I greet you,
Mr. President, and pay tribute to the Republic of Korea,
which offers the world an example of dedication to the
cause of peace and development.
I reaffirm my admiration for Secretary-General
Kofi Annan, who, together with the United Nations,
was rightfully honoured with the Nobel Peace Prize.
More than ever, we need his clear vision and courage
in seeking to build a peaceful and democratic
international order that is based on solidarity. Only
fanatics fail to acknowledge the great mission
undertaken by the United Nations and by Kofi Annan.
In a tradition that extends back to the beginnings
of this Organization, the month of September in New
York is dedicated to a celebration of dialogue: the
opening of the general debate of this General
Assembly. It was not so this year. In New York as well
as in Washington, the month of September was marked
by the very denial of this dialogue and understanding
between peoples: the senseless violence resulting from
an odious and treacherous attack against the United
States of America and against all peace- and freedom-
loving peoples.
It was an infamous act of aggression against a
city that, perhaps more than any other, is a symbol of
cosmopolitanism; a city that has welcomed immigrants
from all parts, such as the Dutch Jews of Portuguese
ancestry who, in the seventeenth century, left Brazil for
what was then New Amsterdam.
New York has grown, prospered and reached
maturity guided by pluralistic values. It became great,
and was admired, not only because of its Jewish and
Anglo-Saxon heritage, but also because of its Arab,
Latin, African, Caribbean and Asian presence. The
attacks of 11 September 2001 were an act of aggression
against all of those traditions — an act of aggression
against humanity.
As the first head of State to speak in the general
debate at this session of the General Assembly, I wish
to be very clear. As I had occasion to say on the very
morning of those horrendous attacks, and as I have said
during my conversations with President George W.
Bush, Brazil extends its full solidarity and support to
the people of the United States in its response to
terrorism.
To our understanding, the American hemisphere
as a whole was attacked. That is why we suggested
convening the consultative organ of the Inter-American
Treaty of Reciprocal Assistance. Terrorism negates all
that the United Nations stands for. It destroys the very
principles of civilized behaviour. It fosters fear, and
threatens the security and peace of all countries.
The victims of any act of terrorism will not be
forgotten; nor will the perpetrators of such acts go
unpunished, whether they are individuals, groups or the
States that give them support. The march of folly will
be vigorously resisted by the solid alliance of all free
peoples.
The Charter of the United Nations acknowledges
the right of Member States to act in self-defence. That
is not in doubt. But let us keep in mind that the struggle
against terrorism cannot rely exclusively on the
5

effectiveness of self-defence measures or on the use of
military force by individual countries.
In 1945, the United Nations committed itself to
the task of laying the foundations for peace and the
protection of future generations against the scourge of
war. War always takes a heavy human toll — a cost in
lives cut short and lives overtaken by fear and flight.
That underscores the responsibility of terrorists for
what is happening today. Brazil hopes that,
notwithstanding these circumstances, humanitarian
assistance efforts in Afghanistan will not be frustrated.
Furthermore, we will, to the best of our abilities,
welcome refugees wishing to settle in our country.
Certain things may be obvious, but they warrant
repeating. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, the
struggle against terrorism is not, and must never
become, a clash between civilizations, much less
between religions. Not one of the civilizations that
have enriched and humanized our planet has not
known, within its own historical experience, episodes
of violence and terror.
Around the world, problems related to crime,
drug abuse, drug-trafficking and money-laundering are
evils related to terrorism that must be eradicated. From
this rostrum, I would like to call for a worldwide public
awareness campaign to make drug users in all countries
realize that they are helping — even if inadvertently —
to finance terrorism.
If we are to stem the flow of resources to the
terrorist networks spreading death and destruction, it is
crucial that drug use in our societies be drastically
curtailed. Furthermore, we must not allow differences
in national tax regimes in various countries to be used
as an instrument to foster capital flight, to the
detriment of economic development, or to help finance
organized crime, including terrorist actions. If the
existence of tax havens is inseparable from these
problems, then tax havens should not exist. We must
put an end to such safe harbours for corruption and
terror, with regard to which some Governments have,
to date, been complacent.
It is only natural that, since 11 September, issues
of international security should have been given high
priority. Yet terrorism must not be allowed to stifle the
debate on cooperation and other issues of global
interest. The road to the future requires the forces of
globalization to be harnessed in the pursuit of lasting
peace — a peace sustained not by fear, but rather by
the willing acceptance by all countries of a just
international order.
On this theme, I have sought to mobilize
numerous world leaders. Brazil wishes to do its part to
ensure that the world does not squander the
opportunities that are contained in the present crisis.
Let us focus on our fundamental imperative of
promoting development. The process of globalization
is tainted by an undeniable sense of unease. I am not
referring to the ideological disquiet of those who
oppose globalization on principle or who reject the
very notion of universal values which inspire freedom
and the respect for human rights. Rather, I have in
mind the fact that globalization has not lived up to its
promises. There is a governance deficit in the
international sphere, and it results from a democratic
deficit. Globalization will be sustainable only if
enriched by a sense of justice. Our aim should be
“globalization in solidarity”, rather than the
asymmetrical globalization of today.
In the field of trade, it is high time that
multilateral negotiations were translated into greater
access for goods from developing countries to the more
prosperous markets. The ministers meeting in Doha
have a heavy responsibility: to ensure that the new
round of multilateral trade negotiations is a
development round. To this end, it is crucial for
priority to be given to those issues most conducive to
the dismantling of protectionist practices and barriers
in developed countries.
Brazil has taken the lead in negotiations to ensure
greater market access and better humanitarian
conditions in the fight against disease. We will seek to
strike a balance between the requirements of patent
rights and the imperative of providing care to those
most in need. We favour market practices and the
protection of intellectual property, but not at the cost of
human lives. This is a point that must be carefully
defined: life must prevail over material interests.
The Bretton Woods institutions must be revamped
if they are to respond to the challenges of the twenty-
first century. The International Monetary Fund must be
allotted greater resources so as to allow it to function
as a lender of last resort. The World Bank and regional
banks must be given a more active part in fostering
economic growth and development.
The volatility of international capital flows must
be contained and the financial system made more
6

predictable and less crisis-prone, as proposed by the
G-20.
Similarly, although measures such as the Tobin
tax present practical difficulties, it should be possible
to look into better and less compulsory alternatives. I
submit that these issues should be given special
attention at the United Nations International
Conference on Financing for Development, to be held
next year in Monterrey.
We must also envisage practical forms of
cooperation to alleviate the tragedy of AIDS, above all
in Africa. How long will the world remain indifferent
to the plight of those who might yet be saved from
disease, deprivation and exclusion?
The twentieth century came to an end amid a
growing sense of global citizenship and universally
shared values. Brazil is determined to forge ahead in
this direction.
The International Criminal Court will be a
historic victory for the cause of human rights. The
protection of the environment and sustainable
development are equally pressing challenges of our
time. The process of climate change has been
scientifically ascertained as a fact, but it is not
unstoppable. What the future holds depends on what
we do today, in particular as concerns the Kyoto
Protocol.
(spoke in English)
I have just been informed of the successful
outcome of the Marrakesh meeting. Brazil warmly
welcomes this development, which is a fundamental
step towards controlling, and eventually reversing, the
warming of the atmosphere. I will submit to the
Congress a proposal for the prompt ratification of the
Kyoto Protocol.
(spoke in Portuguese)
Recent events in this city and elsewhere have
clearly demonstrated the grave threat posed by
weapons of mass destruction. No matter the nature of
the menace — be it bacteriological, such as anthrax;
chemical; or nuclear — there is no alternative to
disarmament and non-proliferation.
It is an ethical imperative that science and
technology must not be turned into a weapon in the
hands of the irresponsible. This requires the active and
legitimate involvement of the United Nations in the
control, destruction and eradication of these arsenals.
Just as it supported the creation of the State of
Israel, Brazil today calls for concrete measures towards
the setting up of a Palestinian state that is democratic,
united and economically viable.
The right of the Palestinian people to self-
determination and respect for the existence of Israel as
a sovereign, free and secure State are essential if the
Middle East is to rebuild its future in peace.
This is a moral debt owed by the United Nations.
It is a task that must not be postponed.
It is equally urgent that a lasting solution be
found to the conflict in Angola, which deserves the
opportunity to get back on the road to development.
This is the same future that Brazil wishes for East
Timor, which we hope will soon take its rightful place
in the Assembly as a sovereign state.
A strong and flexible United Nations is required
if the world is to respond to increasingly complex
problems. The United Nations will only be
strengthened if the General Assembly becomes more
active and more respected, and if the Security Council
becomes more representative. Its composition should
no longer be a reflection of arrangements among the
victors of a conflict that took place over 50 years ago,
and for whose triumph Brazilian soldiers gave their
blood in the glorious campaigns in Italy.
Brazil joins those who appeal for more
democracy in international relations in calling for the
enlargement of the Security Council. Common sense
requires the inclusion, in the category of permanent
members, of those developing countries with the
necessary credentials to exercise the responsibilities
that today’s world imposes upon them.
By the same token, Brazil believes that an
enlargement of the G-7/G-8 is called for in view of the
transformations the world is presently undergoing. It is
no longer admissible to restrict to such a limited group
of countries the discussion of issues pertaining to
globalization and its inevitable impact on the political
and economic life of emerging countries.
An international order that is more just and based
on solidarity will come about only through a concerted
effort on the part of the community of nations. This is
7

