The Bahamas
delegation sincerely congratulates Mr. Harri Holkeri on
his election to the presidency of this Millennium
Assembly and assures him and the members of his
Bureau of its full cooperation and support.
I wish also to commend Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of
Namibia, who presided over the fifty-fourth session of
the General Assembly.
The Bahamas delegation also wishes to pay
special tribute to the Co-Chairpersons of the
Millennium Summit, Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of
Finland, and Mr. Sam Nujoma, President of the
Republic of Namibia. Their combined wisdom and
focused leadership contributed in no small part to the
success of the Millennium Summit.
The Bahamas is pleased to welcome Tuvalu as the
newest Member of this Organization. Tuvalu's
membership is a sign of the confidence that the United
Nations continues to enjoy among nations of the world
as the best hope for the realization of the aspirations of
all peoples.
We applaud the Secretary-General's continuing
commitment to the United Nations. This was
particularly demonstrated by his bold proposals for the
reform and revitalization of the Organization, which
culminated in the practical, responsive and visionary
Millennium Summit Declaration. The Declaration was
unanimously adopted by an unprecedented number of
heads of State or Government. In this Millennium
Declaration, world leaders collectively and succinctly
22

outlined the labyrinth of issues on the global agenda
for which solutions are essential in the twenty-first
century. It is now our responsibility to implement it in
good faith. It cannot be business as usual in this United
Nations.
The Millennium Declaration placed globalization
high on the list of issues requiring urgent attention. As
a process offering opportunities for growth and
development, globalization has never been challenged.
It is a grim reality, however, that few have profited, and
some, particularly smaller economies, have become
marginalized and even more vulnerable.
For many of the small island developing States of
the Caribbean, their mainstay industries, particularly
bananas and financial services, have come under
extreme pressure in this rapidly globalizing world.
With respect to financial services, the Bahamas has
always cooperated, and will continue to cooperate, with
international efforts to combat money laundering.
Currently we are amending our legislation and
reinforcing our regulatory regime so as to fully comply
with international best practices.
While the Bahamas will move expeditiously to
correct deficiencies in our financial services industry,
we call upon the Financial Action Task Force on
Money Laundering (FATF) and the other concerned
financial agencies established by developed countries
to immediately adopt open and transparent procedures
to recognize when such deficiencies have been
corrected and to then take the necessary action as a
matter of priority.
Additionally, it has been a source of serious
concern to us in the Bahamas that one group of
countries, the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development (OECD), would seek to unilaterally
determine what constitutes “harmful tax competition”
in respect to financial services. We urge those countries
to cooperate in resolving these issues on the basis of
constructive multilateral dialogue, given that the
pressures applied in this and other areas not only
disrupt growth and development, but could well lead to
the reversal of the gains made in the development
process.
The intensity of protests in Seattle and in
Washington, D.C., have mirrored the frustration of
many developing countries in a globalization process
which appears to be biased towards the rich and
powerful and to widen the gap between haves and
have-nots. Yet no country can opt out of globalization.
Nor can we ignore the challenge its potentially
devastating consequences present for peace and
security. The United Nations resolve that globalization
must be fully inclusive and equitable should be
buttressed with effective action to ensure a vibrant
global economic order in which all countries, large and
small, developed and developing, mutually benefit.
The Bahamas is now an observer in the World
Trade Organization (WTO) and will move purposefully
towards full membership. We have chosen to take this
course of action because we intend to participate fully
in the WTO processes. These processes should, and
must, make globalization and trade liberalization
inclusive and equitable instruments for development.
We made this commitment at the highest level at the
Millennium Summit.
There is another commitment in the Millennium
Declaration that is of critical importance to small
island developing States such as the Bahamas and other
members of the Caribbean Community. The
Millennium Declaration reaffirms the United Nations
resolve to address the special needs of the small island
developing States by implementing both the Barbados
Programme of Action and the outcome of the twentysecond special session of the General Assembly on this
plan. It did so in recognition of the vulnerability of
their economies to external shocks and their
susceptibility to climate change, sea level rise and
natural disasters.
I wish to re-emphasize here that the call in the
Barbados plan is for action. In line with the
Millennium Declaration and their own national efforts,
the small island developing States now expect action,
through initiatives such as global disaster management
strategies and a vulnerability index. Such initiatives
must take fully into account the socio-economic
development and survival of small island developing
States. For Caribbean Community (CARICOM) small
States, we also hope to see the development of an
integrated management approach to the Caribbean Sea
advanced.
We would also, in this United Nations, urge our
partners in the developed world not to continue to put
our countries at risk by shipping nuclear and hazardous
wastes through the Caribbean Sea. We reiterate this
appeal in the face of recent evidence that suggests that
23

the highly professed safety measures touted by the
nuclear-power industry are questionable.
In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders
committed themselves to overcoming many seemingly
intractable problems for which effective responses can
only be of a global nature.
The world's drug problem, and the trafficking in
small arms and light weapons, are issues for which the
global community urgently needs results. While these
twin evils are, in our view, closely linked, every
indication is that the trafficking in firearms is taking on
a life of its own. The introduction of firearms into
ordinary, non-drug related criminal activity, and even
domestic conflict, is perhaps the greatest single threat
to peace and stability in the Bahamas today.
Therefore, the Bahamas looks forward to next
year's United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in
Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects. We
are confident that the commitments made in our
Millennium Declaration will motivate us to grasp this
significant opportunity for concerted action. We
especially urge developed countries in which firearms
are manufactured to take the steps necessary to prevent
illicit arms trafficking.
In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders
committed themselves to the eradication of poverty,
hunger and disease, and to making the right to
development a reality for all. This commitment
compels us to act on several fronts to achieve our
objectives. We must, for example, reach agreement to
ensure the success of the high-level international and
intergovernmental event on financing for development,
to be held in the year 2001.
Our commitment means that we must ensure that
technological advances benefit not just the few, but all
of humankind. We must work more assiduously
towards the elimination of human rights violations,
including violence against women and the trafficking
in women and children. We must ensure equal rights
for men and women, to bring down barriers to
development. For countries such as the Bahamas,
forced to bear the brunt of sustained illegal migration,
the United Nations must collectively address not only
the challenges of migration flows worldwide, but also
the reprehensible practice of alien-smuggling.
Our commitment means that we must achieve a
comprehensive reform of the Security Council.
Addressing the unfolding human tragedy of HIV/
AIDS is also an important front on which the
Millennium Declaration charges us to work. The
pernicious effect of this disease, particularly on the
economically productive sectors of society, has had a
devastating impact on families, communities and
nations globally. However, the major burden that AIDS
presents, particularly for health care systems, has been
most profoundly felt in developing countries, where it
threatens to limit and reverse development efforts.
Adequate resources must be provided to confront HIV/
AIDS, particularly in Africa. In this regard, the
pharmaceutical industry must be encouraged to play its
necessary role.
The Bahamas welcomed the recently convened
conference in Barbados under the auspices of the
World Bank, UNAIDS, the Pan American Health
Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/
WHO), the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), CARICOM and the Canadian International
Development Agency (CIDA), which brought together
high-level Caribbean health, education, economic
development and labour policy-makers. The Bahamas
is committed to doing its part in addressing this serious
problem and has offered to host a regional centre to
assist in combating this HIV/AIDS pandemic.
The agenda set for the United Nations by world
leaders is a formidable one. Forgive me if I restate the
obvious — the Secretary-General cannot carry out the
crucial mandates we ourselves have entrusted to him
unless and until he is assured of adequate and
predictable resources on a timely basis. At the same
time, the quotas on the basis of which the Organization
receives its resources must be assessed in a fair,
transparent and equitable manner. Only in this way will
we be able to give renewed impetus to the vibrant
process of administrative and budgetary reform
currently under way. By so doing, we will also break
the cycle of the Organization's inability to implement
the mandates that we ourselves have collectively set.
Furthermore, we must arrest the process whereby
many issues, including some of critical concern to
developing countries, have been moved out of the
ambit of this universal Organization into narrower,
special interest organizations. These organizations
harmonize and seek the interest of their Member States.
Therefore, the decisions they take can run counter, not
only to the interest of non-Member States, but also to
that of global society as a whole.
24

Allow me to raise one more serious concern - the
safety and security of our international civil service,
the dedicated men and women who are the embodiment
of the United Nations global outreach. In this respect,
we extend our profound condolences to the families of
the staff members who lost their lives as a result of the
recent attack on the United Nations office in West
Timor. We also join other delegations in condemning
this attack and in urging the Government of Indonesia
to spare no effort in bringing those responsible to
justice. We also extend condolences to the family of
the United Nations refugee worker killed in an attack
in Guinea. In situations such as these, we must show
that we can meet the concerns of our peoples and our
world.
Through the historic Millennium Declaration,
heads of State and Government reaffirmed their faith in
the United Nations and its Charter as indispensable
foundations for a more peaceful, prosperous and just
world. They also emphasized that the United Nations is
the pre-eminent global organization and has a central
role in setting and acting upon the global agenda.
Heads of State and Government equally provided us
with a concise, focused and realistic blueprint for
action by the United Nations in the twenty-first
century. They have charged the Secretary-General to
keep a score-card, the results of which will determine
whether we have been true and honourable custodians
of the United Nations Charter. It is imperative for us to
demonstrate individually, and through our collective
efforts, that we can leave for succeeding generations
the kind of world envisioned in our Charter.


