On behalf of my delegation,
Sir, I take pleasure in extending to you our heartfelt
felicitations on your election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session. We in the
Philippines and in the Association of South-East Asian
Nations (ASEAN) derive special gratification from
congratulating you, a citizen of an ASEAN country, on this
great honour.
The Philippines pays tribute to Secretary-General
Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who has led our Organization in the
most difficult circumstances.
I must beg your indulgence, Mr. President, and that of
our colleagues to speak briefly about recent events in my
country, developments which we consider historic, opening
a bright new chapter in the history of the Philippines.
Exactly a month ago, on 2 September, the Philippine
Government and the Moro National Liberation Front
(MNLF), which had waged a rebellion for more than a
quarter of a century, signed an agreement ending the
conflict in Mindanao and establishing a zone of peace and
development in that island-region.
On 9 September, Professor Nur Misuari, leader of
the MNLF, ran for and was elected to the office of
Governor of the Autonomous Region of Muslim
Mindanao, which is, by virtue of a plebiscite, composed
of four provinces in which Muslim Filipinos are in the
majority.
At the same time, in accordance with the 2
September agreement, the Southern Philippines Council
for Peace and Development is being organized under the
leadership of the MNLF to help promote peace and
development in 14 provinces and nine cities in the
southern Philippines. Thus has the Philippines opted for
national reconciliation as the only true road to peace and
development.
Here, I pay tribute and give thanks to the
Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), and to the
OIC’s Committee of Six on the Situation of the Muslims
in the Southern Philippines, under the wise and vigorous
leadership of Indonesia and with the especially active
involvement of Libya, for guiding us along that road
towards the goal which we have now achieved.
I mention this because I know that what is
essentially a domestic development in the Philippines
finds resonance in other places and in the world at large.
We all know only too well that conflicts arising
from ethnic and cultural differences are not unique to the
Philippines. But just as the Mindanao conflict was not
unique, neither was the process of reconciliation that

ended it. We consider the settlement in Mindanao a
reflection of the salutary trend towards peace and
reconciliation in the world, as well as a modest contribution
to it.
In South Africa, the racist abomination that was
apartheid has been abolished, and a multiracial Government
based on the rule of the majority and the rights of the
minority has been put in place, lending new stability to
southern Africa.
In the Middle East, nations in contention agreed to
take the road of peace. Regrettably, recent events have
shown that the road is still strewn with obstacles. We retain
the faith that these obstacles are surmountable with good
will and a firm conviction that peace must not be destroyed
again in a land so revered by people of many faiths. Our
most fervent prayers go to the leaders and nations involved
that they may soon return to the path of mutual
understanding, reconciliation, justice and peace, for both the
Palestinian and the Israeli peoples.
In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we can at least hope that
the Dayton accords, as well as the 14 September and
subsequent elections, will put behind us the singular horror
of “ethnic cleansing” and lead to a situation where different
ethnic groups can live once again in peace and tolerance.
In this hemisphere, the Government of Guatemala and
armed dissidents have achieved an accord of security and
justice.
In our own region of South-East Asia, we look
forward to the completion of a new Constitution by
Myanmar that will provide a place in the nation’s political
life for the nationalities that have for so long been in
rebellion and for political groups of many persuasions.
Unfortunately, inter-ethnic conflicts in far too many
places continue to inflict suffering on innocent people —
notably, for example, in Rwanda and Burundi.
Around the world, simmering beneath the surface, are
grievances arising from growing disparities in economic
well-being and social status within States and nations.
However, on a global scale, there is a clear trend towards
reconciliation and tolerance. As it is within nations, so is it
between nations. We may be witnessing a new era, one not
only of relative peace but also of close cooperation in
dealing with the global challenges of today.
The cold war has ended, and with it the deadly
reality of armed confrontation between nuclear-armed
blocs.
Even the old North-South economic divide is being
subsumed in a new global trading regime and in regional
economic arrangements, such as the Asia-Pacific
Economic Cooperation, in which the interests of both
developed and developing countries are taken into
account. These developments in reconciliation and
cooperation give us hope that mankind can find the will
to work together in meeting the old and new challenges
that confront the world as a whole.
I see six major challenges that are central to the
future welfare and the very survival of mankind.
The first has to do with the surfeit of weapons that
continues to plague the world, particularly the continued
deployment and development of nuclear arms and other
weapons of mass destruction, the expanding volume of
the traffic in conventional arms and the continued
production and persistent use of especially injurious
devices of war.
The second lies in the potential for conflict over
maritime jurisdictions and resources and the need for
stable maritime regimes. Another is mankind’s continuing
assault on the environment, putting into question the
sustainability of the world’s development. Yet another
challenge is the need to maintain the momentum of the
liberalization of international trade while cushioning
weaker nations and vulnerable sectors of society from its
undesirable effects. The fifth challenge is the necessity of
ensuring human welfare and dignity within the nation-
State and within society. The sixth and last is the growing
menace of organized criminal gangs purveying terror,
deadly weapons, illicit drugs, indentured labour, and the
bodies of our women and children across international
borders.
We have made significant progress in the control of
arms; but the world remains a dangerous place, and much
work remains to be done. We have extended indefinitely
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT). Many of us have signed the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty that the General Assembly
adopted last month. But we should not stop there, for
these are but steps on the road towards complete nuclear
disarmament. We continue to call upon the nuclear-
weapon States to take seriously their commitment under
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Article VI of the NPT to negotiate in good faith the
abolition of nuclear weapons.
Towards this end, the Philippines once more joins the
call for the parties to the NPT to draw up an international
convention prohibiting the use and threat of use of nuclear
weapons. As another step, we reiterate the call for the
conclusion of an international convention against the
production and stockpiling of fissile materials.
Sir, last December in Bangkok, your Prime Minister
and my President, together with the Heads of Government
of the eight other countries of South-East Asia, signed the
South east Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty. We
urge the nuclear-weapon States to commit themselves to
respect this Treaty’s provisions by adhering to its protocol.
Together with the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of
Tlatelolco), the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
(Treaty of Rarotonga), the Pelindaba Text of the African
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, and that for Antarctica,
the South-East Asian Treaty is a major step towards a
southern hemisphere free of nuclear weapons. We support
the political linkage among these nuclear-free zones, as was
recently proposed.
Of particular concern to us is the unacceptably large
number of innocent persons, including a disproportionate
number of young children, killed or maimed by landmines.
The Philippines has ratified the Convention and its Protocol
restricting the use of excessively injurious weapons,
landmines, booby traps and similar devices. We have joined
the move towards a global ban on anti-personnel mines.
In this spirit, President Ramos while on a visit last
December to Cambodia, a country ravaged by landmines,
ordered the immediate destruction of the Claymore mines
which were then still in the inventory of the armed forces
of the Philippines. Compliance with the President’s
instructions has been completed.
Another potential threat to global and regional peace
and security has been the developing scramble for
jurisdiction, resources and strategic position in the world’s
oceans. This has been strongly evident in the situation in
the South China Sea, which for the most part is surrounded
by South-East Asian States.
Fortunately, the international community has had the
collective wisdom to agree on a set of rules, primarily in
the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, to
govern the use of the sea. Not least, the Convention
subjects maritime jurisdictions to the rule of law, defining
the nature and limits of those jurisdictions and providing
the legal framework for their establishment and for
negotiating settlements where they overlap.
The world is threatened not only by weapons of war
and by disputes over territory, but also by mankind’s
assault on the world’s fragile environment. The
Philippines is firmly committed to the protection of the
environment within its national jurisdiction.
Environmental protection is a vital consideration in the
approval of major development projects. We shall
conserve the ecological integrity of the Philippines
exclusive economic zone as well as of its internal waters.
As an archipelagic country whose exclusive economic
zone extends to a portion of the South China Sea, the
Philippines places particular importance on preserving the
ecological integrity of that body of water, and would
welcome the sharing of knowledge and experience gained
from efforts to protect the environment in similar bodies
of water elsewhere in the world.
A potential threat to the environment arises from the
growing use of nuclear energy in the generation of
electricity. This growth has been particularly rapid in East
Asia, producing nuclear waste with corresponding
rapidity. While nuclear power is relatively clean as a
source of energy, accidents in the operation of nuclear
plants and in the disposal of nuclear waste can cause
devastation for the environment as well as for human
lives. Equally damaging is the reckless manner in which
decommissioned nuclear power plants and nuclear-
powered vessels are discarded. It is time for the
international community to address this burgeoning
problem with the seriousness and urgency that it deserves.
Last May, President Ramos proposed the possible
organization of ASIATOM, an international body to look
into this concern in East Asia and to devise measures to
deal with it.
Along with the breakup of empires, the dissolution
of hostile alliances, and the spread of the spirit of
reconciliation within and between nations, one salutary
global development in recent years has been the
establishment of an international trading regime based on
the increasingly free exchange of goods and services. This
development was made possible by the embrace by nearly
all the world of market forces as the most efficient way
of creating wealth for the world’s people.
The efficacy of this principle of international
economic relations has been demonstrated in South-East
3