too precious a goal to be left to the vagaries of market
forces or to the whims of power politics.
We do not aspire to a world government, but we
cannot sidestep the obligation to ensure that
international relations are not left rudderless, but
reflect the legitimate aspirations of the majority. The
nefarious shadow of terrorism points to what can be
expected if we do not enhance mutual understanding
among peoples.
This Organization was created under the sign of
dialogue — a dialogue among sovereign States that are
free nations, whose peoples actively participate in
national decision-making.
With their help, we can ensure that the twenty-
first century will not be a time of fear, but rather of the
flourishing of a freer humanity, at peace with itself, and
rationally oriented towards the building of an
international order that is acceptable to all peoples and
that provides a guiding framework for States at the
global level.
This is the challenge of the twenty-first century.
Let us face it inspired by the grand vision of the
founding fathers of this Organization, who dreamed of
a pluralistic world, founded on peace, solidarity,
tolerance and reason, which is the ultimate source of
the rule of law.


At the
outset, I would like to congratulate the President on his
unanimous election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. His choice to
assume this high post is a reflection of Member States'
appreciation of him personally and their confidence in
his ability to conduct the deliberations of this session
in a manner that would enable it to reach conclusions
that would contribute to the strengthening of stability
and the promotion of development all over the world.
I would also like to seize this opportunity to
express our gratitude and appreciation to his
predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, President of the
previous session of the Assembly, which witnessed
many activities that have gone a long way towards
responding to the common concerns of the
international community.
Our great appreciation also goes to Mr. Kofi
Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, who
continues to perform his duties with dedication and
renewed vigour, even under very difficult
9

circumstances. His re-election to a second term at the
helm of the Organization and the fact that he was
awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, together with the
United Nations, this year is testimony to the
appreciation of his work and the confidence in his
ability to further enhance the role of the United Nations
and to make it more effective in facing the challenges
of the new millennium.
On 11 September, several American cities,
including the City of New York, which hosts our
Organization, were subjected to terrorist attacks to
which thousands of innocent people fell victim. Once
again I express to the people of the United States and
the families of the victims, who lost their loved ones,
my deepest sympathies. We in Libya, having been
subjected to various forms of terrorism, including State
terrorism, realize better than others the cruelty and the
depth of feelings that the American people suffered and
the psychological impact, particularly on the families
of the victims. My country has therefore condemned
those painful events, emphasizing our firm position,
which denounces terrorism in all its forms and
manifestations and calls for the eradication of this
phenomenon, which endangers the independence of
States and the lives of peoples.
We, in Libya appreciate the measures taken by
the international community to uproot terrorism,
including the number of agreements made  the most
important of which we are already party to, and the rest
of which we are in the process of acceding to.
Nevertheless, it is very evident that there is an urgent
need to take other measures to confront the challenges
posed by this phenomenon. This will necessitate
seeking and eradicating the roots of terrorism. It is also
imperative to take effective action to put an end to
terrorist practices and to eliminate all the reasons and
motives that stand behind terrorism.
Before achieving this, we must agree on a
uniform definition of terrorism to determine ways of
combating it. We cannot condemn terrorism and fight it
when it hits one country and turn a blind eye when it
hits other countries and peoples. It is also very
dangerous to link terrorism to a certain religion or
nationality, as terrorism has no nationality and no
religion. Further, it is unacceptable to label as terrorism
the struggle of peoples to protect themselves or to
attain independence while ignoring real terrorism,
which has several faces and is practised in different
ways.
Occupation, provocation and aggression against
peoples, like that against Libya in 1986, is all
terrorism. The establishment of military bases on the
territories of others is terrorism. Fleets that roam the
seas are stationed off the coasts of other States and
violate their territorial waters are forms of terrorism.
The downing of civilian aircraft, like the Libyan
aircraft that was hijacked and destroyed over Sinai in
1973, is terrorism. Mass massacres are terrorism. The
training of extreme elements in certain countries and
facilitating their arrival in other countries to carry out
criminal acts, including assassinations, as happened in
my country in 1984 and 1993, is terrorism. The
acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and the
threat of their use is terrorism. The imposition by one
State of unilateral, coercive measures against other
countries and the enactment by the same State of laws
to punish others who maintain relations with these
countries is also terrorism. Exploiting the Security
Council to impose sanctions against peoples without
any justification or evidence is terrorism. Preventing
the Council from adopting measures to protect those
who are subjected to killing and displacement
constitutes support for and encouragement of terrorism.
Due to these considerations, we believe it has
become important and necessary to take international
action to combat terrorism at all levels. We think that
such action could be effective if undertaken under the
umbrella of the United Nations, in accordance with the
purposes and principles of its Charter. My country was
among the first to act in this context when, in 1992, we
called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations
to request the convening of a special session of the
General Assembly devoted to the consideration of the
means of combating terrorism.
Today, we renew this call out of a conviction that
this is the best way to study the question of terrorism
with a view to arriving at an accurate definition of
terrorism far removed from selfish and subjective
classifications. We are also convinced that this is the
best way to deal with this phenomenon in all its
political, economic and social aspects and,
consequently, to take the necessary measures to fully
uproot it.
Every year, we gather here to review and assess
our achievements. Despite the tragic events of 11
September, we notice that the previous year witnessed
a number of important developments. The General
Assembly held more than one special session. Two
10

high-level conferences were held within the framework
of the United Nations, one of which was devoted to the
situation of the least developed countries and the other,
to our common struggle against racism and
xenophobia. In the declarations and programmes of
action resulting from these conferences, there was a
rededication and commitment to the purposes and
principles of the United Nations, aimed at maintaining
international peace and security and developing
friendly relations among States. It was also affirmed
that more efforts would be made to implement
priorities such as the promotion of development, the
provision of shelter for all, the eradication of want and
diseases, the ending of injustice and unfairness and the
uprooting of discrimination in all its forms.
The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya participated in all
these forums, and we are happy to have contributed to
their successful results. Like other Members of this
Organization, we have an interest in the establishment
of peace, the realization of justice and the support of
sustainable development. Notwithstanding all these
achievements, it is abundantly clear that there is a need
for further efforts so that we may be able to address the
additional challenges facing all Members of the United
Nations.
One such challenge is the environmental
degradation that threatens life on Earth, our common
home. Violence and armed conflicts also rage in
several regions. Millions suffer from abject poverty in
many places in developing countries. Diseases,
particularly HIV/AIDS, threaten the lives of entire
communities.
There are still those who challenge the collective
will and cling to unilaterally enacted laws, applying
them to all. Old ideological barriers have been replaced
with new barriers, including impeding access of many
developing countries to the technology necessary for
their development and advancement. Moreover, our
world is still not free of criminal activity, including the
illicit trade in small weapons and narcotics and
transnational organized crime.
The United Nations is the tool of our common
work in our efforts to face these challenges.
Undoubtedly it has made many efforts, but it could
certainly be more effective in carrying out its duties if
drastic structural reforms were made to its organs and
if new working methods were developed for its various
mechanisms. Many proposals have been submitted over
the past few years in this regard, but, unfortunately,
they did not resonate with certain Powers that care only
for their narrow selfish interests. This makes it
incumbent upon the other Members of this
Organization that have a real stake in reform to unify
their efforts and capacities to effect inevitable change,
if we want our Organization to succeed, consistent with
the spirit of the times, and to meet the needs of the
people.
For our part, we wish once again to reaffirm that
such change should be aimed at achieving the
following.
First, it must enhance and develop cooperation
among the principal organs of the United Nations, and
between these organs and other bodies and agencies of
the United Nations system, with a view to resolving
international problems in all their aspects.
Secondly, it must enhance the role of the General
Assembly, making it more effective, so that it can carry
out the functions entrusted to it by the Charter,
including contributing to the adoption of measures to
maintain international peace and security. The
Assembly should have the authority to control and to
hold accountable other United Nations organs,
including the Security Council, which should be
accountable to the Assembly.
Thirdly, it must establish a mechanism affiliated
with the General Assembly to follow up the
implementation of Assembly resolutions. We cannot
wait indefinitely for the implementation of resolutions,
most of which were adopted more than 50 years ago.
Fourthly, it must accelerate the introduction of
radical reform to the Security Council membership in
order to apply the principle of equitable geographic
distribution and thus do justice to the disadvantaged
regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are
under-represented in the Council. Reform should also
apply to improving the Council's working methods to
ensure transparency in its work and democracy in its
decision-making.
Fifthly, the privileges emanating from victories of
the Second World War must be withdrawn, the most
important being the right of veto, which has become
obsolete. Therefore, there is no longer any justification
for maintaining it, not only because it contravenes the
principle of the sovereign equality of States, but also
because it has been used to protect aggressors from
11