I am
very pleased on behalf of the people and the
Government of Guinea to convey to Mr. Harri Holkeri
of Finland our warmest congratulations on his
unanimous election to preside over our deliberations at
the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. His
election highlighted his merits, his personal qualities
and his rich experience in international affairs. It also
reflected the high esteem in which the international
community holds his great country, Finland, whose
commitment to the ideals of peace, justice, progress
and the advancement of women is well known and
appreciated by one and all. As a member of the General
Committee at this session, my delegation wishes to
assure the President of its support and full cooperation.
It gives me pleasure also to pay tribute to the
President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth
session, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, who
honourably carried out his weighty responsibilities in
the service of the Organization.
Let me also pay tribute to the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, whose exemplary work at the helm of
the Organization merits our highest appreciation and
our support. I take this opportunity moreover to thank
the Secretary-General for his report (A/54/2000)
entitled “We the peoples: the role of the United Nations
in the twenty-first century”. That remarkable document
takes account of all the current concerns of Member
States.
I welcome the admission of the State of Tuvalu as
the one hundred eighty-ninth Member of the
Organization. This reinforces the universality of the
United Nations.
This session of the General Assembly is a historic
one. It is taking place just as the Organization has
successfully concluded the Millennium Summit, which
brought together in this Hall nearly all the world's
leaders. The outcome of that important Summit is a
source of hope for our peoples at the dawn of the new
millennium.
Just one week ago, from this very rostrum, the
Prime Minister of Guinea informed the international
community of a barbarous act of aggression against the
Republic of Guinea, an act of aggression whose sole
aim was to destabilize my country. Deadly, devastating
attacks have been carried out against the peaceful
population of Guinea. These were led by armed gangs
from Liberia, but it is regrettable to have to note that
another fraternal African country, Burkina Faso, has
also been involved in the aggression. The Republic of
Guinea, a land of peace and hospitality, which has paid
an enormous price by receiving hundreds of thousands
of refugees and which is working for the restoration of
peace and harmony in West Africa, has thus been the
victim of aggression by the same people who caused
the genocide and mutilations in Liberia and in Sierra
Leone.
41

I urgently call on the international community
strongly to condemn this aggression, which is part of a
plan to destabilize the subregion. It is this that justifies
my Government's request to the Security Council that
vigorous measures be taken to guarantee peace,
security and stability in the West African region.
The Government of Guinea has had to face the
severe consequences of the massive presence of
800,000 on its territory for the past decade, and it has
been obliged to divert resources from our country's
economic development programmes. That is why my
Government is most grateful for the United Nations
initiative to convene a conference for support and
solidarity with respect to Guinea. On behalf of my
Government, I wish once again to convey my
delegation's sincere thanks to the Secretary-General
and to all others who have contributed to this important
initiative. My country looks forward with great interest
to the completion of this initiative with the convening
of a second meeting, scheduled to be held in November
at Geneva.
This is the proper moment for my delegation to
turn to the thorny question of conflict in Africa.
Indeed, many of the crises that have emerged on our
continent pose a threat to peace and constitute a grave
violation of the principles and purposes of the United
Nations. The scope of these crises and their proliferation
jeopardizes all efforts at national development and at
achieving subregional integration. I take this opportunity to
welcome the report (A/55/305) of the Panel on United
Nations Peace Operations, chaired by Mr. Lakhdar
Brahimi. Its recommendations enabled the Security
Council to adopt an important resolution on ensuring an
effective role for the Council in the maintenance of
international peace and security, particularly in Africa. My
delegation hopes that the new provisions of that resolution
will be used to guarantee the effectiveness of United
Nations peacekeeping operations.
Among the central priorities of Africa, which
remains the theatre of many conflicts, is the
strengthening of its capacity to prevent, manage and
resolve conflicts. Thus, whether it be the conflict
between Ethiopia and Eritrea or the situation in the
Great Lakes region, in Angola or in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, there have been significant
breakthroughs in the pursuit of peaceful, just and
lasting solutions, thanks to concerted action by the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the United
Nations.
In the West African region, the quest for peace in
Sierra Leone is continuing with the commendable
assistance of States members of the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and
with the active support of the United Nations, through
the deployment of the United Nations Mission in Sierra
Leone (UNAMSIL). My delegation expresses its full
support for Security Council resolution 1306 (2000),
which placed an embargo on the illegal sale of
diamonds from conflict zones. We appeal urgently to
all States and to all specialized agencies to cooperate
actively in the effective implementation of that
resolution.
The proliferation and uncontrolled distribution of
light weapons is another subject of grave concern, and
is a major factor complicating and prolonging conflicts
in Africa and, more tragically, encouraging the
recruitment of child soldiers. Indeed, the resurgence of
rebel movements and the expansion of large-scale
banditry in our countries have been made possible by
that phenomenon. The firm support of the international
community is required to eradicate it. In that
connection, my delegation is pleased at the initiatives
taken by the United Nations and by the OAU to support
the efforts of our States to combat this scourge, which
threatens the stability of our continent.
The beginning of the third millennium brings
many challenges and hopes. It brings the hope of
seeing a plan for the settlement to the conflict in
Western Sahara, thanks to the joint efforts of the OAU
and the United Nations, and the hope of finally seeing
Israel and its Arab neighbours give peace a chance
through a just and lasting settlement to the crisis,
taking into account the legitimate aspirations of the
Palestinian people, as well as the respect for the rights
and dignity of all peoples in the region.
The question of development remains one of the
major challenges of this century, and as such it must
remain at the centre of our Organization's concerns.
At a time when a portion of the planet has
contentedly crossed the threshold of this new
millennium and is embarking, under the rubric of
globalization, on what is called “the new economy”, a
major portion of the world — indeed, the largest
portion — continues to live in poverty, suffering the
perverse effects of this globalization.
With regard to the alarming situation prevailing
on the African continent, the main concern of the
42

peoples of the United Nations must be Africa, so that
the root causes of its non-development can be
eradicated and so that it can be enabled to eliminate
poverty and enhance its capacities in order for it to
have better access to markets. To do that, debt
cancellation, an increase in official development
assistance and better attention to its specific needs
should make it possible to integrate the African
continent into the world economy. That is why my
delegation, based on the correlation between peace and
development, is pleased at the recent decisions taken
by the G-8 in Okinawa, aimed at more effectively
combating poverty and at bridging the digital gap
between the North and the South and at humanizing
globalization.
In that respect, my country calls for more
solidarity on the part of the rich countries, and we
deeply hope that — over and above professions of
good faith — concrete measures will be taken to allow
the developing countries, particularly those in Africa,
to experience sustained growth leading to sustainable
development.
With that in mind, my delegation appeals to all its
development partners to contribute, by means of more
generous and better-targeted aid, to strengthening the
institutional capacities of our States and to creating
adequate infrastructures, which guarantee balanced
development and success in the struggle against
poverty.
The Republic of Guinea is very much concerned
by the ravages of the AIDS virus. We believe that this
battle must further mobilize the international
community so that the necessary sacrifices can be made
to halt this scourge, which has taken more victims in
Africa than anywhere else in the world. That is why my
delegation supports the important decisions that
resulted from the recent International Conference held
in Durban, South Africa.
The protection of fundamental human rights, the
satisfaction of priority human needs and social justice
must remain at the forefront of United Nations
concerns. The United Nations, in its irreplaceable role
as an instrument for the promotion of cooperation and
understanding between peoples, must strengthen the
culture of peace and sharing.
Today it is unanimously acknowledged that the
United Nations can continue to play an effective role
only if there is a necessary reform of its organs, in
particular the Security Council, which has the primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security. The aspirations of strengthening its
authority and ensuring more equitable representation in
the Council for the Organization's Members have been
reiterated many times by the overwhelming majority of
United Nations Members, and recently by virtually all
of the heads of State or Government during the
Millennium Summit. We must also restore to the
General Assembly its central role as the main
deliberative body and, finally, reform the other organs,
with a view to a greater revitalization of the entire
United Nations system. These are the aspirations of the
peoples of the United Nations — to enable this
Organization to face the challenges of the twenty-first
century.
In his statement at the Millennium Summit, the
Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea reiterated the
total commitment of our country to the principles of
the United Nations and to the Charter. In this
Assembly, I would like to reaffirm this commitment,
which has never been found wanting in the history of
my country. Under the leadership of its President,
General Lansana Conté, a man of peace and dialogue,
Guinea has always struggled to uplift human dignity, to
defend freedom, to restore peace and to cultivate
harmony among peoples.
Guinea will continue, side by side with other
Member States of our Organization, to work resolutely
to free humankind from the spectre of war, violence,
exclusion and intolerance, and for a world of peace,
justice and solidarity for all.


