Allow
me, Sir, on behalf of the Sultanate of Oman, to
congratulate you on your election as President of the
General Assembly at this session. We assure you of our
readiness to work with you and to contribute sincerely
and successfully to the achievement of the noble goals
we all seek to accomplish in the service of humanity,
and to the safety and security of the international
community. I also take this opportunity to express our
heartfelt thanks to your predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. Jan Kavan, who presided over the previous session,
for his efforts to guarantee the success of the regular
session and the special sessions held during the past
year.
Let me also acknowledge the tireless and serious
efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to
promote the leading role of the United Nations in the
field of international peace and security.
6

Once again, we stress the Sultanate of Oman’s
support for the Organization in its endeavours to
achieve the purposes and principles of the Charter.
At the outset, I should like to shed some light on
the measures taken by my country to develop its
important institutions, particularly the judiciary. It is
our strong belief that a fair and just judiciary forms the
basis for social and economic development. In our
contemporary history, the Sultanate of Oman has
enabled the judiciary to become the most important
means of establishing justice, issuing fair rulings and
removing injustices in society, without interference by
the Executive branch or by any other branch of
Government. That development was endorsed in the
constitutional State system enacted by His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said through decree 101/96, issued
on 6 November 1996.
His Majesty also issued decree 90/99, which
enacted the law granting full independence to the
judiciary, on 21 November 1999. That law regulates the
jurisdiction and the functions of courts of various
circuits and at various levels. Moreover, the Supreme
Court was established at the top of the judicial
pyramid, with competence to standardize legal
principles and to address faulty rulings. That was
followed by a series of laws organizing various judicial
organs, including a law establishing the higher judicial
system. Additionally, a draft law on civil and trade
procedures has been elaborated.
All of the aforementioned demonstrates His
Majesty’s interest in guaranteeing the well-being of the
Omani citizen and in ensuring that all citizens are
familiar with their rights and obligations, which are
guaranteed through the right to due process.
In the spirit of continued development and
broadened participation by the Omani people in our
social and economic development programmes, my
country — since the dawn of the blessed renaissance
that began in 1970 at the initiative of His Majesty
Sultan Qaboos Bin Said and that has continued
throughout the past 33 years — has adopted an
approach utilizing the experience and expertise of
Omani citizens in the Majlis al-Shura, or Consultative
Council, which includes positive aspects of our cultural
heritage in the modern development of the Sultanate.
Our Consultative Council process has witnessed a
qualitative shift and an important transformation in our
modern history. His Majesty Sultan Qaboos Bin Said
issued royal instructions in October 2002 expanding
the base of popular participation in elections for the
Omani Consultative Council by granting every citizen,
male or female, over the age of 21, the right to vote and
to participate in the next election — scheduled for
4 October — to select the 83 members of the
Consultative Council for its fifth session, from 2004 to
2006. That step complements previous steps aimed at
developing the Consultative Council. Those important
developments in the Sultanate of Oman will create a
strong foundation for more development and
advancement programmes to benefit the Omani people.
We have followed recent developments in
Palestine with grave concern. The Palestinian National
Authority responded positively to the international
community’s demands by accepting the road map —
considered the most important document in the history
of the Arab-Israeli conflict — which embodies the
international commitment to establishing an
independent, sovereign Palestinian State alongside the
State of Israel. Nevertheless, the cycle of violence
between the Palestinians and the Israeli Government
continues unabated, which may doom the entire peace
process, plunging it into a dark abyss from which it
could be very difficult to rescue it. Therefore, the
Quartet — sponsor of the road map — must shoulder
its international responsibilities in that regard.
One might well wonder how peace can be
achieved between the Palestinian and Israeli peoples
when the Israeli Government has decided in principle
to expel President Yasser Arafat, Chairman of the
Palestinian Authority and elected leader of the
Palestinian people. One might also ask whether the
Government of Israel, a Member State of the United
Nations, is honouring its commitments under the
Charter. The United Nations must intervene to put an
end to that Israeli policy. Israel must respond to the
international community’s demands and must comply
with international resolutions. It must respond
positively to international efforts aimed at
implementation of the road map, which provides both
parties with international guarantees aimed at
achieving peace based on the establishment of an
independent, sovereign Palestinian State on all
Palestinian territories occupied by Israel since 1967.
Such a solution would give the States in the region a
historic opportunity to build a new Middle East. In that
connection, we must warn that failure to commit to the
establishment of a Palestinian State in conformity with
7

the road map would create a crisis with catastrophic
results.
My country shares with many other Member
States the view that peace in the Middle East region
will not be true and lasting unless our approach is just
and comprehensive. In that connection, the Sultanate of
Oman reaffirms its support for Lebanon’s right to
restore the remaining Sheba’a farms and the Syrian
Arab Republic’s right to recover the Syrian Golan,
occupied on 4 June 1967.
The war against Iraq in the first half of this year
was only one link in the chain of wars that have been
endured by the Middle East region. That war created a
new reality, characterized mainly by the collapse of the
former regime, the creation of a huge political and
security vacuum and deterioration in basic services for
Iraqi society. The continued lack of security in Iraq and
the resulting loss of lives — in addition to the
destruction of the United Nations Office and the
escalation in assassinations — certainly do not help
Iraq in this phase of re-establishing the Government
and rebuilding the country.
Prompted by our concern about the situation in
Iraq, we believe that efforts are needed to enable the
Iraqis to assume full responsibility for managing their
country. Iraq has an abundance of national experts in
every field. These qualified Iraqi cadres are capable of
leading the process of restoring security and of
rebuilding and fully developing their country. Iraq also
possesses enormous economic and human resources
that could help it to regain its strength and to play its
regional and international roles. Undoubtedly, an active
role for the United Nations and its specialized agencies
will help us to attain our common objective: unity and
territorial integrity for Iraq and prosperity and security
for all its people.
Committed to Iraq’s sovereignty, territorial
integrity and unity, we welcomed the formation of the
transitional Governing Council. We believe it essential
to deal with that political institution so that we begin to
build the right foundations for post-war Iraq —
including the provision of basic services and the
creation of a political climate conducive to the
establishment of a stable political system that will
respond to the Iraqi people’s wishes — as a prelude to
beginning the reconstruction phase.
Stability and the consolidation of security are
requirements of all peoples throughout the world. We
in the Sultanate of Oman — like all other countries in
the Middle East — have been following with interest
and optimism the official contacts taking place in
various conflict areas. We hope that the contacts and
discussions between the United Arab Emirates and the
Islamic Republic of Iran concerning the islands
belonging to the United Arab Emirates will enable the
two countries to arrive at an effective mechanism to
settle their dispute. In addition, we appreciate the
initiatives by India and Pakistan aimed at starting a
dialogue between them. Moreover, my country hopes
that the two Koreas and other concerned parties will be
able to reach an agreement that addresses the various
outstanding issues through constructive dialogue and
adherence to international conventions and resolutions.
We hope that that part of the world will ultimately
achieve peace and coexistence.
We also pay tribute to the peaceful efforts to
solve the conflicts in Africa, and call on the
international community to assist in developing a fair
system to improve economic conditions and a
mechanism to relieve the onerous burden of debt on
African countries.
International policies have in recent years led to
the emergence of various types of terrorist acts. All of
us must pause and deeply focus on this phenomenon,
which targets people’s security and safety. We believe
that it has become essential to study in a
comprehensive and cooperative manner the root causes
underlying this phenomenon. Although we fully
support international efforts to combat terrorism by all
available means, we must allocate part of the massive
financial resources devoted to combating terrorism to
help the least developed countries that may be fertile
ground for terrorist activities.
There is no doubt that United Nations efforts in
the field of disarmament are leading nowhere. They
will remain an exercise in futility so long as Member
States cannot count on an effective system of collective
security safeguards. Without such a system,
responsibility for assessments of the level and quality
of weapons needed will be subjective and fall solely to
individual Governments. This would open the door
wide to further arms races, and hinder progress towards
disarmament or the reduction of armaments.
While supporting the efforts to limit armaments,
the Sultanate of Oman affirms the need to take
practical measures in accordance with the International
8