Asia, where countries have opened up their markets to one
another, through the Free Trade Area of the Association of
South-East Asian Nations, and to the world for the benefit
of all. Next month the Philippines will have the honour of
hosting the annual meeting of the Asia-Pacific Economic
Cooperation Council (APEC), including an informal
meeting of leaders of the 18 participating economies on the
Pacific rim.
At that meeting, we will consolidate plans of
individual APEC economies into a coherent Manila action
plan for APEC that will free up and ease trade, and that
will attain the target set for free trade by the year 2010 for
the developed participants and by 2020 for the developing
economies. The plan includes ways of engaging in
economic and technical cooperation, particularly in order to
help the less developed economies to adjust to the free-
trade regime envisioned in APEC.
A few weeks after the APEC meeting, the first
Ministerial Meeting of the World Trade Organization, to be
held in Singapore, will review the implementation of the
Uruguay Round agreements and seek to develop a work
programme to sustain the momentum of global trade
liberalization through further negotiations on specific
sectors.
The Philippines is strongly committed to the opening
up of its economy. In affirming this basic policy of our
country, we must ask our economic partners, particularly
the developed ones, to desist from circumventing their own
commitments to a free international trading regime by
providing subsidies to their uncompetitive sectors and by
extending them protection in the guise of labour rights or
environmental conservation. We must reject this kind of
tactic.
We must also urge that the subject and object of
development — human beings, their welfare and dignity —
not be overlooked. We also believe that the status of
women is central to both economic growth and human
development. The Philippines therefore calls upon all of us
to carry out effectively and in full the Platform of Action
adopted by the Fourth World Conference on Women and to
devote adequate resources to make this possible.
In accordance with our convictions on the status and
rights of women, validated at the Beijing conference, the
Philippines has actively pressed for international action to
combat those scourges that plague the human race: violence
against women and trafficking in women and children.
Because of the international dimension of these blights on
the human condition, the United Nations and the
international community must keep them high on the
international agenda until the human race is freed of
them. The Philippines and other countries similarly
situated have a special concern for women migrant
workers because of their peculiar vulnerability to violence
and abuse.
The Philippines’ stand on the rights of women and
children rests on our people’s deep conviction of the
inherent sacredness of the rights of all human persons,
families and communities everywhere on this planet —
their rights to freedom, dignity, participation in their own
governance and to development.
Our lives, our well-being and our rights are
constantly threatened by the activities of transnational
criminal gangs. Some of these gangs traffic in drugs.
Some steal and smuggle cars. Some deal in the illicit
buying and selling of arms. Others engage in terror for a
variety of causes. Still others traffic in women, children,
or people eager for work.
The Philippines is prepared to consider the draft
convention proposed by Poland on measures to combat
organized crime. We commend Poland for this timely
initiative.
The United Nations is the keystone of mankind’s
efforts on behalf of disarmament, the rule of law in the
world’s oceans, the preservation of the Earth and its
environment, economic and social development, the fight
against organized crime, and the protection of human
rights. Because of its central and growing importance in
human affairs, the Philippines firmly believes that the
United Nations must be constantly renewed and
invigorated to enable it to respond to the challenges that
face each generation.
The Philippines favours the enlargement of the
Security Council’s permanent membership through the
addition of countries that are politically and economically
able and willing to assume the responsibilities of such
membership. At the same time, we believe in greater
representation on the basis of equitable geographical
distribution. The various innovative proposals now on the
table deserve close examination. But the issue of
membership cannot be considered in isolation; it has to be
addressed in the context of reform of the Security
Council — reform towards greater transparency and
democracy of its working methods and reform towards a
more balanced relationship with the General Assembly,
4

which must retain pre-eminence in the affairs of the United
Nations.
However, no structural changes in the United Nations
will be effective unless it is assured of the necessary flow
of financial resources. Our Organization, no matter how
much reform takes place, can function effectively only if it
knows with reasonable certainty whether and when it can
pay its staff and meet the other obligations arising from
operations that, after all, are mandated, often unanimously,
by the Member States themselves.
Simple mathematical calculations will demonstrate that
the financial crisis of the United Nations cannot be eased
unless we all comply with the financial obligations that we
freely undertook. We must pay our dues in full, on time
and without conditions. Specifically, the United Nations can
rest on fairly stable financial foundations if all of us pay
our contributions to the regular budget for each year by the
end of January of that year.
The Philippines favours a revision of the scale of
assessments for United Nations contributions so as to
reflect current political and economic circumstances.
However, logic and consistency dictate that similar
adjustments be made in the shares of the countries affected
in the capitalization of the international financial
institutions, including the World Bank and regional
development banks such as the Asian Development Bank.
The world’s peace, stability and progress, and the
welfare and dignity of its inhabitants, depend in large
measure on the United Nations — not on the Secretary-
General or the Secretariat alone. Although their role is
crucial, they depend above all on us, the Member States,
which, together with our peoples, make up the United
Nations. We are the United Nations. Let us make it work.


I am pleased to speak before
the Assembly of this universal Organization, where virtually
every country in the world, small or vast, rich or poor, has
a voice, thus making democracy work in international
relations.
At the outset, I should like warmly to congratulate
you, Sir, on your election to your honourable office. I note
with pleasure that your diplomatic career includes a term as
Ambassador of Malaysia to my country. The delegation of
Poland will do its best to assist you in your important
functions. Let me also pay tribute to Mr. Diogo Freitas do
Amaral, an eminent statesman from Portugal, for the
excellent manner in which he presided over the work of the
Assembly during its fiftieth anniversary session. May I
also express the assurance of my highest appreciation to
Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali.
As a representative of Poland, a country that has
suffered so much war, foreign occupation and partition in
its history of more than 1,000 years, I feel entitled to
convey a simple message: peace is priceless, be it
international, with other countries, or internal, among
social partners. To endure, peace needs solid economic
foundations, sustainable development and growth. Yet
peace remains a supreme value and a precondition of life,
rightly recognized from the outset as a principal objective
of the United Nations.
My country’s very recent experience shows that it is
possible to undertake a profound transformation of a
whole political and economic structure, to defuse a
potential internal conflict through peaceful negotiation.
Having regained full national sovereignty, we were able
to reshape our foreign policy in accordance with the
national interest, to reorient it towards the Euro-Atlantic
structures and to establish and strengthen good-
neighbourly relations with the newly created and/or
profoundly transformed States that now surround us. Is
there another country in the world which, in just a few
years, has seen all of its neighbours, without exception,
change and not as a result of conflict? Sometimes we hear
opinions on an alleged lack of stability in our region,
Central Europe. But it is not true. The case of Poland,
with its stabilizing influence in the region, tells quite a
different story.

