It gives me great pleasure to begin my statement by
congratulating you, Sir, and on the Government and people
of your country, Portugal, on your election as President of
the fiftieth session of the General Assembly, which
coincides with the Golden Jubilee of the United Nations. I
am confident that, with your skill and expertise in
diplomacy and international affairs, you will be able to
steer the deliberations of this session most efficiently and
competently.

I should like also to extend deep appreciation to His
Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, Foreign Minister of Côte
d’Ivoire, for successfully conducting the affairs of the forty-
ninth session of the General Assembly.
Allow me also to pay tribute to the Secretary-General,
His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his sincere,
incessant and dedicated efforts in the service of the
international community through this Organization.
Over the past few years, the world order has witnessed
radical changes in its structure that have entailed
developments some of which have been positive while
others have been negative. On the positive side, wide-
ranging developments have been seen in many States with
regard to the emergence of democracy, political plurality,
respect for human rights and basic freedoms. Such
developments have been accompanied by a natural
yearning for the achievement of development in both its
economic and social domains, while developments on the
negative side have generated a wider cycle of racial,
national and religious disputes in some regions of the
world that have led to a noticeable retreat from respect
for human rights and basic freedoms of the human
individual, as well as regression of development both in
the economic and social spheres. The primary task of this
Organization at this point in time is, perhaps, to focus on
strengthening the first tendency and to limit, as much as
possible, the second.
In the face of such a challenge, the task of reforming
the United Nations should be met with a view to
strengthening its role, making it more effective and
achieving a qualitative transformation of the work of its
organs. The Security Council stands in need of
restructuring with a view to increasing its membership in
such a way as to reflect balanced representation of
developed and developing countries. The present
composition of the Council, as it took shape in the wake
of World War II, no longer reflects the present balance of
power in its broader sense. Any expansion of the
permanent membership of the Council should take into
account the inclusion of countries from the developing
world which have significant political, economic and
demographic weight.
On the other hand, the veto prerogative of the five
permanent Member States should be reviewed and certain
Council mechanisms must be substantively reformed as in
the case of the mechanism relating to economic sanctions.
Reform of that mechanism should ensure: firstly, limiting
as much as possible the impact of sanctions on the
civilian population of the country on which the sanctions
are imposed, and secondly, compensating third States that
are affected by the sanctions in proportion to the damage
sustained by them.
It is also necessary to achieve the universality of the
United Nations in conformity with Article 4, paragraph 1,
of the Charter, which stipulates that membership in the
United Nations is open to all peace-loving nations which
accept the obligations contained in the Charter.
Membership should not be denied on the basis of any
political or other considerations.
Peace-keeping operations have become the corner-
stone of the overall work and activities of the United
Nations. While my country, Jordan, prides itself on its
wide-ranging participation in the operations, it deems it
9

necessary to continue the process of comprehensively
reviewing peace-keeping operations in the light of the
widening scope and number of such operations, as well as
the diverse nature of the tasks undertaken by the peace-
keepers and the dangers they are exposed to.
At the same time, we emphasize the need to
strengthen the efforts made to consolidate the foundations
and bases of preventive diplomacy which aims to avert the
break-out or escalation of conflicts, in addition to
developing the machinery for post-conflict peacemaking and
peace-building.
As for the financial crisis which has impacted on
peace-keeping operations, that crisis not only affects proper
implementation and the level of performance, but affects
also the participation of many developing countries in those
operations. Those countries have now become reluctant to
participate because they have not been reimbursed on time.
If such a situation persists, it may impact adversely on the
desired comprehensive international character of the
structure of peace-keeping troops and lead to the exclusion
of developing countries therefrom, thus restricting
participation to the developed countries that are financially
able to bear the cost of their participation.
The only solution to this problem is for all countries
to meet their financial obligations on time, particularly
those countries that contribute the bulk of the United
Nations budget. Jordan has supported the establishment of
a special fund to help start new operations whenever
needed. Part of the capital of this fund should be earmarked
for the reimbursement of the developing countries that
participate in such operations. In this regard, we feel that
amendments need to be made to the reimbursement
mechanism, so that the developing countries contributing
troops to peace-keeping operations may be reimbursed on
a priority basis.
The end of the East-West bipolarity that plagued the
world during the cold war and the disappearance of the
ideological demarcation line that divided the world into two
camps should prompt us to seize this historic opportunity
afforded us by the current transitional period to lay down
new foundations for North-South cooperation and to narrow
the economic gap between them. The first step in that
direction may well be to find substantive and meaningful
solutions to the problem of the accumulated debts of the
developing countries.
While my country welcomed the establishment of the
World Trade Organization and has applied for membership,
we call for an in-depth study of the foundations and
controls upon which freedom of trade is built. We also
call for a review of the strategies of economic
development at the international level, with a view to
improving them in conformity with the principles of
sustainable development and to achieve the cherished goal
of environmental conservation.
While world peace and stability are among the most
important prerequisites for economic development and of
the social development it entails, the development cycle,
however, will not be complete without consolidating the
underpinnings of democracy and social justice which lead
to further development and thereby promote peace and
stability.
Proceeding from His Majesty King Hussein’s belief
in the close relationship between peace, democracy and
development, Jordan’s earnest participation in the peace
process went hand in hand with the strengthening of
democracy and the consolidation of political plurality in
Jordan. As is known, the peace process which started in
Madrid four years ago has resulted, inter alia, in the
conclusion of the Jordanian-Israeli Peace Treaty, which
restored to Jordan all its territorial and water rights and
laid the foundation for a balanced relationship based on
mutual and equal interests between Israel and Jordan.
This, of course, reflects positively on the peace, stability
and welfare of the peoples of the region.
Efforts are now under way to bring about a huge
qualitative jump in regional economic development in the
Middle East. The States of the region are showing great
interest in the Amman Economic Summit, which is
scheduled to be held at the end of this month, October
1995, within the framework of regional cooperation, as a
product of the multilateral track of the peace process.
Jordan looks forward with optimism to the
forthcoming Barcelona Conference with the aim of
establishing a partnership that joins together the
Mediterranean States. This would contribute to the
consolidation of the comprehensive peace process in the
Middle East. In this respect, I should like to express deep
gratitude and appreciation for the role played by Europe,
Japan and other States involved in the multilateral track
of the peace process which, together with the United
States of America, support the development efforts in
Jordan and of peace-building in the region.
Jordan’s participation in the multilateral track of the
peace process stems from its conviction that it is
10

necessary to find effective solutions to the problems that
have accumulated over the many years of the Arab-Israeli
conflict. Foremost among those problems is the question of
refugees. In this regard, we commend the outstanding role
played by the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), stress the
importance of that role and of the essential services the
Agency provides for the refugees. Accordingly, my country,
as host to the largest number of refugees, feels that it is
necessary for UNRWA’s work to continue and indeed for
the services it provides to be expanded. This, in turn,
necessitates the strengthening of UNRWA’s budget, until a
final solution to the refugee problem is reached through
return and compensation, as provided for in the United
Nations resolutions and principles of international law.
Therefore, while we acknowledge the donor States’
contributions, we call upon them, from this rostrum, to
continue to contribute to UNRWA’s budget, so that this
noble goal may be achieved.
On the other hand, my country supports all efforts to
advance the negotiations on other bilateral tracks in order
to realize the principle of “the return of land for peace” on
the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338
(1973) and 425 (1978), which constitute the essential terms
of reference for the peace process.
On this occasion, I should like to commend the very
important development on the Palestinian-Israeli track with
the conclusion of the Taba Agreement on the expansion of
self-government in the West Bank and the subsequent
signing of that agreement in Washington, D.C., on 28
September 1995.
I should like also to take this opportunity to express
Jordan’s full support for the Palestinian National Authority
in its sincere efforts to achieve the goals of a just and
durable peace in the region. We believe that those efforts
will lead to the establishment of the independent State of
Palestine, with the holy city of Al-Quds as its capital, in
realization of the hopes and aspirations of the brotherly
Palestinian people.
My delegation did not spare any effort during the 1995
Review and Extension Conference of the States Parties to
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) in order for the Conference to produce positive
results that would buttress this treaty which is a major
cornerstone of the international non-proliferation regime,
and may bring about its universality by the accession
thereto of all States, including Israel, and the placement of
its nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, as well as the
provision of adequate security guarantees for non-nuclear-
weapon States.
In addition to the decision to extend the treaty
indefinitely and to strengthen the review process, the
Conference also adopted a resolution on the Middle East
which called, inter alia, for taking the necessary measures
to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region.
Jordan has participated actively and in good faith in
all the regional talks concerning arms control and regional
security within the multilateral track of the peace process.
We hope that these talks will achieve their goals, namely,
the prevention of the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction and an end to the regional arms race in the
area of conventional weapons. These efforts have started
to bear fruit recently with the decision to establish three
regional security centres in Amman, Doha and Tunis. We
must emphasize here that the activation of these centres
does not at all mean acceptance of the status quo with all
its inherent imbalances, particularly with regard to nuclear
weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. The
main objective that inspired the establishment of those
centres was to promote confidence-building amongst the
States of the region and to redress the present imbalances
in order to achieve a more secure and stable Middle East,
as provided for in the Jordanian-Israeli Peace Treaty.
At the international level, we hope that the ongoing
negotiations within the Conference on Disarmament in
Geneva will lead to concluding a comprehensive test-ban
treaty before the end of next year. We also hope that the
Conference on Disarmament will begin negotiations
aimed at concluding a treaty on prohibition of the
production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, and
another convention to provide non-nuclear-weapon States
with security assurances.
As for the situation in the Gulf, Jordan reaffirms its
interest in the security of that vital region and its earnest
desire to establish strong relations of cooperation based
on mutual respect and non-interference in the internal
affairs of any State. In this regard, Jordan firmly supports
and upholds the right of the United Arab Emirates to
sovereignty over the three islands occupied by Iran.
Jordan also supports all efforts aiming at bringing about
an end to the Iranian occupation so that good neighbourly
relations among the States of the region may be
established and consolidated.
11