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regime of mutual
guarantees. My country signed a safeguards agreement
with the IAEA on 28 June 2001 at the headquarters of
the Agency in Vienna.
My country also believes that it is essential to
promote cooperation between States to reduce the
illegal trafficking of small arms and light weapons,
which are the reason for most of the conflicts in the
world. My country notes the efforts made by the United
Nations to achieve the elimination of all lethal weapons
from every corner of the earth and from outer space.
My country supports all these efforts and underlines
the responsibility of the international Organization for
establishing a world order that is more capable of
guaranteeing security for all States in a manner that
reflects the reality of life in the third millennium. It
should be consistent with partnership and with
responsibilities, which are essential for the success of
all efforts.
This session is being convened at a time of
continuous and intertwined development at the world
economic, financial and trade levels. Many economies
still suffer from economic stagnation and recession.
The Sultanate of Oman appreciates the continued
efforts of the International Bank, the International
Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization
(WTO) to achieve complementarity in their work so
that they may confront the challenges that the countries
of the world are now facing. These challenges include
economic growth, sustainable development, poverty
reduction and financial stability and balance.
Since its accession to the World Trade
Organization in October 2000, the Sultanate of Oman
has taken great strides towards implementing its
commitments to the Organization. The Sultanate has
introduced many amendments and improvements to its
systems, organizations and laws, and has enacted new
legislation in conformity with the requirements of the
World Trade Organization.
My country has also been following with great
interest the ongoing negotiations in the framework of
the World Trade Organization with a view to
overcoming the obstacles and difficulties impeding its
work. Here, we must point an important difference
between developing countries and developed countries,
in that the latter control the World Intellectual Property
Organization agreements and other conventions. Such
agreements should not be misused by multinational
corporations in a manner that adds to the burdens of the
least developed countries in the fields of
pharmaceuticals, foodstuffs and technology transfer,
which would only exacerbate the obstacles to trade
liberalization that the World Trade Organization is
trying to overcome. Although the WTO Council of
Ministers issued a separate statement on safeguards for
patented drugs, aimed at helping developing countries
to combat serious and contagious diseases, such a step
may not sufficiently protect least developed countries
from being forced to bear excessive costs.
The Sultanate of Oman has worked hard at the
regional level with its brothers and friends and through
regional economic groupings, to enhance the climate
for the liberalization of trade and the economy. In the
framework of the Gulf Cooperation Council, the
Sultanate participated in the establishment of the Gulf
Customs Union at the beginning of this year. In the
framework of the Arab League, we have also pushed
forward the deadline for the establishment of a free-
trade zone among the Arab States parties to the trade
zone agreement to the beginning of January 2005 when
full liberalization is expected to occur, opening the
door to the free trade of Arab products and paving the
way to an Arab common market.
At the local level, my country has continued its
efforts to enhance the role of the private sector in the
national economy, based on the market economy and
free competition and a favourable economic and trade
climate that aims at the achievement of a true
investment and trade partnership with all countries of
the world, in the hope that conditions will be conducive
to linking the economy of Oman to the world economy.
Recognizing that the protection of the
environment and its resources is a collective
responsibility, my country’s Government has been
active in stimulating the role of Omani society and its
effective contribution to this cause. Here, we to
reaffirm our commitment to the basic principles
adopted at the two earth summits, in Rio de Janeiro, in
1992, and in South Africa, in 2002. We believe that
these principles constitute a scientific framework that
will guarantee our world partnership and help us to
shoulder our collective responsibility for the protection
of the environment and its natural resources in the
service of sustainable development.
9

We would like to express our gratitude and
appreciation for the efforts and endeavours of the
Secretary-General as reflected in his annual report, in
which he details the achievements of the United
Nations, as well as and the obstacles it faces, and sets
out the strategies for the future for this Organization,
which embodies the conscience and aspirations of the
world. We support the proposals in the Secretary-
General’s report on developing and restructuring the
organs of the United Nations to enable the
Organization to reflect current political reality.
The United Nations should remain a true
cornerstone of world policy and the main source of
international legitimacy, so that countries may appeal
to it for the prevention of wars and conflict. This is
only possible through the effective pursuit of
preventive diplomacy, the peaceful settlement of
disputes and the maintenance of peace, enhancing
world cooperation and dialogue among civilizations.
This involves working towards resolving the problems
of poverty and disease, protecting the environment,
combating terrorism and bridging the gap between the
rich countries of the North and the poor countries of
the South.
Relations between the United Nations and
regional organizations in the maintenance of
international peace and security should be strengthened
through the enhancement of weak regional structures to
enable them to archive collective security in a world
governed by technology and great population increases.
We believe that the United Nations represents
international legitimacy. It is the crucible in which all
regional and international efforts meld to realize the
hopes and aspirations of our peoples and to confront
the real challenges to peace, security and development
in all their aspects. This can enhance relations and
stability and spread a culture of peace and constructive
dialogue among present and future generations to
counter the logic of the threat of force or apprehensions
about the future.
We hope that this session will be a success so that
it may chart a vision for the future that points to ways
to serve humanity and renew the Member States’ trust
in the Organization, total commitment to the
implementation of its resolutions and respect for the
provisions of the Charter.


To
begin, I would sincerely like to congratulate you on
your election to this very important and difficult
position as President of the Assembly and I wish you
every success.
This year, the United Nations has come close to
the most dangerous brink in its more than a half-
century of history. This is not only and not so much the
Iraqi crisis per se. That crisis has become but a
manifestation of what has really threatened the entire
system of world order created after World War II. The
basis of this world order is the unconditional primacy
of international law over the aspirations of individual
States.
Take that away, and the world will again, as in
centuries past, become hostage to the power of the
mighty. This will not merely throw us backward. The
beginning of the twenty-first century differs from past
decades and centuries in that the existence of a single
global super-Power will make the rule of the mighty
global in both scale and consequence.
“We all have to recognize — no matter how
great our strength — that we must deny ourselves
the license to do always as we please. ... Unless
we are all willing to pay that price, no
organization for world peace can accomplish its
purpose”.
These words, spoken by United States President Harry
Truman, are as urgent today as they were back in 1945.
We call upon everyone to be guided by them today as
they were when our Organization was being set up.
Belarus’ contribution to the creation of the United
Nations and a new system of international security was
one-third of our population, who gave their lives for
the victory of peace over war and the victory of the
coalition of the future over the coalition of the past.
That is exactly why we in Belarus today sense with
special urgency the danger of the erosion of a just and
stable world order.
Let us preserve the coalition of the entire world
for global peace. Let us not allow the Security Council,
as the main body for maintaining peace and security, to
be replaced by “coalitions of the willing” that use force
without Council authorization. Let us not forget that
only a just peace can prove to be a stable peace.
Belarus welcomes the emerging effort to return to
the United Nations its legitimate role in settling the
Iraq issue. This reflects the recognition that a military
force or an occupying force cannot solve the problem
of nation-building. We hope that this will also become
recognition of the fact that a preventive war makes a
poor foundation for security.
We hope that a new Security Council resolution
on Iraq being worked out now will strengthen the
central role of the United Nations in the earliest and
urgent return to the people of Iraq of its sovereignty, its
right to independently determine its political future and
its right to natural resources, so that constitutional
processes and later election processes can be
implemented by Iraqis in the interest of Iraqis.
At the same time, Belarus is worried by the
pattern that is dangerous both for the future of the
United Nations and for international peace and is
taking shape on the most urgent issues: the Security
Council and the United Nations are ignored when
9