I am proud to report to you, Mr. President, that we
have accomplished a lot in the last seven years. Not only
have we built a sound foundation for a new economic and
political system, but we have also succeeded in stopping
our economic decline and have achieved, now for the fourth
year in a row, a high rate of economic growth, which has
encouraged the media to add the Polish eagle to countries
nicknamed “economic tigers”. This has been achieved
through an enormous effort on the part of our people, who
have proved mature enough to pay the price of economic
transformation. We have opened up the economy and the
country. Tens of millions of tourists are pouring in every
year, and millions of Poles travel abroad in all directions.
We have become an attractive place for foreign investment,
which exceeds $10 billion, and we are working on further
improving the conditions in which investment can thrive.
It is not my intention to minimize the challenges we
still face. Yet I strongly believe in our future. The time has
come for Poland, which received help and encouragement
from so many countries during its “Solidarity” revolution
and its historic peaceful transformation based on a political
and social contract, to offer its help to other countries that
undertake great processes of transformation. We can share
our experience, the services of our companies, and the work
of our experts in various fields where transformation is a
must. As an Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD) member, Poland is determined to
become much more involved than heretofore in assisting
the developing countries and those in transition.
Our priority in terms of foreign policy is to join the
North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the
European Union. While seeking these memberships, we
treasure friendly relations and multifaceted cooperation with
our neighbours, Russia among them. At the same time,
Poland is fully conscious of its duty to carry its part of the
obligations as a member of the world community, as
manifested by our active participation in the work of the
United Nations and currently as a non-permanent member
of the Security Council. For many years, Poland has
traditionally been among the 10 States fielding the largest
contingents in United Nations peace-keeping operations.
Permit me to make a personal remark. I made the
appeal “Let Us Choose the Future” into the slogan for my
1995 election campaign. May I suggest making this
appeal — choosing, and looking into, the future while
learning from our common past — here in the United
Nations? Old enmities and hatred, both among and within
States, should no longer cast a shadow on the construction
of our common future.
Let me give as an example Poland’s proposal to
delete from the United Nations Charter the so-called
enemy States clause. Indeed, Poland now has close,
friendly relations with its long-time adversary, Germany.
As a tribute to history, we plan to carry out soon joint
manoeuvres of German and Polish military units, and to
contemplate establishing a joint Blue Helmets brigade
consisting of Polish and German soldiers. Would that not
constitute the best signum temporis possible?
This Organization is in acute need of reform to adapt
to the challenges of the next century. There is a pressing
need for the United Nations to confront the future. Its
duty remains to make its Member States aware of global
problems as they arise, to analyse them, and to help
resolve them through multilateral cooperation. To make
this happen, much more is needed than the mere
restructuring of its intergovernmental bodies and the
Secretariat. Bolstering efficiency in carrying out United
Nations tasks through rational downsizing where possible
and necessary is not the only major requirement. More
importantly, it is high time to adapt the United Nations
work programme through innovation and redeployment.
For instance, in Poland’s view the United Nations
should enhance and upgrade its potential in the field of
the protection of human rights through the establishment
of a General Assembly committee on human rights and
humanitarian affairs, while merging the existing Second
and Third Committees into an economic and social one,
and through the elaboration by the Secretary-General of
an agenda on human rights. In addition, in a more long-
term perspective, the creation of a new main body such
as a human rights council might be contemplated.
The United Nations is expected to help parties in
conflict to reach agreement and achieve a just peace. But
peace-keeping forces are useless if there is no will for
peace in the hearts of fighters. It is necessary to
encourage the easing of ethnic, religious and other
tensions before they erupt, or if they already have, after
resolving the conflict. That is why it is vital to expand
preventive action, including diplomatic efforts and post-
conflict peace-building as well as assistance for
reconstruction and development. We are ready to offer
our diplomats, international lawyers, and social and
economic development experts for preventive United
Nations missions and post-conflict assistance efforts.
At the same time it seems essential to address the
question of United Nations rapid reaction, including rapid-
deployment potential, both in the headquarters and in the
2

field. We have notified the Secretary-General of our intent
to make available for the rapid reaction component of the
stand-by arrangements our special GROM (Thunder) force,
which proved itself in the Haiti operation. Poland considers
it timely to re-focus the Organization’s attention on
preventive diplomacy and rapid-reaction capability. To
prevent as much as possible and react as quickly as
possible — this is what is increasingly needed in
contemporary conflicts.
Indeed, do we always have to helplessly witness
worldwide bloodshed and misery, so readily served up by
the media, and only afterwards try to help, when it is too
late and more costly, when more money brings less benefit
and whereas an earlier joint action could have saved a lot
of blood and tears for so many countries and peoples? Why
do we not ponder how to substitute a strategy of prevention
and advance action for one of late reaction ex post facto?
This strategy could go beyond a conservative doctrine of
the maintenance of peace and security, covering a rapid and
selective reaction to potential threats arising among and
within Member States, as well as the consolidation of peace
when it is painfully achieved.
I turn now to the crucial issues of the post-cold-war
era: disarmament, arms reduction and averting the spread of
arms through non-proliferation. Poland, which now holds
the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament,
welcomed with great satisfaction the submission to the
Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty,
and the adoption of the resolution, of which we were
among the sponsors. We now look forward to the broad
endorsement of the Treaty, which I had the privilege of
signing this morning. We must not allow the arduous
efforts of so many States to be wasted. While keeping in
mind the need for eventual nuclear disarmament, partial
steps towards that goal should be given full approval as
they bring it closer and make the world safer, as would the
entry into force of another important legal instrument: the
chemical weapons Convention. Chemical weapons are
sometimes called the nuclear bombs of the poor.
Recent conflicts, however, have shown that mass
destruction can also result from conventional arms, the
stockpiles of which have grown enormously. That is why
we welcome the parallel focus on such arms, including so-
called micro-disarmament, and an early total ban on the use
of anti-personnel landmines.
If the United Nations wants to remain meaningful in
the key areas of its mandate, to be ahead of events,
foreseeing and not merely reacting, slowly and
inadequately, to what life brings with the astounding pace
typical of our times, it should grasp and cope with the
interactive relationship between peace, development and
human rights protection.
All these changes can have the desired effect only in
conditions of sustained financing of programmed
activities. Political will is not enough. The current
financial crisis is propitious neither for the execution of
such activities nor for reform. To enable the Organization
to fulfil its statutory tasks and to reform, its financial
credibility needs to be restored. Member States should not
discount innovative ideas for supplementary financing,
which could enable more activities to take place,
especially in support of developing countries, those in
transition, and conflict-ridden countries. Since
Governments are more often than not reluctant to increase
their dues or their voluntary contributions, or to allow any
form of international taxation on their companies and
citizens, additional funds could be sought from the private
sector.
For instance, the idea of a United Nations trust fund
financed by tax-free donations, mainly from transnational
corporations, could be examined. After all, stability
combined with economic growth and social peace also
benefit such companies. Should their host Governments
create encouraging conditions for them to contribute, such
as common rules for tax reduction, the United Nations
might acquire additional sources of funding, especially for
humanitarian and development support activities. Such a
solution would in no way affect the governmental
character of the Organization if control over the allocation
of the newly acquired additional resources rested with
Governments, and if no conditionality could be introduced
by donors.
I would now like to draw the attention of the
Assembly to what I consider one of the most important
aspects of my statement. I witnessed the terrorist attack at
the Olympic Games in Atlanta in July, and cannot forget
faces expressing shock and tragedy.
Poland is a country that has struggled over centuries
for its own freedom and that of others. We have finally
achieved well-earned greatness and the benefits of
democracy. However, our nation is also paying a heavy
toll for those benefits: open frontiers and increased
migration of people pose threats to the security and well-
being of my compatriots. Organized crime distorts the
image of democratic societies on a national, regional and
3

