At the
outset, I should like to tell you, Sir, how pleased my
delegation is to see you presiding over the work of the
fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. To your
predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo, I should also like to
express my sincere and warm congratulations on the
competence, devotion and authority with which he
guided the work of the fifty-sixth session.
I should also like to express again to Mr. Kofi
Annan, Secretary-General of the Organization, the
warm congratulations and profound gratitude of the
Government of Mali for the effectiveness and wisdom
he has shown in managing the concerns of the
international community in a particularly difficult
context. I take this opportunity to reiterate to the
Secretary-General the thanks of His Excellency Mr.
Amadou Toumani Touré, President of the Republic of
Mali, for the confidence that the Secretary-General has
placed in him in seeking solutions to certain conflicts
that are shaking Africa. He expresses Mali ‘s readiness
to continue to work for the preservation of international
peace and security, particularly in Africa.
Mali wishes to welcome to the Organization
Switzerland and Timor-Leste, whose admission
strengthens the universal character of the United
Nations.
The fifty-seventh session of the General
Assembly is opening in an international context
marked by the persistence of areas of tension, of
development inequalities and of growing poverty
among the peoples in developing countries, of the sad
consequences of globalization, of natural disasters and
of the extremely difficult consequences of the terrorist
attacks of 11 September 2001, whose first anniversary
the international community has just commemorated.
At the time, Mali vigorously condemned those attacks,
which nothing can justify. Since then, it has
participated in the great international campaign of the
fight against terrorism. In so doing, it has ratified all
international legal instruments related to the fight
against terrorism. Likewise, important means and
mechanisms have been put in place so that Mali ‘s
national territory cannot be used for the preparation or
perpetration of terrorist acts.
In order to meet the terrorist threat, it is important
that the international community strengthen
cooperation among its members. Furthermore, Mali
calls for integrated and sustained global action, in
which the United Nations should play the premier role.
It reiterates the appeal of Africa, of the Non-Aligned
Movement and of the Organization of the Islamic
2

Conference for the holding of an international
conference under the auspices of the United Nations
aimed at swiftly concluding a universally accepted
legal instrument on international terrorism.
In Mali, the year 2002 was devoted to the
holding, for the third time, of pluralistic, democratic
and peaceful elections, at the outcome of which His
Excellency Mr. Amadou Toumani Touré assumed the
country ‘s highest post. Those elections are sufficient
proof that Mali ‘s democratic institutions have taken
root, and they support the democratic culture of the
Malian people.
Here, I must express, on behalf of the people and
the Government of Mali, my heartfelt thanks to all our
partners for their contribution to the organization, the
holding and  the success of those elections. Mali is
deeply attached to the consolidation of the rule of law,
to the preservation of peace and security and to the
improvement of the living conditions of populations. In
that regard, our conviction remains that we must
deepen, promote and respect those values.
For Mali, republican and democratic institutions
must be renewed only through democratic institutional
mechanisms that have been established in advance. The
strengthening of good governance, the consolidation of
the democratic process, food security, the improvement
of the educational and health systems, the organization
and effective functioning of justice, actions to promote
children and women, and the fight against poverty and
corruption are, inter alia, the challenges to which the
new Government of Mali is committed to face.
Likewise, as part of its policy of economic and
social development, Mali is working, with the help of
its development partners, to implement macroeconomic
reforms designed to re-launch the process of growth
and development.
Mali is resolutely determined to guarantee
individual security in all its dimensions. That why my
country is a full-fledged member of the Human
Security Network. It fully agrees that there is a need to
harmonize efforts with regard to the destruction of anti-
personnel landmines and the fight against the illicit
trade in and the proliferation of small arms and light
weapons, with a view to adopting a United Nations
programme of action to reduce the human suffering
caused by those scourges.
Stability, peace and security are prerequisites for
any process of true development in Africa. Despite the
significant progress made in resolving certain African
conflicts, our continent continues to be faced with a
number of ongoing problems, including debt, the
continuing fall in the price of raw materials, the
democratic deficit, the HIV/AIDS pandemic, malaria
and difficulties related to humanitarian assistance.
Those issues constitute a serious impediment to
development efforts in Africa.
Mali welcomes the fact that the long fratricidal
conflict in Angola has come to an end and pays a well-
deserved tribute to the people and the leaders of
Angola for the courage that they have shown and the
efforts that they are continuing to make to consolidate
peace and bring about national reconciliation.
I should like to take this opportunity to pay
tribute to the United Nations for its valuable
contribution to the search for a resolution of the
Angolan conflict.
I should also like to pay tribute to my compatriot,
the late Alioune Blondin Beye, a talented diplomat who
was the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General for Angola from 1994 until the time
of his death in June 1998. Alioune Blondin Beye made
the supreme sacrifice on behalf of peace in Angola.
The recent signing of a peace agreement between
the main parties to the conflict in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo is a further reason for hope.
These glimmers of hope for conflict management on
the continent will require intense support from the
international community, which must provide further
support for Africa's efforts through in the form of
resources and mechanisms that are capable of
providing security and promoting development,
stability and peace.
The launching of the African Union, which has
replaced the Organization of African Unity, certainly
represents the most decisive historic and political event
on the African continent this year. The African Union
will enable the continent to plan for its future more
clearly, take responsibility for its own development,
prevent and manage conflict and promote partnership
and international cooperation that is better adapted to
the expectations of the population.
The recent adoption at Durban of the Protocol
Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security
3

Council of the African Union, a standing decision-
making body for conflict management and resolution in
Africa, represents an important step forward in the
setting up of a collective rapid-reaction security system
designed to facilitate an appropriate and effective
regional response in dealing with conflict situations
and crises in Africa. It is also the appropriate tool to
bolster the efforts of the Security Council in fulfilling
its main responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security, in particularly in
Africa. Mali has already begun to take the necessary
measures to ratify that important instrument.
The New Partnership for Africa's Development
(NEPAD) also deserves ongoing support from the
international community. Indeed, NEPAD offers the
international community a historic opportunity to
establish a credible partnership with Africa — a
partnership founded on shared responsibility.
Mali remains deeply concerned about the
dramatic developments of the situation in the Middle
East. The responsibility of the international community
in dealing with that situation remains a commitment
aimed at a global, just and lasting peace in the Middle
East — a peace founded on Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the
principle of land for peace.
The creation of a Palestinian State — the central
issue of the Middle East question — side by side with
Israel, within safe and internationally recognized
borders, in accordance with Security Council resolution
1397 (2002), would be the best guarantee of a just and
lasting peace in the region.
On a different subject, Mali accords priority to
international cooperation on the basis of international
law in the search for a lasting solution to conflicts that
are of concern to the international community. This
principle should apply to the handling of the Iraqi
issue.
The creation of the International Criminal Court,
whose Statute was adopted in Rome, will not only
make it possible to bring to justice those who commit
the most serious crimes that infringe on the dignity of
the human person, but also will provide an instrument
of deterrence that contributes to the maintenance of
international peace and security. In this respect, my
country would like to reaffirm its full support for the
fight against impunity and for full respect for human
dignity.
My country would like to appeal to those
countries that have still not acceded to the Statute of
the International Criminal Court to do so in order to
strengthen the legitimacy of that institution.
We are faced with a number of economic
problems that are impeding the full growth of several
of our States. The globalization of the economy has
contributed greatly to a serious imbalance whose chief
victims are the developing countries. It has led in
particular to the impoverishment of a large number of
people, to environmental degradation and to large-scale
migration.
External debt is a heavy burden for poor
countries. The money used to service the debt has to
come from the meagre resources of those countries,
which seriously handicaps any attempt to re-launch
growth and development. Despite the measures agreed
to aimed at alleviating the debt burden for poor
countries and allowing access to the markets of the
countries of the North, the inequalities persist and
poverty continues to worsen.
New measures designed to establish closer links
between debt- and poverty-reduction activities should
continue. More flexible mechanisms need to be set up,
however, in order to mobilize and utilize the resources
generated by the application of the Heavily Indebted
Poor Countries Debt Initiative. In this respect, it is
highly desirable for the developed countries and the
international financial institutions to envisage measures
capable of enabling the developing countries to move
further towards sustainable development and to benefit
from globalization. Fulfilling the development
objectives set forth in the Millennium Declaration
would bring that about.
Mali warmly welcomes United Nations initiatives
in support of the least developed countries, as
exemplified by the Brussels Programme of Action. My
country welcomes the holding in March 2002 at
Monterrey of the International Conference on
Financing for Development and, more recently, the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable
Development.
The conclusions and recommendations that came
out of those two important meetings reflect the
determination of the international community to
commit itself in a resolute manner to achieving the
objectives contained in the Millennium Declaration.
4

The Government of Mali also encourages
institutions and Governments throughout the world to
implement the relevant provisions contained in the
Madrid International Plan of Action on Ageing, since it
is true that development policies and strategies
intended to reduce poverty must necessarily take
account of the problems of ageing.
The democratization and restructuring of the
main organs of the United Nations desired by the
overwhelming majority of Member States, would
greatly contribute to peace and security in the world. In
particular, the democratization of the Security Council,
whose structure no longer reflects the realities of
today's world, would reflect our common
determination to make it a more effective, more
legitimate and more representative body.
Our peoples are waiting. They are waiting for us
to lead them forward towards rebirth in the new
century, towards the building of a new world, rich in
diversity, more just and more united.


