Through you, Sir, I would like to congratulate the
President of the General Assembly on his election, which
was so richly deserved because of his vast experience in
international affairs and his well-known personal qualities.
Uruguay, a friend to Peru, represents the authentic
aspiration to peace and respect for international law that are
standards of conduct for Latin America and for Peru.
I hereby reaffirm my countryâs unwavering adherence
to the purposes, principles and standards enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nations, which provide a guarantee
of harmonious relations among States and of the full
applicability of international law, as well as a foundation
for the worldwide promotion of human rights, economic
and social development and cooperation for development â€”
all touchstones of international peace and security.
Only 10 years ago, the community of nations was
moved by the dream of building a peaceful, democratic,
equitable and multilateral new world order. Today, while
we appreciate the continuing extension throughout the
world of those positive tendencies, we note as well an
accumulation of negative developments that threaten to
initiate a period of uncertainty and change posing
unprecedented challenges to our multilateral institutions
and urgently demanding analyses and strategies to
confront them.
The world financial crisis is affecting the very
foundations of the international system. The provision of
emergency financial relief may help individual countries,
but it does not contribute to the health of the system as a
whole, and it highlights the imperfections of the existing
supervisory mechanisms. There is thus a need for a
review of the Bretton Woods institutions and a revision of
their policies so as to adapt them to current reality.
The growing imbalance among countries in the
economic and social areas is another deeply troubling
element. The 1998 Human Development Report indicates
that 20 per cent of the inhabitants of high-income
countries consume 86 per cent of the worldâs goods and
services. In contrast, the poorest 20 per cent consume less
than 2 per cent. This reality underscores the urgent need
to foster real sustainable human development throughout
the world, as well as within our countries, which are
confronting the challenge of relieving excruciating
poverty.
Not only is it urgently necessary to strengthen
multilateral institutions and achieve friendly cooperation,
but it actually can be done. A few indications of current
positive trends are the worldwide consolidation of
democracy, the recognition of the central value of
individuals and their inherent rights, the participation of
civil society, the need to modify patterns of consumption
and production for the advancement of sustainable
development, the development and dissemination of
technology and the significant though as yet insufficient
progress in the fight against drug-trafficking and the
struggle against poverty.
Understanding continues to grow among States
regarding the concept of sustainable human development.
For the past eight years, we Peruvians have been engaged
in a process of national reconstruction and structural
reform, the overriding aim of which is the eradication of
poverty.
31

The Peruvian Government, under the leadership of
President Alberto Fujimori, continues to implement a series
of policies and programmes to improve the quality of life
of all our citizens. The fundamental element of these efforts
is the strategy for the fight against poverty. Our firm
commitment to eradicating poverty is reflected in the
national budget, which allocates more than 40 per cent to
social spending. The national priority is the reduction of
extreme poverty by 50 per cent â€” from 19 per cent to 10
per cent of the population â€” by the year 2000. Along the
same lines, the Peruvian Government accords great
importance to policies aimed at achieving gender equality
and the full participation of women, population policies and
policies for the protection of the most vulnerable: children,
the elderly, the handicapped and internally displaced
persons.
In the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, Peru remains committed to
giving substantive meaning to its content, incorporating its
principles in legislation and putting them into practice
through education and information and by including them
in policies of development. The protection and fostering of
human rights is a priority and a duty for Peruvians, which
is why we defend the universality, indivisibility,
comprehensiveness and non-discriminatory application of
human rights.
My country has signed and ratified almost all the
international instruments concerning human rights, both
universal and regional. Consequently, we call upon those
countries that still are not parties to the two International
Covenants on human rights and to the American
Convention on Human Rights to ratify them, not only in
honour of the fiftieth anniversary but also so that they will
be consistent with the principles they continually espouse
in the international arena.
The persistence of new non-military global threats â€”
such as international terrorism, the intensification of
organized crime, corruption and the problem of drugs â€”
adds to the gravity of the present international situation.
Peru, which has suffered from terrorist violence, knows that
this barbarism constitutes an assault on the individual and
on society as a whole. It aims to destroy democracy and
fundamental freedoms, in addition to threatening the peace
and security of nations. In consequence, we consider all
terrorist acts a systematic and deliberate violation of human
rights that cannot be justified by any ideology or for any
other reason, and that they should therefore be treated only
as criminal acts.
Peru categorically condemns terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations and urges the international
community to combat it vigorously. With the same
determination, Peru reiterates that cases of international
terrorism should be resolutely combated within the
framework of international law.
In 1990 there were 120 thousand hectares of coca in
Peru. Today, in a spectacular decline, this has been
reduced by half, and with it the number of peasant
families linked to the coca economy. Through
programmes of alternative development it is possible to
avoid a resurgence in the supply of coca leaves. We
therefore need to combine national efforts with
international support to overcome a complex problem that
is a matter of shared responsibility. In this regard, we are
promoting debt-swap programmes for alternative
development projects. We have also convened a donor
consulting group, which will meet next November,
sponsored by the Inter-American Bank, the Inter-
American Commission for the Control of Drug Abuse and
the European Union.
As President Alberto Fujimori stated during the
special session of the General Assembly devoted to the
drug problem,
â€œThe purpose of the meeting is to secure the
complementary financial resources required to
implement alternative development, prevention and
rehabilitation programmes within the framework of
anti-poverty policies and the sustainable management
of natural resources.â€ (A/S-20/PV.2, p. 2)
I strongly reaffirm that my country is committed to
fighting drug-trafficking and its related effects until they
are eradicated. The criminal structures of drug-trafficking
cannot be given any respite during which they might
reconstitute themselves. For this reason the international
community must intensify its joint efforts to put an end to
this scourge that affects humanity.
Because Peru has recently experienced a crisis
situation, we face major difficulties resulting from
internally displaced communities. Throughout the world
there has been a dramatic increase in the number of the
internally displaced in recent years, which makes it
essential to strengthen United Nations action in this
sphere. Consequently, we declare before the General
Assembly the urgent need to further deepen and expand
the mandates, programmes and sources of funding for the
systemâs specialized agencies and bodies, with the aim of
32

prioritizing assistance to those countries affected by this
problem.
Peru is a peace-loving nation which works for peace
and rejects conflict; which aspires to strengthen political
and economic cooperation with all countries and groups of
countries in different regions, on the basis of common
interests and mutual benefit.
In the realm of peace and security, the international
community must now unite against new tendencies towards
nuclear proliferation and a growing number of internal
conflicts and conflicts between States in various parts of the
world. To this must be added conventional arms races and
the hundreds of thousands of anti-personnel mines that are
still deployed in the world, whose shocking and unjust
consequences we all know. These facts together threaten to
overwhelm the existing capacities of our countries and our
international institutions.
Peru vigorously supports general and complete
disarmament under strict international control. This is both
a necessary condition for peace and an ongoing task of our
Organization.
Deplorable recent developments in the sphere of
nuclear proliferation underscore the urgency of perfecting
the existing non-proliferation regimes and the imperative
need for negotiations on nuclear disarmament to go
forward. The proposed fourth special session of the General
Assembly devoted to disarmament will have to consider
these questions on a priority basis. We Latin Americans
now appreciate all the more the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which
created in our region the first inhabited zone of the planet
to be free of nuclear weapons, and we are continuing to
develop ties of cooperation with other nuclear-weapon-free
zones.
My country was the first Latin American State to
ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and
consequently rejects any kind of nuclear test anywhere in
the world.
The Convention on anti-personnel landmines is a
positive sign of change on the international scene. This
makes plain the humanitarian concerns that inspire the
conscience of the world. We are pleased that it will enter
into force in March 1999, and are particularly interested in
its full implementation after that date. Accordingly, the
international community will have to give its active
cooperation and make the utmost effort to remove or
destroy the mines already planted in every region of the
world.
Peru was one of the first countries to ratify the
Ottawa Convention and it already begun to adopt its
applicable provisions. We call upon all countries which
have not yet done so to ratify or adhere to the Ottawa
Convention as soon as possible, as a contribution to
peace, security, human coexistence and the development
of our peoples. We trust that those States which have
already signed it but have not yet ratified it will comply
with article 18 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of
Treaties, under which signatory nations must abstain from
acts which would frustrate the purpose of the Ottawa
Convention.
We believe that the United Nations Regional Centre
for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin
American and the Caribbean, which has its headquarters
in Lima, can contribute to promoting a culture of peace
and strengthening the efforts towards disarmament in the
region, including dealing with the problem of mines.
In the foregoing scenario, the reform and
strengthening of the United Nations system take on even
greater importance. Change and adjustment lead to greater
efficiency. The process of structural and functional reform
of the United Nations, rendered imperative by
globalization and changes on the international scene,
makes it necessary to ensure the coherence of its
programmes and activities and to transform the
Organization into an agent of sustainable human
development.
We believe that it is appropriate and timely to
continue our efforts to define the criteria that should
guide reform of the Security Council. Decisions on this
fundamental matter should necessarily be adopted on the
basis of the broadest possible agreement and in the spirit
and letter of the Charter of the United Nations, which
would itself be revised. The modifications we desire aim
towards a more representative and efficient world
Organization. In that regard, this effort must not give way
to confrontation and discord. Let us rather support all
efforts directed towards allowing the Organization to
respond to the real needs of all its Member States.
33

Peru pays tribute to the peacekeeping operations of the
United Nations on their fiftieth anniversary and honours the
memory of the men and women, soldiers, police and
civilians, including Peruvian nationals, who have sacrificed
their lives in this noble mission. The peacekeeping
operations, in some of which my country took part, are
emblematic of the responsibility that the Charter assigns to
our Organization.
We wish to reiterate, Mr. President, our best wishes to
you and to the Assembly in this new period we are
entering, which will surely have important implications for
the international community.