Allow me first to
associate myself with the statement by my colleague,
the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of
the European Union. May I also congratulate you,
Mr. Vice-President, and through you, President
Holkeri, on your election to preside over this
millennium Assembly.
A few days ago, leaders from all over the world
gathered at the Millennium Summit. They gathered to
reaffirm their faith in the Charter and to give direction
to the United Nations in the twenty-first century. The
Charter remains as relevant as ever with its mandate to
promote peace and security, create an international
community based on the rule of law, uphold respect for
human rights and promote social development.
The new millennium brings new challenges to the
United Nations in an ever more globalized world.
Increased communication between countries and
peoples reinforces the need for common norms of
social and economic behaviour. The global United
Nations conferences within the last decade bear witness
to the value of the United Nations as a unique norm
setting forum. The follow up conferences to the social
Summit in Copenhagen and the Beijing Conference on
Women are cases in point.
These United Nations summits have advanced our
understanding of the interaction between peace,
development and human rights. The United Nations
process on financing for development offers an
opportunity for renewed commitment and action. The
relationship between social development and
promotion of human rights is today recognized. The
best preventive action against conflict and strife is to
ensure sound economic and social development based
on good governance, respect for human rights and
protection of minorities.
An encouraging and innovative feature is the
decision adopted by the Economic and Social Council
in July to establish a permanent forum on indigenous
issues thereby advancing the aspirations of indigenous
peoples. The Danish Government and the home rule
Government of Greenland welcome this recent
development. We will actively support the work of the
permanent forum.
I welcome the fact that the Security Council has
shown increasing attention to humanitarian issues. The
open meeting in the Council on Africa in January gave
new prominence to the humanitarian challenges for this
continent. In the past year, the Council has taken up
issues as diverse as AIDS in Africa, protection of
civilians in armed conflicts and children in armed
conflict. These initiatives increase our awareness of the
root causes of conflict.
The international community must shoulder its
responsibility in relation to the AIDS epidemic in sub-
Saharan Africa. The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS could
seal the fate of more than 30 million Africans over the
next five years and epidemic undermines decades of
development efforts and dissolves the social texture of
nations. It could destabilize entire regions. The AIDS
epidemic is not a local problem. It is a matter of
security of global importance. Africa has enormous
potential but millions continue to survive on less than
one dollar a day.
The growing transfer of private capital rarely
flows to the countries in Africa. We must do more to
integrate Africa into the world economy. Trade
opportunities must be improved. We must give free
access to the markets of industrialized countries, as
well as to products where African countries have a
genuine competitive advantage.
The legal framework of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) must take into account the special
difficulties of developing countries. Trade-related
technical assistance must be improved.
Peace and security, we know, are fundamental
conditions for economic and social development. War,
internal strife and political unrest have devastated large
parts of Africa, causing untold human suffering and
destruction. No one should expect easy solutions, but
we must work together to prevent and resolve armed
conflicts in Africa.
We witness an increased African effort in the
field of peace and security. The international
community must support this trend through our active
involvement. We must assist in capacity-building by
relevant African organizations, and by backing United
Nations peacekeeping efforts. Africa itself must create
the conditions for international involvement. We
welcome the initiatives by the Security Council to
create common ground for United Nations
peacekeeping operations by inviting the parties
involved to discussions and special sessions of the
Council in New York.
Although the Camp David talks did not bring
about an agreement in the Middle East, they
represented a major step forward. They helped to
narrow down differences on key issues. A
breakthrough has never before seemed so close at hand.
Time, however, is quickly running out. I urge the
parties to seize this historic opportunity. I salute the
political courage displayed by the Israeli and the
Palestinian leadership in their efforts to achieve a
durable solution. I welcome the recent decision by the
Palestinian Central Council to defer the decision on the
question of statehood in the interest of further
negotiations.
Democracy is a peacemaker. Democracies are
much less prone to violent conflicts. The Secretary-
General recently called attention to what he called fig
leaf democracies. The fig leaf of elections does not by
itself turn a dictatorship into a democracy. Elections
can even lead to a backlash as frustrations rise and
tensions turn into violence.
Denmark increasingly turns her efforts towards
the prevention and management of violent conflicts in
line with our comprehensive engagement in developing
countries and active involvement in United Nations
peacekeeping activities. We will strengthen this ability
to react quickly and effectively.
We will also continue to support regional
cooperation also when it comes to countering the
uncontrolled spread of small arms. Landmines are
substantial obstacles to development. Increased efforts
by the United Nations, Governments and non-
governmental organizations are necessary. Right now,
new momentum is needed. The second meeting of
States Parties to the Ottawa Convention provides an
important opportunity.
Peace operations are no longer a question of
merely keeping the warring parties apart or monitoring
ceasefires. They are a comprehensive and complex
undertaking involving disarmament, demobilization of
combatants, supervision of elections, monitoring of
human rights and training of local police among others.
We must enable the United Nations to adapt to the new
realities, do things better and avoid such failures as
happened in Rwanda. I fully support the
recommendations in the Brahimi Report on United
Nations peace operations. We must provide stronger
political and financial support to the Organization. I
welcome the proposed shift towards the use of civilian
police and the rule of law, as I welcome the focus on
rapid deployment of military and civilian personnel.
Police and judicial experts are indispensable to
rebuilding the economy in civil society, and their work
must be based on a solid peace-building strategy. Close
cooperation between the United Nations and other
international organizations is called for. We must
establish a partnership between the United Nations and
regional actors.
Last year the Secretary-General called upon
Member States to pursue more effective policies to stop
33

organized mass murder and violations of human rights.
I fully support this view. We cannot leave large groups
of people unaided where national authorities do not
live up to their responsibilities. Conflicts in Kosovo
and East Timor raise serious questions with regard to
some of the classic principles of international law, the
principle of State sovereignty, the principle of respect
for human rights and the principle of the non-use of
force in international relations. On the one hand, we
had a basic rule of international law incorporated into
the United Nations Charter ó that the use of force in
international relations is prohibited unless authorized
by the Security Council or in self-defence. On the other
hand, many countries find that there is a political and
moral obligation to act in the face of atrocities causing
large-scale human suffering within another State.
There is no clear-cut solution to this dilemma.
But surely no legal principle, including sovereignty,
can be used as a shield to commit crimes against
humanity and other serious violations of human rights.
The Security Council has a moral obligation to act on
behalf of the international community. We must
remember that the United Nations was founded, in the
words of the Charter, in order to reaffirm faith in
fundamental human rights. Any intervention reflects a
failure of prevention. As a last resort, the international
community must have the ability to act in the face of
organized mass murder or ethnic-cleansing, even if the
Security Council is blocked. The challenge is to keep
open the option of humanitarian intervention without
Security Council authorization in extreme cases, but to
do so without jeopardizing the international legal order.
We must ensure that the Security Council
functions as effectively as possible. If not, the
influence of the Council will be diminished. The
permanent members of the Security Council should
apply the right of veto only in matters of vital
importance. Therefore, I reiterate my proposal to
establish a procedural rule; a rule according to which a
permanent member of the Security Council would have
to state the reasons why it has decided to exercise its
right of veto in a given situation. Furthermore, the
Member State should state on which grounds it
considers that matters of vital importance are at stake. I
hope that this idea can be further developed and that it
can gain broad support.
I have addressed new challenges and possibilities
at the start of the new millennium. Let me end by
reminding this Assembly that old challenges still need
to be addressed. Weapons of mass destruction are a
lethal legacy of the cold war. They need our continued
attention. Certain States are still pursuing the
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and
building a missile capacity. There is a need for further
improvement of the international non-proliferation
regimes. Peace, development and human rights have
been the essentials in the work of the United Nations
from the very beginning. They remain essential. The
primary responsibility for a more peaceful, prosperous
and just world rests with Governments, but the United
Nations is here to help us. The Millennium Summit
confirmed our common will to work together as truly
united nations.
I cannot leave this Assembly without expressing
my deep concern at the situation in Burma. The
treatment of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is a disgrace, and
I call on the regime in Burma to immediately restore
Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom of speech,
movement and communication.