unauthorized military action is taken, and are then
invited back only in the aftermath, when their
authority, experience and resources are seen as
essential for rebuilding a peaceful life. That is what
happened in Kosovo and what is happening in Iraq
today.
Belarus believes in the United Nations. We
believe that it has a central role to play in the most
urgent issues of today and that it cannot be replaced.
We believe in the constant values and justice of the
supremacy of international law and the fundamental
principles of its Charter. New global challenges and
threats merely reaffirm that these values are
indispensable.
As a founding Member of the United Nations,
Belarus sees the need to modernize and adapt the
United Nations mechanisms and structures to the
realities of this new century.
Of special importance is the reform of the United
Nations Security Council. As has been correctly noted
by the Secretary-General, it is not only a question of
enlarging the Council’s membership. Life itself has put
on the agenda of the reform process many other
aspects, including the Council’s capacity to react to
threats to peace and security.
It is essential to achieve a reasonable balance in
the interrelationship between the main United Nations
bodies, inherent in its Charter. A stronger role of the
General Assembly is an important direction for
increasing the Organization’s efficiency.
The potential of the presidency of the General
Assembly is underused. As an officer elected by the
entire United Nations, the President of the General
Assembly can and should be called upon to serve as a
catalyst and organizer in searching for solutions to the
problems the world and the Organization are facing.
It is necessary to reform and improve the
activities of the Economic and Social Council as the
coordinator of United Nations efforts in economic,
social and related areas. Having accumulated
considerable experience working in the Bureau of the
Council, the Republic of Belarus is ready to make a
constructive contribution to these efforts. Those were
exactly the considerations that guided Belarus when it
proposed its candidature to Council membership for
2004-2006.
The United Nations should pay priority attention
to developing international law: new realities in
international politics as well as new universal world
problems have to be taken into consideration. Belarus
is a party to all key multilateral treaties regulating
various spheres of international life. This year we have
acceded to a further number of such treaties, including
the United Nations Convention against Transnational
Organized Crime and its protocols.
The international fight against terrorism that
unfolded after the tragic events of 11 September 2001
rightly placed the United Nations in the centre of
antiterrorist efforts. The work of the Security Council’s
Counter-Terrorism Committee has helped in the
forming of a global coalition under the aegis of the
United Nations to counter terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations.
We must, however, be realistic: force alone can
never eradicate the abominable phenomenon of
terrorism, at least, not forever. Injustice, inequality and
indifference will bring it forth again and again, just like
the accumulation of electricity in the atmosphere
produces a lightning bolt. The Secretary-General is
right when he states that in order to maintain a
genuinely global coalition for fighting terrorism the
world must also see progress on other fronts of the
struggle for a humane and just world order. Herein lies
an important challenge for the United Nations, for
permanent members of the Security Council and for all
Members of the Organization.
The principal contribution of Belarus to the non-
proliferation of nuclear weapons and to conventional
disarmament has been universally recognized. Our
concern is therefore all the greater with regard to the
gradual erosion of multilateral norms in disarmament
and the stagnation of the international bodies, above all
the negotiation mechanisms, in charge of international
security and disarmament.
From this rostrum, we join in the appeal not to
allow the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
This is a most important task. It should be noted, that
for many years, Belarus has initiated efforts to prevent
the development of new types of such weapons.
However, has everything possible been done in recent
years, including by the most militarily powerful States,
to strengthen the multilateral non-proliferation regime
in all its most important aspects? Is everything being
done to that end today? An appropriate answer to that
10

question would be the ratification by all permanent
members of the Security Council of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
The activities of multilateral bodies in the area of
disarmament should be adapted to new realities. We
proceed from the assumption that the United Nations
should draw up a clear-cut list of priority directions in
ensuring international security and generate
programmes to overcome real threats to mankind. The
resolutions we adopt should contain clear directives to
existing forums and structures in the areas of
international security, arms control, non-proliferation
and disarmament. Only with this approach will we be
able to stop the devaluation of such notions as peace,
security and stability.
I wish to inform delegations that Belarus has
recently taken another responsible step to strengthen
these values. While possessing the world’s seventh
largest arsenal of anti-personnel landmines, the
Republic of Belarus has joined the Ottawa Convention
on their prohibition. We count on international
assistance in their elimination.
The norms of international law play a principled
role in shaping a just international economic order. The
objective of providing equal access to world markets
and to the benefits of the process of globalization for
all States, particularly developing countries and
countries with economies in transition, has
unfortunately not been achieved. That is why we urge
Member States to pay unabated attention to the process
of developing the norms and rules of international trade
and commercial activities in the interests of common
well-being.
After the recent failure of the Ministerial
Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in
Cancún, the leading economic Powers should
understand the risks of delaying the negotiations within
the WTO both on the issue of new rules as well as on
the problem of new membership. One should not forget
that providing an opportunity to all States to use the
benefits of the multilateral trading system is in the
long-term interests of peace, security and stability.
I wish to inform the General Assembly that, as its
contribution to ensuring access for developing
countries and least developed countries to the world
market, Belarus has made a decision to extend
unilateral trade preferences to a large number of such
States. Our country’s National Centre of Technology
Transfer has a high potential for innovation and is
ready for extensive cooperation with all interested
States. Its institutional capacities are intended to meet
not only our requirements, but the interests of
developing countries as well.
Let me touch upon the problem of the
consequences of the largest technogenic catastrophe of
the twentieth century, the disaster at the Chernobyl
nuclear power plant. We are grateful to the leadership
of the Secretariat for its ongoing activities to mobilize
international support in that direction. This year has
been marked by the establishment of the International
Chernobyl Research and Information Network and of
the international Chernobyl Forum by the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
Jointly with the delegations of other affected
States, we have prepared for this session a draft
resolution on strengthening international cooperation
and coordination of efforts in studying, mitigating and
minimizing the consequences of the Chernobyl
disaster. The document seeks to ensure the
implementation of a new United Nations strategy on
Chernobyl. We hope that it will be supported by all
delegations.
The Republic of Belarus also proposes an
initiative to hold in Minsk in 2006 an international
conference timed to coincide with the twentieth
anniversary of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear
power plant. The main objectives of the conference
will be the search for ways to provide normal living
conditions to people living in affected areas and an
exchange of experiences in solving the problems of
sustainable development in those regions. We invite all
interested Member States and international
organizations to take part in preparing and holding this
event.
In the area of counteracting international crime,
the fight against human trafficking and illegal drug
trafficking should become one of the United Nations
priorities. Our country has been actively participating
in international efforts to stop the modern slave and
drug trades. Located at the crossroads of the most
important transportation corridors between Asia and
Europe, Belarus offers efficient interaction in solving
these problems with all our neighbours and, especially,
with the European Union. Common efforts are needed
to fight common problems; that way, everybody wins.

The global scope of problems demands a global
scale of interaction involving all States without
exception. Mankind made itself the master of the world
after having become homo sapiens — sentient man. In
order to become the master of its destiny, and not a
hostage to challenges and threats, humanity should
become humanitas sapiens — sentient humanity.


The past two years have been
years of near apocalyptic ordeal for the world and this
great Organization. In rapid succession, the world and
this Organization have been caught in what can only be
described as a crossfire of terrorism, violence and wars.
The uncertainties resulting from these situations are yet
to be dispelled. Much of the world is still in the dark,
groping for a glimpse of what the future direction of
international relations and this Organization will be.
The recent unwarranted attacks against the United
Nations headquarters and personnel in Baghdad, Iraq,
should be roundly condemned. They should not break
the will of this Organization to continue to provide
humanitarian assistance and relief to the people of Iraq.
We in Ghana still believe in the United Nations as
the global repository of humankind’s aspiration. We
believe that the problems of the twenty-first century
cannot be addressed without universal commitment to
multilateralism spearheaded by the United Nations. We
recommend, however, that fairness, firmness, humanity
and a sense of balance must characterize United
Nations responses to all events of a similar nature,
irrespective of where such events occur, if this
Organization is to enhance its credibility and ensure its
relevance in a sustained manner.
Living in the West African subregion, which has
experienced more than its fair share of conflicts, my
countrymen are familiar with the negative effects of
conflicts, and the pain of insecurity. They also know
the importance of multilateral efforts in conflict
management. Hence, for more than 40 years, Ghana
has demonstrated commitment to international conflict
prevention and resolution and peacekeeping missions
around the world, under the auspices of the United
Nations, and now the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS). The latest is the country’s
participation in the ECOWAS Peace Force
(ECOFORCE), in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia.
Africa accepts its responsibility for resolving the
continent’s internal conflicts. Today, there is no doubt
that the nations of Africa are rising to this challenge.
But there is also no doubt that the continent suffers
massive shortcomings in financing and technological
resources. This is why the international community,
especially the United Nations, under its Charter
obligations, must continue to support Africa in its
efforts to maintain peace. It is therefore hoped that
Security Council consideration of Africa’s conflicts
will yield adequate, practical and timely support to
resolve them.
In my current capacity as Chairman of ECOWAS,
I wish to acknowledge the valuable support of the
various Governments as well as international
organizations, which have contributed to the efforts of
the Community to achieve peace and stabilize the
subregion. With this help, the Community is
succeeding in resolving conflicts that have engulfed
Côte d’Ivoire, Liberia, Sierra Leone and other nations.
All of them are now, thankfully, on the way to stability
and normality. I therefore seize this opportunity to
express the appreciation of the Community and myself
to France, the United Kingdom and the United States of
America, as well as the European Union and the United
Nations, under the leadership of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, to name just a few of those who have
provided substantial assistance.
While ECOWAS fully appreciates the support of
our friends, it must nevertheless appeal for some more
resources from this Organization and the international
community to enable it to consolidate the peace and
normalization process. It might be necessary to stress
that, in some instances within the subregion, post-
conflict peace-building efforts have failed, mainly
because the problems involved were not addressed in a
systematic, sustained and holistic manner. In the main,
such problems include the disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of combatants into
regular society. ECOWAS therefore appeals for the
assistance needed for their effective management.
Yet another serious continuing menace is the
prevalent illicit trade in small arms and light weapons
in the subregion. In this regard, we note the
commendable progress made by the international
community in addressing this menace through the
United Nations Programme of Action to Prevent,
Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms
and Light Weapons. The truth, however, is that more
vigorous and resourceful effort is needed to succeed.
The Human Development Report 2003 exposes
the tragedy that besets sub-Saharan Africa, and this is
the most suitable platform to highlight it. The report
states that the rest of the world has left sub-Saharan
Africa behind, and that it will take 150 years for our
region to achieve the Millennium Development Goals
that Member States of this Organization had hoped to
achieve by 2015. The report indicates that: “Unless