For the first time, Palestine is participating in the work of
the General Assembly under the agenda item entitled
“General debate”. That participation is a result of the
resolution adopted by the Assembly on upgrading
Palestine’s representation at the United Nations, which we
consider to be an essential step towards full membership.
I would like, at this time, to express the deep
gratitude of the Palestinian people to all Member States
that supported this important resolution by an
overwhelming majority. They have thus reflected the will
of the States and peoples of the world for the need to
realize justice for the Palestinian people in order to regain
their international status and their seat at the United
Nations.
I would like to extend to you, Mr. President, our
sincere congratulations on your assumption of the
presidency of the General Assembly at the fifty-third
session. I wish you complete success in your important
and noble task during these crucial times in our
contemporary world and in our international Organization.
I also extend our gratitude and appreciation to
Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko for guiding and presiding
effectively over the fifty-second session. I would like in
particular to praise his leadership during the resumed
tenth emergency special session of the General Assembly
on illegal Israeli actions in occupied East Jerusalem and
the rest of the occupied Palestinian territories.
It gives me great pleasure to commend the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, our friend
Mr. Kofi Annan, for his distinguished and wise
leadership, and I congratulate him for the many successes
he has achieved in several fields. We had the honour,
Mr. Secretary-General, of welcoming you a few months
ago in our country, Palestine, where you observed and
witnessed first-hand the tragedy of the Palestinian people
and the suffering they endure as a result of the continuing
Israeli occupation of our homeland, Palestine. It is my
hope that we will have the opportunity to welcome you in
the future under better circumstances: on the day when
the occupation has been terminated and Palestine has been
restored its freedom.
As we approach the end of the twentieth century, our
world is witnessing — and all of mankind is
experiencing — great changes and important events, from
globalization and the problems of the international
financial market to the technological revolution, satellite
communications and the information age. All of the rapid
changes that have rocked our contemporary world require
the necessary enhancement of our collective work within
the framework of the United Nations. This should be
done on the basis of the purposes and principles of the
Charter and for the bolstering of international cooperation
in various arenas and for the acceleration of the North13

South dialogue in order to establish a better world where
peace, justice and prosperity for all mankind prevail.
Many of the difficult and complicated tasks in this
regard have been forced upon us and we must deal with
them effectively. We have before us the task of economic
and social development — particularly that of the countries
of the third world — solving the debt crisis and the
problems of poverty, famine, disease and migration in Asia,
Africa and Latin America. These challenges require the
attainment of international comprehensive measures and
equitable relations that are more rational and more just.
Many global problems — such as terrorism, drugs,
epidemics and organized crime — require strengthening the
rule of international law, as well as the establishment of the
necessary institutions and mechanisms within the
framework of the United Nations.
In this connection, we also welcome the adoption of
the Statute of the International Criminal Court, which is an
important step in the promotion of law and in putting an
end to atrocities and crimes against humanity.
All of these challenges and responsibilities should not
prevent us from recalling that many of the basic tasks of
the international community in our contemporary world
have not yet been accomplished. There are peoples who
still remain under foreign occupation — including our
Palestinian people, who have been and continue to be
exposed to one of the gravest injustices. This great people
did not commit a crime; they did not commit aggression
against anyone nor did they occupy the land of any other
people. However, they were the victims of aggression.
Their land was occupied and they were dispersed and
compelled by military force to a life in diaspora and exile.
There are still 4 million Palestinian refugees living in
camps awaiting the realization of international justice and
the implementation of resolutions of international legitimacy
to accord them justice and put an end to more than half a
century of the tragedy of living in exile as refugees.
It is also necessary to exert more effort to resolve
many of the regional conflicts and problems — including,
of course, those in the Middle East; in the Balkan region,
particularly in Bosnia and Herzegovina; in Afghanistan and
elsewhere. Special efforts and additional resources are
necessary to solve the problems of the African continent in
order to allow that great continent to move forward on the
path of development and progress. These should include
seeking to restore normal conditions in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and achieving peace and stability in
the Great Lakes region and the Horn of Africa.
It is also important to consider the issue of sanctions
because of its terrible and destructive effects on peoples
and on neighbouring States. Here I refer specifically to
Iraq, Libya and Sudan. While we call for solutions to
these problems and the lifting of sanctions on the basis of
the implementation of Security Council resolutions, we
cannot but express the feeling of many of us concerning
the use of double standards in implementing this
principle. In this regard, I would like to express our
satisfaction with the progress that has been achieved, in
particular with regard to the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.
Finally, I turn to an extremely important question:
the question of nuclear disarmament, weapons of mass
destruction and non-proliferation. While strongly
supporting the goals of the international community in
this regard, we refer in particular to the immense problem
existing in our region of the possession by Israel of such
weapons, and its refusal to accede to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and place its
nuclear installations under the supervision of the
International Atomic Energy Agency. The small size of
our region and its nature exacerbate the dangers stemming
from the continuation of this situation. What occurred
recently in South Asia must encourage us all towards
sincere cooperation and a commitment to the application
of one standard with regard to this issue.
In order to accomplish all of these things, we need
a United Nations that is more effective. We support the
efforts exerted by many States and the efforts of the
Secretary-General in this regard. At the same time, we
feel and believe that our goal must go beyond reducing
expenditures, downsizing the Secretariat, streamlining the
General Assembly and expanding the Security Council,
though all of these are important issues. Our goal must go
beyond that to achieve the complete democratization of
this global Organization. In this context, it is necessary to
enhance the role of the General Assembly and also to find
solutions to the veto question in the Security Council,
particularly its frequent and excessive use. Transparency
and clear rules of procedure must prevail in the Council.
At this juncture, I should like to remind the Assembly
that since 1973 our question has been subjected to 21
vetoes in the Security Council by one of the permanent
members of the Council, the most recent of which
occurred in a period of less than two weeks. In short, it
is necessary to secure for all Members of the United
Nations the ability to contribute effectively on the basis
of mutual respect.
14

