On behalf of the people and
Government of the Republic of Fiji, I congratulate
Ambassador Insanally very warmly on his election as
President of the Assembly. I am confident that his extensive
knowledge of the United Nations system and his wide
experience in the field of international relations will help
guide this session to a successful conclusion.
I wish to pay a tribute to Mr. Stoyan Ganev for the
excellent manner in which, as President, he conducted the
business of this Assembly at its last session. I express my
admiration and deep appreciation to him for a job well done.
I also congratulate him for his initiative in rationalizing the
work of the Assembly, and especially in rationalizing its
Committee structure.
My delegation applauds the excellent work done by our
Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, in the period
since he assumed his high office. I take this opportunity to
express my Government’s deep appreciation for his untiring
efforts in tackling the difficult and complex problems facing
the world Organization.
I should also like to extend a warm welcome to the
new States Members of the United Nations, the Principality
of Andorra, the Czech Republic, Eritrea, the Principality of
Monaco, the Slovak Republic and The Former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia. I am confident that the
Organization, as it continues to strive for universality, will
greatly benefit from their participation in its work.
New threats are endangering international peace and
security in all corners of the world. Incipient nationalism,
ethnic conflicts and excessive protectionism are threatening
peace, security, and growth in trade. Thus, a heavy
responsibility is placed on this Organization, which, as we
all know, is the main body responsible for promoting social
progress and better standards of life in larger freedom.
Behind these complexities, there are also many
devastating structural problems that undermine even the best
efforts to achieve security and economic progress.
Population growth, if left unchecked, will add 97 million
people a year throughout the 1990s. Poverty, disease,
famine and oppression account for the 18 million refugees
and 24 million displaced persons throughout the world. The
gap between the rich and the poor countries has not
narrowed, but continues to grow as economic difficulties in
the industrialized countries have led to increased
protectionist measures against trade. Environmental
degradation further compounds these problems.
In the light of these trends, we must underscore the
need for better international cooperation in order to arrive at
effective solutions. This, we believe, is a critical element in
moving us towards the creation of an international order in
which this Organization assumes greater importance as the
centre of global endeavours.
The process of reviewing the role of the Organization
that is currently under way is therefore very timely. We
hope that the review will assist greatly in determining how
the United Nations can be strengthened and, most important,
how each of us as Member countries might best contribute
to the new order.
The Secretary-General, in his report on the work of the
Organization, has quite rightly stressed the need for adequate
resources. We share his anxiety, and join in his call to
Members to ensure that their contributions to the regular
budget, as well as to the peace-keeping budget, are met on
time and in full. We must make every effort to explore all
possible avenues for ensuring that the Organization is put
back onto a viable financial path.
My Government would like to pay a tribute to the
entire United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia
(UNTAC) team for the way in which they carried out their
mission in particularly difficult and dangerous conditions.
Fiji is pleased to have joined other Members of the United
Nations in restoring peace in Cambodia through its
participation in UNTAC.
That mission has now successfully completed its major
task. For the people of Cambodia, who unambiguously
demonstrated their desire for peace and democracy, it is the
beginning of a new era. We urge all factions to cooperate
fully with the new Government by keeping alive the spirit of
the Agreements signed in Paris.
The age-old problem in the Middle East has taken a
new turn during the past month. This turn of events spells
hope for the future in the Middle East - indeed, in the entire
world and for all humanity. The desire of both Prime
10 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
Minister Yitzhak Rabin of Israel and Chairman Yasser
Arafat of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) to
achieve peace for their peoples has necessitated the
dismantling of differences that have existed for decades.
The Washington accords should pave the way for a lasting
peace.
Humanity has been touched by this historic event - the
coming together of two arch-rivals for the sake of peace.
We congratulate Prime Minister Rabin and Chairman Arafat
- indeed, all who have laboured to bring this peace pact to
reality. We must also acknowledge the contribution of the
United States of America and, indeed, the United Nations
and others over the years.
While positive developments are taking place in the
Middle East and Cambodia, Fiji is deeply saddened at the
fact that the conflict in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains
unresolved. Our profound sympathy goes to all who have
suffered untold misery. Such a tragedy should not be
allowed to continue. We recognize that the issue is a highly
complex one, but the international community must do all it
can to stop the slaughter, prevent the conflict from
spreading, and achieve a lasting and equitable settlement.
We are equally saddened at the events in Somalia. The
success of the United Nations Operation in Somalia
(UNOSOM) in meeting the humanitarian challenge has cast
a ray of hope, for which the United Nations deserves praise
and, indeed, support. However, recent violence against
UNOSOM II personnel must be condemned, and efforts to
find ways of reducing tension between the peace-keepers and
the local population must be given high priority.
Having for years witnessed the repugnant policy of
apartheid in South Africa, we are pleased at the rapidity with
which that policy has recently been broken down. We
congratulate the leadership in South Africa - the South
African Government, the African National Congress (ANC)
and others - for their courage, determination and foresight in
getting together and dismantling apartheid. The United
Nations has played a major role in the process, but we
should continue the effort until a democratic Government is
elected by all - I repeat: all - the peoples of South Africa.
Fiji, like the other members of the South Pacific Forum,
shares the sentiments that the Secretary-General expresses in
"An Agenda for Peace", in which he highlights the positive
role that regional organizations can play in the maintenance
of international peace and security in their own regions. Fiji
will support such regional initiatives.
On the economic front, we believe that a successful
conclusion to the Uruguay Round is vital to economic
growth and prosperity in all our countries. Only increased
access to markets for our exports, especially in areas of
comparative advantage, will enable us to increase our
external purchasing power - our ability to pay for imports
from the developed countries. In any event, we look
forward to a genuinely equitable outcome that will include
a substantial and liberalizing effect on trade in agricultural
products.
Slow progress in finalizing the Round has led to the
formation and strengthening of regional trading blocs. Many
new initiatives now being put in place are defensive
responses to existing regional trading arrangements. These
have the potential to weaken the multilateral character of the
trading system, as many of them do not comply with the
spirit and the provisions of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT).
Developing countries, it has been estimated, lose about
$100 billion a year in export revenues as a result of market
barriers in industrialized countries - about twice the official
development assistance that the industrialized countries
provide. Furthermore, it is most ironic that taxpayers in the
industrialized countries pay both for aid and for imports that
are more costly as a result of trade barriers, while the
poorest developing countries lose more in trade than they
gain in aid. For these reasons alone, further progress in
trade liberalization, through success in the Uruguay Round,
is very urgent, and we join other delegations in stressing that
no effort should be spared in bringing the Round to a
successful conclusion.
Of the 42 resolutions on disarmament issues adopted by
the Assembly at its last session, 15 deal with various ways
of controlling nuclear arms, the management of nuclear
waste, the banning of nuclear tests and the elimination of
nuclear weapons. In this regard, we welcome the decisions
by nuclear Powers to extend their testing moratorium, and
we regret very much that this moratorium has just been
breached. We call on all nuclear Powers to continue to
honour the moratorium. In August this year, the South
Pacific Forum welcomed the commitment by the
Governments of France, the United Kingdom and the United
States to the early negotiation of a comprehensive test-ban
treaty. We take this opportunity to urge all the nuclear-
weapon States to participate actively in the negotiations and
to adopt the Treaty as soon as possible.
The signing of the chemical-weapons Convention in
Paris early this year was a major step forward in the process
of eliminating weapons of mass destruction. As a
Forty-eighth session - 11 October l993 11
demonstration of its commitment to that end, Fiji has not
only signed the Convention but also ratified it - the first
country to do so.
In the South Pacific Forum, member Governments,
including the Government of Fiji, highlighted the importance
of an enhanced international regime to deal with possible
transboundary damage arising from peaceful nuclear activity,
and noted the absence of effective international rules for
nuclear liability. Members of the Forum have agreed to
participate in the ongoing deliberations of the Standing
Committee on Nuclear Liability convened by the
International Atomic Energy Agency and to support the
establishment of a comprehensive international legal regime
dealing with liability for nuclear damage and reflecting fully
the principle that the polluter should pay.
Fiji welcomes the continuing growth in the number of
parties to the non-proliferation Treaty and will support
indefinite extension of the Treaty.
In support of international peace and security, we have
consistently contributed to many peace-keeping operations
over the years. Since our first participation in peace-keeping
operations in 1978, Fiji has been involved in seven. We pay
tribute to the men and women currently engaged in United
Nations peace-keeping operations around the world.
Peace-keepers are being increasingly asked to serve in
high-risk environments. That these are high-risk operations
is tragically borne out by the fact that hundreds of
peace-keepers have made the supreme sacrifice in their
service to humanity.
