Mr Chairman, In his Millennium Report, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reminds that peacekeeping operations are now more complex and different to the traditional concepts in that today these help create and strengthen political institutions and to broaden their base. In this sense our actions in the economic, social and human fields are in themselves instruments to lasting peace. Democracy and the respect for human rights, together with economic development, form the fabric of a society. Factors that influence peace in a globalised world are as diverse as they are numerous. Peace is not just the absence of war.
Peace is the attainment of that all-encompassing concept of human dignity.
So too, building peace is not merely the act of keeping two sides from entangling in outright war, it is an exercise at participation where people may come to understand each other and work together towards common objectives. Perhaps in no other region in the world has this been so true. The Middle East continues to be the focus of tension and attention. Yet, through contact and communication, we have witnessed a shift. We no longer talk of the possibility of a just and lasting solution to this question.