Last May, the Palestinian people commemorated the
fiftieth anniversary of Al-Nakba, the dispossession and the
suffering of the Palestinian people. Despite all of these
bitter years, the oldest and largest refugee question in our
contemporary world remains unresolved, and our land still
suffers under occupation and colonial settlement. Its natural
resources are subjected to exploitation, and the city of
Al-Quds al-Sharif is still being subjected to Judaization,
land confiscation, the demolition of homes, the confiscation
of identity cards from its inhabitants, the imposition of a
certain demographic composition and artificial
administrative measures. There is also the isolation of the
city of Bethlehem and the conflict occurring in Al-Khalil —
Hebron — and the rest of the Palestinian cities. Eight
million Palestinians are still being deprived of their right to
exercise sovereignty over their land, a right that the rest of
the peoples of the world enjoy.
Despite all of this, despite the long and grave suffering
and pain, and with long and legendary steadfastness, our
Palestinian people have been able to survive and preserve
their national identity. Our people chose the peace option
and accepted the will of the international community in this
regard. Accordingly, we decided with our Arab brothers to
participate in the peace process, which began in Madrid in
1991. Then we took the well-known historical step leading
to the Oslo agreement with Israel, which was signed at the
White House in Washington, D.C., under the auspices of
President Clinton, on 13 September 1993. That development
carried the promise of an historic reconciliation and
coexistence between the two peoples, the prospect of a new
Middle East and the beginning of the establishment of a
comprehensive and permanent peace in the region.
Indeed, all parties realized tangible achievements, and
the Palestinian people were able to start building their
institutions and dealing with the destructive consequences
of the long years of occupation. In particular, they held
general and democratic elections and established the
Palestinian National Authority. Despite all of the difficulties
that confronted the process, the general trend to forward
progress continued, until the peace process was dealt a
severe blow by the assassination of the late Yitzhak Rabin,
my partner in the peace process — the peace of the
brave — by an Israeli extremist. This was followed by
other blows resulting from the bombings and the grave
deterioration of the living conditions of our people and
deliberate acts to destroy the peace.
When the Government of Benjamin Netanyahu took
office in Israel, a new chapter began with its adoption of
general political guidelines that were not consistent with the
existing agreements. The Government publicly tried to
discard the principles of the peace process — Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425
(1978) and the principle of land for peace. It ceased
implementation of the existing agreements with the
exception of the redeployment in Al-Khalil, which was
achieved only after intensive American efforts. The Israeli
Government continued to prevaricate and refrained from
honouring the obligations of the transitional period, which
are of great importance to our people, including the safe
passage between the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the
airport, the seaport; the release of Palestinian prisoners
and detainees in Israeli prisons, and the industrial zones.
Neither the first stage of redeployment, which was
supposed to begin on 7 March 1997, nor the second stage,
which was supposed to begin on 7 September 1997, were
effected. Both of these, along with the third
redeployment — the deadline for which has also been
missed since the middle of this year — should have led
to the withdrawal of the Israeli army from 90 per cent of
our land.
Moreover, this Government’s policies of economic
suffocation, closure and direct oppression of our
people — which costs us about $10 million a day —
constitute an economic catastrophe. The Government has
continued with the intensification of settlements and the
Judaization of Jerusalem, the isolation of Bethlehem and
the old city of Al-Khalil, and the disapproval of the
operation of the Palestinian airport, safe passage,
industrial zones and the seaport, in order to escalate the
suffocation and siege of our people and to destroy the
peace process.
All of these policies and positions adopted by the
Government of Mr. Netanyahu have caused the current
dangerous situation and the complete stalemate in the
peace process on the Palestinian track, as well as on the
Syrian and Lebanese tracks, which have been completely
stalemated. These policies and positions have also
engendered the general tension prevailing in the region
and the danger of descending into complete chaos. The
whole world has expressed grave concern at this and has
called upon the Israeli side to change its policies and
positions and to comply with the bases of the peace
process and implement the existing agreements.
It is high time for the international community, in
adherence with international law and in service to peace,
to effectively and tangibly pressure the Israeli side to
realize the goals of peace, security and stability — not
only in the Middle East but internationally. This means
implementing the agreements that were signed at the White
House under the auspices of President Clinton by the
Russian Federation, the United States of America, the
European Union, Norway, Egypt and Jordan and in the
presence of Japan. It means implementing Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978) and the
principle of land for peace, which were the bases of the
Madrid Peace Conference.
With the hope of halting the deterioration of the
existing situation, the Palestinian side, in cooperation with
many of the concerned parties, has recently sought to
intensify efforts, particularly with the help of the United
States co-sponsor — and especially with the help of
President Clinton, to whom we express our gratitude. These
efforts resulted in the United States initiative, containing all
of the important pending issues, that was submitted to the
parties concerned. As delegates are aware, the Palestinian
side accepted this American initiative despite the fact that
it did not meet our minimum just and legitimate demands.
But the Israeli side still rejects this initiative and continues
in its attempts to undermine it and pre-empt its contents.
President Clinton, thankfully, sent Secretary of State
Albright and Mr. Dennis Ross, who have made great efforts
to move the peace process forward and protect it.
Despite all these efforts, the Israeli Government has
not responded. Hence, we call upon the United States cosponsor to announce its initiative and to publicly and
clearly put the onus on the party that is impeding peace.
We also call upon the United States to continue to work
effectively in a manner consistent with its responsibilities
to the peace process and with its interests and credibility in
the Middle East region, and so as to protect the region from
the dangers emanating from the destruction of the peace
process.
This morning, President Clinton graciously took an
important step to save the peace process and to move it
forward by convening a meeting at the White House
between the Palestinian and Israeli delegations. This was an
important meeting to promote and preserve the peace
process, and we thank President Clinton for that,
particularly as the efforts of the United States will continue
to move the process forward and promote the
implementation of the signed agreements.
In this context we call upon the other parties
concerned, particularly the Russian Federation in its
capacity as one of the two co-sponsors of the peace
process, as well as China and Japan, to activate and
intensify their efforts. We also call upon the European
Union, with its economic and political interests and
capabilities, to move quickly and effectively to salvage
and safeguard the peace process. In this same vein, we
call upon all Member States to support the FrenchEgyptian initiative to convene an international conference
of all States determined to save the peace process from
the dangerous crisis it has reached.
We have not lost hope for the peace process, and we
will continue to honour our obligations in accordance
with the existing agreements. At the same time, we will
not give up on the necessity of Israeli compliance with
those agreements and the need for the Israelis to fulfil
their pending obligations. We will not give up our
inalienable national rights — the inalienable national
rights of the Palestinian people.
At this stage, I wish to extend, on behalf of the
Palestinian people, our deep gratitude to all the donor
countries and to the World Bank for their valuable
contributions aimed at alleviating the suffering of our
people and at assisting them in building and developing
their homeland and at achieving meaningful economic and
social development. I reiterate our gratitude to these
countries and the World Bank, particularly because they
are contributing despite the obstacles and impediments
imposed by Israel in this regard.
It is so difficult to separate the United Nations from
the question of Palestine, for this international
Organization has been dealing with our cause since its
inception. It was the United Nations which partitioned
Palestine, and to this time it has not ceased to deal with
the results of the events that followed, with the repeated
and increasing injustices perpetrated against our people,
for which no remedy has yet been found. While
reaffirming the permanent responsibility of the United
Nations for the question of Palestine, we appeal to all of
you to enhance your solidarity and support for our people
in the coming period, through these critical circumstances,
on the basis of respect for the principles of the United
Nations Charter, international law and international
humanitarian law.
We expect that the Conference of the High
Contracting Parties to the Fourth Geneva Convention of
1949 will be convened before the end of this year on
measures to apply the Convention to the occupied
Palestinian territory, including Al-Quds al-Sharif, in
accordance with the recommendations made repeatedly by
the tenth emergency special session of the General
Assembly of the United Nations.
16

In this context, we also expect Israeli participation in
the work of the fifty-third session of the Assembly to be in
conformity with international law, thus ensuring that Israeli
credentials do not cover those territories determined by the
Security Council and the General Assembly, since 1967, as
occupied Palestinian and Arab territories, including
occupied East Jerusalem. This is a matter on which there is
a consensus by the international community.
From this venue, I would like to call upon all of you,
the source of international legitimacy and peacemaking, the
guardian of freedom, security and stability and the source
for the achievement of justice and prosperity for
humankind, to stand by our people, especially as the fiveyear transitional period provided for in the PalestinianIsraeli agreements will end on 4 May 1999. Our people
demand that we shoulder our responsibilities, and they
await the establishment of their independent State. This
independent Palestinian State must be established as an
embodiment of the right of our people to self-determination.
I assure you that our people will continue to pursue and
protect the peace of the brave in the Middle East. We
appeal to you to continue your support for us, as always in
the decisive moments of the history, the present and the
future of our people. Help us to achieve the national goal
of our people in the establishment of their State.
It is not admissible for Israel to continue dominating
the Palestinian people. Everyone is aware that 100 per cent
peace means 100 per cent security and 100 per cent
freedom. One hundred per cent freedom. I repeat — 100
per cent peace, 100 per cent security and 100 per cent
freedom. One hundred per cent freedom. If the Israeli
Government wants reciprocity, I declare from this podium
my demand of them for mutual compliance with the signed
agreements, especially in the fields of security and the
protection of Palestinians and Israelis against all forms of
violence and terrorism and its sources. I invite the Israeli
Government to engage in common, serious work between
us to address that. There is no alternative to peace. Help us
to achieve it.
In the year 2000, the past and the future will meet in
Palestine, joined by a global vision of hope and peace for
all peoples of the world. On that occasion, the world will
celebrate the second millennium of the birth of Jesus
Christ — peace be upon him — and the beginning of a
new millennium. It is a religious and spiritual occasion of
great importance not only for the Palestinian people and the
region, but also for all the believers in the world, as well as
for the entire international community. The Palestinian
people have actually begun serious preparations to celebrate
this important religious, historic and international
occasion, with the cooperation of many religious, political
and social institutions concerned. We call upon you to
join us in bearing the responsibility of these preparations,
and we invite you to participate directly in the
forthcoming celebrations to start together, God willing, a
new march.
In this regard, we appreciate the addition by the
General Assembly of a new item on its agenda entitled
“Bethlehem 2000”. We also extend our thanks to the
Chairman and members of the Committee on the Exercise
of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People for
their initiative in this regard. I also take this opportunity
to thank its sister Committee, the Special Committee to
Investigate Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights
of the Palestinian People.
I look forward to speaking to you once more when
Palestine will have taken its natural place in the
community of nations, as an independent State, and when
peace will have prevailed in the land of peace and in the
entire Middle East.