It gives me
immense pleasure to address the fifty-seventh session
of the United Nations General Assembly under your
able leadership. Allow me, on behalf of my delegation,
to extend to you our wholehearted congratulations on
your election as the President of the present session. I
wish to assure you of my delegation's support and
cooperation throughout your tenure of office.
I also wish to convey my thanks to His
Excellency Dr. Han Seung-soo of the Republic of
Korea for the remarkable manner in which he
conducted the work of the Assembly's fifty-sixth
session. United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan
also deserves our gratitude for his inspiring and
commendable initiatives in furthering the objectives of
our Organization.
We are happy that the Swiss Confederation and
Timor-Leste have joined us as the newest members of
the United Nations family. Timor-Leste stands out as a
shining accomplishment of the United Nations system
to uphold the right to independence of a nation in
adverse conditions.
The terrorist atrocities of 11 September will never
fade from our collective consciousness, and the agony
and the pain of the day are still with us. The
sophisticated infrastructure of the terrorist
organizations that was utilized to inflict that
monstrosity must be dismantled at any cost. We owe it
to ourselves and to the generations that will come after
us to mobilize all our energies and efforts to never let
that happen again, anywhere.
Mauritius is committed to remain fully engaged
in the global coalition against terrorism, and we shall
continue, together with other States, to take all
measures  nationally, regionally and internationally
so that the scourge of terrorism is never inflicted on
unsuspecting civilians and countries. We are alive to
the chilling reality that no country is or ever will be
safe until the war against terrorism is finally and
completely won. We condemn cross-border infiltration;
it must stop and must be made to stop.
The threats posed by international terrorism have
heightened the need for collective action to preserve
world peace and security. While we combine our
efforts to wage a war on terrorism, we should, at the
same time, continue to work towards global
disarmament and a complete elimination of weapons of
mass destruction within a specified time frame. My
delegation reiterates its appeal for the early convening
of a conference on nuclear disarmament.
The term of Mauritius as an elected non-
permanent member of the Security Council will end in
20

December this year. During its tenure on the Council,
Mauritius was instrumental in the establishment of an
ad hoc working group on conflict prevention and
resolution in Africa. It has made positive and
constructive recommendations that have been endorsed
by the Security Council.
In contrast to previous years, when the General
Assembly listened to a litany of horror stories out of
Africa, I am happy to note that substantial and positive
developments are taking place on the continent. There
is a new dawn in Africa and the stark realization that,
without enduring peace and stability, there will be no
sustainable development.
We congratulate the African leaders who have
spared no effort in the search for African solutions to
African conflicts and crises. The Pretoria Agreement
between Presidents Kabila and Kagame represents a
major breakthrough for the peace process in the Great
Lakes region. We are aware that the implementation
will be difficult. We are, however, confident that the
international community will provide all necessary
assistance to the leaders in the region for a smooth
implementation.
With the positive developments in Angola, the
successful general elections in Sierra Leone, the
settlement of the boundary problem between Eritrea
and Ethiopia and the progress made in the
implementation of the Arusha Peace and Reconciliation
Agreement for Burundi, there are clear signals that
some of the major conflicts in Africa are being
successfully resolved.
As Africa embarks on the road of peace, we wish
to underscore the crucial role played by the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the
Economic Community of West African States and the
Southern African Development Community in their
relentless search for negotiated settlement of the
conflicts in our respective subregions. There is cause
for optimism, and it is gratifying that the days of doom
and gloom for Africa are on their way to extinction.
Our region, the Indian Ocean, which has
witnessed some turbulent times recently, is again
poised for stability and development. We applaud the
return to constitutional rule in the Comoros and the
consolidation of democratic institutions in that country.
We also welcome the formation of a Government of
national reconciliation in Madagascar and the efforts
under way to undo the damage caused by the recent
crisis there. Mauritius will be closely associated with
the countries of our region to further enhance regional
cooperation.
The launching of the African Union in Durban,
South Africa, in July this year was indeed a historic
and emotionally charged occasion. The birth of the
African Union heralds a new era of political, economic
and social transformation for our continent. The
continent is more than ever determined to shape its
destiny and to tackle comprehensively the burning
problems of poverty, hunger, disease and
underdevelopment that have debilitated millions of
Africans over the years. The African Union has raised
expectations that we, as leaders, are committed to
honour. The African Union will be able to respond in a
positive manner to the challenges confronting it, as
well as maximizing the opportunities for the
improvement of the lives of peoples of the continent. In
that context, the decision of African countries to take
responsibility for peacekeeping on the continent needs
to be encouraged. Since the burden of peacekeeping
must be equitably shared, I am pleased to announce
that Mauritius will contribute to the United Nations
civilian police for service in post-conflict operations.
Along with the launching of the African Union,
the home-grown New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD) is another chapter in the
unfolding of the success story of the African continent.
NEPAD commits Africa to building a strong and
enduring culture of democracy, respect for human
rights and accountability for the continent. Indeed, the
African Peer Review Mechanism is a credible
mechanism to promote the prospects of internationally
recognized norms and standards of good governance.
The establishment of the International Criminal
Court (ICC) marks a watershed in mankind's quest to
put an end to impunity and to bring to justice those
responsible for crimes against humanity, for genocide
and for international crimes. The ICC is the single most
important institution of this millennium, and it is the
duty of the international community to fully support it.
In May this year, during the special session on
children, Mauritius had the opportunity to join the
international efforts to pave the way for effective
protection for every child in every part of the world.
The children who addressed the gathering uttered
words of great significance that no one can, or should,
ever forget. The future is theirs, and it is for them that
21

we ought to ensure the sustainable development of our
one and only planet. My country will ensure that the
principles, goals and actions discussed during the
special session are integrated in our various child
welfare programmes.
The Middle East is still not at peace. The death
toll rises every day, but we are encouraged by the
signals being sent by both the Israelis and the
Palestinian leadership. Our vision of the Middle East is
to see the early establishment of a Palestinian State
living side by side with Israel on the basis of agreed
and secure boundaries. The Palestinians also need to
have State machinery that observes the fundamental
norms of a democratic system, with responsibility and
accountability on the part of the leaders. They alone
have the absolute right to elect their leaders when
elections are held in January 2003.
We appeal to the Iraqi authorities to comply fully
and unconditionally with Security Council resolutions
with respect to allowing the arms inspectors to fulfil
their mandate.
Small island developing States are a particularly
vulnerable group of countries by virtue of their
inherent natural and structural constraints. The World
Bank; the Commonwealth; the United Nations
Conference on Financing for Development, held in
Monterrey, Mexico; and the World Summit on
Sustainable Development, held recently in
Johannesburg, South Africa, have all recognized that
those constraints, if not addressed effectively, could
undermine the trade and development prospects of
these countries, leading to their further
marginalization. We look forward to specific and
concrete recommendations for action in this regard at
the Fifth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade
Organization scheduled to be held next September in
Mexico.
The World Summit on Sustainable Development
addressed the fundamental question of what kind of
world we want for ourselves and for generations that
are yet unborn. The recent devastating floods in Europe
and Asia, as well as the droughts in many parts of
Africa  particularly Southern Africa, where there are
more than 13 million people in danger of famine  are
a stark reminder of the fragility of our planet's
ecosystem. The World Summit on Sustainable
Development has made the whole world conscious of
the havoc that nature may cause unless drastic
measures are taken immediately to redress the
ecological imbalance.
(spoke in French)
The Ninth Summit of La Francophonie, which
Lebanon will host next month and which will be held
on the topic dialogue of cultures', will undoubtedly
enable the French-speaking community to foster
sharing among various cultures with a view to
maintaining peace, security and democracy.
(spoke in English)
Mauritius reaffirms its legitimate sovereignty
over the Chagos Archipelago, including the island of
Diego Garcia, which was detached from the territory of
Mauritius by the United Kingdom prior to our
independence. We renew our call to the former colonial
Power, the United Kingdom, to accelerate discussions
with us for an early settlement of this issue. The
persons of Mauritian origin who were displaced from
the Chagos Archipelago continue to claim redress for
the serious human rights violations that they endured.
We support their efforts to seek redress.
We also call on the French Government to work
towards the resolution of the dispute concerning
Tromelin Island, over which Mauritius has sovereignty.
In conclusion, Mauritius reiterates its conviction
that the United Nations system remains the best
guarantee for international peace and security.
The framework within which the United Nations
organizes the collective security of States may not be
perfect, but it is at least one that is tested and has
served us relatively well for more than 50 years.
Working on the basis of the neutrality of rules and
principles is far preferable to the haphazardness of
expediency. We also should not be unmindful of the
linkages which exist between different situations, and
that is why we urge the international community to
observe the principle of equality of treatment in all
cases.


