I would like to thank you,
Sir, for giving me the floor. Allow me to congratulate
you warmly on your assumption of the presidency of
the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly of
the United Nations. We have no doubt that your
experience, wisdom and infinite patience will lead us
to a successful outcome of the work of this session.
Through you, allow me to congratulate Mr. Hans
Seung-soo on his presidency over the fifty-sixth
session of the General Assembly, which he conducted
with skill and ability. I would also like to thank
Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who leads the
Secretariat at a very delicate and difficult time in the
history of the Organization, a time when it faces many
challenges, pressures and a serious situation of threats
to international peace and security.
I am honoured and pleased to congratulate our
sister State of East Timor on its independence and
accession to the United Nations, which represents the
hope of all the peoples of the world to achieve their
freedom. I would also like to warmly welcome the
Swiss Confederation, which has become a full Member
of the United Nations.
Since the convening of the last session, we have
seen very important events in the international arena, in
the wake of the terrorist attack against the World Trade
Centre in New York. That led to unprecedented
complications in politics and international relations.
Those political and social changes are accelerating and
lead daily to new patterns of conflict.
With respect to combating terrorism, Qatar, as the
Chair of the ninth Islamic summit, called for an
emergency meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the
Organization of the Islamic Conference in Doha in
October 2001. That Conference clearly condemned all
acts of international terrorism, including State
terrorism. It also affirmed the urgent need to agree
upon an international definition of terrorism,
distinguishing between terrorism and legitimate
resistance to foreign aggression and occupation for the
purpose of national liberation and self-determination.
I would like to recall from this rostrum that we
are fully convinced of the validity of the United
Nations Charter and of the leading role played by the
Organization in the maintenance of international peace
and security, as well as in ensuring the development,
prosperity and dignity of humankind.
Here, we have to refer firmly to the need for the
work of the Security Council to be transparent and the
need to renounce the selective implementation of the
provisions of the United Nations Charter. There is no
escaping reviewing the permanent membership of the
Security Council so that a select few will not be able to
continue to use the veto, which can literally invalidate
the opinions of all others, while the United Nations
preaches democracy, participation, justice and equality.
The practices of the Organization must be
completely impartial. The needed measures for the
maintenance of international peace and security must
be applied to all without exception and without
preferential treatment. We cannot allow the resolutions
of the Security Council to be based on double standards
or to be selective in a way that allows Israel not to
implement the resolutions adopted by the Security
Council and the General Assembly.
We cannot accept that the people of Palestine and
the Arab people in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights
and in the south of Lebanon are falling prey to the
barbaric aggression of the Israeli occupation forces
before the eyes of the whole world and world public
opinion. Israel violates the resolutions of international
law, rejecting them without any reaction from the
Security Council or any organs of the United Nations
to put an end to it.
We observe closely and with concern the
deteriorating security situation in the Palestinian
territories and the blatant challenge to the international
community and international laws and norms posed by
the siege of President Arafat and the legitimate, elected
leadership of the Palestinian people. We observe with
concern the assassination, abduction and arrest of
Palestinian leaders, as well as the demolition of houses
on the heads of women, children and the elderly. We
watch closely and with concern the attacks on holy
places, which have been condemned by all states and
representatives of international humanitarian
organizations, including the International Committee of
29

the Red Cross, which strongly deplored and
condemned those attacks.
The actions of Israeli forces in Jenin and Gaza
and the massacres perpetrated there constitute blatant
violations of modern international humanitarian law,
international human rights and international
conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva
Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian
Persons in Time of War of 1949. If it really intends to
achieve security, Israel must take the route of peace by
implementing the resolutions of international law: the
resolutions of the Security Council and the General
Assembly. They all provide for the inalienable right of
the Palestinian people to achieve their legitimate
national aspirations, including self-determination and
the establishment of an independent State on its
national territory with East Jerusalem as its capital.
Those resolutions also call for the withdrawal from the
occupied Syrian territory of the Golan to the line of 4
June 1967, as well as from the rest of occupied
Lebanese territory.
Among the prerequisites required to ensure a
prosperous life for humankind is the basic right to live
without discrimination based on ethnicity, race, colour,
ideology, language, wealth or social origin.
As a people who believe in a revealed religion,
we believe in respecting human rights, because, in
addition to our common laws, we have a divine law,
laid down in the Koran, that tells us to respect such
rights. In Qatar, we protect and maintain human rights
and have made them the standard for our religion and
for our progress. Many countries accuse certain
organizations that profess concern for human rights of
bias, selectivity and double standards because they
concentrate on political and civil rights without paying
any heed to economic, social or cultural rights, which
are no less important than civil or political rights.
Important as they are, civil and political rights may
become devoid of content if we fail to pay heed to the
other rights.
Qatar has made many advances in the protection
of human rights, of the rule of law and of the principles
of democracy and Shura, as well as good governance.
We have just completed a new national Constitution
that provides for public freedoms and free
parliamentary elections. It also, for the first time, gives
women the full right to vote and to be represented.
We in the Middle East are threatened by a clear
imbalance of power. Israel is the only country in the
region that possesses an arsenal of nuclear weapons
and refuses to accede to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We appeal to all
peace-loving countries to demand that Israel accede to
the Treaty and submit its nuclear installations to the
safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy
Agency.
At the present time, we see a positive direction in
certain international issues. With regard to the situation
in Iraq, we welcome that country's acceptance of the
return of international inspectors and its avowed
commitment to implement relevant Security Council
resolutions and to resume dialogue with the United
Nations. We reaffirm the need to maintain Iraq's
sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity, and
we hope that resumed dialogue will lead to a
comprehensive solution and to a suspension of  and
ultimately an end to  the sanctions, which are
causing great suffering among the Iraqi people.
Another example of what the United Nations
must do to right current wrongs is the complete lifting
of the sanctions imposed on the Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya, which has fulfilled its obligations and
surrendered the wanted suspects.
As we meet today, developing countries are
experiencing serious economic difficulties that are
negatively affecting their development in an
environment of heavy foreign debt and declining
official development assistance. They are also facing
restrictions on their exports to world markets and
unfair prices for their basic commodities. Africa's
economic situation is still very serious, despite all the
efforts of African countries and of the international
community to overcome that continent's development
problems. The economic situation is worsening, and
foreign debt is increasing. Whatever economic gains
are achieved must therefore be spent on debt servicing
and on correcting the imbalance resulting from the
reverse flow of resources. Africa is also the continent
that is suffering most from HIV/AIDS.
We support the efforts of the Secretary-General,
and we greatly value his initiatives to reform the
United Nations. With regard to the reform programme
proposed in 1997 and approved by the General
Assembly, we note with concern that its development
goals have yet to be achieved. We have witnessed a
30

continuous decline in financing that has led to the
reduction of development programmes. We believe that
the Organization's socio-economic development
activities must be given highest priority, in accordance
with the principles and purposes of the Charter.
Without development, there will no lasting peace or
security.
The Millennium Declaration set out many
objectives, including that of achieving sustainable
economic development and, in particular, sustainable
human development, with human beings as its crucial
element. Accordingly, human development is the major
topic of the high-level segment of the Economic and
Social Council's  current substantive session. The
Millennium Declaration objectives of eradicating
poverty, achieving economic development, halting the
spread of HIV/AIDS and bringing that disease under
control by 2015 all require our concerted effort and
political will. In addition, the voluntary contributions
and direct financial investment flows of local and
international donors are required to achieve the
objectives of the Monterrey Conference, the most
important of which is the commitment by rich
industrialized countries of 0.7 per cent of their gross
national product to official development assistance.
Those countries made the same commitment at
previous conferences. Here, I must mention the Doha
Conference in the light of the importance it attached to
free trade, market liberalization and infrastructure
expansion in increasing the competitive ability of
developing countries, in particular African countries.
That Conference also emphasized the importance of the
transfer of information and communications
technology, economic diversity, foreign trade and
increased market access, as well as increasing flows of
foreign resources and reducing debt.
Qatar has always opposed coercive, unilateral
sanctions imposed by one single country on another
sovereign country over which it has no legal
jurisdiction. We believe that imposing sanctions on
other countries with a view to serving economic
interests or achieving political objectives represents a
violation of the principles of equal sovereignty among
states and self-determination, as provided for by the
Charter of the United Nations and relevant United
Nations resolutions. Therefore, Qatar reaffirms its
categorical rejection of all attempts to implement local
laws across borders on the citizens and companies of
other States to force those countries to comply with
unilateral economic measures that transcend the legal
jurisdiction of States. That is in direct violation of
international law, of the provisions of the Charter and
of the rules of the World Trade Organization.
The President: We have heard the last speaker in
the general debate for this meeting.