First, let me congratulate you,
Sir, on your election to the presidency of this important
session. I am certain that this session will provide us with
the opportunity to discuss the role that the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights has played during the last
50 years and has yet to play.
I should also like to take this opportunity to convey
my respects to the Secretary-General, who, by his
decisive steps in critical moments this year, has
repeatedly demonstrated the importance of the United
Nations in contemporary world affairs.
Throughout the last 50 years the United Nations has
changed no less dynamically than the rest of the
surrounding world. Reviewing the successes and failures
of the Organization, we have to acknowledge its complex
and important role in building a more peaceful world. The
United Nations at present is living through a complicated
period of internal reform designed to reinforce the values
and principles which half a century ago encouraged the
States of the world to sign the Charter establishing the
United Nations, which guides us today into the twenty-
first century. I speak of peace, democracy and the
environment and of ensuring and promoting the
development of freedom of the individual.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the
adoption by the General Assembly of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. This crucial instrument
declares the will of the people of the world to establish a
universal understanding of individual freedom, equality and
dignity, which are indivisible and must not be undermined.
Today we should be particularly concerned to what extent
the principles declared by the United Nations throughout
the last 50 years have become the bedrock of our everyday
life. It would be most appropriate to ask whether the United
Nations has become an Organization of world nations rather
than States.
In the contemporary world of advanced
communications, the exchange of values and ideas takes
place at a particularly high speed. It is therefore not
surprising that freedom, justice and well-being carry the
same meaning in Europe and Asia, Africa and America. I
believe we are approaching a common denominator for
democracy so that democracy will no longer be identified
only with the West and rapid economic development only
with certain regions of the world. Above all, we hope that
the realization of human rights throughout the world is
consistent with the spirit of the Declaration of Human
Rights signed 50 years ago.
In the cold-war world of divided ideologies, the
United Nations was one of the very few forums embodying
the common human interest: the concern for peace. Today
the United Nations can contribute considerably to the
creation and education of free individuals and active
citizens of the world.
History has proved that democratic and prosperous
States provide the most favourable environment for human
activities. The United Nations should therefore continue its
efforts to promote democratization and sustainable
development. The ongoing institutional reform of the
Organization may serve this end. However, I should like
also to underscore the need to pay even greater attention to
the promotion and protection of human rights.
Willingly and freely we have empowered the Security
Council to make binding decisions to which we are then
committed. We therefore want the decisions to be of high
quality, effective and acceptable. Two highly qualified
industrialized countries could become permanent members
of the Security Council; their membership would strengthen
the Council and ensure democratic decisions. A broader
representation of developing nations on the Council would
also reinforce its legitimacy and enhance respect for it.
These nations deserve additional seats, both permanent and
non-permanent. Equitable representation in the Council
should be expanded through a more just representation of
regions, Central and Eastern Europe in particular.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human
Rights, Mary Robinson, has noted that todayâs human
rights violations are the causes of tomorrowâs conflicts.
War-ravaged Bosnia and conflict-inflamed Kosovo today
are painful illustrations of these words. Lithuania
welcomes the initiative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan
to integrate human rights protection into the broad range
of the Organizationâs activities. We likewise welcome the
ongoing institutional reforms of human rights protection
and propose to employ with greater effectiveness the
experience and intellectual potential of such regional
bodies as the Council of Europe and the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe.
One of the most laudable recent achievements of the
worldâs nations is the adoption of the Statute of the
International Criminal Court. By taking this decision, the
international community demonstrated its readiness for a
qualitative leap in international relations based on an
effective system of international justice â€” an instrument
designed to complement national legal systems and to
encourage their continuous development.
It is gratifying that the Court has been granted the
right to charge persons with criminal responsibility for the
gravest crimes of all: genocide, war crimes and crimes
against humanity. This step demonstrates our resolution
to fight against the horrors for which there are no â€” and
cannot be any â€” political or ideological boundaries.
â€œCrime of aggressionâ€ in the Statute is a pending issue
requiring the political will of States and a more precise
legal definition. The bitter facts of modern history remind
us that aggression too often leads to genocide, war crimes
and crimes against humanity.
I would like to note that Lithuania, which actively
participated in the work of the Preparatory Committee and
the Rome Conference, will in the near future sign the
Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Today we all face the challenges of our
contemporary world which have been caused by rapidly
developing technologies and negligent human activities.
These challenges, although not as evident as open military
conflicts, are no less threatening. A devastated and
deteriorating environment may cause conflicts on a scale
unknown before. The struggle for fresh water, rich soil
and natural resources can turn man against man and
2

nation against nation. Neither democratic political processes
nor economic development will matter then.
As a man with a long-standing commitment to
environmental protection, I invite you to make use of the
international capabilities of the United Nations and to pay
more attention to ecological issues. If we are genuine in our
attempt to place this institution at the vanguard of human
rights protection, environmental issues should be given
priority on our agenda. Lithuania will support every
initiative to preserve and conserve natural resources. As one
such step, I yesterday signed the Kyoto Protocol,
reaffirming our commitment to tackling global warming by
reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. Now we look
forward to decisive action on climate change in Buenos
Aires later this year.
Every individual has the incontestable right to live in
a healthy and clean environment. I am certain that the
United Nations can play a significant role in promoting
respect for the environment among people and States of the
world. With its long experience in international cooperation
and its prominent international standing, this Organization
can contribute notably to the environmental education of the
global community. It can also serve as a promoter of inter-
State cooperation through the timely exchange of
information on disasters â€” past, present and future. The
Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Convention on trade in
hazardous chemicals and pesticides, which was signed in
Rotterdam a couple of days ago, is a remarkable example
of prospective activities of the United Nations system.
The growing problems of international crime and
terrorism affecting us are no less important than
environmental issues. Terrorist bombings and illicit
trafficking in arms, narcotic substances and human beings,
as well as money laundering, infringe the vital interests of
people and States to live in a secure and predictable world.
The solution to these problems demands collective efforts
as well as resolute and immediate action. It is gratifying
that the heads of State and Government, as well as interior
ministers, confirmed their commitment to constructive
cooperation at the twentieth special session of the United
Nations General Assembly, on drugs. The approved drug-
demand reduction and prevention programme, along with
the guidelines for international cooperation, should facilitate
the resolution of these problems.
Children and young people â€” our future â€” should be
the focus of the fight against drug-trafficking. Timely
adoption and launching of preventive measures and
educational programmes, as well as the building of a drug-
free environment, must be our immediate first steps. It is
delightful that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has shown
particular attention to this problem.
Control of the arms trade, which is becoming
increasingly complex, is another painful reality facing us
at the end of this century. Smugglers arm not only
terrorists, but also nations or States at war. Without any
further delay we should forestall illicit arms circulation
by, first and foremost, restricting the sale of small arms
and light weapons in conflict zones. We should persist in
our efforts to find an effective solution to the issue of
general and complete disarmament.
The nuclear arms race, which emerged in South Asia
this year, has revealed the survival of the cold war
ideology of the balance of powers in the political thinking
of certain States. Such reasoning is short on
constructiveness since it does not enhance international
security, and it diverts human resources and creative
powers into erroneous directions, undermining the
aspirations of the individual to a safer and wealthier life.
Lithuania is neither a zone of potential conflict nor
a place for the manufacturing or circulation of
conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction.
Nevertheless, Lithuania endeavours to participate actively
in different agreements on disarmament and arms control
through which it helps itself and others. My country has
ratified the conventions prohibiting biological, chemical
and certain conventional weapons. Ratification of the
convention prohibiting anti-personnel mines is our long-
term goal.
It is my belief that the right of the individual to a
secure life and future â€” a right still missing from the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights â€” fully
corresponds to the spirit of the Declaration and should be
realized through our political initiatives. The security of
the individual will be best ensured if the State he lives in
is secure. Good neighbourly relations and close regional
cooperation are prerequisites for the peaceful coexistence
of nations, and all humankind aspires to this. Lithuania is
guided by those principles and maintains friendly,
constructive relations with all its neighbours, Russia
among them.
The United Nations today acts not only in a multi-
polar but also multi-problem environment. By itself it is
not capable of addressing and resolving all the problems
which we often tend to call â€œhotâ€ issues and which
demand immediate solutions. Therefore, the Organization
3

should interact with greater vigour in its endeavours with
regional organizations that, in many cases, succeed in the
areas where global forums fail. Europe has already provided
us with an example of such productive interaction through
concrete cooperation of the United Nations with the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).
Europe, however, has other, smaller organizations
which can also considerably contribute to the goals of the
United Nations and to the implementation of their spirit.
The Council of the Baltic Sea States, of which Lithuania
has recently assumed the chairmanship, is one of them.
This Council unites geographical neighbours who also enjoy
many, more binding links: the promotion of mutual
confidence, trade, culture and environmental protection.
During the term of its chairmanship, Lithuania will strive
for a more active and effective contribution of this regional
cooperation body to the implementation of the goals of the
United Nations.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights is a reminder of the indivisibility of the
values of human life, dignity and welfare. Political activities
at both the international and national levels should be
directed to promoting and protecting these values. More and
more threats to human rights and freedoms arise today from
sources beyond the control of national Governments. Never
before have the issues of coordination and enhanced
cooperation been as crucial as they are today. The United
Nations possesses all the potential necessary to perform the
role of active international coordinator and peace promoter.
But the realization of this potential requires determination
from us, the representatives of nations and members of the
international community.


