I would like to extend
my warmest congratulations to Mr. Holkeri on his well-
deserved election as President of the General Assembly
at its fifty-fifth session. I am certain that his
considerable experience and diplomatic skills will
guide the work of this session to a successful
conclusion.
I would also like to take this opportunity to
express my appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Theo-
Ben Gurirab, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of
Namibia, for the exceptional manner in which he
presided over the fifty-fourth session of the General
Assembly.
Earlier this month, in this very Hall, an
unprecedented gathering of heads of State took
place — an event that, through the final Declaration,
has given new impetus to enhanced international
cooperation to tackle an array of international
problems. The Millennium Assembly has expressed the
strong will of the peoples of this planet for common
action so that humanity can proceed with the
construction of a better world.
Cyprus reaffirms its commitment to the United
Nations, which we have always considered and
continue to consider to be the foundation on which the
international community can pursue the lofty goals of
peace, security, justice, respect for human rights, and
social and economic development on a global level. We
thus fully support the continuing efforts towards the
reform of the Organization, including its principal
organs, so that it will be able to successfully face the
many international challenges. For, just as all living
organisms are constantly evolving in order to adapt and
survive in an ever-changing environment, so does the
United Nations need always to have the necessary
structures and means that will make it as effective as
possible.
Cyprus welcomes the efforts of the United
Nations in the area of disarmament and we are
particularly pleased at the successful conclusion earlier
this year of the review process of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We would like
to congratulate the Russian Federation for its recent
ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty and the START II Treaty. We consider the
expansion of the regime of nuclear-free zones,
including one in our region of the Mediterranean, to be
an important component in our goal towards a nuclear-
free world.
The illicit trafficking of small arms is an issue of
grave concern. We are fully supportive of international
efforts in this direction and consider more effective
action to eliminate this phenomenon to be an
imperative need of our increasingly interdependent
world.
In countless reports of the United Nations and its
specialized agencies, the concern is evident regarding
the continuing degradation of the environment and the
imperative need for global policies in the pursuit of
sustainable development. The effects of overpopulation
and unregulated development will undoubtedly create
new pressures on the environment in this new century.
Small island States facing their vulnerability to global
warming, rising water level and the increasing scarcity
of water resources are particularly concerned in this
area. We are particularly pleased with the organization
in Cyprus next January of the workshop on energy for
sustainable development, a capacity-development
initiative of the Alliance of Small Island States. We
expect this workshop to make a substantive input to the
ninth session of the Commission on Sustainable
Development.
The effects of globalization were extensively
discussed by world leaders at the Millennium Summit.
I will therefore limit myself in this statement to only
one aspect of the whole question of the impact of
globalization, which we consider a major problem that
we all have an obligation to address. The eradication of
poverty is undeniably one of the major challenges that
the international community faces. It is imperative that
new and imaginative policies to attack the problem be
developed, with the Member States of the United
Nations and the major international financial
24

institutions working in close cooperation on this issue.
Debt relief should be a central part of these efforts.
The progress achieved since the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights, which was adopted more
than half a century ago, has been considerable. The
international regime of human rights instruments has
been continually expanding and constitutes the
criterion against which the international community
and national Governments are judged as to their
dedication and actions in the protection of human
rights. The United Nations has been at the forefront of
these new winds of hope for humankind. The subject of
human rights today encompasses a variety of topics.
We are very pleased at the successful conclusion of the
special session of the General Assembly on women and
the follow-up conference on social development, which
were held earlier this year in New York and Geneva
respectively. We look forward to continuing on this
path at the upcoming world conference on racism,
xenophobia and related intolerance and at the special
session of the General Assembly on children.
One of the areas of particular concern to Cyprus
is the increasing number of refugees and internally
displaced persons throughout the world. Cyprus has
itself experienced the tragic consequences of mass
displacement and ethnic cleansing. The vast majority
of displaced people — more than 22 million people,
according to the Office of the United Nations High
Commissioner for Refugees — are women and
children, who are particularly vulnerable to gross
violations of their human rights. We strongly believe
that the international community has an obligation to
more forcefully secure the right of return of these
refugees to their places of residence.
Cyprus welcomes the withdrawal of Israeli forces
from Lebanon in accordance with resolution 425
(1978)of the Security Council. We would like to
consider this as a harbinger of the achievement of a
comprehensive solution to the Middle East question.
Despite the temporary setback in the Israeli-Palestinian
final-status negotiations, we believe that the process
can and should move forward, so that peace, stability
and prosperity will finally be established in this long-
tormented region. Cyprus supports the implementation
of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council in
this respect.
Cyprus fully supports Security Council resolution
1244 (1999) and calls for the full respect of the human
rights of all the inhabitants of Kosovo, irrespective of
their origin, as well as for the full respect for the
sovereignty, the territorial integrity and the democratic
process of all States in the region. We also commend
the European Union for its considerable initiatives and
support for the economic and political stabilization of
South-Eastern Europe.
We have been encouraged by the positive climate
that has existed since the June meeting between the
North and South Korean leaders. We express our
support for further measures to achieve reconciliation,
stability and cooperation in the Korean peninsula. We
have been heartened by the prospect of reunification
and of the termination of the division in this sensitive
region.
Cyprus fully supports the process for the
establishment of an international criminal court and
was one of the original signatories of the Rome Statute.
We look forward to further progress in the work of the
Preparatory Commission for the International Criminal
Court and welcome the results of its last session
regarding the consensus reached on the rules of
procedure and evidence and the elements of crime. Our
support stems from our firm belief that if we are to live
in a world where justice and international law prevail,
then impunity for abhorrent crimes against humanity
should end immediately. Cyprus, itself a victim of such
crimes, knows very well the bitter truth of impunity.
For the last 26 years the General Assembly has
included in its agenda the question of Cyprus.
Decisions by this Assembly, in particular resolution
3212 (XXIX), as well as successive Security Council
resolutions, call for the restoration of the territorial
integrity, unity and independence of the Republic of
Cyprus and the withdrawal of the Turkish troops and
settlers from an independent country, Member of the
United Nations, which was invaded in 1974 and whose
territory, 37 per cent of it, is controlled by the Turkish
occupation army.
An attempt has been made from this rostrum to
give a different version from and interpretation of the
one upheld and understood by this General Assembly
and by the Security Council. When one talks about the
events of 1963, one should not forget the armed
insurgency against the legal Government of the
Republic and the deliberate decision of the Turkish
Cypriot leadership to withdraw its representatives from
Parliament and the organs of the Government, in order
25

