May I begin by
congratulating the President on his election to preside
over the fifty-second session of General Assembly and
pledging to him the full support of my delegation.
The new Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has
already put his mark on the United Nations, after less
than nine months in office. He has led efforts to reform
our Organization in an effective, fair and balanced
manner. I congratulate him and pledge the unwavering
support of my Government for his important mission.
Increasingly, as we approach the new millennium,
we have come to appreciate the value of international
cooperation, as most clearly demonstrated by the historic
first meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO)/Russia Permanent Joint Council in a ministerial
session that took place here in this building today.
The information revolution is advancing, and a new
sense of global neighbourhood and the gradual abolition
of trade barriers are raising the level of economic well-
being in different parts of the world. At the same time,
25

the world community is faced with challenges of a new
order of magnitude, making it necessary for Governments
to pool their resources and work together.
Global forces are in many ways eroding the traditional
boundaries between nation States. The trend calls for the
strengthening of international organizations competent to
tackle issues that no single State or groups of States can
deal with in isolation. Consequently, it is crucial that we
strengthen the United Nations. Without a reinvigorated
United Nations, the international community will not be in
a position to address the foremost challenges confronting
the twenty-first century.
Sadly, our Organization has not been endowed to meet
those challenges. Demands on the United Nations are
greater than ever, and the limited resources at the
Organization’s disposal are grossly disproportionate to the
tasks in hand. The question inevitably arises: Do we wish
to give the United Nations a clear and focused mandate and
empower it to carry that mandate out? In my opinion our
answer should be the same as the one Winston Churchill
once gave:
“Give us the tools and we will finish the job”.
Once more we must urge all Member States to pay
their contributions to the Organization fully and on time.
The Secretary-General’s reform initiative is the most
comprehensive attempt to date at fashioning the United
Nations of tomorrow into an instrument capable of serving
the common interests of all peoples, guided by the enduring
tenets of peace, human rights, the rule of law and social
progress, enshrined in the Charter more than half a century
ago. Coming at the end of a thorough and useful debate,
the Secretary-General’s report is in large part a distillation
of views expressed by individual Governments.
Inevitably, the report represents a compromise,
unlikely to accommodate all the wishes of a single State or
group of States. But, taken as a whole, it represents the best
effort to obtain what is realistically feasible under the
circumstances. The reform package should, in our opinion,
be accepted as an integral whole.
A focused discussion on the Secretary-General’s report
should give a boost to the ongoing debate among Member
States on an increase in the membership of the Security
Council, as well as a more equitable representation on the
Council. The Nordic countries have jointly presented their
ideas on this issue. Iceland welcomes the paper submitted
by the Chairman of the Security Council Working Group,
which is largely in line with the suggestions of the Nordic
countries, and hopes that efforts to resolve this
fundamental aspect of the entire reform process may be
brought to a successful conclusion during the current
session.
Although the reform of our Organization and its
long-term credibility must have a high priority, regional
conflicts continually demand our attention.
In the Middle East, the situation has rarely been
more uncertain since the signing of the Oslo accords. The
parties to the accords must not be distracted from
pursuing the path of peace. They should refrain from
creating unnecessary hurdles in the path of peace by
provocative undertakings likely to cause hostility,
suspicion and fear. There should be a clear and
unambiguous recognition that terrorism against innocent
civilians is wholly incompatible with the pursuit of peace.
Both parties have to ensure that international norms in the
field of human rights and humanitarian law are respected.
A troubled African continent remains at the top of
the United Nations agenda. In sub-Saharan Africa,
particularly the Great Lakes region, the situation is
worrying. The United Nations, in cooperation with
regional leaders and organizations, must spare no effort to
prevent the peoples of this region from further suffering.
By contrast, encouraging developments have taken
place in Western Sahara, where direct talks, held under
the auspices of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-
General, have greatly improved prospects for a
referendum on the future of the region.
Arms control and disarmament will continue to
occupy an important place in the activities of our
Organization. Our most immediate goal should be in the
area of conventional arms: to work for a comprehensive
ban on that most terrible destroyer of the lives and limbs
of innocent people, the anti-personnel landmine. The
recently concluded Oslo conference on this menace has
provided a welcome impetus to work towards a binding
treaty. Iceland strongly urges all States to banish this
inhumane weapon from their arsenals.
Human rights, which are of intrinsic value in
themselves, are also a vital part of efforts to secure peace
and stability in areas torn by wars and internal conflict.
Next year marks the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary
of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. My
Government applauds the Secretary-General’s proposed
26

streamlining of the work of the United Nations in the field
of human rights, bearing witness to a strong emphasis on
this crucially important aspect of our work.
Unfortunately, the human rights of women continue to
be disregarded. As the Secretary-General observed in this
forum earlier this week, violence against women has
become the most pervasive human rights violation. The
international community must work harder to correct this
situation and to improve the lot of women everywhere, not
least through the creation of better education and
employment opportunities.
Trafficking in drugs is a peril that recognizes no
national boundaries. To a greater or lesser degree, we are
all affected by it. In addition to the cost in human lives and
suffering, we are witness to calamities that follow in the
wake of drug abuse, the spread of AIDS, prostitution and
crime. Iceland welcomes United Nations efforts in the area
of drug prevention and looks forward to the special session
of the General Assembly on the problem of drugs next
June.
Next year has been declared the International Year of
the Ocean by the United Nations. The world’s oceans are
a crucial part of the earth’s biosphere, in addition to being
the single largest source of protein for mankind. This vital
resource is now threatened in some regions of the world.
Therefore, it is important that the Year of the Ocean be
used to raise public awareness and to reinforce efforts to
protect the marine ecosystem. A global, legally binding
agreement should be concluded to limit the emission of
persistent organic pollutants.
Problems afflicting the marine ecosystem call for
greater coordination at the global level, and also in the
sustainable use, conservation and management of living
marine resources. At the same time, we must recognize that
the primary responsibility for harvesting marine resources
in a sustainable manner rests with the States that depend on
such resources for survival. Also, while Governments must
work with non-governmental organizations, there is a need
to resist the indiscriminate pressure of unaccountable
protectionist groups that wish to sever the vital link
between environmental protection and economic self-
interest.
Although not yet in force, the Agreement for the
Implementation of the Provisions of the United Nations
Convention on the Law of the Sea of 10 December 1982
relating to the Conservation and Management of Straddling
Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks, which
provides a framework for regional cooperation in the
conservation and management of these stocks, has already
had a positive impact. In the North Atlantic, for instance,
fisheries-management conventions are under review in
order, inter alia, to adjust them to the provisions of this
Agreement. Iceland urges Member States to ratify the
Agreement.
As a new member of the Economic and Social
Council, Iceland welcomed the thorough discussion on
fostering an enabling environment for development during
this year’s substantive session. It is of grave concern that
the gap between the rich and the poor has continued to
widen. At a time of vastly expanded trade and investment
in the world, the least developed countries have seen their
share of world trade drop by half in two decades. Many
of them are threatened with exclusion from world markets
and economic marginalization.
The key elements for attaining sustainable economic
development are a sound policy framework that
encourages stable growth, a vigorous private sector, the
strengthening of institutional and legal foundations and,
last but not least, good-governance and anti-corruption
measures. At the same time, we need to focus on human-
development strategies. The strengthening of education
and school systems and health and social services must be
an integral part of any sound strategy for development.
We must mobilize the dynamic private sector,
together with bilateral and multilateral official
development assistance to secure sustainable growth and
poverty reduction in developing countries.
As the chairman of the Nordic and the Baltic
constituency of the World Bank’s Development
Committee, I emphasize the important role of the World
Bank Group in development cooperation. I would like to
reiterate what I stated in Hong Kong earlier this week:
that the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative
must result in a permanent solution to the unsustainable
debt burden of the countries in question.
27

Finally, this is a time of extraordinary challenges for
the United Nations and its Member States. This is why we
need a vigorous, strong and confident Organization, capable
of leading the way into the next century. For such an
Organization to become a reality we must now focus on
effective and meaningful reform. We should use the
momentum and not fritter away our time in long-winded
and familiar debates. Now we have an opportunity we may
not have again any time soon.