While we appreciate the positive step taken by Iraq in
recognizing the sovereignty of Kuwait and its international
boundaries, we emphasize the need to work for lifting the
sanctions imposed on the brotherly people of Iraq, with a
view to putting an end to their suffering, preserving the
unity and the integrity of the people and the territory of
Iraq and preventing its fragmentation which would endanger
the security and safety of the region. Jordan also stresses
the need to resolve the issue of the missing and detained
Kuwaitis. We consider this a matter of utmost importance
because of its legal and humanitarian dimensions. We call
for Iraq’s full compliance with all relevant Security Council
resolutions in order to discharge the commitment to
properly implement Council resolutions in accordance with
the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United
Nations.
Having said this, Jordan affirms its solidarity with and
sympathy for the Iraqi people in their plight and
underscores the need to respect their legitimate rights and
aspirations to freedom and democracy and to safeguard
their unity. Jordan states this with a clear conscience, in
consonance with the Declaration of Human Rights and the
Charter of the United Nations.
Jordan has consistently made clear its stand on the
tragic situation in the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina.
It supports the sovereignty and independence of this young
republic and affirms the need to put an end to the Serbian
aggression against it. Jordan also supported the position of
the Contact Group established by the Organization of the
Islamic Conference, which called for the lifting of the arms
embargo imposed on Bosnia, in conformity with its inherent
right to self-defence. Now, following the latest positive
developments, represented by the Declaration of Principles
agreed upon by the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of the
States parties to the conflict under the auspices of the
Western Contact Group and following the cease-fire
decision, Jordan supports the position of the Government of
Bosnia and Herzegovina and commends its flexibility in
trying to reach agreement. We attach great importance to
the continuation of diplomacy supported by force, which
has led to the withdrawal by the Serbs of their heavy
weapons from the areas surrounding the capital city of
Sarajevo, with all that that entailed in terms of putting an
end to the shelling of civilians, and of leading to the
aforementioned Declaration of Principles.
While we are to work in earnest for the establishment
of a safer and more secure world order that would be
founded on the values of freedom, tolerance and equality,
we must recall the early calls made by Jordan during the
1980s, when His Royal Highness Crown Prince Hassan
called for the establishment of a new humanitarian world
order. Those calls were echoed in the proceedings of the
United Nations General Assembly and translated into
resolutions which called for and encouraged the
establishment and consolidation of such a world order.
Perhaps this new humanitarian world order, because of its
aims which would make the human being the main focus
of international action in such areas as the eradication of
poverty and unemployment and the bridging of the gap
between the rich and the poor, on both the individual and
societal levels, may well furnish the solid foundation upon
which we can build the desired new world order whose
parameters have not crystallized as yet.
In the same context, we should encourage interfaith
dialogue. Such a dialogue would bridge the gaps between
the beliefs and concepts of millions of human beings and,
also, would make great strides towards advancing human
development. If achieved, this would limit religious,
sectoral and ethnic conflicts, both internally and amongst
various communities at the international level. Perhaps
there is a window of opportunity now afforded by the end
of the cold war and of ideological and political conflicts.
This could be a rare and historic opportunity to activate
an interfaith dialogue, thus adding a new and valuable
forum to the existing forums of dialogue.
We in Jordan have always advocated interfaith
dialogue as a safe way to combat blind bigotry and
stereotyping. In order to achieve this, and in the midst of
the painful labour that the process of establishing the new
world order is undergoing, we must not marginalize one
billion Muslims, exclude them or eventually drive them
to radicalism. Muslims must be partners in the building of
this new world order and must be actively involved in its
development.
Islam’s bright image is being distorted, which is a
matter of grave concern for us. The pervasive anti-Islamic
phenomenon, based on unjustified generalizations, aims at
tarnishing the good name of Muslims and stigmatizing
them as terrorists and blind extremists, with a view to
totally distorting Islam’s image. This matter must receive
greater attention from this international Organization. One
should not ignore the fact that Islam is an adaptable
civilization, comprising all shades of political opinion and
all kinds of different religious thought, in addition to a
vast, multifaceted human experience. Jordan urges the
Member States of this international Organization to try to
reach a better understanding of Islam as a religion, as a
12

culture and as a civilization, and to reject the phenomenon
of antagonism to Islam in all its forms and manifestations.
In conclusion, the road to a world of peace, security
and stability inhabited by democratic societies, a world
whose main goal is to attain the highest level of economic
and social development, is a long and arduous road indeed.
But the achievement of these lofty and noble aims of the
Charter of the United Nations is worthy of our sacrifices,
and requires more serious and sincere action at the
international level.