The time is right for the issue of the safety and security
of peace-keeping personnel to be addressed in a more
systematic, comprehensive and practical manner, and we
support the notion wholeheartedly. The related question of
responsibility for attacks on United Nations and associated
personnel, and measures to ensure that those responsible for
such attacks are brought to justice, is also now an important
one to address. We shall fully support any effort in that
direction.
Apart from the large increase in the number of
peace-keeping operations, many important changes are taking
place in the nature of peace-keeping. The eight
peace-keeping operations undertaken since the end of the
cold war have involved not only traditional military activities
but also a wide range of humanitarian and civilian activities.
The constantly changing nature of the various crises means
that we must increasingly be more innovative in designing
peace-keeping operations, as they are normally very costly.
As indicated in the report of the Secretary-General, the
17 peace-keeping operations are now costing the
Organization some $2.8 billion annually. To some extent,
the answer to the increasing costs lies in more preventive
diplomacy aimed at defusing potential conflicts. Moreover,
the involvement of Member States, either on an individual
basis or through regional organizations, in peace-building
and peace-keeping activities appears to be another effective
way of preventing military clashes. In this regard, the
Secretary-General has placed before us several suggestions
which, we believe, deserve our serious consideration and
action.
I now wish to turn briefly to a subject that has been the
focus of a great deal of attention, especially during the last
three years; that is, the subject of sustainable development.
Several resolutions adopted by the Assembly on following
up the important decisions taken at Rio about 15 months ago
are now being implemented at various levels. It is most
encouraging that we now have 162 countries that have
signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change, and
26 countries that have ratified it.
Fiji ratified the Convention in February this year, and
hopes that the required number of ratifications, 50, will soon
be achieved, so that the Convention can enter into force. As
global warming and a rise in sea level are amongst the most
serious threats to the Pacific region and to the survival of
some small island States, Fiji reaffirms its support for the
Convention and takes this opportunity to urge all States to
sign and ratify it as soon as possible.
Fiji has been active in the area of environmental
management and protection. The Rio Conference has,
however, changed the way in which many of us now view
environment and development issues. More than ever
before, we are committed to the idea that the development
of our economy and society must not come at the expense
of our environment. To the contrary: development and
environmental protection are complementary.
My Government is committed to sound environmental
management and protection as an integral part of our
decision-making process. A national environment strategy
has now been adopted by the Government, and will form the
basis for further work on environmental issues in Fiji.
The United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development has recognized in the Agenda 21 plan of action
for sustainable development, that small island developing
countries are a special case for sustainable development.
Small island countries supporting small communities are
ecologically fragile and vulnerable; because of our small
12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
size, our resources are limited, and because of our
geographic dispersion and isolation from markets, we are
placed at a disadvantage economically and have limited
economies of scale.
Our dependence on the ocean and our coastal
environments is also very significant. They are not only of
strategic importance to us; they also constitute a valuable
development resource.
It was in this context that, last year, we welcomed the
adoption of General Assembly resolution 47/189 calling for
a Global Conference on the Sustainable Development of
Small Island Developing States, to be convened in
April 1994. We appreciate the very important work that has
been put into the organizational session and the preparatory
meetings, convened early this year. We hope that the
Conference will be successful and will help us not only to
identify the most critical issues involved but also to agree on
precise and practical solutions for overcoming our
vulnerabilities. We urge all member countries to participate
in this Conference and to assist in finding solutions to
problems that have buffeted small island countries for a very
long time.
The small island States contain a wealth of biological
diversity of global significance - our rich marine ecosystems
rivalling the better-known tropical rain forests in their
importance to life on this planet and in their potential for
new knowledge and new products, including medicines. An
international cooperative approach to conserving our coastal
and marine resources would benefit not just the island States
but the world as a whole.
The international community met in July this year and
examined ways and means of conserving and managing
straddling and highly migratory fish stocks. We believe that
good progress was made at this meeting in identifying the
problems that exist and areas in which fisheries cooperation
between States could be improved.
There are still, however, several important tasks
remaining that need to be completed before the next session
of the Assembly. Fiji, therefore, fully supports the
convening of two further sessions next year to enable the
Conference to reach agreement on all issues relating to the
conservation and management of straddling and highly
migratory fish stocks.
Fiji was the first country to ratify the 1982 United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea. We are
therefore gratified that the Convention is soon to achieve the
60 ratifications required for its entry into force. We
continue to support all efforts towards universal participation
in this very important Convention, which is to govern over
70 per cent of the Earth’s surface. In this regard, we are
pleased that all States - including now the United States -
are engaged in the ongoing dialogue to resolve the
outstanding problems and thereby pave the way towards
universality for the Convention.
Over the next few years, the Organization will be
focusing its attention and energies on the convening of
several very important international conferences. While
these conferences will be important in themselves, as they
will bring together the world community, they will not only
discuss issues that are assigned to them but will also provide
opportunities to arrive by consensus at solutions to many of
the critical problems facing the world today.
The World Summit on Social Development planned for
1995 will help to strengthen social development in all
countries by giving political impetus, at the highest level, to
the promotion of social policies. The three core issues that
have been established for the Summit - the alleviation of
poverty, the growth of employment, and the enhancement of
social integration, especially of disadvantaged groups - are
all essential. Above all, the Summit should, in our view,
foster greater understanding of the importance of social
development and, particularly, its relationship with economic
development and protection of the environment.
The Fourth World Conference on Women, to be
convened in Beijing in 1995, will, we hope, be action--
oriented and provide an opportunity to review past activities
and, most important, set new priorities. For its part, my
Government is fully committed to strengthening the role of
women in economic and social development and has taken
several steps to integrate women into the mainstream of
national development. Towards this end, plans have been
formulated and are being implemented by the Ministry of
Women and Culture, other sectoral ministries and non-
governmental organizations. Women constitute more than
50 per cent of Fiji’s population, which makes them valuable
partners in the growth and development of our country and
the uplifting of our people.
We are, at the same time, also turning our attention to
the situation and needs of children in Fiji as we continue to
participate actively in Universal Children’s Day. Fiji has
ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child and has
signed the World Declaration on the Survival, Protection and
Development of Children in the 1990s. We have also
undertaken a detailed study of the situation of children in
Fiji and have identified areas which require our attention.
Forty-eighth session - 11 October l993 13
We are now in the process of following up the
recommendations of this study.
Fiji, as a multiracial and multicultural community,
attaches great significance to family values and family
traditions. We therefore welcome and appreciate the
decision by the United Nations to observe 1994 as the
International Year of the Family. My Government has
already formed a national committee, comprising
representatives from both government and non-governmental
sectors, to make preparations for observance of the
International Year of the Family in a meaningful and
practical way.
The International Year of the World’s Indigenous
People will soon be coming to a close. With the observance
of the International Year the attention of the United Nations
has for the first time been focused directly and solely on
indigenous peoples. Next year, the Commission on Human
Rights will assess the activities of the Year. It is important
that the voices of indigenous peoples should continue to be
heard, and their right to self-determination, their right to
rebuild their communities in dignity with freedom of choice,
must continue to receive the full support of the United
Nations.
The draft text of a declaration on indigenous peoples’
rights, first proposed in 1985, received the approval of the
Working Group last July. Fiji welcomes the Working
Group’s decision as an important step towards a
much-needed international instrument on indigenous peoples’
rights.
The International Year of the World’s Indigenous
People, should not, we believe, be treated as an isolated
event, but as the beginning of a long-term policy of
supporting, protecting and learning from the world’s
indigenous peoples. For our part, we have set aside a
special day in our nation’s calendar to commemorate this
event, coinciding with the birthday of Ratu Sir Lala Sukuna,
one of the great leaders of the indigenous people of Fiji.
The indigenous people now comprise the majority of
Fiji’s population but my Government recognizes the need
and will do its utmost to ensure unity, order, equity and
security for all the people of Fiji, so that we can all live in
peace and harmony. We will continue to ensure that
harmonious relationships are established and maintained both
among our own people at home and with other people
abroad.
With reference to my own region, the South Pacific, we
are following very closely the current progress in New
Caledonia towards the self-determination of that territory.
We hope that the developments, as envisaged under the
Matignon and Oudinot accords, will continue so that the
indigenous Kanak population will be fully prepared to take
part in the referendum in 1998 and to decide on the future
political status of their country.
Speaking at the session of the General Assembly last
year, on 8 October, Fiji’s Prime Minister, Major General
Sitiveni Rabuka, promised to initiate a review of the 1990
Constitution of Fiji, which has been the subject of
controversy both locally and abroad. I am pleased to say
that my Government has already set in train the process for
the review of the Constitution, as promised. The review is
to consider how the provisions of the Constitution can be
improved upon to reflect fully the concerns and interests of
Fiji’s multi-ethnic and multicultural society.
