One year has passed since the tragic events
that took place on 11 September 2001 in the United
States of America shook the world and demonstrated
the magnitude and brutality of the global threat of
international terrorism. During the past year the world
became fully aware of the challenges that humankind
was facing as we entered the twenty-first century. It
was a year during which the international community
came together and began to take decisive action against
terrorism.
While paying tribute to the memory of all of the
victims of the terrorism that has left a bloody trail
throughout the world, we must now take stock of the
initial results of the joint anti-terrorist campaign and,
most important, outline our objectives in strengthening
the foundations of international security and stability.
The most important outcome of the coming
together of States to achieve common goals
unprecedented since the Second World War  is clear
today. A broad international anti-terrorist coalition has
been established and is actively functioning; it has
already demonstrated its effectiveness in Afghanistan,
a country that international terrorists of various
affiliations had transformed into their own personal
lair. Our common objective is not only to preserve the
experience of interaction acquired within the
framework of the coalition  avoiding such unilateral
actions as might undermine it  but also to transform
the anti-terrorist alliance into a supportive mechanism
of effective security and cooperation for the new
millennium.
The United Nations must certainly be a pivotal
element of such a mechanism. Indeed, the United
Nations is called upon to continue to guarantee that, in
combating new threats and challenges, the efforts of
20

the international community rest on a solid basis of
international law.
We must acknowledge  and the past year has
been very instructive in this regard  that a great deal
of hard work awaits us. It will be possible to put
insurmountable obstacles in the way of fanatics and
extremists who spread death and destruction only if we
can reach general agreement on core issues relating to
the world order. In this context, the role of the United
Nations is, indeed, irreplaceable.
The fact that the process of implementing the
fundamental anti-terrorist resolution  Security
Council resolution 1373 (2001)  is under way is of
critical importance. That resolution is binding on all
States, and we must now seek to achieve its
unconditional implementation by all States.
A priority task in the war on terrorism is the
strengthening of its international legal framework. First
and foremost, there is a need to ensure the genuinely
universal character of existing anti-terrorist
conventions.
Having ratified the 1999 Convention for the
Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, Russia is
now completing the process of accession to those
international instruments. At the same time, we are
seriously concerned about the lack of real progress in
negotiating a comprehensive convention on combating
terrorism and a convention on the suppression of acts
of nuclear terrorism.
The well-known differences in the approaches of
States to the provisions of such instruments could
certainly be fully reconciled. They should not
overshadow the objective, which is pressing for all of
us, of establishing a legal basis to counter terrorism in
all its manifestations  a basis that would be in
keeping with the realities of today's world. Russia is
continuing to make resolute efforts to achieve that
objective.
It is the obligation of all States to protect the
rights and freedoms of their citizens, the most
important of these being the right to life. But it is
precisely the lives of ordinary people that are
threatened by terrorists, and each year new names are
added to the list of victims. The international
community can no longer tolerate this. It is our
obligation to provide our citizens with the right to
reliable protection against terrorism.
Such an objective can be achieved only if all
States agree on a range of specific measures under
United Nations auspices. There is now a need to draw
up an effective code to protect human rights against
terrorism. Some of these measures have already been
discussed by the international community, including in
this forum. Others will require consideration in a
broader context. The most important consideration,
however, is that we should agree on a unified system of
values and measures shared by all States.
The results of the war against terrorism will be
tangible only if we act in concert at all levels  global,
regional and national. The anti-terrorist cooperation
mechanisms aimed at preventing the spread of
terrorism in Central Asia, including those within the
framework of the Commonwealth of Independent
States and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, are
gaining momentum and thus provide clear evidence of
that fact. There is a great deal of potential in the new
partnership between Russia and the countries of the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
The field of anti-terrorism is an integral part of
our continuous dialogue and cooperation with the
leading countries of the world, including the United
States, China, India and the States members of the
European Union. We are confident that the
development of such interaction at many levels will
promote a climate of confidence, security and
cooperation in all parts of the world.
The stability and credibility of the emerging
international system of the twenty-first century will
depend directly on the maintenance and strengthening
of strategic stability. This fundamental objective was
advanced by the signing, by the Presidents of Russia
and of the United States, at their May meeting in
Moscow, of the Strategic Offensive Reductions Treaty,
which was a specific, major contribution by the leading
nuclear Powers to nuclear disarmament.
It is also very important to ensure the non-
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The
danger of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons or
their components falling into the irresponsible hands of
terrorists increases international terrorism's potential to
cause devastation. This means that there is a need to
step up efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation
regime for weapons of mass destruction and their
delivery vehicles.
21

By acting jointly and responsibly, we have
already achieved a great deal. When we speak about
the establishment of new regimes for the non-
proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and for
arms control, we by no means wish to imply a
renunciation of regimes and agreements already in
effect. They are our shared protective mechanism  a
mechanism that is very reliable and has stood the test
of time. Unjustified removal of the key elements of the
international legal framework of non-proliferation can
aggravate the international military and strategic
situation and undermine global security.
Furthermore, we should universalize' the most
important agreements on non-proliferation of nuclear
weapons and on comprehensive nuclear test ban. The
missile sphere needs a sustainable negotiating process
aimed at concluding an international arrangement on a
global regime of missile and missile technology non-
proliferation.
The prevention of the deployment of weapons in
outer space forms an integral part of the non-
proliferation process. Together with a number of our
partners we suggest that a comprehensive agreement be
worked out aimed at preserving outer space as a zone
free from any kind of weapons. We are confident that
this proposal serves the interests of all States, and
expect that it will enjoy wide support.
Since its establishment, the United Nations has
been engaged in the settlement of regional conflicts.
Those so-called local problems have long turned into
one of the main threats to international stability.
Terrorism, political extremism, and economic and
social degradation are their customary companions.
Certainly, the primary responsibility in any settlement
rests with the relevant parties, but multilateral
mechanisms have also repeatedly demonstrated their
effectiveness in the restoration of peace and concord. A
tangible progress made with the United Nations visible
involvement in the post-Taliban reconstruction of
Afghanistan is one of our common accomplishments.
We can add to this the adoption by the United Nations
Security Council of major practical decisions in
support of a comprehensive settlement in the Middle
East and the resolution of crises in a number of African
countries.
And yet, we are still far from a radical decrease in
the number and intensity of armed conflicts. Hard
work, requiring great human as well as material and
financial resources, is awaiting us. But the most
important here is the presence of a strong political will
to implement the provisions of the United Nations
Charter pertaining to the peaceful settlement of
disputes.
Experience shows that no matter how complex
international crises and conflicts may be, whatever
challenges and threats they may be fraught with, they
can be settled with the aid of United Nations
instruments and on the basis of international law. This
fully applies to the situation around Iraq, which has
long required political settlement in strict compliance
with the Security Council resolutions.
The entire international community benefits from
a steady enhancement of the leading role of our
Organization in peacemaking. We cannot relax our
attention to this task.
At all times and throughout the world, terrorism
and extremism have tried to justify themselves with
continuous social and economic instability and poverty.
While recognizing the existence of these serious
problems we should state most resolutely that terrorism
does not and will not have any justification. At the
same time, the creation of a sustainable and fair global
financial and economic structure would, certainly, help
combat many dangerous challenges to mankind. The
latest major international forums  the International
Conference on Financing for Development
in Monterey, World Food Summit in Rome,
World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg  adopted decisions designed to uproot
the causes of the most threatening disparities in the
world. The next step is to implement the agreements
we have reached.
Equally sweeping are the tasks that face us in the
field of environmental protection. Natural disasters that
afflicted many regions of our planet this summer have
demonstrated again that the solution of environmental
issues cannot be put off unless we want to endanger the
very survival of future generations. This sphere also
depends on multilateral efforts that exclude the egoism
of individual States.
The initiative of Russian President Vladimir V.
Putin on holding in autumn 2003 a World Conference
on Climate Change in Moscow is designed to
coordinate our efforts in this field.
22

A year ago, the Russian Federation called on the
international community from the podium of the
United Nations General Assembly to create a global
system of counteraction to present-day threats and
challenges that would be aimed at tackling real issues
in the sphere of security and at meeting the vital
interests of each and every State. This system would
provide for long-term international stability and
sustainable development.
To be efficient, such a system needs a generally
recognized coordinating centre capable of rallying the
international community. And we do have such a
centre  the United Nations with its unique
legitimacy, universality and experience. Our common
task is to unite around the United Nations to provide it
with the necessary potential and resources and to
develop as much as possible its internal reserves.
Today, we can state with satisfaction that the
global system is already evolving and the beginning of
this process is largely successful. We suggest that an
additional impetus should be given to this process and
a resolution to encourage a most prompt creation of a
global system of counteraction to present-day threats
and challenges should be adopted at this session of the
General Assembly. By doing so, we will direct all
States towards the joint elaboration of its general shape
and parameters. This is even more relevant because
some of its parameters are already visible.
It is apparent that the system to be created must
be:
ñ Global, as modern challenges in the context of
globalization pose a universal threat, and should
be addressed at the global level.
ñ Comprehensive in scope, as each of the modern
threats bears a huge destructive potential and all
such problems without exceptions should be
embraced by the system.
ñ Holistic in approach, as quite often the new
threats and challenges are directly interrelated.
ñ Universal in participation.
Finally, the system should become a reflection of
the international rule of law, as its power will be built
on principles and regulations of international law, the
United Nations Charter above all.
We bear grave responsibility to future
generations, and the model of world order we will
establish is destined to influence the life on our planet
for decades. As for Russia, we have made our choice.
This is the choice in favour of a democratic, multi-
polar world order, which would guarantee sustainable
development and equal security for all States; a world
order formed on the basis of the extensive structure of
multilateral institutions integrated within the
framework of the United Nations.
We hope that the decisions of this General
Assembly session will mark an important stage of this
process.


