In this fifty-first year of the
United Nations, we are particularly happy to see
Mr. Razali Ismail presiding over this Assembly. This is
in no small measure due to his well-deserved high
reputation. In large measure, too, our joy comes from my
Government’s appreciation of the deep commitment of his
Government to national and international economic
improvement with equity. We are grateful, too, for the
excellent services rendered by his predecessor, Mr. Diogo
Freitas do Amaral, in a year in which, under his guidance,
reform of the United Nations system truly gathered
momentum.
Today it is often remarked that there are many signs
of the diminishing role of national sovereignty. In the
sphere of human rights, the regional adjudicatory systems
continue to flourish. Scrutiny is increasingly given by the
regional bodies and by such other groupings as the
Commonwealth of nations. We have good reason to
believe that the new commonwealth of Portuguese-
speaking nations will soon travel along the same path. At
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the United Nations, the General Assembly, the Economic
and Social Council (ECOSOC), the Commission on Human
Rights and the human rights treaty bodies all continue to
scrutinize States for their rectitude in the field of human
rights. It certainly seems that the High Commissioner for
Human Rights, together with the Office of the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other
executive agencies, are performing a useful watchdog and
catalytic function.
While this Organization’s efforts at humanitarian
intervention have not been overwhelmingly successful, they
have certainly provided evidence of the probable reality that
absolutist notions of State sovereignty are in decline. Thus,
we witness the acknowledgement, by States, of shared
interests which contribute to enhanced cooperation in joint
efforts to combat the trafficking of narcotics and to
preserve and regenerate the environment. Recently, too, the
Organization of American States launched an initiative that
points in the same direction: the inter-American convention
against corruption.
Corruption has been a scourge throughout our region,
as it is elsewhere. In our region, therefore, we have
determined drastically to reduce its impact, even if that
might have implications for State sovereignty. In the same
way, the flurry of conventions and new organizations on the
global environment, and the outpourings of the recent
global conferences and summits on social and other issues
bear witness to the rapid erosion of absolutist notions of
sovereignty.
During the past year efforts have been to bring into
being the long-awaited International Tribunal for the Law
of the Sea. Despite certain regrettable limitations, the
Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization, the new
tribunal for international trade disputes, has now issued its
first judgment. We have also settled down to serious work
in preparing for an international criminal court, just as the
Tribunals for the prosecution of war crimes in the former
Yugoslavia and in Rwanda are getting under way. These all
constitute a significant development in the international
system, in which the State and its citizens are increasingly
made subject to international scrutiny.
We must insist, however, that what is sauce for the
goose is sauce for the gander. We therefore expect that
large States, as well as small States, will fully submit
themselves to these new Tribunals. We also fully expect
that powerful States will refrain from exerting their
sovereign wills over smaller or weaker States.
On a different subject, we have also witnessed a
certain contraction of the public sector both within nations
and international organizations. The attrition of the
national budgets of capital-exporting and donor countries
has had a domino effect on international organizations
and capital-importing and recipient countries. So-called
reductions in force and other forms of structural
adjustment have therefore become a painful way of life.
In this respect, this Organization and my country and
many others have not been spared. At the same time, my
country and many others have now established modern
and rational systems for the imposition and collection of
indirect taxes and other revenues. I refer especially to the
value-added tax, the use of which is now virtually
universal.
Like most Governments, mine has had to trim
several vital services. Everywhere, Governments are
obliged to experiment with the privatization of many
former State functions and have liquidated large chunks
of State property. Even as these changes occur within
many economies and Governmental structures, other
actors have stepped onto the national and international
stage. These actors, of course, include civil society and
the non-governmental organizations, which now
participate in almost every aspect of life.
At the same time, we are trying to understand and
cope with the novel phenomenon of globalization.
Globalization has several positive aspects, especially
liberalization, which it presupposes. However,
globalization also seems to presuppose the
universalization of mammoth private-sector enterprises
and associations. This universalization is accompanied by
revision or, in places, the reversal of aspects of such legal
and economic doctrines as those that disapproved of
excessive industrial combinations and monopolies.