condemnation. It is also being used to prevent the
adoption of measures to protect those subjected to
aggression, killing, displacement and other acts of
genocide.
Seeking to establish peace and enhance stability
is among the major purposes of the United Nations.
This Organization certainly cannot perform all these
functions alone. Member States can establish effective
mechanisms to resolve the most intractable problems.
In this context, we in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya have
made consistent efforts to assist countries suffering
from conflicts and disputes. Talks held last June, under
the auspices of the Qadhafi Charitable Organization,
between the Government of the Philippines and the
Moro Front, led to the signature of the Tripoli Peace
Agreement, ending a bitter conflict and meeting the
aspirations of both parties for the restoration of
security and stability in southern Philippines.
We have participated effectively in various
negotiations that have resulted in the settlement of the
Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute and the conclusion of the
Arusha Agreement, ending the conflict in Burundi.
Together with other African countries, we are
intensifying our efforts to support reconciliation in
Somalia and the restoration of peace to the Democratic
Republic of the Congo on the basis of the Lusaka
Agreement, emanating from the agreement signed in
the city of Sirte in September 1999.
Currently, intensive efforts are being made to
implement the Libyan-Egyptian initiative, in
coordination with the initiative of the
Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to
achieve broad-based national reconciliation in the
Sudan so that its people can live in harmony and
stability, based on the unity and territorial integrity of
that sisterly country and equality among its people.
We take great pride in our contributions and
achievements. But above all, Libyans from all walks of
life  men and women  greatly cherish the historic
event that took place in March of this year, when
African leaders announced the establishment of the
African Union at the second Sirte summit. This was
followed by the thirty-seventh summit of the
Organization of African Unity, held last July, which
took progressive practical measures to strengthen the
fundamentals of this Union, which is an important
transformation in the history of Africa, realizing as it
did, the dream of the forefathers of a unified Africa. It
was the culmination of the efforts of the great African
leaders whose objective has always been the unity of
the continent so that it could enhance its security and
progress and build its future. It is a new phase in an
African renaissance that will eliminate rifts that divide
the continent and will establish one bloc for all
Africans, capable of confronting various challenges in
a world of large groupings.
The fact that Africa has taken all these initiatives
and steps sends a clear message to other countries of
the world that Africa fully realizes that resolving its
problems and developing its abilities is primarily the
responsibility of the Africans. Yet we must emphasize
that there will be no peace, security or stability in the
world as long as Africa suffers from problems and
disturbances. For that, the United Nations and all
countries must assist in the efforts of African countries
to establish peace throughout the continent and to
enhance security in all its corners. This requires
primarily support for Africa's dispute-settlement
mechanisms, assistance in eradicating the poverty of
millions of its people and the elimination of diseases,
particularly HIV/AIDS, which threatens the lives of
more than 30 million Africans.
Moreover, a solution must be found to the
problem of external debt, which devours most of
Africa's earnings. Moreover, an end must be put to
consequences of colonialism, the cause of Africa's
underdevelopment and the obstacle to its progress. The
only way to do justice to the peoples of Africa is for
those States that conquered their land, looted the
continent's resources and built their progress at its
expense to apologize to the peoples of Africa for these
practices and to pay them full compensation for the
losses and damages caused by colonialism.
The international community has thus far failed
to resolve the Palestinian problem, which is almost as
old as the United Nations itself. This is essentially due
to disregard of the core of the problem, which is that a
land was usurped and its people were expelled from
their homeland. Thus, Palestine remained occupied.
Most of its people became refugees in various parts of
the world, and those who stayed were made into
prisoners in their own homes, deprived of the most
basic human rights. The Palestinian people are being
subjected to the most heinous crimes committed
against any people in contemporary history. Palestinian
children and young and elderly people are assassinated,
their land is confiscated, their farms are burnt and their
12

houses are demolished to be replaced by houses of
settlers who came from various parts of the world in
pursuit of unbelievable and illogical myths.
Old and new developments of the Palestinian
question are sufficient proof that ending the suffering
of the Palestinians under occupation cannot be
achieved through plans that are never implemented. It
has also been cogently proven that the problem will not
be resolved by the resolutions that the United Nations
has been reiterating for more than five decades.
In the light of those irrefutable facts, the solution
that should be sought, and on which all efforts must
focus, lies in what my country has said before and
reaffirms now: the Palestinian people must return to
their homeland, from which they were expelled, and a
democratic, non-racist State must be established in
which all citizens are equal irrespective of religion or
ethnicity, a State similar to the one that has been
established in the Republic of South Africa. Any other
solution would be a fantasy that would serve only to
perpetuate the Palestinian tragedy.
Speaking of the situation in the eastern Arab
region, my country reaffirms its unlimited support for
sisterly Syria and Lebanon in their steadfastness in the
face of Israeli aggression. We condemn all attempts to
provoke those countries, and we uphold their right to
recover all their territories under occupation.
Turning to the current situation in Iraq, we
condemn the daily violations of Iraqi sovereignty and
the continuous aggression to which Iraq is subjected.
We call on all peace-loving countries to work towards
the lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi people
and towards putting an end to all schemes aimed at
destroying their capacities and at dividing their land.
Tireless efforts have been made in the field of
disarmament. My country is a party to most
international disarmament agreements and is in the
process of acceding to the remaining ones, including
the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,
Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons
and on Their Destruction and the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. But we firmly believe that
general and complete disarmament cannot come about
without a change in current norms and in the approach
to disarmament issues. What we see today is a growing
trend towards the control of small arms and light
weapons rather than of the weapons of mass
destruction that pose a greater threat to international
peace and security and to human life.
That is why we wonder about the sharp focus on
the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,
Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel
Mines and on Their Destruction, even though it
addresses only simple, limited weapons that small and
weak countries need to defend their borders against
powerful countries that possess aircraft carriers and
aeroplanes that can be refueled in the air. Why should
we not focus our efforts on the destruction of chemical
and biological weapons and of ballistic missiles? Why
are nuclear-weapon States not serious about practical
measures to destroy their nuclear stockpiles? Why are
certain countries falsely accused of acquiring weapons
of mass destruction while there is silence about the
Israelis, who, as everybody knows, possess hundreds of
nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass
destruction and conventional weapons? Moreover, Israel
continues to defy the will of the international
community, which has called on it to accede to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
and to place its nuclear facilities under the safeguards
of the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to
help ensure that the region is free of nuclear weapons.
We want the important question of disarmament
to be dealt with in a comprehensive and non-selective
manner. Efforts should be concentrated first and
foremost on the adoption of practical measures to
destroy nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction.
That should apply to all those that possess such
weapons without exception; they should cease insisting
on the development of new defensive systems that
could threaten the world's strategic stability and trigger
a new arms race. Unless the matter is addressed in that
way, disarmament efforts will be meaningless; they
will remain a great fraud perpetrated on all the peoples
of the world.
During the past nine sessions of the General
Assembly, we have reviewed developments in the
dispute between my country and a number of Western
countries over the United States aeroplane that crashed
over Lockerbie. During the past two sessions, we have
focused on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's cooperation
with the Scottish court that has been meeting in the
Netherlands since the two Libyan suspects decided
voluntarily to appear before it. On each occasion, we
have reiterated our request that the Security Council
lift the sanctions it imposed on the Libyan people,
13

