Let me congratulate
you, Sir, on your election to the demanding job of the
presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth
session. It is a fitting recognition of Korea’s role in the
international community and of your extensive
experience and able leadership.
I would also like to extend our congratulations to
Mr. Kofi Annan and the United Nations for the much
deserved award of the Nobel Peace Prize. It should
serve as an added source of inspiration for him in his
second term as Secretary-General and for all of us here.
The fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly
runs parallel to dramatic events for the development of
mankind. On behalf of the Government and the people
of Georgia, I wish once again to express my sincere
condolences and compassion to the American people
for the tragic events of 11 September.
15

Ominous threats we had been talking about for so
long have become real. Georgia, a country that over the
past decade has suffered terribly from different
manifestations of terrorism, is an active participant in
the campaign against terror. The time is ripe for
increased cooperation from all States and peoples of
good will in this fight against terror.
I am referring not only to cooperation in the
military field. Overcoming this evil requires close
cooperation in development, the protection of human
rights, eradicating poverty and in many other fields.
Today’s realities are a lesson to mankind on the
consequences and cost of indifference and a lack of
attention to what is happening all around the world.
The United Nations is certainly a unique
Organization, where we, the Member States, can shape
common strategies to combat many of the ills and
problems of the day. These strategies and action plans
are worked into various United Nations resolutions,
decisions and declarations.
The United Nations Millennium Declaration is a
great achievement in this regard. It is virtually a pledge
on the part of nations to a common fight against the
manifold challenges we face today. Without any further
delay, Georgia, its people and all the peoples of the
world need a clear demonstration of readiness to
implement the commitments made in the Declaration.
We are hopeful that the report of the Secretary-General,
entitled “Road map towards the implementation of the
United Nations Millennium Declaration” (A/56/326).
will become a guide for Governments around the
world.
Strengthening the capacity of the United Nations
in the area of conflict settlement is crucial to the
creation of a new world order based on common values
and principles. The world order of the twenty-first
century is clearly incompatible with the widespread
violations of human rights, and this could lead to a
destabilization of the international system.
The reforms should also encompass United
Nations peacekeeping operations. Georgia supports the
measures to enhance the effectiveness of United
Nations preventive mechanisms. In the same context,
the early deployment of peacekeeping contingents
should be more coherent and systematic in order to
quell conflicts in their early stages. The launching of a
peacekeeping operation or a change in its mandate
requires the consent of all sides involved. We are
inclined to think that this approach requires revision.
The cause of peace should rank as a higher priority for
the United Nations than the consent of any side
involved in the conflict.
In the words of the Secretary-General,
“the international community must remain
prepared to engage politically, and if necessary
militarily, to contain menace and ultimately
resolve conflicts that have got out of hand. This
will require a better functioning of the collective
security system than exists at the moment. It will
require, above all, a greater willingness to
intervene to prevent gross violations of human
rights.”
Internal conflicts spawned by separatism are no
less dangerous to international security than the
confrontations of the cold-war period or conflicts of
international character. The reformed United Nations
must be more concrete and decisive in terms of
employing the compulsory measures provided for in
Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter.
Georgia fully shares the view that there is a need
to improve the United Nations rapid response system.
We support the timely creation of a United Nations
rapid deployment force, whose utilization in the early
stage of peacekeeping operations would contribute to
the prevention of many conflicts.
I would like in particular to note the work of the
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and
other structures under the United Nations umbrella in
Georgia. Their assistance is many-faceted, and these
structures in particular are making a great contribution
to the process of Georgia’s democratic transformation.
However, a new agenda for cooperation is also
required.
I wish to underscore the joint initiative of the
United Nations and the International Monetary Fund
with regard to creating a programme for the eradication
of poverty. Georgia is one of the most active
participants in this programme. An interesting part of
its effort is the elaboration of a programme of
employing internally displaced persons in small
businesses. All of these processes are taking place
under very difficult conditions and in an environment
of numerous problems.
Over the past two years the perspectives of rapid
development in Georgia have been countered by the
16

absence of progress in the peace process in Abkhazia,
Georgia. It is time to put an end to the spiritual and
physical suffering of the people of Georgian, Abkhaz
and other nationalities who have been forced from their
homes and lands by the tragedy of war. Most
importantly, we cannot instil hatred and enmity in the
coming generations. The value of peace in the region is
too high to be sacrificed to the political and
commercial ambitions of a single group.
The time has come to react duly to the ethnic
cleansing carried out in Abkhazia, Georgia. The
separatists, with the help of outside forces, expelled
about 300,000 people from their places of residence.
The inalienable right of people to live in their
homeland is still being flagrantly trampled.
On numerous occasions Georgia has expressed its
deep concern about the presence of uncontrolled
regions within the territories of the sovereign State,
ruled by de facto separatist regimes. The
encouragement of these regimes is totally unacceptable
and fraught with dangerous consequences. The tragic
downing of a United Nations helicopter over Abkhazia,
Georgia, is one such heartbreaking example. I wish to
take this opportunity to once again express our deep
condolences to the families of the victims, who paid
the ultimate price for upholding the noble principles of
the United Nations.
I would like to use this important rostrum to bring
to the Assembly’s attention the danger of large-scale
provocation that Georgia is facing today. I am referring
to the violation of Georgia’s airspace and the bombing
of our territory. Such attacks have taken place before as
well, but, despite our protests, no adequate reaction
was forthcoming. Georgia views these acts as an
infringement of our sovereignty and an attempt by
some forces to subvert the peace process.
All of this is taking place at a time when the
United States, together with the international
community, is mobilized against the most evil enemy
of humankind: international terrorism. Georgia clearly
visualizes its place in this fight, and President
Shevardnadze has repeatedly expressed readiness for
cooperation. But it is unacceptable that some States use
this noble cause of fighting terrorism as a disguise in
order to reassert influence in the post-Soviet context.
The Government of Georgia reiterates its
commitment to the peaceful settlement of the conflict
in Abkhazia, Georgia. We believe that the use of force
runs contrary to our political interests, in particular the
interests of our multi-ethnic population, including the
Abkhazians. At the same time, it is becoming
increasingly difficult for the Government of Georgia to
dissuade those people who have lost their faith in a
peaceful resolution of the conflict from using other
means.
We are offering a special programme for
resolving the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia, to all our
political partners, the Security Council and the
European bodies. This programme has to be
implemented without delay, notwithstanding changes it
may undergo or substantial concessions it may require
from the parties involved in order to reach agreement
and to put the programme into action.
For two years the document on the distribution of
constitutional competencies between Tbilisi and
Sukhumi, drafted by the Special Representative of the
Secretary-General, has been kept within the confines of
the Group of Friends of the Secretary-General on
Georgia. This document has to constitute the basis for
meaningful negotiations on the scope of autonomy for
Abkhazia.
The Government of Georgia is ready to grant
Abkhazia the widest form of autonomy practised
around the world today. Considerable international
support is needed to restore confidence between the
parties, as indicated in the Declaration of the Yalta
meeting that took place with the assistance of brotherly
Ukraine.
Let me stress again that we attach great
importance, and we are anxious to begin discussing,
the economic rehabilitation strategy for the region. We
also look forward to carrying out projects beneficial to
all and to preserving the unique Abkhaz people.
We need working relations with Russia that are
both cordial and at the same time equitable. Russia is a
country with which we have cultural and friendly ties
that are centuries old. We can only value its special
role as the regional leader, member of the international
anti-terrorist coalition, permanent member of the
Security Council and the facilitator of the peace
process in Abkhazia, Georgia. We expect that all this
will be utilized in the best interests of all the people of
Georgia. The continuation of misunderstanding and
confrontation is unacceptable.
17

We must exert every effort to put an end to the
use of separatist regimes by certain countries as a way
of exerting pressure on neighbouring nations.
We support the dialogue among civilizations as a
means of achieving better understanding between all
the peoples of the world. We would be honoured to
host a forum dedicated to this issue. As a country on
the crossroads between Europe and Asia, Georgia, with
its ancient and multifaceted culture, is an appropriate
place for such a meeting.
In closing, let me stress again that it is dialogue
and cooperation that should determine the fate of
mankind. For that purpose we need a United Nations
with broad, coherent and determined capabilities.


