I express my sincere
congratulations to the President on his election. I am
certain his qualities and skills will bring a successful
conclusion to the fifty-fifth session. May I also extend
congratulations to Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, his
predecessor, on what he achieved. Finally, I endorse
the European Union's priorities paper, which was
developed by Hubert Vedrine, the President of the
Council of the European Union.
Some believe that violence might be an intrinsic
part of humanity. But so are humanity's relentless
efforts to rule out violence, regulate antagonism,
peacefully resolve confrontational situations and
prevent hatred and prejudice. Whether we come
together to understand each other or to debate each
other, our goal has always been to better our lives and
build a more secure future.
Since ancient times, we have attempted to
establish norms of peaceful coexistence. In this effort,
we have built traditions and religions, as well as
political structures. Through these norms we have tried
to battle a fate seemingly dictated by force, poverty,
oppression, prejudice, chronic and communicable
diseases, inequality and a withering environment.
Throughout history, our efforts have taken
various forms. But they have all commenced with a
unique first step: the overriding principle that, in order
to solve our problems, we need to work together.
This month is being marked by two events that
will bring the peoples of our world much closer: the
Millennium Assembly and the Olympic Games. At the
dawn of the twenty-first century, nations will meet,
compete, clash, differ and disagree. Yet our world has
never looked more united or more determined to tackle
its problems as one, indivisible community.
In the current environment, our efforts to build a
better world for our children can and ought to be pan-
cosmic. We can all contribute to a future that inspires
our children and inspires the will to grow and to create.
As the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has very
wisely said,
“We face global challenges which oblige us
to work together. If that is true in the economic
and social sphere, it applies even more to the
challenge of massacre and war”.
These words command even more authority coming
from a man whose political skill, moral authority and
devotion have contributed, in numerous cases, to the
resolution of conflicting issues.
When a child misses its childhood and its
education because it is in a dark prison cell, when a
child is maimed from the explosion of a mine or when
a child dies of hunger, of AIDS or in war, we do not
witness just a tragic event. We do not witness only the
sad state of some distant community. In today's world,
when we see a child die, we lose another ray of hope
that our global community will come together as one,
that we shall live in peace and that we will finally
tackle the challenges we all face together.
In Greece, we have become deeply conscious of
this reality. What goes on in our neighbourhood
directly affects the way in which our children will grow
and develop. So we have made a commitment to our
world and, more specifically, to our region, and it is
this commitment that I have come to share with the
Assembly today.
The two global events of this September — this
Assembly and the Olympic Games — symbolize the
beginning of an era for my country. After this
ministerial week of the General Assembly, Greece will
raise the Olympic flag in Sydney. For the second time
in almost a century, the international community will
bestow upon Athens the responsibility of the
Olympiad.
Over the next four years, Athens has committed
itself to run both an athletic and a cultural Olympiad.
Today, I commit our county to an Olympiad for peace:
four years of the most relentless efforts and a
commitment to the international community to fight
against the evils that have kept our community of
nations at war, under totalitarianism and under
oppression.
I pledge today that when the Olympic flame of
our ancestors rises over the Athenian sky, it will light
up more than a shiny stadium. It will light up a whole
area of fighting for peace, democracy and justice. The
next four years — the years that coincide with this
Greek Olympiad — will set of the stage upon which
33

the future event will unfold. The globalization of the
economy, the increased power of the media and rapid
developments in information technology,
communications and biotechnology are just some of
these new challenges.
Globalization, while creating incredible wealth
for many, fosters conditions for conflict and poverty.
The new economy cannot be dominated by interests,
and must be monitored to promote both democracy and
human security. For the next four years, Greece will
take an active role in international forums to do its part
in dealing with this problem of globalization. That is
why Greece has also enthusiastically accepted an
invitation to join the Human Security Network.
Human rights laws alone cannot provide for
human rights; they must be strengthened by civic
responsibility and democratic institutions. We need to
create structures that will reach beyond the democratic
deficits of the global community. We need to create
regional cooperation, build civic structures and
community services and work with non-governmental
organizations. We need to educate our citizens and our
societies in making this process their own and allow
their voice to be heard.
This, in our view, is the role of the United
Nations. This honourable Organization can and must
bridge the gap between the global challenges we face
and the democratic deficits that exist in our global
culture. We believe that now is the time to turn the
United Nations from an Organization working to
globalize democracy into an Organization that is also
able to democratize the process of globalization. The
Millennium Summit agenda is proof that the
international community shares these views.
Initiatives taken within the United Nations can
make our world a better place. Let me use a single but
powerful example. On 7 September, nations were
invited to sign and ratify the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the
involvement of children in armed conflicts.
Whatever the causes of modern-day brutality
towards children, the time has come to call for a halt —
to call for a truce. The most fundamental principle is
that children should have no part in war. This is only
one of the initiatives that Greece will actively support
in the international arena in the coming years.
At the same time, our view of the purpose of
international organizations comes from the rich
experience we have amassed in our region. Starting
with the war in Kosovo, my country has been deeply
involved in the events unfolding in the area. We
believe that the lessons of this involvement can greatly
contribute to the work of these organizations. We are
eager to share our experience with the international
community.
We believe that stability in our region is a
prerequisite for Greek security, and we define stability
to mean the practice of democracy, the strengthening of
institutions that provide transparency and
accountability, the reduction of economic inequalities
and the rule of law in our societies and between our
countries. Our security lies in being a member of the
European Union and of the North Atlantic Treaty
Organization, and we work so that countries in the
region may benefit from the stabilizing influence of
their future membership in these institutions.
During the Kosovo war, my colleagues in
neighbouring countries and I decided to cooperate
closely to alleviate human suffering and avoid further
instability in our region. We grew to understand that
our fates were intrinsically linked. As a result, we were
compelled to discover ways to increase our cooperation
and effectiveness in dealing with our problems. We
would otherwise have been condemned to constant
strife, conflict and isolation in the world. In the next
four years, Greece will build upon this base. We are
determined to transform the plight of a war and its
brutal memories into an opportunity for generations to
come.
Through this process, I hope that Greece has
managed to inspire in the international community the
importance of a consistent, universal and unifying
policy towards South-Eastern Europe. From Bosnia to
Cyprus, we have the same objectives: we want the
countries in the region to be integral, peaceful and
democratic; we want them to remain multicultural; and
we want them to join the European Union. Yugoslavia,
too, is an essential part of this political framework. We
strongly desire to see the return of Yugoslavia to
Europe. I would like to endorse my Romanian
colleague's call to rethink our policy on sanctions,
which often do more to serve purposes contrary to
those for which we are striving.
34

That is our message. Even though it is simple
sounding, our message is a radical break from the past,
when favouritism, cold-war intricacies and double
standards consistently broke the spirit of the people in
the region. Now is the time to put an end to that. We
must stop redrawing borders around ethnically
homogeneous communities while compelling them to
seek the favours of greater Powers. In the next four
years, we will commit Greece to an effort to transform
the multitude of races, religions and ethnicities in the
region into an instrument of solidarity and stability —
a beautiful kaleidoscope of creative, multicultural
cooperation.
Greece's vision for the Balkans is one of a region
in which democracy finally becomes the norm; where
citizens' aspirations can finally be realized through
peaceful and democratic practices; where the rights of
minorities are respected; and where Governments are
accountable, economies are transparent and politics
allow for the fullest participation of all elements of
society.
The world has a responsibility in supporting this
vision for our region. We need to empower the region,
which has historically been handicapped, dependent
and divided by a world community of competing
interests and a babble of conflicting signals. This
balkanization of the region must be replaced by
coordination of international efforts.
This is why we have actively supported and
promoted this new vision within the international
community. Last year our efforts helped more than 40
countries develop a unique contract between the
international community and south-eastern Europe. The
contract was coined the Stability Pact. We have a clear
sense of how the Stability Pact can achieve its goals
and it is an optimistic sign that the European Union,
the United States and Russia cooperate closely within
its framework. Regional integration can also be
achieved as the Stability Pact promotes investment in
infrastructure projects. Education is a primary goal and
a strategy for democratic leadership and institution-
building, which will stimulate economic growth and
will bring us together. The pact actively promotes
respect for the rule law among States and peoples in
the region.
Our stand in international organizations and our
agenda for the next four years is coloured also by our
recent experience with Turkey. The earthquakes that
shook Greece and Turkey a year ago created a new
climate for the first time in our recent history. Tragedy
generated a genuine feeling of human warmth.
Spontaneous and dramatic acts of fraternity and
solidarity were expressed. Our mandate was clear. Our
peoples desire to live in peace together.
Since the earthquakes, Greeks and Turks are
using every opportunity to explore their newly found
neighbours, and to come together, meet, exchange
experiences and make up for lost time. On a bilateral
level we have signed 10 agreements that will radically
change the environment in which we interact; in one
year, 10 agreements. We do not view these
developments as a momentary result of what was lately
coined as seismic diplomacy. We view them as the
beginning of a long process that will radically affect
our lives in the coming years.
We have opened a dialogue; one that is honest.
And although we may differ and do differ on many
issues, such as how we see Cyprus or how we approach
our bilateral relations, this open approach can only lead
to a progressive resolution of our problems. When I
speak today I know that those of the Turkish side will
not or may not agree on many issues. But they know
we are honest. We are honest in what we say and in our
desire for a new and peaceful relation.
I believe that Greece and Turkey have no choice
but to explore new avenues for cooperation. I believe
our mutual interests can outweigh our political
differences. We can and must resolve these differences
through peaceful means; peaceful means of that of the
International Court of Justice.
The European Union's decision to upgrade
Turkey's status to that of a candidate country in
Helsinki in December marked an historic turning point
in Greek-Turkish relations. Helsinki does not signal the
end of Greece's efforts; it represents the beginning of a
new and equally courageous Greek initiative. In this
context, we are ready also to further discuss
confidence-building measures between Greece and
Turkey.
I do not want to give the false impression that all
our problems have suddenly been resolved. It is also
most distressing that a variety of statements and acts
still undermine this genuine and difficult effort, and
there are those who certainly may wish that our efforts
will fail. It is our historical duty to overcome these
35