This Organization, now almost 50 years old, has stood
the test of time but, like other institutions, it must also adjust
to change. We must continue to examine ways of making
it a forum for both discussion and action on the important
social, economic and political issues facing the world
community as they evolve.
In conclusion, I should like to reaffirm my country’s
commitment to the United Nations and to the spirit of
international cooperation and solidarity that it embodies. My
country, and its people, joins with other nations to do its
utmost to seek world peace, stability and sustainable
development for all. We firmly believe that the United
Nations remains the only hope for mankind to achieve peace
and prosperity. It is through the combined efforts of all
Member States, large and small, that we can develop a
global environment which is just and equitable and which
reflects the legitimate needs and interests of all peoples.


I
am delighted to extend to you, Sir, on behalf of the
Tanzanian delegation, our sincere congratulations on your
well-deserved election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its forty-eighth session. Over the past two
weeks you have already demonstrated your considerable
diplomatic skills and leadership qualities. We look forward
to a productive session under your guidance.
I would also like to extend my delegation’s appreciation
to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Stoyan Ganev, for
the leadership he provided to the forty-seventh session of the
General Assembly.
The Secretary-General and the staff he leads have
continued to give of their best to our Organization. Over the
past year they have demonstrated a remarkable capacity to
take on additional responsibilities despite dwindling
resources. We owe them a debt of gratitude and they have
a right to expect our support as they carry out the work we
have entrusted to them.
6 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
During the past year, the Czech Republic, Slovakia,
Monaco, Eritrea, the Former Yugoslav Republic of
Macedonia and Andorra have joined the United Nations as
sovereign and independent States. It gives me great pleasure
to extend to them a warm welcome and sincere
congratulations and to say how much we look forward to
working closely with all of them in the common endeavour
to make our world a better place for our peoples and for all
mankind.
Another year has passed since we last met in the
general debate and pledged to intensify our efforts to satisfy
the aspirations of our peoples for world peace and security,
for economic and social justice and for progress and
development, in conditions of freedom and human dignity.
It is proper that as we start another session, we should take
stock of the progress made towards the realization of these
aspirations.
The problems of southern Africa remained a major
preoccupation of my Government during the past year. My
delegation commends the international community for its
contribution in the search for solutions to the problems of
apartheid in South Africa and the conflicts in Angola and
Mozambique.
Over the last 12 months, the advance towards the
eradication of apartheid has brought the goal nearer than
ever before. The call by the representatives of the majority
people of South Africa, notably by President Nelson
Mandela of the African National Congress of Azania (ANC),
for the lifting of virtually all remaining economic and trade
sanctions means that the progress made thus far, and the
progress soon to be made, represent profound and
irreversible change in terms of the Declaration on Apartheid
and its Destructive Consequences in Southern Africa.
Whatever happens, South Africa will never be the same.
A very important recent signal suggesting that the
turning-point is very close was the fixing of 27 April 1994
as election day for all South Africans. My delegation
warmly welcomes this development and urges all concerned
to work to achieve that target. The most important
development, however, has been the enactment last month of
the legislation necessary for the establishment of an
independent electoral commission, an independent media
council and an independent broadcasting authority as well as
a Transitional Executive Council.
Regrettably, there remain many obstacles on the road.
Violence remains the most serious obstacle impeding
progress towards the establishment of a united, democratic
and non-racial South Africa. With 20,000 murders per year,
according to records compiled by the Southern African
Research and Documentation Centre, South Africa’s
reputation of being the most violent country in the world is
well deserved. The leadership of the democratic forces in
the country must be commended for denying the forces of
death and destruction the satisfaction of derailing the peace
process. But the threat remains real and great, as evidenced
by the brutal assassination of Chris Hani in April and the
storming by a right-wing racist white group of the
negotiations at the World Trade Centre in June.
International monitoring of the violence has provided
some reassurance to the victims of apartheid violence. The
temerity and audacity shown by the perpetrators of violence
and the blind eye turned to it by some members, including
leaders, of the country’s security forces, argue for a much
larger, higher-profile United Nations presence in South
Africa. I urge the United Nations to respond positively to
the urgent pleas of the victims of violence for more United
Nations monitors.
Another obstacle is the non-participation by some
groups in the peace process and the threat of violence issued
by some of them. This is yet another argument for
increasing the presence and raising the profile of the United
Nations, and of the world community as a whole, in South
Africa.
Angola poses a similar but more urgent challenge to the
United Nations. If it has a conscience, the international
community simply cannot allow the continuation of a
conflict that is estimated to be claiming a thousand lives a
day. It must act to stop this carnage.
At the same time, we must make every effort to enable
the United Nations to recover from the considerable damage
done to its credibility and moral authority by its inability to
respond adequately and promptly to the grave challenges
posed by Jonas Savimbi. The adoption of Security Council
resolution 864 (1993) on 15 September 1993 has served to
put Jonas Savimbi on notice that the United Nations will no
longer allow his obstinacy and prevarication to continue to
thwart the will of the Angolan people, whose hopes for
peace and an opportunity to improve their lives have been so
rudely shaken by his greed for power. UNITA and Savimbi
must be left in no doubt that there is more to come if they
continue to ignore the pleas of the international community
for a cease-fire, for a return to the Bicesse Accords and for
respect for the electoral verdict of the Angolan people.
Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 7
This applies equally to UNITA’s obligation to allow
and to facilitate access by humanitarian and relief
organizations to the victims of the conflict. Many relief
personnel have exposed themselves to serious danger in
order to help victims of the conflict. We commend them for
their heroism and compassion. The best form of gratitude,
however, is to ensure that those responsible for this criminal
conduct receive appropriate punishment.
Although different, Mozambique offers some parallels
with Angola, and it remains to be seen during the
implementation of the Mozambican peace accords whether
the correct lessons have been learned from the Angolan
experience. The delay in the implementation of the General
Peace Agreement is a matter of great concern because of the
obvious threat it poses to the cease-fire. We are pleased to
note that the Security Council has taken the same serious
view of the delay. We are pleased also to note that at long
last the leader of RENAMO, Mr. Afonso Dhlakama, has
been able to overcome the difficulties which until recently
prevented him from meeting with President Chissano. We
welcome the talks between the two leaders and commend
President Chissano for bending over backwards to
accommodate RENAMO. But we are concerned that the
good will and magnanimity of the Government of
Mozambique are not being reciprocated by RENAMO and
its leadership. Instead, we observe disturbing signs of its
following in the footsteps of Savimbi.
For example, the Government is still not able to provide
administrative services in the areas under the control of
RENAMO. The United Nations has a duty to prevent such
a blatant violation of the General Peace Agreement. But,
more ominously, RENAMO seems to be contriving to create
a situation in which it hopes to persuade the world to accept
the holding of elections before the process of demobilization
and the integration of forces has begun. We must spare no
efforts to enable the United Nations to do all in its power to
prevent an Angola-type situation from emerging in
Mozambique.
Regrettably, as the year continued there were more
disappointments than successes. With the exception of
Angola, perhaps the most disconcerting were the setbacks
suffered by the peace efforts in the former Yugoslavia - in
particular in Bosnia and Herzegovina - in Afghanistan and
in Somalia, where the turn of events has led to a wholly
unexpected and unwelcome confrontation between the United
Nations and one of the factions in the tragic fratricidal
conflict plaguing that country.
We must do all we can to protect and preserve the
integrity and moral authority of the United Nations in
Somalia. Those responsible for the killing of United Nations
peace-keeping forces and for instigating attacks against them
must be left in no doubt about the dire consequences of their
criminal conduct. But it goes without saying that the United
Nations forces must themselves act with maximum restraint.
Because Somalia is such a new experience for the
United Nations, the outcome of its operation there is of
crucial importance to the international community. The
United Nations cannot afford to fail in its mission of
humanitarian assistance, peace-building and peace-keeping
in Somalia. Nor can it afford serious mistakes. My
delegation therefore welcomes the ongoing debate on how
best to achieve the United Nations mission in Somalia. The
call for the United Nations to refocus its attention on the
original mandate and to pay greater attention to the search
for a political solution, along the lines of the Addis Ababa
Agreement, deserves most urgent attention.