things improve, it would take sub-Saharan Africa until
2129 to achieve universal primary education, until
2147” — more than a century later than hoped — “to
halve extreme poverty, and until 2165 to cut child
mortality by two thirds. For hunger, no date can be set
because the region’s situation continues to worsen.”
This is the century of the global village. How can
sub-Saharan Africa, with more than 400 million
people, be condemned to such a fate? Clearly, this must
not be acceptable for the globalization process. This is
why the international community, particularly the
industrialized nations, should appreciate the urgency of
the situation and offer commensurate partnership and
assistance to the African Union and its initiative, the
New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD),
to relaunch the continent’s development.
The current leadership of the continent has
resolved to nurture Africa back to prosperity within the
framework of the NEPAD. Good governance —
characterized by democratic constitutional rule; the
rule of law; respect for human rights and property
rights; accountable government and its recognition and
intercourse with civil organizations; freedom of
expression; private-sector promotion; religious
tolerance; eradication of illiteracy; and promotion of
gender balance and children’s rights — is fast
becoming the order of the day throughout Africa.
Indeed, good governance is an article of faith of the
African Union today.
Economically, the African Union is calling for
partnerships, both within and outside the continent, to
pool capital, technological and managerial ideas, and
also markets, to promote and fast track the
development of Africa into the mainstream of the
global market.
At this stage, may I be permitted to express some
reservations on the topical issue of world trade? It must
be recognized that even as globalization is engulfing all
the corners of the world, in such a manner that no part
can opt out, free trade and competition, which are the
hallmarks of the global market, can prove inimical and
disastrous to most nations, particularly the developing
and least developed countries. This will be so unless
the process of globalization is properly and sensitively
managed.
The reality of the situation is that most of the
least developed countries are in Africa, especially sub-
Saharan Africa. At the current stage of development,
most of Africa is limited to exporting raw minerals and
agricultural commodities. This means that unless the
developed parts of the world remove subsidies for their
agricultural and mineral sectors, Africa cannot be
competitive. Indeed, Africa’s equivalent sectors may be
destroyed with dumping from the advanced parts of the
world. It is also being seriously suggested that, even as
the World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes that
Africa must be accorded a status of transition, or a
special status for a carefully calculated period, the
WTO does not seem to be propagating this necessity
enough to give practical effect to it. The failure of
Cancún bears witness to this. The World Trade
Organization must, therefore, do its homework well to
carry the poor nations with it. A combination of trade
and aid must be used to assist the African Union and its
component nations and to nurture their economies into
competitive resourcefulness. This is the way to
empower Africa and get it into the mainstream of the
world market, without adding to the hardships of the
already marginalized people of the continent.
This being a session devoted to the consideration
of the biennial budget for 2004-2005, we hope that all
Member States will work together positively to ensure
that adequate funding is provided for all prioritized
mandates for implementation, including those for the
development and stability of Africa. In this regard, we
welcome the recent establishment of the Office of the
Special Adviser on Africa to the Secretary-General,
and look forward to the positive contribution which the
Office will make to meet the numerous challenges on
the continent.
My delegation is happy with the Secretary-
General’s renewed efforts to reform aspects of this
Organization’s operations and appreciates his challenge
to Member States to make a bold effort towards this
end. In this regard, we assure him of our full support
during this session for the adoption and implementation
of his renewed vision, and we endorse his report
entitled “Strengthening the United Nations: an agenda
for further change” (A/57/387 and Corr.1).
We also wish to reiterate the imperative need for
the Security Council to be reformed, in order to ensure
that it carries out its Charter obligations more
effectively in the full confidence of Member States. In
this regard, we subscribe wholly to the Non-Aligned
Movement’s position on the question of an increase in
the membership of the Security Council. We also
12

endorse Africa’s claim to have at least two permanent
seats.
We sincerely hope that the Organization will be
empowered to assume a central role in the current
efforts to normalize the situation in the Middle East,
especially in Iraq and Palestine. The strengthening of
the Organization to provide this leadership will
reinvigorate it to survive this century and promote the
cause of peace and security in the world.
Let me conclude by thanking your predecessor
for having ably guided the deliberations of the General
Assembly through what was by all accounts a
particularly difficult year. We are also happy to see you
in the Presidency. We are confident that the General
Assembly could not be in more competent hands and
we wish you well.
I thank you and may God bless us all.


Samoa warmly
welcomes the well-deserved election of Mr. Julian
Hunte, given his leadership in his region and among
our community of small States. Let me also pay tribute
to President Jan Kavan of the Czech Republic for his
effective guidance during the fifty-seventh session.
Unprecedented events since we met last year have
tested the very foundation of our Organization. There is
therefore great urgency for our membership to declare
anew our faith in the purposes and principles of the
United Nations. We need to assert, both in commitment
and in action, our support for fundamental human
rights and the peaceful coexistence of nations.
The range of challenges that now confront the
international community in our globalized and
interdependent world require that nations be united in
common endeavour. Only through cooperation and
multilateral joint effort can we hope effectively to
guarantee human rights and achieve peace and security,
and social and economic justice, for all. Samoa
therefore believes that the United Nations remains
uniquely suited to the pursuit and coordination of
global initiatives to attain these objectives.
To this end, Samoa firmly supports ongoing
efforts to reform and modernize the United Nations.
Substantive changes are required with regard to both
the General Assembly and Security Council, as well as
to other bodies of the United Nations system. We
certainly support the expansion of the permanent
membership of the Security Council to include nations
such as Germany and Japan.
Samoa adds its voice to the condemnation of the
atrocious terrorist attack on United Nations offices in
Baghdad last month, which took the lives of many
United Nations personnel, including the esteemed High
Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr. Sergio Vieira de
Mello. On behalf of my Government and of the people
of Samoa, I reiterate our very sincere condolences to
the Secretary-General and the families of those who
lost their lives or were injured in that terrible event.
Terrorism is an offence to humanity and goes
against the core values of the United Nations. Terrorist
activities around the world demand a continued and
concerted international response. States must be
determined in their national and collective efforts to
combat terrorism in all its forms. I reaffirm the strong
support of Samoa for the relevant Security Council
resolutions against terrorism. Those resolutions provide
a clear signal of our determination to suppress terrorist
activities, including those related to training, international
movement and financing. In this area, Samoa continues
to align its domestic policies and legislation with the
work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, as well as
to participate actively in the regional security measures
undertaken in the Pacific region.
We commend Secretary-General Kofi Annan for
his determination and efforts for the reconstruction of
Iraq. We recognize the enormous complexities and
obstacles of this task. But substantive commitment and
work must continue in providing humanitarian
assistance, as well as in restoring law and order. We
also firmly believe that continued engagement in Iraq
must take place with the full endorsement of the
Security Council. We pray for peace and security for
Iraq and hope that sovereignty will be restored to its
people as soon as possible.
Samoa is most seriously concerned about the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction   chemical,
biological and nuclear weapons. The determination of
some countries to try to bring such weapons into
existence   particularly nuclear weapons   is cause for
alarm and constitutes a serious threat to international
peace and security. The internationally agreed instruments
to control the manufacturing, transportation and
deployment of weapons of mass destruction must be
strengthened and implemented. Above all, States parties
must adhere and honour their obligations to these treaties.
Samoa joins the call for the effective disarmament and
total elimination of weapons of mass destruction.
We are appalled at the continuing suffering of
families and communities in all parts of the world,
especially in the Middle East and Africa. We can only
hope that the work to bring about stability in these
areas will succeed and that communities will finally be
able to live in peace.
16