difficulties and maintain the momentum in response to
our peoples' mandate for peace.
I would like to thank the Secretary-General and
all those who labour with him towards a just solution in
Cyprus: a solution based on United Nations resolutions
for a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation in one
international personality, one citizenship and one
sovereignty.
At this time, I would appeal to him to move
forward with the peace talks on this basis. The
implementation of United Nations resolutions is not
only important for Cyprus. It is important for the moral
standing of this all-important Organization. Double
standards and inaction only serve to undermine the
credibility of this Organization in the eyes of so many
countries and peoples.
One cannot accept developments such as those
that recently took place in Strovilia. This responsibility
rests with the United Nations, with the guarantor
powers and all those who have a say in international
developments. It has become obvious that the current
situation in Cyprus and its occupation by foreign forces
challenges the integrity and credibility of this
honourable Organization. I know this term may be
painful, but Cyprus is an occupied island, and this must
end. We need to go beyond the situation and it will take
courage; courage from all involved.
A solution to the Cyprus problem can and should
be seen as a win-win situation. It is vital for peace,
stability and security in our region. I truly believe that
the Greek-Cypriot and the Turkish-Cypriot
communities can find solutions, and we must allow
them to live together peacefully. We can aid them in
this process. Greece and Turkey can aid them. Cyprus
will either unite us or divide us, Greece and Turkey.
We have a responsibility to cooperate on Cyprus and to
facilitate the solution to this process. Greece and
Turkey, through their rapprochement, share a rare
opportunity to help the citizens of Cyprus rebuild their
island, their homes and their dreams. The outcome of
these efforts should be that every Cypriot enjoys safety,
equality under the law, protection of their human
rights, appropriate representation and security under a
European roof.
Cyprus, Turkey and Greece: for anyone willing to
envision the future, our futures are as interwoven as
our histories. A reunified federal Cyprus, member of
the European Union, will not only serve the European
aspiration for stability in the region, but the aspirations
of every citizen in every one of the countries involved.
I extend my appeal to the Turkish Cypriots. We
want them near us, in our wider European family. In
this family we do not only guarantee them the
solidarity of the Greek people, but also the
commitment of the Greek Government. Our citizens
will only master the great possibilities that lie ahead if
this last wall in Cyprus comes tumbling down.
Our experience in our region, our rapprochement
with Turkey and our consistent efforts for a just
solution in Cyprus have given Greece a new voice in
the international community. We treasure our new
capacity and intend to grow it further. During our
Olympiad for Peace we plan to keep a close eye on
developments in the Middle East, always seeking
methods to facilitate the hopeful process. We shall
follow closely developments in the South and
particularly in Africa, a continent for which the Greek
people share a special place in their hearts. Our
emphasis will be on children: their rights, their right to
avoid a violent life.
Our concentration in our Olympiad for Peace will
be on international initiatives in which our country can
play a role. Drawing on our ancient traditions, we are
working to re-establish the practice of Olympic Truce.
We aspire to the day when the tradition of suspending
all hostilities during the Olympic Games becomes the
seed for a more lasting peace. Huge amounts of
resources are wasted on military procurements and war,
and they must be channelled into health, education,
culture and sport. To this end and in close cooperation
with the International Olympic Committee and
President Samaranch, we have established the
International Centre for Olympic Truce in Greece.
In both ancient and modern Greek, the word for
truce is ekecheiria. It has a dual meaning. It means
setting one's weapons aside, but it also means reaching
out one's hand in friendship. We do not simply aspire
to a momentary truce, but to a continuous truce, an
active truce.
The concept of Olympic Truce can complement
the work of national and international organizations
specializing in conflict prevention and resolution and
intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations
sharing similar objectives. The Centre in Olympia will
offer a sanctuary to support peace-building. This year
we hosted children from war-torn areas in the Balkans.
36

Truce in Bosnia in 1992 allowed for children to be
inoculated. Truce in Sidney this year will allow for
North and South Korean teams to march under the
same flags: an historic moment.
I started my address by saying that people coming
together has always been the prerequisite for building a
better world and a more secure future. I conclude by
appeal to members. Take this ancient tradition, which
by now is no longer exclusively Greek. It has become
universal. Use this tool to complement efforts and
inspire the younger generation for peace and
cooperation, going beyond ethnic, racial, religious or
other divisions.
This is the objective of the Olympic Truce. And
this is the foundation upon which Greece shall build its
four-year Olympiad for Peace.


Mr.
President, allow me first of all to congratulate you
sincerely on your election to the presidency of the
4

fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly and to
express my confidence that under your skilful
leadership the Assembly will cope successfully with all
the issues before it.
I would also like to commend the President of the
previous session, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, on his
remarkable contribution to the success of the fifty-
fourth session as well as to the preparations for the
Millennium Summit.
I would like to take this opportunity to
congratulate a new Member of our Organization,
Tuvalu, and to wish it a successful start in the work of
the current session.
Two weeks ago, we all witnessed a unique
historic event: the Millennium Summit of the United
Nations, in which about 150 Heads of State or
Government took part. Remarkable ideas and proposals
were voiced and a Summit Declaration was adopted.
The time that we have to fulfil the commitments made
by our leaders at the Millennium Summit has already
begun to elapse.
The twentieth century is coming to an end.
Humankind will recall this century as an epoch of
outstanding contrasts: scientific-technological and
spiritual-intellectual progress, the bloodshed of two
world wars, the collapse of empires, the emergence of
new sovereign States, the cold war and collective
efforts for the sake of peace and stability. What will the
world be like in the approaching century?
The end of the confrontation of two systems and
the prevalence of ideas about democracy and the free
market should contribute to the formation of a world in
which the interests of all States are taken into account
and a genuine and equal partnership is established.
However, an analysis of the development of the
international environment leads us to the bitter
conclusion that stereotypes of rivalry are still alive. We
are living through a very difficult period, when a single
wrong step could destabilize  the situation and,
tragically, lead to a return to the past. We have a long
way to go to build a just and secure world order. It can
be achieved only by the joint efforts of all States, large
and small, rich and poor, developed and developing.
The year 2001 has been declared the United
Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. We are
convinced that we should not let this opportunity slip
by, and should use this dialogue to consider together
the prospects for resolving the complex problems
facing humankind.
The year 2001 will also stand out because of
another remarkable event: the special session of the
General Assembly to review the outcome of the World
Summit for Children, which will be held next
September. I believe that I do not need to underline its
significance. As a member of the Executive Board of
the United Nations Children's Fund, my country is
actively participating in the preparations for this
important event.
The fact that both of these events are being held
at the juncture of two millenniums is highly symbolic
and should contribute to the achievement of a
qualitatively new level of interaction among States
aimed at global progress.
Globalization is the main feature of the current
stage of the development of the world economy. It is a
complex and objective process. Countries are
concerned about the prospects of this phenomenon.
While opening up new possibilities for developing
economies, ensuring sustainable development and
improving the welfare of peoples, globalization could
also have tangible negative consequences for States
with economies in transition and for developing
countries.
In this regard, I would like to underline that the
United Nations must make fuller use of its capacities,
as well as those of its specialized agencies, to assist
States in anticipating and ensuring the early prevention
of the possible negative consequences of globalization
and the increasing interdependency of States. The
United Nations is called upon to continue to play a key
and effective role in strengthening international
economic cooperation and advising States on all major
issues of global development.
Azerbaijan is making its own contribution to the
development of the process of globalization. Located at
the point where Europe and Asia meet, with a
diversified economy and rich in natural resources,
including hydrocarbons, my country serves as an
effective link in the development of East-West and
North-South cooperation. Azerbaijan is actively
participating in projects for the development and
transportation to international markets of the
hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian Sea, as well as in
the project to restore the Great Silk Road, all of which
are of global importance.
5