to pave the way for the present de facto division of the
island.
Furthermore, it is well known and confirmed by
the three reports of the European Commission of
Human Rights, following appeals by the Republic of
Cyprus against Turkey, that ethnic cleansing occurred
in Cyprus in 1974 with the violent uprooting of one-
third of the Cypriot population from their homes and
their expulsion from the areas that are now under
Turkish occupation. This is a classic example of a
creation of faits accomplis through the use of force.
Enough has already been said about history, and
many recriminations were levelled by one side against
the other. We have said time and again to our Turkish
Cypriot compatriots, and we repeat to the Government
of Turkey, that it is high time we looked to the future.
A future bright and prosperous for all Cypriots,
permeated by a spirit of reconciliation, in a peaceful,
demilitarized and reunited Cyprus, member of the
European Union, in which all Cypriots would live in
conditions of peace, prosperity and the full protection
of their human rights and fundamental freedoms.
We want a future without occupation armies,
without barbed wires of division and without human
suffering. Indeed, how can one seriously claim that the
massive Turkish military force which invaded and has
continued to occupy 37 per cent of Cypriot territory for
the last 26 years is a force of pacification and
liberation? Had these forces been pacification or
liberation troops, as Turkey tries to portray them,
would the Security Council, which represents the
collective wisdom of the international community, call
repeatedly for their withdrawal? Moreover, how can
anyone, speaking before this body, describe United
Nations resolutions and their call to uphold and adhere
to international law as romantic descriptions and
unrealistic assessments?
One further point that I would like to make is the
reference to the so-called realities in Cyprus. We have
been asked to accept, if we want to find a solution,
these so-called realities on the ground. These realities
are, of course, the result of the Turkish invasion and its
dire consequences on the people of Cyprus. One such
stark reality reflecting the ultimate aims of Turkey in
Cyprus is the importation of 98,000 Turkish mainland
settlers into the occupied areas in an effort to change
the demographic structure of the island. Another reality
is the mass emigration of our fellow Turkish Cypriots
from the occupied areas and the constant threat posed
by the 36,000 Turkish occupation troops stationed on
the island. This threat is real and manifests itself from
time to time through provocative actions on the ground.
Such is the case of the Turkish advance in Strovilia,
following the adoption last June of a resolution by the
Security Council renewing the mandate of the United
Nations Peacekeeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP).
This illegal action has been described by the United
Nations Secretary-General as a clear violation of the
status quo. The inability of the Organization to return
the situation to the status quo ante tarnishes its image
and credibility. Could one imagine the consequences
for international relations, when nations are forced to
accept solutions based on faits accomplis created and
sustained through the use of military force and
unilateral acts? Can we allow such a precedent to pave
the way for the disintegration of so many countries
around the globe? What, indeed, would be the
consequences for small States in this kind of so-called
international order, where international law is
selectively applied and the will of the mighty reigns
supreme?
The one and only reality is the imperative need
for peace and reconciliation in Cyprus through a
mutually acceptable solution within the parameters of
United Nations resolutions. We are currently engaged
in the fourth round of proximity talks. We have come
to these talks with flexibility and with the political will
to reach a solution as prescribed by this Organization.
We appeal to the Turkish side to seize the moment and
capitalize on the current favourable environment in
order to reach a comprehensive settlement. Such a
settlement will be based on Security Council
resolutions, which call for a bi-zonal, bi-communal
Federal Republic of Cyprus, with a single sovereignty,
citizenship and international personality, comprising
two politically equal communities, as described in
Security Council resolution 750 (1992). The Turkish
side must realize that a solution must be mutually
acceptable and based on international law, and it must
not insist on imposing its will and on a solution based
on faits accomplis.
Our common aim should be a solution that would
be honourable and something to be cherished by future
generations of all Cypriots, Greek and Turkish alike, to
whom our utmost purpose is to bequeath a better place
to live in harmony, tolerance and cooperation.
26


At the outset, Sir,
let me convey the congratulations and best wishes of
the Government and people of Solomon Islands on
your election as President of the fifty-fifth session of
the General Assembly. Your proven tremendous skills
as a consensus-builder and mediator will no doubt
guide the Assembly to adopt useful decisions on the
many important issues before us. My Government is
committed to working closely with you and all Member
States during this Millennium Assembly.
Solomon Islands warmly welcomes the admission
of our sister nation Tuvalu as a new Member of the
United Nations. This is further testimony that the
United Nations is indispensable and that its body of
international laws is vital to the protection and security
of small island developing States. We look forward to
working very closely with the delegation of Tuvalu.
The Government of Solomon Islands concurs that
conflict prevention should be the cornerstone of
collective security in the twenty-first century. We also
acknowledge that peace and democratic stability are
critical pre-conditions for economic growth and
sustainable development. Moreover, economic and
development cooperation have an important role to
play in fostering these pre-conditions.
As highlighted in our Millennium Summit
statement, the ethnic crisis in our country has
challenged national peace, security and stability. It has
resulted in the loss of human lives and property, the
closure of all key industries in our economy and the
displacement of more than 30,000 people. While it may
not be comparable to major conflicts in other parts of
the world, the net result in human loss and suffering is
relative. Therefore, the international community,
particularly the United Nations, must give equal
attention to every conflict situation. All Member
States, both large and small, must be treated fairly.
Challenges to the security and stability of small
island developing States like Solomon Islands are,
increasingly, beyond their capacity to cope. In such
cases, the support of the United Nations and the
international community at large is imperative. In the
context of our crisis, our smallness and remoteness,
limited resources, ethnic and cultural diversity and
history are fundamental considerations.
Restoring law and order is the number-one
priority for my Government as we strive to resolve our
conflict. There is no peace without security. While a
peaceful and comprehensive solution has to come from
Solomon Islanders themselves, international support to
sustain the peace process is necessary. Since we
launched our national peace plan, we have made some
progress in getting the conflicting parties to the table to
2

negotiate and agree to a ceasefire. A ceasefire
Agreement was signed by all parties concerned on 3
August 2000 and a National Monitoring Council to
oversee its implementation was subsequently formed.
Despite some violations of the Agreement, my
Government remains steadfast in our commitment to
achieving peace. Further peace talks have since taken
place in Honiara, the capital, and a draft framework
towards a peace agreement was adopted. A more
conclusive peace agreement will be negotiated in
Cairns, Australia. Recognizing the importance of civil
society participation in conflict resolution,
reconciliation and reconstruction, my Government will
continue to involve non-governmental organizations,
including women's and church groups.
May I express my Government's appreciation to
the South Pacific Forum countries for their
understanding and support during this challenging
time. I wish to mention in particular the recent visit by
a Pacific ACP ministerial mission led by the Foreign
Minister of Papua New Guinea to assess the current
situation and make recommendations to the joint
European Union/African, Caribbean and Pacific (EU/
ACP) Commission. We further appreciate the efforts of
the Governments of Australia and New Zealand in
facilitating our peace process through their logistical
support. To sustain long-term peace, Solomon Islands
will need the cooperation of its development partners
to rebuild the economy and to foster a development
path that creates employment, ensures fair distribution
of national resources and wealth and accommodates
our diverse cultural traditions.
Only the United Nations and other international
institutions have the scope and legitimacy to generate
the principles, norms and rules that are necessary if
globalization is to benefit everyone. The least
developed countries (LDCs), including Solomon
Islands, need international support to build the
capacities to enable us to become more effectively and
beneficially integrated into the global economy. The
Third United Nations Conference on the LDCs next
year will give the international community a unique
opportunity to review, assess and adopt policies and
measures that could effectively address the
development constraints of least developed countries.
Developing and sustaining competitiveness and
productive capabilities, like all other aspects of
development, is a long and often frustrating process.
My Government, however, is prepared to work with
our development partners to address these problems in
a renewed spirit of solidarity and shared responsibility.
The past decade has witnessed the adoption of
several international conventions and programmes of
action, from the environment and sustainable
development to social development and the
advancement of women. Their five-year reviews,
despite some progress, have indicated that insufficient
resources remains a major obstacle to wider
implementation, especially in rural communities in
developing countries. New and additional resources are
required if we are to make a difference. The United
Nations Intergovernmental Conference on Financing
for Development next year must produce a practical
outcome on how to mobilize financing for development
in the new millennium. The twenty-first century should
be a century for better implementation of international
programmes, a century for action rather than rhetoric.
The economic vulnerability and ecological
fragility of small island developing States must be an
integral basis for decisions on development
cooperation with these States. Such cooperation in my
view should continue to focus on better trading
opportunities, including market access, capacity-
building — in particular, human resources
development — and adaptation and mitigation
programmes to address climate change and sea level
rise.
Investment in renewable energy remains a
priority for Solomon Islands. Access to a reliable and
cost-effective energy source is imperative if our rural
population is to capitalize on the opportunities of the
information age.
The international community must mobilize
resources to implement the Secretary General's
recommendations on bridging the digital divide
between developed and developing countries.
Solomon Islands is committed to reform,
strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the United
Nations system, including the Security Council, which
has primary responsibility under the United Nations
Charter for maintaining international peace and
security. Greater flexibility and understanding should
be demonstrated towards those that are striving to
become new permanent members of the Council,
including Japan and Germany. A similar attitude should
be shown towards the reconfiguration of the United
Nations regional groups to reflect present-day realities
3

