It is my
particular privilege and pleasure to address the General
4

Assembly of the United Nations at the beginning of its
forty-ninth session.
I believe we all agree that the appearance of any
statesman before the General Assembly is a great moment
for moral and political reconsideration of one’s own
reflections and responsibilities towards the international
public. This applies equally to the representatives of the
esteemed founder States and to us who represent young
democracies. This is an opportunity to present our views
on the problems affecting our countries, but also on all
other issues of importance for the global Organization.
This is also an opportunity to compare, with the utmost
seriousness, the lofty ideals incorporated in the United
Nations Charter with the difficulties and intricacies of daily
achieving political agreement for their realization.
The noble fundamental principles of the United
Nations governing the rights and obligations of individuals,
nations and States generally agree with the basic principles
underlying all world religions and philosophies, as well as
the fundamental laws of individual States. Yet we are still
painstakingly seeking a consensus on a new and just
international order that would unite and harmonize the lofty
goals of the United Nations Charter and the humanistic
Weltänschauung with the visions of the new global order
and with the specific ideals and interests of individual
States. Unfortunately, many countries, such as my own,
Croatia, which labours under difficulties owing to the
disintegration of one regional international order and the
establishment of another new order, are paying the highest
human, material and political price for the imperfection of
the world in which we live.
In addressing the General Assembly as Head of the
Croatian State and the highest representative of the Croatian
people, I can note with satisfaction that the international
position of Croatia has been strengthened and furthered in
spite of all the problems affecting the actions of the
international community. In only a few years since its
independence and international recognition, Croatia has
become a fully fledged and equal international citizen,
having reinforced its position in the international
community and expanded its network of bilateral relations
with almost all States and international agencies.
Moreover, Croatia has become a key factor in the
establishment of the new regional order in South-eastern
Europe and a recognized and important partner of the
super-Powers and of the international community as a
whole in the resolution of the intricate crisis, currently the
most severe international crisis in this part of the world, in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The adverse experience of the Croatian people
throughout their history, and particularly over the past few
years of the renewal of Croatian statehood, has taught us
that no sublime principle recorded in the United Nations
Charter and in international law is automatically
attainable - even less is it guaranteed - if the people
concerned are not determined to attain it; if they are not
prepared to offer to make a high degree of sacrifice in the
achievement of their right to life and freedom; and if they
do not succeed, by virtue of their strength and decisions,
in bringing their national interests into line with the
essential interests of the international community.
Despite the inalienable right of the Croatian people -
one of the oldest European peoples - to self--
determination and to the renewal of their own State,
despite the blatant barbaric aggression aimed at territorial
conquest, the genocidal expulsion of the population and
the destruction of the most precious cultural heritage of
the Croatian people, such as Vukovar and Dubrovnik, the
Croats would never have won the right to
self-determination, to their State, to freedom and
independence, had they not been prepared to make human
and material sacrifices, had they not shown a firm
nation-building will, with which they have resolutely
asserted themselves as a member of the international
community, while manifesting their readiness to be a
constructive force in the development of the new
international order to replace the unviable and failed old
system.
It is the duty of all of us - and especially of this, the
highest global authority - to take more determined and
more effective steps in the quest for means to break this
vicious circle of suffering by individuals and peoples
wrought by war. As the highest representatives of our
States and peoples, we are morally and politically obliged
to create an international order, with appropriate
mechanisms, capable of efficiently defending the rights of
each nation or group, and especially of small and young
States. What we need are such mechanisms of the
highest global Organization that can resolutely prevent or
punish any violation of the fundamental principles of
international law.
Obviously, this also implies safeguarding the
achievement of such rights and of generally accepted
principles in a democratic way, so that each and every
right does not have to be won the hardest way, with the
blood of innocent lives, because such a way burdens the
collective memory with covert hatreds, bias and
5

vengefulness, stirring up new divisions and even more
destructive internal and regional crises.
This applies to crises in the areas of the former
Yugoslavia, just as it does to those in Rwanda, Somalia, the
Caucasus, the Middle East, South Asia, Africa or America.
It is precisely the crisis in the former Yugoslavia that has
shown the immense evil that can be done by petty political
exploitation of historical myths about collective guilt or
historical injustice, about a conspiracy of the whole world
against a single people, and by the emphasizing of the
messianic role of a people to justify their conquest-minded
policy, causing a great deal of harm not only to those
threatened by such imperialistic policies, but also to the
people themselves, who fall victim to their own fallacies
and motives, which are unacceptable and detrimental to the
international community.
After the collapse of the bloc division of the world
and the disintegration of many multinational States, we are
faced with the task of building a new international order.
All past experience suggests that the task is very difficult.
To be successful, we need first and foremost a mechanism
for diplomatic and political negotiation, for building
confidence and for patiently overcoming real problems
stemming from objectively differing interests. In cases
where political efforts are obviously futile, the United
Nations must have a more efficient mechanism to achieve
and even impose solutions serving the interests of
international peace and stability. However, for reasons of
realpolitik and of the balance of interests and forces, in
neither case should this contradict the fundamental
principles of this Organization. It should be borne in mind
that the mechanism for establishing and defending the new
international order should not merely serve the coordination
of the interests of the super-Powers, but must reflect their
highest responsibility in dealing with regional crises, while
being designed and structured to strengthen the security and
progress of small or jeopardized members of the
international community, which account for the greater part
of mankind. The United Nations must be qualified to
guarantee, within the international order, equal conditions
in terms of freedom, progress and equality for all the
members of the international community.
The collapse of communism and of the bipolar
division of the world has increased hopes for a world of
greater justice and security for all. However, we must be
aware of the fact that the collapse of the communist bloc
and of multinational States has inevitably produced
temporarily destabilizing effects in the international order.
In this context, it should be noted that the proclamation of
sovereign national States has mainly created positive
conditions for the new international order, although in
some cases, where nationalism has degenerated into
chauvinist-extremist trends, or even into conquest-minded
aggression, the effect has been negative. However, the
essential point of these historical vicissitudes is the
awareness of the fact that the endeavour of small peoples
to attain statehood - meaning their political, cultural and
economic identity and their personality within the
international order - has made the greatest contribution to
the collapse of communist totalitarianism and to the
democratization of many countries. The full
democratization of international relations is not possible
without such democratization of internal political systems.
The security of new small States has become today
the key to stability in every region and it should provide
the groundwork for new collective security systems.
Only their complete security and equality can make them
equal factors of civilizational and functional integration in
specific areas and within the global order as a whole.
The peoples of small countries will eagerly accept
civilizational integration if it is not to the detriment of the
individual quality of their State, culture and economy.
Only such safeguarding of national individuality within
civilizational integration can produce sound foundations
for functional multilateralism in the new international
order. Otherwise, the myths and prejudices of the past
will continue to provide grounds for new conflicts and
even clashes between civilizations. The disturbing scale
which differences between civilizations can assume is
clearly manifested in the former Yugoslavia, where local
aggression threatens to expand even into a conflict
involving three civilizational religious blocs unless the
crisis, the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, is resolutely
brought to an end. Croatia has always supported a
political solution by accepting the normalization of
relations with all neighbours, even those of whose
aggression we were victims, in order not only to create,
on an equal footing, the prerequisites for a new
international order but also to bring about a productive
blending of the different civilizations facing one another
in this part of the world.
In view of the current state of affairs worldwide, we
support a thorough organizational reform of the United
Nations in order to improve both its responsibility and its
efficiency in dealing with the pressing problems of
humankind. Problems such as uneven development,
population growth, the ecological balance of the planet,
human and collective rights, functional global integration,
and particularly crisis points and military hot spots, call
6