As part of its support for United Nations efforts
to ensure peace and security, Samoa is contributing to
the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Timor-
Leste. Together with members of the Pacific Islands
Forum, and under the leadership of Australia and New
Zealand, Samoa is also contributing to the Regional
Assistance Mission to Solomon Islands, which is
helping that country to restore law and order and
assisting in its economic recovery. That regional
initiative was endorsed at the Forum leaders' meeting
last month. Its implementation conforms to regional
responsibilities under the Charter, and recognizes the
sovereignty of the Solomon Islands.
Samoa warmly welcomes the full
institutionalization of the International Criminal Court
and the election of its judges and officers. The Court is
a major achievement in upholding international
humanitarian standards and the protection of human
rights. In order to ensure that it fully achieves its
purpose, however, every effort must be made to ensure
its impartiality in bringing to justice those who commit
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. The
Court therefore deserves to be fully supported so as to
endow it with the strength of universality and the rule
of law. We look forward to its service to humanity.
Samoa reaffirms its commitment to achieving the
Millennium Development Goals and targets pledged
three years ago in this very Hall. While much has been
done, it is clear from the Secretary-General's report
that more work remains to be carried out. The goals of
halving poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS,
providing universal primary education and reducing
environmental degradation   all by 2015   can still
be achieved in the 12 years that remain. In order for
that to happen, States must improve on the political
momentum of the past three years and make good on
their promises.
Samoa recently hosted the Pacific regional
meeting as part of the preparatory work for the
International Meeting that will be held next year in
Mauritius to review the implementation of the
Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development
of Small Island Developing States. This ongoing
preparatory work in small island States is critical to a
comprehensive review.
The International Meeting next year will be a
unique opportunity for the international community to
assess progress to date and to focus attention on areas
where the expected results did not materialize. More
importantly, it should identify remedial strategies and
the required resources to assist small island developing
States achieve sustainable development.
While we accept the primary responsibility for
achieving the goals of the Programme of Action, the
reality is that the support of the international
community is indispensable to success. We therefore
urge the fullest support by development partners in the
review process and the implementation of the outcomes
of the Mauritius International Meeting.
Looking to 2004 and the work of the Commission
on Sustainable Development, we believe that the
agenda for the twelfth session is extremely important.
The Commission's work will incorporate preparations
for the International Meeting, but   very importantly
  it will also focus on the key issues of water and
sanitation. The significance of these issues for basic needs
and healthy communities cannot be overemphasized.
We note with concern the collapse of negotiations
at the recent World Trade Organization (WTO)
ministerial conference in Cancun earlier this month.
Certainly from the perspective of a small island
developing country like my own, trade is both a vital and
unavoidable component of sustainable development. We
therefore continue to urge that the vulnerabilities of
small States be taken fully into account in the
negotiations, particularly with regard to special and
differential treatment, implementation issues, services,
agriculture and non-agricultural market access.
I would like to express our appreciation to the
Secretary-General for his steadfast and astute
leadership, particularly during the dramatic events that
have tested the Organization in recent years.
Finally, the fifty-eighth session of the General
Assembly has a heavy and difficult agenda, and the
President has the full support of Samoa in the discharge
of his important duties.


We thank Jan Kavan
for his work, and we welcome Mr. Julian Hunte in the
difficult year that awaits him.
At the beginning of this millennium, a summit of
the world's leaders produced a set of development
goals aimed at protecting life and promoting dignity for
all peoples. This seemed an appropriate way to begin
the third millennium of our modern era.
Each year since then, however, we have been
reminded that this millennium started very differently
and has forced us to address profound challenges to our
assumptions, our relationships and our way of life.
Beginning with 11 September and continuing with the
violence and political crises around the world, each of
our societies, nations and regions has been transformed
by the intensity of these threats to our way of life and
to our security.
These crises are forcing a transformation of this
Organization as well. Today, reform has become
essential not just in the way we decide, act and operate,
but in the way we think. Reforms cannot be delayed if
this General Assembly and this Organization are to be
truly relevant as facilitators of world peace. If the
United Nations is for the peaceful, prosperous and
democratic development of today's world, then it must
undergo its own democratization, so that it will have
the increased moral authority to direct others through
reform and democratic transition.
An organization that espouses dialogue and
negotiation as alternatives to violence and conflict
ought to find ways through dialogue and negotiation to
arrive at a consensus on how to resolve the critical,
universal issues facing us today.
This General Assembly has the chance to go
down in history, not as an undermined, inadequate but
well-meaning giant, but as a viable instrument of world
peace. The Secretary-General's goals, from United
Nations budget and financing reform to reconstituting
and enlarging the Security Council, are the building
blocks of the relevant, responsive, comprehending,
world forum for international cooperation that the
United Nations can be. We applaud his decision to
empower a commission to give concrete form to the
wishes of many.
Each year we speak of the need for a
comprehensive and lasting peace in the Middle East,
never believing that next year, the region can become
even more volatile and explosive. We believe the
United Nations and all Member States must continue to
support the renewal of the full-scale peace process. In
Israel and Palestine, Armenia hails the Quartet's
efforts, recognizing that the endangered road map
remains the only viable option for peace in a long-
suffering region.
The situation in Iraq makes the debate about the
hows and whys of this conflict irrelevant. The world's
small countries are accustomed to making political
compromises to join the international flow. In Iraq, the
principal Powers, too, must compromise so that a more
engaged and empowered United Nations can rally a
broad range of countries from the immediate region, as
well as the rest of the world, to take on responsibility
in bringing democracy and stability to a critical part of
the Middle East.
It is ironic and in many ways lamentable that the
evil of terrorism is what has caused us to rally together.
We are fully aware that no single Government can
effectively fight this danger alone. Unfortunately, the
necessity for coherent measures and cooperation at
national, regional and international levels is often
stalled, as for example in our region, where a common
threat that knows no borders is not only being
addressed individually and in isolation, but also
exploited for political reasons.
In our region, there is much political exploitation.
The new Prime Minister of Azerbaijan made plain from
this podium yesterday that in his Government's
election year, they are willing, at their peril, to ignore
the realities which are self-evident. Nearly a decade of
negotiations brought us, two years ago, to Key West,
Florida, where, hosted by the United States
31

Government and under the watchful eyes of the Minsk
Group Co-Chairmen, the President of Armenia and
whether the Prime Minister of Azerbaijan likes it or not
  the President of Azerbaijan did in fact reach an
understanding which reflected those realities.
There are two myths in Azerbaijan today   both
of them faulty, miscalculated and risky. Since 1992,
Azerbaijan has convinced itself that if they just hold
out long enough, Armenia's economy will capitulate,
and leave Nagorny Karabakh unprotected and
defenceless. Their calculations that a blockade of
Armenia would mean that our economic and social
conditions will plummet while their oil-based economy
grows have proven misguided and misinformed. Not
only has Armenia's economy not succumbed to
political pressures, but our rate of growth is greater
than Azerbaijan's   and not only Azerbaijan's.
Nevertheless, they continue to cling to a second
and related myth. Dreaming of future oil sales whose
revenues will be used to buy armaments, Azerbaijan is
anticipating the day when it will again have the
resources to pursue a military solution. This is self-
deception, as well. Azerbaijan has forgotten that
similar fantasies led them to respond militarily to the
peaceful demands of Nagorny Karabakh's population
for self-determination in 1992. The military balance
was hugely in their favour then, in proportions far
greater than what they might hope for in the future.
Still, the moral, historical, legal and psychological
balance favoured the people of Nagorny Karabakh,
who were fighting for their homes, their families, their
security, their lives and their futures. The armaments of
Azerbaijan did not then   and cannot ever   break
the will of the people of Nagorny Karabakh to live
freely on their own land.
Indeed, Azerbaijanis are victims, but of their own
aggression. They started the war, one-sidedly. They began
massacring Armenians, citizens of the Azerbaijani cities
of Sumgait, Baku and Ganja   the most irresponsible
reaction that a Government can undertake, using the
most inhuman methods associated with pogroms.
The war that followed changed the world for two
generations of Armenians, who have never lived under
Azerbaijani rule. Azerbaijan's leadership, old and new,
rather than remaining prisoners to the Soviet era   which
they themselves rejected as historically illegitimate   can
look to a future of compromise, peace, regional
cooperation and prosperous, stable development.
Armenia intends to go forward. Indeed, we
already have. The year 2003 has been a very good year
for Armenia. On the economic front, our steady,
double-digit growth rate is the fastest in the
Commonwealth of Independent States and in Europe.
This has led some to call Armenia the Caucasian tiger.
We are pleased with the name and the challenge. We
know that with economic growth comes an even
greater responsibility: to confront the social gaps which
can lead to social inequality and domestic instability.
The shortest path to the eradication of transitional ills
such as the polarization of society, the urban-rural gap
and uneven access to higher education is to sustain that
high level of economic growth.
That is why, with the help of the United Nations
Development Programme, we embarked on the
sustainable economic development programme. That is
why the Government has approved and launched a
poverty reduction strategy. It is also why achieving the
Millennium Development Goals for poverty eradication,
the awareness and prevention of HIV/AIDS and the
empowerment of women is an important part of
Armenia's development strategy.
In Armenia, the United Nations plays a key role
in promoting synergies directed at expanding the
development impact of information and
communications technologies. As we prepare for the
World Summit on the Information Society in December
in Geneva, Armenia is living a hopeful paradox. On the
one hand, less than half of our more than one thousand
schools are connected to the Internet; on the other
hand, information and communications technologies
(ICTs) comprise a significant proportion of Armenia's
exports today. Still, too many in our country   just
like the majority of the world population   still remain
untouched by the ICT revolution and its potential.
We recognize, of course, that ICTs can be central
in economies like ours, especially given the continuing
blockade. Our economic growth has continued despite
the blockade, which goes against the spirit and the
conclusions of the recent United Nations sponsored
International Ministerial Conference on Transit
Transport Cooperation, which reaffirmed the right of
access by landlocked countries to and from the sea and
their freedom of transit through the territory of their
neighbours by all means of transport, in accordance
with the applicable rules of international law. For us,
that means a condemnation of the practice of unilateral
32

