It
gives me pleasure, Sir, to congratulate you on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its
fifty-fifth session. I am confident that your vast
experience and unswerving efforts will guarantee the
achievement of the best results at this session.
I would also like to thank your predecessor, Mr.
Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the
Republic of Namibia, for having wisely and
successfully conducted the deliberations of the fifty-
fourth session. I would be remiss if I failed to express
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, our thanks
and appreciation for his efforts to preserve the
principles and purposes of the Charter with a view to
consolidating the prospects for peace and stability
around the world.
A new century has been ushered in. Our peoples
and countries believe in the United Nations and in its
ability to embrace new visions and concepts. We have
high hopes that a reinvigorated Organization will
promote a new world order forged, in essence, by the
new forces at play. This will be a world order free from
the new power play in order to consolidate the
prospects for international peace and security in
different parts of the globe and to meet the costs of
development, which is the right of each and every
individual. This can only be accomplished if we
succeed in reactivating the central role of the United
Nations. The primary organs of the Organization,
namely, the Security Council and the Economic and
Social Council, must be entrusted with containing and
checking the dangers that face humanity and that
threaten its social and economic peace as well as its
security.
2

I am pleased to announce that, towards the end of
next year, Lebanon will host the summit of the
International Organization of La Francophonie to be
held in the context of the Dialogue among
Civilizations. Lebanon's experience in coexistence, its
pluralistic nature and its openness to the world are, in
our view, the best expression of such a dialogue.
We all agree that the United Nations is an
indispensable international institution, notwithstanding
its inability to settle many disputes since its inception.
The United Nations has at times been lax in enforcing
its own resolutions, and at others it has been influenced
by the international balance of power, which made it
blind to the double standards at play. But what is
indisputable is that the United Nations, with its
mandates and its multifaceted world activities,
constitutes a major human achievement and tradition.
We must build upon this achievement by evincing the
necessary will to lead the world towards reconciliation
whilst maintaining the necessary balance between the
collective interests of States, large and small.
Our actions must be based on the principles of
solidarity, equality and justice enshrined in the Charter.
This is of particular importance at this crucial juncture
in our human existence. While vast regions of the
world are plagued by poverty, deprivation and disease,
others are enjoying a social and economic boom rarely
matched in the history of mankind. It is therefore
important to jump start the different United Nations
organs and specialized agencies, which have already
impressed us with daily records of achievement that
stand as a true measure of our collective spirit of
solidarity . This solidarity must be the cornerstone of a
new humanitarian world order capable of protecting the
individual and of respecting all aspects of his rights.
In this context, we highly value the steps taken to
restructure some of the development organs of the
Organization. Such steps have introduced into their
work programmes the concept of cooperation with the
institutions of civil society and with international
financial institutions, the private sector and the donor
community.
In the second half of May this year, Lebanon and
the United Nations witnessed a historic event when my
country recovered most of its occupied territories in the
south and in western Bekaa. Thanks to the resistance
and steadfastness of the Lebanese people and the
support of the international community, Israel had to
withdraw from these territories after a ferocious
occupation that lasted more than 22 years. It left behind
a trail of devastation and destruction of infrastructure,
private property and the environment, as well as a
collapse in local production centres. Lebanon has paid
dearly for its liberation. Thousands fell as martyrs on
the road to victory and thousands more were injured or
disabled.
Human and material losses were not confined to
the areas that were immediately under occupation. For
30 years, the Israeli arm of aggression has stretched far
to reach all Lebanese territories. Repeated Israeli
strikes terrorized our civilian population, destroyed
civilian and vital establishments and wreaked havoc on
our economic and service sectors. The Israeli
withdrawal came in the wake of 22 years of continued
refusal to comply with Security Council resolutions
425 (1978) and 426 (1978), which called upon Israel to
withdraw immediately and unconditionally from
Southern Lebanon and the western Bekaa to the
internationally recognized borders, with strict respect
for the territorial integrity, sovereignty and political
independence of Lebanon.
For the first time since 1978, the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) was allowed to
fulfil its mandate under resolution 425 (1978). To do
this, the United Nations had to identify a line for the
purpose of confirming the Israeli withdrawal.
Regrettably, in three locations, this line did not
conform to the internationally recognized boundary
line demarcated in 1923 between Palestine and
Lebanon under the French and British Mandates. The
United Nations border line also leaves the Shabaa
farmlands outside UNIFIL's area of operation in
Southern Lebanon.
Lebanon has seriously cooperated with the United
Nations to fulfil the requirements for the
implementation of Security Council resolution 425
(1978). Despite Israel's repeated violations of the
withdrawal line and its obstructive practices, which
hindered the deployment of the international work
force for weeks, the force was at long last able to
deploy, accompanied by the Lebanese armed forces.
At this juncture, I see it fit to recall Lebanon's
civilized stance and the wisdom and tolerance
graciously shown by its valiant people after its victory
and the withdrawal of the Israeli forces. Contrary to
dire predictions, no mayhem or acts of vengeance
3

ensued. This has earned us the appreciation and
admiration of the international community.
On this occasion, allow me to pay tribute to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi
Annan, to his assistants and to the officers and soldiers
of UNIFIL for the tireless and unswerving efforts they
have been making in fulfilment of their noble task and
in compliance with the resolutions of international
legitimacy.
In this context, I would like to underline the
importance of the following points. First, Lebanon
insists that its internationally recognized borders
remain intact. They are the borders demarcated in
accordance with the 1923 Paulet-Newcomb maps, and
reaffirmed later in the 1949 Israeli-Lebanese General
Armistice Agreement. Second, Lebanon confirms its
reservations on three locations on the blue line of
withdrawal adopted by the United Nations as the
withdrawal line. This reservation is included in the
report submitted by the Secretary-General to the
Security Council on 16 June 2000.
Third, Lebanon insists on its right to sovereignty
over the Shaba'a farmlands, which are an integral part
of Lebanese territories. Fourth, Lebanon insists on its
sovereignty and authority over the locations set by the
United Nations inside the United Nations
Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) line in the
Mount Hermon area.
Fifth, Lebanon demands the immediate release of
all Lebanese detainees from Israeli prisons. They are
kept as hostages in violation of the terms of the 1949
Fourth Geneva Convention, of the relevant Protocols
and of the Hague Convention of 1907. Lebanon
believes that the release of the detainees will be a
completion of the Israeli withdrawal from Lebanon and
will therefore be a fulfilment of Security Council
resolution 425 (1978).
Sixth, the liberation of Lebanese territories from
Israeli occupation shall remain compromised unless a
just solution is found to the problem of Palestinian
refugees residing in Lebanon. The solution lies in
allowing these refugees to return to their homeland, as
provided for in the resolutions of international
legitimacy.
Israel must compensate Lebanon for the human,
material and economic losses sustained as a result of
Israeli occupation and other acts of aggression, in
accordance with international and customary laws and
with the principles of the United Nations Charter. In
this regard, we recall Security Council resolution 262
(1968), which entitled Lebanon to appropriate redress
for the enormous destruction it suffered when Israel
attacked Beirut's International Airport in late 1968. In
that attack, Israel destroyed 13 civilian Lebanese
aircraft. The Lebanese firmly believe in their right to
receive adequate and fair reparations for the substantial
loss and devastation inflicted upon them after many
long years of occupation and repeated acts of
aggression. Those acts have been perpetrated by Israel
since 1978 in stark defiance of the will of the United
Nations.
Lebanon will therefore resort to the International
Court of Justice (ICJ), which is the proper organ to
which to address its claims. We hope that the ICJ will
be able to endorse our request for adequate reparations
and we appeal to the international community to
support our just and fair demands.
The question of the reconstruction and
rehabilitation of the Lebanese liberated territories
enjoys a high priority on the Lebanese agenda. It also
enjoys tangible international support. In this context, I
would like to recall the preparatory meeting of the
donor community, held in Beirut on 27 July in
cooperation with the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) and the support of the World Bank
and the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. This
meeting was attended by representatives of 40 States
and international financial institutions. The participants
discussed the question of providing urgent financial
assistance to help restore normalcy to the liberated
territories. The preliminary deliberations were
promising and we hope to see them materialize at the
donors' conference to be held at the ministerial level in
October.
The Lebanese feel that the international
community did not exert adequate efforts to compel
Israel to comply with Security Council resolution 425
(1978), which called upon Israel to end its occupation a
long time ago. Due to this delay, Lebanon as a whole
had to suffer the dire consequences of occupation. Our
resources plummeted, our economy crumbled and our
people endured untold suffering. From this rostrum, I
appeal to the donor countries, to international financial
institutions and to the United Nations specialized
agencies to provide sufficient assistance for the
reconstruction and rehabilitation of South Lebanon.
4

