STRENGTHENED UNITED NATIONS NEEDED TO FACE EVER MORE PRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES, SAY SPEAKERS AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCLUDES DEBATE ON SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REPORT

Sixty-second General Assembly

Plenary

22^nd Meeting* (AM)

STRENGTHENED UNITED NATIONS NEEDED TO FACE EVER MORE PRESSING GLOBAL CHALLENGES,

SAY SPEAKERS AS GENERAL ASSEMBLY CONCLUDES DEBATE ON SECRETARY-GENERAL’S REPORT

Reaffirming their commitment to multilateralism and the primacy of the United Nations to solve ever more pressing global challenges, General Assembly delegates concluded discussion today of Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s first annual report on the United Nations’ work, agreeing that the global body must prioritize efforts and comprehensively reform if it was to effectively confront current realities and maintain relevance on the world stage.

With 2007 marking the midpoint between adoption of the Millennium Declaration and the 2015 deadline for achieving the related development Goals, the Assembly’s brief meeting today highlighted persistent challenges that blunted progress:  climate change; inadequate access to health care; and uneven economic and social development.  Moreover, the Assembly heard that last year alone saw 2.9 million people die of HIV/AIDS and half the world suffer from a lack of access to basic sanitation.  In Africa, poverty rates continued to rise, while investments in health and education dropped.

The landscape was made bleaker by the fact that, as people died, countries continued to “drift towards global destruction”, committing talent and resources to efforts that destroyed both lives and the environment.  Given such circumstances, the United Nations must undergo comprehensive reform if it hoped to produce results commensurate with global conditions, delegates asserted.

The revitalization of the Organization’s main bodies was a priority, said the representative of Indonesia, who stressed that the General Assembly exercise the full authority granted to it in the Charter, and that the Security Council be adapted to reflect current geopolitical realities.  Restructuring in the area of disarmament was particularly important, and action on a comprehensive convention for terrorism was long overdue.  Moreover, the capacity of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations needed to be enhanced, and the year-old Peacebuilding Commission’s commitments must be translated into tangible measures on the ground in its two inaugural country cases:   Burundi and Sierra Leone.

In a similar context, priority must be given to Africa, the representative of Cameroon declared.  No effort should be spared in supporting the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, which was established to oversee initiatives related to the continent’s specialized needs and mobilize public opinion.  The United Nations should continue to manage that priority at a high level and according to the political will shown both at the Millennium Summit and the 2005 World Summit.  To that end, two permanent seats with veto rights for Africa should be included on the Security Council, the representative of Benin added.

For his part, the Observer for the Palestinian Territories said that underpinning reform efforts must be the maintenance of international law, stressing that the United Nations must also emphasize the importance of the Human Rights Council.  Such efforts would foster justice and freedom among all people, especially those still under occupation.

In other business, the Vice-President of Assembly, Andreas D. Mavroyiannis ( Cyprus), drew delegations’ attention to a note from the Secretary-General concerning the resignation on 11 July of Juan Luis Larrabure ( Peru) from the Joint Inspection Unit.  Inspector Larrabure had been appointed in 2003 to a five-year term that was to have expired on 31 December 2008.  In order to allow for consultations to be held on a new candidate and to align the term of office with that of the other Inspectors, the Assembly decided that the vacancy would be filled for a term beginning on 1 January 2008 and expiring on 31 December 2012.

The Assembly Vice-President then told Member States that the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States had been asked to propose a candidate to fill the vacancy from among that Group, and Peru would be requested to submit the name of a candidate and his/her curriculum vitae highlighting the candidate’s relevant qualifications.  The Assembly President would hold consultations, including with the President of the Economic and Social Council and the Secretary-General in his capacity as Chairman of the United Nations System Chief Executives Board for Coordination, and then propose a qualified candidate to the Assembly for appointment to the Joint Inspection Unit.

The General Assembly will reconvene at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 10 October, to consider the report of the Peacebuilding Commission.

Background

The General Assembly met this morning to conclude its debate on the Secretary-General’s report on the work of the Organization (document A/62/1).