I would like to join in thanking
the outgoing President of the General Assembly for the
diligent manner in which he managed the affairs of the
Assembly. I would also like to congratulate you,
Mr. President, for taking over the leadership of the
Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. We hope that you
will have a successful tenure in your stewardship of
this important body.
Allow us to also welcome Switzerland and East
Timor to membership of the United Nations.
Two years ago, the world's political leaders met
at this place and, through the historic United Nations
Millennium Declaration, reaffirmed our faith in the
United Nations Organization and its Charter as
indispensable foundations of a more peaceful,
prosperous and just world. That an unprecedented
number of heads of State and Government had gathered
at the United Nations to make that commitment to
cooperation among the peoples of the world — to
peace, prosperity and justice throughout our
universe — gave hope to the billions throughout the
world who know the painful meaning of oppression by
10

another, of war and violent conflict, of poverty and
injustice.
None of those who spoke from this podium knew
that a year after they had pledged to use their energies
and talents to provide a meaningful life for all, peace in
this country and the rest of the world would be brutally
challenged by the murderous terrorist attack of 11
September. We meet a day after the anniversary of that
fateful 11 September. We have a collective duty to
reaffirm our united resolve to create a world free of the
fear of terrorism. We have a common task to ensure
that this Organization truly lives up to its obligations to
do all the things that make for peace. We have a solemn
obligation to give real meaning to the message of hope
we proclaimed in the Millennium Declaration. It may
be that future generations will say that if we have
learned anything at all from the horrendous events of
11 September, it is that the General Assembly should
dedicate its efforts to the accomplishment of these
tasks.
In keeping with that perspective, we have come to
the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly to
report that the peoples of Africa have risen to those
challenges by forming the African Union. Our Union is
based on the principles enshrined in the Charter of the
United Nations. It results from the transformation of
the Organization of African Unity, which championed
the cause of the unity and independence of Africa for
nearly 40 years. The African Union is Africa's
practical and determined response to its past and
present, in favour of peace and stability, democracy
and human rights, cooperation, development,
prosperity and human dignity. Its programme for the
socio-economic revitalization of our continent is the
New Partnership for Africa's Development, which must
help us to eradicate poverty and underdevelopment
throughout Africa and, within the context of the
African Union, end Africa's humiliation as an object of
charity.
Clearly, the objectives of the African Union and
the programme enunciated in the New Partnership
essentially, and of necessity, seek to advance the aims
contained in the Millennium Development Goals.
Naturally, the United Nations — as an Organization
seized of the task to address the critical issues of peace,
human rights and poverty eradication within the
framework of sustainable development — will forever
be central to the success of the African Union and the
accomplishment of the goals of the New Partnership
for Africa's Development. Accordingly, on behalf of
the united peoples of Africa, we are honoured and
privileged to commend to this Organization both the
African Union and the New Partnership for Africa's
Development. We are convinced that with the support
of the United Nations, we will transform this into an
African century.
We are happy that there are encouraging peace
processes in Angola, Burundi, the Democratic Republic
of the Congo and the Sudan, with the Comoros already
having held successful elections. We are particularly
pleased because these positive developments will
create the possibility for millions of our fellow
Africans to reaffirm the sanctity of human life and
security and to engage in the important tasks of
rebuilding their countries to bring about a better life for
all.
As part of our commitment to wage a sustained
struggle to realize the long-deferred hopes of the
peoples of Africa, we have agreed to the establishment
of various institutions, including a peer-review
mechanism, which must help us ensure that we honour
our commitments to democracy, human rights and good
governance. I am confident that the United Nations will
work closely with the African Union and that this
premier Organization of the peoples of the world will
use its vast and invaluable experience to ensure that the
African Union delivers on the important and pressing
duty of achieving sustainable development in each and
every country on our continent.
Together, the agencies of the United Nations and
the organs of the African Union must give priority to
such matters as human resources development and
capacity-building, modernizing Africa's economy,
dealing decisively with the intolerable debt burden,
ensuring access of our products to the markets of the
developed world, spreading the emancipation and
empowerment of women, combating communicable
and other diseases — including AIDS, malaria and
tuberculosis — and fighting against environmental
degradation.
At the end of August and the beginning of this
month, the people of South Africa and Africa were
honoured to host the World Summit for Sustainable
Development. A number of far-reaching decisions were
taken at that important Summit to ensure that we will
bequeath to the next generations a better, humane and
equitable world based on what we agree are the
11

inseparable pillars of sustainable development:
economic development, social development and
environmental protection. Delegates from around the
world enshrined the decisions they took in the
Johannesburg Plan of Implementation and the
Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable Development
to ensure that the billions of people who have placed
their fate on our collective shoulders have a concrete
programme of action to realize the goals contained in
Agenda 21 and other documents adopted by the world
community of nations during the last 10 years.
The Johannesburg Summit confronted the stark
reality that billions of people across the world are poor,
and it boldly confirmed the need for us to collaborate
for a shared human prosperity through sustainable
development. We agree that this goal can be achieved
because we are inspired by the knowledge that the
resources needed exist within the global community.
Indeed, Member States have already committed
themselves to make available the means necessary for
the implementation of our plans, especially finance,
technology and capacity-building.
It is critically important that we implement
everything we agreed, acting with the necessary sense
of urgency. Again, this we will do together, under the
leadership of the United Nations, while we continue to
strengthen the multilateral system of global governance
as the only viable international response to all our
challenges. Fundamentally, this is the only credible
response to the challenge of globalization and the need
to enhance human solidarity to meet our common
needs.
It has been our privilege to chair the Non-Aligned
Movement for the past four years. During that time, the
Movement has ensured constant dialogue between the
countries of the North and South, which has advanced
the commonality of interest between States, confirming
the view that the future of all humanity is interlinked.
We are pleased that the views of the Movement have
helped to inform the advance towards a better life for
all, to which we have all committed ourselves by word
and deed.
In February next year, Malaysia will assume the
responsibility of guiding our Movement as it responds
to the changed and changing global environment. I am
certain that this will add new strength to the Non-
Aligned Movement in the interests of all humanity,
especially the poor of the world. As before, the Non-
Aligned Movement is committed to the peaceful
resolution of all conflicts, including those pertaining to
Palestine and Israel, as well as Iraq, in keeping with the
resolutions of the United Nations. These are urgent
tasks to which the Organization must respond.
In conclusion, let me recall that two years ago in
the Millennium Declaration more than 150 heads of
State or Government resolved that “we believe that the
central challenge we face today is to ensure that
globalization becomes a positive force for all the
world's people” (resolution 55/2, para. 5). Through
both our global and our regional programmes we can
and must ensure that globalization indeed becomes a
valuable process which will bring about sustainable
development and prosperity for all.
From this fifty-seventh session of the General
Assembly must surely issue the unequivocal message
that the peoples of the world are united in their resolve
to sustain the message of hope by advancing the goals
of peace, of democracy, of prosperity and of
sustainable development.


We meet one year and one day
after a terrorist attack brought grief to my country and
brought grief to many citizens of our world. Yesterday,
we remembered the innocent lives taken that terrible
morning. Today we turn to the urgent duty of
protecting other lives without illusion and without fear.
We have accomplished much in the last year — in
Afghanistan and beyond. We have much yet to do — in
Afghanistan and beyond. Many nations represented
here have joined in the fight against global terror, and
the people of the United States are grateful.
The United Nations was born in the hope that
survived a world war — the hope of a world moving
towards justice, escaping old patterns of conflict and
fear. The founding Members resolved that the peace of
the world must never again be destroyed by the will
and the wickedness of any man. We created the United
Nations Security Council so that, unlike the League of
Nations, our deliberations would be more than talk, our
resolutions would be more than wishes. After
generations of deceitful dictators, broken treaties and
squandered lives, we dedicated ourselves to standards
of human dignity, shared by all, and to a system of
security defended by all.
Today, these standards, and this security, are
challenged.
Our commitment to human dignity is challenged
by persistent poverty and raging disease. The suffering
is great, and our responsibilities are clear. The United
States is joining with the world to supply aid where it
reaches people and lifts up lives, to extend trade and
the prosperity it brings, and to bring medical care
where it is desperately needed.
As a symbol of our commitment to human
dignity, the United States will return to the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO). This organization has been
reformed, and America will participate fully in its
mission to advance human rights, tolerance and
learning.
Our common security is challenged by regional
conflicts — ethnic and religious strife that is ancient,
but not inevitable. In the Middle East, there can be no
peace for either side without freedom for both sides.
America stands committed to an independent and
democratic Palestine, living side by side with Israel in
peace and security. Like all other people, Palestinians
deserve a government that serves their interests and
listens to their voices. My nation will continue to
encourage all parties to step up to their responsibilities
as we seek a just and comprehensive settlement to the
conflict.
Above all, our principles and our security are
challenged today by outlaw groups and regimes that
accept no law of morality and have no limit to their
violent ambitions. In the attacks on America a year
ago, we saw the destructive intentions of our enemies.
This threat hides within many nations, including my
own. In cells and camps, terrorists are plotting further
destruction and are building new bases for their war
against civilization. And our greatest fear is that
terrorists will find a shortcut to their mad ambitions
when an outlaw regime supplies them with the
technologies enabling them to kill on a massive scale.
In one place, in one regime, we find all these
dangers, in their most lethal and aggressive forms —
exactly the kind of aggressive threat the United Nations
was born to confront. Twelve years ago, Iraq invaded
Kuwait without provocation. And the regime's forces
were poised to continue their march to seize other
countries and their resources. Had Saddam Hussein
been appeased instead of stopped, he would have
endangered the peace and stability of the world. Yet,
this aggression was stopped by the might of coalition
forces and the will of the United Nations.
In order to suspend hostilities and to spare
himself, Iraq's dictator accepted a series of
commitments. The terms were clear to him, and to all.
And he agreed to prove that he is complying with every
one of those obligations. He has proven instead only
his contempt for the United Nations and for all his
pledges. By breaking every pledge, by his deceptions
and by his cruelties, Saddam Hussein has made the
case against himself.
In 1991, Security Council resolution 688 (1991)
demanded that the Iraqi regime cease at once the
repression of its own people, including the systematic
repression of minorities, which the Council said,
“threaten[ed] international peace and security in the
region”.
This demand goes ignored. Last year, the United
Nations Commission on Human Rights found that Iraq
continues to commit extremely grave violations of
human rights and that the regime's repression is all
pervasive. Tens of thousands of political opponents and
7

