Year after year, we gather
under this universal roof to join our minds and
resources in order to make the world a safer and more
prosperous place  or, at least, one a little less
burdened with all the troubles we have been trying to
resolve for decades but have so far not succeeded in
eradicating. Never before have we assembled in such
numbers and extent in the span of just a few weeks
first the religious leaders, then the Parliamentarians,
then the heads of State and Government and, finally,
the representatives to the General Assembly at its fifty-
fifth session. Let us hope that this unprecedented
congregation will not remain just a tribute to the dawn
of the twenty-first century, but will emerge as a
foundation for a better United Nations and a better
world it has to serve.
When our heads of State met at the Millennium
Summit earlier this month, they unanimously agreed on
the importance of the United Nations for our common
future. To say that the United Nations is the only
Organization that brings together all the countries of
the world would be stating the obvious, but we must
never underestimate the simple fact that this is the only
global Organization with universal membership and
comprehensive scope that indeed belongs to all of
us  to all the peoples of the world. This is where the
ultimate strength of the United Nations lies.
Unfortunately, we have too often failed to recognize
this.
Some haunting facts should not be forgotten: the
fact that 1 billion people in this world of ours live on
less than $1 a day; the fact that 1 billion people do not
have access to clean water; the fact that the last time
the number of Security Council members was
expanded was nearly four decades ago, at a time when
the overall United Nations membership was almost half
of its current size.
The United Nations must amount to more than a
resolution or a decision, a plenary meeting or informal
consultations. We all have to work together, to spare no
effort to make the Organization more proficient, more
effective and fully at the disposal of all its Member
States. That is why Croatia welcomes the millennium
report of the Secretary-General and shares his views on
the need for action to adapt the functioning of the
Organization to the challenges of the new century.
There is a growing need and plenty of room for
improvement along the lines of efficiency,
transparency, equality and good governance. There is
no room for excuses or for delaying reforms any
further. The time for reform is now.
Croatia has been an active Member of the
Organization since its international recognition as a
sovereign State in the early 1990s. At that time, in spite

of all our activities, Croatia was primarily the object of
numerous peacekeeping operations and endless debates
within the Security Council. Today, Croatia is a major
generator of peace and stability in South-East Europe,
an active promoter and facilitator of democracy in the
region, a reliable partner and a member of numerous
regional organizations and initiatives. We have not
forgotten the difficult years when Croatia was on the
receiving end of United Nations activities. Today, we
stand ready to put our expertise gained in peacekeeping
and other fields to the service of peace and democracy.
The experience of the homeland war, as well as
the lessons learned during peacekeeping operations in
Croatia, have served us well in Croatia's active
engagement in the United Nations peacekeeping
mission in Sierra Leone. We are ready to expand our
role in peacekeeping and to actively participate in its
conceptual development. Croatia welcomes and will
carefully study the recently published report of the
Secretary-General on the reform of peace operations
and the recommendations proposed.
Unfortunately, the number of incidents with tragic
consequences involving members of peace missions all
over the world is constantly increasing. Just few days
ago, three members of the Office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in
Atambua in West Timor were brutally killed. One of
them was Pero äimundûa, a citizen of Croatia. I would
like to use this opportunity to pay tribute to him
personally and to all peacekeepers whose tireless
efforts cost them their lives in performing their noble
tasks in the line of duty.
Croatia is currently a member of the Economic
and Social Council, the central body of the United
Nations. The increasing development of the Council as
a forum for policy dialogue, together with its follow-up
dimension of the major world conferences, adds
important value to its work and puts a heavy workload
on its members.
Croatia's international responsibilities start with
those towards the region of South-East Europe. At the
January elections, citizens of Croatia demonstrated
their strong commitment to democratic values, respect
for human and minority rights, the rule of law and
economic reforms. They opted for broad changes that
will bring them into the mainstream of the European
integration processes.
The new Croatian Government is well aware of
all the responsibilities it has undertaken and all the
opportunities that are arising. We firmly believe that
Croatia's leading role as a contributor to peace and
security in the region of South-East Europe will
considerably contribute to turning this part of Europe
into an area of peace and prosperity.
In February, the Croatian Government adopted a
programme that, as its primary goals, stresses
democratic values, respect for human and minority
rights, the return of refugees and displaced persons,
good-neighbourly relations and integration into the
European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization. The new Government is determined to
fulfil all Croatia's ongoing international commitments
and to assume new ones, if the need arises.
The elections in Croatia at the beginning of this
year resulted in important changes. They provided for
an increased level of human rights protection and
media freedom, as well as the acceleration of the return
process. Important legislative revisions in the field of
the return of refugees have opened the door for the
unimpeded return of all Croatian citizens, regardless of
their ethnicity and without condition of reciprocity. All
the citizens of Croatia stand equal before the law in
terms of the reconstruction of their houses and all other
return-related rights. The Government of Croatia will
do its best to fully implement those laws.
Croatia is mindful of the fact that the return of
refugees represents a necessary prerequisite for lasting
stability in the region. In order to accelerate the process
of return, the Croatian Government, in cooperation
with UNHCR, has prepared a special return project for
16,500 persons, tailored to their needs. The necessary
arrangements for the return of refugees to both Croatia
and Bosnia and Herzegovina are to be made through
central institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in line
with the new Croatian policy towards that country.
Additionally, to speed up the process of two-way return
with Republika Srpska, the former Prime Minister of
the Republika Srpska and I have signed a joint
declaration on the facilitation of the return of refugees.
Through this document, we have committed ourselves
to enabling the return of 2,000 people from each side,
as well as to exchanging information and adjusting
procedures in that regard. I can proudly say that real
progress in the return process has been achieved.
3

At the same time, I have to stress that the number
of returns to Croatia by far exceeds the number of
returns of Croats to Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Additional efforts have to be invested to speed up the
return process of Croats and all others to Bosnia and
Herzegovina. All the refugees have the right to return,
but they also have a right to stay in the areas where
they presently reside. For all those Bosnian Croats who
wish to stay in Croatia, we have to provide appropriate
help in finding new housing facilities.
The success of the return of refugees does not
depend solely on political and legal parameters. It has
to be accompanied by the development of the State
economy and the local economy. The return process
must be sustained by job opportunities, small- and
medium-size enterprises, strengthening of the social
fabric and adequate schools and health institutions, as
well as better living conditions generally. Otherwise,
we shall just turn returnees into economic migrants and
they will be on the road once again.
Not a small part of legislative changes relates to
the protection of human and minority rights in Croatia.
The Croatian Government is of the opinion that the
necessary preconditions have been met for excluding
Croatia from the omnibus resolutions on the situation
of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the
Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, which have been adopted by both the
General Assembly and the Commission on Human
Rights, and for the exclusion of Croatia from the
mandate of the Special Rapporteur derived from the
Commission's resolution.
Important recognition of the progress Croatia has
made in respecting fundamental values of democracy,
human rights and rule of law came recently from the
Council of Europe. The Monitoring Committee of its
Parliamentary Assembly concluded last Friday that
Croatia has honoured its obligations and most of its
commitments undertaken at the time of its accession to
the Council of Europe in 1996. Consequently, we
expect that the monitoring procedure will be formally
closed at the plenary session of the Parliamentary
Assembly, at the end of this month.
For the Croatian Government, cooperation with
the International Tribunal in The Hague remains
primarily a legal issue, not a political one. The
Croatian State Parliament adopted the Declaration on
Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal
for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in April,
unambiguously affirming its support for the Tribunal,
and this important document remains a framework for
Croatia's policy towards the ICTY. It is our firm
position that the guilt for the crimes committed must be
individualized: no nation can be held collectively
responsible for the crimes committed by war criminals
claiming to act in its name. In order to improve the
quality of cooperation with the ICTY, the Government
Council for cooperation with the ICTY has been
constituted and close working relations with the
Tribunal established.
Promotion of good relations with its neighbours
is Croatia's high-priority goal. In its programme, the
Croatian Government clearly stipulated that its
relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina are based on
good-neighbourliness, equality and transparency.
Croatia will continue to cooperate with Bosnia and
Herzegovina and the international community in the
implementation of the Dayton Agreement, which
remains the foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's
self-sustainability and the guarantee of the preservation
of the national interests of its three constituent peoples.
Croatia's policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina rests
on full respect for the independence and sovereignty of
that country.
Croatia sees this as the only way to a prosperous
future for the Croatian people in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the care for whom remains our
constitutional obligation. Croatia will continue to
support Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it
foresees doing this in a transparent way, in accordance
with the Dayton Agreement and with a clear Euro-
Atlantic orientation.
Transparent financing of the Croatian component
of the Federation Army through the Standing
Committee on Military Matters is only one of the steps
aimed at enhancing the central institutions and concrete
proof of the new Croatian policy towards Croats in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The relations between Croatia and Serbia cannot
be regarded outside the framework of the international
isolation of the Milosevi? regime. Croatia is not
questioning at all the need to continue the
normalization process with the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia, but its dynamics and substance will depend
on the democratization of Serbia, which remains one of
the necessary conditions for international and
4

