I should like to
offer congratulations and special greetings to Ambassador
Essy on his unanimous election to the presidency of the
General Assembly. I am confident that under his able
leadership this session of the General Assembly is well
placed to address successfully the important issues on its
agenda.
Allow me to express appreciation to His Excellency
Mr. Samuel Insanally for his wise and effective guidance
during the session just concluded. He has indeed made an
outstanding contribution, of which our region is very proud.
We express our thanks to the Secretary-General for his
stewardship of the Organization during these trying times,
and we renew our pledge to give him our fullest support.
Trinidad and Tobago, like the rest of the world, is in
the process of making fundamental changes in the way we
manage our affairs. We have already advanced
significantly along the path of deregulation and
liberalization brought upon us by the inexorable move
towards globalization and borderlessness, and most
importantly by the absolute necessity to achieve greater
efficiency and higher sustainable levels of productivity.
Greater emphasis is being placed on the market paradigm
as the means to unleash the inner energies of our society
and to create the wealth needed for the improvement of the
lives of all our citizens.
But let me hasten to add that we are acutely aware of
the imbalances that could arise as a result of the purest play
of market forces, and we as a society consider it our
responsibility to ensure that distributive justice exists in our
system, sufficiently to guarantee the well-being of all of our
citizens, including those who are unable to compete and
who for one reason or another may have been pushed out
of the mainstream of national activity. In other words,
whilst many things may be changing, there is one constant
in Trinidad and Tobago, and that is our preservation of a
humane and just society where all have the opportunity for
fulfilment.
Side by side with the globalization process, or maybe
as a byproduct of it, is a resurgence of regionalism
throughout the world. In our own hemisphere this is very
pronounced, and the dream of a free trade area from Alaska
to Tierra del Fuego seems more realizable than ever before.
We are pleased to see various subregional groupings
emerge and then develop relationships with one another.
Never before in the history of our hemisphere has the
integration process been so advanced. We have the North
American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the Southern
Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Andean Pact,
the Central American Integration Movement, the Latin
American Economic System (SELA), the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) and the Rio Group, in addition
of course to the Organization of American States. It is
significant that the cooperation which is flowering is not
only economic but also political; this augurs very well for
the development as well as for the security of the
hemisphere.
In addition to this multilateral coalescence, there is
a general strengthening of bilateral relationships. We in
CARICOM have been making strides towards overcoming
historical barriers and have been deepening our ties with
Latin America. My own country, having this year
established diplomatic relations with six countries of Latin
America, now has diplomatic relations with all the
countries of the western hemisphere. Also, we joined 38
others, including both independent countries and
non-independent Territories, in establishing the
Association of Caribbean States, comprising countries of
the Caribbean littoral and bringing into being a market of
over 200 million people with a combined gross domestic
product of $500 billion.
We do all this for the benefit of our people, realizing
that when we join forces we are stronger, we lay the
bedrock for a stable environment within the hemisphere,
and we create, among other things, megamarkets for our
products and generate the wealth through which we
improve the standard of living in our countries.
I have spoken about the possibilities for political
co-operation as a result of the integration processes taking
place in our region. May I mention an outstanding
current example. I refer of course to Haiti. At present in
Haiti, sanctioned by Security Council resolution 940
(1994), is a multinational force comprised mainly of
troops from the region, with military contributions from
elsewhere. My Government welcomes the cooperation
extended by countries outside the region whose
farsightedness persuaded them to contribute to the
restoration process now taking place in Haiti.
In the changed circumstances of today’s world, there
is more than ever a need to cooperate for security
purposes and for the preservation of democracy, and this
19

of course requires the political will which has been
demonstrated by our region in the Haitian situation.
Soldiers from Trinidad and Tobago are part of the
multinational force at present in Haiti. We are pleased to
participate in the collective efforts to ensure stability and
the return of democracy and the democratically elected
President to that country. We believe that the Caribbean
has a special responsibility in relation to Haiti. We have
therefore been in the forefront of attempts to solve the
crisis, and we vow to remain with the problem until it is no
more with us.
Trinidad and Tobago joins the jubilation of the
millions of proud Haitians at home and in the diaspora at
the welcome news of the resignation of General Raoul
Cedras and his Chief of Staff. Like others, we hope this
sends an unequivocal message to those elements in Haiti
that seek to continue to wage war and terror against a
people still yearning for a society of freedom, democracy
and justice - a society in which the collective talents and
resourcefulness of Haitians can be appropriately channelled
towards rebuilding their nation and fighting the enemies of
poverty and degradation.
Another area of Caribbean concern has to do with
Cuba. We welcome the commencement of dialogue
between Cuba and the United States of America on specific
issues. These talks should assist in laying a foundation for
the resolution of remaining difficulties and in achieving the
long-term objective of fully reintegrating Cuba into the
Western Hemisphere. We in the Caribbean are doing our
part towards the goal of Cuba’s reintegration. We have
established the Cuba-Caribbean Community (CARICOM)
Mixed Commission, and recently Cuba joined us as a
founding member of the Association of Caribbean States.
Trinidad and Tobago also welcomes the consolidation
of democracy in the Latin American and Caribbean region.
Peaceful elections continue to be conducted in these
countries, deepening the democratic process in the region.
We are pleased with the many positive developments
in our part of the world. There have also been positive
developments in former areas of conflict which seized the
attention of this body for many years, further illustrating
what can be achieved through partnership and political will.
The peaceful transition to democracy in South Africa a few
months ago stands out as a beacon of hope and signals that
no problem is insurmountable if there is concerted national
and international action. Trinidad and Tobago joins with
the international community in assuring South Africa of its
continued support in this crucial post-apartheid period. The
Government of South Africa has announced its decision
to include among its priorities the continuation of
traditional friendships and the promotion of new
partnerships. We look forward to the development of
strong bilateral relations between South Africa and
ourselves, a process that is already under way.
Trinidad and Tobago is also heartened by the
progress achieved so far in the Middle East peace
process. We welcome the initiation of self-governing
arrangements in the Gaza Strip and Jericho - important
developments in this transition period - and look forward
to the extension of Palestinian self-governing
arrangements to encompass other occupied territories in
the implementation of the Declaration of Principles. The
international community’s support for development efforts
in the economic and social fields and the rebuilding of
infrastructure destroyed during the long years of
occupation is critical to the Palestinian people at this time.
We are encouraged by the Washington Declaration
of 25 July 1994, issued by the Governments of Jordan
and Israel, which ended the state of war and paves the
way for normalization of relations and a formal peace
treaty. We also appreciate the efforts made by the Syrian
and Lebanese Governments in their commitment to
advancing the peace process in the Middle East.
Whilst there is cause for satisfaction globally, we
continue to be traumatized by other events which have
already shattered the lives of millions of people, evoking
images more horrendous than those we have witnessed
before. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, a genocidal war
rages on, having already brought the evil of “ethnic
cleansing” into our modern vocabulary and consciousness.
We were first appalled and are now numbed by the horror
in Rwanda, where hundreds of thousands of lives have
been lost, creating hellish human suffering in that country.
Destruction, oppression and suffering continue in various
parts of the world, affecting hundreds of thousands of
lives in Somalia and elsewhere.
Nuclear proliferation makes us all very uneasy,
creating pictures of an abyss of unspeakable chaos into
which we can very easily slip. The ideological divide
may be behind us, but the threat of Armageddon still
hangs over humanity.
It has become a cliché of international helplessness
to say that the world community must act decisively and
expeditiously to do this or that to deal with many of the
problems that I have mentioned. The fact is that there is
20