My delegation would like to say that the leadership
shown by the President in presiding over this session
makes us confident that our deliberations will continue
in a spirit of dynamism and optimism for the
development of international relations. Niger is very
happy to convey to the President and to other members
of the Bureau of the fifty-seventh session of the
General Assembly our heartfelt congratulations.
We remain convinced that President Kavan will
follow up the remarkable work done by his
predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo of the Republic of
Korea, with the same human qualities for the good of
the international community as a whole.
I wish to reiterate to our brother, His Excellency
Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United
Nations, the congratulations of the people of Niger for
the prestige and effectiveness of his deeply appreciated
work done in the service of humanity.
I also wish to congratulate the Swiss
Confederation on becoming a new Member, and Timor-
Leste, as an imminent Member of the Organization. We
are convinced that their participation will help enrich
our debates.
The American people have been mourning the
tragic events of 11 September 2001 for a year now. The
whole world has taken full measure of the threat that
terrorism poses to peace and security. In Niger, we
cannot stress the fact enough that, in order to be
effective, the fight against terrorism must avoid taking
a piecemeal approach. It must be long term and it must
be conducted within the framework of international
legality, which is epitomized by the United Nations.
22

Niger agrees with the provisions of Security
Council resolutions 1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001), and
it is firmly committed to all subregional, regional and
international initiatives aimed at combating terrorism
in all its forms.
At the same time, in order to succeed in the fight
against terrorism, we must take into account the need
to develop a more just and equitable economic and
political order, since it has been shown that poverty,
ignorance, injustice and all kinds of frustrations are
factors that can produce blind extremism.
Speaking of international peace and security, I am
pleased to recall that Niger is a peaceful country that
contributes actively to efforts to achieve general and
complete disarmament. In that regard, I would like to
point out that in that field, my country, pursuant to
article 3 of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, has accepted an agreement with the
International Atomic Energy Agency, on a system of
monitoring and safeguards for its uranium production.
Regarding conventional weapons, Niger is happy that
the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in
Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects has
adopted a programme of action to combat that scourge.
Our concerns were taken into account in the
Bamako Declaration, but there is still work to be done,
particularly in terms of technical and financial
assistance measures to support disarmament
programmes and reintegration programmes for former
combatants. While it is true that no region of the world
has been spared, there is no doubt that developing
countries, particularly African countries, are the ones
suffering the most from the devastating effects of the
proliferation of light arms and small weapons in terms
of their security, stability and development. That is
why the bodies charged with monitoring, detecting and
prosecuting infractions committed along those lines
must be strengthened.
Since 1994, Niger has had in place the National
Commission for Collecting and Controlling Illicit
Weapons, whose task is to help the political authorities
at the highest level identify, design and put implement
strategies to fight the proliferation of light weapons.
In that context, the Government of Niger and the
Department for Disarmament Affairs of our
Organization are cooperating closely for the success of
a project to collect illegal small arms and light
weapons for the entire West African subregion. That is
a part of the regional and subregional initiatives aimed
at cutting off the illicit movement of small arms and
light weapons.
The peace that we wish for Niger is the same
peace we wish for the rest of the world. That is why
our country has always tried to make its modest
contribution to settling conflicts that threaten peace and
security in Africa and throughout the world. In spite of
our limited resources, we have sent contingents to
Liberia, Sierra Leone, Guinea-Bissau, the Democratic
Republic of the Congo and civilian police officers to
Haiti, Timor and Kosovo, to support the efforts of the
Economic Community of West African States
(ECOWAS) and the international community to restore
and consolidate peace.
The Government of Niger reaffirms its ongoing
availability to send contingents to all United Nations
peacekeeping operations.
For a few months now the international
community's attention has been focused on the Israeli-
Palestinian conflict, whose peace process is now more
paralysed than ever. Niger wants once again to reaffirm
before the Assembly that a permanent settlement of the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict necessarily requires
establishing the inalienable rights of the Palestinian
people, including the creation of an independent,
sovereign and viable Palestinian State. On the basis of
that conviction and in light of all kinds of false starts
that have characterized the peace process in Palestine
and the Middle East, Niger has made a sovereign
decision to break off its diplomatic relations with
Israel, which continues to deny the Palestinian people
their legitimate right to self-determination.
In Western Sahara, the Republic of Niger
supports the efforts of the United Nations, on one hand,
to enforce the settlement plan and, on the other hand,
the relevant Security Council resolutions, in order to
achieve a just and comprehensive settlement of the
conflict. The laudable action of the Secretary-General
and his Personal Envoy, Mr. James Baker, should be
followed up and supported until a positive conclusion
is achieved, in accordance with the relevant United
Nations resolutions.
In that context, we think that United Nations
resolutions on Jammu and Kashmir must be speedily
implemented so that the Kashmiri people can exercise
their right to self-determination, which would allow to
defuse that hotbed that involves two nuclear States —
23

India and Pakistan — and to avoid a serious threat to
peace and security in the South Asia region. Therefore,
Niger, a member of the contact group established by
the Organization of the Islamic Conference, reiterates
the appeal already made to the two parties to step up
their negotiations in order to achieve a peaceful
settlement of that conflict.
Niger, like almost all African countries, faces a
number of major challenges, which require the
international community to provide the necessary
support to help them in the search for solutions and in
consolidating their economic renewal programme.
From that standpoint, the developmental strategy that
we have implemented gives priority to the culture and
the promotion of good governance through a good-
conduct mechanism and public affairs management that
focuses on concerns such as transparency and civil
society participation in all socio-economic decisions.
This is the time to sincerely thanks all the bilateral and
multilateral partners of Niger, particularly the United
Nations institutions, for having been kind enough to
continue to support the efforts of my country to create
an institutional environment conducive to giving us
social peace. That assistance is much appreciated and
is necessary in this critical phase of the national
construction process.
In economic terms, never before has mankind had
so much wealth and potential overall to generate
common benefit. The positive world economic
situation could give us hope to establish a more just
economic order that would be more conducive to
poverty reduction. In that regard, Niger welcomes the
new partnership, the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD), and we believe that that
programme, which crystallizes the hopes of our
continent today, must be aimed at bringing together the
necessary conditions and means for the effective
participation of all African countries to the
multidimensional developmental process within the
framework of the African Union.
Poverty is an affront that can no longer be
tolerated in a world of abundance that has the means to
vanquish it if there is the necessary political will.
Today, we must note that 52 per cent of people who
live on less than a dollar a day are found in Africa,
which is the most indebted part of the world.
A clear look must be taken at globalization,
which in the 1990s gave rise to hopes but today is a
source of concern because of the growing inequalities
it is creating. In less than a year, we have discussed
global problems four times, and we know the true
remedies. We need a more elevated concept of
international cooperation that draws its essence from
strategic partnership. However, we can rejoice in the
unanimous will that the international community
affirmed in adopting the Johannesburg Plan of Action
in September.
The special session of the General Assembly
devoted to HIV/AIDS, held in July 2001, demonstrated
eloquently our degree of awareness of the terrible
danger that that disease represents for the human
species. The establishment of a special fund to fight
AIDS is an important step in the world crusade against
AIDS and other major epidemics. Progress must be
made within the framework of initiatives undertaken by
the world Summits held at Cairo, at Copenhagen and at
Beijing.
My country expects a greater degree of solidarity
from the industrialized countries, particularly with
regard to increasing the volume of official development
assistance, a traditional development source. At the
same time, we must unite our efforts to mobilize
financial resources and to establish a humanitarian
fund under United Nations auspices. It is indispensable
and urgent that we reverse the trend of declining
official development assistance, which, the Assembly
will recall, is at its lowest level in 50 years. In fact,
many difficulties have conspired to keep our countries
at the bottom of the human development index. The
state of poverty affects 63 per cent of our compatriots,
and 34 per cent of them live below the extreme poverty
line. Those populations, deprived of minimal basic
social services, are the victims of a continued
deterioration in their standard of living.
The growing scarcity of financial resources has
caused, among other things, a drastic decline in public
investment, particularly in the social sectors, thus
depriving 80 per cent of Niger's rural citizens of basic
social benefits. Niger has decided to undertake
measures to reverse that trend through its poverty
reduction strategy, which was formulated and
implemented after a participative process. Its goal is to
substantially reduce the suffering of 80 per cent of the
population. That strategy is now the only frame of
reference for Niger's economic, financial and social
policies.
24