coercive economic measures intended as political
pressure.
This was also a good year for our legislative
reform process. The Armenian parliament has ratified
the Sixth Protocol of the European Convention for the
Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms, thus unconditionally abolishing the death
penalty. We also adopted the draft law on the
ombudsman, thus empowering our citizens and
investing them with the faith necessary to govern with
justice and to be governed with dignity.
Another matter that is important for us and for all
humanity: Armenia continues to engage countries and
Governments around the world to recognize and
condemn the first genocide of the twentieth century.
The survivors of the genocide and their descendants are
helping to build a democratic Armenia, committed to
the future without forgetting the past.
When Sergio Vieira de Mello visited Armenia
several years ago, he came looking for ways to
minimize the pain and suffering of Armenian refugees
forced to flee their homes in Baku and Sumgait in
Azerbaijan. This year, as he worked to minimize the
pain and suffering of the people of Iraq, to help them
rebuild their country and their Government, he and too
many of his colleagues lost their lives. His death and
that of Anna Lindh of Sweden remind us that ideas,
more than people, scare and threaten. Those two brutal
murders also suggest to us louder than any
demonstration that the leadership of the world still has
much to do in engaging the rejectionists, the extremists
and the cynical. Our positive, forward-looking,
determined steps here in the General Assembly will go
a long way towards convincing them.


I would
like at the outset to extend my sincerest congratulations
to you, Sir, on your accession to the presidency of the
General Assembly. It comes at a particularly difficult
time, which I might even describe as painful, in the
history of our Organization.
Indeed, the past year has gravely challenged the
capacities of the United Nations to manage the crisis in
Iraq to its conclusion, a country to which it was
accountable. It saw the pre-eminent role for the
maintenance of international peace and security of this
institution, symbol of multilateralism and stability,
called into question.
Yet, it is not our institution’s intrinsic capacity
that is the cause of its powerlessness. It is essentially
its Members’ lack of political determination. We
cannot elude this vital debate for a peaceful, more
harmonious and more just future indefinitely. Sooner or
later, we must answer the essential question: How can
we ensure that all Member States of the United Nations
will be prepared to accept the binding nature of
Security Council endorsements of military action prior
to engaging in it?
To make myself perfectly clear, and to avoid any
misunderstanding, the question that I ask is as follows:
What reforms need to be made to the Organization’s
operations to placate the often-understandable
apprehension or reticence of those who, because they
assume specific political responsibilities, refuse to
submit their geostrategic options to the rules of our
Organization? As long as we remain unable to answer
that question, we will continue to live in doubt and
uncertainty, if not in helplessness. It is not a question
of advocating an institutional shake-up of the
Organization; rather debate should enable us to
overcome the all-too-many misunderstandings that
undermine the credibility of our shared instrument, and
from which we can draw conclusions that will help us
to make the Organization’s mechanisms more credible
and up to date. The Security Council was founded on
the recognition of the particular responsibility and role
of some of our Members, and I fully subscribe to it.
But should we not integrate new perspectives into this
state of affairs, such as the regional dimension, present
geopolitical facts and also new threats?
This is in no way meant to contest the specific
influence of some of those involved in international
peace and security management. Rather, our concerted
support could help accompany, legitimize and
strengthen their approach and their effectiveness,
thanks to the indisputably added value of multilateral
dynamics. In many cases, this would avoid taking
unnecessary risks and misunderstandings. In that
regard, I think that, given its role as a global actor, the
European Union greatly deserves a permanent seat on
the Security Council on its own behalf.
It is this conviction that has inspired my country’s
position on the Iraq crisis. But now is not the time to
determine who was right or who was wrong. All sides
clearly had their reasons. One can only respect them
for it.
But it is now necessary to contribute to the re-
establishment of stability and ensure Iraq’s
reconstruction. That is the responsibility of us all, for it
concerns a region neighbouring Europe, and we cannot
tolerate, if only for the sake of our own security,
increased instability or the persistence of an
uncontrolled spiral of violence that feeds resentment
towards the international community, which, as history
has taught us, constitutes the principal breeding ground
for terrorism.
It is thus necessary to stop the violence as quickly
as possible. To this end, I share the opinion of the
Secretary-General and of many among us. It is
necessary to restore as quickly as possible
responsibility for governing Iraq to the people of Iraq.
The return to sovereignty, under the watchful eye of the
United Nations and of the international community as a
whole, is capable of providing the salutary shock
needed to reverse the current trend. We must convince
the Iraqi people that national union, the
re-establishment of State authority and economic
recovery are accessible and at hand. This of course
does not imply that the international community should
demobilize. A strong military force in Iraq will still be
necessary for some time to guarantee stability. It is of
course up to the United States to assume its
management. But from now on this presence must not
be regarded as designed to occupy the country, but
rather as a way to assist in the reconstruction process
34

for the sake of the Iraqi people. The Security Council
resolution that is currently under discussion must
create this prospect so as to insure broad participation
by the international community.
The United Nations has a central role to play in
accompanying the political reconstruction process in
Iraq, even if the tragic events of August have shown
how risky and vulnerable that process is. However,
such a role requires a clear mandate and sufficient
means.
I wish to renew my sincerest condolences to the
Secretary-General, to the bereaved families and to
colleagues, and express my high regard and admiration
for all the United Nations staff members for their
involvement, their selflessness and the sacrifices that
they accept so steadfastly.
The principal security threat is the uncontrollable
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their
potential use by some States in breach of minimal
ethical standards or by certain terrorist movements.
That threat is serious. We must each confront the threat
together, by shouldering our fair share of the actions
undertaken.
The European Union and its member States
currently possess an essential document which deals
with the European security strategy. It should enable
us, as Javier Solana quite recently reminded us in
Brussels, to plot a European chart of the challenges
facing this world to better guarantee the effectiveness
of our collective security system. Belgium will actively
participate in this endeavour.
Furthermore, we fully share the international
community’s concerns about the nuclear programme of
North Korea. We strongly call upon North Korea to
abide by its previous international commitments. We
are grateful to China for having offered a useful format
for discussion in this respect.
As for Iran, I trust that through a sustained and
constructive dialogue it will meet the expectations of
the international community and respond to the
requests of the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Belgium will continue to participate in a
determined and proactive way in the international
efforts that were initiated two years ago to track down
terrorism. In Belgium, there is no sanctuary for
terrorism, nor will there ever be. Nevertheless, the fight
against terrorism should not be used as an abusive
justification for actions that would undermine the
democratic quality and the sacred principles of the rule
of law.
Furthermore, I am not one of those who believe
that the military option is the exclusive answer,
although obviously it should not be excluded. Much
more fundamentally, we need to systematically attack
the root causes of a phenomenon that is often rooted in
the feeling of powerlessness or in feelings of real or
perceived injustice.
For this reason, Belgium will also continue to
support, together with its European partners, the action
of the Quartet for the re-establishment of peace
between Israel and the Palestinian Authority. To
achieve that goal, it is necessary that Palestinians
decide unambiguously to renounce the toleration of
blind violence and that Israel, in the same spirit, stop
favouring the use of force.
One has the impression that, as difficulties pile
up, we have fallen back into the traps of Oslo: a
gradualism of small steps and a too-pronounced
reliance on sequencing. The road map prescribes
parallel advances on the security, political and
economic paths. From each side, we need to obtain
bolder measures and the acceptance of the risks these
imply. There is no alternative to the road map. It has
not yet been implemented seriously. We believe it is
particularly urgent to create a credible, on-site
verification mechanism.
It is in Africa, particularly in Central Africa, that
my country commits itself in the most determined way
to the restoration of peace and stability. We are
encouraged by the successful installation of a
transitional Government in Kinshasa that now brings
together all the parties. Now, State structures have to
be restored and good governance has to be introduced
in order to allow for the return of foreign aid and
investment. The persisting violence in the east of the
country must end.
In this context, I wish to mention the remarkable
efforts by the United Nations Organization Mission in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). I
am particularly happy about the success of Operation
Artemis. Apart from restoring security in Bunia, this
operation has given MONUC the thrust it needed to be
able to face up to the challenges of its new mandate.
35