for a more effective organization of the highest
international agency. We need an Organization which
could have a more efficient bearing on establishing equal
standards and obligations for all countries, and which would
be entitled, in crises or on key issues affecting the
development of humankind and life on our planet, "to
encroach", on behalf of the global community, upon
internal affairs of States. The international community
should have, within the United Nations, multilateral
mechanisms capable of dealing more efficiently with
pressing crises, and developmental, environmental and
technological challenges now facing humankind.
In this context careful consideration is required of the
role of the General Assembly. Its activity must be credible,
but it nevertheless cannot assume the role of a global
parliament to the detriment of the sovereignty of Member
States. Experience suggests that a clearer division of
responsibility among the General Assembly, the Security
Council and the Economic and Social Council is required.
Regional conflicts have become the chief problem now
confronting the international community - not only because
of the threat posed to international peace but also because
they can cause terrible human disasters such as those in
Rwanda, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and Somalia.
And, of course, they also block regional developmental
processes, and result in scarcely reparable ecological
damage and destruction of the natural and cultural heritage
of entire areas.
Such a state of affairs requires first a reform of the
Security Council.
The new global order can no longer be based only on
the coalition of the victors in the Second World War, or on
the nuclear club of the great Powers. It must reflect new
democratic, economic and regional realities which
necessarily lead to permanent Security Council membership
and enhanced regional responsibility for countries such as
Germany or Japan, and also some regional representatives
of the so-called third world. On the other hand, the reform
of the Security Council ought to avoid solutions which
would, because of the increased number of members, make
decision-making more difficult and the Council inefficient.
The efficiency and credibility of the Security Council
should be substantially strengthened in order to resolve the
main problems related to international security, especially
in conflicts causing military conflagration, first of all by
reducing the gap between the content of the enacted
resolutions and the possibility of their enforcement. All
States of the world, and particularly the great Powers which
have an enhanced responsibility within such a system,
should in good faith make adequate economic and
military instruments continuously available to the Security
Council so that its decisions can be implemented. The
peacemaking mediation of the global Organization must
evolve from a static freezing of the conflict and curbing
its expansion, into a mechanism capable of preventing the
development of the crisis in a timely manner and of
eliminating the consequences that are already present.
In some cases the very decisions of the Security
Council will suffice to stop and resolve the crisis, but
sometimes a demonstration of firmness will be required.
The international community must develop more
systematic mechanisms to punish those States that do not
accept or that violate Security Council decisions. The
enforcement of international political or economic
isolation of the aggressor, with concurrent compensation
for neighbouring States which are indirect victims of such
isolation, should be made even more effective. Sanctions
are becoming an instrument used at an ever increasing
rate when there is no political consensus, or will to resort
to more energetic means, but they can produce the wanted
effect only if implemented consistently within the scope
of systematic pressure.
The democratization of the international order entails
a greater focus on the protection of human rights,
including also punishment for violations of humanitarian
law and the law of war. Croatia has endorsed the
establishment of the War Crimes Tribunal in the area of
the former Yugoslavia. Croatia likewise supports the
establishment of a permanent international institution
which would deal with the most severe violations of
humanitarian law, whether in Rwanda, Somalia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Croatia or Haiti. However, the
international community should also devise ways and
means to prosecute the perpetrators of crimes from those
aggressor countries which refuse to cooperate with the
Tribunal.
Croatia proposes the provision of a permanent peace-
keeping task force for the intervention requirements of the
Security Council, involving special military units made
available, through agreement with a specific number of
countries for Security Council requirements. We believe
that this could forestall the flaring up of many regional
crises, or contribute to their rapid prevention. Such
international forces should have a broader mandate in
terms of the use of force, not only for their own
protection but also for the energetic implementation of all
7

Security Council resolutions - from humanitarian
objectives to disarmament and demilitarization. The peace-
keeping force should be set up so that the national
contingents within it implement the decisions of the
Security Council and not the specific policies of their
countries.
The proliferation of regional crises confronts the
United Nations with ever-increasing tasks which the
Security Council cannot fulfil successfully with its limited
resources. This suggests the need for the Security Council
to assign the implementation of its decisions to regional
organizations as well. This in turn requires the redefinition
and strengthening of the role of regional organizations
within the collective security system. Each crisis point
should be dealt with by appreciating all specific features
and by realistically evaluating the possible scope of regional
systems in the implementation of Security Council
decisions.
The solutions at which we aim in the regional crisis
affecting the area of the former Yugoslavia, as well as
elsewhere, must proceed from the fundamental tenets of
international law in order to arrive at a just and lasting
solution which, in order to be acceptable, also implies
compromise in terms of detail, but not in terms of the
essential issues.
Croatia is very encouraged by the increasingly
successful peace developments in the Middle East, which
demonstrate the patience and wisdom of both the Israeli
and the Arab sides. We firmly believe that similar positive
endeavours are also possible in South-Eastern Europe and
the Balkans if they win the necessary united support and
determination of the great Powers.
Croatia welcomes the peaceful transfer of power to the
majority people in South Africa after decades of internal
and regional instability. South Africa is the best proof that
there is no alternative to the equality of all citizens of a
State.
We also welcome the involvement of the international
community in Rwanda, which, although it has not,
unfortunately, prevented a human disaster on a scale
beyond description, has at least stopped the spiral of death
and lawlessness. We continue to support the current efforts
to stabilize Rwanda and to prevent the revival and
expansion of the conflict.
The agreement of the international community to
finally stop the agony of Haiti and establish a democratic
order there is also encouraging. We similarly welcome
the successful processes of democratization and
stabilization throughout Latin and Central America. We
have been following attentively the development of
functional regional integration in North America, and the
stronger integration trends in Europe, differences
notwithstanding, as well as the rapprochement between
the two largest countries in the European and Asian
regions: Russia and China. We also welcome the
constructive role of Japan in the Pacific area and the Far
East.
Within the scope of such global developments, with
the major world Powers aiming not at reciprocal
destruction but at positive competition and cooperation,
Croatia, as a small country, sees its place, first of all, in
West European civilization and in its economic and
security system in order to have a guarantee for its
independence, security and progress. Croatia sees its
welfare and stability in the achievement of full
membership in European integrative organizations.
Croatia is prepared to responsibly assume its share of the
burden in the development of the new international order
and to constitute a strong link in the integration chain of
a new Europe.
In the very short time since it gained independence,
Croatia has become a mature and responsible member of
the international community. It is already a pillar of
future stability and cooperation in that part of
southwestern Europe which is linked to the traditionally
agitated Balkans. Croatia has in good faith accepted
international mediation and United Nations peace-keeping
forces in its territory in order to stop the war and reach a
political solution that will simultaneously safeguard its
territorial integrity and the rights of national minorities
within its borders. Croatia has accepted the
well-intentioned advice given it concerning the
constitutional position of the Serbian ethnic community in
line with the highest standards of international
conventions on the rights of national minorities, and has
incorporated them into its constitutional law.
Croatia has borne the heaviest brunt of the Bosnian
crisis and of the human catastrophe wrought by war in
that country. Croatia has provided a home or provisional
accommodation to hundreds of thousands of refugees
from Bosnia and Herzegovina. We sustained this effort
even during the Croatian-Muslim conflicts that occurred
as a result of Serbian aggression, as the victims of that
aggression sought space for their survival. We have
prompted proposals on a mutual agreement on a
8

federation between the Croats and the Muslims in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and their confederal alliance with Croatia,
which eventually resulted in the signing of the Washington
Agreements. We have spared no effort to end the senseless
war and renew cooperation between the Muslims and the
Croats, who, owing to the indecision of the international
community, have been brought to the point of a desperate
fight for the remnants of Bosnian living space left after the
barbarous Serbian aggression.
In circumstances affected by its intricate ethnic and
historical heritage, Croatia has shown the highest degree of
cooperation in the search for a peaceful political solution to
the crisis in the area of the former Yugoslavia, believing,
in spite of all of its negative experiences, in the final
victory of the principles of international law and in the
necessity to normalize relations between the newly emerged
States.
However, this readiness to cooperate and this patience
have certain limits. Split into two parts by the occupation
of one-fourth of its territory, threatened continuously by
outlaw terrorism, burdened by the social pressure posed by
displaced persons and the war-exhausted economy, Croatia
cannot endlessly agree to fruitless compromise, because the
continuation of the crisis threatens the existence of the State
and the lives of its citizens, and prevents the reconstruction
of the economy destroyed by war. We believe that it
would also be in the interest of the international community
to give Croatia more determined and more consistent
assistance so that it can successfully play its constructive
part in the solution of the crisis.
Croatia already is, and wants to remain, a mainstay of
the new international order and a bridge of cooperation
between the newly emerged States on the basis of mutual
recognition. The indecision and aimless manoeuvring of
the international community in circumstances distinguished
by the presence of militancy in certain circles of the parties
in conflict threaten to push Croatia into a new military
conflict which could be even worse than the previous one
in terms of scope, depth and consequences. The
international community should not leave Croatia without
a choice, in a position where it would be forced to resort on
its own to all means necessary to defend its sovereignty,
territorial integrity and the right of its citizens - displaced
persons - to return to the occupied areas.
We have always been aware that no crisis, particularly
one as intricate as this, can be solved without consensus by
the international community without a division of
responsibility and an agreed approach of the great Powers.
Accordingly, we are the first, as with previous peace
endeavours, to welcome the efforts of the Contact Group
to find an acceptable solution.
Croatia is prepared to continue its high degree of
cooperation and partnership with the international
community if solutions for Bosnia and Herzegovina and
for the occupied Croatian areas are not sought at its
expense. Both crises - the one in Croatia and the other in
Bosnia and Herzegovina - have the same source: Serbian
aggression. Because of this, and in view of the
increasingly stronger cooperation between Croatia and
Bosnia and Herzegovina, a package solution should be
sought. Since the sanctions imposed by the international
community have forced Belgrade to accept the proposal
to end the war and the isolation of the Bosnian Serbs,
who oppose it, Belgrade should also be made to desist
from supporting the Croatian Serbs, who refuse to agree
to the reintegration of occupied Croatian areas and
brazenly oppose the implementation of all Security
Council resolutions.
In terms of its actual consequences, the 1991 arms
embargo was aimed first and foremost at the victims of
Serbian aggression. It was accepted at a time when those
who formulated global policy mistakenly deceived
themselves into thinking that that policy could save
Yugoslavia, failing to see that the post-Tito crisis had
developed because of the attempt to impose Serbian
hegemony over all non-Serbian peoples in that artificial
and Communist State formation. Our conditional restraint
with regard to the lifting of the embargo is motivated at
present exclusively by an endeavour focused on
achieving, after all, a peaceful solution over the next few
weeks or months. Croatia does not want to be drawn into
a new war against its will, but it will be forced to accept
it, in cooperation with the other victims of Serbian
aggression, if the international community fails to achieve
a peaceful solution that would not only put an end to the
war in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also bring about the
reintegration of occupied Croatian areas.
Croatia welcomes Belgrade’s announced readiness to
isolate the Bosnian Serbs, with their suicidal war option,
but expects Belgrade to do the same with regard to the
insurgent Serbs in Croatia. Croatia demands that the
lifting of sanctions against Serbia (Yugoslavia) be linked
also to the cessation of the occupation of Croatian areas,
that is, to their reintegration into Croatia’s constitutional
and legal system. Moreover, the lifting of sanctions can
be considered only after we have seen whether the
9