On behalf of my
delegation, I should like to present our heartfelt
condolences to the grieving families following the
tragic plane accident yesterday.
Let me at the outset congratulate Mr. Han Seung-
soo on his unanimous election to preside over the fifty-
sixth session of the United Nations General Assembly.
With his wealth of experience and wisdom we have no
doubt that our deliberations will always be crowned
with success. He may rest assured that in carrying out
the important mandate entrusted to him, he will not
find the cooperation of the Gambian delegation
wanting. On behalf of my delegation I should also like
to pay a special tribute to his predecessor for a job well
done.
As for our indefatigable Secretary-General, I add
my voice to those of previous speakers in
congratulating him, and the United Nations, on
winning the Nobel Peace Prize. In addition to that, my
delegation commends him for his effective and
inspiring leadership, in turning the United Nations
around in such a way that much of the hope that was
lost has since been restored. Mr. Secretary-General,
you deserve our respect and admiration.
The circumstances in which we are meeting this
time are far different from previous sessions for
reasons well known to all of us. The terrorist attacks on
New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania on 11
September took the whole world by surprise because of
their cataclysmic proportions. Nothing can ever justify
such barbaric acts. Unfortunately, like so many
countries present here today, we too were bereaved
following the attack on the World Trade Center. I
should like at this juncture to express profound
gratitude to President George W. Bush for his kind
remarks. The Government and people of the Gambia,
as well as the families concerned, are deeply moved by
the President’s thoughtfulness. All of this shows that
terrorism has no boundaries and, worse still, it has no
respect for the sanctity of life. It is incumbent upon all
of us therefore not to offer sanctuary to any terrorists
or their sponsors.
In the Gambia, His Excellency the President
Alhaji Dr. Yahya A. J. J. Jammeh, declared three days
of national mourning and requested all mosques and
churches to pray for the deceased in solidarity with the
friendly people of the United States and their
Government. While we continue to pray and mourn,
individually and collectively, we in the Gambia
subscribe unreservedly to Security Council resolutions
1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001), of 12 and 28 September
2001, respectively. Similarly, we welcome the adoption
of the Dakar Declaration on terrorism by the
Conference of African Heads of State and Government,
held in Dakar, Senegal, on 17 October 2001.
Having said that, I would, however, hasten to
point out that it is one thing to adopt resolutions and
declarations but it is quite another to implement them
fully. It goes without saying that the fight against
international terrorism is neither easy nor the business
of a select group of countries alone. Certainly not. This
international scourge can only be dealt with effectively
through concerted international effort. However, it will
serve no useful purpose to request Member States to
report on measures taken in the fight against terrorism
when the requisite means to do so are not available.
This will be a long and difficult engagement, but at the
same time it is not an impossible task. In the process,
no country should be excluded. Consequently, as a first
step, the Security Council should inquire of Member
States what they need, at the national level, to equip
them in the fight against terrorism, especially in terms
of training and logistics. In our view, that is the priority
14

of priorities, because no category of countries can be
considered safe unless and until all categories of
countries are seen to be safe.
Let me mention en passant one very important
point. The Gambia, where I come from, is
predominantly Muslim, but we do not at all subscribe
to the misleading concept that the struggle against
terrorism is one between Islam and Christianity. For
that reason we in the Gambia are committed to signing
and ratifying all the relevant United Nations
conventions against terrorism.
Allow me now to dwell a little on some domestic
issues. As was widely reported all over the world, the
presidential elections that were held in the Gambia on
18 October 2001 received the unanimous endorsement
of the entire international community as free, fair and
transparent. All international observers present in the
country expressed the same views. The 1996 elections
were also free, fair and transparent, but we were given
a mere pass. In the 2001 elections we passed with
flying colours. As of right, therefore, we expect our
principal partners in development, who were still
sceptical in 1996, now to show the way forward by
embracing the Government and people of the Gambia
in a new spirit of solidarity geared towards a fresh and
reinvigorated partnership. We have kept our part of the
bargain as a nation. We have delivered what was
expected of us — in fact, we did more and better than
expected. What happened immediately after the
election results were announced is ample
demonstration of political maturity. Let me give a
graphic illustration of what I am talking about by
borrowing a paragraph or two from His Excellency
President Jammeh’s victory statement.
“Fellow Gambians, [...] I would want to
enjoin you all after the celebrations to put the
campaign and all the euphoria and the differences
and misunderstandings of politics behind us and
come together as one people to work with my
Government, supporters and non-supporters alike,
to further develop this country.”
President Jammeh then went on to thank the principal
leaders of the opposition for their courage and maturity
displayed in extending their congratulations to him in a
telephone conversation. The President then said:
“The gesture was indeed most welcome and I
would want to restate my expectation that with
the elections now behind us, we would put our
differences of political ideology aside and work
together as members of the same family to pursue
the development agenda we in this country have
set for ourselves, in the best interest of our
beloved people.”
That indeed was the icing on the cake. It can now
be proclaimed without any fear of contradiction that
the Gambia, despite all the odds, is consolidating its
position among the leading democracies in Africa, and
indeed in the whole world.
Elsewhere on the African continent, while we
cannot claim that the same pattern of free and fair
elections and the rule of law prevail, we can note with
satisfaction that the signs are encouraging, although a
lot more remains to be done. In neighbouring Sierra
Leone we commend the United Nations Mission in
Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) for what has been achieved
so far. As elections are fast approaching it becomes
even more urgent to accelerate the process of
disarmament, demobilization and reintegration.
The importance of a regional approach to conflict
resolution cannot be overemphasized. We will have to
sound our own trumpet by commending the Economic
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) for the
preponderant role that it has played in the quest for a
lasting solution to the problems in the Mano River
area. With regard to another neighbouring country,
Guinea-Bissau, the Gambia, in its capacity as
coordinator of the Group of Friends of Guinea-Bissau,
would like to launch an appeal to the donor community
to cooperate closely with the Group with a view to
convening the long overdue round-table donors’
conference. As stated in the Fall report following a
mission to West Africa some time ago, certain
countries in transition, such as Guinea-Bissau, need
special and urgent attention. I am referring to the
important report by Assistant Secretary-General
Ibrahima Fall. We are not done with that report yet, for
it raises such serious issues as the regional approach to
conflict resolution.
We are also following very closely the situation
in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. It is
gratifying to note that the Security Council adopted
resolution 1376 (2001) by which it gave the green light
for the launching of phase III of the deployment of the
United Nations Organization Mission in the
15

Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUC). My
delegation also encourages the parties concerned to
pursue the inter-Congolese dialogue with renewed
vigour and to cooperate with the Facilitator. We are
saddened, however, by the illegal exploitation of
natural resources and other forms of wealth in the
Democratic Republic of the Congo. There is obviously
a direct link between such practices and the
prolongation of the conflict. Still, in the Great Lakes
region, we pay a special tribute to former President
Mandela for his laudable efforts to bring peace to
Burundi. Concerning the situation in Angola, my
delegation continues to believe that UNITA’s ability to
wage war must be further reduced through tighter
sanctions. In this context we note with satisfaction the
extension of the mandate of the Monitoring
Mechanism.
Turning to other parts of the continent, my
delegation welcomes the decision of the Security
Council to terminate the sanctions that were imposed
on the Sudan. We are also calling on the Council to
make a bold move and lift the sanctions imposed on
Libya. The international community demanded that the
Libyan authorities hand over the Lockerbie suspects for
trial in exchange for the lifting of sanctions. The
international community must now honour its
obligations and stop moving the goal-posts.
Outside Africa we also continue to express
concern about a number of conflict situations.
Seemingly, the most intractable of the lot is the
situation in the Middle East, and, notably, the
Palestinian problem. There can be no lasting peace in
the Middle East without resolving the Palestinian
question. We in the Gambia have always held the view
that, while recognizing the right of Israel to exist
within secure borders, we also believe that the relevant
United Nations resolutions on the Arab-Israeli conflict
should be implemented, culminating in the creation of
an independent Palestinian state.
In the situation between Kuwait and Iraq, we in
the Gambia have always maintained that the
international community should, as a matter of
urgency, find ways of alleviating the suffering of the
Iraqi people. But at the same time, the Iraqi leadership
must be accountable for the Kuwaiti prisoners of war
and missing persons. The families of the prisoners of
war and missing persons have also been suffering for
too long and, therefore, we call upon the Iraqi
Government to respect and comply with the relevant
Security Council resolutions in order to achieve peace
and stability in the Gulf region.
It is an irony that long after the end of the cold
war, the situation in the Korean peninsula remains
basically the same. We in the Gambia were, however,
very much encouraged by the visit to North Korea of
President Kim Dae Jung of South Korea in June last
year. It is only through dialogue and the exchange of
such high-level visits that the peaceful unification of
the Korean peninsula will be achieved.
Similarly, it is our fervent hope that one day the
Republic of China on Taiwan and the People’s
Republic of China will unite but, as the saying goes, let
us put first things first. As clearly stated by my
delegation during the meeting of the General
Committee, the Government of the Gambia would like
to reiterate that the exceptional situation of the
Republic of China on Taiwan needs to be reconsidered
by this body. Only a few days ago, the Republic of
China on Taiwan was admitted to the World Trade
Organization (WTO). That is no mean achievement
and, therefore, my delegation would like to take this
opportunity to congratulate the Government and the 23
million people of the Republic of China on Taiwan. We
in the Gambia have no doubt that they will make
constructive contributions to the work of the WTO. It
will be recalled that the Republic of China on Taiwan
is now the world’s seventeenth largest economy in
terms of gross national product (GNP) and the fifteenth
most important trading nation. Considering that the
Republic of China on Taiwan possesses the world’s
third largest foreign reserves, in addition to its strategic
position as the sixteenth largest foreign direct investor,
it does not make much sense to continue to exclude it
from the United Nations. Politics aside, the Republic of
China on Taiwan has a lot to offer the international
community. For instance, in the crucial area of
information and communication technologies (ICT),
the real revolution of our times, the Republic of China
on Taiwan is in the vanguard. We all know that the
issue of ICT is among the top priorities of the United
Nations and we therefore look forward to the special
event on Tuesday, 20 November, when the Secretary-
General will launch the United Nations Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT) Task Force.
How will we be able to benefit from the expertise of
the Republic of China on Taiwan when it is excluded
from the work of the United Nations?
16