a very long road ahead. To effect lasting solutions to the
crises that are upon us we must go back always to the
fundamentals and remember, for example, that development
and peace are inextricably linked. If we are to get
anywhere near to solving some of our problems we must
deal with key issues such as good governance, the
promotion of peace, the promotion of justice as a pillar of
society, sustainable environmental management and social
development.
There is no doubt in my mind that the world
community is already beginning to grapple with
fundamentals. We are in the process of elaborating the
Agenda for Development as a necessary complement to the
“Agenda for Peace”. International conferences of world
leaders, some held and others to come, all point the way to
a new partnership for development based on global
consensus and action.
In this regard, the World Summit for Social
Development will be convened in March 1995 in Denmark
to address some of the serious ills afflicting many societies
by focusing on the key problems of poverty, unemployment
and social marginalization. The programme of action to be
adopted at the social Summit must therefore include
specific provisions, including adequate financial resources
for implementation and follow-up by the international
community and, more specifically, by the United Nations
and its agencies and institutions.
There can be no doubt that the quality of life in many
countries today as it relates to the individual is undergoing
a grave transformation. The growing intolerance and
increasing senseless violence within the home and in
communities at large have led many to question the very
mores of the society in which we live. The situation is
further aggravated by the growth of organized transnational
crime, which in many countries exacerbates problems of
rampant vicious criminal activity, terrorism, drug abuse,
illegal drug trafficking and money laundering.
In this era of increasing globalization, no Government,
particularly Governments in the developing world, can
hope, on its own, to address effectively these varied
problems. We therefore welcome the approval by the
International Law Commission earlier this year of a draft
statute for an international criminal court and we support
the convening of a diplomatic conference to conclude a
convention on the establishment of a permanent court.
Another important area being tackled by the
international community is the full participation of women
in the process of development. The fact is, effective
international cooperation for development will remain
elusive, in the absence of specific measures for an
adequate means of empowering all members of society to
participate fully in the political, economic and social life
of their respective societies. It is widely acknowledged
that investment in women can have an enormous impact
on the advancement of society as a whole. However,
women from all parts of the globe continue to face
systematic discrimination in all fields of endeavour, while
also bearing a disproportionate burden of the
consequences of economic recession, poverty, structural
adjustment policies and political strife.
In acknowledging this, Trinidad and Tobago has put
in place constitutional guarantees to ensure equal
treatment for all under the law, irrespective of gender,
creed or race. My Government holds steadfastly to the
position that women must be allowed equal opportunity
to participate fully in all spheres of life and at all levels
of society, particularly in decision-making positions.
Trinidad and Tobago is encouraged by efforts made
during the ongoing preparatory process for the Fourth
World Conference on Women to address these and other
crucial issues. Much work remains to be done in the
ensuing months. My Government will continue to work
closely with others in an effort to elaborate concrete
recommendations, including specific attainable goals,
aimed at overcoming the numerous impediments to the
advancement of women.
The population question also continues to be on the
international agenda. It is recognized that population-
related goals and policies must be integral parts of
cultural, economic and social development aimed at
improving the quality of life. Consequently, the
International Conference on Population and Development,
which was convened in Cairo last September, quite
appropriately reviewed the impact of demographic factors
on development and emphasized the importance of the
entire spectrum of population policies to the development
process. We must now take concrete steps to uphold the
principles and implement the Programme of Action
adopted by the Conference.
The crucial area of the environment is also being
discussed. Member States have taken initial steps at the
national and international levels, towards the elaboration
of a new development paradigm based on the integration
of environmental concerns in development activities. The
continuation of this process would lead to the
21

implementation of the policies and decisions adopted at Rio
de Janeiro, thereby making possible the attainment of the
targets identified for our common good.
As a follow-up to the Rio de Janeiro Conference, the
Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States, which was held in
Barbados earlier this year, allowed island States and the rest
of the international community to explore a comprehensive
approach to sustainable development within the framework
of Agenda 21. For many island developing States which
have remained on the periphery of international
programmes for development, the implementation of the
agreements adopted in Barbados will create the opportunity
to participate as contributors and beneficiaries in a truly
global effort. As Chairman of the Alliance of Small Island
States, Trinidad and Tobago reiterates its commitment to
playing a lead role in the active pursuit of the
implementation of the Barbados Programme of Action.
The preservation and sustainable management of the
resources in all global commons must be an important goal
of the Agenda for Development. But this goal must be
facilitated by the development of legal regimes to ensure
that we successfully carry out our duties as trustees of those
resources.
In this context, Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the
imminent entry into force of the 1982 United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea, having participated very
actively with other Member States in forging a new, more
universally accepted public order for the oceans. The spirit
of accommodation and consensus manifested in the work
achieved by the Preparatory Commission for the
International Seabed Authority and for the International
Tribunal for the Law of the Sea constitutes a solid and
valuable foundation for the launching of the International
Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica, on
16 November 1994. Trinidad and Tobago will continue to
participate constructively and in close cooperation with
other Member States in the decision-making process of the
Authority as well as in other institutions related to the 1982
Convention.
The coming into force of the Convention on the Law
of the Sea should provide an impetus to the United Nations
Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks, which is developing principles for the effective
management of one of the most important renewable food
resources. This objective can be attained only if there is a
confluence of political will to act decisively.
Political will is also absolutely necessary if we are
to address adequately the various international economic
impediments to effective national efforts to promote social
progress and better standards of life. The major obstacles
include trade barriers, insufficient flows of international
financing, onerous external debt and the inadequate
transfer of technology to developing countries. They
serve to frustrate the ardent efforts made by Governments
to revitalize their economies.
Trinidad and Tobago welcomes the important step
taken earlier this year towards free and open trade, with
the successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round of trade
negotiations. We emphasize, however, that as we seek to
implement the trade liberalization measures under the
agreements arrived at, urgent attention must be given to
the persistent trend of economic growth accompanied by
increased poverty, unemployment and marginalization of
large sections of populations the world over.
It is clear from what I have said that it is only
through a multilateral approach that we will solve the
problems of the world. Clearly, the most appropriate
vehicle to accommodate this approach is the United
Nations. People are turning increasingly to the United
Nations not only for the realization of their aspirations for
peace and security, but also in their quest for
development with equity and social justice. Following the
dissipation of the distrust and hostility of the cold-war
era, the United Nations ought to be in a better position to
respond to these needs.
On becoming a Member of the United Nations 32
years ago, Trinidad and Tobago undertook along with
other Member States to maintain international peace and
security and to promote the economic and social
advancement of all peoples. To this end we intend to
participate actively in current efforts to restructure the
United Nations to enable it to become more responsive to
the needs of Member States in this dynamic international
environment.
As the United Nations is on the threshold of
celebrating its fiftieth anniversary, Trinidad and Tobago
is pleased to recommit itself to the purposes and
principles enshrined in the Charter. As Members, we
need to redouble our efforts towards forging universal
peace and a new era of development, in which both
nations and individuals find security and fulfilment. I am
confident that inherent in the human condition is the
desire and the will to achieve these goals.


I should like, at the outset, to express to Mr. Essy and to
his friendly country my Government’s and my personal
congratulations on his election to the Presidency of the
General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. We are
confident that his abilities and skills will enable him to
discharge his responsibilities in the best possible manner.
I should like also to congratulate the members of the
General Committee on their election to that body.
On this occasion I cannot fail to express the
appreciation of the delegation of the State of Qatar, as well
as my personal appreciation, to Mr. Essy’s predecessor as
President of the General Assembly, Ambassador Samuel
Insanally, who represents the friendly Republic of Guyana,
for his excellent leadership and the work carried out during
his tenure.
It is also my pleasure to extend our congratulations to
those States that have recently joined our international
Organization. We look forward to their constructive and
effective participation in the activities of the United Nations
and to their defence of its principles.
In that context, I salute the delegation of the Republic
of South Africa and that country’s great leader, Nelson
Mandela, the first African President of the State, which, in
this new chapter of its history, will undoubtedly be a new
Member representing the African continent and the
international community. We are convinced that it will
play an outstanding role, for which it is eminently qualified
by its stature, as well as by its expertise in all fields.
I should like also to reaffirm the State of Qatar’s full
confidence in and special appreciation of the
Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his
commitment and devotion in the service of this international
Organization and for his efforts to uphold the noble
principles of the United Nations and to promote its
international peace-keeping and peacemaking role in dealing
with international problems and crises. This is a role that
will undoubtedly increase in importance.
The General Assembly’s forty-ninth session is being
held in the shadow of dynamic and rapid changes in
international relations. These rapid dynamic changes have
not yet reached their culmination. We are in a period of
transition wherein new patterns of international relations are
constantly emerging. It is a period in which the so-called
new international order is being formed.
The most important underpinnings on which this
new order must rest are, in our view, respect for the
principles and purposes of the United Nations and its
Charter, in particular, the principle of sovereign co-
equality, the willingness of States to honour their
commitments in good faith, non-intervention in the
internal affairs of other States, the control by States of
their natural resources, the non-use and the absence of the
threat of the use of force against the territorial integrity or
political independence of other States, and the resolution
of international disputes by peaceful means in accordance
with the principles of international law through mediation,
dialogue or through the International Court of Justice.
With the ending of the cold war, a new era has
dawned in the United Nations. This international
Organization is now being resorted to increasingly and
more urgently. The United Nations mechanism is now
squarely in the forefront of international efforts to face up
to problems that in the past were intractable. Such
problems are now being examined and debated in a
serious manner in the United Nations and its specialized
organs and agencies with the aim of finding suitable
solutions thereto.
In this regard, the State of Qatar believes that the
United Nations and its specialized organs and agencies
are the most appropriate framework for deliberation on
issues relating to peace-keeping and peacemaking, the
peaceful settlement of international disputes, questions of
development and the forging of just and balanced
economic and social relations.
Given today’s challenges, there is no doubt that the
solving of such problems should be the collective
responsibility of all States regardless of size, if the
solutions devised are to be compatible with the interests
of the entire international community. Therefore, the
State of Qatar supports efforts to restructure this
international Organization and its bodies in order to make
them more democratic and dynamic so that they may
become more suited to the task of satisfying new
international requirements and dealing with the challenges
of peace, development, the issues of international peace
and security, as well as economic and social issues.
These issues are dictated by the radical
transformations in the patterns of international relations.
First of all, there must be a balanced relationship between
the General Assembly as the principal political body, the
Security Council as the body responsible for questions of
security, and the Economic and Social Council as the
34