announced isolation is truly enforced and after this has been
verified by credible control mechanisms.
In order to promote positive trends, we also
understand up to a point the partial symbolic suspension of
sanctions in order to encourage in Serbia those currently
expressing their commitment to peace. Nevertheless,
Croatia will continue to insist that the lifting of certain
sanctions against Belgrade, particularly those related to its
being fully released from international economic and all
other isolation, be linked to the solution of the problem of
the occupied Croatian areas.
Croatia has shown a great deal of patience in its
dialogue with insurgent Serbs, but now, after three years of
occupation, it demands from the international community a
redefinition of the UNPROFOR mandate that will provide
for the implementation of Security Council resolutions 769
(1992) and 871 (1993), and force the Croatian Serbs to
accept gradual normalization and reintegration pursuant to
the adopted peace plan.
We realize that both sides, after any conflict, have to
invest much time and effort into restoring and strengthening
mutual confidence. We are also quite aware that no
long-term stability and progress is possible in Croatia
without guaranteed human and ethnic rights to the Serbian
and other minority groups. We have indeed guaranteed
such rights by a special constitutional law enacted three
years ago, but we urge the international community to
create conditions for the implementation of this law in
accordance with the relevant Security Council resolutions.
We have also recently taken the decision to speed up the
establishment of the human rights tribunal, and are prepared
to accept international supervision of compliance with
human and ethnic rights. However, the leaders of the
Serbian insurgents, and their patrons in Belgrade, should
forget their idea of a Greater Serbia and accept the
reintegration of occupied Croatian areas on such
foundations, to their own benefit and to the benefit of the
entire community. We are prepared to accept gradual
reintegration through the opening of communications, the
return of populations, the reconstruction of destroyed towns
and villages, and provisions for social welfare and legal
protection. The democratic Government of Croatia is
prepared - while urging the resolution of the fundamental
political issue: the restoration of the sovereignty of the
Croatian State over occupied areas - to genuinely comply
with all guarantees related to the rights of the Serbian
ethnic community.
In keeping with its peaceful policy, Croatia is also
prepared to normalize relations between Belgrade and
Zagreb. To this end we shall accept any meeting leading
to the recognition of the Republic of Croatia by Belgrade,
within its internationally recognized borders, which would
make the message to the insurgent Serbs regarding the
necessity of gradual reintegration quite unambiguous.
For this reason we have also raised the problem
regarding the parts of the Republic of Croatia occupied by
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia before the General
Assembly, because there is indisputable evidence as to the
comprehensive integration - in military, judicial, customs
and monetary terms - of occupied Croatian areas into the
economic and legal system of Serbia, or the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia. We would like to thank the vast
majority of States in the General Assembly that have
already given us their support in this matter. If Belgrade
should express its readiness to recognize the Croatian
State in the meantime, and to genuinely support
reintegration and normalization, we would be pleased to
spare the General Assembly the task of dealing with this
problem any further.
We would also like to thank the General Assembly
for its support for the post-war rebuilding of Croatia, and
we expect members’ continued understanding in this
matter.
In particular, we would like to emphasize that any
normalization of relations - diplomatic, political or
economic - on equal footing between the Republic of
Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will not
affect partnership and cooperation between the Croats and
the Muslims in the realization of the Washington
Agreements on the Croat-Muslim Federation in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, and its confederation with Croatia.
No peace in the Balkans is possible without the
establishment of a balance of forces, nor does the future
of any people lie in endless reciprocal military exhaustion
or in blocking development throughout the region. We
therefore genuinely endorse the normalization of
Croat-Serbian relations, but also the implementation of
the Washington Agreements, which are in our view not
only a tactical manoeuvre by the victims of Serbian
aggression but also a development creating the
preconditions for ensuring full equality to the Croats as a
numerically smaller constituent people in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. We see in this a pledge of future regional
stability and balance of forces. The confederal link
between the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and
10

the Republic of Croatia provides the foundations for
sustaining the sound political and economic relations
suggested by history, the geographical link and geopolitical
realities. By agreeing to a confederal relationship, Croatia
is also prepared, with the assistance of primarily Western
countries, to assume its share of the responsibility for
curbing the smoldering, extreme national and religious
trends on all sides, the spread of which could jeopardize
stability not only in this part of South-Eastern Europe but
also in the greater area.
Croatia also attaches importance to the strengthening
and realization of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina
and its confederation with Croatia, the progress of which
depends both on mutual relations and on the action taken
by the international community in the coming months, for
this establishes a political and economic bridge with the
Islamic world. Along these lines we have already
established close cooperation with Islamic countries
fostering identical aspirations, such as Turkey, Jordan and
others.
Decisive weeks and months, in which we must
struggle for a peaceful resolution to the grave crisis in the
area of the former Yugoslavia, lie ahead of us. Not only
the parties in conflict, but first and foremost the principal
actors of the international community, bear a huge
responsibility at this moment. This involves not only the
decision on the fate of the United Nations Protection Force
mandate in Bosnia and Herzegovina but also whether the
Contact Group will succeed in sustaining a united
operational basis for a solution or allow the situation to
founder into a new military nightmare. The efforts of the
international community focused on building a new
international order are now being put to the test, more
strikingly than anywhere else, on reversing the
consequences of the aggression against Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Croatia. We can ultimately resolve this
crisis if each of us assumes his share of the responsibility.
Hatred must give way to happy children’s faces in
reconstructed Croatian Vukovar, to the restored splendour
of medieval Dubrovnik, to peaceful coexistence in long--
suffering and destroyed Sarajevo and Mostar.
In order to achieve this, we must overcome the
disastrous war and political crisis by joint efforts and by a
well-devised vision of a new international order in this part
of the world, in the interest of the entire global order and
of the United Nations.