I am very pleased to see the
Foreign Minister of neighbouring Ukraine assume the
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prestigious post of President of the General Assembly at its
fifty-second session. In fulfilling your challenging tasks you
may rest assured of the support and cooperation of the
delegation of Hungary.
Our tribute and thanks are also due to your
predecessor, Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia, who
served us with distinction and innovative spirit.
In the post-cold-war era, international organizations
are undergoing a profound adaptation process. Here, in the
United Nations, we are only at the beginning of a bumpy
road. Whether the United Nations can find its place in the
new international political environment of the twenty-first
century depends on our foresight, realism and
determination. If our decisions are underpinned by a
strongly shared joint commitment to tackle the global
agenda, we can make the United Nations relevant for the
next millennium.
The reform proposals presented by Secretary-General
Kofi Annan are guided by the urgency of the task, sober
realism and healthy idealism as well as personal
commitment to change. We welcome the intention of the
Secretary-General to proceed to the early implementation of
concrete organizational measures within his own areas of
competence.
The package of proposals which require action by the
Member States themselves truly captures those areas of
United Nations activities where agreements are necessary at
this stage. The suggestions to ensure the desired coherence
of United Nations efforts in development cooperation, to
bolster its institutional capacity to combat international
crime, drug-trafficking and terrorism, or to integrate human
rights concerns into all principal United Nations activities
and programmes deserve our full support and need swift
and concrete action. Let me add the voice of my delegation
to all those who have called for approval at this session of
the package as a whole, which will have to be followed by
practical steps in order to translate it into meaningful
action.
In its foreign policy Hungary continues to serve
international peace and stability, with special regard to its
own region. The tragic events in former Yugoslavia, the
crises and convulsions on the territory of the former Soviet
Union and elsewhere, the emergence of aggressive
nationalism as well as populism in Central and Eastern
Europe, as an appealing “remedy” for political problems,
economic difficulties and social tensions, are vivid
reminders of the critical, sometimes lethal, nature of these
challenges. They underscore how important it is that the
international community act with appropriate means and
in a timely manner.
Hungary supports the efforts of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and of other
multilateral regional organizations to help prevent new
conflicts, to initiate, where needed, peacekeeping and
peace-building activities, to solidify the rule of law and to
promote cooperation in the OSCE area. My country is
seeking to consolidate genuine good-neighbourly relations
with all the countries of its region, especially with
countries bordering it, and to launch regional initiatives
and enhance regional cooperation to better respond to the
new challenges threatening regional stability. It is in this
spirit that we have been active in the creation of, and
have sought to expand, various forms of regional
cooperation, such as the Central European Initiative, the
Central European Free Trade Agreement and the South-
East European Cooperative Initiative, involving a large
number of countries in the region, or have moved ahead
with trilateral, more tailor-made, cooperative schemes
with a number of our immediate neighbours. Regional
and cross-border cooperation is a valuable asset for
regional stability and security, and has to be utilized to its
full potential.
As we look forward, from the invitation we received
from the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Summit in
Madrid to the winding up of the accession talks with the
Alliance, and in the expectation of the commencement of
negotiations on our entry into the European Union next
January, we wish to develop further such regional
activities of dialogue and wide-ranging cooperation in
order to prevent the emergence of new dividing lines and
to assist all the countries of the region in their drive to
join the mainstream European developments. We are also
confident that Hungary, through the structures of Euro-
Atlantic integration, will become an even more active
partner and supporter of the United Nations.
The post-cold-war era has brought to the forefront
urgent questions. These include issues related to the
future operation of the United Nations conflict-
management capacity. The debate unfolding on these
problems has political, legal and, quite often, emotional
dimensions as well. We welcome the proposals of the
Secretary-General geared towards enhancing the rapid
reaction capabilities of the United Nations.
13

It is in this context that in recent years Hungary has
increased its participation in United Nations mandated
peacekeeping operations in a variety of ways, including
both infrastructural and logistical support and the
deployment of military and police personnel, an example of
which is the Hungarian contribution to the Implementation
Force and the Stabilization Force and the considerable
increase in the number of Hungarian peacekeepers serving
in the United Nations peacekeeping force in Cyprus. We
are pleased that the performance and professional skill of
my compatriots engaged in various such operations all
across the globe are considered positively.
The issue of the functioning and the size of the
Security Council has been extensively dealt with at several
United Nations forums. Legitimacy and efficiency are both
important premises for any pattern of Security Council
reform. The general view is that, once the Security Council
is enlarged, its size and composition should be not an
impediment, but, rather, an asset for effective decision-
making and action, enjoying the widest possible support
and cooperation of the membership at large. Agreement on
Security Council enlargement is a fundamental pillar of the
United Nations reform process. We have to make sure that
with a future Security Council comprising Germany, Japan
and countries each from Africa, Asia and Latin America
and the Caribbean as permanent members, and also
additional non-permanent members, we preserve and
enhance the purpose-oriented character of this important
body.
The financial reform of our Organization is an
indispensable prerequisite to ensure its viability and
relevance. Payment of assessed contributions is an
obligation under the United Nations Charter. Hungary has
made serious efforts to meet all its outstanding financial
assessments, and now we belong to the yet small, but,
hopefully, growing group of Member States which pay all
their contributions to the regular as well as peacekeeping
budgets in full and without conditions.
To solve the financial crisis, we must find a way that
is acceptable to Member States and is good for the
Organization. The delegation of Hungary stands ready to
join in further constructive efforts along the lines of the
proposal presented by the European Union with a view to
arriving at a comprehensive compromise solution.
After the demise of the political structures of the cold
war, international protection of human rights and
fundamental freedoms can no longer be relegated to some
distant corner of United Nations activities. As a legitimate
concern of the international community, human rights
issues should be given their due weight in all United
Nations activities, in a well coordinated manner. This
must be reflected in the provision of adequate funding.
Today, human rights are violated on a massive scale
worldwide, and we all must stand up in their defence and
hold violators accountable wherever abuses occur. We are
aware that there exist regional, cultural and other
specificities in the field of human rights. We believe,
however, that these should not stand in the way of
consistency in promoting universal respect for human
rights and should not allow complacency to surface in
attitudes towards human rights violations.
We are pleased with the Secretary-General’s
excellent choice of Mrs. Mary Robinson to serve as the
next High Commissioner for Human Rights. We will lend
her assistance to make the United Nations more effective
in responding to human rights challenges, including those
stemming from ethnic discrimination. As recent
developments have shown, these represent a threat to
regional and international stability and security.
Development and environment are questions of the
utmost importance for the future, and even the survival,
of humankind. United Nations activities in this sphere
should lead to the elaboration of a comprehensive
programme for sustainable development acceptable to all
nations. We wish to voice our concern about the
insufficient progress achieved in this domain. We lend
our full support to efforts aimed at seeking solutions to
the burning questions of underdevelopment and at
stopping the processes of degradation of the ecological
habitat of our planet.
Armed conflicts continue to take their toll,
sometimes decades after the cessation of hostilities, due
to the presence of anti-personnel landmines. The plight of
tens of thousands of innocent victims has been a growing
source of international concern in no small part as a result
of effective advocacy by human rights groups and
humanitarian organizations. Hungary stands for the total
ban of these devices. My Government has supported the
Ottawa process from its very inception; it welcomes the
success of the Diplomatic Conference held on this issue
at Oslo and intends to become one of the first signatories
of the new Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction. This is an important
milestone in the development of international
humanitarian law and in the endeavour to put an end to
14

