UN General Assembly
2006

The United Nations is now more at the centre of international affairs than it has been for many years. We see the Secretary-General and his staff driving diplomacy. They are on the ground, moving forward peace efforts in the Middle East and coordinating and sustaining peace operations in Lebanon. The United Nations is drawing up mandates and getting ready for new and urgent assignments, such as the one in Darfur. The United Nations is assisting countries coming out of conflict, such as Burundi and Sierra Leone. It is giving protection under international law to soldiers and civilians in Afghanistan. It is also launching a Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. It is to the United Nations that we all turn when other processes fail, and Norway is working hard to support its leading role, be it by sending naval units to 06-52737 48 Lebanese waters, by having soldiers in Afghanistan, or by training future peacekeepers for Darfur. The policy platform of the Norwegian Government states that: “It is in Norway’s best interest that we have a United Nations-led world order. The Government