body responsible for issues of economic and social
development.
In addition, the General Assembly and its resolutions
must be given a more effective role as a framework for
deliberations and negotiations and for the adoption of
resolutions on issues of international importance. This is
fully in line with the commitment by all States to the
principle of sovereign co-equality and the right of effective
participation in the upholding of the common interests of
the international community.
No one State or group of States, regardless of stature
or power, should monopolize the fashioning of the new
international order in the absence of the United Nations,
which is the true representative of the international
community. Such a new order must be fashioned by all
States collectively through the United Nations, whose
stature and efficacy must be enhanced and supported as the
only forum for international deliberations, the body
responsible for international peace and security and the
body that has the overall responsibility for economic and
social development, the protection of the environment and
of human rights as well as for combating drugs and
terrorism.
In this context, I should like to express my support for
the statement in the Secretary-General’s report "An Agenda
for Peace" that democracy within the family of nations
requires the fullest consultation, participation and
engagement of all States, large and small, in the work of
the Organization.
I should like to refer also to the statement in the same
report that the employment of preventive diplomacy
requires prior knowledge of potential disputes, participation
in peacemaking and peace-keeping, support for the
agreements concluded and the taking of measures that aim
at resolving the economic, social and political problems that
led to the dispute in the first place.
We welcome the positive developments in the role of
the Security Council and its ability to perform the role
mandated to it by the Charter, thanks to the new spirit of
cooperation that emerged between its members and enabled
it to take collective measures in respect of some very
difficult and sensitive issues and to assume new
responsibilities such as the expansion of its authority in
respect of some peace-keeping issues through the
administration of some areas during periods of transition
and through the supervision of elections and the protection
of human rights. None the less, we have some fears that
the Council may become an institution that is used to
impose the will of the strong on the weak.
Therefore, we believe that the exercise by certain
members of particular rights and privileges must not lead
to hegemony by a limited number of strong States over
the course of events in the world. Thus we believe that
the question of membership of the Security Council must
be dealt with in a manner that takes into account the large
increase in the membership of the United Nations while
putting some checks on the use of the right of veto.
In addition, the international community must respect
the resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security
Council. Political will must be mobilized to implement
those resolutions, to impose peace if conditions so
require, or to negotiate peace if there is good faith and if
the parties cooperate. We believe that this is the
guaranteed means of protecting the new international
order and of ensuring its acceptability, credibility and
stability.
We hope that the celebration of the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations will mark the rebirth of
a new, stronger and more democratic body. In this
regard, we are encouraged by discussions, within and
outside the United Nations, regarding the restructuring of
the Organization and its various organs. These are very
constructive, serious and objective discussions, and all the
States of the world are participating in them.
The State of Qatar, proceeding from the wise
instructions of the Emir, His Royal Highness Sheikh
Khalifa Bin Hamad Al-Thani, and his loyal heir, His
Royal Highness Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, has
always participated by all means in the solution of issues
related to the Arab Gulf, as well as the Arab and Islamic
nation. We have supported the Gulf Cooperation Council
because it serves the interests of the Gulf States and their
peoples. We, as part of the region, believe that our
security is closely linked to the region’s. We have
supported stability in the region and rejected every
attempt to bring about regional changes by force. We
believe that the security of the region requires cooperation
amongst all its States on the basis of good-
neighbourliness, mutual respect, non-intervention in
internal affairs and respect for international law. We hold
that all unresolved problems should be resolved by
peaceful means, through dialogue, mediation or the
International Court of Justice.
35

Proceeding from this principle, the State of Qatar
supports the resolution by such means of the current dispute
between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic
of Iran over the three islands of Abu Moussa and the two
Tumbs.
On the Arab level, the State of Qatar has continually
called for the airing of issues in the Arab world and for
reconciliation, in order to promote Arab solidarity so that
the Arab Umma may resume its role in history and in the
march of civilization.
We have followed with the greatest concern the
regrettable events in the Republic of Yemen. Since the
dispute began, the State of Qatar has participated in
diplomatic efforts to contain it. Despite the bloody and
regrettable struggle, friendly Yemen has maintained its
unity. As you know, from the beginning we have stood on
the side of legality and unity in Yemen, and we have been
eager to abide by these two principles in dealing with the
issue, proceeding from our faith in the need to maintain the
unity of the Yemenite territory and people.
As for the situation in Iraq, our position is that the
unity of Iraq and its territorial integrity must be maintained.
Iraq must commit itself to the implementation of all
relevant Security Council resolutions. It must recognize the
sovereignty of the state of Kuwait and its territorial
integrity, as well as its internationally recognized border
according to United Nations Security Council resolutions.
We also sympathize with the Iraqi people and call for the
alleviation of their hardship, taking into account the acute
shortage of medicines and foodstuffs.
Concerning peace in the Middle East, we support the
process and hope that negotiations will achieve concrete
progress on all tracks, particularly concerning Lebanon and
Syria. Last year, we welcomed the Palestinian-Israeli
agreement as a landmark on the road to a just solution to
the Palestinian question. We now welcome the subsequent
steps taken, namely the early transfer of authority and the
expansion of self-rule, both of which are important steps
towards the achievement of a just and comprehensive
solution to the question of Palestine. We also welcome the
Jordanian-Israeli declaration as to the ending of the state of
war between the two countries and the initiation of serious
negotiations to resolve all problems, specifically those
concerning water and borders. This declaration is also a
landmark on the road towards a just and comprehensive
solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict, on the basis of the
Madrid formula; Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)
and 338 (1973); the land-for-peace principle; the full
withdrawal of Israeli troops from all occupied territories
(the Golan Heights, the southern part of Lebanon,
Jerusalem); the restoration of all inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people, including the right to self-
determination; and the creation of a State whose capital
will be Jerusalem, as it is a symbol of peace and is part
and parcel of the territories occupied since 1967. During
the transitional period, the situation in this territory,
particularly its demographic aspects, should not be
changed. I wish here to reiterate the need to put a stop
to the process of Israeli settlement, which is illegal and
constitutes a major hurdle in the way of peace.
Proceeding from this, the General Assembly should
reaffirm, at its current session, all previous resolutions
regarding the question of Palestine and the Middle East
problem, and declare them unalienable.
In order to push ahead the peace process in the
Middle East, we participated in the multilateral
negotiations. We indicated that those negotiations did not
replace bilateral negotiations but complemented them, and
that they would lead to nothing unless a just and
comprehensive peace was achieved in the region. In this
regard, the State of Qatar hosted, from 2 to 5 May 1994,
the fifth meeting of the Working Group on Disarmament
and Regional Security in the Middle East, which
developed from the multilateral negotiations.
The position of Qatar was stated as follows. First,
support for all international efforts aimed at achieving
agreement on disarmament on the regional and
international levels, and support for the efforts of the
Disarmament Conference in this respect. Second, the
arrangements of arms control after the achievement of
peace should be based on legally binding and co-equal
commitments by all parties under international law and in
conformity with the United Nations Charter. Third, arms
control efforts on the international level have achieved
remarkable success, particularly between the Russian
Federation and the United States as indicated by the
signing of START and all subsequent steps. Yet those
efforts have not achieved any tangible progress in the
Middle East, since one State continues to retain its
nuclear capabilities. Fourth, all States are called upon to
accede to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and to agree
to abide by its safeguards and subject their nuclear
facilities to international inspections. The region must be
freed from all weapons of mass destruction and their
delivery systems. In this regard, we wonder how the
General Conference of the International Atomic Energy
Agency could decide to resume its technical assistance to
36

Israel, while Israel continues to reject the NPT and refuses
to submit to its safeguards regime.
We follow with great concern the situation in brotherly
Somalia. We hope that national reconciliation will
safeguard the unity, independence and stability of Somalia.
On this occasion, we wish to support the decision by the
Arab Foreign Ministers to set up an Arab ministerial
committee that would monitor the situation in Somalia and
work towards the desired reconciliation alongside the
Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.
As for Afghanistan, we express our concern over the
continuing violence and call upon all factions to halt
hostilities and work for a permanent and peaceful
settlement that would give precedence to the interests of the
Afghani people.
Since the Second World War, Europe has not
witnessed a tragedy such as that which is unfolding in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The suffering imposed on the
Muslim people through the atrocities of ethnic cleansing,
genocide and mass killings at the hands of Serb aggressors
constitute crimes which far exceed all those committed in
Europe in the course of the Second World War. Despite
the fact that the Serbs reject the international peace plan
drawn up by the five States and accepted by Bosnia and
Herzegovina, no disciplinary action has been taken against
the Serb aggressors, while the embargoes are still in place
against Bosnia and Herzegovina. In the very least, the
international community should enable the Muslims to
exercise the right of self-defence, a legitimate right
enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Once again,
together with other members of the Islamic world we ask,
why is it that there is all this procrastination in dealing with
the Serbs, and why are they allowed to hold on to the land
they have acquired by force and on which they continue to
practice the atrocities of ethnic cleansing? The international
community is called upon to deal with this matter firmly
with no double standards and in a manner that would
guarantee the independence and territorial integrity of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and guarantee for it an economic
situation that may enable it to survive. This would
certainly contribute to the maintenance of international
peace and security in that sensitive region of the world.

