need to uphold and implement existing multilateral treaties and agreements.  Equally important was the need to support the multilateral institutions that were charged with the compliance and verification of the agreements.  Primary among those institutions was the United Nations. 

The United Nations has a steady record of positive involvement in peacekeeping, he said.  The question of Palestine, however, was an issue where sustained efforts at conflict resolution had not yet prevailed.  The immediate obstacles to peace in Palestine were two:  first, an illegal occupation of territory continuously maintained by armed force; and the resistance to that occupation using unacceptable terror to pursue its ends.  The international community must find a way of breaking the conditions that allowed those two extremes to feed upon each other.  Israel needed to recognize the illegality of its presence in the occupied territories.  The Palestinians must recognize that all violent acts against civilian populations were unacceptable, and the Palestinian Authority must prevent any further acts of terrorism.  In spite of the latest setbacks, however, the approach by the Quartet still needed to be supported and encouraged, since it offered the best prospects for eliminating the conditions that fed the extremists on both sides.

He also hoped that the Secretary-General, accompanied by the persuasion of the European Union, would succeed in resolving the problem of Cyprus.  He said by May next year, Malta would welcome the integration of a reunited Cyprus into the folds of the European Union.  He observed that one of the major strengths of the Euro-Mediterranean process lay in the linkage it maintained between security and wider issues of cooperation in the economic and humanitarian fields.  He noted that Malta was depositing its ratification of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and two of its Protocols.  By so doing, Malta would have ratified or acceded to 11 of the 15 treaties on which the Secretary-General has focused for this year’s treaty events.  On another issue in which the establishment of norms was in its early stages, he supported the draft resolution proposing a convention to ban all human cloning, but also believed that on issue of such deep ethical and moral sensitivity, real progress could only be achieved through consensus.

SILVAN SHALOM, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Israel, said that until just one month ago, the international community had joined Israelis in the hope that the Middle East peace process might finally be back on track.  That glimmer of hope was darkened on 19 August by the extremists who blew up a bus full of Jewish families on their way home from prayers at the Western Wall.  The attack had been carried out by Hamas, a terrorist organization, which, under the Road Map, should have been dismantled by the Palestinian Authority.  The failure to dismantle Hamas had brought diplomatic efforts to a standstill.

Rather than acting to fulfil its obligation, he continued, the Palestinian Authority had chosen the route of inaction, and complicity in terror.  The infrastructure of terror must be dismantled to pave the way for peace.  There was no other time.  There was no other way.  The community of nations knew that those who sought to advance their political agendas through the killing of innocents were ready to strike at anyone or anything that represented the values of freedom and human life.

There could be no neutrality in the war against terrorism and there could be no immunity for those who engaged in it, he stated.  Abstaining was not an option.  Terrorism would not be eliminated until the world united against it.  Every member of the international community must take concrete and proactive measures to cut off all channels of financial, moral and political support to that common enemy.  States that sponsored and sheltered terrorists were accomplices, and they must be held accountable for their crimes.  It was no coincidence that States that sponsored terrorism, like Iran and Syria, were also striving to acquire weapons of mass destruction.

He noted that many saw Yasser Arafat as the symbol of the Palestinian struggle.  Tragically, however, for Palestinians and for Israelis, he was one of “the world’s icons of terror”.  In the 10 years since he declared his commitment to Israel and to the world that he would no longer use terror, 1,126 Israelis had been killed and thousands more wounded in 19,000 separate Palestinian terrorist attacks.  The carnage must stop.  Its impact on both sides was devastating.  Yasser Arafat bore direct responsibility for that terrible suffering.  For more than 30 years, he had led his people on the path of terror -– from hijackings to suicide bombings.

As long as Yasser Arafat controlled the levers of power, no moderate leadership could emerge, he continued.  To vote for him –- as the Assembly did just last week –- was to vote against the Palestinian people.  “When Arafat wins  -– terrorism wins, and we all lose”, he said.  Instead of rallying around Arafat, the international community must rally around the genuine interests of the Palestinian people, and it must do so now, before he led them even further down the path of terror and destruction.

Israel was ready to work with the Palestinians and the international community to make the vision of peace and security to both peoples a reality.  For that to happen, the Palestinian leadership must take the moral and strategic decision to abandon terrorism, once and for all, and make peacemaking possible.  They must guide their people to build their own society, rather than seeking to destroys Israel’s.  Also, they must understand that it was not poverty that bred terror, but terror that bred poverty.  For the sake of Israelis and Palestinians, for the sake of the United Nations and peace itself, he called on the General Assembly to rise above the “tired politics of yesterday” and adopt a new, courageous agenda for tomorrow.

JACK STRAW, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, said that, for over 12 years, the international community had remained in agreement that Iraq, under the regime of Saddam Hussein, posed a Chapter VII threat due to its unparalleled defiance of the will of the United Nations.  Yet, when it had become necessary to take action to deal with that threat, the unanimity had dissolved.  And although the controversial nature of the military action against Iraq, as well as the heavy responsibilities now borne by the Coalition, must be acknowledged, the United Kingdom stood by the decision made.  The authority of the United Nations had been at stake.