It is my pleasure to
congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of this
historic fiftieth session of the General Assembly. The
Barbados delegation shares the confidence expressed in
your leadership, and offers our full cooperation as you
preside over the deliberations of this landmark event.
I also commend your predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. Amara Essy, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Côte
d’Ivoire, not only for his outstanding stewardship of the
Assembly during the last year, but for the vision and
direction he has given to the ongoing work designed to
fashion the United Nations of the twenty-first century.
Let me also take this opportunity to extend a warm
welcome to a fellow member of small island developing
States, the Republic of Palau, whose admission to the
United Nations took place in December 1994.
Fifty years ago, the United Nations rose from the
ashes of a devastating world war. Understandably, the
Organization was shaped and influenced by the
experience of that war and by the coalition of Powers that
prevailed in 1945. It also grew to reflect the forces
underpinning the post-war system of international
relations — a system characterized by that paralysis of
international political will known as the cold war.
Yet, to its credit, the United Nations has fostered
remarkable progress on such vital issues as
decolonization, development and human rights, as well as
on a wide array of international standards, which we have
come to take for granted. Through its extensive network
of organs and specialized agencies, the United Nations
system has made tangible and lasting improvements in the
lives of men, women and children all over the world.
But that old order has come to an end, and we face
anew a world of tumultuous global change. Barbados sees
this world through the eyes of a member of the small
island developing States — joint products of
decolonization and the relative geopolitical stability that
the United Nations has ensured since our independence.
As a group, we have had mixed success in transforming
the legacies of colonial tutelage into genuine and
sustained development for our peoples.
As small and fragile members of the global
community, we are constantly reminded of our own
economic and political vulnerability. For us, what happens
outside our borders, beyond our control, whether man-
made or natural, sometimes has more impact on our way
of life than anything we may do at home. One hurricane
can wipe out, in a matter of hours, an entire small island
economy. Only three weeks ago, Hurricane Luis wrought
such devastation on a number of our Caribbean
neighbours, causing major set-backs in their economic
development. We extend our sincere sympathy to our
brothers and sisters at this time of distress. Barbados is
cooperating fully with others in helping to restore normal
life to these Caribbean Member States.
For small island States, how we recover from
disasters such as this, and perhaps more important, how
we work towards ensuring that we make ourselves less
vulnerable: these are paramount to our survival. Clearly,
short-term assistance and the sympathy of the
international community, while crucial, are not enough.
Small size also means that our entire society, not just
areas of it, is equally vulnerable to dislocations of the
global economic system, including currency and
6
General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting
Fiftieth session 13 October 1995
commodity price fluctuations, new international trading
arrangements, and the changing fortunes of the major
industrial economies.
Notwithstanding these natural or man-made
constraints, many small island States, including my own,
have achieved rising per capita incomes and improved
human development indicators but such indices provide
only an approximate measure of the present, based on the
past. They do not, and cannot, measure our vulnerability,
the resilience or lack of resilience of our economies and
entire societies in the face of natural disasters and rapid
global economic change.
It is in this broad context that Barbados has given the
highest importance to the Global Conference on the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States, which my country had the honour to host last year.
The Programme of Action, adopted by consensus,
underscores the role which the stewardship of small island
States plays in the preservation of the global commons. We
urge international action to step up the support pledged in
the Declaration of Barbados and the Programme of Action.
My delegation therefore calls for the steady implementation
of the commitments and recommendations contained in
General Assembly resolution 49/122 of 19 December 1994.
As a small vulnerable State, Barbados views some
areas of the global political scene with deep concern.
Following the end of the cold war, the people of the world
yearn for an era of peace and economic prosperity — but
peace, so far, has proved elusive. The outbreak of violence
and ethnic strife has reached unspeakable levels of human
suffering, taxing the capacity of the United Nations support
system to the limit.
In the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina, the large
majority of Member States looks on in agony and
helplessness at a crisis which has called into question the
very credibility of the Organization and the integrity of its
peace-keeping function. We recall words of the late Sir
Winston Churchill today: But Bosnia has not been the
United Nations “finest hour”. But let us not forget that the
United Nations is no more, no less, than the collective will
of the Governments it serves.
For vulnerable small States, United Nations protection
is critical. Developing countries, particularly those least able
to afford it, bring no influence to bear on major peace-
keeping decisions, yet must pay their assessed share of
peace-keeping costs, diverting scarce resources from the
development effort. Barbados welcomes the encouraging
signs which have recently emerged from the peace
process between the parties of former Yugoslavia, and
hopes that an end could be soon brought to the strife and
bloodshed in this war-torn region.
Barbados shares the anguish of the people in the
strife-torn countries of Africa, in particular, Rwanda,
Burundi, Liberia, and in similar areas of conflict around
the world, and hopes for early progress towards lasting
peace in those areas. At the same time, we welcome the
positive developments in the peace process in Angola and
that between Israel and Palestine. We hope that a peaceful
and durable settlement to the problems elsewhere in the
Middle East may soon be reached.
In Haiti, where democracy is beginning to take root,
Barbados is proud to have participated in the multilateral
initiatives and mission which resulted in the return of
Haiti’s democratically elected government. The return of
President Aristide underscores this continuing success and
this continuing process. Haiti is a prime example of a
vulnerable small island State receiving, at long last, the
support and protection needed from its neighbours and the
international community. Much still needs to be done if
Haiti’s recovery and development, long neglected in the
face of political turmoil, are to be assured.
We urge the international community to stay the
course with Haiti. We know that progress will be uneven,
but we applaud the Government’s commitment to the
democratic process. Haiti is a Caribbean country with
which Barbados shares strong bonds of history and
culture. The Haitian people can be assured of our support
in their struggle to nurture its fledgling democracy, and
improve the economic and social conditions of its people.
Barbados applauded the decision of the United
Nations last May when it extended indefinitely, the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). But
now the spirit of this agreement has become a casualty of
recent events. Barbados deeply regrets the decision by
some States to resume nuclear testing, which runs counter
to the spirit of the NPT and the commitment by nuclear
weapons States to exercise the utmost restraint, pending
entry into force of a comprehensive nuclear-test-ban
treaty. As a small island developing State and a non-
nuclear-weapon State, Barbados has a vested interest in
the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the
disarmament of existing nuclear stockpiles.
Barbados therefore supports the moratorium on the
testing of nuclear weapons in place, and urges nuclear
7
General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting
Fiftieth session 13 October 1995
Powers to heed the call by the international community to
refrain from any activity that violates the spirit of the
Treaty. As an island State whose people depend on the sea
for a large part of their livelihood, Barbados is gravely
concerned about the potential danger to its fragile marine
ecosystems. We are therefore implacably opposed to the
transshipment of nuclear materials and hazardous wastes
through the Caribbean basin.
International terrorism, transnational crime, drug
trafficking and money-laundering, are matters of grave
global concern, particularly to a small country like
Barbados. The destabilizing threat of related cartels to the
democratic order in small States is particularly serious.
While Barbados has been put on full alert, we recognize
our limited capacity to effectively police our own borders.
We deeply appreciate the bilateral assistance in this area,
and will continue to work closely with other regional
partners and related international bodies to combat this
global cancer.
The year 1995 is a special one for the United Nations.
It is a year for solemn reflection on the mission and
achievements of the Organization, and for new directions to
meet the challenges ahead.
The world we face is characterized by increasing
globalization of production, liberalization of trade, and an
explosion of information technology. Increasingly, States
find themselves restricted in their capacity to control or
influence the flow of international capital, other than by
providing hospitable conditions to attract it. Moreover, there
is an emerging consensus on the reordering of the role of
the State in economic development, in the direct creation of
wealth and in the complementary nature of the public and
private sectors.
A significant feature of this changed world is the
emergence of non-governmental organizations as a major
influence in domestic and international public policy.
Barbados welcomes this participatory power of civil
society, which has deepened and enriched the debate on
international issues and helped shape the global agenda to
better reflect the popular will.
The framers of the Charter demonstrated this foresight
in the Preamble, not with the words “We the
Governments”, but with the words “We the peoples”. And
as we approach the new millennium, the slow but sure
triumph of peoples over institutions is becoming
increasingly evident. An appreciation and analysis of these
global changes is critical to a reformed United Nations if it
is to meet the challenge of the twenty-first century while
remaining faithful to the original ideals of the Charter.
But good governance still is, and always will be, the
best instrument for the expression of the popular will.
Government is, after all, when exercised responsibly and
accountably, a profoundly moral vocation. And just as
Governments cannot, domestically, retreat from that moral
function of fostering peace and upholding justice and
liberty, neither can they do so internationally.
Barbados supports the reform process. A reformed
United Nations system should be cost-effective and
efficient. The process should be orderly and informed by
solid analytical work, with decisions based on rigorous
evaluation of the mandates and performance of affected
institutions and their relevance to the changing demands
of developing countries. In this connection, Barbados
believes that the abolition of the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization and the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development would be
premature. Restructuring of these institutions may well be
warranted, but due process should first be served.
Reform of the United Nations must not mean an
abandonment of international cooperation and a retreat
into isolationism by the strong and powerful among us.
The growing interdependence on which the welfare of all
our people depends makes isolationism an irresponsible
fantasy. The problems that beset us — the degradation of
the environment, the plight of the poor and the
dispossessed, narco-trafficking and money-laundering,
human rights abuses, and, especially, ensuring the equal
rights of women and children — can be solved only
through more intense international cooperation.
Let us by all means streamline this Organization and
its allied agencies. Let us make them more effective in
the delivery of programmes of direct benefit to our
peoples. But let not calls for better management and
increased efficiency cloud any lack of resolve by the
more fortunate among us to discharge their international
responsibilities, or hamper the Organization’s capacity to
fulfil the mandates entrusted to it by Member States.
The United Nations has before it a daunting task. It
must enlarge the Security Council to better reflect the
realities of membership since 1965 as well as the
geopolitical changes in the global environment. In
particular, it must redesign its peace-keeping machinery
to cope with the changing nature of conflicts in today’s
world — namely, conflicts mainly within nations, not
8
General Assembly 22nd plenary meeting
Fiftieth session 13 October 1995
between nations. Barbados supports the structure for such
reform contained in “An Agenda for Peace”, and salutes the
Secretary-General for his distinctive leadership on this
crucial issue.
In the economic and social fields, the United Nations
must intensify its support to the development effort of
developing countries. Barbados supports the framework for
an “Agenda for Development”, prepared by the Secretary-
General. The United Nations now has before it a
comprehensive development agenda created by the
continuum of United Nations Conferences in New York, in
Rio, in Vienna, in Barbados, in Cairo, in Copenhagen and
in Beijing. Barbados reaffirms the central role of women in
development, which is acknowledged in the respective
Programmes of Action of all these Conferences. Women
bring their unique perspective to the development
process — and without it, the whole is impoverished.
Implementation of these expanded programmes is
crucial. They must be carried out with commitment and
dispatch. But even with expected improvements in
efficiency, these critical tasks cannot be accomplished
unless the United Nations system is placed on a sound
financial footing. This is why we urge early action to solve
the acute financial crisis of the Organization.
All States, big and small, powerful and weak, learn
that power must be exercised responsibly. The big and
strong have a special role to play in a reformed United
Nations, particularly in the maintenance of peace. It is
unrealistic not to recognize this. But the small and weak
also have their own vital contribution to make. Both must
act responsibly and within both the letter and the spirit of
international law.
Barbados is confident that Member States can rise to
this collective challenge. The machinery is already in
place — in particular, the Open-ended High-level Working
Group on the strengthening of the United Nations system.
Barbados will participate fully in this historic session.
It will work to revitalize and strengthen this unique
institution, where humanity’s greatest hope for peace,
security, development and social justice resides. Together,
we can forge a renewed United Nations capable of fulfilling
the promise enshrined in “We the peoples”.


