The international
agenda was forever changed by the events of 11
September 2001. The challenge created for the United
Nations was, and is, the same as that for each of its
Members: how best to react to those changes. The
international fight against terrorism has thus become a
top priority for all of us. It is not only a fight against
individuals who conspire to kill innocent people; it is
also, in itself, a fight for respect for human life and
human dignity, for the values of liberty, tolerance and
democracy and for the peaceful solution of conflicts.
The United Nations immediately pledged its
Members to the struggle through a swift reaction by the
General Assembly and by the Security Council, which
stated that the terrorist attacks of 11 September were a
threat to international peace and security and which
adopted a resolution, sending out a remarkable signal
of strength, quickly followed by other international
organizations, such as the European Union and the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE).
As members are aware, Portugal currently holds
the chairmanship of the OSCE. We have made the fight
against terrorism a priority on the OSCE's agenda. As
Chairman-in-Office, I have been working towards a
European charter on preventing and fighting terrorism,
to be adopted at the ministerial meeting to be held in
Portugal next December.
But the United Nations is in a unique position to
coordinate and invigorate the international response to
terrorism. We are called upon to demonstrate that a
world in which humanity can live free from fear is not
only a common aspiration but also an achievable goal.
We trust that the Security Council and the General
Assembly will live up to their responsibilities in that
regard. Failure to do so would seriously compromise
the credibility of the Organization.
(spoke in Portuguese; English text furnished by the
delegation)
At the same time that the world faces the new
challenge of terrorism, old challenges persist. The
Middle East demands a new peace dynamic. The
evolution of the Iraqi issue must entail absolute respect
for Security Council resolutions and the unconditional
return of United Nations inspectors. Indeed, we
consider the problem concerning Iraq often to be
wrongfully presented: Iraq is a threat to international
security, and thus pressure must be exerted on Iraq, not
on the United Nations or on one particular country. It is
Iraq that is failing to comply with United Nations
resolutions. Our goal is to put an end to the threat
represented by weapons of mass destruction. The
United Nations and its Members cannot and must not
continue to tolerate the continuous violation of
Security Council resolutions. Thus, the international
community must know how to act effectively and must
be particularly demanding on this issue.
The Security Council should promptly make a
statement on Iraq's lack of compliance with Council
resolutions and on its obligations. It is now up to Iraq
to seize this opportunity and to cooperate with the
United Nations. But, should Iraq persist in not
complying fully with the Organization within a time
frame to be determined, the international community
should not exclude any alternative or option.
On the other hand, two success stories from the
past year deserve a special reference. First, in Angola,
peace was achieved and seems irreversible. Portugal
will continue to work with the Angola's Government
and political forces towards the full implementation of
the Lusaka Protocol. The United Nations must
contribute to that process. Humanitarian assistance is
vital for the consolidation of the peace process. Those
steps, along with free elections and a modern economic
framework, will surely strengthen peace and
democracy in that country.
Secondly, East Timor's proclamation of
independence on 20 May represents a success for the
people of East Timor, for the United Nations and for
those who fought for it. The General Assembly will
soon proclaim East Timor a new Member. An
independent East Timor within the United Nations
deeply touches the Portuguese people, who have
always believed in the rights of East Timor's people
and in the justice of their cause. East Timor started
from scratch. It is now up to the international
community to maintain its support, lest it squander the
opportunity to meet the challenges of that new country.
I turn now to a number of other noteworthy
matters. As a founding party to the Statute of the
International Criminal Court, Portugal believes that the
election of a first team of judges will be a crucial step
towards the Court's effective functioning and
20

credibility. That institution and its regular functioning
must become a fixture of the international scene.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) underlines the preoccupation of African
countries with the values of democracy and human
rights, as well as sustainable economic development
and the continent's integration into economic
globalization. Bearing such concerns in mind, Portugal
will organize the next conference between the
European Union and Africa, to be held in April 2003.
Africa is a priority for us. Therefore, we support
initiatives to energize the development policies and
economies of that forgotten continent.
Finally, we welcome Switzerland's accession to
membership of the United Nations. The presence of the
Swiss Confederation will certainly benefit United
Nations action.
(spoke in English)
The way in which the world embraces the new
challenges it faces will be the best indication that the
events of one year ago resulted in a triumph for the
international community. A safer world is founded on
secure countries representing all their people and living
in peace. That is how terrorism will eventually be
defeated, and out of that the new international order
should gradually emerge.
Security can no longer be conceived in
exclusively military terms or solely in terms of
territorial defence. Several factors must be taken into
consideration: the widespread development of weapons
of mass destruction; the proliferation of other threats,
such as environmental degradation, diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, famine and migration, which transcend
State borders; and factors affecting the ability of many
States to face the challenge of globalization. Thus, no
nation, however powerful, is self-sufficient; not even
the greatest of countries can do everything on its own.
Multilateral cooperation is the key to the future. One of
the basic goals of the United Nations should be to
implement such cooperation in a practical and
consistent manner.


Mr. President, I extend my congratulations to you and
to the people of the Czech Republic on your election. I
offer my very best wishes in all your work during the
coming session.
I would also like to thank my colleague, His
Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo of the Republic of
Korea, our regional neighbour, for his leadership of the
General Assembly over the past year.
Also, may I congratulate the Government and the
people of the Swiss Confederation on their decision to
join the United Nations. They have long given very
distinguished support to the institutions of world peace,
and it will be good to work with them here.
At the same time, I would like to welcome the
coming membership of our neighbour, the Democratic
Republic of East Timor. In doing so I would like to thank
all the members of the United Nations Transitional
Administration in East Timor. We are very grateful for
their fine work there. I assure you that we will be doing
our best to consolidate those United Nations efforts for
peace in our region. It has been a pleasure working
with President Gusmão and his new Government. As
they plan their future development, we look forward to
continuing this work, not only bilaterally as friends and
neighbours, but also through the long-standing process
of consultation and cooperation we have established
within our regional association.
I mention this aspect of our regional work for a
specific reason. It is the main point I wish to make at
this time. The process I refer to has been at the heart of
the work of the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) since its founding well over 30 years
ago. It is not confined to our neighbours in South-East
Asia. It also involves dialogue partners from all over
the world as well as all the permanent members of the
Security Council. It now covers the whole spectrum of
cooperation: political, economic, functional and, since
the end of the cold war, all aspects of security
cooperation. In other words, it is a comprehensive
approach to modern regional and international affairs.
It comprises many layers of cooperation bound
together by one institution, the United Nations. An
enormous amount of work has gone into it. That is why
we place equally enormous value on it. We believe it
offers a secure way forward for every citizen we
represent.
I make this point for reasons that deeply concern
every one of our colleagues here. In the past year we
have been made brutally aware of one terrible fact. The
whole process of consultation and cooperation is now
threatened. The opportunities it presents to our people
are profoundly at risk. Like our fellow Members of this
Organization, we have had to accept a grim reality.
There is a dark side to the international life we share
today: to globalization, to development, to progress, to
knowledge and even to the beliefs we cherish, whether
they be religious, political or social.
We have been taken to this dark side. It is a
pitiless, bleak and miserable landscape. There is no
path through it along which nation-States can safely
proceed. It is, in that sense, a terrifying vision. In
South-East Asia we have responded to it as such. We

