Allow me at the outset, Mr. President, on behalf of the
people and Government of my country, the Islamic Federal
Republic of the Comoros, to extend my sincere condolences
to all the States and peoples who have suffered devastation
from Hurricane Georges, and to the victims of the floods in
the People’s Republic of China and in Bangladesh.
I am pleased to be able to join with the distinguished
and worthy representatives of States and Governments who
have preceded me at this rostrum in extending to you, Sir,
on behalf of the President of the Islamic Federal Republic
of the Comoros, His Excellency El Hadj Mohamed Taki
Abdoulkarim, my warm congratulations on your election to
the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third
regular session.
I also pay tribute to your predecessor, His Excellency
Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, as well as to the greatly respected
Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General of our Organization,
for the dedication, skill and other outstanding qualities
which they have shown in carrying out their respective functions.
My country, which is located at the north-west
entrance to the Mozambique Channel, half way between the
East African coast and the large island of Madagascar,
small, fragmented and geographically isolated though it is,
was accepted to full membership in the United Nations on
12 November 1975 by resolution 3385 (XXX), as a State
comprising the islands of Anjouan, Grande-Comore —
also known as Ngazidja — Mayotte and Mohéli.
We should also note that from 1889 until the
referendum through which my country acceded to
independence, all the laws and other regulatory texts
applied by the former colonial Power recognized and
sanctioned the territorial unity and integrity of the
archipelago of the Comoros.
Thus for 23 years, at each of the regular sessions of
this Assembly, successive resolutions have been adopted
recalling that the continuation of the legal, administrative
and military hold of the former colonial Power over the
Comorian island of Mayotte is a flagrant violation of
resolution 1514 (XV) and of the fundamental principles
of the United Nations Charter. We therefore hope that the
Organization of African Unity (OAU) Ad Hoc Committee
of Seven on the Question of the Comorian Island of
Mayotte, presided over by His Excellency Mr. Omar
Bongo, President of the Republic of Gabon, will resume
its work and re-establish the dialogue between the
Comoros and France on this question.
Finally, we appeal to the wisdom and goodwill
beyond our continent, so that the Comoros can return
once and for all to the path of peace, security and hope.
I should like solemnly to appeal to this Assembly for
assistance to my country so that a solution to the problem
caused by its dismemberment can be found and my
country can enter the twenty-first century as a reunited
country.
The people, Government and head of State whom I
am honoured and privileged to represent here today would
like to express, through my delegation, their gratitude and
acknowledgement to the Secretary-General of our
universal Organization for the clarity and lucidity of his
analysis of the causes of conflict on the African continent
and for his courageous initiatives in the search for peace
and sustainable development in Africa and throughout the
world. In this context, we urge the United Nations system
and its specialized agencies to do all in their power to
ensure the rapid and complete implementation of all of
the recommendations provided by the Secretary-General
in his report to the Security Council which he presented
last April.
4

My Government urgently appeals to the international
community for cooperation to effectively combat terrorism
in all its forms. Only international determination, with
respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, will
make it possible to put an end to horrendous terrorist acts.
Terrorism spares no part of the world and no stratum of
society. Who can forget the murderous acts committed this
summer in Omagh, Ireland; Nairobi and Dar-es-Salaam;
Cape Town, South Africa; and Luxor, Egypt? For our part,
my Government is cooperating openly and fully with the
American authorities to shed light on the suspected
participation of a national of my country in the abhorrent
crimes committed in East Africa.
Since my country is a telling example of the hotbeds
of tension which are now mobilizing the resources of the
international community, I should like to recall that for a
year and a half now the Organization of African Unity has
taken up — in close cooperation with the League of Arab
States, the Organization of the Islamic Conference and,
very recently, the Non-Aligned Movement — the separatist
crisis on the Comorian island of Anjouan and the links to
be established with the dismemberment of our archipelago
State by the island of Mayotte’s continuing to be under
foreign administration.
The efforts and commitments of the Secretary-General
of the OAU, Dr. Salim Ahmed Salim, and his Special
Envoys, Ambassador Pierre Yéré and Mr. Mamoudou Kane,
since the beginning of the crisis, as well as the efforts of
the Governments involved in regional coordination to
resolve the crisis in the Comoros, namely, Kenya, Tanzania,
Mozambique, South Africa, Madagascar, Mauritius and the
Seychelles, have been recognized and deserve admiration
and support.
My country’s people, Government and head of State
would like to convey through my delegation to the entire
international community their commitment to peace and
unity and reconciliation between the community of islands
which make up the nation of the Comoros.
Special mention should be made here of the most
respected statesman of our world, President Nelson
Mandela, who, in his dual capacity as head of State
entrusted with regional coordination to resolve the crisis in
the Comoros, mandated by the OAU, and Chairman of the
Non-Aligned Movement, has agreed to bring to bear his full
authority and his personal prestige throughout the world to
call upon the parties in conflict in the Comoros to conclude
a peace of the brave, in which there is neither victor nor
vanquished, peace brought about for the greatest possible
benefit of the inhabitants of our archipelago State.
In the light of the claims and the rights
acknowledged by our institutions, traditions, conventions
and customs in a multi-island society, El Hadj Mohamed
Taki Abdoulkarim, President of the Islamic Federal
Republic of the Comoros, declared after the OAU summit
in Ouagadougo, and again recently in Durban during the
NAM summit, that he was ready to work in a spirit of
openness and reconciliation for greater decentralization
and autonomy for each of the four islands making up our
archipelago State. Thus each of our islands will be able
to elect a governor and a local legislative assembly to
deal with all matters relating to the immediate and
particular concerns of each of our communities of the
islands of the archipelago State. An inter-island
commission will work for the equitable and proportional
distribution of the international community’s resources
and investments.
Here I quote what El Hadj Mohamed Taki
Abdoulkarim has rightly said, as follows:
“This is an issue of bringing the administration
closer to its subjects, promoting the responsibility
within a single citizenry and restoring the federal
bodies of a united State their fundamental roles of
organization, arbitration and the management of
international sovereignty.
“The future of our country will only be ensured
when all opinions and all trends, in an atmosphere
of greater tolerance, are accepted and fulfilled.”
(spoke in Arabic)
“Thus have We made of you
An Unmat justly balanced.
That ye might be witnesses
Over the nations,
And the Messenger a witness
Over yourselves”. (The Holy Koran, II:143)


On behalf of the delegation of the Republic of
Yemen, I have great pleasure in expressing to Mr. Opertti
38