I wish first of all to
congratulate the President of the General Assembly upon
his election to his high office in the year of the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations. May I, at the same time,
extend my sincere thanks to the outgoing President, His
Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, for his excellent work.
Fifty years ago, my countryman Trygve Lie became
Secretary-General of an Organization with a very modest
structure but with a “sacred mandate”, as he said in his
acceptance speech,
“to build a firm foundation for the peace of the
world”. (Official Records of the General Assembly,
First Session, Plenary Meetings, 22nd meeting, p. 326)
Since then, even greater demands have been made on the
United Nations in terms of leadership, ideas, manpower and
finances. On the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, we
must empower the United Nations to work with renewed
vigour and effectiveness in promoting peace, human rights,
sustainable development, equality, justice and understanding
among peoples.
Rather than being poised to take on new challenges,
however, the United Nations finds itself in a financial crisis
of major proportions. The Secretary-General has recently
pointed out that the Organization is, in a technical sense,
insolvent — yes, bankrupt. Only prompt payment by a
small number of Member States has enabled it to continue
to operate. The situation is more serious than ever before
because of the unprecedented amounts involved and the fact
that one major contributor’s payment is being withheld and
is expected to be unilaterally reduced in the years ahead.
This desperate financial situation reflects the
inadequate priority given to the United Nations by many of
its Members, which is in clear violation of their obligations.
It may sound harsh, but, coming from a country which
consistently pays $100 per capita to the United Nations
system, I have difficulties in explaining to my own
electorate that other rich countries are not even willing to
provide one tenth of that level.
At the same time, I realize that the United Nations
assessment system should be reformed without delay.
Moreover, experience has shown that the United Nations
itself needs to be reformed, restructured and modernized.
Norway wholeheartedly supports the reform process
launched to strengthen the United Nations system and
make it more representative and effective. This should
include expansion of the membership of the Security
Council and increased transparency of its methods of
work.
To meet the twin challenges of peace and sustainable
development, the United Nations and its Member States
should proceed along five parallel paths.
First, we must help increase local and regional
capacity to handle conflict situations. For instance,
African countries have signalled via the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) that they are prepared to take on a
larger share of the responsibility for solving their own
problems. In response, Norway will cooperate with
partners in Southern Africa in building up standby
reserves of qualified personnel for peace operations under
United Nations or OAU auspices.
Secondly, more nations must be willing to contribute
to the United Nations peace-keeping forces. Traditional
troop contributors do not have the capacity to provide all
the personnel that will be needed in future peace-keeping
missions aimed at solving disputes, protecting local
populations and providing humanitarian assistance. Both
the United Nations and the traditional troop-contributing
countries must assist potential troop contributors with
competence-building measures, just as the Nordic
countries are now assisting the Baltic States.
Thirdly, the rapid-reaction and standby capability of
the United Nations must be improved. Norway is
prepared to join in efforts to develop new, much-needed
instruments to deal quickly and effectively with crisis
situations. The rapid-reaction capability must also include
humanitarian assistance. The United Nations should
continue to play a central role in coordinating
humanitarian relief efforts.
Norway has given high priority to measures that
enable us to respond expeditiously to requests for
assistance. We have established an effective preparedness
10

system for emergency assistance that covers both personnel
and matériel. Emergency equipment can be airborne within
24 hours. Experienced personnel can be in the field within
72 hours. In Rwanda, a fully equipped field hospital,
accompanied by the necessary personnel, was recently
delivered at short notice to the United Nations, in
accordance with these procedures. With a view to
improving the United Nations response to support
requirements, Norway has offered to provide facilities for
a United Nations medical depot where medical equipment
and supplies for peace-keeping and humanitarian operations
can be stored and maintained.
Fourthly, we must put even greater emphasis on
conflict-prevention measures. The international community
must be present in unstable areas and must provide
economic incentives, mediation expertise and human rights
monitors. Conflict prevention is the most effective way of
using limited resources. Norway will continue to shoulder
its share of the responsibility — for instance, in Guatemala,
where we are actively involved in the peace process,
together with the other members of the Group of Friends.
Norway has established a special human-resource bank for
human rights and democracy, which is able, at short notice,
to offer experts to assist countries and peoples in their
efforts to build democratic societies.
The international community must be prepared to act
decisively when atrocities are committed. Serious crimes
should be prosecuted by an international criminal tribunal.
The establishment of the ad hoc Tribunals in the former
Yugoslavia and Rwanda has provided momentum for the
efforts to establish a permanent court. The tribunal’s role
should be limited to cases where national jurisdiction is
unavailable or ineffective.
Fifthly, on the occasion of its fiftieth anniversary, we
call on the United Nations to take a decisive lead in
promoting sustainable development and eradicating poverty.
Efforts to improve global security must address the issues
of economic growth, development and poverty, while
ensuring that the use of natural resources is kept within the
carrying capacity of the Earth. The United Nations must
become a driving force for sustainable development.
The United Nations is the only forum with a mandate
to tackle the truly global problems affecting the
environment and the sustainable management of natural
resources. Let me offer some brief examples. The
Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks provided an
invaluable contribution to the management of fishery
resources. We are also pleased that, just a few days ago, the
United Nations Panel on Forests was able to take the first
steps to protect, preserve and manage the world’s forests
in a sustainable manner.
I would like to stress the need for a concerted effort
within the United Nations system to ensure that the
results from the major conferences in Cairo, Copenhagen
and Beijing on, respectively, population, social
development and women actually become translated into
law and realities, locally, nationally and at the
international level.
With a growing world population, we have witnessed
the spread of the gravest insult to human dignity —
poverty. Our inability to eradicate poverty haunts our
common conscience. As long as the gap between rich and
poor, whether between States or within States, continues
to widen, we cannot claim to be on the right track. If we
are to alleviate poverty, both donors and recipients must
make more resources available for social welfare
activities. At least 20 per cent of development assistance
budgets and national budgets of recipient countries should
be allocated to the social sector.
The conflict in the former Yugoslavia is far from
being solved, even though the prospects for a negotiated
solution now appear much better than they did until
recently. Norway welcomes the agreement on basic
principles which resulted from the Geneva meeting on
8 September. The United States of America deserves
praise for its persistent efforts in this regard. It is vitally
important that the members of the international
community, in particular the contact group countries,
continue their common approach to the solution of the
crisis. In this context, the United Nations and the
European Union mediators can make a valuable
contribution.
The success of the mediation efforts depends entirely
on the readiness of the parties to compromise. We
strongly urge all the parties to show flexibility and
restraint, and to refrain from attempting to obtain further
advantages on the battlefield. Special attention must be
given to displaced persons, who, whenever possible, must
be allowed to repossess their homes.
The time has come to start reflecting on the
reconstruction of that war-devastated region. This will
require a sustained international effort. The United
Nations system together with the European Union and
others must play a leadership role in coordinating
programs in various fields, such as economic
11

reconstruction, humanitarian aid and assistance to refugees,
democracy-building and human rights. Local leaders have
a heavy responsibility to prevent a new arms race, human
rights abuses and the renewal of tensions in the area.
Norway will continue to support the process of building
peace and prosperity in the former Yugoslavia.
I call on the General Assembly to lend its full and
undivided support to the peace process in the Middle East.
The new interim agreement is a significant and necessary
follow-up to the Oslo agreement. Today we salute once
more the Israeli and the Palestinian leaders for their
courage and determination. As Chairman of the Ad Hoc
Liaison Committee to coordinate donor activities, I strongly
urge the donors to continue to support — for some donors,
to increase their support of — the Middle East peace
process by providing economic assistance to the Palestinian
people. Our common interest in peace in the Middle East
is the best argument for heavy economic support to the
Palestinian areas.
Nuclear testing is a threat to our search for common
security and to the environment, and should be banned. We
deeply deplore the Chinese and French tests, which we fear
may complicate the ongoing negotiations in Geneva on a
comprehensive test ban treaty. We would once again urge
all nuclear-weapon States to refrain from further nuclear
testing during the negotiations and until the treaty enters
into force.
Land-mines are among the most insidious weapons in
common use. They cause indiscriminate and widespread
suffering and continue to spread terror for years or even
decades after hostilities have ended. We call for a total ban
on the production, stockpiling, trade and use of
anti-personnel land-mines. In the absence of such a ban, we
urge all countries to adhere to the United Nations 1980
inhumane-weapons Convention. No strengthening of the
land-mine Protocol will be effective unless adherence to it
becomes universal.
Finally, let us seize the opportunity offered by the
fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations to renew our
support for the United Nations and its aims. Each and every
one of us must help to ensure that the United Nations
becomes what we need and what future generations have
the right to expect: an effective tool to harness our strength
and unite us in maintaining peace, promoting social
progress and protecting human dignity.


Allow me at the outset to extend to you,
Mr. President, our warmest and sincerest congratulations
on your election to the presidency of the fiftieth session
of the United Nations General Assembly. Through you, I
should also like to pay tribute to the relations between my
country and Portugal and to note our shared expectations
for the Mediterranean region.
I would be remiss were I to fail to extend my
warmest congratulations to your predecessor, Mr. Amara
Essy, President of the previous session of the Assembly,
for the new impetus he gave to the Organization through
the different working groups over which he presided. I
should also like to pay a special tribute to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for the wisdom and
determination with which he is carrying out his noble
mission.
This session of the Assembly crowns a half century
of the world Organization’s efforts to preserve world
peace. Today, the Organization is called upon to pave the
way to a new era, one that we hope will be marked by
solidarity in facing the tasks before us and the
responsibility we all bear.
Since the end of the cold war the world has rid itself
of the heavy burden of the fear of another world war, a
war that would have led to untold catastrophes and
tragedies. This development, albeit new, already seems to
be part of the past given the speed of subsequent
developments.
Even if East-West confrontation and the bipolarity of
past decades have disappeared, new challenges have
emerged over the past few years. Hotbeds of tension and
instability have proliferated, in many regions of the world,
and have taken root in the soil of ethnic and political
hostilities that often take the form of armed confrontations
within the borders of any one State. Such hostilities are
often fuelled by extremes of hardship and by deteriorating
economic and social conditions.
Some negative phenomena, such as terrorism,
extremism and the illicit traffic in arms and drugs have
also grown in a manner that is cause for concern as they
undermine the stability of States.
Inherent in these new challenges are factors of
disintegration and collapse that throw a long shadow over
international peace and security and impose new threats
that the international community should hasten to contain
6

