The world of today is faced
with a paradox. While our global interdependence is
growing and threats to our societies require globally
coordinated efforts, countries look inwards to their own
regions. But regional cooperation should never be made
a pretext for ignoring the outside world. It should open
itself to the world. It should be a building block for truly
global solidarity.
We need a vision of a global neighbourhood, a
global ethic and a global citizenship based on equality,
11

tolerance and solidarity. The globalization of our societies
is irreversible. We need to cooperate to deal with its
consequences.
We have the instrument: the United Nations. At 50,
the United Nations is the subject of criticism and lack of
confidence. The experience of political setbacks in Somalia,
Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia is not quickly forgotten.
As in Bosnia, alternatives to the United Nations are sought
to deal with pressing international issues.
But the tasks of the United Nations have not been
made easier by Member States’ refusing to give it adequate
resources. Many Members, including some major Powers,
still do not pay their contributions to the United Nations
fully or on time. It is a shame that the Secretary-General
has to devote much of his time to pleading with Member
States to fulfil their financial obligations.
Of course, the United Nations has its shortcomings. It
suffers from bureaucracy and resistance to change. There
are inefficiencies, but there are also success stories. We
must not forget how United Nations operations helped build
peaceful societies in Cambodia, El Salvador and
Mozambique, nor how United Nations humanitarian actions
have saved lives and alleviated suffering in Somalia,
Rwanda, Burundi, the former Yugoslavia and other crisis
areas.
For security in a broad sense, we need a global
Organization. We need the United Nations as a meeting
place. We need the United Nations as a guardian of
international norms and principles. We need the United
Nations to prevent conflicts and to find peaceful solutions
when violence erupts. We need the United Nations to cope
with global threats to human security. We need the United
Nations as a safeguard against environmental threats and in
favour of sustainable development. We need the United
Nations to promote democracy and human rights. We need
the United Nations as a focal point for global solidarity.
To realize this vision, we need a strong United
Nations. Present inefficiencies have to be dealt with
vigorously. Reform does not automatically equal down-
sizing. In some fields, we may even have to expand the
Organization. But resources should not be wasted.
Confidence in the Organization demands financial
discipline. A revitalized United Nations means a more
focused and more determined United Nations.
We need a United Nations that does not abandon its
position as the principal instrument for maintaining
international peace and security, a United Nations which
is capable of acting rapidly with adequate means and
resources. Today, I join with 15 other Heads of State and
Government in a statement in support of renewing
multilateralism. Without political leadership, the necessary
changes cannot be made.
My Government, the Swedish Government, sees the
following steps as immediately required. First, United
Nations Members must make a commitment to global
multilateral cooperation. Secondly, payment must be made
of assessed contributions to the United Nations in full,
unconditionally and on time. Thirdly, there must be a
commitment to strengthen and renew the United Nations,
including a time-frame for comprehensive reform.
Fourthly, a commitment to the United Nations as an
instrument for sustainable economic and social
development is necessary. Fifthly, we must adopt an
integrated approach to security in view of long-term
threats to our societies. Sixthly, there must be a
commitment to early action to prevent conflict and man-
made disasters. Finally, there is need for an agreement to
develop the capacity of regional organizations to act in
cooperation with the United Nations.
The Swedish Government is committed to a strong
and effective United Nations and we are ready to
contribute to this objective. Therefore, Sweden seeks a
seat on the Security Council for the 1997-1998 period.
Our candidature has been launched with the full support
of the other Nordic countries: Denmark, Finland, Iceland
and Norway.
Members of the Security Council have a particular
responsibility for international peace and security. It is
essential that small and medium-size countries serve on
the Council as well. The principle of rotation of non-
permanent seats is important to us, for we have not
served on the Council for the past 20 years.
If elected to the Council, Sweden would continue to
pursue openness and transparency. The links between the
Council and the United Nations membership at large must
be strengthened.
Sweden would take independent positions, upholding
the principles of international law. The primacy of
international and humanitarian law is a pillar of our
foreign policy. Sweden would contribute to a more
efficient United Nations role in the new generation of
peace-keeping, including better coordination between the
civilian and military aspects of such operations. We
12

would also work for clearer mandates for United Nations
operations.
The capacity of the United Nations to command and
control large-scale peace-keeping and humanitarian
operations should be secured. We need an Organization
capable of coordinating the various aspects of peace
operations, including political peacemaking, military peace-
keeping, long-term peace-building and humanitarian efforts.
In our national planning for participation in future
peace operations, my Government is taking steps to
integrate the training of military and civilian personnel in
order to facilitate coordination in the field. We invite other
countries to such training in Sweden.
Sweden believes that the sanctions instrument has to
be refined. It is an important instrument for helping to
preclude the use of armed force. But ways must be found
to avoid the suffering of innocent civilians and to alleviate
the consequences of sanctions for third parties. This is
essential for the credibility and efficiency of the sanctions
instrument.
The United Nations represents the moral authority of
the world community. It has a vital role in seeing to it that
war crimes do not go unpunished. The Tribunals for the
former Yugoslavia and Rwanda should be given the
necessary support. The message must be clear. Civilians
must be protected in all armed conflicts, whether internal or
international. It should never be possible to live out
criminal perversions, to murder, torture or rape with
impunity. A permanent international criminal court should
be established in the year to come.
The financial crisis and the non-payment of assessed
contributions to the United Nations must not be used as an
instrument to precipitate reforms, nor should they be an
excuse not to start urgent reforms. The possibility of using
alternative sources of financing needs to be explored
further. They could be used on a voluntary basis and serve
to finance special needs outside the regular United Nations
budget.
The financing of global development cooperation is a
critical issue that goes beyond the present financial crisis of
the United Nations. The willingness to pay is decreasing.
Development assistance is at its lowest level in decades.
Only four countries — Sweden among them — fulfil the
United Nations 0.7 per cent aid target. In our own case, we
maintain this commitment despite a very difficult financial
situation.
Negotiated replenishment of multilateral
development funds is not being honoured. The financing
of global cooperation is a long-term issue that requires a
long-term solution.
The globalization of our economies, our politics and
our daily lives calls for cooperation. This has been clearly
illustrated in the report of the Commission on Global
Governance. Industrialized and developing countries will
realize that we have common interests, not least in
meeting the threats to our common future, the
environment. Further efforts must also be made to resolve
the debt crisis for the poorest and most heavily indebted
countries.
We have a joint interest in open borders and free
trade, which create growth and wealth. A difficult
obstacle to such a development is the worldwide increase
in organized crime. In my own region around the Baltic
Sea, the Heads of Government have decided to elaborate
a common plan of action to combat cross-border crime.
I believe that this session of the General Assembly
should send a strong political signal that intensified global
efforts are also needed in this area. What is needed is
increased exchange of information, judicial cooperation
and closer cooperation in training, inter alia, through
Interpol.
Another global threat is the proliferation of arms,
both conventional arms and those designed for mass
destruction. For decades, Sweden has been in the
forefront in the struggle against nuclear arms. The entry
into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
is essential. It would be a historic step towards the
elimination of nuclear arms. I welcome the report of the
Canberra Commission. It is a timely and valuable
contribution to this endeavour.
Anti-personnel landmines are a threat to
development, to reconstruction and to human dignity in
many parts of the world. Mines do not discriminate
between an invading soldier and a child at play. They
totally ignore cease-fires and political settlements.
It is imperative that we move towards a global ban
on these killers. Stockpiles should be destroyed. Sweden,
for its part, will take such a unilateral step. All countries
must adhere to the stricter legal regime that has been
agreed for landmines, and much larger resources should
be directed to humanitarian mine clearance. My
13

Government is prepared to make its substantial contribution
to this end.
Multilateral cooperation is indispensable for dealing
with the crucial issues of survival facing us on the
threshold of the next millennium. We have a common
responsibility to give to the next generation the tools for
such cooperation. True security is global.
Sweden contributes actively to cooperation and
security in our Baltic neighbourhood and in Europe. Our
firm support for peace and development in the Middle East,
in southern Africa, in Asia and in Central America is well
known. True to our traditions and our vision, we continue
to stand up for cooperation and security in our global
neighbourhood.