and to accommodate those Member States, including
Australia and New Zealand, which wish to be placed in
their most appropriate regional or geopolitical
grouping.
Only an inclusive and universal United Nations
can effectively perform its mandate in the twenty-first
century. We must show greater understanding towards
those who request to participate in the work of our
Organization.
May I take this opportunity to reiterate the point
made by Solomon Islands during the Millennium
Summit relating to the principle of an all-inclusive and
universal United Nations. A case in point is that which
relates to the reunification of China, which would
foster greater stability in world affairs and effectively
bolster the activities of the Organization. This new
approach by the United Nations for the two Chinas will
enhance greater understanding in pragmatic diplomacy
and pave the way for efforts currently under way in the
Korean peninsula. This is not impossible to achieve, as
we saw just before the turn of the century in the
reunification of the two Germanys.
The challenges facing the United Nations in the
twenty-first century are daunting. An effective United
Nations demands the steadfast commitment and
support of all its Members. The rich and powerful must
pay their dues on time, in full and without conditions.
Above all, the United Nations needs global political
will and resources to maintain peace and security,
promote sustainable development, address
environmental degradation, combat poverty and disease
and foster respect for human dignity.
Human problems will always remain with us, but
the way to resolve them should be through dialogue
and discussion. This is the approach my Government is
taking towards resolving the current ethnic unrest in
our country. Attaining peace could be a painful and
slow process, it could be fragile and imperfect when
achieved, but we believe we can do it. We must,
however, go beyond achieving peace. We must provide
our people with the values and skills that will sustain
peace. As we enter the twenty-first century, let us
reaffirm our commitment to work in partnership with
others in pursuit of global peace and human security.


Let me first of
all congratulate Mr. Holkeri on his unanimous election
to the mantle of the leadership of the world's foremost
international body. He is presiding in this, the last year
of the present century, following the profound
commitments manifested at the Millennium Summit.
We look forward in eager anticipation to the
implementation of the Summit pledges, as small States
are becoming more and more disillusioned with the
actual manifestations and the selectivity of the United
Nations.
I should like to offer congratulations to his
predecessor, who, as we know, comes from a recently
independent country — a country which had to struggle
in order to be entrusted with the management of its
own affairs. In him, we saw a genuine attempt to move
towards some equilibrium in this body. As such, my
country applauds his efforts, but we are still awaiting
the day when small countries will receive the respect
due to sovereign States.
This year we will be making a deliberately short
statement, in the hope that the Assembly will
concentrate on the myriad of problems with which we
are plagued.
Small States do not equate with small problems.
In reality, the reverse is often the norm, particularly
when the State in question is still on the periphery —
the periphery of the dominant industrial entities. In the
case of my country, peripheral existence emerged in the
post-Colombian era when, along with other Caribbean
countries, we became colonies of exploitation, as
opposed to colonies of settlement. Mercantilism
demanded our production of agricultural commodities,
whether indigo, cotton or sugar cane; it was a
monoculture, designed solely and purposely for the
betterment of the mother country, at the expense of the
colonies.
6

But no doubt the question is being asked as to
why I am raising that issue here. It is precisely because
the lingering reality is that we are sometimes moved
to ask ourselves if we are still victims of the “Robinson
Crusoe” mentality. To be a colony of
exploitation meant that the entity was an area of
underdevelopment — an underdevelopment which
meant that we were to remain in that state in perpetuity
if we were to fulfil the precise conditions for
exploitation.
Throughout history, smaller entities have been, as
it were, invisible. We do not have small problems. How
could that be the case when nuclear waste is still being
trans-shipped through our waters, despite numerous
and repeated protests, pleas and entreaties? We have a
problem with the World Trade Organization (WTO),
which rules in favour of the interests of multinational
enterprises and the countries benefiting from the
operations of those enterprises. The Windward Island
producers of bananas were at a total disadvantage, as
they could not afford to pay the cost of adequate
representation before the WTO. In 1896, the silver-
throated orator, William Jennings Bryan, stood up in
California and asked whether mankind should be
crucified upon a cross of gold. Today, we must ask if
Windward Island humanity is to be snuffed out on a
bed of yellow fruit, thereby sending a ripple effect
throughout the Caribbean, culminating in deprivation,
degradation, depression and the severest forms of
dehumanization.
At the Millennium Summit round table, much
time was spent talking about globalization, without the
fundamental reality of that globalization — so-called
free trade — being dealt with. In modern history, there
has never been free trade. It has been advocated,
encouraged and even preached about. John Bright and
Richard Cobden have been acclaimed for their “gospel
of free trade”, but it has never been a reality. In the
nineteenth century, it was propelled by the industrial
and maritime countries which stood to benefit from it.
In the twentieth century, it has emanated from the
dominant States, and the statistics demonstrate that it
has wrought havoc on most of the developing world.
This has primarily been the result of selfishness
and the unwillingness to listen to and accept the
concerns of those who suffer most from it. Yes, we
benefit from the expanded use of the Internet, the
greater access to education and the ability to travel
abroad more frequently. But we have been hurt by
extraordinary pressures to control our economic
advancement, whether by the influence of
multinational enterprises or by maritime activity, which
deplete our resources and pollute our environment.
Instead of our nutritional level improving, the statistics
again show that poverty has spread, and the sick in
poor countries cannot access the medicines needed to
improve the health of their societies. If we are to have
globalization, let us recognize its imperfections and
address them meaningfully. Let us not preach, “do as I
say but not as I do”.
Globalization does not have a human face. We
continue to hear about the opportunities for the
developing countries, but we are still waiting for the
benefits to be made manifest. While we wait, we would
like to remind this body that we remain disappointed
that the International Criminal Court will not be
dealing with illegal trafficking in narcotics or with
illegal trade in arms and terrorism. Let us be heard. Let
us be seen. We do not have small problems.
At the Millennium Summit, my Prime Minister,
Lester Bryant Bird, clearly demonstrated how the
world's economic and political agenda is devised and
directed by a few of its most powerful Governments.
He stated that Antigua and Barbuda, as well as several
other small countries,
“have experienced the most blatant disregard for
the rules of international law, rules that have been
spelled out by the General Assembly and upheld
by the International Court of Justice.” (A/55/PV.3)
The principle now is “might is right”. The Prime
Minister pointed out that all of this is being done by the
Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD), which believes that its States
will lose capital to other States because of their more
competitive tax regimes. They have gone further by
dubbing tax incentives “harmful tax competition” and
linking it most unfairly with money-laundering
activities, even when there is no evidence for the
charge. My country has voluntarily agreed to contribute
more for peacekeeping even with our strapped
finances, as we accept our role as a contributor to the
welfare of the globe. We would likewise hope that the
dominant be fair to us.
I can go on and on with our difficulties and our
victimization primarily due to our pusillanimous
nature. For the first time in several years we have not
elaborated on natural disasters. By now all members of
7

the United Nations should know of our plight. We
would however wish to speak on a decolonization
issue.
Antigua and Barbuda has followed closely the
question of Western Sahara, and even though we do not
have an international intelligence system, we are
calling for an implementation of the referendum, as the
signals for renewed violence, if the United Nations
does not carry out its pledge, are quite clear. We do not
wish to see, once again, the carnage witnessed in East
Timor.
The conflict, as it has been underlined through
resolutions of the United Nations, the Organization of
African Unity, and the Movement of Non-Aligned
States, must be resolved through the exercise of the
Saharawi people of their right to self-determination.
The international community has for decades adopted
this legal framework as a basis for a just and durable
solution to the conflict. We believe that the referendum
can be organized before next year, and we are calling
for such. We do not wish another situation with the
outbreak of violence.
Let me sum up with a few things that Antigua and
Barbuda would like to see at the United Nations. We
would like to press for the end of “selective”
multilateralism and move towards the incorporation of
“genuine” multilateralism. We desire to have a reform
process expanded beyond the Secretariat and practised
among all countries of the Organization. Reform
should not connote expansion, it should mean
restructuring. The principle of rotation on the major
decision-making bodies, particularly the Economic and
Social Council (ECOSOC), should become a reality.
And may I repeat: the principle of rotation should
become a reality. The concept of globalization should
be viewed in its entirety, and a study should be done on
its effects on developing countries. The gross national
product should not be used as the sole criterion for
graduating a State from concessionary loans, and the
vulnerability index, on which Antigua and Barbuda is
ranked very high, should be taken into consideration.
The principle of “the equality of sovereign States”
should be used to guard against the marginalization of
States within the United Nations system. The countries
that have pledged to contribute 0.7 per cent of their
official development assistance (ODA) should carry
out their commitment in this regard. There should be
some form of equity in regard to geographic groupings
within the United Nations. While we understand the
reasons why the existing groups were created, the time
has come for a more equitable arrangement. The
nations comprising the United Nations should become
truly united.
Antigua and Barbuda will continue to fulfil its
obligations to its citizens and to this body. We
recognize the benefits that we accrue from our
involvement in this parliament of parliaments. We have
benefited and will continue to benefit from the
programmes of the various bodies and agencies of this
body. We are, however, confident that we have
contributed towards global progress, and we remain
ready to continue our contribution to the United
Nations.