global plane. To combat it, we need the solidarity of all
States, and a concerted effort by all of us.
The international community is faced with the growing
threat arising from seemingly unstoppable manifestations of
transnational organized crime and international terrorism,
which menace both the material and institutional
foundations of our societies. What is especially dangerous
for us and for future generations is that in so many cases
we have been unable to bring criminals to justice. Justice
has been neither done nor seen to be done.
I have received reports that my own country, and the
whole region, faces a steep increase in drug trafficking,
slavery, trade in child sex, and money laundering.
Organized crime is a worldwide phenomenon. It brings
tragedy and suffering to many — the immediate victims
and other innocent people. But it does more: organized
crime leads to the creation of illegal associations and
businesses that infiltrate and undermine legitimate economic
interests and political structures. Organized crime is like a
form of corrosion in societies. Organized crime corrupts
States. Organized crime is a cancer in our communities, a
cancer that we should fight together. Alone, we risk losing
the battle and endangering our security.
I am convinced that only a worldwide effort under
United Nations auspices has any prospect of stopping these
crimes, which threaten democratic freedoms and democracy
itself. Poland believes, therefore, that the time has come to
make a concerted international effort to agree on, and
accede to a comprehensive legal instrument: a convention
designed to enhance cooperation between States and
facilitate the work of law enforcement agencies in fighting
transnational organized crime. I have the privilege to submit
to this Assembly a draft framework convention against
organized crime. It is annexed to the text of my statement,
which has been distributed to members.
The Assembly will note that the draft convention deals
with illicit traffic in drugs and psychotropic substances and
money laundering; traffic in persons; counterfeiting
currency; illicit traffic in or stealing of cultural objects;
stealing and smuggling nuclear material, and the misuse or
threat of misuse of such material to harm the public;
terrorist acts; illicit traffic in or stealing of arms and
explosive materials or devices; illicit traffic in or stealing of
motor vehicles; and corruption of public officials.
The draft text proposes a system of cooperation
between Member States to combat organized crime. It calls
for States either to punish offenders or to extradite them.
We ask States to introduce criminal liability for people
who derive profits from organized crime, wherever such
liability is not already clear. We believe that we should
make United Nations agencies and regional and global
governmental and non-governmental organizations play a
greater role in combatting organized crime.
The draft framework convention is by no means
carved in stone. We call on Member States to discuss and
improve the text. We hope that the Assembly will
determine modalities to assure its speedy and successful
elaboration. I am sure that our common effort will help to
save our societies from the scourge of organized crime.
Approaching the end of the century, the planet is
visibly in turmoil despite the otherwise universally
welcomed end of East-West confrontation and of the
ever-present threat of global conflict. Yet even in the
heart of Europe, we are painfully aware of conflicts, wars,
tragedies, massive disasters, famine and serious economic
difficulties. People often expect the United Nations to
offer a miraculous remedy for all the evils of the world
and to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the
dignity and worth of the human person, and in the equal
rights of men and women, and of nations large and small.
If we just adhere to the Charter, the high roads will
be clear, not only for our time but for the coming century.
We must not betray the high expectations held of the
United Nations. For its part, Poland will not fail to
continue to support the Organization. In today’s
interdependent world, we need a global body to settle our
differences and to ensure orderly global governance to
avert threats to humanity. There is no point in reinventing
the wheel. We are able to adapt what we already have to
what we need now and in the years to come. In essence,
we are looking forward to a more united United Nations
which has chosen the future. As an original Member
State, Poland stands prepared to contribute its share to
making such an endeavour a reality.


May I begin by
congratulating Ambassador Razali of Malaysia on his
assumption of office as our General Assembly’s new
President and offer our thanks to his predecessor,
Ambassador Freitas do Amaral, for all his valuable work
during the fiftieth session.
The late twentieth century is an exciting time. For the
fortunate among us, the world has never offered more:
travel with unheard-of ease, a tantalizing cornucopia of
consumer goods, 100 or more television stations in our
homes, the Internet. But these fruits are denied the vast
majority of the planet’s population. The number of people
who live in absolute poverty is still growing. Their misery
is a challenge to all our consciences, and I want today to
talk about what we all, the developed countries as well as
the developing, can do for those trapped in poverty — what
we can do together to open the door to development.
But first of all I would like to say a few brief words
about four other issues of particular importance at this
moment in time.
First of all, Hong Kong. The year 1997 will be a
special one for Hong Kong. Less than 300 days from now
the world will witness history. The peaceful transfer of
sovereignty over a territory of 6 million free and prosperous
people is an event unparalleled in modern times. A transfer
on the basis of an international Treaty, registered here at
the United Nations — a Treaty between two members of
the Security Council, which guarantees that for 50 years
after 1997 there will be “one country, two systems” and
that “Hong Kong people will rule Hong Kong”. Let there
be no doubt of Britain’s continuing commitment to the
future of Hong Kong and its people, well into the next
century.
Thanks to the efforts of the Hong Kong people
themselves, the development of Hong Kong is one of the
world’s great success stories. The Chinese Government
has made clear its determination to preserve Hong Kong’s
prosperity, its stability and its way of life as a free and
open society based on the rule of law. For Britain, a
successful transfer will be the closing of a chapter, but
also a new beginning to our relations with both Hong
Kong and with China.
I suggest that all Members of the United Nations
have a stake in this historic exercise. As long as the
promises of the joint Declaration are turned into reality,
Hong Kong has a bright future, as part of China and as
one of the world’s leading cities, contributing enormously
to growth and prosperity throughout the Asia-Pacific
region. And I am sure that all here will join me in
welcoming that prospect.
I want also to take this opportunity to commend the
International Court of Justice in its fiftieth anniversary
year. The International Court has performed
groundbreaking work in settling disputes between States,
and I am proud that the United Kingdom has always been
among the States that accept its compulsory jurisdiction.
I hope that others will join us in pledging both moral and
material support to the International Court. The more who
accept that international law must be the foundation of
international relations, the safer we shall all be.
The world is safer today too with the historic
signature of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Earlier this morning I had the privilege of signing the
Treaty for the United Kingdom. It shows that we can, by
acting with determination and by making sacrifices, reap
the benefits of the end of the cold war, and I firmly
believe that the Treaty can make an important
contribution to preventing the proliferation of nuclear
weapons and in promoting international security. The
Treaty was the product of a multilateral negotiation and
was adopted here in the General Assembly. But that alone
is not enough. If it is to be fully effective, it must
command universal support, and the United Kingdom will
now put in hand the steps to allow us to ratify the Treaty.
17

