Our fundamental concerns about human security and human development cannot be met only in a domestic context. I should like to illustrate these concerns, firstly, in relation to the Kosovo and East Timor crises and, secondly, with regard to international development co-operation. Mr. President, Kosovo and East Timor raised serious questions with regard to the classic concepts of state sovereignty, the respect for human rights and the non-use of force in international relations. The first point to be made is that the international community cannot be idle in the face of gross and systematic violations of human rights. Nor can we stand idly by if the UN and its representatives who have assisted a people in exercising its right to self-determination are trampled on.
International law finds itself at a crossroads.
We have spent the last 50 years developing an impressive body of human rights law applicable in time of peace as well as during armed conflict, starting with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Indeed, there is no shortage of rules. What is still lacking, is effective implementation of existing rules - in the very last resort through the use of force. We must now aim at enforcement in order to provide assistance, regardless of frontiers, to the victims of human rights violations. We must show resolve in promoting respect for the rule of law and for the institutions called upon to uphold the rule of law.