have deeply mourned the innocent victims of terrorism
in America, Africa, Europe and Asia. We have
condemned all who took those lives.
We are, however, trying to move beyond
condemnation. We have taken many immediate and
practical short-term measures. We have committed
ourselves to long-term action. We have had to do this.
Without security and stability, there is little chance for us
to implement the far-reaching programme of development
we have set for ourselves. So, in no way can we permit
those who engage in any form of terrorism to succeed.
By this, I mean any group that tries to drag our
affairs across to their dark side: not just extremists, no
matter what cause they claim to represent, but also
those who seek to corrupt international systems of
trade, commerce, and banking or who wilfully destroy
our environment or who trade in human misery. They
stand in the way of the deepest interests of the people
we represent here, the people for whom the United
Nations is the direct opposite of the dark vision of the
terrorist. It offers them a totally different side of world
affairs: one that rejoices in the diversity of peoples,
cultures and beliefs; one that at all times seeks the
consensus that comes out of dialogue and negotiation;
and one where informed direction is given to the great
changes that are sweeping through all societies — in other
words, the bright side of international affairs lit by a
beacon of hope. That is how we see this Organization.
We want our regional efforts to help fuel this
beacon. We want them to complement the work of the
United Nations.
So, put simply, we see only one permanent
agenda item here: How can the world body give hope
and purpose to the lives of every family in every
community in each of its 190 Member nations?
That is why we strongly support the efforts being
made by the Secretary-General to express our purpose
in that way, not in the language of confrontation that
was heard throughout the last century or in the
appalling vocabulary of terrorism, but in the human
terms offered at the Millennium Summit.
In short, our hopes include an end to historical
injustices, especially those which our brothers in
Palestine continue to suffer, and a determined effort to
help communities earn a good living in a responsible
manner. Those were the basic hopes I believe we all
had at the turn of the century. We do not wish to see
them set aside. So we appeal to all our fellow Members
to make sure they are not forgotten. We urge everyone
to use the mechanisms we have here to that end.
Whenever there are grave threats to international
peace, we are confident that the members of the
Security Council will guide us well. We acknowledge
the vital role they have in ensuring that international
principles are upheld by every Member. In this, they
have our full support, and we will contribute to their
work in whatever way we can.
But the Council is still only one part of the work
of the United Nations. There are many other tasks:
above all, the peaceful work that binds all our layers of
cooperation together.
We do not wish to see the Organization's
attention directed solely towards the dark side of
international life. Building a secure framework for
international cooperation involves a long, consistent
and comprehensive process. Like any process, it has to
be constantly refined. We accept this. We do not feel,
however, that the events of the past year mean that it has
to be abandoned and redesigned. In saying this, I believe
we share the deepest hopes of all developing nations.


Let me begin by
congratulating you on your election as President of the
fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. I am
confident that given your vast experience and
diplomatic skills you will be able to steer this session
to a successful conclusion.
I would also like to pay tribute to your
distinguished predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Han
Seung-soo of the Republic of Korea, for the
outstanding manner in which he conducted the work of
the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
In addition, I would like to take this opportunity
to welcome the Swiss Confederation as the 190th
Member of our family of nations. We are confident that
its membership, which formalizes its long involvement
with the United Nations, will contribute enormously to
the work of the Organization. We look forward to
welcoming our newly independent neighbour, the
7

Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, as the 191st
Member of the United Nations in the very near future.
Malaysia would also like to congratulate Africa
on the establishment of the African Union and on its
bold new initiatives, such as the New Partnership for
Africa's Development.
I also thank the Secretary General for his
statement before the General Assembly. Malaysia
shares his concerns over the four issues identified as
threats to world peace.
A year has passed since the evil and cowardly
attacks against the Organization's host country. As a
result, the world has changed fundamentally in many
ways. The international community has been
galvanized into fighting all forms of terrorism. There is
greater recognition that terrorism is a global problem
that crosses borders and lurks in many of our countries,
often without our knowledge.
The Security Council has taken prompt action
resulting in mandatory measures aimed at eliminating
all forms and manifestations of terrorism and requiring
Member States to take legal, administrative, financial
control and other law enforcement measures. Malaysia
supports that action and reiterates its commitment to
comprehensively fighting terrorism in all its forms at
the domestic, regional and international levels.
Domestically, our Government has acted swiftly
and decisively against terrorist groups that have
threatened both our national security and international
security. We have cooperated extensively at the
bilateral level by sharing intelligence information and
by implementing measures to cripple transnational
crime networks that abet terrorist activities. In the
Southeast Asian region, Malaysia and its partners in
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations have
embarked on a programme of collaboration to deal with
the issue at the regional level. At the international
level, in addition to our support of United Nations
actions and other international and bilateral efforts to
fight terrorism, Malaysia works closely with the
member States of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference and of the Commonwealth.
However, Malaysia believes that in our quest to
combat terrorism, the norms and principles of
international law should not be set aside. We also
believe that in dealing with the menace, it is important
for the international community to forge a broad
consensus on what constitutes terrorism. Without a
clear and common definition, certain perpetrators of
terrorist acts will justify their actions in the name of
State security or national liberation.
If the collective effort of the international
community to win the fight against terrorism is to
succeed, we must start looking at the problem in a
comprehensive manner and must respond with a
comprehensive strategy. It seems that in our urgency to
address the problem, we overlook and continue to
ignore why it exists in the first place. We forget that,
however unjustified, terrorism is often rooted in
political and economic grievances that still have not
been adequately addressed. The fight against terrorism
is not merely a fight against the perpetrators and
conspirators of terrorist acts; it is also a fight against
poverty, injustice, subjugation and illegal occupation
that breed anger and hatred. There can be no
comprehensive victory against terrorism if the root
causes of terror are not eliminated.
Malaysia also regrets the continued association in
certain quarters of Islam and Muslims with terrorism,
as if one were synonymous with the other. We would
like to reiterate that no race or religion should be
condemned or discriminated against simply because
some misguided people from that community are, or
may have been, involved in terrorist activities.
Just as it is easy and convenient to hold a
monolithic view of the Muslim world and therefore
assume the worst about every adherent of the Islamic
faith, it is also easy for Muslims to have a similarly
monolithic and therefore incorrect view of other
civilizations. If we continue to view each other in such
terms, the confidence that has been engendered in the
international community in our fight against terrorism
can be eroded.
It is with those considerations in mind that
Malaysia continues to call for the convening of a high-
level international conference under the auspices of the
United Nations to examine the terrorism issue in all its
forms and manifestations and to formulate a joint
response to this global threat.
Malaysia is concerned at the apparent lack of
urgency in addressing the underlying factors that lead
to cause terrorism. For example, most of the Muslim
world believes that one of the key outstanding issues
that continue to elicit resentment and fury is the
situation in the Palestinian occupied territories.
8

Malaysia believes that, while all acts of violence
against innocent civilians — whether inflicted by
suicide bombers or by security forces — must be
condemned, we must be even-handed in our approach
in dealing with the situation in the region. It is
important that we understand the root causes of
violence there. We must put it in its proper context: the
continued occupation of Arab lands by the Israeli
occupying forces, in particular the demolition of
Palestinian homes, the devastation of their towns and
cities, the destruction of their livelihood and
institutions and, worst of all, the loss of thousands of
civilian lives and the wounding of tens of thousands
more over the decades, which can only result in
reactions from the Palestinian people. Israel's
oppressive policies and practices have made life for the
Palestinians unbearable and have engendered only
hatred and resentment against the occupying Power,
illegal settlers and those who are perceived to provide
support to them. Israel must take advantage of the
acceptance of the two-State solution and recognize that
political and security issues must be looked at together.
It must also acknowledge the need for the
establishment of an international protection force to
separate the two parties.
The international community, including the
United Nations, cannot afford to stand on the sidelines
indefinitely. It is time for the Security Council to
become more actively involved and intervene directly
in the situation, beginning with the dispatch of a
United Nations or other international peacekeeping
force to the occupied territories. Failure to act will only
perpetuate the violence and exacerbate the resentment
felt by the Palestinians — and by the Muslim world in
general — towards those who are perceived to be
responsible for refusing to address this issue in a fair
and just manner.
We are pleased that Afghanistan is now on the
threshold of becoming a viable, progressive and
democratic State. However, many impediments to
national unity and cohesion remain. These must be
overcome through sustained international support and,
more importantly, through the political will and
commitment of the people of Afghanistan themselves.
Such support should take the form of increased
infusion of development funds and other forms of
assistance and, more urgently, the promotion of a more
secure environment in the whole country. We owe it to
the long-suffering Afghan people to assist in the
rehabilitation of their country and to ensure that the
circumstances that led to their civil strife are removed
and that they will not be abandoned once the
immediate task of removing terrorist elements in
Afghanistan is completed.
If the international community does not focus its
efforts on comprehensively fighting terrorism by
attempting to find a credible settlement between the
Palestinians and the Israelis, and on nation-building
efforts in Afghanistan, it risks being dragged into
opening up battle fronts that could result in greater
instability in the world and hamper efforts at
combating terrorism.
In particular, we remain concerned that targeting
Iraq outside the framework of the United Nations and
in contravention of international law would not only be
wrong, but result in a more volatile world order. In this
regard, we welcome the decision of the United States
to work with the United Nations to address this issue
rather than pursue a unilateral policy of military
intervention.
Malaysia agrees that the United Nations must not
be cast aside. Engaging the international community
through the United Nations, however, must not be
merely an exercise in public diplomacy. The
international community cannot be made to assume
that military intervention against Iraq, in pursuit of
both disarmament and regime change, is inevitable and
that the United Nations is being engaged only as a
matter of course.
The strength and relevance of this Organization
has never come from affirming the unilateral designs of
one Member nation; rather, it rests on the collective
will of the international community that emerges from
a multilateral process. Engaging the international
community means initiating this consensual approach,
which can address security concerns, without
destabilizing the region, within the norms of
international law.
In this effort, it is imperative that the
international community be presented with clear and
incontrovertible evidence of the perceived threat posed
by Iraq to regional and international security. At the
same time, every diplomatic and political effort should
be made to urge Iraq to fully cooperate with the United
Nations, including by allowing the return of United
Nations weapons inspectors, and to comply with
Security Council resolutions, as every State Member of
9