Azerbaijan, together with a number of the Great
Silk Road countries, is currently working on a new
landmark project, SILKSAT, to provide the countries of
the Great Silk Road with a global satellite
telecommunications system, in addition to existing
communication lines. These projects are crucial to
enhancing trade and industrial ties among the
participating countries, developing their economies and
making them interactive and strengthening their
integration into the global world economy.
However, external threats, internal problems,
outside pressures and involvement in the struggle for
spheres of influence are depriving these young and
fragile democracies of the opportunity freely to carry
out policies that would respond to the interests and
expectations of their people, to strengthen and improve
their statehood and to engage in peaceful development.
Since their very inception, they have been forced to
fight a difficult battle for independence, sovereignty
and territorial integrity.
As the victims of aggression, seizure of their
territory, “ethnic cleansing”, aggressive separatism and
terrorism, these States rightly expect the United
Nations to take the most effective action to create a just
and secure world and to protect the principles of the
United Nations Charter. Unfortunately, the southern
Caucasus has become a region where all of these
problems, threats and risks have their explicit
manifestation.
The main destabilizing factor of the situation in
the southern Caucasus has been the aggression of
Armenia against Azerbaijan, which has brought
incalculable tragedy to millions of people. As a result
of the aggression, Armenian armed forces have
occupied 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan,
carried out “ethnic cleansing” and ousted 1 million
Azerbaijanis from their homes. In this connection, the
United Nations Security Council adopted four
resolutions which unequivocally reconfirmed the
sovereignty, territorial integrity and inviolability of the
borders of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and called for
the immediate and unconditional withdrawal of
Armenian armed forces from all of the occupied
territories of Azerbaijan. However, from 1993 to date,
those Security Council resolutions have remained a
dead letter.
Since 1992, the Organization for Security and
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been engaged in
brokering a settlement of the conflict between Armenia
and Azerbaijan, but its activities have not been
successful. Bilateral discussions between the Presidents
of Azerbaijan and Armenia are continuing, but they,
too, have failed to produce results. The two countries
have observed a ceasefire for the last six years, but it is
not a solution to the problem.
We call on the United Nations to take all
necessary measures to implement the Security Council
resolutions. Peace and security in the region cannot be
achieved without a settlement of the conflict between
Armenia and Azerbaijan, as well as other regional
conflicts, and the removal of external pressure,
including foreign military presence. Bringing political
integrity and neutrality to the southern Caucasus would
make possible the establishment of a normal
relationship among the States of the region and ensure
their harmonious integration into the world economic
system.
We would like to express our gratitude to the
organizations of the United Nations system and to
donor countries for their assistance to Azerbaijani
refugees and displaced persons, who have been living
in great distress for over eight years. Of critical
importance to us is the continuation of and increase in
the humanitarian assistance being provided to them
until they can return to their homes.
The United Nations is the key forum for
coordinating inter-State relations. The need to make
significant efforts to enhance the Organization's
effectiveness is not in doubt. In recent years, under the
leadership of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, a
serious evaluation of the resources and capacities of the
United Nations, as well as of the Organization's
activities in the post-cold-war decade, has been made.
We had never before heard such self-criticism as that
expressed in the reports on tragedies in Srebrenica,
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Rwanda. In this general
context, we commend and support the Secretary-
General's efforts to reform the United Nations.
The United Nations bears great responsibility for
the fate of the world, and we place our hopes in it.
Serious and rational reforms should increase the
effectiveness of the Organization and, first and
foremost, of the Security Council. Given the Council's
special significance, the question of adopting reform
decisions by two thirds of the Member States has been
6

affirmed by a consensus resolution of the General
Assembly. Azerbaijan fully supports such an approach.
We also believe that the representation of the
States of Asia, Africa and Latin America in the
Security Council should be in keeping with modern
political realities. We have already expressed, and
today we reconfirm, our support for the election of
Germany and Japan as permanent members of the
Security Council. At the same time, I would like to
point out that one additional non-permanent seat should
be allocated to the Group of Eastern European States
because of the unprecedented doubling in the
membership of the Group. Otherwise, each country of
the Eastern European Group could only be elected a
non-permanent member of the Council once every 38
years.
We have studied with great interest the Brahimi
report on strengthening United Nations peacekeeping
capacities. We would not like the ideas and
recommendations contained in that remarkable report
to remain a dead letter.
We also hope that the International Criminal
Court will become an effective organ to bring to
justice, on behalf of the international community, those
who have committed war crimes, genocide, crimes
against humanity and the crime of aggression. Should
the Court become hostage to the interests of various
groups of States and to the practice of double standards
rather than being guided by international legal norms
equal for all, perpetrators will go unpunished.
Azerbaijan is interested in taking an active part in
combating international terrorism, organized crime and
illegal drug trafficking. The fight against those
problems, which are growing in scale, can be effective
only with the concerted efforts of all countries at both
the regional and the global levels.
In this connection, I would like to draw attention
to a proposal made by the group of States that includes
Georgia, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan and Moldova
(GUUAM) on the establishment of an international
anti-terrorism centre.
Speaking of GUUAM in a wider context, I would
like to stress that the meeting of the GUUAM heads of
State during the Millennium Summit could be
characterized as a landmark in the history of the group.
The New York memorandum adopted at the meeting
confirms the orientation of the GUUAM States towards
further developing mutually beneficial and
multifaceted cooperation in various spheres.
There is yet another urgent issue whose resolution
cannot be postponed. I am speaking of the difficult
financial situation of our Organization that has arisen
as a result of delays by Member States in making their
contributions to the regular and peacekeeping budgets.
Member States should fulfil their financial obligations
to the Organization in full, on time and without any
conditions.
At the same time, our delegation believes that the
time has come to reconsider the current scale of
assessments for both the regular and the peacekeeping
budgets. We are ready to cooperate constructively with
other delegations on this matter. We believe that the
principle of a State's capacity to pay should be the
basis for the future reform of the scale of assessments.
Our Organization is designed to play a leading
role in overcoming obstacles to global peace and
progress. I would like to underscore our collective
responsibility for peace and security on our planet, and
to express my confidence that the results of the
Millennium Summit and the entire fifty-fifth session of
the General Assembly will become a reliable basis for
achieving a more stable and peaceful twenty-first
century.


Allow me, Sir, at the
outset to congratulate you heartily on your election to
the Presidency of this General Assembly. Finland is a
close friend and partner within the Nordic community.
We wish you success with this challenging task and
pledge to you the full support of the Icelandic
delegation.
The Millennium Declaration provides the
commitments of the world community in the new
century. To prevent conflicts, maintain international
peace and security and make peace an achievable goal
at the end of armed conflicts, we need to continue
strengthening the United Nations and the international
legal system as a whole. Iceland has always supported
verifiable arms control and arms reduction measures
and will continue to support realistic disarmament
proposals aiming at maximum security with a
minimum of weapons. It is appalling to note the
enormous sums being spent on weapons, while the
money could be used to significantly improve the lives
of millions.
Today, when there is an obvious need to assess
the United Nations ability to conduct peacekeeping
operations, it has proved extremely important to have a
Secretary-General who has such a deep knowledge of
the matter through his own experience. I would like to
commend the Secretary-General for taking the
initiative to ask a panel of prominent experts in the
field to assess the situation. I welcome the Brahimi
report. Its recommendations should be implemented as
soon as possible.
Even though my country does not have a military,
it has been able to participate in peacekeeping
operations. It has done so in the Balkans by providing
medical staff, policemen and experts in the fields of
law, the media and women's rights. We have noted with
interest the recommendations made in the Brahimi
report concerning the non-military aspects of peace
operations. We will be studying them carefully now
that we are in the process of looking into how we can
strengthen our contribution to peacekeeping in the
future.
The report states that expressions of general
support in the form of statements and resolutions must
be followed up with tangible actions. We will be taking
these words of wisdom seriously in our policy-making.
In the preparations for the Millennium Assembly,
the Secretary-General encouraged Member States to
engage more effectively in the international legal
framework by acceding to a number of legal
instruments. One to which Iceland has decided to
accede is the Convention on the Safety of United
Nations and Associated Personnel.
The Security Council has the primary
responsibility for the maintenance of international
peace and security. Unfortunately, it has not succeeded
in reflecting the tremendous changes in the
international arena which have taken place since its
establishment. In order to ensure its credibility in years
to come, the reform process has to be accelerated.
The rules of international law governing the
relations between States are now well established; this
also applies in the fields of human rights and
humanitarian law. These rules set out the rights and
obligations of States and individuals. But ground rules
do not suffice if it is not possible to enforce them.
There are mechanisms to ensure respect and
compliance with these rules, such as the General
Assembly, the Security Council and peacekeeping
missions. As a complement to these mechanisms, an
effective international court system should be available
to bring those who breach these rules to justice, at the
same time serving to deter potential perpetrators.
With this in mind, I believe that the greatest
achievements towards strengthening the international
legal system in recent years have been the
establishment of the International Criminal Tribunals
for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and for Rwanda
and the adoption of the Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court. Iceland has ratified the
Rome Statute and encourages all other States to do so.
I welcome the proposal to include cooperation
between the United Nations and the Council of Europe
in the agenda of this session of the General Assembly. I
had the honour of chairing the Council of Ministers of
the Council of Europe last year. I am therefore well
aware of the important contribution made by the
Council to peace and stability in Europe, especially in
the field of human rights. The United Nations, the
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), the Council of Europe and other organizations
14