More than anyone else, Sir, you are aware of
what excellent and solid relations of cooperation,
friendship and fraternity have existed for many years now
between your country, Côte d’Ivoire, and Togo. It is thus
with great joy and enormous pride that my country
welcomes your unanimous election to the presidency of
the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session.
5
General Assembly 22nd meeting

I therefore wish, on behalf of the Government of
Togo, in the name of my delegation, and in my own
capacity, to congratulate you most sincerely on this tribute
to you and to your fraternal country, Côte d’Ivoire.
The Togolese delegation and I myself assure you of
our support. We are convinced that your competence and
your long experience in international affairs augur well for
the success of our work.
I should like to take this occasion to congratulate your
predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Insanally, the
Permanent Representative of Guyana, who, with
effectiveness and tact, guided the proceedings of the
General Assembly at its forty-eighth session. We extend
our congratulations as well to the Secretary-General, Mr.
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who has dedicated himself to the
noble ideals of this Organization to which we all belong.
We reiterate to him the total support of the delegation of
Togo.
South Africa has returned from a long voyage. We
have at last seen the death of apartheid. My country is
proud to have contributed to reversing that odious system.
Togo has always supported the legitimate aspirations of
peoples oppressed the world over, but in particular the
aspirations of the black majority of South Africa, whose
fundamental rights, even the most elementary among them,
were long trampled.
It is therefore with great joy that my country,
recognizing the courage, dedication and sacrifice of the
South African nation, welcomes the return to the United
Nations of that fraternal country, which is now free and
committed to waging — together with all the States
Members of this Organization — the necessary fight for
democracy and for the total independence of other peoples.
In 1995, our Organization will celebrate its fiftieth
anniversary. A new era of hope lies ahead for our nations.
Unfortunately that era of hope also contains concerns,
disquiet at the increasing impoverishment of the poorest
countries, concern too about a world constantly devastated
by conflicts and difficulties of all types. The period of
upheaval in which we live presents our Organization with
a challenge — that of understanding all the major changes
that are under way and of finding rapid solutions to the
many problems confronting our planet.
It is therefore urgent to redefine the broad guidelines
of the Organization on the basis of greater humanism on
the global level, so that man can again regain the strength
to better exercise his freedom, to enjoy it fully, to respect
the laws of nature, and to break away from egoism and
hard-heartedness. We must also lay new foundations for
cooperation to help the United Nations not only to
eliminate the consequences of the cold war, but also to
solve the problems of today and those of tomorrow. This
is the only way to respond to the expectations of our
peoples and to respect the spirit of those who, 50 years
ago, created our world Organization, with the purpose,
among other things, of preventing conflicts for the peace
of nations and the well-being of peoples. The
implementation of the relevant recommendations
contained in the report of the Secretary-General, an
Agenda for Peace, should, to this end, prompt us to focus
our action, urgently, on preventive measures, to establish
stable foundations for the harmonious development of
society and to resolve its problems by developing flexible
and appropriate mechanisms within the framework of the
reforms now under way.
There are clear grounds for optimism when we see
that the adversaries of yesterday have become the allies
of today, seeking together peaceful and mutually
advantageous solutions to the international problems of
the day. We therefore have all the more reason to have
faith in the future of our Organization. Planning for the
future rather than waiting to be overtaken by events
should be the watchword of our nations.
On the internal level, my country has undertaken to
embark on the path of democracy based on a complete
and responsible multiparty system in order to establish a
State based on law and on respect for the individual.
Following the adoption of a new constitution in
September 1992, presidential and legislative elections
were held in August 1993 and in February 1994
respectively, leading to the establishment on 25 May last
of a Government of national union whose programme of
action aims basically at building a new Togo, democratic
and free, at shaping national unity, at reconciling the
people with itself, at rallying this people around its
nation, its values and its flag, in peace and regained
harmony, and at rebuilding an economy damaged under
the combined effects of a range of factors both national
and international.
Of course, all of this cannot be accomplished in just
a few months; it takes time to overcome resentment, to
reconcile the adversaries of the past, to establish the state
6
General Assembly 22nd meeting

of law to which all aspire, to rebuild confidence and to lay
the foundations of a solid and prosperous economy.
In spite of the end of the cold war, we see disorder
constantly blurring the geopolitical landscape. The situation
now prevailing in Africa is hardly encouraging. The
continent, marginalized, awakens only the minds of the
most attentive observers, when, across mountains and
valleys, they hear the cries of anguish and death. The cases
of Rwanda, Angola, Liberia, Somalia and Mozambique
suffice to illustrate this bitter fact.

The defeat of the system of apartheid in South Africa
and the tragic events in Rwanda illustrate the two extremes
in the evolution of the African continent, characterized by
the contrast between hope and despair, progress and
destruction. While, at the present time, South Africa seems
to represent hope, Rwanda, on the contrary, symbolizes the
face of an Africa mutilated and ravaged.
Togo appeals to the Government of Angola and to
UNITA to show goodwill and the flexibility that is
necessary if a speedy and comprehensive settlement of the
question is to be achieved in the framework of the Lusaka
talks.
In Liberia, despite a number of agreements, the
disarmament of the factions has not yet occurred, and the
general elections that it was hoped would take place seem
to be becoming a mirage. Let us hope that good faith will
find its way into the hearts of the parties concerned so that
this fraternal country may regain the advantages of
reconciliation and find again the path of development.
As for Somalia, Togo appeals to the international
community not to grow weary and leave that country. We
therefore invite the parties to the conflict to refrain from
contributing to discouragement and to resume real dialogue
aimed at the rapid establishment of reliable national
institutions.
In respect of Western Sahara, my delegation supports
the Secretary-General’s report on the question and urges all
the parties to cooperate fully with the United Nations to
ensure that the referendum on self-determination, to be held
in February 1995 for the purpose of deciding the future of
the territory and its people, is organized effectively.
The Togolese Government is gratified at the recent
positive development in the socio-political situation in
Burundi and invites the new leaders to do all in their
power to secure the definitive restoration of peace in that
country.
Togo supports unreservedly the efforts of the
Secretary-General and of the Security Council to bring
peace to Mozambique. It invites the parties to commit
themselves totally to accepting and respecting the results
of the forthcoming general elections.
Faced with this situation of armed conflict, tension
and insecurity, Africa must shoulder its responsibilities.
It is through its own efforts that the African continent will
be able to overcome the difficulties it faces today. This
is the sense of the proposal that General Gnassinmgbé
Eyadema, President of the Republic of Togo, made to the
Tunis Summit of the Organization of African Unity in
June 1994, when he advocated the creation of an African
peace force whose mission would be to ensure peace
where it is threatened by acting as a buffer between the
belligerents and making possible a negotiated solution to
conflicts. The delegation of Togo is delighted that this
idea aroused a great deal of interest on the part of certain
large Powers that are prepared to provide logistical
support for such a buffer force.
The unprecedented positive development of the
peace process in the Middle East, reflected over the past
12 months in the Israeli-Palestinian accord of September
1993 and in the historic Washington D.C. meeting of
25 July 1994 between His Majesty King Hussein of the
Hashimite Kingdom of Jordan and Prime Minister
Yitzhak Rabin of Israel, opens up before us a horizon of
hope. These encouraging developments are important
steps in the direction of peace. They demonstrate clearly
that disputes can be settled effectively only through
peaceful means and that only resolute political will can
help to build a peaceful society.
In total agreement with the initiators of and the
protagonists at these gatherings, my country asks the
United Nations, all Governments of the region and
especially the Israeli and Palestinian leaders to continue
the negotiations with a view to the establishment of a
global, definitive and lasting peace in that part of the
world to enable all States concerned with the Arab-Israeli
conflict to live henceforth within secure borders
recognized by all, on the basis of mutual respect for the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence
of States.
7
General Assembly 22nd meeting