this Organization must do, so as to facilitate a
resolution to this issue.
A pre-emptive attack against Iraq without any
credible evidence being provided to the international
community of the threat it poses will have serious
implications for the international campaign against
terrorism. Such an attack may produce real cleavages
and draw imaginary battle lines between the Muslim
world and the West, especially if the continued
oppression of the Palestinians remains unattended-to.
Such an attack could swell the ranks of the
discontented in the Muslim world. It would provide a
pretext for depraved extremist groups bent on stoking
the flames of populist radicalism to mobilize and
multiply. While it is important, therefore, to view the
Iraq issue in terms of regional security, it is equally
important to understand the broader consequences that
will follow.
In our interdependent world, the need to
strengthen the multilateral process is now more urgent
than ever if we are to achieve our common goal of a
just and humane international order based on
international cooperation and solidarity.
The broader membership of this Organization has
a vital stake in ensuring the centrality of the
multilateral process as embodied by the United Nations
and its specialized and affiliated agencies. Through it,
the Members of the Organization can articulate their
concerns and exercise their collective will in the
protection and promotion of their interests. It is
therefore important to ensure that the Organization and
all that it stands for are not set aside on the basis of
expediency or the exigencies of the moment. In this
context we are reassured by the Secretary-General's
emphasis on the imperative of the multilateral process.
As the country that will hold the forthcoming
chairmanship of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM),
Malaysia will work together with other NAM members
to ensure the continued centrality of this process,
including the promotion of their development agenda.
In this context, we must continue to exert our
combined efforts to ensure that globalization works for
the benefit of all. In order to achieve this, we will have
to create an international environment that is more
conducive to satisfying the legitimate development
priorities and needs of developing countries, as well as
to addressing the economic imbalances prevailing in
the world today.
The United Nations has a pivotal role in
strengthening the multilateral process. It is ironic that
in an era of enormous economic, financial and
technological resources and capabilities, the world is
witnessing a dangerous crisis of confidence in the
credibility of multilateralism as a result of certain
negative trends in the international system.
This challenge must be squarely and urgently
addressed and remedial action taken here at the United
Nations and in other relevant international forums. It is
the expectation of States Members of the Organization
that the United Nations will play a crucial and leading
role in all of these efforts. Therein lies the continued
relevance of the United Nations to its Member States.


The fifty-seventh session of the General
Assembly is being held one year after the terrible
terrorist attack of 11 September 2001. The delegation
of the Central African Republic still intimately feels
the strong emotion caused by that attack against liberty
and democracy.
The President of the Republic, the head of State,
His Excellency Ange-Félix Patassé, leading the
delegation of the Central African Republic to the
commemoration, wanted to reiterate his friendly
sympathy towards the American Government and
people, and to reassert the firm determination of his
country to do everything that is necessary in order to
contribute effectively to the legitimate international
crusade against all forms of terrorism. Our work is
starting within a particular context in the history of
international relations, because never has humanity
been so conscious of the need to confirm its cohesion
in order to ensure a world of concord, solidarity and
peace.
Before expanding on those facts, Mr. President, I
would like to express to Mr. Jan Kavan and the
members of the Bureau our warm congratulations on
his election to the presidency of this session. His rich
experience, as a great statesman and diplomat, will
ensure the success of our work. That work will benefit
from the full cooperation of the delegation of the
Central African Republic. I take this opportunity also
to express our admiration for his eminent predecessor,
Mr. Han Seung-soo, for the skill and competence with
which he carried out his responsibilities.
The determination with which the Secretary-
General of our Organization, Mr. Kofi Annan, is
working, under all circumstances, to make the
principles and ideals of the United Nations prevail,
once more elicits our admiration. The President of the
Republic, the people and the Government of the
Central African Republic, want hereby to assure you of
their support and reiterate their deep gratitude for all
the objective reports on the situation in the Central
African Republic.
Moreover, the entry of the Swiss Confederation to
the United Nations, and soon the entry of the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, are evidence of
the resolute march of our Organization towards
universality. The Central African Republic wishes to
welcome Switzerland and hopes to cooperate closely
21

with that country within the framework of the United
Nations.
Two years ago, 189 Member States met in this
very hall. They set objectives for development for the
Millennium, such as the reduction of extreme poverty,
education for all, promotion of gender equality and the
empowerment of women, reduction of child mortality,
improvement of maternal health, fight against
HIV/AIDS and other diseases, such as malaria and
tuberculosis, preservation of a sustainable environment
and the establishment of a world partnership for
development. All States unanimously pledged, through
multilateral cooperation, to implement what is called
the Millennium Declaration in order to achieve those
objectives within 15 years.
The findings we made at the Millennium Summit
on the state of the world at that time showed serious
shortcomings with regard to our will to fulfil
collectively the ideals bequeathed to us by the founding
fathers of our Organization. However, through that
same will, we undertook, in the Millennium
Declaration, to re-examine these issues so as to set a
course for the world that corresponds to the aspirations
and expectations of the people.
However, this is far from what has happened. The
revolution in information and communications, the
progress of science and technology, the liberalization
of trade and the disappearance of State frontiers, while
accentuating the phenomenon of globalization, have at
the same time led the world into an uncertain and
unforeseeable future, to the point where the world
today is threatened in the short term with imbalance.
States should fully explore all the potential
offered by multilateral cooperation within the
framework of the United Nations, particularly to put a
stop to such threats. These threats, according to our
delegation, are essentially of four kinds.
The first of these, as you can expect, is the threat
that changed the world in one hour. It is called
terrorism. This diffuse form of organized trans-border
crime that foils armies, however powerful they may be,
cannot be tolerated. The reaction of the international
community to this new form of aggression must be
sustained by adhering to resolutions firmly condemning
such actions, and by observing a certain attitude
towards the countries and institutions that tolerate their
authors. Thus, all together, through solidarity and
multilateral cooperation, we shall conquer terrorism,
whether committed by a State or a small group.
The destruction of the environment, which
threatens our future, is also a real threat. We should
strive for the sustainable preservation of forests, fauna
and biodiversity for the benefit of present and future
generations. This subject was eloquently analysed at
the Summit on Sustainable Development, held recently
in Johannesburg. My delegation has no doubt that
international solidarity can here too be of help to
safeguard nature. We should like on this occasion to
express our gratitude for the American initiative,
supported by the international community, for the
protection of the Congo basin, of which the Central
African Republic is a member.
There is one threat, which does not need to be
named because it is so obvious, and that is poverty,
which — far from declining — has grown over the
years. The Declaration talks about reducing poverty,
but must we not first stop manufacturing it? Famine,
endemic disease, HIV/AIDS and malaria are the daily
lot of the two thirds of humankind living on barely $1 a
day. How can we fail to be moved by this? That fringe
of humanity calls merely for the solidarity that will
allow it to live in conditions worthy of our civilization.
In the face of the drying up of official
development assistance, and with respect to the failure
of certain development initiatives, the African
countries have felt that we need to develop some sort
of partnership with the countries of the North. They
have therefore proposed an original plan for the
development of Africa through the New Partnership for
Africa's Development. The delegation of the Central
African Republic fervently calls for the worldwide
support of the international community for the
implementation of the plan.
The many challenges defined at the Millennium
Summit in terms of goals to be attained, along with the
new plan for African development, will have no chance
of success unless they are fostered in an environment
of peace, security and stability. However, current
conditions do not give much cause for optimism,
although we note the occasional positive movement
towards the settlement of a few conflicts. Regional
crises remain, however, that are no less threatening to
peace.
Faithful to its doctrine, the Central African
Republic believes that the situation in the Middle East
22