This will be a token of solidarity on behalf of the
international community.
We thought that the prospects for the realization
of a just and comprehensive peace in the region were
real following the recent rounds of negotiations.
Regrettably, the results were disappointing. The
negotiations for peace floundered and the process was
derailed on all tracks. This was due to the fact that the
Israeli leaders gave the logic of No's' precedence
over the principles of right and justice. This is
particularly unfortunate in the light of the many
achievements made in bringing the negotiations so
close to an optimal solution, especially on the Syrian
track.
The prerogatives of peace are not commensurate
with the Israeli No's'. These No's' run counter to the
resolutions of international legitimacy that provided for
the return to Syria of the entire Golan up to the line of
4 June 1967. These resolutions also recognized the
need to enable the Palestinian people to recover their
inalienable rights, including their right to self-
determination, the establishment of their independent
State on their own national soil, with Jerusalem as its
capital, and their right to return to their homeland in
Palestine.
The liberation of most of the Lebanese territories
from Israeli occupation will not affect Lebanon's
commitment to the process of peaceful settlement of
the Middle East question. Lebanon upholds its position
with regard to the inseparability of the Syrian and
Lebanese tracks. We believe that the opportunity for a
just and comprehensive peace remains, provided that
Israel complies with the resolutions of international
legitimacy and the Madrid terms of reference.
Lebanon believes that Israel has forfeited the
achievements made in its negotiations with the Arab
side due to the conflicting domestic agendas of various
Israeli political groups. This will hinder the settlement
process in the region, and will further compromise our
protracted pursuit of peace. Lebanon calls on the co-
sponsors of the peace process  the United States and
the Russian Federation  and the European Union to
renew their efforts to relaunch the peace process from
the point where it left off in 1996.
Lebanon cannot fail to stress once again that in
order to achieve a peaceful settlement, the Palestinian
refugees, particularly those hosted by Lebanon, must
be allowed to return to their homeland. Ignoring their
problem or attempting to resettle them in Lebanon will
further exacerbate the tension and the volatility of the
region. This would in turn threaten the prospects of a
just and lasting peace.
More than 10 years have passed since the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait. Nevertheless, the question of the
release of the Kuwaiti detainees and prisoners of war
still awaits a solution. We in Lebanon have condemned
this invasion. We believe that, in addition to other
measures required of Iraq, the release of prisoners will
be an important step towards improving relations with
that country. Lebanon calls for lifting the sanctions
imposed on Iraq in order to alleviate the suffering of
the brotherly Iraqi people and to allow them to restore
their security, stability and prosperity.
There is a favourable trend in the relationship
between Iran and the Gulf States. That trend must be an
incentive to settle the dispute over three islands that
has been going on between the Islamic Republic of Iran
and the United Arab Emirates for over three decades. It
should be settled in the context of good-
neighbourliness and the common interests promoted by
the League of Arab States and the Organization of the
Islamic Conference.
The Millennium Summit was convened as part of
a global effort to foster the credibility of the United
Nations and its ability to seek solutions to the problems
of all countries and peoples. The international
Organization must be capable of keeping up with the
demands and challenges of the new millennium,
whenever and wherever they arise. The deliberations of
the Millennium Summit made it clear that what was at
stake was the individual. Attempts to arrive at a global
vision may differ in the details, but should definitely
agree on the substance. In our view, the Millennium
Declaration embodied creative ideas and principles that
must be embraced in a global blueprint and translated
into reality. Such a blueprint introduces novel
approaches to the purposes and working methods of the
United Nations.
Lebanon agrees with the conclusions of the
Summit. The main challenge we face today is to
guarantee that the benefits of globalization are shared
by all peoples of the world. The correct approach is for
us to stand united so that globalization and its
manifestations and results will have a human face.
Adequate controls must be developed and must take
into account the different cultures, traditions and real
5

needs of the peoples of the world. The costs and
benefits of globalization must be fairly and equally
distributed.
Lebanon also believes that the protection of our
common environment presents a different kind of
challenge. Careful strategies must be developed for
water-resource management, combating desertification,
respecting and preserving ecosystems and combating
environmental pollution. Those strategies must be
governed by new ethics. God has privileged Lebanon
with a scenic landscape and an optimal geographic
location. Regrettably, we have had our share of
environmental degradation. We therefore attach
increasing importance to environmental issues. Laws
are currently being enacted for the preservation of the
environment pursuant to the decisions of relevant
international conferences. We need the support of the
international community in our endeavours.
Development has become the main preoccupation
of the developing and least developed countries. It
must be linked to an open and just global trading
system within an institutional framework that
guarantees unobstructed investment and capital flows,
as well as the transfer of technology.
We must develop an international mechanism
within the United Nations to address the indebtedness
of developing countries.
In our view, there is an inherent link between the
maintenance of regional and international peace and
security and the process of development and peace-
building. Hotbeds of tension and protracted armed
conflict in some regions of Africa, the Balkans and the
Middle East impede the realization of integrated
development. Our international Organization must
therefore dedicate more efforts to defusing tensions and
to resolving crises by reforming and invigorating the
roles of its two primary organs, namely, the Security
Council and the Economic and Social Council.
In conclusion, Lebanon is a founding Member of
the United Nations and has contributed to the drafting
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Today,
Lebanon looks forward to playing a distinct role in the
regional and international arenas. We are anxious to
reconstruct and rehabilitate our vital and civil
institutions and productive sectors after the liberation
of our land from the Israeli occupation. We in Lebanon
are striving for a just and comprehensive peace in the
Middle East that will bring back stability to our region
and allow us to play a positive role in building a new
world in which we aspire to live.


At the outset, Sir,
I take this opportunity to congratulate you on your
election as President of this historic Millennium
Assembly and wish you every success in your
important mission. I also pay tribute to Mr. Gurirab for
his skilful leadership during the fifty-fourth session.
My delegation welcomes Tuvalu as the newest
Member of the United Nations.
All of us were witnesses to the historic
Millennium Summit, at which an unprecedented
number of heads of State and Government gathered to
address the issues of the future of humanity. Many
leaders reiterated that our future depends on our
common efforts for humanity's betterment, and that the
United Nations has always been, and continues to be, a
unique forum which, by virtue of its universal
character, has the mandate to solve the pressing
problems of peace, security and development.
In this regard, the Kyrgyz Republic favours
increasing the overall effectiveness of the United
Nations and recognizes that the United Nations should
be a results-oriented Organization. Kyrgyzstan supports
measures aimed at transforming the United Nations
into an Organization with a more perfect management
and a well-ordered structure, and thus better prepared
to cope with both humanitarian and political crises.
Emphasizing the importance of the United
Nations as a global Organization of the human
community, Kyrgyzstan supports the universal
character of its reforms, which should include all
bodies of the United Nations, including the Security
Council. Confirming its position on the quantitative
expansion of the Security Council in both categories,
the Kyrgyz Republic favours clear, geographical
representation of the countries of Asia, Africa, Latin
America and the Caribbean.
A decade ago Kyrgyzstan chose as its goal the
establishment of a democratic open society and an
economy based on free market principles. Today we
can look back at our first 10 years with some
satisfaction. However, the invasions of international
terrorists into the southern part of the Kyrgyz Republic
in 1999 and August this year have shown that the new
democracies are very fragile. These events also testify
to the fact that international terrorist organizations have
every intention of perpetrating their criminal activities
using the territories of the States of Central Asia. These
actions should be seen for what they are: part of the
global plan of international terrorism, with the express
purpose of destabilizing a wide region.
No individual country can cope with these
challenges on its own. It has become quite clear that
terrorism represents a threat to the whole global
community, which can, and should, take adequate
measures in the struggle with this evil. The struggle
against terrorism should be conducted at the national,
regional and international levels.
Kyrgyzstan has contributed to strengthening the
global consensus on combating international terrorism.
Furthermore, as of this year, Kyrgyzstan is a party to
three major international Conventions, and a Protocol,
against terrorism. Kyrgyzstan is currently working on
becoming a party to the International Convention for
the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, adopted by the
General Assembly on 15 December 1997, and the
International Convention for the Suppression of the
Financing of Terrorism, which was opened for
signature this year.
An important step towards strengthening regional
security is the Summit of the heads of State of the
members of the Shanghai Five, which is assuming a
definitive character. The Bishkek group has been
created within the framework of the Shanghai forum.
This group of law-enforcement bodies and special
services of the member countries conducts work on the
coordination of our countries' actions in preventing
and confronting all manifestations of international
terrorism, extremism, separatism, the illegal drug trade,
the smuggling of weapons, illegal migration and other
kinds of criminal activity. The anti-terrorist centre of
the Shanghai Five is currently being created, with its
headquarters in Bishkek.
The Bishkek meeting of the heads of State of
Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan and
the special envoy of the President of the Russian
Federation, which was held on 20 August 2000,
demonstrated the unanimous resolve of the countries of
Central Asia and Russia jointly to eradicate the threat
of terrorism in their territories. We believe that the
efforts of our countries will be supported by the
international community. The United Nations plays the
most important role in this process. The Kyrgyz
17