The delegation of
Equatorial Guinea congratulates you, Mr. President,
and the other members of the Bureau of this session of
the General Assembly on their election to their posts.
We wish them every success and offer them our full
cooperation. We also wish to convey to the outgoing
President and Bureau the appreciation of Equatorial
Guinea for their excellent work at a crucial time in the
history of the United Nations.
The delegation, the people and the Government of
Equatorial Guinea welcome the admission of the Swiss
Confederation to full membership in the United
Nations. Switzerland is a country with which
Equatorial Guinea has excellent relations of friendship
and cooperation. This was indeed a historic event that
strengthened and reaffirmed the principle of the
universality of the United Nations. We also welcome
the forthcoming admission of Timor-Leste to the
United Nations.
I wish strongly to join Equatorial Guinea's voice
to the expressions of support and solidarity that have
been heard from this rostrum towards the people and
the Government of the United States of America one
year after the horror and the barbarity caused by the
shameful terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.
We reaffirm once again Equatorial Guinea's firm
commitment to the ceaseless fight against international
terrorism and organized crime in all its forms and
manifestations, because this is a fight that involves all
the nations of the world, united by the ideal of
maintaining peace, and because terrorism represents a
serious challenge to humanity as a whole.
Indeed, terrorism has become a sophisticated
network of political, economic and technical plotting
that transcends national borders. These are real
organizations that have the resources to carry out
criminal activity.
Even more disturbing are manifestations of covert
terrorism carried out under the pretext of defending and
protecting democracy and human rights. This leads us
to declare that one cannot combat terrorism in certain
areas and encourage it in others, depending on who the
potential victims may be. Equatorial Guinea and other
countries in our subregion continue to be victims of
this ambiguity and contradiction. The demands made
on our countries and the conditionalities imposed on us
in the name of promoting democracy and human rights
must not serve as a pretext for encouraging intolerance
or political extremism or for instigating confrontation
among the various social groupings in a country so as
to weaken its sense of unity and solidarity.
15

Time and again we have stressed the imperative
need to preserve peace and security in the world. The
international community has to reactivate its machinery
for conflict prevention and settlement, because these
conflicts are a scourge on vast areas of the world in
general, and to the African continent in particular.
Because of its geography, Equatorial Guinea is
seriously concerned about constant serious threats to
the maintenance of peace and stability in Central
Africa resulting from disputes and greed for the
enormous natural resources located there. Because of
the geo-strategic importance of the subregion, we want
to preserve a balance of force in the Gulf of Guinea,
and we want to preserve our area as a haven of peace,
stability and prosperity for our peoples.
The United Nations must be vigilant, given the
threats to peace, security and stability in the Gulf of
Guinea. In the specific case of Equatorial Guinea, I
would like to say that for over 25 years it was under
United Nations supervision, vis-‡-vis human rights, but
that on 19 April 2002 at the fifty-eighth session of the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights
resolution 2002/11 was adopted. The resolution ended
the Special Rapporteur's mission for human rights in
Equatorial Guinea. The Commission on Human Rights
therein explicitly recognized the efforts made by our
Government and the progress made by our country in
the area of human rights and strengthening democracy.
However, we were deeply distressed a few days
later to see that our country was a victim of attempted
terrorist action against the life of individuals and social
peace. Those responsible were arrested and will now be
tried under our law. Yet, some pressure groups with
undeclared interests in Equatorial Guinea have spoken
out and have been trying to use the forthcoming trial as
a basis for launching a new campaign of defamation
against my country in the face of these acts of
destabilization. In addition, these groups are still
seeking to confuse the issue and to keep the
international community uninformed as to the true
political, economic and social developments in
Equatorial Guinea. These groups have been trying to
disrupt a good climate of dialogue and understanding
between our Government and the political forces in our
country. However, as concerns these manoeuvres, I
would reaffirm to the international community our
resolve to preserve the spirit of trying to reach
consensus with all the political groupings in our
country to ensure that the forthcoming presidential
elections proceed smoothly.
The situation we have just described is not
peculiar to Equatorial Guinea, because the same
situation can be seen in several countries in our
subregion. My country is resolved to ensure that
Central Africa becomes an area of peace, solidarity and
cooperation.
We hail the initiatives under way to restore peace
to Angola, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and
Burundi, and we commend the work of the United
Nations to that end.
The picture of conflict and instability in the world
today stands in stark contrast to our desire to encourage
economic development and prosperity for all countries
of the world. Just a few days ago in Johannesburg, at
the World Summit on Sustainable Development, the
international community undertook to work in
solidarity to achieve the goals set at Rio de Janeiro, the
Millennium Summit and Monterrey. To that end, it is
essential that a new civilization and a new political
culture bud and take root in the consciousness of the
international community, recognizing once and for all
that all nations of the world, rich and poor, large and
small, enjoy the same rights to peace, stability and
prosperity. This is essential if we are to survive the
current crisis.
This General Assembly faces the challenge of
resolving burning issues, such as combating HIV/AIDS
and implementing the goals of the Millennium
Declaration and the Johannesburg Consensus.
My Government shares these concerns and urges
that top priority be given to strengthening the
democratic process and the rule of law, protecting
human rights, ensuring good governance and achieving
sustainable development. We also believe that the
peace process in the Middle East should be
encouraged, along with the dialogue under way
between North and South Korea, with a view to
peaceful reunification.
We also encourage democratization in the United
Nations itself, so that it can strengthen its efforts in the
world as the principal guarantor of international peace
and security. This General Assembly session, just like
the meetings at Johannesburg and other summits,
provides an excellent opportunity, not for reviving an
anachronistic confrontation between nations, but rather
16

for moving deeper into the area of reaching agreement
and of holding a dialogue in the great debate for the
progress and prosperity of all peoples in the world.


It gives me great pleasure to congratulate
Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I am
confident that the many posts he has occupied will
facilitate his task in leading the deliberations of the
General Assembly to their desired objectives. I also
express our appreciation to his predecessor for the
efforts he made to bring the deliberations of the fifty-
sixth session to a successful conclusion.
I would be remiss if I failed to express our
appreciation to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his
efforts to preserve the principles and purposes of the
12

United Nations Charter. I wish him success as he
strives to contribute successfully to the just solution of
the problems that the international community faces.
I would also like wholeheartedly to welcome
Switzerland as the long-awaited newest Member of the
Organization. We look forward to cooperating with it
in promoting the principles of the United Nations and
safeguarding its Charter.
This session of the General Assembly has been
convened one year after the 11 September attacks,
which had an impact on the current international
situation. In the aftermath of the attacks, many grave
issues remained unresolved, awaiting effective
solutions, and many questions went unanswered. The
state of confusion, incertitude and tension on the
international scene results from the feeling of the
majority of the world's people that they have lost their
orientation. This results from a tendency on the part of
some to use practices that can be best characterized as
unilateral, expressing an appetite for hegemony and
monopoly over the wealth of others.
The Middle East region is a case in point. After
decades of struggle waged by the people of the region
to liberate themselves from colonialism and foreign
domination and to try to eliminate injustices resulting
from the redrawing of maps and the enforcement of
artificial borders between them, the people of the
region are facing a more vicious attack today than they
faced during earlier colonial periods.
The Arab countries have condemned the attacks
against the United States of America. They have
expressed sympathy for the families of the victims.
Nonetheless, a year after the event that was officially
linked to the Al Qaeda organization and the Taliban
movement, the world wonders how those accusations
were re-channelled so as to be levelled against the
Arab countries to such a degree that some of them are
being threatened, while none of them had anything to
do with the attacks.
The irony is starker since justification for the
accusation is usually linked to the presence of some Al
Qaeda elements in those countries or to the fact that
such elements are nationals of those countries, while it
is public knowledge that elements of the Al Qaeda
organization are present in more than 60 countries
around the world, including the United States of
America, according to official American statements.
Since the end of the Second World War, our
region has witnessed a series of wars and destruction as
a result of an Israeli approach based on occupation,
settlement building and the uprooting of hundreds of
thousands of Palestinians from their homeland. The
United Nations has made efforts to find a just solution
for the Arab-Israeli conflict. To that end, the United
Nations has adopted hundreds of resolutions that Israel
has refused to implement, in a stark challenge to the
will of the international community. Israel continues to
occupy the Golan, the West Bank and Gaza and parts of
Lebanese territory.
When the Arab countries unanimously launched
their peace initiative at the Beirut summit in March
2002, Israel responded by launching a widescale
military attack against Palestinian cities, villages and
camps in the West Bank. Israel's defiance of
international legitimacy assumed proportions that have
been condemned by international public opinion,
particularly when the Israeli Government refused to
receive the fact-finding mission to investigate the
details of the massacre at the Jenin refugee camp.
Israel has claimed that the crimes it has carried
against the Palestinian people under occupation have
been carried out in self-defence and in the war against
terrorism. We see how Israel has manipulated the war
against the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan. In
that context, it is important to stress that silence in the
face of such manipulation amounts to total disregard
for human values, as much as it is disregard for
defenceless Palestinian souls.
Without going into details of the Israeli attacks
and violations in which American weapons were used,
the only way out of the crisis faced by the peoples of
the region is by making Israel abide by relevant
Security Council resolutions, which thus far are 28 in
number. Is it reasonable for the world to request Iraq to
implement Security Council resolutions, while some
help Israel remain above international law? It is indeed
legitimate for us to ask the United States to distance
itself from the aggressive Israeli practices and to apply
to Israel the American law that prohibits the use of
American weapons against a third party. It is indeed
odd that the United States considers Israel to be acting
in self-defence in occupied territories, which is not in
keeping with Security Council resolutions in whose
drafting and adoption the United States itself has
participated since the founding of the United Nations.
13