because Libya has fully responded to the requirements
of Council resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992) and
1192 (1998). That was confirmed by the report of the
Secretary-General to the Security Council, submitted in
conformity with paragraph 16 of Security Council
resolution 883 (1993).
We are obliged once again to broach this
question, and for a valid reason: the developments of
earlier this year. As members know, on 3 May 2000 the
Scottish court began its trial of the two Libyans
suspected of being linked to the Pan Am aircraft
incident. During the trial it became very clear that the
judges were not convinced of the truth of testimony
from the three witnesses offered by the other party as
witnesses for the prosecution. The court concluded that
the principal witness in the case, Mr. Abdul Majid
Giaka, was lying, as were Tony Gauci and Edwin
Bollier. In paragraph 45 of its opinion, the court stated:
We have assessed carefully the evidence of
these three witnesses ... relating to the MST-13
timers .... All three, and notably Mr. Bollier, were
shown to be unreliable witnesses. [Their various
statements were] at times in conflict with each
other ... On some occasions, particularly in the
case of Mr. Bollier, their evidence was self-
contradictory.
It was thus fully expected that the Scottish court
would acquit both suspects for lack of evidence. But
the decision of 31 January 2001 ran counter to those
expectations. The court convicted one of the suspects,
Mr. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, and acquitted
the second, Mr. Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah. That
judgement came as a surprise to all political analysts
and jurists, for whom it raised many questions,
including why one of the suspects was convicted when
the two principal prosecution witnesses were proven to
have lied and when the court found the third unreliable.
How could the court's decision to convict one man and
acquit the other be explained, since they were both
suspected on the basis of the same assumptions?
The only answer to those questions is that, at the
last moment, the court departed from applying the law
and instead took a political decision. The first to
indicate this was Robert Black, an architect of the
Lockerbie court, who said that the elements of the case
against Al Megrahi were very weak. And Hans
Kˆchler, a university professor appointed by the
Secretary-General as an international observer of the
trial, issued a report dated 3 February 2001, which
included many comments, including the following.
[The Opinion] is totally incomprehensible for
any rational observer when one considers that the
indictment in its very essence was based on the
joint action of the two accused in Malta.
The Opinion of the Court is exclusively
based on circumstantial evidence and on a series
of highly problematic inferences. As to the
undersigned's knowledge, there is not one single
piece of material evidence linking the two
accused to the crime. In such a context, the guilty
verdict in regard to the first accused appears to be
arbitrary, even irrational.
...
This leads ... to the suspicion that political
considerations may have been overriding a
strictly judicial evaluation of the case.
In placing these facts before the United Nations
membership, we want to stress that the conviction
handed down by the court on 31 January 2001 was a
political decision that had nothing to do with the law.
The Libyan citizen Mr. Al Megrahi was kidnapped for
political reasons, as confirmed in resolutions and
statements adopted by a number of regional
organizations, including at the Lusaka summit of the
Organization of African Unity, the twenty-eighth
ministerial session of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference held at Bamako, and the meeting of
Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States held at
Cairo earlier this year.
Our gratitude goes to the members of those
organizations and to others that have shown solidarity
with us from the outset for standing on the side of
right. We call on all Members of the United Nations
that support right and justice to take the necessary
action to meet the demands of those organizations. The
first is the immediate release of Mr. Al Megrahi, who
was convicted for political reasons that have nothing to
do with the law. His continued detention amounts to
hostage-taking under all relevant laws and customs.
The second element of those demands is
categorical rejection of the stubborn blockage of the
lifting of the sanctions imposed on Libya, which
ignores the provisions of paragraph 16 of Security
Council 883 (1993) and the findings of the report of the
Secretary-General in that regard. The Security Council
14

should immediately, totally and permanently lift the
sanctions imposed on Libya, in view of the fact that
Libya has met all the requirements of the relevant
Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1192
(1998). The third element is support for the legitimate
right of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to receive fair
compensation for the material and human losses it has
incurred as a result of the sanctions.


I address this General Assembly grief-
stricken at the death of 260 people in the tragic
aviation accident yesterday in this city of New York.
Most of the individuals stricken were, like myself, of
Dominican nationality. Our profound appreciation goes
to the heads of State and Government, to Ministers and
to representatives who have expressed their
condolences to the people and Government of the
Dominican Republic at this tragedy. I am much obliged
to you, Sir.
On behalf of the Government of the Dominican
Republic I offer our congratulations to the President on
his election to the stewardship of this session of the
General Assembly, convinced as we are that he will
indeed succeed in guiding this session in the very best
interests, and for the good, of the international
community. Likewise, we offer our most heartfelt
congratulations to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi
Annan, on his having been awarded the Nobel Peace
Prize. That honour, together with that bestowed upon
the United Nations, proves and ratifies the confidence
and recognition felt for the work being done by the
international community represented in this
Organization on behalf of all mankind.
Despite the fact that in September this year — on
the heels of the events of 11 September in New York
and in Washington, D.C. — the United Nations devoted
11

a number of plenary meetings to the issue of terrorism,
it is still today impossible for us to separate this from
the other items that we must deal with on the agenda of
this session. The significance of these tragic
developments is of such magnitude that it is imperative
for us, as a matter of conscience, to stop and think in
greater depth about their complexity and their
repercussions on the history that it is our lot to have to
live through, and about the most relevant ways for us
to prevent and combat this scourge. That is so because
it is plain to see that in the time that has elapsed
between September and these days of November, we
have managed to go further and into greater depth,
gaining new insights about the terrorist phenomenon.
We absolutely agree with those who have already
spoken that terrorism cannot be justified in any way,
and that the excuses some would seek to advance to
validate these deeds based on the existence of certain
economic, social, cultural or political situations, are
unacceptable. However paradoxical it may seem to
some, the conviction has also been stressed that, while
terrorism is unjustifiable and inexcusable, it is in those
very situations where terrorism finds its breeding
grounds, where frustrations and lack of prospects can
fan hatred and irrationality, where being shut out and
having no hope, being shunted to the sidelines and
suffering from poverty can incubate and give birth and
impetus to twisted feelings of indiscriminate and
irrational vengeance.
Faced with the sad reality of the events of 11
September just past, we are absolutely convinced that
the direction set for us by the Millennium Summit was
the right one, that is, the path of peace and of
fellowship among people. At that historic gathering the
rationale was analysed and the framework set for
action by the international community to promote
human rights, security, disarmament, economic
development, equality of nations, and the fight against
hunger, poverty, disease, exclusion, social, racial and
gender prejudice, and the abandonment of children, the
disabled and the elderly. There can be no doubt that
these are the priority objectives for the prevention of
violence and crime, that is to say, for the struggle
against wars, against genocide and against terrorism.
The full weight, pain and inhumanity of the
provocations of 11 September must not divert us from
the goals that we set for ourselves in the Millennium
Summit Declaration, nor draw us into any
disproportionate violence. When last month we
addressed this Assembly we stated that the most prized
virtue, indeed the democratic essence of this
Organization, that is of the United Nations, is its
commitment and determination to uphold respect for
human rights. It follows that although we know that
terrorism is the antithesis of that virtue, we must not
therefore act to confront it while failing to live up to
the obligation to protect those very rights. While acting
in a legitimate reaction of self-defence, we should not
be overcome by a spirit of retaliation but should rather
seek to apply international law and justice. That is why
the Dominican Republic cannot ignore the political
measures that surely will also contribute to preventing
and combating terrorism. Thus, we must resolutely
support Security Council resolution 1373 (2001),
adopted on 28 September, and feel ourselves also
bound by earlier resolutions and covenants the United
Nations has worked out over time in its fight against
terrorism.
In 1945 the United Nations Charter highlighted as
its core concern the need to preserve peace. That was
only to be expected after a war that had brought death
to millions of human beings and had wreaked havoc in
the life of many nations. The time that has elapsed has
brought us to the conviction that there is no better way
to preserve peace than to do all that we possibly can to
prevent war. The United Nations is ever more
necessary to attain that end, because within it we find
the underpinnings for promoting a healthy and creative
understanding among nations. Our fidelity to the
foundations of the Organization must be backed up by
a shared political will leading to actions that prove
irrefutably that we believe in and live up to what we
say and promise.
The unanimous adoption of the Millennium
Declaration, inasmuch as it represented a profound
commitment by the vast majority of the world’s
leaders, amounted to a kind of rebirth and renewal of
the United Nations in coming to grips with the
problems and challenges confronting us in the twenty-
first century. In that Declaration it was decided to do
all that we could to establish a just and lasting peace in
accordance with the purposes and principles of the
United Nations Charter, and the determination was
reaffirmed to support all efforts aimed at ensuring the
sovereign equality of States, respect for their territorial
integrity and political independence and the right to
self-determination of peoples that remain under
colonial domination and foreign occupation.
12