with decisive action which should not focus on their
outward manifestations alone, but deal with their true
underlying causes, namely economic underdevelopment and
social backwardness.
In fact, these new situations which now face the world
in the post-cold-war era make us realize that it is
impossible to ensure lasting international peace and security
by military means alone. Respect for law and international
legality are prerequisites as are creation of conditions that
would promote the economic and social development in an
interdependent world. These, we believe, are the
underpinnings upon which we should build a new world
order.
Due to the developments the international community
has been witnessing over the past few years, the United
Nations Organization has come to shoulder new
responsibilities towards international peace and security.
These responsibilities are manifest in the unprecedented
increase in the number of peace-keeping operations, as well
as in new activities such as the supervision of elections and
the rebuilding of State structures and the economic
infrastructures of States. In addition, many of these
activities have to do with the settlement of disputes within
certain States.
While the United Nations has to provide assistance to
countries that are ravaged by civil wars and internal
conflicts, we, as members of the international community,
are all called upon to mobilize our efforts and to strengthen
our solidarity within the context of the efforts aimed at the
maintenance of peace and to identify and resolve the
underlying causes of such disputes. Proceeding from our
belief in the fundamental principles set forth in the
Secretary-General’s “Agenda for Peace”, particularly those
relating to preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace
building, Tunisia, during its presidency of the Organization
of African Unity (OAU), called for stronger cooperation
between the United Nations and the Organization of African
Unity in the area of conflict prevention and the speedy
resolution of disputes at minimum cost.
Here we should remind of the role of the central organ
of the OAU’s mechanism for conflict prevention,
management and resolution, which has been given new
impetus by President Ben Ali and other African leaders in
order to make it an effective tool in the prevention and
settlement of disputes in Africa.
In this context, Tunisia has hosted several meetings of
this central body, which have resulted in the adoption of
many important resolutions that have made it possible to
address certain situations which, otherwise, would have
called for intervention by the international community to
keep peace or to prevent the outbreak of new conflicts.
We believe that such efforts by this central organ of the
OAU warrant additional support. The results of such
efforts could be improved if the appropriate financial and
logistical means were made available to the organ and if
coordination were ensured between the United Nations
and the OAU in this regard. We do hope that the recent
tendency to give this matter some thought will lead to the
identification of the ways and means whereby action by
the international community in this direction will develop
further. On this occasion, I should like, on behalf of
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to pay tribute to the
international community for its valuable support to
Tunisia during its presidency of the OAU, and to express
particular appreciation to the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, as well as to
all those who have provided financial and logistical
assistance to peace-keeping operations in Africa and to
the States that have provided financial support to the fund
created within the OAU mechanism for the settlement,
management and prevention of disputes.
While some hotbeds of tension persist, some have
been eliminated, and we do see a reduction in the danger
of major conflagrations in the light of the significant
progress made towards disarmament and the strengthening
of the underpinnings of international security through the
efforts of the United Nations, as well as an improvement
in the climate of trust and understanding that we now feel
in international relations.
In the area of weapons of mass destruction, Tunisia
welcomed the signing of the Convention on chemical
weapons. We believe it is a step that will lead to the
elimination of an entire class of such weapons. This calls
for further substantive steps to rid the world gradually of
the threat of nuclear weapons, particularly in the wake of
the indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
As for the Middle East, many important steps have
been taken towards genuine dialogue between the parties
concerned.
Tunisia, which has been an active participant in the
peace process since it began in Madrid, welcomes the
agreement achieved yesterday between the Palestine
Liberation Organization and Israel, and hopes that it will
be followed by other concrete steps towards ensuring the
7

achievement of the legitimate national rights of the
Palestinian people.
We must adopt the same approach in order to give
new impetus to the negotiations between Syria and Israel on
the one hand, and between Lebanon and Israel on the other
in order to ensure the withdrawal from the occupied
territories in the Golan and in southern Lebanon and the
achievement of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in
the region.
It goes without saying that the principles upon which
the peace process was based, namely Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973), as well as General
Assembly resolutions concerning the withdrawal from all
Arab and Palestinian lands, including Holy Al-Quds, must
be fully implemented. Al-Quds remains, for the Palestinian
and the whole Islamic nation, a cornerstone for the
settlement of the dispute.
We believe that it is time for the Israeli Government
to demonstrate realism and political courage by rising above
the very narrow view of security and relations with the
neighbouring Arab States in order to allow the peoples of
the region to live in harmony in increasing security and
stability.
In the Arab Maghreb, Tunisia, which has always
believed in international legality, calls, in the light of
initiatives taken by Libya, for a rapid resolution of the
Lockerbie affair in order to lift the embargo imposed on
our Libyan brethren. The negative effects of that embargo
have begun seriously to affect stability and development in
all the countries of the region.
As for Iraq, Tunisia, which is satisfied with the
progress that is being made in implementing United Nations
resolutions, calls for lifting the embargo imposed on Iraq in
order to mitigate the suffering of the Iraqi people. At the
same time, Tunisia stresses the need to fully respect the
sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait and all the
countries of the region. By the same token, we hope that
agreement on the basis of the norms of international law
and the behests of good-neighbourliness and respect for the
territorial integrity of other States, will be reached in the
dispute between the United Arab Emirates and the Islamic
Republic of Iran on Abu Moussa and the Greater and
Lesser Tumb Islands.
I should now like to address the crisis in Bosnia,
which, in our view, constitutes an aberration that embodies
a serious defiance to all humanity. This war puts us face to
face with ideologies which, we thought, had become
things of the past, but which have now resurfaced in the
guise of “ethnic cleansing”. The international community
has the right to make use of the means provided by the
United Nations Charter to force those who flout all
civilized values and trample the most basic of human
rights to accept the independence of Bosnia and
Herzegovina and to respect its territorial integrity.
Tunisia, which has always participated in the United
Nations efforts to maintain international peace and
security, is well-aware of the limitations of the narrow
view that reduces the concept of security to the military
dimension alone. Proceeding from this, Tunisia has
supported from the outset the international community’s
initiative embodied in “An Agenda for Development”. We
believe that “An Agenda for Development”, along with
“An Agenda for Peace”, help to enrich our thinking in the
field of multilateral cooperation at a time when countries
of the world are becoming increasingly open to market
economics which, together with the consolidation of
interdependence, have come to be the principal economic
characteristics of world economy at the end of the 20th
century.
In view of the irreversible globalization of economic
concepts, the United Nations is called upon to play a
fundamental role in formulating and implementing
development policies. Such an important role should work
in favour of the international community’s efforts to
restructure the United Nations and to increase its
effectiveness. Tunisia, which has taken part in these
efforts, believes that any restructuring process should help
promote the universal nature of the Organization and
strengthen its democratic posture, so that it may make a
better contribution in the area of development. We believe
that the process of restructuring must go hand-in-hand
with a wider cooperation between the United Nations and
the Bretton Woods institutions in order to improve their
input in development.
In this context, joint initiatives could be taken to
ensure a better division of labour between the United
Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions with a view
to increasing their effectiveness in the economic and
social fields and within the context of development in
general. More specifically, as far as cooperation between
the United Nations and other parties is concerned,
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali has been calling, since
1989, from this very rostrum, for a development
partnership between industrialized and developing
countries. This initiative is a project for a new
8

international cooperation based on a dynamic view of the
security of all States. Through this proposal, Tunisia aims
at creating a new system based on economic, political,
social and democratic stability, because we believe that they
are the very pillars of security. This Tunisian initiative is
based on awareness of the organic link between
development, democracy and stability. This overall view
takes into account the aspirations of individuals and peoples
who look forward to freedom and economic, social and
cultural well-being.
The Tunisian view of security and development is
anchored in the belief that extreme importance must be
attached to the cultural and humanitarian aspects of
international relations, particularly at the regional level.
Proceeding from this belief, Tunisia has sought to
consolidate its cultural and political ties with all the
countries of the Arab Maghreb and of the Mediterranean.
At the Maghreb level, in cooperation with the member
States of the Arab Maghreb Union, Tunisia has worked to
create an economic zone in the region. This has taken
concrete shape in the Tunisian declaration of 1994 relating
to the creation of a free zone as a first step in putting in
place a Maghreb development strategy.
Tunisia’s involvement in international economic affairs
and its attempts to develop its interests with the region on
the northern shores of the Mediterranean are among its
basic foreign-policy tenets, enshrined in the partnership
agreement with the European Union. This agreement is
based on joint development and aims at creating a free zone
that will allow Tunisia further activity within the economies
of its European partners. It goes hand in hand with a policy
of dialogue between the countries of the Mediterranean. On
the 28th and 29th of July 1995, Tunisia hosted a
preparatory meeting for the Mediterranean region to ensure
the success of the meeting scheduled for next November in
Barcelona. The Preliminary results of the Mediterranean
dialogue give cause for optimism as they reflect a common
desire to safeguard the Mediterranean region from
international political convulsions and economic fluctuations
while ensuring its harmonious development.
The United Nations is called upon today to develop a
new concept based on the need to achieve security,
development and democracy. These are the very principles
in which Tunisia believes and for which we strive,
domestically as well as internationally. In the field of
development, the Tunisian strategy is based on the human
element within a comprehensive vision that embraces all
segments of society, and aims at building a balanced and
unitary society.
In this context, I wish to stress in particular the
importance that Tunisia attaches to the empowerment of
women, the protection of the family and to highlight the
fact that many achievements have been made in this
context, particularly with regard to the adoption of
structural, legal and administrative measures to promote
the role of women and the family, economically and
socially and to enhance the role of women in our
development efforts. At the same time, Tunisia has
acceded to many international conventions on the equality
of women and men, the latest of which has been the
Copenhagen agreement which relate to the elimination of
all forms of discrimination against women. Based on its
rich experience in this context, Tunisia has played a very
active role in the March 1995 World Summit for Social
Development in Copenhagen and in the recent Fourth
World Conference on Women in Beijing, whose positive
results we commend.
In this new era, Tunisia will continue to support the
efforts of the United Nations both in the areas of
maintenance of peace and of development. We shall
continue to participate in defining the features of the new
world order and to call for upholding the law and the
norms of international legality. It behoves the States of
the world to share a joint vision of the world of
tomorrow, so that it may be characterized by more
solidarity and justice. We hope that the celebration of the
fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations will reaffirm the
commitment of the international community to an
Organization without which we can never hope to build
such a new world order.