ordinary citizens have been subjected to arbitrary arrest
and imprisonment, summary execution, and torture by
beating, burning, electric shock, starvation, mutilation
and rape. Wives are tortured in front of their husbands;
children in the presence of their parents; and all of
these horrors are concealed from the world by the
apparatus of a totalitarian State.
In 1991, the United Nations Security Council,
through its resolutions 686 (1991) and 687 (1991),
demanded that Iraq return all prisoners from Kuwait
and other lands. Iraq's regime agreed. It broke this
promise. Last year the Secretary-General's high-level
coordinator for this issue reported that Kuwaiti, Saudi,
Indian, Syrian, Lebanese, Iranian, Egyptian, Bahraini,
and Omani nationals remain unaccounted for — more
than 600 people. One American pilot is among them.
In 1991, the United Nations Security Council,
through resolution 687 (1991), demanded that Iraq
renounce all involvement with terrorism and permit no
terrorist organizations to operate in Iraq. Iraq's regime
agreed. It broke this promise. In violation of Security
Council resolution 1373 (2001), Iraq continues to
shelter and support terrorist organizations that direct
violence against Iran, Israel, and Western
Governments. Iraqi dissidents abroad are targeted for
murder. In 1993, Iraq attempted to assassinate the Emir
of Kuwait and a former American President. Iraq's
Government openly praised the attacks of 11
September. Al-Qaida terrorists have escaped from
Afghanistan and are known to be in Iraq.
In 1991, the Iraqi regime agreed to destroy and to
stop developing all weapons of mass destruction and
long-range missiles, and to prove to the world it has
done so by complying with rigorous inspections. Iraq
has broken every aspect of this fundamental pledge.
From 1991 to 1995, the Iraqi regime said it had
no biological weapons. After a senior official in its
weapons program defected and exposed this lie, the
regime admitted to producing tens of thousands of
litres of anthrax and other deadly biological agents for
use in Scud missile warheads, aerial bombs and aircraft
spray tanks. United Nations inspectors believe Iraq has
produced two to four times the amount of biological
agents it declared and has failed to account for more
than three metric tons of material that could be used to
produce biological weapons. Right now, Iraq is
expanding and improving facilities that were used for
the production of biological weapons.
United Nations inspections also reveal that Iraq
likely maintains stockpiles of VX, mustard and other
chemical agents, and that the regime is rebuilding and
expanding facilities capable of producing chemical
weapons.
And in 1995, after four years of deception, Iraq
finally admitted that it had had a crash nuclear
weapons programme prior to the Gulf war. We know
now that, were it not for that war, the regime in Iraq
would likely have possessed a nuclear weapon no later
than 1993.
Today, Iraq continues to withhold important
information about its nuclear programme: weapons
design, procurement logs, experiment data, an
accounting of nuclear materials and documentation of
foreign assistance. Iraq employs capable nuclear
scientists and technicians. It retains physical
infrastructure needed to build a nuclear weapon. Iraq
has made several attempts to buy high-strength
aluminium tubes used to enrich uranium for a nuclear
weapon. Should Iraq acquire fissile material, it would
be able to build a nuclear weapon within a year. And
Iraq's State-controlled media have reported numerous
meetings between Saddam Hussein and his nuclear
scientists, leaving little doubt about his continued
appetite for these weapons.
Iraq also possesses a force of Scud-type missiles
with ranges beyond the 150 kilometres permitted by the
United Nations. Work at testing and production
facilities shows that Iraq is building more long-range
missiles that can inflict mass death throughout the
region.
In 1990, after Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, the
world imposed economic sanctions on Iraq. Those
sanctions were maintained after the war to compel the
regime's compliance with Security Council resolutions.
In time, Iraq was allowed to use oil revenues to buy
food. Saddam Hussein has subverted that programme,
working around the sanctions to buy missile
technology and military materials. He blames the
suffering of Iraq's people on the United Nations, even
as he uses his oil wealth to build lavish palaces for
himself and to buy arms for his country. By refusing to
comply with his own agreements, he bears full guilt for
the hunger and misery of innocent Iraqi citizens.
In 1991, Iraq promised United Nations inspectors
immediate and unrestricted access to verify Iraq's
commitment to rid itself of weapons of mass
8

destruction and long-range missiles. Iraq broke that
promise, spending seven years deceiving, evading and
harassing United Nations inspectors before ceasing
cooperation entirely. Just months after the 1991
ceasefire, the Security Council twice renewed its
demand that the Iraqi regime cooperate fully with
inspectors, condemning Iraq's serious violations of its
obligations. The Security Council again renewed that
demand in 1994 and twice more in 1996, deploring
Iraq's clear violations of its obligations. The Security
Council renewed its demand three more times in 1997,
citing flagrant violations, and three more times in
1998, calling Iraq's behaviour totally unacceptable.
And in 1999, the demand was renewed yet again.
As we meet today, it has been almost four years
since the last United Nations inspector set foot in
Iraq — four years for the Iraqi regime to plan and to
build and to test behind the cloak of secrecy. We know
that Saddam Hussein pursued weapons of mass murder
even when inspectors were in his country. Are we to
assume that he stopped when they left? The history, the
logic and the facts lead to one conclusion. Saddam
Hussein's regime is a grave and gathering danger. To
suggest otherwise is to hope against the evidence. To
assume this regime's good faith is to bet the lives of
millions and the peace of the world in a reckless
gamble. And that is a risk we must not take.
We have been more than patient. We have tried
sanctions. We have tried the carrot of oil-for-food and
the stick of coalition military strikes. But Saddam
Hussein has defied all those efforts and continues to
develop weapons of mass destruction. The first time we
may be completely certain he has nuclear weapons is
when, God forbid, he uses one. We owe it to all our
citizens to do everything in our power to prevent that
day from coming.
The conduct of the Iraqi regime is a threat to the
authority of the United Nations and a threat to peace.
Iraq has answered a decade of United Nations demands
with a decade of defiance. All the world now faces a
test and the United Nations a difficult and defining
moment. Are Security Council resolutions to be
honoured and enforced or cast aside without
consequence? Will the United Nations serve the
purpose of its founding, or will it be irrelevant?
The United States helped found the United
Nations. We want the United Nations to be effective
and respected and successful. We want the resolutions
of the world's most important multilateral body to be
enforced, and right now those resolutions are being
unilaterally subverted by the Iraqi regime. Our
partnership of nations can meet the test before us by
making clear what we now expect of the Iraqi regime.
If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will
immediately and unconditionally forswear, disclose
and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction,
long-range missiles and all related material.
If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will
immediately end all support for terrorism and act to
suppress it, as all States are required to do by Security
Council resolutions.
If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will cease
persecution of its civilian population, including Shia,
Sunnis, Kurds, Turkomans and others — again, as
required by Security Council resolutions.
If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will release or
account for all Gulf war personnel whose fate is still
unknown. It will return the remains of any who are
deceased, return stolen property, accept liability for
losses resulting from the invasion of Kuwait and fully
cooperate with international efforts to resolve those
issues, as required by Security Council resolutions.
If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will
immediately end all illicit trade outside the oil-for-food
programme. It will accept United Nations
administration of funds from that programme, to ensure
that the money is used fairly and promptly for the
benefit of the Iraqi people.
If all those steps are taken, it will signal a new
openness and accountability in Iraq. And it could open
the prospect of the United Nations helping to build a
Government that represents all Iraqis — a Government
based on respect for human rights, economic liberty
and internationally supervised elections.
The United States has no quarrel with the Iraqi
people. They have suffered too long in silent captivity.
Liberty for the Iraqi people is a great moral cause and a
great strategic goal. The people of Iraq deserve it. The
security of all nations requires it.
Free societies do not intimidate through cruelty
and conquest, and open societies do not threaten the
world with mass murder. The United States supports
political and economic liberty in a unified Iraq.
9