The cease-fire in Liberia, while holding, will remain
fragile while tensions remain high and the end of the crisis
is not in sight. The countries of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) must be commended for
undertaking an extremely costly and dangerous peace-
keeping mission in Liberia on behalf of the international
community. They need more than the moral and political
support of the world community. We therefore welcome the
establishment, by Security Council resolution 866 (1993) of
22 September 1993, of the United Nations Observer Mission
in Liberia (UNOMIL), which will work alongside the
precedent-setting African peace-keeping effort under the
auspices of ECOWAS to help resolve the Liberian conflict.
The people of Western Sahara are understandably
frustrated that, five years after the adoption of the United
Nations plan for a referendum in Western Sahara, the
international community has still not been able to give
8 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
them an opportunity to exercise their right to
self-determination. It is not good enough to tell them that
every effort is being made to overcome the problems which
have prevented the holding of the referendum. After five
years of discussion of the modalities of implementation, they
have a right to ask whether all the parties have been
negotiating in good faith.
Another African conflict-resolution initiative which
deserves urgent United Nations support is the Peace
Agreement between the Government of Rwanda and the
Rwandese Patriotic Front (RPF), which was signed in
Arusha, Tanzania, on 4 August 1993 after a year of arduous
and protracted negotiations. As Facilitator in the
negotiations, Tanzania pays tribute to the parties to the
negotiations for their spirit of give and take, which enabled
the negotiations to succeed. We pay tribute to the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) for its invaluable role
throughout the peace process. We also pay tribute to the
observer countries - Belgium, Burundi, France, Germany,
Senegal, Uganda, the United States and Zaire - and to the
United Nations for their encouragement and support. Nor
should we forget the invaluable contribution of Mali,
Nigeria, Tunisia and Zimbabwe, which provided personnel
for the Neutral Military Observer Group (NMOG II), which
has been monitoring the cease-fire.
As implementation of the Agreement begins, priority
must now be given to the establishment of the neutral
international force. The joint delegation of the Government
of Rwanda and the Rwandese Patriotic Front currently
visiting the United Nations has been stressing that everything
else hinges on the establishment of that force. I echo their
appeal for speed in establishing the force. My delegation
therefore welcomes the timely adoption of Security Council
resolution 872 (1993) on 5 October 1993, authorizing the
establishment of the United Nations Assistance Mission for
Rwanda (UNAMIR), and urges its speedy implementation.
Comparisons are inadequate for measuring the suffering
or damage endured by people in a war, but it is difficult to
think of another current conflict in which a whole people has
been subjected to the suffering, inhumanity and indignities
that have been imposed on the Muslim population of Bosnia
and Herzegovina. The inability of the United Nations to
offer any hope to the Bosnian Muslims is one of the greatest
tragedies of our time. It is bad enough that the international
community has failed to put an end to the atrocities which
continue to be inflicted on the Bosnian Muslims. But for the
world
community in these circumstances to continue to deny them
the right to acquire the means with which to protect
themselves is incomprehensible. The least that the United
Nations can do is to lift the arms embargo on Bosnia and
Herzegovina in order to enable the people to defend their
families and their country.
At long last there are signs of an emerging solution to
the long-festering sore of the root cause of the Middle East
problem - the question of Palestine - the persistence of
which has for 40 years posed a serious moral dilemma for
the international community’s sense of justice, fairness and
equality. The agreement signed in Washington on
13 September 1993 between Israel and the Palestine
Liberation Organization (PLO) on mutual recognition, which
also provides for limited autonomy for Palestinians in the
Gaza Strip and the West Bank town of Jericho, has been
rightly hailed as a major breakthrough in the Middle East
negotiations. My delegation joins in welcoming this
development and in congratulating Israel and the PLO on the
courage they have shown in taking this bold step towards the
resolution of the intractable question of Palestine. The first
step is always the most difficult to take. We are, therefore,
hopeful that Israel and the PLO will now be able to move
quickly to advance the process towards a just and lasting
solution to the question of Palestine and thus open the way
towards a comprehensive settlement of the Arab/Israel
conflict.
For the people of Cyprus - another vexed question that
has defied solution for nearly 20 years - a meaningful new
world order must be one that respects the unity, sovereignty
and territorial integrity as well as the non-aligned status of
that country, and restores a sense of hope to the two
communities for a future of partnership and cooperation in
complete equality and human dignity. It is a matter of great
disappointment that the hopes raised by the resumption early
in the year of negotiations under the good offices of the
Secretary-General proved to be premature.
In Cambodia, the efforts of the United Nations to find
a just and enduring end to the long-running conflict have
begun to bear fruit. The successful organization and
supervision of the Cambodian elections concluded an
important and crucial phase of the peace effort. However,
the people of Cambodia are not yet out of the woods. There
is still a lot of healing of wounds to be done. We applaud
the efforts being exerted to enable those who walked out of
the peace process to rejoin it as the phase of reconciliation,
reconstruction and development begins.
Forty-eighth session - 7 October l993 9
There is good news too with regard to the situation in
Central America. There, the situation has continued to
evolve positively, thus rewarding the international
community in its efforts to encourage the region to find
regional solutions to its problems.
My delegation welcomes the growing involvement of
the Security Council in the search for solutions to many
conflicts around the world. But the Council’s capacity to
respond to the growing demands for its intervention and the
readiness of the international community to continue to
repose its trust and confidence in the Council will depend on
its ability to institute the necessary reforms.
One such reform that has been called for is the
expansion of the Council to take account of today’s vastly
changed circumstances in comparison with 1965, when the
Council was last expanded. I need not stress that any
expansion must take account of the need to ensure equity in
geographical representation. This also applies to the call for
consideration to be given to increasing the number of
permanent members.
Another reform relates to the need to address the
problem of selectivity by the Council in responding to
various conflicts. Unless the Council is seen to treat equally
all challenges to its authority, it runs the risk of losing the
international community’s support and trust, which are
crucial if the Council’s actions are to be accepted as
legitimate.
In addition, the old problem of the outdated veto is still
with us and failure to do something about it will not make
it go away. The very encouraging practice of reaching
decisions by consensus has reduced the demand for the
abolition of the veto. This has helped, but it is not enough.
So long as the veto exists, the threat of its use will continue
to affect the outcome of debates. One member will always
be able to thwart the will of the international community.
How the Council does its work is also a matter of great
interest and concern to the international community. The
call for transparency is a very legitimate one, but of greater
concern is the growing conviction on the part of a large
segment of the membership of the United Nations that the
Council has been stretching its interpretation of the Charter
to include things not foreseen in Chapter VII, such as
humanitarian emergencies, human rights, ecological threats,
drug trafficking and the like. While the Council must be
enabled to respond to new situations, there is a real danger
that it will allow itself to be guided not by the Charter but
by the dictates of a few Member States.
Disarmament has always been a major preoccupation of
the international community for reasons that are self-evident.
There are far too many weapons around the world - more
than nations need for their legitimate defence. The priority
given to the chemical weapons Convention reflects the
international community’s concern about the great danger
posed to international peace and security by this particular
weapon of mass destruction. Regrettably, nuclear arms,
which pose an even greater threat, have not received the
priority consideration they deserve. While we applaud the
agreements concluded by the United States and the Russian
Federation for sharp reductions in their nuclear arsenals, the
fact should not be overlooked that, even after the START
Treaty, there are today in their stockpiles five times more of
this category of nuclear weapons than existed at the time of
the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons in 1968, and the level is the same as it was when
they began negotiations nine years before the START Treaty
was signed. The reality of the nuclear threat becomes more
evident if we take account of the nuclear-weapon stocks of
the other nuclear-weapon States. That is why we must urge
all nuclear-weapon States to accord the highest priority to
nuclear disarmament.
My delegation has always regarded the non-proliferation
Treaty, despite its flaws, and a comprehensive test-ban treaty
as important international instruments that can advance the
cause of nuclear disarmament. It goes without saying that
before the non-proliferation Treaty can perform this role, its
inherent flaws - especially its provisions discriminating
between nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon States -
must be addressed. The two major nuclear-weapon States
have agreed on some reductions in their stockpiles. They
need to go much further and to make clear that the objective
is the eventual elimination of those stockpiles, which means
that they must stop, reverse and eventually put an end to
vertical proliferation. The 1995 Review Conference of the
Treaty will be a success to the extent that it comes to grips
with these flaws.
The most hopeful recent development towards a
comprehensive test-ban treaty has been the voluntary
moratorium or restraint on testing unilaterally agreed to by
all the nuclear-weapon States. That is why we welcome the
decision of the United States of America to extend its
moratorium. We very much hope that this extension will
persuade the other nuclear-weapon States to maintain their
moratoriums and that the halt can be used to negotiate a
comprehensive test-ban treaty under the auspices of the
Conference on Disarmament or the Amendment Conference
of the partial test-ban Treaty.
