Allow me to congratulate you, Mr. President, on
your well-deserved election to preside over the General
Assembly at its fifty-first regular session. I also wish to
convey our appreciation to Ambassador Diogo Freitas do
Amaral for the skill and efficiency with which he conducted
the work of the General Assembly in the course of its last
regular session.
We are very close to the achievement of peace in my
country. This can already be felt in the silence of the guns
and the newly flourishing spirit of unity among brothers.
Intolerance is giving way to awareness of the common
challenges we face. We now realize that, for example, if we
are to combat corruption and impunity, we need to share
values and principles, though not necessarily ideologies.
United in diversity, we must discover our own
means for building our future. Our country is healing its
deep wounds and revealing its true face, as a generous
land that is the home to age-old cultures. Guatemala is
coming to terms with itself and, in so doing, is
reconciling itself with the world.
We are once again speaking as a friendly nation
among friendly nations. The peace process has enabled us
to evolve our own agenda, which responds to the needs
of our country without our having had to accept an
agenda imposed by anyone else. To that end we have
received the constant support of the international
community, and in particular of the United Nations
system.
Today, at a time when the reform of the system is
the subject of such intense discussion, our national
experience may perhaps be useful, as it is an example of
cooperation that is at once respectful and dynamic, based
fundamentally on internal efforts with appropriate external
help. For us this approach is indispensable since, to a
large extent, it has been possible to build peace, thanks to
the valuable and diverse forms of support received from
agencies of the United Nations system.
But this has not been effected through the
mechanical application of preconceived formulas, or of
automatic institutional moulds. On the contrary, what we
have here is a challenging and complex empirical
laboratory where all of us are learning step by step. It is,
in fact, a constant exercise in discovery with living social
tissues, an exercise in which we have all had to pool our
best efforts. The creativity of individuals, Governments,
and various organizations — private and public, local and
national, regional and multilateral — has come together
to produce a constant quest for the solutions we need. It
has been an exercise in international solidarity that,
complementing internal endeavours, has made it possible
for us to forge ahead along the right path to recovery.
But the test tube is the life of our people, and for
that reason there is little margin for error. Errors increase
the suffering of my people. And Guatemala has suffered
greatly from authoritarian intervention and the imposition
of alien patterns that once impaired a political and social
maturation process that sought to infuse its own life-
giving fluids with contemporary ideas of equity and
democracy. Domestic injustices and imbalances were
aggravated by the tensions of the cold war that exploded
within my country.
3

Now is the time for reconciliation. Now is the time
once again to take development in hand. Now is the time
to search for effective formulas to link our villages with the
World Trade Organization; to link the poverty afflicting the
families of our neighbourhoods with international financial
institutions; and to link decisions independently taken at the
level of our domestic communities with the large
development agencies.
We are on the threshold of signing the peace. We look
forward to this historic transition with hope and jubilation,
and we foresee the complex stage of strengthening the
fabric of society and production. From that stage we can
look hopefully to the future. Peace will come to Guatemala
because we Guatemalans have striven for it and because the
international community has helped us along the way.
As is well known, last week in Mexico City the
parties signed the agreement on the last substantive item of
the agenda agreed upon in the peace talks, the one
concerning the strengthening of civilian power and the role
of the army in a democratic society. We now have to deal
with the operational issues: demobilization, reinsertion into
civil society, the cease-fire and the timetable for the
implementation of the agreements. In the course of this year
we shall initial, God willing, the final agreement for a firm
and lasting peace, which will put an end to an armed
conflict that has lasted 36 years.
It is worth emphasizing then, that for the last five
months there has been no armed confrontation, which has
allowed the peace talks to progress without subjecting our
negotiators to the anguish and pressure of knowing that as
they are working Guatemalan blood is being shed. That is
over. Far from deadening or delaying the dialogue, this
state of affairs has stimulated it, given the prospect of a
definitive cessation of hostilities. This has also stimulated
us to see clearly where we are going and to gain a more
profound understanding of what has happened.
As many of the representatives in this Assembly
know, the internal conflict caused great misfortune and
suffering for our people. I am referring primarily to the
irreparable loss of thousands of lives. I also have in mind
the traumatic aftermath of the conflict, which is evident in
the faces of every cripple, orphan and widow, and in every
surviving family, a number of which were eye-witnesses to
the tragedies. I am also referring to the economic losses, in
the form of damage to infrastructure and lost opportunities
for productive development.
I also wish to call to mind the set-backs caused by
the conflict. Let us recall the words of the singer-
songwriter who asked,
“Who will return to us the fatherland that could have
been?”
While more difficult to pinpoint, and perhaps impossible
to measure, these too are irreparable losses: all that we
could have done, but did not do; all the growth that could
have occurred, but did not occur; all we could have built,
but did not build.
While others were progressing, we were stagnating,
locked in a cruel domestic struggle that included elements
imported from the cold war, which arbitrarily kept in
check for 40 years our political, social and economic
evolution. While technological, commercial and political
changes were taking place in the rest of the world, and
nations were discovering new opportunities in their
relations, we were plunged deeper into the violence of a
domestic conflict that took the lives of thousands and
thousands of young people, who were unable to provide
their country with the fruits of their talents and
endeavours. While new international options for well-
being were blossoming elsewhere, we continued to be
consumed internally by a dirty war that crushed entire
villages and compelled many people to flee.
There is a part of our country that never came into
being, because Guatemalans were bogged down in
fratricidal domestic struggle that we were not able to stop
in time — an internal conflict that — it is true — was
fuelled by our own injustice, but — it must be
acknowledged — was also fanned from abroad. But such
is history: hope springs up amid tragedy, and lessons are
drawn from mistakes. Our people has an extraordinary
capacity for recovery and learning.
We are nearing the end of this stage, and another
has already begun: one in which all of us — absolutely
all — are responsible and committed. One of the
consequences of this deeply traumatic and protracted
conflict is that never before have we found ourselves in
a situation so propitious for dialogue and reconciliation.
Never before have we shared such a profound and keen
awareness of our immense multi-ethnic, multilingual and
multicultural wealth, or of our environment, which is
extraordinarily varied. Never before have we been so
keenly aware of our need for internal integration and for
the development of our own potential.
4

We have within our grasp a unique opportunity, one
that will never recur, to transform this moment into a
moment for the future and for renovation. This is perhaps
not the appropriate occasion for detailing all the progress
made in recent months. Such details may be found in the
various reports of United Nations Mission for the
Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the
Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human
Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) and other agencies of
the United Nations system. But it is worthwhile to stress
the enormous effort that has gone into fulfilling the
agreements already signed, even before most of them have
come into force. In particular, we have had remarkable
successes in the field of human rights, as has been
recognized by various commissions and subcommissions
dealing with the issue.
At this singular moment at the end of the century,
when we are celebrating the International Decade of the
World’s Indigenous People, it is fitting to point out that
Guatemala has recently ratified and deposited International
Labour Organization Convention 169, the Indigenous and
Tribal Peoples Convention, which strengthens the rule of
law in Guatemala by conferring benefits and guarantees on
the Mayan population with regard to property, conditions of
employment, training for professions, crafts and rural
industries, health, social security, education, the
administration of justice, the environment and the proper
and rational use of natural resources.
We are very close to the signature of an Agreement on
a Firm and Lasting Peace. We now face the hardest part of
our task, but also the most challenging part, replete with
possibilities: that of creating peace, of building peace. We
would do well, therefore, to recall two fundamental points:
first, the peace that we are striving to build has a specific
orientation; and, secondly, peace is not made only by those
who sign the agreements.
We seek a peace that is well oriented. We should not
be content with a precarious peace, or with political
accommodations made for the occasion, with no sense of
direction or permanence. The accords signed so far, and
those that are to follow, express basic agreements that,
taken as a whole, constitute a specific agenda aimed at
deepening democracy and furthering development.
Furthermore, peace is not made only by those who
sign the agreements. Peace is made on a day-to-day basis,
by the entire population, which takes seriously the need for
reconciliation and realizes optimistically that it is possible
to have fair opportunities to work, educate oneself, be
productive and improve one’s situation.
Peace is built by men and women of flesh and
blood, with their differences, passions, interests and
enmities. Peace is built day by day, in villages, hamlets,
neighbourhoods and communities. Peace is built through
ordinary coexistence, with all Guatemalans, male or
female, striving daily to make a living and to help their
families get ahead, seeking out better opportunities while
enduring hardships in a country with so many limitations
and so much distrust. That is where reconciliation must
take place and where we must identify the true enemies
of peace: poverty, discrimination, exclusion and
intolerance.
We live in a spirit of solidarity within a fragile
shared space. Our mission is to care for it and improve it
as a legacy for coming generations. That space, that
possibility, does not belong to us; it is but a legacy of
what former generations did or failed to do. Solidarity is
not limited to those who stand before us; there is a kind
of solidarity that embraces even those who have not yet
been born. What can we do to ensure that this solidarity
accepts life as a primary, elementary and basic value,
when we have lived for so long immersed in violence?
We will attain development when we become
capable of providing comprehensive security for all
Guatemalans. The assurance that our children will not die
because of negligence or lack of medical attention, the
security of a stable job, plans and facilities for the
acquisition of housing, security of access to a competitive
educational system allowing us to learn and to teach our
children, the security of ample nutrition, security for our
possessions and for our lives, access to and equal
treatment under impartial and timely systems of justice —
these are the key aspects of comprehensive security.
In this regard, Central America has taken important
decisions to renew its agendas under the Alliance for
Sustainable Development, which it is taking decisive steps
to implement, including through the Treaty on Democratic
Security signed by the Presidents of the isthmus at San
Pedro Sula in December 1995. That broad set of
commitments prepares Central Americans to wage a
comprehensive fight against trafficking in drugs and in
human beings.
There can be no stable democracy over the long
term if there are extreme inequalities in the distribution of
wealth and of social opportunities. Democratic citizenship
5