The Republic of China on Taiwan is active in
other important areas as well, especially development
cooperation, by providing experts and through
international financial institutions, and, likewise, in the
humanitarian field by providing disaster relief to
countries in need. The case of the Republic of China on
Taiwan is unique. It is exceptional and should be
treated as such, quite apart from observing the
principle of universality.
Another country which has much to offer the
international community is Cuba, ranging from
medicine to sports. After more than three decades, the
sanctions imposed on Cuba should now be lifted. These
sanctions can no longer be justified; in fact, they are
counterproductive.
Prior to the tragic events of 11 September, we had
already identified a number of areas for increased
international cooperation within the framework of the
Millennium Declaration. Foremost among these is the
eradication of poverty. It is made a priority of priorities
in the Millennium Declaration, if not the priority. In the
World Development Report 2000-2001 entitled
“Attacking poverty”, the President of the World Bank
in his foreword stated that “Poverty amid plenty is the
world’s greatest challenge.” We are also of the view
that poverty constitutes a serious threat to international
peace and security, knowing that 1.2 billion people live
on less than $1 a day. That is why our leaders
undertook to cut by half the proportion of people living
in extreme poverty by the year 2015. Of the 1.2 billion
who live on less than $1 a day, 300 million are in
Africa. Under these circumstances the New African
Initiative is indeed a timely response. We only hope
that unlike previous blueprints for Africa’s socio-
economic development, the New Initiative will not be
left to gather dust. It would appear for the first time,
that we, the Africans, are in the driver’s seat. That is a
clear demonstration of ownership and commitment.
Our principal partners in development should also
complement our efforts by providing the necessary
resources as a matter of urgency. The Economic
Commission for Africa should work closely with the
various regional economic groupings to ensure proper
and effective coordination. We are confident that the
momentum generated by the adoption of the New
African Initiative will be intensified with the
convening of the International Conference on
Financing for Development at the summit level in
Monterrey, Mexico, next year. That Conference will
provide a unique opportunity for the international
community to translate into reality the global solidarity
spelled out in the Millennium Declaration, especially in
such vital areas as official development assistance
(ODA), foreign direct investment (FDI) and debt
reduction, or outright cancellation in some cases, and
market access — to mention only a few.
Similarly, the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Rio+10), to be held in South Africa next
year, will also provide a golden opportunity for
stocktaking, notably for a comprehensive review of the
implementation of Agenda 21.
All efforts geared towards the eradication of
poverty would be incomplete without addressing the
issue of food security. My delegation therefore looks
forward to the convening of the World Food Summit in
June next year. A related issue is health. We in West
Africa, particularly we in the Gambia, would like to
eradicate malaria as a matter of urgency and, as a first
step, our leaders have adopted the Rollback Malaria
Programme. We will need the support and solidarity of
the entire international community in this endeavour,
especially within the context of the Global Alliance for
Vaccines and Immunization.
With special reference to the least developed
countries, it will be recalled that the Third United
Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries,
held recently, adopted yet another Programme of
Action for the decade 2001-2010 aimed essentially at
the eradication of poverty. We hope that the rest of the
donor community will support that Programme fully by
making available the resources necessary for its
implementation. In any poverty eradication
programme, the most vulnerable groups, that is, women
and children, should be given special attention. That is
why the Government of the Gambia remains committed
to the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action,
including the further actions and initiatives that
emanated from the Beijing+5 Conference held last
June. The same applies to the Nairobi forward-looking
strategies for the advancement of women and all other
initiatives that promote the advancement of women and
the girl child. In fact, His Excellency President Yahya
Jammeh has now decided that all girls in the Gambia
from grades 1 to 12, in virtually all parts of the
country, will no longer pay school fees.
Finally, experience has shown that our collective
security can only be guaranteed if and when all
17

members of the comity of nations are equally
guaranteed freedom from want and freedom from fear.
That can be achieved only through genuine
international solidarity. The tendency to look the other
way when another needs a helping hand should be a
thing of the past. Each time in our history when we are
faced with major difficulties, we suddenly realize how
much we need one another. We close our ranks and
take up the challenges together. We are again at a
crossroads. That is why we are all here to renew faith
in multilateralism. There is no alternative to the United
Nations. We are now strengthened in our conviction
that our Organization is nowhere near being a “sunset”
Organization. It is a “sunrise” Organization. But it
should shine even brighter once the Security Council is
reformed to reflect the realities of the twenty-first
century. Unless that is done, the Security Council runs
the serious risk of becoming irrelevant because it is
anchored in the past. We do not want that to happen. It
is too vital an organ to be sidelined, but it must adapt
and adjust. It is time to move on. Let us be forward-
looking. Whatever the outcome may be, Africa must be
adequately represented.


Allow me, on behalf of the Government of Colombia,
to express our satisfaction at your assumption of the
presidency of this session of the General Assembly.
Your experience and leadership are valuable credentials
for bringing our deliberations to a fruitful result. I wish
also to pay tribute to your predecessor, the Minister of
Foreign Affairs of Finland, His Excellency Mr. Harri
Holkeri, whose diplomatic skills contributed decisively
to the Assembly’s work.
I want, further, to speak of the Secretary-General,
Mr. Kofi Annan, whose authority, dedication and
5