Let
me join in the congratulations addressed to Mr. Harri
Holkeri and to his country, Finland, on his election to
the lofty and responsible post of President of the fifty-
fifth session of the General Assembly. I wish him every
success in guiding the work of the Millennium
Assembly. I should like to take this opportunity also to
express our genuine gratitude and to pay due tribute to
Mr. Gurirab for his outstanding diplomatic abilities and
for the evident skill with which he guided the work of
the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
The further the passage of time separates us from
the Millennium Summit, the more profoundly will we
appreciate its historic outcome. Tajikistan welcomes
the recommitment by world leaders to the role of the
United Nations as the key mechanism for the collective
regulation of international relations.
We remain convinced that there is no alternative
to the United Nations. No one actor is capable of
dealing single-handedly with the new multifaceted
challenges, risks and threats to international security
and stability. Only through concerted and collective
action on the part of the entire international community
can we combat phenomena such as severe financial and
economic crises, regional conflicts, international
terrorism, organized crime and the illicit drug trade.
The positive results achieved by my country in
the implementation of the peace process in our nation
are further proof of the key role of the United Nations
in coordinating the efforts of States in the process of
resolving armed conflict.
Today, after seven years of confrontation, peace
prevails in Tajikistan. Following the first multiparty,
pluralistic elections in the country's history, held in
February 2000, Tajik society is living in a new kind of
environment and is laying down a sound foundation for
the sustainable democratic development of the country.
The considerable support of the international
community, which, under the auspices of the United
Nations, effectively promoted the advancement of the
peace process in Tajikistan, played a significant part in
the establishment of peace and stability in the country.
The Tajik people will always remember the United
Nations with gratitude and will always associate this
Organization with the return of peace, democracy and
conditions for sustainable development to our ancient
land.
On behalf of President Emomali Rakhmonov, I
take this opportunity to express our great appreciation
to the Security Council, the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, his special envoys and
representatives, and the leaders of the United Nations
teams and missions in Tajikistan for their enormous
contribution to the successful completion of the peace
process in my country. Our special appreciation goes to
all those States — about 30 — that sent their citizens to
Tajikistan as part of the United Nations Mission of
Observers in Tajikistan (UNMOT). The Tajik people
will for ever keep in their memories the names of those
who gave their lives so that peace could return to our
country.
We extend our sincere gratitude to the Office of
the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR), the United Nations Children's Fund
(UNICEF), the United Nations Development
21

Programme (UNDP), the World Bank, the International
Monetary Fund (IMF) and the International Financial
Corporation. They have rendered, and continue to
render, every possible support to the people and
Government of Tajikistan in their efforts to overcome
the effects of the civil conflict and to rehabilitate the
country's economy.
At all stages of the peace process the Russian
Federation made a decisive contribution to its
progressive development. The Russian peacekeepers
and frontier guards who lost their lives serving security
and stability in Tajikistan and Russia will never be
forgotten by our peoples.
The guarantor States for the implementation of
the peace agreement — the Russian Federation, the
Islamic Republic of Iran, the Republic of Uzbekistan,
the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Kazakhstan,
Turkmenistan, Pakistan and the Islamic State of
Afghanistan — rendered considerable support to the
United Nations in achieving the successful settlement
of the conflict. The joint efforts of the United Nations,
its specialized agencies, the Bretton Woods institutions,
neighbouring States, the United States, the European
Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation
in Europe (OSCE) and the Organization of the Islamic
Conference (OIC), and of all those others who
sincerely desired to see a peaceful and stable
Tajikistan, contributed to the successful
implementation of the General Agreement on the
Establishment of Peace and National Accord in
Tajikistan, signed in Moscow on 27 June 1997.
We are fully aware that a huge job of post-
conflict peace-building awaits us. We hope that the
United Nations office in Dushanbe will continue to
operate effectively, rendering rehabilitation assistance,
first and foremost, in the social and economic spheres.
Much remains to be done, but what has already been
accomplished at this stage is of great significance for
the steady, peaceful development of Tajik society and
for the entire Central and Southern Asia region.
This is undoubtedly of paramount importance for
the United Nations, since it constitutes one of the
positive examples of successful activities by our
Organization in the maintenance of peace and conflict
resolution. We hope that the support for and assistance
to Tajikistan needed to reinforce the gains of the peace
process will be intensified. We count on the General
Assembly's adopting during its current session the
traditional resolution, normally adopted by consensus,
on humanitarian assistance to Tajikistan.
Large-scale humanitarian assistance is of
particular importance this year, because in the spring
and summer the whole of Tajikistan was affected by a
drought on a scale without precedent in the twentieth
century. The loss of grain crops on irrigated land
proved to be from 30 per cent to 50 per cent.
According to the World Food Programme (WFP), about
3 million people — in other words, every second
citizen of Tajikistan — is inadequately fed. We greatly
appreciate the Secretary-General's appeal for food
assistance to the population of Tajikistan most affected
by the drought, and we are deeply grateful to the WFP
and all donor States that responded so promptly and
generously to this appeal.
Clearly, in the new century United Nations
activities in the humanitarian sphere, in which it has
already demonstrated its capabilities, will continue to
play an important role. We believe that it is necessary
to intensify the cooperation of Member States in this
area in order to increase the international capacity to
respond to natural and technological disasters. In our
view, this is one of the realistic directions for the
development of the Organization, which will allow all
to take advantage of the opportunities provided by
globalization. This is entirely achievable, once the
efforts and capacities of the United Nations and other
international economic and financial organizations are
united. It would provide a demonstration of the global
solidarity called for by the Secretary-General.
Achieving sustainable development and ensuring
the equitable consideration of the interests of both
present and future generations on a global scale is one
of the most serious challenges of the new century.
Today we are not far from that boundary beyond which
the processes of destruction of the natural mechanisms
regulating the environment and global changes become
irreversible. Our common objective is to meet the ever
increasing needs of human development in the
economic and social spheres, while not simply
preserving, but gradually restoring natural ecosystems
to conditions that will guarantee environmental
sustainability.
Much has been accomplished in this area over the
last decade. Agenda 21, adopted at the Rio de Janeiro
Conference, has become a fundamental document
defining the main area of activities of the international
22