Statements

ADIYATWIDI ASMADY ( Indonesia) said the report had been issued at a time of great challenges, which would only be tackled if the international community reaffirmed its commitment to multilateralism and the primacy of the United Nations in solving global problems.  Among those challenges, development must be prioritized, because it was a prerequisite to peace and the solving of other problems.  The Millennium Development Goals, in turn, could not be achieved without tackling climate change.  Global partnerships with national Governments were needed to strengthen good governance and respect for the rule of law and human rights.  The success of those partnerships would hinge on fulfilment and increase of official development assistance and foreign direct investment commitments, and successful conclusion of the Doha Development Round. 

To make effective interventions in all those areas, the United Nations must go through comprehensive reform, involving all organs, she said.  It must become a fulcrum to realize a just and equitable world order.  The General Assembly must exercise the full authority granted to it in the Charter and the Security Council must be adapted to reflect current geopolitical realities.  Restructuring in the area of disarmament was particularly important.  Terrorism would best be tackled from the roots up and a comprehensive convention was long overdue.  A standing team of mediation specialists could also help defuse smouldering conflicts before they actually exploded.  Because of the surge in peacekeeping demands, the capacity of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations needed to be enhanced. 

She said that the Peacebuilding Commission’s commitments must now be translated into tangible measures on the ground in its two country cases.  In the sphere of human rights, she expressed eagerness to see the peer review mechanism begin operation.  However, she urged caution in applying the “responsibility to protect”, as it would contravene the principle of equality of States.  No pretext should be created for interference in the internal affairs of sovereign States.

JEAN-FRANCIS R. ZINSOU ( Benin) said that the Secretary-General’s report made it clear that the United Nations was currently carrying out a wealth of activities in the multilateral arena, particularly in the area of development.  The report also rightly urged Member States to focus their attention on the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.  While it was clear that the wider international community must live up to its commitments to that end, African and other developing nations needed to reject “defeatism” and press ahead with their national sustainable development strategies.  To that end, he said, it was necessary to “wake up” local-level capacities to ensure that underprivileged communities and populations could participate in making decisions that affected them.

He went on to welcome the United Nations intensified focus on global warming and stressed that African countries needed to be particularly vigilant in monitoring the negative impacts of the phenomenon, which directly affected the achievement of development objectives.  An effective African response to the challenge required a degree of forecasting, as well as aggressive mitigation and adaptation strategies.  The international community needed to recognize that such effective response required resources that might outstrip national mobilization capacities. 

In the area of political affairs, Benin welcomed improvements in mediation and preventive diplomacy in restoring peace.  At the same time, the United Nations must review its policy in the area of crisis response.  Rapid response required forces that were adequately resourced and trained.  It was clear that developed countries were coming around in that regard, as witnessed recently by the decision of the European Union to deploy peacekeepers in Chad and the Central African Republic.

Turning to disarmament, he said that Benin was counting on the Secretary-General to urge key States in that arena to cooperate and negotiate with each other in a positive spirit, for the sake of all humankind. Still, for its part, Benin would call on all States to voluntarily reduce their weapons stocks, cut back on military spending and support the United Nations agreement on curbing the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons.  On organizational reform, he said he was convinced that the Secretary-General’s clear vision would guide Member States.  As for Security Council reform, two permanent and two non-permanent seats should be ascribed to African States.  Finally, he added that a revitalized General Assembly was one that fully shouldered its responsibilities in relation to other main United Nations organs and was supported by a Secretariat performing to the best of its capabilities.

MARTIN BELINGA-EBOUTOU ( Cameroon) said it was highly regrettable that most developing countries would not be able to achieve the Millennium Development Goals by the target date of 2015.  In African countries, poverty rates continued to rise, while investments in health and education were falling.  Meanwhile, developed countries were delaying implementation of their commitments to increase official development assistance.  The situation in Africa was of particular concern, and the international community should keep the promises they made to developing countries to help them achieve the Millennium Goals.  The Secretary-General should aid in that effort by strengthening the Office of the Special Adviser on Africa, which was the body that would oversee all initiatives to care for the special needs of Africa and mobilize public opinion to keep the continent at the centre of the international agenda. 