responded to the serious situation in the Balkans by
joining forces and working together to make
reconstruction achievable.
In Kosovo, the politically motivated and inter-
ethnic violence must be stopped. Rogue elements
cannot be allowed to destroy possibilities created by
the international community. One ethnic group must
not be allowed to win at the expense of another. The
Kosovars have been provided with a unique
opportunity to build a just community in the region —
a community where the fundamental freedoms and
rights of every individual and minority group are
respected. Only by utilizing this opportunity are
Kosovars going to be able to build a stable foundation
for lasting peace and stability for future generations.
The same can be said about similar situations
elsewhere in the Balkans, such as in Bosnia and
Herzegovina.
The international community has taken on an
enormous task in building a whole new civic structure
within Kosovo. The development of a legal system and
free media have been two challenging tasks. The
elections to take place in October are also going to be
challenging. Hopefully, they can be carried out in an
orderly and peaceful manner.
It is very important to include women in the
political process. In this respect, I would like to
commend the United Nations Development Fund for
Women (UNIFEM) for the good work carried out in
Kosovo, not only in the political field but also in
fighting violence against women and in promoting
women's participation in economic activities.
The importance of human rights in securing long-
term stability and security, both within and between
countries, cannot be overestimated. It is therefore
essential that no compromises be accepted in this field,
and our aims should remain high.
The Security Council should be commended for
discussing the grave humanitarian crisis and security
threat posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in
sub-Saharan Africa, and also for discussing the issue of
children and armed conflict. The discussion in the
Council has served to concentrate the attention of the
international community on these issues and led the
way for others to take the measures required. Both
issues affect children in a very serious manner. I expect
them to feature prominently on the agenda of next
year's special session to follow up the World Summit
for Children. I also welcome the decision to hold a
special session of the General Assembly on the
enormous problem of HIV/AIDS and international
efforts to combat it.
The rights of women were significantly enhanced
with the adoption last year of the Optional Protocol to
the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women. Iceland has signed the
Protocol and is preparing its ratification.
I cannot fail to condemn the terrible plight of
those women around the world who are still enduring
major human rights abuses, including female genital
mutilation and trafficking, as well as severe restrictions
on their freedom of movement and the right to work.
During the Millennium Summit, the Prime
Minister of Iceland signed the two Optional Protocols
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Iceland
welcomes their adoption and hopes that they will
further secure the human rights of children.
We have to put extra effort into working towards
the elimination of racial discrimination. It is worrying
to note the trend towards increasing racism and
xenophobia in certain parts of the world, including
Europe. This needs to be fought at all levels. The
World Conference to be held in South Africa next year
will without doubt play an important role. Iceland
welcomes this Conference and feels that, in the light of
history, South Africa is a very appropriate venue for it.
As reflected in the report of the Secretary-
General, “We the peoples”, fighting poverty remains
one of the main challenges to the United Nations.
People living in poverty do not have the opportunity to
exercise many of their fundamental rights and
freedoms. They cannot benefit from the possibilities of
globalization. We need to reverse the current trend, as
decided at the Millennium Summit. But more needs to
be done. Globalization and new technologies offer
many opportunities to reduce poverty at a faster rate
than in the past.
We have been strengthening our development
cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally. At the
bilateral level, we have concentrated on a group of
African countries with a focus on strengthening their
fishing industry and education and health areas, with
the potential to positively alter the lives of people in
need. On the multilateral level, we will be contributing
to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative
15

through the World Bank and the International Monetary
Fund.
Most of our decisions are based on compromises,
in which each and every one of us has to give a little in
order to reach an agreement. It is very important to
keep this in mind, not only when we discuss substance,
but also when the time comes for us to pay our dues,
both to the regular budget and to the peacekeeping
budget. It is crucial for the good functioning of this
Organization that all Members pay their contributions
fully, on time and without any conditions.
In recent years, the oceans of the world have
received increased attention in the General Assembly.
We welcome this development. Iceland's economy is
based on the sustainable harvest of living marine
resources. The health and responsible stewardship of
the oceans are therefore of critical importance to us.
Last year, we resolved to improve United Nations
coordination in the area of ocean affairs. Towards that
end, we established an Informal Consultative Process
to discuss the Secretary-General's report on the oceans
and the law of the sea. I was pleased with the
implementation of this decision of the first Meeting of
this Process last spring.
However, we must act carefully when seeking to
improve our coordination and cooperation in this area.
Ocean issues must be addressed at the appropriate level
and be consistent with the rights and obligations laid
down in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. We
must fully respect the sovereign right of States over
their natural resources and the competence of existing
international organizations. Above all, the integrity of
the Convention must be preserved. We must be mindful
that the Convention provides the legal framework
within which all activities in the oceans and seas must
be carried out.
The United Nations specialized agencies have an
important role to play in promoting the conservation
and sustainable use of the oceans. A key area in this
respect is marine scientific research. We need more
accurate and policy-oriented information on the state of
the oceans. Coordination towards that end would be a
worthy task for the new Informal Consultative Process
on Ocean Affairs.
At the onset of a new millennium, it is more
pressing than ever before to ensure the access of people
in the developing countries, especially in rural areas, to
readily available and sustainable energy. Today, about
one third of the world's population does not have such
access, and this situation is obviously a serious
obstacle to the development of these communities. In
my country, we have been able to bring sustainable
energy to all households in the country. We are sharing
our experience and knowledge with the developing
countries through the United Nations University
Geothermal Training Programme, which is located in
Iceland and funded by my Government.
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio created a
momentum for building a secure future for humankind
and life on Earth under the banner of sustainable
development. Soon, world leaders will meet again at a
global conference to take stock of the progress made in
meeting these challenges, laid down in Agenda 21 and
the other Rio agreements. It is indeed true that we have
not been able to live up to all the expectations raised in
Rio, but we should not fail to acknowledge the
progress that we have made.
The concept of sustainable development has truly
become accepted as a fundamental guiding strategy in
environmental and socio-economic affairs. In my own
country, which is dependent on fisheries, we believe
that we are reaping the benefits of the sustainable-use
regime for our fish stocks in the form of a healthy
ecosystem and a robust economy. Regional and
international efforts to prevent the pollution of the
oceans have continued to gather strength and we can
expect further efforts, in particular to control pollution
from land-based sources.
It is my belief that, in charting a course for the
future, we should be looking at success stories and
learning from them, rather than concentrating on the
obstacles we face. Let us be guided by the doers, but
not the doom-sayers.


I
would like to sincerely congratulate you, Sir, on your
election to the presidency of this, the General
Assembly at its fifty-fifth session, which serves as a
bridge between two millennia. I would like to assure
you that you will have the full cooperation of my
delegation. I would also like to pay homage to your
predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the valuable
contribution he made to the work of this Assembly, as
well as for his contribution to the preparations for the
Millennium Summit.
14