can be settled only through the strict implementation of
the relevant resolutions of the United Nations on this
subject. It deplores the escalation of violence in that
region.
In the context of its own regional and subregional
sphere, the Central African Republic highly appreciates
the latest developments in the situation in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, in particular the
signing of the Pretoria peace agreement with Rwanda
and the disengagement agreement signed with Uganda.
In conclusion, I am compelled to note that my
country, the Central African Republic, is the victim of
international ostracism and of indifference that borders
on contempt. How else is one to understand the silence
of the international community and the international
financial institutions in the face of calls for
intervention and of Security Council resolutions
following on the reports of the Secretary-General since
the notorious date of 20 May 2000, and despite the
appeals of the Organization of African Unity — now
the African Union — the Community of Sahel-Saharan
States and the Central African Economic and Monetary
Community? And yet, our country has come a very
long way with respect to good governance — that
fetishistic word! — in politics, economics and finance.
As of early 2002, the reduction of corruption is no
longer a figment of the imagination, as evinced by the
action undertaken in our financial offices.
My country's situation requires me to call
attention to the words of the Algerian writer Kateb
Yassin:
“Our blood must become enflamed and we must
catch fire in order to move the spectators. May
the world open its eyes not to our mortal remains,
but to the wounds of the survivors.”
The sustainable development we all dream of will
become a reality only if, here and now, we inject
solidarity into international relations.


May I begin by
extending my warm congratulations to the President
upon his election. We have every confidence that his
stewardship of our proceedings will yield fruitful
results. Credit is due also to his predecessor, Mr. Han
Seung-soo, for his deft handling of our affairs. We also
congratulate Secretary-General Kofi Annan for the
leadership he has shown during the past year across a
very broad range of subjects. His inaugural remarks,
which have set the tone for our deliberations, are truly
praiseworthy. We welcome two new Members this
year, Switzerland and, soon, East Timor. We look
forward to working closely with them.
As we are all painfully aware, this has been a
very difficult year. The day of 11 September 2001
witnessed a dastardly act of barbaric terrorism. It also
united peace-loving peoples all over the world as never
before. As we continue our struggle to prevent the
resurgence of such atrocities, we must also address
ourselves seriously to the task of rooting out the causes
that spawn such behaviour. Any action in that respect
should be based on the widest possible international
consensus-building through consultations.
Bangladesh has been and shall always be a
committed and active partner in the coalition against
terrorism. We have taken every necessary step to share
information and assist in the curbing of terror. We have
sought to implement Security Council resolution 1373
(2001), which we ourselves helped to draft and adopt
last year as a member of the Council. At the regional
level, we are currently examining ways and means of
further strengthening the South Asian Association for
Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Regional Convention
on Suppression of Terrorism. Terror is totally
unconnected to any faith or region. It is a global
phenomenon that needs to be tackled by means that are
both legitimate and consensual.
Those methods include the promotion of
democracy and democratic values, respect for human
rights and the rule of law, the peaceful resolution of
conflicts, peace-building, cooperation towards
equitable economic development, the eradication of
poverty, gender equality, measures aimed at
confidence-building, mutual respect among races and
peoples, and harmony — not clashes — between
cultures. Those are the main pillars on which we must
build a world where hope will reign in place of despair.
In the construction of this edifice, the architect must be
the United Nations — which, with its Charter
principles and purposes — is the greatest institution
crafted by humankind.
Bangladesh is relentless in the pursuit of those
goals, both nationally and internationally. Our
problems, as all are aware, are many and varied. Of
roughly the size of the state of Wisconsin in the United
States, we have a population of 130 million people,
which makes us one of the largest nations in the world.
Centuries of colonial exploitation left us with
inadequate infrastructure and resources, and
5

constrained us in the trap of poverty. Subject to the
vagaries of nature, our economy was a gamble in
monsoons. Soon after our independence, in 1971, we
were perceived as an irredeemable basket case.
Since then, we have come a long way. We have
dedicated ourselves wholeheartedly to improving the
quality of life of our people and to their development.
Our policies were grounded in certain values dear to
our hearts. We have acted in the firm belief that
development is possible only against a matrix of
democracy, human rights and the rule of law; that
structures and institutions in society must be inclusive,
participatory and accountable; and that growth must be
pro-poor, pro-environment, pro-equity and pro-women.
In our view, tolerance among religions and an
appreciation of differing opinions must be imbedded in
the social psyche. Our rich intellectual heritage and
cultural tradition have been the source of home-grown
innovative ideas such as micro-credit and special
educational projects that have enabled us to initiate the
quiet revolution in our society that has led to a process
of huge societal transformation.
As a result, we have been able to achieve many
successes, which have been widely acclaimed. Despite
our being a traditional society, through effective family
planning programmes we were able to cut the
population growth rate by 50 per cent over the last two
decades. In agriculture, we now produce sufficient food
grains to feed our entire people. We have invested
heavily in human resources development and have
provided massive budgetary allocations for primary
and secondary education. Schooling up to twelfth grade
is free for girl students, and all are awarded stipends.
Gender mainstreaming is a major policy thrust. In
Bangladesh the empowerment of women receives the
highest priority. This is achieved mainly through
initiatives such as special provisions for education for
girl children, employment of women in the garment
industry, and micro-credit schemes that generate self-
employment for women. Global recognition of these
endeavours was manifest in our recent election to the
Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination
against Women.
Excellent cooperation exists between the
Government and civil society. Bangladesh hosts some
of the world's largest and most active non-
governmental organizations. In our development
process, we are ourselves in the driver's seat. A mix of
appropriate macro-economic policies and effective
utilization of external assistance has vastly reduced our
dependence on foreign aid. A document at the
International Conference on Financing for
Development, held at Monterrey, entitled “Successful
development: models for the twenty-first century” says
that
“The lesson in Bangladesh is that official
development assistance, when applied in
conjunction with a country's efforts to resolve its
own development challenges, can yield dramatic
results.”
Today what we seek is not compassion, largesse or
charity, but greater market access for our manufactured
products, fairer trade and more investment. We may
still have a long way to go, but we believe we are on
the right track.
At the international level, we are striving to
reinforce mutually beneficial and cooperative relations
with all countries. We are seeking, in concert with our
development partners, to achieve the Millennium
Development Goals. The special efforts made, and the
successes achieved, in Monterrey, Johannesburg and at
the special session on children have given us cause for
hope. It is now important for all of us to seriously get
down to implementing the promises made and to
achieving the targets set. We are happy that our image
abroad is one of a responsible, politically stable,
moderate, democratic and constructive member of the
international community. We have actively engaged our
neighbours in the development of cooperation and
understanding. As the Assembly will recall, it was
President Ziaur Rahman of Bangladesh who first
conceived of the concept of the South Asian
Association for Regional Cooperation. Today, our
Prime Minister, Begum Khaleda Zia, is also committed
to bringing the Asian cooperation dialogue to fruition.
As a demonstration of our commitment to global
stability and peace, we have voluntarily given up the
nuclear option and joined the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We actively
participate in peacekeeping operations, and are
currently one of the largest contributors of
peacekeepers in the United Nations.
I should note, however, that there are certain
issues that continue to trouble us. In South Asia, our
own region, the volatility of the situation between two
nuclear-capable countries is deeply worrisome.
6