However, whatever the arguments of the spring, the United Nations must now come together, he said.  As recognized by the Security Council in its resolutions 1472, 1483 and 1500, Member States had a shared interest in helping Iraq’s citizens to embrace the rights and freedoms they had for so long been denied.  Saddam Hussein’s reign of terror had been brought to an end, the apparatus of torture and oppression dismantled, and in its place one could see an emerging representative government.  New ministries were providing daily services to the people; a free press was operating; there was freedom of religion and worship; hospitals and schools were in operation; and real economic regeneration had begun.  The Coalition, he stressed, would stay in Iraq as long -– and no longer -- as proved necessary to meet the responsibility of helping to restore the sovereignty of the country.

Expressing hope that agreement could be reached on a new Security Council resolution to strengthen the United Nations role in Iraq, he said the transfer of power in Iraq should be guided by three principles.  First, it must reflect the reality on the ground, particularly the need to ensure security.  Second, Iraqi institutions must be sufficiently robust to assume increasing responsibilities.  Third, the exercise of executive power and responsibility must be based upon the principles of good governance.  Thus, the timetable for the transfer should be driven by the Iraqi people’s capacity to assume democratic control, rather than by fixing arbitrary deadlines.

Iraq was not the only territory in the Middle East in which the international community faced great challenge, he said.  In the context of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, there was no alternative to the Quartet’s Road Map, no alternative to the solution awaited by the entire world -– that of two States living side by side in peace and security.  That and other issues tackled by the United Nations, including terrorism, the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and peacekeeping, demonstrated the Organization’s continued relevance amidst calls for collective response.  The key was to ensure that the United Nations remained an effective global forum, capable of delivering results.  Collective action, he concluded, must not become synonymous with inaction.

JAN O. KARLSSON, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Development Cooperation, Migration and Asylum Policy of Sweden, paid tribute to Foreign Minister Anna Lindh, saying that she had spoken for the oppressed and for the victims of human rights violations, and had worked for international peace, justice and multilateral cooperation.  “The voice of Anna Lindh has been silenced.  But her burning conviction echoes with us.”

Global security, he said, could not be reached by unilateral action. “Locking ourselves in will not bring peace, development, democracy and respect for human rights.”  Self-reliance could not eradicate terrorism, poverty or save the environment.  It was necessary to work together, to define and address emerging challenges, for multilateral solutions.

The United Nations and its Member States must adapt to new realities, he continued.  Reform was necessary to stay modern, responsive and efficient, and to retain the trust of the global civil society.  Looking ahead, international solidarity must be the focus, for realizing the Millennium Development Goals rested on the principle of shared responsibility.

The legitimacy and authority of the Security Council must be regained and its composition must better reflect the world of today.  He believed that agreement on the expansion of non-permanent members to the Council could be reached fairly quickly, without excluding the possibility of additional permanent members at a later stage.  The Assembly should likewise be revitalized and strengthened to enable vibrant debate and rapid, flexible responses to new challenges and realities.

Turning to other issues, he said North Korea had withdrawn from the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and remained unclear about its intentions.  The nuclear programme in Iran, the possession of nuclear weapons by India and Pakistan, and Israel’s refusal to sign the NPT were of ongoing concern.  Discussions in the United States about creating a new generation of smaller nuclear arms were equally worrying.  “The negative arms spiral must be reversed,” he stressed, adding that the threats from weapons of mass destruction could only be met by multilateral efforts.

“Our focus must be the security of the individual”, he said.  Violations of human rights should never be accepted.  State sovereignty implied responsibility.  Urging all nations to make use of international instruments to avoid war, he said the Security Council must be ready to act to avoid massive violations of human rights and genocide.  Impunity must also end.  He also said it was important to ensure that women became more involved in international decision-making.  “Women are strong, but are made vulnerable through legal, economic and social discrimination”, he added.

On the Middle East, he said the Assembly had rightly condemned Israel’s decision to deport Palestinian Authority President Yasser Arafat.  Both parties must implement their obligations under the Road Map.  He urged the Palestinian Authority to action to halt the suicide bombings.  Israel must also stop its extrajudicial killings.  The international community must do its utmost to se that both parties retuned to the path of peace.  International monitors and observers should be sent to the region, he said, adding that Sweden was willing to take part in such a mechanism.

ALFRED MOISIU, President of Albania, said the changes that had swept across the world since 11 September 2001, had highlighted the need to address current major challenges from a new perspective and to improve the performance of United Nations structures.  Terrorism posed a serious threat to the civilized world. Albania had not hesitated to sign the 12 international conventions and protocols against terrorism and was working with others to do away with the sources that nourished terror.  Stressing that vigilance, coordination and reaction were needed in the face of the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, he highlighted Albanian participation in peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Bosnia and Georgia.

Albania had adopted a unified approach regarding Euro-Atlantic integration, he added, which should not be understood as a mere mechanical affiliation with the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), but as adherence to the standards and values of freedom, democracy and the free market.  Although it had already made substantial progress on the road to democracy, there was no room for complacency.  It would take much more effort to continue the reforms begun in the judicial and economic sectors, as well as in the fight against crime and corruption.  Moreover, regional cooperation was a prerequisite for closer Euro-Atlantic integration, in which context enhanced cooperation and understanding among the Balkan countries had been sought.  While supporters of the divisive and tragic past were still active in the region’s politics, the new political class in the Balkans looked for to a future of cooperation.