During that Summit, less than one week ago, the
heads of State and Government of the Member States
of the United Nations adopted a Declaration. The
specific commitments and objectives contained in that
Declaration pose a complex challenge. Their
implementation will require sustained efforts on the
part of each of the members of the international
community. In making those efforts, all of us  small
and large, rich and poor  should keep in mind the
common responsibility we bear for the future of our
civilization.
The Secretary-General's millennium report and
the Declaration it inspired reflect with the greatest
eloquence the tasks and the requirements, as well as the
worries and fears, facing our planet. And those ideas
have been expressed at an opportune moment: the
threshold of the new millennium. By taking up the
work of implementing this major programme of action,
we will be undertaking the indispensable process of
addressing the increasingly pressing global problems
we are facing.
One of the great lessons of the decade that has
just passed, and also of the Millennium Summit, is that
with the vanishing of the bipolar world order, East-
West confrontation has been replaced by North-South
problems. We believe that everything possible must be
done so that this divide does not become rigid and so
that the problems and difficulties it poses do not persist
for too long. The Secretary-General's millennium
report, the document adopted during the Summit of
heads of State and Government, the many speeches we
heard during the Summit  they all show that the
international community recognizes and has assessed
the scale of the challenges that globalization is forcing
it to take up, and they show that the international
community is searching for solutions to pressing
issues, with the goal of reducing the appalling
disparities in the world. There are many such issues
and problems. They include poverty, the increasing
economic and social gaps between the developed and
developing countries, environmental issues, organized
crime, international terrorism, AIDS and other
diseases, drugs, human migration, the use of the
Internet to sow intolerance and extremist ideas, and so
forth. It is no exaggeration to say that, in order to
ensure a stable, just and prosperous future for all
humanity, we must, as soon as possible, get down to
work on following up on the decisions that have been
taken and on creating international legal standards to
the extent necessary. These standards should also be
developed in the fields of trade, finance and human
rights  most specifically to protect the rights of
ethnic, linguistic or religious minorities. As part of this
undertaking, it is important to reinforce good
governance and solidarity.
Let us recall that the great transformation of the
world's political, security, socio-economic and
scientific landscape has been accompanied by a
remarkable evolution  the return of man to the
central place that is properly his on the international
chessboard, and by a rediscovery of the purpose of
governmental action at the national and international
levels. It is not a question of safeguarding States and
Governments but of protecting people and
communities, human beings, men and women who
compose our societies. We must thus realize that
political and legislative practices and our future
activities in the codification of international law must
adequately reflect that fundamental fact that we now
see re-emerging.
In this context, the millions of victims of the
conflicts afflicting the world and the daily tragedies we
continually see mean that we cannot stand with our
arms crossed, that we must try to find as quickly as
possible a response to the practical and theoretical
dilemmas that have been haunting us for some time.
There are conflicts within States accompanied by
serious violations of the human rights and genuine
humanitarian crises. The national authorities, wherever
they may be, must not be allowed to systematically
persecute their own populations on a massive scale
with complete impunity while taking shelter behind
certain principles of the Charter of the United Nations.
The international community must deal with these
situations with a new vision and philosophy that reflect
the realities and the spirit of our contemporary world.
As a result of our proximity to the ex-Yugoslavia,
my country, Hungary, has felt the whole weight of
these problems over the last decade. We have been
witness to the serious delays on the part of the
community of nations that has prevented it from acting
in time in Bosnia and Rwanda, and elsewhere, with the
appropriate means on the basis of a mandate
corresponding to the real nature of the situation and
with the necessary political will. That is why we
welcome Mr. Brahimi's report on peacekeeping
operations. We are ready to begin without delay the
15

necessary work to examine and implement these
recommendations.
With regard to the Balkan region, the Stability
Pact for South-Eastern Europe that came into being one
year ago is an initiative for prevention and
reconstruction which offers the countries and the
peoples of that part of the continent the possibility to
leave their conflicts behind, to settle their differences
and to open up new prospects for cooperation. Hungary
attaches great importance to this and will make its own
contribution to this vital enterprise, particularly in the
field of strengthening democratic forces in the region
and in human rights, including the rights of minorities.
Within this context, a democratic evolution in the
Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will undoubtedly have
a stabilizing effect on the region as a whole and will
make it possible to bring to an end the isolation of
Serbia from the major European and international
currents. The elections scheduled for the end of
September offer us an occasion to set this process
under way. Such an evolution will enable us to
normalize relations between Serbia and Montenegro.
One of the global problems facing us is
undoubtedly the question of conventional weapons and
weapons of mass destruction. We appeal for new
progress in the field of light weapons and anti-
personnel mines, the victims of which are basically
innocent civilians.
The 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons
marked an important step forward in the search for a
safer future for humanity. The document adopted there
reaffirms the central role of the treaty in the field of
non-proliferation and the need for international
agreement to this end. We hope that between now and
the next review conference, to be held in 2005, we will
be able to undertake the process of implementing the
programme of action which was adopted to promote
non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. From this
point of view we attach particular importance to the
initiation of work towards a treaty on the prohibition of
fissile materials for military purposes.
We have also been following very closely the
negotiations designed to draw up a verification
protocol on the Biological Weapons Convention, which
will enter a decisive phase on the eve of the review
conference set for 2001. Hungary will chair the ad hoc
group charged with formulating a mechanism in that
connection and will do everything in its power to
achieve the objective over the course of next year.
Hungary considers the adoption of the Statute of
the International Criminal Court one of the most
important international achievements in the field of
international law. This Statute is aimed at imposing
rules of international humanitarian law and at ending
an era of impunity. Nineteen States have already
ratified the Statute, and the number of signatures is
now 112. Hungary views this with pleasure and will
pursue its own preparations for ratification of the
Statute. We will continue to participate actively in
negotiations to bring about universal acceptance of the
Court while preserving the integrity of its Statute.
The reform of our world Organization has been
on the agenda for some time. Recent events throughout
the world  particularly unprecedented changes in the
political and military order, economic evolution,
progress in the fields of science and informatics, and
the end of the century that symbolizes very tangibly the
dawn of a new era full of both promises and
uncertainty  have transformed the desire to see the
United Nations adapt to the realities of our time into an
imperative that will no longer tolerate any deviations or
hesitation. Consequently, our first task is to face in a
determined way the tremendous challenges awaiting us
in the twenty-first century. The political will of
Member States cannot be lacking if we really wish to
make every effort to support the laudable efforts of the
Secretary-General to achieve this adaptation process.
This will involve, among other things, reforming the
Security Council and the budgetary system, which is
necessary to strengthen the credibility and efficacy of
our world Organization.
The more quickly we can reform the Organization
according to the requirements of this critical period, the
more reassured people throughout the world will be as
to the future of the planet.


Allow me first of all
to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the
presidency of the fifty-fifth session of the General
Assembly. I wish also to congratulate most sincerely
the Secretary-General on his comprehensive and
detailed report outlining the most important challenges
facing the international community in the twenty-first
century.
9

The heads of State or Government of the States
Members of the United Nations drew inspiration from
this important document for the Millennium Summit,
which has just concluded, at which they expressed their
collective commitment and determination to adopt
policies in favour of a globalization process benefiting
the entire world population.
International cooperation among Governments
will pave the way for an increasingly integrated system
in which all States are inevitably involved, thus
bringing all the peoples of the world closer together.
San Marino believes that a wider globalization process
of a juridical, ethical and cultural nature, in which
solidarity is a major concern, is a sine qua non for the
achievement of genuine economic globalization.
The Republic I represent is fully convinced that it
is the responsibility of all countries of the world to
ensure economic and social development and to
address threats to international peace and security, and
that the United Nations must play a central role in
shaping our common future.
Against this backdrop, the question of the least
developed countries burdened with a huge foreign debt
must be re-examined, in the conviction that debt relief
must form an integral part of the contribution offered
by the international community to worldwide
development.
Since the economic and social development of
many countries is being irreparably hindered by debt
problems, international solidarity is an imperative for
everybody, just as human rights and dignity must not
be violated in the name of market laws.
At the dawn of the third millennium, it is
unacceptable that half of the world's population still
lives in extreme poverty, with an income of barely two
dollars a day. The indifference to this problem is a
disgrace to humanity as a whole, since we are all well
aware that poverty often triggers domestic and
international conflicts and leads to exploitation and
underdevelopment.
Against this gloomy background characterized by
blatant contrasts, the international community must
concentrate its efforts on the protection of the most
vulnerable, who bear the heaviest burden, and must pay
special attention to women and children, who are the
main victims of poverty, violence and exploitation.
Prompted by the conviction that legal cooperation, at
an international level, is crucial to the protection of the
rights of the child, San Marino was the first country to
sign, this year, the Optional Protocol on child
pornography, and the second country to sign the
Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in
armed conflicts. The Republic is actively preparing to
participate in the Special Session on Children to be
held in September 2001, where progress made over the
last decade in the protection of children will be
reviewed. On that occasion, the international
community will lay the foundations for ensuring that
children enjoy their full juridical status.
Well aware that legal equality between men and
women has become a major concern, both nationally
and internationally, San Marino welcomes the results
of the 1995 Beijing Conference, as well as those of its
follow-up special review session held in New York last
June.
The technology revolution, among the most
important ones of the last decades, has caused radical
changes in international relations. We all hope that
information technology and the Internet will be
increasingly used by the poorest countries as
instruments of economic and cultural development. In
this context, I wish to reiterate my country's
commitment and willingness to take part in the latest
United Nations projects aimed at reducing illiteracy
through computer science and promoting the
knowledge and use of new technologies in developing
countries. In this way, new technologies, far from
widening the gap between rich and poor countries, will
benefit everybody.
In this spirit, the international community as a
whole has the duty to contribute to the consolidation of
democracy in Africa and to help its populations, under
the auspices of the United Nations, in their struggle for
lasting peace, poverty eradication and the achievement
of just and sustainable social development.
The entire international community has the moral
and civil obligation to put an end to the conflicts
afflicting many African countries and to counter the
growing instability caused by ethnic and territorial
divisions in some of these States or regions. In fact, if
international peace is to be attained, the right of each
individual to live in peace and security must be
guaranteed.
The numerous and cruel acts of genocide
witnessed by the twentieth century recently led the
10

international community to set up an International
Criminal Court in order to prevent the authors of
crimes against humanity from going unpunished. San
Marino, the first European country to ratify the Statute
of the Court, hopes that other Parliaments will add to
the 19 having already deposited their instruments of
ratification, so as to attain the minimum number,
enabling the Court to be operative and become a
juridical and moral authority.
On behalf of my country, I wish to thank the
Secretary-General for having made the Organization
more efficient and modern, through a series of reforms.
Yet, with regard to the reform of the Security Council,
Member States could not make any decision in the
absence of a general agreement. In this regard, let me
express my sincere hope for a comprehensive,
democratic and fair reform of the Security Council
soon.
At the beginning of a new millennium, the
consolidation of a more efficient and representative
governance, at an international level, bridging the gap
between the haves and have-nots, is our common
expectation. Globalization being an irreversible
process, we rely on the power and ability of this
institution, which we believe in and which we are
striving to strengthen.