Permit me at the outset, Sir, to extend warm congratulations
to Mr. Razali on the confidence shown in him by the
international community in electing him President of the
General Assembly at its fifty-first session. I take this
opportunity to extend my best wishes to him and to the
other members of the Bureau for success in directing the
meetings of this session and in all endeavours to strengthen
our Organization and promote peace in our world. I also
congratulate Mr. Razali’s friendly country, Malaysia.
I also take this opportunity to express my thanks and
appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Freitas do Amaral, and
the former members of the Bureau for their effective
stewardship of the fiftieth session.
I also wish to express our gratitude to the Secretary-
General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for the dedicated
efforts he has sincerely and honestly made to advance the
Organization and to promote its humanitarian mission of
settling disputes between States by peaceful means. In
conformity with the decision of the League of Arab States,
Jordan supports the extension of the Secretary-General’s
mandate for another term, in order to enable him to
pursue his mission and efforts in the service of
international peace and security and the reforms he has
initiated in the organs and Secretariat of the Organization.
The role of the United Nations and its specialized
agencies in the protection of international peace and
security and in enhancing and directing the world
economy towards liberalization and integration are among
the main reasons for my country’s devotion to the
Organization and adherence to its Charter. In view of this,
and out of our sense of responsibility and concern for the
efficiency and relevance of the Organization, we appeal
to all Member States to continue to support it, to fulfil
their obligations to it consistently and to work to resolve
its financial crisis.
I assert my country’s firm position on the need to
implement the necessary administrative reforms and
restructure the Security Council. The structure of the
Council no longer reflects the current balance of power.
Any expansion of the permanent membership of the
Council should take into account the increase in the
number of developing countries and the growing
economic power of certain industrial nations, such as
Germany and Japan. We have seen many plans and
proposals on this matter which the Security Council
should carefully consider, such as the Italian plan. A
review of the veto power enjoyed by the permanent
members should reflect the democracy and transparency
we seek.
In this context, I must emphasize the need to review
the question of economic sanctions, which neither
distinguish between a political entity and its innocent
unarmed civilian population, nor provide compensation to
third States adversely affected by such sanctions. We
must work together to create a durable formula. We also
call for opening the membership of the United Nations to
all peace-loving States, as stipulated in Article 4.1 of the
Charter.
This international Organization has made worthy
peacekeeping efforts in many countries. It has made
human sacrifices that would be unfair and unwise to
ignore. Jordan is very proud to have been among the first
countries participating in the peacekeeping forces in the
former Yugoslavia and elsewhere. In this regard, my
country’s effective participation in the Implementation
Force’s peacekeeping and peacemaking operation in
Bosnia is noteworthy.
8

In this regard, the fraternal people of Bosnia must be
congratulated on the Dayton Agreement and on the
elections it has held. A special tribute should be paid to
President Alija Izetbegovic´ for winning the presidential
election. We are ready, along with other peace-loving
countries, to help the people of Bosnia make the new
democratic experiment a success, consolidate and rebuild
the federal State and promote its reconstruction,
development, sovereignty and stability.
Before I move on to another international issue, I
would like to congratulate the United Nations on opening
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty for signature.
My country is proud to have been among the first countries
to sponsor the draft resolution under which this Treaty was
adopted and to have signed it. We hope that steps towards
nuclear disarmament will continue and will encompass the
Middle East region. We hope that negotiations will begin
for the conclusion of a treaty in the very near future
banning the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
nuclear and otherwise, so that a nuclear-weapon-free zone
may be established in the Middle East.
The peoples of our region have suffered the agonies of
devastating wars over the past five decades, wars which
have caused the deaths of tens of thousands, destroyed
basic infrastructures and brought the people of our countries
bloodshed, pain, deprivation, poverty and instability. Due to
the allocation of resources to the war machine and the
terrible arms race, their economies have gone into
recession.
Signs of hope, however, emerged for these people five
years ago with the Madrid Peace Conference in October
1991 and the subsequent bilateral and multilateral
negotiations between Arabs and Israelis. Palestinian hopes
were revived with the 1993 Oslo agreement. The
Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government
Arrangements that followed restored happiness and hope to
millions of Palestinians, who saw in that agreement the
beginning of the end of their pain, bloodshed and destroyed
economy. They were newly optimistic about securing their
right to self-determination within their own State, rebuilding
their national economy, industry and infrastructure, which
had been destroyed by wars, and the onset of peaceful trade
relations with their neighbours in Jordan, Israel and other
countries of the region. Hope was also rekindled by the
peace treaty concluded between Jordan and Israel in
October 1994 and the resulting bilateral agreements on the
establishment of diplomatic and economic relations,
bilateral and regional cooperation, the reconstruction of the
region and the establishment of strong trade and economic
relations between the two countries, to the benefit of their
peoples and other peoples in the region, opening the way
to comprehensive regional cooperation.
Concrete progress was also made on the Syrian-
Israeli and Lebanese-Israeli peace tracks. There were
prospects for a Syrian-Israeli agreement based on the
“land-for-peace” principle, providing for full Israeli
withdrawal from the Golan in return for a peace
agreement ending the state of war and paving the way for
peaceful relations based on strong foundations of
understanding and normal, peaceful coexistence.
Current events and negative factors and measures in
the occupied Arab territories — a return to the settlement-
building policy; the violation of the sanctity of the holy
places; the closure of the territories; the denial of work
opportunities; the refusal to implement the agreements
signed on the Palestinian-Israeli track; the postponement
and impediment of self-government negotiations; the
unilateral determination of the status of Jerusalem and of
the self-government negotiations; the refusal to resume
negotiations, suspended seven months ago, with Syria and
Lebanon; and the refusal to return to the terms of
reference and framework of the Madrid Peace
Conference — have given rise to frustration among the
peoples of the region, who are beginning to lose the
rekindled hope to which I have referred.
Despite the excessively negative slogans against
peace used by the new Israeli Government during the
electoral campaign, we in Jordan — the King, the
leadership and the people — welcomed the new
Administration and the newly-elected Prime Minister out
of respect for the free will of the Israeli people and non-
interference in their internal affairs. We called for the
continuation of the comprehensive peace process in the
region and pledged to utilize the peace treaty with Israel
to establish such a comprehensive peace. We urged our
neighbours, Syria and Lebanon, to deal with the new
realities and the new Israeli Government positively and
realistically. Our motto and position at the Arab Summit
Conference held at Cairo last June was a call to extend
more time and opportunity to the new Israeli Government
to return to the peace process on the bases agreed upon at
the Madrid Peace Conference: the “land-for-peace”
formula and the implementation of Security Council
resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978).
All the participants in the Madrid Peace Conference
had believed that the success achieved on the Palestinian-
Israeli track and the Jordanian-Israeli track had opened to
9

the peoples of the region, including the Israeli people, the
door to a new life and a better future based on the
principles of justice, peace for all, peaceful relations and
trade. They had also believed that this success proved once
again how misguided and wrong are obsolete principles
such as that of achieving security through force and thus
through the imposition of forced solutions. It also debunked
the principle of occupying other people’s land by force to
ensure one’s own security. Indeed, it has become clear that
security can be ensured only through dialogue, peaceful
coexistence, negotiations, mutual respect among peoples
and free economic and trade relations, rather than through
power politics and the imposition of forced solutions. Yet
once again we are hearing certain nervous calls to revive
the obsolete theory of security and the imposition of
solutions by force.
Amid the gloom that has begun to enshroud the peace
process, there is still a ray of hope. It is up to us, both
Arabs and Israelis, to keep it shining with a view to
securing a better future for our children and our
grandchildren. For if, God forbid, we allowed this hope to
become lost, a renewed cycle of violence, instability,
tension, terrorism and extremism would prevail in the
region, as shown by the recent bloody violence.
At the Cairo summit, all Arab Governments expressed
for the first time their collective support and blessings for
the peace process and proclaimed that peace is an
irreversible strategic option. We have heard similar pledges
from the new Israeli Government. It is our sincere hope that
the United States and Russian co-sponsors of the peace
process will intervene, and that international efforts will be
made to put the peace process back on track, restore its
previous vigour and impetus and put an end to all the
obstacles that might impede or disrupt it.
The war and destruction in the region and the peace
process that followed it have been described as a series of
missed opportunities; for in the past all of us have missed
invaluable opportunities for peace. Now here we are again,
about to return to that insane policy. By challenging the
opponents of peace, President Arafat and the Palestinian
leadership have demonstrated a serious and unambiguous
desire to achieve a just, comprehensive and lasting peace.
It is not wise to reward him by embarrassing him before
the Palestinian people and placing him in an unenviable
situation vis-à-vis the opponents of peace, who are betting
on the failure of his policies and the failure of the peace
process.
Nor is it prudent to stipulate that Syria and Lebanon
must return to the negotiating table without preconditions,
as though the Madrid Conference and the painstaking and
tough negotiations that followed had never taken place.
Does this condition itself not constitute a precondition for
the peace process? We all declared our intention to
nurture the magnificent baby born at the Madrid
Conference, whom we named “the peace process”. But
then, we disagreed on the method to be followed in the
baby’s upbringing. Let us return to working together, so
as not to kill the baby in its cradle and along with it our
peoples’ chances for the better life which shone on the
horizon after decades of death and destruction.
One of the most important factors for the credibility
of the Middle East peace process is the improvement in
the living conditions of the population through increased
investment which has resulted in lowering the high
unemployment rate. We in Jordan have taken numerous
measures, enacted legislation and concluded agreements
with a view to protecting and promoting investment. I
regret that despite these reassuring measures and
guarantees and the convening of two international
economic summit conferences — in Casablanca in 1994
and in Amman in 1995 — the real outcome in terms of
investment in the region has been disappointing. Apart
from the increase in tourism that we noticed following the
signing of the peace treaty, foreign industrial investment
remains very low notwithstanding the many profitable
projects put forward at the recent Amman economic
conference.
While private foreign companies may have an
excuse for reluctance to invest, because of fears related to
the regime’s history and political situation, the
Governments of developed industrial countries have no
excuse for their failure to provide their insurance
companies with sufficient guarantees against investment
risks to encourage companies to increase their
investments. This is particularly true since the increased
profitability of these companies’ investment projects and
the resulting higher incomes in the recipient developing
countries would benefit the economies of the developed
industrial countries as well. In this regard, we have high
hopes for the successful conclusion of the fourth
economic summit, to be held in Cairo next November.
This will provide another opportunity for foreign investors
to contribute to the region’s development and to the
consolidation of peace — quite apart from the benefits
they and the economies of countries are bound to reap.
10