We can harbour no illusions, and that is important
today to remember. Saddam Hussein attacked Iran in
1980 and Kuwait in 1990. He has fired ballistic
missiles at Iran and Saudi Arabia, Bahrain and Israel.
His regime once ordered the killing of every person
between the ages of 15 and 70 in certain Kurdish
villages in northern Iraq. He has gassed many Iranians
and 40 Iraqi villages.
My nation will work with the Security Council to
meet our common challenge. If Iraq's regime defies us
again, the world must move deliberately and decisively
to hold Iraq to account. We will work with the Security
Council for the necessary resolutions. But the purposes
of the United States should not be doubted. The
Security Council resolutions will be enforced, and the
just demands of peace and security will be met, or
action will be unavoidable, and a regime that has lost
its legitimacy will also lose its power.
Events can turn in one of two ways.
If we fail to act in the face of danger, the people
of Iraq will continue to live in brutal submission. The
regime will have new power to bully, dominate and
conquer its neighbours, condemning the Middle East to
more years of bloodshed and fear. The region will
remain unstable, with little hope of freedom, and
isolated from the progress of our times. With every step
the Iraqi regime takes towards gaining and deploying
the most terrible weapons, our own options to confront
that regime will narrow. And if an emboldened regime
were to supply these weapons to terrorist allies, then
the attacks of 11 September would be a prelude to far
greater horrors.
If we meet our responsibilities, if we overcome
this danger, we can arrive at a very different future.
The people of Iraq can shake off their captivity. They
can one day join a democratic Afghanistan and a
democratic Palestine, inspiring reforms throughout the
Muslim world. These nations can show by their
example that honest government, respect for women,
and the great Islamic tradition of learning can triumph
in the Middle East and beyond. We will show that the
promise of the United Nations can be fulfilled in our
time.
Neither of these outcomes is certain. Both have
been set before us. We must choose between a world of
fear and a world of progress. We cannot stand by and
do nothing while dangers gather. We must stand up for
our security and for the permanent rights and hopes of
mankind. By heritage and by choice, the United States
of America will make that stand. Representatives to the
United Nations have the power to make that stand as
well.


Please allow
me to preface my indication by indicating to this
Assembly the regret of my Head of Government and of
my Foreign Minister, who could not join us on this
occasion due to pressing domestic electoral
commitments.
I would wish, on behalf of the Government and
people of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago, to
extend to Mr. Kavan our most sincere congratulations
on his election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. We are convinced
that, under his enlightened guidance, we will address
with determination and courage the issues that confront
the international community.
We would also wish to express at this time our
deep appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-
soo, President of the Assembly at its fifty-sixth session,
for the courageous leadership which he displayed in
bringing that session to a successful conclusion under
difficult and trying circumstances.
To the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, we
wish to place on record our appreciation for his
relentless commitment to the cause of peace, security
and development and for his tireless efforts in
achieving the goals of this world body.
The delegation of Trinidad and Tobago extends a
warm welcome to Switzerland on its becoming the
190th State Member of the United Nations and looks
forward in the not-too-distant future to the admission
of Timor-Leste into our United Nations family.
The maintenance of international peace and
security, together with the promotion of economic
progress and the achievement of social justice for
peoples all over the globe, are the pillars on which this
Organization was founded more than half a century
ago. These goals remain as valid today, and even more
so, as when our founding fathers created this
Organization.
As Governments, therefore, and as Member
States of the United Nations, it is incumbent upon us,
the international community as a whole, to reaffirm
constantly, by word and deed, our faith in and
commitment to the fundamental purposes and
principles of the United Nations, particularly in the
area of international peace and security. In this field,
the Security Council, charged as it is with primary
responsibility under the Charter for the maintenance of
international peace and security, must be allowed to
fully play its fundamental role, as it did in confronting
the challenge posed to the international community by
the terrorist acts committed in this very city on 11
September 2001.
Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to
working with the Counter-Terrorism Committee
established by Security Council resolution 1373 (2001)
in order to do our part to eradicate the scourge of
terrorism from our world.
On 31 August 1962, some 40 years ago, Trinidad
and Tobago became an independent State and
immediately thereafter joined this universal body. We
in Trinidad and Tobago recognize and appreciate the
role that the United Nations has played in promoting
fundamental human rights and freedoms, the
international rule of law, the peaceful settlement of
disputes, the right to self-determination and the
sovereign equality of States. Without proper
observance by all States, large and small, of these basic
principles, the world would most certainly have been a
more challenging place for us all.
It is in that context that Trinidad and Tobago
views with increasing concern the continued absence of
a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. It is clear
that peace will continue to elude that region unless all
parties concerned demonstrate unequivocally the will
to collaborate with a view to achieving the vision set
out in Security Council resolution 1397 (2002).
The maintenance of international peace and
security is a sine qua non for the achievement of our
economic and social development goals. It is against
this background that Trinidad and Tobago, as a small
State and as a developing country, supports all efforts
made through the international conferences and special
sessions held within the framework of the United
Nations to address the international social agenda in
pursuit of integral human development worldwide.
Some of those include the special session on HIV/
AIDS, the International Conference on Financing for
Development, the Second World Assembly on Ageing,
the special session on children and the just concluded
World Summit on Sustainable Development, all of
which have not only recognized the concerns of the
more vulnerable groups within our societies, but have
30

also identified various policy alternatives through
which those concerns can be addressed.
There can, in fact, be no meaningful development
if significant segments of our populations are allowed
to remain in a state of increasing vulnerability. As a
result, Trinidad and Tobago participated fully in the
work of the Second World Assembly on Ageing, the
special session on children and the special session on
HIV/AIDS.
It is our hope that the adoption of the Political
Declaration and the Madrid International Plan of
Action on Ageing, as well as the Declaration and Plan
of Action emerging from this year's special session on
children, will serve as the basis for the development of
policies at the national level to deal with the problems
faced by these two vulnerable groups in our societies.
For its part, the Government of Trinidad and Tobago
has recently completed a draft national policy on
ageing that will address the principal concerns of our
ageing population.
The HIV/AIDS pandemic continues to hamper the
economic and social development of our Caribbean
region, affecting as it does the most economically
active and productive segments of our societies. My
Government has sought to incorporate this issue as a
matter of priority into its national strategic planning
process. It is virtually impossible, however, for any one
country unilaterally to deal effectively with this public
health issue. For that reason, Trinidad and Tobago is
committed to participating fully in all relevant regional
and international initiatives.
In that regard, member States of the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM) were among the first to
translate the global commitments undertaken at the
special session on HIV/AIDS into regional targets
when, in 2001, our Governments adopted the Nassau
Declaration on Health, which identified priorities for
action and partnership in addressing this global health
issue. However, assistance is urgently needed to boost
these national and regional initiatives. We consider
timely the launching of the Global Fund to Fight HIV/
AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. We hope that through
this Fund, Governments will be further empowered in
their efforts to implement measures aimed at the
eventual eradication of these diseases.
As a country which falls within the category of
small island developing States, Trinidad and Tobago
feels obliged to make reference to the tendency in the
international community to underestimate the
phenomenon of vulnerability, both as a condition of
size and stage of development. Small island developing
economies are by definition vulnerable, and in a global
village, where negative occurrences in one sphere can
have a ripple effect in others, the implications for us all
are as real as they are apparent. The lack of inherent
capacity, technology and technical know-how limits the
adaptive capacity of small island developing States to
cope with the challenges that they face, including
global environmental problems such as climate change,
biodiversity and land degradation.
As we engage in efforts at the international level
to achieve environmentally sound economic
development, Trinidad and Tobago remains cautious in
the light of the dismal record regarding the
implementation of commitments made at the Rio
Summit, 10 years ago. That Summit concluded with the
signing of two conventions, one on climate change and
the other on biodiversity, together with the adoption of
Agenda 21.
It continues to concern us that emissions of
greenhouse gases have increased worldwide and that
climate change is occurring at a faster rate than
previously estimated, especially since small island
developing States are disproportionately vulnerable to
the impact of climate change, while being responsible
for a minuscule proportion of such emissions. Trinidad
and Tobago therefore urges that decisive action be
taken to ensure that the Kyoto Protocol comes into
force as early as possible, as that is the only existing
international instrument that addresses these problems.
We therefore welcome the political commitment given
by the leaders of some key industrialized countries to
ratify this Protocol in the near future.
It would seem, however, that progress under
Agenda 21 has been limited primarily by lack of
funding and capacity, which has resulted in the
widening of the gap between the attainment of
sustainable development and the alleviation of poverty.
Trinidad and Tobago is therefore pleased that the
recently concluded World Summit on Sustainable
Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa,
agreed to specific targets in areas such as water and
sanitation, health, biodiversity loss, restoration of
depleted fish stocks and chemicals.
The fact that the Johannesburg Summit achieved
a greater synthesis and integration of the three pillars
31