As regards the future of the Palestinian people, the
transition period, which is just beginning, must be
sustained, not only politically but also, and above all,
through financial, economic and technical assistance from
the international community. The United Nations will
therefore have to assume its responsibilities fully until the
Palestinian question is definitively and satisfactorily
resolved in all its aspects.
In the eastern part of Europe the situation is still
constantly characterized by violence and by an explosion of
nationalism. States have been dislocated, borders have
been called into question, and dreams of annexation and of
“ethnic cleansing” inspire and haunt both minds and hearts.
Drawing lessons, as is imperative, from all these
tragedies and conflicts, the United Nations must promote
and encourage further the use by States of the principle of
the peaceful settlement of disputes. Of course, the
Organization has in recent years clearly demonstrated its
usefulness, especially in the fields of humanitarian affairs
and the maintenance of peace. But sometimes lack of will
to act promptly paralyses its action. This paralysis reveals
profound shortcomings in the system of collective security
provided for in the Charter and is due, above all, to the
refusal of many Member States to commit themselves to
peace, despite the special responsibilities entrusted to them
by the Charter.
This being the case, it is clear that, as it makes
decisions about the maintenance of international peace and
security, the Security Council should be broadened and,
thereby, adapted to the changes in the world of today.
Togo believes that the United Nations is the most
appropriate forum for the creation of a new international
order and the maintenance of international peace and
security, as well as for the peaceful settlement of disputes.
That is why we support its actions. We demonstrated this,
inter alia, in the framework of peace-keeping operations by
sending military contingents and police officers to Rwanda,
Western Sahara and Mozambique to serve under the flag of
the United Nations.
Profoundly committed to peace and to the principle of
general and complete disarmament, Togo rejoices in the
many positive developments that have taken place in this
field over recent months. But we remain concerned at the
constantly increasing proliferation of conventional weapons.
The massive international transfers of such weapons
dangerously compromise the success of effective general
disarmament. It has become urgent to strengthen the role
and the capacity for action of the United Nations regional
centres for peace and disarmament, which are at present
poorly structured and lack both the material and the
human resources they need to function properly and
produce the results the international community expects
of them.
The particularly alarming case of the United Nations
Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, of
which my country is honoured to be the headquarters, is
quite illustrative, and should be examined with care. For,
paradoxically, while the African continent is prey to
violent and constant civil wars, which endanger regional
and international peace and security, the Centre, which
the United Nations could well have used to contribute to
the quest for appropriate solutions to these conflicts, is,
either by design or by circumstance, left out and its
existence is almost ignored.
As regards the nuclear problem on the Korean
peninsula, my delegation welcomes the agreement
recently reached between the Democratic People’s
Republic of Korea and the United States of America. It
also welcomes the readiness expressed by the Democratic
People’s Republic of Korea to comply with the provisions
of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons. Togo views this courageous position adopted
by the North Korean party as edifying testimony of its
determination to maintain peace in the region.
The world economy continues to be characterized by
trends toward stagnation and the growing disparity
between North and South.
As we prepare to enter the third millennium, the
elimination of poverty should be one of the main
objectives of our Organization. In this context, the World
Summit for Social Development, which the Government
of Denmark has offered to host in March 1995 in
Copenhagen, assumes its full importance. Togo fervently
hopes that Member States will demonstrate political will
and, in a surge of collective responsibility, give this
Summit the attention necessary to obtain concrete results
and practical decisions whose implementation should lead
to the true elimination of poverty, the creation of
genuinely productive jobs and the complete integration of
marginalized or excluded sectors of society.
During the last 15 years, there have been many
obstacles to growth in our countries, including the decline
in foreign capital, the debt crisis, and the constant decline
in public development assistance, whose level is clearly
short of the target 0.7 per cent of gross national product
8
General Assembly 22nd meeting

that was set and strongly recommended by the United
Nations. All of this leads to widespread poverty,
aggravated by structural adjustment programmes that have
insupportable social effects.
There has been constant regression in Africa’s share
of world trade. The recent Marrakesh agreements that
resulted from long and difficult international negotiations in
the Uruguay Round, far from meeting the expectations of
the developing countries in general and of Africa in
particular, are likely to lead to new imbalances in
international trade which may require more than a decade
to redress.
In this respect, my delegation views the Agenda for
Development proposed to us by the Secretary-General as a
timely initiative, offering as it does an opportunity to begin
a process of constructive dialogue and political mobilization
to create a true and just partnership that can engage in
better consideration of development issues.
Together with the Group of 77 and China, Togo
strongly supports the idea that this Agenda should build an
international consensus for the global liberalization of trade,
on the one hand as an effective means for international
cooperation for development, and on the other to give new
impetus to the efforts made over the last decade to avoid
protectionist policies.
If the transition of the General Agreement on Tariffs
and Trade into the World Trade Organization is to be
smooth, there must be a mechanism that can compensate
the developing countries affected by the new system.
Along these lines, the implementation of the United Nations
New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s,
adopted by the General Assembly in 1991, and the
implementation of the Paris Declaration and the Programme
of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s,
adopted in 1990, should, in our opinion, be geared to an
increase in the volume of official development assistance,
the promotion of respect for commitments that have been
undertaken for new and additional resources
for international cooperation, and a greater lightening of the
debt burden, or even its cancellation. It would be desirable
to adopt policies that ensured an adequate flow
of concessional financing to the developing countries, in
particular to the least developed among them; stimulated
other flows of capital, including direct investment; reversed
the negative trend in financial
flows, and created mechanisms and allocated resources
related to development.
It can never be overemphasized that sustainable
development is a prerequisite to lasting peace. The right
to development must be considered, henceforth, as a
fundamental human right, and thus be given priority
attention by the international community. Along these
lines, my Government hopes that, in addition to the
results of the International Conference on Population and
Development, held in Cairo from 5 to 13 September last,
the work of the World Summit for Social Development,
of the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held in
Beijing in September 1995, and of the Second United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements (HABITAT
II), to be held in Istanbul from 3 to 14 June 1996, will
help produce at the international level a spirit of shared
responsibility and the necessary political will to mobilize
the resources that are indispensable if our developing
countries are to thrive.
Agenda 21 and the Rio Declaration are an important
bridge on the road to sustainable development and to the
protection of the Earth from the dangers facing it. That
is why, two years ago, all the participants in the
Conference showed such enthusiasm and sincerity.
Regrettably, the results of that historic summit have still
not been reflected in concrete facts. No notable progress
has yet been observed in the implementation of the
recommendations contained, in particular, in the
Programme of Action. It is high time that States and the
international community did everything in their power, at
the national, regional and international levels, to put into
effect the commitments to sustainable development
undertaken in Rio.
The Togolese Government welcomes the entry into
force of the Framework Convention on Climate Change
and is particularly delighted at the conclusion of another
legal instrument of global scope: the International
Convention to Combat Desertification in Countries
Experiencing Serious Drought and/or Desertification,
Particularly in Africa. The Convention was adopted by
the intergovernmental negotiating Committee in Paris in
June 1994. Togo was pleased to take part in the
negotiating process and will soon take up the procedures
for signature and ratification. We invite all States
Members of the United Nations to do likewise in order
that the Convention and related instruments may enter
into force as soon as possible.
9
General Assembly 22nd meeting

Considering the uncertain future of mankind and the
numerous and formidable challenges confronting the human
race, it is imperative that we become clearly aware of our
moral obligations. As of this moment it is essential to
identify and correct the weaknesses and failings of our
Organization. The reforms under way are indispensable,
but they must not become a means of conferring even
greater influence than in the past on the large countries and
richest Powers in the world. Our new awareness must also
help define ways of establishing relations among nations in
the future, and in dealing with our present-day concerns we
must take into account the causes of the disparities in
standards of living between North and South. There is no
effect without a cause, and to deny the principle of
causality amounts to deferring our problems and never
solving them.
Only an attitude based on action, justice and
international solidarity can spare the world a conflict that
would otherwise, sooner or later, be inevitable. Thus,
tackling the deep-rooted causes of today’s problems means
seeking together the solutions that will make it possible for
men, women and children to live decently and in complete
freedom, without fear of being crushed by unemployment,
poverty and hunger. This would also make it possible to
protect the dignity of the human person and to safeguard
human security.
Tomorrow we should have a world in which all
nations and all citizens refuse to listen to the voice of their
own personal interests when they run counter to the
common weal, a world in which nations and peoples find
satisfaction not only in that which is to their own advantage
but also in that which is to everyone’s advantage.
At its forty-ninth session, may the General Assembly,
under the leadership of its President, contribute to dispelling
our concerns and to defining the ways and means of
helping us blaze the way into the future. This is my
delegation’s most fervent hope.


The delegation of Myanmar
would like to congratulate you most warmly, Sir, on your
election as President of the General Assembly at its forty-
ninth session and to assure you of our fullest cooperation
in the discharge of your responsibilities. We are
confident that the wealth of experience and wisdom that
you bring with you will prove invaluable in guiding us
successfully through the present session.
We also wish to express our appreciation to the
outgoing President, His Excellency Mr. Samuel Rudolph
Insanally, for his sagacious and outstanding stewardship
of the previous session of the General Assembly.
In South Africa, four decades of the despicable
system of apartheid have finally been laid to rest. The
election of President Nelson Mandela by the country's
first multiracial Parliament has given birth to a united,
democratic and non-racial South Africa. A nation that
has so courageously overcome such adversity and
overwhelming pressure deserves our support and acclaim
as it faces its future with optimism. I am pleased to see
the delegation of South Africa rejoining us in this
Assembly. Its presence here reflects the momentous
changes taking place in the world today. The concerted
effort to abolish apartheid in South Africa has finally
succeeded. We welcome our brothers from South Africa,
wish them every success in rebuilding their nation and
look forward to working closely with their Government
and people.
The importance of adhering to the five principles of
peace coexistence that form the basic tenets of Myanmar's
foreign policy bears reiteration. Myanmar, together with
the People's Republic of China and India, enunciated
those principles nearly five decades ago. These time-
tested principles have crystallized as the universally
accepted legal norms of inter-State relations. In strict
observance of these principles, Myanmar has never
allowed, and will never allow, its territory to be used as
a springboard for action or threats against another State.
By the same token, Myanmar expects that other nations
will likewise abide by these principles in their conduct of
policy towards Myanmar.
At this time of dramatic and profound changes, the
United Nations represents the best hope for mankind in
the maintenance of international peace and security and in
the promotion of international cooperation in other areas
of human endeavour. Whatever character and shape the
emerging new international order may eventually assume,
we have no doubt that the United Nations will constitute
6