our heartfelt congratulations on his election as President of
the present session of the General Assembly. We are
confident that his competence and experience will enable
him to guide the sessionâs deliberations and achieve its
objectives.
At the same time, I should like to express our
recognition of the good offices of Mr. Kofi Annan,
Secretary-General of the Organization, and of his great
success in serving peace within the framework of
preventive diplomacy in order to defuse international crises
before they flare up and to protect innocent victims. I also
have great pleasure in noting the intellectual and
organizational efforts that are being made to revitalize
United Nations activities in order to keep abreast of
developments at the end of the present century and meet
the demands of the next. We wish Mr. Annan every success
in carrying out his future tasks.
The Republic of Yemen, its Government and people,
has made consistent endeavours to strengthen democratic
practices based on political pluralism, freedom of the press,
guarantees of public freedom and the protection of human
rights.
The Republic of Yemen has realized the vital
importance of carrying out political, economic, financial
and administrative reforms, together with a programme of
stabilization and restructuring. When the due historical
process brought about the unity of the country, Yemen
inherited two political and economic systems based on
different organizational, cultural and ideological structures.
The Republic of Yemen, which represents the united
Yemen, has therefore launched a process of radical political
and institutional reform intended to bring about national,
social and political integration, making democratic practices
more deeply entrenched and increasing societyâs
participation in the political decision-making process. This
includes increasing the social role of Yemeni women,
liberating them from all constraints on their participation
and encouraging their integration in development.
Naturally, bringing about economic and administrative
reforms based on an open and liberal economy, free trade
and the increased participation of the private sector requires
new legal and administrative mechanisms which may have
a negative impact on segments of society with limited
income and on the unemployed. Undoubtedly, this provides
an incentive for the provision of assistance for all the
countries engaged in this experience, including Yemen, in
order to achieve the concrete economic and financial results
that can alleviate the negative impact of such changes on
the social sectors that are unable to respond to the process
of economic and financial adjustment and appropriate
restructuring in a natural and appropriate way. That is
why it is imperative for the economic reform process to
be accompanied by a social safety net to ensure social
and economic equilibrium and alleviate the impact of
change affecting the poor, unemployed and limited-
income groups, with regard to their simple lives and
subsistence existence.
This is a task which makes it incumbent upon the
international financial institutions to recognize their
responsibilities in those areas and to intensify their
development programmes with social, demographic and
environmental dimensions. The flow of investments and
assistance from rich countries to the less developed
countries have to be increased in order to bridge the
structural gap and enable our society to integrate and
increase its positive partnership in sustainable
development.
The world today is based on integration and
complementarity. It aspires to globalization based on free
trade, free exchange and open markets. However, these
can only be achieved by regional cooperation of
government and private sectors of the countries of each
region. Thus our transition to globalization can be
achieved through the bridges of regional cooperation,
enabling us to make gains and achieve the common
interests of our peoples without disregarding specificities
or neglecting elements of harmony and regional
integration. This approach would undoubtedly help in
making concrete the spirit of fraternity, interdependence
and integration, and would provide an opportunity to
ensure that the fundamental factors for peace and
acceptable coexistence exist, with respect to all regional
parties, which will assist in ensuring a balanced and
comprehensive world peace.
In this context, we demand that help and assistance
be provided to the developing countries and the least
developed countries, in order to enable them to minimize
the negative impact of the globalization of the world
economy on their national economies and to achieve
levels enabling them to participate with the developed
countries through competitiveness in producing high
quality commodities at competitive prices. This could be
accomplished once they have made reasonable progress in
the context of regional integration.
Democracy, social justice, human rights, economic
and political reforms and serious regional cooperation can
39

only be achieved when there is peace, stability and full
security. Today, given the unstable nature of peace in our
region, we are again apprehensive lest the situation explode.
This is due to Israeli intransigence and continuous disregard
of the resolutions of international legitimacy. It is also due
not only to the Netanyahu Administrationâs continued
rejection of international resolutions obliging Israel to
withdraw from the Palestinian occupied territories, the
occupied Golan Heights and South Lebanon, but also of the
undertakings of the previous Administration of the late
Yitzhak Rabin at the Madrid Conference and in the Oslo
accords.
The current construction of new settlements; the
changing of the historical heritage of East Jerusalem,
including the attempts to obliterate its Arab identity; the
changing of historical realities and demography: all this
testifies to the present Israel Governmentâs flagrant
obstinacy and arrogance. We therefore demand that these
practices, which present further obstacles to the peace
process, be halted forthwith.
In order to prevent the region being plunged back into
the cycle of conflict, tension and bloodshed, we appeal to
the international community to take the necessary measures
to compel Israel to honour its international obligations,
pursuant to the resolutions of international legitimacy and
all other relevant obligations and agreements.
It has become clear that the policy of starvation,
deprivation and economic sanctions imposed on States,
whether individually or collectively, is of no avail as an
effective means to the realization of certain political goals,
especially in an era in which freedom, democracy, and
enhanced respect for human rights and the right to self-
determination are reaffirmed. Consequently, the victims of
this policy are the most vulnerable sectors of the targeted
States. That is why we must reconsider the policy of
imposing sanctions, and must reassess their impact,
reaffirming the importance of humanitarian values and
ensuring that the real interests of peoples are not arbitrarily
violated or threatened for reasons of which these peoples
are innocent. As we have already said, sanctions are no
longer a useful tool for the realization of political
objectives. We must engage in peaceful dialogue, and
define a time framework and agreed criteria for the
sanctions before they are imposed and put into effect. We
must also ensure that the people and the poorest social
sectors are not the first and direct victims, as is currently
the case in Iraq and Libya.
While reaffirming respect for international
resolutions, we reiterate the need to lift the sanctions from
Iraq and Libya. These have caused serious damage and
severe human suffering in these fraternal countries.
Children, old people and women have been particularly
affected.
Terrorism has become an international phenomenon,
and its effects and repercussions are not confined to any
one country, people or ideology. It concerns all nations
and peoples, and there is a pressing need for the
international community to respond immediately to the
demand to establish a political, intellectual and
institutional system at the international and regional levels
in order to combat it and eradicate the causes of this
uncivilized and inhuman phenomenon, and to deal with its
negative consequences.
In this regard, the Republic of Yemen has absolutely
rejected all forms of terrorism. Yemen shares the feelings
of every member of the international community: fear and
concern at the continuation and increase of this anti-
civilizational phenomenon which goes counter to all
human values. We therefore call for genuine cooperation
to combat this phenomenon collectively and responsibly.
My country pays particular attention to developments
in fraternal Somalia. We hope that the international
community will help to resolve the conflict between the
various warring factions and political groupings. But at
the same time we would like to remind our brothers in
Somalia that there can be no solution without the
cooperation of the Somalis themselves primarily with
regard to the solutions offered to them from abroad.
Our concern for the situation in Somalia is a result
of our feelings of fraternal responsibility, in addition to
being a duty dictated by neighbourliness, especially since
we are the only country in the region that has received
waves of refugees from Somalia and other countries
fleeing either national conflicts or purely economic
circumstances. The Republic of Yemen has paid a high
price and has sustained heavy suffering for its proximity
to the Horn of Africa.
Our modest potentialities are not adequate to deal
with this human influx into our country. We already have
difficulty meeting the needs of our own population. The
refugees have exacerbated our difficulties, and represent
an intolerable economic and social burden. The provisions
made by the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees are insufficient to meet the
40

needs of the refugees in our country. We therefore request
the international community to provide us forthwith with
assistance in carrying out our humanitarian responsibilities
towards our refugee brothers. We further call upon all
parties in the Horn of Africa and the concerned Arab
parties to cooperate in reaching realistic solutions to this
protracted crisis.
Many years have elapsed since the issue of reforming
the United Nations was first raised, especially with regard
to equitable geographical representation on the Security
Council and the formulation of criteria to limit the coercive
use of the veto. We fully support the call for the application
of democratic norms in and universal representation on the
Council in order to reflect the growth of the membership of
the General Assembly since the 1950s and the major
developments since the fall of the Berlin Wall, the end of
the cold war and the expansion of the horizons of
globalization â€” all of which make it imperative to reform
the Security Council. It is a pressing need that must be
answered if justice and democracy in international relations
are to be achieved, in conformity with the increased
contacts and improved relations between peoples.
We therefore support the Open-ended Working Group
set up for this purpose. We appreciate what has been
achieved within the framework of its mandate, pursuant to
the resolution of the forty-eighth session of the General
Assembly in 1993. We also appreciate the cooperation
demonstrated by this Working Group. We call for the
continuation of its work in order to fulfil its mandate at an
early date.
It is incumbent upon us to cooperate in creating an
appropriate atmosphere for the establishment of a new
international order based on justice, freedom of choice and
tolerance. It is our responsibility to work together for
humanity and its prosperity, and to draw ever closer to our
objective to live as neighbours on the planet.