community on this topic. However, the dimensions of
the task faced by humanity require extra coordinated
efforts. Alongside the long-term problems, such as
climate change, the preservation of biodiversity, and
desertification, new ones are emerging, demanding
careful consideration and concerted action. One is the
problem of fresh water, a resource which is being
gradually depleted. Depletion of ground waters has
become a serious problem. According to some
forecasts, by 2050 the population of the planet will not
have an adequate water supply. The problem of
drinking water is multifaceted and is not confined to
purely economic issues.
In “We the peoples: the role of the United Nations
in the twenty-first century” the Secretary-General drew
attention to the fact that, in order to have a sustainable
future, it is absolutely essential that the international
community tackle the current fresh water problems.
Major concern about this question has been expressed
by many non-governmental organizations, as well as by
the private sector. It has already been discussed at
international conferences, including, at the ministerial
level, the Second World Water Forum held in The
Hague, the Netherlands last spring, and it will be
discussed at the forthcoming International Conference
on water problems to be held in Bonn, Germany. All
these steps, aimed at giving profound consideration to
the matter and elaborating proper coordinated action by
the international community, are precisely the purposes
served by the initiative put forward by our President a
year ago to proclaim 2003 the international year of
freshwater. We hope that the relevant resolution will be
adopted by consensus at this session. We would be well
advised to recall our relationship with the two atoms of
hydrogen and one of oxygen that, bound together in
nature, support our lives on earth.
While the twenty-first century may present new
trials for humanity, that which recently ended
challenged the international community with the urgent
necessity jointly to combat international terrorism, the
drug trade and organized crime. The situation in many
regions of the planet demands that the United Nations
mobilize even greater international efforts to counteract
these horrible phenomena more actively.
The situation in Afghanistan in particular
endangers regional and international security. The
inter-Afghan crisis has transformed that country into a
stronghold of international terrorism and made it the
world leader in drug production. The situation in
Afghanistan was recently the subject of a thorough
discussion at a meeting of the Group of 6+2, held at the
level of Foreign Ministers. Tajikistan is firmly
convinced that there can be no military solution to the
Afghan crisis; any victory by any party to the conflict
will be temporary and will not lead to the
establishment of peace and stability in that country.
Only the United Nations, in cooperation with the
Organization of the Islamic Conference, is capable of
untying the tight knot of the Afghan crisis. Tajikistan
fully approves of the activities of the United Nations
Special Mission to Afghanistan and its Head, Mr.
Vendrell. We express our hope that additional resolute
measures to be undertaken by the Security Council and
the entire international community will eventually
allow the fire of war that has raged in that country for
20 years to be extinguished. Otherwise, as we have
already seen, the terrorist and narcotic threats to
regional and global security emanating from
Afghanistan will continue to grow.
Our duty is to help the Afghan people to return to
a dignified and peaceful life and to erect a reliable
barrier to the heroin-fuelled aggression and the
cultivation of international terrorism encouraged by the
Taliban, which threaten not only the countries
bordering Afghanistan, but also those located far
beyond the region. We are convinced that it will
become possible to find a formula for peace and a way
out of the Afghan deadlock only through our joint
efforts and the leadership of the United Nations.
In order to continue playing a key role in world
affairs, the United Nations must continuously renew
itself. Much has already been done to that end thanks
to the important initiatives and effective actions of the
Secretary-General. However, a number of issues that
could have a real impact on the efficiency of the United
Nations in the twenty-first century — inter alia,
expanding the Security Council's membership — have
yet to be addressed. Tajikistan is in favour of
increasing the efficiency, balance and representation of
the Security Council by incorporating highly
industrialized countries, such as Japan and Germany,
and influential developing States into its membership.
We hope that this issue will be resolved with the
broadest possible support.
Each session of the General Assembly provides
us with a unique opportunity to develop a unified
approach and to coordinate our actions at the global
23

level for the sake of a truly democratic, secure and
sustainable development of humanity. The Summit of
world leaders, unprecedented in the history of
mankind, has given our Organization a powerful
political impetus with which to enter the twenty-first
century. The Millennium Assembly should preserve
this momentum and use it rationally for the sake of
strengthening the community of nations and our
common future.


The
historic Millennium Summit and the forward-looking
Declaration it adopted have set a very positive tone for
the Millennium Assembly, which is now continuing
with this general debate.
We extend our heartiest congratulations to
Mr. Harri Holkeri on his well-deserved election as the
President of the fifty-fifth session. His deep
commitment to the values and principles of the United
Nations gives us the confidence that the affairs of this
Assembly are in very good hands.
I should also like to congratulate Foreign
Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, my dear colleague, for his
superb leadership of the fifty-fourth General Assembly.
We are grateful to him for his invaluable guidance in
the preparations for the Millennium Summit and its
outcome.
May I also express Bangladesh's sincere thanks
and gratitude to Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his
vision in convening the Millennium Summit and for his
untiring efforts towards its success. His millennium
report contains a number of good proposals and ideas,
which we wholeheartedly support. I reiterate
Bangladesh's full support and cooperation to the
Secretary-General in his determination to enhance the
efficiency and effectiveness of the United Nations.
Let me at the very outset extend our heartiest
congratulations to the people and Government of
Tuvalu as the newest Member of this Organization.
Twenty-six years ago this month, when
Bangladesh had just become a Member of this
Organization, the Father of the Nation, Bangabandhu
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, addressed this Assembly. He
underscored our commitment to the Charter of the
United Nations. For our people, it was a great moment.
We have travelled a long way since that time and our
commitment to the United Nations has only grown in
strength.
As Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina mentioned in
her speech at the Millennium Summit:
“In this Organization, the powerful and the
weak, the large and the small, the wealthy and the
struggling come together as equals to address
their problems, to forge cooperation and to
further understanding. It certainly is in our
interest to strive for a United Nations which can
fulfil our common goal — a better world for
every human being”.
To the people of Bangladesh, human rights is a
sacred trust, because we were victims of its abuse. And
yet the very person who had championed the cause of
fundamental rights was denied the most basic of all
human rights, the right to life. I speak of the ghastly
murder of Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman,
along with almost his entire family and close relations,
by a group of assassins on 15 August 1975. The
murderers had committed a crime and human rights
abuse of the worst kind. And, in what could best be
described as an arrogant affront to human rights and
democratic principles, the killers were granted
immunity from law by the so-called Indemnity
Ordinance issued by the undemocratic regime of that
time.
15

The present democratic Government in
Bangladesh has repealed the Indemnity Ordinance
since its assumption of office. The accused have been
tried and found guilty of murder, and the verdict of the
court of law has been announced. Some of them,
however, have managed to escape justice by finding
asylum in foreign lands. If human rights is to dominate
the agenda of the new century, we would urgently ask
the international community for its cooperation in
bringing these self-confessed killers to Bangladesh to
face justice. Here I would like to express my
appreciation and gratitude to those countries which
have been cooperating with us in this matter.
To Bangladesh, a very important manifestation of
human rights is the right to development, which needs
further assertion by the international community. In
ensuring that right, it is essential that our collective
efforts focus on addressing poverty. Unless we take
positive actions in this regard, globalization will be
more of a challenge and less an opportunity — freedom
from want will remain elusive. The challenges are
particularly daunting for the least developed countries
and merit priority attention.
Just as globalization touches us all,
marginalization of these vulnerable countries would
affect us all in the global family. We would urge the
international community to make every effort for the
success of the third United Nations Conference on the
Least Developed Countries in 2001 in Brussels.
In the past decade, the international community
has made tremendous progress in recognizing the
challenges and adopting elaborate programmes of
actions in the areas of social development, human
rights, environment, population, human settlement and
food security, as well as on women and children. Now
the challenge before us is to fulfil the commitments we
have made together. Let us resolve that the next decade
will be the decade of implementation.
At home, in facing the challenges of the coming
decades, poverty eradication has been set as the over-
arching goal of the present Government of Bangladesh,
under the leadership of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina.
We are making increasingly great investments in our
people and in our social and human development.
In ensuring the effectiveness of this engagement,
Bangladesh has focused on the rights of women and
children. Bangladesh has become party to most of the
international instruments relating to the rights of those
two groups. During the Millennium Summit, Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina ratified the Optional Protocol
to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination against Women and the two Optional
Protocols on the sale of children, child prostitution and
child pornography and on the involvement of children
in armed conflict. Adoption of the “Woman and Child
Repression Prevention Act, 2000” by our national
Parliament is also a major step forward in eliminating
violence against women and children.
Unfortunately, our efforts towards sustainable
human development have been set back through
calamities beyond our control. Sometimes it is natural
disasters like floods, cyclones or tidal surges.
Sometimes it is silent killers like dengue fever or
arsenic contamination of groundwater. Today, two
thirds of the Bangladesh population is at risk as the
result of arsenic contamination of drinking water. The
Government has responded to this crisis with urgency
and determination; in collaboration with international
agencies such as the World Bank, the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO), as well as non-governmental
organizations (NGOs). Adequate emphasis has also
been given to ensuring alternative sources of safe
drinking water for the community.
In her statement at the Security Council summit
two weeks ago, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina
emphasized that international peace and security must
also be understood in terms of human security. She also
emphasized that we should prevent war crimes, crimes
against humanity and genocide against the civilian
population. We believe that the establishment of the
International Criminal Court can effectively deal with
these crimes. We signed the Rome Statute last year and
have already initiated the process for early ratification.
As an elected member of the United Nations
Security Council, Bangladesh remains committed to its
obligations to maintain and preserve international
peace and security. Bangladesh strongly supports
enhanced effectiveness of the United Nations
peacekeeping operations, as well as its peace-building
measures. Bangladesh is proud to be one of the largest
troop contributors to United Nations peacekeeping
operations, in fulfilment of our commitment to global
peace and security. In this context, we welcome the
recommendations of the Brahimi Panel and look
forward to their consideration by the relevant
intergovernmental bodies and the Secretariat. Here we
16