One of the region’s biggest and most complex
problems is that of Palestinian refugees; its settlement has
been deferred to the final status negotiations. It is
regrettable that the international community has not yet
given this important political and humanitarian problem the
attention, understanding and assistance it deserves. Every
year we receive the report of the Commissioner-General of
the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East, in which he describes the
Agency’s budget deficit and the consequent need to reduce
the level of services provided to the refugees.
We urge the wealthy industrial States to give this
matter their fullest attention and to increase their
contribution in order to ensure the survival of this
temporary solution to the major humanitarian problems that
affect over 3.5 million Palestinian refugees, including some
1.5 million who live in Jordan. The Government of Jordan,
despite its limited resources, is compelled to provide
assistance and relief worth approximately $300 million
annually. It is necessary to provide support for the
Agency’s budget to enable it to continue its work
effectively, pending a final solution of the refugee problem
on the basis of United Nations resolutions providing for
their repatriation or compensation. As long as it remains
without a substantive and effective solution, this problem
will continue to constitute a time bomb — forgive me for
using this term to indicate the magnitude of this problem —
for the peace process, in view of its significant
humanitarian and political dimensions.
The subject of peace in the Middle East leads us to
demand speedy implementation of the recent agreement
between Iraq and the United Nations for a partial lifting of
the embargo on the sale of Iraqi oil in order to provide
food and medicine to the brotherly people of Iraq, who
have suffered, and continue to suffer, from the economic
sanctions imposed on Iraq. These sanctions have punished
them but have not affected their leaders. We call upon the
Government of Iraq to implement United Nations
resolutions; respect the sovereignty, independence and
freedom of neighbouring States; cooperate with the United
Nations Special Commission; cooperate in the release of
Kuwaiti prisoners of war held in Iraq; respect human rights;
and establish a democratic system in which the rights of all
its communities are respected. At the same time, we call for
the lifting of the economic sanctions that are punishing the
people of Iraq. We also call for respect for Iraq’s
sovereignty and territorial integrity and non-interference in
its internal affairs. We reject any attempts aimed at dividing
Iraq, such as the recently proposed “safe areas” scheme.
It is also our hope that the United Arab Emirates
will be able to arrive at a peaceful solution enabling it to
regain its three Gulf islands occupied by Iran. We call for
non-interference in the internal affairs of Bahrain and
extend our support to that sister country, at a time when
it is the target of terrorism. We call upon Eritrea to find
a peaceful solution to the question of its withdrawal from
the Yemeni Huneish islands in response to Yemen’s
peaceful efforts, in order to maintain good-neighbourly
relations and in gratitude for Yemen’s assistance to
Eritrea in attaining its independence and sovereignty.
We call for a just and speedy solution to the
Lockerbie problem, and for a positive response to the
initiatives and efforts of the League of Arab States, the
Organization of African Unity, the Non-Aligned
Movement and the Organization of the Islamic
Conference, which would ensure the trial and punishment
of the perpetrators of that heinous terrorist act without
punishing all the people of Libya.
My country supports international efforts to combat
international terrorism. Hence our active participation at
the Sharm el-Sheikh summit, held earlier this year at the
invitation of our sister country, the Arab Republic of
Egypt, to explore the most effective means of
international cooperation in this regard. We also support
the decisions of the latest summit meeting of the Group
of Seven industrial Powers aimed at fighting terrorism
and punishing its perpetrators, as terrorism has become a
dangerous international phenomenon that has taken the
lives of many innocent people, destroyed the
infrastructure of many countries, disrupted tourism and
the free movement of innocent people and defamed
national liberation and independence movements. We
therefore support bilateral, regional and international
cooperation to combat this ugly and destructive
phenomenon.
Today the world stands on the threshold of a new
century, only three years away. That historic occasion
must not pass without our pondering and studying the
events of the twentieth century in preparation for the
coming twenty-first century. We should benefit from the
lessons we have learned and the events we have
witnessed in order to make the next century a safer, more
secure, stable and developed one for future generations.
An idea worthy of exploration and careful examination in
this regard is that of holding, at the outset of the new
century, a special session of the General Assembly at the
Heads of State level, to prepare for a new world order in
whose shaping all States, large and small, developed and

developing, would participate. This is only an idea which
could be further elaborated and considered.
As the representative of a developing country, it
concerns me that despite the great progress achieved in the
areas of disarmament and the resolution of global security
problems, there has been no resolution of the problem of
the economic security of the developing States. The gap
between the developed and developing countries in the
areas of income and technology is growing. Small
developing countries will not be able to find solutions in
the foreseeable future to their heavy burden of persistent
indebtedness. It is both disastrous and painful that many
developing countries, such as my country, Jordan, give their
full efforts to consolidate and develop their democratic
systems, orient their economies towards privatization,
reform their economic systems, redress their budgetary and
balance-of-payment deficits, fully cooperate with the World
Bank and the International Monetary Fund and make
concrete strides in this respect, and yet find themselves,
after their people have devoted all their resources,
capabilities and productivity to servicing and repaying their
burdensome debts, still striving breathlessly to catch up
with the developed countries, without hope of soon ridding
themselves of this burden. Therefore, the shaping of and
preparation for any new world order to be developed must
consider the important question of the economic security of
the developing countries.
We now live in a world where distances between its
various places and economic markets have been reduced
due to tremendous technological strides in the areas of
transport and communications. This means that the
development and well-being of the developing countries is
an important part of the solution to the recession in the
developed countries. The idea of holding a special session
of the General Assembly to prepare for a new world
economic order could be the subject of a draft resolution
which I hope will be brought before this Assembly for
consideration.