It is the sovereign right of every State to decide whether or
not to be bound by international agreements. But it is our
firm conviction that this Treaty is in the interests of all, and
I urge all States to give it their full support.
Meanwhile, other threats still loom large. The
insidious spectre of terrorism is a concern to all of us here,
and it is right that the United Nations should be the forum
for debate on this worldwide menace. The United Kingdom
is proposing for adoption at this session a United Nations
declaration which will spell out unequivocally that acts of
terrorism, and the financing, planning and incitement of
these acts, are contrary to the purposes and principles of the
United Nations. People who do these evil things and who
seek asylum under the United Nations refugee Convention
do not deserve to benefit from it.
The United Nations faces a critical year. It remains the
hope of people across the world in search of peace and
development. But the changes required to adapt and
strengthen the United Nations to meet the challenges of the
future have not yet been completed. This year must see a
solution to the financial crisis. Reform must be part of the
solution, including a thorough updating of the system of
assessing contributions to the United Nations, so that
contributions match real ability to pay. But all Members
must pay what they owe, both their assessments and their
arrears, and promptly; and the European Union’s proposals
are a good basis for negotiation. It will also be important to
achieve over the coming year a resolution to the long-
standing discussions of Security Council enlargement. In
short, the United Nations must be made fit for the new
millennium.
I turn now to my main theme. Three months ago, at
Lyons, the Group of Seven countries committed themselves
to a partnership for the economic development of the world.
This is not just a catchy slogan; it is a fresh approach to the
challenge of development, and what it means is that the
developing countries and the developed together would
share responsibility for creating the conditions that will
allow economies to grow, a shared agenda of measures that
we need to take to promote development.
For the countries of the developing world, this means
pursuing policies to enable economies to grow: taxes need
to be kept low, subsidies cannot be allowed to distort
markets, exports should not be impeded by heavy tariffs.
Domestic markets must be allowed to operate with as little
interference as possible. The goal must be to establish an
environment where the private sector can flourish, for the
private sector is the engine of growth.
In 1755, Adam Smith famously remarked that for
prosperity
“Little else is requisite ... but peace, easy taxes, and
tolerable administration of justice”.
This is still a valid recipe today — not easy to achieve,
but with the sound foundations of good government and
sensible macroeconomic policies, enterprise can flourish
anywhere. This is the challenge to the Governments of
the developing world.
What of the developed world’s side of the
bargain? — countries such as my own. Our responsibility
is to remove the shackles which hinder developing
economies as they try to enter the global market. Many of
the poorest countries are still caught in a mire of debt
they are unlikely ever to be able to pay off. This benefits
no one. The United Kingdom has long argued that, when
combined with macroeconomic reform of the kind I have
described, deep debt relief can kick-start the development
of the poorest economies. Some time ago, Britain helped
to identify steps that could be taken to lift the debt burden
from the poorest, most indebted countries: more debt
relief from bilateral creditors and getting the multilateral
agencies themselves to share more of the burden. Since
then the Paris Club of creditors has made an important
contribution by increasing debt forgiveness as agreed
following British proposals at the Naples Summit in 1994.
The multilateral agencies too have come up with some
useful proposals, such as the World Bank’s Trust Fund to
provide debt relief. I also welcome the International
Monetary Fund’s (IMF) commitment to continue
providing concessional finance through the enhanced
structural adjustment facility.
These measures to relieve debt need to be
implemented both flexibly and soon. The countries in
greatest need should be granted maximum relief as swiftly
as possible. I look forward to final agreement at the
annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank next
week.
The private sector is the motor of development.
Private investment flows to the developing world are now
at record levels. The United Kingdom is the third largest
source of private investment. But these flows are still not
reaching the poorest countries. There is therefore a
continuing need for concessional aid to prime the pump
of homegrown development. We need to focus our efforts
on those countries where help is needed most and which
can make the best use of it. Help must primarily be
18

targeted at creating growth with equity, at developing
human resources to their full potential, at giving priority to
the needs of the poor: to health and education, to clean
water and small enterprises.
Increasingly this partnership in development amongst
us all has to deal with the growing problems of planet
survival: climate change, the environment, the future of the
world’s oceans and forests, and pandemic diseases.
Development which ignores these will not be sustainable.
The United Nations is a central forum for focusing the
attention and action of Governments and civil society on
these challenges as we enter the next century. Next year’s
General Assembly special session to review the Rio summit
on environment and development is one example.
But the best help that we in the developed world can
give to the developing is to buy what they produce, and to
do that we in the developed world must demolish the
barriers that we still maintain against imports from the
poorer countries of the developing world. When I look
around the world, I see many developing countries bursting
with exports that they have to sell: textiles, food,
manufactured goods. But tragically, the markets of the
richer countries of the developed world are often closed to
these exports. Last week’s report from the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD)
predicted that poor countries could triple their exports to the
North over the next 10 years if import quotas were phased
out — an extra $175 billion a year in income.
Protectionism is starving the developing economies of their
oxygen, the oxygen of growth.
The European Union’s record is better than most. We
already have a wide-ranging scheme to allow duty-free
imports from developing countries. But even so, the
European Union obstructs, for example, imports of
Palestinian cut flowers; it obstructs fruit juices from South
Africa, strawberry jam from Bulgaria. Other developed
countries are even less generous. The United States targets
imports of Mexican tomatoes; Japan restricts imports of rice
from South-East Asia. The list could go on.
We all know the difficulty of resisting powerful
domestic lobbies. They exist in Britain as elsewhere. But
this sort of protectionism is not simply selfish; it is also
short-sighted. Growth and prosperity in the developing
world will over time increase, not diminish, the wealth of
the industrialized world. Trade is not a zero-sum game. It
is a process which is mutually beneficial, mutually
enriching; and with prosperity comes stability and greater
security for us all.
This is not some fashionable nostrum dreamt up in
an ivory tower. It is a prescription which has already been
seen to work. Since 1945, under the auspices of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the
world economy has moved steadily towards more open
markets. And the result is clear: five decades of
unprecedented economic growth and prosperity. It is
incumbent upon us to spread this benefit more widely.
That is why I so warmly welcome the proposal put
forward by the Director-General of the World Trade
Organization. Mr. Ruggiero has proposed that the least-
developed countries be granted tariff-free access to the
markets of the developed world. I wholeheartedly
welcome this initiative. I hope that others will see its
compelling logic: the best hope the poor have for
sustained economic development is to be given the
freedom to export, the freedom to sell.
That freedom enables countries to grow. But free
trade is not just helpful to developing countries, it is a
global good, its benefits are spread wide, to the producers
and consumers in the developed and the developing world
alike, who can profit from the greater efficiency that free
trade engenders, and who can buy the best and cheapest
products available on the world markets. In short, free
trade benefits us all. That is why Britain is so firmly
committed to bringing the vision of global free trade to
reality by the year 2020.
Free trade begins at home. Cutting tariffs and other
import restrictions helps developing countries by cutting
the costs of production, boosting efficiency and thus
helping exports and growth. Combine these benefits with
the freedom to export granted by open markets in the
developed world, and developing countries and their
economies can enjoy a virtuous circle of development.
Free trade is therefore the catalyst for growth. This is not
just good economic theory. Greater efficiency and higher
growth mean more resources available for new hospitals
and new schools, better housing and cleaner water. Free
trade means real benefits for poor people.
I have described today a challenge for every one of
us here. Poverty is something we can all do something
about. In May, the Organisation for Economic
Cooperation and Development proposed that the
developed and developing worlds together should try to
cut the number of people living in absolute poverty by
half by 2015. Britain commits itself to that goal. It is
achievable.
19

At home, we must liberalize our economies, minimize
the burden of government and lift all restrictions on the free
operation of the market. In the global economy, we must
remove barriers to trade to allow the developing countries
to sell. We must help lift the millstone of debt from those
who can least bear it. We cannot allow the poorest
members of the world community to become marginalized.
We must do our utmost to enable all Members of the
United Nations to enjoy the fruits of integration into the
global economy. A revitalized United Nations has an
essential part to play.
I do not underestimate the difficulty of the tasks that
I have described. We can only confront them in partnership,
rich and poor together. If we all play our part, prosperity
can be placed within the grasp of even the poorest
countries.