Bangladesh encourages all concerned in South Asia to
exercise utmost restraint and seek solutions to their
differences through dialogue and meaningful
engagement.
After emerging from the most destructive episode
in its history, Afghanistan has yet to be given the
wherewithal for recovery and reconstruction. The
international community must redouble its efforts to
secure peace throughout Afghanistan and accelerate the
reconstruction and rebuilding of the country. Unless we
do so, the long-term security and stability of our region
will remain very uncertain.
In the Middle East, the continued denial of the
right of the Palestinian people to their own State and to
freedom greatly concern us. The continued illegal
occupation of Palestinian land, the trampling of human
rights and the atrocities perpetrated against the
Palestinian people by Israel must end immediately.
Serious efforts must be resumed to seek a
comprehensive solution to the problem — a solution
that addresses the legitimate concerns of the
Palestinian people.
We welcome the announcement made in Baghdad
with regard to the return of the weapons inspectors, and
we see this as a significant step towards the fulfilment
of obligations under Security Council resolutions.
The havoc wrought in Africa by ethnic conflict,
disease and famine is very disturbing. The financial
turmoil in Latin America is a matter of anxiety for all
of us. Commitments to the least developed countries
remain largely unfulfilled. The existence of large trade-
distorting subsidies that impede development is
painfully clear. Restrictions on the movement of factors
of production, including manpower, remain a major
impediment to progress. Lack of consideration of the
emotional and human aspects of people's movement
across frontiers remains a great source of pain. The
concept of a global fund for poverty alleviation
financed through some form of international taxation is
also worth considering. These are issues that we, with
our limited capacity, can do little to influence —
though in our modest way we will do our very best to
help. Those who can must do more.
For our part, we will play an effective role — as
we are indeed doing — in all international forums. In
the World Trade Organization we will continue to work
with others to implement the development objectives of
the Doha Round and to pursue fairer trade. We will
cooperate with the international monetary institutions
and other agencies, funds and programmes to promote
the welfare of our people and those of a comparable
milieu. Working within the United Nations, we shall
endeavour in every possible way to strengthen its
institutions and to support reforms that will render
them more participatory, representative and
democratic. These are pledges that are enshrined in the
vision for the future of the Government of the People's
Republic of Bangladesh under the dynamic leadership
of Begum Khaleda Zia. They are commitments that are
at the core of the Bangladeshi ethos.


It is
a great pleasure to join in the heartfelt congratulations
addressed to Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the high
post of President of the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. Undoubtedly, he will apply his
extensive professional and life experience to benefit
9

this General Assembly session, so that it will give fresh
impetus to the efforts of our universal Organization.
East Timor and Switzerland are new Members
this year. The international community welcomes them
with joy. We congratulate the Governments and peoples
of those two friendly nations.
Every year the issues the United Nations must
address become more challenging. The need for a
universal organization has become especially urgent
over the past decade. It is understandable. The cold war
has ended and humanity has entered a new stage of
development.
Addressing global issues and challenges through
common efforts has become a basic dimension of that
new stage. Another distinctive feature is the
constructive nature of such efforts. A third dimension
is common understanding that all those efforts, coupled
with democratization of internal societies and
international relations, should bring about improved
living standards for Member States. The United
Nations can and must play a significant role in
coordinating national, regional and international efforts
in the age of globalization.
Tajikistan has been a Member State for the 10
years of its new history. As the Tajik State was being
established, a fratricidal conflict was sweeping the
country. However, over the past five years, peace and
stability have prevailed in Tajikistan. Respect for Tajik
history and traditions, human rights, an atmosphere of
tolerance for diverse opinions and views and focus on
major concerns of the nation are all fundamental
components of the peace process in Tajikistan, whose
lessons could be applied in resolving conflicts in other
hotspots of the world.
Tajikistan, which suffered to achieve its
democracy, is creating today a secular society, has a
substantial foundation for its development and looks to
the future with optimism. That optimistic outlook is
determined by President Emomali Rakhmonov's
rational and carefully considered policy of establishing
good relations with Tajikistan's neighbours and by the
assistance and support received from the international
community.
The Tajik people extend special appreciation to
the United Nations, which, during the time of our
difficult trials, demonstrated in the most effective
manner its peacemaking and humanitarian capacities.
The United Nations, working in close cooperation with
the Tajik Government, is showing in Tajikistan its
capacity to strengthen peace and stability. We are
satisfied with the performance of the United Nations
Tajikistan Office of Peace-building in our country and
believe that the experience it gained in Tajikistan can
be used for the benefit of other States.
The rehabilitation of the economy, the eradication
of poverty, increasing the living standard and job
creation are the issues that are still referred to as our
country's most pressing problems. Tajikistan is a State
whose social and economic development depends, to a
great extent, on the international community's common
and comprehensive approach to the issues of
combating poverty, financing development, ensuring an
equitable international trade system, eliminating
ecological threats and resolving demographic
problems. In that context, we invariably favour further
enhancement of the role of the United Nations as the
core international forum for developing such a
common approach.
Over the past few months, the Member States
have achieved some progress in that area. Overall, we
believe the outcome of the International Conference on
Financing for Development in Monterrey was positive,
and we are looking forward to the implementation of
its resolutions.
Environmental issues and issues of sustainable
development are among the top-ranking items of the
United Nations agenda and, appropriately, are
becoming a significant component of multilateral
diplomacy. The World Summit on Sustainable
Development, recently held in Johannesburg was one
of the major events in that area. At the Summit, the
world's top policy makers analysed the progress made
in the implementation of Agenda 21 over the past 10
years. The concept of sustainable development that
emerged from the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development, in Rio de Janeiro in
1992, was further elaborated and acquired new
meaningful content. The international community faces
the task of meeting the challenges established at the
forum in Johannesburg. Accomplishing that task could
give us hope that problems such as poverty eradication,
environmental protection and ensuring social equity
can be resolved in a comprehensive manner.
It is our intention to make a viable contribution to
implementing the World Summit resolutions. We hope
10

that international cooperation in that area will fully
account for the specific conditions and economic
capacities of the countries from different groups,
particularly, the developing countries and countries
with economies in transition.
Over recent years we have witnessed a dynamic
process in connection with the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, the United
Nations Convention on Biological Diversity and the
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.
The number of Member States that ratified the Kyoto
Protocol and the Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety is
increasing. Interaction between countries in addressing
desertification and land degradation issues is gaining
momentum.
Tajikistan has been an active participant in those
important processes. We believe it is essential to
consistently continue coordination of the
implementation of the Conventions in order to avoid
duplication and ensure effective allocation of limited
international resources.
Among the most valuable assets of our planet are
water resources. They are at the core of both ecological
balance and economic prosperity. They are an
indispensable prerequisite for food production,
improvement of social welfare and economic growth.
However, even today many regions of the world face a
shortage of fresh water. According to the Secretary-
General, if current practices of water usage persist, by
2025 two thirds of the world's population will be living
in a country experiencing so-called water stress.
The urgency of the problem encouraged
Tajikistan to propose the initiative of proclaiming the
year 2003 the International Year of Freshwater. We
believe that the preparation for that year and the
various events planned within its framework, in
particular, the Third World Water Forum, to be held in
Japan in March 2003, will give Member States a good
opportunity to exchange their expertise gained in
applying successful patterns of water-resource
management and in searching for needed finances and
resources.
In putting forward the initiative for the
International Year of Freshwater, we expected that the
major focus of the events to be held in 2003 would be
on universal access to freshwater and diminishing the
possibility of conflicts related to water shortage. That
would make a specific and substantial contribution to
achieving the goals of sustainable development.
It is impossible to achieve the goals of
sustainable development unless the economic
component of globalization is given due attention and
discrimination in economic relations is eliminated. In
an environment where wealthy countries benefit from
globalization and continue to get richer, while poor
counties get poorer, social tensions increase and cause
political extremism, including the most extreme
form — namely, terrorism. Counteracting the threat of
terror is a long-term endeavour, since it is a
phenomenon that is alien to human civilization, and it
is multidimensional and deep-rooted. In addition to
uniting the will of all its participants, applying military
resources and strengthening the international legal
framework, the anti-terrorist coalition established
following 11 September 2001 must direct its efforts
towards elimination of the primary reasons for
terrorism, which can be traced to unsettled conflicts
and outrageous social and economic inequities.
Tajikistan is actively participating in the common
effort to ensure a unified international legal framework
for combating terrorism. Our country has become a
participant in the most universal anti-terrorist
conventions. We totally support the activities of the
Security Council in this area. We highly appreciate the
role of the Counter-Terrorism Committee that was set
up in compliance with resolution 1373 (2001), under
the leadership of Sir Jeremy Greenstock; this
Committee has assumed a central role in the
unprecedented effort to establish a global system to
counteract international terrorism. Pursuant to the
authority conferred on it by the United Nations Charter,
the Security Council will continue to play an active
role in preventing threats to international peace and
security posed by terrorism.
It is essential to continue using all kinds of
political, economic, financial and humanitarian
measures in order to develop a comprehensive
approach to the eradication of international terrorism.
It is important that the development of fundamental
principles to combat terrorism be enhanced at the
international legal level. In this connection, we expect
the General Assembly shortly to adopt a
comprehensive convention on combating international
terrorism, as well as to complete negotiating and
adopting a comprehensive international convention on
combating acts of nuclear terrorism.