would emphasize that the resources needed for their
implementation should not in any way undermine
other, already existing programmes.
An area of our common concern has been United
Nations sanctions, their effectiveness and their impact.
It is a matter of satisfaction that the Security Council,
after years of debate, has set up a Working Group
under Bangladesh chairmanship to study various
general issues related to sanctions. We are confident
that the work of the Group will help the Council to
agree on measures to streamline the sanctions regimes.
To ensure peace and development, we must move
ahead with an agenda for real disarmament. The
nuclearization of our own region in South Asia has
caused us concern. As one of the least developed
regions in the world, South Asia cannot afford to get
into a race for nuclear weapons. In accordance with its
constitutional commitment to total and general
disarmament, Bangladesh took the lead in South Asia
to sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT) in 1996, ratifying it earlier this year. We also
were among the first in South Asia to sign the Ottawa
Convention on anti-personnel landmines, which was
also ratified by us during the Millennium Summit,
along with the Convention on certain conventional
weapons (CCWC) and all its Protocols.
Bangladesh considers peace and development to
be fundamental rights. One cannot endure without the
other. The United Nations and its Member States must
continue to espouse and promote a culture of peace.
Bangladesh took the initiative for the international
observance of this millennium year and the first decade
of the twenty-first century as the International Year for
the Culture of Peace and the International Decade for a
Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of
the World, respectively.
As we have said on earlier occasions, Bangladesh
believes that the United Nations should be prepared to
respond effectively to the challenges of the new
century. Since United Nations reforms were initiated
by Secretary-General Kofi Annan, a lot has been done,
but much more could be added to this. We aspire to
greater democratization and transparency in the
organizations of the United Nations. We also believe
that involvement by non-governmental organizations
and other actors of civil society can significantly
enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations.
A changed world needs a changed United
Nations — an Organization for today's world. We need
to demonstrate courage and determination in order to
preserve the United Nations as the world's most
universal forum. Its founding fathers spoke about the
scourge of war. Today the United Nations will only live
up to the global reality if it cannot only free the world's
people from the scourge of war but also save
succeeding generations from the scourge of poverty.
May Bangladesh live forever.
May the United Nations live forever.


Mr. President, I should like to offer you my
congratulations on your election and my best wishes
for the coming year, and also to convey my great
appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben
Gurirab, for his fine work and guidance over the past
year.
I would like to start by thanking our Secretary-
General for his report to the Millennium Summit. It is
comprehensive, ethical and most impressive. We have
never had anything like it before. One effect it has had
is to give deep meaning to the expression the
international community. I think that in the past, we
have often used this term far too lightly. Now we know
what it stands for. It is spelled out in the final
Declaration made by our heads of Government, which
is now a textbook for the coming year. Its great ideas
still echo in this Hall, and its noble aims light up the
future.
In our view, it has given precise targets that can
truly help developing nations. For the first time, we can
distinguish clearly between immediate issues and long-
term ones. This is very important, because many of the
things on which we spend so much time and so many
resources are not, in fact, today's issues. They are sad
legacies passed on by the twentieth century.
Obviously, they are important. Each one is tragic
in the consequences it has for ordinary peoples' lives.
But they are all primarily the responsibility of
Governments and regional organizations. The more
they dominate the affairs of the United Nations, the
more they stop us from concentrating on the deep-
seated problems of developing nations. Those problems
are the ones that can truly be called today's issues. As
the Secretary-General highlighted in his Summit report,
they are becoming very serious indeed. We have even
had to give them a new name: transnational issues.
They each have academic titles: technological
problems; demographic problems; socio-economic
problems; and environmental problems. But take away
the grand language, and they all add up to a simple
fact: they are far too big for individual Governments to
deal with, or even regional organizations.
It is all too clear that they will not be solved in
the marketplace, either. The solutions will not trickle
down. In fact, the global market economy has
lengthened their list and created its own set of special
problems.
It would all be very depressing indeed but for one
thing. The Summit Declaration has clearly invited us
all, as Members of the United Nations, to accept a joint
international responsibility to find solutions. Naturally,

we may differ on how to go about it, but what is most
important is that we have to recognize and accept the
need for new priorities. Consequently, we highly value
the assessment made by the Secretary-General of
where these lie.
For example, we appreciate his timely advice that
globalization requires policies and measures that are
sensitive to the needs of developing nations. We are
pleased that he has upheld the peoples' right to
development as fundamental. We join him in
recognizing the special concern of our friends and
colleagues on the African continent. We support all that
he is trying to do to improve the efficiency and
effectiveness of the United Nations, because this
should enable it to concentrate on what it does best and
is best equipped to do.
By this I mean the practical, urgent work done by
its organs and agencies and its professionals and
volunteers, in the field, close to the people. Much of
this represents development in areas such as education
and training, which are absolutely critical if the people
of developing nations are to move beyond a day-to-day
struggle for basic food, shelter and medicine and take
part successfully in the new global economy.
It means that the work of agencies such as the
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural
Organization (UNESCO), the United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF) and the World Health
Organization (WHO) is vital. It needs to proceed
urgently and not be held back because essential funds
are diverted to solving ancient problems.
The vital tasks of the United Nations today
should not be held hostage by the twentieth century. It
has urgent new work to undertake for developing
nations. This work can be simply summed up. It is to
ensure that the phrase developing nations actually
does mean nations that are developing  rather than
what they too often tend to be, just a polite expression
for the very opposite.
The Summit Declaration offers us all the chance
to do just this, in friendship and cooperation, and I
hope that we will do everything we can to implement
its provisions. It would be the best form of appreciation
we could offer to the Secretary-General and his staff at
the end of a remarkable year's work.


I join other
speakers in congratulating you, Sir, on your election as
President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth
session. I am confident that with your vast experience
and diplomatic skills you will be able to guide the
proceedings of this Assembly to a successful
conclusion.
I would also like to express my delegation's
gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab,
for the effective manner in which he guided the work
of the last session of the General Assembly.
Let me also take this opportunity to commend the
Secretary-General for his great dedication to the
Organization and the many contributions he has made
in the service of the international community.
There are great expectations on the part of the
international community that in the new century the
United Nations will be a more effective Organization.
Indeed, its continued relevance, especially to the
developing countries, which comprise the majority of
the membership of the United Nations, will, to a large
degree, depend on their perception that it is attuned to
their concerns and responsive to their needs. The
Organization must continue to serve the interests of all
its Members, big or small, strong or weak. It must be
more transparent and democratic in its decision-making
processes and work methods.
In this context, the reform and restructuring of the
Organization continues to be a matter of great
importance. Much has been done through the process
of reform effected by the Secretary-General, but reform
is a continuous and ongoing process and should
continue to be vigorously pursued to ensure the United
Nations increased effectiveness and efficiency,
especially in facing up to the challenges of the new
century. As modernization of the Organization entails
additional resources, the critical issue of financing the
United Nations must also be seriously addressed and
resolved as soon as possible.
More intensified efforts should be made to bring
to conclusion the deliberations on one of the most
important aspects of the reform process: the
restructuring of the Security Council. Clearly, the
necessary compromises must be made if the ongoing
deliberations on the reform of the Council are to make
any progress at all. We look forward to your leadership,
Mr. President, in unblocking the current impasse so
that this important organ of the United Nations can be
fully revamped, modernized and made more effective.
Malaysia continues to support expansion of the Council
in both categories of its membership. Any expansion in
the permanent category should include both the
industrialized and the developing countries. If there is
7