It
gives me great pleasure to congratulate you, Sir, on
your election to the presidency of this General
Assembly session. We are confident that the posts you
have assumed in your country and the international
respect that you enjoy will facilitate the task entrusted
to you in leading the deliberations of this session of the
General Assembly to their desired objectives.
I would also like to express our appreciation to
the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia for his
efforts in leading the work of the previous session to a
successful conclusion. I would be remiss if I failed to
thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his
efforts to maintain the principles and purposes of the
Charter and for the distinguished role he has played in
crystallizing the idea of convening the Millennium
Summit last week. It was indeed an unusual event in
United Nations history.
The historic Millennium Summit Declaration
confirmed unequivocally and clearly the commitment
of all the Heads of State and Government of the world
to the principles and purposes of the Charter of the
United Nations. We believe that the absence of any
substantial difference between the Charter and the
Declaration is an important achievement in itself. The
historic Declaration issued by the Millennium Summit
may be considered, in one way or another, as a
renewed vote of confidence in the Charter, particularly,
as the world has recently witnessed major changes and
dangerous challenges. One may therefore conclude that
the principles and purposes adopted by peoples and
nations do not undergo major changes with the passage
of time.
It would be wrong to underestimate the
significance of this conclusion for the history of the
United Nations. The end of the cold war did not
prevent the peoples and nations of the world from
denouncing and condemning crimes of aggression,
ethnic-cleansing, foreign occupation, oppression,
extremism, injustice, corruption, racism and double
standards. Nor did this make us hesitate to glorify
many noble objectives, such as freedom, peace,
equality, solidarity, tolerance, human rights and social
justice.
It is fortunate that third world countries and poor
countries host large populations with bountiful
resources and great heritage. This constitutes a safety
net for those countries that were able to contribute to
maintaining the principles and purposes of the United
Nations when drafting the Millennium Declaration.
This explains the lack of any reference to the new
world order, either in the Millennium Summit
Declaration or in any other official text. Regrettably,
however, this becomes evident in reality, whereby
hegemony seems to have the upper hand in the
international arena.
Strengthening the role of the United Nations was
the main topic on the Summit's agenda. This role
would also become clear in reforming the Security
18

Council and expanding its membership. The United
Nations membership considers the Council the
Organization's primary organ. This reform process
should be accomplished by expanding the Security
Council membership, the granting of equitable and fair
geographical representation and the gradual phasing
out of the use of the right of veto, which contradicts the
concept of democracy, particularly when its aim is
nothing short of undermining the democratic process.
United Nations peacekeeping operations have
contributed to creating conditions conducive to ending
the deterioration of security conditions in many
countries of the world. Throughout the past years, the
Syrian Arab Republic has done everything it could to
preserve the security and safety of United Nations
peacekeeping personnel and to ensure that they
successfully carry out their missions and mandates. But
peacekeeping operations must be confined to enforcing
United Nations resolutions and those of international
legitimacy. The Security Council has therefore to
enforce its resolutions so that peacekeeping operations
will not simply become operations to impose the status
quo, which makes the achievement of true peace a very
elusive objective.
The peace process launched in Madrid has been
losing its momentum, incentive and compass, day after
day and year after year. The Security Council, which
has the authority and international legitimacy to
enforce its own resolutions, has been kept out of the
Middle East peace process. It has become a silent
witness to the fact that the peace process in the Middle
East has reached a dead end.
It has become quite obvious to all those involved
in the peace process, both inside and outside our
region, that continued Israeli occupation of Arab
territories  which is sometimes explained by Israel's
psychological need for security and at other times by
superstitious myths  is the major obstacle on the road
to peace. Those futile claims, which have no
foundation in reality whatsoever, have caused the peace
process to become an endless negotiating process with
neither end nor resolution in sight.
At any rate, the serious and carefully considered
negotiations that Syria has conducted have proven to
the international community at large, and to Arabs in
particular, two main things: first, that Israel is neither
desirous of, nor serious about, pursuing a just and
comprehensive peace in accordance with United
Nations resolutions; and, secondly, that Syria has the
right to a full return of the entire Golan, to the 4 June
1967 line, without concessions or compromises.
We would like to mention another fact known to
our foes and friends alike. That fact is that Syria has
unreservedly supported every Arab and Palestinian
right during every stage of the peace talks. It did not
take those positions to embarrass anyone or to
negotiate on their behalf. As a matter of principle,
Syria has been, and continues to be, committed to the
inalienable rights of the Palestinian people to return to
their lands, to self-determination, and to establish their
independent State on their national soil. On that basis,
Syria presented its position clearly and firmly at the
meeting of the Jerusalem Committee that was convened
in Morocco at the end of last month in support of the
rights of Muslims and Arabs to full and
uncompromised Palestinian sovereignty over Al-Quds
Al-Sharif.
The Arabs are an ancient and time-honoured
nation known for its religious tolerance. But tolerance
is one thing and conceding one's rights is something
else. Territory and sovereignty are matters of national
dignity that can never be forfeited or compromised.
At the Millennium Summit, the countries of the
world expressed their belief that we live today in an
age of international law and under the United Nations
Charter, international legitimacy and human rights, and
not in an age of the law of the jungle and futile
religious claims to justify the usurpation of other
peoples' land by force. This requires from the
international community and the United Nations a
more firm and non-selective stand in defending the
Charter and international law and in prompting Israel
to respect international legitimacy and international
conventions and to implement the resolutions of the
United Nations.
The brotherly Lebanese people have achieved a
historic milestone, thanks to their solidarity and that of
their State, in strongly resisting Israeli occupation.
Syria stood by Lebanon firmly in order to ensure the
full implementation of resolution 425 (1978). Syria
will always stand by Lebanon and support all its
national issues, especially the ones concerning the
return of all its territory and the return of its hostages
held in Israeli jails. In this regard, we urge the donor
countries to fulfil their commitments to help Lebanon
rebuild what Israel has destroyed, particularly the
19

damage it caused during its occupation of southern
Lebanon.
From this international forum, Syria would like
once again to stress the great importance it attaches to
maintaining the territorial integrity of Iraq. We call for
relieving the suffering of the Iraqi people by lifting the
economic sanctions that only affect the people. We also
stand against any measures taken against Iraq outside
the context of United Nations resolutions so that those
resolutions will retain the necessary credibility to bring
about their implementation.
We also deem it necessary to find a just and
humane solution to the question of Kuwaiti and other
prisoners of war, within a practical framework agreed
upon between the Kuwaiti and Iraqi sides. We do not
want the issue of prisoners of war and missing persons
to remain outside the human and political framework
that will allow us to arrive at a solution.
Syria also calls upon the Security Council to
quickly and permanently lift the sanctions it imposed
against Libya. Libya has delivered on all its
commitments under Security Council resolutions. We
fully support Libya's demands.
In view of the strong, brotherly relations between
Syria, the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic
Republic of Iran, we call upon the two neighbouring
countries to pursue negotiations to resolve peacefully
the dispute over the three islands on the basis of the
principles of good neighbourliness and mutual respect.
Syria believes that the establishment of a trilateral
committee to pave the way for direct negotiations
between Iran and the United Arab Emirates through the
creation of favourable conditions is a practical
initiative. We hope that it will allow the two parties to
arrive at a satisfactory conclusion.
We would like to welcome the achievements of
the representatives of Somalia in forming a temporary
Somali parliament and electing Mr. AbdiKassim Salad
Hassan as President of democratic Somalia. We
consider these achievements as major pillars for the
restoration of Somali State institutions. We call upon
the international community to redouble its efforts to
help Somalis carry out the tasks of reconstruction and
rehabilitation.
The continued tragic situation in Afghanistan is a
source of great concern to us. We are convinced that
the problem of Afghanistan can only be solved by
stopping the fighting and beginning negotiations aimed
at achieving national reconciliation. It must also be
solved by finding an acceptable and permanent
political settlement that brings about security and
stability for the Afghan people. Many Arab and Islamic
countries fear that continued and senseless fighting in
Afghanistan may lead to undermining the concept of
the State in that country and to destroying its heritage
and whatever is left of its historic traditions.
Syria welcomes the discussions convened at the
highest level in Pyongyang in June 2000. We express
the hope that this rapprochement between the two
Koreas will contribute to achieving the aspirations of
the Korean people in reunifying the peninsula through
peaceful means.
There was a consensus in the statements delivered
at the Millennium Summit and in the Summit
Declaration about the need to exert all possible efforts
to rid humanity of the humiliating and inhumane
conditions of extreme poverty, in which more than a
billion people live. The Summit stressed the
commitment of Member States to basic human rights,
as well as to the right of every country to development.
We think this will require developing a new economic
international order that is just, fair and democratic. It
will also require finding a multilateral commercial and
financial system characterized by transparency,
equality and non-discrimination. We must also find the
best mechanism possible to solve developmental
problems, especially on the African continent. Such a
system should also give preferential treatment to
developing countries in order to facilitate investment
and the transfer of technology and know-how. That
would allow for full, effective and equal participation
by the South in the process of decision-making at the
international level. Although these requests seem far-
fetched now, they will in the final analysis serve all
parties and States, whether they be rich or poor, in the
North or in the South.
We had fervently hoped that a just and
comprehensive peace in the Middle East would have
been achieved by the beginning of the twenty-first
century and with the ushering in of this new
millennium. Nonetheless, we remain optimistic. Peace
will remain our strategic choice and that of all peoples
who aspire to a bright future in which peace, security
and prosperity prevail for human beings everywhere.