of sustainable development, namely, the social,
economic and environmental, is also a welcome
development. The enormous challenges that these
issues collectively pose provide a profound insight into
the magnitude of the task faced by developing
countries in their quest for sustainable development.
The real test of whether Johannesburg was a success
will, however, come in the months and years ahead as
we seek to implement the commitments made by
Member States.
We must build on the momentum of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development and ensure that
our future course of action guarantees the outcomes
envisaged in the Plan of Implementation and the
Political Declaration emanating from that Summit. It is
in this respect that Trinidad and Tobago would
therefore expect that a priority of this Assembly would
be a decision to convene an international conference in
2004 to review the implementation of the Barbados
Plan of Action for the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States, and more so in view of
the growing recognition by the international
community of the special and vulnerable situation of
these countries.
Additionally, the Assembly may wish to note that
some of these smaller economies continue to be faced
by circumstances such as onerous debt-servicing
schedules, lack of access to new finance and obstacles
in penetrating non-traditional markets, which negate all
their efforts aimed at economic advancement.
It is for this reason that Trinidad and Tobago
looks forward to the early implementation of the
enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt
Initiative and other United Nations initiatives aimed at
alleviating the economic burdens faced by many low-
and middle-income countries. These countries are
being asked to service debts and at the same time to
fulfil their commitments to the Millennium
development agenda. In this regard, we welcome the
recent appointment by the Secretary-General of a High
Representative for the Least Developed Countries,
Landlocked Developing Countries and Small Island
Developing States. Trinidad and Tobago looks forward
to working with the High Representative to ensure the
effective discharge of his mandate, particularly as it
relates to small island developing States.
Another noble attempt conceptualized within the
United Nations framework was the International
Conference on Financing for Development, held in
Monterrey earlier this year. Trinidad and Tobago is
heartened by the outcome of that Conference that
defined the necessary actions for addressing some of
the more pressing problems faced by developing
countries in the areas of mobilizing domestic and
international resources for development, international
trade, financial and technical cooperation for
development and external debt. My delegation
therefore urges this Assembly to endorse the Monterrey
Consensus as adopted by that Conference.
At the regional level, Trinidad and Tobago is
engaged in joint efforts with its Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) partners to assume responsibility for the
management of our developing economies. At a
Special CARICOM Summit held last month,
CARICOM leaders mandated that a regional
stabilization fund should be created within the
framework of a long-term economic transformation
programme. The purpose of the fund will be to provide
regional economies with the necessary financial
resources to respond to current and long-term
economic difficulties. This regional financial
cooperation programme is intended to augment
budgetary resources available to member States of the
Community from both domestic sources and
multilateral institutions.
Trinidad and Tobago remains committed to the
international rule of law and to justice for all. Our role
in the reintroduction into the international agenda of
the idea of the creation of a permanent International
Criminal Court in 1989 is well known. And, since that
time, Trinidad and Tobago has not ceased to promote
support for that Court, both regionally and
internationally. It continues to be the hope of my
Government that at the Review Conference of 2009,
the crimes of drug-trafficking and terrorism will also
be included within the jurisdiction of the Court.
It is noteworthy that many States regard the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court as the
single most important international instrument since
the adoption of the United Nations Charter. The
successful conclusion of the first meeting of the
Assembly of States Parties to the Statute last week was
a positive step towards the operational phase of the
Court, which now stands as a permanent warning to
would-be perpetrators of the crimes within its
jurisdiction that impunity will no longer be tolerated by
the international community and that justice will be
32

assured to their victims. In the election of judges to
that Court, Trinidad and Tobago would, as a small
State, consider it an honour to have one of its nationals
elected in order to continue its contribution to the cause
of international criminal justice.
But justice for all victims of the most heinous
crimes of genocide, war crimes and crimes against
humanity will only be assured when this most recently
created International Criminal Tribunal gains the
widest possible acceptance. We therefore encourage
those States that have not yet done so to ratify or
accede to the Statute.
In order to ensure that the Court will truly
achieve the goals for which it was established, the
States Parties must stand together in their efforts to
preserve the integrity of the Statute to which they have
committed themselves and must, with one accord,
resist any attempts to undermine the effectiveness and
independence of the Court.
In conclusion, the issues which I have raised in
this forum today point to the need for the globalization
of genuine commitment to the resolution of the
problems that currently confront our international
community. What is required therefore is a greater
sense of shared commitment to the fundamental
purposes and principles of the United Nations in the
face of new and ominous threats to global peace and
security; to the vision of a world free from poverty,
hunger and disease; and to an international
organization fully charged by its Member States with
the political will to tackle frontally all the challenges
that pose threats to the very survival of mankind.
Trinidad and Tobago, forty years after joining the
United Nations, renews before the Assembly its firm
commitment to abide fully by the purposes and
principles of the United Nations Charter and to make
its contribution to the economic and social progress of
peoples the world over.


Let me begin by stating that
our thoughts and prayers are with the people of the
United States as they commemorate the first
anniversary of the 11 September 2001 terror attacks in
New York and Washington. The events of that day
compel us to unite and adopt effective measures to
eradicate the scourge of terrorism.
I take this opportunity to reaffirm Botswana's
strong support for the work of the Security Council
Counter-Terrorism Committee established to monitor
the effective implementation of Security Council
resolution 1373 (2001). The international community
must maintain its unity and remain vigilant so as to
ensure that such acts of terror never happen again.
It is my pleasure to extend to you, Sir, and to
your country, Chad, the warm congratulations of
Botswana on your election to a vice-presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session, and to
wish you every success. I assure you of the full
cooperation of my delegation.
If we had started this meeting on time, I would
not have minded at all. I have greater respect for time
than for hordes of latecomers. I am also grateful for the
fact that after other heads of State or Government left
New York, nobody removed the chairs in the Assembly
Hall.
I wish to pay tribute to Mr. Han Seung-Soo of the
Republic of Korea, President of the General Assembly
at the fifty-seventh session, for the skilful manner in
which he conducted the work of that session.
Let me also place on record that we appreciate
the good work which our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, is doing to reform the United Nations funds and
programmes. The reform process is contributing to the
strengthening of the capacity of those special
institutions to deliver assistance to Member States in a
more coherent and efficient manner.
I join others in congratulating and welcoming
into the United Nations family Switzerland, a new
Member State, and East Timor, which is soon to
become one.
2

I am delighted that Switzerland has now taken its
rightful place in this world body. The United Nations
has indeed been strengthened, and its universal
character has undoubtedly been enhanced.
In East Timor the United Nations demonstrated
its commitment to the principles and purposes of the
Charter by playing a pivotal and decisive role in
ensuring that the people of East Timor can, at long
last, exercise their right to national self-determination.
We live in a world of diverse cultures and
traditions, yet we are united by our common humanity.
There is no alternative to coming together to address
the many dangers that threaten humanity. No one
country can hope to successfully confront, on its own,
those global challenges  whether underdevelopment,
poverty, insecurity or threats to peace. They are
challenges that require global solutions and the
participation of all global stakeholders to confront
them. It is for those reasons that the United Nations
remains an important unifying institution for all of
humanity. It is the only institution that can play the
important role of fostering partnership, cooperation and
multilateralism.
States  especially those, like ours, that our
small  have high expectations of what multilateral
cooperation can do for them, and how it can change for
the better the lives and destiny of the peoples of the
United Nations.
In this regard, we cannot fail to speak about the
varied and complex challenges developing countries
continue to face, particularly in the continent of Africa.
Despite consistent efforts in the past to assist Africa,
there are still widening disparities in development
between the continent and the rest of the world. Africa
continues to experience high levels of poverty, which is
aggravated by, among other things, the unfavourable
global economic environment and conflicts. These
challenges are further compounded by the HIV/AIDS
pandemic.
Let me hasten to state that to acknowledge the
existence of problems does not mean that the future is
entirely bleak. There are positive developments that
give reason for hope for the realization of the
aspirations of our people. Africa has committed itself
to creating an environment conducive to economic
growth and development. We have taken concrete steps
to ensure that Africa is united and better prepared to
face up to its problems.
We have taken the first step in a broad and
comprehensive process to bring our countries together
through the establishment of the African Union. The
New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD),
which was considered by this Assembly this week, is
one of the major initiatives of the African Union.
Botswana is convinced that NEPAD provides a sound
basis for building real partnerships within the
continent, as well as with the rest of the international
community.
It is important to reiterate Africa's deep
appreciation of the support and assistance that we have
received and continue to receive from the international
community. We particularly welcome the resolution
that has just been adopted by the General Assembly
mandating the United Nations funds and programmes
to support the implementation of NEPAD. Botswana is
also happy with the decision of the G8 countries to join
hands with us to ensure the success of this initiative.
We stand ready to make our contribution so that the
noble objectives of NEPAD can be attained.
Central to the achievement of Africa's
development objectives is a commitment by the
international community to implement the decisions of
the United Nations world conferences. We need to
work assiduously to implement the Monterrey
Consensus, which identifies sources that can be used to
finance the development goals that we have set for
ourselves. Potential sources include the mobilization of
domestic resources; the mobilization of external
resources, including foreign direct investment;
increased financial and technical cooperation; and the
resolution of the debt crisis. The Monterrey Consensus
also recognizes trade as an engine of growth and
development. The international community therefore
has a responsibility to ensure that developing countries
can participate in world trade. In this regard, we view
partnership agreements, such as the Cotonou
Agreement and the African Growth and Opportunity
Act, as important steps towards fulfilling some of the
objectives of the Monterrey Consensus.
HIV/AIDS remains, undoubtedly, the most
serious threat to the economic and social progress of
the world. Its devastating impact on the African
continent is well documented. There is no doubt that no
one country has the capacity to deal with the problems
associated with this epidemic on its own. If we are to
conquer it, we will need a strategy that combines
efforts on a broad front. Those who think that they are
3