economic stability in the region. Croatia hopes that the
forthcoming elections in the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia will be conducted in a democratic way that
reflects the true will of the people and that they will
result in democratic changes. Bearing in mind the fact
that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe has been denied an opportunity to monitor the
elections means that the elections could lose their
international credibility. Still, Croatia wants to believe
that Serbia will find a way to end the present situation
and join the mainstream of the political and economic
integration process in the region and Europe as a
whole.
Croatia supports democratic developments in the
Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro. An open,
democratic, multi-ethnic, stable and economically
viable Montenegro is in the interest of Croatia and of
the region at large. In the course of this year a number
of meetings have been held between the Croatian and
Montenegrin officials at various levels, including the
highest level. Two border crossings between Croatia
and Montenegro are operating without impediment, and
further steps for enhanced cooperation, especially
economic ones, are under way. Croatia will continue to
support the process of democratization that has already
began in Montenegro and help in its opening towards
Europe, firmly in line with the efforts of the
international community.
Croatia remains seriously concerned about the
present situation in Kosovo and continued violence,
whose victims are both Albanians and the Serbs. We
hope that efforts of the United Nations Interim
Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) forces
and civilian administration will be successful in
bringing peace and stability to the region, as well as
facilitating preconditions for the return of refugees.
One issue, however, stands out in regard to the
stability and lasting security of the whole region. It is
the question of succession of States created after the
dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia.
An important aspect of the succession problem is
the question of membership of the Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia in the United Nations and other
international organizations. The four successor States
are of the opinion that this must be resolved in line
with the already existing Security Council and General
Assembly resolutions. That means that the Federal
Republic of Yugoslavia cannot automatically continue
the membership of the former State in the United
Nations, and therefore, that it should do what other
successor States have done  apply for membership as
the fifth successor. Moreover, the four successor States
are of the opinion that the current practice in the
United Nations should reflect the above-mentioned
resolutions and be more consistent in that regard.
Therefore, we call for immediate implementation of
those resolutions and emphasize once again the
importance of resolving the question of succession,
despite the rejection by the present Federal Republic of
Yugoslavia regime.
There are still a small number of United Nations
military observers within the international borders of
Croatia. Their performance in Prevlaka, the
southernmost part of my country, has considerably
contributed to the lasting solution to this problem,
which is definitely one of security, not one of a
territorial nature. Since 1992, Croatia has accepted the
United Nations mandate on Prevlaka, with the last six-
month extension on 15 July this year. The steady
normalization of relations between Croatia and the
democratic Government of Montenegro has
considerably improved the situation on the ground and
should serve as a bedrock for a lasting solution for
Prevlaka. In approaching the Prevlaka issue one has to
respect existing international borders, as well as
legitimate security concerns, land ownership rights and
the need for economic cooperation and development in
the region.
The stability of South-East Europe is an
inseparable part of the overall European stability
architecture. Being at the same time a Central
European, Mediterranean, Danubian and South-East
European country, Croatia plays an active role in
several regional initiatives that serve as a foundation
for stabilization, cooperation and development in our
part of the world. Let me mention in this regard the
Central European Initiative, one of the oldest regional
initiatives, and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the
newest.
During its chairmanship of the Working
Community of the Danube Region this year, Croatia
will host the traditional Conference of the heads of the
regional Governments as well as the Economic and
Cultural Forum. Alpe Adria is another subregional
initiative in which Croatia plays an active role.
Croatia's role as an active observer in the South-East
5

Europe Cooperation Initiative additionally emphasizes
our intention to contribute to regional security and
stability.
From the very outset, Croatia has actively
engaged in the creation and implementation of the
Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. This strategic
process represents a comprehensive approach towards
the region in which the concept of stability includes
democratization and human rights, economic
development and security issues. Croatia has presented
several project proposals to all three working tables of
the Stability Pact, the construction of the Adriatic-
Ionian highway being the most important of them. The
construction of this highway, stretching along the
coastline from the Italian to the Greek border, would
mean a significant improvement in road travel between
the countries of the region, and would also bring
economic development to the very part of the region
that most dearly needs it.
I have the satisfaction of informing the Assembly
that at the beginning of this week Croatia hosted the
parliamentary summit of the Stability Pact, which had
complete success in strengthening the important
parliamentary dimensions of the Pact.
The Stability Pact also serves as a mechanism for
facilitating the European Union (EU) and the North
Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership
prospects for all those countries of South-East Europe
that wish to pursue this path. Croatia is one of them.
Full integration into the EU and NATO is the priority
strategic objective of Croatian foreign policy.
In a brief span of six months Croatia's
international position regarding the European Union
has thoroughly changed. It has gone from being a
country with no institutional relations with the
European Union to a country awaiting the start of
negotiations on a stabilization and association
agreement and, consequently, candidacy for EU
membership. Croatia is very pleased with the results of
the joint consultative task force, whose
recommendations helped us to prepare the start of the
negotiations on the stabilization and association
agreement. We are encouraged by the European
Commission high representative's statements that this
generation of agreements will be tailored according to
the present needs and achievements of the stabilization
and association process countries, and that countries'
further progress towards European Union membership
will be assessed on their individual merits.
In late November Croatia will host a summit of
the European Union member States and the
stabilization and association process countries
Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. We
feel privileged to host such a historic meeting, one that
will signify the importance that the European Union
attaches to the region within the framework of the
Union's enlargement process. At the top of the Zagreb
summit's agenda will be the issue of opening EU
prospects to the region and the countries of South-East
Europe. This is firmly in line with the policy of
creating one Europe without walls or curtains of
division. We see the arrival of the EU heads of State or
Government to Zagreb as a tribute to Croatia's
democratic achievements and a harbinger of our status
of country associated with the European Union.
In May Croatia entered the Partnership for Peace.
This provided Croatia with an opportunity to contribute
more actively to the peace and security of the region
and to strengthen its democracy and stability at the
same time. In parallel, Croatia has begun the
substantial reconstruction and modernization of its
armed forces, aiming to meet all NATO requirements
as well as democratic standards.
Croatia continues its active engagement in the
pivotal European organizations, such as the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and the Council of Europe. It has achieved
significant progress in working together with the OSCE
on the improvement of security in the Danubian region
through the engagement of OSCE civilian police
monitors there, as well as in other fields of
cooperation, such as the improvement of democratic
standards in Croatia.
World peace does not depend solely on peace and
security in Europe. It is with concern that we look at
the ongoing threat of new crises on the African
continent, where tremendous amounts of human
resources and money are feeding the war machines,
instead of serving to fuel development. The cause of
our special concern lies in the fact that many armed
conflicts in Africa erupt encouraged by and with the
participation of neighbouring countries, often using
foreign mercenaries who sometimes come even from
Eastern European countries. Croatia sees the
implementation of the Non-Aligned Movement
6