Attaching special importance to the enhancement of stability and the reinforcement of democracy, he expressed appreciation for the contributions made by the United Nations Interim Administration in Kosovo (UNMIK) and said Albania would continue to encourage initiatives aimed at reinforcing the norms of a democratic society, the rule of law and the sustainable development of a market economy.  And while efforts had been made to open a dialogue between Pristina and Belgrade on mutually beneficial technical issues, a decision on the final status of Kosovo, which must be determined by the will of its citizens, should be postponed indefinitely.  Also essential was the integral implementation of the Ohrid Agreement, which was of crucial importance to the future of Macedonia.

Finally, regarding the Road Map as the way forward in resolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, he stressed that peace in the Middle East would constitute an important pillar for peace and security the world over.  The settlement of the Palestinian issue was essential for the resolution of this conflict and would form a core element in the success of the fight against terrorism.

BHARRAT JAGDEO, President of Guyana, said the failure of the international community to reach agreement at the recently concluded Cancún Conference now made it unlikely that it would reach the Millennium Declaration targets set by the General Assembly three years ago.  The process of globalization had made developing nations acutely aware of the need for greater interdependence and international cooperation if they were to survive the many threats to their welfare.  That interdependence was the basis for multilateralism, and for the United Nations.

He pointed out that, although the United Nations Charter reflected the international community’s collective commitment to cooperate for the promotion of peace and development, that commitment was yet to be fully honoured.  Regrettably, while placing a high premium on democracy at the national level, the world today failed to live up to that ideal in the international councils that shaped its common destiny.  Guyana was concerned at that double standard, since the aspirations of humanity for peace, security and development could not be fulfilled without the effective participation of all States in global affairs.

The success of international cooperation and also of the United Nations system would be determined by how well organizations responded to the interests and concerns not only of the powerful, but of the powerless; not only of the rich, but most urgently, of the poor.  It was imperative, therefore, that a credible and effective system of global governance was established as quickly as possible, he said.  That would require a more fundamental reform of the United Nations and the international multilateral system as a whole than had been seen so far.

On international peace and security, he stated that the time had come for the Security Council to be transformed so it became more representative of the wider international community.  With that goal in mind, Guyana was prepared to support the candidacies of Brazil, India and an African country for permanent seats on the Council and a suitable number of non-permanent seats for other developing countries.  Such an expansion of the Council would enable the United Nations to better cope with the challenges which conflicts, both old and new, posed to global peace and development.

MARC RAVALOMANA, President of Madagascar, echoed the Secretary-General’s notion that the United Nations was at a crossroads.  Indeed, he said, it was a troubling time.  But, it could also be a time to take decisive actions.  Recent developments on the international scene should serve as a call to action and motivation to enhance the Organization and its various agencies in the service of all nations.

International peace and security remained precarious as conflicts lingered in many parts of the world, he said.  Many of today’s challenges were due to the failure of some States to implement international obligations, or adhere to the rules of the Charter.  In such perilous times, the primacy of the Security Council and the leadership capabilities of the wider United Nations family should be reaffirmed and strengthened.

Madagascar, therefore, endorsed the Secretary-General’s call for change, particularly the revitalization of the Assembly and re-evaluation of the Security Council, he continued.  Such change was particularly necessary for small nations who often had no other voice or platform from which to express their legitimate concerns.

He went on to say that economic and social affairs in the world remained troubling.  The stark differences between the “have’s” and “have not’s” were more evident than ever.  The current wave of prosperity that had swept much of the globe had bypassed his island as it had many other nations in Africa.  It was time to put in action the outcomes of all the international conferences of the past decade, and implement the decisions of the United Nations development agencies.  It was also time to promote and support broader alliances between governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the private sector to ensure sustained economic and social progress for developing and least developed nations.

Africa continued to struggle mightily, he said.  It faced ongoing conflict, staggering debt, epidemics and slowed development.  Still, Africa must begin to act on its own behalf and work to ensure good governance the rule of law and promote sustainable development.  “The key to success was the right approach”, he said.  All must work to spur sustainable development, investment and land ownership in developing countries.  He acknowledged that it was not easy to collect funds for poor countries when the world economy itself was facing difficult times.

That being the case, African countries should perhaps turn to African initiatives, such as the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD), to come up with innovative ideas.  Still it was high time for the major Powers to ensure an equitable partnership between Africa and the wider international community.

AZALI ASSOUMANI, President of Comoros, said that the changing aspects of international relations required a renewed commitment to the United Nations and a strengthening of its role.  Yet, while the countries of the North asked questions about terrorism and proliferation, those of the South laboured under enduring debt, civil war, poverty and endemic illness.  It should be recognized that terrorism thrived in poverty as it sought to express itself through the weakest links of the global chain.  Thus, while terrorists must be brought to justice, the international community must also fight for tolerance, to protect the right to be different.  The war against terror must not be used to remove respect for human rights, nor should terrorism be equated with certain religions or regions.  Such attitudes would only sink the world into a vicious cycle of hatred.

Solidarity among nations was a necessity, complementarity and an obligation, he added.  Yet one could not talk of security in a world of poverty, nor of peace without economic development and well being for all, nor of democracy while disparity and inequality left entire sectors of the world teetering on the brink of oblivion.  In all these aspects, one must stress the centrality of humankind and remember that humans were vulnerable, no matter their social category.  Moreover, given the historical propensity to bring people of different nationalities to live together, without ensuring they had a common desire to do so, it should come of no surprise that the proximity of one ethnicity to another should create sources of instability and insecurity.