a vital element in that new order and will continue to play
an increasingly important role in international relations. As
we approach the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations,
it is the appropriate time for us to rededicate ourselves to
the purposes and principles of the Charter and to redouble
our efforts to further strengthen the role of the world
Organization. In order to mark this auspicious anniversary
in a fitting manner, we have formed a high-level National
Committee in my country to carry out necessary
preparatory work and to coordinate commemorative
activities at the national level.
Myanmar firmly believes that the United Nations plays
a pivotal role in promoting international cooperation for
development and for the maintenance of peace and security.
There is a close link between peace and development; it is
therefore the view of my delegation that the Agenda for
Peace and the Agenda for Development must go hand in
hand. Now that the cold war is over and the avenues for
peace and development are more pronounced, we would
like to call upon the international community to create a
favourable environment that ensures sustainable
development.
My delegation shares the view that at the present time
the search for security and peace in the world lies in
development, not in armaments. For most people
throughout the world, and particularly in developing
countries, any feeling of insecurity arises more out of
anxieties about daily subsistence than out of the dread of a
cataclysmic global conflict. Underdevelopment creates
poverty, hunger, malnutrition, environmental degradation
and so on, collectively leading to civil strife, ethnic
conflicts and, eventually, the collapse of peace and security.
These problems may in some instances be confined within
national borders; however, some will definitely have
international and even global ramifications and
consequences.
Both “An Agenda for Peace” and “An Agenda for
Development” are top-priority tasks facing the United
Nations, and they deserve equal attention and equal
allocation of resources. United Nations peace-keeping
missions are stretched out across the globe, and United
Nations agencies for development and humanitarian affairs
fan out over an even wider area. Myanmar shares the view
that economic and social developments are prerequisites for
lasting peace and security. We would therefore like to see
a strengthening of the Economic and Social Council in
tandem with the call for a restructuring of the Security
Council to respond adequately to the new challenges of
international peace and security that have emerged in the
wake of the cold war. Fifty years ago, against a political
background that was very different from today's, the
United Nations was born with the purposes of maintaining
international peace and security, promoting development
and safeguarding human rights. Now that the cold war is
over and the international community is free from the
super-Power rivalry that so crippled the United Nations in
the past, the Organization should be restructured to meet
the needs and challenges of the present-day world.
Peace-keeping is an area in which the United
Nations is being called to take on increasing
responsibilities. These operations constitute an important
instrument of the world Organization in the prevention
and containment of conflicts and in keeping peace where
it is most needed. Peace-keeping operations have a
mixed record of successes and some set-backs.
Experience and lessons from past operations should be
carefully reviewed and re-evaluated to ensure the more
effective and proper conduct of such operations. It is
imperative that United Nations peace-keeping operations
be carried out only with the consent and willing
cooperation of the parties concerned and that all aspects
of such operations strictly conform to the principles and
purposes of the United Nations Charter. There is also a
need for such operations to be rationalized, streamlined
and made more cost effective.
In the field of disarmament we are encouraged by
the positive developments of last year. Intensive
negotiations are now under way in the Geneva-based
Conference on Disarmament to achieve a comprehensive
nuclear-test-ban treaty. The steadily increasing trust and
confidence between nuclear- and non-nuclear-weapon
States has provided an opportunity for the international
community to come to grips with the prevention of the
vertical and horizontal proliferation of nuclear weapons.
This opportunity should be seized by bringing the
negotiations on the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty
to a successful conclusion in the most expeditious way.
The United States has announced its decision to extend
the moratorium for one year until September 1995. We
believe that such a moratorium, if also observed by other
nuclear-weapon States, would create conditions conducive
to the ongoing process of negotiating a comprehensive
nuclear-test-ban treaty.
The review and extension Conference of the States
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) is less than a year away. We are of the
view that substantive progress in crucial areas, namely the
comprehensive test-ban treaty, negative security
7

assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States and a ban on the
production of nuclear fissile material in all its aspects, will
contribute to a successful outcome of the review
Conference. A careful evaluation of the progress achieved
in these crucial areas should be made before taking a
decision at the review Conference on the further extension
of the Treaty. Myanmar looks forward to working and
cooperating with other delegations for the successful
outcome of the 1995 review and extension Conference.
While I am on the subject of the NPT, may I take this
opportunity to inform the Assembly that, as a State Party to
the Treaty, the Myanmar Government has decided to sign
the International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards
Agreement and Protocol. The signing of the Agreement
and Protocol will take place in the near future.
Myanmar is also actively taking part in the preparatory
process for the implementation of the chemical weapons
Convention since becoming an original signatory to it.
Like other signatories to the Convention, the ratification
process is currently under way in Myanmar.
The signature on 4 May 1994 of the agreement to
implement the Israel-Palestine Declaration of Principles
marks an important milestone towards a lasting peace in the
Middle East. The recent approval by the Israeli Cabinet of
the transfer of civilian powers to the Palestinians in the
areas of culture, youth and sports, international cooperation,
education, health, social welfare, tourism and finance is
another positive step that will further pave the way to self-
rule by the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and Jericho. We
congratulate the parties concerned for their courage and
mutual accommodation. We are also heartened to note that
both Israel and Jordan are implementing the Washington
Declaration signed by both parties in July. It is hoped that
these initiatives, in the context of both bilateral and
multilateral negotiations, will facilitate and brighten the
chances of lasting peace in the Middle East.
After years of recession and stagnation the world
economy has resumed a modest growth. However, the
recovery remains fragile and uneven, and it is in the
interests of both developing and developed countries to
strive for accelerated growth and sustainable development.
While a number of developing countries have acted as the
main engines of world economic growth, most of them are
beset by a deteriorating economic and social situation.
Developed countries are also facing slow growth and high
unemployment. In this era of growing globalization and
interdependence, concerted efforts by the world community
are urgently needed to resolve the acute economic and
social problems.
We welcome the Secretary-General's report, “An
Agenda for Development”, as most timely and
appropriate. The report has highlighted economic growth
as a crucial dimension of development and has singled
out a supportive and favourable international economic
environment for sustained growth. We fully share the
view that the advancement of developing countries is
being hindered by such obstacles as external-debt
problems, declining external resource flows, sharply
deteriorating terms of trade and mounting barriers to
market access. We hope that the programme of action on
the implementation of the agenda will be agreed upon at
this session.
Our aspirations for a new world economic order
which is equitable and non-discriminatory have not yet
been realized. The major challenges of these decades —
acceleration of development, alleviation of poverty,
narrowing the widening gap among countries — need to
be addressed on an urgent basis. We fully support the
call by the Group of 77, the Non-Aligned Movement and
the Assembly for the resumption of the stalled North-
South dialogue. A constructive dialogue based on
common interests and mutual benefits should enhance
international economic cooperation for development.
We also welcome the successful conclusion of the
Uruguay Round, although our aspirations were not fully
realized. We had hoped for an open, equitable and
transparent multilateral trading system which would
benefit all countries. We are most concerned with new
forms of protectionism, particularly the attempts to
impose social and environmental conditions that
discriminate against exports from developing countries.
These protectionist measures will adversely affect world
trade and growth.
We are heartened by the Communiqué issued
following the Naples Summit of the Group of Seven,
which states that the Seven will continue efforts to
enhance development assistance, trade and investment in
developing countries. It states also that the Seven favour
a reduction in the stock of debt and an increase in
concessionality for those countries facing special
difficulties.
My delegation notes with appreciation the report of
the Secretary-General on the status and role of
cooperatives in the light of new economic and social
8