That pledge makes it incumbent upon us to bring
our full moral force to bear and to avail ourselves of all
possibilities afforded us by the machinery of the
Organization to resolve the conflicts that keep a
number of States around the globe in a state of war. We
have no doubt whatever that the conflict between Israel
and the Palestinian state must come to an end via
compliance with the multiple resolutions towards that
end that have emanated from the General Assembly,
thus honouring what we agreed upon in that
Millennium Declaration.
Moreover, we set for ourselves the purpose of
spurring forward reform of the United Nations Charter
and respecting the equality of the rights of nations.
Ratifying the Millennium Declaration means that there
can be no delay in turning the Security Council into a
body that would respond to the historic realities of the
present world and in establishing a logical set of
democratic balances based on those realities. It seems
to us fair for the non-permanent members to participate
in the Security Council via a rotational system that
would give to all the same opportunity. By the same
token, the Dominican Republic believes that it is also a
matter of equity and historical realism for us to accept
the Republic of China on Taiwan as a Member of the
United Nations. Geopolitical reasons must not override
situations of fact that have been recognized in bringing
other States into the United Nations.
In the Millennium Declaration the problem of
globalization was addressed with the following words:
“We recognize that developing countries
and countries with economies in transition face
special difficulties in responding to this central
challenge. Thus, only through broad and
sustained efforts to create a shared future, based
upon our common humanity in all its diversity,
can globalization be made fully inclusive and
equitable.” (resolution 55/2, para. 5)
As we speak, a Ministerial Meeting of the countries
members of the World Trade Organization (WTO) is
being held in Doha, Qatar. Most countries with small
economies are rightfully calling for the fulfilment of all
the agreements of the Uruguay Round. We hope that
they will not be saddled with unbearable new burdens,
that their calls will be heard and that generous
solidarity and cooperation will be shown, as well as
understanding of the imbalances, differences and
asymmetries in the pace of development when
comparing rich countries to poor, small ones.
Among the objectives of the World Trade
Organization are respect for human rights,
strengthening democracy and preserving the
environment. All that will not be possible if the process
of globalization is not carried out with a sincere and
resolute determination to show understanding and to
provide cooperation and technical assistance to help
the majority of the nations on this planet to achieve
development. How are we to understand the deadlines
set by the World Trade Organization for attaining
certain economic objectives, in some cases as soon as
2003 and in others 2005, when the Millennium
Declaration, aware of the inequalities and difficulties
facing most nations, seeks to redress no sooner than
2015 — and only to a certain degree — the poverty of
millions upon millions of human beings whose income
is less than $1 a day? We hope that at the conferences
scheduled by the United Nations, such as the
International Conference on Financing for
Development and the World Summit on Sustainable
Development, light can be shed on these problems in
an effective way, yielding equitable measures designed
to reduce the inequalities separating peoples one from
the other.
Allow me finally to refer to an aspect most
intimately tied to respect for and recognition of human
rights, something that also coincides with the
Millennium Declaration inasmuch as it refers to the
demands of women and gender equality. Indeed, the
International Research and Training Institute for the
Advancement of Women (INSTRAW), based in the
Dominican Republic, is one of the few United Nations
institutions located in a developing country, and the
only international institute devoted to research on and
training for the advancement of women. The Secretary-
General, in his report to the General Assembly
presented in the Third Committee on 17 October 2001,
said that, notwithstanding the difficulties and
uncertainties that INSTRAW has encountered in the
last two years it has managed to obtain the minimum
resources for fulfilling the mandate assigned to it by
the Assembly and the Economic and Social Council.
He went on to say that inasmuch as the Institute
has begun to produce tangible results via the
information system and contact networks in creating an
awareness of gender issues, perhaps the Assembly
would wish to adopt a decision on how Institute would
13

be able to operate productively and cost-effectively
beyond the year 2001.
Let us not let INSTRAW — that noble institution,
a pioneer in the advancement of women, particularly of
women in developing countries — perish for lack of
resources. Let us make a consistent and generous
gesture, demonstrating solidarity, so that the General
Assembly will ensure the continued existence of this
institution beyond this year of 2001, by allocating in
the United Nations budget the funds necessary for it to
continue to work towards its fruitful humanitarian
ends.


Let me begin by
conveying my deepest sympathy and condolences to
the families and relatives of the victims of American
Airlines flight 587, which crashed in this great city two
days ago, exactly two months and one day after the 11
September terrorist attack. The people of New York are
once again being put to the test, and once again they
will come out of this tragedy more resolved and
determined, under the leadership of Mayor Giuliani and
Governor Pataki. While we pray for the victims and
their families, let us also pray that the crash, as tragic
as it was, will prove to be an accident and not an act of
terrorism.
In the wake of an unfathomable, barbarous act of
terror against a civilian population made up of citizens
from nations around the globe, we gather together in
unprecedented unity. We are united in our sorrow over
the losses arising from 11 September — the loss of
lives, the loss of friends and loved ones, the loss of
livelihoods and the loss of innocence, for want of a
better word. We are united in our condemnation of the
horrific acts perpetrated by an isolated group of
extremists who have no respect for human life. We are
united in our resolve that those responsible for the
atrocities of 11 September, and those who support
them, are a cancer in the body of nations — a systemic
blight which extends beyond the individual
perpetrators and which must be utterly eradicated, lest
it return and spread.
At the same time, we are united in our conviction
that their evil cannot be allowed to force us to abandon
respect for human rights and adherence to the rule of
law, which are fundamental principles of this
Organization. We are united in our recognition that, for
all their claims to holiness, those responsible for these
criminal acts of terror bear no legitimate claim to any
civilized religion and certainly do not represent the
noble and honourable beliefs of Islam. We are united in
our understanding that the peoples of Afghanistan are
also victims of the corruption and ill-fated control of
their Government by these criminals and their
supporters, as well as in our desire to assist in
improving the quality of life of the people of
Afghanistan. In all these things and more, we are
united to a degree that would have been unthinkable
before 11 September.
2

This new spirit of cooperation reflects the most
positive feature of globalization — the feature which
pro-globalization factions do not often put forward and
anti-globalization forces never consider. It is the only
feature of globalization that Pacific island countries
such as Palau can see as being truly and inherently
positive — a feature that the Pacific island countries
have recognized among themselves for decades. That
feature is the acknowledgement that, ultimately, there
is only one system in which we exist, and the related
understanding that any act or condition within that
system affects each of us, although in varying ways and
degrees. In such a system, problems are best addressed
through coalition-building and a consensus-driven
approach, a process of give and take, involving the
widest possible range of participants. We see proof of
this as the world continues to cooperate in responding
to the 11 September attacks against humanity.
As I have said, in this new spirit of cooperation,
the process of decision-making and the implementation
of those decisions must be as open and participatory as
possible. This is especially true in the light of the need
to weave together military, financial, law enforcement,
trade, intelligence-gathering and foreign aid issues. In
these troubled times, it simply makes no sense to
isolate a proven ally in the fight against terrorism. Yet
that is what is happening. The Republic of China on
Taiwan, which could and should be a very valuable
asset in these and other cooperative actions, is
significantly restricted in the role it can play because it
has been barred from membership in this body. In fact,
it is the only nation in the world which has no voice in
this Organization.
Not only is the exclusion of Taiwan contrary to
the fundamental, inclusive principles of the United
Nations, but on a more pragmatic level it compromises
security in Asia and the Pacific. Lacking a neutral
forum for the non-violent, diplomatic resolution of any
disputes it might have with the People’s Republic of
China, the Republic of China on Taiwan is at a great
disadvantage in maintaining stable and peaceful
relations in the region. It is simply counterproductive,
from either a practical or a political viewpoint, to
exclude from this body a peaceful, democratically
governed, economically vibrant nation which embraces
human rights and plays a major role in other
international organizations.
Similarly, it makes no sense, in this new global
system, to ignore an entire bloc of nations because of
perceptions left over from an earlier, colonial-era
world. Yet the Pacific island countries are still being
marginalized in the various United Nations bodies and
processes. It is time to recognize that the Pacific island
countries are unique entities, island countries with
distinct traditions, cultures, needs, interests and
concerns and are not merely the leftovers of
colonialism. It is time to recognize that they are among
the youngest nations of the world, with special
requirements for assistance in assuming their proper
place in the global arena. Those needs, interests and
concerns are often overlooked against the larger
backdrop of the Asia-Pacific Group in the United
Nations. It is time to change that; to deal more fully
with the Pacific island countries as such, rather than as
an afterthought tagged onto Asia.
Resolutions have been put forward which could
correct the erroneous exclusion of the Republic of
China on Taiwan, pave the way to providing a properly
expanded role for the Pacific island countries as such,
and produce greater cooperation and broader support in
all the key works of the United Nations. Now is the
time for the membership to adopt those resolutions in
recognition of the need for full participation of all
peoples in the global events unfolding now and sure to
develop in the foreseeable future.
Moreover, it is equally important in this new
globalization and world order that the most important
organ of the United Nations, the Security Council, be
reorganized and restructured to reflect true
representation of this Organization. While we
commend and applaud the five permanent members of
the Security Council for their efforts and contributions
to world peace and security, the time has come for this
body to consider the inclusion of several Member
States as permanent members of the Security Council.
Japan, among few others, has certainly reached the
level and capacity to be one of the permanent members
of the Security Council. In this respect, we applaud the
recent decision of the Japanese Government to send
support forces to the United States-led coalition war
against international terrorism.
Finally, if it can be said that any good came from
the abominations of 11 September, it would be this:
countries of the world that gave little thought to
engagement and cooperation in a larger, global system
are now fully engaged and working side by side with
countries to which they were formerly antagonistic or
to which they gave only passing thought, at best. This
3