Republic is taking action in favour of the creation of an
international system of measures for controlling
terrorism and other forms of extremism. In this regard,
we are considering with interest Uzbekistan's initiative
to establish an international counter-terrorism centre
within the United Nations system.
The efforts made by Kyrgyzstan and other States
of Central Asia in the struggle against international
terrorism, religious and political extremism and illegal
drug trafficking, will not be crowned with success
without the normalization of the situation in
Afghanistan. We express the hope that effective
measures for the radical improvement of conditions in
Afghanistan will be undertaken. It is particularly
important to guarantee that such forms of common
activity be further developed. Furthermore, expressing
its sincere aspiration to promote the prompt
establishment of peace in Afghanistan and stability in
the region as a whole, the Kyrgyz Republic confirms its
readiness to make its territory available for the holding
of a peace conference on Afghanistan under the
auspices of the United Nations.
In its desire to make its own contribution to the
efforts of the global community in creating a safe,
nuclear-free future, Kyrgyzstan is continuing to move
forward with its very active participation in the
creation in Central Asia of a nuclear-weapon-free zone.
We welcome the assistance of the United Nations in the
realization of this initiative. We express our hope that
the countries of Central Asia will successfully finish
the work on the drafting of a treaty that responds to the
interests of the peoples of the region and of the entire
international community.
The issue of the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty
cannot be avoided when speaking about world security.
Signed in 1972, it became an important cornerstone of
strategic stability. In this regard, we should reaffirm
today its role in international security and our need to
strictly observe it and comply with all of its provisions.
The Kyrgyz Republic aspires to make a
contribution to United Nations peacekeeping
operations. Kyrgyzstan is currently represented in the
peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and Kosovo.
My country is going further to make efforts to expand
its contribution to the peacekeeping activities of the
United Nations.
For Kyrgyzstan, a country with an economy in
transition, the most significant problems are those of
development. The key role in their resolution should be
played by the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), as the main body of the United Nations
responsible for coordinating the provision of assistance
with national development purposes. The Kyrgyz
Republic welcomes the decisive steps taken by the
UNDP Administrator aimed at structural reform and
the easing of the heavy financial burden, which can
threaten the realization of a number of national projects
on democratic and economic reform.
With regard to the problems of financing for
development in the context of globalization and
interdependence, Kyrgyzstan draws particular attention
to financing for the eradication of poverty. The
Secretary-General's report (A/54/2000), “We the
peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-
first century”, has identified poverty as one of the main
challenges facing mankind. Shorn of all the
sophisticated economic rhetoric, poverty reduction
means simply the creation of new jobs and productive
activities that will provide people not only with income
and employment, but also with self-respect and hope
for their future and the future of their children. Special
measures should be taken by the international
community to assist developing countries and countries
with economies in transition in their efforts to develop
and participate fully in the global economy.
The establishment of a uniform transport system
is especially important for Central Asia, which is
located far from major sea routes. Kyrgyzstan is
working for the development and realization of large,
regionally important projects, such as the creation of a
uniform transport system with access to external
markets and of modern communication systems. This
will not only optimize the global transport system by
reducing distances and transportation time, but also
provide a very powerful impetus for economic
development because of the expansion of exports. Such
large projects as the transport corridor between Europe,
the Caucasus and Asia, known as TRACEKA, have
already begun to be developed and realized.

We support those provisions of the Secretary-
General's report that address the issue of the building
of “digital bridges”. It is obvious that the huge progress
in computer science and telecommunications has
radically changed the picture of the world. The
18

telecommunications “Silksat” project has been
developed for the purpose of preventing the threat of
information breakdown between countries. Its purpose
is to facilitate the optimal entry of the countries of the
Great Silk Road into the global telecommunications
system.
The Kyrgyz Republic, believing that stability has
not only political and economic aspects, but also an
environmental perspective, submitted to the Secretary-
General this year its instruments of ratification and
accession to the following treaties concerning
environmental issues: the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change; the Convention on
Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution; the
Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent
Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and
Pesticides in International Trade; and the Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and
the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer.
Today the Kyrgyz Parliament is working on the
ratification of the Kyoto Protocol, in support of the
idea expressed by the Secretary-General in his
millennium report that
“The need to preserve biodiversity is a less
self-evident conservation issue than polluted
beaches, burning forests or expanding deserts.
But it is as crucial, if not more so. “ (A/54/2000,
para. 293)
I would add mountain ecosystems to the Secretary-
General's list of major ecosystem concerns. I take this
opportunity to express our deep gratitude to the global
community for its support of Kyrgyzstan's initiative
with the adoption during the fifty-third session of
resolution 53/24, proclaiming 2002 the International
Year of Mountains. We express the hope that its
observance will promote mobilization by the
international community of economic, technical and
financial resources for the sustainable development of
mountainous areas. To that end, the Kyrgyz Republic
offers to host in Kyrgyzstan in 2002, under the auspices
of the United Nations, of an international conference
on mountains.
In preparation for the International Year of
Mountains, we call on States and international
organizations to give further attention to the problems
of preserving the natural balance of mountainous
ecosystems and the development of mountainous
countries and regions. We commend the Food and
Agriculture Organization, the leading agency for
preparing for the Year, for its comprehensive concept
paper on mountain issues and for its tireless efforts in
that field.
Kyrgyzstan supports the initiative of the Republic
of Tajikistan to proclaim 2003 the year of fresh water,
within the framework of the United Nations. We hope
that the global community will support it.
Kyrgyzstan faces problems in dealing with
natural disasters and their regularly occurring
consequences, especially in mountainous regions. The
Kyrgyz Republic has a direct interest in the further
strengthening of the international capacity to deal with
accidents, in advanced specialized technologies to cope
with the consequences of accidents, and in increasing
the coordination of the rescue services of various
countries.
In conclusion, I assure the President that the
Kyrgyz delegation will take a most active part in
achieving our overall common purpose: to ensure the
successful work of the Millennium Assembly.


It is a
great pleasure for me to convey through you, Sir, to the
President of the General Assembly our sincere
congratulations upon his election. I am confident that
he will lead the work of this Millennium Assembly
most ably.
I should also like to express our sincere
appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Gurirab, the
Foreign Minister of Namibia, for his exceptional
leadership of the fifty-fourth session.
May I also express our high esteem for the
Secretary-General for his most efficient preparation for
both the Millennium Summit and Assembly. We
appreciate his efforts to maintain and promote the role
of the Organization and to strengthen its effectiveness
and credibility.
The convening of the Millennium Summit and
Assembly is an important milestone in the international
system and the future of the United Nations. The two
occasions constitute a unique forum to review the state
of the world and its developments and to take stock of
the performance of the Organization so as to enable it
to occupy its central place in the international system
and hence lead the movement of change on the basis of
a general consensus and a meeting of all minds.
The goal of the establishment of a stable and
effective system of collective security through dialogue
and cooperation in the context of international
democracy has been one of the most important
objectives of the United Nations and those of the
international community. It is thus necessary to allow
the United Nations to achieve its objectives by
adapting its work to the current international variables
that must take the United Nations seriously. This might
very well be the thrust of the Secretary-General's
report to the Millennium Assembly.
In our opinion, the first step down this road is to
agree on a broad modern definition of collective
security in the coming decades. Security in its most
simple and realistic definition is based on three basic
and organically linked rights, namely, the right to
safety and stability and avoidance of the scourges of
war, mass destruction and armed conflicts, the right to
development and to a decent life free from poverty,
destitution and want and the right to live in a healthy
environment free from pollution, disease and negative
social phenomena. A cursory glance at the state of
those three rights would reveal that during the last
decade of international transformations they have
become exposed to new threats, while existing ones

have been exacerbated in a manner threatening grave
repercussions.
After the end of the cold war and the end of
tensions between the two super-Powers, international
peace became exposed to a new kind of threat, the
threat resulting from the disintegration of some States,
the collapse of their national structures and the
victimization of their people due to internal strife and
negative foreign intervention.
Globalization, world market, the information and
communications revolution and the emergence of new
kinds of economic activities all hold the promise of
unlimited progress, yet they carry with them the
dangers of widening the development gap between the
developed and developing world.
As for a healthy environment, whole continents
are suffering from epidemics, environmental
degradation, backwardness and the spread of ethnic
wars as well as the increased tragedies of refugees.
Africa is the region most affected by that horrible
triangle  armed civil conflicts, poverty and economic
backwardness, degraded environment, natural disasters,
deadly diseases and epidemics. There is a belt of
tension encircling the continent and economic
difficulties and problems continue. Africa has thus
reached an untenable situation that requires immediate
and firm attention in order to help it extricate itself
from that quagmire.
I must reiterate in this regard that the African
States, through the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) and other groupings, are discharging their
responsibilities as best they can. They are taking
necessary measures and steps to place themselves on
the right path towards a better future. Special mention
should be made here of the OAU Mechanism for
conflict resolution, the efforts to strengthen
peacekeeping capabilities through subregional
groupings and the establishment of common markets
and economic groupings, such as the Common Market
for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the
Southern African Development Community (SADC)
and the Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS). Our continent is moving towards a form
of unity on the basis of the resolutions of the recent
LomÈ summit, which will be followed up at the
upcoming Sirte summit.
An agreement was recently concluded in Arusha
on the settlement of the Burundi conflict. A new
President of Somalia, Mr. Abdi Kassim Salad Hassan,
was elected after the constructive efforts of the
Government of sisterly Djibouti. There are efforts
under way in the Great Lakes region. All these
examples prove Africa's ability to deal on its own with
some of its problems. Yet it cannot be left alone
without the support of the international community,
particularly in the field of peacekeeping and peace-
making. The United Nations must play its full role in
that field.
Meeting the new challenges faced by the
international community and achieving the goal of
establishing an effective system of collective security
for future generations require, as I mentioned earlier,
improving the United Nations performance and
adapting it to the demands of these goals. In his
message to the Millennium Summit last week,
President Mubarak stressed the need to pay special
attention to the maintenance of international peace and
to support efforts for development, poverty elimination
and narrowing the widening gap between the rich and
the poor in our world.
Allow me to address these priorities and to stress
their linkage to a number of important subjects and
necessary steps. First, there is an urgent need to
strengthen and reform the United Nations in general.
There is a similar need to reform and restructure the
Security Council and to enhance its credibility. We are
determined to continue our contribution to the current
dialogue on a comprehensive and balanced package
deal on the expansion of both the permanent and non-
permanent membership of the Council. This would
enable the Council to be more equitably representative.
It would also reflect the overwhelming majority of the
developing countries, members of the Organization.
We are fully committed to the positions of the
Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) in this regard. We reiterate the
need for expansion of the Council to be accompanied
by reform of its working methods and a revision of the
use of the veto power, with a view to rationalizing it.
I wish to stress here what I mentioned earlier
that Egypt has a long history of regional and
international contributions. It plays a significant role
on the African, Arab and Islamic levels, as well as in
the Middle East and among the developing countries
19