Just and comprehensive peace in our region can
be achieved only through the implementation of
resolutions of international legitimacy that stress the
need for Israel to withdraw from all the Arab territories
occupied since June 1967 and to safeguard the
legitimate rights of the Palestinian people, including
the right to establish their independent State with
Jerusalem as its capital.
Much has been said recently about the danger of
the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and
the possibility that international terrorists might
acquire such weapons. As is well known, that danger is
not limited to one region. Rather, it exists in many
regions of the world. It is regrettable that certain
parties focus only on some Arab and Muslim countries,
and not on others, ignoring in the meantime Israel's
nuclear arsenal. All the countries of the region have
expressed, year after year, their readiness to make the
Middle East region a zone free of all weapons of mass
destruction — nuclear, chemical and biological.
Today more than ever before, we call for urgent
and serious efforts to make our region free of all
weapons of mass destruction, under the supervision of
the United Nations. We declare from this rostrum that
all the Arab countries are prepared to establish such a
zone, provided that Israel will agree to establish such a
zone and to submit all its nuclear facilities to the
safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy
Agency (IAEA), as have the other Middle East, Arab
and Muslim countries of the region.
The majority vote that Syria won upon submitting
its candidacy for membership to the Security Council
highlights the appreciation of these countries for
Syria's constructive role in supporting the United
Nations.

It is well known that Syria has always been in the
forefront of countries whose respect for international
legitimacy constitutes a principled position in their
foreign policy. We agree with the Secretary-General
about the necessity of avoiding unilateral measures and
resorting instead to working within the framework of
the United Nations, which represents international
legitimacy.
In that light, we see no justification for igniting a
new war in the Middle East. We strongly believe that
striking Iraq, which no longer occupies the land of
others, while keeping silent about the Israeli
occupation of the Arab territories occupied since 1967,
represents blind bias and a distorted vision of the real
situation in the Middle East.
The international community is committed to the
unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq. We
cannot recall anyone doubting that commitment. We
also stress that it is the right of the Iraqi people alone
to decide their future without any interference in their
internal affairs. It is the duty of all Members of our
Organization to commit themselves to the
implementation of United Nations resolutions. In
keeping with that commitment, Syria supports the
resumption of dialogue between Iraq and the Secretary-
General with the objective of reaching a political
solution that meets the requirements of the Security
Council and that grants Iraq hope of peace, security
and the lifting of the sanctions imposed on it,
especially as Iraq has officially recognized the State of
Kuwait and its international borders.
Syria has expressed its satisfaction at positive
developments in the African continent. We are
confident that the establishment of the African Union
will have a positive impact on the present and future of
that continent and on solving the urgent problems it
faces. In that regard, we look forward with true hope to
the implementation of agreements recently signed by
the parties concerned to end the fighting in Angola,
Congo and the Great Lakes region.
Syria also expresses its satisfaction at the
increasing international support to end the embargo
against Cuba.
Syria further welcomes the high-level talks
between the Democratic People's Republic of Korea
and the Republic of Korea and expresses the hope that
this rapprochement between the two Koreas will help
achieve the aspirations of the people of the Korean
peninsula by peaceful means.
The Syrian Arab Republic hopes that peace and
stability will prevail in Afghanistan in the interest of
the Afghan people, who have long suffered the
scourges of war and internal strife.
Syria supports the efforts of the Government of
the Sudan to preserve the unity and territorial integrity
of the Sudanese people and calls for a ceasefire in the
14

south of Sudan as a prelude to the resumption of
dialogue.
Syria supports the Artah agreement reached by
the Somalis and deems it the most viable solution for
achieving national reconciliation in Somalia.
The world's peoples are passing through a
difficult test at this critical juncture; the choices of
even big and influential countries, are getting narrower
rather than broader due to the absence of a just world
order. It is to be regretted that the voices of those who
call for war rise above the voices of those who call for
peace and that those who usurp the rights of people and
encroach on their dignity are drowning out the voices
of those who defend the rights of people regarding
their territory and freedom.
But despite this grim picture, right will, in the
final analysis, triumph over injustice. That is the
correct reading of the history of nations and
civilizations; there is no going back. Arab Syria's
belief in its rights and the rights of other nations cannot
be shaken or undermined by hegemony and the
arrogance of power. We are convinced of the
possibility of building a world in which all coexist in
peace and security, a world free of occupation and
hegemony, a world in which all peoples equally share
the resources of our globe and the fruits of science and
technology in order to achieve prosperity for all.


I would
like to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his deserved
election as President of the General Assembly at this
session. We wish him every success. I would also like
to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, whose efforts to promote peace and
cooperation among nations are invaluable. Yesterday,
in this city, we remembered the victims of a horrendous
attack that was the very image of intolerance and
fanaticism and revealed the darkest drives of human
nature. I was deeply moved by this event and feel duty
bound on behalf of my compatriots to express our pain,
sorrow, and solidarity with those lost loved ones, and
to all the citizens of the United States at this time of
affliction.
This terrible episode in history ought, however, to
prompt us to rethink a number of dogmas concerning
the current world paradigm for development, dogmas
that prevent it from being sustainable over time, and
which, like a dangerous mirage, may lead the whole of
humankind into a collapse that could jeopardize our
common future.
I say this from the standpoint of a country, which,
in its small way, is joining the collective endeavour to
solve key problems that involve the fate of the whole
planet. I am also convinced that it is in the poor
countries of the world that the destiny of all is at stake.
What we do, but above all what is done by those who
possess more, and have put into effect a specific vision
of society and of the economy that prevails today, shall
determine whether our path will be one of hope or of
catastrophe for all.
On 9 April 1952  50 years ago  Bolivia took
the lead in a revolution that sought to democratize
politics and end economic, social and ethnic exclusion,
in order to attain a fairer national community. For the
past 20 years we have kept that democracy functioning
and we have been a pioneer nation in regulating our
economy. Today, this process based on stability and
dialogue is continuing.
However, all that has been done is still
insufficient. The road that lies ahead is very long, and
we must travel it amidst crises and turmoil from which
we have been unable to extricate ourselves. The social
and economic problems we face are serious. Much of
what we have achieved could be destroyed by pressure
exerted by those, who in spite of everything, have been
marginalized and excluded. This situation is rooted in
overwhelming poverty, the unfair distribution of
wealth, and the loss of faith in politicians, associated
with corruption and the lack of answers to pressing
daily problems.
Our team became the Government of Bolivia as a
result of a popular vote only thirty-six days ago, and
we are committed to tackling these risks and challenges
with resolution. We are doing this within the
framework of a new democratic landscape. The
election of 30 June 2002 established a new parliament
that is diverse; this took place without violence or
dramatic disruption and within a context of democratic
and political maturity. Its main effect has been to begin
to dismantle the walls of exclusion, on the basis of the
recognition of others and tolerance and respect for
different visions of the world.
For the first time in our history, an essential part
of Bolivia's population, the Quechuas, Aymaras and
Guaranis, are represented in fair proportion. A
pluralistic legislative branch in ethnic, economic,
political and social respects is a promising setting for
courageous dialogue about our ongoing problems. Our
unswerving resolve is that this dialogue should be real
and productive, because it will help us to find a way of
working together on the political and social levels,
while seeking to resolve these crises and working
sincerely to break the long-standing social exclusion of
indigenous people and discrimination against women,
children, and older persons.
I would like particularly to mention the resolve of
our Government to make combating corruption a state
policy. Only genuine and resolute efforts in this area
24