I congratulate
you, Mr. President, on your election. I wish you good
fortune and all of us a successful session.
I should also like to thank Ambassador Udovenko for
the dedicated way he conducted the business of the fifty-
second session. He advanced the reform process at the
United Nations and kept it on the agenda. We can and must
follow up these efforts.
This session of the General Assembly has a special
significance for my country. It was 25 years ago, almost to
the day, on 19 September 1973, that Walter Scheel became
the first Foreign Minister of the Federal Republic of
Germany to address the United Nations. When he described
our perception of the United Nations, he said that it meant
more than the mere security of States, more than the mere
regulation of their diplomatic relations. He said that what
it is all about is the beginning and the objective of any
rational policy â€” people.
That description of our role in the United Nations
remains valid. United Germany too feels committed to a
world free from fear and want, protected by the rule of law,
a world in which every individual has his opportunity and
which preserves the integrity of Creation for future
generations. It is the vision enshrined in the International
Bill of Human Rights.
We have come a lot closer to that vision over the past
25 years. The division of Germany, Europe and the world
has been healed. The world is developing ever more into
the "one world" on the foundations of democracy and
human rights. But it is also becoming increasingly clear that
the human race has never been so bound up together in its
common destiny, united by common challenges, as it is
today.
The crises in Russia and Asia have shaken the world
economy. The global scourges of drugs, organized crime
and terrorism spread their tentacles around the globe. The
year 1998 is the year of climate disasters. Two thirds of
Bangladesh is under water and the Yangtze floods in
China have claimed thousands of lives.
No State, whether super-Power or small island State,
can master these global challenges alone. And no one can
escape them, least of all the suffering people: the
homeless in Bangladesh, the drug addict in Europe, the
victim of civil war in Africa.
We can shape our future only through joint efforts.
We therefore need global action and global management
for the global challenges of the twenty-first century; not
tomorrow or the day after, but today.
This is a test not only for Governments but also for
the other global players: the non-governmental
organizations and the multinational corporations. Never
were the non-governmental organizations so important as
they are today. Without them the Ottawa Convention
banning landmines could not have been signed in
December 1997. And, let us not forget, 51 of the world's
hundred largest economic entities are now companies, and
only 49 of them States. All this shows that the time has
come for new alliances for peace, freedom and prosperity
throughout the world.
The age of globalization is the age of the United
Nations. Only here do all nations of the world come
together. Only here can we find joint solutions to the
global challenges of today and tomorrow. This is why we
Germans want to help get the United Nations in shape for
the twenty-first century. We are facing up to this
responsibility - as the second largest export nation and
the third largest economy in the world, and as the country
with the largest population in the European Union.
We owe Secretary-General Kofi Annan our gratitude
and support for his reform proposals. Now it is up to the
Member States. The Security Council still mirrors the
world as it was at the end of the Second World War, but
not the enhanced status of Asia, Africa and Latin America
with the Caribbean.
The same is true of the greater weight of Japan and
united Germany. I wish to thank all Member States that
advocate a permanent seat for Germany on the Security
Council. Security Council reform cannot be delayed any
longer; otherwise, the momentum will be lost and that
would be bad indeed.
Since the ending of the cold war the United Nations
has had more burdens to shoulder than ever. It therefore
needs effective institutions, and for this reason it has a right
to expect members to pay their dues on time. All, and
especially the big members, must help according to their
ability to ensure that the world Organization can accomplish
its tasks. Germany, the third largest contributor, will
continue to meet its obligations.
We know from recent experience that we should not
add to but rather ease the burden of the United Nations.
This is a task especially for regional organizations like the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). If
they succeed in settling conflicts locally, the Security
Council will not need to deal with them. I think that would
be very well-advised, because it would free capacities for
all of us.
New avenues of joint action are therefore called for.
To pretend globalization is not happening would be absurd.
Only those who face up to the challenge can exploit the
opportunities and cushion the risks.
The impact of the crises in Russia and Asia shows that
the world economy needs a reliable framework. That is not
to say we need a global financial authority or fixed
exchange rates, least of all a new wave of protectionism.
But we do need better early-warning mechanisms, more
transparency and more efficient banking systems, especially
in the newly emerging economies.
This is not a task for Governments alone. What is
needed now is a global public-private partnership between
Governments, international financial organizations and
corporations. We therefore support the American initiative
for a dialogue between the G-8 and the newly emerging
economies on a new international financial architecture. The
International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank
should not always have to serve as the stopgap when the
opportunity for structural reforms has been missed.
Managing globalization also means weaving a network
of partnerships between the big regional groupings and the
big countries. The regional groupings are the components
of a new global order under the roof of the United Nations.
The European Union's partnerships with regional
organizations like the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN), the Southern Common Market
(MERCOSUR) and the Southern African Development
Community (SADC) prove we are on the right course: We
want an open, not a confrontational, kind of regionalism.
I am confident that the European Union will be an
anchor of stability in the twenty-first century. By
introducing a single currency on 1 January 1999, it is
focusing its energies. Its global role will increase. It is
about to begin further negotiations on accession with
associated partners. What Willy Brandt said about
Germany in 1989 applies today to the whole of Europe:
"What belongs together is now growing together".
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) too
is also gradually opening its doors to the new
democracies. In the year of its fiftieth anniversary it will
admit Poland, Hungary and the Czech Republic. Together
with Russia, Ukraine and the other Commonwealth of
Independent States members, we are developing a
comprehensive security partnership.
True, the Russians are having a rough time at
present, but the world needs a democratic and stable
Russia, a Russia which will play the role commensurate
with its size, its status and its potential. Russia faces a
Herculean task of consolidating the economy and
maintaining social stability. All those responsible must
face up to the challenge: the President, the Government,
the parties and business. Of course, the regions too are
called upon.
I know from my talks with Prime Minister Primakov
last week in Moscow that Russia intends neither to
change course nor to go into reverse. The crisis in Russia
affects us all. We will not abandon Russia. It can count
on us.
The Kosovo conflict remains a thorn in Europeâs
side. A humanitarian disaster in the true sense of the
word is looming. The situation of the refugees, more than
250,000 of them, is desperate. International organizations,
the European Union, the United States and Russia are
coordinating their efforts to enable those who have been
driven out to return to their villages.
Time is getting short; winter is just around the
corner. Most of the responsibility for this drama lies with
Belgrade, with President Milosevic. He must realize that
the international community will react with military force
if necessary. We still seek a political solution for
Kosovo â€” self-administration within the Yugoslav
Federation. However, this cannot be achieved without
Belgrade and Pristina. So the weapons must now be
silenced. We condemn the use of force by the Yugoslav
security forces and the Kosovo Liberation Army. The
recent reports we have received from Kosovo are very
disappointing, troubling and worrisome. I hope they are not
true.
NATO is prepared to provide the backing for a
political solution. Yugoslavia and Kosovo are a part of
Europe. Their future can only be a European one. The
history of Europe in this century shows that we can
overcome hatred and mistrust. But we have to have the
willingness to do so.
In Bosnia, too, we have seen animosity slowly being
replaced by trust and cooperation. Recently I paid my
twelfth visit to Sarajevo. That tormented city is slowly
beginning to blossom again, and the country's
reconstruction is progressing.
Nonetheless, the peace process must continue to be
buttressed by NATO and the Stabilization Force (SFOR),
for the process is not self-sustaining. Regardless of the
result of the elections, the international community will not
tolerate any reversal of the implementation of the peace
agreement. Furthermore, genuine peace will not return until
the presumed war criminals and enemies of peace -
Mr. Karadzic and his lot- have been brought to trial in
The Hague.
Only when those guilty of crimes against humanity,
torturers and terrorists all over the world, have been
brought to justice will we all be able to sleep peacefully.
Thus, the establishment of the International Criminal
Court on 17 July as a major step towards a world order in
which the force of law, not the law of force, prevails.
Germany was the driving force. I appeal to all countries to
sign and ratify the Court's Statute.
No one stands more at the mercy of those who wield
power than refugees. At present more than 20 million
people worldwide are in flight: despairing elderly people,
women, children; people who are sick, homeless and
destitute and have absolutely no idea what is going to
happen to them.
Over the last several years I have been to many
refugee camps, in Albania, Africa and the Middle East.
Every refugee's case is a story of immeasurable human
suffering.
Germany is now the country with the second largest
number of refugees. From Kosovo alone, 150,000 refugees
have found refuge in Germany.
The suffering of the refugees is a humanitarian and
political challenge to the international community as a
whole. What is now needed, therefore, is a global refugee
policy. The United Nations, too, has to do something
about it.
Specifically, this means, first, a more equitable
distribution of the refugees, as I recommended here in the
General Assembly in 1993. We cannot leave the poorest
countries to their own devices in trying to cope with the
refugee problem.
Secondly, greater efforts will have to be made to
remove the causes of flight and expulsion.
Secretary-General Kofi Annan has declared the
twenty-first century a century of prevention, and with
good reason. To wait until a situation gets so bad that
people have to take flight is to make oneself partly
responsible. Trouble must therefore be nipped in the bud.
This is the task of preventive diplomacy, of human rights
observers and peacekeeping forces.
Striking at the root of mass flight and migration also
means eliminating the economic, ecological and social
causes. The gap between rich and poor grows wider. The
wealthiest 20 per cent of the world population consume
86 per cent of all goods, the poorest 20 per cent only 1.3
per cent.
This equity gap must be closed. Every individual has
a right to live in dignity, free from hunger and want.
All nations must be given a fair chance in global
competition, the poorest ones in particular. Hence, it is up
to the rich countries to help the poor make the most of
their opportunities for development.
Our aim is a social world market economy. This is
why in 1997 Germany spent 10.25 billion deutsche marks
on bilateral and multilateral assistance measures as an
investment in peace and stability.
Africa shows what can be achieved when the
international community and the countries concerned pull
together. Today, democratic elections are held in more
than half of the African countries. In 20 African countries
economic growth is between 4 and 6 per cent, and in 11
it is higher still.
We want the Africans to know that we will not
abandon that vast continent and its 800 million people,
despite the heavy burdens it still has to bear.
Poverty and refugee problems are also exacerbating
the situation in the Middle East. The people in Israel and in
the Palestinian territories long for peace more than anything
else on earth. The peace process requires fresh impetus.
The Israelis and Palestinians must move towards each
other again and rediscover the lost mutual trust.
We Europeans will continue to support this process
with our American friends. We back Israel's legitimate
claim to security for its State and citizens.
The Palestinians have recognized that claim; now
words must be followed by deeds. They must see to it that
terrorism has no chance.
But Israel, too, must show compromise as regards a
further partial withdrawal. Neither side should put any new
obstacles in the way of a deal â€” and that includes allowing
new settlements in the occupied territories.
Particularly in the Middle East, we have time and
again seen that terrorism leads to a dead end, destruction
and suffering. We must pit all our strength against the
cynics who advocate violence, the fanatics and ideologues;
the dead of Omagh, Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam serve as a
warning. Those who plant bombs and murder people must
be brought to justice.
Drying up the sources of terrorism â€” poverty, ethnic
conflict and fundamentalism â€” is our common
responsibility. But to fight terrorism is not to fight Islam.
Islam is one of the great world religions. Nothing could be
further from the truth than the cliche that Islam is
synonymous with fundamentalism and violations of human
rights.
We want a dialogue of cultures and religions,
especially with Islam. There exists an ethic of humanity
that unites us all. This ethic is based on the inalienable
dignity of every individual, as expressed in the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the human rights
covenants of the United Nations. These are the benchmarks
for our joint action in the twenty-first century.
Violations of human rights are no longer an internal
matter of States. They concern us all. Any group which,
like the regime in Kabul, denies women their basic human
rights places itself outside the international community of
common values.
The world of tomorrow will be judged by how we
treat our children today. They are our most valuable asset.
Yet the rights of many children are still being trampled
underfoot. Millions of children have no chance to live a
life in dignity. Millions of children are forced to work.
Particularly appalling is the fact that every year
some two million children all over the world are sexually
abused. Only through joint action can we stop child
prostitution, traffic in children and child pornography,
including that proliferated via the Internet. I therefore
propose that the United Nations set up a contact point to
coordinate worldwide efforts to eradicate sexual abuse of
children. The optional protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child designed to afford better protection
against sexual exploitation should be quickly adopted and
quickly put into effect.
Children are small people who need big rights.
Protection for children during armed conflicts must be
improved, including by outlawing their use as soldiers.
We all hoped that with the ending of the East-West
confrontation the danger of a nuclear conflagration would
be gone forever. This has proved to be an illusion. The
threat of proliferation of means of mass destruction
hovers over the human race. We can safeguard world
peace in the twenty-first century only if we keep such
terrible weapons under control.
In Geneva, India and Pakistan have agreed to
negotiations on a cut-off. That's a good sign, but not
nearly enough. It must be followed by their accession to
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. And all
nations should now sign the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty. This also applies to the conventions banning
chemical and biological weapons. The adoption of a
verification protocol to the Biological Weapons
Convention is now urgent.
Next March the Ottawa Convention imposing a
worldwide ban on anti-personnel landmines enters into
force â€” a great success. Only if all countries now sign
the Convention will these diabolical devices soon be
wiped from the face of the earth. It is our common task
to get rid of the 100 million mines still remaining, using
state-of-the-art technology.
We must also radically rethink our attitude to nature.
The victims of the floods in China and Bangladesh are a
warning. We must swing the wheel round now. This we
owe to our children and grandchildren. We can save our
blue planet and its ecosystem together or not at all.