still free from the epidemic and that it is an African
problem had better wake up, because next time it will
be on their own doorstep.
Botswana is immensely grateful for the support it
has received from the United Nations and other
cooperating partners in its efforts to fight the epidemic.
I also wish to commend the Secretary-General for his
tireless efforts in mobilizing the international
community to support our efforts. I am sure that, with
the help of the international community, we in Africa
will still be standing when the dust settles.
Botswana is pleased to note the commendable
efforts that the United Nations continues to make in the
maintenance of peace and security in various parts of
the world. With the continued assistance of the United
Nations and the rest of the international community, we
have reason to be optimistic and hope that the
continent of Africa will soon find peace.
We have closely followed the Organization's
initiative in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
particularly in the areas of the disarmament,
demobilization, repatriation, resettlement and
reintegration of the former combatants into civil
society. We welcome the ongoing consultations
between the various parties to the conflict. We are
anxious, however, to see full-fledged negotiations that
can lead to a lasting political settlement. The people of
the Democratic Republic of the Congo yearn for peace
and national reconciliation, as well as the social and
economic development of their country.
We therefore call upon all parties to demonstrate
greater determination and a sense of urgency in the
search for a peaceful resolution of the conflict in that
country. Peace in the Democratic Republic of the
Congo is possible and necessary, but in the final
analysis, it depends on the political will of the
signatories to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement.
I wish to salute the efforts and indomitable spirit
of my immediate predecessor, Sir Ketumile Masire. He
has been tireless and unwavering in his mission of
facilitating the inter-Congolese dialogue, convincing
the people of that country that peace can come only if
they are willing to talk to each other. Nobody will
come from heaven or hell to create peace for them. I
also wish to place on record Botswana's appreciation
of the efforts and determination of President Mbeki of
South Africa. He has invested substantial time, energy
and resources to find solutions to the conflict in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Botswana welcomes and commends the historic
step taken by the Government of Angola and UNITA in
signing the Memorandum of Understanding of 4 April
2002 as an addendum to the Lusaka Protocol. The
people of Angola have opted for peace. They expect
the international community to help them consolidate
this peace. Let us not fail them. I ask the ambassadors
and foreign ministers who happen to be present here to
take the message to my fellow heads of State in Africa
that we should not let down the people of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and, above all, the
people of Angola. They have suffered enough.
Conflicts and instability in other parts of the
world, such as the Middle East and Afghanistan, are of
serious concern to us. We look to the international
community, within the framework of the United
Nations, to play a greater role in the peaceful
resolution of those conflicts.
Let me conclude by reiterating Botswana's
continued support for the United Nations and express
my delegation's appreciation to the Secretary-General,
whose visionary leadership has continued to guide our
Organization.


Mr.
President, on behalf of the delegation of the Islamic
Republic of Mauritania, I would like to congratulate
you on your election to the Presidency of the fifty-
seventh session of the General Assembly. We are
confident that your experience and wisdom, already
well-proven, will ensure the success of this session. I
would also like to thank your predecessor, His
Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his able guidance
of the work of the last session. Also, I would like to
congratulate the Swiss Confederation and the
Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on their
admission to membership in the United Nations.
I would also like to congratulate most warmly our
United Nations Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, and the
United Nations staff for their excellent work in
promoting the noble goals of this Organization.
We note with satisfaction the significant activities
and the commendable international conferences held
this past year, primarily the United Nations Conference
on HIV/AIDS in New York, the Monterrey Conference
on Financing for Development and the World Summit
on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
Such international conferences have placed the
world before its collective responsibilities in dealing
with core issues that require global solutions. What is
at stake is the equilibrium and future of the world. This
session is being held one year after the criminal attacks
against New York and Washington. I would like to
confirm once again that Mauritania totally condemns
those terrorist acts. We condemn terrorism in all its
forms. Mauritania will be actively involved in regional
and international initiatives to combat that pernicious
phenomenon. We reconfirm our full support for the
relevant Security Council resolutions and are resolved
to implement them, specifically resolution 1373 (2001)
of 28 September 2001.
The tragic events highlighted a new reality.
Terrorism, instead of being a marginal phenomenon,
has become a core issue ignoring borders and which
can only be combated through a global strategy.
Nobody should believe that fighting terrorism is a clash
between two civilizations or cultures. Rather, we must
act together to show that the elimination of terrorism is
a new step taken by the human race towards further
developing its comprehensive, all-inclusive civilization
and attaining its aspirations for a safe and better future.
In order to achieve peace and security, the United
Nations must play an ever-larger part to strengthen
international law. We noted the sustained efforts and
the repeated calls for peace in the Middle East. We
believe the Arab countries' initiative adopted at the
Beirut Summit offers the ideal framework for
comprehensive and lasting peace that will ensure
progress and prosperity for all peoples in the region.
We noted with great interest the vision of the President
of the United States of America, Mr. George Bush, who
spoke of the need for the coexistence of two
independent States, Palestine and Israel, and efforts by
the Quartet and the European Union with a view to the
establishment of an independent Palestinian State with
Al-Quds al-Sharif as its capital. This play is pursuant
to the terms of reference of Madrid and the land-for-
peace principle and is also in accordance with Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425
(1978. We reiterate the need for an immediate Israeli
withdrawal from all territories of the Palestinian
Authority, an end to the suffering of the Palestinian
people and the immediate resumption of peace
negotiations. This is the only way to have peace and
security in the Middle East.
We hope to see a return to peace, stability and
harmony in the Gulf region. We oppose the use of force
against Iraq and affirm our support for a peaceful
25

solution to settle the crisis in accordance with
international law.
We are concerned that there should be respect for
the independence and territorial integrity of Kuwait,
and respect for the independence and territorial
integrity of Iraq. Once again we call for the lifting of
the embargo against the Iraqi people, which has now
been in place for more than 12 years.
With regard to Western Sahara, we support the
efforts by the Secretary-General and his Personal
Envoy, James Baker, to find a definitive solution to
insure stability in the region, one that would be
accepted by all of the parties.
On developments pursuant to the Lockerbie
crisis, we welcome the significant steps taken by the
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to find a diplomatic solution
to the problem. We think it is now up to the Security
Council to take the necessary steps to lift the embargo
imposed on Libya.
Turning to our own continent, Africa, we
welcome the birth of the African Union, which will be
a framework for enabling the African peoples to
achieve their aspirations for progress and development.
We also support the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), which seeks to strengthen
regional cooperation to achieve economic integration,
and we welcome the support given to this initiative by
our development partners.
Mauritania reiterates its support for the People's
Republic of China, the sole legitimate representative of
the Chinese people, pursuant to General Assembly
resolution 2758 (XXVI) of 1971. Mauritania welcomes
the efforts made by the Government of the People's
Republic of China for the peaceful reunification of that
country.
We have now seen it proven that violence and
extremism result from poverty and despair. The
international community must therefore make more
efforts in the areas of human solidarity and social
progress everywhere in the world. We call for the
necessary assistance to be provided to the countries of
the South and for the opening of the markets of the
developed countries to the products of developing
countries.  Investment opportunities in developing
countries should be increased.
Despite the huge challenges and a difficult
economic international situation, the Islamic Republic
of Mauritania has taken major steps towards
development and construction, as noted by our
President at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development in Johannesburg. We have established
solid foundations for sustainable development and have
developed a clear-cut strategy to combat poverty.
We have taken steps towards comprehensive
education, health care and other social services for our
people such as drinking water, electricity and
communications. Illiteracy and ignorance are major
obstacles to development. We have launched broad
literacy and education campaigns for our citizens. We
have been able to do this because of our pluralist
democratic system, which insures freedoms and human
rights in an atmosphere of security and stability.
The United Nations Charter seeks common goals
of freedom and solidarity for all people. New
developments in the international arena in the last few
years require our Organization, including the Security
Council, to adapt to changes. Today, more than ever
before, we must comply with the commitments we
made to achieve a new world order based on justice
and rights law, to ensure peace, security and dignity for
all.