will make it possible for Bolivia to overcome one of
the greatest impediments to development, one that
threatens to destroy the essential foundation of our
society. This resolve is part of a historic course
followed, despite their different positions, by two
parties in Bolivia: the Nationalist Revolutionary
Movement and the Revolutionary Left Movement.
Their leaders, Gonzalo Sanchez de Lozada and Jaime
Paz Zamora, have understood that, at such a time, it is
necessary to set aside legitimate party interests and
long-standing political differences in order to build a
project of responsibility vis-‡-vis Bolivia. This is the
only response possible for our nation at such a historic
moment. This decision led to an alliance that has given
rise to Plan Bolivia aimed at tackling the crisis by
means of an ambitious programme of public investment
that will stimulate the economy, encourage private
inputs, create jobs, and reduce social inequities by
favouring the most vulnerable sectors of our society.
Plan Bolivia also seeks to respond to the complex
challenges of globalization, redefine the role of the
State in promoting sustainable development, respond to
local and regional demands, and establish a full rule of
law with robust and credible institutions.
We know that we are not alone in this; we have
seen such ideas elsewhere in recent decades. In spite of
this, we urgently require our efforts to be backed by the
international community. Bolivia has undertaken with
determination the struggle to combat illicit drug
trafficking as a moral imperative, in which we truly
believe; but, in doing so, it has paid a high price in
terms of human lives, economic effects, and violent
social conflict. It is only right that those countries
where drug consumption has greatest impact
demand as you know is the key factor in this cycle
give us support in proportion. We continue to fulfil our
commitments. But we urgently call on the international
community to fully endorse the concept of shared
responsibility, which has been fostered and promoted
in this forum more than once.
A combination of internal efforts and
international support to attain reasonable levels of
sustainable social and economic development must be
reached through a new logic that reformulates all of
our earlier ideas of progress and development.
Our afflicted Latin America was yesterday the
hope of the planet and today is a continent caught in an
emergency situation, with widespread social pressure,
and economic collapse and facing a dangerous threat of
an international domino effect. From its modest
position, our country wishes to help halt these trends
by being an example of how creative and democratic
solutions can be used to address problems and
overcome differences. This prompts us to emphasize
that the most effective international aid is that which
respects the decisions and plans of the countries that
must use them. Imposing strict and unilateral recipes
usually generates more problems than it solves.
If equity is one of the first demands of
humankind today, there is no better system than that of
equitable international trade. Poor countries demand
access for their products to the markets of the rich
countries under adequate conditions. This is one of the
key points of nexus of poverty and social tensions in
the most disadvantaged countries and their population.
That is why the Andean Trade Preference Act
constitutes a step forward; although only conditional, it
shows the will of a friendly nation to modify a still
unfair relationship.
We must understand free trade from a new
standpoint, where the rules of the game are designed
rationally to bridge the gap between the rich and the
poor, a situation that has already reached scandalous
levels. It is unacceptable for prosperous nations to
impose limits on us, while they are not prepared to
apply them within their own territories.
I cannot conclude this intervention without
reaffirming that recovering our status as a country with
a coastline on the Pacific Ocean constitutes an
important factor of our foreign policy.
This claim, which we have made for the past 123
years, is not the product of stubbornness or whim; it is
related to our insufficient economic resources and to
the enormous geographical barriers that affect our
competitiveness. The lack of direct access to the sea
constitutes an obstacle to our growth and to the welfare
of our citizens. The recovery of sovereign access to the
sea is not only a matter of justice, but an ineluctable
need for which we shall continue to seek the solidarity
and support of the community of nations, and even
more so now that century-old conflicts of this nature
have been resolved in this new century.
Bolivia is part of the world and, through vigorous
participation within its region, will continue to
contribute to a profound process of reflection regarding
the type of global society that we must, wish to and can
25

build, based on its experiences and its own formulas
for integrating and for making its own society
participative.
We are probably experiencing one of the most
difficult moments since the end of the cold war and it
has become necessary for us to be able to imagine a
different and better world in which no idea is
untouchable and no hope for change is smothered.


Allow me,
at the outset, to express my warm congratulations and
wishes to His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan for every
success on his election to the presidency of the fifty-
seventh session of the General Assembly. I should also
like to express my delegation's gratitude to His
Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo for the competent and
able manner in which he conducted the work of the
fifty-sixth session. I wish to convey to His Excellency
Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General, the sincere
appreciation of His Excellency General Lansana Conté,
President of the Republic of Guinea, for his tireless and
dedicated efforts on behalf of the community of
nations.
In addition, I wish to welcome the admission of
the Swiss Confederation, a country of great traditions
of peace and democracy, to the Organization. My
delegation looks forward with great interest to the
forthcoming entry of the Democratic Republic of
Timor-Leste to the family of nations. I remain
convinced that the accession of those two countries
will make a high-quality contribution to the endeavours
of the international community and will strengthen the
Organization's universality.
Twelve months have passed since the tragic
events of 11 September 2001. The global security
climate has suffered profound changes, casting new
light on the dangers of international terrorism and its
interdependence with other forms of crime. Terrorism,
one need hardly stress again, constitutes a menace to
international peace and security. Faced with the global
dimensions of that scourge, my country associates
itself fully with the efforts of the international
community with a view to providing an appropriate
response.
In that regard, we hope for the prompt adoption
of a general convention against terrorism and for the
effective implementation of other existing international
legal instruments. Within the framework of the
dialogue among civilizations, an appeal should be
addressed to all countries for the organization of an
extensive campaign of education and consciousness-
raising in order to promote tolerance, respect and
acceptance of others.
The current session is being held in a difficult
international context dominated by numerous conflicts
that compromise legitimate aspirations to peace and
progress. In this climate of violence, nevertheless, a
gleam of hope can be glimpsed on the African
continent. We welcome the important progress made
towards the restoration of peace in Angola and in the
Great Lakes region, especially in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and in Burundi. In the Horn of
Africa, peace between Eritrea and Ethiopia is gradually
returning, but the Somalia crisis remains more
17

worrisome than ever. In Western Sahara, my country
supports the remarkable work accomplished by the
Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. James
Baker. We encourage him to persist in his efforts with a
view to finding an acceptable and definitive solution to
that crisis.
In the Middle East, the conflict situation persists.
The cycle of acute violence over the past two years has
widened further the gap between the parties,
reinforcing the wall of misunderstanding. The
Government of Guinea is convinced that the
application of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)
and 338 (1973) will allow Palestinians and Israelis to
coexist peacefully within secure and internationally
recognized borders. We appeal to the two parties to
comply unconditionally with Council resolutions 1397
(2002) and 1402 (2002). We reaffirm the support and
the solidarity of Guinea to the brotherly people of
Palestine, to the Palestinian Authority and to its head,
President Yasser Arafat, who has fought courageously
for the creation of an independent and sovereign
Palestinian State for more than 50 years.
The situation in Iraq is a source of vital concern
to the people and the Government of Guinea. In order
to prevent further suffering by the Iraqi population and
to preserve peace in the region as well as international
security and stability, my country invites the parties to
show greater restraint. Iraq's acceptance of the
unconditional return of the United Nations Monitoring,
Verification and Inspection Commission is an
encouraging sign for the peaceful settlement of the
crisis. My delegation appeals earnestly to Iraq to
respect and comply with the relevant Council
resolutions.
Turning to the Korean Peninsula, Guinea supports
the efforts for peaceful reunification of the two Koreas,
in conformity with the declaration signed by the heads
of State of the two countries in June 2001.
My Government reaffirms its attachment to the
principle of one China.
I now turn to the situation in our subregion, West
Africa, an area that has long been shaken by internal
crises but that is now moving towards a climate of
peace and stability. Sierra Leone has committed itself
to the path of peace and reconciliation, thanks to the
mediation of the Economic Community of West
African States (ECOWAS) and to the support of the
United Nations. That success was also made possible
by the United Kingdom's important role. In Liberia, the
situation is still precarious. My delegation remains
convinced that the adoption and effective
implementation of a programme of disarmament,
demobilization and reintegration of armed groups,
based on the successful conclusion of the inter-
Liberian dialogue begun in Abuja, will contribute to
the restoration of peace and stability in the subregion.
Guinea, a member of the Mano River Union, renews its
commitment to continuing to work for peace.
Because of that commitment, my country took an
active part, in the Rabat Summit, on 27 February 2002
and in the process of implementing its
recommendations. The political dialogue at the Summit
should be pursued with a view to strengthening
confidence between the parties. In that regard, it is
important to point out that the Joint Security
Committee of the Mano River Union, which met in
Freetown on 10 September 2002, decided to
simultaneously reopen the borders among the three
countries of the Union and to organize a caravan for
peace next October that will tour those countries. My
delegation takes this opportunity to again express its
profound gratitude to His Majesty King Mohammed VI
of Morocco for his mediation. The political dialogue at
the Summit and the respect for measures imposed by
Security Council resolution 1343 (2001) represent two
complementary tracks of managing the situation in the
Mano River Basin. The international community, in
particular the Council, should ensure follow-up, while
bearing in mind the interdependence of the situations in
Liberia and Sierra Leone. The Government of Guinea
hopes that the establishment of the Office of the
Special Representative of the Secretary-General for
West Africa will contribute to meeting the challenges
faced by the States of the subregion. We also welcome
the creation of a Security Council Working Group on
Conflict Prevention and Resolution in Africa. Clearly,
that initiative is likely to contribute to our common
reflection on such problems.
Disarmament issues, particularly those related to
light weapons and to anti-personnel mines, remain a
source of concern. As members are aware, Guinea
belongs to a subregion whose population continues to
suffer the adverse effects of the proliferation and the
illicit circulation of light weapons, which feed
conflicts, lead to the resurgence of crime and
encourage the phenomenon of child soldiers.
18