Once again I shall rely on
the kindness of those who interpret our speeches, since
I am yet again putting them to the test of working
without a written text.
I shall switch between repetition and familiar
issues, between deception and truth.
First, repetition. As last year, the President of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, Mr. Laurent-DÈsirÈ
Kabila, has sent me to this very same rostrum to speak
about the same issues. Once again our invaders and
aggressors  from Rwanda and Uganda in
particular  are in our country, and I shall speak about
this again. This falls under the heading of repetition.
I shall talk about this issue in the spirit and the letter of
the principles of the United Nations. The letter is
important insofar as it helps us make sense of this
situation. I would suggest to delegations a small
exercise regarding the reputedly historic work we do
here. By playing with historic a little, by transposing
a letter or two, another meaning can be found.
I am awaiting the letter of the solution that the
United Nations will adopt one day regarding the
problem of the aggression against, and occupation of
our country by, people who are here in this very Hall
and who have spoken falsely yesterday and today.
Uganda has said that it has come to my country in
order to solve problems among the Congolese. Have
the Ugandans come as tourists? Have they come as
scientific researchers?
We need to return to the letter of the definition of
aggression. These people, who ordinarily are our
neighbours, leave their country, cross our borders,
come into our country and are occupying it even as I
speak. And, as if they had not already gone too far,
they have taken it upon themselves to say what we
should do to settle the problems among the Congolese
people. They do not talk about inter-Ugandan dialogue;
they do not talk about inter-Rwandan dialogue. They
talk about the inter-Congolese dialogue. Perhaps that is
why they are slitting people's throats, massacring
people, cutting off penises, burying women alive. They
are planting fields of arms in the way that Van Gogh
planted fields of sunflowers, burying women alive and
leaving their arms sticking out of their graves  with
the idea of later harvesting arms. They have multiplied
the number of Dachaus by thousands. They shut up our
populations in their humble huts and then set the huts
on fire. Perhaps this is their understanding of
participating in a solution to the Congolese problem.
Unjustifiably!
It is a deception for the head of State of one of
these countries to play around in New York and say
We will not leave the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. Notwithstanding the clear resolutions of the
Security Council  resolutions 1234 (1999) and 1304
(2000)  which state plainly that the Rwandans, the
Ugandans and Burundians must leave the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, representatives of those
countries come here and say We will not leave.
These impostors come to this very building and dare to
engage in such arm wrestling for the benefit of the
26

leaders and other representatives of the countries
gathered here.
I do not want someone to tell me  even if it is
true

You have made a wonderful speech.

I want to be told We shall report back to our
Governments and heads of State what you said,
because it is the truth: truth in response to deception.
As the philosopher Spinoza said, Verum index sui et
falsi; that is, truth is a touchstone both of the truth
itself and of falsehood. One of our singers  his name,
Koffi Olomide, is worth remembering  sings, in one
of the languages that are well known to Africans who
listen to Congolese music and from which I am
translating: A lie takes the elevator, but the truth uses
the stairs. The phrase is even prettier in Lingala.
And so it is  the lies of the aggressors have
quickly arisen to fool people. They are trying to pass
for little lambs, these people who are in a country that
is not their own, where no one wants them to be and
where they have not been invited. They are there. And
they have the nerve to say We will not leave,
notwithstanding the clear Security Council resolutions
that enjoin them to leave our country without delay or
conditions.
I am repeating today what I said last year;
however, I must repeat this because these people are
still in my country and show no sign of leaving. They
have outrageous plans, such as creating a Great Lakes
Republic by cutting up our country and joining entire
provinces of it to their countries.
All of this will seem quite clear if you look at a
map of my country. You will see that our 2.347 million
square kilometres are located amid small asteroids that
gravitate around it in some sort of Brownian motion.
They enter our country, massacre people and, as I said
earlier, shamelessly state that they are not going to
leave. They believe that this lie will prevail because it
has taken the lift, while our truth has to take the stairs.
But I believe that our truth is making headway in your
minds. Right is on our side.
None of our own soldiers are in Kigali or in
Kampala, but there is an unwanted multitude of foreign
soldiers in my country, growing in number as well as in
weaponry. No doubt they are there for tourism. Since
we are embarking upon a historic millennium  and
we should consider the meaning of that adjective  we
must remind those people that they have to leave now,
today. They should go home. They must not remain in
my country because what they are doing is abominable.
I have given the Assembly a Dantesque
description of what these people are doing in my
country, supposedly for peaceful reasons. They are
massacring people, as I have stated. They are burying
women alive and cutting off the penises of prisoners.
This needs to be analysed. Why would anyone do that
to prisoners? The lies in the lift will not tell you about
that, but the stairway will. I hope you will inform your
respective Governments of the realities of the situation
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. People say it
is complex, but in fact it is not complex at all. Those
people are not in their country. They have crossed our
borders, supposedly to secure their own borders and
supposedly because the génocidaires are in my country,
occasionally returning to their own countries to sow
disorder.
Once again, look at a map of our country. You
will see that the asteroids that I mentioned, Rwanda in
particular, have borders on Lake Kivu. It is a very
small area that is the real border between us. If you
look at the map, you will see that these asteroids, in
order to secure their borders, have gone 2,000
kilometres beyond this real border, to the Atlantic, to
start a war. We do not know how they manage to move
their soldiers around because they do not have
aeroplanes; however, know that they manage. They
move heavy weaponry 2,000 kilometres in order to
start a war, the purpose of which is to defend their
borders 2,000 kilometres away. Who can possibly
believe this? Who can claim that this is the truth?
When you wish to defend and secure your border, you
put your troops at your border so that others do not
cross.
There is yet another lie: they say that they are
pursuing the perpetrators of the genocide that everyone
remembers from 1994. They claim that they are
pursuing them because they have hidden in our
country. Well, these people occupy two provinces in
the border area of our country and one other province
that is even farther away, farther from the equator.
They have never caught any génocidaires, living
or dead. It would be a shock if they did. The Rwandans
27

are saying that there are génocidaires in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo in order to justify
their presence. However, they have never caught any.
Why have they never caught a génocidaire? I
think they are incapable of doing two things at once.
Each Rwandan or Ugandan has only two hands, and
those two hands are busy. Do you know what they are
doing? They are taking our diamonds, copper, gold,
precious wood and rare animals, which they do not
have on their asteroids. And they are becoming
diamond exporters. If you look at the stock exchange,
you will see that Rwanda this month exported so many
diamonds, but those diamonds are covered in the blood
of the Congolese people. The gemocracy that
employs them is doing the same thing in Sierra Leone,
Liberia and Angola. One could say that the common
denominator between those countries and ours is that
we are under the thumb of gemocrats who prevent us
from creating democracy. We have gemocrats against
democrats. That is the deepest meaning to be found in
these poor countries that wish to become rich through
pillaging and plundering, which they do in the full light
of day where everyone can see them. What is more
surprising still is that nobody tells them to stop their
plundering and go home. This is an absolute fraud, and
it threatens our African brothers as well. A country that
is one eightieth the size of ours, that not long ago,
before Lumumba, held the reins of our country, dares
to allow its justice system  because in our country
there are patriots and nationalists
I come from a province near the Atlantic, 2,000
kilometres away from the Rwandan border. I see
appear in my province people who are easily
recognized by their phenotype, accompanied by some
Congolese passing through the province on their way to
Kinshasa. They even go to the airport to defend their
borders, which are 2,000 kilometres away. Our patriots
and nationalists stand up and do not welcome them. We
tell them what we must tell them, as a true patriot
would do in the face of the invader.
That country, one eightieth the size of our own,
allows its justice system to prosecute me, to issue an
arrest warrant against me and to inform all other
countries that if I go to their country, I should be
arrested for crimes against humanity, just because I
spoke as a patriot against those who have come into my
country.
One country, more powerful than the others, has
asked, because of the thrashing it has received, to be
allowed a corridor to the Atlantic. We do not know how
these people got to the province of Kivu, which they
have virtually annexed. They have changed the local
administrators, appointed new governors and changed
the telephone system. In order to call this province, you
have to dial the code for Rwanda. This is well known.
They even direct automobile traffic. In other words,
they have completely taken over our province.
Nonetheless, in their speeches they say they are in
favour of the territorial integrity and political
independence of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo. At the same time, though, they are appointing
governors in our country, changing the names of our
streets and making decisions as if it were their country.
These countries have spilled blood in our jungle
and dare to assume the right to tell us who our Minister
for Foreign Affairs should be. In threatening my
freedom of movement, perhaps they imagined that I
would not manage to reach New York, but we have
more than one trick up our sleeve. Here I am. I will
leave New York and go wherever my President tells me
to go. We hope that other countries that wish to
maintain good relations with us will refuse to heed
these uneducated judges.
I say uneducated because I have urged our
people to rise and crush the invaders and to make them
eat their words, but these judges thought I had called
for the invaders to be strangled. These judges are so
uneducated they did not realize that I was quoting
Voltaire. And now that I've admitted to quoting
Voltaire, they will probably issue international arrest
warrants for him, because they have no idea who he
was. Who are these countries to appoint themselves
universal judges and to prosecute people who are not
their citizens for acts that were not committed in their
territories? These judges do not rely on law  since
their position is indefensible  but on the law of the
jungle, because they are hunters. They made their
pronouncements two years ago. They are like hunters
who make no sound as they stalk their prey, but I too
am silent. I have not been warned or notified, but
INTERPOL knows it must arrest me if it gets its hands
on me. They have been just like big game hunters.
Everyone knows what happened to our Prime
Minister, Mr. Lumumba. In the tragedy in which a
Secretary-General of the United Nations lost his life,
the people  one person in particular  who carried
28