the immense human suffering caused by the proliferation
and indiscriminate use of these weapons. At the same time,
in our view, the remarkable achievements of the Oslo
Conference do not diminish the role that other forums,
including the Conference on Disarmament, can play in
promoting the objectives of the new Convention.
The horrible atrocities and genocidal acts committed
during recent conflicts have speeded up negotiations on
establishing international criminal jurisdiction on war
crimes and crimes against humanity. By establishing the ad
hoc tribunals on former Yugoslavia and on Rwanda, the
international community reaffirmed an important principle:
all those having committed war crimes or crimes against
humanity are to be held personally responsible and
accountable. It is our legitimate expectation that all persons
indicted by the tribunals will be brought to justice and
moreover that failing to cooperate fully with the tribunals
will not remain without consequences.
The experience gained from the functioning of these
two ad hoc tribunals has paved the way for the wider
acceptance of the idea of an international criminal court,
thus creating a firm legal basis at the universal level for the
establishment of individual criminal responsibility with
regard to war crimes and crimes against humanity. We are
committed to pursuing vigorously the negotiations at this
session to enable the finalization of the statute of the court
at the diplomatic conference to be held next year.
At this session, we have to focus our efforts on
preparing the ground for practical steps to make the United
Nations a viable and dynamic body. We must maintain the
momentum for change if we want to ensure a decent future
for the human experiment.


On behalf of the States members
of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), of which I am
the current Chairman, and of my country, Zimbabwe, I
extend our warmest congratulations to you, Mr. Udovenko,
on your unanimous election to the presidency of the
General Assembly at its fifty-second session. Your election
to that high office is a fitting and eloquent tribute to your
personal diplomatic qualities and to the valuable role that
your country, Ukraine, is playing in international affairs.
We are confident that, under your wise stewardship, the
deliberations of this session will achieve significant results.
We commend Ambassador Razali, the President of the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session, for having
brought his experience and wisdom to bear upon the
various special sessions and working groups of the
General Assembly that he presided over during the past
year, particularly in the area of United Nations reform.
May I also pay tribute to the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, for his vision and for his exemplary
leadership of the United Nations. I wish to commend him
particularly for his tireless efforts to assist Member States
in transforming the United Nations into a more dynamic,
relevant and effective instrument for meeting the
challenges that confront us as we approach the end of this
millennium.
Africa has consistently underlined the need for
reform of the United Nations and other multilateral
bodies, to promote the democratization and effectiveness
of the international decision-making process. Indeed, we
have maintained that such international bodies should
truly serve the collective interests of the peoples of the
world. It is in this context that we welcome the Secretary-
General’s bold package of proposals, contained in the
report entitled “Renewing the United Nations: a
Programme for Reform” (A/51/950), which has been
presented to the Assembly. These proposals merit our
serious consideration. We have taken note of those
proposals that the Secretary-General has implemented or
intends to implement, as they fall within the purview of
his powers as chief administrator of the Organization. We
have also taken note of the proposals that he is placing
before Member States for their consideration.

We stand ready to work closely with the Secretary-
General and other delegations to ensure that the reform
process is speeded up on the basis of consensus and
democratic participation. What is crucial to us is that
reforms go to the heart of the matter — namely, the
removal of anachronistic and undemocratic arrangements
introduced over 50 years ago.
The reform and expansion of the United Nations
Security Council is not only desirable but also imperative
if the Council is to ensure the successful implementation of
its global mandate to maintain international peace and
security on behalf of all States. The fact that major
geographical and political groupings representing the
overwhelming majority of the peoples of the world remain
under-represented and without permanent seats on the
Security Council is the greatest anomaly of our times.
Equally anomalous is a situation in which in this
enlightened age the wishes of the overwhelming majority in
the General Assembly will continue to be subjected to the
whims and dictates of the privileged few by virtue of their
wielding the power of the veto.
Why should a small minority of States continue to
wield so much power over the destiny of the majority
without the latter’s consent? Why, indeed, are there
frequent and persistent attempts by few States to undermine
and circumvent the most democratic and representative
body of the United Nations — the General Assembly — on
matters of crucial concern to the entire international
community? What are we to make of this? Are we meant
to conclude that democracy and good governance at the
international level should only be at the pleasure and behest
of the mighty and powerful? Surely this state of affairs
cannot continue, as it makes a mockery of the lofty and
hallowed democratic principles we profess to cherish dearly
at the national level.
The thirty-third ordinary summit of the Organization
of African Unity (OAU), held in Harare in June this year,
underscored the pressing need for democratizing the United
Nations Security Council and stressed that the process
should take full account of the position of Africa as the
largest continental grouping at the United Nations as far as
the allocation of permanent and non-permanent seats in the
reformed Council is concerned. The summit concurred with
the position of the Non-Aligned Movement that use of the
power of the veto should be restricted if it is not abolished.
However, for as long as it exists, the new permanent
members of the Council should be granted the same
prerogatives and powers as the current members.
Another area of fundamental importance to Africa
pertains to the reforms in the economic and social fields
of the United Nations. Africa is of the view that for
reforms in this sphere to be meaningful and credible they
should seek to reinforce the pivotal role of the United
Nations in development and, conversely, the centrality of
development to the United Nations agenda. We firmly
believe in the role of free enterprise as the motive force
in economic development. But any attempts to re-fashion
an exclusively political mandate for the United Nations
will marginalize its role in development, while giving free
play to blind market forces and finance capital. This is
clearly contrary to the Charter of the United Nations and
should be resisted.
The United Nations needs adequate financial
resources if it is to continue to fulfil its mandate
effectively, particularly in the light of the ever-expanding
burden of responsibilities that it has to shoulder. It is
therefore imperative for Member States to ensure that
they pay their dues and pay them in a timely fashion.
Unilateral actions to adjust the Organization’s scale of
assessment or to withhold funds from certain United
Nations programmes undermine the very foundation of
the Organization and therefore should not be condoned.
In the area of disarmament, we welcome the
adoption at the recently concluded Oslo Conference of the
draft treaty on the global ban on anti-personnel mines.
The overwhelming support that the treaty received is
eloquent testimony to the determination of the
international community to rid itself of these deadly
weapons, which have killed or maimed millions of
innocent people the world over. Africa, which has one of
the largest concentrations of anti-personnel mines and
perhaps the highest number of victims of these weapons,
is happy to join this international consensus. It is our
hope that those who remain outside the Ottawa process
will reconsider their position and decide to sign the treaty
when it is opened for signature in December of this year.
The past few years have witnessed the African
continent undergoing a dual process of economic and
political reforms. These reforms have in many countries
resulted in greater democratization, as well as in higher
economic growth rates. In the political sphere, democracy
and good governance have taken root on our continent. In
the past few years, we have witnessed the end of the
dictatorships and military governments in many parts of
Africa, and their replacement by governments committed
to the political empowerment of their people. In the
economic sphere, economic structural adjustment
2