We welcome the renewal of the ECOWAS
Moratorium aimed at eradicating that phenomenon. We
call for the implementation of all measures for the
dismantling of supply networks of small arms and light
weapons. We support the pursuit of all the activities
under way to alleviate the suffering and loss of life
caused by anti-personnel mines.
The consequences of armed conflicts and natural
disasters primarily affect vulnerable civilian
populations, which constitute the majority of refugees
and displaced persons. For more than a decade, Guinea
has been hard hit by the negative socio-economic,
security and environmental impact of wars in Liberia,
Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau.
Let me take this opportunity to reiterate our
appeal for the holding of a special consultation of the
United Nations on Guinea. In this context, my country
appreciates the renewed commitment made by the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) at
the workshop held on 18 July 2002 by the Security
Council on the countries of the Mano River Union.
My delegation welcomes the creation of the
Regional Bureau for humanitarian affairs in West
Africa, the extension of the rapid response system for
natural disasters and the setting up of the integrated
regional information network.
Prevention and resolution of conflicts calls for the
reduction of poverty and eradication of disease. The
question of HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis
remains a source of concern, especially for developing
countries, particularly those in Africa. The adoption by
the General Assembly of the Millennium Declaration,
the declaration of commitment on HIV/AIDS and the
2001-2010 Decade to Roll Back Malaria in Developing
Countries, Particularly in Africa, are significant steps
forward.
But the question of mobilizing resources remains
central to this effort. The primary responsibility for
measures to be taken to implement these initiatives
falls to African leaders. However, they need to be
supported at the community, national, regional and
international levels.
My delegation welcomes the Secretary-General's
initiative that led to the creation of the Global Fund to
Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and other
transmittable diseases. One of the commitments made
by heads of State and Government at the historic
Millennium Summit was to reduce, if not eliminate,
poverty. But much of the planet's population is still
living in absolute poverty. This situation is aggravated
by the effects of globalization that, in the absence of
just and equitable rules, increases the capacity of the
strong to promote their interests, while limiting that of
the weak.
The advent of the African Union illustrates the
will of African peoples to achieve the objectives of
economic integration and consolidate the foundations
of peace, stability and security in Africa. In that
framework the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD) remains an effective
instrument for enhancing the African economies and
bringing about their integration into the world
economy. My delegation appeals to the various partners
to provide effective support in order to make that
common vision a reality.
We hope that the decisions of the International
Conference on Financing for Development in
Monterrey, the commitments of the G-8 in Kananaskis
and the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit
on Sustainable Development held at Johannesburg will
have a positive impact on Africa.
My delegation welcomes the improvement of the
procedures and methods of work aimed at better
operation of the General Assembly. We support the
reform of the Security Council, to adapt it to the
requirements of democracy and transparency,
especially by increasing the number of its permanent
and non-permanent members on the basis of a more
equitable geographical distribution.
Two years after the historic Millennium
Declaration, the gap between North and South
continues to widen. I wish to express our sincere hope
for the advent of a world of greater justice and
solidarity in the framework of true partnership for
peace and development. Accordingly, we remain
convinced that the United Nations, reformed,
revitalized, adapted to new changes, remains a viable
framework to face the challenges before us, and thus to
ensure for future generations the conditions necessary
for their fulfilment.


First, I wish to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your
election as President of the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly. Argentina welcomes the fact that a
distinguished representative of the Czech Republic has
been given this distinction.
The Argentine Republic rejoices with the United
Nations at the entry of Switzerland as a new Member
of the Organization. The independence of East Timor,
the formation of its first sovereign Government and its
coming membership in the United Nations are the
result of the struggle of that country for its right to self-
determination. We welcome this young nation that is
now incorporating into international life.
Argentina wishes to express its special gratitude
to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for
translating, through his actions and his continuing
search for peace, the aspirations of the international
community striving to build a more secure and stable
world.
26

One year after the criminal terrorist attacks in the
United States, we reiterate our solidarity with the
people and the government of this friendly country, and
with the victims and their families. Terrorism is the
child of political or religious fanaticism. We are
convinced that international cooperation has to be
strengthened in the fight against any terrorist threat, so
as to eliminate that threat, which endangers peace and
international security, and ensure that those responsible
for those attacks are tried and punished along with
those who help them and support them. There is no
justification, nor will there be any, for these barbaric
actions that bring shame upon mankind.
It is not a good thing when some Member States
do not abide by United Nations resolutions. It is
intolerable that these resolutions remain
unimplemented when issues related to the very
existence of mankind on the planet are involved. The
existence of arsenals with bacteriological, chemical
and other similar weapons that can be used in a
traditional or terrorist war is a matter that affects all
men, women and children of the world.
My country, along with the rest of the
international community, has consistently called on the
Government of Iraq to accept immediately and
unconditionally the United Nations inspectors. These
inspectors represent all of us inspecting one of us.
There are no reasons to refuse the inspections if there
is nothing to conceal.
Therefore, Argentina welcomes the
announcement made by the Secretary-General that Iraq
finally agreed to let the inspectors in without
conditions. We hope that Iraq fulfils its promise in
good faith, and we very warmly congratulate the
League of Arab States and the Secretary-General for
making this effort towards peace. The main concern at
the United Nations for peacekeeping and for
maintaining international security has made significant
strides, even though some situations of extreme gravity
and with high potential for conflict still exist and have
not been solved.
The promising events related to the establishment
of the New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) that we discussed yesterday, contrast with
the worsening situation in the Middle East. The
Argentine Government is following with pain and great
concern the acts of violence in that region. We are
convinced that no possible solution will result from the
indiscriminate and brutal use of force through
deliberate assassinations or through terrorist attacks
against civilians. The only road to peace and stability is
through dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians.
Therefore we reiterate our position in support of the
renewal of negotiations between the parties with the
hope for coming to a peaceful, fair and definitive
solution to the conflict. This should include the
recognition of the undeniable right of the Palestinian
people to self-determination and to form an
independent State, as well as the legitimate right of
Israel to live within secure and internationally
recognized borders. At present, there are several plans
for peace in addition to the efforts on the part of the
Quartet. All of these initiatives deserve our urgent
attention.
At this time, I wish to confirm that, as part of
Argentina's dedication to peace, and its desire to
contribute to a solution of the serious existing
conflicts, our country will continue to provide armed
forces and police personnel, as well as civilians, for the
peacekeeping operations established by the United
Nations Security Council.
We stress again the permanent commitment of
Argentine democracy to the international protection of
human rights and to the United Nations activities in
that field. We wish to mention our satisfaction at the
entry into force of the Rome Statute, of which
Argentina is a founding party.
Argentina today is going through an exceptionally
deep crisis. As for the opening of the country to the
world, our country will continue to travel along the
path of becoming a part of the concert of nations that
exchange goods and services, as it has done
uninterruptedly for the last 12 years. Therefore we will
continue participating actively in multilateral
negotiations within the framework of the World Trade
Organization (WTO) and we will implement a new
trade policy, which, as part of an overall State policy,
will be aimed at giving the Argentine economy a clear
export profile. It is only by generating foreign
earnings, as a result of international trade, that it will
be possible to have sustained economic growth over
time, while making it possible to repay our debts.
The consolidation of this model demands access
to the currently restricted markets of developed
countries for Argentine products. The objective of
improving access to markets in industrialized countries
27

was, during the Conference on Financing for
Development held in Monterrey, precisely the subject
of an absolute consensus, since this undertaking was
considered essential to eradicate poverty and to start on
the road to development.
To bring prosperity to our peoples it is necessary
to see these initiatives enacted and not merely
considered as proposals. It is necessary for actions to
conform, once and for all, to the principles that have
been voiced and the commitments that have been made.
It is of great importance that tariffs paid for
agricultural products be reduced and, simultaneously,
that protection mechanisms and subsidies be
eliminated. Such subsidies rose in 2000, within the
Organisation for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) countries rose to the staggering
figure of 325 billion dollars with respect to agricultural
products alone. Of these, 80 per cent were granted by
the United States, Japan and the European Union.
It is essential then that the guidelines towards free
trade for agricultural products become a reality,
allowing the developing countries to stop calling for
aid to help them deal with a specific problem, which
leads to a vicious circle. As a result, they only increase
their already heavy and unbearable debt. They should
be allowed to sustain growth by selling their products.
In other words, we wish trade rather than aid.
The grave economic situation we are facing has
made it difficult for us to fulfil our obligations to this
Organization. These difficulties have been presented to
the Committee on Contributions, and we hope that it
will be adopted by the General Assembly, calling for
understanding from countries that are friends of
Argentina.
In an environment of acute economic and social
crisis, the Government of the Argentine Republic has
reaffirmed its firm commitment, in national and
international forums, towards the purposes and the
programmatic principles of the International
Convention on the Rights of the Child. This
international agreement, incorporated into our national
constitution, is included in the set of values and legal
standards that distinguish the Argentine nation.
My country has clearly recognized the rights of
children from the time of conception, and stresses the
importance of the family in the child's development.
Along these same lines we once again insist on the
right of those children abducted by one of their parents.
In particular, we refer to the painful situation of Karim,
Zahira and Sharif, the children of our compatriot
Gabriela Arias Uriburu. Unfortunately, despite huge
efforts on the part of the family and Argentine officials,
no answer has been given by the Kingdom of Jordan to
our request for some mechanism that would make
possible a stable and permanent relationship between
these children and their mother. This position has
received the clear support of the meeting of
government experts called by the General Assembly of
the Organization of American States (OAS) in
Montevideo, Uruguay.
The Argentine Republic believes that the
outcomes of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, recently held in Johannesburg,
constitutes a feasible agreement, upon which it is
possible to move forward in the implementation of
specific actions in the economic, social, and
environmental dimensions of sustainable development.
I regret to say that the most important statement
at that Summit was made by a group of children, who
said: We ask ourselves whether snow will fall in the
middle of summer one day,' and More than words or
applause, we need actions.' Unfortunately, little
specific progress has been made to stop the continuing
series of environmental disasters.
As the General Assembly knows well, the
Argentine Republic has a sovereignty dispute with the
United Kingdom over the Malvinas and South Georgia
and the South Sandwich Islands, as well as the
surrounding maritime areas. The recovery of full
sovereignty over that part of our national territory,
while respecting the interests of the inhabitants and
international law, is a precept enshrined in the
Argentine Constitution. The issue was included in the
programme of work of this Organization, which, in
several resolutions, asked the Government of Argentina
and the Government of the United Kingdom to resume
negotiations to find a just and lasting solution to the
sovereignty dispute, thus ending a colonial situation
imposed by the use of force in 1833.
Today, in line with that request, Argentina once
again reaffirms its positive disposition to resume
bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom to find
a solution to the question and its support of the good
offices mission that the General Assembly entrusted to
the Secretary-General to assist the parties to achieve
that goal.
28