and emerging economies. In addition, Egypt has made
many contributions to support United Nations activities
and achieve its objectives. It has also contributed to the
Organization's peacekeeping operations. All this makes
Egypt eminently eligible and qualified to shoulder the
responsibilities of permanent membership in an
expanded Security Council, within the framework
suggested by the African heads of State and
Government since 1997.
Second, there is an equally urgent need to restore
the role of the General Assembly in the maintenance of
peace, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter,
especially when the Security Council fails to discharge
its primary responsibility in this regard. This would
ensure that any collective actions or measures enjoyed
the international legitimacy represented by the
Organization. There is a need to further develop United
Nations peacekeeping operations and provide them
with a rapid deployment capability. There is also a
need for concerted efforts to increase the capacity of
States, particularly African States, to participate in
United Nations peacekeeping operations, or those of
regional and subregional organizations which are
mandated and financed by the United Nations. Egypt
will address these important issues when the General
Assembly considers the Brahimi report (A/55/305).
These considerations must be kept in mind when
we address how to develop the conceptual and practical
framework of peacemaking and peacekeeping. New
ideas, such as humanitarian intervention and the
preventive deployment of forces, have, since the last
session, begun to gain currency. We have called, and
continue to call, for discussion of those ideas with the
highest degree of frankness and transparency. Those
ideas impinge on the concept of sovereignty. Some
tend to belittle the value and importance of sovereignty
when the matter pertains to the sovereignty of others.
Those very same States tend also to consider it
sacrosanct and inviolable when the matter pertains to
their own sovereignty.
Third, the sanctions regime, as one of the
component parts of the measures taken within the
current system of collective security, needs a thorough
review. Sanctions cannot last indefinitely. They must
not cause human suffering to tens of millions of people
or result in massive and destructive harm to the
economic infrastructures or social fabric of States.
Sanctions must not lead to the creation of angry
generations who will continue to be embittered by their
suffering, even after these actions are lifted.
Fourth, there is a need to recognize the
importance of continued, serious consideration of the
question of disarmament, particularly nuclear
disarmament, which is the most destructive and poses
the greatest threats. The priority of nuclear
disarmament must not be overshadowed by the
increased attention paid to small arms, light weapons
and anti-personnel landmines. This is not to say that we
do not recognize the importance of these subjects or
the need to deal with them comprehensively and
appropriately. In this regard, we reaffirm Egypt's
initiatives for the elimination of weapons of mass
destruction, including nuclear weapons. We welcome
the results of the sixth Review Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in the field of nuclear
disarmament in general. We welcome in particular the
Conference's recognition of the specificity of the
situation in the Middle East and its reaffirmation of the
continued validity and importance of implementing the
resolutions on the Middle East adopted by the NPT
Review and Extension Conference in 1995.
Fifth, with the accelerated pace of globalization
and trade liberalization, the gap between the rich and
poor countries is widening in a manner that threatens
grave dangers. The comparison between patterns of
production and consumption and standards of living in
the developing and developed worlds is both stark and
shocking. Narrowing this gap and correcting this
imbalance in the international structure is not merely a
moral obligation, but is vital. An international
partnership must be established to achieve this
objective.
The call for social justice within States must be
accompanied by a similar call for justice in sharing the
benefits of progress, globalization, the information
technology and communications revolution and trade
liberalization among members of the international
family in the North and the South alike. We truly need
to give globalization a human face and an equilibrium
that will enable it to contribute to bridging that gap.
United Nations literature is replete with studies
on the problems of and obstacles to development and
the elimination of poverty. This, however, is no longer
sufficient. In several international conferences we have
adopted plans and programmes of action containing
20

clear commitments to mobilize the financial resources
necessary to implement them. Yet implementation has
not been at the level of the commitments contained in
those documents.
A few months ago we reviewed progress in the
implementation of the recommendations of the
international conferences on population, women and
social development. But what were the results of these
reviews? What are the ways needed to face the
obstacles that have impeded progress and made the
implementation of the recommendations of those
conferences fall below our expectations?
We have adopted the objective of halving poverty
in the world by 2015. What is the course charted for
achieving this objective and what are the commitments
made to mobilize the financial resources necessary for
its achievement? What about the numerous
programmes and initiatives for African development?
Have their achievements been commensurate with the
magnitude of the problems facing the continent? Is it
not time for a clear commitment, going beyond the
current initiatives, to lift the burden of foreign
indebtedness that is crushing Africa? We need a
genuine partnership between the North and the South.
We need real and effective support by the donors and
the international financial institutions to implement
development efforts and attempts to eliminate poverty,
not only as a moral value taking the form of freedom
from want, as mentioned in the Secretary-General's
report (A/54/2000), but also as a vital objective
connected to the establishment of peace and stability.
Sixth, in the same vein, an attempt to place
responsibility for achieving development and
eliminating poverty solely or even primarily on the
shoulders of developing countries is both dangerous
and short-sighted, because it would undermine the
concept of international cooperation, which is one of
the cornerstones of the world system, and ignore the
repercussions of the widening gap between the rich and
the poor in our world. That gap is now 16 times as
large as it was in the 1960s.
An attempt is also being made to link
international cooperation and the North's support for
the South with concepts and values that in themselves
we support but whose new conditionality we reject. I
am referring here to democracy, good governance and
human rights. Questions of democratic transformation,
improved governance and administration, increased
transparency and accountability, and promoting respect
for human rights cannot be dealt with in isolation from
the questions of development, poverty and subsistence,
for they too are vitally important subjects. Should not
the call for democracy within States be matched by a
similar call for democracy among States and
international organizations? Should not the call for the
rule of law be accompanied by a similar call for respect
for international law, the sovereignty of States and the
rights of peoples? Can good governance and
administration be achieved in the absence of a parallel
effort for the development of human resources and the
capacity-building? Is it sufficient just to pay attention
to the civil and political rights of people while ignoring
their economic, social and cultural rights, foremost
among which is the inalienable right to development?
Seventh, the success of the development efforts
of the peoples of the world at this stage depends on
their efficient use of the tools of the new age,
particularly information technology. The technological
revolution has led to a widening of the gap between
those who have those tools and those who do not.
Nevertheless, information and knowledge technologies
are of such a nature as to enable them to contribute to
narrowing the gaps between the countries of the world.
The attention Egypt pays to these global
questions does not take away from the attention it gives
to regional issues that are extremely sensitive. Among
those questions, I would like to concentrate on the
issues of peace in the Middle East and the situation in
the Sudan, which are of the utmost importance to Egypt
and, without a doubt, to many in the Arab world,
Africa and the international community at large.
The Arab-Israeli conflict entails vital issues
related to the lives of peoples and to the future of
nations. Those include recognition of legitimate rights,
sovereignty over national soil, the inalienable right to
self-determination, the inadmissibility of the
acquisition of territory by force and the right of all
States to live peacefully within secure borders. All
these issues are directly linked to international and
regional peace and security.
The logic that must govern the peace process in
the Middle East should not stem from the assumption
that one is dealing with a permanent foe or opponent. It
must aim instead at turning past animosity into good-
neighbourliness and normal relations among the
peoples and the States of the region. What is at stake is
21