Comoros was the victim of its colonial past, he continued.  It had lived through every conceivable difficulty in pursuit of its quest for true development and the consolidation of democracy.  Thus, it recognized that while democracy itself had been universally recognized as the remedy to overcome the maladies afflicting all nations and peoples, its dosage must be rationed according to the age and infirmity of the patient, while the medicine’s secondary effects should always be considered.  Just as dialogue between cultures and a spirit of openness should inspire relations between countries, multilateralism must be recognized as providing the only guarantee for every nation’s involvement in the march forward.

The United Nations, he concluded, must be more effectively restructured so that it could rise to the challenges of the times.  Thus, the Security Council, as the body charged with maintaining peace and security, must be reformed and its role fine-tuned.  As the world evolved, the well-being of its most vulnerable regions, such as the small island States, must be ensured to promote stability.  Only wide-ranging economic development and solidarity between rich and poor would guarantee the stability necessary to the consolidation of democracy and peace.

In this context, he said NEPAD should receive support, while debt should be recognized as a burden stifling the economies in development.  The developed economies’ subsidization of their agricultural sectors must be ended in order to let the market reign, while the potential of the developing countries should be recognized and fostered.  Stressing that although his country had recently found stability after many years, he said only genuine economic development could guarantee its future cohesion.

BLAISE COMPAORÉ, President of Burkina Faso, said that issues challenging the international community -- including conflict, terrorism, poverty and unfair trade policies -– must be confronted head on.  He was convinced that international solidarity must prevail.

The United Nations must be placed at the heart of efforts to define traditional political processes and reconstruction strategies in Iraq, he said.  In the wider Middle East, the Road Map was the best way forward.  But, without an international follow-up and control mechanism on the ground, no agreement would hold in that tense region.

Political tension in his country and in the West African region as a whole remained a critical concern, he continued. While there had been some improvements, violations of human rights, recent flare-ups and deepening poverty among some of Burkina Faso’s neighbours were troubling.  Since all the countries of the region were so interdependent, he had great hope that Côte d’Ivoire would find peace once and for all as it worked to ensure the full implementation of a recent peace accord.

On terrorism, he said that collective action was required to oppose that threat.  At the same time, all must admit that it would take collective action to deal with the poverty and despair that were among the main breeding grounds of that scourge.  With that in mind, he hailed the rejection of unfair trade schemes by delegations attending last week’s WTO round in Cancun.  Such practices benefited farmers and large-scale manufacturers in the North, but meant certain death for peasants in the South.

Africa’s soundness resided in sustainable development, he said.  To that end, Burkina Faso believed that expanding job opportunities towards the eradication of poverty was essential, not just for Africa but for all humankind.  The recent Maputo, Mozambique, African Union Summit had agreed to address that issue at its 2004 meeting of heads of State and government.

He said that progress, independence and peace were values that were part and parcel of democracy.  For more than a decade, Burkina Faso had been pursuing the democratic ideal and believed all nations should do the same.  Thus, democratization of the United Nations was becoming imperative.  The Organization must avoid exclusion and give better representation to small countries such as the Republic of China on Taiwan.

PIERRE CHARLES, Prime Minister of Dominica, said the world had changed considerably, yet present institutions for global governance -– the United Nations, World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), and the WTO -– continued to operate on outdated political and economic foundations.  The legitimacy, effectiveness and credibility of the United Nations continued to erode due to the “democratic deficit” which had been an integral part of its original design -– that now needed to be remedied.  Dominica and its sister islands had been adversely affected by the WTO banana regime, which would bring to an end preferences and quotas for bananas exported to the European Union.  The banana quota’s ending in December 2005 had contributed to the economic crisis in many Caribbean Community (CARICOM) States.

In Dominica, the situation had necessitated implementation of an austerity programme in tandem with a standby agreement with the IMF, he continued.  As Dominica struggled to eradicate the mono-crop nature of the economy -– a remaining vestige of the colonial period -– there was equal determination to anchor the future economic foundation on sustainable agriculture, renewable energy, eco-tourism, information technology, financial services and water resource management.  Efforts at economic re-engineering urgently required a complement of new foreign direct investment, official development assistance (ODA), technology transfer, and deepening of cooperation with Member States and global civil society.  Dominica’s call for “special and differential treatment” in the trade arena continued to resonate loudly.  The outcome of the WTO meeting in Cancun had not been encouraging.  In this connection, Dominica joined other developing nations in the call for a drastic reduction of agricultural subsidies in the developed countries.

He stressed that the international community must pay greater attention to the social and economic vulnerabilities faced by small island developing States.  The sudden adjustment to trade liberalization and the WTO’s trade regime had contributed to the economic decline in many of those countries.  Averting the rapid descent into a downward economic spiral and social dislocation required a wider embrace and understanding of special and differential treatment in the trade arena.

He also reiterated his concern about all manifestations of climate change, and his opposition to continuing trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea.  All Member States were called upon to support and participate in the Mauritius Conference for the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action next August.  Corporations, private foundations, bilateral and multilateral organizations were also invited to lend support for significant participation of civil society organization at the conference.

BERNARD MAKUSA, Prime Minister of Rwanda, noted that the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda was to be commemorated during the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly, and suggested that 7 April 2004 should be declared the day of commemoration.  The Rwandan experience could provide a hopeful example, as this year, for the first time since its independence in 1962, Rwandans had gone to the polls in a pluralist presidential election.  Those free and transparent elections marked a moment in their history, of which the Rwandan people could be proud.