It gives me special pleasure to
congratulate Mr. Diogo Frietas do Amaral of Portugal on
his election as President of the General Assembly at its
fiftieth session. I take this opportunity to extend to him my
best wishes for success in the deliberations of this
important gathering, and I assure him of the full
collaboration of the delegation of Albania.
I also congratulate Mr. do Amaral’s predecessor, Mr.
Amara Essy, on the excellent way he conducted the work
of the last session of the General Assembly.
To the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
I wish to express my highest regard for his unfailing
endeavours to provide the Organization with ever more
effective leadership.
My warmest greetings go to the Republic of Palau, the
newest State Member of the United Nations.
Since March 1992 — the time of the final break with
the Communist regime — Albania has made tremendous
progress in its democratic processes. The building up and
strengthening of political pluralism, the rule of law,
respect for human rights in general and for those of
minorities in particular, as well as the transition from a
centralized to a market economy, constitute the main
directions in which Albanian society is moving. The
country is sustainably engaged in speedy economic reform
supported by a whole new set of laws, and the results of
intensive transformation are very tangible.
Certainly reform is not painless. In this regard, the
Government is paying special and particular attention to
improvement of the living conditions of some social
groups that are more vulnerable to economic reform. I
wish, on behalf of the Albanian Government, to avail
myself of the occasion to express gratitude to the donor
countries, the European Member States, the United States
and the countries of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, as well as to international agencies such as
the United Nations Development Programme, the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund, for the
valuable assistance provided to Albania.
In its efforts to eliminate the consequences of fatal
long isolation, Albania is convincingly engaged in an
open policy and has firmly abided by one of the major
objectives that the Government set out in its
programme — the integration of the country into Europe,
which implies the building of a Western-style society,
adherence to its institutions and active participation in
European life.
Our growing cooperation with the European Union,
which we hope will in due course lead to the opening of
negotiations on and the conclusion of the Europe
agreement, is a process that enjoys the backing of all
political parties and all strata of the population. With a
view to achieving full integration, we attach special
importance to cooperation with the Euro-Atlantic
structures, primarily the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO). Albania is the first country of the
region to have formally requested membership of NATO,
and it is engaged in active cooperation within the
Partnership for Peace. In this spirit of close cooperation,
Albania has offered action facilities to NATO, and it will
continue to do so in the future, convinced that this will
benefit peace and security in the Balkans.
To this end, and desirous of demonstrating in a
practical way its commitment to peace and security,
Albania has set up its first Albanian military unit to
participate in the peace-keeping and humanitarian
23

operations of the United Nations and will soon put this at
the disposal of the Organization.
The tragedy of the people of Bosnia and Herzegovina,
which is suffering the consequences of Belgrade’s ambition
to create a “Greater Serbia” — inspired by the philosophy
of national chauvinism, the policy of “ethnic cleansing” and
the forceful changing of borders — lies at the centre of the
present-day Balkan crisis, concentrated in the former
Yugoslavia. Identification of the causes and culprits of the
crisis in Bosnia and Herzegovina now makes it easier for
the Balkan States and the international community at large
to make realistic assessments of the situation in all the
territories of the former Yugoslavia and to seek adequate
approaches for solution.
It is a fact that the international community and its
main actors have been present at all stages in dealing with
the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Unfortunately,
however, it has to be admitted that, despite the action taken
so far, they have not always been consistent. For that
reason, efficiency has for a long time left much to be
desired.
The many resolutions of the United Nations and of the
International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia, the
activities of the Contact Group, the projects offered and the
plans suggested have not yet yielded the desired results.
Nevertheless, we think that the United Nations peace force
deserves special praise for the humanitarian assistance it
has provided to the innocent civilian population. A special
tribute should be paid to the soldiers, officers, diplomats
and journalists who lost their lives in the line of duty.
Following recent developments, it appears that the
situation in the crisis areas is more balanced, politically and
militarily, and that it offers real possibilities for solution.
However, it is still very complex, and there is still the risk
of a spill-over of the conflict to other areas — a widely
held view. In the face of this situation, we appreciate the
fact that, on the initiative of the United States of America,
the international community is reviewing its stand on this
conflict, including insistence on thorough implementation of
Security Council resolutions adopted pursuant to Chapter
VII of the United Nations Charter. These provide for
continuation of the sanctions against the Bosnian Serbs and
Serbia and Montenegro, as well as the stepping up of
diplomatic activity, backed by the use of NATO military
intervention when necessary.
The Republic of Albania is deeply concerned about the
grave situation in Kosova. The Serbian military and police
regime that has been installed in Kosova, with the
elimination of the autonomy that this federal unit of the
former Federal Socialist Republic of Yugoslavia enjoyed,
is continuing widespread terror against the Albanian
population. The brutality of the Serbian police is evident
every day and in every part of Kosova. The apartheid
policy and practices pursued by the Serbs against the
Albanians have led to the compulsory exodus of hundreds
of thousands of Albanians, mainly youngsters, to different
countries of the world. Part of this systematic terror are
the endless killings, the ransacking and the plotted
political trials against the Albanians of Kosova.
As if this extremely tense and eruptive situation
were not enough, the Belgrade authorities are now
sending to Kosova, as colonists, the Serb refugees from
Croatia and Bosnia. This grave provocation, under the
guise of humanism for Serb refugees, is in reality part of
the old plan of the Belgrade authorities to carry out
“ethnic cleansing” in Kosova, which is inhabited to the
extent of 95 per cent by Albanians, and forcefully change
its ethnic-demographic composition.
The consequences of what Belgrade is doing to
attain the “Greater Serbia” ambition are already common
knowledge and have been internationally witnessed in
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia. We appeal to the
international community and to concerned humanitarian
organizations not to be duped by the intentions of
Belgrade and not to assist it to settle the Serb refugees in
Kosova — an activity that falls short of being a simple
humanitarian action.
We also call upon the international community not
to ignore the extremely important issue of Kosova. The
Belgrade authorities have clearly challenged General
Assembly resolution 49/204, the resolutions of the
Commission on Human Rights in Geneva and the
decisions of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe on Kosova. If Serbia is not put
under international pressure to refrain from its policy of
confrontation in Kosova, it will not be long before
another tragedy with unpredictable consequences
explodes. The Kosova Albanian leaders have miraculously
managed to avoid it so far through their peaceful
resistance, but the question immediately arises: How long
will they be able to do so?
The Republic of Albania holds that the United
Nations, the major Powers and NATO should anticipate
and take adequate measures in order to prevent a conflict
in Kosova: demilitarize its territory; protect human and
24

national rights of Albanians there; put an end to ethnic
cleansing and Serb colonization; reopen the institutions of
Kosova; create a climate of dialogue between Albanians
and Serbs in Kosova, and between Pristina and Belgrade;
open and continue dialogue in the presence of a third party.
Albania is of the view, and insists, that the Kosova
issue be included in the agenda for discussion and solution
of the problem of the former Yugoslavia. In the meantime,
the lifting of sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro
should be subject to the strict condition that there should be
a complete and lasting solution of the Kosova issue. There
is more than one problem to tackle and solve in Kosova;
they all need to be addressed properly and not overlooked.
When we see today the progress in solving the
constitutional status of the entities in Bosnia, which we
hope will be just and equitable and will satisfy all parties,
we have reason to hope and believe that the international
community will proceed in the right direction to solve the
question of Kosova as well. The world is right in thinking
that, in so doing, we are respecting one of the fundamental
principles of the Charter, especially the right of peoples to
self-determination. The application of double standards will
undoubtedly generate future conflicts.
In order for the Balkans to be an area of peace,
stability and prosperity, it is necessary to bring war to an
end, to bring the perpetrators of the Bosnian tragedy before
the Court and to punish them, to demilitarize over-armed
States and areas, to reconstruct what was damaged by war,
to settle the Kosova issue and to thaw the already frozen
bilateral relations. Internal democratization of all States, the
creation of the democratic space where Albanians live in
the Balkans, as repeatedly stated by the President of the
Republic, Sali Berisha, constitute a most positive response
to any international initiative for peace and stability in the
Balkans. Furthermore, transition to broad programmes of
inter-Balkan and Euro-Balkan cooperation is also an
absolute requirement for development and for full
integration of the Balkans into developed and civilized
Europe.
In the coming December, Albania will celebrate the
fortieth anniversary of its membership in the United
Nations. Over all these years the Republic of Albania has
demonstrated its commitment to the purposes and principles
of the Charter. While the region is living through a
profound and complex crisis, Albania is testifying that it is
a factor of peace and stability. It has never provoked
conflicts or tensions between States and has repeatedly
asserted its firm stand against the forceful alteration of
internationally recognized borders. This is demonstrated
first in its policy towards its neighbours.
I am glad to declare that bilateral relations with
Greece have improved following a period of tension last
year. Dialogue and good will, which Albania has always
favoured, have prevailed, and today the two countries are
taking concrete steps in the direction of extending,
deepening and speeding up cooperation in fields of
mutual benefit.
It is worth mentioning here that we are glad to see
that the international community, in general, recognize the
great improvement in the rights of the Greek minority in
Albania in the last three years. The Albanian
Government has consistently demonstrated its willingness
to ensure full respect for human rights and fundamental
freedom for all the citizens, including members of the
Greek minority, and its commitment to do so. We have
always emphasized that the Greek minority in Albania
constitutes a bridge of friendship and we are glad that this
is not our view alone. There is no political reason
whatsoever that could hinder this since the realization of
rights stems from our political will and from the very
essence of Albanian society.
As to the right of education in one’s mother tongue,
in addition to the measures already taken by the
Government to apply international standards and fulfil its
international commitments, such as the Copenhagen
Declaration and Programme of Action, the national
legislation on education, in particular the law on private
schools — which entered into force a few months ago —
has resolved this question.
Albania maintains good relations with the former
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and supports the full
integration of this Republic into international institutions.
However, we encourage it to take concrete steps to
improve the situation of the Albanians there and to ensure
full respect for their human and national rights, including
the right to education in their mother tongue. This is all
the more so because of our conviction that equality
between citizens of any nationality leads to the integration
of that country and that integration is to the benefit of all
the citizens of the former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and of stability in the region.
Albania does not hold a prejudiced view in its
relations with Serbia and Montenegro, either. However, it
should be said that their improvement is dependent on the
renunciation of violence against and suppression of the
25