the security of the region and the security and
prosperity of future generations, and not short-term
political considerations. We face a clear choice
between either settling the issue in terms of real
estate  in which one party demands metres, miles or
tens of miles  thereby keeping alive the seeds of
tension and conflict, or by seeking through clear
political will to establish a just and lasting peace by
which the rights of all parties are secured and their
obligations are well defined through necessary
international guarantees. The latter option must be
based on international law, something that applies to
the Israeli/Palestinian track and to the Syrian/Israeli
track alike.
There is no doubt that the overwhelming majority
of States, communities and individuals support the
achievement of a just solution that does not favour one
party at the expense of the other. Most people would
opt for peace and justice and would prefer to look
ahead to the future in a positive way. The
overwhelming majority of the Palestinian and Israeli
people also want peace, a peace that is clear and clean
and not partial, distorted or absent  something that,
at the end of the day, would be more of a headache than
a concrete peace. In that regard, I would like to say that
President Arafat and the Palestinian people face one of
two choices: either no solution or a bad solution. This
is a policy that will never garner support or
appreciation or ever lead to a viable solution.
As to the so-called flexibility, which has been at
the forefront of commentary lately, it should mean only
flexibility within the realm of international law and not
outside it. If we are talking about flexibility on
Jerusalem, that cannot in any way mean accepting
Israeli sovereignty over Al-Haram al-Sharif. It could
instead mean arrangements for the new Palestinian
State that would give it sovereignty over all its
territories while respecting the holy sites and
guaranteeing their protection and free access to them.
That would assume that, as a full-fledged member of
the international community, the sovereign Palestinian
State would be in charge.
The peace process is but a few miles away from
the finish line. We hope it will not take many long
years for Syria and Palestine to travel those few miles.
We also hope that the sponsors of the peace process
will be wise and able enough to propose honest
solutions to the parties in order to enable the honest
broker to lead the negotiations to a certain conclusion.
At this juncture, I would like to salute President
Clinton's enthusiasm and tireless efforts in steering the
peace process during an eleventh-hour attempt to find a
lasting solution during his Administration.
In order to achieve that objective it is essential to
uphold one guiding principle that cannot be
circumvented, namely, full withdrawal from all Syrian
and Palestinian territories, including East Jerusalem, in
return for Israel's right to be integrated into the Middle
East as a partner with equal rights to security, peace
and cooperation. That is the essence of resolutions 242
(1967) and 338 (1973) and of the principle of land for
peace. Lasting peace and security can be established
only on that basis. If Arab territories, or any part of
those territories, remain under occupation or if any
question is settled in a manner inconsistent with the
principles of fairness and justice, it would create a time
bomb that could explode at any time. The desired peace
and security cannot be fully realized without the
establishment of a full-fledged, independent Palestinian
State.
The stability of peace and security in the Middle
East is tied to the need for serious consideration of the
question of armaments in the Middle East. Permanently
defusing tensions calls for dealing with the problem of
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
their delivery vehicles. This will also contribute
directly to the maintenance of international peace and
security. Peace and stability in the Middle East will not
be complete or lasting without the establishment of a
comprehensive regional security system that ensures
control over the quantity and quality of armaments in
the region and establishes a zone free from weapons of
mass destruction, in accordance with President
Mubarak's initiative, which enjoys global
understanding and support.
The Sudan is a State of unique character in
regional relations. It is at once a major component of
the Arab world and an integral part of the African
community. Its stability is also vital for the security
and stability of the Horn of Africa, the Red Sea and the
Nile basin. The importance Egypt attaches to this
brotherly country therefore stems not only from the
fact that it is Egypt's strategic twin, but because it is a
central factor to the security of a vast and vitally
important region.
Many efforts have been made, and many
initiatives have been presented, to achieve peace in the
22

Sudan, most of which were made in good faith.
However, they all dealt with the situation from a single
perspective, that of the southern Sudan against the
north.
Consequently, Egypt and Libya saw the need to
complement those efforts with a comprehensive
programme aimed at achieving broad national
reconciliation encompassing all the factions and all the
parties. The objective is to create a new Sudan, where
stability and harmony prevail within a basic framework
of unity and territorial integrity, equality among its
citizens, and consensual self-determination by all its
citizens and component parts. This will bring comfort
and reassurance to the Sudanese people and to all its
neighbours.
The Egyptian-Libyan initiative has gone a long
way towards bringing the parties closer. The
coordination of this initiative with that of the Inter-
Government Authority on Development (IGAD) is
possible. Efforts will continue to ensure the convening
of a conference on national reconciliation to achieve
peace in that important country.
The achievement of peace in the Middle East, the
Horn of Africa and in the continents of Asia and Africa
as a whole is a necessary condition for world stability.
The situation in Afghanistan, Kashmir, the Caucasus,
Sri Lanka, the continued tragedy of Iraq, and the
conflicts in Africa and their attendant social and
economic problems all give rise to serious concerns
about the new world order  about its credibility and
effectiveness. We must act quickly in order to resolve
these problems in a context of international legitimacy
and within the framework of the United Nations.
Finally, amid all that, the United Nations stands
as an expression of the will of the international
community. The purposes and principles of its Charter
are a guiding beacon. Let this Millennium Summit and
Assembly be a new turning point that will put us on the
right path towards a world of greater security, justice
and stability, a world that builds upon the achievements
of the twentieth century and closes the chapter on its
grave errors.


I bring you greetings from the
people of the Fiji Islands.
On their behalf, I also convey our warm
congratulations to you, Mr. President, along with the
pledge of my delegation to support you and to closely
cooperate with you in ensuring the success of this
session.
To the Secretary-General, I would like to express
the sincere gratitude of the people of Fiji for all that the
United Nations family is doing every day, in every part
of the globe, to bring relief to those in need, and to
promote peace, security and development.
I would like to take this opportunity to warmly
welcome our neighbour and close friend, Tuvalu, as the
newest Member of the United Nations. Fiji is very
proud to see the flag of this very important Pacific
island country taking its place alongside the other 188
Members of the United Nations. We look forward to
the admission in the future of more Pacific island
States.
I address the Assembly today on behalf of the
Interim Administration in Fiji, which I have been
entrusted by our President to lead.
In the wake of the coup d'Ètat in my country on
19 May this year, and the political crisis it triggered,
my Interim Administration has two very important
tasks to undertake within the two-year time frame we
have set for ourselves.
First, it is to return Fiji to constitutional
democracy and, secondly, it is to stabilize our economy
and to lay the foundation for a return to sustained
growth and expansion with increased investment.
I would like to take this opportunity to thank all
those Governments who have shown sympathy and
understanding, who recognize the complexities of the
situation in Fiji as a multi-ethnic and multi-cultural
society, and who readily accept that solutions to the
present political crisis can be developed within Fiji, by
the people of Fiji themselves, without external
interference in any form.
With the end of the cold war and of the dual
division it created in world order, it would seem that a
2

new form of imperialism has emerged along with its
twin-brother, neo-colonialism. As if the corrosive
influence and impact of their mass culture of
consumerism and materialism are not enough, this new
form of domination is being propagated by the purists
of the liberal democracies, in the name of good
governance, human rights, accountability and
transparency. In themselves, these are important
general standards to ensure the integrity of the system
of Government in a country, and the just and fair
treatment of its citizens. But what is of concern is that
we are being told to apply these standards and values
of liberal democracy strictly according to their
standards, without regard for the particular or complex
circumstances in each country.
Our concern is that some of the fundamental
principles upon which this unique world Organization
was founded 55 years ago are being eroded and
violated  the principles of respect for national
sovereignty and of non-interference in the internal
affairs of an independent State.
We appreciate that we now live in a closely inter-
linked global community, and we are all part of one
humankind; we are children of one divine Creator. We
must, therefore, be concerned about each other, about
our common well being, and common basic standards
of rights and freedoms.
This, however, does not give a country the right
to impose on another, its standards of democratic
governance and what it perceives or considers to be
right and acceptable.
If, within each of our countries, we believe and
accept that civilized behaviour among the citizenry can
only be one based on mutual respect, mutual
understanding, and a willingness to assist and support
each other, why is it that some countries today should
think that these rules of civilized and respectful
behaviour within a country, should not apply in their
dealings with other members of the international
community of nations.
I have raised this point not only because we here
at the United Nations should be ever watchful of this
disturbing negative trend, but also to remind my own
country's friends and neighbours that stridency of
political rhetoric, smart sanctions and threats of more
sanctions will not really assist us in bringing about a
speedy and amicable resolution to our political
situation. In fact, the very opposite is true; they have
only served to harden attitudes of one community
against the other. I, therefore, make a plea to Members
of the United Nations to show greater understanding of,
and sensitivity to, the complexities of the situation in
Fiji.
We are a country of many communities and many
cultures. All have contributed to Fiji's development.
We have all accepted each other as citizens and as
communities, and Fiji is our common and permanent
home.
But we also have peculiar features, which bear
directly on inter-communal relationships within our
society.
We have a total population of around 800,000.
Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans make up 52 per cent
and are growing at 1.8 per cent every year. The second
major ethnic group is our Indian community. They
make up 43 per cent of the population, but with a low
birth rate and emigration, this is continuing to decrease
at 0.3 per cent each year. The other communities in Fiji
are Europeans, Chinese and Pacific Islanders.
Ethnicity is only one basis of distinction and
difference in Fiji. Then there is land ownership. The
indigenous Fijians and Rotumans own, by custom, 84
per cent of all land in Fiji. Much of the best of this,
however, is on lease for various purposes, residential,
commercial and agricultural, and more than 60 per cent
of the tenants are members of our Indian community.
Most of the agricultural leases are sugar cane farming
leases, and more than 75 per cent of these are held by
Indian tenants, and most of these tenants have lived on
their leased land for three generations.
In our urban areas, the situation is the reverse.
The majority of property owners, of businesses, of
those in the professions, of those working for a regular
income, are non-Fijians and mostly Indians.
In religion, more than 57 per cent of the
population, the indigenous Fijians and Rotumans, and
the other minority communities, are mostly Christians.
On the other hand, the remaining 43 per cent, the
members of the Indian community mostly belong to the
Hindu, Muslim and other faiths.
Then there are our culture and value systems.
Indigenous Fijians and Rotumans have a hierarchical
social structure. Traditional hereditary chiefs and
commoners alike have their place and role in society
and are bound together by reciprocal obligations of
3