programmes not only have stimulated high growth rates of
between 5 and 10 per cent per annum, but have also created
an environment that is increasingly receptive to foreign
direct investment and greater participation of the private
sector in our economies. Most countries have also entered
into multilateral and bilateral investment treaties with both
developed and developing countries.
At the subregional and continental levels, Africa has
taken unprecedented steps to assume greater control of its
future through economic integration. The historic convening
in Harare in June this year of the inaugural session of the
Assembly of Heads of Government of the African
Economic Community was an important landmark in
Africa’s efforts to build a stable and prosperous future for
its people. The session resolved to strengthen the African
Economic Community through the conclusion of protocols
with subregional organizations, such as the Southern
African Development Community (SADC), the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
(COMESA), among others, which are essential building
blocks for a viable economic community at a continental
level.
For these efforts to succeed, however, it is vital that
Africa receive the prerequisite support and cooperation of
its development partners and, indeed, that of the
international community at large. We should never
underestimate the enormous obstacles that the African
economies are confronted with. Africa’s external debt
problem and the heavy burden of debt repayments continue
to drain many of our economies of the much-needed capital
for development. More resources in the form of debt
repayments than those coming in the form of aid are
leaving the continent. There is a need, therefore, for
international financial institutions to adopt a unified and
coordinated approach to Africa’s debt problem that will
help to redress the situation. There can be no better time
than now for the international community to augment our
own efforts to bring the much-awaited peace dividend to
our people.
Foreign direct investment to Africa should continue to
be augmented by official development assistance. The
steady fall of this assistance from 0.34 per cent in 1992 to
0.25 per cent in 1996 is therefore a matter of serious
concern to us. We commend those countries which have
surpassed the target of allocating 0.7 per cent of gross
domestic product to official development assistance and
urge others to do likewise. We welcome new initiatives on
Africa that have recently been announced in the area of
trade, investment and infrastructure development. These
are, indeed, a result of the recognition that Africa risks
being marginalized unless innovative ways are found to
support its development efforts.
Africa in terms of conflict situations still suffers
from a number of setbacks. The situation in Sierra Leone,
where a military junta overthrew the democratically
elected Government of that country in May this year, is
a matter of serious concern to us. The Organization of
African Unity (OAU), meeting in Harare for its thirty-
third summit, unequivocally condemned the coup and
called for the immediate and unconditional restoration of
the constitutional Government of Sierra Leone. Africa’s
message is loud and clear. The days of military
dictatorships are over. Africa cannot and will not give
legitimacy to regimes that willy-nilly flout the rule of law
and the popular aspirations of their people. We appeal to
the international community not to give solace to these
military juntas in the name of humanitarian aid, but to
stand solidly with Africa in denying them recognition.
Of equal concern to Africa are the crises in the
Republic of Congo (Brazzaville), Somalia, the Sudan,
Western Sahara, Burundi and the Comoros. In this respect
we take note of, and reaffirm our support for, the United
Nations initiative through the Secretary-General’s envoy,
Mr. James Baker, which seeks to find a lasting solution
to the problem of the Saharan Arab Democratic Republic.
The OAU is working tirelessly through the
Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management and
Resolution in search of African solutions to these African
problems. We call on the United Nations and the
international community at large to support Africa’s
initiatives to resolve these conflicts and to strengthen the
OAU’s capacity for preventive diplomacy and conflict
resolution.
We are encouraged by the continued engagement of
the United Nations in Angola and welcome the adoption
by the Security Council last month of resolution 1127
(1997), calling on the União Nacional para a
Independência Total de Angola (UNITA) to abide by the
Lusaka Protocol. Africa and the entire international
community welcomed the successful holding of elections
in Liberia, and we congratulate the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) on the important role
it played in helping to bring that conflict to an end.
We salute the people of the Democratic Republic of
Congo on the positive developments that have taken place
3

in their country and welcome the commitment of their
Government to restore and uphold democracy and
democratic principles. Obviously, after so many decades of
dictatorship and plunder, the task of rehabilitation and
reconstruction in that country is not going to be an easy
one. The people of the Democratic Republic of Congo need
our support in their endeavours to restore peace and
stability in their country.
Indeed, basic necessities such as food and shelter,
together with peace, security and stability, are the foremost
human rights that the people of the Democratic Republic of
Congo ask of the international community in this, their hour
of greatest need. While inquiry into alleged massacres in
the Congo may be important, the lofty principles of peace,
democracy and good governance which we all cherish so
dearly, will be realized in that country only if immediate
support is provided by the international community.
In respect of the dispute between the Libyan Arab
Jamahiriya and both the United States and Britain
concerning the Lockerbie issue, the OAU summit expressed
the hope that the Security Council would consider ways and
means to ensure a rapid resolution of this dispute.
The peace process in the Middle East is in serious
jeopardy as a result of Israel’s refusal to freeze the building
of settlements in the occupied territories. There is a real
risk of reversal of important gains that have been achieved
so far in that part of the world. We call on the parties to
the peace process to show good faith and give peace a
chance.
In conclusion, I wish to reiterate that we believe the
United Nations reform process has reached a crucial stage.
We have always believed that the United Nations, as a
living organism, needs to respond to its changing
environment. It is our sincere hope, therefore, that we can
make progress expeditiously. We in Africa aspire, in these
reforms, for a United Nations which upholds universal
values and interests, attends to the urgent needs of the least-
developed regions of the world, and remains at the service
of humanity.


First of all, I should like to extend my warmest
congratulations to you, Sir, on your election to the
presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-second
8

session. As an architect of stability, you have played a
substantial role in securing the recent conclusion of a
number of major agreements with Ukraine’s neighbouring
countries. I am certain that both that experience and the
experience you have acquired in the field of international
relations and at the United Nations will be decisive factors
in leading this session to a successful outcome. I should
like to assure you, Sir, of our full support.
I should also like to thank your predecessor,
Ambassador Razali, for the skill and commitment with
which he led our work at the last session of the General
Assembly. I also wish to express my appreciation to our
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the splendid work
he has performed since taking office and, in particular, for
his wide-ranging proposals for the reform of the United
Nations, which he presented last 16 July.
It is an honour for me to address this Assembly today
on behalf of the European Union, which, like the United
Nations, is seeking to change and renew itself in order to
face more effectively the challenges of the new millennium.
Globalization, with its emphasis on growing
interdependence between nations and their economies, is
bringing profound changes in international relations. A
particular feature of this globalization is the genuine
revolution in the field of information and communications
technologies, which banishes any notion of geographical
distance. Globalization, characterized by the acceleration of
trade and financial flows and by increased market
integration, is a source for both progress and fresh
opportunities. However, it also raises some serious
questions, even among the industrialized countries, which
are experiencing a worrying rise in unemployment. We note
at the same time that these developments are passing by
many developing countries, which remain in great poverty.
More than 1.5 billion people still live in absolute poverty.
We cannot remain indifferent to this situation.
We are particularly concerned by the growing
inequality both within countries and between countries of
the North and of the South, which is a dangerous source of
further conflict and tension.
Free of the threat of confrontation in a polarized
world, we are faced today with a series of global problems
both old and new: underdevelopment, population growth,
increasingly large-scale migration, damage to the
environment, the proliferation of weapons of all kinds,
terrorism, ethnic conflict, drug trafficking, violence — the
blind, hateful violence against innocent people that we
witness nearly every day, for example in Algeria — and
crime, often in forms never before encountered.
In order to deal successfully with all these problems,
it is essential that we continue to promote justice and
solidarity between all countries and individuals as well as
tolerance — I lay particular stress on “tolerance” — and
respect for others and, above all, to strengthen
cooperation between States on both the regional and the
world levels.
Progressive integration that respects national identity
is a hallmark of the policy of the States members of the
European Union. In scarcely more than 50 years, we have
succeeded in developing in Europe a stability and a
prosperity that the continent has never before experienced.
The European Union is based on democracy as its
political system and on a social market economy as its
economic system. Our market economy is not a free-for-
all; it is mitigated by considerations of social welfare.
States retain full responsibility in the fields of health,
education and social justice. Although this system requires
constant adjustment, its principles are sacrosanct.
The European Union, wishing to respond to the
challenges of the post-cold-war world, proposes to take
up three major challenges over the years ahead: the
establishment of an economic and monetary union; the
strengthening of its institutional base through the
implementation of the Amsterdam Treaty; and preparation
for further enlargement towards the eastern and southern
Europe.
Economic and monetary union is probably the most
important and most ambitious economic and political
project to be implemented by Europe since the beginning
of the integration process. The Euro, as the single
currency is to be known, will come into existence on 1
January 1999. Its introduction is the culmination of the
lengthy process of implementation of the single market.
The Euro is the logical consequence of the venture
embarked upon with the European Community’s
foundation in 1957.
In order to prepare for the single currency, the States
members of the European Union have successfully
committed themselves to strengthening the coordination
of their economic policies and the pursuit of healthier,
more stable macroeconomic and budgetary policies.
The creation of the Euro will help to achieve greater
stability and a more balanced international monetary
9