A year ago this month, the
General Assembly adopted by acclamation the Declaration
on the Occasion of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United
Nations. Thus, the special commemorative session of the
Assembly, attended by 128 Heads of State and
Government, solemnly reaffirmed our commitment to the
purposes and principles of the Charter. As Ambassador
Butler of Australia, the Chairman of the Preparatory
Committee, stated, that Declaration must serve as a set of
guidelines for cooperation amongst all nations in the years
ahead.
The fiftieth session, so ably presided over by
Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, took the initial
step towards translating these new guidelines into practical
action aimed at the twenty-first century. In congratulating
Mr. Razali Ismail upon his election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session, I wish him every
success in his highly responsible mission to carry further
the new tasks and endeavours of the Organization in the
course of this session.
Last year’s Declaration spelt out four main areas for
action in fulfilment of the mission of the United Nations in
the coming decades: peace, development, equality and
justice. The world of the twenty-first century will confront
two great opposing forces: globalization and fragmentation.
Bulgaria, as an active member of the international
community, has felt both the new opportunities and the new
risks. In developing its policies and responses, Bulgaria has
proceeded on the basis of its European identity, particularly
its association with and prospective membership of the
European Union. I would therefore like to state that we
share in and attach importance to the European Union
memorandum to this session and to the statement delivered
by Mr. Dick Spring on behalf of the Union.
With the transition from the post-war bipolar system
to a world of multi-centrism, the regional format will
acquire ever-growing importance. This has been our
experience in the Balkans, at least, a region which has
sustained the full blast of the forces of both globalization
and disastrous fragmentation.
In line with its consistently maintained positions,
Bulgaria welcomed from the outset the Dayton and Paris
agreements. We provided observers as well as police
personnel to the international missions in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. The recent elections in that country,
notwithstanding their deficiencies and problems, represent
a vitally important step forward. They opened the way for
yesterday’s welcome and important Security Council
resolution to lift the sanctions imposed on Yugoslavia.
At the same time, even during the active phase of
the conflict, we have worked for the promotion of the
positive trends of good-neighbourliness throughout the
region. At last year’s fiftieth session, the Prime Minister
of Bulgaria highlighted this priority feature of Bulgaria’s
foreign policy, favouring comprehensive regional
cooperation. In particular he stated our intention to
convene a meeting of Central and South-East European
States in order to examine a broad range of issues
concerning long-term stability, security and cooperation
throughout the region.
Today, it is my pleasure to inform the Assembly that
such a meeting took place in Sofia on 6 and 7 July 1996
at foreign ministerial level. At that meeting, seven
countries — Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria,
Greece, Romania, Turkey and Yugoslavia — adopted a
comprehensive document, the Sofia Declaration on Good-
Neighbourly Relations, Stability, Security and
Cooperation in the Balkans.
The text of the Declaration was duly circulated as an
official document of the General Assembly and the
Security Council. The Declaration was fully supported by
all participants in the broader format of the Sofia
ministerial meeting, including representatives from
Croatia, Slovenia, Italy, Hungary, and the five Contact
Group countries — Germany, France, the Russian
Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States of
America; Ireland, which holds the presidency of the
European Union; representatives of countries chairing the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the Central European Initiative, Black Sea
11

Economic Cooperation; and high-level representatives from
the United Nations, the European Commission, the Council
of Europe, the United Nations Economic Commission for
Europe, the World Bank and the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development. The High Representative,
Mr. Carl Bildt, was also present, took part in the meeting
and made a valuable contribution to its success.
I should like to outline very briefly the main spheres
of activity launched at the meeting in Sofia in July. In the
first area — enhancing regional peace and stability, and
building confidence and good-neighbourliness — the point
of departure was for the countries in the region to reaffirm
their allegiance to the fundamental principles of inter-State
relations as spelt out by the Charter, as well as in Helsinki
and Paris.
In line with these principles, Bulgaria has been
actively promoting confidence-building with all its
neighbours and has already concluded agreements to this
effect with Turkey, Greece and Romania. We stand ready
to enter into such agreements with our other neighbours, as
well as on a multilateral regional basis.
Another important step in this direction will be the
convening in Sofia of a meeting of Ministers of Defence as
provided for in the Declaration of the Balkan countries.
This meeting should contribute significantly towards
strengthening security, enhancing confidence and
considering future arms-control measures in the region.
Recent regional multilateral cooperation in South-East
Europe has focused on infrastructure development and
upgrading as important factors for economic growth and
regional stability. There is an emerging consensus that it
should be oriented towards upgrading and linking local
infrastructures with trans-European ones, as well as with
those in other adjacent areas — the eastern Mediterranean,
northern Africa and across the Black Sea and into Asia.
Transport infrastructure development is the subject of local
cooperation between Albania, the Republic of Macedonia
and Bulgaria, with direct financial and technical assistance
being provided by the United States of America; a
quadrilateral agreement has recently been signed with
regard to this matter. It is also the subject of trilateral
cooperation between Greece, Bulgaria and Romania. An
important contribution to the cause of good-neighbourliness
and infrastructure development are the Bulgarian-Greek
cross-border cooperation and water-sharing agreements,
which recently entered into force and will be submitted to
the OSCE under the Pact on Stability in Europe.
Furthermore, in accordance with the agreement
between the Balkan countries, the Bulgarian Government
began preliminary consultations towards setting up a
transregional information and contacts centre for
infrastructure development. We expect further
contributions to be made to the positive developments in
this field from the forthcoming meeting of Ministers of
Transportation of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation
and Central European Initiative partner countries in Sofia
in November 1996.
Together with its neighbours in South-East Europe,
Bulgaria is building regional cooperation on the basis of
the rule of law and full respect for human rights and
fundamental freedoms, including those of persons
belonging to different national, ethnic, religious and
cultural minorities. The countries from the region once
again reaffirmed their commitment to these principles and
values. They also adopted specific guidelines in the
various areas of cultural contacts and cooperation through
exchanges and joint programmes. These should add to
existing bilateral or multilateral programmes that promote
better mutual understanding and the overcoming of
negative stereotypes inherited from the past.
Joint action in the field of crime prevention and the
elimination of international terrorism envisages closer
cooperation between central, regional and border
authorities through efficient communications and
exchange of information; a commitment to accede to all
relevant international conventions that prevent and punish
international crime and terrorism; joining and participation
in specialized regional forums for discussing the problems
of illicit drug-trafficking, organized crime and regional
anti-terrorist cooperation; and the elaboration of a regional
programme to combat organized crime. This already
represents a tangible contribution to the implementation
at the regional level of a zero-tolerance approach to
terrorism.
The Sofia Declaration thus set out both the
framework and the terms of reference for comprehensive
regional cooperation. To this end, follow-up activities are
being elaborated in all areas and we hope that all States
from the region will take part at the next ministerial
meeting in Greece in 1997.
Proposals on cooperation in South-East Europe have
also come from outside the region. The Florence
conference of the Peace Implementation Council last June
identified the three initiatives fostering such cooperation:
the Balkan conference initiated by the Bulgarian
1

