Let me express my
sincere congratulations, Sir, on your election as President of
the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. Under your
leadership, I am confident the Assembly will effectively
address the issues before it.
My Government salutes the Secretary-General, the
Secretariat and the United Nations agencies for their
dedication and commitment to building peace and
confidence around the world. The Solomon Islands also
applauds the Secretary-General’s programme of
modernization and revitalization of the Organization,
aimed at creating a more effective United Nations to
better serve the development needs of its Members, thus
ensuring peace and security in the twenty-first century.
My country will be a committed partner in achieving this
goal in the new millennium.
The Government and people of the Solomon Islands
warmly welcome the admission of our sister nations —
the Republic of Nauru, the Republic of Kiribati and the
Kingdom of Tonga — as new Members of the United
Nations. This makes the principle of universality, as
stipulated by the United Nations Charter, a near reality. It
is also further testimony that the United Nations is
indispensable. Its body of international laws is central to
the protection and security of our small island States.
While there have been important successes for the
international community, peace and development in many
parts of the world remain precarious. The past decade has
witnessed the increase in the world’s illicit drug problem
and its related crimes, terrorism, large-scale movement
and trade in small arms and the proliferation of nuclear
weapons and weapons of mass destruction. Equally
alarming is the rise in local and regional conflicts in
various parts of the world and the threat they pose to
national and international peace, stability and
advancement. Poverty, meanwhile, remains a major
obstacle to the economic progress of many developing
countries, especially the least developed. In addition, the
economic threats associated with globalization and trade
liberalization have increased in recent years.
For small island developing States like the Solomon
Islands, post-cold-war security now embraces human,
environmental and economic dimensions. The most
important asset of any country is its people. In a small
island developing State like mine, investment in human-
resource development is not only vital, but a critical
prerequisite to embracing national peace, stability and
economic prosperity.
In this connection, the Barbados Programme of
Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States, as reiterated by many representatives
at the special session earlier this week, remains a valid
blueprint for the sustainable development of small island
6

developing States, including my country. The environmental
and economic vulnerabilities of small island developing
States present major difficulties to our efforts to achieve
sustainable development. Climate change and sea-level rise
are matters of survival for the small island developing
States. Annex I parties must fulfil their commitment under
the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change.
The increasing incidence and magnitude of natural
disasters are particularly alarming. On the other hand, the
overall decline in official development assistance flows, the
erosion of trade preferences, falling primary commodity
prices and limited market access could severely harm our
small and fragile economies. Hence, greater international
support is required for the successful implementation of the
Barbados Programme of Action in the future.
My Government recognizes the importance of good
governance to advance human development and to promote
sustained economic growth. We are taking measures
towards this end. The call for good governance, however,
must be accompanied by the necessary resources and the
creation of an enabling regional and international
environment.
Allow me to outline the views and some of the steps
taken by my Government to address some of the
aforementioned issues, including our efforts to create and
strengthen accountable administrative and financial
institutions, as well as the appropriate policies and
legislation.
When my Government assumed office in September
1997, we were confronted with a major financial crisis in
the public sector. The domestic financial system was
overburdened with public debt, which the Government was
unable to service. Additionally, the Asian financial crisis in
late 1997 further deepened the crisis in the domestic
economy. The public service was unable to deliver goods
and services effectively and efficiently. The private sector
became stagnant. This state of affairs demanded an urgent
overhaul of the public sector and the need to create a
vibrant private sector. Short-term, medium-term and long-
term measures had to be taken.
Thus, my Government responded with a series of
policy statements committing itself to a broad-based
programme of policy and structural reforms. The overall
goals of the policy and structural-reform programme are to
foster financial and macroeconomic stability, to establish a
more effective and efficient public service and to create an
environment for the private sector that is conducive to
viable growth and sustainability.
It is obvious that, although we have the primary
responsibility to implement our reform initiatives, we
cannot do it alone. The experiences of small economies
that have undertaken similar reforms indicate that such
reforms can be accelerated by access to capital — often
grant in aid — technical assistance, technology transfers,
assured markets for primary commodities and links to
new market locations. Therefore, the political will that my
Government has demonstrated has to be supplemented by
significant international support if we are to fulfil the
aspirations of our people.
I am grateful to our bilateral and multilateral
development partners for the positive response they have
shown so far towards our reform initiatives. Additional
assistance will be required to implement, in particular, our
medium-term development strategy and our public sector
investment programme.
Peace and development are mutually interdependent.
In this connection, the current insurgency on the island of
Guadalcanal is a big set-back to our development efforts.
It has already affected various sectors of the economy and
caused the displacement of more than 30,000 people.
While the crisis may not be comparable to major conflicts
in other parts of the world, its net result in human loss
and suffering is relative. This crisis has to be understood
in the context of our smallness, our limited resources, our
ethnic and cultural diversity and our history. The Solomon
Islands, with a population of 400,000, has more than 80
different languages. Thus, if the insurgency is left to
escalate, it could seriously threaten national peace and
security.
My Government is, therefore, firmly committed to
an early resolution of the conflict. The engagement of the
Commonwealth special envoy is a preventive measure to
bring about reconciliation between the parties concerned.
I wish to acknowledge the assistance of the
Commonwealth Secretariat in this regard. Three
agreements to settle the crisis have been reached. We are
working very hard to ensure their implementation.
I am also grateful for the prompt response of the
United Nations Secretary-General to my request for a
United Nations mission to assess the humanitarian aspects
of the crisis. My Government is committed to working
closely with the appropriate United Nations agencies to
implement the recommendations of that mission. We also
7

appreciate the humanitarian assistance of our development
partners, including the Red Cross, to the displaced
population. My Government is fully aware of the need to
pursue the necessary policies and programmes for nation-
building through the creation of long-term development
strategies that promote social cohesion and national unity.
My Government attaches great importance to regional
cooperation, security and development. The political,
economic and environmental regional organizations in our
region, including the South Pacific Forum, the South
Pacific Environmental Programme, the Pacific Community,
the South Pacific Forum Fisheries Agency and the South
Pacific Geoscience Commission, provide vital mechanisms
for policy advice and action on issues of regional concern
and interest, especially in the areas of the environment,
population, fisheries resources management and
vulnerability index. The Solomon Islands has benefited
from their contributions and thus will continue to support
and actively participate in their activities. The thirtieth
South Pacific Forum meeting, to be held in Palau next
week, provides an opportunity for us to discuss how best to
strengthen regional cooperation in order to effectively cope
with the challenges of the new millennium and to harness
the opportunities it will bring.
Furthermore, my Government will continue to support
the efforts of the Government of Papua New Guinea to
rebuild peace and confidence on Bougainville. We also note
the contributions of other South Pacific neighbours and of
the United Nations in this process.
The Solomon Islands further welcomes the progress
made in the last decade in the decolonization process in
New Caledonia. We reiterate our support for the aspirations
of the Kanaks of New Caledonia to attain self-government
and political independence. The process towards self-
determination for other remaining non-self-governing
territories, including Guam and French Polynesia, must also
be facilitated. The United Nations is well placed to continue
to facilitate this process.
My Government is concerned about the deterioration
of law and order in East Timor following the referendum
on self-determination. The parties concerned must now
honour the outcome of the referendum. Violence must not
be used to deny the choice that was made by the
overwhelming majority: the chance to move forward. The
Solomon Islands appreciates the leading role of Australia
and New Zealand in the international peacekeeping mission
in East Timor.
At this juncture, let me renew the support of the
Solomon Islands for the appeal of the 22 million people
of the Republic of China on Taiwan to be represented in
the United Nations and its related organizations. Taiwan
is capable of and willing to fulfil the obligations
contained in the Charter of the United Nations. Its
outstanding economic success has enabled it to play a
positive role in promoting world trade and in eradicating
poverty. It has rendered development assistance, including
technical training and technology transfer, to developing
countries, including my own. It has responded to United
Nations appeals for emergency relief and rehabilitation
assistance to countries that have suffered from natural
disasters and wars.
Regarding the accomplishments of the Republic of
China on Taiwan, are these not sufficient to merit
diplomatic recognition from the international community?
Taiwan's membership in the United Nations system would
contribute substantially to the security and stability of the
Asia-Pacific region and of the world in general. It would
also provide an effective basis for peaceful dialogue. The
process of self-realization, supported by the United
Nations, has resulted in the membership of North and
South Korea in the United Nations. The United Nations
ought to give similar consideration to the question of
Taiwan. Ideally, the membership of the Republic of China
on Taiwan, together with the People's Republic of China,
will make a stronger United Nations. The Solomon
Islands would welcome the opportunity to work through
the United Nations system to achieve a peaceful and just
resolution.
My Government joins those who spoke before me in
supporting the call by the Secretary-General to accord
high priority to preventive action to address the rise in
local, national and regional conflicts. Are the current
mechanisms available to the United Nations adequate to
effectively resolve small-scale armed conflicts? Is there a
role for regional organizations to make a contribution to
this preventive approach? The reform of the Security
Council should include consideration of a workable and
effective preventive strategy. In addition, a
reconfiguration of the United Nations regional groupings
is necessary to reflect present-day realities and to
accommodate the interests and concerns of Member
States.
Perhaps the most profound challenge for the next
century is how to deal with the imperatives of
globalization, that is, capitalizing on its positives and
mitigating its negatives. In other words, the challenge of
8