This year, under the direct supervision of the
President of the Republic, we have launched an
extensive programme, called Special Programme 2001,
which consists of building 1,000 classrooms, 1,000
dispensaries and 100 mini-dams to fight poverty. A
good part — more than 80 per cent — of that operation
has already been completed.
I should also like to express again from this
podium our deep appreciation for the support that our
developmental partners have continued to give us for
the implementation of our National Framework
Programme to fight poverty, which Niger formulated
and which is among our highest priorities. However,
the crucial problem of African debt, which is
annihilating all our development efforts, calls for an
effort by the entire international community to help us
to implement — without delay or any conditions other
than those of good governance — satisfactory policies
and mechanisms for its solution.
The United Nations remains the best instrument
for helping us realize the new world order to which we
all aspire, so long as we carry forward the so-called
quiet revolution begun by the Secretary-General four
years ago. In conclusion, I should like to express the
full confidence that Niger and its people place in the
United Nations, which remains an institution of hope
based on the principles of justice, equity, peace and
progress.


I congratulate the Mr. Jan
Kavan on his election as President of the fifty-seventh
session of the General Assembly. I look forward to
working closely with him as the Czech Republic, a
good friend of my country, moves ever closer to
membership in the European Union. Our thanks are due
to Mr. Han Seung-soo for his work as President of the
fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. I am
delighted to welcome Switzerland as a new Member of
the Organization and look forward to the imminent
membership of East Timor, a nation whose birth was
fostered by this Organization.
Prime Minister Rasmussen of Denmark has
already addressed the General Assembly on behalf of
the European Union. Ireland associates itself fully with
his remarks.
We are all still haunted, a year later, by the
shadow of the terrible deaths and events of 11
September 2001. Last year in the delayed general
debate, I spoke about the implications of those
atrocities. I set out my thoughts on how we as the
international community should respond. My
conclusions last year and my message today are the
same.
The United Nations is at the centre of our system
of collective security. It is a mirror of our
determination and our political will. This is the world
body invested by the peoples of the world with unique
legitimacy and unique authority. Around the world
people look in hope and idealism to the United
Nations. We must be worthy of that trust.
I want to fully endorse the Secretary-General's
address to the Assembly yesterday. As the Secretary-
General said, All States have a clear interest, as well
as a clear responsibility, to uphold international law
and maintain international order' (see A/57/PV.2).
States must honour their international obligations.
Unless we consistently call to account those who defy
or flagrantly violate their obligations, our system will
be discredited.
The choice we face is stark. Either we stand by
and strengthen the international system and the rule of
law, or we invite anarchy. The great Irish poet W. B.
Yeats put it graphically in The Second Coming':
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world'.
That was what the perpetrators of 11 September
wanted. Their vicious attack was not just on the
innocent people  of many nationalities, including my
own  in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania;
not just on the United States; but on the very values we
cherish and that are the foundation on which this
Organization is built. They will have succeeded if we
are provoked into abandoning those values and laws.
Ultimately they can be defeated, and the scourge of
international terror ended, only if we stand united in
defence of our international obligations and the rule of
law.
Within our system, the Security Council is
charged with responsibility for the maintenance of
international peace and security. When there are threats
to international peace and security, the Member States
concerned are obliged to bring these matters to the
attention of the Security Council. When the Security
Council acts in such cases, all Member States are
obliged to implement its resolutions. Regrettably, they
sometimes fail to do so.
Any law that is flagrantly violated becomes
weakened over time. That is why flagrant violation and
defiance of Security Council resolutions should be a
matter of the utmost concern to all Member States.
The terrorist attacks of 11 September required an
urgent response from the international community. It
was vital that the Security Council was at the centre of
the international community's response. The Council,
to quote the Secretary-General, responded with
patience, creativity and determination'.
The Security Council adopted resolution 1368
(2001), demanding the fullest possible cooperation of
the international community in bringing the
perpetrators to justice. It subsequently authorized the
deployment of an international security force to
Afghanistan. It put in place measures to counter
international terrorism.
30

The establishment by the Security Council of the
Counter-Terrorism Committee to oversee the
implementation of resolution 1373 (2001) was a
landmark development. Its work has been instrumental
in making it more difficult for international terrorist
networks to organize and finance their activities.
Continued persistence and vigilance are required.
We still have much more to do. We must make it
impossible for the agents of international terror to
operate. We must persevere with initiatives such as the
freezing of assets and the denial of safe haven. At the
same time, we must ensure that everything we do
respects the United Nations Charter and the body of
international human rights law we have so
painstakingly constructed. That is our best guarantee
against evil and its perpetrators.
In his address to the General Assembly yesterday,
the Secretary-General also correctly identified four
serious current threats to world peace.
First, on the Middle East, there can be no doubt
that there is a need for greater urgency in the efforts to
bring an end to the conflict. The vision of Security
Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1397
(2002) must be implemented.
For far too long the Palestinian people have been
denied their legitimate rights. Today they exist in a
state of deep impoverishment. Ireland strongly believes
that in order to reach a settlement that will give the
Israeli people the security they deserve and that will
give the Palestinian people their legitimate rights and
sovereignty, the parties must move forward. They must
in particular address not just the security issues but
also the economic and humanitarian needs of
Palestinians, and they must establish a concrete target
for a political settlement.
For its part, the European Union, working closely
with the United Nations, the United States and Russia
through the quartet', will continue to encourage and
assist the parties to end the conflict and move towards
a permanent peace.
This conflict has been an ongoing source of
suffering for the peoples of the region and also a focal
point of instability for the rest of the world. It remains
a threat of the utmost gravity to international peace and
security. We can and must give it the highest priority.
Secondly, the Secretary-General mentioned Iraq.
Iraq has been in violation of Security Council
resolutions, in particular on arms inspection, for some
considerable time. Secretary-General Kofi Annan has
been engaged in serious efforts to encourage Iraq to
comply with its obligations under those Security
Council resolutions. We will continue to strongly
support his good offices.
Let us express wholehearted agreement with the
call by the Secretary-General for Iraq to comply with
its obligations for the sake of its own people and for
the sake of world order. If Iraq's defiance continues,
the Security Council must face its responsibilities.
We call on Iraq to respect its obligations and to
implement in full and without preconditions all the
Security Council resolutions addressed to it. The
weapons inspectors must be allowed in to do the work
authorized by the Council. Iraq's leadership has it
within its own power to end the current predicament
and to alleviate the great hardship on its people. It
should do so without delay.
Thirdly, it is essential for the international
community to maintain its strong and active support for
the people and the Government of Afghanistan.
Afghanistan has come through great trials over the past
year. We should not overlook the fact that, despite the
best efforts of the international coalition to ensure that
the use of force was targeted and proportionate, many
innocent Afghans have died. We should remember
them, too, in our thoughts and prayers. Ultimately, they
are just as much victims of the terrorist groups who
carried out the attacks of 11 September as those who
were murdered in New York, Washington and
Pennsylvania.
Considerable progress has been achieved in
Afghanistan with the help of the international
community. There are clear signs that, overall, the
quality of life is improving. Nonetheless, there is still a
long way to go if Afghanistan is completely to escape
the violence and instability of the past.
The humanitarian situation in Afghanistan
remains acute. The sustained and wholehearted support
of the international community remains essential,
therefore, if progress is to be maintained.
For its part, Ireland has been active in the
Security Council, particularly in highlighting the
humanitarian situation. We have pledged $12 million
over the next three years, the majority of which has
31