Government, the stability process under the terms of the
Royaumont declaration of 12 December 1995 and the
South-East Europe cooperation initiative of the United
States Government. There is important potential for
interaction between the three initiatives, with the process
launched in Sofia serving as a comprehensive basis which
could link up with the other two initiatives in specific areas
of common interest.
This regional endeavour represents an integral building
block in the development of an all-European system of
security and cooperation. We expect the Lisbon OSCE
summit in December 1996 to address in a comprehensive
manner this set of issues and provide guidelines for future
action at both the European and regional levels. Various
bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, such as
the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, the
United Nations Development Programme, the United
Nations Environment Programme, the Commission on
Narcotic Drugs, the United Nations Crime Prevention and
Criminal Justice Branch and other bodies could also be
highly effective in encouraging and promoting at the
regional level the ideas and initiatives that I have outlined.
I would like to state Bulgaria’s position on some
United Nations-led and other major endeavours at the
global level. We fully share the view that the recent
conclusion of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
is an achievement of truly historic proportions. In pursuit of
Bulgaria’s long-standing policies in favour of nuclear arms
control and disarmament, I had the honour to sign this
Treaty on the very first day it was opened for signature. For
Bulgaria, a convention on the ban on the production of
fissionable material for military purposes would be the next
logical stage in the work of the Conference on
Disarmament, in which Bulgaria is an active participant.
From the point of view of global as well as regional
security, another priority task is the early entry into force
and implementation of the Chemical Weapons Convention.
As for the Biological Weapons Convention, Bulgaria is
fully in favour of upgrading its control and verification
mechanism and is ready to contribute to this end at the
forthcoming Review Conference and thereafter.
Bulgaria took an active part in the Review Conference
of the States Parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or
Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons
Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to
Have Indiscriminate Effects, and its Protocol II. During the
negotiations, we made special efforts to take into
consideration the new technical requirements on mines as
an absolute prerequisite for the purposes of mine-
clearance and the normal conduct of United Nations
peacekeeping and humanitarian operations. Furthermore,
by a decision taken on 2 May 1996, the Bulgarian
Government imposed a three-year ban on exports of anti-
personnel mines. Bulgaria, which currently hold the
chairmanship of the Commission on Sustainable
Development, attaches particular importance, together
with the other United Nations Member States, to the
special session of the General Assembly on the review of
the follow-up process to the United Nations Conference
on Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro.
In October 1995, Sofia hosted the third Ministerial
Conference on Environment for Europe. The Conference
provided further impetus to the Environmental Action
Programme for Central and Eastern Europe. The
ministerial declaration adopted is an important document
in the field of environmental protection in Europe and a
further step towards implementing the global concept of
sustainability.
In recent years, we have witnessed rapid changes in
the world economy, changes that can be described by the
general trends of liberalization and globalization, both of
which are important factors for development. I am happy
to inform this Assembly that, after long years of
strenuous negotiations, today, 2 October 1996, Bulgaria
is becoming a member of the World Trade Organization
(WTO). By joining WTO, Bulgaria shall become fully
integrated into the world trading system which is essential
for us to be able to achieve stable economic growth.
Bearing in mind the new challenges in the social and
economic areas in today’s multipolar and interdependent
world, my country supports the efforts of the international
community to enhance and streamline United Nations
activities in this field.
Bulgaria is a party to all major international human-
rights instruments. We believe that international
cooperation in the field of human rights is essential for
their implementation. It should be conducted in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and the
principles of international law, such as the sovereign
equality, political independence and the territorial integrity
of States. We are in favour of constructive and open
dialogue on even sensitive issues related to human rights
in individual States. This approach is not directed against
any country. The situations in different parts of the world
should be examined in a way that takes into account the
specific characteristics of individual countries in a
13

comprehensive context and be aimed above all at
encouraging positive developments and tendencies.
Transnational crime and international terrorism are
increasingly emerging, as stated by many speakers in this
forum, as one of the major security challenges facing the
international community today. They directly affect
development and quality of life and erode the very
foundations of democratic society. It has become more than
obvious that these challenges cannot be addressed
effectively by national institutions alone. Today, there is a
pressing need to develop new cooperation in the field of
crime prevention and criminal justice. Such cooperation
could also include more information sharing, including
inputs from intelligence sources.
At this session, the General Assembly must carefully
examine all valuable ideas and proposals in this field put
forward by preceding speakers. My country will readily
support the efforts of the international community aimed at
the elaboration, on a global level, of efficient measures to
combat crime and to eliminate international terrorism.
Allow me to digress for a moment from the prepared
text of my speech in order to share with the Assembly a
most regrettable and tragic piece of news concerning a
political assassination which took place just over 24 hours
ago in Sofia. The target was a former Prime Minister of
Bulgaria, Mr. Andrei Lukanov. I would like to inform the
Assembly that Mr. Lukanov was one of the principal and
personal driving forces behind the democratic changes that
took place in Bulgaria after 1989. He staked his personal
efforts and future on the successful introduction into
Bulgarian society of the values of democracy, the
promotion of human rights and economic reform. He was
also well-known within the United Nations family, in
particular in Geneva, having been an active promoter of the
United Nations Conference on Trade and Development
since its early years and having promoted Bulgaria’s
participation in the world trading system and the General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. In an ironic twist of fate,
today marks, as I said, Bulgaria’s accession to WTO.
The Bulgarian Parliament adopted a declaration on this
occasion several hours ago. It firmly declares the will of all
political forces in Bulgaria — Mr. Lukanov having been an
active member of Parliament for the last seven years — not
to permit this act in any way to divert Bulgaria from the
path towards economic and political reform or to infringe
on the peaceful and lawful process of political and public
life, including the forthcoming presidential elections at the
end of this month.
I have instructed my Mission to transmit the text of
this declaration, with a short covering note, to you,
Mr. President, the Secretary-General and Member States.
I invite all of you to share our feelings of support and
sympathy for the family of Mr. Lukanov and to send
messages of support to the Bulgarian Parliament. I invite
the Assembly, at this point in time, without rising, to
share a minute of silence in remembrance of
Mr. Lukanov.
Improvements in the effectiveness and functioning of
the principal organs, a better balance in their authority
and the streamlining of the subsidiary machinery are
important conditions for the reform of the United Nations.
The issue of equitable representation on and increase
in the membership of the Security Council is a key
component of this process. We share the view that some
Member States — developed, for instance Germany and
Japan, and developing alike — are able to assume the
responsibility of permanent membership. A number of
proposals for the reform of the Security Council have
already been put on the table and should be examined
with due attention. In this respect, I would like to mention
the valuable ideas presented by Minister Lamberto Dini
of Italy just a few days ago. One of the major
developments over the past several years has been the fact
that the number of States in the Eastern European Group
has almost doubled. We reiterate our conviction that such
a rise in membership requires one additional non-
permanent seat to be allocated to this Group. Some
Balkan countries have already indicated their willingness
to apply for non-permanent membership in the Security
Council. With its consistent regional policies of good-
neighbourliness and cooperation in South-East Europe, as
well as in the broader United Nations framework,
Bulgaria is equally justified in seeking membership on the
Council in the years to come.
It would be remiss of me, however, not to mention
some serious flaws in the United Nations peacemaking
machinery. The question of finding an adequate solution
to the complicated problems arising for third countries as
a result of United Nations Security Council-imposed
sanctions is one of them. At its fiftieth session the
General Assembly once again expressed concern at the
persisting special economic problems confronting States
affected by sanctions implementation. It also renewed its
invitation to the international financial institutions to
continue to pay special attention to these problems and
their adverse social impact, and to consider ways and
14

means for mobilizing and providing resources on
appropriate terms for mitigating the negative impact of the
sanctions on those States. The Assembly also renewed its
request to the competent organs, programmes and
specialized agencies of the United Nations to take into
consideration the special needs of the affected States and to
consider providing assistance to them from their special
programme resources.
Regrettably, few are the practical steps in
implementing these recommendations. These problems,
since they are long-lasting, will continue to exert their
negative impact long after the lifting of sanctions. It would
be highly counterproductive if the peacemaking essence of
sanctions were to be distorted by major economic
dislocation in affected third States. Being among the
countries suffering most from the implementation of
sanctions, at this session Bulgaria will again submit a draft
resolution on the subject and I invite all Member States to
give it their unanimous and firm support.
The proceedings of the fifty-first session of the
General Assembly provide new, important opportunities to
continue on the path of reform and increased efficiency.
They open up new opportunities to render support to those
trends in the modern world, our global village and each of
its neighbourhoods, making for societies with greater
security and promise in which our children can look
forward to a more fulfilling life. Bulgaria is firmly
committed to contributing actively and in a constructive
spirit to the accomplishment of this new mission of the
world Organization.