globalization in the new era is not to halt the expansion of
global markets, but to find the rules and institutions for
stronger governance to preserve the advantages of global
markets and competition within a framework of cooperation
to enhance human progress.
Only the United Nations and other international
institutions have the scope and the legitimacy to generate
the principles, norms and rules that are essential if
globalization is to benefit everyone. Developing countries,
in particular the least developed, need international support
to build the capacities to enable us to become more
effectively and beneficially integrated into the global
economy. Debt relief, new and additional resources for
development and better diverse trade opportunities are
required to facilitate this process.
The Millennium Assembly, to be held in September
2000, affords a unique opportunity for all States to discuss
and exchange views on how best to address the many
challenges facing us. My Government looks forward to
participating actively in this important gathering. Equally
important are the special session of the General Assembly
to review the implementation of the outcome of the World
Summit for Social Development and Further Initiatives: the
review of the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women;
and the Third United Nations Conference on the Least
Developed Countries, to be held in the year 2001.
Finally, the United Nations needs adequate financial
resources to achieve its objectives. The current financial
difficulties do not bode well for the Organization. Member
States must honour their Charter obligations and pay their
dues in full, on time, and without conditions. Despite our
own economic and financial constraints, my Government
has settled most of its arrears to the United Nations,
including contributions to the regular budget for 1999 and
peacekeeping operations.
This century has witnessed vast advances in transport
and communications technology, the increase of global
trade and wealth and improvements in the area of
international peace and security. New information and
communications technologies have driven globalization.
Unfortunately, these achievements, including the benefits
and opportunities of globalization, have not been widely
enjoyed and distributed. Global governance of globalization
must focus on human security, development, equity, ethics,
inclusion and sustainability. Let us unite in the spirit of the
new millennium to build a better world to live in.


First of all,
permit me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to your
important post as President of the General Assembly. We
are convinced that thanks to your wisdom and experience
you will successfully guide the deliberations of this
important forum.
Over the past century mankind has made
unprecedented strides in its overall progress. It has
demonstrated with unprecedented force the creative genius
and potential of the human mind. But at the same time,
unfortunately, it has highlighted inherent human failings
that are the root causes of tremendous social and political
upheavals, the further exacerbation of global problems
and the emergence of new challenges.
One of the most significant achievements of the
twentieth century is the founding of the United Nations,
with its indispensable legal framework and mechanisms
giving it the tools to organize collective action on the part
of States in order to counter current and future threats.
Tajikistan would like to see the strengthening of the
United Nations and of its Security Council, as the body
responsible for the maintenance of international peace and
security.
It is extremely timely and useful, on the threshold of
the twenty-first century, to rethink philosophically the
lessons we have learned in order to define the principal
parameters of a future world order and to develop a
programme of action to put them into practice.
We see many valuable and mutually enriching ideas
in such initiatives as the convening in the year 2000, at
the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, and the
millennium summit; the proposal by Russia to elaborate
a concept of peace in the twenty-first century; the idea of
Iran of a dialogue between civilizations; and the plans of
a number of States regarding a culture of peace and other
initiatives.
Tajikistan, for its part, intends to continue
contributing, insofar as it is able, to this intellectual
endeavour aimed at encouraging all States to join their

efforts and concentrate on the main areas of international
cooperation.
Having won their independence eight years ago, the
people of Tajikistan have made their choice in favour of
democracy. Although our movement towards the reform of
the political system and market transformations in the social
and political sphere has been seriously tested, despite all
odds we have risen to the challenge. Today we can state
firmly that we will not veer from the road we have chosen
of building a democratic, law-abiding and secular society in
Tajikistan.
The most recent proof of this are the results of a
popular referendum on amendments to the Constitution of
the Republic of Tajikistan, held on 26 September last,
which have demonstrated growing support for efforts of the
Government to establish lasting peace and accord in our
country and, on that basis, to build up further civil society
and to form stable democratic institutions.
Many States have needed hundreds of years to reach
today’s level of democracy. Tajikistan, like other new or
restored democracies, will have to cover that distance
within a shorter period of time while gradually tackling
difficult and complex tasks in the civil, political, economic,
social and cultural areas. It is clear that this will require
timely, adequate and coordinated support from the United
Nations, and we look forward to such support.
I wish to note with great satisfaction that the
transitional period provided for in the General Agreement
on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in
Tajikistan has entered its final stretch. Thus the way
towards further strengthening of the fundamentals of
peaceful democratic development has now been opened up.
In this context of critical importance, we are looking
forward in the next few months to presidential and
parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, which we hope will
be successful with the necessary assistance from the United
Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe.
Now more than ever before, the peace process in
Tajikistan needs active support, particularly material and
financial assistance from the international community. We
hope to see remedied very soon the situation wherein donor
States allocated only a small percentage of funds pledged
in response to the appeal made this year by the Secretary-
General of the United Nations for humanitarian assistance
to Tajikistan. We would like also to express the hope that
at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, as in
previous years, full support will be forthcoming for the
draft resolution on granting international assistance for
post-conflict projects in Tajikistan.
The Government of Tajikistan, despite great
difficulties, has consistently been implementing a
programme of economic reforms in order to create an
effective market economy. Step by step, an appropriate
legal framework is being set up to provide a favourable
environment for the development of small and
medium-sized businesses, for foreign investments and for
the promotion of market institutions, including in the
areas of finance and banking.
The efforts of our Government are being supported
by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and
a number of other influential and authoritative
international financial and economic institutions and
agencies. At this new stage of development resulting from
the transformation in our economic and political systems,
we in Tajikistan are counting on the international
community to provide as much support and assistance as
it can.
The disparity in the value placed on human life and
tragedy depending on whether one is in Europe or
elsewhere is cause for profound regret. If a hotbed of
tension flares up in Europe, it is contained and eliminated
on the double. And this is wonderful. However, it is
particularly hard for us to bear given the large-scale
conflicts that have been spilling blood in Asia for
decades. And is Afghanistan really not a European
problem — Afghanistan, whose drugs are destroying the
lives of hundreds of thousands of unfortunates, including
in Europe? Afghanistan is not just Asia’s pain and
tragedy. It is Europe’s, too.
We are extremely perturbed by the continuing intra-
Afghan conflict. The international community must take
all necessary steps to restore peace in Afghanistan as
quickly as possible. It is unthinkable that the 20-year civil
war that has already wreaked such irreparable losses on
the long-suffering Afghan people should turn into a new
100-year war and continue into the third millennium.
We are deeply convinced that the only way to put an
end to the long-drawn-out bloodshed in Afghanistan is
through a political settlement to the conflict which would
have as its cornerstone the formation of a broad-based
Government that reflects and protects the interests of all