already been dispensed. We are also contributing
personnel to the international stabilization force.
Fourthly, as regards India and Pakistan, we
welcome the decrease in tension between these two
countries. The risk of open conflict between two
nuclear-capable countries is a matter of the utmost
concern to all of us. We encourage the leaders of India
and Pakistan to address the underlying causes that give
rise to the potential for conflict.
The proliferation of weapons of mass
destruction  chemical, biological and nuclear  is,
of course, an issue that goes far beyond Iraq. They
represent a major threat to international peace and
security. The international instruments and regimes to
control the spread, and bring about the elimination, of
such weapons must be strengthened and fully
implemented. Ultimately, the long-term control and
elimination of weapons of mass destruction can be
achieved only through a comprehensive and rigorous
system of international treaties and obligations that are
verifiable and universal.
Ireland, together with our New Agenda partners,
will continue its efforts in this regard during this year's
session of the General Assembly. We call on all States
that are concerned about these issues to become more
constructively engaged in the period ahead.
All of us recognize that conflict prevention, not
just conflict resolution, is the central challenge facing
the United Nations. Poverty, inequality and injustice
are all too often the breeding ground for instability and
for threats to peace. They are an affront to the
international conscience. We must tackle the injustices
that all too often allow conflict situations to develop.
Our challenge is to show that there is a peaceful
and legitimate way of dealing with these problems. It is
only through the development of integrated strategies
that address the underlying causes of conflict
poverty, injustice and the abuse of fundamental rights
and freedoms  that the international community can
bring about long-term peace and stability.
The Millennium Summit Declaration confirmed
the commitment of the world's leadership to tackling
the root causes of conflict. The Secretary-General has
since called for the United Nations to move from a
culture of reaction to a culture of prevention. Ireland
fully supports the implementation of the Secretary-
General's report on conflict prevention (A/55/985).
The United Nations must be equipped with the
necessary tools to develop coherent conflict-prevention
policies. Let us commit ourselves to supporting the
Secretary-General in his ongoing reform initiatives. We
must revitalize the General Assembly so that it can
play its proper role. Let us re-engage on reform of the
Security Council so that it reflects modern geopolitical
realities. We need a Security Council which is as
representative as possible of the international
community, while being in a position to function
efficiently, and we must provide the United Nations
with sufficient resources to meet its responsibilities.
Sustainable development focused on poverty
eradication is the most powerful instrument which the
international community has to address the long-term
root causes of conflict and to promote peace. Let us
also remind ourselves of the international community's
long-standing commitment to meeting the United
Nations target of spending 0.7 per cent of gross
national product on overseas development assistance.
At the World Summit on Sustainable Development,
held in Johannesburg, my Prime Minister, Taoiseach
Bertie Ahern, confirmed Ireland's commitment to meet
that target by 2007.
Let us restate our commitment to providing
universal access to basic health care. We must be
relentless in the campaign to eliminate diseases such as
HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis. The spread of
those diseases threatens to undermine our development
programmes. We must step up our efforts to eradicate
them. We must aim for the targets set out in the
Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, adopted by
the General Assembly in June 2001. We must ensure
that the Global Fund to Fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis
and Malaria is adequately resourced.
The Johannesburg Summit agreed upon a global
comprehensive action plan for sustainable development
which will help guide our policies and programmes in
the coming years. The Summit Declaration's
commitment on sustainable development has the
potential to make an important contribution to conflict
prevention, particularly in Africa.
Effective conflict prevention is also about putting
necessary structures in place. The Brahimi report on
United Nations peace operations (A/55/305)
acknowledged the pressing need to establish both long-
term and short-term conflict prevention strategies. I
would like to reiterate Ireland's support for the
32

Secretary-General's initiatives and for the role that
United Nations peacekeeping has to play in an
integrated conflict prevention strategy.
Peacekeeping is at the heart of Ireland's
contribution to the United Nations. We are immensely
proud of the contribution which Irish personnel have
made to United Nations peacekeeping. We reserve a
special place in our hearts for those who have given
their lives in the service of the United Nations. This
was demonstrated once again in a moving ceremony
which was held to mark the standing down of the Irish
battalion from the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon after 24 years of service.
As a member of the European Union, Ireland
welcomes the deepening cooperation between the
European Union and the United Nations on conflict
prevention and peacekeeping. This will be given
further concrete expression when the European Union
takes over the United Nations police operation in
Bosnia and Herzegovina next January.
Respect for human rights is a core dimension in
conflict prevention. This is the very foundation on
which peace and security surely depend. Human rights
must be integrated into all United Nations activities.
The entry into force of the Rome Statute establishing
the International Criminal Court sends a clear signal of
determination to bring to justice those who perpetrate
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. I
would urge those who have not ratified the Rome
Statute to do so. The international community is at its
strongest when it stands unified, bound together by the
strength of the rule of law.
I would like to take the opportunity presented by
this address to the General Assembly to pay tribute to
Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, who has
just completed her term as United Nations High
Commissioner for Human Rights. We are deeply proud
of her achievements. We know that she will continue to
be a fearless champion of the universality of human
rights.
Turning to the situation in Northern Ireland, we
have seen substantial progress across the key areas of
implementation of the Good Friday Agreement since I
last addressed this Assembly. The political institutions
of the Agreement are operating on a positive and
inclusive basis, bringing tangible benefits across the
board. An independent international commission has
overseen two acts of arms decommissioning by the
Irish Republican Army. The Patten Commission
report's vision of a new beginning for policing in
Northern Ireland is being progressively realized. I call
on all to fully play their part in laying a foundation for
and strengthening the new policing arrangements.
Welcome progress has been made in normalizing
security arrangements on the ground. However, more
needs to be done, and we need to see further early
progress, especially in the South Armagh area.
The considerable record of achievement,
however, has not made us complacent about the
difficulties and challenges that remain. The level of
street violence in the interface areas of Belfast and the
sectarian attacks on vulnerable households, for
instance, have given us all cause for serious concern.
These have had a corrosive effect on community
confidence. They need to be addressed urgently in all
their dimensions, including through effective policing
measures leading to convictions.
The Irish and British Governments remain
absolutely committed to the Good Friday Agreement
and to its implementation in full. Its core principles
constitutional stability based on consent, partnership
politics, inclusive political institutions and structured
North-South cooperation on the island of Ireland
represent the only viable basis for a workable political
accommodation. In short, the Agreement, which has
been much praised and admired by States Members of
the Assembly, continues to be the only template for
political progress in Northern Ireland.
Before concluding, I would like to refer briefly to
Ireland's membership of the Security Council, which
comes to an end on 31 December 2002. Ireland's
experience as a member of the Council has strongly
reinforced our belief in the system of collective global
security. The central role of the Security Council in the
aftermath of 11 September 2001 underlined the
importance of its role as guardian of international
peace and security. It must now build on that
achievement. Ireland has, I believe, made a substantive
contribution to the work of the Council. We will seek
to continue to do so in the remaining months of our
term. Our mission in the United Nations is to
continually strive for a world that is fair and just. This
can best be done through our system of collective
security, through international economic and social
development and through respect for human rights and
international law. If we can commit ourselves to
respect the decisions of the Security Council and all
33

our other international obligations, then innocent lives
can be saved and seemingly interminable conflicts
resolved.
We have the methods and the means to peaceably
resolve the dangers that threaten us. It should not be
beyond our talent and resources to achieve this. But to
do so, we need to assert the core values of
multilateralism in particular, and its capacity to
achieve, for all our people, a better and safer world.