Albanians in Kosova. Though Italy is across the sea, my
country has considered, and considers, Italy a neighbouring
country of great importance for bilateral relations and for
the developments in the Balkans and the Mediterranean.
Our relations with this country are built on an ancient
tradition and are characterized by very positive
developments in all fields.
Albania attaches great importance to the work with a
view to the reform of the Security Council. Albania is the
only country from the Eastern European Group, except the
newly created countries in the region, that has never served
in the Security Council in its course of 40 years’
membership in the Organization. We believe that the
Member States, by giving Albania the first chance to sit in
the Security Council, will offer encouragement and support
to the good will of the small States for active participation
in multilateral cooperation in the service of international
peace and security, and will show that it will not take long
for our fruitful discussions on the reform of the Security
Council to be implemented. I would like to assure you that
the election of Albania to the Security Council will be a
contribution to peace and security in the troubled region of
the Balkans as well.
In conclusion, I would like to express Albania’s
support for the United Nations, its desire to strengthen the
Organization and its role in safeguarding international peace
and promoting and supporting democracy, development and
well-being.


I must begin my statement by echoing the words of
previous speakers who have congratulated Mr. Diogo
Freitas do Amaral on his election by acclamation to the
presidency of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly.
On my own behalf and on behalf of the delegation of
Madagascar, which I have the honour to head, I have
pleasure in saying that we rely greatly on his experience
and wisdom in ensuring that our work will be crowned with
success at the conclusion of our debates. Whilst assuring
him of the cooperation and support of my delegation, I
would also like to congratulate the other officers of the
Assembly.
It gives me particular pleasure to pay tribute to our
colleague, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, Mr. Freitas do
Amaral’s distinguished predecessor, for the enthusiasm and
dynamism he demonstrated in the service of the General
Assembly, which under his presidency carried out its
mandate well and always to the satisfaction of countries
like my own.
Lastly, may I express our appreciation for the efforts
made by the Secretariat to ensure the efficient organization
of our work, under the competent leadership of the
Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros-Boutros Ghali.
Since our current session coincides with the
commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the United
Nations Charter, it goes without saying that, as the
Secretary-General stressed in his report on the work of the
Organization, it is an occasion not only to take stock of the
first half-century of our Organization and to prepare for the
second, but also to seek ways to keep up the momentum of
the first years of the decade in world affairs.
After the collapse of the Berlin Wall, a true symbol of
the cold war, history has witnessed a series of events that
strengthen confidence in the principles and agreements
enshrined in the Charter: the independence of Namibia; the
formation of the first democratic multiracial Government in
South Africa; the holding of democratic elections marking
the end of a long period of civil strife in Mozambique and
one-party rule in Malawi; the promising steps taken by
several southern African countries towards reconstruction;
the process of reconciliation in the Middle East, recently
added to by the agreement — welcomed by Madagascar,
along with all other peace-loving nations — extending
autonomy in the West Bank; and, lastly, certain
encouraging signs with regard to the situation in the
former Yugoslavia.
Paradoxically, however, the end of the era of
ideological confrontations, while accelerating the
integration of world society, has also promoted an
increase in conflicts, sources of outbursts of violence and
savagery, resulting not only from conflicts between States,
but also, unfortunately, from ethnic, civil, religious and
other deep-rooted causes within a collapsing State or
States. This trend, one of the most marked of the post-
war period, seems to be growing, in the context of an
international community that is powerless, disarmed and,
above all, disillusioned.
As regards Africa, to which Madagascar belongs, I
refer in this regard to the genocide in Rwanda, whose
impact is still felt by international public opinion; the
continuation of civil war in Liberia, in Sudan and Angola;
and the spiral of violence and violations of human rights
in Gambia, one of the oldest democracies in West Africa,
following a coup d’état.
Other conflicts still continue in Europe and
elsewhere.
At the risk of offending some, I must say that most,
if not all, of these hotbeds are fuelled in particular by
sales of illicit weapons — I should rather, say “authorized
sales of weapons”. Their proliferation shows the
ineffectiveness of the relevant international conventions
and of the measures enacted by the international
community. They also run counter to the efforts made to
reduce worldwide expenditures on armaments since 1987
in order to obtain the peace dividend.
International public opinion was also deeply shocked
by the coup d’état carried out by mercenaries against the
Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros. Madagascar
strongly condemned that putsch, and congratulates France
on the happy outcome of Operation Azalea to re-establish
institutional legality in the Comoros.
The disillusionment that I have described,
disillusionment bordering on hopelessness, has other
aspects which are even more threatening to the world’s
security. Indeed, both in the North and in the South we
11

are witnessing an upsurge of intolerance, of xenophobia —
in brief, of fear or the rejection of difference, of all
differences. These feelings are exacerbated by individual
and collective frustrations born of poverty, of
marginalization and of social injustice. This picture is
complemented by environmental degradation, a sluggish
economy, the depletion of natural resources, the
disintegration of the social fabric, the spread of drug use,
international terrorism, pandemics, natural disasters,
unemployment and famine. To sum up, there is a whole
range of global threats which are no longer confined within
national borders.
It would be a truism to assert that solving these
problems calls for us to be farsighted, to step back so as to
get a global view and go beyond the outdated approach of
resolving the challenges facing us case by case. That is why
Madagascar must support all the efforts to implement the
globalizing structural approach in the Agenda for Peace.
However, we must recognize that any initiatives in this
field will be in vain if there continue to be contradictions
between the diplomacy of States and the diplomacy of the
United Nations, because it is quite obvious that the future
of today’s societies lies within a space that is broadening to
encompass the dimensions of the universe.
This fundamental refocusing must be the purpose of a
rational reorganization of our organs and institutions, which,
given the social, political and economic conditions
prevailing when they were established, now have
limitations, gaps and shortcomings when it comes to
responding to the expectations of today’s world.
In Madagascar’s view, what is needed is, first, to
enlarge the Security Council on the basis of equitable
geographical distribution in order to ensure the
democratization of international relations. Secondly, the
General Assembly must be given greater means, and
especially more powers, to put an end to the old cliché that
this organ is merely a forum for rhetoric and orotund
speechmaking. Thirdly, as indicated in “An Agenda for
Peace,” there must be a considerable strengthening of the
mechanisms for the pacific settlement of disputes set forth
in Chapter VI of the Charter, which would seem in practice
to have become the poor relation of Chapter VII, with its
authorization of the use of force as a last resort. Indeed, in
this connection, I would make so bold as to say that any
and all reform of the United Nations must also entail more
careful attention to the provisions of Chapter VII.
This strengthening should include giving first
priority in United Nations bodies to the prevention of
violence by developing a policy and strategy centred on
development. There, the General Assembly could play a
more important role, in conjunction with the Security
Council, by, for example, in the framework of
re-establishing peace, strengthening the role of United
Nations forces used as buffers in international, ethnic or
civil conflicts. Paragraph 7 of Article 2 of the Charter
expressly excludes any intervention in matters which are
essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of any State.
The settlement of national conflicts, which falls within the
competence of the United Nations and which still requires
the support of the country concerned, must be viewed as
the carrying out of efforts to establish democracy and the
rule of law and to inculcate a spirit of tolerance and non-
violence.
There is also the question of strengthening regional
structures for the peaceful settlement of disputes, such as
those that already exist within the United Nations, the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) and the
Non-Aligned Movement. Lastly, there is the question of
strengthening regional cooperation in the sphere of
disarmament so as to block the uncontrolled movements
of weapons and the proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction.
It is in this spirit that Madagascar supported the
indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and is about to ratify various
international conventions, such as the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling
and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction
and the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the
Use of Certain Conventional Weapons.
In the economic and social sphere, there is no need
to stress that world development also presents a scenario
of contrasts and disparities, whereas there had been
reason to hope that the post-cold-war period would see a
de facto mobilization of the international community in
support of development. Even worse, the outlook is far
from encouraging. Poverty and hardship have become
endemic in the so-called fourth world — the “storm
zones”, to use an expression borrowed from the jargon of
today’s experts — which is also prey to natural disasters
in addition to its internal problems, resulting from
political instability and imbalanced economies. The
balance of payments continues to show a deficit because
of the crushing burden of external debt and the
fluctuations in the prices of raw materials, accompanied
12