The country had turned its back on genocide forever, he said.  Its fundamental values now included unity, peace, justice and democracy.  The people of Rwanda were committed to ensuring the security of person and property throughout the country and had embarked upon a complete rehabilitation of the judicial system, including through the introduction of a traditional and participatory system known as “GACACA”, the principal objective of which was to punish those guilty of crimes during the genocide and to bring reconciliation to all Rwandans.

Within the scope of the wider region, he noted that the political and security situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa had tangibly improved over the past year.  Within the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the peace process had led to the formation of an inclusive transitional Government.  The Government of Rwanda was committed to work with this new Government and with the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC) to disarm, demobilize and repatriate those members of the ex-FAR and Interahamwe whose bellicose activities had led to such tension between the two countries.  Moreover, perhaps the moment had arrived to call upon the international community to accompany regional peace efforts with the convening of an international conference for peace, security and development, with the aim of producing a “Marshall Plan” for the region.

The issue of United Nations reform had been on agenda for years, he continued, but it had never yet benefited from agreement as to scope and content.  Yet, given the changing challenges faced by the international community, it was time for the Organization’s working methods and structures to be fine-tuned.  Of primary concern was the question of the membership and decision-making methods of the Security Council.  At a time when all nations were required to have democratic governance, should not the Security Council be required to become more representative and democratic in its methods of work?  Moreover, one must ask and seek after the answers to questions concerning the reasons why the Council had been unable to respond effectively to the crisis in Rwanda, as well as the recent crisis in Iraq.

The major challenges facing the world today, he concluded, were poverty, poor governance, and economic, political and social injustice which engendered internal conflict, international terrorism, globalization and the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Those could not be addressed meaningfully without greater and more effective cooperation and collaboration.  Thus, the objectives set forth within the context of the Millennium Declaration, NEPAD, the Doha Process, as well as the recent decision of the World Trade Organization to permit poor countries to import generic medications to treat HIV/AIDS and the various instruments of the fight against terrorism provided a step in the right direction in addressing those problems.  And yet, none of these initiatives would be brought to fruition unless countries abandoned the selfish self-interest that had led to the failure of the Cancun Conference.

SOLOMON E. BEREWA, Vice-President of Sierra Leone, lauded NEPAD as embodying the vision of the continent’s peoples to rid themselves of many of the problems that bedevilled them today.  They included hunger, disease, illiteracy, ignorance, civil conflict poverty, and bad governance, among others.

He said attainment of those goals would also enable Africans to enjoy a standard of living befitting the twenty-first century and were also in consonance with those of the Millennium Development Declaration.  Sierra Leone believed that the world would be a better, happier, more tolerant and peaceful place if those impressive declarations were delivered.  Further, it also believed that to achieve those goals, nations needed to abandon rhetoric in favour of the practical reality of sincere, honest and sacrificial partnership between the “haves” and the “have nots”.

Continuing, Mr. Berewa said that unity of purpose and collective action of the United Nations were even more imperative in view of the ever-increasing demands on it by numerous conflicts and humanitarian crises.  The expansion and complexity of those challenges reinforced the need for collaboration and partnership with continental and regional organizations, such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

He was convinced the hundreds of thousands of lives that had been lost in West Africa, especially in his country and Liberia, would have been saved if such a functional relationship, predicated on proactive conflict prevention, had existed between the United Nations and ECOWAS.  He deplored terrorism and reaffirmed Sierra Leone’s commitment to resolving differences and conflicts through non-violent means.  He described terrorism and the proliferation of arms, including weapons of mass destruction, as two of the most worrying challenges to peace.  Of special concern was the proliferation of small arms in the subregion.  His Government had accepted the challenge to recover from the scourge of war and re-engage the path of development.

He concluded by assuring the Assembly that the United Nations heavy investment for peace in his country would not be in vain.  Sierra Leone was determined to do whatever it could to protect and consolidate the peace for which Sierra Leoneans had sacrificed so much.

LASSANA TRORE, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Mali, said the United Nations was confronting challenges which had caused the international community to question the Organization’s very existence.  Flashpoints were igniting in many regions, with lingering insecurity and deepening poverty hindering development in others.  The new millennium had brought such fresh hopes, but as the international community had barely turned the third page, it appeared that new threats might stifle progress.

In all this, Mali would reaffirm the primacy of the United Nations -– the living incarnation of hope for peace and justice.  For its part, Mali would continue to promote democracy and respect for human rights in its region.  Mali was also working to imprint a new dynamic on good governance.  It understood the importance of preventing and managing conflicts and would continue to pursue, through the African Union, efforts to ensure peace throughout the continent.  He called on all nations to promote multilaterlism and regional and subregional integration, based on the principle of the sovereignty of States.

Mali aimed to develop a political strategy that would, among other things, ensure food security, promote growth and stimulate national and international development, he said.  But those efforts were being hampered, particularly agricultural development, by a crippling global economic and financial architecture.  So for Mali and many other African nations, it was not poverty but the conditions which created it that was most appalling.  Unfair trade schemes had a deleterious effect on developing countries, and the international community must address the issue so that all countries would have the opportunity to compete and grow on equal footing.