It gives
me great pleasure to offer, on behalf of the Government
of the Sultanate of Oman, our warmest congratulations
to you, Sir, on your election as President of the General
Assembly at its current session. We assure you of our
fullest cooperation towards achieving the noble goals
and objectives to which we collectively aspire for the
benefit of mankind and the maintenance of
international peace and security.
In this connection, we wish to express our
appreciation for the ongoing tireless efforts of
Secretary-General Kofi Annan on behalf of
international peace and security, the rule of
international law and the work of the Organization in
this regard. We also thank him for his annual report,
which details the achievements of the United Nations,
the obstacles ahead and its vision of the future,
embodying the conscience and aspirations of the
international community.
I also take this opportunity to welcome the
accession of the Swiss Federation and the Democratic
Republic of Timor-Leste to membership of the United
Nations. We are confident that their membership will
22

be an important asset in the promotion of the work of
this Organization in achieving its noble goals of
international peace and security.
Here in the renowned city of New York, we are
commemorating the terrorist attacks of 11 September
2001. Once again, we would like to express our deepest
sympathies and condolences to the families of the
victims of that senseless attack. We wish also to
reaffirm our solidarity with the United States of
America in fighting all forms of terror against innocent
people everywhere.
The Middle East is experiencing increased
tension due to a serious regression in the peace process
on all tracks, particularly the Israeli-Palestinian track.
The primary causes of this are the Israeli Government's
deviation from the fair principles and foundations
established at the 1991 Madrid Conference, and the
desire of successive Israeli Governments since 1996 to
impose peace through excessive force. This runs
counter to Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and
338 (1973), and to the formula of land for peace. Israel
is pursuing a policy of procrastination and intimidation
and is circumventing international instruments and
agreements signed by the parties concerned. This has
resulted in a further escalation of Palestinian
resistance, by all factions and in all forms, to Israeli
occupation.
My Government condemns all terrorist acts,
regardless of their motivation and deplores all acts of
violence against innocent civilians, whether perpetrated
by the Palestinian or the Israeli side. Events have
proven that the use of force against the Palestinian
people will not lead to a fair solution, to an end to
violence or to security, as the Israeli Government
claims; nor will it end the legitimate Palestinian
resistance against Israeli occupation. The end of such
resistance is contingent upon the end of Israeli
occupation.
All Arab States have affirmed that the
achievement of a peace based on the principles of
international law and justice is our strategic choice, and
we have exerted great efforts to that end, the latest
being the Arab peace initiative adopted unanimously at
the Beirut Summit held last March. This historic
initiative was widely welcomed by the international
community because it is in conformity with
international legitimacy and principles, and in
compliance with Security Council resolutions 242
(1967) and 338 (1973), which demand the withdrawal
of Israel from the Arab territories occupied since June
1967, including Al-Quds Al-Sharif, and the granting to
Palestinian refugees of the right to return, in return for
the recognition of Israel by Arab States and the
normalization of relations with it.
Security Council resolution 1397 (2002) sets out
the concept of establishing a recognized Palestinian
State peacefully coexisting alongside the State of
Israel. In that connection, my Government calls on the
international community, especially Security Council
members, to shoulder their responsibility to ensure that
the Israeli Government will respect and implement
relevant international resolutions and respond seriously
to Arab and international efforts.
My Government supports the just position taken
by the Syrian Arab Republic with respect to regaining
the occupied Golan Heights and its request for Israeli
withdrawal to the line of 4 June 1967. In the same vein,
we support the position of the Republic of Lebanon
with regard to recovering the occupied Shab'a farms
area and its demand that Israel fully implement
Security Council resolution 425 (1978), which calls for
the immediate withdrawal of Israeli forces from all
Lebanese territory, including the Shab'a farms area.
The overall humanitarian situation in Iraq
remains tragic due to the ongoing economic sanctions
imposed on Iraq since August 1990. Consequently, my
Government emphasizes the importance of a Security
Council review of the international sanctions policy
imposed on countries, a review that would lead to
easing the humanitarian harm that befalls peoples, and
that would take into consideration the status of a
targeted Government's implementation of international
resolutions.
My Government reiterates its call upon the
Security Council to put an end to the human suffering
in Iraq, and in that regard we call for the continuation
of dialogue and discussions between Iraq and the
United Nations with a view to Iraq fulfilling its
remaining international commitments. The Security
Council needs to put in place a clear-cut and specific
mechanism telling Iraq what it needs to do to end the
tragic suffering and to arrive at a final and complete
lifting of the economic sanctions.
We feel optimistic and pleased at the
accomplishments of the Arab Summit in Beirut,
especially in terms of its positive climate in creating a
23

spirit of understanding and rapprochement between
Iraq and Kuwait. In that connection, my Government
welcomes the Iraqi initiative to return the Kuwaiti
national archives and urges the Iraqi Government to
persist with the option of continuous and constructive
dialogue and serious consultations to fulfil its
unfulfilled commitments under Security Council
resolutions, specifically relating to prisoners of war
and missing Kuwaiti and third-country citizens. In that
regard, we urge the Iraqi Government to cooperate with
the Tripartite Commission and the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to deal with this
humanitarian issue.
My Government is confident that the Iraqi file
cannot be closed without continuous diplomatic efforts
by all, through United Nations channels and in any
other political way available. We thus find no
justification for any military operation against Iraq. We
therefore welcome the statement made by President
George W. Bush of the United States at the outset of
the general debate, in which he spoke of addressing the
Iraqi crisis through the Security Council.
My Government follows with great interest and
optimism the official contacts maintained between the
United Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran
regarding the dispute on the three islands belonging to
the Emirates, Abu Musa, Greater Tunb and Lesser
Tunb. We hope that these contacts and negotiations will
lead to an agreement on an effective mechanism for the
settlement of this issue.
My country, along with other countries in the
region, is interested in the establishment of security
and stability in the Indian subcontinent. In that regard,
we place high value on international efforts to contain
the conflict between India and Pakistan, and we urge
those countries to benefit from international diplomacy
to agree on an effective mechanism leading to a
peaceful and final settlement of the Kashmir dispute.
Regarding Afghanistan, we welcome the return of
that country to the international family, and we look
forward to the establishment of security and stability in
its territory under the supervision of a Government
reflecting the aspirations of all parties in Afghanistan.
My Government values international efforts to assist
the Afghan Government and the international
community's ongoing financial and technical assistance
for rebuilding the country and providing for the basic
needs of the Afghan people after so many years of
suffering and war.
My country condemns all forms of terrorism. In
line with the purposes of the United Nations in the
maintenance of international peace and security, we
reaffirm our support for international efforts to fight
terrorism and our commitment to the relevant
international resolutions, including Security Council
resolution 1373 (2001), and all relevant Islamic, Arab
and international treaties and agreements to which my
country has acceded. My delegation expresses its
readiness to cooperate with the United Nations in
fighting international terrorism, in accordance with the
principles of international law and the principle of
national sovereignty, and taking into account the need
to distinguish between terrorism and legitimate
resistance against occupation. The Sultanate of Oman
supports the call for the convening under United
Nations auspices of an international conference on
terrorism in order to agree on a clear international
definition of terrorism and to set up a mechanism to
address and eradicate terrorism.
My country deeply believes that the accession
and commitment of States to treaties and conventions
on disarmament will strengthen and preserve peace and
security on the regional and international levels.
Consequently, the signature of the Sultanate of Oman
remains on the record as a State party to such treaties.
Based on that principle, we emphasize the need to
take practical measures to make the Middle East a
region free from all weapons of mass destruction. In
that connection, we request Israel to join all relevant
treaties, beginning with the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and to subject
its nuclear facilities to the safeguards inspection regime
of the International Atomic Energy Agency. That
would create a positive climate and put an end to arms
proliferation in the region.
My country calls on the United Nations to
continue its broad-based efforts to rid the world
completely of all types of weapons of mass destruction.
We urge nuclear-weapon States in particular to
formulate time-bound programmes to achieve that goal
as soon as possible. In that regard, my Government
commends the United States and the Russian
Federation for having reached an agreement on the
reduction of their nuclear arsenals.
24

My country is currently presiding over the Gulf
Cooperation Council (GCC), and hosted the twenty-
second session of the Supreme Council of the GCC,
held in December 2001 in Muscat. That summit
resulted in the adoption of many decisions and
resolutions and other achievements, including the
signing of an economic agreement among member
States and an agreement on a standardized customs
duty of 5 per cent on all imported goods. That
agreement will take effect when a customs union
among member States comes into force at the
beginning of next year. The Council also took a
decision on a unified Gulf currency. That will enhance
economic structures, facilitate differential trade and
increase the Gulf's competitiveness with other regional
economic groups, in addition to promoting the labour
market and the private sector in our countries. It will
also attract more investors and commercial
partnerships within the great Arab region, with other
friendly States, and in world markets.
Among the prominent results of the Muscat
summit was our leaders' decision to invite the Republic
of Yemen to join a number of Gulf joint
establishments. That decision was taken based on the
mutual desire and deep belief of both parties that the
incorporation of Yemen into the GCC in a gradual and
calculated manner will conform to the economic and
social needs and development circumstances of Yemen
and will serve the common interests of the region.
We are working to preserve the environment. We
have a strong record of achievements and measures
taken by our Government to plan national
environmental protection strategies. However, it is no
secret that many obstacles threaten our environment
internally, regionally and internationally. Among the
challenges is the lack of sufficient water to cope with
population growth, which will endanger our population
and will increase the risk of desertification, making it
necessary that we intensify scientific research and
allocate the resources necessary for that purpose.
We are happy to have participated in the
Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable
Development, and we wish to emphasize our interest in
the outcome documents adopted at the conference. We
also take this opportunity to emphasize the need to
respect United Nations resolutions and decisions as
well as the Charter.