no agreement on expansion of the permanent
membership, the Council should be enlarged for the
time being in the non-permanent category.
A central objective of reform of the Security
Council should be to ensure its effectiveness in the
maintenance of international peace and security.
Equally important is the need to enhance the Council's
unity of purpose among its members, especially the
permanent members, so as to avoid the situation that
necessitated the taking of international action outside
the Council by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO), as in the case of Kosovo, when the Council
was unable to act. Notwithstanding the special
circumstances of Kosovo, future international
interventions should be made only with the express
approval of the Security Council, in the interest of
preserving the role and authority of the Council as
enshrined in the Charter, as well as of ensuring the
legality and legitimacy of all such actions.
Another aspect of the work of the Security
Council that should be thoroughly reviewed relates to
the imposition of sanctions on Member States, which
have often brought untold suffering on the general
populace, particularly women and children. Sanction
regimes of the future should be established only when
absolutely necessary and should be specifically
targeted, time-bound, subject to regular review and
lifted when no longer necessary. The interests of all
parties to the conflict should be addressed in order to
achieve a just and lasting peace. We have seen too
many conflicts that seem to be resolved on paper but
continue to remain outstanding on the ground.
We should strive in the new century to make our
world a safer place. We should strive to get rid of
weapons of mass destruction — particularly nuclear
weapons, but also chemical and biological weapons.
We must intensify global efforts to reduce existing
stocks of these horrendous weapons, culminating in
their total elimination. The major Powers and others
that possess and manufacture these weapons bear a
special responsibility. We should all play our part in
ensuring that there is no let-up in the global efforts
towards nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
We should also limit the production and
deployment of ultra-sophisticated, high technology
conventional weapons, many of which are being used
in the wars of developing countries, resulting in the
ironic situation of third world countries fighting their
wars with first world weapons, thanks to the aggressive
marketing efforts of arms vendors of the developed
countries. The developing countries can ill afford the
arms race that this will trigger, nor the huge defence
expenditures to sustain the use of these weapons.
We must ensure that genocide, “ethnic cleansing”
and other crimes against humanity that were
perpetrated, for instance, in Rwanda, Bosnia and
Herzegovina and Kosovo, are never allowed to be
committed again anywhere else in the world. More
strenuous efforts should be made to apprehend indicted
war criminals so as to send a stern warning to others.
They should not be allowed to get away with their
heinous crimes with impunity.
Undoubtedly, the maintenance of international
peace and security can be better served through more
effective use of preventive diplomacy. This has been
highlighted by the Secretary-General in his Millennium
Report (A/54/2000) and should be seriously
considered.
The Organization will have to develop a more
effective early-warning capability and deal with
emerging conflict situations through more effective use
of the mechanism of preventive diplomacy. A more
proactive approach in preventive diplomacy would
require even closer coordination and collaboration
between the Security Council and the Secretary-
General, who would have to put his good offices role to
even greater use.
However, that should not become an excuse to
impose anything on Member States or to interfere in
their internal affairs. There are growing tendencies for
the developed countries, in the name of civil society,
democracy and human rights, to set standards in
accordance with their own moulds for the developing
countries to follow. We even ignore the fact that many
of the problems confronting the developing countries
are the vestiges of the colonial past. We want to leave
yesterday behind and move to today and the future, but
the pace appropriate to the particular country
concerned should be followed.
United Nations peacekeeping operations should
be empowered with clear and well-defined mandates,
adequate resources and strong international support,
irrespective of where they take place. There should be
no perception of selectivity in their launching. In this
regard, it is especially important that peacekeeping
operations in Africa — notably in Sierra Leone, the
8

Democratic Republic of the Congo and Ethiopia and
Eritrea — be strongly supported by the international
community. At the same time, for peace to be viable it
is essential that peacekeeping missions incorporate the
necessary elements of disarmament, demobilization
and reintegration of ex-combatants, with the necessary
support of the international community.
My delegation commends the frank and forthright
report (A/55/305) of the Brahimi Panel on United
Nations Peace Operations. The Panel's bold
recommendations deserve the detailed and careful
consideration of the membership of the Organization.
Thereafter, we must demonstrate the urgency,
seriousness and political will to follow up on those
laudable recommendations, lest the Panel's report meet
the fate of many United Nations reports in the past for
lack of the necessary political will.
On another conflict situation, it is a matter of
great concern to Malaysia that one of the longest-
running conflicts of this century, the Arab-Israeli
conflict, remains unresolved. Successive opportunities
were not grasped due to the lack of seriousness on the
part of the Israeli Government to pursue the path of
peace. We are disappointed that the Israeli Government
fails to live up to the expectations of the international
community and lacks the boldness of vision, as well as
the will and courage, to grasp the once-in-a-lifetime
window of opportunity to seal a lasting peace between
Israel and Palestine and Syria in the interest of regional
peace and security.
The aspirations of the Palestinian people for an
independent and sovereign homeland can no longer be
denied. We look forward to welcoming in the very near
future an independent State of Palestine among the
community of nations here at the United Nations, as
well as in other international organizations. Equally, we
look forward to the return of Syrian Golan without
further delay. Israel must bury the suspicion and
distrust of the past and look to the future in an
environment that will create opportunities and
challenges in a peaceful and stable Middle East.
Since the East Asian financial crisis there has
been increasing recognition of the nature of the
problem of, and the need for reform of, the existing
global financial and economic systems, which
Malaysia has strongly advocated. It is my hope that
efforts in that direction will continue to be pursued by
the Bretton Woods institutions, even if the worst for the
affected Asian economies may now be over and those
countries are now recovering. It is dismaying that some
quarters are suggesting that, with the end of the crisis,
there is now no urgency or even necessity for reform.
Given the universality of its membership, the United
Nations is well placed to make an important
contribution to promoting the reform process,
particularly in the context of its own increasing
dialogue and interaction with those institutions. It
would be the height of folly and irresponsibility to wait
for another round of speculative currency attacks to jolt
us into action.
East Asia's traumatic experience is also a strong
reminder of the negative effects of globalization on
developing countries. While globalization is inevitable
and is becoming a permanent feature of the new
international order and system, it is far from being a
panacea. Indeed, the United Nations Human
Development Report indicates that globalization has
led to the marginalization of many developing
countries, resulting in an increasing disparity in
economic attainment between nations. This conclusion
is not surprising, given the existing inequitable
international economic order and the differing access to
technology.
With all its potential benefits, globalization in its
unfettered form is likely to do more harm than good to
the small, vulnerable economies, at least in the short
and medium terms, unless measures are put in place to
protect them. It will bring about not free trade, but an
unfair and inequitable exchange: the inflow of capital,
goods and services from the developed North in return
for the outflow of hard-earned foreign exchange from
the poor countries of the South. The notion of a level
playing field, which is the central creed of
globalization, would perpetuate the present inequities
in favour of the strong, developed economies at the
expense of the vulnerable economies of the developing
world. It would only ensure the continued domination
of the weak by the strong.
For globalization to be universally embraced
without reservation there must be in place certain
ground rules to regulate the conduct of free trade in
goods and services to ensure an equitable exchange
between unequal partners predicated on a win-win
proposition. At the same time, the principle of
transparency should be applied across the board to
include currency traders and market manipulators, who
are now somehow exempted from such a requirement,
9