KASSYMZHOMART K. TOKAEV, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan, said his country believed the time had come to join the international community’s efforts to ensure broad and effective cooperation to address global threats.  It was becoming more and more evident that States’ involvement in the globalization process was an important factor in their economic prosperity.  Kazakhstan had no alternative to political and economic openness, since in the last four years the country has had one of the fastest economic growth rates in the world.

An active participant in the globalization process, Kazakhstan was also leading the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in main economic indicators, and it also had an integral part in the global economy, he said.  His country’s top priority was early admission to the World Trade Organization.  It also aimed at creating a comprehensive security system in Asia and viewed support of this by the United Nations and other partners as a way to create a climate of trust and good neighbourly relations on the Asian continent.

He said Kazakhstan was firmly committed to strengthening regional integration, and it was actively involved in the work within the Eurasian Economic Community.  It had great expectations regarding a single economic space in the territories of the four CIS countries.  Also, a significant contribution to counter-terrorism efforts and trade and economic cooperation in the Eurasian region could be made by the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

It was imperative that efforts aimed at restoring peace and stability in Iraq were undertaken within the United Nations’ legal framework, he said.  Post-war reconstruction of the country and assistance to the Iraqi population could be provided only under the umbrella of the United Nations, and Kazakhstan had already made a practical contribution to the effort by deploying a group of military officers in Iraq.  He believed the Iraq crisis had become a serious test for the United Nations, and it highlighted an urgent need to carry out institutional reform of the Organization.

It was essential to strengthen the role of the Security Council in the settlement of crisis situations and to provide it with appropriate mandates and means of conflict prevention, he said.  He called for it to be made more representative by co-opting five new members, including Germany and Japan, as well as, on the basis of rotation, African, Asian and Latin American States.   To achieve a much-needed consensus, new Security Council members might temporarily exercise veto power with certain exceptions, subject to further discussion in the high-level panel which the Secretary-General intended to establish.  It was also necessary to increase the number of non-permanent members with due account for the interests of the Asian region.

KAMAL KHARRAZI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iran, said the United States had waged an unsanctioned war against Iraq to find weapons of mass destruction, to fight international terrorism and bring democracy to the Iraqi people.  The first was yet to be realized.  The second had backfired.  As for the third, while the collapse of a dictatorship was a highly welcome development, social changes could only be brought about from within, and “not imported in tandem with tank columns”.  The invasion of Iraq had created an international predicament and a source of instability in the region.

Iran had adopted a policy of self-restraint regarding Iraq, and called for the immediate transfer of sovereignty to the Iraqi people and withdrawal of troops.  It wished to grant a central role to the United Nations and supported the swift establishment of a constitutional and institution-building process.  In addition, it had provided emergency relief assistance to the people of Iraq.

Turning to the violence against the Palestinian people, he said the killing of innocent people by Israel had become an everyday event, and the prospect for viable peace was increasingly diminishing.  The international community had a responsibility to alleviate the suffering of the Palestinian people.  Regarding the recent decision by the Israeli regime to expel President Arafat, he said the move had outraged the international community, and the Muslim world in particular.  It was regrettable that the United States had resorted to the veto to block the adaptation of a draft resolution.  In Afghanistan, he was pleased by the steady improvement of the situation, while concerned by the regrouping of remnants of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, the paucity of international assistance, and the increase in opium cultivation.  If the international community was not more forthcoming with assistance, the recent achievements might not remain secure.

Terrorism was a global phenomenon that required a global response and a multifaceted approach that addressed its underlying causes.  Any attempt to link terrorism to a specific religion or culture was prejudicial, politically motivated and unacceptable.  To combat terrorism, Iran had denied thousands of individuals entry into Iran during the military intervention in Afghanistan, deported thousands of individuals with false documents, and arrested hundreds of suspects.

Finally, he said weapons of mass destruction were among the most potent threats to peace.  War, for its part, adhered to the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention, and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), thus, manifesting its determination towards the total eradication of such weapons.  That commitment lay not only in its treaty obligations, but from its religious convictions and history.  “Thus, I can state categorically that, for all these reasons, weapons of mass destruction have no place in the defensive strategy of my country.”  His country’s nuclear programme was solely for peaceful purposes.  Iran would vigorously pursue its peaceful nuclear programme and would not give into demands that were discriminatory, selective and went beyond the requirements of non-proliferation, in accordance with existing International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) instruments.  “We have nothing to hide”, and in principle have no problem with the additional protocol.

VARTAN OSKANIAN, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Armenia, said the series of crises that had begun with the 11 September 2001 terrorist attacks had transformed all societies and nations.  Those threats and crises were also forcing a transformation of the United Nations.  Indeed, organizational reform was essential and could not be delayed if the United Nations family was to remain truly relevant as a facilitator of world peace.  Such revitalization must promote a totally new way of thinking.

If the United Nations was for peaceful, prosperous and democratic development, then it must undergo its own democratization so that it would have the increased moral authority to guide others through reform and political transition.  “An organization which espouses dialogue and negotiation as alternatives to violence and conflict ought to find ways through such dialogue to resolve critical, universal issues facing us today”, he said.  This Assembly had the chance to go down in history not as an inadequate but well-meaning giant, but as a viable instrument of world peace.  The Secretary-General’s budget and Security Council reform goals were the building blocks with which a relevant and responsive world forum for cooperation the United Nations could be built.