10 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
The world economic statistics for the period 1992 to
1993 send mixed signals. Overall, despite strong growth in
a number of developing countries, there was negligible
growth in the world economy. For much of the African
continent, per capita output has continued to decline, placing
the continent in a precarious situation. The average growth
of gross domestic product in Africa reached a new low of
1.4 per cent in 1992, owing in part to drought, civil wars,
political instability and the long-term effects of deteriorating
terms of trade as a result of the inequitable operation of the
present world order.
The United Nations agenda for the development of
Africa in the 1990s, adopted by the General Assembly at its
last session, seems unlikely to fare any better than its
predecessor, the United Nations Programme of Action for
African Economic Recovery and Development, 1986-1990.
As became obvious during the review of the Programme of
Action carried out in 1990, that initiative fell short of the
continent’s expectations. Nevertheless, Tanzania believes
that both the United Nations and the international community
at large still have the ability to play a greater role in
assisting the continent to overcome its poverty.
Recovery of investments is crucial to the long-term
improvement of the economic performance of the African
continent. However, contrary to earlier expectations,
economic reform has not brought a significant increase in
investments. Throughout Africa, it remains far below its
peak level of the mid-1970s as a result of foreign exchange
constraints arising from deteriorating terms of trade and
limited capacity to import capital goods, and because of the
debt burden and debt servicing.
Tanzania welcomes the initiative taken by some donor
countries to address the problem of the debt crisis by writing
off part of the bilateral official debt of the least developed
countries. However, this is only part of the solution to the
problem. Apart from debt-relief measures, Africa needs a
fresh infusion of financial resources to improve the rate of
investment and to accelerate the economic growth of
affected countries.
It is for this reason that Tanzania welcomes the
initiative of the Government of Japan to organize, in
collaboration with the United Nations and the Global
Coalition for Africa, the Tokyo International Conference on
African Development in October 1993, with a view to
highlighting the issue of African economic development as
one of the central themes on the international agenda for the
twenty-first century. My delegation hopes that the Tokyo
Conference will come up with concrete recommendations on
measures designed to help the African continent overcome
its problems once and for all, as well as to remind the
international community of its commitment to Africa and the
need to help the continent face the challenges of the twenty-
first century from a position of strength.
We have been walking the road from Rio for more than
a year now. In Rio we made a strong commitment to
protect our planet by promoting sustainable development
through a global partnership. Though a basic framework to
make the world’s environment healthier in the twenty-first
century was laid out at Rio, we have not, so far, begun
making those commitments a reality. The truth is, the Earth
is environmentally poorer than it was a year ago.
The high-level Commission on Sustainable
Development has been formed to monitor progress in the
implementation of Agenda 21 and other activities related to
the integration of environmental and developmental goals
through the United Nations system. Allow me to express
my delegation’s hope that this Commission will be an
action-oriented body which will effectively translate the
commitments made in Rio into a reality, and that it will not
end up being financially strapped, as has often been the fate
of other United Nations institutions.
A milestone reached at Rio was the decision to prepare
an international convention to combat desertification and
drought. The Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for
the elaboration of this convention has already held its first
and second substantive sessions and it is hoped that,
hopefully by this time next year, a convention to combat
desertification and drought will have been finalized. While
welcoming the progress made during the first two
substantive sessions, Tanzania wishes to call for maximum
support and cooperation from all countries to ensure the
success of the global convention, which has particular
relevance for Africa. The convention should be looked
upon, not only as a mechanism to attract resources, but also
as a global partnership in combating a global phenomenon
threatening the sustainable development of over 900 million
people worldwide.
There is no end to our expectations in fulfilment of the
United Nations. As the largest world family, it has to take
care of all the members of the family, rich and poor, able
and disabled. The world would be a better place for mankind
if we in the United Nations act expeditiously, judiciously
and fairly. After all, it is the people who constitute the
States that need help.


Your unanimous election, Sir, to the presidency of the forty-
eighth session of the General Assembly represents a just
recognition of your great diplomatic experience, your human
qualities and your constant commitment to the promotion of
Forty-eighth session - 5 October l993 11
dialogue and multilateral cooperation in the service of peace,
security and development.
I should like to congratulate you most warmly on the
well-deserved tribute from the international community both
to you personally and to your country. I am particularly
pleased that the prestigious responsibility of guiding the
work of the General Assembly has been given this year to
an eminent son of Guyana, a country which, side-by-side
with Algeria, has always been resolutely in the forefront of
the defence of the cause of peace, justice, progress and
understanding among nations.
Your predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev, firmly and
tactfully conducted a busy and productive forty-seventh
session. We wish to express our deep gratitude to him for
a mission accomplished with open-mindedness and
dedication.
I also wish to pay special tribute to the Secretary-
General of our Organization, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali,
who has spared no effort in making the United Nations rise
to the many and complex challenges of a crucial period in
the development of international relations. His foresight,
courage and initiative have won him the esteem of all. His
persevering activity bears for the United Nations the promise
of the renewal after which our peoples fervently aspire.
Algeria extends a warm welcome to the new Member
States which have joined our Organization, and is gratified
that their accession to the membership of the United Nations
will contribute to the achievement of its objectives in the
areas of peace and development.
In recent years, the history of the world has accelerated
its pace considerably. Rapid and profound changes have put
paid to an international order that had long been frozen in
place by the cold war. However, far from moving steadily
toward the achievement of a well-ordered international
society, those changes have generated the makings of a
disquieting explosion. While the world changes under our
very eyes, we are unable to grasp and take cognizance of the
laws that govern such change. This dynamic, and the major
upheavals it causes, have shaped a new geopolitical
configuration in many parts of the world that has affected
the lives of many of its peoples. Given this type of change,
wherein inter-State relations are jostled by a proliferation of
protagonists, of ambitions and gambles, and of the methods
of international action there is a need for a collective effort
to revitalize both our means of knowing and our methods of
action. In short, we need to rethink the world order. We
must, as a community of nations, succeed in controlling the
changes which are taking place and the unwieldy trends that
are now emerging. In this maelstrom of historical change,
this period of transition with all its hesitations and emerging
global dangers, the thing that attracts one’s attention more
than any other is the hope, the promise of a new world order
that must be fashioned side by side with the daily suffering
that goes on in the world and which we cannot ignore.
Indeed, in spite of the glowing promises of peace and
international cooperation, the world order that is taking
shape now not only contains too many old hotbeds of
tension, but also gives rise to new mushrooming conflicts.
Tensions between ethnic and religious groups are increasing
and are being exacerbated while whole regions, and even
entire continents, are being marginalized in a most atrocious
manner. The right of peoples to self-determination is being
violated and obstructed here and there. Hunger and poverty
are expanding. Imbalances in the world economy are
deepening and worsening. All of these situations pose
challenges to the international community that call for urgent
and concerted action.
It is therefore up to us - and this is the challenge faced
by all nations that are bound by an ever-growing
interdependence - to see to it that the ideals of justice and
peace prevail, that new possibilities for the settlement of
certain regional conflicts and for general and complete
disarmament lead to comprehensive action eliminating the
root causes of conflicts while, at the same time, promoting
economic and social development, a prerequisite for
international peace and security.
This is why it is appropriate to underscore here the fact
that the Agenda for Peace (A/47/277), whose importance is
recognized everywhere, will achieve its objectives only if it
is accompanied by an agenda for development; for peace and
development are closely interrelated, and conflicts too often
take root in the soil of injustice and poverty. It is obvious
that the future of the system of collective security which we
wish to build will depend to a great extent on our ability to
forge a consensus on the different aspects contained in the
Agenda for Peace. This means that it is necessary for us to
continue, collectively and without bias, to consider those
aspects of the Secretary-General’s report about which
differences persist or which require further elaboration and
consideration.
The encouraging progress achieved in strengthening the
capability of the United Nations in the areas of active
preventive diplomacy, as well as in peace-keeping and
peacemaking operations, should be welcomed, but a great
deal remains to be done in this field if we are to make better
12 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
use of all the experience gained in those areas by the United
Nations. We should see to it that our action remains strictly
faithful to the goals and principles of the Charter of the
United Nations. Algeria, which is honoured to participate
actively and concretely in peace-keeping operations, will
continue to do its share in this collective endeavour in the
service of peace.
The restructuring, revitalization and rationalization of
the structures of the organs of the United Nations and their
working methods have made considerable progress.
However, this process, which is not an end in itself, will
produce its full effects only if the Member States, and
particularly the developed countries, reaffirm and strengthen
their commitment to the United Nations and renew their
political and financial support for its activities, particularly
in the economic and social spheres.