principles, as well as of the principles of the
Organization of African Unity and other, subregional
organizations, as an important element in the political
developments in that part of the world.
These organizations undertake commendable
efforts in order to establish mechanisms for conflict
prevention, as well as to find the ways to end the
ongoing crises. These efforts include the establishment
of their own peacekeeping forces. In this regard,
Croatia welcomes the determination of the African
countries to solve their problems regionally and with
support from the United Nations.
The situation in the Middle East continues to shift
between the brink of war and the brink of peace. The
peace process between the Israeli and Palestinian sides
must be maintained, and all of us should spare no effort
to extend assistance and support to the accomplishment
of this paramount task. From its own experience,
Croatia is well aware of how important it is to
strengthen the peace process through Security Council
and General Assembly resolutions that are supportive
of it, both in language and in political substance. Thus,
Croatia advocates that forthcoming resolutions on the
Middle East reflect all the aspects of the ongoing peace
process, serving as an important impetus for its
successful completion.
Croatia is a country highly contaminated by
antipersonnel landmines, with about 1 million
landmines scattered over many parts of its territory.
Their presence poses serious obstacle to the economic
development of the country, and even more so to the
return of people to their homes. The mine-clearing
process is under way, but it has to be intensified if real
progress is to be seen anytime soon. Many of the
ongoing activities are performed in cooperation with
donor countries, to which we extend our sincere
gratitude; but maximum efforts have to be made to
eliminate this evil completely and for good. In this
connection, Croatia calls for further international
assistance so as to enable the unimpeded development
of the country at large.
Let me briefly address the issue of the reform of
the Security Council. Croatia holds the view that the
present structure and functioning of the Security
Council does not properly reflect the reality of
international relations in the twenty-first century, or the
need for universal democratization. We support
increasing the number of permanent and non-
permanent seats in the Council, taking into account
equitable geographical distribution as well as
contributions to the United Nations budget. However,
reform must go beyond the sole issue of membership
enlargement. The Council's methods of work should be
made more transparent, in particular regarding informal
consultations, which have proved to be anything but
informal.
The subject of greatest concern is that, with the
advent of globalization, the number of people that are
marginalized and strongly affected by its negative
effects is growing. Therefore, we have to minimize the
negative impacts of globalization and, at the same time,
make its benefits available to all.
The effects of globalization on the international
economy are significant and call for enhanced
cooperation through multilateral institutions. In
addition to the efforts aimed at avoiding
marginalization and at ensuring full integration into the
world economy, the countries with economies in
transition face challenges associated with privatization
and structural and macroeconomic reforms. In the case
of Croatia there is an additional challenge, that of the
post-war recovery. In such circumstances, our pivotal
goal is to consolidate economic recovery and create
conditions for sound and sustainable economic and
social development. Our overall economic programme
and policy measures are designed to support further
economic stability, with stable prices and low inflation,
concurrent economic growth, a faster rate of
employment and more exports.
To attract foreign investments that are so
important for the ongoing process of development, a
new Investment Law has been adopted. Constructive
economic cooperation on bilateral, regional and global
levels remains Croatia's firm goal. Croatia has recently
signed the Protocol of Accession to the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and, within a few months, once
the process of ratification is completed, Croatia will
become a full member of the WTO.
The challenges facing the Organization are
numerous. Answers will have to be found for questions
regarding how to renew the structure and mandates of
the main United Nations bodies, how to ensure better
management and mobilization of new resources, how
to define new forms of partnership, both with the
private sector and with non-governmental
organizations, how to make cooperation more effective
7

and, above all, how to turn the United Nations into a
result-based Organization. Croatia believes in the
potentials of the United Nations and considers that it
will be made truly efficient if we  the Member
States  accept our responsibilities towards it.
Croatia is ready to work together with all
international actors in searching for the right answers
to the challenges that lie ahead. Stability and prosperity
of the world will become possible only if we never stop
looking for ways to improve them. Croatia will
continue to use its best efforts to preserve the positive
trends in its general achievements and to contribute to
European and world stability.
In conclusion, allow me to congratulate
Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister of
Namibia and the President of the fifty-fourth session of
the Assembly, on his dedicated work and on the great
skills with which he performed his demanding job. I
would also like to congratulate Mr. Harri Holkeri,
Foreign Minister of Finland, on his election as
President of the fifty-fifth session and to wish him all
success in his future work.
Finally, I would like to express the hope that this
Millennium Assembly will result in new commitments
that will bring progress in responding to the challenges
of the new century.


Before I begin, I should like to make a
personal comment. As a former official of the United
Nations Population Fund, I should like to express my
great pride and personal satisfaction at being able to
speak to the Assembly today and to address those
countries with which I have worked, together with my
other colleagues in the United Nations. All of us, of
course, share a hope that our dream of a better world
will come true.
It is a great source of satisfaction to see the
President preside over the work of this Assembly,
familiar as I am with his great personal and
professional skills, which guarantee the success of our
work. I should also like to express to his predecessor,
Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, our gratitude and
recognition of the efficient work he has done.
Similarly, I would like to thank the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, for the detailed report on the work of
the Organization that he has presented. It describes the
important work carried out by the United Nations over
the past year as well as the challenges for the future.
I should also like to express on behalf of my
Government our pleasure at the entry of Tuvalu as a
new Member of our Organization. This is an important
step forward along the road of universality, which is
the aspiration we all share.
The recently concluded Millennium Summit was
a useful instrument for reflection by our Heads of State
upon the present and future of the Organization. This
Organization must adapt its structures and mechanisms
for action to the new challenges facing humanity. I am
certain that the numerous suggestions that have been
made will help establish clear lines of action so the
United Nations can operate more efficiently and
effectively.
At the last summit of the Rio Group, which took
place in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, the Heads of
State who comprise this political consultation
mechanism endorsed the Cartagena Declaration as our
singular contribution to the Millennium Summit and to
the future of the United Nations. It is our intention to
ensure appropriate follow-up to the initiatives and
aspirations expressed in this document in order to make
certain that they become a reality in the future for the
benefit of all humanity in terms of democracy, trade
flows, better dynamics in international relations in
terms of human security and the pursuit of multilateral
solutions.
I fully agree with the Secretary-General of our
Organization when he says that the conclusion of one
century and the turn of the millennium provide us with
a unique vantage point for reflecting upon our common
destiny. Fifty-five years have passed since the creation
of the United Nations, and during that period we have
seen many auspicious as well as many worrying events.
Let us pause for a moment and think about all the good
that we have done and the good that we have failed to
do, as well as upon what we have done wrong or
should not have done.
The conclusion of the cold war, of which this
Organization was one of the most important theatres,
seemed to herald a period of peace and prosperity for
humanity, in fulfilment of the Biblical mandate to beat
our swords into plowshares. Nevertheless, humanity is
still facing terrible threats, not only to its security —
because war and violence persist in new and more
sophisticated forms — but also threats to its very
existence, in light of the prospect that our planet may
become uninhabitable as a result of human activities.
Consequently, in the new millennium the United
Nations will be equally if not more important than it
was in the previous millennium. Our Organization must
of course adapt to new times. The reform of our
Organization cannot be postponed any further. The
structures of its main organs must adapt to the new
characteristics of the international community, with the
increasing number of nations which belong to it. We
must adapt to the increasing role of civil society, the
spread of the system of representative democracy, the
globalization of our world markets and the intolerable
persistence of serious social deficits in most of our
States.
23

