UN General Assembly
1999

intervention; early action and prevention; nuclear disarmament; and human rights. To succeed, the United Nations system also needs to be reformed, and I will come back to that. When it comes to intervention to secure peace, regional organizations and arrangements, as well as so- called coalitions of the willing, can have important roles, together with the United Nations, as we have just seen in East Timor. But it is for the Security Council to provide the legal foundation — the mandate — for such action, in particular when force has to be used. Without such a legal foundation, we run the risk of anarchy in international relations, and in fact we undermine the prospects for peace and security; and that long-term perspective must never be lost. Our responsibility for international peace and security implies that necessary action by the Security Council should not be hindered by a veto. If the Security Council in an urgent situation is paralysed by a veto or a threat of veto, this may undermine the authority and the