It is this exacting and responsible approach that my
country consistently promotes in all the areas of cooperation
in which it takes part. In so doing, Algeria conducts its own
action within the context of the efforts by the Non-Aligned
Movement toward greater democratization of the United
Nations and better balance between the spheres of
competence of its organs. In our view, it is time we
reflected collectively on how to reform the Security Council,
with a view to broadening its composition, improving its
working methods and making it more accountable for its
action to the entire international community in whose name
it adopts its resolutions. A more representative, more
transparent Security Council that would be more cognizant
of the views and concerns of all; a General Assembly that
would fully play its role in activating, guiding and
supervising; and a United Nations system that would be
more coherent and better coordinated in carrying out its
development tasks: these are the three pivotal approaches
that may give to the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization
significant political scope and operational content and
generate the makings of a new beginning. The credibility of
the United Nations and the effectiveness of its action depend
on this, as do international peace, security and cooperation.
All the initiatives by my country at the national and
regional levels are inspired by the ideals of peace, justice
and cooperation. The national-renewal plan upon which
Algeria has embarked in the interests of political stability,
the consolidation of the democratic process, the revitalization
of economic growth and the upholding of the rule of law is
a plan that translates into action our resolve to guarantee, for
all Algerians, the rights to security and well-being in a just,
modern and democratic society.
Given this determination, our efforts in combating
terrorism and our efforts aimed at providing the conditions
for real growth stem from the same overriding priority, that
of meeting the expectations of our people be fulfilled by
restoring the authority of the State and creating the
conditions for an orderly transition that would make possible
stable and coherent progress towards a market economy
through viable and orderly reforms.
Such a vast enterprise must find its expression and
derive its support from an active foreign policy based on the
principles and ideals of non-alignment and geared towards
the promotion of peace, stability and cooperation at the
regional and international levels.
In this spirit, Algeria works steadily and resolutely for
success in the process of building a united Maghreb. The
important achievements that have been made so far, which
will help us to benefit from the complementary nature of the
countries of the union of the Arab Maghreb, confirm that the
dynamics of this unifying process have enabled us to
mobilize our energies, despite certain persistent problems
that affect regional stability.
Our country’s central position in the region, its resolve
to reinforce and promote the building of the Maghreb and its
commitment to international legality have prompted it to
encourage the kingdom of Morocco and the Polisario Front
to turn to direct, sincere, constructive dialogue that can
facilitate the implementation of the peace plan prepared
jointly by the United Nations and the Organization of
African Unity, with the full agreement of the two parties
concerned.
It is important, now more than ever before, that the
dialogue which was initiated at El-Ayoun between Morocco
and the Polisario Front should resume and continue at an
authoritative level. Algeria, for its part, hopes that the two
parties will choose the path of reason and that will do all in
their power to resolve outstanding questions in a serious
manner and without delay, thus promoting the holding of a
free and orderly referendum on self-determination for the
people of Western Sahara. Algeria is convinced that a just
a lasting solution to the question of Western Sahara can
promote stability and peace in the region. We therefore
hope that the international community, as well as the United
Nations and its Secretary-General, will redouble efforts to
ensure, in the best conditions of credibility and impartiality,
implementation of the United Nations settlement plan, with
the complete cooperation of the two parties.
Forty-eighth session - 5 October l993 13
The same applies to the Mediterranean region. In fact,
Algeria has always worked to make that region, with the
participation of all the States concerned, one of peace,
stability and mutually advantageous cooperation. It is to this
end that we continue to work for the consolidation and
deepening of political agreement in our region and for the
establishment of new types of cooperation. Algeria is
therefore making constant efforts to have the forum of "5 +
5" activated, as this is a promising framework for
cooperation between North and South in the Mediterranean.
It is in the field of disarmament that the end of the cold
war has produced tangible results most rapidly. However,
considerable work remains to be done, especially by the
nuclear Powers. The final cessation of nuclear testing in all
environments and the renunciation of the development of
new weapon systems are objectives the attainment of which
is now within the reach of the international community -
provided, of course, that the nuclear Powers go beyond
current agreements and summon up the necessary political
will for this purpose.
In this context, Algeria notes with interest and with
hope the proposals made from this rostrum on 27 September
by the President of the United States of America. The
complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction is,
in fact, part of the logic of history. The conclusion of the
Convention on the prohibition of chemical weapons has
shown that this objective is no longer Utopian. Any
approach to the question of disarmament and international
security and, in the final analysis, to the question of peace
should be universal in scope. This is a conviction that is
being reiterated time after time by Algeria and by the
Non-Aligned Movement. Disarmament, if it is to be lasting,
must take account of all aspects of the situation, and not of
the military dimension alone. It is now clear that, in an
increasingly interdependent world, peace and security cannot
be dissociated from their natural corollaries - socio-economic
development and the promotion of all human rights.
The protection and promotion of human rights - all
human rights - is a high priority for Algeria. Therefore, we
are pleased at the positive results of the World Conference
on Human Rights, held in Vienna, which expressed support
for an integrated and global approach to human rights,
whose civil, political, economic and social aspects reinforce
and complement each other.
Algeria, which subscribes completely to this view and
endorses this approach, is now at a juncture that makes it an
obligation of the State to give priority to human rights, to
protection of the fundamental right to life and to personal
security. In this context, the restoration of public order and
the struggle against terrorism are manifestations of Algeria’s
determination to give a firm guarantee of the development
of human rights and the building of a lasting democracy
based on the rule of law, the changeover of political power
between parties and republican principles.
This declared struggle against terrorism has an internal
aspect, but it has international dimensions as well. Here we
should like to make it abundantly clear that Algeria will
continue to oppose, firmly and with the utmost
determination, every outside attempt at destabilization and
that it will tolerate no interference in its internal affairs. It
is Algeria’s belief that the international community must
assert itself and mobilize its energy to defeat the modern
barbarity of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.
It is therefore important for the deliberations at this
session of the General Assembly vigorously to lead to the
formulation of an international convention on the prevention
and repression of terrorism.
While a number of regional conflicts are on the way to
pacification and lasting settlement, others, however, there is
no peaceful, just solution in sight.
In the Middle East, which has been buffeted for
decades by waves of suffering and confrontation, new
prospects are emerging. Algeria welcomed the recent
agreement between the Palestine Liberation Organization
(PLO) and Israel and expressed the hope that it would be the
first step towards an overall settlement of the Middle East
conflict in accordance with Security Council resolutions 242
(1967) and 338 (1973). Now as in the past, Algeria which
stands firmly behind the independence of decision-making by
the Palestinian leaders calls upon the Palestinians to close
ranks and reaffirms its support for the PLO.
At this crucial stage for the future of the region, Algeria
believes that the international community continues to be
responsible for building peace. For that peace to be genuine
and lasting, it must be comprehensive and must meet the
national aspirations of the Palestinian people and restore all
the territories occupied by Israel, including Al-Quds Al-
Sharif.
As an Arab country, Algeria, naturally, is intimately
involved in the future of the Arab world. Overcoming the
aftermath of the Gulf war ought to open the way to the
inter-Arab reconciliation for which our peoples fervently
hope. Since Iraq has undertaken to meet fully all the
obligations stemming from Security Council resolutions and
14 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
since international law has established the geographical basis
for peaceful neigbourliness between Iraq and Kuwait, we
hope that the outstanding humanitarian questions will soon
be resolved so that the collective conscience of the Arab
peoples may be able finally to heal itself of the scars of the
Gulf war.
My country reaffirms its support for the Government of
the United Arab Emirates in its legitimate efforts to regain
sovereignty over the three islands under illegal foreign
occupation.
Algeria welcomes with hope the positive developments
in South Africa, despite the continuing violence and other
factors that endanger peace. The agreement to set up the
Transitional Executive Council holds promise for the speedy
achievement of a united, democratic, non-racial South
Africa. Chairman Nelson Mandela’s call from this rostrum
for the lifting of economic sanctions against South Africa is
further testimony to his lofty sense of responsibility and an
illustration of the progress that has been achieved in the
peaceful dismantling of apartheid. This development
deserves the full attention of the international community,
which should spare no effort in contributing to putting an
end to the inter-ethnic violence and to provide the means by
which the democratic forces can participate effectively in the
long-awaited elections.
Algeria also follows attentively developments in several
fraternal African countries. We encourage the peace efforts
of the United Nations, the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) and the relevant subregional organizations. We note
with satisfaction the progress achieved in Mozambique,
Rwanda and Liberia, and express the hope that those
countries will overcome their problems with the help of the
international community and devote all their energy to
reconstruction and development. We hope that peace and
harmony will be restored in Angola in accordance with the
agreements reached between the two parties and with the
resolutions of the Security Council, which have clearly
determined where the responsibilities lie.