In particular, our Organization must adapt so that
our efforts towards development are rendered
appropriate for each individual wherever he or she may
live and wherever his or her community may be
located, and wherever we want to see our families
grow.
The human being as the centre of development
will continue to be at the centre of our mandate, as well
as the commitments assumed by each and every one of
our countries at summits of the United Nations over the
past decade. The efforts made by each man, woman or
child to take advantage of the opportunities offered by
global markets and new economic trends is first and
foremost a local and community effort and secondly a
national effort, which can create opportunities for
growth and ensure participation for each man and each
woman.
The reorganization of the United Nations, and in
particular its system of development, must ensure that
it can respond creatively and flexibly to these
community and national efforts. This will make it
possible progressively to improve for each individual
daily access to health, education, sanitation services,
technology and reasonable credit, as well as the
equitable participation of women in productive
activities. In that way, we can ensure the integration of
all our citizens into the global market and make certain
they can benefit from this process.
It is vital that the cooperation activities of the
United Nations be well structured and have a real
impact on our populations, in particular women,
children and adolescents. It is essential that these
activities create an environment of national dialogue in
each of our countries with a view to harmonizing views
on development and creating consensus on the means
for achieving growth, in order to give true meaning to
social and productive investments and to meet the
qualitative demands of civil society.
National consensus must necessarily be the basis
for global consensus, and today more than ever it must
be the basis for consensus among integrated groups
that wish to negotiate with each other. However, a
reorganized and renewed United Nations, in the
ultimate analysis, must be the guarantor of the
well-being of each of our citizens. The United Nations
exists so that all of our citizens can benefit from new
trends in trade, development and technology in order to
achieve growth as individuals and as families and to
improve their quality of life and feel that they live in a
better world where their sons and daughters will be
able to continue to grow, in peace.
Turning to another subject, we are concerned
about the delay in the adoption of a decision about the
future composition of the Security Council, because we
feel that its enlargement cannot be postponed. Its
composition must become more equitable and
representative and allow for a better political balance.
This gradual process of democratization must begin
with an increase in both categories of members,
permanent and non-permanent, and it should also
include both developed and developing countries.
Special attention should be given to the fact that the
developing countries are now under-represented in that
very important body. Paraguay also believes that this
reform should include the gradual elimination of the
veto rights of the permanent members.
We welcome the Brahimi report, which
establishes a valid framework for the reform and
strengthening of United Nations peacekeeping
operations. Paraguay has always supported such
operations as a fundamental mechanism contributing to
world peace and security.
I should also like to refer to the regular budget of
the Organization, in connection with the aspirations of
some developed countries to reduce their contributions
to a lower percentage. We believe that this should not
mean that the assessed contributions of developing
countries would increase to unprecedented percentages,
even though the figures involved may seem to others
modest or insignificant. It is paradoxical that some
developed countries would have their contributions
reduced precisely when they are enjoying excellent
economic growth, while other countries that are
experiencing difficulties would see an increase in their
contributions.
It is in this context that we must seriously study
the scale of assessments so that when we adopt it this
year we will achieve a fair and equitable distribution of
the financial burden of this Organization. We hope that
together we will find balanced solutions and equitable
formulas and timetables for redistributing the
budgetary burden so that we can promote and
reactivate the participation of large and small States in
our Organization.
International relations have acquired a new
dimension as a result of the revolution in computer
24

technology, telecommunications and communications
in general. The effect of this is what we call
globalization, which has both positive and negative
consequences. On the one hand it has produced a
change in the consciousness of human beings, who for
the first time feel they are part of a whole — that is, of
humanity in its entirety. On the other hand, it has
increased the divide between the poorest countries and
the more advanced countries owing to the advantages
accruing to those that are better prepared for the
dismantling of national barriers. In these conditions,
solidarity takes on a new urgency. It is an act of justice
for those peoples who see all their potential progress
subordinated to this process.
In this regard, we fully agree with recent
statements made by the representative of the Holy See
during the special session of the General Assembly on
social development, to the effect that the benefits of
great scientific advances must be shared by all peoples
and should not be enjoyed exclusively by the few.
Otherwise we will merely be perpetuating differences
and widening the gap between rich and poor countries.
We know that decades of development assistance
under past conditions have not succeeded very well in
eradicating poverty and cultural backwardness in vast
regions of the world. Nevertheless, this should not
become a pretext for reducing the amount of
development assistance, especially multilateral
assistance, nor should we see any increase in
conditionality. We believe fully in the multilateral
approach, and we should totally reject conditionality
when determining how to provide development
assistance. Nor do we wish to justify the lack of good
governance in many nations, which has meant in some
cases that efforts were wasted to a great extent and
only fuelled corruption and caused the loss of age-old,
noble traditional practices.
In the recent elections for the vice-presidency of
the Republic, my country demonstrated once again the
preference of our region for representative democracy.
In the elections, which all observers considered
exemplary because of the discipline, civic spirit and
participation shown by the citizens, we saw the
election of the opposition candidate, of the radical
liberal party, Mr. Julio César Franco. The fact that two
parties, until now adversaries, can share power is far
from negative. Rather, it constitutes an opportunity to
establish lasting political stability through the
establishment of a Government of national unity that
can efficiently foster the institutional and economic
reforms needed in our country in order to achieve
sustained progress.
I would like to take this opportunity to express
our gratitude — to the international community, to our
friends in the Southern Common Market
(MERCOSUR), the Rio Group, the European Union
and the Organization of American States, and to the
United States of America, Japan, the Republic of China
and other countries around the world — for their
constant support for our process of democratization. I
would like to say to all of them that thanks to their
efforts Paraguay is continuing along the road to
democratic growth.
We are certain that the spread of democracy and
the increasing exercise of its freedoms by peoples will
bring greater effectiveness to our State institutions in
the short term. This, together with the increasing role
of the private sector, can create fertile ground for
investment and the transformation of productive
activities in a large part of the world, leading to a
reduction in unemployment and poverty.
International cooperation, for its part, must
establish clear priorities and offer what each of us
needs. It cannot be simply humanitarian aid, although
humanitarian aid is fully justified in emergency
situations. Instead, international cooperation should be
aimed at the integral, sustainable development of
peoples. These are two words that are used and
misused — “integral” and “sustainable”. When we say
“integral”, we understand it to mean that aid must try
to come to grips with the entire set of development
problems of each country and of each individual, in
order to guarantee respect for human rights — not only
political rights but also economic and social rights; and
merely partial solutions should not be offered.
When we say “sustainable” we mean that
assistance must not become an addiction for the
beneficiaries. It should empower them to continue
along the road to progress relying on their own efforts
and should guarantee growth for future generations.
Combating poverty means building peace. The
security of the world must be based on the elimination
of the underlying causes of violence, two of the
principal causes being ignorance and poverty. This
does not exempt us, however, from taking effective
measures to limit the use of the instruments of
violence, from their most deadly form, such as
25

weapons of mass destruction, to the more conventional,
including small arms. In the latter case, my country
supports the initiative to establish an international legal
instrument with specific measures to check the illegal
trade in such weapons.
The preservation of our natural environment is a
great source of concern and a subject for reflection.
Paraguay, like many other developing countries, gives
extremely high priority in its national policies to
preserving the integrity and diversity of our natural
heritage, handed on by our ancestors. This is not only
because on it depends our current and future wealth,
but also because we are fully aware of our grave
responsibility to all humanity, since we are the
guardians of resources needed for its very survival.
Paraguay reaffirms its resolve to continue
respecting and implementing the principles established
in Agenda 21. In this regard, we attach high priority to
the participation of the States parties in the legal
framework developed during the implementation phase
of the Agenda. With great pride I report that Paraguay
is a fully fledged party to the most important
international agreements on the environment.
In this area, finally, it is important to mention the
need to come to grips with the grave problem of the
unsustainable use of water resources. It is necessary to
intensify scientific cooperation and research in order to
reduce the effects of environmental disasters, both
natural and man-made.
We believe that an equitable and fair trade system
is vital for our development. In this regard, we reject
any intent to perpetuate protectionist measures in the
developed countries, particularly subsidies for
agricultural production and exports, as well as the use
of technical regulations as trade barriers against
manufactured products. We claim our right to free
access to the world's markets for those goods in which
we are competitive.
On this occasion, as we highlight the importance
of reaffirming our commitment to this Organization, I
believe it is appropriate to stress the essential role that
the international legal framework can play in the
achievement of our common objectives. In this regard,
the Government of Paraguay has paid special attention
to the invitation by the Secretary-General to all
Member States to take advantage of this opportunity to
strengthen our support for the international legal
framework by signing, ratifying or acceding to treaties
deposited with him that bear a special relationship to
the spirit and objectives of the Charter of the United
Nations.
In this respect, I am very pleased to announce that
on behalf of the Government of the Republic of
Paraguay I have signed the following international
instruments: the Optional Protocols to the Convention
on the Rights of the Child — on the involvement of
children in armed conflict, and on the sale of children,
child prostitution and child pornography; the
International Convention on the Protection of the
Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their
Families; and the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. I
should also note that the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court, of which Paraguay was
one of the first signatories, is in the process of
parliamentary approval.
I conclude by reaffirming the conviction of my
country's firm belief in the United Nations, which is
more necessary than ever in order to meet the great
challenges of peace and development, which, despite
significant progress, continue to be an urgent need of a
great part of humanity.