Take the world climate. The Kyoto Protocol launched
a global effort to protect it. That was a big step forward.
But time is getting short. We have just had the warmest
half year this century. At the fourth session of the
Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for Buenos Aires
in November, we shall have to agree on the instruments
with which to achieve the objectives of Kyoto.
Take water. Water is irreplaceable. Water is more
important than oil. Yet in more than 80 countries it is in
short supply. Two billion people have insufficient access or
none at all to clean drinking water. Finding joint solutions
for the peaceful use and conservation of water, the source
of life, is one of the great tasks of the twenty-first century.
The pursuit of this scarce commodity must not be allowed
to spark fresh conflicts.
Germany intends to remain in the vanguard of the
international campaign to protect the environment. I am
gratified to note that our commitment has been
acknowledged by the appointment of Klaus Töpfer as
Executive Director of the United Nations Environment
Programme.
But we are not going to rest on our laurels. A few
days ago I opened an international conference in Potsdam
on early-warning mechanisms for natural disasters. The
conference has shown that progress can be achieved if we
want it. Specifically, it is now a question of establishing
effective global early-warning systems for environmental
crises and natural disasters, and developing emergency
management arrangements for the coordination of
international relief measures. We must now get down to
this task, and the United Nations is the right place to do so.
Four hundred and sixty three days from now the
twentieth century comes to an end â€” a century of
unprecedented violence and destruction. The coming
century must be a century with a humane countenance.
What a wonderful vision. But talking about it is not
enough. Only if we act together will we survive together.
The United Nations is indispensable to this task.
Strengthening it to secure a peaceful and more equitable
world â€” that is our responsibility. This we owe to coming
generations. My country will devote every possible effort
to this task.


Mr. President, as I address the Assembly for the
first time as President of Colombia, I should like to offer
you, on behalf of my Government, our warmest
congratulations on being elected to guide our debates
during this session.
A few weeks ago, the most important democratic
elections in Colombia’s recent history took place. Despite
the problems that have besieged our nation in the last few
years, our institutional structure has faced one of the
sternest tests ever and has again shown that it is solid. In
June, more than 12 million people — one of the highest
electoral turnouts in the history of the Republic —
expressed their free, spontaneous and conscious choice.
Today, Colombia is looking towards new horizons.
We have restored confidence in our country. We have
started the changes which will enable us to face our
internal problems with determination and which will win
us a more positive and dynamic place in the international
community.
Our most urgent task will be to build for peace. That
is the unshakable commitment of my Government and the