We believe the time has come to convene a
special session of the General Assembly in 2003 to
discuss all aspects of combating terrorism and to adopt
consolidated decisions. At that time, we could also
discuss the progress made over five years on the
implementation of the decisions of the twentieth
special session dedicated to the illicit production, sale
and trafficking of narcotics. In view of the ever-
increasing drug threat, we regard the creation of an
anti-narcotics coalition of States as an issue of critical
importance. The war against the international terrorist
underground will not be effective until the international
community makes substantial progress in its struggle
against drug cartels and narco-barons.
A future global system of counteracting terrorist
and narcotics threats cannot be created without support
from regional and subregional structures and
institutions that have been active in this and other areas
of international cooperation.
An increase in the number of regional
organizations and the strengthening of their
mechanisms not only reflects an objective need for
filling the lacunae in the interaction of neighbouring
States, but also meets the urgent need to establish
additional channels for conducting a dialogue and
exchange of views on the most important issues. The
large-scale operations to liberate the Afghan people
from the repressive Taliban regime and measures aimed
at the restoration of peace and stability in war-ravaged
Afghanistan have demonstrated what can be
accomplished when the United Nations and regional
organizations combine their efforts.
Today, our friendly neighbour, Afghanistan,
continues to go through a complicated process of
achieving national accord and establishing stable
institutions of government and a stable political
regime. The revival of an independent and peaceful
Afghanistan is taking place under difficult conditions.
The urgent problem of providing security still exists.
The humanitarian situation also remains alarming.
However, what has been accomplished by the
Government of Hamid Karzai is very impressive.
It is important that the United Nations continue to
coordinate the international community's common
efforts in strengthening the process of restoring and
rehabilitating post-war Afghanistan and completing the
elimination of hotbeds of international terrorism on its
territory and the eradication of religious extremism and
the narcotics threat. In this context, the United Nations
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) faces
serious challenges. We believe it is necessary to
continue increasing economic and humanitarian
assistance to Afghanistan and not stop at what has been
accomplished so far.
The Government of Tajikistan will continue to
contribute to the revival of Afghanistan through
building its relations with the friendly Afghan people
on the basis of friendship, mutual respect and
multifaceted cooperation for the benefit of our two
countries and regional security.
With respect to reform of the United Nations, and
regional issues, it is important to realize that neither
global challenges nor most of the urgent regional issues
can be dealt with successfully unless the whole United
Nations system is strengthened and its core role in
international affairs is reinforced. To achieve this in
practice, one has to support the Secretary-General in
his efforts to reform the United Nations internal system
and to recruit personnel with high professional skills.
The Member States should assist the Secretary-General
in his efforts to expand the capacity of the Secretariat
to carry out peacekeeping operations, prevent and
resolve conflicts and contribute to post-conflict peace-
building. Reform also implies further efforts towards
democratization of the United Nations system as a
whole, so that the capacities and contributions of small
countries, no matter how numerous their problems, can
be united with those of large States.
We are firmly convinced that reforms should
focus on improving the efficiency of special United
Nations institutions and on the implementation of
development projects. We deem it important that the
United Nations reconsider the allocation of its
resources, that it stop implementing programmes and
projects of low effectiveness, and instead commit the
freed funds to new priorities.
The year that has passed since the fifty-sixth
Assembly session has convincingly demonstrated that
the United Nations, with its 190 Member States, is
irreplaceable when dealing with international affairs.
As never before, the United Nations has proven its
ability to meet the most complicated challenges faced
by humanity. It is our conviction that, in the twenty-
first century, by cooperating with the United Nations,
we will be able to create a world without destructive
wars, a world that will become secure and prosperous.


On
behalf of the Government and people of Solomon
Islands, I wish to congratulate the President on his
election to the presidency of the fifty-seventh session
4

of the General Assembly. I am confident that, under his
experience and skilful leadership, we will reach
positive results for this Organization and for all
peoples of the world.
I also thank His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-Soo,
Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic
of Korea, for his distinguished service in presiding
over the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
In the same manner, I thank His Excellency Mr.
Kofi Annan, Secretary-General, for his good and
untiring efforts and his dedication aimed at realizing
the principles and purposes of the United Nations.
Like others who have spoken before me, I also
wish to congratulate East Timor, our close Pacific
neighbour that is soon to be a member of the United
Nations, and Switzerland as a new member of the
United Nations. Solomon Islands looks forward to
developing further relationships with those two
countries through bilateral and multilateral means.
As we journey into this new millennium,
challenges facing the international community are more
daunting. Human ingenuity and technological advances
complicate those challenges. Acts of terrorism and
armed conflicts proliferate in many parts of the world.
Prospects for progressive economic and social services
and security, and improved living standards for the vast
majority of the world's population have become mere
unrealized dreams.
Nonetheless, as an international instrument for
the promotion and the betterment of human life, the
United Nations has considerable ability and experience
in pursuing what is best for the common good of all
peoples around the world, including guaranteeing
world peace and security through the Security Council.
Today I reaffirm the commitment of Solomon
Islands to the principles of the Charter. I also wish to
place on record the appreciation of Solomon Islands for
the worthy assistance from other United Nations organs
and agencies, including the Economic and Social
Council, the United Nations Development Programme
(UNDP), the International Labour Organization (ILO),
the World Health Organization (WHO), the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO) and the Commission on
Human Rights.
Solomon Islands also upholds its faith in the
Security Council and acknowledge its important role in
the maintenance and promotion of international peace
and security. At the same time, we recognize the
changing scene in the international political and
security environment. Those changes must be reflected
in our Organization as well. The reform of the Security
Council must continue, including a review on the
relevance of the provisions of veto power accorded to
permanent members. Moreover, Solomon Islands
supports the expansion of the permanent membership
of the Council to include Japan and Germany. Those
two countries have so much influence in the global
political and economic arena and therefore they are
better placed to contribute constructively and positively
to world peace and security.
For a small island nation like Solomon Islands,
the United Nations is the foremost institution to turn to
in time of trouble and need. My predecessor stated that
from this rostrum last year. At that time, he elaborated
on the circumstances of the conflict that had erupted in
Solomon Islands between November 1998 and October
2000.
Today, we are still struggling with the outcome of
that devastating conflict. We have lost much. We have
to do much more to reconstruct the destroyed fabric of
our country. That is the course my Government has
charted, in order to maintain our sovereignty with
dignity and to show integrity and respect as a Member
of the United Nations family.
The mandate to lead the country was clearly
given to me through the democratic process when
Solomon Islands held its post-conflict general election
on 5 December 2001. The polls returned a new
Parliament of 50 duly elected members, charged with a
clear working majority of 29 out of the 50 members.
The national coalition Government for peace, unity and
reconstruction assumed office and undertook the
challenging task of rebuilding Solomon Islands.
The foremost strategy that my Government has
adopted is to pursue four policy areas: first, the
restoration of peace and security; secondly, education;
thirdly, health and medial services; and, fourthly,
productive sectors.
We began this important work during the first 100
days of entering into office. We have since
consolidated our efforts, notwithstanding practical
difficulties that emanate from the lack of financial and
the absence of other relevant resources.
5