system. It will help to reduce monetary uncertainty and will
give a boost to the development of trade, investment and,
hence, growth and employment both at the European and
the world levels.
The Heads of State or Government of the European
Union reached political agreement on 17 June this year on
a new treaty for Europe, the Amsterdam Treaty. This
Treaty will be submitted for signature by plenipotentiaries
in two weeks’ time. The Amsterdam Treaty marks a further
step in the building of Europe and opens the way for the
launching of the enlargement process. It provides for
greater consistency in the external action of the Union, and
will enable it to anticipate crises more effectively and to
provide a more efficient protection of its economic
interests. It emphasizes the defence and security dimension
of the European Union, and clarifies in particular the
Union’s role in respect of peacekeeping or peacemaking
missions and humanitarian action.
The new Treaty also provides for the creation of an
area of freedom, security and justice, which will enable the
Union to take more effective and coordinated action to
combat terrorism, major crime and illegal immigration.
Finally, a number of provisions underline the importance
that the Union attaches to the promotion and to the
protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms.
This coming December, the Union will take major
decisions on future enlargement. Negotiations on accession
should begin as early as possible next year. The
international repercussions of the enlargement of the Union
will far transcend the new frontiers of an enlarged Europe;
this enlargement will add to Europe’s influence in the
world, will provide the European Union with new
neighbours and will make Europe a peaceful, more united
and more stable area.
In taking up these three challenges, the European
Union member States seek to unite further in order to form
a common front against the problem of unemployment and
to take more effective action to combat organized crime,
terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of every kind, to
act more effectively to prevent major environmental
damage and to ensure lasting growth while making the best
possible use of the world’s resources.
At the same time, the European Union is seeking to
increase its influence over world affairs, promote values
such as peace and security, democracy and human rights in
a more effective manner, defend its conception of the social
model and assert its presence on international markets.
It is in that spirit, and in order to strengthen
cooperation in the political, economic and financial fields,
that the European Union is developing relations of
partnership with all the countries of the world.
A larger and more united European Union will also
make a greater contribution towards development
cooperation with the most disadvantaged countries. The
development assistance of the European Union is part of
a policy designed to roll back poverty and inequality in
the world and to foster a sustainable development.
The Union is already the largest contributor to the
regular budget of the United Nations and to the budget
for United Nations peacekeeping operations. It is also the
largest international aid donor. The European Community
and its member States provide over half the humanitarian
aid dispensed worldwide and fund 50 per cent of
international development aid. We provide 40 per cent of
assistance for the reconstruction process in Bosnia and
Herzegovina, nearly 60 per cent of international aid to
Russia and to the republics of the former Soviet Union,
half of the aid for the Palestinian territories and one third
of the total aid for the Middle East.
As in the past, the European Union describes its
relations with third countries, together with its positions
on and action in respect of areas of conflict throughout
the world, in a memorandum that is circulated as an
integral part of this address. I should like, however, to
highlight a number of issues which continue to hold our
full attention.
The European Union continues to make a major
contribution towards the consolidation of peace in all the
countries of the former Yugoslavia. It wishes to develop
its relations and to strengthen its cooperation with those
countries to the extent that their respective Governments
pursue a policy which respects the peace agreements
concluded and which enables them to progress towards
democracy, the rule of law, tolerance and respect for
human rights and minorities.
The European Union is concerned at the tardiness in
implementing the peace agreements in Bosnia and
Herzegovina. It emphasizes that the responsibility for
such implementation rests with the parties themselves.
We fully support the efforts of the High
Representative, Mr. Carlos Westendorp. We pay a tribute
to his deputy, Ambassador Gerd Wagner, to Mr. David
10

Krishkovich and to their colleagues who have given their
lives in their commitment to peace.
The European Union is determined to insist on the
strict and full application of the peace agreements in Bosnia
and Herzegovina and of the conclusions of the Sintra
ministerial meeting. It is on the basis of such application
that the European Union is willing to continue to contribute
to the international reconstruction effort. It continues to
attach great importance to the return of refugees and
displaced persons and to demand the full cooperation of all
parties with the International Criminal Tribunal as a
necessary condition for a lasting reconciliation and a just
peace.
Without minimizing the difficulties in the Muslim
Croat Federation, the European Union observes with
concern the political crisis which has erupted in the
Republika Srpska. It calls on all parties to respect the
constitutional functioning of that entity and to take vigorous
action to reform the police and to establish freedom of the
press. We believe the holding of legislative elections under
the supervision of the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) constitutes the appropriate
and democratic means for resolving the present political
deadlock.
The European Union welcomes the recent holding of
municipal elections, on 13 and 14 September, with the
participation of all the parties. These elections mark an
important step in the process of democratization in Bosnia
and Herzegovina. We appeal to the parties to respect the
results as certified by the OSCE.
The European Union also remains concerned by the
situation in Kosovo, in particular by the lack of respect for
human rights and the principles of the rule of law.
Concerning Cyprus, the European Union regrets that
the intercommunal talks under the aegis of the United
Nations have failed to register progress. We call on the
leaders of both communities to resume the talks, as
proposed by Mr. Cordovez. We urge them and all parties
concerned to work constructively and in good faith to
promote the success of these talks. We reject any link
between the talks and the membership negotiations with
Cyprus. The latter will be initiated in accordance with the
decisions taken by the European Council and will contribute
positively towards the search for a political solution. The
European Union recalled that Cypriot membership should
benefit both communities and should help to bring about
civil peace and reconciliation.
In the Middle East, the peace process is at a
worrisome standstill. The European Union calls on the
peoples and Governments of the region to renew the spirit
of mutual confidence which, at Madrid in 1991 and in
Oslo in 1993, gave rise to the hope of a just, lasting and
comprehensive peace. We call upon the Israeli and
Palestinian leaders to continue the negotiations to further
the implementation of the Interim Agreement and the
Hebron agreement, and to resume talks on permanent
status. We ask them once more to abstain from any
unilateral action which may prejudice the issues relating
to permanent status.
The European Union firmly condemns the recent
terrorist attacks in Jerusalem. We call on each side to
show absolute determination in combating terrorism. We
hope that cooperation in the field of security between
Israel and the Palestinian Authority will be re-established
and reinforced. To that end, we propose the setting up of
a permanent security committee with the participation of
the parties involved and, possibly, with that of the United
States and the European Union.
We urge both parties not to yield to blackmail by
extremists bent on sabotaging the peace process. We ask
that Israel discontinue certain measures taken with regard
to the Palestinians which we consider to be counter-
productive. In particular, we ask that Israel transfer all of
the tax revenue owed to the Palestinian Authority. It is
not in the interests of peace to weaken the Palestinian
economy, administration and leadership and to feed the
feelings of frustration and humiliation of an entire people.
In the opinion of the European Union, peace remains the
only strategic choice and the only lasting guarantee for
the security and prosperity of both sides.
The European Union will continue, through the
efforts of its Special Envoy for the Middle East Peace
Process, Ambassador Moratinos, as well as through its
diplomatic relations, its economic commitment and its
relations of friendship and trust with the various parties,
to work with the parties concerned both within and
outside the region, and especially with the United States,
to relaunch the peace process.
In Africa, major developments have occurred in
recent months, notably in the Great Lakes region, which
continues to experience serious problems. The European
Union fully supports the efforts undertaken there, as
elsewhere, by the Organization of African Unity (OAU)
in close cooperation with the United Nations. It welcomes
the action taken by both its special representative,
11