trends and welcomes the recommendations contained
therein. Today, cooperative societies constitute significant
components of the economies of developed and developing
countries alike and play a crucial role in their economic
development.
In my country, we attach great importance to the
cooperative sector as one of the main pillars of our
economy and as an effective means of accelerating
socio-economic development. It is an important part of the
economic strategy of the Myanmar Government to promote
and expand the cooperative sector in our national economy.
As we shall next year be celebrating the centenary of the
establishment of the International Cooperative Alliance, it
is most fitting that the Assembly should proclaim the first
Saturday of July 1995 the International Day of Cooperatives
and that Member States should observe this day in future
years as an annual event.
The Earth Summit held in Rio two years ago firmly
placed environmental issues on the global agenda, and since
then hardly any international meeting has taken place
without calls for common action to save our planet. The
protection and promotion of the environment has emerged
as one of the most pressing issues facing the world. No
longer is the natural world perceived as a vast and
inexhaustible frontier to be explored and exploited. Today
there is growing recognition that the environment is not to
be subjugated, but is to be treated with respect and care.
An increasing number of countries now recognize that
environmental issues warrant as much attention and effort
as issues such as disarmament, narcotics and human rights.
Myanmar is pleased to note that, in all of this, the
region of Asia and the Pacific has not been left behind. A
regional meeting to prepare for the 1995 report on the state
of the environment was held in Yangon in July this year.
This meeting provided senior Government officials with an
opportunity to discuss, in an integrated manner, issues
related to the assessment of the state of the environment at
the national and regional levels.
The region of Asia and the Pacific comprises a large
number of nations differing in size, resource endowment
and stage of economic development. It is a region facing
all the conceivable environmental problems of the world -
deforestation, desertification, climate change, and so on.
While several countries of the region, particularly those in
South-East and North-East Asia, have registered remarkable
economic growth in the last few decades; others have yet
to achieve their objectives.
In many of our countries the eradication of poverty
and greater equity in income distribution remain major
challenges. Poverty and environmental degradation are
closely related. Therefore, the alleviation of poverty is no
longer simply a moral issue; it is a practical imperative.
At the same time, achieving sustainable development will
require that all countries, particularly the developed
countries, change their consumption patterns.
In the past we have tended to focus more on
remedial measures than on the causes of environmental
degradation. But if we are to overcome the challenges
that we face we must deal with the underlying causes.
As in the case of health care, prevention is just as
important as, if not more important than, cure. We must
therefore formulate strategies that will set out to alleviate
poverty and provide the basic needs — food, water,
clothing, shelter, energy and health care — of our
peoples, while protecting the environment.
Aware of the fact that poverty is the fundamental
cause of environmental degradation, we in Myanmar are
concentrating on breaking the vicious circle of poverty
and environmental degradation. With a view to
remedying the situation, the Government launched in
1989 a programme for the development of border areas
and national races. This integrated approach is expected
to generate higher incomes and productivity by providing
employment opportunities and increased welfare.
The border areas, which are inhabited by the national
races, have lagged far behind in all aspects of
development, owing mainly to the difficult terrain and the
lack of an adequate infrastructure. However, the situation
is being improved rapidly. There is extensive building of
roads, bridges, schools, hospitals and reservoirs. The
Government’s support for the development of mini-plants
to generate hydroelectric power will result in the
provision of alternative sources of energy, which will
enable towns and villages to promote rural industries and,
at the same time, lessen their dependence on fuel wood.
This integrated rural-area-development programme
will not only have positive effects on the socio-economic
environment but also drastically reduce the area under
shifting cultivation. The result will be conservation and
the regeneration of forest resources in the fragile
mountain ecosystem.
The sustainable management and conservation of
forests has long occupied a place of pride in Myanmar’s
environmental efforts. Sustainable production from forest
9

resources and the conservation of biodiversity are assured
by a forest working plan and a time-tested selective felling
system. About 50 per cent of Myanmar’s total land surface
is still covered by natural forests. Even though the forest
area is about 33 million hectares, the prescribed allowable
annual cut is less than 3 million cubic metres for teak and
other hardwoods. This volume of commercial extraction is
significantly less than the volume harvested by other
countries in the region.
The Government’s current development activities in
the forest sector include the special project for greening the
nine driest districts of the country; extension of the area
under reserved forests; the establishment of new
plantations; overall reforestation of the dry zone to provide
much-needed timber and fuel wood for rural communities;
and measures to improve the watersheds.
Myanmar attaches high importance to population
issues and recognizes the close link between population and
sustainable development. We participated in the Cairo
Conference, and we heartily welcome the adoption by
consensus of a non-binding 20-year Programme of Action.
Our population-policy focus is on voluntary birth-spacing
to promote the health of mother and child. The Myanmar
Maternal and Child Welfare Association — a non--
governmental organization — is actively carrying out its
assigned task in this field.
Much has been accomplished by the United Nations in
the field of human rights. The Organization’s most recent
accomplishment in this area is the appointment by
consensus, at the General Assembly’s last session, of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
The appointment of such an important personage by
consensus testifies to the fact that both the developed and
the developing countries attach importance to the promotion
and protection of human rights, in accordance with the
purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter. My
delegation wishes the High Commissioner every success in
carrying out his mandate.
As a responsible Member of the United Nations and
as an unwavering advocate of the values that the
Organization represents, the Union of Myanmar has always
upheld and adhered to the basic norms of human rights, as
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. As is confirmed
by the Bangkok Declaration, the principles of national
sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-interference in
internal affairs should be respected by all nations, and
attempts to use human rights to encroach on the
essentially domestic jurisdiction of States should be
avoided.
In saying this we do not mean that human rights
may be systematically violated behind the barrier of
non-interference. We wish to see human rights promoted
through cooperation and consensus-building, and not
through the imposition of values that we do not share.
We believe that, even as we seek universality of
human rights, we must never minimize or forget diversity
in historical, cultural and religious backgrounds. We are
also against double standards and the temptation to use
human rights as a means of achieving political ends.
The right to sufficient food, clothing and shelter, the
right to a decent quality of life and the right to live
peacefully and in security are often neglected in the
clamour for individual rights. At this delicate juncture in
our history, when Myanmar is in the midst of
transforming itself to a multi-party democracy with a
market economy, the interests of its 45 million people as
a whole must take precedence over the interests of any
individual. Confrontation and incitement to unrest and
instability have no place when the nation is in the process
of reconciliation and reconsolidation.
In keeping with the aspirations of all the national
races, Myanmar is also at present at the critical stage of
drafting a firm constitution. My Government would
certainly not like to see the present momentum of the
constitutional process and the efforts for national
reconciliation impeded in any way, nor can it allow a
return to the chaos and anarchy of the incidents of 1988.
The Myanmar Government does not condone human
rights abuses. In fact, it is totally against them. We have
cooperated fully with the United Nations in every field
and, in this regard, with the Commission on Human
Rights by providing information in connection with
communications and queries concerning the situation in
Myanmar. Not only have we provided information sought
by the Commission, but we have also received the
Independent Experts and the Special Rapporteur appointed
by the Commission on Human Rights. The Special
Rapporteur, Mr. Yozo Yokota, was received in 1992 and
in 1993. In deference to the United Nations and as a
gesture of our goodwill and cooperation, we will receive
him again this year.
10

The Memorandum of Understanding between
Myanmar and the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) signed on
5 November 1993, setting out UNHCR’s role in Myanmar’s
border development projects, is an illustration of our steady
cooperation with the United Nations and its subsidiary
bodies. It is normal that some issues should arise from
time to time between neighbouring States. In such cases,
we always seek peaceful solutions based on mutual
goodwill, respect and understanding. A case in point is the
matter of transport and movement of people between
Myanmar and Bangladesh across our common border.
Although some quarters tried to exaggerate the situation by
invoking potential regional destabilization, our two
countries were able to resolve the situation in a spirit of
mutual friendship and understanding resulting in the
repatriation so far of nearly 70,000 returnees to their
hearths and homes.
At the initiative of the Secretary-General, Myanmar
decided to establish a dialogue with the United Nations to
exchange views on various issues of common concern. I
should like briefly to apprise the Assembly of the
developments leading to this decision.
During his visit to Myanmar in March this year,
Under-Secretary-General Mr. Rafeeudin Ahmed, Executive
Secretary of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia
and the Pacific (ESCAP), delivered a letter and a verbal
message from the Secretary-General to Secretary I of the
State Law and Order Restoration Council. The Secretary-
General, in his letter, made constructive remarks in regard
to the measures taken by the Myanmar Government and
showed keen interest in the developments in Myanmar,
particularly the process of national reconciliation and steps
taken in drafting a firm constitution through the National
Convention. The Secretary-General also expressed his
desire to establish a dialogue with the Government of the
Union of Myanmar to exchange views on the various issues
with a view to considering how the United Nations could
assist in facilitating continued progress towards the
resolution of these issues. Secretary I, in his
acknowledgment, informed the Secretary-General that a
communication would be made on this subject in the near
future.
While attending the Ministerial Meeting of the
Association of South-East Asian Nations in Bangkok, I
transmitted, through the Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Thailand, on 21 July 1994, our initial response to the
Secretary-General. Further to this response, the Myanmar
Government informed the Executive Secretary of ESCAP
that the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Myanmar had
been designated to initiate the dialogue proposed by the
Secretary-General at a mutually agreeable date and, in
this regard, sought his advice on the modalities of
carrying out such a dialogue more fruitfully. I am happy
to apprise the Assembly through you, Sir, that I had two
meetings earlier this month with Mr. Marrack Goulding,
Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the
United Nations, and that the dialogue between the
Myanmar Government and the United Nations is now
well under way.
The global spread of drug abuse has become a major
international concern in recent years. The evil
consequences of illicit drugs transcend borders and the
threat of illicit drugs can be overcome only with effective
international cooperation. We share the view that
concerted action is needed at the national, subregional,
regional and global levels.
Myanmar has always treated anti-narcotics measures
as a national responsibility. At the national level, the
Government has adopted comprehensive plans for the
effective implementation of drug-suppression measures.
A new law against narcotic drugs and psychotropic
substances was enacted in 1993, encompassing effective
measures against the widening scope of the drug menace.
In our national strategies against drugs, a new approach
was launched in 1988, the key concept of which was to
alleviate the poverty of the peoples of the border areas by
providing them with a means of alternative income, while
at the same time working to raise their awareness of the
magnitude of human misery resulting from drugs. This
approach is being carried out as one of the main
objectives of our master plan for the development of the
border areas and national races. It is evident that the
most effective approach to the eradication of poppy
cultivation would be to implement a comprehensive
programme for the social and economic development of
the national races in the border areas. We have now
established a mechanism for coordinating action against
illicit drugs in all their aspects.
We have also been coordinating our national efforts
with those of our neighbours to ensure a maximum
impact in drug eradication in the region. The Myanmar
Government has signed agreements with the People’s
Republic of China and the United Nations International
Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), as well as with
Thailand and the UNDCP. Bilateral narcotics-suppression
agreements have been signed with Laos and India, and we
aim to work out a similar agreement with Bangladesh. In
11