The State of Qatar reiterates its condemnation of this
aggression and reaffirms the independence of the Republic
of Bosnia and Herzegovina, its territorial integrity, its
sovereignty and its unity with and its one indivisible
capital, Sarajevo.
While we welcomed the resolution adopted by the
United States Congress and agreed to by the
Administration to lift the embargo against the Republic of
Bosnia and Herzegovina, we have been surprised by the
latest resolution by the Security Council, which included
a relaxation of the sanctions imposed on Serbia and
Montenegro, the State that stands beside the Serbian
militias in their continuing aggression against the Muslims
in Bosnia and Herzegovina. We believe that the said
resolution will have grave consequences as it rewards the
aggressor and the forces that support that aggression and
constitutes a retreat in the face of aggression, massacres
and continuing ethnic crimes.
In this regard, we call on the Security Council not to
reward aggression. We call upon it to discharge its
responsibilities towards the protection of the Muslims in
Bosnia and Herzegovina by declaring the entire Republic
of Bosnia and Herzegovina a safe haven. The Council
must ensure that no military assistance is allowed to reach
the Serbs. The Muslims must be enabled to exercise their
legitimate right to self-defence by the lifting of the
embargo on their country. Once again, we emphasize that
the war criminals in the former Yugoslavia must be
brought to justice and support the demand by the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) contact
group on Bosnia and Herzegovina to be allowed to
participate in all activities of the contact group of five.
The world economy is slowly emerging from the
state of stagnation which has lasted for far too long. A
new period of varying degrees of growth has started,
particularly in the third world. Numerous elements had
contributed to that situation. Foremost among those
elements was the burden of foreign debt which is being
aggravated by the deterioration in prices of basic export
commodities side by side with the paucity of foreign
investments in the areas of production and the very high
expenditures on armaments. The time has come for the
international community, in particular the developed
industrial States, to adopt effective measures that would
make it possible to devise a definitive solution to the
problems of indebtedness in the third world as a whole,
and in Africa in particular.
The debt burden in Africa has had many grave
consequences which have affected the ability of the
continent to grow and develop. Despite the many debt
rescheduling agreements concluded over the past few
37

years, the servicing of debt continues to consume over
22 per cent of all export earnings and continues to obstruct
investment and human development.
In this context, the dialogue between the North and the
South should be reactivated in a more effective manner in
order to find new means to achieve development in the
third world and to rid the third world of poverty and
underdevelopment. We believe that ridding the world of
poverty and underdevelopment is an essential prerequisite
of lasting peace and the welfare of mankind.
Undoubtedly, success in the dialogue between North
and South and productive cooperation between them will
promote efforts to reach a new more realistic and more
balanced international economic order. The development
of the South is not merely in the interests of its States and
peoples alone, it is also in the interests of the North and its
people.
The developing world pins its hopes on international
trade as a means of achieving prosperity for all. We
therefore welcomed the recent success achieved with regard
to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
and hope that this success will result in the freeing of trade
and of unrestricted competition in the world.
The threats facing mankind today, and which will
continue to face it in future, are not all political or military.
There are questions of the deterioration of the environment,
poverty, underdevelopment, drugs, the spread of life-
threatening diseases, terrorism and violations of human
rights which become more grave with each passing day.
These non-political issues require urgent solutions before
they become intractable and threaten all mankind.
Among the indications of the international
community’s concern with economic and social issues is
the large number of international conferences devoted to
such issues. Over the past two years, the world witnessed
the holding of several such conferences, including the
World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna, the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development in
Rio de Janeiro, and next year the World Summit for Social
Development will be held in Copenhagen. Each one of the
conferences that have been convened has achieved results
with regard to the issues it has dealt with by means of
resolutions and recommendations and the international
consensus surrounding those resolutions and
recommendations.
All we wish for here is that those issues should not
be used as a pretext to intervene in the internal affairs of
States, to deal with States in a discriminatory manner, or
to impose conditions on providing economic or
developmental aid.
I refer in this connection to the idea of a carbon tax,
whether individual or collective, under the pretext of
protecting the environment. This is purely an economic
issue which will harm the economies of oil-producing
States, particularly those in the Gulf.
The State of Qatar reaffirms its support for the
United Nations efforts to deal with the issues I have
mentioned. The United Nations is the ideal institution to
face up to international and world issues with all their
political, humanitarian, economic and social dimensions.
Inspired by the Charter, it can achieve success by
building a world based on relations of cooperation and
mutual confidence, a world of justice and stability.


Let me first congratulate you, Mr.
President, on your election as President of the General
Assembly for its forty-ninth session. The American people
look forward to working with you to celebrate the United
Nations fiftieth anniversary.
We meet today at a time of great hope and change.
The end of the cold war, the explosion of technology and
trade and enterprise have given people the world over new
opportunities to live up to their dreams and their God-given
potential. This is an age of hope -yet in this new world,
we face a contest as old as history.
It is a struggle between freedom and tyranny; between
tolerance and bigotry; between knowledge and ignorance;
between openness and isolation. It is a fight between those
who would build free societies governed by laws and
those who would impose their will by force.
Our struggle today - in a world more high-tech,
more fast-moving, more chaotically diverse than ever - is
the age-old fight between hope and fear.
Three times in this century - from the trenches of the
Somme to the island of Iwo Jima to the shattered Wall in
Berlin - the forces of hope were victorious. But the
victors of the First World War squandered their triumph
when they turned inward, bringing on a global depression,
and allowing fascism to rise and reignite global war.
After the Second World War, the Allies learned the
lesson of the past. In the face of a new totalitarian threat
and the nuclear menace, great nations did not walk away
from the challenge of the moment. Instead they chose to
reach out, to rebuild and to lead. They chose to create the
United Nations and they left us a world stronger, safer
and freer.
Our generation has a difficult task: the cold war is
over. We must secure the peace. It falls to us to avoid
the complacency that followed the First World War -
without the spur of the imminent threat to our security
that followed the Second World War.
We must ensure that those who fought and found the
courage to end the cold war - those from both East and
West who loved freedom - did not labour in vain. Our
sacred mission is to build a new world for our children -
more democratic, more prosperous, more free of ancient
hatreds and modern means of destruction.
That is no easy challenge; but we accept it with
confidence. After all, the walls that once divided nations
in this very Hall have come down. More nations have
chosen democracy than ever before. More have chosen
free markets and economic justice. More have embraced
the values of tolerance and liberty and civil society that
allow us all to make the most of our lives.
But while the ideals of democracy and free markets
are ascendant, they are surely not the whole story.
Terrible examples of chaos, repression and tyranny also
mark our times. The twentieth century has proved that
the forces of freedom and democracy can endure against
great odds; our job is to see that in the twenty-first
century these forces triumph.
6

The dangers we face are less stark and more diffuse
than those of the cold war, but they are still formidable:
the ethnic conflicts that drive millions from their homes;
the despots ready to repress their own people or conquer
their neighbours; the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction; the terrorists wielding their deadly arms; the
criminal syndicates selling those arms, or drugs, infiltrating
the very institutions of fragile democracies; a global
economy that offers great promise but also deep insecurity,
and in many places declining opportunity; diseases like
AIDS that threaten to decimate nations; the combined
dangers of population explosion and economic decline,
which prompted the world community to reach the
remarkable consensus at the Cairo Conference; global and
local environmental threats that demand that sustainable
development become a part of the lives of people all
around the world; and, finally, within many of our nations,
high rates of drug abuse and crime and family breakdown,
with all their terrible consequences. These are the dangers
we face today.
We must address these threats to our future.
Thankfully, the end of the cold war gives us a chance to
address them together. In our efforts, different nations may
be active in different situations in different ways, but their
purposes must be consistent with freedom and their
practices consistent with international law. Each nation will
bring to our common task its own particular strengths -
economic, political or military.
Of course, the first duty of every Member of the
United Nations is to its own citizens, to their security, their
welfare and their interests. As President of the United
States, my first duty is to the citizens of my country.
When our national security interests are threatened, we will
act with others when we can, but alone if we must. We
will use diplomacy when we can, but force if we must.
The United States recognizes that we also have a
special responsibility in these common endeavours that we
are undertaking, the responsibility that goes along with
great power and also with our long history of democracy
and freedom. But we seek to fulfil that responsibility in
cooperation with other nations. Working together increases
the impact and the legitimacy of each of our actions, and
sharing the burdens lessens everyone’s load. We have no
desire to be the world’s policeman, but we will do what we
can to help civil societies emerge from the ashes of
repression, to sustain fragile democracies, to add more free
markets to the world, and of course to restrain the
destructive forces that threaten us all.
In every corner of the globe, from South Africa to
Asia, to Central and Eastern Europe, to the Middle East
and Latin America, and now to a small island in the
Caribbean, ordinary citizens are striving to build their
own future. Promoting their cause is our generation’s
great opportunity, and we must do it together. A
coalition for democracy is good for America.
Democracies, after all, are more likely to be stable, less
likely to wage war; they strengthen civil society and can
provide people with the economic and political
opportunities to build their futures in their own homes -
not to flee their borders.
Our efforts to help build more democracies will
make us all more secure, more prosperous and more
successful as we try to make this era of terrific change
our friend, and not our enemy. In my nation, as in all of
your nations, there are many people who are
understandably reluctant to undertake these efforts
because often the distances are great or the cultures are
different. There are good reasons for the caution that
people feel. Often, the chances of success or its costs are
unclear. And, of course, in every common endeavour
there is always the potential for failure and often the risk
of loss of life.
And yet our people - as we have seen in the
remarkable global response to the terrible crisis in
Rwanda - genuinely want to help their neighbours around
the world and to make some effort in our common cause.
We have seen that progress can be made as well. The
problem is deciding when we must respond and how we
shall overcome our reluctance. This will never be easy.
There are no simple formulas. All of us will make these
decisions in part based on the distance of the problem
from our shores, the interests of our nation, the difference
we think we can make, the costs required, or the threat to
our own citizens in the endeavour.
Hard questions will remain, and cannot be erased by
some simple formula. But we should have the confidence
that these efforts can succeed, whether they are efforts to
keep people alive in the face of terrible tragedy, as in
Rwanda, or our efforts to avert a tragedy, as in the Horn
of Africa, or our efforts to support processes that are
literally changing the future of millions. History is on
our side. We should have confidence about this. Look
at the march of freedom we have seen in the last year
alone. Who, a decade ago, would have dared predict the
startling changes in South Africa, in the Middle East and
in Ireland; the stunning triumph of democracy and
majority rule and the redemption of the purpose of Nelson
7