poses the question of how we are to incorporate those who
are unlikely to have access to public institutions; those who,
because of poverty or discrimination, cannot invoke their
rights or have them recognized. No democracy is possible
when a significant percentage of the population is living in
extreme poverty. Our democracy must generate economic
conditions that permit the satisfaction of the basic needs of
the population.
The greatest challenge and the greatest opportunity for
Guatemala resides in organized, realistic and coherent
implementation of the commitments derived from the
agreements undertaken. That is why we must understand
them as a starting point that opens up a new page of
challenges and efforts for all the population.
For its part, the Government has taken on some very
daring and far-reaching commitments that encompass
almost all its institutions. They imply major legal reforms
and major budgetary efforts. These commitments have
made it possible to reach the agreements, and stability and
the strengthening of peace and stability depend upon their
fulfilment.
But to do all of this, we also need the understanding
and firm support of the international community. We need
a real opening of markets and fair prices for our products,
as well as foreign investment to add to the internal savings
achieved through the generation of jobs and the stable
improvement of our productive capacity. We also need the
complement of technical and financial cooperation, above
all during the stage immediately following the signing of
the peace.
For all of these reasons, Guatemala appreciates the
support and recognition of the international community. For
those same reasons, Guatemala also aspires to contribute,
to the extent of its modest possibilities, to strengthening the
multilateral system and respectful understanding among
nations.
Guatemala attaches great importance to the principle
of universality that must characterize the United Nations,
and this leads us to express our conviction that the Republic
of China on Taiwan must also be fully represented in our
Organization and must actively participate in the search for
solutions in this new global, interdependent world. In our
opinion, and taking into account earlier positive
experiences, this in no way contradicts any effort at
reunification.
It is often said that we are living in a time of
change. But it is much more than that: this is a change of
times. We are living just on the bridge between two
different eras of world history, where we cannot yet make
out the difference between what is ending and what is
beginning. There is an order that has gone into crisis, but
there is a new order that cannot yet be clearly perceived.
All institutions are being put to the test.
We view with appreciation and hope the fact that
this interaction between Guatemala’s experience and the
respectful participation of Governments and multilateral
institutions is yielding modest but valid solutions,
enabling us to envisage a simple, competent and less
bureaucratic form of institutional structures, and a kind of
cooperation that does not undermine the precarious living
conditions of the poor majorities in our countries and that
contributes ideas and technical skills with due respect for
our population. Guatemala is becoming a laboratory for
cooperation with respect, of partnership rather than
imposition.
It is also becoming a broad and open horizon for
discovery, an opportunity to search for ways to
encompass the aspirations, proposals and initiatives of so
many people from inside and from abroad, and above all,
to go on creating spaces for self-expression by the people
and the communities of my country, which, with such
courage, endurance, valour and desire, have not
succumbed to adversity.
I wish to attest to the gratitude of my people and my
Government to the Secretary-General and to all the
officials who in various capacities have contributed to
advancing the peace negotiations in my country, as well
as to making a reality of the various complex efforts at
development that we are undertaking. We wish especially
to thank the Moderator appointed by the Secretary-
General for the negotiations between the Government of
Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional
Guatemalteca (URNG), the small but efficient Guatemala
Unit of the Secretariat and all the members of the United
Nations Mission for the Verification of Human Rights and
of Compliance with the Commitments of the
Comprehensive Agreement on Human Rights in
Guatemala (MINUGUA), as well as the other Secretariat
officials who, in one way or another, directly or
indirectly, have contributed to the success of the peace
process.
Our deep gratitude goes also to the six countries that
constitute the Group of Friends of the peace process,
6

which have worked so doggedly for that long-sought
goal — Colombia, Mexico, Norway, Spain, the United
States of America and Venezuela.
We wish also to express our appreciation to other
Governments that, without being a formal part of this
Group, have substantially contributed to the advancement of
our reconciliation and development. Many thanks to all
those persons of good will, committed to peace in my
country.


Allow me at the outset to express to Mr. Razali Ismail
our sincere congratulations on his election as President of
the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. His rich
experience, wisdom and knowledge will definitely lead to
the success of our deliberations, which are taking place in
very delicate international circumstances. I assure him of
15

the full support and assistance of my delegation in
discharging his task successfully.
Allow me also to take this opportunity to express my
sincere appreciation to the outgoing President, Mr. Freitas
do Amaral, for his successful efforts in leading the work of
the fiftieth session of the General Assembly.
The international community had keenly hoped that
the post-cold-war era would result in an end to the tensions
that had characterized the international scene and to the
arms race and armed conflicts. All nations, particularly
those in the developing world, have aspirations to build a
new world order whose cornerstone would be equality
among States, non-interference in their internal affairs,
transparency and respect for ideological, cultural and
religious diversity.
Any observer of today’s international scene would
conclude that events are completely contrary to
expectations. Tensions have escalated, and political, military
and economic threats are on the increase. Apparently,
equality among States of sovereignty, rights and obligations
no longer exists. Moreover, the nuclear threat still lingers
on, military conflicts have not ceased and ideological
fanaticism and cultural hegemony have become the major
features of the new world order.
The Sudan is of the view that the structure of the
international community, which is based on ideological,
political and cultural diversity and pluralism, prompts us all
to accept peaceful coexistence and dictates that harmony
and diversity among nations become the vehicle for
interaction and dialogue within the framework of pursuing
national interests in the context of the international system.
The nations of the world expect the United Nations to
be a forum in which they can express their views and
positions and an instrument for the continued pursuit of
humanity’s aspirations to freedom, prosperity, peace and
security.
It is against that background that the call has sounded
for the reform of the United Nations system. True and
sincere adherence to the spirit and letter of the Charter of
the United Nations, equality, respect for the sovereignty of
Member States, non-interference in their internal affairs and
respect for their right to choose are the bases for
strengthening the United Nations and fostering its role,
transparency and democratization, so that it may meet the
enormous challenges of maintaining international peace and
security and serving economic and social development.
I should like to point out that my country has
followed with satisfaction the positive reforms that have
been undertaken by the Secretary-General. The Sudan
supports the position expressed by both the League of
Arab States and the Organization of African Unity
endorsing the re-election of Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali
for a second term.
The Sudan also welcomes General Assembly
resolution 50/227 on the restructuring and revitalization of
the United Nations in the economic, social and related
fields. On the other hand, it is imperative that a thorough
review of the Security Council take place to ensure its
democratization and to allow for equitable representation
by the developing countries, including permanent
membership. There is a strong need to review the work
and procedures of the Security Council in order to
achieve transparency and to enable all States to follow the
formal and informal meetings of the Council. It is equally
vital that the decision-making mechanism be corrected by
establishing just criteria to guide its policies and distance
it from selectivity and double standards. In this context,
the veto concept must be reviewed and corrected so that
the principle of equality among Member States stipulated
in the Charter of the United Nations may become a
reality.
Finally, the Security Council should discharge its
political responsibilities without addressing legal issues,
which fall within the jurisdiction of the International
Court of Justice, as stipulated in the Charter and the
Statute of the Court. The Court must be enhanced to
enable it to shoulder its responsibilities in handling legal
disputes among Member States.
In this connection, it is important to note the new
trend towards the imposition of sanctions against some
countries as a means of settling certain disputes, as has
been witnessed recently. Such sanctions have adversely
affected the people of those countries, particularly the
vulnerable sectors of society, namely, women, children
and the elderly, the very sectors that the United Nations
has pledged to protect and develop. It is therefore
necessary to reconsider the basis on which sanctions are
imposed, the duration of such sanctions and the lifting of
them when the requirements have been met or when their
implications give rise to human suffering.
The ideal means for settling most recent conflicts is
through strict compliance with the provisions for conflict
resolution as stipulated in the Charter, the consolidation
of cooperation among States, the encouragement of
16