It is my pleasure to
congratulate Ambassador Razali on his election as
President of the fifty-first session of the General
Assembly. The Barbados delegation shares fully the
confidence expressed in his leadership and assures him of
its cooperation in the work of this Assembly.
Let me also warmly commend his predecessor, His
Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral, for his
outstanding stewardship of the fiftieth session, including
the Special Commemorative Meeting on the occasion of
the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations. That
celebration, which brought together 128 Heads of State or
Government, stands as a fitting memorial to the historic
event.
My country’s knowledge of and appreciation for the
United Nations system has deepened since we had the
honour to host the United Nations Global Conference on
the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing
States in 1994. The Barbados Declaration and Programme
14
General Assembly 20th plenary meeting
Fifty-first session 3 October 1996
of Action outlined the way forward for the relationship
between small island developing States and the international
community. The Barbados Conference was the first and to
date the only follow-up Global Conference to the United
Nations Conference on Environment and Development,
because it was recognized that small island developing
States have a critical role to play in sustainable
development.
Barbados and other members of the Alliance of Small
Island States will unremittingly pursue the follow-up to the
Programme of Action because our survival depends on it.
We have, however, been disappointed to note that so much
of the promise of the Programme of Action for the
Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States
has as yet gone unfulfilled, and we will engage the
international community further to ensure that our concerns
are addressed.
Barbados welcomes the coming into force of the
United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea and the
establishment of the International Seabed Authority and the
International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea. This new
regime for the world’s oceans is of particular interest to us
and to small island developing States in general, because of
the critical link between the maritime environment and our
land mass. Small island developing States are in some ways
just coastal zones, and as such have a particularly intimate
relationship with the oceans, upon which we depend for
food and which are pivotal to our tourism industry.
It is in this context that we view with apprehension the
use of the Caribbean Sea for the trans-shipment of nuclear
and other hazardous materials. While we understand the
needs of countries to dispose of and reprocess waste
materials, and we recognize their right to do so under Law
of the Sea, International Maritime Organization and
International Atomic Energy Agency regulations, we fear
the consequences of accidents for an environment which is
so highly fragile. The Caribbean presents a unique
combination of factors which demand that it be treated with
special care: large numbers of small island developing
States, a semi-enclosed sea subject to violent seasonal
storms, and the presence of one of the most intensively
used shipping passages, the Panama Canal. The Heads of
Government of the Caribbean Community have repeatedly
declared their opposition to the use of the Caribbean Sea
for trans-shipment of nuclear materials. We look forward to
deepened dialogue with flag States and other concerned
States and organizations to ensure that we are all aware of
what is being shipped, when and where, and how best to
manage it.
The vulnerability of Caribbean micro-States is
further increased by narco-trafficking. This illicit trade
threatens the very existence of our democracies, a point
that was reinforced earlier this year when the United
Nations International Drug Control Programme held a
conference in Barbados on drug enforcement and
rehabilitation cooperation in the Caribbean.
Regional cooperation is the responsible and effective
means for implementing international agreements dealing
with this matter. The response of the international
community to our peculiar set of problems has been
encouraging, but it must continue to be upgraded. We
suffer not so much because we are major end-users, but
because of our strategic location in this traffic. We will
continue in our efforts, with the limited resources we
have at our disposal, to ensure that the drug traffic does
not undermine the foundations of our democracies. We
will not stand accused of not cooperating with our
partners, but neither will we allow our hard-fought
sovereignty to be sacrificed in the tug-of-war between the
moral and societal imperative to curtail demand and the
need to reduce supply.
As we herald the International Decade for the
Eradication of Poverty, this delegation is appalled that in
1996, despite the advances in technology and the new
wealth being generated by the forces of globalization,
millions of children still do not have access to the most
basic necessities.
Just as we argued at the Second United Nations
Conference on Human Settlements (Habitat II) that
humankind has a right to housing, Barbados fully supports
the notion that individuals have a right to adequate
nourishment. We look forward to the World Food Summit
later this year in Rome as being the catalyst for major
change towards alleviating hunger.
Women are among the most impoverished groups in
our societies, and gender equality is a major vehicle for
achieving sustainable human development. Although
Barbados ranks high on the human development index,
particularly as it relates to gender equality, the Beijing
Platform for Action remains for us a critical policy and
action framework.
The landmark fiftieth session was an occasion for
solemn reflection on the mission and performance of the
United Nations and for a constructive assessment of the
challenges which confront the Organization in the post-
cold-war world. Member States have left no doubt about
15
General Assembly 20th plenary meeting
Fifty-first session 3 October 1996
the critical role that the United Nations must continue to
play in fostering global peace and security and promoting
sustainable development. They have recognized that,
notwithstanding its shortcomings, this Organization remains
the only universal mechanism which offers the hope of
achieving the goals for humanity enshrined in its Charter.
The task with which we have been charged is to revitalize
the United Nations and to strengthen its capacity to meet
the new demands of rapid global change. My delegation
therefore attaches the greatest importance to the Working
Groups established by the General Assembly to advance the
reform process, in order to make the world a more peaceful
place and to improve the Organization’s effectiveness in
promoting economic and social development.
Reform is now the order of the day. No country or
institution can neglect the reality of globalization or the
technological revolution that drives this process. It poses
major challenges for countries and societies, particularly
small developing countries. We recognize only too well our
own vulnerability to marginalization, stemming from
intense global competition and reform of major global
institutions, including the United Nations. Barbados
therefore follows with special interest the consultations
taking place in the Open-ended Working Group on the
Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the
Membership of the Security Council and other Matters
Related to the Security Council. The question of equitable
representation of small States is of particular concern, and
we are studying closely those proposals which take this
concept into account. At the same time, we note with
satisfaction the broad convergence of views on enlargement
of the Council, and the importance being given to measures
to improve its working methods and procedures, to enhance
its democratic and representative character, and to foster
greater transparency.
We also recognize the important consultations which
are proceeding in the other Working Groups. When this
task is successfully completed, we envisage a United
Nations restructured and re-energized, to accelerate
economic and social development in a world where absolute
poverty still afflicts over one billion people who exist on
less than one dollar a day.
Commitment to reform notwithstanding, the capacity
of the Organization to support this global agenda is being
hampered by recurring financial crises. The United Nations
now finds itself at the crossroads. In April 1996, the
Secretary-General cautioned that the United Nations was on
the brink of financial disaster. Regrettably, this outlook has
not markedly improved to date. Given this prospect, it is
clear that resolute action to address this crisis can no
longer be postponed if the integrity of the Organization
and the viability of its mandates are to be preserved. In
our view, we have debated far too long obligations which
are so clearly spelt out in the United Nations Charter.
Barbados holds firmly to the position advanced by
the Group of 77 and China that the crisis derives
essentially from the Organization’s cash flow problem,
created by the failure of major Member States to pay their
contributions in full and on time. More generally, we
support the principle of periodic review of the scale of
assessments, designed to ensure the long-term financial
viability of the United Nations, based on the principle of
capacity to pay; but we do not believe that this should be
linked conditionally to the issue of arrears as we search
for a solution to the present crisis.
This Assembly will once again review the many
unresolved problems which dominate the global political
scene. The world still awaits the dawn of the new era of
peace envisaged at the end of the cold war. As a small
developing country, Barbados is ever conscious of the
peaceful domestic climate it has enjoyed since
independence in 1966, which has fostered its economic
and social development. We therefore share the anguish
of the international community for those countries where
internal strife and regional conflict, and their attendant
human suffering, continue to deny economic and social
progress to millions of their people.
My delegation therefore welcomes the peace process
which is being implemented in Bosnia and Herzegovina
under the Dayton accords. Though still fragile, this
Agreement, we think, offers the best prospects for peace
so far, and we hope for an end to a conflict which has
threatened the very credibility of the United Nations. We
hope that the recent elections will be a further major step
in the building of the confidence and trust so crucial to
long-term reconciliation.
Recent outbreaks of violence in the Middle East
have renewed our anxieties about peace in that region.
The international community yearns for the day when a
full and lasting peace is consolidated in this entire region,
bringing to an end the long cycle of violence. We urge all
the parties to re-embark on this journey and redouble their
efforts to recapture the momentum of the peace process,
which has so far brokered agreements between Israel and
Egypt, Jordan and Palestine.
16
General Assembly 20th plenary meeting
Fifty-first session 3 October 1996
In Africa, a number of countries remain locked in
prolonged conflict, which has smothered the democratic
process and stalled the development effort. We urge the
international community to do all it can to stem the
explosive situation in the Great Lakes region. Without
peace there can be no development, and without
development there can be no lasting peace. We therefore
hope for an early breakthrough for peace in affected
countries, not only in Africa but also in other regions of the
world, so that the urgent task of development can be
resumed.
In our own hemisphere, the situation in Haiti continues
to be of special concern to countries of the Latin American
and Caribbean region. Thanks to the resolve of the Haitian
people and the support of the international community, a
viable political and development infrastructure has begun to
take root. It holds the promise of nurturing the still-fragile
democracy and accelerating economic and social progress
which has eluded the majority of the Haitian people for too
long. Speaking on behalf of member States of the
Caribbean Community during consideration of this question
at the fiftieth session, Barbados cautioned that the road
ahead for Haiti would be long and difficult, that progress
would be uneven, and that sustained support from the
international community would continue to be crucial.
We believe that this view is still valid. My delegation
therefore welcomes the adoption of Security Council
resolution 1063 (1996) of 28 June 1996, which established
the United Nations Support Mission in Haiti until 30
November 1996. It will provide continuing support to
secure and maintain a stable environment that will buttress
the democratic and development process. However, come
next month, the international community cannot wash its
hands of Haiti, declare victory and leave. As recent events
have shown, stability, to say nothing of democracy, remains
a fragile sapling that will continue to require care and
protection. We urge that Haitians, who were among the first
in this hemisphere to attempt to define their own post-
colonial political system, not be forgotten in the post-cold-
war world.
Developing countries look to a reformed United
Nations to play a major role in shaping the global society
of the twenty-first century. It must build on the
considerable policy consensus that already exists on the
broad priorities of its agenda, including the link between
peace and development, poverty eradication, sustainable
development, social justice and democracy, issues of
governance, and women. It must continue to nurture the
participatory impulse of civil society, which has emerged as
a major influence on the work of the Organization and on
national public policy. It must propel this heightened
concern with the human condition in all its dimensions to
the top of the global agenda.
Barbados shares these priorities for full human
development by fostering the empowerment of all its
people as it expands its economic and social development.
At the same time, it has taken steps to review and deepen
its democratic and human rights traditions through the
establishment of Commissions on Social Justice and
Reform of the Constitution, respectively. These inquiries
will assess the extent to which the promise of a good and
just society has been fulfilled after 30 years of
independence. They reflect the fact that we assign the
highest priority to social policy and to the cause of human
rights and democracy.
The United Nations faces many challenges, but these
are not insurmountable if we renew our faith in its
mission. Barbados believes that this Organization is still
our best hope for fostering peace and social justice and
for coordinating the management of global problems.
Given the agenda before us, we believe this is a time for
more, not less, intensive global cooperation —
cooperation that only the United Nations can foster. We
remain committed to its principles and will do our part to
help fulfil the promise of the Charter.