As head of the delegation of the
Republic of Equatorial Guinea, and on behalf of His
Excellency Don Santiago Nsobeya Efuman, Minister
for Foreign Affairs, International Cooperation and
Francophone Affairs, I am honoured to address the
Assembly.
First, I congratulate you, Sir, former Prime
Minister of Finland, on your election to preside over
the deliberations of the General Assembly at its fifty-
fifth session. We also sincerely congratulate Mr. Theo-
Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of our sister
Republic of Namibia, on the excellent work
accomplished during the previous session and on his
acclaimed activities in coordinating the preparations
for the Millennium Summit, which has just ended.
I also take this opportunity to extend particular
congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, and his team for their full commitment to
promoting the mandate of the United Nations, as well
as for the plan to strengthen its future work, as
reflected in his outstanding report.
We warmly welcome the Republic of Tuvalu to
the United Nations.
Just two weeks ago we celebrated within these
four walls the most important event in the history of
humankind, when our heads of State and Government
established general guidelines that must govern the
future of our Organization, and that form a strong
foundation on which we can, and must, work. We must
now follow up all the proposals and recommendations
made by our leaders, with the firm goal of
implementing them, which would result in a promising
future for all nations — those of the North and South
and East and West.
His Excellency Obiang Nguema Mbasogo,
President of the Republic, head of State and founding
chairman of the Democratic Party of Equatorial
Guinea, in his address on the first day of the
Millennium Summit, affirmed that the turn of the
century showed us a threatened world, one constantly
in danger of collapse and in a permanent state of
uncertainty about its destiny and the survival of
humankind, one that conveyed an apocalyptic feeling
that was shared by all alike — nations large and small,
rich and poor.
In order to follow up the proposals and
recommendations of the Millennium Summit, we must
start with the fact that democracy begins at home. In
our specific case, that means the United Nations, which
is our shared home, where the voice of the majority
must prevail; that is a basic principle of the historic
San Francisco Charter of 1945.
Equatorial Guinea therefore joins the call for
urgent, much needed reform and empowerment of the
United Nations — an appropriate formula for achieving
the fair and just representation of the African continent
and other regions of the world, which we regard as a
fundamental issue, particularly with regard to the
Security Council. If this is not achieved, an
environment of distrust may result, as well as a
weakening of the role of our great Organization and its
all-important task of promoting and ensuring
international peace and security.
At present, some individuals enjoy a level of
wealth which in the past was inconceivable, while the
22

victims of poverty continue to suffer intolerable forms
of deprivation. The poor remain marginalized and
excluded, and day by day their ranks are increasing
considerably. Almost a quarter of the world's
population now lives in poverty.
Today, pensions and social security protect many
individuals from poverty, but poverty in old age
remains prevalent around the world. Poverty must be
the main concern in United Nations endeavours. The
struggle against poverty must be strengthened, and if
possible poverty must be eradicated, because the
subject of poverty eradication is an ethical, social,
political and economic imperative of humankind, as is
finding solutions to the conflicts and fratricidal wars
that take millions of victims in different parts of the
world.
Poverty eradication requires an improvement in
economic growth and in employment opportunities.
The causes of poverty must also be tackled in the
context of sectoral strategies, such as strategies for the
environment, food security, health, education,
population, immigration, housing, development of
human resources, rural development, drinking water
and sanitation.
Poverty eradication is therefore one of the
primary tasks to which the peoples of the twenty-first
century aspire, as an action which will promote the
development and prosperity of the human being and
will consolidate the culture of democracy and the
respect for human rights.
Other problems that need analysis and solutions
from the international community are the rights of the
child, the integration of women in development and the
thorny issue of the foreign debt. As for the rights of the
child, we must see to it that the activities and the
follow-up of the World Summit for Children are
integrated with economic actions to be implemented as
a result of the other United Nations conferences held in
the 1990s. In this respect, we must see to it that there is
renewed thinking about the obligations stemming from
the ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the
Child by each country and a renewed commitment to
them. This must guide our actions in the future.
As for the subject of women, we must eliminate
all discriminatory practices against women and respect
the procedures and the provisions that are inherent in
the convention on this subject, as well as the
recommendations stemming from the Fourth World
Conference on Women held in Beijing in 1995 and
from the special session of the General Assembly held
in June 2000.
On foreign debt, we fervently appeal to donors
that they cancel the foreign debt of the developing
countries with the understanding that the funds
released will be injected into the most vulnerable
sectors in the economies of those countries, such as
education, health, water and sanitation.
We are gratified that among the major areas of
progress in the twentieth century we see a growing
awareness in humankind regarding respect for and
promotion of human rights, democracy and good
governance. In our country, because of the imperative
of survival and the objectives of well-being and
progress, we will continue on the agreed path towards
the necessary restoration of all the rights to which our
vulnerable and marginal groups aspire, in other words
women, children, the disabled, refugees and those
persons displaced by crisis and disasters. At the present
time in Malabo, the capital of our nation, we have
officially established the Centre for the Promotion of
Human Rights and the Committee in Support of the
Equatorial Guinean Child. This Committee was
established under the chairmanship of the First Lady of
the nation, Her Excellency Mrs. Constancia Mangue de
Obiang.
We have also experienced democracy in a spirit
of joy with fraternity and without divisiveness, as is
described by our national anthem, and also without
internal upheaval. The national constitution, known as
the Magna Carta of Akonibe, clearly stipulates the
establishment and institutionalization of political
pluralism in Equatorial Guinea. This has made it
possible for a number of political parties to be
established. These parties have signed a national
covenant with the political party which is in power
with the purpose of establishing and strengthening
mechanisms for dialogue among the parties. At the
present time, all are participating actively in aspiring to
political power in the country. In this respect we thank
God, the Creator, for having inspired us in this model
of participatory and peaceful democracy.
In September 1997 at the Congressional Palace of
Bata, the National Economic Conference was held with
the participation of all social sectors in our country. In
the final report of this important event, we find the
recommendations for programmes and projects to be
23

implemented by the Government in the short, medium
and long-term as our economic development strategy.
We cannot conceal our concern at the steady
decline in international cooperation resources towards
Equatorial Guinea, as we have recently seen in many of
the projects and programmes that are implemented in
the country with external resources. In this respect we
want to avail ourselves of this forum to invite the
international community to steadily increase the
volume of international cooperation activities in
Equatorial Guinea.
With the primary purpose of ensuring peace and
security in our subregion, we hope that the United
Nations will support the appropriate mechanisms for
the maintenance of peace, security, stability,
cooperation and development in the Central African
subregion, following the political will of the heads of
State of that subregion, inspired by the establishment
of the Council of Peace and Security in Central Africa
(COPAX), a body for political and military agreement
among the member countries of the Economic
Community of Central African States (ECCAS).
As regards the promotion of measures for the
maintenance and the strengthening of peace and
security, we have, within COPAX, a Central African
Multinational Force (FOMAC) and an Early Warning
Mechanism for Central Africa (MARAC). The
Government of the Republic of Equatorial Guinea has
contributed with determination to financing these
institutions so that they can function properly.
We sincerely regret the armed conflicts that exist
at the present time on the African continent and in
other parts of the world, for example, the case of
Angola, the situation of the countries in the Great
Lakes region and the crisis in Sierra Leone. We
welcome the ceasefire in the conflict between Ethiopia
and Eritrea, and it is our hope that the parties will
undertake dialogue with a view to a lasting peace.
Likewise, we view with satisfaction the restoration of
peace and authority in the sister republic of Somalia. In
this respect, we commend the United Nations, the
Organization of African Unity, the League of Arab
States, the Islamic Conference and all of those who
directly or indirectly contributed to the arduous task of
restoring peace to that country.
We strongly condemn the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction. We support the struggle
against crime and the struggle against the global
problem of drugs and related crimes and against illicit
arms trafficking and international terrorism. We fully
support the initiative reaffirmed by the Central
American countries in their commitment to make
Central America a region of peace, freedom,
democracy and development and particularly to
gradually and progressively stimulate the Central
American Union to ensure a promising future for that
region.
In the Middle East, we congratulate the
commendable political work done by the President of
the United States Bill Clinton to mediate a lasting
peace in the region. We hope that a proper
interpretation and implementation of the proposals and
recommendations of our leaders at the Summit, as well
as the outstanding statements made at this
distinguished Assembly, will guide us towards a better
and more prosperous future for all the nations of the
world.


The Government of Bolivia has given me the task of
conveying its most sincere congratulations to you, Sir,
on your election as President of the General Assembly
at its fifty-fifth session, which is a recognition of your
personal merits and a tribute to your country. At the
same time, I thank Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab for his work
during the fifty-fourth session and for his dedication
during the preparations for the Millennium Summit and
the Millennium Assembly.
Special thanks must also go to Secretary-General
Kofi Annan for his report preparatory to the
Millennium Summit, the content of which has given us
an opportunity to reflect upon and address specific
issues with which the United Nations has been
concerned in its 55 years of existence.
We also welcome the recent admission of Tuvalu
as a new, fully fledged Member of our Organization.
10