Mongolia
welcomes wholeheartedly the newest member of the
United Nations family, Switzerland, a country that has
a long-standing association with the United Nations as
its second largest headquarters. We also look forward
to welcoming East Timor, the youngest member of the
international community.
A little over two years ago, at the historic
Millennium Summit held here in New York, our leaders
reaffirmed their commitment to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations Charter and pledged
their unequivocal support for a more efficient and
reinvigorated United Nations so that this unique world
body can effectively address the formidable challenges
of the new century and, indeed, of the new millennium.
Some important steps have been taken to reform
and adapt the United Nations to the evolving
international realities, with a view to ensuring its
efficient functioning in the era of globalization.
However, the reform process, particularly that of the
Security Council, tends to slow down and hence, there
is an apparent need to take proper measures to speed it
up. Mongolia stands for a just and equitable
enlargement of the Security Council and for
democratization of international relations by enhancing
the openness and transparency of the work of the
Security Council and by increasing the role of the
General Assembly, as envisaged in the Charter of the
United Nations.
The United Nations has been instrumental in
intensifying the efforts of the world community aimed
at developing a collective response to global terror, at
helping reach national reconciliation and build a peace
23

process in post-Taliban Afghanistan, at assisting in the
emergence of an independent East Timor and at helping
to bring about the entry into force of the Statute of the
International Criminal Court. It has also been
indispensable in paving the way towards reaching
consensus at Doha, Monterrey, Rome and
Johannesburg, which were important steps along the
road towards meeting the millennium development
goals.
Yet, much still remains to be done to sustain the
progress achieved, to honour commitments made and
to redress setbacks to international peace and security
in today's volatile environment. The tragic events of 11
September have shown that there is a need for a
fundamental change in our perception of security. More
weapons and allocating more resources to the military
do not necessarily translate into increased security.
Security can no longer be confined to the boundaries of
a single State, or even a group of States. This
indivisibility of global security makes multilateralism
the order of the day. To paraphrase the Secretary-
General, let us all recognize that today global security
is our national security. Let us also recognize that
ensuring the security of the human person must be at
the heart of our concerns. The concept of human
security is increasingly making a case for itself.
The outgoing year has witnessed serious threats
to international peace and security. The remnants of
those threats continue to pose a menace to the
international community.
In Afghanistan, the United Nations is helping the
Afghan Government in its efforts towards
rehabilitation, reconstruction and development. Those
objectives can only be achieved if the Government of
President Karzai exercises effective control over the
entire country.
The prevailing explosive situation in the Middle
East is of special concern. It calls for sustained efforts
aimed at reaching a just and comprehensive solution to
the problem. Mongolia supports the efforts of the
Quartet and of the countries of the region to find ways
to peacefully settle that long-festering conflict. The
convening of an international conference to consider
effective measures for such a solution will undoubtedly
be a step in the right direction.
My Government shares the view that the Security
Council should make every effort to impress upon Iraq
the need to comply with Council resolutions and, as a
first step, accept weapons inspections unconditionally.
The world community cannot afford to sit idle in the
face of open defiance of mandatory resolutions of the
Security Council.
The world has not only been threatened by the
escalation of tension in various regions, it has also
been threatened by increasing human insecurity
resulting from the failure of the international
community to deliver on the crucial commitments it
made during the 1990s. In his address to the General
Assembly last year, my Prime Minister appealed to the
international community to make the first decade of
this new century a decade of implementation and
cooperation towards a safer and better world, as we
cannot afford to fail during yet another decade if we
are serious about ensuring human security. We cannot
afford to fail to implement the far-reaching, yet
achievable, targets set by our leaders at the Millennium
Summit. That is all the more so as our failure or
inaction could be used as justification for deadly acts
by those who threaten peace, stability and social
progress.
That appeal is even more relevant today. The
2002 Human Development Report indicates that if
current trends continue, a significant portion of the
world's States are unlikely to achieve the millennium
development goals, including the overarching target of
halving extreme poverty by 2015. If global progress
continues at such a snail's pace, it will take more than
130 years to rid the world of hunger.
A legitimate question arises, namely what has to
be done by the international community to redress that
situation? The short answer could be to display genuine
solidarity and for all to share responsibility in
honouring the commitments made without delay. But
the people of our countries, in whose service this world
body was conceived, have waited through dozens of
conferences and their five-year reviews while the
implementation of agreed targets continues to be
stalled at levels far from those desired. Under these
circumstances it is our considered view that it is
incumbent upon the international community to closely
look into the existing imbalance in global governance,
especially in the economic and social areas.
Mongolia believes that with its impartiality and
universal legitimacy, as well as its Charter-based
prevalence over any other international agreement, the
United Nations is uniquely placed to provide for global
24

governance in economic and social areas while
allowing equal participation by the South in the
decision-making process. We therefore believe that it is
high time to engage in an earnest dialogue about an
entirely new framework of development cooperation
that is more responsive to the emerging imperatives of
global human security.
As we see it, the new development partnership
between the North and the South should be based on
justice, not on charity; on equitable sharing of global
market opportunities, not on protectionism or aid; and
on mutual cooperation, not on unilateral conditionality
or confrontation. The Economic and Social Council has
an important role to play in initiating and promoting
that dialogue, in line with the objectives set forth in
Article 55 of the Charter.
Furthermore, transnational organized crime, illicit
drugs, money-laundering, the illegal arms trade, the
spread of HIV/AIDS, global pollution, climate change
and other negative phenomena pose a persistent threat
to rich and poor nations alike. They call for a new
cooperation framework to be developed to defend the
new frontiers of global human security and to fill
critical gaps in the existing system of global economic
governance. At a time of increasing globalization, the
formidable challenges facing the human family require
an adequate response. It would be a fallacy to replace
fundamental reform with a piecemeal approach or
marginal remedies. If there is strong political will on
the part of the international community to collectively
stand up to these challenges, then why not engage in a
common quest for an adequate architecture of global
governance for human security?
Mongolia expresses its firm support for the
creation of the New Partnership for Africa's
Development (NEPAD). NEPAD is a comprehensive
blueprint and a broad vision for Africa's future
economic and social development. It is Africa-owned,
and based on the lessons of the past decade. We hope
that that important initiative will receive the generous
support of the international community with a view to
attaining the ambitious goal of an African renaissance.
My own country, Mongolia, which has the
inherent development handicap of being landlocked
and is very susceptible to natural disasters, is not
immune from many of the threats to human security to
which I have referred. In addition to the persistence of
poverty and unemployment and the disruption of basic
health and social services, human security in Mongolia
is affected by the increasing recurrence of natural
disasters and the spread of environmental degradation,
including desertification, water and air pollution.
Efforts to improve human security are further
hampered by extremely low population density, a weak
infrastructure and a small, non-diversified economy
that is very vulnerable to external shocks.
Capitalizing on its valuable assets of well-
educated human resources and accumulated experience
of reform in both the political and economic areas,
Mongolia is endeavouring to ensure the human security
of its people through both national action and
international cooperation.
Nationally, my Government launched, in late
2000, the Good Governance for Human Security
programme, aimed at improving the capacity to
formulate and implement policies to ensure human
security. Thus far, we have succeeded in securing a
national commitment to its implementation on the part
of all the branches of the State; institutionalizing the
programme's implementation mechanism; and laying
the groundwork for the greater involvement and
participation of civil society, the private sector and
academia.
At the international level, Mongolia, for its part,
has been endeavouring to contribute, where it can, to
the common efforts of the world community, while
drawing attention to issues of particular concern to it.
As a landlocked developing country, Mongolia
attaches particular importance to enhancing
international cooperation to ease the inherent
development challenges faced by that group of
countries. In this regard, my delegation looks forward
to the forthcoming International Ministerial Meeting on
transit transport cooperation, to be held in 2003 in
Kazakhstan.
In recognition of the crucial role of education in
ensuring sustainable human development and human
security, my delegation is pleased to note that at its last
session the General Assembly proclaimed — as the
result of an initiative of Mongolia — the 10-year
period starting 1 January 2003 as the United Nations
Literacy Decade. We look forward to the unanimous
adoption of the Decade's draft plan of action at this
session of the General Assembly.
25