meaningful contribution will serve as inspiration for
the decisions that Member States must take at this
session.
Let me take this opportunity to reiterate our
satisfaction at the honour accorded to the United
Nations and to the Secretary-General through the
award of the Nobel Peace Prize. That was a well-
deserved tribute to our Organization, to the values
shared by its Member States, and, in particular, to the
Secretary General, whose personal commitment and
visionary approach have given new life to the United
Nations and have helped to consolidate its international
credibility. That decision was more than an
acknowledgement of past achievements; it provided
encouragement that inspires the work of the United
Nations in the light of the challenges of the new
millennium.
Two months ago the entire world was shaken by a
series of unprecedented terrorist acts. We have all
spoken of the dreadful effects of these attacks. We have
all expressed our solidarity to the people of the United
States. And we all agree that those irrational acts not
only affected one single country but were in fact an
attack against all mankind. But we must go even
further; we must understand why such events occurred
and what we must do to ensure that similar acts never
happen again – never again.
The tragedy of 11 September had the positive
effect of uniting us all against a common enemy:
terrorism. And it did something else: it removed the
dissembling from our words; it stripped the hypocrisy
from our discourse; it moved us out of the world of
grey tones to which we were so accustomed. Now we
must work to replace it with a black-and-white world
that is free of ambiguity.
And what were those greys that are so evident
today? They were the ambiguities we all expressed in
respect of violence and the money that finances it. In
the past, when an act against civilians anywhere in the
world suited our interests, we would speak of a
humanitarian crisis, of defending democracy, of
reasons of State. And we continued on impassively,
with a clear conscience. But when an act against
civilians anywhere did not suit our interests, we would
take a firm stand, we would react with indignation and
we would speak of terrorism, of attacks against
mankind, of treacherous attacks against democracy and
human rights.
Let there be no more ambiguity or equivocation.
The time has come to define our position, with no
vague half answers: either we side with mankind, its
dignity and its integrity, or we do not.
Whenever human dignity or civilians are
attacked, that is an act of terrorism. It does not matter
whether it is perpetrated by a group of religious
fanatics or by an organization claiming to have
political ideals. There is no pretext for attacking
defenceless civilians. The dividing line is very clear:
either we respect human life and dignity or we stand
against humankind.
The horrendous acts of 11 September do not
represent a collision of civilizations, religions or
cultures. The only collision is between a violent
fanatical minority on the one hand, and all forms of
civilization on the other. We cannot accept any further
attempts to justify violence. No matter how much it
costs us — even if it goes against our present
interests — there is something far more valuable than
anything else in the world: human life and human
dignity.
Today, we must all stand together and
unreservedly condemn all acts of violence against any
human being, regardless of the pretext. If we do not
cast our lot in favour of mankind and human values,
what will be left for us? What right will we have to call
ourselves the leaders of a civilization gone adrift?
I address the Assembly today with the
overwhelming responsibility and authority vested in me
as President of a country, Colombia, that for decades
has endured an internal conflict where every new day
brings more deaths and kidnappings because of the
intransigence of illegal groups seeking to impose
themselves at the cost of the lives of their compatriots.
And I address the Assembly today representing a
country, Colombia, that has been the main victim of
worldwide drug addiction, a country that has suffered
too many deaths, that has sacrificed natural and
financial resources to combat a crime that is not its
own. It is a global crime whose vast illegal proceeds
remain outside our borders.
In those two capacities, I address the international
community, represented in the General Assembly, to
demand, head held high, that we move from rhetoric to
action. The world is distressed by this ominous
terrorism. I say candidly that we ourselves have also
6

suffered from such terrorism for quite some time. But
we have not always felt the pulse of the international
community beating firmly by our side.
We all know that the world market for illegal
drugs is the number-one source of financing for
worldwide terrorism and death. Yet the international
community has been content simply to suggest or
demand that production centres control drug trafficking
through law enforcement and through eradication and
interdiction action, forgetting that this scourge is much
more than just a problem of cultivation and trafficking.
It is a global problem with global ramifications.
Colombia has always said, and my Government
has repeated again and again in every possible
international forum, that it is necessary to control
illegal drug production, but that we cannot forget that
this is a very complex transnational business and that
the vast proceeds of narcotics trafficking do not stay in
our country. No, indeed: those profits move freely
through international financial markets where
seemingly respectable financiers and businessmen
prosper, enjoying the tolerance of the entire world.
We must also learn from our misfortunes —
especially from our misfortunes — and we have
learned something from the events of 11 September.
We have learned that lax control of financial
institutions and the existence of tax and banking
havens are like giving criminals a letter of marque to
make and multiply their profits, to amass the fortunes
that finance death.
The shared responsibility that my country
demands in the fight against illegal drugs must also be
applied to the fight against terrorism. This new
international conviction that we have all been late in
implementing — perhaps because we are still numbed
by the so-called post-cold-war era — must be
translated into acts that go beyond rhetoric. There must
be no more coexisting with money laundering, even if
it means going after the major financial conglomerates
of the world.
There must be no more uncontrolled production
and sale of the chemical precursors used in illicit drug
production.
There must be no more illegal or uncontrolled
manufacturing and sale of the weapons that propagate
death.
Only if we, beginning with the developed
countries, translate those principles into reality, with
concrete action and with political will, will we give
meaning and effectiveness to the fight that my country,
Colombia, has been waging for many years against the
cultivation and production of drugs.
No country is free from the destructive
consequences of illegal drugs. There are no epicentres
in this illegal business. This criminal activity is global
in nature. The drug problem, and organized crime in
general, undermine the institutional framework,
conspire against democracy, compromise governance
and sow death and violence. They are a hothouse of
corruption; they erode judicial systems and they thwart
the rule of law. Shared responsibility, therefore, means
the responsibility to defend democracy, our principles
and institutions.
The year 2003 will mark five years since the
twentieth special session of the General Assembly, the
so-called world drug summit. We should now begin to
promote an in-depth review of all the accomplishments,
the obstacles encountered along the way, the new
challenges to be faced and the additional action we
must take to break, once and for all, the links that
support this global phenomenon.
But we must do so without losing ourselves in
grey tones. The commitment of the international
community must be real and concrete so that we can at
last attack the finances of the traffickers of death. Let
us combat the business in which they make all their
profits.
Fortunately, the Security Council has taken
important decisions in this regard, moving the fight
against crime in the right direction. Security Council
resolution 1373 (2001) and the measures being taken
by all the Governments of the world to combat the
financing of international terrorism are an essential
step forward that Colombia supports without hesitation.
We must work together to dismantle the structure
of the extremists’ financial support. That is the only
way to create a safer world for our children. It is the
only way to defeat the plague of violence and terrorism
at its roots: the transnational empires of drugs.
A year ago, we gathered in this same Hall on the
occasion of the Millennium Summit. None of the
priorities identified at that time was stressed as much
as the need to ensure that globalization benefits all the
7

peoples of the world. The reality of globalization is one
of inequality; it has led to dissatisfaction and conflict.
We need, through deep reflection, to become aware of
our responsibility for humanizing globalization and
ensuring that it reflects the interests of all countries and
regions.
The Conference on Financing for Development to
be held early next year in Mexico is particularly
important in this light. Unless we mobilize the
necessary financial resources and move towards a new
architecture ensuring a stable international financial
system, the commitments and the course set out at the
Millennium Summit will be a dead letter.
Those same criteria must guide next year’s World
Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg.
On that occasion, we must consolidate a positive vision
and devise a road map for achieving real harmony
between economic growth, social development and the
preservation of the environment.
This is the last time I will address the General
Assembly as President of Colombia. Each year since
1998, I have spoken before the Assembly about the
commitment of my Government and of the people of
Colombia to achieving peace, democracy and progress
in social justice.
More than any other leader of my country I have
fully devoted myself to achieving peace. I do not regret
having done that, because we Colombians are tired of
violence, intimidation, crime and kidnappings. I hope
that all groups living outside the law will make the
right choice at this crucial juncture, not only in the
history of Colombia but also in the history of all
humankind. It is up to them to decide how they want to
be treated: as terrorists and drug-traffickers or as
political insurgents. They must define themselves
through their actions. If their actions lead them to be
treated as mere terrorists, then they must clearly
understand — and I say this vehemently to the
world — that Colombia and the international
community will honour their commitments and carry
out the measures adopted by the Security Council to
combat terrorism.
History goes on; it does not stop. Leaders come
and go, but peoples continue along the path laid out
before them. Even today, I believe that peace is
possible if the will to make peace exists. I still believe,
with the firm hope of someone who knows the values
of his people, that the road we started on will not be
barren.
During my mandate, the international community
has shown an unprecedented solidarity with the people
of Colombia and its quest for peace. I am grateful for
that from the bottom of my heart.
I must give special recognition to the Secretary
General’s Special Adviser on International Assistance
to Colombia, Jan Egeland, for his assistance, and to the
generous contribution of friendly nations during the
talks with insurgent groups. The world has sided with
peace in Colombia, and that is a gesture we understand
and appreciate in its full worth.
Today I echo the strong and determined voice of
40 million Colombians, who are all fighting for a better
and more dignified life, and I reaffirm before the world
a message to the international community that proposes
and demands clarity.
The time for lamenting is over. It is time for
definitions.
Let us put aside the empty speeches. Let us leave
behind the moral double standards that measure acts
that suit us with one yardstick and the acts that do not
with another. Let us advance, united together, against
all forms of terrorism, whatever their rationales.
No more ambiguity. No more justifications of
violence. Let us never forget that there is nothing more
sacred, more valuable or worthier than human life.