Mandela’s life; the brave efforts of Israel and its Arab
neighbours to build bridges of peace between their peoples;
the earnest search by the people of Northern Ireland and
Great Britain and Ireland to end centuries of division and
decades of terror? In each case, credit belongs to those
nations’ leaders and their courageous people. But in each
instance the United States and other nations were privileged
to help in these causes.
The growth of cooperation between the United States
and the Russian Federation also should give us all great
cause for confidence. This is a partnership that is rooted in
democracy, a partnership that is working, a partnership of,
not complete agreement, but genuine mutual respect. After
so many years of nuclear terror, our two nations are taking
dramatic steps to ease tensions around the world. For the
first time since the Second World War, foreign troops do
not occupy the nations of Central and Eastern Europe. The
Baltic nations are free. Russian and American missiles no
longer target each other’s people. Three of the four nuclear
members of the former Soviet Union have agreed to
remove all nuclear weapons from their soil. And we are
working on agreements to halt production of fissile
materials for nuclear explosives; to make dismantling of
nuclear warheads transparent and irreversible; and further
to reduce our nuclear weapons and delivery vehicles.
The United States and Russia also recognize that we
must cooperate to control the emerging danger of terrorists
who traffic in nuclear materials. To secure nuclear
materials at their sources, we have agreed with Russia to
stop plutonium production by the year 2000; to construct a
storage facility for fissile materials and buy up stocks of
weapons-grade fuel; and to combat the criminals who are
trying to smuggle materials for nuclear explosives. Our
two nations and Germany have increased cooperation and
engaged in joint anti-terrorist training. Soon, under the
leadership of our Federal Bureau of Investigation, we will
open a law enforcement training academy in Europe, where
police will learn how to combat more effectively trafficking
of nuclear weapons components, as well as the drug trade,
organized crime and money laundering.
The United States will also advance a wide-ranging
non-proliferation agenda: a global convention to halt
production of fissile materials; efforts to curb North
Korea’s nuclear ambitions; transparent procedures for
dismantling nuclear warheads; and our work to ban testing
and to extend the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons. And today I am proposing a first step
toward the eventual elimination of a less visible but still
deadly threat: the world’s 85 million anti-personnel land-
mines - one for every 50 persons on the face of the earth.
I ask all nations concerned to join with us and conclude
an agreement to reduce the number and availability of
those mines. Ridding the world of those often hidden
weapons will help to save the lives of tens of thousands
of men, women and innocent children in the years to
come.
Our progress in the last year also provides
confidence that in the post-cold-war years we can adapt
and construct global institutions that will help to provide
security and increase economic growth throughout the
world. Since I spoke here last year, 22 nations have
joined the Partnership for Peace of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organization (NATO). The first joint exercises
have been conducted, helping to give Europe the chance
to become a more unified continent in which democratic
nations live within secure borders. In Asia, security talks
and economic cooperation will lead to further stability.
By reducing nations’ fears about their borders and
allowing them to spend less on military defences, our
coalition for democracy can give nations in transition a
better chance to offer new freedoms and opportunities to
their own people. It is time that we think anew about the
structures of this global economy as well, tearing down
walls that separate nations instead of hiding behind them.
At the Group of Seven meeting at Naples this year
we committed ourselves to this task of renewal, to re-
examining the economic institutions that have served us
so well in the past. In the interests of shared prosperity,
the United States actively promotes open markets.
Though still in its infancy, the North American Free
Trade Agreement has dramatically increased trade
between the United States and Mexico and has produced
in the United States alone an estimated 200,000 new jobs.
It offers a model to nations throughout the Americas
which we hope to build on. And this week I will send
legislation to the Congress to implement the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the largest
trade agreement in all of history. GATT - and its
successor, the World Trade Organization - holds the
promise for all of us of increased exports, higher wages
and improved living standards. In the months and years
to come we will work no less to extend the reach of open
markets, starting with the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Council and the Summit of the Americas
later this year.
Here at the United Nations we must develop a
concrete plan to meet the challenges of the next 50 years
even as we celebrate the last 50 years. I believe we
8

should declare next year’s fiftieth anniversary not just a
year of celebration but a year of renewal. We call on the
Secretary-General to name a working group so that by the
time we meet next year we will have a concrete action plan
to revitalize the obligations of the United Nations to address
the security, economic and political challenges ahead -
obligations we must all be willing to assume.
Our objectives should include ready, efficient and
capable United Nations peace-keeping forces, and I am
happy to report that, as I pledged last year and thanks to
support in the United States Congress, $1.2 billion is now
available from the United States for this critical account.
We must also pledge to keep United Nations reform
moving forward so that we do more with less, and we must
improve our ability to respond to urgent needs. Let me
suggest that it is time for the members of the Assembly to
consider seriously President Menem’s suggestion for the
creation of a civilian rapid-response capability for
humanitarian crises.
And let us not lose sight of the special role that
development and democracy can play in preventing
conflicts once peace has been established. Never before
has the United Nations been in a better position to achieve
the democratic goals of our founders. The end of the cold
war has freed us from decades of paralysing divisions. And
we all know that multilateral cooperation is not only
necessary to address the new threats we face but possible
to succeed.
The efforts we have undertaken together in Haiti are
a prime example. Under the sponsorship of the United
Nations, American troops, now being joined by the
personnel of an ever-growing international coalition of over
two dozen nations, are giving the people of Haiti their
chance at freedom. Creative diplomacy, the influence of
economic power and the credible threat of military force -
all have contributed to this moment of opportunity.
Essential civil order will be restored. Human rights
violations will be curbed. The first refugees will be
returning within hours, on this day. The military leaders
will step down. The democratic Government will be
restored. President Aristide will return. The multinational
mission will turn its responsibilities over to the United
Nations mission, which will remain in Haiti throughout
1995, until a new president is elected. During this time a
multinational development effort will make available more
than $1 billion to begin helping the Haitians rebuild their
country. In the spirit of reconciliation and reconstruction,
President Aristide yesterday called for the immediate easing
of sanctions so that the work of rebuilding can begin
immediately. Accordingly, I intend to act expeditiously,
within Security Council resolutions 917 (1994) and 940
(1994) to enable us to restore health care, water and
electrical services, construction materials for humanitarian
efforts, and communications, agricultural and educational
materials.
Today I am also announcing that the United States
will suspend all unilateral sanctions against Haiti except
those that affect the military leaders and their immediate
supporters. This will include regularly scheduled air
flights when the airport becomes available, financial
transactions and travel restrictions. I urge all other
nations to do the same.
In Haiti, the United States has demonstrated that it
would lead a multinational force when our interests are
plain, when the cause is right, when the mission is
achievable and the nations of the world stand with us.
But Haiti’s people will have to muster the strength and
the patience to travel the road of freedom. They have to
do this for themselves. Every new democratic nation is
fragile. But we will see the day when the people of Haiti
fulfil their aspirations to liberty and when they are once
again making genuine economic progress.
United Nations actions in Bosnia, like those in Haiti,
demonstrate that progress can be made when a coalition
backs up diplomacy with military power. For the first
time ever, NATO has taken, since we met last year,
military actions beyond the territory of its members. The
threat of NATO air power helped to establish the
exclusion zone around Sarajevo and to end the Bosnian
Serbs’ spring offensive against Gorazde. NATO’s
February ultimatum boosted our mediation efforts, which
helped to end the war between the Bosnian Government
and the Bosnian Croats and forged a federation between
those two communities. To that extent the situation in
Bosnia has improved, but in recent weeks the situation
around Sarajevo has deteriorated substantially, and
Sarajevo once again faces the prospect of strangulation.
A new resolve by the United Nations to enforce its
resolutions is now necessary to save Sarajevo, and NATO
stands ready to act.
The situation in Bosnia is yet another reminder of
the greatest irony of this century we are leaving. This
century, so full of hope and opportunity and achievement,
has also been an age of deep destruction and despair. We
cannot help but remember the millions who gave their
lives during two world wars and the half century of
9

struggle by men and women in the East and West who
ultimately prevailed in the name of freedom.
But we must also think of our children and the world
we will leave them in the twenty-first century. History has
given us a very rare opportunity - the chance to build on
the greatest legacy of this century without reliving its
darkest moments. And we have shown that we can carry
forward humanity’s ancient quest for freedom to build a
world where democracy knows no borders but where
nations know their borders will always be secure, a world
that gives all people the chance to realize their potential and
to live out their dreams.