dialogue and the fostering of international public opinion
through common understanding. Therefore, my country
welcomes the endeavours designed to enhance preventive
diplomacy and its mechanisms in order to achieve these
goals.
I wish now to touch upon some important international
issues. We look forward to the success of the ongoing
efforts of the countries of West Africa, under the leadership
of our sister country, Nigeria, to ensure that the people of
Liberia are able to achieve stability. We also hope that the
efforts to end the conflict in Angola will stop the bloodshed
and steer the country towards development. We also call on
the people of our sister country, Somalia, and the factions
there, to rise above their differences in order to preserve
independence and unity and resume their march towards
prosperity and progress.
We also hope that Rwanda and Burundi will achieve
stability, and that they will use diversity as an element of
unity and strength. We call for the enhancement and
support of the role of the Organization of African Unity in
its efforts towards settlement of these conflicts. Africa, as
the continent of the future, needs the support of the
international community so that it can achieve political
stability and economic development, and contribute to
establishing a more just and stable international community.
As for the sanctions imposed on the Libyan people,
we fully support the Libyan initiatives, which are also
supported by the League of Arab States and the
Organization of African Unity, to put an end to the conflict
between Libya and three Western countries. My country
appeals to the international community to exert greater
efforts to reach a final settlement to this dispute and to
alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people by ending the
embargo to which they are subjected.
As for the Middle East, Sudan believes that peace
should be built on the principles of justice and respect for
the inalienable rights of the Palestinian people and the Arab
peoples in the region, and that peace must also be based on
the commitments agreed to by the parties concerned. Any
retreat from agreed obligations and commitments
contradicts a real desire to achieve peace.
The irresponsible practices of the occupying Power
will have serious repercussions for the peoples and
countries of the region, and will have a negative effect on
international peace and security. Therefore, Sudan calls for
the immediate implementation of all relevant Security
Council resolutions in order to achieve a just and
comprehensive peace on all tracks of the process. We
draw the attention of the international community to the
precarious situation in the region, the consequences of
continued failure and the increasing possibilities of
confrontation, which make it necessary for the
international community to be vigilant, dynamic and strict
in implementing justice and the rule of law so as to save
the region from the potential scourge of war.
With regard to the Gulf region, we look forward to
the restoration of the peace and security that it enjoyed
before to the war. The Sudan would like to reiterate the
importance of compliance with Security Council
resolutions regarding the sovereignty and legitimate rights
to existence of Kuwait, and the rights of its people and
leadership with regard to security and stability. Similarly,
we reiterate the right of Iraq to sovereignty, territorial
integrity and independence. We call upon the international
community to lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq, which
are causing suffering and starvation for the Iraqi people,
and, in this respect, we call for the implementation of
Security Council resolution 986 (1995).
With regard to Europe, my country expresses its
satisfaction with the signing of the Dayton Agreement,
aimed at ending the suffering of the people of Bosnia and
Herzegovina. For several years their suffering caused
anguish in the conscience of the international community.
We also express our heartfelt congratulations to President
Alija Izetbegovic´ for gaining the people’s confidence in
his leadership. We call upon the United Nations to work
for the full implementation of the Dayton Agreement, in
particular the prosecution of Serb leaders responsible for
the crimes of genocide, “ethnic cleansing” and other
violations of international law. We also call on the
international community to provide the necessary
assistance and resources for the reconstruction of Bosnia
and Herzegovina.
With regard to Asia, we express our satisfaction with
the agreement reached between the Government of the
Philippines and the Moro National Liberation Front,
which reflects the wisdom of both parties. In this context,
we commend the efforts of President Soeharto of
Indonesia and his Foreign Minister, which culminated in
the agreement.
Social and economic development is the primary
requisite for political stability to deter the scourge of wars
and conflicts. In this respect we express the deep concern
of Africa, which calls for justice, an end to its
marginalization, and compensation for all the injustices
17

inflicted on it during the colonial era and for the inequities
of the international economic order.
The majority of the least developed countries are in
Africa, and they need support and assistance. The debts of
African countries, which exceed $300 billion, have become
the main impediment to the ambitions of the continent to
achieve development and to ensure the prosperity of its
peoples. In most African countries debt-servicing costs
exceed the gross national product and total export earnings.
The African countries have welcomed the World Bank
initiative to reduce the debt burden of the least developed
countries. Sudan believes that the effective solution of the
debt crisis requires agreement on a unified strategy, with
the aim of cancelling or reducing debts for all those
countries, without exception. We also call on the
international community to provide the necessary financial
support for the Secretary-General’s Initiative for
development in Africa.
The mid-term reviews of the Paris Programme of
Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s and
of the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of
Africa in the 1990s have shown that pledges should be
followed by action, not by more promises.
In the field of food security and the prevention of
famine, which are issues of primary concern to Africa and
the rest of the world, my country places high hopes on the
forthcoming World Food Summit, which will take place at
Rome in November 1996, which will seek solutions for the
problem of food security throughout the world. Sudan,
which is perceived to be one of the countries with the
potential to play a considerable role in the production of
food, is ready to shoulder its responsibility, together with a
serious contribution from the international community
towards that end.
Human rights issues have priority on the agenda of the
United Nations. They receive the full support of my
country, based on our conviction that human beings are the
only creatures that have been honoured and given
responsibility by Almighty God, and on our commitment to
human rights covenants.
However, we disagree with the growing tendency to
exploit human rights issues to serve the political interests of
certain circles, in a manner that jeopardizes the principles
of human rights. Selectivity does not serve the cause of
human rights as well as objectivity and comprehensiveness;
confrontation and condemnation do not support human
rights as well as cooperation, conviction and
encouragement.
In line with this understanding, my country has
established the Advisory Council for Human Rights, to
protect human rights and investigate all accusations and
complaints in this regard. The Sudan also resumed its
cooperation with the Special Rapporteur on human rights
after the causes of our withdrawal of cooperation had
been removed. We reiterate here our commitment to
cooperation on this matter, in accordance with the
principles of objectivity, transparency and respect for
cultural diversity and pluralism. This last principle
prompts me to refer to the attack on Islam, which
portrays it as barbaric and links it to terrorism. These
malicious allegations are unjust; Islam is completely
innocent. They contravene the principle of respect for all
religions without exception. Wrong practices do not
constitute evidence to justify negative judgements on the
religious beliefs of those who perpetrate them. Such
trends make all religions and philosophies susceptible to
condemnation, regardless of their sources or origins.
Islam is the religion of tolerance and coexistence.
We therefore call upon the international community to
stop this ferocious campaign targeting Islam, and call
upon the United Nations to distance itself from it. We
hope that the positive positions of a number of Western
leaders towards Islam will be echoed by the communities
in the West, their mass media and their justice systems.
I deem it necessary, in addressing the Assembly, to
shed light on some important political developments in
my country. I hope members will listen attentively to
what I am about to say and will open their hearts while
I touch on the circumstances that surrounded the adoption
of Security Council resolutions 1044 (1996), 1054 (1996)
and 1070 (1996), respectively, against my country.
First, it has been proven that 11 Egyptians were the
organizers and perpetrators of the attempt that was the
subject of these resolutions.
Second, prior to the incident the suspects had been
moving in a number of Arab, African and Asian
countries. The Sudan was but one of these countries.
Third, the Security Council has based its resolutions
on the statement of the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management
and Resolution, which called upon the Sudan to look for,
locate and extradite the suspects if — and I underline
18