Only a few moments ago, we were informed of the
crash of a commercial airliner not far from here, in
Queens. At the moment, we do not know the cause of
this disaster, but we are shocked and horrified. I would
express to the bereaved families and to the American
people our sincere condolences and sympathy.
It has been only two months since thousands of
innocent persons lost their lives in the World Trade
Center here in New York. Today, we are seeing the
extent to which the people here have been affected. In
the entire history of the United Nations, there has never
been a situation like this one.
Throughout the world, people have expressed
their sincere solidarity with and commiseration for the
victims and their families. These horrific terrorist
attacks struck not just Americans, but also innocent
people from over 80 countries, members of all the
major world religions and cultures. They targeted us
all. It must therefore be a common concern of humanity
to prevent a recurrence of this tragedy or indeed
something even worse.
The events of 11 September thrust a dangerous
future upon the world. We now live in the terrible
knowledge that no country in the globalized world is
invulnerable and that enemies within, who are
determined to kill and to die, can perpetrate mass
murder at any time. This eerie, awful danger has at a
stroke dramatically altered the foundations of security
policy as we know it. The fight against internationally
operative terrorist networks will require new responses
from the community of States. International terrorism
is a challenge above all for politics, the military, the
police and the judiciary, as well as for the economy
and — very importantly — for culture. At the dawn of
the twenty-first century, the issue of peace and security
has thus taken on an entirely new perspective.
Humanity has rarely been as united as it was on
that terrible day two months ago. This unity was born
not only of horror and compassion, but also of the
realization that we can successfully counter this new
deadly threat only if we combine our full force and
energy. The day of 11 September was a defining
moment that altered the direction of world politics. A
new alliance was created. It must now be strengthened
and developed into a genuine partnership. If this is
achieved, 11 September could go down in history not
only as a horrific day for humanity, but also as the
beginning of a new era of cooperation and
multilateralism.
What drives people to commit these
inconceivable crimes and to blow up themselves and
thousands of innocents? From where does such
uncontrollable hatred come? How can it be curbed?
How can it be conquered? It is certain that in any
attempt to develop an effective counter-strategy we
must, while waging the war on terrorism, analyse the
full range of causes and circumstances that permit such
hatred and violence to grow.
The United Nations is uniquely suited to the task
ahead. It provides the forum required for the creation
12

of a universal coalition. Only it can give international
legitimacy to the response to terrorism. It has at its
disposal the instruments to manage political conflicts
and the underlying development problems that nurture
hatred and despair.
A comprehensive strategy against terrorism must
concentrate primarily on prevention. Developing such a
strategy means nothing less than drafting a policy for a
cooperative world order for the twenty-first century, a
policy that no longer tolerates areas characterized by a
breakdown of order, a policy that has as its goal a
world order under which all peoples can claim their
full and equitable share. This includes making
economic globalization more socially just for more
people and supplementing it with the political
globalization so urgently needed.
The Security Council responded to 11 September
with rare solidarity and, with resolutions 1368 (2001)
and 1373 (2001), took decisions on concrete,
internationally binding anti-terrorism measures that
point the way ahead. The General Assembly, too,
severely condemned the terrorist attacks and called for
joint action against international terrorism.
This path must now be rigorously pursued with
the rapid and universal ratification and implementation
of the 12 United Nations anti-terrorism conventions
and the adoption of a comprehensive convention on
international terrorism. We must endeavour anew to
bring this project, on which we all place so much hope,
to a successful conclusion. I therefore call upon all
States that have not yet approved the present
compromise to reconsider their position.
The International Criminal Court can also become
a valuable instrument in the fight against terrorism.
Under article 7, paragraph 1, of its statute, it will have
jurisdiction to try cases of murder “when committed as
part of a widespread or systematic attack directed
against any civilian population”. There can be no doubt
that the attacks on New York, Washington and
Pennsylvania fulfil this requirement. For this reason, I
would like to ask you all once again to ratify the Rome
Statute as quickly as possible.
The attack on the World Trade Center was a
wake-up call to the profound threat to world peace that
can be posed by failing States. Areas where political
and social order has collapsed offer terrorists a safe
haven from which they can organize their murderous
networks worldwide. The community of States urgently
needs to take a closer and preventive look at the
problem of failing States — but not just in
Afghanistan, and not only after a catastrophe has
occurred.
No conflict prevention measures have ever been
undertaken in Afghanistan. Far from it. This has
proved to be a fatal error. For more than 20 years, a
humanitarian catastrophe has been playing itself out
before the eyes of the world, in which women and
children, in particular, have suffered. Civil war, human
rights violations and abject misery have also been the
nourishing ground for the unprecedented symbiosis
between the terrorists of the Al Qaeda group and the
Taliban regime.
From there the trail leads directly to the horrific
attacks in the United States. As hard as this decision
may be, without the use of military means, this threat
cannot be averted. We must not forget that the suffering
of the people in Afghanistan is above all the work of
the Taliban. It was the Taliban that, long before 11
September, increasingly impeded effective
humanitarian relief, robbed women and girls of all their
rights and actively supported terrorism, also with the
goal of destabilizing Arab and Muslim States.
Not to react would indeed be to invite further
terror and oppression and would be extremely
dangerous for world peace. The dramatic nature of this
threat is illustrated by Osama bin Laden’s statement
that he will not shrink from using even nuclear
weapons. Civilian means alone are unfortunately not
always enough to put an end to violence and terror.
This was the case in the Balkans.
In Afghanistan, too, the root of the tragic conflict
is profoundly political, and so the solution, too, can
ultimately only be a political one. It must come from
within, must reflect the diversity of peoples in Afghan
society and must be accepted by the Afghan people.
But a peaceful solution also requires assistance from
the international community. Afghanistan must not be
left alone with its problems yet again.
A clear political and humanitarian perspective for
Afghanistan is now crucial. The United Nations should
be the coordinating agency for all peace efforts. It is
indispensable as the framework for the political
process and as the guarantor of internal agreements
within Afghanistan. Only a peace process under the
auspices of the United Nations will succeed in
excluding external involvement in the future and
13

ensuring a peaceful future for the country in harmony
with its neighbours. Germany and the European Union
are willing to play their part towards a political
solution for Afghanistan and to participate in the long
term in the economic and social reconstruction of
Afghanistan.
More than anything, the refugees and the civilian
population must be helped. We cannot tolerate the fact
that the Taliban is hindering humanitarian access and is
using the civilian population as a shield. Especially
because of the approaching winter, we must do
everything in our power to provide the people with at
least the most basic necessities and to alleviate their
despair and hardship. Is it possible to establish
humanitarian protected areas, to use the expulsion of
the Taliban from Mazar-e-Sharif and other towns to
improve the humanitarian situation, and to make a
town like Kabul an open city? Of course this will be
very difficult, but let us nevertheless think without
taboos about absolutely all ways in which we could
help the people. As chair of the Afghanistan Support
Group, Germany has issued an invitation to a meeting
in Berlin at the beginning of December. I appeal to all
States to make a great humanitarian effort now and to
come to the aid of the downtrodden Afghan people.
Solving regional conflicts will be of critical
importance in the fight against terrorism. The Middle
East conflict is a top priority. Our hearts go out to the
many innocent victims on all sides. Both the Israeli and
Palestinian peoples have a right to live free of fear, in
dignity and in peace. This is indivisible not only from
Israel’s right of statehood, as recognized in Madrid —
which is, in our view, inviolable — but also from its
security. Germany bears a special responsibility
towards Israel stemming from its past. Any policy that
aims at destroying Israel by means of terrorism or
otherwise will face determined opposition from
Germany. However, we equally advocate the
Palestinians’ right to self-determination and their right
to their own State, Palestine. In the European Union
Berlin Declaration of March 1999 we stated that “the
creation of a democratic, viable and peaceful sovereign
Palestinian State on the basis of existing agreements
and through negotiations would be the best guarantee
of Israel’s security”. This is truer today than ever
before.
Never before has there been broader international
backing for a solution to the Israeli-Palestinian
conflict. The Mitchell recommendations still form the
basis for the timetable accepted by all sides, and in
their spirit we call on Israelis and Palestinians alike to
put an immediate and lasting end to violence and
confrontation, to resume the agreed direct talks without
delay and to seriously implement the negotiated
ceasefires. These talks must lead to genuine
negotiations on a viable political solution.
The real aim of the terrorists is to trigger a clash
of civilizations and to inflame the situation in the Near
and Middle East. Under no circumstances can we allow
ourselves to be drawn into such a conflict. We are
fighting international terrorism, not Islam.
We must counter the terrorist strategy designed to
bring about the clash of civilizations with a dialogue of
cultures and religions. We need a spiritual debate based
on mutual understanding that attempts to reach genuine
agreement on the fundamental values that unite us.
Such a dialogue presupposes the existence of shared
values, but also respect for other traditions and
differences between peoples. However, one thing must
be clear: human rights are universal, not Western
values. Consensus was reached on them by the
international community of States in the Charter of the
United Nations and the human rights conventions.
Any dialogue must build on the universality of
human rights. It must be conducted with respect for the
dignity of all involved, in tolerance and openness. It
must start at home, within cultures themselves. It can
bear fruit only if it is pursued free of all constraint.
And it has a purpose only if all participants are also
ready to offer self-criticism.
The insidious anthrax attacks since 11 September
show that the threat from weapons of mass destruction
in terrorist hands, which yesterday seemed abstract, is
today a real and deadly danger. The community of
States must do everything in its power to counter it
with a new push for non-proliferation and global
disarmament.
The dangers of the dissemination of weapons to
non-State groups and of regional arms races require
new answers and effective, internationally enforceable
criminal sanctions. In the nuclear field, the
commitment contained in the Non-Proliferation Treaty
to complete nuclear disarmament remains crucial. As
regards biological weapons, in view of the acute threat,
effective global control mechanisms must finally be
created. The Chemical Weapons Convention must be
more rigorously implemented. All States are called
14