new perspective can and should be applied to respond
to another global attack, one that is even more basic
than terrorism and will remain a threat to humanity
after the criminals of 11 September are brought to
justice.
This threat arises from the attack on our own
ecosystem through desertification, through the
reduction in global biodiversity and through global
warming and sea-level rise, all resulting from human
activities. These attacks, infinitely less dramatic than
those of 11 September, are nonetheless equally
systemic in nature and equally threatening to us all. It
is time to apply the same new understanding of global
dynamics, so forcefully driven home on 11 September,
to our environment.
We applaud and are very much encouraged by the
developments of the recently concluded seventh
session of the Conference of the Parties to the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in
Morocco. To that end, I want to repeat my oft-stated
call for all nations to finalize negotiations on, sign,
ratify and implement the Kyoto Protocol as soon as
possible. Just as we must now directly confront the
effects of transnational acts of terror, we must now
directly confront the environmental consequences of
our own actions. Delay on either matter is unacceptable
and will only further compromise our well-being.
For perhaps the first time in its glorious history,
the phrase “United Nations” literally describes this
Organization. While we remain shocked, saddened and
deeply offended by the events giving rise to the new
unity, we must acknowledge and nurture whatever
good those events can be turned to. We now have the
ability to see the clear advantages of close cooperation
on matters which affect us all. Let us use the
knowledge, that wisdom gained from pain, and forge
even stronger, institutional reliance on cooperation,
consensus and coalition-building across the widest
possible constituency as we go forward in this new
global system.


My delegation cannot
find the words to convey its sadness about the plane
crash that occurred in a residential area in New York
this morning. At moments like these, silence speaks for
itself. The Government and the people of Suriname
offer their heartfelt condolences to the families of all
the victims. We pray that our love and friendship may
bring comfort and peace to all who have been affected
by this tragedy and by the horrific attacks on 11
September.
During the United Nations Year of Dialogue
among Civilizations, the need for dialogue is proving
to be essential throughout world. In Suriname, we have
always tried to apply the concept of dialogue.
Suriname is a small country with a multi-ethnic
population. Our ancestors came to Suriname
generations ago from West Africa, China, India,
Indonesia, Europe and the Middle East. We have been
fortunate that, owing to mutual respect and
understanding, in Suriname these groups have lived
together and are living together peacefully. More than
ever, we realize that this harmony should be treasured
and nurtured, since we can no longer take peace and
harmony for granted.
Our Government plays a very important role in
this peaceful coexistence, because we have strongly
promoted and actively worked for mutual respect and
consensus. We believe that for people to be actively
involved in the development of the country, they must
be able to see themselves represented in national and
local government. We strongly promote such consensus
democracy in Suriname, for this power-sharing
arrangement has stimulated all ethnic groups to be
tolerant and respectful of each other's political
ideologies, cultures and religions. Our Government and
our people firmly uphold the principle of freedom of
religion, as well as of tolerance and respect for each
other's forms of cultural expression.
In the same vein, the indigenous people of
Suriname live in the interior with their own cultural
and religious beliefs. The needs and rights of
indigenous people are dealt with at the highest level in
our Government. Their views and concerns are shared
with the central Government through continuous
dialogue. My Government therefore looks forward to
the first conference of the Permanent Forum on
Indigenous Issues, scheduled to take place in May
2002.
We know, and have experience of the fact, that
people's primordial attachments become stronger at
times of need and despair. The grief of families from
the United States of America and other parts of the
world has been deeply felt, and all over the globe many
families and groups have turned to each other for
comfort. Our hearts go out to all of the victims of the
11 September attacks and their families.
We cannot yet assess all the social and economic
effects of those attacks. However, we have already seen
the devastating effects on the Caribbean in terms of
loss of income in, for example, tourism and trade.
Natural disasters have also affected our area, and my
delegation sympathizes with the people of the
Caribbean, especially those of Belize and Cuba, whose
countries were recently struck by hurricanes Iris and
Michelle.
As a member of the Caribbean Community, we
know that we have grave problems in the region.
Limited access to global markets because of stringent
trade rules and World Trade Organization (WTO)
regulations have resulted in increased poverty in our
region. Suriname pleads for an institutional
arrangement between the United Nations and the WTO
so as to allow developing countries easier access to that
body.
We have further expanded and deepened our
regional ties. In this respect, we would like to express
our gratitude to the countries of the western
hemisphere which have offered us assistance and
shown their support for including us in the various
integration movements.
We in the Caribbean enjoy a high level of
democracy and are guided by the rule of law. Our
Governments have been actively involved in creating
5

an environment to attract foreign investors and to
increase the production of goods and services. We still
need assistance. The promises made by the developed
countries in the Millennium Declaration of 2000 have
not yielded an increase in official development
assistance. We, the countries in development, need
equal opportunities.
If we, as the international community, agree that
human-centred development is at the top of our agenda,
we need to understand that we have to achieve it
together. If our goal is to eradicate abject poverty, we
must make an effort to achieve that goal. Cutting in
half by 2015 the number of people living on less than
$l a day is one of the main goals we want to achieve
for the benefit of the truly disadvantaged.
The International Conference on Financing for
Development, to be held in March 2002 in Mexico,
will give both developed and developing countries an
opportunity to reach concrete agreements and make
arrangements for resources for development. If we do
not take the opportunity offered by that Conference to
work towards sustainable development for all people in
the world, we will miss a great chance to achieve a
more equitable distribution of global wealth.
If we do not take that opportunity, we will also
miss the chance to intensify our struggle to combat
deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, which
affect millions in the world. We in the Caribbean have
committed ourselves to continue the struggle against
HIV/AIDS in our region. We must not lose sight of the
fact that people are still dying every day of this
disease. It is up to us, the international community, to
find solutions and improve the lives of those billions of
people who are faced with global problems such as
extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and
illiteracy, as well as problems resulting from the debt
burden, the refugee issue, environmental degradation
and the widening gap between rich and poor.
Suriname has made great efforts in gender
equality, and, with the assistance of the United Nations
Development Programme, we have begun training
programmes in gender sensitivity. We have women in
high-level positions, and it gives me great pleasure to
tell the Assembly that our current delegation consists
mainly of women. We are pleased with this
development in my country, but we still have a long
way to go.
Our commitment to the role of women has
prompted my country to work on a draft resolution in
the Third Committee of the General Assembly on
mainstreaming the situation of older women into
society, to ensure that that part of the population will
not be marginalized further in our societies.
Ageing has become a subject of increasing
concern to the international community, for it raises
significant social and cultural questions, as well as
questions of economic stability. My Government will
join the international community and the United
Nations to address and support the United Nations
initiative to achieve a society for all ages. We should
come up with appropriate strategies to collectively deal
with these issues during the Second World Assembly
on Ageing.
Human development constitutes one of the key
pillars of the development policy of my Government.
People, especially our children, are our country's
greatest treasure. This is why looking after their well-
being is placed high on our national agenda. Suriname
is looking forward to the Special Session on Children
that has been postponed to 2002.
Suriname hopes that the World Summit on
Sustainable Development of 2002, in Johannesburg,
and the assessment of the Earth Summit of June 1992,
will lead to recommendations and commitments for the
implementation of real sustainable human development
in a globally sustainable environment. Protecting the
environment is the responsibility of all countries.
Suriname took a first step in conserving biodiversity
for contemporary and future generations by
establishing the largest protected nature reserve in
South America three years ago. With this first step, we
hope to encourage other countries in the world to
protect the environment, and to work together on the
many emerging global environmental threats.
Suriname is extremely concerned about the trans-
shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea,
but we are pleased to see that so many countries have
ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
The ever-widening global digital divide that
prevents developing countries from benefiting fully
from the advancements in information technology is a
concern that we have discussed in various international
forums, but it still needs much more of our attention.
6