by — to cap it all — a stagnation and even a decline in
development assistance.
We are also witnessing various forms of protectionism
in the countries of the North, while the countries of the
South are being urged to liberalize trade. The result is
increased marginalization of the poor countries, which are
deriving absolutely no benefit from the globalization of the
world economy, and increased social disparities both
between and within nations. That adverse trend is leading
to the formation of an international social apartheid.
In the United Nations, the establishment of the
Economic and Social Council embodied the poor countries’
hopes for recovery, but it has become clear that its
administrative machinery is still cumbersome and unsuited
to its task. It has gradually become paralysed by the
multiplication of its organs, without any real follow-up or
control, and its high operating cost. At last July’s session of
the Council in Geneva, emphasis was put on the need to
give it greater vigour by strengthening its competencies and
powers.
If development is today recognized as a human right,
Madagascar believes that that it is largely thanks to the
United Nations, which has advanced the notion of
interdependence between economic development,
democracy and respect for human rights. Therefore, one of
the United Nations primary duties is to create and
strengthen the institutional structure needed to implement
the norms it has identified for the promotion of
development. In that connection, Madagascar will
participate with attention and interest in the General
Assembly’s debate on An Agenda for Development.
Similarly, we shall follow with interest the
implementation of the proposals contained in the
Communiqué of the G-7 Summit held last June in Halifax,
proposals designed to promote sustainable development and
better share the fruits of growth. We welcome the G-7’s
express offer to cooperate in formulating a new approach
to international cooperation and in defining the contribution
expected of the United Nations system, which is seeking
through a series of world conferences — recently in
Beijing, previously in Rio, Copenhagen and Vienna, and
next year in Istanbul — to engage, beyond national borders,
in combined, effective action against poverty,
unemployment and social disintegration. Those conferences
are part of the attempts to renew and improve United
Nations methodologies and strategies in the sphere of
cooperation for development.
I cannot fail to refer to the beneficial activities in
Madagascar coordinated by the United Nations
Development Programme and carried out through the
United Nations system of operational activities and
especially by the United Nations Children’s Fund. Nor
must I forget the United Nations Educational, Scientific
and Cultural Organization and the United Nations
Population Fund, whose mid-term review of the third
country programme with Madagascar was completed at
the end of August.
In the same context we welcome the Secretary-
General’s initiative on a steering committee to prepare
specific short-term and medium-term projects for the
development of Africa in such priority areas as food
security, the strengthening of institutions, the development
of the private sector, desertification and social
development.
The viability and survival of our planet depend,
beyond cooperation, on our ability to adapt to the new
realities and constraints we face. As we approach 1996,
declared by the General Assembly as the International
Year for the Eradication of Poverty, my delegation
wanted today briefly to outline some of the proposals my
country is presenting to contribute to making the dreams
of the founding fathers of the Charter come true, although
we know full well that our proposals are incomplete and
that even an improved and ideal United Nations would be
unable on its own to solve all the problems before it.
The building of a better world, to which we all
aspire, remains dependent on establishing international
relations based on the principle of cooperation and
solidarity and on respect for the principles and norms that
govern international relations.
In that connection, let me conclude by noting a great
step forward in international relations: on the occasion of
the fortieth anniversary of the Organization, speakers in
this Hall stressed the concept of the balance of forces in
general and of strategic nuclear parity in particular, while
today, 10 years later, we all recognize that security and
peace cannot exist without cooperation and solidarity, and
in the absence of all violence.


Allow me to begin by
congratulating the President on his election at this historic
fiftieth session of the General Assembly. On behalf of the
Estonian people, I wish him all the best this year.
Fifty years ago this body met for the first time in an
effort to unite the community of nations to avoid a
repetition of the carnage we saw in the Second World War.
For my country, that war finally ended just last year, with
the withdrawal of foreign troops from our territory. I am
happy to note that tomorrow the final remnant of
occupation, in the form of the former Soviet
nuclear-submarine training facility at Paldiski, will be
turned over to Estonian authorities by Russian civilian
dismantling specialists. I take this opportunity to
acknowledge Estonia’s satisfaction with the Russian
Federation’s having fulfilled its commitment in this
regard, as mandated by the agreement signed by Russia
and Estonia on 30 July 1994.
Turning to the work of the United Nations, the
declarations and decisions produced by recent
international conferences must be integrated into the work
of the United Nations as a whole. Estonia places
particular importance upon the implementation of Agenda
21 and the Vienna Declaration. We welcome the
extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons and look forward to a successful
conclusion of negotiations regarding a universal and
verifiable comprehensive test-ban treaty. The importance
of these and other recently concluded international
agreements must be underscored through implementation.
There are a number of ways through which the
United Nations can improve its performance. One of the
most extensive ways in which Member States relate to the
United Nations system is by way of the activities of
various United Nations agencies and programmes. For
this reason, reform of the Economic and Social Council
is crucial and should be addressed in earnest. Member
States should have greater opportunities to ensure that
United Nations resources are used in an effective and
efficient manner. I am referring not to a need for the
micromanagement of agencies, programmes and projects,
but, rather, to participation in agency, programme and
project activities.
I would like to single out and commend the work of
the Economic Commission for Europe (ECE) and other
regional commissions. The ECE has worked diligently to
provide practical and needed support for the integration of
countries with diverse histories into a cohesive regional
whole. As part of continuing United Nations reform,
Estonia once again urges greater cooperation between the
ECE and the United Nations Development Programme.
Any discussion of United Nations reform must
include the composition and functioning of the Security
Council. Estonia welcomes the report of the Open-ended
Working Group on Security Council reform, which,
among other practical suggestions, calls for developing
31

greater transparency and the inclusion of more Member
States in decision making. Within the context of continuing
debate over Security Council reform, we reiterate our
support for an expanded and more effective Security
Council.
In the 40 years from 1948 to 1988, the United Nations
deployed 13 peace-keeping operations. In the seven years
from 1988 to the present, 16 operations were begun, of
which a significant number still continue. There are many
systemic reasons for such a dramatic increase in peace-
keeping operations, and the issues of both peace-keeping
and peacemaking call for further detailed examination.
Regional peace-keeping efforts that are conducted under the
auspices of the United Nations must remain under stringent
United Nations control.
The Security Council, in turn, must carefully define
and monitor any mandates granted to regional efforts and
must resist attempts by groups of States or individual
countries to wrest authority for such actions. Only in this
way can the United Nations ensure compliance with the
principles of multilateralism and impartiality in order to
conduct peace-keeping operations that are not only
effective, but also politically neutral.
Estonia is proud to be taking part in peace-keeping
efforts. Through generous support, especially that of the
Danish Government, Estonian peace-keepers, for the first
time ever, took part in United Nations peace-keeping
operations. Having participated in the United Nations
Protection Force (UNPROFOR), and now the United
Nations Confidence Restoration Operation in Croatia
(UNCRO), we look forward to expanding our role in
United Nations peace-keeping activities.
I am gratified to support the working arrangement
between the United Nations and the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization (NATO) in the former Yugoslavia. Estonia
regards the United Nations-mandated NATO air strikes in
recent weeks in Bosnia as an unfortunate but necessary
means of bringing about an end to the fighting which is still
taking place there. Recent cooperation between the United
Nations and NATO shows that despite the inherent
difficulties in supporting peace in the former Yugoslavia,
differences can be overcome and a joint approach to peace-
keeping can be agreed upon. We view this cooperation as
a harbinger of greater effectiveness in future United Nations
peace-keeping efforts.
An area to which Estonia attaches particular
importance is the work of the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, Mr. José Ayala Lasso, and the Centre for
Human Rights in Geneva. In keeping with its open-door
policy towards the work of human rights groups, Estonia
welcomes and supports the work done by the High
Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for
Human Rights. We believe that information about the
work of the Commissioner and the Centre should be made
available to a wider audience through more frequent
publication of the results of investigations. This would
help ensure that the efforts of partisan political concerns
that tend to rely on inaccurate information will be
countered by factual, impartial reporting of the sort that
Mr. Ayala Lasso and the Centre provide.
During this United Nations fiftieth anniversary year,
it is important for every Member State to affirm its
financial commitment to the United Nations. Estonia, for
its part, supports recent changes to the methodology used
to calculate assessments, changes which have led to
reduced distortions and affirmation of capacity to pay as
the primary, transparent and universally applied criteria
by which assessments are calculated. Agreed upon regular
budget assessments and peacekeeping dues are collective
responsibilities for the functioning of the United Nations,
and should be put ahead of individual partisan interests.
We face new challenges on this, the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations. I wish all of us the
best in meeting those challenges, so that the next 50 years
may be even more constructive than the last.