if — they were found in the Sudan. This was stipulated in
the Mechanism’s decision of 19 December 1995.
Fourth, those resolutions were based on the
assumption that the three suspects, who are Egyptians, were
in the Sudan at the time the other members of the group
entered Addis Ababa from other countries, several months
before the incident.
Fifth — and this I would underline — no evidence
was produced to prove that the suspects were in the Sudan
at the time the incident took place or at the time the Sudan
was asked to hand over the suspects, which request was
received more than a month after the incident.
Sixth, a secret trial was conducted for the three
suspects, who were sentenced to death. Concerned States
and observers were never allowed to witness the trial.
Seventh, the Sudan has unequivocally condemned this
incident since day one, and it has expressed its readiness to
cooperate with the concerned parties.
Eighth, the Sudan received the first request to arrest
the suspects 32 days after the incident. The request did not
provide sufficient information about the suspects.
Ninth, the competent Sudanese authorities conducted
exhaustive and complete investigations, but these did not
yield any information or prove the presence of the suspects
on Sudanese territory.
Tenth, though the Sudan has time and again requested
the cooperation of concerned countries and of the
International Criminal Police Organization (INTERPOL) in
this regard, its efforts have been in vain.
Eleventh, it has been proven that the first suspect is in
Afghanistan. An official document confirming that fact was
submitted to the Security Council by the Afghan
Government. Moreover, in statements to the press, the first
suspect claimed full responsibility for the incident and
confirmed that he has not entered the Sudan since 1994.
Twelfth, the Sudan reiterates its full readiness to
cooperate with all parties concerned, and it emphasizes that
all available evidence indicates that the suspects are not
present on Sudanese territory.
To insist on imposing sanctions on the Sudan defies
logic and justice. This must be reconsidered in order to
redress the injustice inflicted on my country and to alleviate
the negative impact of this recurrent series of sanctions,
which could cause massive human suffering to innocent
people.
As we stated before the Assembly last year, we
reiterate our condemnation of terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations. We reaffirm our readiness to
cooperate and to participate effectively in efforts to
combat terrorism. We are actively involved in this matter
at regional levels, in particular within the framework of
the League of Arab States. We reiterate our commitment
to contribute to the establishment of more secure, stable
and just international relations.
The Sudan has witnessed a number of internal
political developments this year. Parliamentary elections
were held, followed by a presidential election by direct
balloting. All Sudanese citizens exercised their democratic
right in a free and fair election monitored by
representatives of friendly countries and international and
regional bodies.
The genuine efforts my Government has exerted
tirelessly in recent years have culminated in the signing
of a political charter between the Government and two
important rebel factions. In response to the signing of the
political charter, other rebel factions joined the peace
process, most recently the SPLA, the Popular Movement
for Peace and the Popular Movement for the Liberation
of the Sudan.
While our charter affirms that shariah and are the
main sources of legislation in the country, it allows States
to promulgate complementary legislation compatible with
their needs. We in the Sudan recognize cultural diversity.
In accordance with our charter, freedom of religious
belief and the prohibition of forceful conversion to any
religion or faith are fully granted. We also recognize
pluralism. Accordingly, we guarantee the right to religion
and belief. No one can be forced to accept any religious
belief.
The Charter ensures the fair distribution of resources
and power-sharing among citizens. It also calls for the
establishment of a coordination council for the southern
states in order to contribute to the implementation of the
provisions stipulating the holding of a comprehensive
referendum among the citizens of southern Sudan after an
interim period, the length of which has yet to be
negotiated.
19

Relentless efforts are being made in order to reach a
settlement with the faction that has thus far remained
outside of the peace process. Consultations and coordination
are currently under way with the concerned parties, in
particular with the countries of the region represented in the
Inter-Governmental Authority on Drought and Development
(IGADD).
The Sudan welcomes and appreciates the contribution
by friendly countries towards our sincere and genuine
search for lasting peace in our country. I am pleased to
inform members of the Khartoum agreement, signed
between the Sudan and Uganda through the kind and much
appreciated mediation of the Islamic Republic of Iran. This
agreement was further strengthened by the conclusion in
Tehran last week of an agreement on a verification
mechanism for the implementation of the agreement, with
the participation of Iran and Malawi.
At this juncture, as I speak of Sudan’s greatest and
most urgent priority — peace — I wish to pay tribute to
the intensive intellectual efforts being exerted by the United
Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
(UNESCO), within its specific mandate in the United
Nations system and by all ways and means available to it,
to establish a culture of peace. This is based on the
construction in the minds of men in defence of peace, as
stipulated in the preamble of UNESCO’s statute.
My Government has fully cooperated with UNESCO
in the promotion of the noble objectives of this programme.
We did so notably through our contribution to the 1995
Barcelona conference and to the follow-up seminar in the
Netherlands in May 1996. We sincerely hope that such
dialogue will continue, with a view to creating an
environment conducive to achieving a comprehensive
peace.
For more than three decades, my country has hosted
over a million refugees from neighbouring countries as a
result of the unstable security situation in those countries.
We have provided them security and stability as well as
educational, health and other essential services. In the
framework of solving the refugee problem through
voluntary repatriation, the Sudan has cooperated with the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees (UNHCR) and other concerned countries, and has
signed tripartite agreements for the repatriation of the
refugees from some of those countries. We hope to reach
similar agreements concerning the rest of the refugees, thus
guaranteeing their repatriation in dignity.
We call upon the international community to share
this burden with the Government of the Sudan. As the
Sudan is experiencing severe economic difficulties, the
resources allocated to refugee programmes have
diminished considerably. This has resulted in severe
pressures on Sudan’s public sector, since the refugees
share food and services with Sudanese citizens.
Aware of its responsibilities towards its people, the
Sudan has sought to deliver food and other relief
assistance to its war-affected populations throughout the
country, including in areas controlled by the rebels.
Based on this understanding, the Sudan initiated the
idea of Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS) and has
consistently urged its implementation in cooperation with
the United Nations. A number of General Assembly
resolutions have commended the full cooperation between
the Sudan and the United Nations in this Operation. The
practical implementation of OLS has yielded a number of
important observations, which we will submit to the
review meeting scheduled this month in the hope of an
adequate response. We urge and hope that the next phase
of OLS will see a fairer distribution of relief supplies and
that it will contribute further towards the development and
rehabilitation process, thus promoting an environment
conducive to peace and stability.
In spite of these observations, I should like to
express the full commitment of the Government of the
Sudan to cooperation with the United Nations in the
implementation of the objectives of Operation Lifeline
Sudan in accordance with the principles of neutrality,
transparency and respect for the sovereignty of my
country.
As mankind approaches the dawn of the new
century, we hope that the United Nations will be its
vehicle and bridge to a world in which hope, peace and
justice will prevail. Let us unite our wills and harmonize
our ideals towards the achievement of this noble
objective.


It
gives me pleasure, Sir, to extend to you our sincere
congratulations on your election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session. We are
confident that you will lead the work of the Assembly to
success. I cannot fail to pay tribute to your predecessor,
Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, for his
leadership during the Assembly’s historic fiftieth session.
I would also like to express our appreciation to
His Excellency the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, for his tireless efforts in the service of the
purposes of the United Nations in the maintenance of
international peace and security and the achievement of
its lofty ideals.
A series of internal conflicts and explosive situations
has threatened certain States. The world faces ethnic
extremism and national conflicts caused by mass
migrations, flows of refugees, environment deterioration
and natural disasters. Such problems have not been met
with the rapid economic and political changes that would
form the cornerstone of the new international order to
which the whole world aspires. A complete vision of that
order, its rules and means, has not yet materialized. We
should all work towards an international system that is
just, balanced and comprehensive.
The vital and effective role played by the United
Nations in dealing with international issues, in the
maintenance of international peace and security and in
other areas, the value of which cannot be denied or
underestimated for the establishment of the principles of
that international system, requires reform of the United
Nations if we are to achieve the desired results. Reform
should begin with reactivating the General Assembly to