Mr. Ajello, and the Special Representative of the
Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the OAU,
Mr. Sahnoun. The international community must thus aim
at establishing peace, at consolidating the process of
national reconciliation in the countries concerned, at
creating a climate conducive to the voluntary return of
refugees and of facilitating the establishment of normal
democratic life. We support the introduction of the rule of
law, which should put an end to the climate of impunity
prevailing in the region and encourage its economic and
social recovery.
The accession of the new authorities in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo signals a very important change for
the Congo and the whole of Africa. The European Union is
aware of the scale of requirements for reconstruction in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo and is willing to
contribute its support for reconstruction. It confirms its
readiness to resume cooperation with that Government on
a gradual basis. The resumption of cooperation will depend,
according to the conclusions of the European Council of
Amsterdam, on the progress observed in the fields of
human rights, democratization and the establishment of the
rule of law.
The European Union emphasizes the need for the
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
cooperate fully with the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees in order to ensure the safe
return of refugees, particularly to Rwanda. We also urge the
Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
cooperate fully with the United Nations in order that the
mission investigating the allegations of massacres and other
human rights violations can take place without impediment
or delay.
The European Union remains seriously worried by the
situation in the Republic of Congo (Brazzaville) and is
concerned that the parties to the conflict have so far failed
to overcome their differences. We urge all the parties
involved to cease hostilities and to work together to achieve
national reconciliation and restore a peaceful society. We
reiterate the Union’s full support for the mediation efforts
undertaken by President Bongo of Gabon.
The European Union condemns all violence in
Burundi. It encourages the authorities of that country to
accelerate the dismantling of the reassembly camps. We
earnestly appeal to all parties in Burundi to embark
definitively on the road towards negotiation and national
reconciliation.
The European Union is also concerned by the
worsening insecurity in Rwanda’s north-western
provinces, which affects all populations, without
exception.
The European Union welcomes the success of the
monitoring mission in the Central African Republic,
established under the Bangui Agreements.
The European Union also continues to be concerned
by the situation in Cambodia, which is likely to
jeopardize the whole democratization process and the
major efforts by the international community in support
of that country’s reconstruction. We renew our support
for the mediation efforts by the Association of South-East
Asian Nations and welcome the constructive constitutional
role played by His Majesty King Sihanouk in the search
for a solution to this crisis.
We appeal for an immediate end to all violence in
Cambodia and reiterate the importance we attach to the
holding of free pluralist elections in 1998.
I would like now to take up several thematic
questions.
The tragic consequences of the indiscriminate spread
and use of anti-personnel landmines have aroused genuine
emotion in world public opinion in recent years. In
October 1996 the Union, for its part, adopted a decision
on joint action on anti-personnel landmines in which it
expresses its determination to achieve the aim of totally
eliminating such mines and of actively working towards
the earliest possible conclusion of an effective
international agreement on a worldwide ban on these
weapons.
We welcome the work done at the recent Oslo
Diplomatic Conference, which resulted in the adoption of
an international Convention. We shall also be pursuing
the achievement of our aims at the Conference on
Disarmament.
Next 10 December will see the start of celebrations
on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration,
adopted on 10 December 1948, and the two international
pacts and other legal instruments on the subject that were
subsequently adopted, are still fully relevant today. We
reaffirm our deep commitment to the universality of
human rights and to their protection and promotion. The
year 1988 will provide an opportunity for all members of
12

the international community to step up their actions to
ensure better implementation of the universal principles of
the Declaration through the instruments and machinery of
the United Nations.
The year 1998 will also be an opportunity to review
the implementation of the Declaration and Programme of
Action adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights
held in Vienna in 1993.
We welcome the appointment of Mrs Mary Robinson
as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.
She will have our full support. We wish to underline the
importance of her mission, not least in the context of the
fiftieth anniversary.
Regarding the environment and development, the
General Assembly will be asked to endorse at this session
the results of the special session on the follow-up to
Agenda 21 and of the Rio Conference. The European Union
considers it essential that the implementation of Agenda 21
receive fresh political impetus. We believe it is imperative
that we come to a substantial conclusion of the negotiations
on climate change to be held in Kyoto in December. We
urge all States to work towards that end.
We have proposed clear objectives for the reduction of
greenhouse-gas emissions, and we hope that other States
will very soon be making their own detailed proposals in
order to speed up the progress that is vitally needed if the
Kyoto session of the Conference is to be a success.
Two years ago the Heads of State and Government
meeting in this Hall on the occasion of the fiftieth
anniversary of the United Nations observed that, in a
rapidly changing world, the objectives set out in the Charter
had lost none of their relevance.
In many regions of the planet, we still have to face up
to serious threats to international peace and security. More
than ever, we need to promote economic and social
development. It is vital that the ideals upon which our
Organization is founded — human rights, good governance
and democracy — come to be reflected more and more in
the behaviour of public authorities and in people’s everyday
lives. The primacy of the rule of law must be reaffirmed.
We realize that if our Organization is to respond
adequately to the profound changes in its external
environment it must adapt its structures to the new realities
of the modern world.
Last July we heard the Secretary-General’s ambitious
proposals, and we welcomed them. It is not, of course, a
question of rewriting the mandates of the United Nations,
to which we remain deeply committed, but of
transforming the Organization into a productive and
efficient instrument at the service of all the peoples of the
world.
In examining these proposals, at its fifty-second
session, the General Assembly is embarking on a period
of debate and decision-making that promises to be one of
the most significant in the history of the United Nations.
We need an Organization that fulfils its mandate to
preserve peace and international security more rapidly and
effectively by building better capacities for action in the
fields of preventive diplomacy, peacekeeping and
peacemaking, and by having more effective capacities for
action in the areas of recovery and reconstruction after a
conflict.
We need an Organization that responds better to one
of its fundamental objectives, which consists of promoting
economic and social progress, eradicating poverty and
ensuring the widest possible participation in an expanding
world economy.
We need United Nations funds and programmes that
can translate the objectives of the Organization in the
field of sustainable development. They must offer the
countries and the peoples of the world both material
support and a frame of reference that will enable them to
generate their own development in the most efficient
manner and in a way suited to their specific needs.
We need a United Nations system that provides a
credible response to the complex problems of
humanitarian assistance and emergency situations,
problems which include conflict prevention, peacekeeping,
rehabilitation and transition towards development.
Finally, we need an Organization that integrates in
all its activities the fundamental concept of respect for
human rights, which is an integral part of the quest for
peace and security, economic prosperity and social justice.
To attain those objectives, our Organization must be
able to rely not only on the commitment of the Secretary-
General and the cooperation of Member States, but on the
support of every sector of international society, and in
particular on the non-governmental organizations, whose
efforts inspire and complement our own.
13