Let me begin by joining
previous speakers in extending my personal congratulations
and those of my delegation to you, Sir, on your election to
the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third
session. You assume the leadership of this Assembly at a
time when the global agenda demands much of us all. I
assure you of the full support and cooperation of the
Jamaican delegation as you guide the work of this
Assembly to what I am confident will be a successful
conclusion.
I wish also to thank Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of
Ukraine for the effective manner in which he discharged
his responsibilities as President of the Assembly during
his tenure.
The Secretary-General deserves our praise for his
outstanding leadership of the Organization during the past
year. I congratulate him in particular on the successes
achieved through the quiet methods of preventive
diplomacy which he employed on sensitive issues
affecting international peace and security.
We welcome his report, which contains a thoughtful
overview of the complex challenges facing the
international community, and we applaud the institutional
reforms thus far introduced, which have sought to bring
greater coherence and efficiency to the work of the
United Nations. We also endorse the reorganization of the
work programme, which brings renewed focus to the
initiatives of central importance to the United Nations:
those in the areas of peace and security, development
cooperation, social development and humanitarian affairs.
We consider it essential that the membership of the
United Nations support the efforts of the Secretary-
General in the implementation of this programme of
work. Such support should be extended not only by
endorsement of the range of activities being undertaken in
fulfilment of our mandates, but also through the regular
commitment of resources for their execution.
Our presence here is an acknowledgement of the
universality of many of the problems we face, and our
membership in this Organization is a demonstration of our
conviction that these problems are best solved through
collective action. This should lead us to reaffirm our
support for multilateralism and our respect for its
processes through the timely payment, without
preconditions, of our assessed contributions to the
respective United Nations bodies.
In recent years, the international community has
witnessed a disturbing increase in the number of conflicts
within and between States. The stable peace anticipated
at the end of the cold war has been elusive. Instead, we
have watched as efforts to resolve ongoing regional
disputes unravel because of obduracy, mistrust and
hostility. We have watched as intolerance and hatred have
3

divided communities and fuelled conflicts across the
continents. We are concerned that despite the intervention
of the Secretary-General, his envoys and the membership of
the United Nations, there is still no real progress towards
peace in a number of long-standing disputes.
We share the international community’s concern that
the peace process in the Middle East has been stalled, and
we are disappointed that there is still no substantial progress
on the long-standing problem in Cyprus. Hostilities in
Afghanistan continue unabated, civil wars still rage in the
Sudan and Angola and violence in Kosovo has escalated.
New complications have arisen to increase instability and
conflict in the Great Lakes region of Central Africa.
These unresolved conflicts undermine the political,
economic and social fabric of the States concerned,
bringing destruction and untold human suffering to the
victims of war. We cannot afford to drift into complacency
while increasing numbers of the world’s people are
destroyed, dispossessed and despoiled by war. In the face
of this, we should strengthen our resolve to stand against
aggression and the use of force, and to support the
resolution of disputes and conflicts through negotiated
settlements.
We encourage Member States to support the
Secretary-General’s initiative for strengthening the
capability of the United Nations to deal with conflict
resolution, prevention and early warning. I also wish to use
this opportunity to commend the United Nations
peacekeeping forces for the great contribution which they
continue to make to the maintenance of peace,
notwithstanding the difficult circumstances in which they
work.
We are deeply distressed at the increasing acts of
violence directed against international peacekeeping
personnel. I wish to pay special tribute to these volunteers,
some of whom have given their lives, for their sacrifice in
the cause of peace.
The Charter of the United Nations invests in the
Security Council the principal authority for multilateral
decision-making in matters affecting international peace and
security. We are therefore concerned at the tendency of
States to take unilateral action which they deem to be in
their national interest in situations of conflict with other
nations. Jamaica reaffirms its confidence in the principle of
collective security, on which the role of the Security
Council is predicated.
It is also important that the actions of the Council
inspire confidence and that there be greater openness and
transparency in its working methods. We believe that, like
any other international body, the Security Council should
undergo a process of democratic reform if it is effectively
to meet the new challenges of an ever changing world.
We are committed to working as equal partners with
the rest of the international community to strengthen the
capacity of the Security Council to respond to the needs
of Member States in matters of peace and security. To
that end, my Government has presented its candidature
for a non-permanent seat on the Council for the period
2000-2001.
My Government attaches importance to the fact that
the long awaited International Criminal Court, which the
Secretary-General described as the missing link in the
international legal system, has now been constituted by an
internationally agreed Statute. We commend the
Government of Trinidad and Tobago for taking the
initiative in calling for its establishment. That institution
will provide a framework for the legal expression of
international opposition to the terrible crimes being
perpetrated against humanity which the United Nations
had not been able to address effectively.
This year the international community celebrates the
fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. As we commemorate this important
milestone, we should affirm our commitment to the ideals
of tolerance, peace and understanding for all peoples. Let
us also demonstrate mutual respect for each other’s right
to self-determination, including the right to choose one’s
own path for achieving national goals, and the right to
sustainable development.
There can be no doubt that peace and security are
prerequisites for the attainment of sustainable
development. It is equally true, however, that where there
is economic and social deprivation, there can be no real
peace.
Jamaica therefore strongly endorses the right to
development as an integral part of fundamental human
rights and underscores the important contribution which
realization of this right would make to the fuller
enjoyment of human rights and fundamental freedoms. In
this regard, we welcome the report of the Secretary-
General on progress being made in the elaboration of a
strategy for the implementation and promotion of the right
to development.
4