upon to participate in the negotiation of an
international code of conduct on ballistic missile
proliferation.
The fight now beginning against terrorism must
build on the awareness that the first world cannot in the
long term live secure and safe from the tensions and
conflicts of the third world. Almost one quarter of the
world population is starving. Ninety-five per cent of
those infected with AIDS live in developing countries.
Africa is particularly hard hit. At present only a
minority of the world’s citizens profit from the
opportunities for growth offered by globalization and
from the use of the new information technologies. This
state of affairs cannot be accepted, even by the rich
countries — for moral reasons, but also because
tensions and conflicts today spread much more quickly
and widely than ever before.
The battle against poverty cannot be won unless
we take equally determined steps to preserve the
natural resources on which life depends. At the coming
World Summit in Johannesburg we must make a
quantum leap forward towards sustainable
development, improved poverty eradication and better
management of our natural resources. The Kyoto
Protocol must enter into force next year. And we must
strengthen the sole advocate of the global environment,
the United Nations Environment Programme,
institutionally, operationally and financially.
11 September made it horrifyingly clear that the
human race will not be able to live in peace and
security in the absence of political order at the global
and regional levels.
Germany will continue to do its utmost to bring
about the strengthening of the United Nations and its
capacity to act, so that the world will be a more
peaceful, just and humane place in the twenty-first
century than it was in the twentieth century. The future
belongs to responsible governance for one world,
governance based not on hegemonic claims, but on
cooperation, solidarity and multilateralism. If together
we succeed in implementing such a policy, we will not
just ultimately win the war against terrorism but will
also be able to eradicate its roots forever.


Mr. President, I wish to congratulate you on your
election, which is a mark of recognition of the
Republic of Korea and of your distinguished personal
record in the public and academic spheres. I am
26

confident that, under your guidance, the work of the
Assembly will be successful for the States Members of
the United Nations.
Today New York is receiving us as it always has.
Why, then, did we witness, two months ago, a terrorist
act that shook the world? If I may be allowed to say so,
it is because New York is the city that best represents
the values that the twentieth century defended at the
cost of tremendous suffering. It is a city that welcomes
those persecuted by intolerance of all kinds; respects
all nationalities, races and religions, all ideas, and the
freedom to think and to create; offers opportunities for
all to succeed; and protects individual rights through
democracy.
It is not by chance that it was here in New York,
on the banks of the East River, that the Headquarters of
the United Nations was erected. It was built here
because the values of this city are the values of our
universal Organization of nations.
The terrorist attack on New York was therefore an
attack on the unity of our nations. It was our values,
our security and our faith in a better world — a world
based on dialogue and cooperation — that were the
targets of terrorist fanaticism. That is why we have felt
so close to the United States during this period: its pain
is our pain; its grief is our grief; and its response to
terrorism is our response.
We are here to reiterate our condolences to the
people and to the Government of the United States. The
sight of thousands of persons bearing photographs of
their lost family members amid the smoking ruins gave
rise to a profound sense of empathy among Chileans.
Hence we wish to express our admiration for the
unity and courage of the American people and of the
city of New York. We pay tribute to the Government of
the United States and to President Bush, who, faced
with an attack of this magnitude, has managed to act on
the basis of reason rather than emotion in seeking
diplomatic support and in building an extremely broad-
based coalition.
The holding of this General Assembly marks a
sound defeat for the terrorist cause, which seeks to
replace dialogue with the cult of violence, and reflects
our renewed faith in this world forum.
We are here to extend to the Secretary-General
and to the United Nations our warmest congratulations
on having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which
this year has recognized the outstanding contribution of
the United Nations to our quest for peace.
Many have remarked that the twentieth century
has been one of the most violent and deadly in the
history of humankind. However, the twentieth century
was also the century that produced major advances,
improved our quality of life and eliminated great evils
forever.
The First World War was followed by the League
of Nations and by a new awareness of the fundamental
equality of peoples. The Second World War was
necessary to put an end to fascism in its most
monstrous manifestations, but also out of it emerged
the United Nations, the decolonization process, the
Bretton Woods economic agreements and a new
awareness of the fundamental equality of human
beings. The cold war brought about a clash between
two political and economic visions, but, once ended, it
left in its wake a new awareness of democracy and
individual freedoms.
At the dawn of the twenty-first century, we are
confronting a new conflict of global proportions. Our
first objective must be to put an end forever to
fanaticism and to the kind of intolerance that is
translated into terror.
Chile believes that this vast diplomatic alliance
must also pursue other objectives. Like other victorious
coalitions throughout history, it must begin to ask now
what new progress it will seek to achieve for humanity
after its victory. We must start to envision the new
world that must emerge from this tragic period in our
history — a world that is better organized and that
shows more solidarity. Indeed, the terrorists will have
achieved their objective if, as a result of their attacks,
the globalization process changes direction and begins
a trend towards less freedom and decreased
international trade.
On the other hand, as the Secretary-General has
so rightly said, in order to achieve success in the
globalization process, we must learn how to manage it
better and, above all, how to manage it better together.
I think that it is very important to understand that
of the 6 billion people in the world, half are struggling
to live on less than $2 a day. They have no personal
computer; they have never made a telephone call. They
have never seen these things. Though wealth has
increased, there has been no significant decrease in the
27

number of poor people, and the gap between rich and
poor is daily becoming increasingly difficult to bridge.
The balance of our world is becoming precarious, and
we must address this issue.
The recent tragic events have shown us that no
nation on earth that can consider itself invulnerable and
that genuine security can be attained only through
cooperation among peoples and States. What makes
our citizens vulnerable today — besides terrorism —
are such phenomena as ignorance, hunger, drug
trafficking, climate change, uncontrolled population
movements, and the erratic flow of $1.5 trillion every
day in financial markets. We must devise ways of
tackling these phenomena.
Chile therefore supports the coalition of countries
that, in exercise of the right of self-defence, have
embarked on a campaign aimed at eradicating
terrorism. At stake here are the universal principles and
values that we share and that we must defend. These
actions, therefore, are not targeting the Afghan people
or the Arab world, nor are they aimed at any particular
religion, all of which we deeply respect and admire.
In order to put an end to terrorism, there is a need
for broad, ongoing and resolute cooperation. That is
why Chile has supported the responses decided upon in
this Organization. We are actively implementing
Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). We are
already a party to the 12 global conventions against
terrorism, and today we will deposit with the
Secretary-General the respective instruments of
ratification. My country has ratified all United Nations
agreements.
Similarly, we are working to coordinate
America’s response. We are partners in a
comprehensive dialogue to review and improve each
country’s domestic legislation and legal order to root
out the terrorist threat.
We reaffirm the need to strengthen measures to
promote mutual confidence and cooperation in the area
of defence. In that regard, Argentina and Chile have
standardized their data on military expenditures, and
we are working towards the same objective with our
neighbour Peru.
Yet we cannot conceal our frustration at the
difficulties blocking progress towards limiting the
manufacture of and illicit trade in small arms and light
weapons.
We also feel obliged to say that we view with
horror the deteriorating situation in the Middle East.
That conflict poses a threat to international security.
Like other delegations that have spoken today, we hope
for recognition of the inalienable right of the
Palestinian people to self-determination, including the
right to establish an independent State, as well as the
right of Israel to live within secure and internationally
recognized borders and at peace with its neighbours.
Recent acts of international terrorism have
affected our economies, which are the basis for social
progress for our peoples. Fear has gripped the markets.
The only certainty today is that uncertainty will prevail
in the future so long as there is armed action because of
this conflict. If that proves to be the case, and if
international markets fall, terrorism will have achieved
an unexpected victory.
I therefore want to say that institutions such as
the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank
must address the concerns of the international political
bodies and devote special attention to the additional
costs of the response to terrorism. We are confident of
success at the Doha, Qatar, ministerial meeting, which
will be discussing ways to make trade freer. We want to
address items of concern to all: agricultural products,
services, intellectual property, anti-dumping and the
settlement of trade disputes. They are all on the
agenda, and they must all be addressed.
The great coalition assembled to combat
terrorism must also promote cooperation among
Governments in order to ensure that no areas are
excluded from globalization. That is the best way to
guarantee security for us all. To create a safer world,
we need more and better globalization, not more
autarky. We need more and better democracy, not more
dictatorial authoritarianism. We must do a better job of
protecting human rights. Here, I believe we must act
preventively to safeguard our democracies and to
ensure respect for human rights.
Democracy is strengthened with each free and
secret election with the participation of an informed
electorate. It is strengthened with higher levels of
justice and social equality. To restore people’s
confidence in democracy, democracy must be
complemented by an end to social injustice. Neither
lack of development nor specific cultural
characteristics can be used as a pretext to justify
curtailing rights recognized in the Universal
28

