UN General Assembly
1998

to start paying back. During the last eight years our Government and people have accumulated a wealth of experience and know-how on transition to a market democracy. We want to share this knowledge with countries at an early stage of their reforms, starting from building up a well-functioning border guard and finishing with successful monetary reform. Learning how to teach and provide support is the final lesson before graduation, and this should be the goal of every reform country. At any one time, there are 15 or 16 armed conflicts from around the world on the Security Council?s agenda. Conflicts between and within States spread from Europe to Africa, from the Middle East to Asia. These conflicts are often driven by poor socio-economic conditions or ethnic nationalism. Estonia, recognizing the primary role of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security, supports efforts to maintain and strengthen the Organization?s capacity to organize and effectively conduct its peacekeeping operations. In addition, we trust that the phasing out of gratis personnel, as mandated by the General Assembly, if handled