Our second strategy is the formulation of a
national economic recovery plan. That plan focuses on
strengthening agriculture, fisheries, forestry, mining,
manufacturing, tourism and infrastructure development
sectors. Besides giving closer attention to the
promotion of health and education services, the plan
also addresses population growth and ensures
promotion of responsible environmental management.
I am happy to state that, at present, we are also
working on a sustainable development plan for our
country. An integrated financial package for this
strategy has been submitted to our development
partners. Thus far, the responses received, while
encouraging, still raise questions that require serious
and genuine consideration in view of our present
circumstances. It is here that we sincerely look to the
United Nations for assistance in facilitating closer
consultation and constructive engagement with the
World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the
Asian Development Bank.
The huge amount of debt that burdens poor
countries is real, and it continues to afflict most third-
world countries, including small States such as
Solomon Islands. This is a real challenge that my
people and country face as we make our best efforts
and endeavours to rebuild our nation and maintain our
independence and sovereignty with dignity, integrity
and respect during these difficult times and in the
future. On this important point, the United Nations
should consider supporting debt forgiveness for
countries that are debt-strapped. Solomon Islands can
be included in this category.
A few days ago, the people of the City of New
York, the United States of America and the rest of the
world paid moving tributes to the thousands of
innocent lives tragically lost through the cowardly and
senseless acts of terrorism committed on 11 September
2001. The heroic men and women who perished at that
sad time now deserve a special place in our hearts and
in the annals of history.
My Government is taking steps to accede to a
number of international conventions relating to
counter-terrorist activities. We have communicated
these important measures to the United Nations. We
seek the assistance of the United Nations and members
of the international community to enhance our efforts.
The increase in armed conflicts and the illegal
trade of small arms are directly linked. Armed conflicts
have increased in most parts of the world. They are
fuelled mainly by the availability of the illegal
manufacture, official sale or supply of small arms, and
this has resulted in the loss of innocent life. Over the
past 50 years, small weapons and landmines have
killed more people than weapons of mass destruction.
Small arms have also found their way into
Solomon Islands, and they have been used in the three-
year conflict which has adversely affected my
country's sociocultural cohesiveness and good
governance. In no uncertain manner, this has crippled
the economy. The continuing presence of small arms in
communities has posed a major threat to the peace,
security and stability of my nation. Any hope of
economic recovery is constantly threatened by
lawlessness. Notwithstanding this, the Government
remains committed, within its limited resources, to
retrieving arms and restoring confidence to our people
in the communities. However, we believe that the
international community, through the United Nations,
has a pivotal role to play in assisting the country to rid
itself of armed threats by taking more ambitious action
to curb the arms culture that is taking root in our
country.
Peace of mind and safety from danger are not
achieved by the mere absence of war. Rather, they are
the product of a nation's ability to achieve sustainable
economic prosperity, better education, and health and
social services for all its people. Peace and security for
every human soul comes down simply to meeting the
most basic needs.
Even with the successful outcome of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development, which included
promises of economic growth and protection of our
environment, Solomon Islands remains sceptical about
the practical outcome of action plans for developing
and least developed countries. We have committed
ourselves to similar action plans for sustainable
development in the past. Agenda 21 of 1992 and the
Barbados Programme of Action for small island
developing States, among others, are valid policy
blueprints for sustainable development. Unfortunately,
we have not lived up to our commitments. We all have
failed. That is why world leaders again assembled, in
South Africa, to take stock of our failures and make
new commitments. And indeed, new commitments
have been made. Now is the time to test the
commitments made in South Africa.
6

As The Honourable Laisenia Qarase, Prime
Minister of Fiji and Chairman of the Pacific Islands
Forum, aptly said in his address at the World Summit,
let us turn our words into deeds. Solomon Islands can
only hope that, this time around, there is a will to lead
us eventually to the goals and objectives set at the
World Summit in South Africa.
Solomon Islands is very much aware of its
vulnerability to natural and man-induced disasters.
Like other small island developing countries, we
continue to seek of the international community not
only to recognize the uniqueness of our vulnerability
but also to take concerted action towards achieving
many of our goals and objectives for sustainable
development, collectively as a group and individually
as nations.
The communiquÈ issued by the recent Pacific
Islands Forum summit held last August in Suva, Fiji,
reflects the political, economic, security and
environmental issues that are important to the region.
These need our collective resolve, as well as the
attention and cooperation of the wider international
community.
The adverse impact of sea-level rise is a threat to
the economies and survival of small and low-lying
island countries, in particular in the Pacific, the
Caribbean and the Indian Ocean. Scientific research
and reports, including the Third Assessment Report of
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, issued
in 2001, have given us all the more reason to be deeply
concerned. Solomon Islands joins other small island
States in calling again on the countries that have yet to
become parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol
to do so, and seriously to commit to reducing their
greenhouse gas emissions.
The least developed countries still grapple with
the harsh realities of poverty, vulnerability to external
economic shocks, debt burden, poor infrastructure, and
poor or limited access to better education, health,
social services  and the list goes on. Even with an
increasing commitment to globalization, the situation
of many least developed countries and nation-States
has neither improved nor stabilized. In many instances,
conditions have worsened.
Solomon Islands believes that the renewed
commitment through the Brussels Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries for the
Decade 2001-2010, adopted at the Third United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries,
is a timely action by all international organizations to
refocus attention and global resources on the neediest
and poorest countries. We support the immediate
implementation of the Programme and note with
satisfaction the progress that has been made so far.
Solomon Islands once again calls upon the United
Nations to respect the expressed wish of the
Government and the people of the Republic of China to
be readmitted as a full and equal member of this
Organization. The world has marvelled at Taiwan's
economic transformation. Within a short span of time,
it has not only established a stable and vibrant
domestic economy, but also has become one of the
world's most influential economies in terms of
international trade, investment outflows and
information technology. Taiwan is a sovereign country
in full control of its own affairs and with influence in
the world economy, and it is unjust to deny its people
the right to stand tall and be counted among the many
nations represented in international institutions.
Taiwan is a willing and able country, ready to
shoulder the obligations of the United Nations and
other international organizations. Taiwan has proved
itself through its international economic cooperation
with many developing and least developed countries.
Solomon Islands is convinced that that there are no
legal barriers to Taiwan's membership in the United
Nations, only political obstacles. Let us therefore cast
aside those political obstacles and take a positive
approach by according the Government and the people
of the Republic of China the membership they deserve
and the opportunity to fully participate in the affairs of
the United Nations under its Charter.