Declaration of Human Rights. The fight against
discrimination and intolerance must be a frontal attack
on poverty.
We need institutions that ensure respect for
human rights. Hence the importance of the
International Criminal Court, which should serve as an
key instrument for the universal protection of
fundamental human rights, whatever the status of the
violator.
I have come from afar, from the South of the
world, with an optimistic vision. Before leaving my
country, I met with young people of varied origins and
with dignitaries of different religions. I met with
Catholic and Protestant bishops; with Jewish and
Muslim representatives: all those with whom we share
an annual joint religious service — unique in the
world — to celebrate our national independence. I saw
in all of them — Jews and Muslims; Catholics,
Protestants and freethinkers — a renewed capacity for
understanding and comprehension that I am sure is
shared among western and eastern countries, among
ethnic groups and religions — in short, among all those
here today — with the objective of attaining our
common objective of peace and progress.
Let us learn from our experience in assembling
this great global coalition to respond politically and
militarily to the terrorist threat. Let us make it into a
coalition that also seeks other goals. In this coalition,
all are important, irrespective of creed, race, political
history or ideology; in the coalition there are no small
or large countries.
Let us ensure that international institutions take
due account of the interests of all countries, large,
medium-sized and small. Let us ensure that this grand
coalition will bring us security not only against
terrorism but also against hunger, vulnerability and
discrimination. I propose that we should update the
institutions that the founders of the United Nations
created here 50 years ago.
That would be the most fitting tribute to the
victims of terrorism and the best gauge of our
commitment to the weak and powerless of the Earth.


In congratulating Mr. Han
Seung-soo upon his assumption of high office, I must
also praise his predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri of
Finland, for an outstanding tenure as the President who
ushered in the new millennium. If the Millennium
Summit and its Declaration could be considered the
hallmark of Mr. Holkeri’s presidency, then Mr. Han’s
already has one of equally impressive terms with the
Organization and its Secretary-General being awarded
the Nobel Peace Prize. Therefore, the re-election of
Mr. Kofi Annan for a second term as Secretary-General
is sure testament not only to his own personal
dedication, creative leadership and unwavering sense
of spirit, but also to the vision and faith of the
Organization’s Member States.
I take this occasion to offer Tonga’s solace to all
affected delegations, and in particular the delegations
of the Dominican Republic and the United States, for
whom the tragedy that befell their communities on 12
November has such a profound bearing.
Like other Member States, Tonga takes this
occasion to express our sympathy and condolences to
the President and people of the United States for the
suffering and loss of life incurred during the attacks of
11 September. In doing so, Tonga condemns in the
strongest possible terms these acts of terror, which
remain without moral or lawful justification.
The events of 11 September have focused our
Organization’s attention on terrorism in all its forms
and manifestations and, more importantly, on the need
to address this issue comprehensively. As such, Tonga
commends the timely and decisive action taken by the
Security Council with respect to the events of 11
September. In doing so, we fully support the work of
the Counter-Terrorism Committee and its mandated
efforts to combat terrorism.
It has been stated that terrorism offends the core
values of our Organization, and that is true. The irony
is that, inasmuch as the events of 11 September were
an affront to one’s sense of humanity, it is this very
humanity that has risen to prevail over extreme
adversity. If last year’s catchphrase during the
Millennium Summit was “We, the peoples”, that call is
all the more pertinent this year in our collective efforts
to combat terrorism.
As part of its contribution to these efforts, Tonga
is taking steps to carefully study and consider the
United Nations conventions on terrorism that it is not
34

party to. However, merely becoming parties to
conventions will not be sufficient. Concrete steps will
be needed if small countries like ours are to fully and
meaningfully take part in these efforts.
For example, Tonga’s efforts to develop,
implement and maintain counter-terrorism measures
will require sustained financial and expert technical
assistance on a solid foundation of a network of
information exchange between relevant law
enforcement and aviation agencies. In this regard, our
efforts in combating terrorism will be but a microcosm
for addressing a wider plethora of development issues.
As much as the Millennium Declaration
concerned new commitments, or renewed commitments
in some instances, Tonga commends the report of the
Secretary-General for its innovation and detailed
description as to how implementation of the
Declaration might be taken forward.
We look towards the International Conference on
Financing for Development as a further opportunity to
pursue a wide range of crucial thematic issues which
are particularly critical to the development aspirations
of developing countries. The balance required for
forging consensus on these thematic issues is as
important as the balance between official development
assistance and the mobilization of limited domestic
resources.
While the Declaration of the recently concluded
World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial
Conference in Doha might give rise to optimism, Tonga
seeks a simplified, streamlined and expeditious
accession process for small island developing States
like ours who wish to join the WTO. In this regard, we
congratulate the People’s Republic of China upon its
entry into the organization. A more flexible approach
and time frame within which to meet obligations are
needed to enable countries like Tonga to adopt
measures so as to fully participate in the WTO system
and to fulfil the obligations of the WTO agreements
while minimizing any adverse impacts upon our
populace. Such an accession process can be achieved
only with continuing technical and financial assistance.
We further look towards the World Summit on
Sustainable Development as a complementary step in
the development path towards the reinvigoration of
targeted commitments to sustainable development —
especially those concerning small island developing
States — as contained in Agenda 21. We continue to
call on the international community for refocused
commitment to and implementation of the Barbados
Programme of Action. Tonga’s preparations for this
Summit, through its national assessment report, will
include identifying areas for specific and priority
capacity-building needs as well as avenues by which to
take greater advantage of financial and technological
support.
While Tonga recognizes the merit of the
economic vulnerability index as a measure for
economic impacts, its application should encompass all
small island developing States and not serve as a means
to draw superficial differences between them. After all,
the economic vulnerability index is an accurate
reflection of the true realities of small island
developing States, and if those realities are not fully
addressed, we shall continue to perch precariously on
the edge of the precipice. Therefore, we continue to
support the development of an appropriate
environmental vulnerability index, and we commend
the work of the South Pacific Applied Geoscience
Commission in this regard. We believe that such an
index will provide accurate indicators of factors to
which small islands are vulnerable, such as natural
disasters, sea-level rise and climate change. Tonga
therefore welcomes the consensus reached at
Marrakech at the seventh session of the Conference of
the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and the further
opportunities for progress that it presents.
As a developing ocean State, we continue to seek
our fair share of the harvest from the ocean which
bounds us on all sides. We welcome in particular the
preparations for making effective the Convention on
the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory
Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
We urge the distant water fishing nations in our region
with a real interest in fisheries to make every effort to
become party to a convention that is the hallmark of
our commitment to the conservation and sustainable
management of a critically important resource. Tonga
continues to value the work and decisions this year at
the eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the United
Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the
International Seabed Authority and the United Nations
Open-ended Informal Consultative Process on Oceans
and the Law of the Sea — UNICPOLOS.
We continue to view information and
communication technologies as the way to go, and we
35

are making our own efforts to bridge the digital divide
to take full advantage of the digital revolution.
Maximizing such efforts will require complementary
efforts in tandem with the international community and
the United Nations. We urge continued support for the
Small Islands Developing States Network, SIDSnet,
and efforts to strengthen its capacity to support and
assist small island developing States.
Tonga welcomes the adoption of the Declaration
of Commitment on HIV/AIDS and the establishment of
the global fund to combat this scourge. We look
forward to the implementation of the Declaration and
commend those Member States who have pledged their
financial support to the fund.
We continue to support the effort to reform the
Security Council. In this regard, as was presented by a
delegation during the debate on Security Council
reform, we could support either proposal for an
expansion of the number of permanent seats: by two,
with an expansion of the number of non-permanent
seats by three, or, alternatively, by three, with the
number of non-permanent seats increased by four.
While cognizant that issues pertaining to the veto and
its exercise in such an expansion would continue to
demand handling with the utmost sensitivity and care,
we urge that where there are issues of convergence,
steps should be taken to consolidate such convergence,
and where unresolved issues remain, that these be the
focus of continuing dialogue and discussion.
Finally, with respect to pertinent regional issues
in the Pacific, Tonga endorses the views expressed in
the Nauru communiqué, now contained in document
A/56/388, which was the outcome of the annual
meeting of Pacific Island Forum leaders at Nauru in
August this year.


