UN General Assembly
1989

By changing their awn societies, by making them responsive to democratic aspirations, this movement of reform can have an enormous positive impact on peace and security in Europe and indeed in the world as a whole. President Gorbachev encapsulated the essence of this, when he said to the Assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg last July: "A world where military arsenals would be reduced, but where human rights would be violated, would not be a safe place. We have made this conclusion for ourselves once and for all." In the United Nations, too, we have been further elaborating human rights standards in certain specific areas. I want to mention in particular the Second Optional Protocol on the Abolition of the Death Penalty. The importance of this Protocol is highlighted by the recent report of Amnesty International, which shows how many death sentences are still being carried out. we would call upon this Assembly to adopt the draft Protocol at this session.