October 1993, in New York, Myanmar, the People’s
Republic of China, Laos, Thailand and the UNDCP signed
a Memorandum of Understanding which would further
harmonize collective activities aimed at reducing drug
trafficking and production, eliminating poppy cultivation
and reducing drug demand and consumption. There have
been two ministerial conferences at the subregional level in
which Myanmar has actively participated. Myanmar is a
State party to the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic
Drugs and to the 1988 United Nations Convention against
Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic
Substances. Moreover, on 7 June this year Myanmar
deposited the instrument of accession to the United Nations
Convention on Psychotropic Substances. We are also
carrying out a series of measures in implementation of the
recommendations contained in the Global Programme of
Action adopted at the seventeenth special session of the
General Assembly in February 1990.
Members of the Myanmar security forces are engaged
in a relentless war against drug trafficking. They may not
be wearing blue helmets like the men and women from
different lands serving as guardians of peace under the
United Nations banner, but the cause for which hundreds of
them have sacrificed life and limb is no less internationalist
and no less worthy. There are those who express doubt
about our commitment to the eradication of narcotics, and
I would ask them: “Which country in the world has
sacrificed the lives of over 190 soldiers, with an additional
350 wounded, in the combat against drug traffickers in a
matter of only four weeks?” With this serious dedication
and commitment in the fight against illicit drugs, we in
Myanmar are ready and willing to cooperate fully with all
our neighbours and the international community for
sustained efforts against this scourge.
Myanmar is a union of over 100 different national
races residing there. Unity among the different national
races is essential for the preservation of our independence
and sovereignty as well as for the economic and social
progress of our country. Since regaining independence in
1948, Myanmar unfortunately has had to face internal strife
started by various armed groups. Because of this, the
country has suffered immensely and lagged behind in
economic development in comparison with other nations of
the region. In these dire circumstances, it is only natural
that the State Law and Order Restoration Council should
attach the utmost importance to the preservation of
independence and the strengthening of unity and national
solidarity among all the national races of Myanmar. Since
it assumed the responsibilities of the State, the State Law
and Order Restoration Council has given priority to the
achievement of national reconciliation.
Beginning in 1989, less than one year after it
assumed responsibility, the Government made overtures
to the armed groups to return to the legal fold. Since
April 1992, the armed forces have suspended military
offensives against the armed groups in the interest of
national reconciliation. Over four decades of internal
strife has not benefited anyone, but has only caused death
and destruction and untold suffering for the people.
No one appreciates peace more than a soldier. It is
therefore most gratifying that a total of 12 groups having
trust in the sincerity of the Government’s offer have
returned to the legal fold and are working together with
the Government for the development of their regions.
These groups are also being provided with the opportunity
to participate in the national political process — the
National Convention — to shape the country’s future.
With the Shan State Nationalities Peoples’ Liberation
Organization, which returned to the legal fold on 9
October 1994, the armed groups in the reconciliation
process now number 13. They will be integrated in the
same manner as previous groups that are participating in
the National Convention.
To the remaining groups that have yet to return to
the legal fold, the Myanmar Government reiterates its call
not to miss this golden opportunity but to join hands in
building a peaceful, democratic and modern union. Guns
have fallen silent in the country as never before in the
history of modern Myanmar, and these groups should
look at the greater interest of the country and work for
the benefit of all the national races, in accordance with
the proclamations they themselves have been making for
so long.
At this juncture, let me turn to another aspect of the
Government’s objectives: the drafting of a firm and
enduring constitution. Towards this end, a National
Convention has been meeting since the beginning of last
year to draft a new constitution. Consensus has already
been reached on the 15 chapter headings for the 104
fundamental principles of the State and for the chapters
on State, State structure and Head of State.
At the resumed session of the National Convention,
which commenced on 2 September 1994, the Chairman of
the National Convention Convening Work Committee
elucidated the points relative to the matter of self-
administered divisions or self-administered zones in the
12

Union, and to constituting the legislative, executive and
judicial branches for detailed discussions and deliberations
among the delegates. As for those who allege that the
process is moving too slowly, let me ask: Is the world
today not full of examples where too much haste has led to
chaos and confusion, even to armed conflict and the
disintegration of nations?
At the same time, let me assure the Assembly that the
State Law and Order Restoration Council has no intention
of unnecessarily prolonging the process or causing delays.
However, a balance must be struck between the need to
reach consensus among the nearly 700 delegates on very
urgent and vital issues, such as the national races, and the
desire for the process to be completed in timely fashion.
Anyone following these deliberations closely will realize
that they lucidly give the lie to the allegations that the
deliberations in the National Convention were orchestrated
by the Government.
At the same time, I wish to indicate to certain
observers that in our society reaching consensus is more
important than debating who is right or wrong or who won
the debate. We would like the constitution to reflect as
much as possible the wishes of the national races, while at
the same time we would be most happy if consensus on the
remaining chapters could be reached as soon as possible.
What the Government has done, and is doing at the
moment, is to ensure peace, stability, law and order while
striving for the economic development of the entire nation
so that the transition to democracy will be smooth and
tranquil.
Today the National Convention is in full session for
further discussions on the fundamental principles to be
enshrined in the new constitution. The very fact that the
new State structure will be a union system is a
manifestation of the consensus that has been reached by the
Convention. The new Union of Myanmar that is envisaged
by the National Convention will be a genuine multi-party,
democratic State in order to bring the nation modernity,
unity, stability, peace and harmony. The new constitution
will have safeguards to guarantee non-disintegration of the
Union, non-disintegration of national solidarity and
perpetuation of sovereignty and territorial integrity.
As in the case of other modern Constitutions, the three
organs of government - the legislative, executive and
judicial — will be properly constituted and separated as
much as possible and will be able to exert reciprocal
control with checks and balances among themselves.
Among the fundamental principles already laid down,
independent administration of justice in accordance with
the law, administration of justice in public except where
restricted by law, the right to defence and the right of
appeal will be guaranteed. Furthermore, there will be
constitutional remedies, and the Supreme Court will have
the power to issue writs.
Citizens will be able to enjoy the rule of law, which
is the fundamental legal safeguard necessary for a
democratic State. Because of the separation of powers
envisaged in the new constitution, the judiciary will be
the ultimate guardian of fundamental rights. Freedom of
thought, freedom of expression, freedom of belief,
freedom of worship, freedom to seek a livelihood and
freedom of organization will be guaranteed. There will
be equality of status, equality of opportunity and equality
before the law.
The entire Myanmar nation is currently engaged in
our national endeavour to establish a truly democratic and
modern society in accordance with the aspirations of our
people. We the people of the Union of Myanmar are
doing our utmost to advance the ongoing political and
constitutional process and the current programme of
national economic development in the interest of all our
national brethren.
We have a popular saying in Myanmar:
“As we sow in our deeds, so shall we surely
reap in our future destiny.”
We are therefore fully confident that, with continued
dedication, determination and diligence in our national
endeavour, we will surely be able to successfully establish
a democratic society based on the universal values of
justice, liberty and equality.