heartfelt desire of all of the Colombian people. We are
aware that any process designed to root out the causes of
conflict for all time will be highly complex. But all our
efforts will be dedicated to this noble goal, and we will
strive for it tirelessly.
It is for this reason that I have personally taken the
lead in building peace. We are working hard on the
preparation of an agenda for this purpose. We are
convinced that representatives of all sectors of society
should play a part, and that at the end of the road we will
find a guiding light that will lead our country again to
peaceful coexistence. Peace in Colombia will also be
founded on a clear strategy for economic development and
a bold policy for social justice. Only in this way will it be
possible to forge a fruitful and lasting peace.
As we travel the road to peace the support of the
international community will complement our own efforts.
We will advocate respect for fundamental rights and
full application of international humanitarian law among all
those involved in conflict. We will learn from the valuable
experiences of other countries in the solution of internal
conflicts, and we will adopt whatever is applicable and
appropriate to our own situation.
Peace in Colombia will demand very substantial
investments in social sectors and infrastructure in the zones
of conflict. For this, we will create a “Peace Fund”. A
significant portion of the money required will come from
internal sources. We will also be looking for contributions
from the international community, from which we have
already received expressions of encouragement, solidarity
and interest.
All these actions will be part of what we have termed
“diplomacy for peace”. It will be diplomacy with social and
economic content. It will be diplomacy expressed in
investment and in the mobilization of human, technical and
financial resources, so that our peace will have a firm and
lasting foundation.
The achievement of peace in Colombia will be an
important initial contribution to the liberation of mankind
from one of the twentieth century’s greatest evils: the
global problem of illicit drugs. To the extent that we can
find agricultural alternatives for our peasant farmers, with
fair prices for their products at home and abroad, they will
become less dependent on illicit crops. The support of the
international community will be crucial in this. The
eradication of illicit crops will be one of the central
elements of the peace talks that we intend to undertake
with the groups engaged in armed conflict.
It is true that the end of East-West confrontation
brought into being a system of international relations
based on détente and on a decline in the role that military
power had played during the cold war. The spectre of a
nuclear cataclysm seemed to have vanished, and all
humanity embraced new hopes for the future.
It was thought that the end of the cold war would be
the salvation of the many countries and the millions of
people who had been forgotten in the midst of tensions
and feuds between the two superpowers. But now, almost
10 years later, those initial expectations are far from
becoming a reality. Ethnic and religious rivalries, regional
confrontations and grave new threats to peace have
emerged.
I must say most clearly that my Government and the
people of Colombia absolutely reject all kinds and modes
of terrorism, whatever their origin or motive. There can
be no truce with terrorism. All States must fight together
to defeat it. This is surely one of our greatest challenges.
Corruption is buffeting democracy in a growing
number of countries and is becoming a cause of political
and social breakdown. Illicit drugs continue to be one of
the worst scourges of today’s society, bringing irreparable
harm to the new generations and, therefore, to the future
of humanity.
Human rights are still not properly respected.
Women are still the target of abuse and discrimination.
Children are the victims of disgraceful practices. Fifty
years after the adoption of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights, the more vulnerable groups often have no
access to the protection that States are obliged to provide
for them.
Unsustainable consumer and production practices
still continue. The planet’s natural resources are being
depleted, its biological wealth is being looted, and our
rivers and oceans are being contaminated. Poverty
continues to affect huge segments of society. Economic
growth in some countries and the prosperity of some
levels of society contrast dramatically with the
marginalization suffered by the majority of the world’s
population.
This situation is occurring in an international
environment in which the right to development is
2

indissolubly linked to the existence of a favourable
international climate. We are going through the most
serious financial crisis since the end of the cold war, but
there does not yet seem to be sufficient clarity and political
will to face it and overcome it.
All Latin America has voiced its concern at the gravity
of the crisis. Its origins are outside our region, in which
countries have made structural reforms to achieve healthy
economies that will enable them to meet the social
expectations of their peoples.
We are aware of the risk of a world recession, and we
consider it essential that the more developed countries, the
Group of Seven and the international financial organs adopt
suitable measures to prevent any new collapse. Such a
disaster would irreversibly affect the developing countries
first. The measures should enable the financial markets to
recover their stability and provide a rapid solution to the
current crisis in the world economy that has caused so
much concern.
Among the proposals which Colombia made at the San
Francisco Conference and which were included in the
United Nations Charter, there are two I would now like to
mention, because they belong to the common heritage of
our foreign policy: first, compliance in good faith with the
obligations assumed by the Member States of the United
Nations, as an underlying assumption for the validity of its
universal action; and secondly, recognition of the role
played by regional arrangements and agencies in the
maintenance of peace, in international security as an
integrated concept and in the peaceful settlement of disputes
between States.
Colombia believes that universalism and regionalism
are complementary and should support each other
harmoniously. Therefore, one of the aims of our diplomacy
is to strengthen the regional agencies within the concept of
universalism. It is thus essential that we join our efforts to
regain the momentum achieved on the occasion of the
fiftieth anniversary of the birth of the United Nations, so
that the Organization will be revitalized and ready for the
beginning of a new millennium.
The various levels of action required are all based on
the credibility of the multilateralism which the United
Nations embodies and the trust which our peoples have in
it. Some support the approval of certain reforms that the
experience of this period of history and the changes on the
world scene have in themselves made imperative. The
United Nations cannot be expected to possess magic
formulas that we ourselves do not have for solving
problems and situations that concern us all, within the
context of the interdependence and internationalization
characteristic of our times. But we certainly need to adapt
them to this moment in history, when we face such wide
horizons and colossal challenges. We need something of
the idealism and pragmatic spirit which could be inspired
by solidarity among the human race.
The reasons for the creation of the United Nations
not only remain intact, but also have rapidly even become
more relevant in the second half of the twentieth century.
The principles which inspired its creation have become so
important that any action taken unilaterally or by a group
of States turns out to be inadequate or limited in effect.
Therefore, it will be useful to identify what we can do to
make the proposed reforms truly worthwhile. One must
seek a genuine consensus for the agenda of priorities for
the new millennium.
Colombia is ready to help reconcile existing
disputes. This is not a question of a simple, formal
agreement or of a quest for utopian reform, but of a
meeting of wills and a methodical and open-minded
consensus regarding proposals which are designed to
bring us closer to an era of greater justice and balance.
We must eliminate the contradiction in which more
responsibilities, actions and programmes are demanded
from the United Nations while at the same time some
States fail to meet their obligations or do not show any
willingness to increase their contribution in proportion to
their capacity. Without doubt, the United Nations must be
properly funded. The adaptation of structures, regulations
and modes of operation means that the Organization must
have the personnel and the funds it needs, through
efficient and exemplary management.
Cooperation for development must receive a massive
injection to save it from decline, and this must be in
accordance with the text and spirit of the Charter and of
countless commitments, within an overall concept that
includes encouragement of respect for human, individual,
social, economic and cultural rights.
My Government has a policy of encouraging broader
participation by the new actors on the international stage,
such as non-governmental organizations and the private
sector. New sources of funding for certain social,
development and humanitarian programmes should be
sought, which should extend the scope of action of the
3

United Nations and ensure that it continues to steer the
common course of international solidarity.
We need multilateralism with social content, in which
the human being is the central priority and in which
development is the guiding principle in decisions. I stand
before you to appeal to all nations to contribute to the
burial of the post-cold-war period, to see it as no more than
an interregnum, and to open the door wide to an era of
creative and more humane multilateralism.
The original principles of the Organization are of
course still valid, but we need to make some adjustments.
We need to reconsider certain modes of international action
and heed the voices of the peoples who desire development
and fight for it in the midst of difficulty and conflict. We
need to strengthen communication and dialogue between
North and South and to correct unreasonable imbalances.
We believe that the time has come to make an
objective review of the present state of negotiations for the
reform of the Organization, in order to ensure that social
and economic matters are properly related to the legitimate
aspirations of developing nations. There must be
instruments to encourage rapport between the organs
originating from the San Francisco Charter and those
institutions born at Bretton Woods.
We know that the responses of individual nations or
groups of States are insufficient. Therefore, there is an even
more urgent need to coordinate global responses through
vigorous multilateralism. There is an obvious dichotomy
between de facto globalization, science and technology,
instantaneous communications and the world market, on the
one hand, and, on the hand, the absence of genuine social
order and human advancement.
We must revive an authentic and productive North-
South dialogue, based on a concept of solidarity which is
more substantial than declarations or good intentions and
which is expressed in specific action. It must take account
of the needs of the more vulnerable groups and of those
excluded from progress. It must replace the logic of
confrontation and of the division between poor and rich
countries with the logic of cooperation, shared
responsibility and solidarity inspired by justice as the
golden rule of multilateralism.
His Holiness Pope John Paul II summed up this
position perfectly on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary
of the United Nations, when, addressing this same
Assembly, he urged us to unite our efforts to build a
civilization of love, founded on the universal values of
peace, solidarity, justice and liberty, to overcome the fear
which darkens human existence at the end of the
twentieth century.
We firmly believe that the Charter and all the
institutions of the international system must promote
dynamic cooperation, each enriching the shared universal
heritage with its own particular character.
The United Nations must not be merely a forum for
the sovereign expression of States. It must be the place
for negotiation and synthesis in the political, cultural,
social and economic life of the nations.
It is reassuring to see that the grand designs that
inspired the Charter remain valid. It is now our task to
maintain them and to interpret the new situations that
arise in the course of history.
We know, for example, that conflicts within States
are conceptually different from the old wars between
States. We have a greater understanding of the link
between peace and development and of the way in which
politics and socioeconomic interests are related. We
believe that it is appropriate to consolidate a minimum
international order and to replace violence and terrorism
with peace and coexistence, which should then thrive
naturally through multilateralism.
Colombia encourages the efforts undertaken in arms
control, with the systematic quest for disarmament as the
ultimate goal, and supports the priority allocation of world
and regional resources to development. We believe that it
is therefore essential to make progress in the control and
gradual elimination of weapons of mass destruction and
to exercise effective control over the illegal arms trade, to
which thousands of men, women and children fall victim
daily throughout the world, and especially in the
developing countries.
We need a realistic and methodical strategy to secure
peace in our time and in the coming century. We need to
promote monitoring mechanisms for treaty compliance,
the negotiated solution of conflicts and the creation of
nuclear-free zones with effective verification systems. In
this respect, the United Nations will need to perfect early-
warning systems to evaluate events so that its actions will
be efficient and genuinely preventive.
I have come here today to reaffirm Colombia’s
unbroken tradition as a nation devoted to the great
4

principles that underpin the very existence of the United
Nations. We are prepared to offer, with thoughtful
optimism, our support for the achievement of its purposes
and its reforms. We believe it would be useful to review
and appraise the results of the various summits held in
recent years, so that we may follow up their results and
plans of action. This will serve both as a gauge of their
effectiveness and as the central element of the analysis of
the coordination of the various institutions of the United
Nations system as a whole.
Our people rightly demand more effective action and
less empty rhetoric. We cannot betray billions of human
beings who yearn for a world at peace, with democracy and
freedom, and above all just, united and equitable.