The effects of globalization have not been
favourable to most developing countries. However, we
have come to understand and experience that our world
is an interdependent one, and we cannot turn back this
clock. The attacks of the 11 September have shown us
how interdependent we are. The loss of lives was
directly felt in the United States and in more than 80
countries in the rest of the world. The economic effects
are also being felt in all parts of the world.
In conclusion, the Secretary-General and the
United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize this
year at a time when the world was still trying to
comprehend the horrific attacks of 11 September on the
United States. Suriname hopes that this distinguished
award will encourage the United Nations to continue
its important work for human rights, peace, social
justice, human development, human-rights education
and economic prosperity for all the peoples of the
world. We congratulate the Secretary-General on this
prestigious award and his re-election. And we
congratulate Mr. Han on his election as President and
look forward to his guidance and leadership during the
fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly.
As members of the United Nations family, we are
called upon to practice tolerance and to live together in
peace with one another as good neighbours. Because of
the devastating consequences of 11 September, we
have the obligation to look closely at the root causes of
terrorism. The causes of terrorism have to be discussed
and dealt with to protect all our peoples and interests.
For the world is our home, and we are the people who
live in it.


I
want first of all to stress that, under the current
circumstances, our presence — everybody’s
presence — at this general debate unquestionably takes
on special significance.
Every year, the United Nations prepares and
submits to Member States for their consideration a
comprehensive agenda containing many items of varied
scope and nature. This session is no exception: the
United Nations will not stop.
Yet, many things now appear completely
different. The city of New York, the United States and
every country, and the people of the United States and
every people — all of humankind — have been cruelly
attacked by terrorism, and its threat hangs over every
one of us and over natural and peaceful relations
among the peoples of the world. In short, this is a
global phenomenon that demands of us a global answer
and that has marked the start of the new millennium.
The nations of my continent believe that to be so. The
statements made by the Presidents of Brazil and of
Mexico, which I endorse, made that perfectly clear.
The Millennium Summit, which brought us
together here last year, provided an opportunity for us
to identify the issues that affect us all and that we must
face as part of a challenge that no one can avoid. It
19

defined an agenda of peace and hope for a world
affected by common problems, although, it must be
said, in different ways.
Today, we face a new scenario. Perhaps as never
before, all of us, and hence the United Nations, have a
common goal: to respond to terrorism, irrespective of
boundaries, ideologies, religions, races and cultures.
That commitment, undertaken with responsibility,
involves taking every possible action without ever
forgetting the higher goal: peace, whose supreme
guarantee must continue to be international law and the
conventions and treaties to which we are parties.
But there is no doubt that such a commitment is
not enough. We must fight every form of terrorism at
every level, domestic and international, and on every
front — legal, military, security and intelligence,
administrative and management. This demands of us
strong conviction, confidence in our shared values,
faith in humankind and the affirmation of life as the
highest value.
Terrorism is blind and wicked by definition.
Blind because it does not conceive or communicate
goals shared by the rest and so plunges into
irrationality. Wicked because it indiscriminately
destroys people and property and sows fear, anxiety
and sometimes panic.
Nevertheless, to fight it it will also be necessary
to move against other enemies of peace, such as
poverty and underdevelopment, to give every person
good reason to live and to make all of us guardians of
humankind, which is a common good from which no
one must feel excluded, and for which we must fight
unwaveringly.
There is no cause or banner that could justify this
violence. That is precisely why we must prevent
marginalization, helplessness and desperation from
taking root in people’s souls so that they look
approvingly and complacently on the criminal actions
of which we are victims.
Our task, then, is to galvanize everyone’s spirit in
the struggle against terrorism, because terrorism not
only fails to help solve the problems afflicting society
as a whole but also fills it with fear and plunges it into
paralysis and confusion.
We move with ever greater determination towards
a world and, consequently, towards a society that is
evidently more and more globalized. The events of 11
September demonstrate that very clearly. Every people
and every Government has been affected by those
events.
We are all involved in what happens, in a more
profound way than ever, because what happened not
only affects the security of the people; it raises
questions that are much simpler, but the answers to
which are complex: what are all of our lives going to
be like from now on? What is the life of my family
going to be like? Of my children? Of my parents? And
of the others, my neighbours, my friends? How will the
simple acts of my life change? Will I be able to travel,
receive letters, use transportation and cross bridges —
without second thoughts, as was natural to us before?
This world and, in particular, the United Nations
face a challenge for which they are not duly prepared.
We have created the technological and communication
means to unify the planet and globalize it. But we
neither know how nor have the proper instruments to
properly manage this process.
We are living through an amazing revolution, and
it must be guided — driving it forward if it stalls,
limiting it if it goes too far — in order to achieve the
goals enabling the structuring of a new, balanced
international system that takes into account the changes
that have occurred for humankind over the last 50
years.
The United Nations was born as a response to a
world that today no longer exists. The instruments and
institutions it created in the past were a response to
past realities — replaced today by new realities — in
the political, demographic, cultural, religious and
ecological spheres.
All the many countries that make up this global
society and that, together, navigate through space, have
the obligation of confronting this new reality, drawing
on our diversity.
Uruguay, a small country, but one with a long
international tradition — it was a participant in the
1907 Hague Conference to implement arbitration as the
method for resolving conflicts, a member of the League
of Nations and a founding Member of the United
Nations in San Francisco — feels that this is our
current situation, and we are ready to shoulder our due
share of responsibility.
In the past, we created international financial and
monetary institutions, and others for international
20

trade, such as the World Trade Organization, which is
meeting today in Doha. All these institutions govern
our activities and determine what we must do. But they
never act in concert. While the world is global, their
decisions are sectoral or singular.
While loans are granted to us or fiscal or
monetary adjustments are required of us, the doors to
markets do not at the same time open to our products
and our labour. This way, instead of participating in the
process of globalization, we are closed in nearly sealed
compartments. Those who have attained a certain level
of growth grow even more, while the rest, save a few
exceptions, suffer losses and fall further away from the
levels that would make it possible to enjoy the
necessary prosperity.
Today the planet has 6 billion inhabitants. Only
1.1 billion of them live in developed areas. In 2050, not
long from now — my grandchildren will not yet have
reached my age — the planet will have 9.3 billion
inhabitants, but still only 1.1 billion will live in
developed areas.
Poverty not only destroys democracy. What is
worse, it destroys societies and paves the way for
violence and, as we have often seen, even in our midst,
all forms of terrorism.
Finally, we consider it appropriate to repeat that
we are far from holding the answer necessary for the
world we have created.
We might not have spoken aloud these thoughts
that assuredly many of us have always had, had it not
been for the thousands of innocent women and men
that died on that ill-fated 11 September. We owe to
them — whom Americans will always remember with
love and grief, feelings we also share — our most
important responsibility: to see to it that they did not
die in vain.
Their tragic fate has shown us our duty. Now it is
time to do it.