The recent Millennium Summit reaffirmed the
recognition by the international community of the
importance and significance of, and the prospects for,
the United Nations Organization. It also highlighted the
urgency of adapting it to, and equipping it for, the new
realities in which we live, which are certainly quite
different from the situation and circumstances that
prevailed when our Organization came into being.
The concerns of peoples and Governments today
are also different. Poverty, underdevelopment and
exacerbated inequalities contribute to new divisions,
which threaten to lead to violence. These realities must
be corrected, because they have the potential of
spawning conflicts that, if allowed to persist, could
seriously jeopardize the world's economic and political
stability, and, it goes without saying, international
peace and security.
Our Organization needs to be strengthened if it is
successfully to channel the expectations and
opportunities of globalization while controlling, and
indeed preventing, the dangers implicit in it, especially
for the more vulnerable economies, which are now
threatened by new forms of exclusion.
The United Nations must be renewed so that it
can continue to be the effective instrument for dialogue
that is required to build a world in which greater
security and solidarity prevail.
We must consequently redefine the
Organization's priorities in such a way as to make it
conducive to clear-sighted and effective action. This
will require substantial reform of the system's
economic and financial bodies, modernization of the
General Assembly's methods of work, and the
adaptation of the Security Council to these new
realities. Other, equally important tasks include
ensuring that the necessary resources are available to
the Organization; obtaining financing for development
and peacekeeping operations; and adjusting the scale of
assessments in accordance with the basic principle of a
country's capacity to pay.
A few short days ago, at the Millennium Summit,
the President of Bolivia, Hugo Bánzer Suárez, referred
to the close relationship between freedom and poverty,
and between poverty and violence. He called for the
fight against poverty to be waged in accordance with
the principle of shared responsibility and with a
genuine commitment to democracy, in order to mitigate
present inequalities, which are threatening to intensify.
It is unfair, in an open economy, for markets to be
closed and for discriminatory measures to be applied
with protectionist intent. It is also vital to favour
countries with small-scale economies through greater
capital inflows and debt relief programmes.
Science and technology must become the heritage
of humankind. Scientific and technological knowledge
must not widen already existing gaps and divisions.
At the historic meeting of South American
Presidents, held recently in Brasilia, the heads of State
of the region stressed the importance of access to the
new information and knowledge age, which will open
the way for our countries to strengthen a system of
continuing education that ensures education at all
levels for the all sectors of society and permits
unrestricted access to knowledge and information.
Democracy, which essentially seeks to organize
life in society, is a vital concept that changes and is
updated in tune with the changing pace of societies
themselves, without in any way detracting from its
fundamental values. Convinced as we are that
democracy must go beyond electoral formalities and
that sovereignty is vested in the people and expressed
through its representatives, we in Bolivia have declared
the principle of political dialogue and consultation to
be the basis of a pluralistic and participatory
democratic system.
In that context, the practice of holding a national
dialogue was instituted during the administration of
President Bánzer. That mechanism is aimed at
establishing a new relationship of joint efforts and
shared responsibility between Government institutions,
the political system and organizations throughout
society. The creation of key State policies grew out of
the first such national dialogue, held in 1997.
This year, a national dialogue has been initiated
once again to lend fresh impetus to institutional
reforms and to put together a national anti-poverty
programme. A new plan, involving over 3,000
inhabitants in townships across Bolivia, is being
elaborated whose objective is to assign rights and
responsibilities that, within the framework of a market
economy, will make it possible for us to combat the
poverty that still afflicts vast sectors of our population,
despite nearly 20 years of life under democracy.
Shortly after taking office, in August 1997,
President Bánzer Suárez vowed that during his

mandate Bolivia would be removed from the drug-
trafficking loop once and for all, through the
implementation of an integrated policy that
encompasses alternative development, the eradication
of illegal coca crops, confiscation, prevention and
rehabilitation.
Despite doubts as to the feasibility of this plan,
we can now affirm that we will be fulfilling our
commitments ahead of time. In 1997, there were
approximately 38,000 hectares of illegal coca
cultivation in Bolivia. Today, more than 80 per cent of
such illegal crops have been eradicated.
Our concern now is essentially whether we can
sustain these achievements. Conditions must be created
which in future will obviate a return to coca-leaf
production as a result of the lack of jobs and income.
Our major efforts now are aimed at alternative
development, to see to it that illegal coca income is
replaced by legal earnings from other productive
activities. If we do not achieve concrete results, we run
the risk of seeing those persons who cannot hope to
find any other means of subsistence fall once again
prey to the temptation of cultivating coca. That would
constitute a surrender to the drug dealers and signify a
defeat not only for Bolivia but for the world
community.
What Bolivia needs, then, is support in two basic
areas: first, in the area of investment, to promote our
economic growth in the sectors that generate the most
job opportunities; and secondly, in the opening of
secure markets for our exports.
At previous sessions of the Assembly, Bolivia has
aired the historical, political and economic arguments
on which it bases its absolute need to regain the
maritime status that gave rise to its existence as an
independent country. To that end, Bolivia has been
encouraging direct dialogue with the Republic of Chile.
As a consequence of prior contacts, the Foreign
Ministers of Bolivia and Chile met in Portugal in
February this year, where an agreement was reached to
prepare a working programme, to be formalized in the
subsequent stages of dialogue, that will incorporate,
without exclusion of any kind, the essential points of a
bilateral relationship and seek to surmount the
differences that have impeded full integration between
Bolivia and Chile, the main obstacle to which has
certainly been Bolivia's unresolved maritime demand.
In a significant advance, on the occasion of the recent
meeting of Presidents of South America, the Presidents
of Bolivia and Chile, Hugo Bánzer and Ricardo Lagos,
reiterated the willingness of their Governments to enter
into dialogue on all topics relating to bilateral relations,
without exception, in order to create a climate of
mutual trust enabling the establishment of closer ties
based on the structure and positions maintained by the
two countries.
The world community, the Americas in particular,
is following with great expectation the course of this
diplomatic process and the progress achieved therein.
The proposal to hold a dialogue on all topics without
exception is a challenge to the creativity of those
involved and puts to the test our political will to correct
once and for all an unjust situation that has prevailed
since 1879. Furthermore, Latin America's capacity to
settle its own disputes in a fair, peaceful and negotiated
way will be strengthened and progress thus made on
the road to regional integration.
In that context, we propose the implementation of
a programme to promote the integrated development of
western Bolivia and northern Chile. We are also
confident that Peru will participate in this programme
in order to mobilize the resources and capabilities of
the three countries of the region. In this way, a
contribution will be made to linking the Atlantic and
Pacific basins. The persistence of Bolivia's landlocked
status at the heart of the continent is, without doubt, an
obstacle to the creation of a major opportunity for
thoroughgoing understanding and dialogue in the South
American region and minimizes the effectiveness of
work to promote integration being carried out in the
area.
This occasion provides a fitting opportunity for
us to thank Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his
interest in relations between Bolivia and Chile, which
has been brought to the attention of the authorities of
both countries. The Secretary-General has expressed
his satisfaction with respect to the conversations held,
according to the terms laid down by the parties, at the
levels of heads of State, Foreign Ministers and other
authorities of Bolivia and Chile.
My country pledges to make every effort to
translate the desire recently expressed by the Presidents
of Bolivia and Chile into action that will enable us,
Bolivians and Chileans alike, to advance towards the
resolution of our differences, with a view to the future
and in a spirit of brotherhood.
12


The Millennium Summit has given all of us
the priority task of establishing a new and equitable
world order — an order which would meet the interests
of all and every member of the international
community and ensure adequate solutions to the
problems with which the twenty-first century is
confronting us.
I am convinced that in this era of globalization
and enormous scientific and technological progress,
humankind can and should have a comprehensive and
forward-looking strategy. While in the past century
human civilization's main task was that of survival,
today we are confronted with significantly more
difficult problems which are much more varied in
terms of their scope and orientation.
The strategy of survival must give way to a
strategy of sustainable development aimed at ensuring
the prosperity of humankind. It must be based on the
recognition of the indivisibility of international
security, the use of modern scientific and technological
achievements for the benefit of the entire international
6

community, and a gradual closing of the development
gap between the various States.
These ambitious goals can be achieved only
through the preservation and strengthening of strategic
stability in its very broadest sense.
Strategic stability means further progress in the
disarmament process, reliable prevention of the spread
of weapons of mass destruction. Today nuclear
disarmament and non-proliferation are no longer the
subject of exclusive interaction between Russia, the
United States and other nuclear Powers. What is
needed is the effective involvement of multilateral
United Nations mechanisms and the entire world
community in those processes.
The outcome of the Millennium Summit provides
additional opportunities for the achievement of a major
breakthrough in disarmament in the twenty-first
century. This will require consistent joint efforts aimed
at strict compliance with the agreements already
concluded; a step-by-step reduction and eventual
elimination of weapons of mass destruction under
effective international control, and the limitation of
other types of armaments; and prevention of the arms
race in new spheres.
The time has come to give a new impetus to the
work of the Conference on Disarmament, which has
proved in practice the effectiveness of multilateral
diplomacy under the auspices of the United Nations.
Russia advocates the resumption of substantive work at
that forum on major issues on the disarmament agenda.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) provides an indispensable international
legal basis for nuclear disarmament. This has once
again been reaffirmed in full by the 2000 Review
Conference. Russia will work to ensure that the
decisions of the Millennium Assembly promote the
practical implementation of the agreements reached
during that Conference. It is precisely for that purpose
that the President of the Russian Federation, Vladimir
Putin, put forward an initiative on the development and
implementation, under the auspices of the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), of an international
project designed to phase out the use of enriched
uranium and pure plutonium in the civilian nuclear
energy sector.
We are satisfied to note the increasing number of
States acceding to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
(CTBT). Its speedy entry into force is in the interests of
the entire international community. Having ratified the
Treaty, we call on those that have yet not done so to
follow suit.
We expect that the United States will follow
Russia in completing ratification of the Treaty on the
Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic
Offensive Arms (START II), which will help make it
operational. We are ready to actively continue the
process of nuclear disarmament and to move towards
the conclusion of a START III Treaty with an even
lower threshold of nuclear warheads — down to 1,500
units. But this will be feasible only if the 1972 Anti-
Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty remains intact. It is
universally acknowledged that this major Treaty
concerns the vital security interests of the international
community as a whole. Its preservation is a key
element of global stability and a strong barrier to the
arms race in regard to nuclear weapons, missiles and
other weapons of mass destruction.
Russia will be introducing a draft resolution in
support of the ABM Treaty. We hope that, as was the
case last year, our initiative will receive broad support
within the United Nations.
A peaceful earth needs a peaceful outer space. At
the Millennium Summit the President of Russia
proposed the convening in Moscow of an international
conference on the prevention of the weaponization of
outer space, to take place in the spring of 2001, when
the fortieth anniversary of the first manned flight to
outer space is to be commemorated. We hope that this
proposal will be actively supported.
Strategic stability means reliable safeguarding of
international information security and counteracting
the use of scientific and technological achievements for
purposes incompatible with universal progress and the
maintenance of international peace. Aware of the great
importance of resolving these most urgent issues,
Russia will introduce for consideration by the General
Assembly a draft resolution entitled “Developments in
the field of informatization and telecommunications in
the context of international information security”.
Strategic stability also means enhancing peace
and security on all continents, settling existing regional
conflicts and preventing new ones and cutting off
external support for them. Millions of people must be
spared the death and suffering caused by local crises.
7