Allow me to begin by expressing our sorrow at the loss of
human life and the material damage caused by the
inclemencies of nature in our sister nations of the
Caribbean. We feel the greatest solidarity with them and
urge the international community quickly and generously to
provide them with emergency assistance to deal with this
crisis.
We would like to extend to you, Sir, our sincere
congratulations on your election to preside over this session
of the General Assembly. We are particularly delighted by
your election, as we enjoy excellent relations of friendship
and cooperation with your country.
We would also like to extend our thanks to your
predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his work in
promoting the objectives of the United Nations,
particularly in the area of encouraging reform of this
Organization.
We extend our thanks to the Secretary-General for
his excellent work in discharge of his mandate in an
extremely complex international situation in which a great
variety of interests are represented.
This will be my last participation here as President
of the Republic of El Salvador, and I should therefore
like to reiterate our appreciation to this Organization for
having been a decisive factor in the signing and
verification of the Peace Accords that ended the armed
conflict in El Salvador.
From the beginning of our Administration, we
declared our political will and our Government?s
commitment to comply fully with the Peace Accords, and
we are pleased to say we have done so, despite the
difficulties and obstacles encountered along the way.
We can say that profound transformations have taken
place in El Salvador, resulting in the replacement of
authoritarianism, abuse of power and impunity by a
system founded on strict respect for the law and the
principles and values of democracy.

The restoration of peace and the consolidation of
democracy have enabled the state of law in El Salvador to
be strengthened, guaranteeing full independence for the
basic organs of the Government of our Republic, as well as
respect for the rights of the individual. We have also been
able to proceed with a strategy of economic and social
development with emphasis on the eradication of the
underlying causes of poverty.
El Salvador now has a solid economy that is growing
progressively and is internationally recognized and trusted.
We are carrying out a successful plan for modernizing the
country, seeking greater efficiency, productivity and
competitiveness; one important component of this approach
is the elimination of State monopolies through the
privatization of such sectors as energy, telecommunications
and social security.
We are implementing an economic policy of
promoting our exports and attracting foreign investment,
with a view to stimulating production, creating more jobs
and making better use of the opening of international
markets.
We have focused on programmes for promoting
human resources and the progress of communities,
especially in the neediest and most vulnerable sectors of
society. To this end, we have allocated increasing
percentages of our national budget to education, health and
housing. As part of our strategy for fighting against
poverty, the National Department for the Family is carrying
out support programmes for women, children and the
elderly.
Because we attach great importance to the ecology, we
have established a Ministry of the Environment and Natural
Resources and we have now adopted a special law on this
issue, in the aim of seeking solutions to the serious
environmental problems facing our country and the world.
We are pleased to report that currently we are carrying
out consultations across the country on the conclusion of a
draft basic agreement for a national plan, involving the
general agreement of all the various representative sectors
of El Salvador?s society. Our greatest hope is that the
national plan will encourage participation by all Salvadoran
men and women in a common long-term undertaking in
which the interests of all are intertwined, without
distinctions or political or ideological conditions, and which
will be established as the nation?s second great political
agreement, after the Peace Accords.
El Salvador fully supports Central American
integration, and along with the other Governments and
private sectors in the region we are updating our legal
instruments and strengthening the institutions that make
up this system of regional integration.
From a multilateral perspective, we can say that we
have participated in and supported the declarations and
plans of action adopted at international summits and
conferences, responsibly shouldering our commitments in
the areas of environment, human rights, social issues,
development of women, rights of the child, population
and the fight against drug abuse, inter alia.
The profound changes that have taken place in
recent years have had a strong impact on the international
system, including the United Nations, resulting in
agreement on the need for restructuring so as to respond
properly to and solve global problems, particularly those
of the developing countries.
We believe that Member States must join forces, act
in solidarity with each other, shoulder their
responsibilities and reach agreements to promote the
changes that are needed in the United Nations so that it
can fully discharge its mandate.
We support implementation of the Secretary-
General?s proposals to complete the restructuring of the
Secretariat, and we advocate a change in attitude so that
there can be real reform in the Security Council and the
Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary bodies.
We need a Security Council that is more transparent,
democratic and representative, so that it can enjoy the
support of all Members of the Organization, and
accordingly can become more effective in adopting
practical and efficient measures to prevent and resolve
conflicts.
We are pleased that progress has been made in the
political situation worldwide, but we must express our
concern over the fragile state of peace and stability in
some parts of the world as a result of continuing conflict,
failure to implement agreements, deadlocks and possible
breakdowns in peace processes, acts of terrorism, hostility
and lack of trust among States.
We are concerned about the deadlock in the peace
process in the Middle East, and we urge the parties to
seek a swift solution in accordance with the agreements
made.
2

The Preamble to the Charter states that the peoples of
the United Nations are resolved to save succeeding
generations from the scourge of war and to unite their
strength for the maintenance of international peace and
security. Unfortunately, not all Member States are
convinced of this or ready to put into practice these ideas
so as to achieve the objectives that are of concern to us all.
The recent nuclear tests run counter to our efforts to
achieve a world free from nuclear weapons. We have
supported every initiative to ensure a safer world for our
peoples, and, in a spirit of international solidarity, I am
pleased to report that earlier this month El Salvador
deposited its instrument of ratification on the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
We believe that terrorism in any of its manifestations
is an affront to the civilized principles of the human race
and constitutes criminal conduct, which we strongly
condemn and which cannot be justified on political,
ideological, philosophical, ethnic or religious grounds. We
accordingly condemn the terrorist attacks in Kenya,
Tanzania, South Africa and Northern Ireland, which took
innocent lives, wounded thousands and destroyed property.
That is why we support Security Council resolution
1189 (1998), which calls on all States and international
institutions to cooperate with and provide support and
assistance to investigations with a view to bringing to
justice those who planned and carried out those
reprehensible acts.
The Government of El Salvador recognizes and
supports the efforts of the international community strongly
to fight against drug abuse. We reaffirm our commitment
made in the Declaration on the Guiding Principles of Drug
Demand Reduction and in the measures to enhance
international cooperation, which we adopted during the
special session of the General Assembly devoted to the
drugs problem last June.
The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and the fifth anniversary of the Vienna
Declaration and Programme of Action will be important
milestones providing an opportunity for us to think about
the progress made and the effective enjoyment of
fundamental freedoms. They also provide an opportunity for
every State to renew its commitment to comply with the
obligations it has entered into, as part of the international
legal machinery that protects and promotes these rights.
El Salvador reaffirms its support for the restoration
of the rights of the Republic of China on Taiwan as a
State Member of this Organization because we believe it
is a matter of justice to respect the sovereign will and
aspirations of its people in accordance with the principle
of universality enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.
The changes that have occurred in the international
arena since the end of the cold war have not narrowed the
gap between the developed and developing countries —
rather, the gap has become wider. The globalization,
liberalization and interdependence that characterize the
new international order are challenges and opportunities
of which many of our countries cannot take proper
advantage because of the constraints we face. Integrating
into the competitive world requires resources, technology
and financing that go well beyond the national capacities
of the least developed countries. This situation can be
overcome only with the participation of the countries that
are better developed.
In his report on the work of the Organization, the
Secretary-General said again that the volume of external
assistance to the developing countries has declined
steadily during the current decade, and much of what is
given is not appropriate for or aimed at the needs of the
recipient countries. El Salvador urges donor countries to
try to increase their cooperation for development, and
particularly urges the industrialized countries to facilitate
access to their markets for products from less developed
countries.
The great advances made in recent times in all areas
of human knowledge highlight the need to make more of
an effort to resolve the basic problems facing the majority
of the world?s population. If we truly wish to have a
world free from poverty, war, drugs, crime, terrorism and
environmental degradation, we must join forces so that
together we can find new mechanisms and new paths of
action that lead us to a swift solution to the problems and
concerns of our peoples.
We appeal for the wisdom and help of the gods of
the nations to ensure that in all corners of the earth peace,
harmony, solidarity and progress will reign.