We are gravely concerned about the ongoing violence
in Somalia, particularly in Mogadishu. It reminds us that
humanitarian assistance and promoting political solutions
must go hand in hand. The tragedy of Somalia is the most
telling symbol to date of Africa’s marginalization in
international relations, and it attests to the tragic effects of
the international community’s inadequate response to
Africa’s clear needs with respect to economic and social
development.
The tragedy in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a challenge
to the world’s conscience. In spite of the Security Council’s
many resolutions, the acquisition of territory by force,
"ethnic cleansing" and trampling of all the norms of
international law continue to prevail there. In the absence of
firm action by the international community, the
dismemberment of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a State Member
of the United Nations, continues unabated, and puts at risk
the peace and stability of that country and of the region as
a whole. Algeria expresses its solidarity with the Bosnian
people, and most particularly with its Muslims, who have
been the victim of untold hardships. We appeal to the
international community to reject the fait accompli imposed
by aggression and help protect the independence, sovereignty
and territorial integrity of the Republic of Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
The international situation is not disturbing at the
political and security levels alone but is also causing concern
because of the persistence of world recession, the
deteriorating economic situation of the developing countries,
and the grave instability brought about by profound changes
in international economic relations.
At a time when our interdependent world is in the
midst of a complex and perilous historic transition, the
communication gap between North and South must come to
an end. The universal imperative of peace, security and
development makes us consider the developing situation in
the countries of the South. Most of them are facing the
challenges of globalization with economies made uniquely
vulnerable by the crushing weight of foreign indebtedness,
their precarious internal balance and a highly unfavourable
international economic environment.
The efforts of developing countries to promote
economic growth and make the structural changes necessary
for development are made far more difficult and risky by the
erosion of multilateral cooperation, the conflicting interests
of the dominant economic players and the constraints
imposed by economic decisions that are too often selfish and
exclusionary.
It is therefore essential to respond in a concerted
fashion to the need for an orderly restructuring of
international economic relations by establishing coordinated
mechanisms to regulate the functioning of the world
economy. In this context, it is important that the questions
of debt, the scarcity of capital and technology inflows, to the
countries of the South, the continued decline in commodity
prices, the deterioration of the terms of trade and the
difficulty of access to markets should become the focus of
Forty-eighth session - 5 October l993 15
the international community’s attention in order for us to
find lasting solutions to such problems.
Such a collective concerted type of action that would be
consonant with the requirements of adjustment by the
developing countries themselves, is a must if we are to
relaunch the international economy on a fair and well-
balanced basis and make it possible for the developing
countries to reap the expected benefits from the economic
reforms they have undertaken. This would make meaningful
the sacrifices being made by the developing countries in
undertaking the necessary restructuring changes aimed at
relaunching their economies and integrating them into the
world economy. It would also make it possible for the
international community to learn from the experiences
acquired in debt management and structural adjustment
programmes. Lastly, it would promote the creation of a true
market environment in the developing countries.
The Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro demonstrated that
environmental protection is inconceivable without the
promotion of sustainable development and sustained growth
in the developing countries. We must therefore work
determinedly towards achieving this objective and place
sustainable development on the agenda of the new world
order.
The holding of a world summit on social development
scheduled for 1995 to deal with problems of human security
affords us an opportunity to engage in an international
dialogue on the implications and results of transition in the
world. The United Nations and the Bretton Woods
institutions must grasp these new problems and contribute to
developing a new framework for reflection and guidance to
direct better the evolution of the international system. This
endeavour may seem difficult, but it is essential for a better
understanding of this new order, which we wish to be
balanced, fair and consensual. It would also tend to support
the Secretary-General’s efforts to draw up an agenda for
development.
At a time when our Organization faces various
challenges, the reform, restructuring and revitalization
process now under way in the United Nations acquires
special importance. Restructuring the Secretariat and the
economic and social sectors, revitalizing the Economic and
Social Council, relaunching the operational development
activities of the United Nations system and assuring the
stable and predictable growth of its resources are all tasks
that should be combined to give multilateral action the
utmost credibility and effectiveness.
This undertaking is part of the vast effort to equip the
United Nations for and adapt it to present and future
challenges, and it requires participation by all of us. This
endeavour is the vessel for feeding the faith of the peoples
of the United Nations in an indivisible humankind. It is
bound to succeed so long as our more democratic and more
effective Organization is the active centre and catalyst for
the promotion of fair and equitably shared development and
the foundation of a peace built by mankind as a whole.


 I extend
congratulations to His Excellency Ambassador Samuel
Insanally of Guyana on his election to the presidency of this
session of the General Assembly. May I also thank His
Excellency Mr. Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria for his
contribution to the success of the previous session. In
addition, I should like to stress the deep appreciation of the
Polish Government for the work and accomplishments of the
Secretary-General of the United Nations over the past year.
Let me first speak about some of the timely goals and
tasks of our Organization. I should like to start by
discussing the role of the United Nations in organizing peace
after the cold war. In the post-cold-war era, the United
Nations is facing growing expectations and responsibilities.
That trend will continue over the coming years. In an
increasingly interdependent world the United Nations,
despite its shortcomings and limitations, offers the best
avenue for addressing those global problems that are still
unresolved and for meeting new challenges as well. The
Organization faces the task of creating a better, more
democratic and just world. In fact, we badly need a vision
of such a world. More often than not, we have to ask
ourselves these questions: Are we rising to the occasion?
How should we resolve the present crisis of leadership, both
within individual States and on the international level?
The United Nations provides an appropriate platform
for shaping the vision I am talking about. To begin with, it
should be based on the assessment of geopolitical and
geoeconomic conditions, in particular on the assumption that
the world has become pluralistic, whatever the size and
weight of States in international affairs. It should also
reflect an increased awareness of the need for a multilateral
approach to solving problems.
Four years have elapsed since the end of the cold war.
We must not merely adjust to the new situation, but mould
it, in order to arrive at a comprehensive solution. The
present crisis has many facets. Today, its primary source is
unresolved economic and social issues, as well as such
political problems as territorial disputes and ethnic tensions.
But we have to remember that the process of finding
answers to these issues will unavoidably lead in the future
Forty-eighth session - 28 September l993 37
to a new alignment of power among States and, as a result,
we shall then face the prospect of recourse to force. That
question has been partly addressed by the Secretary-General
in his "Agenda for Peace." The matter has very broad
ramifications, and we still have not elaborated a grand
strategy of democratic transformation. I think that the
United Nations should start exploring, in a more systemic
manner, its role in the world as it is now and as it will be
beyond the year 2000. One of the preparatory steps might
be the preparation of a report on the United Nations as a
leader of global change and the promoter of a new world
order after the cold war. Such an assignment could be
entrusted to most-knowledgeable individuals, research
institutes, transnational corporations and others. The report
would serve as a basis for spelling out the future
responsibilities of the United Nations and the Member
States.
We need a thorough re-examination of the priorities of
the United Nations and, consequently, of the whole United
Nations system. The main purpose of reform would be to
adapt the United Nations to the requirements of peace after
the cold war. Reform should take into account ongoing
changes in Member States. This applies, in particular, to
countries in transition, not only in Central and Eastern
Europe but also in various parts of other continents. Let me
take this opportunity to add that Poland is firmly and
irreversibly committed to the political and economic
transformation it started in 1989, and that its foreign policy
has stable priorities.
The fate of the countries in the process of
transformation is not their problem alone. Their success or
failure is unavoidably going to exert a strong impact on
other States. The international community should not fail to
back up the transformation process and to assist the new
democracies in their continuing efforts to achieve reform,
economic recovery, social progress and full participation in
international exchanges. Such an approach would assist
them in their swifter integration into the world economic
system.
The military factor of security retains its significance,
although it differs from that of the cold-war era. The United
Nations has developed a disarmament agenda. The signing
of the chemical weapons Convention by almost 150 States
shows how the new political climate facilitates long-awaited
agreements and brings us closer to a world free of weapons
of mass destruction. We hope that there will be similar
positive developments in nuclear disarmament. The
initiation of negotiations on a comprehensive ban on nuclear
testing constitutes a big step in that direction. The United
Nations should also deal with the threat posed by the
possible spread of nuclear-weapon capabilities and the
proliferation of other weapons of mass destruction. Poland
attaches great importance to thorough and constructive
preparations for the 1995 Review Conference of the Parties
to the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
I should now like to turn to the subject of human rights.