enable it to act effectively in a manner that would enhance
its credibility in the eyes of world public opinion.
We have also mentioned the need to reform the
Security Council and increase its effectiveness in a manner
that would reflect the geographic, economic and political
situation of certain States, in a manner that would reflect
the new international order, and would equip the Council to
bear its heavy responsibilities.
The task of maintaining international peace and
security is particularly important at a time of international
change; the international community should take steps to
deploy early preventive measures, since this is the best way
to avoid the eruption and conflagration of conflicts, instead
of resorting to political or military measures to end them,
which can only lead to incomplete and unjust solutions.
Therefore, it is important to reiterate the vital and effective
role that could be played by regional organizations in the
context of the maintenance of international peace and
security in accordance with Chapter VIII of the Charter.
Cooperation between the United Nations and other
regional organizations such as the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe, the Organization of African
Unity, the League of Arab States and the Organization of
the Islamic Conference should be promoted, since
preventive diplomacy and early warning are the best way to
prevent conflicts from erupting and to find peaceful
solutions.
The question of disarmament is of great importance in
terms of the establishment of international peace and
security. It can be achieved only by curbing the arms race
and, in particular, the race in weapons of mass destruction.
We believe that the indefinite extension of the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) requires
more support and ratification by all States to give the
Treaty a global character. The State of Qatar reaffirms the
need for Israel to join the NPT and to place its nuclear
facilities under the safeguards system of the International
Atomic Energy Agency as an initial step towards
establishing a Middle East free from nuclear weapons and
weapons of mass destruction. We believe that the interests
of the stability and security of the region should compel
Israel to do this.
The State of Qatar, on the basis of the wise approach
of His Royal Highness, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-
Thani, reaffirms its regional and international commitments
and undertakes to work through international and regional
organizations to promote international peace and security.
We associate ourselves with our brothers in the Gulf
Cooperation Council and other friendly States in the quest
to promote peace and security in the Gulf region, due to
its vital importance to the whole world. We are also
making tireless efforts to establish friendly and
constructive relations with all States of the region, based
on good-neighbourliness, mutual respect, non-interference
in the internal affairs of other States, respect for
legitimacy and the solution of conflicts through dialogue,
mediation or international law through the International
Court of Justice.
On the basis of this principle, we support the attempt
to find such a solution to the dispute between the United
Arab Emirates and the Islamic Republic of Iran on the
islands of Abu Musa and Lesser and Greater Tunb. We
have expressed our great satisfaction at the agreement
signed between the Republic of Yemen and Eritrea in
Paris last month regarding the peaceful settlement of the
dispute over Greater Hanish through international
mediation and arbitration, peacefully and in accordance
with the Charter of the United Nations and international
law, in a manner that will serve the security and stability
of the Red Sea region and promote bilateral relations,
good-neighbourliness and common interests between those
two countries and bolster international peace and security.
At the same time, we would like to express our
appreciation to the friendly Government of France for its
efforts towards a peaceful settlement of this dispute.
The State of Qatar has expressed its brotherly
feelings and sympathy with the people of Iraq, who are
living under extremely difficult conditions due to the
sanctions imposed on them. On the basis of that, we have
welcomed the oil-for-food agreement between Iraq and
the United Nations regarding the application of Security
Council resolution 986 (1995), since this would mitigate
the suffering of the Iraqi people and enable them to meet
their need for food and medication. We call upon the
United Nations to create the conditions necessary for
implementation of that resolution.
We would also like to reaffirm our commitment to
the unity and territorial integrity of Iraq, and the principle
of non-interference in its internal affairs. Yet at the same
time, Iraq is required fully to implement all Security
Council resolutions, which should stay within the context
of international legitimacy and the norms of international
law.
We express our great concern at the suffering of the
people of Libya due to the sanctions imposed on them.
2

We associate ourselves in this regard with many other
Member States regarding the approach followed in the
implementation of the sanctions, and we call for the
creation of necessary guarantees for the equitable
application of the sanctions so that international interests
are safeguarded and the suffering of the people as a result
of the sanctions is alleviated.
The State of Qatar has worked to promote the
achievement of a just, comprehensive and lasting peace in
the Middle East. We therefore took part in the Arab
Summit Conference in Cairo in June 1996, when Arab
leaders reaffirmed that the achievement of peace requires
full Israeli withdrawal from all occupied Palestinian
territories, including Arab Jerusalem, conditions for the
Palestinians to establish an independent State of its own
with Jerusalem as its capital, and the full and unconditional
withdrawal of Israeli forces from the Syrian Golan and
southern Lebanon pursuant to Security Council resolutions
242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1975) and in accordance
with the principle of land for peace accepted by the Arabs
and by Israel as a serious basis for peace in the Middle
East.
From this rostrum, we would like to call upon the new
Israeli Government to continue its efforts to ensure a
successful peace process in the Middle East and to take
account of United Nations resolutions, especially those that
were the background of the Madrid Conference, and the
principle of land for peace, in accordance with agreements
already reached. We would like the Israeli Government to
reconsider its position in order to give momentum to the
peace process, to establish conditions conducive to
cooperation among the peoples of the region and to achieve
a lasting and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.
We call upon the two co-sponsors of the peace process
and the international community in its entirety to support
the peace process while at the same time providing the
necessary economic and political assistance to the
Palestinian people and the Palestinian Authority.
The State of Qatar expresses its deep concern at
Israel’s continued confiscation of Palestinian territories, the
establishment of settlements in the occupied Arab territories
and the bringing in of settlers in violation of international
decisions, the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention
relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of
War and the provisions adopted at the Madrid Conference.
These settler activities in the Syrian Golan, the
occupied Palestinian territories and Arab Jerusalem should
cease without delay. We would also like to reiterate our
rejection of any attempt to change the demographic
character of the Arab city of Jerusalem or its legal status,
specifically its geographic and geopolitical status before
4 June 1967. We call upon the international community
to guarantee Israel’s implementation of binding
international resolutions regarding Jerusalem, in particular
Security Council resolution 252 (1968), since the
establishment of a comprehensive and just peace in the
Middle East cannot be achieved without solving the issue
of Arab Jerusalem and the problems of the Palestinian
refugees, who should be granted the right to return in
accordance with binding international decisions and the
resolutions of the United Nations.
Qatar believes that the process of establishing
comprehensive and just peace in the region is the only
strategic option and that the decision of the Israeli
Government to open a tunnel adjacent to Al-Aqsa Al-
Sharif is a violation and desecration of sacred Islamic
sites and a provocation of Arabs and Muslims all over the
world. It runs counter to the peace process, is a violation
of the Fourth Geneva Convention and threatens to freeze
the peace process and return the region to tension and
violence.
From this rostrum, we call upon the co-sponsors of
the peace process and the international community to put
a speedy end to Israeli actions against the Palestinians in
the occupied territories in order to safeguard the rights of
the Palestinian people. We furthermore call upon all
parties to continue negotiations and implement all the
provisions of the agreements reached so far. We look
forward to a successful conclusion of the Washington
meeting and to tangible measures that would lead to the
permanent closing of the tunnel and the immediate
withdrawal of Israeli forces from Palestinian areas.
The Middle East region and the whole world have
suffered greatly from terrorism. We condemn terrorism in
all its forms and have always supported international
efforts to deal with this phenomenon. We are committed
to promoting all initiatives to convene an international
conference on this problem. Our participation in the
Sharm el-Sheikh Conference was yet another testimony to
our interest in this issue. However, we would like to
reiterate that resisting occupation and aggression should
not be stigmatized as terrorism, since it is done in defence
of international rights.
We pay tribute to the people of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, who have defended their entity and their
3

honourable ideals of tolerance and justice through more
than four years of aggression and genocide. We reiterate
our commitment to the unity of the territory of Bosnia and
Herzegovina, and to its sovereignty within its
internationally recognized borders. We likewise call upon
all parties to completely implement the provisions of the
Dayton Agreement and make efforts to bring war criminals
to justice.
The State of Qatar welcomes the agreement reached to
put an end to the bloodshed in Chechnya, and we hope that
the parties concerned will work for the establishment of
peace and security in that region.
Developments in the world economy and the new
prospects they offer, starting with the signing of the
General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and the
establishment of the World Trade Organization (WTO),
require further measures to help fragile economies to
develop and to give momentum to the global economy.
It is important therefore to reconsider the issues of
the cost of weapons and the settlement of disputes by
peaceful means, such as preventive diplomacy and the
provision of the necessary material and human resources.
The costs saved in this manner must be rechannelled to
assist developing countries to bolster their economies and
raise the living standards of their citizens. Assistance from
developed and rich countries should be used to combat
poverty and underdevelopment.
The issues of poverty, underdevelopment and
deprivation also threaten the environment. The
overpopulation of our world has been a constant threat for
many years and can only lead to a deterioration of the
environment and to the spread of poverty in many countries
of the world. Huge resources are squandered on non-
essentials that cannot help to bridge the gap between rich
and poor countries. The situation is getting more serious
every day, and we should all be aware that a solution to
these problems requires a reconsideration of the
squandering of these resources in ways that do not alleviate
human suffering or even meet human needs in poor
countries all over the world. Developed countries and
international organizations should bear the responsibility in
finding the proper solutions to these problems to raise the
standard of living of poor peoples. The new world order
should not add to suffering and poverty in poor countries.
We reaffirm our confidence in the United Nations and
our support for this unique international institution that
bears the responsibility of dealing with grave humanitarian,
social, economic and political problems and that attempts
to find effective solutions to these problems in accordance
with the high ideals contained in the Charter for the
establishment of a peaceful, secure and prosperous world
in which cooperation should prevail.