Ten years ago Mongolia declared itself a nuclear-
weapon-free zone. Since then, it has adopted national
legislation defining and regulating that status. At
present, consultations are under way with our
immediate neighbours and other States concerned on
ways to institutionalize our status internationally. I
would like to take this opportunity to thank the five
nuclear-weapon States for their cooperation, and
United Nations bodies for their invaluable support in
translating the initiative into reality.
In recent years, Mongolia has been actively
engaged in establishing and strengthening institutions
and processes of democratic governance, protecting
human rights and promoting democratic consolidation.
Its efforts have been similar to those of many other
States that are promoting democratic values and
developing democratic institutions. We believe that the
Fifth International Conference of New or Restored
Democracies, to be held from 18 to 20 June 2003 in
Mongolia, could provide an important opportunity for
the international community to exchange information
and experience and search for practical ways of
promoting and strengthening democracy nationally and
internationally. I would like to take this opportunity to
express my Government's heartfelt gratitude to this
body for graciously accepting our offer and setting in
motion the preparations for the Conference. The main
theme of the Conference is democracy, good
governance and civil society.
Mongolia believes that the International Criminal
Court, established on 1 July, could be instrumental in
ending impunity and upholding justice, deterring future
crimes and further strengthening international criminal
law. As one of its founding members, Mongolia also
believes that the widest possible accession to the Court
will broaden the geographic scope of the Court's
jurisdiction and thus end impunity for acts of genocide,
war crimes and crimes against humanity. The Court's
jurisdiction should eventually cover the crime of
aggression.
In conclusion, may I reiterate my Government's
resolve to work with other Member States towards
making our world Organization better equipped to meet
the global challenges lying ahead.


I congratulate you, Sir, on
your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly. I thank your predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-
soo, for the leadership he displayed at a particularly
critical moment for the Organization.
To Secretary-General Kofi Annan, I reaffirm
Brazil’s confidence in his statesmanship.
I have the pleasure of greeting the entry of East
Timor into the fold of the United Nations, just as we
welcomed it last July in Brasilia into our Community
of Portuguese-Speaking Countries. A free Timor is a
remarkable United Nations success story.
Brazil also welcomes Switzerland, as it has now
become a full member of this global political forum.
I come to this Hall as the representative of a
country that has faith in the United Nations and that
views multilateralism as the guiding principle of
relations among States. This is a conviction we hold
dear at all times, good and bad. We are at a particularly

difficult juncture for the Organization. This moment
calls for measures sustained by the principles and
values on which the United Nations was founded.
Brazil has defended them since the first international
conferences of the twentieth century.
We have never let ourselves be tempted by the
argument of power. Rather, we have been guided by the
power of argument. This has been the foreign policy of
President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Throughout the
eight years of the two terms of office to which he has
been democratically elected, certain fundamental
guidelines have been recurrent: fostering democratic
decision-making; overcoming the governance deficit in
international relations; designing a new financial
architecture and providing effective solutions for
volatility in capital flows; defending a multilateral
trade regime that is both fair and balanced — hence,
the importance of the World Trade Organization and of
the Doha mandate; correcting the distortions resulting
from economic globalization that is not accompanied
by a corresponding process of political and institutional
globalization; and affirming the value of human rights
and sustainable development. These are challenges that
we cannot face alone.
For this reason, President Fernando Henrique
Cardoso has sought to strengthen the Common Market
of the South, together with South American integration,
as instruments for peace, cooperation and greater
competitiveness among our countries. Similarly,
President Cardoso has promoted the development of
partnerships in all continents, pursuing well-balanced
negotiations for the establishment of free trade areas, in
particular with the European Union, as well as with the
countries taking part in the Free Trade Area of the
Americas process.
We are committed to seeing the entry into force
of the Kyoto Protocol and the establishment of the
International Criminal Court; to furthering the social
development agenda; and to moving forward on
nuclear and conventional disarmament. The Brazilian
vision of the world under the leadership of President
Fernando Henrique Cardoso expresses goals not just of
Government, but also of the entire country and society.
That is why the electoral process now under way will
further strengthen democracy in Brazil and highlight
the country’s international credentials.
Our commitment to the United Nations and to
multilateralism will not waver “in times of storm and
blustery winds”, to quote Camões, the great poet of the
Portuguese language. The greater the challenges, such
as those facing us at this difficult juncture, the greater
the need for answers grounded in legitimacy —
legitimacy born of participation and consensus.
Cooperation must be our modus operandi.
In the multilateral sphere, leadership is crucial to
the tasks before us. We are clearly aware of that, yet
the form and content of each task must be defined
through dialogue. Only through dialogue will a
coalition of truly united nations be built — nations
united by the power of persuasion. The tangled
interests that form a global web of interdependence can
be managed only through authority rooted in
multilateral institutions and in respect for international
law. The commitment to negotiated settlements, under
the aegis of multilateralism, must be upheld.
At the time of the 11 September terrorist attacks,
this Organization immediately showed its solidarity
with the United States of America by adopting
resolutions of the General Assembly and the Security
Council. At the regional level, the Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance was invoked on a
Brazilian initiative as an expression of our firm
repudiation and condemnation of all barbaric acts of
terrorism and of our solidarity with the United States.
These responses have taken the form of renewed
collaboration in security, intelligence, police and
judicial cooperation issues.
Lasting solutions to terrorism, international drug-
trafficking and organized crime require careful and
persistent efforts to set up partnerships and cooperative
arrangements consistent with the United Nations
multilateral system.
Many countries and regions have been burdened
with the costs of globalization, while at the same time
being deprived of its benefits. The very same free flow
of capital that can foster investment is responsible for
speculative attacks against national currencies and
balance of payment crises, with negative impact on the
continuity of public policies and on the alleviation of
social ills.
Protectionism and all forms of barriers to trade,
both tariff and non-tariff, continue to suffocate
developing economies and to nullify the
competitiveness of their exports. Liberalization of the
agricultural sector has been nothing more than a
promise repeatedly put off to an uncertain future.
5
A/57/PV.2
The globalization to which we aspire requires
reform of economic and financial institutions. It must
not be limited to the triumph of the market.
A modern understanding of development must
encompass the protection of human rights, be they civil
and political or economic, social and cultural. In this
respect, the appointment of Sergio Vieira de Mello as
the new United Nations High Commissioner for
Human Rights is a great honour for all Brazilians. He
succeeds Mary Robinson, whose important
achievements deserve recognition.
The United Nations was created to maintain
peace and security. However, armed conflicts and
pockets of irrational violence persist today.
The situation in the Middle East underscores how
distant we still are from the international order
imagined by the founders of the United Nations
Charter.
Brazil supports the creation of a democratic,
secure and economically viable Palestinian State, as
well as the right of the Palestinian people to self-
determination. Brazil defends the right of the State of
Israel to exist within recognized borders and of its
people to live in security. These are essential
prerequisites for lasting peace in the Middle East. Only
by mutually and comprehensively acknowledging the
conflicting legitimacies in the region, as well as by
building on existing agreements, can we staunch the
indiscriminate destructiveness of violence and forge a
way forward.
The use of force at the international level is
admissible only once all diplomatic alternatives have
been exhausted. Force must be exercised only in
accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and
in a manner consistent with the determinations of the
Security Council. Otherwise, the credibility of the
Organization will be undermined in a way that will not
only be illegitimate, but that will also give rise to
situations of precarious and short-lived stability.
In the specific case of Iraq, Brazil believes that it
is incumbent upon the Security Council to determine
the measures necessary to ensure full compliance with
relevant resolutions. The Security Council’s exercise of
its responsibilities is the way to reduce tensions and to
avoid risking the unpredictable consequences resulting
from wider instability.
In Angola the international community must
support recent positive developments that open the way
to the rebuilding of the country and the consolidation
of peace and democracy.
Strengthening the system of collective security
remains a challenge. The Security Council needs
reform in order to enhance its legitimacy and lay the
foundations for more solid international cooperation in
building a just and stable international order. A central
feature of this reform should be the expansion of the
number of members, both in the permanent and non-
permanent categories.
Brazil has already made it known — and I
reaffirm it here — that it is ready to contribute to the
work of the Security Council and to assume all its
responsibilities.
For Brazil, the United Nations is the public space
for the creation of power, which, according to Hannah
Arendt, can result only from the human capacity to act
in concert. The United Nations is the crucial hinge in
creating a global governance focused on more
equitable distribution of the dividends of peace and
progress.
Therein lies our vision for the future, a vision of
solidarity among peoples and nations, a vision made
legitimate by renewed and inclusive understanding of
power.
We are inspired by the observation of
Guicciardini, the politically more successful Florentine
contemporary of Machiavelli: “Among men, hope is
normally more powerful than fear”.