I join my colleagues in
congratulating the President on his election as
President of the General Assembly for its fifty-fifth
session and you, Madam Vice-President, on your
election to your position.
I am also delighted to welcome Tuvalu as the
189th Member of the United Nations. Australia has
long-standing and very friendly relations with Tuvalu,
and we have worked closely together as members of
the South Pacific Forum and the Commonwealth. We
are pleased that Tuvalu is now a Member of the United
Nations, and look forward to new opportunities to work
together for the United Nations common goals of peace
and development.
We meet today just after the largest number of
heads of State and Government in history gathered for
the Millennium Summit. While the Summit touched on
the multitude of problems facing the world at the start
of a new century, a theme common to many speeches
was the need for the United Nations to reform so as to
meet the challenges of the era: the challenges of
securing peace, of fighting poverty and of empowering
and liberating oppressed peoples.
I want to respond to those calls for reform in my
remarks to the Assembly today.
Without continuing commitment to reform, the
United Nations — like any organization — cannot
expect to keep up with rapid change in the
contemporary international environment. In the
absence of change and adaptation, the Organization
will wither as the nations of the world bypass it in
favour of institutions and mechanisms that are more
relevant to their needs.
Australians believe that the most fundamental
task of the Organization — and the very reason for its
creation at the end of the Second World War — is the
maintenance of international peace and security. In
recent years we have seen the United Nations perform
at both ends of the spectrum of relevance and
effectiveness: at a low point in addressing problems in
Kosovo and Rwanda, and at a high point in the
resolution of the conflict in East Timor.
I am a strong advocate of an active role for the
United Nations in the restoration and preservation of
international peace and security, especially in situations
where there may be imminent danger of humanitarian
catastrophe. Appropriate action by the United Nations
in these circumstances does more than perhaps
anything else to demonstrate the continuing relevance
of the Organization to an often sceptical international
public.
Today I want to focus attention on four aspects of
reform within the United Nations system: reform of the
Security Council; electoral group reconfiguration;
reform of peacekeeping; and reform of the human
rights treaty committee system. It is our view that
progress in each of these areas must be achieved to
enable the United Nations to deliver results and ensure
its relevance and effectiveness.
Reform and expansion of the Security Council is
driven by two fundamental, interrelated imperatives:
the need to restore the representative nature of the
Council by reconfiguring its composition to reflect the
size and diversity of contemporary United Nations
membership, and the need to enhance the Council's
credibility, authority and legitimacy.
The Australian Government's view has long been
that expansion in both categories of membership is
26

needed to restore balance and equity to the composition
of the Council. New permanent seats should be
assumed by the under-represented developing regions
of the world. New permanent seats should also be
allocated to the major industrialized Powers best able
to contribute to the maintenance of international peace
and security. Equally importantly, other Members of
the United Nations should be given the opportunity to
contribute directly to the work of the Council through
periodic participation as elected members. Expansion
of the non-permanent membership would enhance the
representative nature of the Council, enabling it to act
genuinely on behalf of the whole membership.
Australia has long voiced concerns about the veto
and continues to argue that there must be limitations on
its use. Of course, all permanent members of the
Council, old and new, must remain accountable for
their performance, and to this end any new
arrangements for the Council should be reviewed after
10 or 15 years.
Regrettably, discussion on Security Council
reform has failed to reach agreement on a package of
reforms in the six years since the Open-ended Working
Group was established. The impasse is disappointing,
and I hope that this session will give new impetus to
the reform effort. It is clear from statements at the
Millennium Summit, and during this debate, that there
is strong support for reform. Renewed commitment and
flexibility are needed from all sides.
In the recent debate about United Nations reform,
one key element has largely been missing. I refer to the
United Nations electoral groups. The electoral groups
were established to ensure that there was fair and
equitable representation on United Nations bodies, so
that all Members who wanted to make a contribution to
United Nations decision-making would have an
opportunity to do so. Now that three decades have
passed since the formalization of the present groups, it
is time that we focused on their relevance to present
and future geopolitical realities.
The current group system reflects the geopolitics
of the 1960s. Since that time, more than 60 nations
have joined the United Nations, leading to significant
disparities between the size of groupings and an
inadequate level of representation for some subregions.
In addition, the original rationale for the configuration
of the electoral groups has eroded, creating dissonance
in the way many Member States organize themselves
politically and electorally.
The previous realignment of groups in 1963 was a
long and difficult process, impelled by significant
changes to the United Nations system after the entry of
many newly independent States from Africa and Asia. I
recognize that group reconfiguration is no easy matter,
and accept that change now will be similarly complex.
For that very reason, we should delay no longer in
commencing a serious debate of these issues. While
there are many possible configurations for revised
electoral groupings, and many sensitivities around
altering the status quo, the dramatic global changes
since the current system came into force have created
historical anomalies that cry out to be redressed.
Australia looks forward to working with others to
achieve that goal.
As part of the Australian Government's
commitment to a strong and relevant United Nations,
we recently completed a review of the United Nations
human rights committee system, with the objective of
improving its effectiveness. The review proceeded
from our Government's commitment to the
international promotion and protection of human rights,
and a firm belief that the United Nations has a central
role to play.
Australia has a proud human rights record, and
we take our international rights and obligations
seriously. We are party to both human rights Covenants
and to the four conventions. Within Australia, which
has a strong civil society, human rights are protected by
a range of key civil and political mechanisms,
including a strong democratic tradition, our
Constitution, an independent judiciary, a free press and
wide-ranging anti-discrimination legislation.
Internationally, Australia is a strong proponent of the
universal application of human rights standards and is
committed to continued support for international
human rights protection.
We are concerned that the committees established
to monitor international compliance with human rights
treaties are beginning to lose credibility and
effectiveness because of the way they operate. It is also
important that the international protection system work
efficiently and effectively so that democratic countries,
such as Australia, which have a proud record of
extending generous humanitarian assistance can
continue to have the confidence and support of their
27

own domestic constituencies for such humanitarian
protection.
Australia's review found that the committees
need to adopt a more consistent approach to their role
and understand the pitfalls of simply accepting without
analysis the submissions put before them by non-
governmental organizations. It is important that
adequate recognition be given to the role and views of
Governments which are democratically elected and
which take their treaty commitments and reporting
obligations seriously. The committees also need to be
more balanced and strategic about targeting key human
rights offenders and avoid unfairly focusing their
criticism on countries with good human rights records.
For some years now Australia, together with a
number of other countries, including Canada, New
Zealand and Norway, has been advocating reform of
the treaty committees. Most recently, the Australian
Mission to the United Nations in Geneva hosted a
meeting of about 20 countries to discuss treaty
committee reform. The United Nations itself has also
recognized the need for reform of the treaty committee
system, and Australia has been fully supportive of
these international reform efforts.
Australia now intends to broaden such efforts by
spearheading a high-level diplomatic initiative to
garner broad support for reforms to improve the
functioning of the committees and professionalize their
operations. Reforms could include the provision of
adequate resources to the human rights treaty
committees, improvements in their working methods,
standardized rules of procedure when considering
States' reports and better consultation between the
committees themselves to coordinate reporting
timetables and to facilitate cooperative work on reform
issues.
But Australia does not have a monopoly on good
ideas, and we want to work closely with United
Nations officials and with like-minded countries to
make the treaty committee system work more
effectively for the good of all Member States and for
the protection of human rights.
We will therefore be talking widely with others to
develop concrete proposals for reform. We will raise
these issues in the General Assembly, at the
Commission on Human Rights and in other appropriate
meetings. We also think that the regular meetings of
States parties to the six human rights treaties should
discuss reform issues and provide guidance to the
respective committees on their working methods.
Australia wants to maximize the effectiveness of
the treaty bodies. We will not shy away from our
responsibilities, but will press for the reforms that are
needed to make the system work well and achieve its
objectives. If reform does not occur, the committee
system will increasingly be ignored and made
redundant. That would be a setback for the cause of
human rights.
I now turn to the matter of peacekeeping and the
maintenance of international security. Australia has a
long and honourable tradition as a participant in United
Nations peacekeeping operations, most recently in East
Timor, and I believe that the strength of our
commitment is reflected in the recent appointment by
the Secretary-General of Australian Major-General Tim
Ford as his Military Adviser. The experience of the
1990s has clearly shown that the ability of the United
Nations to meet an expanding and increasingly
complex range of peacekeeping demands is under
strain. The decade witnessed some important successes
in peacekeeping, notably in East Timor, but also some
smaller and frankly rather unheralded operations. It
also saw some tragic failures, the costs of which were
often measured in human lives.
I commend the Secretary-General's commitment
to blunt scrutiny and review of the United Nations
performance, including the reports on Srebrenica and
Rwanda. We particularly commend his initiative in
convening the Brahimi Panel on United Nations Peace
Operations. The Brahimi report (A/55/305) is a
landmark document, setting out a blueprint for
modernizing the United Nations peacekeeping and
related functions. We must move expeditiously to
consider its recommendations.
Let me highlight briefly five points that, in
Australia's view, are among the most significant
lessons of recent experiences.
First, military intervention must be used only as a
last resort. All efforts must be made to find peaceful
solutions. In this context, we welcome the Brahimi
report's emphasis on preventive action and peace-
building.
Secondly, when the United Nations is deployed,
there must be a peace to keep. There are real dangers in
sending troops indefinitely into harm's way in the
28