All our
admiration goes to the United States for making
possible the normal work of the United Nations and the
sessions of the General Assembly despite the recent
tragic events and all their global consequences. The
tragic crime, which affected the whole world, has
brutally confronted us with new, very serious and long-
term issues. This year’s general debate is thus an
opportunity and a new and great responsibility for us
all — a responsibility that must be accepted. Words of
condemnation and solidarity cannot be enough.
As we sympathize profoundly with the American
people, we must also tell the world in one voice that we
shall be deliberately and effectively allied in the future,
too, and that we will cooperate in the fight against
terrorism and in the eradication of the roots of that evil.
We will responsibly consider joint measures for a
world of more peace, greater freedom, solidarity and
security and more social justice for every person and
every nation, as well as ever less room for violence.
The idea of such a world requires us to avoid the
vortex of evil by undertaking a considered and resolute
response to the terrorist crime that was committed. The
immediate decisive military reaction of the United
States of America and other countries of the anti-
terrorist alliance was imperative.
We cannot simply rest at that, however. The
vortex of violence could threaten the democratic values
that humanity has set over its long development as the
measure of life in human society. That is why we are
ultimately obliged to avoid dividing cultures along the
principle of “us versus them”, dividing races, religions
and nations into the categories of civilized and
barbaric, and ascribing a priori fundamentalism to any
religion or civilization. The United Nations has
proclaimed this year the Year of Dialogue Among
Civilizations. We should seize this opportunity.
The contemporary world is diverse, but all
modern civilizations, cultures and major religions
respect human dignity and human life. Killing is an
aberration anywhere in the world. Sadly, human and
social pathology have made killing a lucrative business
and given international terrorism its own internal
dynamic. The instigators and perpetrators of these
despicable acts must be brought to justice, while it is
the responsibility of politics to remove the social and
political roots of this evil. It is the universal values of
all contemporary civilizations, such as the sanctity of
life and respect for human dignity, that enable the
creation of a global democracy based on a global ethos.
Resolute action and attention must focus on those
groups and individuals throughout the world who
brutally violate these principles and bring chaos,
murder and madness into our human world. Sadly,
there are enough such people in all cultures and
civilizations in all parts of the human world, including
the Christian world. They warn us that the global world
requires a different perception of the world and its
dilemmas, especially of the unequal distribution of
poverty and wealth, and that it raises questions to
which there are as yet no answers.
At the Millennium Summit last year, we came
very close to a realistic analysis of some of the major
economic, financial, social, cultural, political and
ecological effects of the global economy. We have
come closer to the important understanding that a
global world also requires global responsibility, and
that starts with the responsibility of each State.
States cannot arbitrarily do things that are in
complete conflict with the values of the democratic
world. In particular, cannot systematically violate basic
human rights and freedoms through State violence, nor
can they allow and encourage activities that threaten
the security of other countries and of the international
community, all in the name of their own sovereignty,
even within their own boundaries. Neither can they
ignore such activity by others and shut themselves
behind their own borders.
Last year’s position on humanitarian intervention
was the first step in this direction, yet, unfortunately,
not a sufficient one. The escalation of internationally
syndicated and organized terrorism demands that
further steps be taken. We cannot allow terrorism and
crime to abuse the opportunities offered by our
globalized world before the democratic world itself is
even in a position to put these opportunities to good
use in finding answers to completely new challenges.
I see these challenges in pronounced divisions
with global implications — divisions into owners of
capital, knowledge, ideas and information
technologies, on the one hand, and the billions
condemned to ignorance, a life of poverty and
vegetating without prospects at the margins of society,
11

on the other hand, in the ever greater financial
weakness of many nation-States and whole continents
that are left without development potentials or
prospects. In its relentless growth in power and
authority, global capital has long since gone beyond
State borders. However, it assumes no responsibility
for people’s social position and prospects for freedom
and democracy, for development and the future, for
people’s security. This responsibility is left to State
administrations.
I also see challenges in all kinds of
fundamentalism, even in the perverted understanding
of competitiveness which leads to production and
services with an ever-shrinking labour force, without
caring about people and nature, about life on the planet
and its future in an economy whose only motive and
aim is profit.
I see them also in the very pragmatically oriented
national and international politics operating in a
framework of dramatic simplicity and simplification,
and so their euphoric haste does not match their effect.
These are politics that ignore the dimension of time
and the duration of phenomena, such as the ecological
effects of genetic or biomedical interventions that are
not apparent immediately, but perhaps only in decades,
only with the coming generations.
I see challenges in the neglect of a comprehensive
and interconnected perspective on phenomena and
processes and in the disregard for the way in which
they are interconnected. All modern political, social
and ecological dramas and conflicts, as well as the
global socio-pathological cancers, are a result of
the interaction of a range of social forces and
elements. These phenomena — including international
terrorism — which are like epidemics, cannot be
confined within the borders of one or more States. This
applies to a host of phenomena, not just terrorism, but
also ecology, food, genetics, finance, the information
society and violence.
I also see challenges in the lack of
communication between the authorities and
increasingly global civil movements. Protests from
Seattle to Genoa are a powerful warning of the danger
of a division into two worlds that are beginning to
communicate solely through protests and violence.
The world today is clearly different from what it
was before. It could be better, but only with an
awareness of and mechanisms for assuming global
responsibility. This will enable the search for a
dynamic balance leaving no room for the chaos that
uncontrolled developments and acts of terror lead to. In
order to achieve this, we will have to change many
things.
Therefore, adapting the United Nations to these
new circumstances is, in a way, a call of distress. It will
not be a simple task. All 189 Members and their
representatives are bound primarily to the sovereignty
of their own States. However, the world clearly also
needs global governance. More than ever, we need the
United Nations as a global entity common to all States,
an entity that will be able, with the full authority that
rests on the global responsibility of States, to take
measures to the benefit of dynamic development, a
development of balanced forces and effects of the
global economy and globalization in general.
Otherwise, we will have to state the alternative.
We must accept the recognition that every society,
including the global one, must subordinate itself to
specific rules, or else it will be subjected to the rule of
crude force. Our difficulty is that we have overlooked
that the world has become a single society full of
internal contrasts, which in real life, especially in
international relations, recognizes and respects few
rules. What we urgently need is the common political
will to provide legitimacy to a universal system of
institutions and bodies, to which together we have
entrusted the power to prescribe common rules.
We need common political will to subject
ourselves to these rules and to respect them. The actual
power to prescribe rules would not be only in the hands
of States. Could this also be the United Nations? What
reforms are needed to achieve this, in order for the
United Nations to become this? We cannot wait with
the answers.
I am also speaking from the experience of
Slovenia, which I represent. In gaining independence
10 years ago, we experienced brief but serious violence
on our own territory. In our immediate vicinity, South-
Eastern Europe, we were faced with one of the most
barbaric policies since the Second World War, a policy
responsible for genocide and other forms of widespread
violence. With independence, Slovenia stepped into a
world that is prepared to behave better than the self-
enclosed world that the former Yugoslavia had become
in the final years of its life, when the equality of rights
of people and nations was violated and when hope for a
12

different future was denied. We have stepped onto the
path of freedom, and Slovenia has accepted its own
share of the responsibility for our global world.
I believe that this global world will tend toward a
dynamic balance, provided that States — large and
small, rich and poor, technologically developed and
marginalized — will together seek new solutions. The
venue can only be a fundamentally reformed United
Nations. It is within such a United Nations that both a
durable coalition against terrorism and a durable
coalition of common responsibility of all countries for
a world with more solidarity and social justice for all
humanity and all its parts can be achieved.