The
Republic of Panama welcomes with particular pleasure
the election of Mr. Han Seung-soo as President of the
fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, and wishes
to assure him of our fullest cooperation in the sensitive
work with which he is entrusted. It is also a pleasure
for us to express the deep satisfaction of the
Government of Panama at the well-deserved honour of
the award of the Nobel Peace Prize jointly to the
Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Kofi
Annan, and to the Organization itself.
As we participate today in this forum, we are still
reeling from the impact of the terrifying terrorist acts
carried out on 11 September in New York, Washington,
D.C., and Pennsylvania. These crimes against humanity
will never be forgotten, and, as a tribute to the
thousands of innocent victims of these senseless
attacks, the United Nations must take whatever
measures are necessary to legitimize any multilateral
action that will have to be taken in future to neutralize
the threat of international terrorism.
The Republic of Panama, as a State Member of
the United Nations, fully respects the mandates issued
by the Organization, and, therefore, we are pleased to
state here unambiguously that every resource available
to us has been directed to fulfil our responsibilities in
the war against terrorism.
Similarly, we support the Security Council
Committee set up under resolution 1373 (2001),
chaired by the Ambassador of the United Kingdom of
Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Sir Jeremy
Greenstock. We propose to remain in communication
with him on an ongoing basis.
The Government of Panama, under the leadership
of President Mireya Moscoso, is prepared vigorously to
implement the provisions contained in all United
Nations instruments on international terrorism. To that
end, we will soon submit to our Legislative Assembly
the four United Nations instruments that have not yet
been ratified by our country, together with the
International Convention for the Suppression of the
Financing of Terrorism of December 1999, which we
have just signed here. Likewise, we will ratify, as soon
as possible, the Rome Statute creating the International
Criminal Court.
In parallel with the joint actions taken against
terrorism in conformity with the many relevant United
Nations Conventions and resolutions of the General
Assembly and the Security Council, and in order to
address terrorist activities, we respectfully appeal to all
to set aside any differences that may have arisen in July
in respect of the problem of massive illegal trade in
small arms and light weapons. It is well known that the
ultimate beneficiaries of this deadly traffic are not only
rebel movements — sometimes sponsored by other
nations — but also notorious terrorist groups. That is
why Panama reiterates the position it maintained
during the Conference: that no State has the right to
promote this deadly traffic by claiming its own national
interests are at stake. This issue must be re-examined in
the light of recent events.
The Republic of Panama is particularly concerned
at the social, political and economic implications of the
illicit trade in small arms and light weapons and wishes
to declare its commitment to promoting an American
convention on this question, with a view to creating a
legal framework that will enable the countries of the
hemisphere to completely suppress this traffic and thus
strengthen regional security.
We are caught up in a vortex of bloodshed that
brings us ever closer to generalized conflagrations. The
States represented here, when we became Members of
this Organization, undertook formally to promote peace
and human rights; to meet the food, health care and
educational needs of our peoples; to preserve the
environment; and to bring about overall social,
economic and political development.
However, for this commitment to have a real
effect, we must secure the support of those States that,
due to pure fanaticism, particularly in the Middle East,
have not been able to come to terms with the purposes
and principles of the United Nations. My country
believes that the intolerance and intransigence
demonstrated in that part of the world are the result of
ancient ways of thinking and injustices that can be
easily discerned and which constitute flagrant
violations of the United Nations Charter. The Republic
4

of Panama has repeatedly urged the parties in conflict
to renounce the use of force, re-establish cooperation
on security and adopt measures to restore mutual trust,
which enable a return to the peace process based on the
norms of international law.
In recent days, the international community has
witnessed with deep sadness the intensification of
violence in that region. Because of the brutality
occurring in the Middle East, Panama considers that it
is the responsibility of the United Nations to
vigorously strengthen its mediating role in order to put
an end to the unfortunate bloodshed that has grieved
the international community for decades.
In particular, Panama calls on the Security
Council to assume a more active role in the efforts to
apply the recommendations of the Mitchell report,
which proposes using constructive dialogue and mutual
concessions to move beyond the violence. An
indispensable step is recognizing the right of the
Palestinian people to create a sovereign State and the
right of the State of Israel to live in peace and security.
We must make our best effort, employ our most
outstanding human resources and put ourselves to the
task of reconciling all humankind. The Republic of
Panama will persist in this task and will always
advocate peaceful solutions to conflicts through
dialogue and the rejection of violence as the means to
resolve internal or international disputes.
Other examples of situations that cause
unnecessary friction and that could be resolved through
dialogue are the issues of the Saharan people’s right to
self-determination, the Argentine Republic’s claim to
the Falkland Islands, and the representation of the
Republic of China on Taiwan in the United Nations
system while the internal situation of that fraternal
people is being resolved.
Panama defends human rights without reservation
and will never accept acts which violate them,
wherever the violations occur and whatever the
circumstances used to try to justify those violations.
Let us add to this very clear position of ours our
sincere commitment to the universal campaign for the
rights of the child and to the fight against HIV/AIDS,
as these are an essential part of human rights. On this
latter issue, Panama considers that the key to any future
success lies in everyone’s acceptance of their economic
and social responsibilities with respect to this terrible
disease and in developing good community planning at
the local and provincial levels to prevent the spread of
HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Human rights are clearly defined in the political
and civil spheres as much as in the economic, social
and cultural spheres. Since the proclamation of the
Universal Declaration of Human Rights on 10
December 1948, much progress has been made.
However, the principles proclaimed on that occasion
are being challenged by the inequalities of
globalization and financing for development, by
unpayable foreign debts and by the indiscriminate
destruction of the environment. All these factors of
extreme poverty require acts of profound solidarity on
behalf of the richer nations. We firmly believe that the
eradication of poverty and inequality will prevent the
erosion of human rights and halt the social upheavals
that generate violence and cause the loss of the
political, social and economic rights of the citizens of
the world.
The United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992,
was a tremendous effort towards sustainable world
development. The most important outcome of the
Conference was the adoption of Agenda 21, which
covers in depth the topics of poverty, hunger, disease,
illiteracy and the progressive deterioration of
ecosystems. Agenda 21 also encourages us to focus our
attention on the financial resources required to promote
sustainable development at the national level, with the
goal of creating a corresponding measurement system
for it that can be easily interpreted. This is an ongoing
and important task that we cannot neglect.
The United Nations Conference on Financing for
Development will be held in Monterrey, Mexico, in
March 2002. We believe that the Conference offers a
magnificent opportunity to reduce the abyss between
the rich countries of the North and the poor countries
of the South in both the practical and conceptual
aspects of this issue.
In the course of last month’s meetings of the
Conference’s Preparatory Committee, opinions with
substantial differences were expressed, and these must
be reconciled. As a result of these disagreements, there
have been pessimistic predictions that it will be
impossible to formulate a plan of action at Monterrey. I
believe, on the contrary, that since we already know the
objections that will be made by those who assume the
5

risks of financing, we cannot delay revising our
arguments, in order — creatively and responsibly — to
define parameters for financing for development that
are more in tune with the realities of today’s world.
The current realities are pressing and encompass,
among other things, the need to provide financing at
discounted rates to developing countries; to vigorously
attack the problem of foreign debt; to design measures
to raise the depressed prices of our raw materials and
other export products; and to agree collectively on
mechanisms to prevent financial crises.
Following this line of thought, and because we
consider it of interest to the General Assembly, we will
mention that in June of this year the Central American
countries and the United States signed a joint
declaration under the Alliance for the Sustainable
Development of Central America (ALIDES). This
alliance is a regional strategy to make the Central
American isthmus a region of peace, freedom,
democracy and development. Its general objectives
include the sustainable management of biodiversity, the
strengthening and modernization of institutional
structures, the promotion of trade and the mitigation of
natural disasters.
Specifically, ALIDES works for regional
economic integration and the region’s integration in the
international economy; the harmonization of
macroeconomic policies and the modernization of
infrastructure in the areas of energy, transportation and
telecommunications; the creation of protected
biological corridors, river basins and other areas; the
strengthening of democracy and the rule of law in the
region; the improvement of the levels of education,
health and security of the population of Central
America; and the restoration and preservation of
national values.
Central America’s desire for development has
been strengthened by the launching of the Puebla-
Panama Plan. We created for the region a mechanism
for ongoing and permanent consultation to perfect an
integral strategy for long-term development.
While we are making great efforts to mitigate the
social problems that afflict us in some regions, in the
United Nations we continue to debate structural
problems that limit to some extent the ability of many
of our countries to have an effect on the administration
of the Organization. Among the different debates
relating to United Nations reform, we would like to
refer to the one held on 30 October on agenda item 49,
entitled “Question of equitable representation on and
increase in the membership of the Security Council and
related matters”. Last year the delegation of Panama,
both at the Millennium Summit and the General
Assembly, supported the aspiration of many years to
bring about the reform of the Security Council.
We have said — and we wish to repeat today —
that we agree it must have a more equitable and more
representative composition, but in order to achieve this
fundamental objective it is indispensable that the
permanent members accept that the power structure of
1945 has ceased to exist. Now, looking at the new and
vital interdependence of all nations around the world,
we see a genuine opportunity opening before us to get
rid of the obsessions that no longer suit the structure of
our Organization.
In conclusion, we would like to restate our
conviction that, as we have seen after the horrendous
terrorist acts of 11 September, the legitimacy and
effectiveness of future Security Council actions will
depend on all Member States feeling the absence of
unilateral measures and of the usual marginalization in
decision-making on matters affecting all of us. It is in
this direction that we should guide our work.