Turning to the situation in his country, he said there was much political exploitation in his region.  Azerbaijan, in its election year, was willing to ignore, at its peril, realities that were self-evident.  There were two myths in Azerbaijan –- both were faulty, miscalculated and risky.  Since 1992, that country had tried to convince itself that if it held out long enough, Armenia’s economy would collapse and leave Nagorno Karabakh unprotected and defenceless.  That assumption had been misguided, for not only had Armenia’s economy grown in the face of Azerbaijan’s blockade, it had grown even larger than Azerbaijan’s.

The second myth had Azerbaijan dreaming of future oil sales whose revenues would be used to buy armaments, in anticipation of the day it would be able to once against pursue a military solution.  That was self-deception, too, he said, adding that Azerbaijan had forgotten that similar fantasies had led them some 10 years ago in a failed attempt to break the will of the people of Nagorno Karabakh.  Azerbaijanis were victims of their own aggression.  They started the war and began massacring Armenians.  But in spite of all that:  “Armenia intends to go forward”, he said “indeed, we already have.”

WLODZIMIERZ CIMOSZEWICZ, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Poland, said recent international developments strengthened his belief that the Organization could benefit from his nation’s proposal, put forward last year, to prepare a New Act for the United Nations.  Such a document could establish norms of international conduct in the face of security threats and global challenges.  His country’s initiative corresponded to the Secretary-General’s efforts to increase the effectiveness of the Organization and safeguard its position as an institution of international security and cooperation.  “I wholeheartedly support his views on the need for review and possibly a radical reform of the international security architecture”, he said.

Poland’s proposal addressed questions posed by a spectrum of present-day challenges, including security risks related to globalization and the emergence of non-State actors, development gaps, and international solidarity and governance. Today’s challenges called for new thinking and innovative approaches, he said. Regional conflicts remained a source of instability, and new threats were characterized as more diverse and unpredictable in nature.

Using the Secretary-General’s words, he said today’s threats were both “hard” and “soft”, with hard challenges compounded by chronic underdevelopment, and soft threats —- poverty, deprivation, and infectious diseases -- taking a toll on poor countries thwarted by bad governance, internal conflicts and human rights abuses.  A consensus was needed on the conceptual and political framework of the United Nations, he said, noting that his nation’s initiative was not intended to revise or change the Charter, but place it in the context of ongoing international transformations.  It would accomplish that goal by redefining United Nations objectives, identifying new tasks and specifying operational modalities.

Concerned that a lack of common interpretation of terms and principles would lead to chaos in international relations, he said his nation’s initiative would reflect relations between principles and conditions dominated by non-traditional threats, and examine questions related to human rights, State sovereignty, self-determination and crisis management, among others.  The United Nations was torn by deep divisions, which limited its effectiveness and called into question its ability to act.  He reiterated that Poland supported the Secretary-General’s intention to establish a high-level panel, and that that idea was in perfect conformity with his initiative.

The United Nations should be a key factor in the transition in post-war Iraq, he said, and the entire international community should assist reconstruction efforts.

BENITA FERRERO-WALDNER, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria, said that the intense public scrutiny of the Security Council’s actions over the past 12 months had opened a window of opportunity for relaunching efforts to find unity of purpose, based on a common security agenda among all nations.  In that context, she welcomed Secretary-General Annan’s call for a far-reaching overhaul of the United Nations system in order to enhance its efficiency and legitimacy.

She urged Member States to respond to that challenge and energetically revive the reform debate, pointing out that the urgency nations were faced with today should render a new attempt more successful.  In debating the reforms, a first priority issue should be the reform of the procedures in the United Nations system.  The composition of the Security Council was at odds with the geopolitical reality of the twenty-first century and did not reflect the growing number of United Nations Members nor the necessary regional balance.  The decision-making had, therefore, been perceived by many as lacking legitimacy.

She believed that discussion was not only about who should be represented in the Council, but also about ensuring that the decision-making was in the interest of world peace and global security.  To that end, the regional groups had to accept their responsibility in coming forth with solutions.  Further, Austria’s national interests were best served by the multilateral approach of a strong United Nations system, by a Security Council living up to its responsibility for world peace, and by maintaining the primacy of international law and the universality of human rights.

On non-proliferation, she stated that the work of the IAEA was essential, as recent issues of compliance in Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had again shown.  Observing that one of the great and immediate tasks was the stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq, she was convinced that reaching the aim of restoring the sovereignty of Iraq as quickly as possible would hardly be feasible without the United Nations playing its part.  That role should be based on a sound, viable and coherent policy.

She said the deterioration of the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians was regrettable and noted that, while the situation had held up the Middle East peace process, the current setbacks should not be allowed to stall implementation of the Road Map.  The concept of two States remained the only viable solution.  She similarly expressed regret at the failure by the recent Ministerial Meeting in Cancun, Mexico, to sustain the momentum towards achieving acceptable solutions for fair trade, saying such a setback should not repeat itself.  On Afghanistan, she commended the stabilizing effect of the United Nations Assistance Mission there as a coordinator of the international efforts to political and economic reconstruction.

YOON YOUNG-KWAN, Minister  for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, said the past year had witnessed the fall of a decades-long dictatorship in Iraq.  The Iraqi people had regained their freedom, and they were now embarking on the arduous process of rebuilding their nation.  However, political changes in Iraq would only hold real meaning for the Iraqi people and the regional order once they were able to enjoy the socio-economic benefits of a broad-based, functional democratic government.  As a result of this, the Republic of Korea was playing its part in the process of rehabilitation and reconstruction of the country.