Let me begin
by welcoming Switzerland, our western neighbour, as a
full member of the United Nations and her first
participation in the General Assembly after her
accession. Without our Swiss friends the United
Nations would not be complete. Expanding the global
reach of the United Nations can be seen as a positive
aspect of globalization.
Having supported United Nations efforts to bring
about a solution to the East Timor conflict for many
years, Austria also looks forward to 27 September and
wishes to congratulate East Timor on becoming the
191st Member of the United Nations.
Austria fully aligns itself with the statement made
by the Prime Minister of Denmark on behalf of the
European Union. I should like to add a few
observations to that very comprehensive statement.
Let me reiterate the sympathy of the Austrian
people for the victims of 11 September 2001. Austria
has shown strong solidarity from the first hour after the
attacks and has acted in unison with her European
partners and the United Nations to combat terrorism —
a resolve that remains strong and will continue to do
so.
As a former staff member of the United Nations, I
wish to convey my country's sincere gratitude to the
many dedicated people who are in the service of the
United Nations in New York and at the other
headquarters in Vienna and Geneva, as well as out
there in the field, for their efforts on behalf of the
international community in its fight against terror.
Combating terrorism requires a global effort and
a comprehensive approach: prevention and the
protection of the security of our countries and of the
basic values of freedom and human rights, as well as
coercive measures as a last resort. We must, however,
base our decisions and actions on international law.
The Security Council's Counter-Terrorism Committee
(CTC) under the very able leadership of Sir Jeremy
Greenstock, Ambassador of the United Kingdom, is at
the core of the United Nations coordinating role.
We must ensure that all States join and can join
those efforts. To promote that goal, Austria hosted a
symposium on combating international terrorism at the
Vienna International Centre in June of this year, which
highlighted the capacity of the Vienna-based United
Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention
(ODCCP) to provide efficient technical assistance to
Member States in their fight against terrorism. Austria
will make an additional million euros available for the
strengthening of the ODCCP.
I am glad to note that Secretary-General Kofi
Annan shares our view on the importance of the
Vienna-based United Nations units, as expressed in his
report on the need to strengthen the Terrorism
Prevention Branch of the Secretariat. The report of
Policy Working Group on the United Nations and
Terrorism published earlier this week comes to the
same conclusion. I therefore call upon the Member
States to support that position.
It is also important to remind ourselves that the
fight against terrorism cannot be fought with soldiers
and policemen alone; we also need to fight the root
causes: the abject levels of poverty, inequality,
16

injustice, the lack of sustainable development and of
good governance.
When it comes to dangers for world security, we
also have to focus on unresolved and perilous regional
conflicts, such as in the Middle East. What is needed is
an effort to speedily arrive at a political solution
providing for two States, Israel and Palestine, within
secure and recognized borders. Austria seconds the
idea of an early international conference with the
support of the Quartet and interested countries of the
region aimed at finding solutions to the political issues
such as the final borders of the two States, the final
status of Jerusalem and the question of refugees.
Austria considers the newly designed road map of the
European Union towards the establishment of an
independent and sovereign Palestinian State in the next
three years to be a good basis for achieving a final and
comprehensive settlement of the conflict in accordance
with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338
(1973) and 1397 (2002), taking into consideration the
Arab peace plan adopted in Beirut as well.
While continuing to respect the elected leadership
of the Palestinian people the European Union has
expressed its readiness to give all necessary and
possible support to the reform process of the
Palestinian Authority. Austria participates actively in
those efforts. Austria is also deeply concerned that
human suffering in the conflict has attained
unacceptable levels, be it as a result of terror or of
countermeasures.
The Middle East has also garnered the attention
of the international community in the context of the
danger of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction. The growing tensions result from the
continued non-compliance with United Nations
Security Council resolutions on the part of Iraq. The
potential threat of weapons of mass destruction
endangering world peace through such policies should
not and cannot be tolerated. For that reason Austria
supports the tireless efforts of the Secretary-General to
bring about the speedy, unfettered and unconditional
return of United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq,
along with full compliance with the obligations
contained in all relevant Security Council resolutions.
Austria welcomes the statement of President
George Bush seeking broad international and
multilateral support and cooperation with the Security
Council on the issue of how to deal with the threat
emanating from regimes that support terror or seek to
acquire weapons of mass destruction. Only the Security
Council can provide the legitimacy we need. At the
same time, it is evident that the Security Council itself
has to take responsibility for ensuring full compliance
with its resolutions in order to maintain world peace.
The conflict between India and Pakistan over the
issue of Kashmir also needs an urgent political
solution. The consequences of an escalation could be
catastrophic for the region and beyond.
In recent weeks, we have been starkly reminded
of the fact that Afghanistan, which has been wrested
from Taliban and Al Qaeda rule and has had a
promising new start with the assistance of the
international community, has yet to achieve a lasting
peace and stability. The international community
should remain committed and has to continue its
support of the new Government of Afghanistan.
The fight against terrorism and violent
fundamentalism in Afghanistan has also highlighted the
importance of the whole region of Central Asia. During
its chairmanship of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe in 2000, Austria made it a
priority to draw the attention of world opinion to the
unresolved issues and problems and to the very
impressive potential of that region given mutually
useful cooperation and good governance.
Turning to our own neighbourhood, I want to
reiterate the importance Austria attributes to European
Union enlargement and our firm commitment to
finalizing the ongoing negotiating process towards the
end of this year. Austria looks forward to welcoming
new members by 2004, thus turning the vision of a
united Europe into reality and extending the European
zone of peace, stability and welfare to the whole
continent and beyond.
I am glad to note that South-Eastern Europe has
made substantial progress towards stability generated
by various multilateral initiatives, particularly the
Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe and the Zagreb
process. As an additional instrument for enhancing
development in that region, in May of this year the
Danube Cooperation Project was launched in Vienna,
the aim of which is to make use of the Danube River as
an integrative factor connecting the 13 countries of the
whole Danube basin.
17

The dialogue among civilizations, which Austria
has strongly supported from the beginning, is a new
and important tool of diplomacy that should help us
drain the breeding grounds of terrorism. In order to
take this dialogue from the elites to the general public,
we need to cooperate with the media. To that end, I
organized an expert seminar on the role of the media in
the framework of the Euro-Mediterranean partnership
in June of this year. This effort is designed to lead,
hopefully, to a media code of conduct to emanate from
the media themselves in order to create better
understanding between the cultures and commonly to
project messages shedding a positive light on cultural
diversity.
As of July of this year, Austria has chaired the
Human Security Network, the only interregional
grouping in the United Nations framework particularly
propelling issues of human security. In my capacity as
Chairperson of that group, I have put the following two
issues at the top of our agenda: the needs for a globally
shared acquisition of a human rights culture through
human rights education and for effectively addressing
the terrible plight suffered by an ever-growing number
of children in the world exposed to the horrors of
armed conflict. The first “human rights city” in Europe,
the Austrian city of Graz, will also host next year's
ministerial meeting of the Human Security Network. In
this context I should also like to express Austria's
strong support for the adoption of the draft protocol of
the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,
Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
In my function as President of the Human
Security Network, I have also taken the initiative, in
the framework of the group of female foreign
ministers, to raise the issue of Amina Lawal in a
common letter to the Foreign Minister of Nigeria in
order to remind Nigeria of its obligations under
international human rights law.
In the Millennium Declaration, we set clear
targets for our combined development efforts as
Member States. We all did this in recognition of the
priority attached to the fight against poverty and for a
better and more equitable world. Disastrous floods in
parts of Central Europe, including my own country, in
Asia and the Americas, as well as droughts in other
parts of the world just before the start of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg,
were a painful indication of changes rendering
sustainable development even more important. The
Summit brought about an action programme and a
political declaration, which we welcome, although we
would have wished to take some issues even further,
such as in the field of renewable energy. I share the
view of the Secretary-General that the Summit has
instigated global action among a wide range of actors.
It has highlighted the relationship between economy,
ecology, social issues and development. It has also
reaffirmed the Doha and Monterrey compromises.
The follow-up will have to cut through the
complexities of the process and to pursue the most
pressing issues. Implementation is the key word. This
will be best accomplished by sectoral conferences on
the major issues involved. Austria appreciates that the
Summit has helped convince some major countries to
join the ranks of those, such as Austria, that have
already ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
Before closing, let me express my best wishes for
a successful session of the Assembly under
Mr. Kavan's guidance and allow me also to thank his
predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his leadership and
his efforts towards strengthening the General
Assembly.
Having returned deeply impressed from South
Africa, let me close by quoting a real hero and a man
who stands for his principles while promoting
reconciliation — Mr. Nelson Mandela. The following
quote is from the entrance to the Apartheid Museum in
Johannesburg, which I just visited: “To be free is not
merely to put off one's chains, but to live in a way that
respects and enhances the freedom of others.”