loyalty, obedience, and of sharing with, and caring for,
each other and everyone in the community. Fijians
value their democratic rights as individuals, but as a
community they know their place in their traditional
society.
In our Indian and other communities people are
much more individually based. There is, therefore, a
greater consciousness of and emphasis on individual
rights and freedoms  the right to equality, the
importance of education, success in professional life
and the security of property rights.
We all live together side by side in Fiji, yet we
remain apart, separated by our ethnicity, religion,
cultural differences and value systems. We
communicate with each other, not through the
languages of our communities, but through the English
language. With regard to our general standards of
living, even though indigenous Fijians and Rotumans
own 84 per cent of the land in Fiji, they have, on
average, the lowest level of household income, and
they also lag well behind the other communities in
almost every aspect of life in a rapidly expanding
market-based economy.
I have explained all this to highlight the delicate
and sensitive nature of our multi-ethnic and
multicultural society in Fiji. The crux of our political
crisis in Fiji is that the indigenous Fijian and Rotuman
communities felt threatened by certain policies which
the non-indigenous leadership of the People's Coalition
Government had implemented following their decisive
victory in our national elections in May 1999. It was
this fear and anxiety about their future as the world's
only indigenous Fijian and Rotuman community of just
over 420,000 people that led to mass demonstrations
and ultimately the coup d'Ètat on 19 May this year. It
also manifested itself in the mass looting of shops, the
destruction of property and threats to people and their
families. Unfortunately, and tragically, the victims
were mainly members of our Indian community.
It was in this serious and deteriorating law and
order situation that the Fiji military forces responded to
a request from our police to take direct control of law
and order and the protection of citizens. To facilitate
this, on 29 May the Fiji military forces abrogated our
1997 Constitution.
However, as the civilian interim Administration,
we have ourselves taken over from the army, and, as I
have said, we are firmly committed to returning Fiji to
constitutional parliamentary democracy. We intend to
promulgate a new constitution in August next year.
General elections will then follow within 12 months.
The new constitution is to be prepared by a constitution
commission, which we shall appoint early next month.
It will be representative of all our communities and
will consult widely throughout the country, giving the
public at large every opportunity to submit their advice
and recommendations on the new constitution.
I should also mention a new initiative I have
taken to deal with the inter-ethnic crisis in Fiji: the
establishment of a Ministry of National Reconciliation
and Unity, together with a Council for National
Reconciliation and Unity. It is my sincere hope that the
Council will bring together the representatives of the
various communities in our rich, multicultural society,
as well as representatives of the various sections of the
wider community, including employers, trade unions
and civil society, to discuss and make
recommendations on various ways by which we can
promote greater intercommunal understanding and
cooperation.
What we have realized is that it is not enough
simply to focus attention on the constitution as the
framework for our different communities in Fiji to live
together peacefully and harmoniously. We need to do
more. We have to build and reinforce foundations for
living together in all aspects of our lives in our multi-
ethnic and multicultural society. We are making good
progress in education, and proposals are now under
consideration to broaden the curriculum in schools to
include compulsory study of the Fijian language, Fijian
culture and the ethno-history and ethno-geography of
Fiji. We also need to encourage and promote more
social interaction and cohesion at the neighbourhood
and community level. Most important, it is my sincere
hope that the Council for National Reconciliation and
Unity will develop a consensus on national leadership
and power-sharing in Fiji. I believe sincerely that the
most enduring foundation for unity in Fiji is one that is
built in a spirit of give and take, of justice and fairness
for all and of responsibility for one another.
Very recently the United Nations launched a
Decade, from January 1995 to December 2004, on the
theme, Indigenous people: a new partnership, which
seeks the formation of new relationships, founded on
mutual respect and understanding between indigenous
peoples and States and the United Nations. In the
context of Fiji, what we hope to build is a new
4

partnership between the indigenous Fijian and
Rotuman communities and the other communities, as
the basis of living together in our multi-ethnic and
multicultural society in the twenty-first century.
I again assure the international community that
within the two years of our transitional Administration
we shall return Fiji to constitutional democracy. A new
constitution will address the concerns of indigenous
Fijians and Rotumans about their future. At the same
time, however, it will also maintain and protect the
equal fundamental rights and freedoms of all citizens
and groups, without distinction on the basis of
ethnicity, religion, culture, gender, or economic and
social status.
Indeed, as the interim Prime Minister in the
transitional Administration in Fiji, I am committed to
building a united Fiji with a multi-ethnic and
multicultural society in which all the different
communities can live together in peace, harmony and
prosperity, in which the aspirations of the Fijians and
Rotumans are realized and the paramountcy of their
interests is secure and in which the provision of
important social services, such as education and health,
to all our communities is a priority, so that the quality
of life and standard of living of all our people are
continuously improving.
Fiji commends and supports the Brahimi report
(A/55/305) on peacekeeping. It is a timely and
thoughtful report which, if implemented, will
considerably enhance the ability of the United Nations
to carry out its peacekeeping tasks. With regard to
Fiji's continuing participation in United Nations
peacekeeping activities, I am pleased to confirm our
positive response to the Secretary-General's request for
a further increase in our troops serving in the United
Nations Interim Force in Lebanon. In that connection, I
commend the efforts of all those involved in the
Middle East peace process. Fiji earnestly hopes that the
negotiations will be successful in resolving
longstanding differences and bring about long-term
peace in the region.
We in Fiji have been greatly inspired by the
positive developments on the Korean peninsula, with
the growing rapprochement between the South and the
North. We express the hope that the same spirit of
goodwill and readiness to enter into dialogue will also
spread to the great country of China, between the
People's Republic of China and Taiwan. With regard to
the very important country of Japan, I reaffirm Fiji's
support for Japan's admission as a permanent member
of the Security Council.
The Secretary-General's report (A/54/2000), We
the Peoples has inspired the entire United Nations
community with its vision of a more humane and more
holistic future for our children and our world. We agree
entirely that the United Nations should focus not just
on the relationship between and among States, but,
increasingly, on the well-being and development of the
peoples of this world.
Once again, I extend my congratulations to you,
Mr. President, and best wishes for a successful
Millennium Assembly.


At
the outset, I should like to congratulate the President
on his well-deserved election to the presidency of this
Millennium Assembly. I also want to congratulate his
predecessor for his invaluable contribution and his
outstanding leadership during the fifty-fourth General
Assembly. In the same vein, I should like to register
my delegation's appreciation to the Secretary-General
for the excellent manner in which he is conducting the
affairs of the Organization. Let me also take this
opportunity to express our delight in welcoming the
Republic of Tuvalu as the newest member of the
United Nations family.
Tanzania is gratified that the recently ended
Millennium Summit addressed some of the most
pertinent issues and challenges facing the United
Nations and its Members in the new millennium. Those
issues include development and poverty eradication;
the effects of globalization, including technological
disparities; conflict prevention, management and
resolution; disarmament; and the HIV/AIDS pandemic,
malaria and tuberculosis. It was recognized that Africa
and, particularly, the least developed countries suffer
most and hence demand urgent remedial action by the
international community.
Poverty remains one of the areas of great concern
in Africa. The number of poor people in our region
living on less than one dollar a day is estimated to be
300 million. That number represents more than
40 per cent of Africa's total population. Indications are
that the number of poor people in the continent is
8

likely to increase as Africa's output continues to drop.
There is therefore an urgent need for a comprehensive
strategy for Africa to address poverty eradication with
all its ramifications. The strategy should include a
compendium of measures aimed at capacity-building in
the development process, including social services. The
implementation of such a far-reaching strategy for
poverty eradication would very much depend on the
availability of resources. Bearing in mind that in 2001
the United Nations will convene a High-level
Intergovernmental Event on Financing for
Development, it is our hope that the issue of mobilizing
resources for the development of Africa will be
thoroughly addressed.
Official development assistance continues to be
particularly critical in supporting development efforts
in Africa and the least developed countries. It is sad to
note that flows of official development assistance have
fallen to an all-time low of 0.2 per cent, far from the
agreed target of 0.7 per cent of the gross national
product of developed countries. My delegation
therefore wishes to appeal to our development partners
to reverse the trend of declining resources and increase
the level of official development assistance
contributions.
Many African countries are undertaking painful
reforms aimed at attracting foreign direct investment.
However, foreign direct investment flows have been
minimal. Investors should feel encouraged to invest in
Africa because the competitive rate of return on foreign
direct investment stands at between 24 per cent and
30 per cent. That rate is higher than those of all
developed countries, which stand at between
16 per cent and 18 per cent. We therefore call on
Governments and relevant international organizations
to assist in sensitizing potential international investors
to the possibility of directing their investments to
Africa.
The various debt relief initiatives pursued by the
international community have been helpful, but not
sufficient, in providing a meaningful solution to the
debt problem of the developing countries. In some of
those countries, external debt service constitutes a
major drain on scarce resources, taking at least
30 per cent of the national income. In that regard, we
welcome the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC)
Debt Initiative to support some of the poor countries in
their efforts to resolve the external debt problem. My
Government appreciates being one of the countries
which have attained eligibility under this scheme. We
call upon the institutions concerned to speed up the
process towards our reaching the completion point so
that we can fully benefit from HIPC relief.
Commenting on the HIPC Initiative, my
President, Mr. Benjamin William Mkapa, has had this
to say:
“Tanzania welcomes the revisions made to
the HIPC Initiative. If implemented in full they
will provide additional debt relief, which in turn
will facilitate the war on poverty and will
contribute to sustainable growth and development
if managed well. However, if growth is to be
sustained, adequate levels of external funding
must complement our economic reform efforts.
Debt relief under the HIPC Initiative should also
not be a substitute for increased bilateral non-
debt-creating aid, and neither should it be
financed through reallocation of committed aid.”
Even acknowledging the importance of the HIPC
initiative, the burden of meeting debt service payments
would remain heavy even after debt relief for most of
the least developed countries. We therefore call upon
the donor community to increase HIPC debt relief and
to consider additional relief measures, including debt
cancellation, so that scarce resources will be released
to cater for economic development and poverty
eradication programmes.
The development of the least developed countries
depends on improvement of their capacity to produce
goods and services. Improvement of terms of trade and
market access for the goods of least developed
countries in the developed countries' markets would
further contribute towards poverty eradication efforts.
In that regard, we call upon developed countries to
provide unhindered market access for goods from
developing countries, particularly from least developed
countries. In the same context, my delegation calls for
speedy implementation of the World Trade
Organization's Integrated Framework for Trade-related
Technical Assistance which will facilitate the
integration of least developed countries into the world
trading system.
The development process of developing countries
very much depends on access to technology and on the
endogenous capacity to develop it. We are encouraged
that the Millennium Summit reiterated the need to
assist developing countries to leapfrog into new
9