political, ethnic and religious groups and strata of Afghan
society.
We are sure that the main thrust in any settlement to
the conflict in Afghanistan should be towards strengthening
the leading role of the United Nations as the key mediator
between the parties in restoring peace and achieving
national reconciliation: the efforts of other international
organizations, and of States, should complement and
reinforce the work of the United Nations; they should not
be undertaken in isolation from it, much less run counter to
it.
In the context of strengthening the central role played
by the United Nations in coordinating international efforts
with regard to Afghanistan, the “six plus two” group of
friends and neighbours must redouble its efforts. We
believe that the Security Council should once again very
seriously review the situation in and around Afghanistan
and that it should take action, including imposing sanctions
against those who are violating Security Council and
General Assembly resolutions.
Engulfed in the flames of conflict, Afghanistan is the
source of the many dangers, destabilizing the situation in
Tajikistan, the whole of Central Asia and far beyond. In the
countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States,
active bilateral and multilateral cooperation is under way on
countering the penetration from Afghanistan, and the
proliferation in our region, of militant Taliban ideology,
weapons, crime, terrorism and various forms of extremism.
I wish in particular to stress the seriousness of the
drug problem. Specifically, the protracted war in
Afghanistan has turned that country into one of the world’s
main drug centres. The Taliban movement has chosen an
extremely dangerous course in turning the territory under its
control into a gigantic drug production and distribution
factory and warehouse. Also, despite appeals from the
international community, this factory of death continues to
increase its output.
In this context, I should like to remind the Assembly
of the proposal I put forward at the twentieth special
session of the General Assembly in June 1998 (A/5-
20/PV.2) to create a “cordon sanitaire” around Afghanistan
that would put a covering force along the drug routes out
of that country. This idea was conceived because, given the
current social and economic conditions in our country, it is
no simple matter for Tajikistan to guard its 1,500-kilometre
frontier with Afghanistan reliably. There is also a trend
towards using Tajikistan not only as a transit route for
drugs but also as a reprocessing station, and even towards
expanding the market with Tajik consumers, all part of
the plans of international criminal groups to destabilize
the situation in our country. Still, the bulk of the drugs
finding their way into our territory is still destined for
transshipment to other countries, primarily European ones
through Russia and the Transcaucasus. In this sense, the
Tajik-Afghan border is the first line of defence for many
other States, and the joint efforts of Tajik and Russian
border guards to plug the leaks in it are serving the
interests of a substantial part of the international
community.
We note with satisfaction that our appeal has not
gone unheeded and that over the past year there has been
a breakthrough in Tajikistan’s cooperation with the
relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the United
Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP),
whose leadership’s support for the measures taken by the
Government of Tajikistan to combat drug trafficking is
becoming ever more active.
Under the agreements and projects reached and
developed between the Government of Tajikistan and
UNDCP, a number of specific activities are planned to
increase the anti-drug capabilities of law enforcement
agencies and the military, in particular those operating in
areas adjoining the Tajik-Afghan border. An anti-drug
agency reporting directly to the President of the Republic
has been established. Cooperation between Tajikistan and
UNDCP is a shining example of how efforts can be
combined in order to fight shoulder to shoulder against
one of the most terrible human evils. We are open to this
kind of cooperation with all interested States, international
organizations and institutions.
The world has recently been witness to brazen acts
by international terrorists who are increasingly operating
under the banners of political extremism and religious
fanaticism. Tajikistan shares the view that the fight
against terrorism is one of the most pressing problems
facing mankind today. Suffice it to mention the situation
in Afghanistan, which confirms that narco-dollars are
helping create an environment favourable to terrorism.
We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations
and deem it necessary to coordinate the actions of the
entire world community to eradicate this scourge at the
global, regional and national levels. We think it would be
useful to convene, under United Nations auspices, a year-
2000 conference to decide on joint organized world action
to combat terrorism; this will be discussed at the fifty-
fourth session of the General Assembly.
3

Tajikistan has consistently supported United Nations
efforts in the sphere of environmental protection. We
appreciate the growing United Nations attention to the
serious ecological problems facing our country and other
States of Central Asia. We hope that the approach of the
year 2000, which the United Nations has declared the
International Year of Mountains, will help mobilize the
international community’s potential to help preserve
biodiversity and natural mountain ecological systems. This
is of particular importance to Tajikistan as a predominantly
mountainous country.
We note with satisfaction that the leadership of the
Secretariat, in particular Under-Secretary-General Sergio
Vieira de Mello, is showing increasing interest in
cooperation with our country to ward off the threat of a
major natural disaster in the Central Asian region related to
the problem of lake Sarez.
In this context, we believe it is time to focus world
attention on the question of fresh water in all its aspects.
Therefore, Tajikistan has proposed that 2003 be declared
the International Year of Water. This initiative is prompted
by the menacing deterioration of a situation in which
millions of people lack access to clean water. It is well
known that because of water pollution half of the world’s
population lives in unsanitary conditions; more than 5
million people a year die, and more than 3 billion become
ill. As the population increases, the likelihood of “water
wars” between States for sources of fresh water grows ever
greater. Issues of water and other challenges of the new age
are thus directly linked to problems of security in the
context of interdependence.
In addition to its humanitarian aspects, the problem of
water has other dimensions, in particular economic and
ecological ones. Water is our common heritage, and it is
necessary to ensure that all States share in the responsibility
to preserve it for the benefit of future generations.
Constructive global cooperation could become a worthy
political dimension of the twenty-first century, and could
guarantee that this will never acquire a military aspect.
We hope that the international community will respond
favourably to our initiative on the resolution of water
problems, which are of crucial importance not only for
Tajikistan, which is rich in water resources, but also for the
majority of other States Members of the United Nations.
It is vital to repair broken links and to create a new
model for relations, particularly in the area of transport and
communication. Addressing that key task will to a large
extent determine the development in the next millennium
of all Central Asian States that lack an outlet to the sea;
these include Tajikistan.
My people has drawn new strength from peace and
stability. The construction of a railroad, industrial
enterprises and social infrastructure is now under way
along the ancient historic Great Silk Road, which runs
through the territory of Tajikistan. This year we are
completing construction of a transboundary route that will
give us access to the sea. That is our contribution to
restoring direct communication among individuals and
peoples along an ancient route that in the Middle Ages
served as a bridge between East and West and that made
possible dialogue among civilizations.
We expect that in the near future goods will flow
along this route in both directions. This will undoubtedly
foster better mutual understanding among all peoples of
the East and the West, and also will have a positive effect
on strengthening regional security and cooperation among
neighbouring countries in Central Asia.
Experience has shown that turning to one’s own
roots is always a powerful means of spiritual therapy,
especially for those who have overcome the tragedy of a
fratricidal war and are entering a period of active post-
conflict reconstruction. Now we are at the stage of
renewal and of building a new democratic society, and we
look back once more at our long history. At a time when,
with active support from the United Nations, the process
of national reconciliation is nearing its objective, our
country is celebrating the 1,100th anniversary of the
founding of the State of the Samanids, which marked the
birth of Tajik statehood. We express our appreciation to
the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization and to all the States and international
organizations that responded to our appeal and have
supported efforts to undertake international activities
devoted to this momentous anniversary.
The age of the Samanids was not only a time of an
unprecedented flourishing of science, culture and
philosophy and of the emergence of Tajik statehood. It
was also the time of the birth and blossoming of the
mediaeval humanism that so enriched world civilization.
Allow me to express the hope that in the third
millennium, now so close, the humanistic ideals will
illuminate for the world community the arduous road to
universal peace, sustainable development and peaceful
construction.