out that dirty work dissolved Lumumba's body in
sulphuric acid. Perhaps they are after me now because
they are suffering a shortage of sulphuric acid. This
gentlemen kept one of Lumumba's teeth as a talisman
and displayed it on television, admitting that they had
dismembered Lumumba's body, dissolved it in
sulphuric acid and kept his tooth as a charm. These
universal judges have not been moved to prosecute the
person who boasts of having dissolved Lumumba's
body and kept one of his teeth. I think these people
intend to open a museum some time soon and to grow
rich charging admission to see Lumumba's tooth.
My African brothers may also be prosecuted
when people arrogating the right to appoint members of
Government issue warrants for them. That is why my
brothers should not remain silent. They are foreign
ministers and the same thing could happen to them.
They should react. They should not think of me as
someone who is uneducated. These countries must be
prevented from acting beyond their rights. No one
assigned them the task of running the world's affairs
through their own brand of justice.
I do not wish to linger on this ridiculous topic,
but I would go even further in discussing truth and
mendacity. Everyone is convinced that we are erecting
obstacles to the diplomatic work of the United Nations,
but Lumumba's tooth should be a sign that we have
historical reasons for our actions. What goes around
comes around. I recognize that we have been very
particular about how the United Nations forces may be
deployed, but we have acceded to the Organization's
wishes. We agreed to the Mission and to the Lusaka
Ceasefire Agreement, although the fire has yet to
cease. People persist in believing in the validity of the
Agreement, but it was signed on 10 July 1999 and the
fires are still burning today and the war continues.
Still, people keep talking about the Lusaka Ceasefire
Agreement.
Well, the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement designates
the invaders, the aggressors, as parties. These parties
signed the Agreement, but Security Council resolution
1304 (2000) implies that they are the aggressors and
enjoins them to leave my country. Thus, they are no
longer parties, but aggressors who should leave as soon
as possible.
Moreover, their Congolese puppets are playing
the role of Trojan horse. These invaders have exploited
certain Congolese supporters of Mobutu to justify their
invasion of our country and their aggression. Now, one
of these asteroids is giving shelter to Mobutu's former
soldiers. They are training in Kampala and their aim of
returning to Kinshasa has been openly declared. One
large country is helping others to build military bases
on our borders and is training their soldiers in order to
increase tourism in our country.
We must be vigilant. We must act to ensure the
implementation of the United Nations resolutions. We
would tell the United Nations that, in order to be more
effective and to have a greater chance of success, it
must implement its own resolutions. I would express
the hope that I shall not have to return here next year to
repeat yet again that the Rwandans are still in my
country, sowing death and pillaging our land. The
United Nations must finally implement its own
resolutions.
How can it do so? It can compel the Ugandans
and Rwandans to return to their homes. We do not want
them in our country. They are our eternal neighbours,
asteroids that orbit our planet. Let them go home. Let
them talk to us. We want this war to end as all others
do: with negotiations. The Second World War ended in
negotiations; the war in Algeria ended in negotiations
between France and the National Liberation Front; the
war in Viet Nam ended in negotiations between the
host country here and the Vietnamese; the war between
Protestants and Catholics in Northern Ireland, which
has broken all endurance records, is showing signs of
ending soon. How? Through negotiations between the
Catholics and the Protestants.
Just the other day, in reference to another topic, I
mentioned that Security Council resolution 242 (1967)
was adopted over 40 years ago, but that it is only now
beginning to be implemented. Now, we are not going to
wait 40 years for our Clinton and our Camp David. The
United Nations must implement its resolutions
immediately. It must support us to ensure that the
aggressors, whatever they may say, go home. They are
not at home. We do not want them in our country. They
must go home.
The Second World War erupted after a long
incubation. We now see hope for perpetual peace
following that war, but I agree with Paul …luard that we
must be vigilant because the womb that bore the vile
beast is still fertile. We want all men, even our
enemies, to be our brothers. We want to rebuild our
country, which was dismantled by the excesses of
29

Mobutu. Like luard, we want to turn water into light
and, as I said, to make every man our brother.
That is my message to the Assembly. I repeat: do
not tell me
(spoke in English)
You have made a wonderful speech.
(spoke in French)
Say We have understood your message and we shall
tell our Governments to implement the relevant United
Nations resolutions immediately so that the aggressors
go home. Please help us to talk with them, in order to
put an end to this war, which should end as all wars
end. Some of us lost all our hair waiting for the blessed
day, 17 May 1997, after 32 years of activity. Look at
President Kabila's head and mine; we can be
recognized by our advanced baldness, which came
about while we were waiting for the moment when we
could re-enter Kinshasa.
So, my African brothers and my brothers from
other countries, including many from Latin America, I
conclude with a Spanish saying. I do not wish to
translate it, so those who do not understand will have
to stop a Spanish-speaking colleague and ask What
did he say?:
(spoke in Spanish)
When your neighbour's house is on fire, watch out for
your own house.


I wish to
congratulate Mr. Harri Holkeri of Finland on his
election to the presidency of this historic session of the
General Assembly. I also take this opportunity to
congratulate his predecessor, my dear brother and
colleague, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister
of Namibia, on a job well done.
Zimbabwe joins other Members of the Assembly
in welcoming the admission of Tuvalu as the one
hundred and eighty-ninth Member State of the United
Nations.
Since a Millennium Assembly can only come
once in a lifetime, it is my singular honour and
pleasure to address this Assembly. The twentieth
century was probably the most eventful in the history
and the experience of Zimbabwe. As we enter the
twenty-first century and the new millennium, the
people of Zimbabwe, in a very symbolic and yet
historic way, find themselves concluding painful
chapters of their experience, whose closure is critical to
the laying of a foundation for a better future.
Structural inequalities are a fundamental reality
of Africa's colonial past, which many countries like my
own are grappling with to this day. In my country 70
per cent of Zimbabwe's best arable land is still
controlled by less than 1 per cent of the population —
roughly 4,500 settlers or their descendants. This is in a
country of nearly 13 million people. It is a historical
fact that the colonial regime forcefully robbed us of
this land without paying us any compensation. As I
speak, the Government of Zimbabwe is in the process
of taking back 5 million of the 12 million hectares of
our prime land to settle landless peasants.
Zimbabwe's land reform programme is meant not
only to correct the wrongs wrought on our society by
colonialism, but also to restore our people's heritage
and basic means of subsistence and economic
participation. In this endeavour, we have received
neither the cooperation of those sectors of our society
to which colonialism bequeathed special privileges, nor
the acknowledgement or support of former colonizers
who willed those privileges. In pursuit of their policies,
those powerful interests have employed their financial
might, as well as their control of the media to not only
choke our economy but also to demonize us before the
world.
We cannot, in one breath, pay lip service to
human rights, equality and poverty eradication and, in
the next, defend inequality, which condemns the
majority to a life in squalor. We invite all our partners
to see through the veil of the negative and racist media
19