absence of a clear peace plan and reasonable prospects
of achieving it. Disputing parties must be committed to
peace and must be held accountable for their actions.
Thirdly, peace operations must have a mandate
from the Security Council that is appropriate to the job
they are being asked to do. If the environment is
hostile, they must be appropriately equipped and able
to project credible force.
Fourthly, deployment must take place quickly
once a decision is taken by the Security Council.
Delays can lead to the further deterioration of a
situation and can cost lives. The Brahimi report offers a
number of useful ideas to speed deployment which
merit careful consideration.
Fifthly, United Nations peace operations must
have a clear exit strategy. This is linked in particular to
the clarity of Council mandates: as the Brahimi report
rightly stresses, mandates must be clear, credible and
achievable. It is also linked to the efficacy of
accompanying peace processes and peace-building
efforts.
We welcome the attention given to these issues in
the Brahimi report. We also support the point that the
United Nations must be given the resources it needs to
carry out the demands that we make of it. There is no
question that the Department of Peacekeeping
Operations needs to be strengthened and reformed.
Ultimately, it is our responsibility, as Member States,
to support a stronger and more effective United Nations
peacekeeping capacity. This includes placing the
financing of peacekeeping on a surer footing and
paying our assessed contributions in full and on time.
I cannot conclude without referring to the
question of East Timor. When I addressed this
Assembly one year ago East Timor was in the throes of
the most appalling violence at the hands of a brutal and
lawless militia. Since then important progress has been
made in restoring security and building the foundations
of an independent East Timor. Australia pays tribute to
the men and women of the International Force in East
Timor and of the United Nations Transitional
Administration in East Timor for their commitment
and, in too many cases, their sacrifice.
East Timor faces a long and difficult path to
peace and prosperity. Australia is playing a major role
in the territory's reconstruction through the United
Nations and other organizations, as well as bilaterally.
We are committed for the long term to helping the East
Timorese build their emerging nation not only for the
benefit of the East Timorese, but in the interests of
stability and security in our region.
Regrettably, the pro-integration militia continue
to pose a significant threat to security and stability.
Intimidation and violence against Timorese refugees
and humanitarian aid personnel in the camps on the
East-West Timor border must be halted. The killing of
workers of the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) earlier this
month deserves the world's strongest condemnation.
Australia reiterates its call on Indonesia to fulfil its
responsibility to provide effective security in West
Timor, including by bringing to an end militia activity,
bringing to justice those responsible for crimes,
creating the necessary conditions for the return of
UNHCR and resolving the refugee situation. We urge
the Indonesian authorities to take all possible steps in
this direction, including cooperating with the proposed
Security Council mission.
If the United Nations is to remain relevant and
credible, it must work on its strengths and maintain a
strong commitment to a continuing programme of
reform and renewal. The challenges that face the
Organization are formidable, but not insurmountable.
The need for change is clear and urgent, but I believe
that it is not beyond the ingenuity and good will of our
generation to emulate our predecessors in grasping the
reform nettle.
At the Millennium Summit the world's leaders
highlighted the need for the United Nations to meet the
challenges of the new century. Let us heed their call,
and work together with renewed determination and
commitment to make this Organization mo


Before
discussing some of the concerns of the African
continent and our views on some of the problems
facing the United Nations, I should like at the outset to
congratulate you, Mr. President, on having been chosen
to guide the work of our world body at this important
session. The high office to which you have risen in
your country, Finland, and the major role that Finland
plays in the world constitute a guarantee that the
General Assembly is truly in good hands.
I wish also to pay tribute to our brother the
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, whose ability and
dedication we highly appreciate.
The General Assembly session that took place 40
years ago was seen as the session of Africa. It was at
that session that many newly independent African
countries participated in the work of United Nations
bodies for the first time as States Members of the
Organization.
Yet despite the progress our continent has made
over the past 40 years, Africa continues to be
weakened by the ills of underdevelopment. Today, 33
of the world's 48 least developed countries are African
countries. In other words, three fifths of the States of
our continent belong to that group of countries that are
lagging behind in the pursuit of development.
As the world's least developed region, Africa
suffers from a number of specific ills which hamper its
growth and for which it is important that the
international community help provide a substantial,
effective remedy. Here I would first mention two
pandemics that ravage the continent and whose human
and economic consequences are particularly severe and
alarming: AIDS and malaria. We are most grateful for
the initiative taken last January by the Security Council
to consider the question of AIDS in Africa. More
recently, the Thirteenth International AIDS
Conference, held at Durban, South Africa, took stock
of the situation regarding the advance of the epidemic
and of possible ways to control it. Members are
undoubtedly aware that 70 per cent of the 34 million to
35 million AIDS sufferers worldwide live in sub-
Saharan Africa, and that in some African countries
schools have been closed because of the ravages of
AIDS among the teachers.
In a number of countries the skilled workforce
has been considerably reduced by AIDS. The number
of orphans in many countries affected by this epidemic
is relatively high, thus exacerbating the economic and
social situation of those countries. Therefore, it is
essential that the international community rapidly and
genuinely mobilize in order to help the African
continent control AIDS and eliminate its ravaging
effects.
With respect to malaria, a special summit of
heads of State and Government of the countries
concerned was held on 24-25 April in Abuja, Nigeria,
where a plan of action was adopted to combat the
disease. Malaria kills one person somewhere in the
world every 30 seconds. The Assembly of Heads of
State and Government of the Organization of African
Unity (OAU), meeting in LomÈ from 10-12 July this
year, appealed to the United Nations to proclaim the
period 2001-2010 the decade to combat malaria. We
firmly hope that this Assembly will respond positively
to our appeal, at this session, taking the necessary
measures to ensure the decade's success.
The African debt problem was also of concern to
the OAU Heads of State and Government at the LomÈ
summit. At a session more than 12 years ago, the
African countries adopted a common position on the
African foreign debt crisis. Unfortunately, our
continent continues to be the region of the world where
the debt burden is heaviest. As the General Assembly
noted last year in resolution 54/202,
`the continuing debt and debt-servicing problems
of heavily indebted developing countries'
5