I should like first to extend
warm congratulations to Mr. Razali Ismail on his election
to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-first
session. We have no doubt that the session will benefit
from his known skills as he discharges his responsibilities.
I should also like to commend Mr. Diogo Freitas
do Amaral for the excellent work done during his term of
office.
I should also like to express to the Secretary-General,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, our continued confidence in his
guidance of the Organization.
Allow me at the outset of this, my first opportunity to
speak before the General Assembly, to express the deep
gratitude and appreciation of the people and Government of
South Africa for the decision taken by the Assembly at the
fiftieth session to relieve the new democratic Government
of South Africa of the burden of the contribution to the
United Nations budget accumulated over the period of two
decades when the apartheid regime was excluded from
participating in the work of the General Assembly. We
recognize that that action involved considerable sacrifice,
both for the United Nations and for its Member States, and
that it was also consistent with the historic commitment of
support for our struggle for democracy.
South Africa remains committed to achieving a world
free of all weapons of mass destruction and to addressing
the issue of the proliferation of conventional weapons. We
therefore welcome the adoption of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which we signed
yesterday.
Our support for the CTBT as an instrument of
disarmament and non-proliferation is based upon the view
that this Treaty is an integral part of a process which will
lead to the full implementation of the nuclear-disarmament
obligations set out in article VI of the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
An important milestone along this road was the
adoption of the Pelindaba Treaty creating the African
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone. This Treaty will contribute
greatly to measures aimed at achieving a world free from
nuclear weapons. Further steps are needed in the process to
bring the world closer to the ultimate goal of the
elimination of nuclear weapons. The next step is for
African States to cooperate with parties to the other
nuclear-weapon-free-zones in the Pacific and Latin
American regions with a view to promoting a southern
hemisphere-wide nuclear-weapon-free zone. We are
heartened by the unprecedented step of four nuclear-
weapon States’ signing the relevant Protocols of the
Pelindaba Treaty simultaneously with African States in
April 1996, while the fifth has indicated that it will sign
shortly. South Africa, as stated previously in other
forums, will also work for the commencement next year
of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on a
treaty banning the production of fissile material for
nuclear weapons.
South Africa also supports and will work for the
establishment of an ad hoc committee on nuclear
disarmament in the Conference on Disarmament. This
committee can identify and negotiate the necessary steps
by which we can achieve the ultimate goal of the eventual
elimination of nuclear weapons. We also look forward to
the early ratification of the Chemical Weapons
Convention by those States that have not yet done so.
It is not just the threat posed by all weapons of mass
destruction and their means of delivery that is of serious
concern to my Government, but also the build-up of
conventional weapons beyond a level which can be
considered legitimate for the purposes of self-defence.
Conventional weapons are, in fact, the cause of most of
the deaths and suffering of millions of people in conflicts
around the world today.
My Government would therefore like to encourage
all States Members of the United Nations to support and
participate in the United Nations Register of Conventional
Arms, and lend active support to General Assembly
resolution 50/70 B on small arms and its panel of
governmental experts mandated to assist the Secretary-
General to prepare a report on small arms. We would also
encourage Member States to support the worldwide
efforts to secure the elimination of anti-personnel
landmines. In order to alleviate the suffering caused by
landmines, my Government is committed to reinforcing
international cooperation. As a country with advanced
demining technology, we are pleased to be making a
modest contribution to international efforts to unearth
landmines.
South Africa will continue to cooperate in the
various international forums dedicated to the
non-proliferation of the technologies and equipment which
17

could be used in the development of weapons of mass
destruction, and in discouraging any destabilizing build up
of conventional weapons.
Our harrowing experience under the tyranny of
apartheid has imposed a duty on us to place a high
premium on the promotion of human rights. In this regard,
our Constitution contains an entrenched and fully justiciable
Bill of Rights. In addition, plans are advanced for the
establishment of an office on the status of women to
provide a mechanism within the Government to act as a
monitor to ensure that a gender perspective is integrated
into all publicly-funded policies and programmes. The
South African Government regards it as a priority to
contribute to the efforts of the international community to
combat the violation of human rights.
In South Africa, and in the region as a whole,
processes of democratization have released a host of
productive human and political resources. This has, in many
ways, contributed to the achievement of peace, security and
stability in our region.
Our vision for southern Africa is one of the highest
possible degree of economic cooperation, mutual assistance
and the joint planning of regional development initiatives,
leading to full economic integration.
Civil conflicts have ravaged many parts of Africa. We
welcome the positive developments which have taken place
in Rwanda and Sierra Leone. However, serious conflict
persists in Liberia, Burundi and Somalia. The South African
Government is committed to playing an active role in the
ongoing efforts of the international community to assist the
people of Burundi to bring about lasting peace and national
reconciliation. President Mandela recently appointed a
special representative for Burundi, who has been given the
task of searching for a viable solution in close coordination
with other special representatives and with countries in the
region. These efforts need to be supplemented by close
cooperation between the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) and the United Nations.
At the same time, we are heartened by the progress,
albeit tentative so far, towards peace in Angola.
Representatives of Member countries assembled here will
agree that the people of Angola deserve peace at last as an
instrument for — or rather, as an important ingredient of —
embarking on the road to sustainable economic
development and social advancement. Our Government
commends the efforts of the United Nations, and especially
those of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General
for Angola, Maître Alioune Blondin Beye, who has with
tremendous patience and commitment guided the Angolan
peace process to the stage where it is today. We owe it to
the people of Angola to see this process through to its
logical conclusion.
Through the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution, member States of the OAU are collectively
committed to restoring peace and security on our
continent. In support of the OAU mechanism, we are
pleased that the Southern African Development
Community has recently created an organ on politics,
defence and security. These efforts reflect Africa’s
primary concern with issues of preventive diplomacy and
conflict resolution.
South Africa welcomed the spirit of dialogue and
realism that had begun to characterize the relations
between Israel and Palestine and was hopeful that this
positive development would gradually replace the
centuries of conflict in the Middle East. That hope was
further reinforced by the Declaration of Principles on
Interim Self-Government Arrangements reached in Oslo.
My Government is concerned, however, that recent
developments in the Middle East are likely to reverse and
jeopardize the peace process. We therefore urge all the
players in the Middle East to rise to the occasion and, in
a spirit of reconciliation, to move steadfastly towards a
lasting peace in the region.
We are seriously concerned by the marginalization,
particularly of African countries among the least-
developed countries, from the process of globalization and
liberalization. In this regard, closer attention should be
given to the need to address the external debt burden of
the least-developed countries, especially those in Africa.
Problems associated with the debt burden and its
servicing still persist and frustrate the rate at which the
continent can extricate itself from the vicious cycle of
poverty.
We therefore welcome the Mid-term Review of the
Implementation of the United Nations New Agenda for
the Development of Africa in the 1990s and recognize the
importance of the United Nations System-wide Special
Initiative on Africa, as well as the need to underpin its
success through appropriate and adequate resources.
In this context we also welcome the designation of
1996 as the International Year for the Eradication of
Poverty. We hope that the international community will
18