Antigua and
Barbuda offers hearty congratulations on the election of
the president of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth
session. His efforts towards bringing about the
independence of Namibia are well known, and many of
us remember when he occupied a seat on the right side of
33

the main section of this Hall, sitting as an observer behind
the name plate of the South-West Africa People's
Organization (SWAPO).
Mr. Gurirab's call for the return to Africa of its
plundered artwork and artifacts struck a chord, as those of
us who studied the African liberation struggles will recall
that some 25 years ago, when he was a younger individual,
he pleaded with this body for the return of African icons
which adorned European and North American museums and
private collections. My country is most supportive of his
plea and would urge that the priceless treasures of artwork,
icons and relics be returned to the continent from which
they were taken.
My country also wishes to thank his predecessor,
Didier Opertti, who hails from Latin America and the
Caribbean, for the astute and skilful manner in which he
conducted the affairs of the fifty-third session. Likewise,
my nation's sentiments go out to Secretary-General Kofi
Annan, and we wish him continued success in the arduous
tasks of bringing peace, harmony, development and justice
to a global community not yet united into a true family of
nations.
A warm welcome is simultaneously extended to the
Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the
Kingdom of Tonga on becoming full-fledged members of
the United Nations.
To the people of our sister Caribbean Community
(CARICOM) State of the Bahamas, we extend our profound
sympathy in the wake of the devastation wrought by
Hurricane Floyd upon the islands of Abaco, Eleuthera, San
Salvador and Cat Island, as well as other parts of the
country. We thank donor countries and international
institutions for the assistance given in the past, and we hope
that there will be a speedy response to the needs of the
Bahamian community at this time.
In this regard, special mention has to be made of
Kuwait for the manner in which it follows up on assisting
small Caribbean countries in times of peril, and we urge the
international community to work towards the preservation
of that country and the maintenance of the dignity of its
people.
It was with delight and glee that I read the Secretary-
General's descriptive definition of globalization, as it took
in some of the considerations that my country has brought
before this body over the past three years. He stated,
“Globalization is a summary term for the
increasingly complex interactions between
individuals, enterprises, institutions and markets
across national borders. The manifold challenges it
poses, challenges that cannot successfully be
addressed by nation States acting on their own,
provide the most immediate and obvious reason for
strengthening multilateral cooperation. Globalization
is manifest in the growth in trade, technology and
financial flows; in the continuing growth and
increasing influence of international civil society
actors; in the global operations of transnational
corporations; in the vast increase in transboundary
communication and information exchanges, most
notably via the Internet; in transboundary
transmission of disease and ecological impact; and
in the increased internationalization of certain types
of criminal activity. Its benefits and risks are
distributed unequally, and the growth and prosperity
it provides for many is offset by the increasing
vulnerability and marginalization of others — and by
the growth of 'uncivil society'.” (A/54/1, para. 220)
Clearly, globalization leads to the reduction of the
sovereignty of States, with the weakest and the smallest
being the biggest losers. Sadly lacking in the arguments
for globalization is the need to give consideration to the
pace, direction and content of liberalization due to
different levels of development and the need to build up
national capabilities. Above all is the insistence on the
principle of free trade for the developing world and an
exemption from the same for the industrialized countries.
Protective devices are inbuilt for farmers in the dominant
economies, which include subsidies, guaranteed markets,
payments not to produce beyond a certain level in order
to maintain price levels and quite often insistence that
imported farm belt products come in by way of limited
means of processing and under the most stringent of
guidelines. On the other hand, when former colonial
countries provide preferences to their previous colonies of
exploitation, challenges are mounted through the World
Trade Organization by multinational enterprises. There is
no more blatant example than Chiquita in regard to the
Caribbean banana producers.
The sad thing is that there is clear knowledge that in
modern times there has never been free trade. It is not my
intention to de-glorify Richard Cobden and John Bright,
but the repeal of the corn laws in nineteenth-century
Britain had more to do with the failure of the potato crops
in Britain and Ireland, strikes by workmen against wage
reductions and an alliance of industrial and commercial
34

interests against the landed gentry than it had to do with
free trade. Yet irrespective of the fallacy of this free trade
argument, recipients of benefits under the Lomé Convention
are literally being told that they, but not the dominant
Powers, must conform to and operate under the fallacy.
Any disaster to banana production in the Caribbean
will affect not only the banana-producing countries, but all
of the Caribbean Community. Our countries are striving to
remove themselves from dependence on aid. Glenys
Kinnock, a member of the European Parliament, put it
succinctly when she stated that the banana trade provided
a ladder out of poverty for the Caribbean region and that
the call for the regime to be dropped and direct aid to be
substituted was unrealistic. She went on to state that it was
wrong to claim that attempts to diversify were not taking
place.
In CARICOM, we do not wish to become international
mendicants; otherwise the current situation, in which some
dominant countries exercise undue pressure upon our
modus vivendi, will increase to the point where we will
have to dance to whichever tune the piper or pipers play.
The United Nations should be viewed as the foremost
international body with a semblance of egalitarianism. It
should not be viewed as the institution of the dominant
countries in the five regional groups; and, more than that,
it ought to be the body that stands up to the encroachment
of multinational enterprises that attempt to stifle the lifeline
or lifeblood of legitimate and sovereign countries. If indeed
the United Nations is the champion of equality, of
sovereignty, of the maintenance of traditional practices
which in reality do not harm others, then the collective
countries should denounce this imposition by a
multinational entity, which will bring ultimate and profound
hardships upon our humanfolk — be they young men or
old men, children or maidens, matrons or old women. We
have said it before, and will reiterate that what is being
inflicted upon the Caribbean banana producers is an act of
war.
The perils of our States are certainly not limited to
bananas, and Antigua and Barbuda, as well as the majority
of countries represented on the Executive Board the United
Nations Development Programme (UNDP), were most
surprised to experience a challenge from a member of the
Security Council relating to our first-country cooperation
framework. This was presented, by a country with which
we have cordial relations, as being a matter of principle, as
Antigua and Barbuda's per capita income is $8,000 and in
1998 it ranked twenty-ninth in the Human Development
Report. There was absolutely no mention of the fact that
in the vulnerability index, Antigua and Barbuda ranks
extremely high, due in part to the frequency with which
hurricanes batter our twin-island State or threaten our
lovely shores. Consequently, Antigua and Barbuda once
again had to offer a reminder that its graduation from the
loan windows of international financial institutions and
from development assistance of other international
agencies, based only on the narrow criterion of per capita
income, which ignores the serious and persistent problems
confronted by Antigua and Barbuda and most Caribbean
small island developing States, is both unfair and unjust.
We also had to point out that 5 per cent of our country's
population consists of Montserratans who have been
displaced by volcanic eruption. This has meant expanding
our infrastructure to accommodate the unfortunate souls
from the Emerald Isle.
Antigua and Barbuda supports the concept of UNDP
and the United Nations Population Fund working with
and rendering assistance to countries described as having
transition economies, as well as countries which have
suffered the ravages of internecine warfare, that have
absorbed significant numbers of refugees and which are
subject to many vulnerabilities, including natural disasters,
and are victims of economic practices which work against
their advancement. The work of UNDP is valued
worldwide, and countries which are most vulnerable
should certainly be at the forefront for assistance and
guidance. We have to ask once again if we must be
penalized because of our successes. I sincerely hope that
in this body, particularly among the major financial
contributors, that it is not the view that small island
developing States cannot advance beyond a certain level
of development, as, otherwise, they would be
overreaching themselves and delving into a domain
reserved for members of a certain club. Antigua and
Barbuda takes its role in the United Nations very
seriously and will remain dedicated to the principle of
egalitarianism.
We annually recite our vulnerabilities, paying most
attention to the furore of natural disasters, and over the
last 10 years my country has experienced four hurricanes.
Whereas it is a glorious sight to witness volcanic
eruptions in Montserrat from Antigua, the reality of the
dangerous consequences is always present. We are
additionally faced with the activities of Kick'em Jenny, an
undersea volcano off the spice island of Grenada. The
Caribbean Development Bank is providing a grant to the
Seismic Research Unit of the University of the West
Indies for the establishment of a mechanism for
35