He said, however, that the situation in today’s Iraq was less than promising, since the recent surge of terror and chaos had served as a sobering reminder “that winning the war does not necessarily mean winning peace”.  He condemned the terrorist act against United Nations personnel and recommended that the Secretary-General take the necessary steps to ensure the safety and security of the United Nations and its associated personnel, as well as international humanitarian workers in Iraq.

While the Republic of Korea remained fully committed to international efforts to advance democracy around the world, remaining challenges included fighting poverty and achieving sustainable development. The need for international cooperation in this area had never been greater, and he said it was tremendously important to achieve the goals set at last year’s International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development.  Seoul had been the headquarters of the International Vaccine Institute since 1997, and it awaited the support of the international community as it continued to expand its activities to promote public health for the less privileged of the world.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its links to terrorism loomed as a grave and perilous threat, he said, noting that the NPT faced unprecedented challenges.  The way those challenges were addressed would have a decisive bearing on the future of not only the non-proliferation regime, but also on the entire international security environment.  While it was necessary to close loopholes, nuclear-weapon States could do a great service to the cause of non-proliferation if they complied with their share of disarmament obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s nuclear programme not only posed a direct challenge to the security of the Korean peninsula, but it also endangered peace and stability in North-east Asia and beyond.  His country’s position on the Democratic People’s Republic remained clear and consistent, but it was time for the 50-year standoff to give way to reconciliation and cooperation.  “This process should be cautiously managed and take place in a peaceful and gradual manner”, he stated.  He hoped the security concerns of the North, along with the nuclear issue, would be addressed in more detail at the next Six-Party Talks.  Once the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abandoned its nuclear weapons programme and utilized the opportunity offered by the Six-Party Talks, to “embark on a path towards peace and prosperity”, his Government would then take further steps towards bold inter-Korean economic cooperation that would dramatically enhance international relations in East Asia.

Statements in Exercise of Right of Reply

Exercising the right of reply, the representative of Pakistan said that, yesterday, the President of his country had offered an action plan for peace between Pakistan and India, including a ceasefire along the line of control in Jammu and Kashmir.  The response from India had been disappointing -- for Pakistan and the international community.  By that negative response, another chance for peace in the region had been lost.  Pakistan’s offer to pursue forward movement on the issue had been misconstrued as an admission of guilt.

The deaths in the territory were on India’s hands, not Pakistan’s, he said.  India, it seemed, wanted the killing to continue.  It wanted, like all colonial oppressors of the past, to continue to suppress the Kashmiri freedom struggle.  India had accused Pakistan of sponsoring terrorism, but it was India who was “the mother or terrorism”, for it had waged attacks against each one of its neighbours.  It was his hope that cooler heads would prevail and reach the conclusion that dialogue was the only way to reach a solution.

Also exercising the right of reply was the Observer for Palestine, who said the statement made today by the representative of Israel was replete with misrepresentations.  It was also a vivid example of Israel’s arrogance and contempt for international law, the Assembly and, indeed, the United Nations and the entire international community.  Israel continued to act with impunity against Palestinians, and its Government continued to effect its racist policies.  Yet, all were to believe that this Government actually wanted peace. 

While it gave flowery statements in international forums, the Government of Israel continued to use its tanks, planes and superior weapons to kill more and more innocent Palestinians, she said.  There was no international law or norm that Israel had not violated, from assassination and money laundering to the violation of the basic and inalienable right of peoples, to self-determination.  

The representative of Azerbaijan next exercised his country’s right of reply, saying he regretted that once again the Assembly had been used to espouse repugnant ideologies and flout the will of the international community.  Armenia’s representative had sought to entertain the Assembly with a litany of supposed “myths” held by Azerbaijan concerning the Nagorna Karabakh territories.  While he would not recount every point, he would mention that Armenia held myths of its own.  Azerbaijan would not give up one inch of its land and called on Armenia to come back down to earth.

Also exercising the right of reply, the representative of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said he would like to provide the correct assessment of the nuclear salutation in his country.  It was a direct result of the hostile policy of the United States to stifle his county politically and economically.  The United States, which had denied his country’s system of government, refused to coexist peacefully with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.  The demilitarization of the Korean peninsula was his Government’s ultimate goal.  At the recent joint negotiations on the issue, it had presented proposals to that end.

Simultaneous action was critical to demilitarization of the Koreas, he said.  But the United States continually called for the demilitarization without offering to change its hostile policies.  His Government remained consistent in its position to resolve the nuclear issue peacefully and through dialogue and negotiation.  If South Korea wanted to resolve the dispute, it would be well advised to urge the United States to give up its hostile policies.

In response to Pakistan’s statement, the representative of India said Pakistan had once again taken the podium to distort the truth.  The Assembly was a forum for offering views, not abuse.  Pakistan continued to be the epicentre of terrorism, and its Government was characterized by its use of camouflage and doublespeak.

The representative of Pakistan said that, over the last several years, India was pursuing a sophisticated strategy of portraying itself as a victim of foreign-sponsored terrorism.  That, however, had never been proved.  He went on to quote several NGO sources on terrorism sponsored by India.  He hoped his President’s offer to enter into negotiations would be positively received.

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