technologies in order to close the existing technology
gap between developed and developing countries,
especially least developed countries. It is our sincere
hope that the Millennium Declaration will be translated
into a concrete programme of action to assist
developing countries to develop the critical
technologies, including information technologies,
needed for their development. We therefore call upon
our development partners and all relevant international
institutions to facilitate the transfer of technology,
including environmentally sound technologies, on
favourable terms.
My delegation believes that South-South
cooperation is an important means of realizing some of
the objectives of economic development. Tanzania
fully supports the programme of action adopted last
April in Havana, Cuba, at the South Summit.
Tanzania recognizes and fully supports the role of
women in the development process. Here, the
Government has adopted a number of specific
measures aimed at enhancing the participation of
women in decision-making processes, and at bringing
about equal access to education and health, and access
to credit on a preferential basis. In the area of
representation, for example, the Government has
increased the minimum quota of women
parliamentarians from 15 per cent to 20 per cent. The
Government has also passed legislation that
criminalizes discriminatory activities against women.
Furthermore, the Land Act was revised in 1999 to
enable women to own land, the major means of
production in Tanzania. Tanzania is firmly committed,
therefore, to implementing the Beijing Platform for
Action. We therefore call on the international
community to support our efforts in this regard.
Serious pandemics such as HIV/AIDS, malaria
and tuberculosis are threatening the economic and
social development of developing countries, especially
African and least developed countries. For example,
the scale of the HIV/AIDS pandemic has grown to
alarming proportions in Africa. The Security Council
has recognized this menace as constituting a security
threat. Moreover, the Millennium Summit has
underscored the urgency of adopting effective action to
combat the scourge. Tanzania urges the international
community to assist developing countries in this
endeavour, particularly in education and access to
affordable treatment.
Disarmament, peace and security continue to be
crucial to the aspirations of all humanity, and therefore
they constitute a critical challenge of the new
millennium. The existence of huge arsenals of nuclear
weapons poses a major potential threat to world peace
and security. These weapons continue to represent a
threat to the survival of mankind. Tanzania calls for the
complete destruction and elimination of all nuclear
weapons. The United Nations also needs to urgently
address the problem of small arms and light weapons,
which fuel most of the ongoing conflicts in various
regions of the world. In this context, we strongly
support the convening of the 2001 United Nations
Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and
Light Weapons in All Its Aspects.
The Millennium Summit addressed extensively
the conflict situations existing in some countries,
including those of Africa. The Summit reaffirmed the
existence of the intrinsic link between peace and
development, which requires an integrated approach to
conflict prevention, management and resolution. While
supporting United Nations peace efforts, we note with
concern that there has been a slow and an inadequate
response to African conflicts from the United Nations.
In Angola, it is with apprehension that we bear
witness to the continuing hostilities and the grave
humanitarian situation brought about by Jonas Savimbi
and his organization, UNITA; they have blatantly
violated the decisions of the Security Council
regarding the implementation of the Lusaka Protocol. It
is disturbing that Mr. Savimbi has been able to sustain
his insurgency by violating the sanctions imposed
against UNITA by the Security Council. We call upon
the international community to continue its support to
the Government of Angola.
On Burundi, my delegation is pleased to note that
after protracted negotiations between the parties
involved in the Burundi conflict, the Burundi peace and
reconciliation agreement was concluded in Arusha,
Tanzania on 28 August 2000. We welcome the
agreement and commend the Facilitator, President
Nelson Mandela, for his role in reconciling the parties.
We also commend the regional leaders for their efforts
in support of the Burundi peace process. Although a
small number of parties to the conflict did not sign the
agreement, efforts were made to ensure that all of them
would sign it. As I speak here, most of the parties have
now signed. It is our hope that the parties will abide by
the terms of the agreement and afford the people of
10

Burundi the opportunity to realize their aspirations for
peace and development. We call upon the United
Nations and the international community to extend
support to the agreement.
As for the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the
Lusaka Agreement remains the basis for the resolution
of the conflict in that country. It is unfortunate, though,
that there is an impasse in the implementation of the
Agreement. One of the reasons for the existing
situation is the mistrust among the parties. The delay in
the deployment of the United Nations Mission in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo has created a
vacuum that has further contributed to the impasse.
Tanzania supports Security Council resolution 1234
(1999). We also urge the Security Council to deploy the
peacekeeping force in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo as soon as possible.
On Somalia, we welcome the agreement reached
in Djibouti on the formation of the Government of that
country. In this regard, we congratulate the
Government of Djibouti for its constructive role in the
reconciliation process.
Concerning Western Sahara, Tanzania reiterates
its support for the right to self-determination of the
Sahrawi people and the effort of the United Nations to
organize and supervise an impartial, free and fair
referendum, in accordance with the Settlement Plan for
Western Sahara and the relevant Security Council and
other United Nations resolutions. We urge the United
Nations to conduct, as soon as possible, the referendum
on the basis of the preparations that have so far been
made. The lessons of East Timor should not be ignored.
On the Middle East, Tanzania continues to
support the cause of the Palestinian people. In this
regard, we welcome the ongoing peace process aimed
at achieving a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in
that volatile region.
There is a direct linkage between conflicts and
the incidence of refugees and internally displaced
persons. In this respect, Tanzania finds itself in the
very difficult situation of hosting more than 800,000
refugees, most of whom are products of the crisis in the
Great Lakes region. This is a huge burden for a poor
country like Tanzania. Besides, refugees pose many
problems relating to security and environmental
degradation. There is an urgent need for the
international community to increase its support to the
refugees, as well as to the refugee-hosting countries. In
the same vein, we reiterate our call for international
burden-sharing and responsibility in refugee situations.
A definitive solution to the refugee situation evidently
lies in resolving conflicts so as to enable the
repatriation of refugees to their countries of origin.
One of the pressing reform issues in the United
Nations is the reform of the Security Council. Among
the significant changes of our time is the liberalization
and democratization of economic and political
processes. The Security Council cannot persist in being
an exception. Its composition and powers must bear a
relationship to the democratic ideals necessary for its
continued relevance and legitimacy. It is our hope that
the Council membership will be expanded in both
categories and that such expansion should include both
developed and developing countries.
Furthermore, Tanzania believes that the capacity
of the United Nations to effectively carry out its
mandate is contingent upon the willingness of all
Member States to support it politically as well as
financially. In this regard, we call upon the Member
States to provide it with adequate resources on a timely
and predictable basis.
Tanzania also welcomes the many reform
proposals and measures that have been introduced to
improve working methods, both at the Secretariat and
at intergovernmental levels. For that effort to succeed,
there has to be consensus among Member States on the
best method to manage change in the United Nations.
In conclusion, allow me to observe that the
Millennium Assembly, like the preceding Summit, is an
act of partnership. We can only hope, therefore, that the
renewed enthusiasm and the recommitment to the
Charter of the United Nations will galvanize our
energies and enable us to rise to and fulfil, the hopes
and aspirations of the Organization and its peoples, as
espoused in the Millennium Declaration.