continuous monitoring of the volcano. According to one
scholar,
“Not only will the communities of the Grenadines and
nearby islands have to guard against debris ejected
during a volcanic explosion, but the entire Caribbean
will be jeopardized by the threat of seismic waves,
known as tsunami”.
This is yet another example of our vulnerability.
Irrespective of our trials, tribulations and unfair
castigations, my country, when appraised objectively, has
been considered a marvel; hence its continued high ranking
on the human development index. We practise the
Westminster model of parliamentary democracy and do so
effectively. Our national elections are open and transparent.
Our first national hero, Sir Vere Cornwall Bird,
appropriately dubbed Father of the Nation, died this year,
and Members of Parliament in both the House and the
Senate were lavish in their praise of one who was
internationally acclaimed — particularly in Africa, where he
had an impact on many of its leaders, both during and after
the colonial era, and in the African diaspora of the New
World.
We have remained committed to the empowerment of
the socially and economically challenged. Women occupy
senior positions in the civil service and are represented in
significant numbers in the professions. In one they
outnumber men. In the area of violence against women,
legislation has been enacted to give greater protection to the
female members of our society. In the desire of the
Government to ensure that its people enjoy a decent
standard of living and an improved quality of life, the
Government has energetically tackled this responsibility.
And, in the absence of truly vibrant private sectors to lead
economic growth and development as in developed
countries, the tasks performed by the Government have
expanded and have become more demanding.
Antigua and Barbuda has, however, never been short
on ideas as to how to help itself and as to how it can be
assisted internationally in overcoming vulnerability and
accelerating sustainable development. Sustainable
development is foremost in our thinking. At the sixth
meeting of the Commonwealth Consultative Group on
Environment at the United Nations in April, we received
support from the attending States for the ideas posited.
In the first place, Antigua and Barbuda hopes that the
vulnerability index being developed by the Commonwealth
secretariat and the World Bank task force will be
introduced as soon as possible into international
organizations. This must be borne in mind from the
perspective that we have repeatedly addressed the
limitations and unfairness of using per capita income in
assessing our economic efficacy.
Secondly, following the decision of the disputes
tribunal of the World Trade Organization supporting the
contention of the discrimination directed at the banana
regime operating under the Lomé Treaty, there is an
urgent need for the World Trade Organization to apply
special and differential treatment to small island
developing States as it does to least developed countries.
If markets in Europe are eroded for small States, those
States will deteriorate economically, socially and
politically to the point of placing yet another burden on
the international community. This deduction is made from
an analysis of the dispute tribunal's ruling, which suggests
that the entire quota system for imports by the European
Union from the African-Caribbean-Pacific countries for
all products is now under threat.
In the third place, we would like to reiterate the call
made for a disaster fund in 1995 by our Prime Minister,
The Right Honourable Lester Bird. He made that call
following the devastation of hurricane Luis, which wiped
out one year of Antigua and Barbuda's gross domestic
product in 36 perilous hours. Whereas the existing
mechanisms address the purpose of relieving immediate
suffering and agony, they are woefully insufficient for
reconstruction and rehabilitation.
As one who represents his country on the Committee
of 24, the so-called Decolonization Committee, I was
somewhat taken aback to hear the Foreign Minister of a
country that had previously supported non-intervention
state that the United Nations has failed to address well-
known conflicts of catastrophic proportions in a timely
manner. It would therefore seem that more and more
countries are moving towards the acceptance of joint
action in a given country if there is a clear case of
genocide and a total violation of human rights.
What happened in East Timor goes well beyond the
point of frustration. Since my country has from quite
early on advocated the right of the people of Western
Sahara to self-determination, we have been saddened each
time that plans for a referendum among the Sahraoui
people have been delayed. We believe that each and every
postponement interferes with and impedes the will of self-
determination. The happenings in East Timor will have a
36

further impact on the will of the staunch and hardy
Sahraoui people, and this gives us cause for great concern.
It is important that everything be done to avoid a repetition
of what has happened in East Timor after people have
exercised their right of self-determination.
Like other countries, my country believes that
intervention in affairs within another State should be the
last resort. But there are many questions to be answered in
regard to oppression, degradation and dehumanization. The
East Timor example should set us working to avoid another
catastrophe of that magnitude. I have long marvelled at the
prophetic brilliance of the former Foreign Minister of
Uruguay, Eduardo Rodr'guez Larreta, who in 1946 argued
that non-intervention could not be converted into a right to
convoke one principle in order to violate all other principles
with impunity. Nothing, however, is being advocated here
except that we address ourselves meaningfully towards
measures to avoid another East Timor.
So much have we been looking forward to the new
millennium that we have defied the laws of mathematics
and brought forward the beginning of the twenty-first
century by making it come about in the last year of the
twentieth century. Even at the United Nations is the year
2000 being proclaimed as the beginning of the new
millennium. Be that as it may, it is not sufficient to
proclaim a new millennium and to have the grand, planned
celebration. The commitment to the eradication of poverty,
the achievement of peace and security and cooperation for
development should be sincere, meaningful and followed
through to the level of profound accomplishment.
Antigua and Barbuda cherishes the United Nations and
is not unmindful of the numerous advances that have come
about as a result of its impact in conflict resolution, the
maintenance of peace, the shelter and sanctuary provided to
refugees, the promotion of human rights, the eradication of
certain diseases and numerous other tangibles. Thus,
Antigua and Barbuda remains ready to continue
contributing to the advancement of humanity and will, as it
has done in the past, insist on the principle of
multilateralism. Together, our countries, large and small,
can make contributions in overcoming the plagues with
which we are afflicted and move towards peace, cohesion,
harmony and the alleviation of poverty in the coming
century.


Mr. President,
first let me congratulate you on your election to your high
office and assure you of the full cooperation and support
of the Austrian delegation. I am convinced that we will
have a successful session of the General Assembly, the
last in this century, under your able guidance.
Austria fully endorses the statement which was so
eloquently delivered by the Foreign Minister of Finland
on behalf of the European Union. I would like to add the
following observations to that very comprehensive
statement.
The United Nations in many ways finds itself at a
crossroads. The Organization has to find its role and
strengthen its relevance in an increasingly turbulent world.
To be sure, we are able to make progress on specific
issues. But is that enough in the face of mounting global
challenges? Much has been said and written in the last
few years about globalization, and I believe we are all
aware of the speed and impact of this very dynamic
process. What we still need is a coherent political
response to this phenomenon. We have to meet the
challenges and make the best possible use of the
opportunities presented to us.
While our everyday work must be focused on
reaching achievable goals within a realistic time, we must
never lose sight of our larger duty to provide human
security in its fullest sense. This means that we have to
provide individuals and communities with security,
dignity and quality of life. We have to protect them
against threats to their safety and well-being, such as
conflict, discrimination, poverty, organized crime,
corruption or repression.
In recent years, a number of initiatives have been
successfully launched, in particular on landmines, small
17