Some three decades ago, in this same Hall, Pope
Paul VI declared from this same rostrum that
development is the new name of peace. That brief and
wise sentence is fully valid today and points towards
the path that we should follow.


I
congratulate Mr. Kavan on his election as President of
the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I also
extend my best wishes to Secretary-General Kofi
Annan in this first year of his second term in office.
Two days ago, we commemorated the first
anniversary of a terrible event that focused the
collective global consciousness on international
terrorism. Terrorism did not start on 11 September. It
was on that day that it brazenly announced itself on the
global stage, flaunting its immunity from distance and
power.
15

As a country exposed to the depredations of
terrorism for decades, India empathized with the pain
of the American people, admired their resilience in
coming to terms with the consequences and supported
the bold decision to counter-attack terrorism at its very
source.
The international community has taken some
collective decisions in the global effort to combat
terrorism and to choke off its lifelines. Security
Council resolution 1373 (2001) contains the essence of
these decisions. The Council's Counter-Terrorism
Committee should now move beyond information
compilation and legal assistance to enforcing
compliance by States known to be sponsoring,
sheltering, funding, arming and training terrorists.
In our South Asian region, nuclear blackmail has
emerged over the past few months as a new arrow in
the quiver of State-sponsored terrorism. Dark threats
were held out that actions by India to stamp out cross-
border terrorism could provoke a nuclear war. To
succumb to such blatant nuclear terrorism would mean
forgetting the bitter lessons of the 11 September
tragedy.
As far as India is concerned, we have repeatedly
clarified that no one in our country wants a war,
conventional or otherwise. Nor are we seeking any
territory. But absolutely everyone in India wants an end
to the cross-border terrorism which has claimed
thousands of innocent lives and denied entire
generations their right to a peaceful existence with
normal economic and social activity. We are
determined to end it with all the means at our
command. Let there be no doubt about that in any
quarter.
Yesterday we heard the extraordinary claim in
this Assembly that the brutal murder of innocent
civilians in Jammu and Kashmir is actually a freedom
struggle and that the forthcoming elections in that state
are a farce, since they cannot be a substitute for a
plebiscite demanded over 50 years ago. It requires an
effort of acrobatic logic to believe that the carnage
among innocents is an instrument for freedom and that
elections are a symbol of deception and repression. If
the elections are a mere fraud, why are terrorists being
trained and infiltrating India at the command of the
Inter-Services Intelligence Agency of Pakistan to kill
election candidates and to intimidate voters?
If Pakistan claims to be a crucial partner in the
international coalition against terrorism, how can it
continue to use terrorism as an instrument of State
policy against India?

How can the international coalition condone
Pakistan-directed killings of thousands of innocent
civilians  women and children included  to
promote a bizarre version of self-determination? Those
who speak of underlying or root causes of terrorism
offer alibis to the terrorists and absolve them of
responsibility for their heinous actions, such as the 11
September attacks on the United States or the 13
December attack on our Parliament.
Yesterday we heard yet another patently false and
self-serving claim that in India Muslims and other
minorities are the target of Hindu extremists. With 150
million Muslims, India has the second largest Muslim
population in the world; greater than that of Pakistan.
We are proud of the multi-religious character of our
society. Equal respect for all faiths and non-
discrimination on the basis of religion are not just part
of our Constitutional obligations, but, as the whole
world knows, they are the signature theme of India's
civilization and culture.
We have to recognize that the developmental
divide between the North and the South is becoming
wider and deeper by the day. The challenges that face
us are stark, and there is no alternative to having all
countries of the world join hands to face them together.
Over the last decade, 10 million people have been
joining the ranks of the poor each year. A quarter of the
world's population lives in extreme poverty.
We have to find US$ 24 billion annually for
investment in poor countries, if we are to achieve the
World Food Summit goal of halving hunger by 2015.
The continuation of widespread poverty, at a time
when unimaginable wealth is concentrated in a small
social layer, is totally unacceptable. The twenty-first
century has all the means to end this sad legacy of the
past centuries. What is lacking is the political will
among the developed countries to sincerely and
speedily address the legitimate developmental needs of
the developing countries, especially the least developed
ones.
16

Casting an even longer shadow over this grim
developmental canvas is global climate change, from
which the poor will most suffer, though they
contributed least to it. The recent floods and forest fires
in Europe are a forewarning that the countries of Asia
and Africa are not the only victims of the fury of a
degraded environment. The Earth's atmosphere and
biosphere know no national boundaries. The choice
before the global community is stark: Either we take
urgent steps to protect the environment or be prepared
for far worse natural calamities.
Early this month, the Johannesburg Summit for
Sustainable Development debated some of the linkages
between poverty, trade, environment, national,
international and corporate governance and global
financial flows. We emerged from the Summit with
some encouraging outcomes, but these fell well short
of the demands of our time.
It has become a categorical imperative to
understand and address man's developmental needs in
their totality, and not in isolated parts. It is
disconcerting that the highways of development are
jammed with the noisy and unruly traffic of
materialism and its brash cousin, consumerism. Human
values have become mute bystanders in most political,
economic and social activities.
The result of this imbalance between our material
and non-material needs can never be happy for
mankind. On the contrary, if we are guided by
compassion, care, feeling for our fellow human beings,
cooperation and other human values, we are bound to
get the right solutions to every problem on our planet.
Humanity is crying out for a harmonious
integration of the economic, social, political,
environmental and spiritual dimensions of
development. This task calls for the closest possible
cooperation among nations and communities, with a
readiness to accept the best from every cultural and
spiritual tradition around the globe. The United Nations
needs to take up newer and bigger initiatives in this
direction.
In this Assembly, less than a year ago, and in the
United States Congress the year before, I had extended
India's offer to coordinate a comprehensive global
development dialogue. I reiterate that offer today. If we
are to achieve the development goals we have promised
ourselves by 2015, we need such a dialogue urgently.
As we come together once again at the United
Nations, at a time of new and diverse challenges, we
should reflect on our collective commitment to the
Charter, its purposes and principles. There is a growing
perception, particularly among the weaker and poorer
countries, that responses to issues of far-reaching
impact often seem arbitrary and contradictory.
A common destiny is at stake. The world needs
collective multilateralism. It needs the United Nations,
the coming together and working together of all its
nations in the development of a common and collective
perspective.
Conflicts arise when there is no spirit of
democracy within and among nations. A genuinely
democratic framework enables us to respect alternative
points of view, to value diversity and to fashion
solutions responsive to the aspirations of people.
India's own experience as a hugely populated and
diverse nation shows how complex problems can be
addressed within a constitutional and democratic
framework.
These values need to be assiduously nurtured in
our societies, so that at least a future generation is rid
of the scourge of poverty, intolerance, obscurantism
and religious extremism.
Democratic societies are far less prone to
ideologies based on violence or militarist yearnings,
since they do not have their fingers permanently on the
trigger of a gun. We have to be vigilant against threats
to democracy worldwide arising from forces that are
opposed to it, be they rooted in fundamentalist political
ideologies or extremist religious dogmas.
All of us are aware of the challenges. Most of us
are agreed that a stable global order has to rest on the
four strong pillars of peace, security, sustainable
development and democracy. We have to ensure that
each of these pillars is strong and resilient.
We are conscious of our collective responsibility.
It is the leap from this theoretical understanding to its
practical realization that we have often failed to
execute. We should not fail again. Our future
generations will not forgive us if we do.