It surely must be one of the
great ironies of our age that this Assembly is being
addressed, for the first time in its 49 years’ history, by a
South African Head of State drawn from among the
African majority of what is an African country.
Future generations will find it strange in the extreme
that it was only so late in the twentieth century that it was
possible for our delegation to take its seat in the
Assembly, recognized both by our people and by the
nations of the world as the legitimate representative of the
people of our country.
It is indeed most welcome that the Organization will
mark its fiftieth anniversary next year with the apartheid
system vanquished and consigned to the past. That
historic change has come about not least because of the
great efforts in which the United Nations engaged to
ensure the suppression of the apartheid crime against
humanity. Even as it was still in the process of
establishing its institutions, the United Nations was
confronted by the challenge of the accession to power of
the party of apartheid domination in our country.
Everything that that system stood for represented the very
opposite of all the noble purposes for which the
Organization was established. Because apartheid reduced
and undermined the credibility of the United Nations as
an effective international instrument to end racism and
secure the fundamental human rights of all peoples, the
establishment and consolidation of apartheid constituted
a brazen challenge to the very existence of the
Organization.
6
General Assembly 14th meeting
Forty-ninth session 3 October 1994
The United Nations was born out of the titanic
struggle against nazism and fascism, with their pernicious
doctrines and practices of racial superiority and genocide.
It therefore could not stand by while, in South Africa, a
similar system was being established by a Government
which also had the temerity to claim representation within
the United Nations.
We believe that it was indeed of great importance to
the universal efficacy of, and respect for, the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the United Nations
Charter that the United Nations should have spurned the
pleas of the apartheid regime that the gross violation of
human rights in South Africa was a domestic matter of no
legal or legitimate concern to the world body.
We stand here today to salute the United Nations and
its Member States, both singly and collectively, for joining
forces with the masses of our people in a common struggle
that has brought about our emancipation and pushed back
the frontiers of racism.
The millions of our people say "Thank you" and
"Thank you again, because the respect for your own dignity
as human beings inspired you to act to ensure the
restoration of our dignity as well".
We have together traversed a course which we are
convinced has strengthened human solidarity in general and
reinforced the bonds of friendship between our peoples and
the nations of the world. This dates back to the early days
when India put the question of racism in South Africa on
the Assembly’s agenda, to the moment when the world
community, as represented here, could adopt consensus
resolutions against apartheid with none dissenting.
It was therefore with great joy that at our inauguration
as President of our Republic we received, among others,
such high and distinguished officials of the Organization as
the Secretary-General, the President of the General
Assembly and the Chairman of the Special Committee
against Apartheid. Their presence reaffirmed the
incontrovertible truth that the victory over apartheid, the
success of the cause of democracy, non-racialism and non-
sexism in our country belongs as much to our people as it
does the United Nations.
And so we have embarked on the road to the remaking
of our country, basing ourselves both on the democratic
Constitution, which came into force on 27 April this year,
and on the Reconstruction and Development Programme,
which has become the property of all our people.
Clearly, these documents would have no life unless
the people gave them life. The words printed in them
must inspire common ownership by all our people and
their common allegiance to the process and the results
which these documents intend. For this to happen, as we
propagate the vision these documents contain we must at
the same time engage in a historic effort of redefinition
of ourselves as a new nation.
Our watchwords must be justice, peace,
reconciliation and nation-building in the pursuit of a
democratic, non-racial and non-sexist country. In all that
we do we have to ensure the healing of the wounds
inflicted on all our people across the great dividing line
imposed on our society by centuries of colonialism and
apartheid.
We must ensure that colour, race and gender become
only a God-given gift to each one of us, and not an
indelible mark or attribute that accords a special status to
any.
We must work for the day when we as South
Africans see one another and interact with one another as
equal human beings and as part of one nation united,
rather than torn asunder, by its diversity.
The road we shall have to travel to reach this
destination will by no means be easy. All of us know
how stubbornly racism can cling to the mind and how
deeply it can infect the human soul. Where it is sustained
by the racial ordering of the material world, as is the case
in our country, that stubbornness can multiply a
hundredfold.
And yet, however hard this battle may be, we will
not surrender. Whatever the time it may take, we will not
tire. The very fact that racism degrades both the
perpetrator and the victim commands that, if we are true
to our commitment to protect human dignity, we fight on
until victory is achieved.
We firmly believe that we who have particular
experience of the destructive and anti-human force of
racism owe it to ourselves to centre our transformation on
the creation of a truly non-racial society. Because we
know racism so intimately, we must stand a good chance
of developing and nurturing its opposite.
It will perhaps come to be that we who have
harboured in our country the worst example of racism
since the defeat of nazism will make a contribution to
7
General Assembly 14th meeting
Forty-ninth session 3 October 1994
human civilization by ordering our affairs in such a manner
that we strike an effective and lasting blow against racism
everywhere.
Some of the steps that we have already taken -
including the establishment of a Government of National
Unity, the orderly transformation of the institutions of State
and the cultivation of a national consensus on the major
issues of the day - have started us off on a correct footing
with regard to continuing the processes leading to the
creation of the just society we have been speaking of.
Our political emancipation has also brought into sharp
focus the urgent need to engage in the struggle to secure
our people’s freedom from want, from hunger and from
ignorance. We have written this on our banners: that the
society we seek to create must be a people-centred society;
all its institutions and its resources must be dedicated to the
pursuit of a better life for all our citizens. That better life
must mean an end to poverty, joblessness, homelessness
and the despair that comes of deprivation. This is an end
in itself because the happiness of the human being must, in
any society, be an end in itself.
At the same time, we are intensely conscious of the
fact that the stability of the democratic settlement itself and
the possibility actually to create a non-racial and non-sexist
society depend on our ability to change the material
conditions of life of our people so that they not only have
the vote but have bread and work as well.
We therefore return to the United Nations to make the
commitment that, as we undertook never to rest until the
system of apartheid was defeated, so do we now undertake
that we cannot rest while millions of our people suffer the
pain and indignity of poverty in all its forms.
At the same time, we turn once more to this world
body to say "We are going to need your continued support
to achieve the goal of the betterment of the conditions of
life of our people." We are pleased and inspired that both
the Secretary-General and the specialized agencies of the
United Nations have taken up the development challenge in
South Africa with the enthusiasm that they have shown.
We believe that it is in the common interest that we
sustain the common victory that we have scored in South
Africa, and take it further by achieving success not only in
politics but also in the socio-economic sphere.
It is perhaps common cause among us that everywhere
on our globe there is an unmistakable process leading to the
entrenchment of democratic systems of government. The
empowerment of the ordinary people of our world freely
to determine their destiny, unhindered by tyrants and
dictators, is at the very heart of the reason for the
existence of this Organization.
But it is equally true that hundreds of millions of
these politically empowered masses are caught in the
deathly trap of poverty, unable to live life in its fullness.
Out of all this are born social conflicts which
produce insecurity and instability, civil and other wars
that claim many lives, millions of desperate refugees and
the destruction of the little wealth that poor countries are
able to accumulate. Out of this cauldron are also born
tyrants, dictators and demagogues who not only take away
or restrict the rights of the people but also make it
impossible to do the things that must be done to bring
lasting prosperity to the people.
At the same time, the reality can no longer be
ignored that we live in an interdependent world which is
bound together to a common destiny. The very response
of the international community to the challenge of
apartheid confirmed this very point that we all
understood - that so long as apartheid existed in South
Africa, so long would the whole of humanity feel
demeaned and degraded.
The United Nations understood very well that racism
in our country could not but feed racism in other parts of
the world as well. The universal struggle against
apartheid was therefore not an act of charity arising out
of pity for our people, but an affirmation of our common
humanity. We believe that that act of affirmation requires
that this Organization should once more turn its focused
and sustained attention to the basics of everything that
makes for a better world for all humanity.
The elaboration of a new world order must, of
necessity, centre on this world body. In it we should find
the appropriate forum in which we can all participate to
help determine the shape of the new world.
The four elements that will need to be knit together
in fashioning that new universal reality are the issues of
democracy, peace, prosperity and interdependence.
The great challenge of our age to the United Nations
is to answer the question "Given the interdependence of
the nations of the world, what is it that we can and must
8
General Assembly 14th meeting
Forty-ninth session 3 October 1994
do to ensure that democracy, peace and prosperity prevail
everywhere?"
We are aware of the fact that the United Nations is
addressing these questions in many ways; yet there can be
no gainsaying the fact that such progress as we have made
has been made more by stealth than in the bold and
determined fashion that the world crisis demands today.
Perhaps a new and forceful initiative is required. Such
an initiative should inspire all of humanity because of the
seriousness of its intent. It should also have a chance to
succeed because it will have been underwritten by the
commitment of the masses of the people in each member
country to join hands with other nations, to address together
the related issues of democracy, peace and prosperity in an
interdependent world.
We are aware of the fact that the dictates of realpolitik
militate against the speedy realization of such an initiative.
But we do believe that the reality of life and the realism of
policy will, at some point, bring to the fore the fact that the
delay we impose on ourselves today will serve only to
increase the pressure on all of us to incorporate, within
what we consider possible, a sustainable vision of a
common world that will rise or fall together.
Undoubtedly, to inspire greater confidence in itself
among all the member nations and to reflect better the
impulse towards the democratization of international
relations, the United Nations will have to continue looking
at itself to determine what restructuring of itself it should
effect. This process must naturally affect, among others,
the structure and functioning of the Security Council and
the peacemaking and peace-keeping issues raised by the
Secretary-General in "An Agenda for Peace".
Democratic South Africa rejoins the world community
of nations determined to play its role in helping to
strengthen the United Nations and to contribute what it can
to the furtherance of its purposes. Among other things, we
have this morning acceded to the covenants and
conventions adopted by this Organization, which address
various matters such as economic, social and cultural rights,
civil and political rights, and the elimination of all forms of
racial discrimination, to say nothing of our irrevocable
commitment to the realization of the objectives contained
in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We are determined to play our full part in all
processes that address the important question of the
non-proliferation and elimination of weapons of mass
destruction. Our Government has also decided to become
a signatory to the Convention on prohibition and
restrictions on the use of certain conventional weapons.
In a similar vein, we shall not be found wanting in
the quest for sustainable development that is in keeping
with the Rio de Janeiro Declaration on Environment and
Development as well as with Agenda 21.
Equally, our own national interest dictates that we
join forces with the United Nations and all its Member
States in the common struggle to contain and end the
traffic in narcotics.
Even in constitutional terms, we are committed to
the advancement of the objective of the emancipation of
women through the creation of a non-sexist society.
Apart from anything else, we are therefore actively
engaged in the preparations for what we are convinced
will be a successful Beijing Conference.
We are part of the region of southern Africa and the
continent of Africa. As members of the Southern African
Development Community and the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), and an equal partner with other Member
States, we will play our role in the struggles of these
organizations to build a continent and a region that will
help to create for themselves and all humanity a common
world of peace and prosperity.
Ours must become a continent free of such tragedies
as those that have afflicted our own country as well as
Rwanda, Somalia, Angola, Mozambique, the Sudan and
Liberia. Happily, the OAU is actively addressing the
issues of peace and stability on our continent.
We are greatly encouraged that the countries of our
region, faced with a crisis in Lesotho, acted together
speedily and, with the cooperation of the Government and
the people of that country, succeeded in demonstrating
that together we have the will to defend democracy, peace
and national reconciliation.
Furthermore, as members of the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Group of 77, we are committed
especially to the promotion of South-South cooperation
and to the strengthening of the voice of the poor and
disadvantaged in the ordering of world affairs.
We would like to take this opportunity to express
our appreciation to the members of the General Assembly
for the speed and readiness with which they accepted the
9
General Assembly 14th meeting
Forty-ninth session 3 October 1994
credentials of democratic South Africa, enabling us to
participate in the work of the last General Assembly. We
are pleased to note that this same spirit characterized the
approach of other international organizations towards our
new democracy, including the Commonwealth and the
European Union.
We would like to close by congratulating you, Mr.
President, on your election to your high post, and we
express our confidence that you will guide the work of the
Assembly with the wisdom and sense of purpose for which
we admire you.
The millions across our globe who stand expectant at
the gates of hope look to this Organization to bring them
peace, to bring them life, to bring them a life worth living.
We pray that the new South Africa, which the General
Assembly helped bring into being and so warmly welcomed
among the community of nations, will, in its own and in the
wider interest, make its own contribution, however small,
to the realization of those hopes.
Our common humanity and the urgency of the knock
on the door of this great edifice demand that we must
attempt even the impossible.