arms and child soldiers. Austria is working very actively to
promote the human security agenda, and I would like to
highlight three priority areas: human rights education, the
fight against child pornography and the fight against what
the Secretary-General has aptly termed the uncivil society.
On the occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the
presence of the United Nations in Vienna next month, we
will organize a high-level meeting on these and other
aspects of human security.
Most threats to human security have a human rights
dimension. This is why a human rights security agenda
must include an overall strategy aimed at the strengthening
of a worldwide human rights culture. Recent events in
Kosovo or East Timor have shown that the most basic
rights cannot be taken for granted. Again and again we will
have to assert the universality and indivisibility of human
rights. We therefore stress the importance of human rights
education, which is essential for the promotion and the
achievement of stable and harmonious relations within
countries and among communities. We must redouble our
efforts in support of the United Nations Decade for Human
Rights Education. Next year’s mid-term evaluation of
progress made in the Decade provides an ideal opportunity.
Institutions and organizations with specialized expertise in
our countries should identify specific ideas for further
action on human rights education activities at national level,
in foreign policy, and in the context of development
cooperation.
Every man and every woman must know his or her
rights in order to become a full and equal member of
society. People must be provided at the national and the
international level with effective remedies for human rights
violations. We therefore welcome the successful conclusion
of negotiations on the Optional Protocol to the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against
Women. Its adoption by the General Assembly and its early
entry into force will have great significance for women
around the world.
Human security starts in the smallest entities of our
society. The mutual learning process within families is one
of human beings' most valuable experiences. The family, as
the fundamental unit of society and the natural environment
for the growth and well-being of all of its members, should
be afforded the necessary protection and assistance so that
it can fully assume its responsibilities within the
community, because it is within the family, first and
foremost, where children, the most vulnerable group in
society, seek support and protection.
Millions of children are being exploited worldwide.
Their basic human rights are being denied in many ways.
For some time now, and in particular during the Austrian
presidency of the European Union, Vice-Chancellor and
Foreign Minister Schüssel has been trying to focus
attention on one particular aspect: child pornography on
the Internet. Next week, Austria will host an international
conference on combating child pornography on the
Internet. Organized by Austria, the European Commission
and the United States of America, the conference will
bring together high-level officials from Ministries of the
Interior and Justice, the judiciary and the police, experts
from international organizations, non-governmental
organizations and the industry, especially Internet service
providers. The United Nations system will be represented
by experts from the United Nations Children's Fund and
the United Nations Centre for International Crime
Prevention. The main objectives of the conference are to
reinforce cooperation between law enforcement officials
and the judiciary, establish codes of conduct for Internet
service providers and the further development of hotlines
and networks between them. The results of this initiative
will be presented to the United Nations.
The fight against drugs and transnational organized
crime has rightly been accorded priority status in the
work of the United Nations. I am glad that the reform
measures introduced by Secretary-General Kofi Annan
have reaffirmed Vienna's role as the United Nations
centre for fighting uncivil elements in society.
Austria is particularly worried by reports about the
situation in Afghanistan, where the areas under poppy
cultivation area apparently doubled in 1998. We are
therefore appealing to all partners to enhance their efforts
in assisting the United Nations International Drug Control
Programme (UNDCP) to combat the cultivation and
production of drugs in that region and elsewhere. As a
practical contribution to this effort, Austria will sponsor
a UNDCP training seminar for Central Asian drug
authorities this autumn. Austria strongly believes that drug
control is, above all, in the interests of our children and
future generations.
In April 2000, the first United Nations conference in
the new millennium, the Tenth United Nations Congress
on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of
Offenders, will take place in Vienna. The key issues
contained in the preliminary draft of the Vienna
Declaration on Crime and Justice: Meeting the Challenges
of the Twenty-First Century (E/1999/30-E/CN.15/1999/12,
para. 3), whose final forum will be adopted at the
18

Congress, address the most burning questions in
international crime prevention: trafficking in human beings,
smuggling migrants and illicit transfers of firearms.
In this context, I can say with satisfaction that the
Austrian initiative to elaborate an international legal
instrument against the smuggling of migrants, which
Austria presented to the General Assembly two years ago,
has gathered a great deal of support among United Nations
Member States. Currently, intensive negotiations within the
framework of the Ad Hoc Committee on the Elaboration of
a Convention against Organized Transnational Crime are
being held and will hopefully be concluded next year with
the adoption of a universal protocol against the smuggling
of migrants.
The last of the series of world Conferences in the
1990s showed that an innovative yet pragmatic approach
can work. This was the Third United Nations Conference
on the Exploration and Peaceful Uses of Outer Space,
UNISPACE III, which took place in Vienna in July this
year. The Conference focused on the question of how to
ensure that space technology will benefit humanity in the
twenty-first century and that it is used effectively to
promote security in all its forms for the benefit of all
countries. It has provided developing countries with
opportunities to define their needs for space applications for
development purposes and to identify ways and possibilities
for them to participate in international programmes which
develop these applications. UNISPACE III was both a
novel and a successful type of Conference in bringing
together industry and academia, and young people, as equal
partners and incorporating their insights into the final
documents.
In the twenty-first century, the United Nations and the
international community will be judged by their capacity to
prevent armed conflict. At a time when the world's
problems appear to be growing and the resources to tackle
those problems seem to be shrinking, we must be more
strategic than ever in devising new ways to approach these
challenges.
Again and again we have had to face the fact that the
international community is not in the position to bridge the
gap between early warning and early action. In future,
efficient mechanisms will have to be implemented by
international organizations in order to act at an early stage.
In our response to looming refugee crises, much faster
action is needed to avoid human catastrophes like the ones
we have witnessed in Kosovo and East Timor.
As part of its development cooperation concept,
Austria is currently working on a comprehensive strategy
for conflict prevention which combines all available
measures, from facilitation and mediation to a targeted
use of the instruments of development cooperation.
Austria is actively involved in the Arusha peace process
for Burundi and is offering a broad range of seminars and
training programmes on preventive diplomacy, in
particular with its partners in Africa. Austria's
development cooperation aims to promote both
sustainable development and sustainable peace.
Austria has always lent its active support to United
Nations efforts to maintain international peace and
security. Since 1960, it has been one of the major
contributors to United Nations peacekeeping missions. At
the moment, more than 1,500 Austrian troops, civilian
police, military observers and civilian experts are serving
in United Nations peacekeeping, and other United Nations
mandated operations, and in missions in which regional
organizations are participating — from Kosovo to East
Timor, and from Western Sahara to Tajikistan. We will
continue to do our utmost to assist the United Nations in
its efforts to enhance stability in many areas of tension
around the world.
If we are to cope with all these challenges, we
clearly have to reinforce the rule of law in international
relations. A large part of the legal basis already exists.
What is needed to make it work is our common political
will to monitor and to ensure its application. This can
only happen in the framework of the United Nations, in
particular through the Security Council.
In view of the United Nations primary responsibility
for the maintenance of peace and security, it is crucial
that the United Nations prove its ability to act quickly and
decisively in conflict situations. The decisive action taken
during the Gulf war in 1990-1991 raised international
hopes and expectations for the future.
But already during the terrible conflicts in the
territory of the former Yugoslavia, particularly in Bosnia
and Herzegovina, it took the Organization much longer to
find a successful crisis solution. It only managed to do so
by applying a sensible subcontracting policy with regional
organizations. The recent tragedies in Kosovo and East
Timor have both brought the United Nations and the
Security Council to the brink of being perceived in
international public opinion as ineffective or unable to act.
19