Now, priority must be given to the preparation of
elections in order to grant the Democratic Republic of
the Congo a new start on a solid basis and to
consolidate its restored territorial integrity. Belgium
will be present at all levels and in every phase of this
process. But I wish to insist on the fact that the
Democratic Republic of the Congo needs the
determined commitment of all the instruments of our
community. It would be unforgivable not to forge, here
and now, the conditions for a complete stabilization of
the entire region.
We also need to help Rwanda to continue its
national reconciliation efforts, which are indispensable
in order to guarantee sustainable stability in that fragile
country. I am convinced the recent elections will
contribute to this goal.
As for Burundi, the implementation of the Arusha
Agreements must continue, and the rebels have to be
convinced that they should join this process. My
country looks forward to participating actively in the
new action on Burundi decided by the Economic and
Social Council. We hope that will help Burundi to
break through its isolation within the international
community.
Finally, my country closely follows the efforts by
the United Nations to reactivate the project for a Great
Lakes conference, which should seal the re-
establishment of peaceful relations and the
development of cross-border cooperation among the
countries of the region.
The credibility of the United Nations does not
depend only on its willingness and capacity to manage
crises. It also depends on its capacity to respond to the
expectations of men, women and children all over the
world, who are directly or indirectly confronted with
imbalances and injustice whose causes and solutions
both are found only at the global level. It is essential to
master globalization, develop the promises it offers and
correct its excesses.
It is clear that, in accordance with the analysis of
the Secretary-General, this challenge requires
fundamental reflection on the architecture of the major
instruments of development. That demands openness of
mind and should not exclude any option from the start.
Has not the time come to reinforce the capacity of the
United Nations to act effectively in this field? I wish to
repeat a question that I raised at the World Trade
Organization Ministerial Conference in Cancún.
Should we not, for example, create a real Economic
and Social Security Council, which would derive its
legitimacy and efficiency from law and which would
have the same power in the management of economic,
social and environmental policies as the Security
Council has on issues of peace? That is my conviction,
especially since those fields form the requisite
backdrop to achieving stability and security.
The Economic and Social Council needs to be
reformed to give it a more decisive operational role in
the control of a world organization based on universal
principles of equity. This goal should lead to broad and
balanced synergies between international organizations
such as the World Bank, the International Monetary
Fund, the World Trade Organization and the
International Labour Organization, which should really
become instruments of the same project.
The founding principles of such a concept exist
already and are being applied in certain countries, such
as in mine. I am referring more specifically to
fundamental labour standards such as the freedom of
unions, the prohibition of child labour and forced
labour and the right to quality employment, as well as
environmental obligations, which are vital for
sustainable development. I am also thinking of the need
to exclude services of general interest from the market
sphere.
To conclude, it seems to me that such an ambition
would opportunely translate the tremendous hope
generated by the Millennium Summit. The Millennium
Declaration clearly defined the goals at our level. I am
pleased with the decision of the General Assembly to
make the five-year review of the Millennium Summit
in 2005 into an important event, which I think should
be a summit of heads of State and Government. That
summit should assess the implementation not only of
the Millennium Goals, but also of the goals of all the
major United Nations conferences.
But the success of that summit implies going
further. It should at last boldly lay the foundation for a
world in which inequalities between poor and rich
countries can be filled in a sustainable way. It should
nourish, in an irreversible way, the indispensable
confidence the world needs to be safer, more human
and more brotherly.


I would like to extend
my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Julian Robert
Hunte, Foreign Minister of Saint Lucia, on his
assumption of the office of President for the fifty-
eighth session of the General Assembly. I would also
like to commend Mr. Jan Kavan, former Deputy Prime
Minister and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Czech Republic, for his devoted efforts during his
tenure as President of the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly.
First of all, I would like to touch upon the terrible
tragedy that occurred last month. Special
Representative of the Secretary-General Mr. Sergio
Vieira de Mello and other United Nations staff,
working diligently to facilitate the reconstruction and
stabilization of Iraq, sacrificed their lives as a result of
the cowardly bomb attack in Baghdad. On behalf of the
Government of Japan, I take this opportunity to pay
tribute to Mr. Vieira de Mello and his colleagues.
Much of our time and energy since the general
debate last year have gone into the discussion of the
Iraq situation. In that process, questions have been
asked about the role of the Security Council and the
United Nations with respect to the Organization’s
primary role of maintaining international peace and
security. On the occasion of this general debate, we
once again need to earnestly explore the meaning of
this matter.
There is no organization on earth more universal
than the United Nations. No other organization
addresses so many diverse issues as comprehensively
as it does. I strongly believe that the United Nations
will continue to play an important role that no other
international organization can fulfil. The United
Nations role should be enhanced through reform in
order to restore the confidence that was shaken in the
Iraq situation. All Member States are called upon in
our joint effort to strengthen the Organization.
38

Today, we face a situation in which the
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the
threat of terrorism affect not only particular countries
or regions but the world as a whole, presenting a new
threat to our lives and our livelihood. It is imperative
for each country to regard the issue as its own and to
take action in concert with the countries facing such
imminent threats.
In order to establish an Iraqi Government run by
the Iraqis themselves as soon as possible, the
international community must join hands for securing
peace and promoting reconstruction, and the United
Nations must play an even more prominent role in
those efforts. Japan strongly expects that a new
Security Council resolution will be adopted, that the
path towards Iraqi self-governance will be clarified and
that the international partnership will be strengthened
to promote reconstruction and security. Together with
the international community, Japan continues to make
every effort towards the restoration of security and the
reconstruction of Iraq and in particular towards the
successful conclusion of the Madrid donors conference
for the reconstruction of Iraq to be held next month.
With respect to peace in the Middle East, I am
deeply concerned that the road map has reached a
critical stage. I call upon both sides to exercise the
utmost restraint in order to restore calm on the ground.
The Palestinian Authority must resolutely disavow the
use of terror, work expeditiously to establish a new
cabinet and take action to control the extremist
factions. Israel, in turn, must act with prudence and
caution, mindful of the consequences of its own
actions. In particular, the expulsion of Chairman Yasser
Arafat can only result in a deterioration of the
situation. Japan once again urges Israel not to proceed
with the implementation of measures which would
result in Chairman Arafat’s removal.
From the perspectives of peace and security in
North-East Asia and international non-proliferation, the
development and possession of nuclear weapons by
North Korea must never be tolerated. Japan once again
urges North Korea to immediately and completely
dismantle all of its nuclear development programmes in
a verifiable and irreversible manner. This issue should
be resolved peacefully by diplomatic efforts including
the six-party talks process. Based on the Pyongyang
Declaration between Japan and North Korea, Japan
seeks the resolution of various outstanding issues
between Japan and North Korea, including the nuclear
issue, the missile issue and the abduction issue, which
was addressed explicitly by the Assembly last
December in its resolution on the question of enforced
or involuntary disappearances (57/215). Upon the
comprehensive resolution of those issues, Japan is
looking to effect the normalization of its diplomatic
relations with North Korea.
With regard to Iran, Japan calls upon Iran to take
seriously the resolution adopted at the 12 September
meeting of the Board of Governors of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran must appease the
concerns of the international community regarding the
nuclear issue. It must comply immediately with all
measures prescribed in the resolution, which include
cooperating fully with IAEA to rectify problem points
by the end of October of this year. Iran must also ratify
the IAEA Additional Protocol immediately and
unconditionally and implement it in its entirety.
The very urgency of those issues reminds us of
the importance of the crossroads at which we now
stand with respect to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty regime. The horror and devastation caused by
nuclear weapons should not be repeated. Japan is
redoubling its efforts to maintain and fortify the
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime,
with this treaty as its core. At the fifty-eighth session
of the General Assembly, Japan will submit a draft
resolution entitled “Path to the total elimination of
nuclear weapons” and aim to secure adoption of the
resolution by an overwhelming majority of Member
States. Furthermore, Japan considers the early entry-
into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty to be of extreme importance as a concrete means
of strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty
regime.
Despite the serious efforts of the international
community to combat terrorism in the wake of the
terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, precious lives
continue to be lost by terrorist attacks in Jakarta,
Baghdad and many other locations around the globe.
Insofar as improvements in the terrorism-related
response capabilities of all nations are required for the
eradication of international terrorist organizations,
Japan continues to provide capacity-building assistance
to developing countries, with special emphasis on
Asian countries. In addition, Japan calls upon all
Member States to work to bring about the early
conclusion of the counter-terrorism conventions as well
as the implementation of Security Council resolution
39