The
world has changed since the Assembly last met. The
twenty-first century began on 11 September 2001, and
our great collective challenge is to ensure the primacy
of the rule of law in the sphere of international
relations. The natural forum for that legal culture and
legitimacy is the United Nations.
In that context and with that ambition,
participating in the great objectives of peace, the rule
of law and the preservation of the international
order  to which the Secretary-General referred
during the current session  it is an honour for me to
address the Assembly on behalf of Spain, also a
candidate for a non-permanent seat on the Security
Council. Should we be elected, we are determined to
devote all the effort and resources necessary to fulfil
that great responsibility.
A year ago, the entire world became aware of the
horror of terrorism that threatens us all. We asked
ourselves then what course the international
community should take and what role the United
Nations should play in shaping international relations
in the twenty-first century. Uncertainty remains, but it
is now clear that interdependence among countries and
regions will be the centre of gravity of a newborn
international civil society. States must cooperate with
one another to make use of opportunities and to fight
against threats, because neither opportunities nor
threats have a purely local character.
Thus, it is time for the rule of law, and the United
Nations, as the seat of the political and normative
legitimacy of international society, is called to be the
centre of gravity of this new framework. The United
Nations is the organization that can and should
impose  including through the use of force, if it is
unavoidable  the decisions taken collectively by the
community of States.
The occasions on which the United Nations has
been able to respond to the demands of the
international community have also been successes for
the Member States. In the same way, the cases in which
the United Nations has been unable to find solutions to
existing problems have also been our responsibility. All
of us make up the United Nations; its failures are our
failures, as its successes are our successes.
Terrorism is a clear example of this and of the
need to react together resolutely. Each terrorist attack is
an attack against us all, and we must all react.
Terrorists do not respect borders; borders should
therefore not constitute an obstacle to the collective
fight against this scourge. Are there any today who still
think that this problem does not, or will not, affect
them?
The United Nations is aware of the gravity of the
threat that this scourge poses to the principles that
underpin the Charter and that are the foundation of our
civilization. Security Council resolution 1373 (2001)
has put international cooperation against terrorism on a
substantially different level. That resolution charts the
course for the cooperation that is essential for the
international community to be able to deal with those
who attack our most essential values: life, freedom and
democracy.
The growing importance of law has a very direct
bearing upon the intense activity of the Organization in
favour of human rights. In this context, allow me to
focus on a heinous and silent violation of human rights:
domestic violence. This scourge primarily affects
women, children and older persons  the most
vulnerable sectors of society in all our cultures,
regardless of level of development or social well-being.
How can we explain, shamefully ignore and, thus, in
indirectly accept, that violence against women should
today be the cause of more death and disability than
cancer, traffic accidents or even war? Can we tolerate
this situation? As a woman and as a human being, I say
that the answer is an unambiguous no.
In the same vein, the International Criminal Court
is an essential legal instrument to ensure that the most
serious violations of human rights do not go
unpunished. With its subsidiary jurisdiction, the Court
represents the most significant advance in the
16

structuring of the international community since the
San Francisco Charter.
In the framework of this reinvigoration of law,
the Organization must pay special attention to
challenges stemming from new technologies, in
particular those associated with biotechnology. We do
not want uncontrolled science with unclear objectives
to determine the future shape of our societies, bringing
to life the terrifying allegory of Aldous Huxley's Brave
New World. Spain, which along with other countries of
the European Union has ratified the Oviedo
Convention on Human Rights and Biomedicine, a
protocol to which bans cloning for research purposes,
recalls the fact that article 11 of the Universal
Declaration on The Human Genome and Human
Rights, approved by the United Nations Educational,
Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) in
1997 and unanimously endorsed by the General
Assembly in 1998, already bans human cloning for
reproductive purposes. Therefore, it is necessary to go
beyond that prohibition in a new convention.
In spite of these encouraging results,
underdevelopment, poverty, the existence of weapons
of mass destruction and regional crises  in particular
the crisis in the Middle East  constitute some of the
outstanding tasks before us. Allow me briefly to review
these issues in order, in the words of Pablo Neruda,
not to fill our hearts with salt, but to walk in
knowledge.'
In the difficult struggle for development, we
should all invest both our efforts and our hopes. In that
regard, I would like to reiterate what was said
yesterday with regard to the Monterrey and the
Johannesburg summits and the New Partnership for
Africa's Development (NEPAD), for poverty is fought
by recognizing human rights and freedoms and by
promoting the rule of law.
In mentioning development, I wish to stress once
again the importance of women in the world. Their
lagging behind, and their explicit or implicit secondary
status  their role in general  are very often patently
unfair. This situation is the source of the shortcomings
of many societies. Let us recall that the advancement of
women is not only an obvious right, it also likely
represents the most effective and promising strategy to
cope with the persistent nightmare of
underdevelopment.
In any case, poverty must be eradicated wherever
it exists, both in the poorest countries as well as in
middle-income countries, which are joining the global
economy while undergoing fragile political and
economic processes. Middle-income countries
frequently have large pockets of poverty and are
especially vulnerable to global economic swings. Latin
America is a good example of a continent where in the
last decade an important and successful effort has been
made to put in place democratic regimes, foster
economic growth and open up to the world economy. It
is crucial to ensure continued international support
when this process is threatened by temporary
difficulties.
Disarmament no doubt poses another challenge
for all of us, notwithstanding the progress made in the
areas of anti-personnel mines, small arms and chemical
weapons. In this context, Spain is following with
understandable concern the development of events
regarding Iraq. For the sake of international security
and stability and for the welfare of the Iraqi people, we
hope that the announced immediate and unconditional
return of arms inspectors in accordance with Security
Council resolutions 687 (1991) and 1284 (1999) will
become a reality. The Iraqi regime is currently
flagrantly violating those resolutions. Arms inspections
must be accompanied by Iraqi guarantees to the
international community that it will destroy its
weapons of mass destruction. That is the only possible
path towards lifting the sanctions and normalizing
Iraq's relations with the international community. If
necessary, the international community must assume its
responsibilities and ensure compliance with the
resolutions adopted by the body that embodies
international legitimacy.
The citizens of our States fail to understand why
some regional crisis continue indefinitely, causing
despair among the peoples who suffer from them and
generating a sense of injustice that fuels hatred and
bitterness. Encouraging progress has undoubtedly been
made, especially in Africa, and we spoke of that
progress yesterday. But the Middle East crisis
continues to be in all our minds.
Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338
(1973), and 1397 (2002), the principles of the Madrid
Conference and the agreements between the parties
have established a framework for peace between
Israelis and Palestinians. How many Palestinians and
Israelis will still have to die and how many
17

international resolutions will we need before Palestine
and Israel can live together as States in peace and
mutual respect? It is necessary to complete the peace
process; that is the goal of the negotiating efforts of the
Quartet, which Spain supports.
We must counter these crises with our ability to
carry out dialogue and negotiation. Spain has promoted
integration mechanisms, particularly in the
Mediterranean region through the Barcelona process.
In that regard, Spain has always given special attention
to its contacts with the Arab world, with which it
maintains special relationships. In that context, I would
like to make a brief reference to our relations with the
Maghreb.
Spain is among the Maghreb's foremost
commercial partners, in addition to being one of the
main investor countries there. Hundreds of thousands
of citizens from Maghreb countries live in Spain,
making up Spain's largest resident foreign community
and contributing to the creation of wealth through their
work and dynamism. Spain has therefore for many
years made the Maghreb the main focus of its
international cooperation policy.
All of this means that maintaining strong and
fruitful relations with Morocco is a strategic priority of
Spanish foreign policy. The clearest expression of that
priority is the treaty of friendship, cooperation and
good-neighbourliness that exists between our countries.
The Government of Spain wishes to promote relations
in all areas and once again to place those relations on
the level they deserve, given the proximity of our two
peoples and the importance of our common interests. I
am confident that my Moroccan colleague's next visit
to Madrid will be a good opportunity to make progress
along that path.
In any case, I wish to clearly emphasize here
today that the autonomous communities of Ceuta and
Melilla are an integral part of Spain, on an equal
footing with the rest of Spain's autonomous
communities. They are therefore an integral part of the
European Union. Their citizens are represented in the
Spanish and European Parliaments, with the same
standing and in the same manner as the rest of our
citizens.
The tasks before the Organization require that its
mechanisms function adequately. Spain looks forward
to the Secretary-General's forthcoming report on the
reform of the Organization. We support in-depth
reform of the Security Council that addresses all
aspects of the matter.
Before ending my statement, I cannot fail to
mention the question of Gibraltar and the recurrent
mandates of the General Assembly urging Spain and
the United Kingdom to continue their bilateral
negotiations to find a permanent solution to this
dispute. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that
during the past year the Governments of both countries
have deployed intense negotiating efforts in this regard,
and that we have made substantial progress. We intend
to continue these negotiations in a constructive spirit so
that as soon as possible we may reach a satisfactory
and comprehensive agreement that takes into account
the legitimate interests of the residents of the colony as
well as the traditional United Nations doctrine with
regard to Gibraltar, a doctrine confirmed year after year
by the resolutions of both the General Assembly and
the Special Committee of 24.
Let us be clear: now, the beginning of the
twenty-first century, is the time to resolve this
question, in accordance with the relevant resolutions
calling for the implementation of the principle of
territorial integrity. For all of those reasons, we
condemn attempts to interfere with the natural
development of such negotiations, actions that openly
and flagrantly violate that doctrine.
I cannot conclude without giving a very warm
welcome, and offering my country's cooperation, to
Switzerland, as well as to the Democratic Republic of
Timor-Leste, which will soon become a Member of the
United Nations.
Our meetings within this building give rise to
many plans, ideas and, of course, words. But they also
give rise to action. The action of the United Nations, as
well as that of each of its Member States, must not be
confined within these walls; millions of people depend
on our ability to implement all that has been discussed
here in order to enjoy a better life or simply to protect
the life they have. Spain is fully aware of this
responsibility and we are ready to work alongside other
Members of the Organization so that words may be
transformed into deeds, and deeds transformed into
results.