We continue to look to the United Nations system for
support of our development agenda, which goes beyond our
effort to gain fair access to international markets and to
secure a just and equitable share of global prosperity.
Central to improving the welfare of our people must
be measures to alleviate and ultimately eradicate poverty
and to promote environmental protection and sustainable
development. We need to strengthen our institutional
framework for capacity-building and we need to invest in
development of our human resources.
This is our people-centred vision for development, and
we recognize the need, if we are to make a reality of this
vision, to continue to devise and implement public policies
which ensure that the gains from economic growth and
development are equitably distributed throughout society.
This challenge of good governance demands an
institutional infrastructure that promotes transparency and
accountability in public administration, ensures the effective
management of fiscal and monetary policies and protects
the integrity of judicial and law enforcement systems.
A crucial component of our economic and social
transformation is the development of our human resources.
Jamaica supports the view that sustainable development
cannot be achieved without sustained human development.
Indeed, the pivotal importance of our human resources to
the development process was reaffirmed by the Caribbean
Community member States in the Montego Bay Declaration
adopted in 1997.
We in the Caribbean region stand firmly committed to,
first, nurturingthe development of each person’s potential
without regard to gender; secondly, developing a culture of
entrepreneurship; thirdly, research and development as a
way of life and a means of improving production; and
finally, improving the competitiveness of those industries
on which our economies are based. We look to the
international community to support these aspirations.
In this regard, Jamaica welcomes the Secretary-
General’s proposed initiatives to strengthen the international
framework for human development. We agree that it would
be useful to convene global and regional seminars exploring
ways to advance human resource development and
institution-building in preparation for the Millennium
Assembly to be held in the year 2000.
The issue of sustainable development for small island
developing States is of particular importance to Jamaica. It
speaks to the very survival of a group of island States
whose economic viability and developmental aspirations
are inextricably linked to the carrying capacity of the
fragile ecosystems in which these nations make their
home. I speak of the ecologically vulnerable islands and
low-lying coastal States of the Caribbean, which are
continually subject to the pressures of urbanization and
resource exploitation, to the pollution of their coastal
waters and to the threat of natural disasters. We are
endangered by the threat of sea-level rise and face the
destruction of our coral reefs.
The danger posed by natural disasters was most
recently demonstrated by hurricane Georges, which
wreaked destruction through the Caribbean, causing
widespread loss of life and property in Antigua and
Barbuda, Cuba, Dominica, the Dominican Republic, Haiti
and Saint Kitts and Nevis. We take this opportunity to
appeal to the international community to provide urgent
and generous humanitarian assistance and support for the
reconstruction of our sister Caribbean States. Jamaica
welcomes the ongoing effort of the United Nations to
develop economic and ecological vulnerability indices for
small island developing States and will be monitoring
closely the outcome of this work.
The success of the small island developing States
initiative will depend on the negotiation of favourable
agreements among national stakeholders and on the
forging of effective partnerships with donor countries.
Jamaica therefore looks forward to the convening of the
special session for the review of the Global Conference
on the Sustainable Development of Small Island
Developing States in 1999, which provides an opportunity
for real progress to be made through the commitment of
financial resources. What we need now is an action-
oriented follow-up programme to take our economies into
the twenty-first century.
Jamaica is a strong advocate of multilateralism and
believes that measures available within the multilateral
framework should be employed to assist developing
countries to benefit meaningfully from the process of
globalization. We note that while this process holds much
promise for growth and prosperity, it also poses serious
challenges for developing countries, many of which are
being increasingly marginalized. The reality is that the
globalization process is heightening patterns of uneven
development among developed and developing countries,
and it is already very clear that there is no globalization
of benefits.
5

The plight of developing countries in the wake of the
financial crisis currently affecting the global economy is
made even grimmer when we take into account the decline
in concessionary financial flows from the donor community
which we have witnessed in recent years. Official
development assistance represents today only an average of
0.22 per cent of the gross national product of developed
countries, a far cry from the target of 0.7 per cent set in
1972. The share of official development assistance in net
resource flows to developing countries fell from 64 per cent
in 1994 to 22 per cent in 1996.
Taken with the heavy burden of the debt-service
payments which must be met, we are faced with the
unhappy circumstance of net reverse flows from the South
to the North at a time when additional resources are needed
to address the challenges which attend the globalization
process.
These trends must be reversed if developing countries
are to have a fair opportunity to achieve meaningful
development; for the success of the development process is
dependent on the availability of external financing, and
concessionary resource flows play a significant role in the
maintenance of economic stability, the development of
infrastructure and capacity-building, which are prerequisites
for effective participation in the globalization process.
Jamaica considers that the time has come for us to
address these issues in serious dialogue. There is an urgent
need to identify ways in which development financing from
industrialized to developing and transition economies for
both public and private sector enterprise may be increased.
We must explore measures to relieve the external debt of
the developing countries, including the cancellation of debt.
We should seek to have dialogues between creditor and
debtor countries to ensure an increase in the flow of
concessionary financing in support of economic reforms,
poverty eradication and the achievement of sustainable
development.
We therefore join the call for the urgent convening of
a conference on financing for development at an early date.
Crucial issues which we would wish to see discussed at
such a meeting are strategies for mobilizing domestic
resources for development; mobilization of international
private financial flows; international financial cooperation
for development; debt relief; and trade facilitation for
development.
Beyond this proposed conference, my Government
recognizes that there is a need for ongoing exchange
between the North and the South. While the days of the
ideological divide and political polarization are behind us,
we are still faced with the challenge of North-South
disparity in development and opportunity. We need to
foster increased collaboration between the developed and
the developing world to identify ways in which wider
cooperation on issues concerning trade and investment,
debt and development may be pursued.
We consider that a process of dialogue on these
issues could be initiated by a representative group of
developing and transition economies in consultation with
the major industrialized countries. We believe that such
a process of dialogue would pave the way for a broader
framework of functional cooperation in areas of interest
to both North and South.
It is with much satisfaction that Jamaica assumes the
chairmanship of the Group of 15 developing States, and
we look forward to hosting the ninth ministerial meeting
in Jamaica in February next year. Jamaica, during its
tenure, will seek to ensure that developing countries play
a more active role in shaping the international economy
so as to promote greater balance and equity.
My Government remains deeply concerned at the
ever expanding illicit drug trade, which is not only a
menace to civil society, but also undermines the economic
viability of our countries. The extraordinary demand for
and supply of illicit drugs for this lucrative trade has
resulted in the formation of transnational networks,
including highly sophisticated money-laundering
operations. Of even greater concern is the now well-
established link between the drug trade and the
proliferation of small arms. The ready availability of
small arms has intensified the cycle of crime and violence
in our societies.
The special session of the General Assembly on the
world drug problem, held earlier this year, underscored
the need to strengthen the process of bilateral, regional
and international cooperation in the fight against illicit
drug activities. These initiatives should also deal
simultaneously with the related problem of small arms.
Jamaica calls on the international community to fully
support these efforts.
Jamaica joins in condemning the acts of terrorism
committed in Dar-es-Salaam and Nairobi during August.
We support the adoption of a multilateral approach as the
most effective means of removing this threat to the
security of the international community.
6

Caribbean States recognize the ocean as a symbol of
the common heritage of mankind, a vital resource which
should be managed in a responsible manner so as to ensure
its continued use for present and future generations.
Caribbean Governments are committed to the protection of
the Caribbean Sea, our shared patrimony. We have recently
taken a decision to develop and implement a comprehensive
coastal zone management programme by the year 2000. We
continue to be concerned at the threat tothe fragile marine
environment posed by the regular shipment of nuclear and
other hazardous waste through the Caribbean Sea.
Jamaica commends the Government of Portugal for its
initiative in establishing the Independent World
Commission on the Oceans, on which an eminent Jamaican
serves. As part of its recognition of the International Year
of the Ocean, the Government of Jamaica has established
a National Council on Ocean and Coastal Zone
Management to promote the sustainable development and
use of our marine resources.
The International Seabed Authority, which has its
headquarters in Kingston, continues to make progress on
the negotiation of a mining code. It is hoped that these
negotiations will be finalized at an early date, so that a
regulatory regime for the resources of the seabed may be
firmly established. We call on Member States to participate
more actively in these negotiations in order to ensure that
the code which is developed will protect the interests of all
countries. We also urge Member States to support the
operation of the Authority through the commitment of
resources.
It has not escaped our attention that many of the
preceding speakers have made reference to the need for the
promotion of international peace, human security and
sustainable development. As we move forward towards the
end of an era, we must redouble our efforts to ensure that
we do not face the dawn of the new millennium burdened
by the weight of unresolved issues which impede the
development of our community of nations and which
undermine the well-being of our peoples.
Clearly, it is in our individual and collective interest
to participate fully in the process for development and
peace, for, after all, the character of the global village of
the future will ultimately be determined by the quality of
the input that each of us invests today.