blitz, acquaint themselves with our people's real need
for justice, restoration and agrarian reform and help us
remove the barriers that constrain poor people's ability
to benefit from their economy and to contribute to its
growth.
Our determination to undertake land reform in
Zimbabwe is one of the “crimes” cited in the so-called
Zimbabwe Democracy Act 2000, which was passed by
the United States Senate in June this year and is before
Congress as I speak. It proposes to prescribe the
outcome of our land reform exercise and seeks to
virtually usurp the authority of the Parliament of
Zimbabwe. Most ironically, the so-called Democracy
Act proposes to authorize the investment of United
States funds of around Z$ 300 million in the breeding
of opposition parties in Zimbabwe. That amount, which
is exclusively for opposition parties, is more than four
times the Z$70 million distributed by the Zimbabwean
fiscus among all political parties that have a stipulated
threshold representation in Parliament. Are we
expected to just stand idly by and watch helplessly as
our destiny is determined from outside our country?
Where, I ask, is our self-determination and our
sovereignty, for which so much blood and so many
lives were sacrificed by our people?
The measure seeks to hurt Zimbabwe's fortunes
even further by issuing United States directors at the
International Monetary Fund and the World Bank with
standing directives to vote against Zimbabwe at every
opportunity. This means that even if Zimbabwe met all
macroeconomic requirements and exercised the
requisite fiscal discipline it would still be disqualified
in its quest for assistance from the Bretton Woods
institutions, on the basis of political considerations that
are totally extraneous to the stipulated technical
criteria.
Just what are the rules of the game, and to whom
are these international financial institutions
accountable? Do we need any further justification for
the resounding call for a new international financial
architecture? For while the current international
financial architecture is subservient to the interests of
the rich and the strong, even to the satisfaction of their
last extraterritorial exploit, it remains for ever
insensitive to the survival needs of the small, the weak
and the poor.
Zimbabwe's involvement in the Democratic
Republic of the Congo to help prevent mayhem,
bloodshed and the overthrow of a legitimate
Government there is another “crime” cited in the
Zimbabwe Democracy Act 2000. At the invitation of
the Government of the Democratic Republic of the
Congo, Zimbabwe, together with other allies of the
Southern African Development Community (SADC),
sent troops to the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
help fend off an invasion by two of that country's
neighbours. The responsive intervention of the SADC
allies effectively contained the situation and
established the relative calm and stability prevailing in
the Democratic Republic of the Congo today. It also
paved the way for the peace process that culminated in
the signing last year of the Lusaka Ceasefire
Agreement, which, all involved agree, offers the best
hope for establishing and maintaining peace in the
region.
What does Zimbabwe get in return for its
sacrifices in upholding the principles of the United
Nations Charter? Sanctions and threats of more
sanctions are the response. For helping to create the
very conditions that enabled the United Nations to set
foot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo,
Zimbabwe is today questioned, tried and sentenced to
pariah status. Some of the proponents of the Zimbabwe
Democracy Act 2000 have demanded that Zimbabwe
withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo before they can even consider withdrawing
that measure.
Are we being punished for creating conditions
that enabled the United Nations and other humanitarian
agencies to deliver assistance to Congolese
communities? Are we being vilified for enabling
thousands of Congolese children to get polio
vaccinations and other types of life-saving
immunization? After offering our partnership in the
quest for peace and human well-being, we expect the
international community to respond accordingly and
cooperate with us.
Instead of punishing those who invaded the
Democratic Republic of the Congo, instead of
censuring those who are violating the national
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo, in blatant desecration of
cardinal principles of the Charter, instead of
questioning those who are already in contempt of
Security Council orders to withdraw immediately from
the Democratic Republic of the Congo, some members
of the international community have chosen, rather, to
20

victimize Zimbabwe, whose troops are in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo at the invitation of
the Government of that country. Exactly what outcome
does the international community wish to see in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo?
I reiterate, and categorically so, that Zimbabwe is
committed to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement and to
Security Council resolutions adopted on this question.
In this regard, Zimbabwe is ready to immediately
withdraw its troops from the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, under the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, as
soon as the United Nations deploys peacekeepers in
that country. We therefore urge the Secretary-General
to deploy the observer mission already authorized by
the Security Council as part of phase two deployment,
so that we can move to phase three and the deployment
of actual peacekeepers in order to enable us to leave
the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Like their neighbours in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo, the peace-loving people of Angola are
victims of an imposed war that has been fomented by
greed rather than grievance. While the crisis is far from
resolved, we are mollified by the position taken by the
Security Council, through the Angola sanctions
Committee, to ensure the effective application of the
embargo against UNITA. We support the SecretaryGeneral's stance of naming and shaming the violators
of sanctions as a way of preventing the opportunism
and greed that fan conflicts. This was the position
adopted by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) at
its last summit, in Lomé, Togo.
In both the Democratic Republic of the Congo
and Angola, we challenge the United Nations, and the
Security Council in particular, to come to the aid and
defence of the innocent victims of war, to protect their
natural heritage and resources from pillage, and to
safeguard their territorial integrity and national
sovereignty.
With regard to the Lockerbie affair, we still await
the Security Council's comprehensive and final
response to Libya's full compliance with the Council's
resolutions. It was the Council's own commitment that
such a conclusive step would be taken 90 days after
Libya's full compliance. We call for transparency and
fairness in the trial itself, at The Hague, to avoid any
miscarriage of justice.
The international community must never lose
track of the long, drawn-out dialogue on the peace
process in the Middle East, particularly in Palestine.
We call for good faith and consistency in the
negotiations until the brotherly Palestinian people
attain statehood with national sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
In Western Sahara, the international community
owes it to the Sahrawi people to ensure the early
holding of a free and fair referendum to allow them the
priceless opportunity to determine their destiny.
On the global economic front, the last decade of
the twentieth century witnessed tremendous progress in
some parts of the world, but it also saw stagnation and
setbacks, even in some countries that had previously
experienced fast economic growth. Periods of
economic and financial crisis lead to retrenchment,
wherein concern for people gives way to concern for
balancing budgets and payments. Those crises have
underscored the importance of understanding and
strengthening the social underpinnings of development
to ensure that peoples, their cultures and their societies
are taken into account in the process of development.
Poverty amid plenty is an affront to our common
humanity. At a time when the world has the
wherewithal to attack poverty vigorously, spectacular
affluence and abject poverty are found side by side. In
contrast to its potential as the ultimate provider of new
opportunities for growth and development worldwide,
globalization has been accompanied by widening
income disparities among, as well as within, countries
and regions. Its ill effects have disproportionately
victimized the most vulnerable and marginalized
nations and sections of society. Globalization is
redefining the nature and role of States and the
governance of international bodies, thereby
subordinating democratic political processes to
unaccountable economic and financial actors and
institutions. Globalization is thus undermining the
ability of Governments to serve as guarantors of the
social, economic, political and cultural health of our
communities.
At the expense of our common goals and
objectives for international economic cooperation, we
have surrendered to blind market forces in the faint
hope that somehow things will, as if by magic, turn out
right. The consequences of that impoverishing process
are clearly visible in a number of alarming trends, such
as the takeover of national assets by transnational
corporations in the name of public enterprise
21

privatization and commercialization. As a result, Africa
enters the new century hanging on the vagaries of
global markets, accounting for only 1 per cent of global
gross domestic product and about 2 per cent of world
trade.
Geographically, Africa is probably the world's
most fragmented region. The continent is demarcated
by about 165 borders dividing it into 53 countries, 22
of them with less than 5 million people and 11 with
less than 1 million. That fragmentation imposes real
constraints on development, and, without economic
integration, Africa will fall farther behind. We
therefore call upon the international community to
support our efforts at regional integration as we
promote regional public assets and initiatives,
including regional infrastructure such as roads,
railways, ports and power-pooling systems, infectious
disease control, centres of excellence for training,
regional markets and trade, and agricultural research
and early warning systems for drought.
Despite talk of the global village, it is apparent
that Africa's lonely days are not yet over. For we still
have cause and occasion to feel marginalized in so
many respects. We know what it is like to give passage
to emergency aircraft and sea vessels that criss-cross
our airspace and waterways to attend to emerging
crises in distant places while our own crises simmer on
and explode in our faces. Our ceasefire agreements and
truces are tested beyond limit, while the United
Nations stands aloof and unimpressed; yet urgent
interventions are deployed to flashpoints in other
regions, even without ceasefire guarantees.
Hesitant and half-spirited interventions by the
Security Council in several African conflicts have
neither done the job nor enhanced the credibility of the
United Nations. As the United Nations organ uniquely
mandated to maintain international peace and security,
the Security Council should make itself equally
attentive to the needs of the world's family of nations,
including through cooperation with regional
arrangements everywhere, as provided for in Chapter
VIII of the United Nations Charter. Or is it true that so
long as the Security Council remains unreformed, it
will always fail to respond adequately to the interests
of all the Members of the United Nations?
As we review the progress of nations and design
the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first
century, we need to remind ourselves that “we the
peoples” of the world constitute the real wealth of the
brotherhood of nations. The thrust of the United
Nations agenda — and, indeed, of development — is
therefore to create an enabling environment for people
to enjoy long, healthy, peaceful and creative lives.
I wish to put it to this Millennium Assembly that
the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first
century is to champion the agenda of the world's weak,
those marginalized and impoverished by globalization,
those currently circumscribed to the margins of policy
and decision-making in the international economic and
socio-political system. In brief, it is to protect the weak
and manage the strong.