are one of the factors that hinder their development and
economic growth. This finding should motivate the
international community, especially the developed
countries and international financial institutions, to
take more courageous measures, such as the outright
cancellation of the African countries' debt. Such a
decision would greatly contribute to the success of the
efforts of our countries, which have committed
themselves to implementing sustained programmes to
eradicate poverty.
That is why we strongly support the proposals of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who believes that the
industrialized countries should take a number of
measures for the benefit of the African countries and
other developing regions to ensure the possibility of
their making significant progress in the new world
economy.
The African continent is grateful to the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for its
invaluable assistance over many years, resulting in the
carrying out of numerous projects. However, the
continuous decline in UNDP resources worries us,
because it affects our development prospects.
At a more global level, we note that major
transnational companies, which play a crucial role in
the world economy, are remarkably absent from United
Nations economic forums. As in the International
Labour Organization (ILO), where representatives of
Governments, employers and employees work together,
it is desirable that in the Economic and Social Council
representatives of Governments should sit side by side
with those of multinational companies. That would
enhance the effectiveness and impact of this important
United Nations body. The international community, for
its part, should prove, by decisive action, that it truly
wishes to put an end to the suffering of the poorest
peoples, the largest proportion of whom, unfortunately,
are in Africa.
I take this opportunity to thank President Bill
Clinton for having the United States Congress approve
a law making possible the establishment of a closer
partnership between the United States of America and
the African States.
I also welcome the convening in Cairo in April
this year of the first Africa-Europe summit. We place a
great deal of hope in such meetings, which can only
strengthen the existing cooperation between the
European Union and the African countries.
It is well known that our continent is not afflicted
solely by the economic underdevelopment that puts it
in last place in terms of the quality of life. It is also a
region of the world where numerous lethal conflicts
continue to sow death and desolation. Consequently,
Africa accounts for the largest number of refugees and
internally displaced persons. We are grateful to the
United Nations and its specialized agencies,
particularly the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees, for their assistance in
helping our continent to control various conflicts and
mitigate their disastrous consequences.
We must recognize very sadly, however, that, by
comparison to other regions of the world that have also
experienced bloody conflicts, the attention that our
continent receives from the international community is
somewhat meagre. We strongly urge the Security
Council to demonstrate the same concern for us that it
bestows on other regions of the world that have been
affected by conflicts, inter alia, Europe and Asia.
We subscribe to the relevant recommendations
made by the Panel of experts which the Secretary-
General has mandated to consider all problems related
to the improved use of peace operations. We are of the
view that the mandates of United Nations peacekeeping
missions should be clear, credible and achievable.
These missions must be adequately financed and
rapidly deployed where they are expected. They must
be capable of fulfilling their mandates successfully and
able to defend themselves and control all those who
would seek to hinder their action on the ground.
In the area of peacekeeping in Africa, the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) has endowed
itself over the years with valuable instruments for
managing conflicts, such as the Mechanism for
Conflict Prevention, the Conflict Management Centre
and the Early Warning System. More than five years
after the creation of these mechanisms, we believe that
they should be complemented by the establishment of
an operational and effective African peacekeeping
force. If such a force were created, it would discourage
all subversive actions that underpin conflicts.
That is why I have proposed, with a view to
strengthening that force, the establishment of an
African institute for peace and conflict prevention, with
the assistance of the United Nations and the OAU. This
institution would train African cadres in the art of
6

negotiation, conflict management and the culture of
peace.
The persistence of conflicts in Africa seriously
affects the continent's opportunities for development
and hampers its efforts to achieve unity. It was with a
view to remedying this situation that the heads of State
and Government of the OAU decided in Syrte, Libya,
on 9 September 1999, to transform the OAU into a new
organization to be known as the African Union. Its
Charter was unanimously adopted at the 36th Assembly
of Heads of State and Government of the OAU, held at
LomÈ last July. We are convinced that, with the birth of
the African Union, the continent will hasten its process
of economic and political integration and strengthen
the peace and solidarity that are indispensable to
development.
The General Assembly was right to convene the
Millennium Summit that was held here last week from
6 to 8 September. That historic conference was held to
consider the role of the United Nations in the world at
the dawn of the twenty-first century. In my message to
the Millennium Summit, I stressed two basic problems.
One related to the activities of the United Nations in
the maintenance of international peace and security.
The other concerned the stakes of development,
particularly in relation to Africa.
When the Organization was established 55 years
ago, two thirds of its current Members did not exist as
sovereign States and their peoples still lived under the
colonial yoke. The planet had a scant 2.5 billion
inhabitants, as compared to 6 billion today. Despite the
expansion of the Security Council over the years, its
composition has in truth remained virtually unchanged
since the establishment of the United Nations. To use
the words of Secretary-General Kofi Annan, this
composition
`does not fully represent either the character or
the needs of our globalized world'. (A/52/2000,
para. 44)
We therefore think that it is high time to
reconsider the composition of the Security Council,
with a view to admitting new permanent members
selected from the new economic Powers that have
emerged since the Second World War, to which would
be added regional Powers from the developing
countries.
These are a few ideas that I wanted to contribute
to this general debate.
Despite its imperfections and shortcomings, I
think that the United Nations is irreplaceable, but we
must do everything possible to enhance its impact and
influence.
In conclusion, I would like to underscore that the
African continent, despite its difficulties, continues to
be a region of great potential wealth; however, its
resources have inadequately been inventoried,
developed and exploited.
We must not despair and think that Africa will not
overcome these difficulties. We are resolved to do
everything within our power to improve the political,
economic and social situation of our continent.
We simply need the benevolent assistance of all
those who are today richer and are prepared to join us
to bolster our efforts.


At the outset, I would like
to warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your well-deserved
election to the presidency of this historic Millennium
Assembly. We firmly believe that, under your able
stewardship, the first session of the General Assembly
in the new century will be a resounding success. This
session provides us with an opportune moment to take
stock of the track record of the Organization, its
achievements and the areas where it needs to be
strengthened so that it will be equal to the challenges
of the new century.
I also wish to express our gratitude to your
predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, for the
leadership he provided us in our preparations for this
Millennium Assembly and for his tireless efforts and
the dedication, skill and intelligent management with
which he led the last session of the General Assembly
of the twentieth century to a successful conclusion.
My delegation is most delighted to see in our
midst Tuvalu as a new Member of this world
Organization. With the admission of Tuvalu as the
189th Member of this Organization, our objective of
universal membership is closer to reality. On behalf of
the delegation of the Union of Myanmar, I would like
to extend our warmest congratulations to the delegation
of Tuvalu.
After the Second World War, under the Charter of
the United Nations, we established the present system
of collective security. Since then, we have witnessed
substantial changes in the geopolitical map of the
world, leading to new realities in international
relations. There is a strong consensus that our
Organization must be reformed and adapted to the new
realities in order to enable it to effectively respond to
the new challenges. This consensus has resulted in
various measures and proposals to reform the
Organization, including a process to make the Security
Council more effective, democratic, transparent and
accountable.
When this process started in 1993, we had hoped
that we would have completed the reform of the
Council by the beginning of the new millennium. After
seven years of discussion on the reform of the Council,
however, reality has revealed that the issue we took on
was so complex that it could not be resolved quickly.
While there has been convergence of ideas on some
areas, in others we have come to an impasse. This does
not mean that we should give up. On the contrary, we
should explore new possible avenues to enhance the
momentum we have gained. We must make use of this
historic opportunity to give added impetus to reforming
the Council so that it meets the needs of our time.
We believe that, at this stage of deliberations, we
should identify areas of possible agreement and build
on them. For instance, it appears to be generally agreed
that the Council should be expanded in both categories
of permanent and non-permanent membership.
Similarly, a majority of countries tends to agree that
the new members should come from among the
developed and developing countries alike. While we
continue our discussion on other aspects of the issue, it
would be conducive to the reform process if we could
establish general agreement on such possible areas
where our views converge. I trust that the future
discussions among us will give serious thought to these
possibilities. We must redouble the efforts to reform
our Organization so that it can truly serve us in our
endeavour to build a better world.
As we enter the new millennium, we find to our
dismay and alarm that some major international issues
persist in defying our collective creativity and attempts
to solve them. We must not let these setbacks cast a
shadow over the credibility and effectiveness of this
Organization. We consider it our primary duty to focus
our attention on those questions dealing with
development as well as those dealing with peace and
security.
Despite the efforts of the international
community, peace throughout the Middle East remains
elusive. We hope that the important progress made so
far will pave the way for achieving a just and lasting
peace in the region. We would like to see an enduring
peace in the Middle East, one which would guarantee
the restoration of the inalienable rights of the
Palestinian people and the right of Israel to exist within
secure and recognized borders.
There are many other questions that merit our
attention. One such question I wish to bring to the
attention of the Assembly is that of Cyprus. This
question has been on the Assembly's agenda for the
last 26 years. We are heartened to note that the United
Nations is now engaged in another effort to solve the
13