Allow me to congratulate
you, Sir, on your election as President of the General
Assembly at its forty-ninth regular session and to offer
you the fullest cooperation of the Guatemalan delegation
in the important tasks before you. I also wish to express
deserved appreciation to Ambassador Samuel Insanally
for the manner in which he discharged his duties as
President during the last session. The Latin American
and Caribbean region is justifiably proud of his
performance.
I wish also to convey our appreciation to Secretary-
General Boutros Boutros-Ghali for his skilful
helmsmanship of the activities of the Organization. We
again offer him our support in his endeavours.
In the light of the great changes that have taken
place in recent years, we come to this Assembly full of
hope and expectation. In some regions of the world
events make it possible for us to look ahead with
optimism to a future of peaceful coexistence between
nations. At the same time, in other regions we look with
concern on the inflammation of new hotbeds of tension
that lead to a weakening of the power of the State as the
catalyst among various social sectors. This situation
seriously threatens the social fabric and the very norms
that make it possible for human beings to live together in
peace.
As far as Guatemala is concerned, international
relations must be grounded in profound respect for the
principles and norms of international law. Peaceful
coexistence can be achieved only by means of absolute
respect for the sovereignty, independence and legal
equality of States.
19

Multilateralism has been given new impetus in the
new international context and constitutes a more intense,
more comprehensive contribution to the search for solutions
to problems old and new. To the extent that we place our
faith in multilateral action and are able to define it properly
and efficiently, we will be able to move forward in
developing a stable international order that enables us to
foster peace and well-being for mankind. Within this
international landscape, which has also transformed the
concept of global security, we face the challenge of
understanding and coping with the new risks looming over
mankind.
Guatemala is at a moment of special importance in its
history. Still fresh are the historic and unprecedented
events in which the people of Guatemala organized and
mobilized and demonstrated its profound democratic
convictions, making it possible to restore constitutional
order, which had broken down, and carrying the former
human rights prosecutor to the presidency.

The background of our President Leon Carpio is well
known and constitutes the best guarantee of the
commitment and determination of the Government of
Guatemala to struggle for the full enjoyment of human
rights and the search for peace through dialogue and
negotiation. The Government has amply demonstrated its
political will through concrete actions aimed at resolving a
very broad and complex range of problems. It has done so
by pursuing an economic, social and cultural policy that
takes into account the multicultural nature of our country,
including proposals from civilian society, which naturally
include those emanating from the indigenous population of
Guatemala.
Our commitment to human rights has also been
unquestionably strengthened by the important progress
made in the peace negotiations with the Unidad
Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca (URNG) with a
view to ending one of the lengthiest armed conflicts in
Latin America. Among the elements of progress made in
the negotiations, the Comprehensive Agreement on Human
Rights, with international validity and verification, is of
particular importance.
In the process of negotiations, the following
agreements have been signed this year: the Framework
Agreement for the Resumption of the Negotiating Process,
signed in Mexico on 10 January 1994, which provides for
all agreements to include national and international
verification mechanisms and that the United Nations be
responsible for the international ones; the Agreement on
a Timetable for the Negotiation of a Firm and Lasting
Peace; the Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights
signed in Mexico on 29 March 1994; the Agreement
concerning the resettlement of displaced persons, signed
in Oslo on 17 July 1994; the Agreement on the
Commission of Inquiry, signed in Oslo on 23 June 1994.
All Guatemalans and the international community
are fully aware of the firm resolve of the Government to
negotiate responsibly and with determination to achieve
peace agreements within the agreed timetable. The
patience and flexibility of the Government of Guatemala
are well known and have made it possible to reach
agreement despite many difficulties. The representatives
of the countries in the Group of Friends - Mexico,
Colombia, Spain, Norway, the United States and
Venezuela - can testify to this.
The Framework Agreement and the Timetable
establish the parametres for negotiations, limiting both
parties to a certain format and time-frame. The
moderator convenes meetings in accordance with the
Timetable and the parties attend and negotiate in
conformity with the established procedures. These are the
agreed rules and no party can capriciously change them,
much less try to usurp the function of verifying
compliance with the Comprehensive Agreement on
Human Rights. Full compliance with that Agreement is
to be verified by a machinery requested of the United
Nations by both parties. On this basis, the mandate of the
mission known as the United Nations Human Rights
Verification Mission in Guatemala was established by
General Assembly resolution. My country would like to
thank the international community, the Group of Friends
and the United Nations for their assistance in the quest
for peace.
It is clear that fundamental rights and freedoms,
political democracy and the right to development are
indivisible and interdependent. Those countries like ours
that have experienced the tragedy of armed conflict know
from experience that there are other, broader connotations
to the right to development and that it is not possible to
have development and social evolution without peace. At
the same time, the full enjoyment of human rights is not
possible without development or peace. The international
community has been firm and decisive in its political
support for democratic processes. We have to believe
that it will pursue this course in seeking to strengthen and
20