Allow me at the outset to congratulate Mr. Opertti on his
election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its
fifty-third session. I am fully confident that his experience
and skill will ensure the success of the work of this
session.
The world continues to labour under events that attest
to the inability of the international community to avert the
effects of international transformations which carry within
them the elements of tension and conflict, given the
imbalance at the international level caused by a unipolar
system wherein a sole dominant player in the international
arena seeks to impose its hegemony on the international
community. That sole player is not concerned except with
its selfish and narrow interests, and with imposing its
dominance over international institutions and
organizations. As a result, the United Nations faces a
serious challenge represented by the degree of its ability
to regain the balance required of it in order to accomplish
its objectives as set forth in the Charter.
In this context, the United Nations witnesses
attempts to reform its structures and work mechanism to
make it compatible with the current political and
economic realities. Most important is the effort to reform
the working methods of the General Assembly and the
Security Council in order to bring the work of these two
organs into full harmony with the evolution of
international relations and with the increased membership
of the international Organization. This evolution requires
equitable representation of States from the various
continents on the Security Council, whether through
permanent or non-permanent membership. The success of
these efforts depends largely on the serious political will
of Member States of our Organization. The reform of the
work of the Security Council is urgently needed, if we are
to end control over it by a few States and transform it
into an institution which truly represents international
realities. Without these reforms, it is impossible to
achieve the purposes and the principles of the Charter
with regard to the maintenance of peace and security,
promoting economic and social development and
strengthening cooperation among people.
13

International peace and security are affected by the
irrational and biased character of the way issues of
disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, are
addressed. There are States which maintain huge arsenals
of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear,
chemical, biological or long-range missiles, while other
States are being disarmed or called upon to disarm
themselves under all sorts of pretexts. The proper approach
in this regard is in the comprehensive implementation of
the relevant international treaties and comprehensive
agreements, free of selectivity and discrimination. Then,
and only then, can the goal of general and complete
disarmament be put to the service of the cause of peace and
security in the world and of ensuring the legitimate rights
of States to defend their security and independence in a just
and equitable manner.
The Middle East region is witnessing today a grave
situation and serious impairment of the balance of powers.
The Zionist entity possesses a huge arsenal of weapons of
mass destruction of all types — nuclear in particular,
chemical, biological or long-range missiles — in disregard
of the General Assembly’s efforts to render the Middle East
a zone free of weapons from mass destruction; of Security
Council resolution 487 (1981), which demands that the
Zionist entity place its installations under the
comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic
Energy Agency; and of paragraph 14 of Security Council
resolution 687 (1991), which states that the actions to be
taken towards Iraq represent steps towards the goal of
establishing in the Middle East a zone free of weapons of
mass destruction. This situation, resulting from the Zionist
entity’s failure to comply with these resolutions, threatens
security and peace in the region and in the entire world,
and encourages an arms race in the region.
Iraq strongly affirms its support for the struggle of the
Palestinian people against Zionist settler colonialism in
Palestine. It supports the struggle of the Palestine Liberation
Organization for the realization of its legitimate objectives,
endorsed by the international community, which affirms the
inalienable rights of the Palestinians in Palestine, including
its capital, Al-Quds al-Sharif.
The comprehensive, inhumane blockade imposed on
Iraq has entered its ninth year. This blockade has caused
and continues to cause the death of thousands of Iraqi
citizens every month due to the lack of medicine and food
and a grave deterioration in the infrastructures of the
industrial, agricultural, health, education, service sectors and
other areas. This situation calls for the strong condemnation
of those who insist, for ulterior political motives, on
continuing to inflict on the Iraqi people this destructive
blockade, the tragic consequences of which are
tantamount to internationally proscribed acts of genocide.
Security Council resolution 687 (1991) contains two
sets of obligations: those which must be fulfilled by Iraq,
and those that require the Security Council to lift the
blockade on Iraq when Iraq has met its obligations.
The obligations imposed on Iraq concern
disarmament. Briefly, they require the destruction,
removal or rendering harmless, under the supervision of
the United Nations Special Commission and the
International Atomic Energy Agency, of all weapons of
mass destruction which were in Iraq’s possession. They
enjoin Iraq to refrain from the production, possession,
stockpiling, use or development of such weapons in the
areas prohibited by resolution 687 (1991), which are the
ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150 kilometres
and chemical and biological weapons, together with the
nuclear programme. These obligations imposed on Iraq
also provide for the establishment of a system of ongoing
monitoring, verification and registration of compliance.
In return for the achievement of the above, with
regard to the elimination of the prohibited weapons,
paragraph 22 of resolution 687 (1991) provides that the
prohibition against the import of basic commodities and
products originating in Iraq and the prohibition against
financial transactions related thereto contained in Council
resolution 661 (1990) shall cease to remain in effect.
Throughout the past seven and one-half years, Iraq
has fully cooperated with the Security Council, the
Special Commission and the International Atomic Energy
Agency. Iraq has met all the conditions and obligations
imposed on it as an expression of its good will and in
order to have the blockade imposed on its people lifted.
All prohibited weapons have been destroyed over the
past seven and one-half years, together with hundreds of
plants, installations and equipment related to those
weapons. The operations were carried out with so much
vengefulness that they even included cooling and lighting
equipment, as well furnishings and other items that had
nothing to do with the prohibited weapons or with their
production. Since 1994, the Special Commission and the
International Atomic Energy Agency have established a
comprehensive system of strict monitoring.
However, although Iraq has fully implemented all
the requirements of resolution 687 (1991) concerning
14

disarmament, the Security Council has not taken any action
to implement its own obligations towards Iraq, as
prescribed by paragraph 22 of that same resolution.
Questions which must be legitimately addressed to the
Security Council are: why should Iraq bear all these
burdens and losses while the blockade continues and no one
knows when it is going to be lifted? Why has the Security
Council been unable so far to discharge its obligations
towards Iraq?
Iraq has cooperated throughout the past seven and one
half years with the Security Council, the Special
Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency
and has met all the requirements of the Security Council’s
resolutions in the hope that its cooperation would lead to
lifting the blockade imposed on the people of Iraq.
However, the blockade has not yet been lifted, thus
rendering the continuation of cooperation both meaningless
and useless.
The Special Commission entrusted with pursuing the
implementation of Iraq’s obligations under the provisions of
resolution 687 (1991), which concerns disarmament and
directs the monitoring system established since 1994,
refrains — I repeat, refrains — from reporting the facts
about Iraq’s compliance with its obligations under Security
Council resolutions. The reason for its failure to do so is
political. The Special Commission and its Chairman operate
under the influence of an arrogant, powerful State that is
pursuing ulterior political aims against Iraq that have no
relevance whatsoever to Security Council resolutions on
Iraq.
For political reasons, the Special Commission and its
Chairman refrain from reporting to the Council that Iraq is
totally free of all weapons prohibited under resolution 687
(1991) in the three areas of missiles and chemical and
biological weapons, even though the Special Commission
has no concrete evidence to prove the opposite. The Special
Commission and its Chairman both refrain from reporting
to the Council that all the plants, equipment and
installations which the Commission itself determined had
anything to do with those weapons have been destroyed and
that the remaining plants, equipment and installations
capable of so-called dual-use are totally under a
comprehensive and strict monitoring system. Accordingly,
Iraq is incapable of resuming the production of such
weapons. Finally, the Special Commission and its Chairman
refrain, also for political reasons, from reporting to the
Council that since the establishment of the monitoring
system in 1994 the Commission has not noted any violation
on the part of Iraq with regard to resuming the production
of the prohibited weapons.
This prejudiced position on the part of the Special
Commission and its Chairman has brought action to a
dead end and into an unacceptable vicious circle. Iraq was
therefore obliged to suspend cooperation with the Special
Commission and the International Atomic Energy Agency
because insisting on dead-end paths and vicious circles
can only lead to the continuation of the blockade on the
people of Iraq, which is unacceptable and even contrary
to resolution 687 (1991).
In order to seek a way out of this deadlock and
break out of the vicious circle created by the Special
Commission and its Chairman, Iraq has welcomed the
proposal for a comprehensive review submitted by the
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, to the Security
Council last 6 August. Iraq has emphasized that such a
comprehensive review is a legal and moral obligation
which the Council is duty-bound to discharge. By the
terms of resolution 687 (1991), the Council is required to
implement paragraph 22, relating to lifting the
prohibitions against the import of basic commodities and
products originating in Iraq, based upon the completion
by Iraq of all actions contemplated in part C of the
resolution. The Council is also required to undertake a
review every 60 days aimed at either reducing or lifting
the embargo in the light of the implementation by Iraq of
all its obligations under the relevant Council resolutions.
However, the 40 reviews carried out so far have been a
mere formality, arbitrary and far from comprehensive.
Thus, embarking upon a real comprehensive review
in accordance with the Secretary-General’s proposal is not
a reward given to Iraq, but a duty that the Security
Council has to undertake under its own resolutions. Iraq
has expressed its willingness to participate effectively in
such a comprehensive review — it is one of its
inalienable rights. Iraq has also expressed its hope that
such a comprehensive review of what it has accomplished
in terms of disarmament under part C of resolution 687
(1991) will be made as soon as possible and without
further delay. It is our hope that it will be indeed
comprehensive, fair and honest and that Iraq will be given
every possible opportunity to submit its point of view on
all relevant questions that might be posed by the Special
Commission, the IAEA or members of the Security
Council. Iraq also hopes that the review will be conducted
under the personal supervision of the Secretary-General
and that Mr. Annan will see to it that such a
comprehensive review is bound by a clearly defined
15