Let me begin by
congratulating you, Sir, on your election as President.
All speakers in this debate have reflected on the
year that has passed since 11 September 2001. It has
been a very dramatic year, and it is time for the
international community to draw some conclusions
from it. One thing is clear: the United Nations
responded quickly and resolutely to the terrorist acts
against the United States. The United Nations acted
with speed and determination to counter that threat to
global security.
For me, that is yet further proof that the United
Nations is, indeed, indispensable. We all know what
the terrorists want: to hurt open societies, to replace
cooperation with confrontation and to bring down
democracy. But we can never let the terrorists prevail
in their ambition. Nor can we tolerate the suppression
of political opposition or the persecution of religious or
ethnic minorities under the guise of combating
terrorism. In fact, it is by ensuring global respect for
international law, human rights and social justice that
we take away much of the fertile ground of terrorism.
8

The struggle against terrorism proves once again
that multilateral action and a global response are the
only sustainable means to meet common challenges.
Fighting terrorism and building peace require
global cooperation. The Secretary-General said last
week that when States decide to use force to deal with
broader threats to international peace and security, there is
no substitute for the unique legitimacy provided by the
United Nations. That is true also in the case of Iraq. The
defiance of Iraq in the face of the Security Council must
come to an end. At the heart of the issue lies the question
of weapons of mass destruction. They are weapons that
can bring suffering and death to millions of people,
including those far away from Iraq.
We want to be sure that Iraq fulfils its obligation
to halt all programmes for developing such weapons.
We also want to make sure that any weapons of mass
destruction that may already have been developed are
now destroyed. That is the task of the United Nations
weapons inspectors. I welcome the announcement that
Iraq is willing to let the inspectors return, without
conditions. This time Iraq has to cooperate fully with
the United Nations. That will also be the right way to
go to achieve the suspension of the sanctions.
If that does not happen, however, and if Iraq's
defiance continues, as the Secretary-General said, the
Security Council must face its responsibilities. That
could be a very delicate decision for the Council; it
would need to weigh the risks of various options. But
the credibility of the United Nations requires that Iraq
be made to fulfil its obligations.
Sustainable development requires global
cooperation. Throughout the world, poverty and
oppression can be exploited by extremists and can give
rise to conflict and war. Global cooperation is needed
to prevent that from happening. International security
and regional stability require the building of
democracy, respect for human rights, poverty
eradication and sustainable development.
Globalization makes it clear that social
responsibility is required not only of Governments, but
also of companies and individuals — in short, of all of us.
Ecological sustainability is the basis for human
survival. Development and the environment are
interlinked. In Johannesburg, our nations made a
commitment to translate into reality the Rio vision —
the mutually supportive integration of environmental
and development goals.
The launch of the Doha development agenda
opens the way for an equitable and responsive global
trading system. New global partnerships have changed
the way we look at patterns of production, consumption
and sustainable development, but the goals we have set
must be achieved. At Monterrey our common
responsibility was confirmed. Strong and efficient
institutions are needed at the local, regional and
international levels to carry out these commitments. We
need coherence and consistency. We need ownership.
One of the most serious new threats to security is
HIV/AIDS. Efforts to achieve sustainable development
will be in vain if we fail in our fight against HIV/AIDS
and other diseases that still hold entire populations to
ransom. When the fundamental structures of societies are
crumbling due to the devastating effects of epidemics, we
must recognize that as a threat to global security.
The Millennium Declaration is our reference
guide. Sweden fully supports the Secretary-General's
initiative to launch a strategy for the successful
attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.
Reaching those goals would in itself be the best way to
prevent violent conflict. Behind the immediate
symptoms of conflict, we often find deep-rooted
structural causes.
Even now, however, much more can be achieved
if diplomatic, economic and military means are used in
a coordinated way. Regional organizations, in
cooperation with the United Nations, have an important
role to play, and the implementation of the Secretary-
General's report (A/55/985) on the prevention of armed
conflict is crucial in this respect.
Ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict requires
global cooperation. There is an urgent need to put an
end to the occupation and to the spiral of terrorist acts,
violence and confrontation that have caused so much
suffering and bloodshed in the Middle East.
I deeply regret the two recent terrorist attacks in
Israel. I strongly urge both parties not to let the peace
process be held hostage by extremists.
The future of the region depends on a peaceful,
sustainable and just solution being reached, based on
international law and the relevant United Nations
resolutions. One way to achieve this is presented in the
road map recently adopted by the European Union,
9

building on the proposal from the Arab League meeting
in Beirut. The road map includes the holding of
elections in the Palestinian territories in January 2003,
aiming at the establishment of a peaceful and
democratic Palestinian State in 2005. The rights of
Israel and Palestine to security and statehood cannot be
secured by military means. They can be secured only
by negotiation.
Safeguarding human rights requires global
cooperation. Addressing this issue, I wish to begin by
paying tribute to Mrs. Mary Robinson, the outgoing
United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Through her strong commitment, she has had an
impact. She has made a difference, and we are grateful
to her. I warmly welcome her successor, Mr. Sergio
Vieira de Mello, and assure him of our continued
cooperation and support.
All human beings are born free and equal in
dignity and in rights. Still, vast numbers of women,
men and children all over the world are deprived of
their declared, inherent and universal human rights.
Harassment, torture and killings take place daily,
including through abhorrent practices such as genital
mutilation and stoning. Sometimes the reason for a
person's being abused is his or her gender, religion,
beliefs, sexual orientation, or the fact that he or she is
disabled. We have a duty to act against discrimination.
The principles of non-discrimination and diversity are
fundamental to a humane and decent society. The
sovereignty of States must never be used as a shield
behind which violations of human rights take place.
The General Assembly has taken the first step to
establish an international convention to promote and
protect the rights and dignity of persons with
disabilities. This is a very welcome development.
The Secretary-General's report (A/57/169) on
how to eliminate violence against women and girls
committed in the name of honour is another significant
contribution. Legal, protective and other preventive
measures for women and girls at risk should be
addressed in a concerted manner.
Human rights are often spoken about, but we also
need to put power behind the words. The creation of the
International Criminal Court is a remarkable achievement
in the progressive development of international law. Its
fundamental purpose is to eliminate impunity for crimes
against humanity, genocide and war crimes. We all need
to carefully safeguard the integrity of the Rome Statute so
that its object and purpose will not be undermined. The
rights of every individual must be respected, and every
individual, irrespective of nationality or position in
society, must be held responsible for his or her actions.
Disarmament of weapons of mass destruction
requires global cooperation. International, as well as
national, security depends on strong multilateral
frameworks. Our task is to implement and reinforce the
important international conventions banning or
regulating weapons of mass destruction. A verification
regime is necessary to strengthen the Biological and
Toxin Weapons Convention. Failure to reach concrete
progress at the Review Conference in November will
have serious consequences.
The Chemical Weapons Convention provides for
the destruction of a whole category of weapons of mass
destruction. That is true disarmament, and it should be
implemented in a full and timely manner. The
Convention will be reviewed in April of next year, for
the first time in its young history.
Implementing the agreements made at the Non-
Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conferences is of
fundamental importance. That is particularly true for
the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon
States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear
arsenals, and 12 other steps towards accomplishing that
goal. As part of the New Agenda Coalition, Sweden will
continue to contribute to this process.
The disarmament process should also encompass
non-strategic nuclear weapons, as confirmed at the last
NPT Review Conference. It is vital that the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty enter into
force. I call upon all States to adhere to that Treaty.
The Conference on Disarmament must start
substantive work when it resumes its session early next
year. It is unacceptable that a few countries continue to
block progress. Sweden, Algeria, Belgium, Chile and
Colombia recently presented a proposal for a
programme of work that takes into consideration the
interests of all parties. I urge China and the United
States to actively work for a solution.
The challenges ahead of us are neither fewer than
last year nor smaller in magnitude. To face them, we need
a modern and more efficient United Nations. A modern
United Nations requires a Security Council that reflects
the realities of today's international relations. We need to
intensify efforts to achieve comprehensive reform of the
10

Security Council. That issue has been discussed for many
years, with little success. In the end, it is a question of
the credibility and legitimacy of the Organization.
Sweden favours enlargement of the Security
Council to make room for increased representation of
Member States, not least developing States. We would
like to see such a reform have the broadest possible
support. If this entailed, as a first step, an enlargement
limited to non-permanent members, while not
excluding new permanent members at a later stage,
Sweden would support such a solution. An immediate
increase would better reflect the realities of today's
international community and the growing number of
Member States.
Let me finish by greeting Switzerland, one of the
host countries of the United Nations and warmly
welcoming it as a full Member of the United Nations.
Shortly, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste, a
country where this Organization has been deeply and
positively involved, will also become a new member of
the United Nations family. I see significance in this. I
see proof that joint and integrated efforts by the
international community can produce remarkable
results. It fills me with hope that the United Nations
has, in fact, entered this millennium with vigour and
determination.
I am convinced that the United Nations is on the
right track. Through joint efforts by all of us, the
United Nations will continue to be a beacon of hope for
humanity in the twenty-first century.