There are a number of reasons why, after the Vienna
Conference, the Organization should devote much of its
attention to human rights. In doing so, I believe, it should
reflect on these words used by Secretary-General Boutros
Boutros-Ghali in addressing the high-level segment of the
Economic and Social Council:
"The United Nations is, by its very essence, universal,
global and inclusive. It is made up of sovereign States,
yet crucially concerned with the well-being of
individuals. Its concern with individuals, with their
societies and with world society is not, as some would
claim, inherently contradictory."
There are differences of opinion on the scope of human
rights, on State responsibilities in regard to their observance
and on the role of the international community in monitoring
them. The United Nations organs must expand their
negotiating and mediatory capacities and show much skill in
overcoming these divergences. The essential criteria are
morality, the inherent dignity of the human person and the
rule of law. Human rights must express the common values
of the international community. Their implementation is
becoming one of the preconditions of worldwide stability
and security.
Fundamental human rights are universal; their substance
is absolute and unrelated to circumstances. But saying this
does not mean that we are closing our eyes to the existence
of many different cultures and traditions in the historical
development of the various regions of the world. This
should be duly taken into account; however, it cannot justify
any violations of human rights or non-execution of the
relevant instruments. There is no room for treating criticism
of such unlawful policies and lawful attempts to redress
them as an infringement of the sovereignty of States. In
promoting, developing and effectively defending human
rights, the United Nations should make these activities part
of its cooperation with States.
International peace and security, sustainable
development and human rights are the three closely related
areas on which the United Nations should concentrate. "An
Agenda for Peace", Agenda 21 and the forthcoming agenda
38 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session
for development should, in my view, be complemented by
an agenda for human rights. With the results of the Vienna
Conference kept in mind, the Agenda for Human Rights
would constitute a plan of action for setting standards and
implementing rights and preventing violations.
Individuals need better and easier access to international
protection of their rights and freedoms. The Organization
should revise the grievance procedures and make them more
universal. While assuming that the Second and Third
Committees will merge into one Economic and Social
Committee, Poland would suggest the establishment of a
Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs Committee as one
of the main Committees of the General Assembly. We
recommend expanding the responsibilities, competence and
rank of the Commission on Human Rights. We also
support, as a matter of urgency, the proposal to create an
office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.
Further, we should explore means of promoting human
rights on a regional level. A small bureau, which might be
located in Warsaw, could be entrusted with monitoring
human rights observance in Eastern Europe. This is a
sensitive region. Such a bureau would be part of the Geneva
office. I have suggested Warsaw because bodies of the
Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe and the
Council of Europe already operate there, a fact that could
facilitate cooperation between the United Nations and the
European institutions in that field. The region provides
much insight into how democracy and human rights are
being implemented in States that are undergoing democratic
transformation.
One aspect of human rights has become very critical of
late. I am referring to the increasing violations of
humanitarian law in armed conflicts, whether international or
domestic. As the President of the International Committee
of the Red Cross emphasized during the recent International
Conference on the Protection of Victims of War, held in
Geneva, the practice has undergone a change for the worse.
With even greater frequency, civilian populations are
becoming the hostages and primary targets of fighting
warlords. Each and every day the mass media bring us
scenes of the atrocities of war. We in the United Nations
must not be indifferent to these facts. Poland joins the call
for urgent action to revive the observance of humanitarian
law and to uphold the authority of the Geneva Conventions
as well as their additional Protocols. The Polish
Government strongly endorses the Declaration adopted by
the Conference on the protection of war victims. In our
view, the international community should pay particular
attention to the observance of human rights and humanitarian
standards in internal strife. War crimes should not go
unpunished.
The third task to which I wish to draw the attention of
the General Assembly is development. The growing gap
between rich and poor nations is a significant source of
tensions and conflicts. Even Europe has not been spared,
threatened as it is by the emergence of a new "curtain", this
one economic. I am confident that the agenda for
development under preparation will comprehensively deal
with the various aspects of this potential danger. We need
a new development paradigm that is people-oriented: human
rights have their economic dimension. Economic and social
difficulties have a decisive impact on international security
and global stability, and often lead to human rights
violations. The main thing is to create a spirit of partnership
and solidarity. We expect the World Summit for Social
Development, to be held in Copenhagen in 1995, to specify
the necessary tasks in social development and thereby
reinforce sustainable economic development.
I shall now discuss some procedures and methods
which are particularly topical in view of the goals and tasks
I have enumerated. I will speak first of the settlement and
management of disputes. The new world situation calls for
renewed and growing attention to international law, its
implementation and application. Poland welcomes the
enlargement, limited though it still is, of the compulsory
jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. It would
also be highly desirable if further withdrawals of
reservations to the jurisdictional clauses of treaties followed.
Poland supports the Secretary-General’s call upon all
Member States to accept the compulsory jurisdiction of the
Court before the end of the United Nations Decade of
International Law in the year 2000. By means of its
advisory jurisdiction, the Court might deal with such
questions as the legal components of political decisions, the
review of administrative action or the relationship between
some of the main organs of the United Nations.
The peaceful settlement of disputes requires a new
approach. Traditional means, as listed in Article 33 of the
Charter might, depending on the merits of each case, be
combined with peace-keeping, peace-building or even
enforcement measures. We must distinguish between
various phases or component parts of the same conflict
where each phase will require a different approach or a
different procedure. And let us not forget that there are a
growing number of conflicts which cannot simply be
"settled", at any rate in the foreseeable future. They should,
Forty-eighth session - 28 September l993 39
rather, be "managed". All this opens up new vistas for the
skilful use of various United Nations mechanisms.
Now I wish to say a few words about peace-keeping.
It is a subject that is high on the United Nations agenda.
The success and therefore the image of the United Nations
are at stake here. The "Agenda for Peace" has set out a
conceptual framework. Preventive diplomacy,
peace-keeping, peacemaking and, in particular, enforcement
require sound guidelines, procedures and detailed planning
in operational terms. Though a great deal of work has
already been accomplished, much more remains to be done.
The problems with the clarity of the mandate of the
peace-keeping operations, their time frame, management and
frugality also require the special attention of the United
Nations.
Bearing in mind the alarming number of casualties
among both military and civilian peace-keepers, Poland fully
supports the idea of the expeditious elaboration of a
universally binding legal instrument, possibly in the form of
a convention on the safety and security of the personnel of
peace-keeping operations. The United Nations should not
undertake new operations without clearly identified
objectives. What is involved is trust in the Organization and
its prospective contribution to the security of all of us.
Regional conflicts figure prominently on the United
Nations agenda. In specific cases regional institutions could
be helpful, as not all regions have such ready mechanisms
for dealing with conflict situations. However, they could
strive to establish them. The Security Council, also, could
play a role in appropriate instances. The importance of the
regional effort is particularly relevant to Africa, which is
facing many specific difficulties and problems. We should
devote more attention to that continent. Poland supports the
initiatives and programmes that aim at the peaceful
settlement of conflicts and at the creation or strengthening of
democratic institutions in Africa.
In view of the fundamental constitutional reforms now
under way in the Republic of South Africa, Poland favours
the lifting of sanctions and other restrictions imposed on that
country.
Recent developments in the Middle East have shown a
genuine will to arrive at a compromise and achieve a
peaceful settlement. Poland shares the view that it would be
appropriate for the General Assembly to endorse the peace
process and call for regional cooperation in the Middle East.
At the same time, the Assembly should refrain from
repeating such resolutions as could harm this delicate
process.
We believe that the present scale of the conflict in
Bosnia and Herzegovina could have been avoided had the
international community, especially Europe, reacted when
there was still time. Obviously, I am aware of the fact that
in a conflict whose components are both internal and
international, the influence of non-parties is rather limited,
and the solution must finally come from within. Poland
rejects the policy of appeasement and imposed territorial
settlements.
Finally, there is the issue of sanctions. I should like to
draw your attention to the implementation of Article 50 of
the Charter. I think that Member States which suffer heavy
economic losses as a result of applying sanctions should be
entitled to something more than mere consultations and a
general - hence ineffective - appeal to the international
community to take account of their burden. As sanctions
have now become more frequent, the resulting problem of
economic losses by third countries cannot be ignored, as, in
fact, it now is. A satisfactory mechanism should be worked
out as a matter of urgency to resolve this issue.
In conclusion, the United Nations, like the world around
it, is experiencing a dynamic period of transition influenced
by fundamental reassessments and re-evaluations of the
potential for peace, development and cooperation among
nations.
The Organization is gearing itself to contribute its share
towards forging a better future for the world and improving
the human condition. It has every opportunity to establish
a comprehensive agenda within the trinity of peace and
security, sustainable human development, and democracy
and human rights. It can thereby fulfil the Charter promise
"to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the
attainment of these common ends".