timetable and not allow it to be an aimless process without
foreseeable end.
While we support carrying out such a comprehensive
review in an objective, fair and impartial manner, we affirm
Iraq’s right to expect the Security Council to proceed to
take action to lift the inhumane sanctions that have been
imposed on the people of Iraq for eight years now. The
people and leadership of Iraq will accept no less.


I join other delegations in
congratulating you, Sir, on your election as President of the
General Assembly. We are confident that your ability and
experience will successfully guide our work during this
session. I also wish to express our gratitude to your
predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko,
whose presidency was characterized by energy and drive.
Freedom first and foremost. That rallying cry has
inspired peoples and nations throughout this century. It
gave birth to brave acts of courage during two world
conflicts. It gave sustenance in the struggle for
decolonization. It gave stamina and resilience during and
after the dark days of the cold war.
Freedom first and foremost. That was the solid
platform on which citizens worldwide stood their ground
whenever authoritarian regimes sought to erode democracy,
human rights and the rule of law.
Freedom first and foremost. That ideal buttressed
President Roosevelt in his effort to give birth to the
United Nations.
As we strive to build a better world and struggle to
conquer the uncertainties of our times, we the peoples of
the United Nations continue to cherish those four essential
human freedoms identified by President Roosevelt in his
speech to Congress on 6 January 1941: freedom of speech
and expression — everywhere in the world; freedom of
every person to worship God in his own way —
everywhere in the world; freedom from want to secure for
every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants —
everywhere in the world; freedom from fear through a
worldwide reduction of armaments so that no nation will
be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression
against any neighbour — anywhere in the world.
Underlining these four freedoms, President Roosevelt
stressed that they were “a definite basis for a kind of
world attainable in our own time and generation”, not a
“vision of a distant millennium”.
For the past 53 sessions world leaders have gathered
here in this General Assembly to take stock of
humankind?s progress in achieving those noble aims for
which the United Nations was founded. Each year brings
with it new unknowns, new challenges, new tragedies.
Yet each year we also see movement, in small steps or in
strides, towards a more secure world.

Building a world where peace, justice and freedom
reign supreme is a duty for all of us who serve in public
office. This responsibility becomes more onerous as we
advance towards the dawning of the new millennium.
Eight years ago I was privileged to serve this
Assembly as its President. The future then beckoned. In
1989 the world had witnessed the collapse of the Soviet
bloc. Millions had reacquired their freedom. In 1990 the
idyllic aftermath of the Bush-Gorbachev Malta summit was
shattered by the invasion of Kuwait. In those times of
euphoric uncertainty I called on Member States to revitalize
this General Assembly and ensure a symbiotic relationship
between the Organization?s principal organs. The call for
reform prevailed. It bore fruit and continues to give results.
Reform is essential for the Organization?s well-being.
It is even more essential for the future of humankind.
Eight years ago I signalled the danger of a curtain of
poverty dividing the world, with the same dire
consequences as the Iron Curtain had on world peace and
security. That danger remains and has become more
pronounced.
Last week the President of the United States reminded
this Assembly that “the gulf is widening between the
world?s haves and have-nots”. (A/53/PV.7, p. 11)
Narrowing that gulf is essential if we desire a secure global
society bereft of rage. That rage often transforms itself into
acts of violence.
The ill winds that blow at present, devastating the
economies of many States and crippling progress built
through the hard work of so any families around the world,
further aggravate this situation.
The United Nations is the unique instrument to
promote and protect the universal enjoyment of human
dignity. Significantly, one of the first tasks that this
Organization set itself was the drafting of a Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. In commemorating the
fiftieth anniversary of its adoption by this Assembly, we
renew our commitment to its content. That document is not
outdated, nor can it be easily replaced. It proclaims human
rights that by their very nature are universal, inherent and
indivisible.
The Declaration is comprehensive and demands an
observance that is equally comprehensive. A selective
approach damages the Declaration and the wider concepts
that it represents. It undermines a vision of society in
which respect for human rights is paramount and universal.
There is, however, a significant lack in this
Declaration. It is an instrument with no judicial
mechanisms or sanctions. Has the time arrived to learn
from the experience of the regional human rights
conventions, in particular the European Convention,
which through its mechanisms instituted the European
Court of Human Rights and through the right of
individual petition further guarantees a judicial process
aimed at ensuring effective enforcement?
There can be no freedom without democracy.
Equally, there can be no democracy without the exercise
of individual freedoms. We underscore this reaffirmation
as we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
We the peoples look up to United Nations for
leadership in resolving the ills of our times. Yet we the
peoples are the United Nations. The United Nations is us.
Attempts to project or depict the United Nations as
an entity alien to the rest of the international community
or as an Organization that can determine or predetermine
the fate of peoples and society are both erroneous and
dangerous. This Organization depends on a continuation
of that balance of principles and institutions intrinsic in
the Charter. This balance is best conserved by
consolidating the process of consensus-building that has
rendered so many positive results in the past half-century.
Imposition of the will of some over the will of the others
is rarely conducive to harmony in any circumstance. It is
even less so in a forum of sovereign nation States.
There are instances when the will of the majority
traces important paths for future cooperation between
States. Yet the effort to ensure the widest a priori
adherence to the principles being negotiated is always
essential, particularly if we desire such agreements to be
universal in their application. This demands a diplomatic
and political effort that may appear exasperating. Still, it
is the path that best conserves the delicate balance
between the sovereign rights of States and the emergence
of a new world order.
We have partaken of the sorrow sown by violence
and war. We have survived the tensions of bloc
antagonism and nuclear proliferation. We have grappled
with the anguish of division and mutual suspicion. The
imminence of a new millennium naturally generates hopes
2