as well as from payment of taxes. Until and unless
these measures are instituted, globalization will be seen
by the developing world as a largely predatory
ideology of the rich nations for the exploitation and
subjugation of poor ones.
That impression is further reinforced by the
intolerance of dissenting of some of its promoters
views in their zeal to prescribe the one-size-fits-all
approach towards globalization. The developing
countries should be allowed to pursue globalization at
their own pace so as to enable them to develop social
and institutional structures to fully benefit from the
process while minimizing its negative impact. For
many countries, the price to be paid for globalization as
presently interpreted, particularly the loss of
independence, would be simply too great for them to
bear. This is not the time for us to re-examine the
concept of the nation State and the sovereignty of
nations in order to accommodate the needs of the giant
multinational companies that operate across borders.
In the meantime, in order to brace themselves for
the full impact of globalization, developing countries
must forge enhanced cooperation among themselves in
a true spirit of South-South cooperation and on the
basis of mutually beneficial “smart partnerships” with
the involvement of the private sector. This would
facilitate a useful exchange of ideas and experience
among them on the globalization process. Malaysia is
pleased to share those ideas and experiences with its
partners from the developing countries, and has done
so in the past several years in the context of the
Langkawi international dialogue. We are pleased to see
that those dialogues have been emulated by Africa
through the South African international dialogue.
Indeed, in an increasingly complex future world it is
only appropriate for the developing countries to
develop such synergies through strategic linkages
among themselves as well as with the developed
countries.
To assist in the process of globalization, it is
incumbent upon the international community to ensure
that the developing countries, particularly the least
developed among them, continue to receive
development assistance to enable them to make the
leap out of chronic poverty. Indeed, given the intrinsic
link between peace, security and development, the
Organization must continue to be in the vanguard of
global developmental efforts, upon which so much of
the world depends. It is imperative for the United
Nations to carry out its developmental mission with
even greater vigour at a time of increasingly scarce
resources and exploding populations. This is where the
continued role of the United Nations Development
Programme (UNDP) can be especially critical, with
additional resources and more effective programmes,
particularly for vulnerable small island and landlocked
States and States in Africa, where in a number of cases
economic performance has fallen back rather than
progressed since independence.
Notable gains have been made in several African
countries. However, Africa's ability to rise out of
chronic poverty can be attained only with continued
international assistance, including forgiveness of its
countries' external debt, without which many of them
will remain trapped in the vicious circle of poverty,
violence and natural or man-made disasters. In this
regard, Malaysia reiterates its strong support for, and
looks forward to, the convening of an international
conference on financing for development in the year
2001 involving all major stakeholders, including the
private sector. The convening of such a forum is
imperative, as there can be no development without the
necessary financing to support it.
Along with the Millennium Summit, this session
of the General Assembly will be remembered for,
among other things, paving the way for the kind of
United Nations that will eventually emerge to serve the
international community, at least in the early decades
of the twenty-first century. While the shifting patterns
of relationships among nations have yet to find a final
form and the future is far from clear, there is no
denying that in the increasingly complex and
interconnected world of tomorrow, the United Nations
is likely to play an increasingly critical role. To that
end the Organization must continuously place itself at
the forefront in the search for solutions to global
problems.


I
again extend our congratulations to the President on his
election.
The Millennium Summit has charted for us a plan
of action for the immediate future. We must
consistently bear that plan of action in mind as our
main priority, and direct all our work towards its
11

effective implementation. We cannot view the final
document adopted by the most important gathering of
world leaders ever held as a mere expression of good
intentions and act as though it were a matter of routine
and as if nothing had happened.
First, we must take action to ensure that the vast
majority of the human race living in developing
countries make significant progress towards the
attainment of sustainable development. We must make
special efforts with respect to the millions of men,
women and children who live in poverty. They must be
given means of subsistence, education and medical
care.
Our most important shared instrument, the United
Nations, is currently ill-equipped for that enormous
task. We must therefore focus on giving it the power
and means to play an effective role in that important
effort. We believe that the United Nations must play a
central role in the struggle for development. To that
end, we must consider without delay ways to
strengthen the General Assembly, our most democratic
and open institution. It is equally necessary to
strengthen the Organization's primary instrument in
this field, the Economic and Social Council, which
should become a real council for human development,
with authority and ability to act comparable to the
Security Council's.
The message of the Millennium Summit is very
clear: peace and development are equally important,
and each depends on the other. The most urgent tasks
in the struggle against poverty are also clear: to
alleviate the debt burden of highly indebted poor
countries; to tackle the scourges of AIDS and malaria;
and to provide education for all. In all of those tasks
the United Nations must play a leadership role.
In order to meet the established goals of reducing
world poverty by half by 2015, we must ensure that
national Government's measures adopted in accordance
with the social platform of United Nations conferences,
to benefit their populations in the areas of health, food
and education, are accompanied by international
cooperation based on solidarity, in order that those
tasks are carried out efficiently and promptly.
It is therefore particularly important, in order to
support the objectives of, and strategies for, poverty
eradication, that developed countries meet their
commitment to dedicate 0.7 per cent of gross domestic
product to official development assistance.
It is equally urgent to ensure that the rules
regulating international trade and finance are just and
equitable, not only in theory but also in practice, so
that they lead to development for all, and not merely to
the further enrichment of a privileged minority.
In that regard, the high-level intergovernmental
meeting on financing for development, to be held next
year, should result in effective coordination and
harmonization of all the efforts Governments and
international organizations, so that those efforts may
bear tangible fruits meeting the needs of all countries.
The United Nations must be the coordinating centre for
the World Trade Organization and the Bretton Woods
institutions.
With regard to foreign debt, it is vital that the
international community promote, on the basis of
North-South dialogue, the adoption of concerted
measures for the effective resolution of this problem,
which is seriously weakening the sustained economic
growth of developing countries affected by the
excessive burden of debt servicing. We believe that it
will be necessary to consider the timely rescheduling
on favourable terms of the international financial
commitments of developing countries, including highly
indebted poor countries and medium-income countries.
The freeing of resources currently allocated to
debt payment will make it possible for those countries
more efficiently to meet the real needs of their
populations in the areas of food, health and education.
It will also promote their peoples' participation and full
integration within their respective societies. It is also
necessary to recognize the economic and social costs
incurred by developing countries in meeting foreign
debt payments.
Shared responsibility in dealing with economic
and social issues, as well as with regard to questions of
peace, requires more intensive and effective
participation by developing countries in the world
economy, particularly in decision-making and the
formulation of international and economic norms.
The efforts of the developing countries towards
poverty eradication, economic and social progress,
sustained economic growth and sustainable
development are dependent on a favourable
international economic environment and on
international cooperation for renewed and strengthened
development. The magnitude and urgency of the
challenges facing us in the economic and social sphere
12

require the support of all Member States in order to
realize the aspirations of those who cry out for a more
equitable and just world, in which poverty eradication
and the promotion of development are a genuine
expression of international peace and stability.
As for our other main priority, the maintenance of
peace, we must learn from our experience — both from
our mistakes and from our achievements.
The United Nations must be provided with the
means to anticipate and prevent conflicts, not just put
an end to them once they have erupted.
In this respect, disarmament, including nuclear
disarmament, is vital, as is the elimination of the illicit
arms trade. Also key is the struggle against
transnational criminal activities such as terrorism and
the illicit drug trade.
In this context, we welcome the proposal of the
Secretary-General to convene an international
conference on the reduction of the nuclear threat. We
believe that this could help strengthen the commitment
to eliminate nuclear weapons, as recently agreed at the
sixth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).
Venezuela supports the convening of the United
Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms
and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, to be held next
year. That Conference will be a perfect opportunity for
us to combine our efforts to adopt measures of
cooperation to eliminate this illicit activity, which has
links to organized transnational crime and is
encouraged by unscrupulous groups or individuals who
act unlawfully.
The role of the United Nations as the only forum
empowered to authorize the use of force must be
reaffirmed, without distinctions or exceptions, apart
from self-defence, which in turn must be in strict
compliance with the provisions of the Charter.
It is urgent to this end to make effective progress
towards reform of the Security Council. This does not
mean mere cosmetic change, but rather real reform,
with a view to ensuring its credibility as a democratic,
transparent and impartial organ in which no country
has the right to block, through the use of the veto,
action agreed by the majority.
If we wish the Millennium Summit to have real
significance, if we want it to be remembered not only
because of the milestone represented by the
participation of an unprecedented number of world
leaders, we must take concrete action at this session of
the General Assembly. Towards that end, Venezuela
fully supports the proposal made recently by the
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay to create a
working group to ensure implementation of the
Millennium Summit Declaration. We believe that this
group should be open to participation by all Member
States. We believe also that the representatives of the
countries that co-chaired the Summit and those that
presided over the four round tables, as well as the
Chairmen of the regional groups, should participate
actively in this process.