The programme of reforms put forward by the
Secretary-General has two parts. The first concerns the
responsibility of the Secretary-General himself. It
supplements the series of proposals he put forward in
March this year. It is designed to rationalize the operations
of Secretariat services and United Nations agencies and to
improve their coordination. The proposals are intended to
mould those services into a more coherent structure. There
is a need to establish a community of ideas, a coherence of
effort and greater flexibility in implementing action. We
urge the Secretary-General to implement those proposals as
quickly as possible. The European Union considers that
modalities could be worked out to see that the savings
realized are reinvested in the field of development.
The second part of the programme deals with
improving the operation of the United Nations system and
strengthening its intergovernmental machinery. It requires
the approval of Member States. Here, too, the European
Union believes that the method used and the choices made
by the Secretary-General should open the way to effective
and far-reaching reform of the United Nations. This applies
particularly to the promotion of economic and social
development, which must remain one of the priority
objectives of our Organization.
In this sector, the reform should improve the
Organization’s capacity for action at the intergovernmental
as well as the structural and managerial levels. In the view
of the European Union, the reform of the United Nations,
as an instrument in the service of development, cannot be
conceived as a cost-cutting exercise; on the contrary, it
must be designed to strengthen and revitalize the
Organization so that it can respond to the challenges of the
future in the most effective way possible. Only a reformed
and revitalized United Nations can create the foundation for
a global partnership between developing countries,
developed countries and multilateral organizations, with the
prime objective of achieving sustained and sustainable
development.
The European Union believes that, taken as a whole,
the programme of reforms proposed by the Secretary-
General represents a balanced package. It attempts to take
into account the various interests in play and, once
implemented, will enable the Organization to fulfil its
mandate more adequately and to carry out its tasks in the
service of the international community more effectively.
We therefore consider that, if we want to achieve the
renewal of the United Nations, it is of overriding
importance that the Secretary-General’s proposals be
examined by the General Assembly in an integrated
manner and as a package. It is also important to abide, so
far as possible, by the timetable that the Secretary-
General has suggested, so that the reform measures can
start to be implemented at the beginning of 1998.
The reform programme before us affords us a unique
opportunity to reform the Organization from top to
bottom. It is for us, the Member States, to demonstrate
the necessary ambition, courage and clarity of vision to
show that we are equal to this challenge.
The European Union is well aware that the proposals
before us necessarily represent a compromise between the
sometimes divergent interests of Member States, and that
they cannot, therefore, fully reflect either its own views
or those of other schools of thought within the General
Assembly.
Because we believe that the programme of reforms,
taken as a whole, represents significant progress for our
Organization, the Union does not intend to press for the
fine points of its own positions to be taken into account
with regard to each of the proposals or recommendations
before us. It is our hope that other delegations will
approach this exercise in a similar spirit and that they can
agree to put the general positive thrust of the package of
proposals before the satisfaction of their individual
demands.
Over the coming weeks the European Union intends
to play an active part in the Assembly’s work. Our task
is to reach general agreement on a feasible, constructive
and coherent response to the Secretary-General’s
proposals, one that respects his responsibilities and his
authority.
Necessary as it is, the reform exercise on which we
have embarked will not bear fruit until the United Nations
has the financial resources it needs to fulfil its mandates.
For several years now, the United Nations has been
embroiled in a financial crisis, which began as a cash-
flow problem, but which has now become structural. That
crisis is undermining the necessary sense of partnership
between Member States and compromising
implementation of the Organization’s programmes in
many areas. The European Union has often stated that the
crisis cannot be resolved until all Member States have
agreed to meet their obligations under the United Nations
Charter in full by settling their arrears and by paying on
time and without conditions the full amount of their
14

mandatory contributions to the Organization’s regular
budget and to the budget of peacekeeping operations.
The States members of the European Union, whose
contributions represent 35 per cent of the regular budget
and 38 per cent of the peacekeeping budget, have always
honoured their financial obligations promptly, fully and
unconditionally.
The European Union has put forward a package of
coherent proposals designed to put the Organization on a
sound and predictable financial footing. They relate to
measures to speed up the payment of arrears, to tighten up
the system for paying contributions, to monitor United
Nations spending more closely and to reform the scale of
assessment so as to better reflect the principle of ability to
pay.
It is important that together, at this fifty-second
session of the General Assembly, we find a constructive
and viable solution to these questions, which are
fundamental if we wish to ensure that our Organization has
the capacity to fulfil its mandate at the dawn of the twenty-
first century.