I wish to congratulate the President warmly on
his election to the presidency of the General Assembly and
to reiterate our trust in his qualities and skills, which will
help in conducting the work of this session. I assure him
that the delegation of Guinea- Bissau is ready and willing
to help him.
We would also like to congratulate his predecessor,
Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for the devotion and
constructive spirit with which he carried out his duties.
We take this opportunity to underscore our
appreciation to and reiterate our confidence in the
Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, whose
initiative and personal involvement in the reform of the
United Nations system have made satisfactory results
possible.
Last year, over 185 States met in New York City to
commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations.
This historic event was an excellent opportunity for the
United Nations to evaluate and assess the state of our
Organization in a changing world and to cast a glance
forward into the future.
Today, as yesterday, a large part of the world’s
population — which, to date, has experienced neither peace
nor security, not to mention social well-being — place their
trust in the United Nations, the only institution with a
universal mission, capable of promoting international peace
and security and developing socio-economic cooperation on
a global scale.
The numerous challenges and hopes which the United
Nations must respond to today are unprecedented. It is
therefore important that we make every effort to restructure
and revitalize the Organization, because the United Nations
is facing an increasingly complex international situation.
In that connection, we commend the Open-Ended
Working Group on the Question of Equitable
Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the
Security Council for its contribution to overall efforts
made on this important and timely question. Guinea-
Bissau is of the view that all related proposals of the
African Group, and other proposals such as that of Italy,
should be given due consideration.
In a world beset by numerous grave conflicts, the
United Nations is incontrovertibly, the best forum for
achieving the ideals which underpin its irreplaceable role
in promoting international peace and security.
However, despite the ongoing efforts of our
Organization, peace and stability are still a dream in
many parts of the world. Conflicts and fratricidal warfare,
and the persistence of various kinds of serious tension
among States, have made innocent victims of entire
populations, causing loss of human life and provoking
massive movements of peoples and refugees.
Unfortunately, Africa is the continent most affected by
this tragedy. Angola, Burundi, Liberia, Rwanda and
Somalia are dramatic examples of Africa’s recent history.
My recent visit to Angola — which coincided with
my country’s presidency of the Security Council — as
Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Guinea-
Bissau, Mr. Joa¯o Bernardo Vieira, demonstrated our
people’s long-standing solidarity with the people of
Angola and illustrates our unequivocal will to promote
confidence among the parties, which is essential to the
success of the peace process.
In that connection, we should like to stress the
important role of the United Nations, the Troika and the
Special Representative of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Blondin Beye, in the establishment of the peace
process in Angola. We are convinced that the road we
have travelled and the successes achieved to date fully
warrant the confidence of the international community
and its continued support for the peace process in Angola.
Guinea-Bissau hopes that the reasons for the delay of the
full implementation of the Lusaka Protocol will be
overcome.
We deplore the tragedy that is dividing Liberia, a
country of our subregion, just as we deplore the ongoing
violations of the agreements concluded, which increase
the loss of human life and provoke new outbreaks of
violence. We are also gravely concerned to note the
negative impact of the war in Liberia on the neighbouring
countries.

We urge all warring factions to respect the new
implementation plan of the Abuja Agreement and of the
Liberian National Transitional Government. We also invite
them to cooperate fully with the Economic Community of
West African States Monitoring Group, the United Nations
Observer Mission in Liberia and the rest of the international
community in the search for a definitive solution to the
problem in Liberia.
The situation in the Great Lakes region, particularly
the situation prevailing in Burundi, is also of great concern
to us. We support the efforts of the United Nations and the
Organization of African Unity to avoid a repetition of the
Rwandan tragedy in these countries.
As for Western Sahara, we reiterate our support for
the efforts of the Secretary-General of the United Nations
to organize the referendum.
Guinea-Bissau continues to focus special attention on
the situation in East Timor which needs a negotiated,
peaceful, political approach if a solution is to be found. In
this context, we would like to welcome the talks between
Portugal and Indonesia under the auspices of the United
Nations to find a just solution to this conflict.
On behalf of our Government, I reiterate our firm
conviction that the Republic of China on Taiwan should be
part of the United Nations on the basis of respect for the
principle of universality and for the legal equality of States.
The fundamental rights of 21 million inhabitants of a
territory under the jurisdiction of a legal Government whose
President has been democratically elected provide the
political and legal basis for the recognition of their right to
international status as a sovereign State under the legal and
judicial terms enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations.
The reunification of China is a question that must be
resolved by the people of China itself. However, the
Republic of China on Taiwan is legally entitled to enjoy
international status before reunification — in other words,
its recognition as a State and application of the principle of
parallel representation of divided States.
It is essential that the Middle East peace process be
supported. We consider that any lasting solution to the
Middle East conflict must respect the inalienable rights of
the Palestinian people to self-determination and to the
establishment of an independent State, and must respect the
independence and territorial integrity of all States of the
region, including the State of Israel, and their right to live
in security within internationally recognized boundaries.
The tragic events of recent days have weakened the peace
process while seriously affecting world public opinion.
We urge the State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority
to persevere on the path of dialogue towards the
restoration of a climate of trust, which is vital for the
establishment of lasting peace. We welcome the meeting
between President Arafat and Prime Minister Netanyahu,
which is an important step on that path. We commend all
parties that are contributing to the restoration of the
Israel-Palestinian dialogue, especially the Government of
the United States of America.
The holding of elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina
is a positive element in the resolution of this crisis in
Europe. We hope that all the parties concerned will
henceforth devote all their energies to the reconstruction
of that devastated country, to ensure a future of peace,
tolerance and development.
The embargo against Cuba, whose repercussions
gravely affect the people of that country, must be
resolved through dialogue and negotiation by the parties
concerned, with a view to achieving a complete and
satisfactory solution.
Poverty, malnutrition, hunger and major endemic
diseases are a painful reality that affects a large part of
the population of developing countries. We welcome the
convening at Rome next November of the World Food
Summit, organized by the Food and Agriculture
Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
Guinea-Bissau is convinced that international
security and stability depend on the collective struggle
against all the internal and external factors that force a
large part of the world’s population to live in abject
poverty. Indeed, the persistence of poverty throughout the
world requires an ongoing sustained effort on the part of
the community of nations and calls for a global approach
to resolve the major socio-economic problems affecting
the world.
The debt burden and debt-servicing gravely
jeopardize development in Africa. During recent years, as
was clearly demonstrated by the mid-term review of the
United Nations New Agenda for the Development of
Africa in the 1990s, our countries have become net
exporters of capital because of the financial agreements
they must honour. Indeed, the amounts allocated to debt-
servicing greatly exceed external resource flows. Guinea-
12

Bissau is no exception. Overall, third world economies have
seen little improvement.
The gap between developed and developing countries
continues to grow because of the slow rate of economic
growth in the developing countries in general and the least-
developed countries in particular.We welcome the action
undertaken by the United Nations, especially the System-
wide Special Initiative for Africa. My Government
continues to devote considerable efforts to the economic
recovery of our country, strictly applying the structural
adjustment programme agreed with the World Bank and the
International Monetary Fund. However, efforts to restore
our country’s macroeconomic balance and the well-being of
our people should be supplemented by additional support
from the international community, which we hope will
continue to be forthcoming in support of our efforts in that
direction.
Guinea-Bissau, an African country and a member of
the Portuguese-speaking community, welcomes Portugal’s
initiative to propose to its European Union partners the
convening of a European-African summit, whose objective
would be to promote a political dialogue aimed at laying a
new foundation for a new global partnership.
Environmental protection and the rational utilization of
our planet’s natural resources are the responsibility of all
humanity. Aware of this reality, Guinea-Bissau has
designed with its cooperation partners a strategy for
sustainable development that respects environmental balance
and which can be considered socially viable and just. In
that context, our Government is making considerable efforts
to implement the recommendations of the Copenhagen
World Summit for Social Development, the Platform of
Action of the Fourth World Conference on Women, held at
Beijing, and the recommendations of the second United
Nations Conference on Human Settlements, held at
Istanbul.
Respect for and the full exercise of basic human rights
are elements of freedom, peace and international stability.
Guinea-Bissau, a democratic country, is resolved to
preserve intrinsic human values, for harmonious and
integrated development. The United Nations is intended to
be the appropriate forum for finding concerted
comprehensive solutions to the major challenges facing the
world today. That is why it is vital to increase its ability to
prevent conflicts and preserve peace and to promote socio-
economic development. Today Guinea-Bissau, more than
ever before, is determined to contribute to the achievement
of the ideals enshrined in the United Nations Charter.