I
begin by congratulating you, Sir, on your well deserved
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at
its first session of the millennium. Your proven skill
and vast experience guarantee that you will ably guide
the work of this session. I wish also to express our
great friendship for and gratitude to Finland, the
country you so honourably represent, whose close
friendship with Nicaragua has earned our sincere
affection. Let me also thank your predecessor,
Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the dedicated way in which
he guided our work at the fifty-fourth session.
I wish next to express very special thanks for the
contribution made by the Secretary-General, His
Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan, who has prepared a
valuable report (A/54/2000) on the role of the
Organization in the twenty-first century; the report was
central in stimulating the discussions conducted by our
heads of State or Government at the Millennium
Summit — an unprecedented event that laid the
groundwork for giving fresh momentum to the United
Nations.
The process of renewing the Organization
requires the strengthening of its organs and institutions
so as to enhance the effectiveness of its endeavours in
spheres such as the maintenance of international peace
24

and security, poverty eradication, the strengthening of
health and education programmes and the struggle
against the destruction of the environment. Without a
doubt, that depends on us, the States Members of the
United Nations; we must guarantee the Organization the
resources and other means it needs to fulfil its mandate
and fully to play its role as a centre for exchange of
views and for coordinating the efforts of the world's
peoples.
In that connection, let me reaffirm the need to
reform the Security Council, an organ that is of vital
importance to peace and security. Such reform should
include democratic, equitable geographical
representation and a better balance between developed
and developing countries so that the Council will be
able to respond fully and effectively to the present
needs of our peoples and to future challenges facing
them in the new millennium. Here, we see the veto as
another element of this sensitive issue that should be
addressed seriously with a view to limiting its
application to very specific situations and to possibly
eliminating it. For those reasons, we believe it to be of
paramount importance to reach consensus on all the
issues that are inherent in the very structure of the new
international order.
We wish also to stress the importance of speedily
beginning a process of international discussions aimed
at attaining greater consensus and effectiveness in
resolving humanitarian emergencies. In another vein,
we believe that we must reaffirm our commitment to
maintain and strengthen the universal mission of the
United Nations to ensure that all the world's peoples
without exception enjoy fair representation. This brings
me to reaffirm before the Assembly how important it is
to give consideration to the longing of one people to
participate with legitimate representation as a full
Member of the Organization: I refer here to the
Republic of China.
Another important matter that the Organization
should continue in the new century to address with
greater determination is the war against drug
trafficking, organized crime and terrorism. Indeed, the
flow of drugs is rapidly increasing in our countries, and
in but a few years has become one of the most serious
of problems, one that directly affects our economic,
political and social life. To address that critical
situation, we must give priority to strengthening the
national institutions that are mandated to combat this
scourge, to enacting and updating national legislation,
and to increasing international cooperation and
coordination in this sphere. Here, let me observe that
Nicaragua has strict laws to punish drug traffickers,
and has established a national drug-control plan under
which institutions work together in a coordinated
manner to attain the stated objectives. We are also
working constantly towards greater international
cooperation.
At the outset of the new millennium, we see an
urgent need to deepen and accelerate progress on ways
and means to achieve world disarmament, especially
with respect to weapons whose great destructive
powers actually threaten life on our planet. We
therefore welcomed the outcome of the 2000 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which reaffirmed the
conviction that full and effective implementation of the
Treaty and of the non-proliferation regime in all its
aspects plays a vital role in the promotion of
international peace and security.
Similarly, we focus special attention on the
problem of conventional weapons and on the existence
of anti-personnel landmines, which also pose a threat
to human safety and security. We therefore believe it is
a priority to meet the obligations taken on by each
State under international and regional conventions on
these subjects. In Nicaragua, one of the gravest
consequences of the armed conflict that was,
fortunately, overcome in the 1990s is undoubtedly the
presence of a vast number of anti-personnel landmines
throughout our territory, a situation that even today
claims numerous innocent victims. Accordingly, my
country, with the support of the international
community, is making an enormous effort to resolve
the problem permanently. Along with mine-clearance
activities, we have begun the process of destroying
mine stockpiles, and have thus far destroyed more than
40,000 mines, in strict compliance with the Ottawa
Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling,
Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and
on Their Destruction. Nicaragua reaffirms its
determination to spare no effort in the preparations for
the third meeting of States parties to the Ottawa
Convention, to be held in Nicaragua in September
2001.
We also believe it to be of the utmost importance
to reaffirm our commitment to tolerance and respect for
diversity. In that connection, we support the
preparatory work for the World Conference against
25

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and
Related Intolerance.
It is essential for the future of the Organization
and for that of our peoples that we make a greater
effort always to comply with the purposes that half a
century ago were laid down in the San Francisco
Charter, especially with respect to the maintenance of
international peace and security. This can happen only
with a firm commitment to non-violence and to the
principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes through
the procedures established by international law. That is
the key element in preventing future conflicts with
grave and enduring consequences for mankind.
For us, it is a source of satisfaction that one of the
last vestiges of the cold war is on the way to a peaceful
resolution. Here I refer to the dialogue between the two
Koreas, which has been launched at the highest level
and which will without doubt mark the beginning of
promising prospects for the Korean peninsula.
Nicaragua also shares the concern of the
international community at the persistence of certain
conflicts, particularly on the African continent; these
have caused devastating damage to property and the
loss of countless lives in countries such as Angola, the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone,
Burundi and the Sudan. It is therefore gratifying that in
some of those countries steps have been taken to find a
solution to their conflicts. These include the 18 June
signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement by
Ethiopia and Eritrea, and the implementation of the
Djibouti peace initiative for Sierra Leone. We also hail
Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon in accordance with
Security Council resolutions, and the stepped-up
efforts, since the Camp David summit organized by
President Clinton, to find a peaceful settlement
between Israel and Palestine.
In the same vein, my country is convinced of the
importance of the principle of the self-determination of
peoples; we note the urgent need to hold the pending
referendum in Western Sahara as soon as possible. To
that end, all obstacles to that process must be
overcome. Similarly, my country, convinced of the
importance of the principle of the self-determination of
peoples, makes an appeal regarding the pressing need
to hold, as soon as possible, the referendum pending on
Western Sahara. To that end, all obstacles to the
process must be overcome.
Much progress has been made in this century.
Some of the most important achievements have been in
the field of the technology revolution. Consequently
today we have the great responsibility and duty to
begin this new millennium by pooling our efforts to
achieve adequate levels of technology transfer to
developing countries in order to prevent globalization
from becoming a negative phenomenon that
exacerbates the marginalization of the poorest
countries.
The advantages and the disadvantages entailed by
globalization require the developing countries to work
together in order to increase their opportunities to
successfully confront this phenomenon. An example of
this is the decision of the Presidents of Guatemala,
Nicaragua and El Salvador to sign a tri-national
agreement aimed at giving fresh impetus to the Central
American integration process by providing an
appropriate political framework for the establishment
of a regional customs union, a process launched by El
Salvador and Guatemala and which Nicaragua and
Honduras have recently joined.
Apart from integration initiatives, continued
efforts to achieve solidarity through cooperation for
development are vitally important. Nonetheless, we
feel it must be emphasized that cooperation activities
must be accompanied by appropriate management that
offers favourable conditions for small economies to
have access to large international markets, obtaining
fair prices for their exports of raw materials and
manufactured goods. In this respect, we warmly
welcome the decision to convene the high-level
intergovernmental event on financing for development
in 2001. That event is of paramount importance to the
efforts being made to achieve the objectives established
by the Millennium Summit.
The strengthening of the multilateral trade system
is also of great importance, which includes, among
other things, the prompt and urgent convening of a
round of trade negotiations within the framework of the
World Trade Organization (WTO) in which problems
are addressed in a comprehensive and integral manner,
to lead to an effective reduction of tariff and non-tariff
barriers. Free trade and the rules governing it should be
implemented within the WTO framework so that they
benefit all, particularly the poor countries.
It is also essential that the most heavily indebted
poor countries be able to aspire to break the vicious
26

circle of poverty. In this regard, as stated by Mr.
Arnoldo Alemán Lacayo, President of Nicaragua,
during the Millennium Summit,
“the unbearable weight of an immense external
debt [represents] an insurmountable barrier to
overcoming poverty and unemployment. In this
respect, we are pleased to note the interest
recently shown by the developed countries and
multilateral financial institutions in seeking
alternatives that would substantially relieve the
situation of the heavily indebted poor countries.
We hope that this interest will soon be reflected
in specific and meaningful actions, so that
countries such as Nicaragua can break this
vicious circle of poverty and look towards a
future with greater opportunities and expectations
for sustainability and progress.” (A/55/PV.3)
Another important challenge to which we must
devote great effort is the conservation of natural
resources and the global environment; this is vitally
important for the future of humanity, as well as for the
prevention of and response to natural disasters.
Nicaragua has been cruelly punished by natural
phenomena; the effects of hurricane Mitch, which
lashed the Central American region in 1998, and of
strong telluric movement shook the eastern part of our
country, causing loss of human life and considerable
material damage are still fresh. Given that reality,
Nicaragua, with the valuable assistance of the United
Nations Development Programme, became the third
Latin American country to adopt a modern law to take
the necessary measures to establish an integrated
system for disaster prevention and response. Moreover,
despite its limited resources, Nicaragua has channelled
great energy into the search for a model of sustainable
development and of conservation of its natural
resources. In that regard, the Government of Nicaragua
has established the National Council on Sustainable
Development, a pluralistic body in which all the main
sectors of civil society participate, in order to promote
actively, in accordance with Agenda 21, the
implementation of this model of sustainable
development.
Our leaders have had the historic opportunity to
undertake decisive commitments for the future of
humanity. Nicaragua fully shares and reaffirms its
commitment to the basic values contained in the
Millennium Declaration: freedom and equality, so that
we may all live decently, without poverty or violence,
but rather in good health and with education; equity
and solidarity, since all peoples of the world have the
duty to share and to exchange knowledge and
experience that tomorrow will be decisive for human
development; tolerance and non-violence, since we can
forge ahead only if people respect each other and if
States are always prepared to understand each other
and resolve their differences through peaceful means;
and respect for nature, in order to be able to leave to
our children a future in which they will feel proud and
optimistic, in which they will walk with their heads
high, confident that they are on the right path.
Today is the time to sow, so that tomorrow we
will be able to harvest. Today is when we must be
aware that we have a shared responsibility, collective
and individual, to strengthen the United Nations in
order to be able to build a more just, secure and
equitable international system for all.