and expectations. Foremost is the longing for the fulfilment
of the promise garnered at the end of the cold war.
Throughout this decade we committed ourselves, devising
tools to deal with uncertainties as they emerged. Yet
suffering and strife continue to plague the planet.
Shocking violations imposed upon us the duty to
provide future generations with an international judicial
mechanism to fairly establish the guilt of the perpetrators of
war crimes and provide for their punishment. We acted
with the swiftness demanded by the might of right. We set
the framework to deal with crimes that are an affront to
humanity?s sense of justice and compassion.
In Rome last July we adopted the Statute of the
International Criminal Court. We thus lay the foundation
for an effective and credible institution that in itself is a
deterrent against the commission of heinous crimes falling
under its jurisdiction. We hope that the momentum gathered
in institution-building is retained to enable the Court to start
functioning and effectively deal with crimes against
humanity whenever they occur.
Vigilance remains the order of the day. With good
reason, the world proclaimed victory at the indefinite
extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty (CTBT). The ratification of the latter by two of the
nuclear-weapon States is a welcome and positive step. Yet
pitted against these positive developments were recent
nuclear tests carried out by two non-signatories. We have
seen the partial dismantling of nuclear arsenals, but also
witnessed the dangers of proliferation. Such actions fuel
insecurity and mistrust. We join others in strongly urging
these two countries, and indeed all countries, to exercise
restraint. Nuclear testing is a stark reminder of the dangers
ever present in nuclear weaponry.
Malta welcomes the statements of intent made by the
Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in this Assembly last
week. They augur well for the universality of the NPT
regime. No effort must be spared to ensure universal
adherence to and compliance with the relevant treaties
covering not only nuclear weapons but also all weapons of
mass destruction. The nuclear disarmament agenda must be
kept on track. The dangers that loom are not limited to the
possession and use of such armaments by nuclear-weapon
States. The spectre of nuclear terrorism haunts us as we
combat illegal trafficking related to the possession,
production and use of such weapons.
The dangers remain multiple. Chemical and
biological weapons pose destabilizing threats. By
disturbing contrast, technologies for their acquisition and
use are relatively easy to develop. Conventional arms-
trafficking also remains a major menace.
The establishment of the Organization for the
Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) sets out a
regime of control and verification that strikes a balance,
curbing proliferation of chemicals for weapons use while
sanctioning beneficial use of chemicals by a wide range
of industries. Malta is proud to have served on the
Executive Council in its initial stage.
It is our hope that the verification protocol on
biological weapons may likewise hamper, discourage and
disallow the use of biological components for war,
conflict or conquest. Images of the maimed victims of
landmines buttress our commitment to outlaw these
weapons. Malta was among the first to sign the Ottawa
Convention, and ratification is being processed. We join
others in saluting its entry into force early next year. This
brings closer the prohibition on the use, stockpiling,
production and transfer of anti-personnel mines and their
destruction.
Equally threatening, intrusive and destabilizing are
international crime, drug-trafficking and terrorism. These
continue to poison the very roots of our societies,
spreading corruption, fear and suffering. No Government
can ignore or shield itself from such phenomena.
Complacency is both dangerous and unreal. United
Nations efforts to further international cooperation to
combat and curb these afflictions, particularly those of the
Vienna Centre for International Crime Prevention, deserve
our full and unwavering support.
Freedom, democracy and social justice have
fortunately become oft-used terms within this
Organization. They are indeed the basic elements of all
our efforts. They reflect the will to give substance to the
Charter?s reaffirmation of fundamental human rights, the
dignity and worth of the human person, and the equal
rights of men and women and of nations large and small.
Commitment to human rights must be matched by
action to promote social justice and better living standards
in larger freedom. The human rights that we promote and
protect must be complemented by the provision of a
social safety net that preserves the dignity of all. This is
a principle that the Maltese people hold dear.
3

My Government was again returned to office less than
three weeks ago. The cornerstone of our agenda is the
restoration of confidence and direction and the generation
of wealth, to the benefit of all our people: our only and
most precious resource. This demands the resumption of a
strategy that invests in improving health and education
services with the same vigour with which we revolutionized
the social and economic infrastructures of our country. We
are committed to social justice and thus to the well-being
of those most vulnerable to suffering if left to their own
devices in times of economic transition. The true measure
of progress remains social justice that buttresses equity and
personal dignity and ensures the universal enjoyment of
fundamental human rights and freedoms.
The change in Administration has also brought about
the resumption of the march towards Europe which was
briefly frozen during the previous 22 months by the
previous Administration. Malta?s application for
membership of the European Union has been reactivated.
An overwhelming electoral mandate reconfirms the
European vocation of our people, repeatedly expressed in
free and fair elections during the past two decades. The
choice of our people is clear, and the path we shall follow
is equally clear. Our immediate objective is to rejoin those
countries earmarked for the next enlargement of the Union.
Though much remains to be done, the commitment of the
people and the Government is deep-seated.
We do not choose to be European. We are European:
European in history and culture, in economic structures and
political organization, in security concerns and ethical
values. Anchorage in the European Union is the natural
culmination of our development process, our traditions and
our culture. As in any other member of the Union, debate
on the benefits of membership and the consequent rights
and responsibilities continues. This is an intrinsic aspect of
the democratic process. Nowhere in Europe have choices
been easy or straightforward, but everywhere in Europe, the
freely expressed will of the people has prevailed. This is a
fundamental characteristic of Europe, a political union built
on respect for the individual and the democratic will of its
peoples.
Enlargement of the European Union to gather peoples
and nations within its fold in a spirit of pluralism, solidarity
and cooperation is more than just a process. It cannot be
seen as just an exercise in augmenting the membership. It
is much more than that. It is a political demand for the
realization of the Union and its credibility in global politics.
Characterized by reciprocity, it is a quest in peace-building,
a venture that in less than half a century has continued to
transform the founding fathers? ideal into a tangible
reality.
Like all other Mediterranean States, Malta views the
problems of its region with particular concern. At the
crossroads of cultures and civilizations, the Mediterranean
is disproportionately burdened with turmoil, tension and
conflict. Resolution of each crisis demands positive action
by the protagonists directly responsible. Yet the world
community can contribute, through its efforts and good
offices, to constructing an environment conducive to
negotiated settlement. The bitter heritage of the past
sometimes impedes that contact which is an essential first
step in the setting up of negotiating structures. In this
effort to overcome obstacles, the international community
and individual statesmen have given their fair share.
The open wounds that still afflict the region demand
renewed engagement lest they continue to fester and
degenerate into volatility that would risk spilling over to
broader areas.
The Cyprus question has long been one of these
open wounds, having political and stability repercussions
that go beyond the geographic dimensions of the island
itself. A solution in conformity with the resolutions of the
United Nations can have enduring positive effects for all
the parties concerned in the dispute.
The ever pervasive problems encountered by the
Middle East process are of particular concern. In spite of
various efforts, this process has come to a virtual
standstill. We believe in the importance of revitalizing
and respecting the commitments undertaken through and
after the Oslo peace accords. We urge all sides to respond
positively to current initiatives aimed at restoring dialogue
and hope.
The new millennium is the commemoration of the
birth of Jesus Christ, when the message that was brought
to us was “peace on Earth”. This is precisely the message
that is central to the initiative that will be debated during
this session, Bethlehem 2000. How sad it will be if the
land of the nativity is still at war 2,000 years after that
message.
The Euro-Mediterranean process was a significant
step in bringing together European and Mediterranean
countries comprehensively to address issues that still
beleaguer the region. The impasse in the Middle East has
dealt a blow to the Euro-Mediterranean process. One
hopes that this is but a temporary setback. Stability in the
4