How can this goal be achieved? It is only through
the joint efforts of all States collectively responsible
for the world's destiny. Experience has shown that
unilateral enforcement actions cannot guarantee a
lasting and fair settlement of crisis situations.
The notions of sovereignty and the territorial
integrity of States are still very much alive. Disregard
for these principles and military intervention
circumventing the Security Council, whatever
humanitarian pretexts may be used, undermine the very
foundations of the world order and pave the way for
arbitrariness in international affairs.
The prevention and settlement of crises should
become a key element of international security in the
twenty-first century. When there is collective
determination and goodwill, even the most complex
and major problems lend themselves to a political
resolution.
All of this calls for improvement of the
peacekeeping potential of our Organization. People in
“hotbeds” of the planet — from Africa and Lebanon to
East Timor — rightly associate with the United Nations
“Blue Helmets” their hopes for an end to bloody
conflicts and for the beginning of complex
reconciliation processes. They expect rapid and
effective steps from us.
We hope that the Millennium Assembly will
provide us with an opportunity to engage in a
comprehensive analysis of the work of United Nations
peacekeeping mechanisms and outline ways to increase
their efficiency. Such is the objective of the report
(A/55/305) prepared under the aegis of the Secretary-
General by the Brahimi Panel. It is important to
considerably enhance the United Nations capacity for
the prompt deployment of peacekeeping operations.
This can be done through the early completion of the
system of standby arrangements. Peacekeeping units of
the United Nations Secretariat need to be strengthened,
with provision for professional planning, control and
command of operations.
Russia consistently advocates the expansion of
cooperation between the United Nations and regional
structures in the field of peacekeeping. Chapter VIII of
the United Nations Charter remains the basis for such
interaction. Any regional or “coalition” operation
should be conducted under conditions of transparency
and of reporting to the United Nations Security
Council, whereas operations with enforcement
elements should be carried out only with the
authorization of the Security Council.
The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS)
is a major regional partner of the United Nations in
peacekeeping. In many respects, it was the close
cooperation between the United Nations and the CIS
that made it possible to successfully resolve the
conflict in Tajikistan. Such interaction will
undoubtedly intensify along with the development of
the CIS anti-crisis potential. At the same time, for a
stable peace to prevail in the conflict-affected regions
in the CIS area the volume of international economic
and humanitarian aid for their rehabilitation should be
increased.
Russia attaches primary importance to the
expansion of cooperation between the United Nations
and regional and subregional mechanisms in Africa to
provide for more effective crisis response on the
continent. This is evidenced by the Russian
participation in peacekeeping operations in a number of
African countries.
The entire experience of United Nations
peacekeeping activities in recent years clearly shows
the priority of political and diplomatic methods of
conflict settlement. It is precisely these methods that
make it possible to minimize the suffering of the
civilian population and to find ways to a stable peace.
Strategic stability means the security and
tranquillity of civil society and of the individual. This
task can be accomplished only through the combined
efforts of the international community to counter
contemporary threats and challenges. These include,
inter alia, aggressive separatism and religious
extremism, illicit arms trafficking and organized crime.
Such an abhorrent manifestation of extremism as
international terrorism poses a direct threat to security
and stability. Today, terrorists of every stripe
sometimes act in a more organized fashion than does
the world community confronting them. We expect that
the United Nations will step up its mobilization of
international capacities to counteract terrorism. Such
cooperation must be based on the clear principles set
forth in the Security Council resolution 1269 (1999):
no support whatsoever, no safe havens for terrorists,
the inevitability of punishment for every terrorist act.
As to those who violate these principles the Security
Council must be ready to take measures against them
provided for in the United Nations Charter.
8

Russia intends to ratify the Convention for the
Suppression of Terrorist Financing elaborated under
United Nations auspices. There is an urgent need to
complete work on the convention for the suppression of
acts of nuclear terrorism, and that work on a
comprehensive anti-terrorism convention should be
stepped up.
Terrorism is often closely linked with drug
trafficking and organized crime. We welcome the
completion of the development of an international
convention against organized crime. Russia intends to
sign it in the nearest future. We also support the
proposal on drafting an international convention on the
fight against corruption.
Strategic stability means promoting human rights
and freedoms everywhere. This area is an important
component of the United Nations activities aimed at
establishing a new world order based on international
law.
Russia contributes significantly to strengthening
the universal legal regime. Our country has signed the
Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Speaking of pooling the efforts of States to
resolve the twofold task of maintaining international
security and ensuring human security, human rights and
freedoms, we should constantly bear in mind that in the
twentieth century the rule of the ideology of racial
hatred cost mankind scores of millions of human lives.
Unfortunately, today, 55 years after the great victory it
is still premature to speak of total eradication of the
bacillus of national superiority.
We cannot accept a situation in which people do
not have the right to use their mother tongue, are
deprived of their citizenship and jobs on ethnic
grounds, when fighters against fascism are put behind
bars while former fascists find favour with the
authorities. The Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights
should firmly respond to all such manifestations.
Strategic stability must be based on a solid
material foundation. The twenty-first century will go
down in history as the century of mankind's
breakthrough to a qualitatively new level of
development only if we manage to preserve peace and
international security and at the same time impart
necessary dynamism and depth to the process of
economic and technological equalization between the
enormous number of developing countries and the
comparatively small group of leading countries. This
goal cannot be achieved overnight. This will require —
under the unifying and guiding hand of the United
Nations — a mechanism for collective democratic
management of the international monetary, trade and
economic systems. They must become more rational
and fair and be targeted against poverty and
underdevelopment.
It is important to make the most of those
opportunities which have been opened up by the new
technological revolution in order to initiate the process
of bridging the gap in the levels of development.
Information and communications technologies whose
potential for speeding up global development is only
comparable to the invention of written language can
serve as a driving force of that process. A chance has
emerged to skip over several traditional stages of
development through the introduction of global
computer literacy and information technologies.
Mankind, equipped with this powerful instrument, will
obtain a real opportunity to begin creating conditions
for a decent life and the all-around development of
human beings everywhere on earth.
Strategic stability means the preservation of a
clean and healthy environment for the present and
future generations. The United Nations has done a
great deal to mobilize international efforts in that
important field. The “Rio+10” Forum, to be held in
2002, will provide an opportunity not only to sum up
the results of those activities but also to outline a
future-oriented follow-up programme.
Russia supports the expansion of international
cooperation within the United Nations framework in
the areas of biodiversity, climate, combating
desertification, as well as of forest preservation.
The recent increase over the last few years in the
number of natural and man-made disasters and the
consequent growth of the scope of human and material
losses have made disaster management one of the most
formidable global challenges facing mankind. While
intensifying the United Nations efforts to promote
international cooperation in this field, special attention
must be paid to the use of state-of-the-art specialized
technologies for disaster management and to the search
for innovative mechanisms for their use in the interests
of the entire international community.
9

The United Nations — a unique universal forum
in every respect, which has demonstrated in practice its
central role in managing international affairs — should
become a guarantor of such comprehensive strategic
stability. Russia welcomes the consensus reached at the
Millennium Summit on consolidating the United
Nations as the axis of the present world order. The time
has come for concrete collective measures to transform
the Organization into a sort of operational headquarters
for coordinating activities aimed at ensuring a new
strategic stability based on the principles of
multilateralism, equality and solidarity in resolving
global problems.
In conclusion, I would like to emphasize once
again that the Russian Federation, for its part, is open
to the closest interaction with all members of the
international community in order to make strategic
stability a cornerstone of the world order in the twenty-
first century and the United Nations its reliable
guarantor.