The Security Council, which carries the primary
responsibility for international peace and security, must
maintain its ability to act. It cannot be seen to be driven by
the subjective interest of members rather than by an
objective assessment of real requirements. It goes without
saying that the permanent members bear a particular
responsibility in this regard, which includes financial
obligations. The privileges of permanent membership come
with a heavy obligation: to act whenever necessary. If a
peace operation has to be established, it must not matter
whether the conflict situation is located in an area of little
strategic interest or whether the country in question
maintains unwelcome relations with another entity. Its
mandate and size must be based on the conditions on the
ground, and not depend on anybody’s willingness to finance
it. Should the Security Council be seen to be unable to
fulfil these functions, we will have to heed the call for
reforms, including the role of its permanent members.
On East Timor, the Security Council has finally lived
up to its special responsibilities assigned to it under the
Charter. This proves that the international community must
act decisively when confronted with massive violations of
international humanitarian law and human rights.
Austria welcomes Security Council resolution 1264
(1999) authorizing a multinational force for East Timor
under Chapter VII and the commitment of the Indonesian
Government to cooperate with this force in the
implementation of the mandate. We hope that this initiative
will contribute to bringing about national reconciliation,
lasting peace and respect for the will of the people of East
Timor, expressed so clearly during the consultations on 30
August 1999. Austria underlines the necessity to urgently
provide humanitarian assistance, and will also contribute to
these efforts.
The vote on the future of East Timor must be
respected by all sides. Austria, while underlining its desire
to see a strong, democratic and united Indonesia, looks
forward to recognizing East Timor once the process
towards independence is complete.
Austria sharply condemns the atrocities committed in
recent weeks. Those who planned, authorized or executed
these acts must be held individually and personally
accountable and be brought to justice.
After a long impasse the peace process in the Middle
East is back on track. Austria greatly welcomes the
memorandum signed by Israel and the Palestinians at
Sharm el-Sheikh, which removes the obstacles to the
implementation of the Wye Agreement. Furthermore, we
have taken note with satisfaction that implementation on
the ground has already begun. Here I should especially
like to point to the handing over of territory, the release
of Palestinian prisoners and the beginning of the final
status negotiations. This clear commitment of the parties
should augur well for further speedy progress on the road
to peace. Now it will also be necessary to bring about
new momentum in the Syrian/Lebanese track of the peace
process by relaunching the negotiations between Israel,
Syria and Lebanon. I think that all parties agree that
peace and mutual understanding are the only viable option
for a prosperous future for all nations in the Middle East
region.
The western Balkans, being geographically so close
to Austria, will remain in the foreground of Austrian
foreign policy. The most burning problem is currently the
situation in Kosovo, which merits the joint attention of
the international community. I would like to commend the
work which has already been carried out by the United
Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK) and by KFOR, and the progress realized so far,
in spite of such difficult circumstances. True, in the
implementation of Security Council resolution 1244
(1999), and in our efforts to bring Kosovo back to
normalcy, there are delays and setbacks, in particular the
insecurity, the tensions in Kosovska Mitrovica, and the
exodus of the majority of Kosovo Serbs and other
non-Albanians. Nevertheless, one must not forget the
paramount importance of the Kosovo issue for the
stability of the whole Balkan area, which is why we must
not become discouraged when we meet problems. Rather,
we have to understand them as an incentive to redouble
our efforts. Yesterday’s demilitarization agreement
between KFOR and the UCK is, I would say, a very
encouraging step in the right direction.
In addition to setting up a functioning civil
administration, including police, creating a democratic
political atmosphere respectful of human rights,
repatriating over 1 million refugees, and reconstructing
the infrastructure and the economic life of Kosovo, it is
UNMIK’s crucial task to facilitate a political process
leading to a definite status of the province. This is a very
complicated endeavour, which requires sound and prudent
preparation. We must not try to rush things, since it is
clear that stability and reconciliation have to be
established and solidified before we can tackle the final
status question.
20

The same holds true for Montenegro. We must, and
we will continue to, support the Montenegrin reform
process, and we must not allow forces in Belgrade to
undercut those pluralistic and economic improvements. For
the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a whole, we will
continue to work towards democratization, political reform
and respect for human and minority rights. Upon such
changes — which are not only urgently necessary but
which are also yearned for by the Serb and Yugoslav
people — Yugoslavia should, and will, take its rightful
place in the international community.
In spite of some progress made by Bosnia and
Herzegovina, it still needs and deserves our intense help —
both politically and financially. At the same time, it is
increasingly necessary for the Bosnians themselves to take
on more responsibility for their future and to start a process
of decoupling themselves from dependency on international
assistance.
Let me emphasize at this juncture Austria’s strong
belief in the protection and promotion of minorities in
general. This attitude is based on historic experience and
the conviction that ethnic minorities constitute a true
enrichment of our societies.
It is of interest for the international community to
recall that there are existing successful settlements of
important minority issues in Europe. In particular, I think
of the Austrian minority in the South Tyrol, which today
enjoys a well-balanced autonomy on the basis of the Paris
Treaty of 1946 between Austria and Italy. Time and again
it has been noted that this formula could be an example for
the settlement of minority disputes in other parts of the
world.
Though regional organizations and coalitions of the
willing have credibly shown their readiness to take on
responsibilities in the maintenance of international peace
and security, the United Nations continues to provide the
indispensable political, legal and institutional links to ensure
the acceptance, legitimacy and accountability of their
respective efforts.
The Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) plays a central role in promoting peace,
security and stability in the regional context, in particular
through its broad range of activities in the area of conflict
prevention, crisis management and post-conflict
rehabilitation. The broad scope and complex nature of the
security challenges in the region requires a pluri-
institutional response. But that implies also an effective
cooperation among the institutions concerned. The OSCE,
as a regional arrangement according to Chapter VIII of
the Charter of the United Nations, is closely cooperating
with the United Nations in many fields and regions, such
as in Kosovo. In our capacity as the next Chairman-in-
Office of the OSCE, we will continue the efforts to
strengthen the relationship between the OSCE and the
United Nations at both the political and field levels.
Let me conclude by confirming Austria's strong
commitment to the United Nations. In a little less than
one year, our Heads of State or Government will
participate in the millennium summit. I hope that this will
be the occasion to unlock the potential of the
Organization. We must use the wonderful tool of our
Organization as it was meant to be used: to ensure our
survival on this planet in peace, freedom and dignity. On
spaceship Earth the supplies are limited, so we have to
make the best possible use of them. Whatever our
differences, we all know what needs to be done. Let us
find the political will to do it.


My
delegation welcomes the election of the Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth
session. Mexico knows him as an experienced diplomat
whose contribution will guarantee that our work strengthens
the ability of the United Nations to face the challenges of
the next century. In welcoming his election, we pay tribute
to the constructive role Namibia plays on the international
stage.
My delegation would also like to place on record its
appreciation to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay,
Mr. Didier Opertti, for his outstanding guidance of the
fifty-third session.
I wish also to express the satisfaction of Mexico at the
admission of the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of
Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga to membership of the
Organization. Their presence among us strengthens
universality, the very essence of the United Nations.
My delegation is participating in this session with the
will to negotiate and the desire to cooperate that have
always characterized Mexico's foreign policy. We are
convinced that the proposals we make and results we
achieve will contribute to designing the international order
of the twenty-first century; we shall be an active participant
in the debate.
Now more than ever it seem essential that we review
the system we devised at San Francisco in the light of our
experiences over the past 54 years and of the progress
achieved in the field of international law. In that review we
must ensure that the interests of all Member States are
taken into account in line with the Charter principle of the
sovereign equality of States.
Mexico is proud of its multilateral outlook. My
country has always seen the United Nations as the ideal
forum to propose, negotiate and agree on solutions and
common strategies that will enable us to face our collective
challenges. We Mexicans are convinced that it is imperative
to spare no effort to make our Organization the primary
forum for generating comprehensive policies, policies that
guarantee lasting peace and security, and the development
and welfare of all peoples on earth.
As it does every year, the General Assembly has a
broad and complex agenda before it at this session. I wish
therefore to focus my statement on three topics that I
consider to be of paramount importance for the future of
the Organization and of the community of nations: world
peace and security; international cooperation in the field
of natural disasters; and the financial architecture of the
new century.
The Preamble and Article 1 of the Charter state that
fundamental aims of the peoples of the United Nations
are to live together in peace and to solve their disputes
without resorting to the use of force. The attainment of
those aims is our only guarantee if we yearn for a stable
and secure international community that reveres friendly
relations and goodwill among all peoples and all nations.
We note with growing concern that, far from
disappearing, conflicts have multiplied and their nature
has changed as a consequence of the reshuffling of forces
in the international arena. Today, these ever-proliferating
confrontations are to a great extent internal ones,
presenting formidable challenges to an Organization
conceived to resolve disputes between States. We still
lack clear-cut mandates and a defined consensus on how
to address this new state of affairs. This often divides us,
not on the ultimate goal — peace — but on the means to
achieve it. Given the absence of a new political contract
that enjoys the support of all Members of the United
Nations, Mexico will continue firmly to maintain that the
search for solutions to conflicts, whether they be internal
or international, must be in conformity with the letter and
the spirit of the San Francisco Charter. Its principles
cannot be subjected to interpretations varying with
circumstances or to unilateral whims. We cannot allow
the authority or the legitimacy of the Organization to be
damaged. We cannot accept actions that openly contradict
the intentions of the founders and that weaken the rights
of the community of States.
Mexico has always maintained that the use of force,
even when motivated by the loftiest humanitarian
impulses, is no solution; to the contrary, it generates
further instability, uncertainty and violence. But my
country has shown restraint when the Security Council
has acted in strict compliance with Chapter VII of the
Charter. Even so, the Mexican Government reiterates the
value of the peaceful settlement of disputes and firmly
rejects the existence of an alleged right to intervene,
particularly when it is proclaimed outside the framework
of international law.
31