Mediterranean must rest on multiple initiatives that nurture
cooperation through gradual confidence- and security-
building measures. This is the crux of our insistence on the
need to establish a stability pact for the region. Initiatives
such as the addition of a parliamentary dimension to this
process of dialogue, promoted by the Inter-Parliamentary
Union, the setting up of a council or forum of
Mediterranean States and the eventual creation of a
conference on security and cooperation in the
Mediterranean deserve serious consideration.
Regional approaches complement and reinforce efforts
at the international level. In 1992, at the Helsinki follow-up
meeting of the then Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), Malta proposed that the
CSCE should declare itself a regional arrangement by the
terms of Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter. We
note with satisfaction that relations between what is now
known as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in
Europe (OSCE) and the United Nations continue to be
strengthened. Apart from institutional benefits reaped
through regular contact between the two organizations, what
is more relevant is the increased cooperation on the ground
in the various parts of the OSCE area.
Ever since Dipoli, the site of the first preparatory
phase, Malta has contributed to the evolution of the OSCE
process. It has promoted the Mediterranean dimension of
this process. Mediterranean and European security remain
intimately and reciprocally linked. Strengthening of security
and cooperation in the Mediterranean is an important
element for stability in the OSCE region. Consistent
engagement by successive Malta Governments has
contributed towards the greater involvement of the
Mediterranean Partners for Cooperation in the work of the
OSCE. We will continue to work to further this
relationship.
The regional approach has reinforced cooperation
through the interlocking of different and distinct European
and international organizations. In this respect. Malta pays
homage to the role of the Council of Europe in protecting
and promoting dignity, human rights and fundamental
freedoms and in nurturing the principles of human
solidarity.
We are particularly heartened by the Secretary-
General?s stated intention to consolidate the partnership
between regional organizations and the United Nations
through a more structured, rational and cost-effective
division of labour.
Distinct from other organizations, the
Commonwealth also continues to advance avenues of
cooperation. Cross-regional projects among countries
steeped in a common tradition continue to unfold. Malta
upholds this international effort through its participation
in various programmes that promote sustainable
development.
Different scenarios face this Organization. We have
learnt that negotiating agreements is not enough.
Universality remains a priority as we develop the tools to
deal with emerging problems. Reform of this
Organization is another priority. Many of its structures
must better their effectiveness. Reform is not an end in
itself — it is an ongoing process that necessarily requires
periodic review. We must remain open to the challenge of
change by being innovative and adaptive, seeking to
reorient structures established in a different time, without
betraying the core principles that remain ever valid.
Malta has steadfastly fostered awareness of the need
to revitalize the General Assembly. With its universal,
democratic character, this Assembly is the ultimate
expression of the principle of the sovereign equality of
States. Yet, conditioned by the past, the Assembly has not
fully realized its potential. As the international consensus-
building forum, its role can be further strengthened, thus
enhancing its authority.
Progress has been registered in deliberations on
Security Council reform, but consensus still evades us.
The question of which categories of membership to
expand dominates the discussion and attracts attention.
However, other important issues, such as the transparency
and openness of the Council, continue to develop. Malta
attaches great importance to this aspect, which benefits
the widest majority of States.
Security Council decisions legally bind all Member
States. Thus, procedures enhancing consultations between
Council and Assembly members are of immense value.
Improved methods introduced in recent years, while
nurturing the symbiotic relationship that should bond
Council and Assembly, prove that conferring does not
hinder the Council?s ability to intervene with the required
swiftness.
In seeking solutions, even on what type of expansion
the Security Council should undergo, the need for general
agreement must be underscored. General agreement is not
to be seen in quantitative terms; rather, it should be
viewed as a guarantee that solutions have the political
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support to come to fruition. Agreement on this sensitive
issue must be comprehensive if it is to stand the test of
time. Lack of consensus on expanding the permanent
member category should not impede further progress.
We support the fallback position of the Non-Aligned
Movement to limit enlargement to the non-permanent
category for the time being. This will allow the process to
move forward without prejudice to an eventual continuation
of deliberations on permanent category expansion.
The environment has been the focus of uninterrupted
attention since the end of the cold war. The ushering in of
a new era of cooperation has enabled the international
community to address different areas requiring concerted
action. An unprecedented number of treaties and
conventions have been negotiated. Treaty bodies and
institutions now function effectively, addressing distinct but
related areas of concern.
In this new international milieu, the Charter?s broader
notion of trusteeship assumes renewed relevance. During
my presidency of this Assembly, the Trusteeship Council
was about to discharge its responsibility for the last of the
territories placed under its custody. Some suggested
freezing or dismantling the Council. I proposed that the
Trusteeship Council be given additional responsibility in
coordinating international endeavours that safeguard
different areas of the common heritage of humankind.
Since then, many others have proclaimed themselves
favourable to this type of reform. The identification of new
additional responsibilities for the Trusteeship Council forms
part of the reform package proposed by the Secretary-
General last year.
We have also taken note of the recommendations of
the United Nations Task Force on Environment and Human
Settlements in its report to the Secretary-General earlier this
year. The positive openness to this proposal is encouraging.
Malta intends to participate actively in the recommended
consultations to be undertaken by the Executive Director of
United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in
preparing for the next regular session of the Governing
Council.
The application of the principles of trust and common
responsibility in a number of international conventions
makes their coordination the natural task of the Trusteeship
Council. The principle of trust should retain its rightful
place in the institutional framework of this Organization.
The International Year of the Ocean is in its final
quarter. Many feel that a forum is needed to consider the
closely interrelated problems of ocean space as a whole.
The Independent World Commission for the Oceans, on
which I have the honour to serve, has vigorously
addressed this vital issue. Malta suggests positive
consideration of the suggestion that this Assembly
institute a biennial committee of the whole to review
ocean-related questions in an integrated manner.
Notwithstanding our collective endeavours, peace
remains daily threatened in different parts of the world.
United Nations deliberations in response to such threats
rightfully enjoy a high profile with the public and in the
media. In most instances, the success of these
deliberations rests on the sheer dedication of the United
Nations officials in conflict zones and particularly on the
courageous sacrifice of troops forming part of United
Nations peacekeeping operations.
This year, we commemorate the fiftieth anniversary
of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Peacekeepers
have faced risks, humiliation, threat and death. This
notwithstanding, they have never faltered in their duty or
determination to bring hope where despair often prevails.
Despite increasing risks, the United Nations has not
shirked its responsibilities. Indeed, it has broadened its
peacekeeping mandates. I had the opportunity to
personally bring this Assembly?s message of solidarity
and support to peacekeepers serving in different parts of
the world. During the past five decades, the number of
peacekeepers who have paid the supreme sacrifice has
continued to grow. We salute and pay tribute to their
memory.
Like others who have addressed this Assembly
before me, I have outlined some challenges facing our
Organization. New problems continue to emerge,
presenting us with daunting and confounding scenarios.
Yet, despite all the odds against it, the United Nations has
withstood the test of time. It has survived because it
invested faith in humankind and dispensed hope where
misery prevailed. It has gradually built the required tools
to foster international cooperation.
Obstacles may continue to loom large, yet at no time
in human history has the potential been so great. We must
seize the opportunity provided us to act in concert. Our
commitment to the United Nations is unwavering. Our
commitment to sparing humankind from untold suffering
is strong. Together, we can head into the new millennium
imbued with the founding fathers? determination to save
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succeeding generations from the scourge of war. We owe
this to ourselves. We will strive to bequeath it to our
children.