There was favourable news on the issue of climate change, he said.  The General Assembly had recognized the importance of responding to climate change with the utmost urgency.  The meeting in Bali in December should help mobilize coordinated action and trigger an agreement on a post-2012 regime.  It was important for the international community to recognize the special needs of developing countries on that issue also, since countries like his had fewer resources available to deal with natural disasters, such as severe flooding and desertification.  The international community should continue to work together to respond to the effects of climate change with immediate and concrete actions. 

On peace and security, he said African countries would begin to contribute more to peacekeeping forces and those efforts should be reinforced.  In particular, he proposed a special training institution for African countries that wished to contribute police officers to United Nations or African Union peacekeeping forces.  His Government would discuss that proposal further at a separate meeting later in October.  In general, he said United Nations reform would contribute to the Organization’s ability to more effectively respond to the complex global challenges of today.  An expanded Security Council should be more representative and should include two permanent seats with veto rights for Africa.  The newly established Human Rights Council should also be reformed, so as to prevent further politicization.  Strengthening regional cooperation was a necessity, as well.  To that end, his Government would continue to seek a permanent United Nations presence in its region and would, in the meantime, continue to support the United Nations in all its work.

CELESTINO MIGLIORE, Permanent Observer for the Holy See, said the global community seemed to be losing focus on the need for basic health care for all.  Although studies have shown that simple medical prevention proved one of the most cost-effective and successful ways of improving the health and stability of society, leaders often neglected primary care, leaving 10 million children below the age of five dying each year from preventable causes.  Focusing on it would certainly constitute a substantial contribution towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals.  Such a sad landscape was made even bleaker by the fact that, “as children die and generations lack even the basic necessities of life, we have continued to drift towards mutual and global destruction”.  Annual military expenditures of well over $1 trillion were counterintuitive to goodness and human reason, and the United Nations must renew its commitment to life in every corner of the globe.

Still, he continued, recent findings show some progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and Member States must recognize those gains, while focusing on countries trailing the developing world.  The rule of law must underpin reform.  Further, countries had called on the United Nations to respond to multifarious challenges around the world, and the Organization, in order to meet the ever-growing need for human assistance, needed to work to promote partnerships with civil society.  In turn, Member States had to ensure safe and unhindered access for humanitarian workers.  In that vein, the United Nations had dealt with issues related to culture and religion in an increasing number of resolutions -– that fact was omitted in the Secretary-General’s report.  Peacemaking through religion-sponsored agencies was among many things religious communities and their leaders could do to end conflict.

Finally, he said the United Nations must maintain its transparency and accountability to the decisions of the Member States.  To that end, modifications to the Millennium Development Goals, including the creation of new targets, as referenced in annex II, needed to be undertaken in an open manner, rather than through executive or administrative decisions.

SAID OMAR HIJAZI, Observer for Palestine, said the report came at a time when countries looked to the United Nations to intervene in more spheres of activity under more challenging conditions, especially in solving the question of the Palestinian people.  The Organization played an important role in supporting and assisting the Palestinian people in overcoming their plight.

The United Nations had adopted reports emphasizing the rights of the Palestinian people and the ways in which their sovereignty related to regional security, he continued.  The violation of Palestinians’ inalienable rights by the occupying Power, and the resulting inability of humanitarian aid to help them, was very real.  Most of the issues laid out in the report -– the Millennium Development Goals, climate change, conflict management and human rights –- remained frozen in Palestine, due to the occupation.  Yet the Secretary-General’s report did not address the occupation in any manner.

Finally, he emphasized three key points.  First, the Palestinian question was the longest standing problem facing the United Nations without a solution, and the Organization remained responsible until the involved parties reached a solution.  Second, the United Nations would fail in its mandate to protect human rights if it didn’t address the violation of Palestinians’ human rights this session.  And, finally, the United Nations needed to strengthen its role in maintaining international law and emphasize the importance of the Human Rights Council to help foster justice and freedom to all people of world, especially those still under occupation.

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*     The 21^st Meeting was covered in Press Release GA/10633 of 8 October 2007.

For information media • not an official record