This is one of the most pressing challenges that we
must face as we move towards the new millennium.
Essentially, we are striving to give the United Nations the
political underpinning that will enable it to face new threats
to peace and security in line with the thinking that inspired
the authors of the San Francisco Charter. If we fail, we run
the risk of eroding international negotiating tools and of
doing precisely what we want to avoid: weakening the
Organization.
For these reasons, my delegation invites all Member
States to begin an exercise in collective thinking that will
enable us to solve the dilemma of humanitarian crises
caused by internal conflicts on the one hand and of the
capability of the United Nations to respond on the other.
This must be an exercise in deep thinking that will lead us
to lasting solutions, which will both preserve peace and
protect the lives and human rights of those involved in
conflicts.
Allow me now to turn to another topic that I deem
central to the future of the United Nations: international
cooperation in the event of natural disaster. In view of the
regrettable recurrence of natural disasters, it is urgent to
think about a creative and effective international division of
labour so that responses by countries, regions and
organizations do not constitute isolated efforts or temporary
relief. They should instead constitute a comprehensive
strategy that will contribute to lasting stability.
We have all witnessed the sad consequences of natural
catastrophes. Recent experiences highlight the urgent need
for an effective machinery to address more rapidly and
more fully the needs of affected populations. These
experiences show also that at the very outset of the tragedy
it is essential to mobilize broader support efforts to
contribute to full recovery in the shortest possible time.
At the regional level, the countries of Latin America
and the Caribbean have taken important steps that serve as
an example of the proposed new division of labour to deal
with natural disasters. In the declaration on technical
cooperation for the prevention and relief of natural disasters
adopted at the summit meeting of the Permanent
Mechanism for Political Consultation and Concertation (Rio
Group), held in Mexico City in May, we undertook the
commitment “to promote permanent measures of technical
cooperation on every phase of natural disasters”. This
marks significant progress in the field of international
cooperation. It aims not only to repair the damage but also
to include preventive measures, and is designed to ensure
assistance not only at the time of crisis but also during
the reconstruction period.
Likewise, during their summit, held in June 1999 at
Rio de Janeiro, heads of State or Government of Latin
America and the Caribbean and of the European Union
decided to launch an important programme of cooperation
in the sphere of environmental and natural disasters. Its
goal is to help improve the capacity of the most
vulnerable nations of both regions so we can prevent and
deal with disasters. To that end, they agreed to establish
an appropriate system of international assistance at all
phases from prevention and early warning to emergency
assistance and mitigation, without neglecting rehabilitation
and reconstruction.
My delegation is convinced that these experiences
deserve to be considered by this Assembly so that their
merits may be assessed and disseminated throughout the
world. The United Nations must play a central role in
making this strategy international. It is urgent to have
national listings of civil defence organizations with
updated inventories of available resources to help in
disasters, and handbooks to guide us in the effective
management of international cooperation. In other words,
the Organization must respond in terms of who will
provide international cooperation when natural disasters
strike, what they will provide, and how they will provide
it.
Lastly, I would like to refer to the financial
architecture of the new century. A year ago, in this same
forum, I voiced the concern of Mexico about the harmful
effects that financial crises have on our societies. At that
time, I proposed that the Member States, coordinated by
the Secretary-General, should undertake to reflect on how
to improve our early-warning capacity in order to prevent
and confront in a timely fashion the occurrence and
proliferation of financial crises. This initiative found
support in resolution 53/172, entitled “The financial crisis
and its impact on growth and development, especially in
the developing countries”.
Subsequently, we proposed to the Secretary-General
the undertaking of an effort at the regional level in Latin
America and the Caribbean as part of a broader
endeavour that will have to involve other areas, including
developed countries and the international financial
agencies.
Earlier this month, in close collaboration with the
Economic Commission for Latin America and the
32

Caribbean, we held a meeting in Mexico City under the
heading “Towards a stable and predictable international
financial system linked to social development.” High-level
Government officials of the countries of our region
participated, as well as specialists and prominent officials
of multilateral institutions working in financial and social
fields.
At that meeting, we undertook an in-depth analysis of
the international financial architecture and its connection to
the social development of our peoples. We also reaffirmed
our conviction that it is urgent and necessary to define a
new world financial scheme that includes a social
dimension. The conclusions of that regional meeting have
been conveyed to the Secretary-General, and I would like
refer to just a few of them.
First, we participants expressed our concern over the
fact that once the most visible effects of the crisis are
overcome, we observe a dangerous attitude of complacency.
The countries of the region are convinced that a renewed
effort is required in order to strengthen the global financial
system, and we reaffirmed our commitment to actively
participate in this task.
Secondly, we emphasized the need to have a stable,
transparent, predictable, organized and secure international
financial system. To this end, we, the various participants
must accept and fulfil our respective responsibilities. The
international financial agencies must redesign their policies
in order to respond to the great challenges created by
financial markets. They must develop early-warning
mechanisms and expand their resources to help economies
in trouble in a timely and appropriate way. For their part,
countries must commit themselves to following
macroeconomic policies that lead to growth and social
justice. They must recognize, in order to remedy the
problem, the part played in the crisis by the absence of
adequate supervision and regulation of national banking
systems. A solid banking system is essential to protect a
country from speculative movements of capital.
Thirdly, we recognized the devastating impact that
financial crises have on the social situation and the
prospects for development of our countries. In this respect,
we expressed the need to advance towards a financial
architecture that reconciles the economy with society and
international finance with sustained social development. We
reaffirmed in this sense our absolute conviction that
sustained growth is the most effective way to reduce
inequality and poverty.
Fourthly, we agreed that the ultimate goal of the
international development banks must be precisely human
development. We deemed it fundamental for those
institutions to give high priority to financial support for
the formation of basic networks of social protection in
times of crisis, without losing sight of the broader
objectives of growth and development.
Fifthly, we agreed that the United Nations must play
a central role in promoting integrated social development
through forging an international consensus that helps
support and rebuild the global financial architecture. It is
encouraging to learn that in the year 2001 the United
Nations will sponsor a high-level meeting on financing
development. That will be an ideal opportunity to address
comprehensively the problem of social and human
development, including its financial aspect.
Thus, we will follow up on the conclusions and
recommendations coming out of the meeting in Mexico,
and on those from other meetings and forums, in order to
include all actors in the design of the financial
architecture for the twenty-first century. We will be
attentive to efforts in this direction on the part of
Secretary-General.
The United Nations must strengthen its position and
its mandate as the principal forum of debate and for
seeking consensual solutions that guide the work of the
international community in the face of problems and
situations that affect us all. It is essential to continue the
task of establishing a more democratic and transparent
Organization that fully reflects the interests and objectives
of its Members and that is a forum that truly represents
all of them. I am sure that all of us want a United
Nations where fairness and justice reign.
Looking towards the Millennium Assembly, we must
continue to foster cooperation and closeness among
nations in order to strengthen peace and security, push
disarmament ahead, promote development and the
struggle against poverty and ensure full respect for
international law.
If we are really being overtaken by events in the
global arena, we must strengthen our frame of action. If
it is necessary to reform our Organization to guarantee its
effective performance, let us do so. But let us do so
collectively, with respect for the juridical principle of the
equality of States. Let us not allow this forum to lose its
prestige or its influence. Mexico will not retreat from its
commitment to the letter and the spirit of the San
33

Francisco Charter. To the contrary, it will participate
actively in the effort to guarantee the vitality of the United
Nations in order to build a better world, both for ourselves
and for future generations.
This is the aim of the proposals I have made on behalf
of the Government that I have the honour to represent.