Allow me at the outset to congratulate the
President wholeheartedly on his election to the presidency
of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly of the
United Nations. I am especially pleased at the election of
a distinguished representative of Ukraine, a country which
is a neighbour and friend of the Republic of Moldova, to
this important post. After declaring their independence six
years ago, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine worked to
create prosperous and democratic societies. I am convinced
that the President, with his great skills and with the support
of all the Member States, will be able to discharge with
distinction this lofty mission which has been entrusted to
him during this crucial period for the United Nations.
I would also like to express my appreciation for the
contribution made by Mr. Razali Ismail in his capacity as
President during the previous session. I wish also to express
our gratitude to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for
his efforts to reform this global Organization.
It is my honour and privilege to address the General
Assembly for the first time, and I would like to convey a
message of friendship and solidarity from the people of the
Republic of Moldova.
My country, which is very much devoted to the ideals
of the Charter of the United Nations, strongly supports the
reform process of the United Nations. That is why we have
taken note with interest of the reform programme proposed
by the Secretary-General. This package of proposals is
designed to achieve a reform in order to deal better with
the challenges of the coming millennium. We have
welcomed such initiatives and we support them.
It is clear that the reform of the United Nations can
move forward only if the financial crisis of the
Organization is settled. There is no doubt that Member
States must fulfil their financial obligations on time and in
full. At the same time, it is indeed necessary to reform the
system for the payment of contributions in order to achieve
a fair assessment, one that better takes into account the
principle of capacity to pay of each country. For our part,
we will spare no effort to honour our financial obligations.
The Republic of Moldova fully supports the efforts of
the United Nations to maintain international peace and
security. In the five years since our country was admitted
to membership in the United Nations, we have co-
sponsored several resolutions in this important field of
activity.
In the field of disarmament, last year the delegation
of the Republic of Moldova likewise voted in favour of
the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty. Consequently, I am pleased to report that on 24
September I signed this important Treaty on the complete
ban on nuclear testing. We are convinced that the
implementation of this Treaty can enhance international
security.
The Republic of Moldova also supports the efforts
of the international community to limit the use of and
ultimately to eliminate certain conventional weapons
which have injurious and indiscriminate effects, including
anti-personnel landmines. We are ready to contribute to
the efforts being made to obtain these objectives.
The positive developments which have characterized
the activity of the Organization in recent years have
brought about certain concepts and the diversification of
mechanisms for action in the field of international peace
and security. Some of these mechanisms could be
implemented soon. Perhaps I need not stress here the
usefulness and benefits of the United Nations standby
forces, which all Member States welcome. Yet, I wish to
emphasize that the Republic of Moldova would like to
contribute to this system and that last year our
Government expressed its readiness to take part in the
United Nations standby forces. That is why my country
intends to provide to the United Nations Secretariat as
soon as possible information concerning contingents and
equipment which are available for this purpose.
Moreover, the Republic of Moldova is considering
the possibility of taking part in United Nations
peacekeeping operations. We believe that our country has
already accumulated a certain amount of experience in
this field through its participation in a variety of
international manoeuvres.
Militant separatism has become one of the main
threats to international peace and security after the cold
war period. Totalitarian regimes have engendered ethnic
conflicts and frictions in certain countries of Central and
Eastern Europe. Some conflicts are rooted in age-old
animosities. Others, as is the case in the conflict involving
the Republic of Moldova which broke out five years ago,
are inspired by and supported from the outside, in order
to recreate a form of by-gone domination.
This is the reason why I would like to emphasize the
fact that the recent separatist trends which have appeared
in the newly independent States who are Members of the
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United Nations have nothing in common with the legitimate
aspiration of peoples to achieve self-determination. In our
view, attempts to construe the right to self-determination as
the right of an ethnic or national community to establish its
own government and to splinter off are real dangers to
international and regional security. Moreover, the right to
self-determination is treated in the Charter of the United
Nations as a principle which cannot serve to justify the
violation of the principle of the independence and territorial
integrity of a State. Nevertheless, it is imperative to define
this principle of self-determination more precisely in order
to avoid any subjective interpretations.
It is quite clear that the stability of small and large
States hinges on a number of factors, such as the rule of
law, respect for human rights, democracy and economic
development. Our Government is therefore striving to
establish an equitable social system based on the respect for
the dignity of the human person. And yet, the process of
economic reform, with all its inherent problems, is retarding
the achievement of these objectives.
The high social costs of transition are felt throughout
society. Despite all of these difficulties, we are nevertheless
determined to continue the process of economic reform. We
rely on the support of developed countries, the United
Nations and other international agencies and organizations
during this decisive moment in the reform of our country.
I take this opportunity to express the gratitude of the people
and Government of my country to those States and
international institutions which have supported the
strengthening of democracy and market-economy
mechanisms in our Republic. Furthermore, I note with
satisfaction that my country has made progress in building
its civil society and in establishing democratic institutions.
Nevertheless, it is a paradox that under such
favourable conditions we have not succeeded in achieving
a final settlement of the conflict which broke out in the
summer of 1992. Yet, the authorities of the Republic of
Moldova endeavour to find pragmatic solutions in order to
maintain the integrity of the country.
Following negotiations with the leaders of the
separatist region, and with the mediation of the Russian
Federation, Ukraine and the mission of the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe, an agreement was
reached between the parties involved with regard to the
general principles of the settlement of the dispute. A
memorandum was likewise signed on the normalization of
relations between the authorities of the Republic of
Moldova and the Transdnestrian region.
At the same time, the Presidents of Ukraine and the
Russian Federation and the Chairman-in-Office of the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE) signed a joint Declaration emphasizing the
importance of the parties' commitment in the
memorandum to conduct their relations in the context of
the existing borders of the country by granting special
status to the eastern region of the Republic of Moldova.
In view of the provisions of the memorandum, an ad
hoc commission was established to negotiate the legal
status of the Transdniester region. To our regret,
negotiations in the Commission are deadlocked because
of the intransigent and highly politicized position taken by
the Transdniester side. Therefore, no mutually acceptable
solution has been found on the key elements for resolving
the dispute, namely, the legal definition of the status of
Transdniester and the powers of the parties during the
transitional period. In opposing the provisions of the
accord, the Transdniester side insists on a settlement
which runs counter to the Constitution of the Republic of
Moldova and is prejudicial to the principle of sovereignty
over the territory of the country. Despite the commitments
they assumed by signing the memorandum, the separatist
leaders have, exceeding their power, enacted certain
unconstitutional laws establishing a so-called customs
border in Transdniester and a “commission for the
delimitation of the State border in the region”. In
addition, a series of unlawful acts have been committed
in the area controlled by the peacekeeping forces.
I must therefore emphasize that it is vital to ensure
more active mediation by the Russian Federation, Ukraine
and the OSCE mission, as well as stronger action by the
international community, led by the United Nations. I
should like to say the conflict in Transdniester could
destabilize the political and military situation, and
threatens subregional and regional peace and security. We
know that the separatist regime in Transdniester is
supported by a powerful paramilitary force having the
most modern weapons, obtained from the equipment
available to forces of the Russian Federation illegally
stationed on our territory. At the same time, the leaders
of those opposed to constitutional authority are trying to
obtain weapons belonging to the Russian military forces,
while opposing the complete withdrawal of the troops of
the Russian Federation and their weapons. It must
therefore be pointed out that disarming and breaking up
the Transdniester paramilitary groups is as important as
the withdrawal of Russian troops.
Both those processes must be monitored by
international observers. We have reached the conclusion
that an immediate and effective solution to this conflict
30

requires more active involvement by international bodies as
well as the countries of the region and even the major
Powers. We are awaiting such involvement, for our recent
experience demonstrates that all attempts made by the
authorities of the Republic of Moldova to settle the conflict
in the Transdniester region through dialogue and
negotiations have failed. The interests of the separatist
leaders are subordinate to other interests, entirely political,
going beyond our national context.
There is a danger that the conflict will continue
indefinitely. We believe that the problem of the eastern
region of the Republic of Moldova could already have been
resolved by peaceful means and in a civilized fashion if the
separatist regime did not receive strong support from
outside. More often than not such support has been given
deliberately, for reasons of geopolitical interests, but
sometimes the separatists in the eastern region of the
Republic of Moldova have received unintentional, indirect
support through the unlawful trade activities of companies
and firms in developed countries. We hope that the
Governments of countries where certain undertakings are
giving political and technical support to the separatist
regime in Transdniester will put an end to such activity.
These actions can no longer be tolerated for they constitute
ipso facto direct interference in the internal affairs of the
Republic of Moldova.
The illegal stationing of military contingents of the
Russian Federation on the territory of my country
continues. The deadline set by the 1994 Moldovan-Russian
Agreement on the withdrawal of Russian troops from the
territory is 21 October 1997. The fact that for three years
the State Duma, unlike our Parliament, has failed to ratify
the Agreement cannot be excused or explained. We have
been assured on several occasions, at the highest level, that
the question of the withdrawal of troops will be settled, and
it is regrettable that this problem remains unresolved.
We understand, of course, that the failure to ratify the
1994 Accord by the State Duma entails legal complications
for the Russian Government. However, we believe that the
time has come to find a solution to the question of troop
withdrawal. In accordance with the principles of
international law, no foreign army can be stationed on the
territory of another State without its free consent. In
addition, international organizations, particularly the OSCE,
strongly support the unconditional, immediate, orderly and
complete withdrawal of Russian troops from the territory of
the Republic of Moldova. Finally, Russia's admission to the
Council of Europe as a fully fledged member, was
conditional on the timely withdrawal of its troops from the
territory of the Republic of Moldova.
We believe that the political forces in the State
Duma opposing troop withdrawal will also be sensitive to
the legal commitments of the Russian Federation. We
hope that the removal of armaments and the withdrawal
of troops from the territory of the Republic of Moldova
will be speeded up and completed as soon as possible.
This course would certainly serve the interests of both
countries and would properly reflect the high level
reached in the development of relations between the
Republic of Moldova and the Russian Federation.
In conclusion, I express the fervent hope that the
work of the fifty-second session of the General Assembly
will take place in a climate of solidarity, with a realistic
and constructive approach to the complex problems facing
the world at the end of this century. My delegation, like
those of other Member States, is ready to make its
contribution to achieve the purposes of the United
Nations.