Tomorrow, I am going
to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on
behalf of Norway. We join with almost all countries in
celebrating our new freedom — freedom from fear of
nuclear contamination and proliferation. By our joint
resolve, the terror of competitive madness fell victim to
the sheer force of reason.
Thanks to the United Nations, the norm of
non-testing has been galvanized. It is today part and
parcel of international law. In the future, no country,
whether it has signed that treaty or not, will be able to
break that norm. That can no longer be done with
impunity. It will go down in the annals of history that
nuclear testing was carried out over a period of 40 years
in the twentieth century, and then never again.
The decades of negotiations seemed endless, and
without the perseverance of this Organization, it would
not have worked. Where else could we carve out a global
test ban? Where else can we cast norms of global
applicability? Where else can we extend an international
society based on law and contract?
That is what the United Nations does best. It is easy
to ridicule years of meticulous negotiations. It is easy to
deride the process as bloated bureaucracy and
inefficiency. It is easy because that also happens every
day, here by the East River. And we must never become
used to that.
But some processes take time because they are
difficult and because they have profound effects on the
whole world. Every country, every man, woman and child
depend on what we can achieve right here, and every
country represented here has a stake in our success or our
failure.
8

For more than 50 years, the United Nations has — for
better, but also for worse — reflected its Members, global
political trends, contrasts, conflicts and confrontations. It
has been judged, unjustly, more by its failures than by its
successes.
The integration of scores of new Member States,
peace-keeping operations, the promotion and protection of
human rights, and field activities in developing countries
bringing relief and consolation to millions of destitute
people all bear witness to how the United Nations has
harnessed the best of humanity and civilization. Today, the
threats to peace come not so much from contention between
great States. Today’s killing fields are within States. Out of
around 40 cases of armed conflict in the world today,
hardly any occur between States. These conflicts are deeply
embedded in the history of regions and peoples, where
disruption within societies date far back, some being
centuries old.
The price of intra-State conflict is being paid by
civilians. Ninety per cent of casualties in armed conflict are
civilians. They literally walk the minefields where millions
of anti-personnel mines are strewn. Not only is the
death-toll numbing; let us also count the many missed years
of economic production, the livestock lost, the schools
ravaged, the clinics destroyed.
Millions pay the terrible human price. But we all pay
a price if the gap deepens between the fundamental norms
of civilization and the daily suffering in too many countries
in too many parts of the world. Reversing that trend is our
moral obligation; preventing deadly conflict is our common
challenge.
True, the United Nations is increasingly involved in
internal crises. We still do not possess the necessary means,
mandates and mission capacity to suppress devastating
conflict. All too often, intervention comes when the conflict
has erupted, when the battles have been fought and the
dividing lines have been cemented. When the peacemakers
are ready to go, it may be late — often too late.
We lack efficient procedures for dealing with
emerging conflicts. To individual countries, emerging
intra-State conflict may not be deemed vital. But to the
United Nations, any armed conflict or threat of conflict
must be vital. We need more preventive action and more
preventive diplomacy. Here at the United Nations, we need
to develop the institutional, legal and managerial capacity
to act, which would provide a model for regional action.
Preventing conflict and human suffering must not be
hampered by the traditional norm of what is essentially
within the domestic jurisdiction of States. Killing people
cannot be protected by the Charter.
A situation which is not visibly dangerous and which
does not offer spectacular pictures for the evening news,
is all too often silenced and out of the news picture. And
since those who suffer have no vote in any of the
countries which command the resources to help, it may be
all too convenient to look the other way.
But reacting in time need not be costly. On the
contrary, there is so much to gain, there is so much to
save. Much could be achieved if the United Nations were
better able to send experienced diplomats and support
missions to conflict-ridden areas in timely endeavours to
deescalate conflict and reconstruct civil society. We know
that the hands of the Secretary-General are often tied in
such cases, when it comes to redirecting resources. That
is another challenge. United Nations expertise — our
expertise — may not show up in a situation because there
are insufficient funds to pay for air tickets.
Norway is ready to make an extra contribution. We
offer to establish a fund for preventive action here at the
United Nations. We pledge to fill it with approximately 1
million dollars on an annual basis, and we invite other
Governments to join us. The fund would facilitate
immediate deployment of first-class expertise for
proactive diplomacy.
Any organization that fails to change is bound to
lose its effectiveness. So we must press on with reform.
But we cannot accept intimidation. Withholding legally
assessed contributions amounts to just that. Today, some
countries in fact pay more than their fair share. Other
countries voluntarily pay more than their fair share. Many
countries pay too little, or hardly anything at all. We now
need to settle on a long-term solution based on a more
equitable scale of contributions and scrupulous respect by
Member States for their financial obligations and the
payment of arrears.
We must press on with reform of the Security
Council. We are not served by protracted denials of the
world as it is. The Security Council must reflect this
world, and the issue of a regionally-balanced enlargement
must now be addressed. Asia, Africa and Latin America
should be represented on a permanent basis. Japan and
Germany should each have a permanent seat. And as we
enlarge the Council we must see to it that the efficiency
9

of decision-making is retained and that the Council’s
implementing ability is greatly enhanced.
If we had sat down at the drawing board to create the
United Nations today, we would have grouped the most
closely interlinked challenges together and designated a
limited number of agencies to deal with them. Today, in the
social and economic field, responsibility for sustainable
development, poverty, population and education is divided.
There is too much fragmentation and too many turf battles.
We need a leaner — and thereby, I believe, stronger
— structure to deal with what we decided in Rio,
Cairo,Copenhagen and Beijing. Now we must do what we
said there.
The Nordic countries, in their ongoing project for
United Nations reform, have focused on the other end of
the spectrum — the country level. Today, there are several
United Nations representatives in one country, often
overlapping each other and often contributing to more
fragmentation. But political issues, humanitarian issues and
long-term development are interlinked. Our organizational
set-up should be the same. Let us coordinate our
humanitarian assistance activities better, thus allowing us to
react more quickly and more effectively. And let us speak
out more openly about human rights.
Human rights are violated all over the world. But only
in a few countries is the human rights situation
deteriorating. We may be impatient; we may find that
progress is too slow in important countries; and there may
be temporary set-backs.
But in a world of global communication, facts can no
longer be hidden. We cannot build fences around ideas in
the age of the Internet. It will become increasingly
impossible to derive the benefits of the global economy
without exposing political power structures to the scrutiny
of democracy.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
established a global norm. This is what the United Nations
does best and what it must continue to do. The first Chapter
of the Charter calls for effective collective measures for the
removal of threats to the peace. Our challenge is to grasp
the complexity of today’s threats. No single country is
powerful enough to deal alone with the threats that
transcend our frontiers — terrorism, nuclear proliferation,
drugs, crime, disease and damage to the environment. They
all require common action. They all belong on our common
agenda.
Five years ago in Rio we reached consensus on
Agenda 21. That was a call for action. Together we
sowed the first seeds of a global norm for sustainable
development. Now we must struggle on towards its
implementation.
Later this year we will start the final work on a
climate protocol. No challenge is more global than
climate change. We owe it to present and future
generations to come up with a binding agreement that is
cost-effective, equitable and verifiable. That process will
require a combined political and scientific craftsmanship
which will need to draw upon every experience we have
had in multilateral diplomacy so far.
There can be no civilized world unless we unite to
strengthen multilateralism by establishing global
norms, by building and raising the minimum standards of
inter- and intra-State behaviour, and by building new
norms of international accountability.
The war crimes tribunal in The Hague is a
building-block in that edifice. The preventive aspect
would be served if the Karadzic´s and Mladic´s of this
world were brought to justice to answer for their crimes.
But again, conflicts should not be allowed to go that
far. We must be able to address the root causes of
conflict in time. That is what prevention is all about. That
is the win-win game we should all be playing. We cannot
afford not to do so.


Allow me first of all to convey to Mr. Razali Ismail my
sincere and heartfelt congratulations on the occasion of his
election to the presidency of the fifty-first session of the
General Assembly. I am convinced that thanks to his wise
and able leadership and his extensive experience in the field
of international relations, the proceedings of our session
will be successful.
Malaysia’s presidency of the General Assembly is
clear testimony to the respect that Mr. Razali’s country
enjoys within the international community, which
appreciates the great and efficient role played by Malaysia
at the regional and international levels in order to
strengthen and consolidate relations among nations on the
basis of peace, justice and cooperation. I take this
opportunity to pay tribute to the excellent relations of
friendship and fruitful cooperation that exist between our
two countries.
I should like also to convey my sincere thanks to
Mr. Razali’s predecessor, Mr. Freitas do Amaral, for his
valuable efforts during his presidency of the fiftieth session
of the General Assembly. I wish to mention in particular
his contribution to helping advance the process of reform of
the United Nations, in order to make it more efficient in the
light of the changes the world is witnessing.
I should like also to pay tribute to Mr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali and to convey to him our appreciation and
support for his continued selfless dedication as head of the
Secretariat of the United Nations. My delegation also
appreciates his courageous initiatives, especially his Special
Initiative for Africa, as well as his constructive proposals
within the Agenda for Peace and the Agenda for
Development. Tunisia, which supports the renewal of
Mr. Boutros-Ghali’s mandate, stresses the importance of
continuing the reform process undertaken in recent years.
With the end of the cold war, the international
community has entered a new era of international
relations that aims to reject the use of force and violence
as a means of settling conflicts, and to put an end to the
arms race. This trend favours the logic of wisdom and
moderation by resorting to peaceful means and preventive
diplomacy, which offer possibilities for dialogue,
concertation and negotiation to resolve conflicts, disputes
and crises, however complex they may be.
We welcome this emerging trend in international
relations, which is a consecration of the principles and
purposes of the United Nations as enunciated in its
Charter. This trend must be strengthened and consolidated
in order to eliminate sources of tension and defuse
conflicts before they break out.
The international community welcomed with
enthusiasm the start of the peace process in the Middle
East. This raised hopes of seeing the parties arrive at a
true, comprehensive, just and honourable peace, thus
putting an end to a cruel conflict that has lasted for
almost half a century, during which time the peoples of
the region have experienced the horrors of war,
destruction, exodus and occupation. This peace settlement
should be based on international law and United Nations
resolutions, in particular Security Council resolutions 242
(1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978), and on the principle
of the exchange of land for peace.
The Madrid Conference and the ensuing intensive
negotiations, which resulted in the Oslo, Washington and
Cairo agreements, led us to believe that the new peace
process was finally on the right track. However, the
agenda of the new Israeli Government has dashed the
hopes of the peoples of the region. This agenda has
indeed blocked the peace process on all tracks. An
increase in Israeli pressures and provocations, which aim
ultimately at imposing the policy of the fait accompli, has
hindered the Palestinian people’s progress towards
achieving their legitimate right to self-determination and
to create their own independent State.
The bloody events triggered by the opening of a
tunnel under the Holy Mosque of Al-Aqsa emphasize the
need for decisive international action to bring the Israeli
Government to abide by the agreements concluded with
the Palestinian Authority and to comply with international
law regarding the settlement of the question of Palestine.
14