refine them. Regrettably, however, the processes involved
in national reconciliation have not been understood, and
support for the processes of development has been
insignificant; worse yet, development has been blocked,
thus impeding access to sources of finance and to
international markets.
If the development model and reconciliation are
allowed to fail, democracy will fail too and we shall never
achieve secure and lasting peace, because if the population
loses faith in the democratic system we shall inevitably
return to authoritarianism. The international community has
the responsibility to support economic and social
development and to foster the processes of reconciliation if
it would have all the nations of the world living under
democracy. International condemnation and pressure might
be effective in fostering democracy, but they are not
sufficient in and of themselves to establish it on a solid and
lasting footing.
The Government of Guatemala reiterates its policy of
wide-ranging cooperation with the United Nations system
in the field of human rights. It has also demonstrated to
the international community its readiness to negotiate peace
agreements within the scheduled timetable. It hopes that,
in the face of a refusal by the URNG to return to the
negotiating table or to disarm and demobilize itself after its
non-binding signature, that party’s sources of finance will
be closed off to prevent armed action that would be totally
unwarranted. The people of Guatemala has shown itself to
be a champion of democracy and dedicated to its
improvement. We urge the other party to recognize that its
integration into legitimacy by means of negotiation is the
only feasible course that would allow it to participate in the
building of a new Guatemala.
Guatemalans believe that the authority of the State
should be based on the mandate of its people, that any
Government must act with the consent of the majority of
the governed, and that the voice of the people must be
heard in the formulation and implementation of government
policy. As far as we are concerned, these are vital and
fundamental components of democracy. We understand
that there may be differences of opinion as to the form of
the people’s expression of this mandate and its participation
in the various political forums of the State. We also
believe that no State has the right to impose its political
system on any other.
For us, the fundamental characteristics of the system
should be the legitimacy of the people’s mandate, the
authenticity of its consent to be governed and the
effectiveness of its participation. Similarly, democracy
between States requires strict and meticulous respect for
the United Nations Charter.
Guatemala participates with the Central American
countries in a process of regional integration that has
undergone institutional renewal. We consider integration
to be a process deeply rooted in our common history and
culture and an instrument of momentous importance for
the development of our peoples.
For this reason, together with the other countries of
the region, we are pursuing important initiatives such as
the Alliance for Sustainable Development, whose
principles are based on improving the quality of life of
our peoples, respect for and development of the diverse
potential and vitality of the Earth in a sustainable manner,
the promotion of peace and democracy as basic forms of
human coexistence and respect for human rights and the
multicultural and multi-ethnic nature of our region.
Furthermore, Guatemala is active in other regional
initiatives, such as the forthcoming ecological Summit in
Nicaragua and the International Conference on Peace and
Development, which will take place in Honduras. Both
of these events are part of the region’s endeavours to
promote economic and social development in Central
America.
In connection with the territorial dispute over Belize,
the Government of Guatemala will now be assisted by a
council made up of distinguished citizens, whose advice
will make it possible to define and give impetus to the
procedure for solving this dispute in the framework of the
position, well-known to the international community, that
is set forth in document A/49/94 of 14 March this year.
The Government of Guatemala reiterates its
readiness to continue direct discussions with the
Governments of Belize and the United Kingdom, in
conformity with the norms established for the peaceful
settlement of disputes, in order to arrive at a definitive
solution to the territorial dispute that exists between our
States, a position that Guatemala has unswervingly and
constantly upheld.
Guatemala wishes to reiterate its support for and
solidarity with the people of Haiti, reaffirming its
commitment to democracy and consequently to the
legitimately elected Government. In addition, it urges the
international community to seek a lasting solution to the
Haitian crisis that would set out not merely to restore
21

democracy but also to meet the basic needs of the
population.
My country feels bound to express its wish to see in
Cuba a peaceful transition to a democratic and pluralistic
regime. At the same time, we wish to express our
gratification at the new possibilities for dialogue that have
been developed in connection with the situation in that
country.
We also wish to mention our satisfaction with the
agreements reached between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization and between Israel and Jordan.
These represent a momentous step forward in the quest for
a solution to one of the most complex regional conflicts.
Such agreements are unquestionably proof that peaceful
coexistence and understanding among States and nations is
possible, even in certain parts of the world where walls of
hostility and mistrust have been built up over the years.
We hail all the peoples of that region and call on them to
continue in their efforts to build peace.
Alongside these positive actions, we feel duty-bound
to voice our profound concern at the events that have taken
place in Rwanda. International cooperation must be
generously channelled to that country. It should be
regarded as part of an integrated effort to assist its
Government in the difficult process of rebuilding the State
with a view to ensuring that it is effective in tackling the
serious problems still persisting in the country.
We also share the concerns about the situation in
Bosnia and Herzegovina. The international community
must continue in its efforts to convince the parties to the
conflict of the imperative need to find an appropriate
solution that will put an end to this irrational conflict. This
conflict cannot be allowed to become a permanent situation.
Guatemala is a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural country,
and it views with great satisfaction the international
instruments that are being developed with a view to
integrating indigenous peoples into development.
Consistent with the precepts of our Magna Carta, the
Government is pursuing policies designed to recognize,
respect and encourage their lifestyles, customs, traditions,
social organization, languages and dialects, while also
providing protection to indigenous agricultural lands and
cooperatives.
With respect to the question of women, I should
underscore that the policy of the Government has been to
cooperate with other sectors of Guatemalan society in order
to pursue measures designed to expand the scope for
participation by women in the productive process and in
decision-making. Within the structure of the State itself,
there is an ever-growing number of women holding high
positions, at the same time bearing a share in major
responsibilities relating to the building of a prosperous
future for our society. At the same time, Government
action is designed to strengthen mechanisms designed to
protect women, mechanisms which are in conformity with
the resolutions adopted by this Organization designed to
advance the rights of women.
Turning now to attention given to children, the
Government is fostering joint activities with non-
governmental organizations in the private sector with a
view to combating drug addiction, illiteracy, malnutrition,
abandonment and other problems of children.
The World Summit for Social Development offers us
an opportunity to tackle development as a priority of the
international community and to redress the inequities that
are increasingly widening between developed and
developing countries. The progress that has been
achieved in the course of the work of the Preparatory
Committee must be further pursued, achieving the
consensus needed for the adoption of the draft declaration
and the programme of action.
The common interests of the developing world must
find reflection in the agendas of international forums and
agencies. To this end, mutual cooperation is the proper
vehicle, and the coordination endeavours of the
developing countries among themselves should be stepped
up.
Guatemala has acceded to the international
instruments designed to eradicate drug trafficking. The
present Government attaches priority to combating this
scourge. It goes without saying that we need solidarity
and international cooperation in order to eradicate it.
The economies of the developing world have had to
make great efforts to adapt and open up to world markets,
efforts which, in most cases, have had a high social cost.
Guatemala takes the view that trading relations among
States need to be based on the free exchange of goods
and services. We all need trade, and this makes it vital
to break down the barriers placed in its way, in
accordance with the spirit and principles of the World
Trade Organization.
22

As a consequence of the changes taking place in the
international arena, the United Nations has undertaken a
process of restructuring in an attempt to respond to the new
requirements of international relations. Guatemala believes
there is a need to reform the world Organization, and in
this respect we support the revitalization of the Economic
and Social Council, which would enable it to function in
keeping with present requirements. We are also in favour
of establishing a better balance between the General
Assembly, the Security Council and the Secretariat that
would allow the Assembly to play a more decisive role as
a forum for deliberation, negotiation and decision-making
on all global problems.
In this connection, Guatemala believes that the
question of equitable representation on and increase in the
membership of the Security Council holds pride of place in
the process of reforming this Organization. During this
process structures that emanated from and operated within
a world of confrontation should be reformed. The Security
Council should be restructured with a view to achieving
representation that is proper and equitable and reflects the
current international situation.
Guatemala notes with satisfaction the measures taken
by the Secretary-General to adapt the Organization to the
new international environment and to equip it with the
means to fulfil the objectives of the Charter. In this
respect, Guatemala has offered to participate in the
formation of the stand-by forces.
Peace-keeping operations are multiplying daily.
No one can deny that the role played by these forces in
dealing with a very large number of conflicts has prevented
them from worsening and has allowed latitude for dialogue
and negotiation. For this reason, they need to be given the
appropriate means for carrying out their activities, which
should always be based on the consent of the parties
concerned so as to safeguard the sovereignty of States and
respect for their domestic jurisdiction. They should act on
the basis of clearly defined mandates and well-delineated
fields of action.
The promotion of world peace should be one of the
central issues addressed by this Organization. In this
context, the limitation of arms production continues to be
necessary. All the resources used in weapons research and
development should be released and used to promote the
well-being of our peoples. Nuclear disarmament should
also be one of the major objectives on the agenda of the
international community in the coming years.
For this reason, and because of our peace-loving
tradition, we shall continue to strive to ensure that at the
meeting of States parties to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to be held in 1995 the
Treaty’s validity should be extended indefinitely.
The ultimate aim of the contribution of each and
every one of our nations to this Organization is the
overall development of the human being. All nations
wish to see all their citizens enjoying the benefits of
comprehensive development. To achieve this there must
be cooperation between all the nations of the Earth.
My Government therefore is very pleased to
associate itself with the cordial welcome extended by the
Organization to South Africa on the occasion of its
reintegration into the United Nations, as well as to the
new Observers, especially the Sovereign Military Order
of Malta, whose humanitarian impact on the world has
been of great importance.
This gives full validity to the principle of
universality, which should prevail in the United Nations.
And this belief prompts us to touch on the question of a
country which is capable of making a significant
contribution to the search for solutions to the problems
that the nations of the world must face. The entry of the
Republic of China, Taiwan, into the United Nations
would strengthen the Organization, permitting and
encouraging it to deal properly with topics with global
implications.
Guatemala reaffirms its firm and resolute
determination to meet the commitments and
responsibilities it has undertaken in relation to its own
people and the international community, in order to assist
in building a fairer, more peaceful and developed
world.