realize this objective in clear recognition of the challenges
facing it.
We welcome the World Food Summit, which is to
convene in Rome in November 1996 and which will afford
the international community the opportunity to demonstrate
its commitment to ensuring that poverty eradication
strategies are fully integrated into all initiatives of the
United Nations system.
My Government is encouraged by the outcome of the
United Nations Conference on Human Settlements
(HABITAT II). The results of the Conference represent the
collaborative efforts of the international community to
develop a consensus view on the fundamental need to
provide access to adequate shelter and infrastructure for all
people. Continued support for initiatives at the national and
international level to realize and implement the necessary
follow-up to HABITAT II should now receive priority
attention.
It was an honour for South Africa to host the ninth
session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD) in April 1996. My Government
believes that the sound basis for cooperation established by
UNCTAD IX and the call for partnership for growth and
development outlined in the Midrand Declaration must be
carried forward and implemented through the General
Assembly and other forums. South Africa is particularly
keen to ensure that the framework which we adopted at
Midrand for the reform of UNCTAD is translated into an
effective facility for the developing world.
South Africa also wishes to underscore the
fundamental importance of international cooperation in the
environmental and development fields. Sustained political
commitment through global partnership remains essential
for our continuing international cooperation efforts. It is for
this reason that we believe that the 1997 special session of
the General Assembly will provide an excellent opportunity
to reaffirm the principles and objectives of the Rio
Declaration’s Agenda 21.
South Africa, a country with a long coastline, has
considerable interest in matters relating to the law of the
sea. We are thus pleased that the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea and its implementing
Agreement have entered into force, and that the
International Sea-Bed Authority and related structures, of
which South Africa is proud to be a member, have been
established.
In my statement to the General Assembly during the
fiftieth session, I expressed the sincere hope that
significant progress would be made in bringing about the
establishment of an international criminal court. It is
therefore gratifying to see that the Preparatory Committee
on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court,
which was established during the fiftieth session, has
made much progress in bringing this idea to fruition.
What is now needed is to take this process forward by
holding as soon as possible a diplomatic conference
where the statute of the proposed court can be finalized.
It is widely acknowledged that the favourable
changes in the international climate are conducive to the
reform and modernization of the United Nations in order
to prepare the Organization to respond effectively to the
challenges of the twenty-first century.
I wish to recall that in his address on 23 October
1995 at the Special Commemorative Meeting of the
General Assembly, President Mandela, said:
“Indeed the United Nations has to reassess its
role, redefine its profile and reshape its
structures. It should truly reflect the diversity
of our universe and ensure equity among the
nations in the exercise of power within the
system of international relations in general, and
the Security Council in particular.” (Official
Records of the General Assembly, Fiftieth
Session, Plenary Meetings, 37th meeting, p. 6)
In this regard, my delegation wishes to register its
disappointment at the slow pace of advancement, with no
end in sight to the deliberations of the Working Group on
the question of equitable representation and increase in
the membership of the Security Council and other matters
relating to the Security Council. In this regard we support
the recommendation in the report of the Working Group
that the Group should continue with its work. We would
also urge Member States to demonstrate flexibility and
accommodation in their future deliberations and to display
the necessary political will in order to reach a common
understanding.
In the declaration that the Heads of State and
Government adopted on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations on 24 October 1995, it
was noted that
“In order to carry out its work effectively, the
United Nations must have adequate resources.
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Member States must meet, in full and on time, their
obligation to bear the expenses of the Organization, as
apportioned by the General Assembly. That
apportionment should be established on the basis of
criteria agreed to and considered to be fair by Member
States.” (A/50/48, para. 15)
My delegation has taken note of the progress of the
Working Group on the financial situation in highlighting the
problems facing the Organization, and urges all Member
States to pay what is legally due as soon as possible in
order that we may direct our energies to the real problems
facing the world at this time. As we approach the twenty-
first century, let us together resolve to redefine the role and
shape of the United Nations and render this institution
better equipped to carry out the important task of advancing
peace and development in the world.


It is a great
honour for me to extend to Mr. Razali Ismail our warmest
congratulations, on behalf of the delegation of Trinidad and
Tobago, on his election as President of this session of the
General Assembly.
As the United Nations begins the second half-century
of its existence, and as the international community seeks
to renew and reshape the Organization to deal with the
challenges of the approaching millennium, the Trinidad and
Tobago delegation is particularly pleased to see the
stewardship of the General Assembly in the hands of a
leader and a friend of Mr. Razali’s calibre.
My delegation would also like to express its deep
appreciation to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo
Freitas do Amaral of Portugal, for the able manner in which
he presided over the historic fiftieth session of the
General Assembly.
Today more than ever, we live in a global age, an
age of immeasurable possibilities and opportunities
engendered by advances in technology, the information
revolution and globalization; but it is also an age full of
peril, one characterized by complex and myriad
challenges, many of which we have yet to understand
fully or come to terms with.
In this age of globalization and fragmentation,
traditional national and international structures are
becoming increasingly inadequate to deal with current
realities. Nation States are also more frequently
confronting the need to find acceptable means by which
to yield elements of their sovereignty through regional
and multilateral action, in order to deal effectively with
global forces that are invariably transnational in nature.
In this sea of change in international relations, the
whole concept of international security has increasingly
moved away from the bipolar view, concerned largely
with military security, to one which assigns a central role
to sustainable development and the welfare of the
individual. The major actors in the international arena are
no longer solely nation States, but also economic agents
with a global reach and non-governmental organizations
with a growing global influence.
Yet these powerful forces that are inexorably pulling
us together are also simultaneously tearing us apart,
engendering fragmentation, reactivating age-old conflicts,
and threatening more than ever to marginalize and leave
behind large segments of humanity in the march to
progress. Among some of the more powerful and
industrialized countries, the fears of active integration and
engagement are leading to temptations to look inward and
to become more isolationist and more protectionist. In
addition, the problems of persistent poverty, increasing
unemployment, debilitating debt, declining levels of
official development assistance, environmental
degradation, drug abuse and drug trafficking, crime,
terrorism and social disintegration have combined to
present a formidable array of challenges, which, if left
unaddressed, threaten to overwhelm us and further
marginalize the vulnerable and disadvantaged among us.
In this new global environment, we are at a critical
crossroads, and in many ways the decisions that confront
us in the international community on the eve of the
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twenty-first century are no less important than those that
confronted us at the end of the war to end all wars.
In this evolving global society, the choices are clear.
Will we allow the world to drift towards the dangerous
anarchy of spheres of influence and unchecked
confrontation? Or will we commit ourselves to greater
cooperation inherent in the call to global neighbourhood
action? Will we allow ethnic conflicts and “ethnic
cleansing” to continue? Or will we resolutely resist the
primitive impulses by devising mechanisms to avoid
repetitions of these phenomena, wherever they occur?
Will we grasp the new opportunity for global
prosperity, or will we allow the common global enemies to
overwhelm us? Will we help to alleviate the crisis in
multilateralism and give to the world of the twenty-first
century a reformed United Nations, true to the ideals of the
founding fathers, or will we increasingly move in the
direction of unilateralism, seeking to use the United Nations
for narrow self-interest? Finally, will we give to the world
a new global order, true to the letter and spirit of the
fiftieth anniversary Declaration, and based on the
sustainable development agenda of the recent global
conferences, or will we build a world of two societies, one
getting progressively richer and the other progressively
poorer?
We must not be afraid of challenges. Trinidad and
Tobago, as a small developing island State, with all the
concomitant vulnerability and fragility, has embarked on an
aggressive, outward-oriented strategy of development. This
strategy has been informed by the need to optimize our
ability to participate in a global economy that is becoming
increasingly knowledge-based, fiercely competitive and
volatile. Our development strategy has as its basic objective
the attainment of broad-based economic growth with social
equity. It assigns a special emphasis to trade, investment,
tourism, agriculture, services and the environment, and it
seeks, through a political process of inclusiveness and
empowerment, to mobilize all of our human resources in
the task of building a sustainable democracy.
In November 1995, the new Government of Trinidad
and Tobago, which I have the honour to lead, assumed
office through the medium of the ballot box. The peaceful
and democratic transfer of power that took place at that
time was further ample testimony to the political maturity
of our peoples, and the political stability that we in
Trinidad and Tobago and the Caribbean have been fortunate
to enjoy.
In any democracy, however, one must be eternally
vigilant, constantly striving to enhance the democratic
tradition and strengthen the democratic process. It is in
this context that I have sought to establish a Government
of National Unity, committed to partnership-building at all
levels. Special emphasis has been placed on the
devolution of power from central to local government
authorities, so as to facilitate greater participation in the
democratic process. A National Multipartite Commission,
comprising representatives of labour, business,
Government, non-governmental organizations and the
Inter-Religious Organization, has been established and
entrusted with the task of formulating a comprehensive
plan of action to take us into the twenty-first century. The
aim of these and other measures is to build a truly
participatory society, empowering all of our peoples.
In the social arena, we have sought to create a viable
social pact among business, labour and Government, built
on consultation, partnership and consensus, so as to
provide stability, trust and transparency in industrial
relations. We have also sought, through our social
programmes, to place special emphasis on the
disadvantaged and dispossessed, with a view to providing
them with the necessary support, training and skills for
effective participation in our society. In this regard, a
Change Management Unit for Poverty Eradication and
Equity Building has been established under the authority
of a senior Cabinet Minister. The unit is entrusted with
the responsibility of formulating an integrated, multi-
sectoral and sustained approach to poverty eradication,
and ensuring its implementation in all facets of the
Government’s economic and social policies. As a
complement to this Unit, the Government of Trinidad and
Tobago will, on 24 October 1996 — United Nations
Day — set up a National Social Development Council to
mobilize national action to deal with the homeless and the
poor. This innovative approach to poverty eradication is
being implemented in close cooperation with the United
Nations Development Programme, which has provided
timely support in this, the International Year for the
Eradication of Poverty. In keeping with the spirit of
Beijing and the Platform for Action of the Beijing
Conference, a vigorous policy and legislative agenda is
being formulated and implemented through a consultative
process, the objective being to optimize the role of
women as equal partners in the development process.
With regard to the environment, a comprehensive
legislative and policy framework has been put in place to
respond to the demands of sustainable development. This
new environmental regime will serve to ensure a
21