I wish
at the outset to extend to you, Sir, and to your friendly
country, the Czech Republic, warm congratulations on
your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. Your record of
prudence and diplomatic skill will certainly be
instrumental in meeting the lofty goals sought by all
nations and peoples. A word of thanks and tribute goes
to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Han
Seung-soo, for his outstanding stewardship of the fifty-
sixth session.
Two States are being admitted to the membership
of our Organization: the Swiss Confederation and,
soon, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. Despite
9

their differing histories, each will strengthen the fabric
and enrich the tapestry of the United Nations. Jordan
bids a warm welcome to both of them and wishes them
well.
The opening of the current session coincided with
the first anniversary of the heinous terrorist attacks
against New York City, Washington, D.C., and
Pennsylvania. As I reiterate Jordan's condemnation of
those terrorist acts, let me express once again our deep
condolences and sympathy to the families of the
thousands of victims who lost their lives as a result of
the cowardly and criminal acts that targeted our
Organization's host city and host nation. The list of
victims is multinational, multi-ethnic, multi-religious
and multicultural. That graphically illustrates the fact
that terrorism is indeed blind to all those criteria. The
international community rose to the occasion when it
provided a prompt, collective, decisive response.
Indeed, it was the United Nations itself that provided
the forum for a global coalition underpinned by both
our common political will and the compelling case
before us. Thus, the Assembly adopted resolution 56/1,
while the Security Council adopted its resolutions 1368
(2001) and 1373 (2001). That set of decisions,
embraced by our world body, which represents all
human cultures, ideologies and ethnicities, created the
official platform for launching the ongoing global
campaign against terrorism.
My country, Jordan, has also suffered from
terrorism and its evils. Terrorists have struck at our
national symbols, our citizens and our interests because
of our principled positions, foremost among them our
firm commitment to fight terrorism. All along, Jordan
has been in the vanguard of every international effort
aimed at hunting down this plague and confronting it,
including by draining its resources as part of an overall
drive to uproot it altogether.
In parallel, Jordan's stance is clear-cut and
decisive. We reject and condemn terrorism in all its
forms and manifestations. We have declared in no
uncertain terms this firm conviction against terrorism,
irrespective of its source, the perpetrators or the
identity of the victims. Furthermore, we allow no room
for any justification whatsoever, including any possible
arguments on religious, ethnic or national grounds.
Thus, Jordan treats all forms of terrorism as criminal
acts.
In the same context, let me stress our conviction
that the eradication of terrorism is a common goal of
all States and societies. I wish therefore to draw the
Assembly's attention to the blatant tendency, driven by
pernicious and wicked intentions, to falsely link
terrorism to a specific religion or culture. I trust that
this gathering shares my view that it is now imperative
to confront these dubious attempts. Indeed, dealing
with such schemes is indispensable if we are to
maintain the sustained and concerted campaign to
achieve the paramount objective: the total eradication
of terrorism.
The current situation in the Middle East is
extremely dangerous. The whole landscape is
constantly changing for the worse, especially in the
occupied Palestinian territories. Israel's reoccupation
of the Palestinian Authority's territories and the
perpetuation of this occupation, together with the
measures and policies emanating thereof, particularly
policies of closure and siege, have created intolerable
living conditions for the Palestinian people. These
unbearable conditions have prompted several
humanitarian agencies and international organs to
declare a state of emergency. Israeli measures to
strangle the Palestinian people economically and
politically, with a view to bringing the Palestinians to
their knees and to coercing them into surrendering their
rights, have reached inadmissible levels of seriousness.
Malnutrition rates among the Palestinian population
have doubled. Diseases related to malnutrition and
hunger have become widespread, particularly among
children, women and the elderly. The joint impact of all
these factors has created breeding grounds for
frustration and despair, which inevitably generate
hatred, grudges and violence.
Therefore, this situation must be addressed
effectively and expeditiously. We hope that the first
move will come from Israel in the form of ending its
occupation of Palestinian towns without delay. We also
expect Israel to cease forthwith its policies of closures
and siege. It is in Israel's interest to pursue
constructive policies towards the Palestinians in order
to restore mutual confidence and to rehabilitate the
values of reconciliation and coexistence between the
two peoples. It is our considered view that Israel's
current approach is irrational, as it results in excessive
use of force, which in turn fuels and deepens hatred
and replenishes the sources of violence.
10

While we welcome the few visible signs of relief,
as reflected in the accord reached by the Palestinian
and Israeli sides on 19 August 2002, which calls for
progressive withdrawal by Israel from certain
Palestinian towns that have been reoccupied by Israel,
we call on Israel to implement faithfully and
expeditiously Security Council resolution 1402 (2002),
which provides for full Israeli withdrawal from all
Palestinian cities.
From a political and humanitarian point of view,
Jordan stands against targeting Israeli civilians and
concurs with the need to address the whole spectrum of
security issues. However, it maintains that the only
viable course for addressing the Palestinian-Israeli
question lies in the resumption of the peace process as
a whole, from the point where it stalled and within the
agreed framework established on the basis of complete
Israeli withdrawal from all Arab territories occupied
since 1967, including the Palestinian, Syrian and
Lebanese territories; the establishment of an
independent Palestinian State with East Jerusalem as
its capital, pursuant to relevant Security Council
resolutions, particularly 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425
(1978) and 1397 (2002).
In that context, I wish to stress the significance of
the initiative adopted by the Arab leaders at the Beirut
Arab Summit last March. That initiative outlined a
balanced approach in terms of practical ideas and
arguments that demonstrate beyond any doubt a
genuine pan-Arab commitment to just, lasting and
comprehensive peace. That plan is a pledge by Arab
States to conclude peace agreements with Israel in
return for its complete withdrawal from the Palestinian,
Syrian and Lebanese territories to the 4 June 1967
borders, the establishment of an independent
Palestinian State with East Jerusalem its capital and
finding a just and agreed solution to the Palestinian
refugees question on the basis of the relevant United
Nations resolutions.
I trust that the Government of Israel will rise to
the level of the hopes and aspirations of the Arab
peoples and the people of Israel to live in peace, justice
and dignity. We hope that the Government of Israel will
be forthcoming in response to that balanced and sincere
initiative, which gained the acceptance of all States and
parties interested in the peace process. Furthermore,
this initiative is also in line with the vision and the
commitment outlined by President George W. Bush of
the United States on the form and aim of a final
solution on the Palestinian-Israeli track based on the
establishment of an independent Palestinian state
existing alongside the State of Israel by mid-2005 at
the latest.
In that regard, Jordan supports efforts being made
to draw up a clear road map leading to the
implementation of President Bush's commitment
through, first, defining the obligations of both the
Palestinian and Israeli sides; secondly, setting a clear
timetable for all phases of carrying out those
obligations so that the deadline for the birth of the
independent Palestinian State will not, under any
circumstances, extend beyond mid-2005; and, thirdly,
agreeing to the creation of an international supervisory
mechanism that ensures the timely and orderly
implementation of those measures as well as
monitoring the implementation process.
We hope that this vision will be examined at the
Quartet meeting in New York within the next few days,
with a view to adopting it into a plan of action and a
comprehensive international obligation. Subsequently,
the parties will embark on the implementation process
within the specified framework, whose outcome will be
the establishment of an independent Palestinian State
within less than three years. We also hope that this
achievement will generate a fresh impetus to conclude
comprehensive peace on the Syrian-Israeli and
Lebanese-Israeli tracks within the same time frame.
In compliance with the United Nations principles
enshrined in the Charter, particularly Article 2,
paragraph 4, which prohibits the threat or use of force
in international relations, and considering that this right
is exclusively assigned to the Security Council so that
the Council may exercise it in case of a breach of
international peace and security, Jordan believes that
the most appropriate means for resolving the matters
outstanding between the United Nations and Iraq is to
ensure the immediate and full implementation of all
relevant Security Council resolutions, including those
relating to Kuwaiti prisoners and missing persons as
well as to the return of the weapons inspectors. If these
conditions are met, the people of Iraq, who have been
suffering for too long, would be saved from military
action that would exacerbate that suffering. The
aforementioned formula would also spare the entire
region the dire consequences of military operations.
In the context of emphasizing the principle of
resolving disputes by peaceful means, we invite the

Islamic Republic of Iran to respond to the call made by
the United Arab Emirates to reach a peaceful
settlement of the problem of the three islands. We urge
Iran to accept referral of this case to the International
Court of Justice. We also encourage the efforts made
by the two sides in Cyprus to reach a just and peaceful
solution to the Cypriot question. We also call for the
peaceful resolution of the dispute between India and
Pakistan over Kashmir. We have no doubt that the
Assembly will support and strengthen those efforts.
Jordan recognizes the nature of the
transformations that have taken place in international
relations and the global landscape over the past decade.
Thus, we stress the need for the United Nations to
adapt accordingly, through effective streamlining, so
that it will maintain its relevance as the primary
international forum of global cooperation and
coordination in all human fields. A robust United
Nations would also remain the true embodiment of the
hopes and the aspirations of all mankind.
Here, I wish to pay special tribute to Secretary-
General Kofi Annan for the foresight, dynamism and
flexibility he brings into play while performing his
duties. Those fine personal qualities enhance his
impressive performance, which Jordan supports and
appreciates.
In closing, I would like to warmly welcome the
establishment of the International Criminal Court and
the entry into force of its Statute. Our expectation is
that the Court will enhance the great principles and
purposes of the United Nations itself. Let me underline
our absolute support for all efforts aimed at
strengthening and revitalizing the United Nations
system, including the ongoing structural reform
exercise and the review of Security Council
membership with a view to its expansion in order to
make it more representative of the new international
realities. Finally, I wish the Assembly all success in its
deliberations.