I join all those who have welcomed
the start of this fifty-fifth session of the General
Assembly. Endorsing the Millennium Declaration of
the Millennium Summit, I reiterate its message: Let
us — the peoples of the United Nations, faced with
new challenges; brothers and sisters, partners linked by
and in our support for the principles of our
Organization; with the expectations and constraints of
our countries and peoples, yearning for peace and well-
being; likewise facing the requirements of
globalization and the manifold risks of conflict and
marginalization — be united in our action; let us say:
“We the peoples”, inspired by new hope and new
momentum, are for a better millennium.
The delegation of Madagascar congratulates you,
Mr. President, on your unanimous election to preside
over the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, a
tribute both to your eminent diplomatic qualities and to
your country, Finland.
We also pay tribute to Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia, for the
dedication and determination he displayed in presiding
over the fifty-fourth session.
We convey our congratulations to the Secretary-
General on his efforts he has made. His actions will
benefit all the citizens of the world, who are all anxious
to leave deprivation and poverty behind.
I also take this opportunity to thank, from this
rostrum, the United Nations, for having adopted
resolution 54/96 M of 14 March 2000, as well as all the
countries and organizations that helped Madagascar
following the cyclone damage at the beginning of this
year.
With regard to restructuring the United Nations, it
is high time to enact such proposals as enlarging that
cornerstone of collective peace that is the Security
Council, streamlining the institutional structure to
make it work better, and improving the financial
structure with a view to a more equitable assessment of
contributions. The power of the veto, which in itself
constitutes a nullification of democracy, is
incompatible with the founding principles of our
Organization.
We know that, unfortunately, Africa is a place of
perpetual conflict, but a new impetus is manifesting
itself in the search for lasting peace and reconciliation.
With regard to the crisis in Comoros, Madagascar
respects the position expressed by the Organization for
African Unity (OAU) at its thirty-sixth Assembly of
Heads of State and Government, held at Lomé. The
Antananarivo Agreement of April 1999 remains the
viable solution for bringing to an end the separatist
crisis in Anjouan, a crisis that was caused by the
unconstitutionality of the regime currently in power.
Madagascar welcomes the efforts undertaken in
Burundi by President Nelson Mandela in his capacity
18

as mediator and facilitator. Those efforts led to the
signing of the Arusha agreement, which we hope will
allow the people of Burundi to be united once again
and to find peace and a new impetus for development.
Madagascar has long supported the struggle for
self-determination of the Sahraoui people and
encourages the implementation of the United Nations
Settlement Plan as the only viable mechanism able to
resolve the differences between the two parties.
We welcome the outcome of the mediation efforts
undertaken by President Ismail Omar Guelleh of the
Republic of Djibouti. Thanks to those efforts, Somalia
is now beginning to find peace after more than a
decade as a non-State. The election by the parliament
in Djibouti on 25 August 2000 of Mr. Abdikassim
Salad Hassan as the new President is a step towards
agreement. The people of Somalia can now embark
upon the process of restoring a State of law and civil
peace through their own efforts and with the support of
the international community.
The desire in recent months for dialogue between
the two Koreas is encouraging. We welcome the
summit conference held in Pyongyang in June 2000 to
discuss peaceful reunification that led to the signing of
a joint North-South declaration. The family reunions
that took place after half a century of separation were
moving, and such meetings should be facilitated in the
future. The decision to have the athletes of the North
and South march together at the Olympic Games in
Sydney reflects a desire for reconciliation.
Madagascar is a peaceful island in the Indian
Ocean. Through me, my country reiterates its
commitment to carrying out disarmament. We are
counting on the implementation of the conventions
prohibiting the production, proliferation and illicit
sales of weapons of all kinds. On 25 August 1999,
Madagascar ratified the Convention on the Prohibition
of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of
Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.
Furthermore, our Parliament's ratification process for
the Convention on Biological and Toxin Weapons has
begun.
The proliferation of light weapons is one of the
causes of the spread of conflict. My country therefore
fully supports the convening in 2001 of an international
conference under the auspices of the United Nations on
the illicit trafficking in light weapons in all its aspects.
We pay tribute to the United Nations peace
volunteers who were victims of the recent terrorist act
of aggression in West Timor. We underscore the need
for a joint strategy to deal with the current wave of
violence. Thus on 1 October 1999, Madagascar signed
the International Convention for the Suppression of
Terrorist Bombings. We look forward to a speedy
conclusion of the draft convention for the suppression
of acts of nuclear terrorism.
Madagascar strongly supports the
recommendations of the Brahimi report and looks
forward to their effective and speedy implementation
so as to strengthen the peacekeeping capacity of our
Organization. We should stress the training, equipping
and safety of peace volunteers. In this connection, the
countries concerned and neighbouring States should
make their contributions. Adopting a comprehensive
approach to conflict prevention is necessary because
the problem needs to be tackled at the source.
Because we support democracy and the
observance of human rights and the rights of citizens,
Madagascar joined in the decision taken at Algiers in
1999 during the thirty-fifth OAU Assembly of Heads
of State and Government to condemn the taking of
power through unconstitutional means. A resolution of
the thirty-sixth Assembly, which was held at Lomé,
urges the international community to condemn with
one voice such anti-democratic practices and to enact
sanctions against regimes that result from such
practices.
In the new millennium, let us ensure that children
remain at the heart of our collective efforts. The
twenty-fourth special session of the General Assembly,
on social development, held in June 2000 at Geneva,
emphasized the need to protect children, to inform
them of their rights and to educate them fully in order
to prepare them for citizenship.
In order to mark the Millennium Summit, on 7
September 2000, Madagascar signed Optional
Protocols: one to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child, on the involvement of children in armed
conflict, and another to the Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against
Women. Gender equality is for us an ongoing
challenge.
We condemn anything that runs counter to the
progress of human beings, and we endorse the common
struggle against social scourges and transnational
19

crime. We also wish to draw attention to the upsurge in
such new areas of concern as sex tourism, paedophilia
and the spread of HIV/AIDS. Moreover, together with
my sister Ministers for Social Affairs, we spoke out in
favour of a united struggle against those scourges in a
letter to Secretary-General Kofi Annan.
What Africa needs is easier access to care and
medications. Without opposing in any way the noble
principle of freedom of thought and expression, we
deplore the ill effects of any type of physical or moral
aggression that is the result of the proliferation of cults,
and media representations of obscene and immoral
images. In this regard, legal instruments should be
designed and implemented to create parameters for the
electronic dissemination of material that poses a threat
to morality.

The signing by Madagascar on 7 September last
of the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography attests to our
determination to work to safeguard the family unit and
family values, which are a source of human dignity and
which guarantee stable sustainable social development.
In this context, Madagascar adopted a law in 1999
which outlaws paedophilia.
Madagascar has also involved itself in the various
stages of the negotiations that led to the adoption and
the signing, on 14 September 2000, of the Protocol on
Biosafety, the objective of which is to avert the dangers
of using genetically modified substances. Madagascar
is also against any use of the research relating to the
cloning of human beings.
The economic and social difficulties facing my
country are made worse by the uncertainty and changes
in the international system. We must therefore
strengthen international dialogue on the basis of
partnership and shared responsibility. We are
convinced that the promotion of a culture of peace and
of mutual understanding will help bring about a
harmonious world. Accordingly, Madagascar supports
General Assembly resolution 53/22, which proclaimed
2001 the United Nations Year of Dialogue among
Civilizations.
We hope that this session will outline strategies
that are consonant with the requirements of
development and of human security, in keeping with
the plan of action proposed by the Secretary-General in
his report.
An overall rethinking of development is
necessary, because it is in everyone's interests to
increase the purchasing power of the developing
countries, so that in the near future they can become
equal partners as well as a potential market. We
deplore the glaring inequalities that exist today: our
peoples are suffering from famine and malnutrition,
whereas some others are enjoying amazing
overproduction. This imbalance does nothing to
promote commercial and financial flows. We therefore
support the Millennium Summit Declaration, which
proposes the adoption of a duty-free admission policy
for products exported by the developing countries, an
increase in official development assistance, and the
implementation of a debt relief and forgiveness
programme.
The holding in May 2001 of the third United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries
should lead to decisions that ultimately will help to
eliminate the least-developed-country category from
the scale of world economic values.
Accordingly, we support the principles of self-
confidence and of mutual trust in the establishment of a
monetary fund — a development fund — and a
commodity price stabilization fund. This initiative
seeks to both reduce the vulnerability of the developing
countries to exogenous factors and to decrease the
dependence of our economies on those of the
developed countries.
Concerning Africa specifically, regional and
continental integration is vital in order to avoid
marginalization. In this respect, Madagascar signed the
draft Charter of the African Union, which is the
expression of the rebirth of a responsible, sovereign
Africa.
Important meetings await us in 2001, including
the high-level intergovernmental meeting on financing
for development and the special session to follow up on
the World Summit for Children, which are all
opportunities to give real meaning to the commitments
undertaken during this Millennium Assembly.
We have come to this historic session convinced
that it will breathe new life into our Organization and
provide the basis for a dynamic for peace and
20

cooperation. We have come here because we have
confidence in concerted action to meet today's
challenges. We have come here because we have hope
in a viable future free from need in a world of well-
being and peace.