Tunisia is concerned by the stagnation of the peace
process and its negative effects on building the future of the
region on the basis of peace, security, stability and
cooperation among its peoples. Tunisia considers that Israel
must re-evaluate its present policy and commit itself to
respecting the principles of the peace process and to
implementing the agreements already signed.
We also call upon the international community,
particularly the sponsors of the peace process, to spare no
effort in facilitating the resumption of the peace
negotiations as soon as possible in order to avoid any risk
of failure, which could affect the credibility of this process
and lead to the return of confrontation and the escalation of
violence, extremism and terrorism. We believe that
confidence-building, good faith and a sincere commitment
to a peaceful solution are necessary to advance this process.
The commitment of all parties to achieving a just,
comprehensive and lasting peace is essential to ensuring the
security and stability of the States of the region as well as
the coexistence of their peoples.
As stated by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali on
many occasions, Tunisia is committed to following the
same approach it has taken since the beginning of the peace
process, by establishing a close link between each step
towards normalization and the progress achieved by the
negotiations on all tracks.
The establishment of peace in the Middle East depends
on the maintenance of security and stability in the Gulf
region. Tunisia, which is deeply concerned by recent
developments in that region, calls upon all parties to show
restraint, avoid any escalation and remain committed to
international legality and to the implementation of all
United Nations resolutions. Tunisia also reiterates its
commitment to respect the sovereignty of all States in the
region as well as their territorial integrity and inviolability.
We also call for an end to the suffering that the Iraqi
people have been experiencing for several years, and we
hope that recent developments in the region will not
aggravate this situation.
Tunisia believes that the time has come to lift the
embargo imposed on the Libyan people in view of the
numerous positive initiatives taken by Libya, the League of
Arab States and the Organization of African Unity, all of
which aim at reaching a peaceful and just solution and at
putting an end to the suffering of the brotherly Libyan
people within the framework of international legality.
Devoted to peace and a staunch supporter of just
causes, Tunisia reiterates its solidarity with the United
Arab Emirates and its full support for that country’s
endeavour to recover through peaceful means, which
include appealing to the International Court of Justice, the
islands of Great Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa.
Turning to the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Tunisia expresses its satisfaction at the return of peace to
this country, and hopes that the recent elections will mark
the beginning of a new era in which concord,
understanding and common action will prevail, thus
allowing the establishment of the foundations of the
Bosnian State.
We note that today the international community is
giving priority to disarmament as the best means of
ensuring and consolidating international security.
Considerable progress has been made in this regard,
especially in the area of controlling the proliferation of
weapons of mass destruction, in particular chemical and
nuclear weapons.
Tunisia welcomes the adoption by the General
Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
and its opening for signature. We hope that all Member
States will adhere to this Treaty, in order to ensure its
universal application. The Treaty’s conclusion, as well as
the anticipated strengthening of the Biological Weapons
Convention, due to be reviewed soon in order to provide
it with a verification mechanism, will no doubt
consolidate the progress made thus far in the field of
disarmament.
While expressing our appreciation for the declaration
of Africa as a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, we hope that
our continent will be relieved of all weapons of mass
destruction. We also reiterate our call to free the Middle
East from all nuclear weapons and weapons of mass
destruction.
While emphasizing the necessity of introducing
efficient measures for ensuring a total ban of weapons of
mass destruction, we believe that it is also essential to
tackle the issue of conventional weapons, particularly the
question of the accumulation and illegal trade in light
weapons. This problem is not only serious but is growing
more so every day, since these are the most commonly
used weapons in current conflicts and recent terrorist
operations.
15

In addition to its contribution to disarmament efforts,
Tunisia has always supported United Nations peacekeeping
efforts around the world. From the early 1960s on, it has
taken part in United Nations operations in many African
countries, Cambodia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia and
elsewhere.
Convinced of the importance of these operations in
maintaining international peace and security, Tunisia called
on member States of the Organization of African Unity
(OAU) to create special units within their armed forces for
participation when necessary in peacekeeping operations on
the African continent.
While welcoming the decision of the United Nations
on establishing a system of standby forces to act to
intervene rapidly and efficiently in peacekeeping operations,
Tunisia solemnly declares its readiness today to participate
in that system, thus confirming our commitment to the
Organization and to its role in the maintenance of world
peace and security.
Intolerance, racism, organized crime, the illegal arms
and drug trades, the illegal traffic in human beings,
terrorism and extremism in all its forms are all phenomena
that have taken on a transnational dimension. The
international community should ensure that appropriate
solutions are found by means of a global approach based on
the definition and implementation of international
cooperation strategies in order to contain and eradicate
these scourges.
On many occasions and before various international
and regional forums, my country has called the international
community’s attention to the dangers of re-emergent
terrorism and extremism, which threaten the stability and
security of States as well as the safety of individuals. In
this vein, Tunisia called for the conduct of a comprehensive
and thorough re-evaluation of the attitudes of all parties to
these scourges through the establishment of international
rules of conduct with the aim of fighting all illegal
activities, particularly those related to terrorism, in order to
find efficient and lasting remedies to these problems and to
eliminate their deep-rooted causes.
Tunisia notes with satisfaction the increasing
awareness of the need for the international community to
join efforts in order to fight terrorism. We hope that the
United Nations will adopt mandatory measures that would
address this phenomenon by criminalizing all terrorist acts.
We also hope that all member States will revise and adapt
their relevant legislation to these measures.
Tunisia’s steadfast efforts to consolidate the
foundations of the country’s political institutions and the
rule of law and to promote and protect human rights in
their global dimension flow from a civilized, irreversible
choice made in accordance with universal values.
Eager to ensure respect for human dignity and to
encourage ongoing development efforts to secure the
well-being of all citizens, Tunisia has been able to
reconcile, in a balanced manner, economic growth with
the preservation of political, economic and social rights,
the requisite foundations of democracy.
Tunisia will continue to advance the causes of
human rights in the world and to support the United
Nations Voluntary Fund for technical assistance in the
field of human rights, as well as the Programme of
Action for the United Nations Decade for Human Rights
Education.
We are persuaded that the dissemination of the
culture of human rights will come to fruition only with
the promotion of tolerance, which is an essential civilized
value upon which are based all religions and human-rights
ideals.
Tunisia placed particular emphasis on tolerance in
the reform of its education system, since it is convinced
that global change, the progress of civilization and
culture, as well as economic and social growth, will be
firmly established only when coming generations are
well-prepared and when the values of peace, democracy
and goodness are complemented by a culture of tolerance.
Economic globalization has opened new perspectives
for international cooperation for development. But it has
also had a negative impact on the economies of numerous
developing countries that have been swept up in it
without adequately preparing their economic and social
structures.
In the new era, Tunisia has focused on setting up a
comprehensive and multidimensional development
strategy designed to assist the disadvantaged in society
and based on a broadened concept of human rights.
Tunisia’s policy in this regard was based on a
development approach aimed at providing equal
opportunities to all levels of society and ensuring the
well-being of all its citizens.
The human dimension for which Tunisia has opted
in defining its development policies has led to a deeper
16