problem. Myanmar has consistently supported the
negotiations between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot
communities under the auspices of the United Nations
Secretary-General, and we would like to take this
opportunity to pledge our continued full support for the
task.
Let me touch upon an important question that is
of serious concern to the international community and
on which we in Myanmar place special emphasis. I am
referring to the problem of narcotic drugs. Nationally
speaking, this is a problem that we inherited from the
colonial administration. The poppy plant, from which
opium is harvested, is not native to Myanmar. It was
introduced into our country by the colonial
administration, which relied on licensed opium dens as
a source of revenue. Since then, this evil scourge has
bedevilled the country. Successive Governments have
been relentless in their efforts to eradicate the problem
of narcotic drugs.
Thus, the eradication of poppy cultivation
remains one of the top priorities for Myanmar.
Notwithstanding the harsh and undue criticism levelled
against Myanmar for a problem with wide international
dimensions, our sustained efforts to combat the
problem of narcotic drugs have resulted in a noticeable
drop in opium cultivation and production. This fact is
acknowledged by the International Narcotics Control
Board (INCB). Here, it bears reiteration that narcotic
drugs are a global problem, to be solved in a concerted
manner and through global efforts. The problem must
be tackled in a holistic manner, both from the
production side and the demand reduction side.
National efforts must be supported by international
assistance and cooperation. Myanmar has been trying
to combat this global problem mainly with its own
resources. Except for the assistance provided by the
United Nations International Drug Control Programme
(UNDCP), no substantial assistance has been provided
to Myanmar in its current efforts to combat this global
menace. This is tantamount to making a travesty of the
much-avowed principle of shared responsibility.
Despite our efforts, Myanmar has been a target of
unfair criticism and censure. An objective assessment
will identify which countries are making real efforts to
effectively tackle this global problem and which
countries are paying mere lip service. The fact of the
matter is that the scourge of narcotic drugs is not the
sole responsibility of any one country. No country
acting on its own can successfully overcome this
menace. To tackle this global problem, we must join
hands and cooperate with each other. Myanmar stands
ready to do so.
The principles enshrined in the Charter have
served the world community well for more than five
decades. Sovereignty, sovereign equality, respect for
territorial integrity and non-intervention in internal
affairs are cardinal principles that remain vital for the
peace and security of all nations. These are
irreplaceable bedrock principles underpinning the
current international system. These are the principles
that have enabled the international community to
successfully deter world conflagrations. Therefore, we
are greatly dismayed by the recent tendency in some
quarters to cast doubt on the continued soundness of
these basic principles.
There are some who are bent on compromising
these cardinal principles of international relations,
voicing support for interference in countries' internal
affairs on various grounds. This is indeed a dangerous
trend, with dangerous implications for the peace and
stability of our international system. At a time when
the powerful increasingly make use of various
international forums to fulfil their hidden political
agendas, a very valid question must be posed: who
determines the existence of a situation that warrants
interference in internal affairs? The justification of
interference in internal affairs under certain conditions
is a concept easily vulnerable to abuse by the powerful
for their narrow national interests. Interference, even
for such a worthy cause as humanitarian assistance, can
undermine the principles of neutrality and impartiality,
thus endangering the entire system of humanitarian
assistance. A well-intentioned mistake can unravel the
fabric of the present international system, which has
stood us in good stead.
No nation is entirely free from problems or
difficulties. While some are more successful in solving
their problems, others are less successful. There are
some situations where the assistance of the
international community is necessary to resolve these
issues and difficulties; in other situations, national
measures would best suit the situation. In trying to
resolve these problems, a proper understanding and a
correct perspective on the issue, both historical and
current, are necessary. A solution obtained without
such understanding and perspective is tantamount to
treating the symptoms rather than the disease.
14

A careful look at countries with ongoing conflicts
demonstrates that some issues are not susceptible to an
easy and quick solution. They are deeply rooted in
intra-State tensions and mistrust that have been
lingering for hundreds of years. There are instances
when seemingly successful solutions causing fleeting
euphoria have turned out to be pyrrhic victories. This is
principally because the root causes were never
thoroughly understood and addressed.
Furthermore, appropriate and pragmatic national
attempts at finding lasting solutions should be
encouraged and supported. There are many cases where
the role of the international community is
indispensable. There are also many other cases where
its proper role should be limited to assisting the State
concerned in its efforts, complementing those efforts
only where necessary.
The situation in Myanmar has been the subject of
unfair scrutiny and political pressure by a number of
powerful countries for quite some time. Therefore, I
find it appropriate to take this opportunity to apprise
the Members of the Organization of the situation in my
country. The Government of Myanmar is in the process
of establishing a democratic society. In this endeavour,
it has chosen the path that is most suitable to the
country, its people and its historical peculiarities.
Contemporary history has shown that the transition to
democracy from a totally different and centralized
political and economic system is not always smooth. It
requires ingenuity, patience and understanding to make
the process peaceful.
Here I wish to underscore that the present
Myanmar Government is making all-out efforts to
solve the most fundamental problem of the country: the
consolidation of national unity. Without satisfactorily
resolving this basic question, the objectives of
democracy, peace, prosperity and stability will not be
realized. National unity will not be consolidated if we
cannot address issues such as the eradication of
poverty, equitable distribution of national wealth and
the maintenance of peace and security.
The people of Myanmar share the view that these
issues must be adequately addressed first and foremost
in order to achieve the emergence of a developed,
peaceful and prosperous State.
It is at this important and delicate juncture that all
sorts of superficial and unsubstantiated charges are
being made against us, placing many obstacles along
our chosen path to democracy. This line of approach
will only perpetuate the existing programmes in the
country. It will give rise to unnecessary delays in our
current democratization process. Here I wish to stress
that it was a situation of chaos and anarchy that had
threatened the country's survival as a State and that led
the Tatmadaw, the armed forces, to assume State
power. Although the present Government is a military
government, the country is not governed by martial
law. The entire body of legislation remains in place and
the country is governed according to these legal
provisions. The country also retains an independent
judicial system.
Despite all obstacles placed in our path to
development and against all odds, we have made
considerable achievements, both economically and
politically. On the political front, because of the
Government's endeavour to build national unity, 17
armed groups have returned to the legal fold. We have
been able to establish unprecedented peace and
tranquillity. We have also made considerable strides in
the country's economy. The country's gross domestic
product continues to grow year after year. The
economy registered 10.9 per cent growth last year. This
growth pattern is expected to continue this year. The
effective control of inflation also resulted in an
appreciable increase in the living standard of the
people of Myanmar. The people of the country are fully
conscious of all these remarkable achievements. They
are fully aware that they themselves are the direct
beneficiaries of these positive results. The Government
is determined to redouble its efforts to bring about
peace and stability and a better standard of life for the
people of Myanmar.
The peace and stability that we have today do not
come easily. It is only in recent years that peace and
stability returned to virtually all corners of the country.
What we are doing is laying down a firm foundation
necessary to build a modern, prosperous and peaceful
nation. Far from recognizing the unprecedented
achievements made by the Government, some Western
countries have imposed on us political pressure and
unilateral sanctions. International financial institutions
are being used to deny us our rightful loans and
assistance. These are hampering all our sincere and
vigorous efforts to address the pressing problems of the
nation and to uplift the country to a prosperous stage.
However, we will continue on our chosen path of
building a democratic society best suited to our
15

traditions, thus fulfilling the aspirations of our people.
We are resolute in our determination to develop the
country in the shortest possible time.
In accordance with Myanmar's foreign policy,
Myanmar makes every effort to forge friendly relations
with all countries. In conformity with this time-tested
policy, we have successfully established friendly and
close relations with all neighbouring countries. It is a
policy that we pursue in our relations with fellow
members of the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), countries of the region and all other
countries of the world. I wish to take this opportunity
to urge those countries that now have negative views
on Myanmar to look at our situation in a more
objective manner. We are building a democratic
society, a society in which peace and stability prevails,
a society where our people can enjoy a better life in
larger freedom.
What we urgently need in the new century is the
realization of a just and an equitable international
order. We need an international order where right, and
not might, prevails. In establishing such an
international order, the United Nations is the only
organization that can provide the necessary leadership.
The envisaged international order must also respect the
right of every nation to adopt the political, economic
and social systems that best suit its domestic context. It
must be an international order in which the legitimate
desire of every nation for justice and equality is
accepted by powerful States with understanding and
sympathy. In this, the role of the United Nations, as the
principal intergovernmental institution of universal
nature, is irreplaceable. Hegemonic tendencies and
power politics will certainly undermine the basis of
international relations and will thereby jeopardize our
system of collective security.
It is my fervent hope that every Member State
will play its part and make this Organization equal to
the challenges of the new century. At this Millennium
Assembly let us all resolve to translate the ideals of the
Organization into a concrete reality through
cooperation, goodwill and firm commitments.