1373 (2001) in order to deprive terrorists of the means
for their activities and safe havens.
In the twenty-first century, we cannot address the
dangers and threats now confronting the world with
military and political measures alone.
Our responses must be well thought out, detailed
and sustained, addressing every facet of the issues we
face, including the social aspect, humanitarian and
human rights concerns, and the question of economic
reconstruction. Furthermore, we must strive to
guarantee human rights, democracy and good
governance by creating a social environment that
enables each and every human being to realize his or
her maximum potential.
On the basis of this realization, Japan has made
the consolidation of peace and nation-building one of
the pillars of its diplomacy and its international
cooperation efforts, and it is contributing actively in a
variety of areas, including peacekeeping operations.
Moreover, in the conceptual framework of human
security, Japan has made efforts to enhance both
protection and capacity at the individual, human level.
Japan will continue to work for the realization of the
recommendations made in the report submitted by the
Commission on Human Security in cooperation with
the United Nations, Member States and non-
governmental organizations, through diplomatic
measures such as official development assistance.
Specific examples of Japan’s efforts include
assistance in nation-building, such as the deployment
of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces in Timor-Leste; the
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration
programme it is now implementing jointly with the
United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; and
support for the peace process and for reconstruction
and development in the form of efforts such as the
Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development
of Sri Lanka.
Measures against infectious diseases are also
crucial in ensuring human security. The example of
SARS demonstrated to the world yet again the
importance of international cooperation in the
mitigation of such diseases. Japan welcomes the results
of yesterday’s General Assembly High-level Meeting
on HIV/AIDS, which reconfirmed both the
commitment of every nation to the goals set forth in the
Political Declaration and the importance of the Global
Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.
With regard to Africa, Japan has been cooperating
for its development on the basis of the principles of
ownership and partnership, aiming at poverty
eradication through economic growth, as well as
providing assistance in conflict prevention in order to
secure the peace and political stability which are
prerequisites to development. The Tokyo International
Conference on African Development (TICAD) process
is now in its 10th year. TICAD III will convene on 29
September. In response to the ownership of the New
Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD),
TICAD III intends to expand partnerships with
international organizations and the countries
concerned, and particularly with civil society and
Asian countries which have successfully realized
development, in order to share the wisdom and
experiences of the international community in the area
of African development.
As the representative of an Asian country, I
would like to take this opportunity to highlight two
issues that relate to peace and security in the Asian
region.
The first is the detention of Daw Aung San Suu
Kyi by the Government of Myanmar. Japan is
continuing to make serious diplomatic efforts to bring
about the expeditious resolution of this worrisome
situation and to facilitate concrete progress towards
national reconciliation and democratization.
The second issue concerns the Khmer Rouge
trials in Cambodia. Japan believes that it is necessary
for each country to extend considerable cooperation in
order to ensure that these trials take place and that they
exhibit an unswerving application of the principles of
law and justice of the international community.
In the community of nations, diversity is both
respected and cherished. For that reason, the
formulation of a set of common rules under which the
entire global community can act as one is of extreme
importance. The United Nations has made significant
progress in this area to date. I would like to explain
some of the agenda items which Japan will be pursuing
at the United Nations, here in the General Assembly
and elsewhere, in order to formulate such rules. Such
rules will constitute the basis for well-thought-out,
detailed and sustained responses to a broad spectrum of
issues, including socio-economic, environmental and
human rights issues.
40

In the field of the environment, it is imperative
that the international momentum for climate change
negotiations be maintained. I appeal to the
representatives of all nations who are gathered here to
recognize the importance of the early entry into force
of the Kyoto Protocol and of the formulation of
common rules which will facilitate participation by all
countries, including the United States of America and
developing countries.
The protection and promotion of the rights of
disabled persons is also of great importance. Japan
welcomes the decision taken in June of this year to
establish a working committee which will draft an
international convention on the promotion and
protection of the rights of persons with disabilities;
Japan will actively participate in this process.
With regard to the United Nations Decade of
Education for Sustainable Development, Japan looks
forward to the adoption of a resolution promoting the
creation of an implementation plan in which the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) serves as the lead agency.
Disaster prevention is an indispensable element
for a safer world in the twenty-first century, not merely
because of its role in the follow-up to the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, but also as an
essential prerequisite for achieving much of the
sustainable development agenda. Japan proposes to
host the World Conference on Natural Disaster
Reduction in order to develop new strategies on
disaster prevention.
For the United Nations to fulfil the role of
bringing about a world of peace and prosperity based
on common rules embraced by the entire international
community, the reform of the United Nations,
particularly that of the Security Council, as its core,
must be urgently addressed.
Today’s conflicts have become more diversified
and increasingly complex, as evidenced in cases where
a civil war escalates due to the dysfunctional condition
of a State. To respond to these new challenges, the
Security Council has taken on new tasks, such as the
deployment of multinational forces, when necessary, to
restore order. Such tasks also include the expansion of
the role of peacekeeping activities from military and
police activities such as ceasefire monitoring to
humanitarian activities, including assistance for the
repatriation of refugees, as well as assistance for
democratic elections and reconstruction efforts. The
Security Council must take on a variety of these tasks
in working for the resolution of today’s conflicts.
For the Security Council to address these
challenges comprehensively, there is a need to
strengthen the functioning of the Council by including
countries that are both willing and able to shoulder
responsibilities at the global level as permanent
members. Japan continues to work diligently for the
realization of Security Council reform and would like
to assume greater responsibility as a permanent
member in a reformed Council.
The issues about which I am speaking today are
hardly new. Discussions on the reform of the Security
Council have been under way for 10 years now. Yet,
despite a series of exhaustive discussions about how
the Council should be reformed, we are still unable to
see progress in any concrete terms.
It is no exaggeration to say that, if we continue
along this path, the ability of the United Nations to
respond adequately to new and complex challenges
will be seriously brought into question. We must take
concrete action now. The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, makes a strong case for United Nations reform
in his report (A/58/323) entitled, “Implementation of
the United Nations Millennium Declaration”. He
proposes that we set 2005 as a deadline for reaching
agreement on the changes that are needed in our
international institutions if we are to meet the new
challenges, because 2005 not only marks the sixtieth
anniversary of the founding of the United Nations but
is also the year in which a review of progress on the
Millennium Declaration will take place. I am of the
view that a political decision should be taken on the
occasion of that review at a meeting of heads of State
or Government regarding the reform of the United
Nations, in particular the Security Council.
With regard to the “enemy State” clauses in the
United Nations Charter, a General Assembly resolution
was adopted in 1995, recognizing them to be obsolete.
Those clauses have not yet, however, been deleted
from the Charter. This is an extremely regrettable
situation. Japan will work to find appropriate solutions
to this issue, in view of the progress on United Nations
reform.
Administrative and budgetary reform of the
United Nations is also necessary in order to increase
both its effectiveness and its efficiency. With regard to
41

the size of the United Nations budget, it is necessary to
give careful consideration to the financial burden on
Member States. Japan calls on the United Nations both
to conduct a strict prioritization of its activities and to
eliminate those activities which are neither essential
nor urgent. We must also consider appropriate methods
to make the scale of assessments for all Member States
more balanced. Finally, equitable geographical
distribution among Member States for the number of
staff members of the Secretariat has yet to be attained.
The present situation is of concern and needs to be
improved.
Japan believes that international peace and
prosperity can be achieved only through cooperation
among nations, with the United Nations playing an
important role. Japan has used all means at its disposal
to contribute to United Nations activities, so that the
objectives contained in the United Nations Charter may
ultimately be realized. Let me make it clear that Japan
will continue to be actively engaged in United Nations
activities. However, the perpetuation of the same basic
Security Council structure of 60 years ago leads many
to question the legitimacy of the system under which
the United Nations operates. The legitimacy of the
United Nations is at stake.
In closing, I would like once again to urge all
Member States to take concrete actions to strengthen
the functions of this Organization and restore its
legitimacy in the eyes of the nations and citizens of the
world.