spirit of solidarity within the population towards the
underprivileged and vulnerable sectors and to granting them
the highest priority. In order to achieve these objectives,
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali took the initiative of
establishing an anti-poverty programme — the National
Solidarity Fund — aimed at eradicating pockets of poverty
and ensuring harmonious development for all social sectors.
The debt burden in the third world is a very serious
problem that cannot be overlooked, since it constitutes the
main obstacle to their efforts to achieve a regular
development pattern, free from any shortcomings or failure.
While we welcome the Group of Seven’s economic
communiqué on the issue of debt, we also stress the need
to take appropriate measures to alleviate the debt burden of
middle-income countries.
The World Bank and the International Monetary Fund
and the World Trade Organization should implement the
commitments undertaken by the international community in
the framework of the major conferences held during the
past five years. To this end, they need to mobilize the
resources required to fund the programmes adopted by
these conferences in the quest for sustainable development.
We welcome the process of reform initiated by the
United Nations with the aim of adjusting to the emerging
international environment, improving its functions and
assuming its responsibilities as the institution best able to
maintain peace and security, on the one hand, and to pursue
and support efforts on behalf of the economic and social
development of the developing countries, on the other.
To this end, it is equally important to continue the
process of reform of the Organization with the aim of
rationalizing and strengthening its role as the central pillar
of international cooperation for achieving objectives and
implementing programmes agreed upon by the international
community, on the basis of priorities set by Governments
seeking to eradicate poverty and to support employment and
housing programmes, as well as those that provide basic
services in the education and health sectors and offer
protection to women, children and the socially
underprivileged.
These objectives can be attained only through the use
of jointly agreed criteria based on transparency and
democracy in international relations, and by rejecting any
policy that involves a double standard.
In order to preserve the prestige and credibility of the
United Nations, it is necessary to implement the resolutions
the Organization adopts and to follow up on the
commitments entered into by States.
We would also like to underline the extreme
importance we attach to the restructuring of the Security
Council, so as to enable this eminent body to play its key
role in the maintenance of international peace and
security, while taking into consideration the need for an
equitable geographical representation based on new geo-
political realities. I should like to recall in this respect that
Tunisia supports granting Japan and Germany the status
of permanent members of the Security Council, owing to
the political and economic standing of both countries.
In accordance with the consensus reached at the
thirtieth Organization of African Unity summit meeting,
held in Tunis, we reaffirm Africa’s right to at least two
permanent seats on the Security Council that would rotate
among all African States.
Tunisia supports any initiative that takes into account
these principles, and it expresses its appreciation for the
initiatives and ideas presented by some States, in
particular friendly neighbouring Italy, in order to achieve
a comprehensive vision regarding reform of the Security
Council.
Finally, we believe that the success of our
Organization depends on the determination of all Member
States to act in conformity with the purposes and
principles set out in the Charter, as well as on sincere
political will, in order to allow our Organization to fulfil
the aspirations and hopes of our peoples, who provide it
the indispensable support it needs to guarantee its
continued vitality, its renewed capacity and its durability.


In common with the speakers preceding me, I
should like to congratulate you upon your election to the
presidency of the fifty-first session of the General
Assembly. We see it not only as a recognition of your
personal qualities, but also, and above all, the consecration
of the distinguished part played by your country in the
international arena. Through your person, the honour that
derives from your election is shared with the member
countries of the Non-Aligned Movement, which gives us
particular pride. I would like to assure you of the complete
cooperation and full support of the delegation of
Madagascar, which it is my privilege to lead.
My congratulations also go to the other members of
the General Committee, to whom we wish every success in
their work.
Lastly, I would like to take this opportunity to express
to your predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do
Amaral, our warm gratitude for all the efforts that he made
during his term as President of the Assembly at its fiftieth
session. I would like to assure him that we followed
closely and with interest the activities and contacts which
he undertook on behalf of our Organization and in order
to further its objectives.
The disappearance of the political and ideological
divisions arising from the cold war gave birth to hopes
for greater international security, stability, peace and
prosperity, so that the international community could
henceforth focus its efforts on the establishment of a just,
equitable and truly multilateral and non-discriminatory
international order, and on the strengthening of
cooperation for international development. These hopes,
however, not been fulfilled. A feeling of anxiety prevails
in the face of the imbalances, insecurity, tensions and
contradictions clouding the prospects for peace and
economic development. The forces of conflict have grown
to dangerous proportions as they have spilled over
frontiers, and have assumed various forms such as
terrorism, separatism, fundamentalism, intolerance and
xenophobia.
Similarly, the interdependent world economy
continues to be dominated by uncertainty, imbalances and
recession. Negative economic growth rates, persistent
imbalances in the commercial and financial fields,
increased transitional or structural unemployment, and an
absence of coordination in exchange rates and trade
policies — these are some of the problems connected
with the system of the developed world which have an
adverse impact on the developing countries. For in fact
the resources allocated to cooperation for development

have fallen, on the pretext that up to now this has achieved
nothing for the beneficiary countries, including our
countries in Africa, whose priorities, at both national and
continental level, have been to relieve absolute, endemic
poverty, to eradicate hunger and malnutrition, to overcome
disease and illiteracy, and to meet the needs for housing
and sanitation.
In this connection, just as we welcomed Habitat II last
June in Istanbul, we commend the initiative of the Director-
General of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations (FAO) to convene the World Food Summit
next November in Rome, to sensitize international opinion
to the problem of hunger in the world, thereby reviving
interest in the subject that has apparently waned.
Thus it is clear that the world today is confronted with
urgent social and economic problems which, at the national,
regional and international levels, require efforts and the
implementation of policies and measures that can provide
urgent solutions. The future of world trade, financial and
monetary regimes, economic growth and social
development, as well as human rights, the environment and
population in relation to development, are vital issues that
inextricably link the fate and destiny of all countries.
It is therefore comforting to recall the solemn
commitment made by the international community on the
occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations,
on the night of 24 October 1995, to mobilize in the quest
for peace, security, development and stability. In order to
attain these objectives and successfully discharge the
functions assigned to it in the Charter, the United Nations
needs to be reformed in order to adjust to a world in
constant change.
With respect to the increase in the membership of the
Security Council, the principle is accepted in general, if for
no other reason than to respond to the increase in the
number of United Nations Member States. The proposals
put forward in this context are as interesting as they are
varied, each invoking praiseworthy objectives, depending on
one’s viewpoint. Thus the Italian proposal, drawing on the
principle established in Article 23 of the Charter, highlights
the need to favour the geographical regions that are
currently under-represented. This comes close to the
concern of countries such as Madagascar, which wholly
subscribes to the decision taken by the African summit in
July 1996, namely that the Security Council must become
more representative in nature and reflect the composition of
the Organization in a new international system, so as to
correct the geographical imbalance that now characterizes
it and make it a genuine organ for the execution of the
General Assembly’s resolutions.
The African position gives priority for the time
being to an increase in the number of members. both
permanent and non-permanent. This restructuring of the
Security Council should allocate two new permanent seats
to Africa, three to Asia, two to Latin America and the
Caribbean, and one to the European and other States.
With respect to the post of Secretary-General of the
United Nations, Madagascar associates itself with the
chorus of all African countries, through the Declaration of
Yaoundé, which reaffirmed Africa’s right to a second
term in the Secretary-General’s post, as has been the
practice since the creation of the Organization.
Accordingly, Madagascar supports the re-election of
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, one of whose main objectives
has been to identify and elaborate concrete proposals for
the recovery and development of Africa so as to make the
United Nations system’s support to the continent as
effective as possible. In that context, the support of the
international community as a whole is a must.
We take note of the progress achieved in resolving
the debt problem and in the implementation of the Naples
terms, as well as the recommendations made by the
Group of Seven summit convened in Lyon in June 1996.
The developing countries, particularly in Africa, certainly
need substantial international support, but it is above all
the responsibility of our leaders and peoples to make the
necessary changes to create a suitable sociopolitical
climate for development on a large scale. Thus we have
no choice but to continue to work, by ourselves to begin
with, to achieve collective self-reliance at the national,
regional and continental levels. For its part, Madagascar,
which has just completed its economic policy framework
document, hopes in the near future to benefit from
additional measures from its creditors going beyond the
Naples terms to give a fresh impetus to its development.
Indeed, in today’s world of multidimensional
interdependence, any failure in development can only
harm us all, rich and poor alike, since poverty is defined
in terms of collective responsibility and the rights of
every individual.
In the field of human rights, efforts must be stepped
up to translate into real action the 1992 Declaration on
the Rights of Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic,
Religious and Linguistic Minorities, adopted by the
General Assembly.
2