“greening” of the Government’s own operations, while
simultaneously engaging the public and industry in a
partnership for responsible management, protection and
conservation of the environment.
Trinidad and Tobago’s economic programme places a
premium on trade, with the private sector as the engine of
growth in the economy. Some of the essential elements of
the strategy are the attraction of private investment flows,
creation of increased market access, and the implementation
of an appropriate industrial policy. This is being achieved
through the pursuit of a sound and stable macroeconomic
policy, supported by a prudent and disciplined fiscal and
monetary stance, and the delivery of an investor-friendly
institutional legal framework.
We in Trinidad and Tobago are under no illusions. All
of our national efforts will be in vain if we do not have a
supportive regional and international environment, as well
as access to a fair, open and non-discriminatory
international trading regime. Regional integration has
always been a fundamental component of the development
strategy of Trinidad and Tobago. Accordingly, our Republic
has built strategic alliances through the Caribbean
Community, the Rio Group and, more recently, the
Association of Caribbean States, comprising countries of
the wider Caribbean. We continue to be engaged actively
in efforts to deepen and broaden the integration process
within the region through initiatives that we hope will
culminate in formal relationships with the Central American
Common Market, the Andean Pact and the Southern Cone
Common Market (MERCOSUR). Our vision for the future
is a single free-trade area in the western hemisphere.
For small States like Trinidad and Tobago, greater
regional integration and cooperation are imperative if we
are to minimize the negative and pervasive effects of
globalization, while simultaneously laying the foundations
for our increased capacity to navigate the turbulent waters
of the expanding global economy.
Regionalism is a critical priority, but in today’s world
it must be conceived as a natural and essential complement
to wider international cooperation. The common evils of the
twenty-first century will require a common approach, a
common commitment. I can think of no other organization
more uniquely placed or more legitimate than the United
Nations to foster the global conscience, to fashion the
necessary understanding, to build the mutual partnerships,
and to organize the global cooperative effort.
In the field of sustainable development, the
continuum of global conferences, from Rio to Istanbul,
have laid down a global agenda, a development blueprint
for the twenty-first century. Yet as discussions on the
Agenda for Development have shown, there is a crisis of
commitment, particularly on the part of the developed
countries, to provide the required resources. “Donor
fatigue” and declining levels of official development
assistance threaten to render meaningless the global
understanding, consensus and Programmes of Action
forged in respect of the major issues and problems of our
times.
This negative mood imperils all of us, for it
threatens to subject some one fifth of the world’s
population, who live in poverty, to a life of perpetual
despair. But more than that, it ignores the fact that the
gap between the haves and the have-nots continues to
grow alongside the growth in world trade. It forgets the
message inherent in the common problems of our time:
that whether we like it or not, our progress, and
increasingly our security, is tied to that of our neighbours,
no matter how poor or how distant they may be. Finally,
it ignores the generally acknowledged fact that preventive
action to deal with the root causes of conflict is less
costly and more effective than corrective action.
Trinidad and Tobago also attaches the highest
priority to the fight against drug abuse and drug
trafficking. We have intensified our coordination activities
at the national level, and have systematically put in place
cooperative mechanisms with other Caribbean and Latin
American countries, as well as with other States whose
involvement is critical to the success of national and
regional efforts. We believe that the violence, the
corruption and the human despair which this menace
wreaks on societies in all corners of the globe, should
leave no doubt as to the imperative need for the United
Nations to accord priority attention to this question.
Trinidad and Tobago is therefore fully supportive of the
call for the convening in 1997 of an international
conference on this subject. My delegation wishes to
commend in particular the United Nations International
Drug Control Programme for its important contribution to
the multi-dimensional campaign against drug abuse and
illicit drug trafficking being waged within our Republic
and in the wider Caribbean and Latin American region.
We urge the Drug Control Programme to continue to
pursue a comprehensive and balanced approach to this
worldwide campaign, endeavouring to address equitably
the problems of demand, production and trafficking.
22

In the field of international law, we have over the past
decades seen a number of new agreements in virtually all
branches of human activity. Trinidad and Tobago is
encouraged by the progress made during the fiftieth session
of the General Assembly towards the establishment of an
international criminal court. We look forward to a positive
recommendation for the completion of work during the
fifty-first session of the General Assembly in order to
realize the goal of a diplomatic conference in 1998 to adopt
the statute and establish the court. We in the international
community have the responsibility to create this global
institution with the requisite global jurisdiction, and to
equip it with the necessary authority to make it an effective,
impartial body, with the broadest possible participation of
States from all geographical regions. Meanwhile, Trinidad
and Tobago fully supports the activities of the International
Tribunals for the territories of the former Yugoslavia and
of Rwanda.
In the field of nuclear disarmament, the international
community last year indefinitely extended the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and, earlier this
month, the General Assembly adopted the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. These two developments have
served to promote non-proliferation and nuclear
disarmament. The international community must now,
however, focus its attention on the emerging consensus that
all nuclear explosions must be banned.
A related environmental concern to which Trinidad
and Tobago, the Caribbean and the Alliance of Small Island
Nations attach the greatest importance is that of the
continued shipments of irradiated nuclear fuel, plutonium
and high-level radioactive wastes. At last year’s Review
Conference on the Non-Proliferation Treaty, Trinidad and
Tobago and the Alliance of Small Island Nations was able,
after long and intensive negotiations, to obtain agreement
on specific language registering the concerns of small
island developing States and other coastal States on this
issue.
The considerations which led us to pursue that
initiative then are still relevant now. These shipments
continue to take place despite the potentially catastrophic
effects on small island developing States, whose fragile and
vulnerable economies are overwhelmingly dependent on
their marine and coastal resources, and who possess neither
the resources nor the capability to deal with possible
accidents of this nature. Trinidad and Tobago would
therefore like to reiterate the priority concern we attach to
this issue, and to urge the shipment countries to respect the
wishes of small island developing States and other en-route
States, which have called for an end to these shipments
through their archipelagic and territorial waters, as well as
their exclusive economic zones.
The notions of shared responsibilities and collective
action are the raison d’être of the United Nations system.
As we prepare to face the new challenges of the twenty-
first century, these notions assume a critical relevance.
Trinidad and Tobago is convinced that the United Nations
has the capacity to reconcile these opposing forces of
globalization and fragmentation in the interests of us all.
The United Nations also has the strength and legitimacy
to transform the fears and perils of the new age into a
constructive global partnership of cooperation and
solidarity. Trinidad and Tobago pledges to work with
others to harness this potential and to confront the
challenges which face the Organization and the
international community as we move towards the new
millennium.