On behalf
of the President of the Republic of Haiti, His
Excellency Mr. Jean-Bertrand Aristide, I should first of
all like to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to
the presidency of the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. He can be assured of the Haitian
delegation's full support in the exercise of his duties. I
should also like to congratulate his predecessor, His
Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, on the talent he
demonstrated in conducting the work of the fifty-sixth
session.
I should also like to pay tribute to Mr. Kofi
Annan, Secretary-General of the Organization, for his
ceaseless efforts to maintain international peace and
security.
In addition, I wish to welcome the Swiss
Confederation and East Timor to the Organization as
States Members. Undoubtedly, their presence in this
institution will contribute significantly to the pursuit of
the noble objectives of the United Nations.
The entire world has just commemorated the first
anniversary of the tragedy of 11 September 2001. The
Government and the people of Haiti again express their
sympathy to the people and the Government of the
United States. We continue to share the distress of all
the families of the victims of that barbarity, which
touched all races, cultures and nations of the world. It
is humanity that has been struck, and humanity will
always remember that sad event.
The Government of Haiti reaffirms its
condemnation of terrorism, one of the most flagrant
forms of human rights violations. Terrorism represents
a grave danger, and we must unite all our efforts to
combat it in all its forms and manifestations. In that
connection, my Government reaffirms its commitment
to supporting the relevant resolutions of the
Organization as an expression of its respect for the
precepts of international law.
Reform of the Security Council, which has been
discussed for some time, is, more than ever before, of
the highest importance. Haiti continues to call for more
25

openness in its operations and for greater participation
in its decision-making.
The Charter of the United Nations, ratified by all
States Members, evokes the sacred principles of
maintaining international peace and security as well as
the right of peoples to determine their own future with
the leaders they choose.
In that connection, the Government of Haiti
expresses its grave concern at the escalating violence in
the Middle East, and particularly the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The Haitian Government supports the creation
of a Palestinian State, while recognizing Israel's right
to exist within safe and internationally recognized
borders. We call on the parties to settle their
differences peacefully through dialogue and diplomatic
means.
In the same spirit, we appreciate the negotiations
initiated between the two Republics of Korea, and we
are in favour of a rapprochement between the
populations on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Despite Iraq's acceptance of the unconditional
return of the inspectors, the Haitian Government is
concerned at developments in the Iraqi situation. In
order to deal effectively with this problem, the relevant
United Nations resolutions must be applied.
Regionalization is an important tool to facilitate
partnerships among States as they strive to ensure the
well-being of their people. In that context, my country
is gratified by its full integration within the Caribbean
Community (CARICOM), where it will contribute to
the socio-economic development of the region.
Humanity today is facing serious challenges,
including poverty, the AIDS pandemic, drug abuse,
hunger and illiteracy. The population of the least
developed countries is about 614 million, one third of
whom have to survive on less than $1 per day.
Characterized by weak institutions and an inadequate
infrastructure, those countries are affected by many
different problems. The sub-human conditions under
which many of their people live are a source of social
tension. Poverty increases in proportion as capital
decreases.
We returned from the Doha, Monterrey and
Johannesburg summits with renewed hope.
Expectations are great, in keeping with the promises
made. It is not enough, however, to hope for
sustainable development. We must have the will to
implement measures to attain it and respect the
commitments undertaken. Leaders must take action to
ensure sustainable development, which is in the best
interests of our peoples.
Education and training can roll back poverty, free
people from ignorance and put them on track to social
and economic progress. On the basis of that conviction,
the President of Haiti, Mr. Jean Bertrand Aristide,
officially launched, on 7 September 2001, a national
literacy campaign, to which he attributes overriding
importance. The goal of this large-scale and ambitious
initiative is to help 3 million people learn to read
before 1 January 2004, when we will celebrate the
bicentennial of our independence. The head of State is
counting on the active participation of our literate
citizens in the work of national construction.
Glaring injustices are built into our country's
traditional socio-economic system. These injustices are
responsible for wide disparities between the various
social sectors — a situation that contributes in large
part to the anachronistic nature of the general
structures of our country, which is the only least
developed country in the Americas.
Against that background, the Government has
been doing its utmost to fight the financial embargo,
which the international community imposed in
response to the controversy of the elections of 1 May
2000. Unfortunately, it is the most vulnerable sectors of
society that are penalized by those unjustified
sanctions.
The recent adoption by the Permanent Council of
the Organization of American States (OAS) of
resolution 822 in support of strengthening the
democratic process in Haiti has opened up encouraging
prospects for our country in beginning to move towards
normalization.
My Government is determined to stay the course
in ensuring that elections remain a crucial element of
that advance. We have great expectations of the
international community's support in this regard. In
this context, we are hoping for assistance, and for
election observers in particular. At the same time, in
the spirit of resolution 822, we appeal once again as a
matter of urgency for an end to the financial embargo.
The adoption of OAS resolution 822, which
demonstrates the commitment to Haiti of a number of
OAS member countries, constitutes a step in the right
26

direction. We would like to draw attention to that
expression of fraternal solidarity.
We are also grateful to the States members of
OAS whose joint efforts made possible the adoption of
that consensus resolution, in particular the Federal
Republic of Brazil, which currently coordinates the
Latin American Integration Association and OAS
groups, and the Central American countries. We would
like to make special mention of our neighbour, the
Dominican Republic, which has continued to reaffirm
its solidarity with Haiti during this difficult period —
solidarity that is manifested in different ways wherever
the Haitian cause is discussed and needs to be
defended. Above all, we would like to thank our sister
nations in CARICOM, whose delegations to the OAS
co-sponsored, with Haiti, the draft resolution, thereby
maintaining the spirit of fraternal generosity, as is their
custom.
During the crisis, a number of countries Members
of the United Nations, in particular Japan and Cuba,
continued to cooperate with Haiti. Despite the embargo
and the other difficulties that it has to deal with, Cuba
is enthusiastically pursuing a programme of
cooperation with Haiti, in particular in the areas of
health and agriculture. The Haitian people owe a debt
of gratitude to all of those countries for their
expressions of solidarity in our quest for dignity and
collective affirmation.
OAS resolution 822 provides the entire nation
with an opportunity; it holds out the potential for
progress for all the Haitian people. In the context of the
forthcoming celebrations of two centuries of
independence, Haiti needs to galvanize its collective
energy so that we can build our national home. To that
end, the Haitian Government will hold an ongoing
dialogue and continue to practise openness and
flexibility, as called for by President Aristide. In that
spirit, despite our well-known scarcity of resources, it
has decided to compensate the victims of 17 December
2001, in accordance with OAS resolutions 806 and
822. Likewise, President Aristide will continue to call
on the opposition to observe a patriotic truce in order
to facilitate the rehabilitation of the country and
support the Haitian people.
In this context, my country appeals once again for
us to place human beings at the forefront of relations
among various countries. This planet — the theatre of
our common destiny — can thus become a world fit for
all of its inhabitants through the advent of a
“humanism without borders”. On that basis of that
conviction, the Republic of Haiti, on the eve of the
bicentenary of our independence, invites the
international community to help us to set in motion a
process that will enable us to overcome the shocking
reversals of the past and bring us into the modern
world.
I hope that all of the nations of the world share
these exalted hopes and that they will join us in
celebrating this important event, to which the
Government and the people of Haiti invite them, in
January 2004.