With respect to the challenges arising in the Middle
East, Bosnia and Northern Ireland, we note that we are
advancing in the right direction. Madagascar is attentively
following the recent phases, particularly as regards the
peace process between Israel and the Palestinians.
Moreover, like all peoples of the world, we reaffirm our
wish to see the peaceful reunification of Korea.
In the face of the situation obtaining in the Western
Sahara after the Security Council’s decision of May 1996,
Madagascar remains concerned.
The frequent setbacks experienced by the conventional
approach to peacekeeping should persuade us to persevere
in our efforts to prevent conflict and give subregional
structures responsibility for the maintenance of peace, as
advocated in the United Nations Secretary-General’s
Agenda for Peace, and as applied by the Organization of
African Unity (OAU) Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,
Management and Resolution.
Against this background, the General Assembly should
be given appropriate powers to have access to mechanisms
for the peaceful settlement of conflicts. The mechanisms for
the peaceful settlement of conflicts should be strengthened
in the light of the provisions advocated in the Agenda for
Peace. When peace is restored, the role of United Nations
forces as a buffer in international, civil or ethnic conflicts
should also be strengthened. Madagascar intends to
participate concretely in peacekeeping operations. Regional
structures for conflict resolution, such as those that exist
within the United Nations, the Organization of African
Unity and the Non-Aligned Movement, should again be
strengthened.
For us, the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention,
Management and Resolution has proved its usefulness in
Africa in a number of cases, inter alia, through the
intervention of regional units of the Economic Community
of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Inter-
Governmental Authority on Drought and Development
(IGADD), which have operated respectively in sub-Saharan
Africa and in the Sahel. Madagascar fully subscribes to this
approach, as is borne out by its direct involvement in the
mediation process for the settlement of the Comorian
conflict in 1995.
The signing of the Pelindaba Text of the African
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty this year attests to the
willingness of the African countries to banish all nuclear
weapons from their soil. Madagascar, faithful to its
principles, is now initiating the procedure for accession to
this Treaty. It is in this connection that Madagascar has
just signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
Similarly, my country also considers that the extension of
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
(NPT) is an initial response to the major challenges of our
time in the area of nuclear proliferation and arms
limitation.
In the environmental sphere, after the legitimate
concerns expressed by Heads of State and Government at
the United Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, energetic
measures must be taken through a common commitment
by all countries. There is no need to demonstrate that
environmental problems know neither political nor natural
boundaries. Nevertheless, at the domestic level, it must be
emphasized that people are not always sensitive to the
almost irreconcilable concepts of conservation and
protection and meeting basic needs (heating, fuel,
fisheries resources, etc.).
It is in the light of these considerations that
Madagascar has opted for a gradual approach regarding
its accession to international environmental conventions.
Thus the country has set up a basic framework for
environmental policy, termed the Environmental Charter.
It has drawn up an environmental programme in three
stages phased over a 15-year period; negotiations for
multi-donor financing of this programme have just been
completed in September in Paris.
With respect to international conventions,
Madagascar has ratified the main Conventions, including
the Convention on Biological Diversity, the United
Nations International Convention to Combat
Desertification in Those Countries Experiencing Serious
Drought and/or Desertification, Particularly in Africa, the
Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer,
and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the
Ozone Layer. As it implements these various
Conventions, Madagascar wishes to enlist the
participatory involvement of its people, and thus apply the
principle of “Think globally — act locally”.
Lastly, one year after the Beijing Conference and
one year after the Copenhagen summit, I would not wish
to conclude without recalling Madagascar’s efforts in the
social sphere, as demonstrated by the permanent
structures within successive Governments for the benefit
of women, children and social problems in general.
3

At the dawn of the twenty-first century, Madagascar,
like all nations on earth, aspires to a world of peace and
progress in which the scourges of war, poverty and
destruction will be banished forever. The United Nations is
the ideal place to build such a world, provided that all
peoples and all leaders have the necessary political will and
transform into reality all the promises made. That is the
Malagasy delegation’s ardent hope.


Let me begin by congratulating
Mr. Razali Ismail on his assumption of the office of
President of the General Assembly at its fifty-first session.
I am confident that his valuable guidance will lead to the
successful outcome of this session. He has the assurance of
our full support.
As an introduction, let me recall that this September
marks the fifth anniversary of Estonia’s return to the
international scene. It was five years ago that the Estonian
blue, black and white tricolour was hoisted in front of this
forum. That moment was equal in historic and emotional
significance to the one 70 years earlier, in September 1921
in Geneva, when Estonia was welcomed as a new member
of the League of Nations — an international organization
whose history has taught the world many lessons.
The cold war is over. Nevertheless, the international
community continues to seek further guarantees of a more
secure future for our children and grandchildren. In this
respect, Estonia would like to express satisfaction at the
recent overwhelming support for the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty adopted by the General Assembly.
The signing ceremony at the United Nations on 24
September was an important milestone, a result of
continued negotiations and at the same time a sign of hope
for the future. We firmly believe that the Treaty can make
an important contribution to preventing the proliferation of
nuclear weapons and promoting international security. The
United Nations must now give a clear response to people
who want to live in a world free of any threats of nuclear
weapons and other means of mass destruction.
Our world is facing new challenges. These new
challenges require a renewed United Nations. At the last
session, considerable efforts were made to reform the
Organization. This work will continue during the current
session. In fact, one of the principal goals of the session
ahead of us will be to increase the effectiveness of the
United Nations. Estonia welcomes the progress made in this
area. There are still a number of ways by which the United
Nations can further improve its performance. We attach
particular importance to the review of the working methods
of the functional commissions and expert groups and bodies
of the Economic and Social Council, as well as to better
coordination between the work of the Second and Third
Committees.
Estonia is looking forward to active participation in
United Nations-reform working groups. We attach
specific importance to the financial reform of the
Organization. Estonia is supportive of the view that the
United Nations should be put on a sounder financial
footing. Member States should make every effort to fulfil
their obligation to pay their arrears without any
conditions. At the same time, we share the understanding
that the United Nations scale of assessments should be
revised. The new scale of assessments must be fair and
more transparent. It should also better reflect the
fundamental principle of capacity to pay. We hope that
the High-level Open-ended Working Group on the
Financial Situation of the United Nations will achieve a
comprehensive and consensus solution to the current
financial difficulties of the Organization.
The reform of the Organization will also include
changes in the composition and working methods of the
Security Council. We welcome the decision by the
General Assembly mandating the relevant Open-ended
Working Group to submit a report to the General
Assembly at its fifty-first session. At the same time, we
hope that, along the lines of the mandate of the Working
Group, Member States can bring about a resolution to the
long-standing discussions on Security Council
enlargement.
Peacekeeping continues to be one of the important
activities of the Organization. Recent years have seen a
changing role for United Nations peacekeeping missions.
Today they have grown into manifold and diversified
types of action. A new challenge for United Nations
peacekeepers is dealing with internal conflicts throughout
the world. In this respect, I would like to reiterate that
regional peacekeeping efforts that are conducted under the
auspices of the United Nations must remain under
stringent United Nations control.
Estonia is continuing to take part in United Nations
peacekeeping. This autumn we will increase our
contribution to the United Nations peacekeeping forces by
offering a company to the United Nations Interim Force
in Lebanon (UNIFIL). The company will be deployed in
the Norwegian battalion. The deployment is part of a joint
project to develop a Baltic peacekeeping battalion. That
battalion will be the contribution of the Baltic States to
the strengthening of United Nations peacekeeping
capacities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank
all of the Governments that have contributed to this
common Baltic project.
23

During the past year Estonia has taken further steps
towards the implementation and follow-up of the major
United Nations Conferences — Rio, Vienna, Cairo,
Copenhagen, Beijing and Istanbul. To this end, a special
inter-ministerial commission has been established in
Estonia. Since the critical areas of concern of many of the
conferences overlap, we are also looking forward to a better
coordination of their outcomes.
Last year important work was done by the Preparatory
Committee on the Establishment of an International
Criminal Court in elaborating the text of a statute for such
a court. We welcome that work and look forward to further
progress during the fifty-first session.
Failure to respect human rights and fundamental
freedoms is a major cause of conflict. Many intra-State
conflicts arise from the denial of basic human rights. The
Vienna World Conference on Human Rights made it clear
that the promotion and protection of all human rights is a
duty for all States. Estonia reaffirms its continued
commitment to human rights. In spite of the hardships of
institutional and economic transition, we have been able to
make democracy a way of life. Human rights for all
residents of Estonia is an inextricable part of Estonian
democracy.
We continue to place particular importance upon the
work of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mr.
José Ayala Lasso, the Centre for Human Rights and United
Nations human rights machinery in general. A transparent
functioning of this machinery should rely on impartial
reporting and disregard politically motivated allegations.
Failure to do so would seriously damage the credibility of
the Organization. Owing to very recent memories, this
issue is of special importance to Estonia. This is also one
of the reasons why Estonia lists among its priorities issues
regarding indigenous peoples and human rights.
Estonia believes that it is essential to secure
adequate financing for the office of the United Nations
High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for
Human Rights. At the same time, we would like to point
out that various regional organizations that focus on
human rights issue periodic reports regarding such
matters. In order to avoid duplication and to make
effective use of resources, the United Nations human
rights machinery should rely on the extensive expertise of
regional organizations, including the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the
Council of Europe. Those two organizations foster the
basic foundations of security and stability in Europe. The
United Nations should further enhance its ties with them,
especially with the Council of Europe, the established
stronghold of human rights on the European continent and
a symbol of cooperation between nations striving for an
open and mutually beneficial dialogue. Estonia, the
current Chairman of the Council of Europe, is pursuing
policies of positive engagement in relations with all
countries, including our eastern neighbour. In this respect,
it is our sincere hope that the Russian Federation will
reciprocate our efforts.
In conclusion, let me underline our commitment to
contribute, together with all Member States, to the
establishment of a world community in which individuals
and States may live in peace and understanding. Let me
express our sincere hope for a better world.