Nevertheless, globalization is a logical
accompaniment to the reduction of the scope of
sovereignty. But just as a loss of national autonomy is not
an unalloyed blessing, this newfangled gigantism is too
massive to be swallowed whole. For one thing,
globalization as we are witnessing it today is an
unprecedented phenomenon, even for the former empires.
Whatever its advocates may say, it sometimes seems to
contradict our very humanity, since the micro-dimension
should never be neglected in the face of the
macro-dimension. Both dimensions are essentially
complementary. Globalization, furthermore, sometimes
denies the tenets of, and the recent directions in,
individual and collective human rights. This is because,
22

when it is taken to its logical extreme, as it is in several
places, it seems to lead to an international euthanasia. It
contributes to a “dinner-table scraps” mentality, or a “crabs-
in-the-basket” attitude, whereby the disadvantaged might
starve to death or destroy others in order to survive, while
those who are more advantaged are enabled to gorge even
more.
Furthermore, certain forms of assertive globalization
also fly in the face of diversity. They are anathema to
cultural, social and economic pluralism, whose validity is
uncontrovertible in socio-biological terms. As globalization
is increasingly manifested in the electronic and
communications media, these problems loom very large as,
throughout the world, we see our youth taking on the
mind-sets and the habiliments of corrupt, alien trend-setters
who are mainly interested in purveying unnecessary
products and creating false desires. As well we know, the
consequences are often mindless violence and sexual and
other exploitation of women, children and the weak. Surely
this Organization must seek to ensure that these
consequences are eradicated.
Globalization and the decline of State sovereignty
evidence the dramatic changes sweeping the globe, a
subject on which many of us often comment from this
rostrum. Change is indeed the order of the day, and change,
in these specific respects, is actually part and parcel of this
Organization and its Charter. After all, despite the fact that
some would spin theories to the contrary, the very
conception of the United Nations Charter was an
enthronement of the doctrine of reduced sovereignty. Only
by reducing sovereignty could the excesses that were
evident before and during the Second World War be
curtailed. Clearly, the very conception of the United
Nations presupposes a type of essential globalization.
It is therefore surprising how, in some quarters,
globalization by private economic actors pursuing or
motivated by the dictates of acquisitiveness, cupidity or
what is referred to as “efficiency” can be applauded, while
similar but much more modest behaviour by groups of
sovereigns is now decried. We urge that one crucial key to
meaningful reform of the United Nations must surely be
enthronement of this Organization’s globalism. We must,
indeed, enhance efficiency by rationalizing the managerial
structure of the United Nations and the ways in which we
select its executives, as was intelligently suggested in the
latest edition of the important study by Urquhart and
Childers, entitled A World In Need of Leadership.
We must act globally by harnessing in common the
shared resources of the planet. We repeat our call from
previous general debates that this Organization, in keeping
with its global function, must be given autonomous
revenue authority in certain areas not presently in the
domain of nation States. We must acknowledge the utility
of the concept of a modest, truly representative and
revocable trusteeship over certain ocean and aerial spaces.
We may also wish to acknowledge the fact that the
nuclear Powers are merely revocable trustees over nuclear
weapons, even as we move towards ending all forms of
nuclear testing and comply with the recent Advisory
Opinion of the International Court of Justice requiring the
prompt negotiation, in good faith, of nuclear disarmament.
At the same time, we must eradicate everywhere the bitter
arsenals of mines and other injurious weapons and
noxious substances, and ensure that substances such as
nuclear waste do not pass through our territorial or other
waters.
Responsible globalism will reap for the world the
fruits of the promises made in connection with this
Organization’s wartime antecedents: that economic, social
and all other forms of development are the absolute
heritage of under-possessed and dispossessed individuals,
peoples and nations. We are under a strict obligation to
keep this Organization’s Agenda for Development on the
front burner. Belize has proposed that we should establish
an annual special session of this Assembly immediately
prior to the general debate, at which we would discuss
development policy and regenerate the political will
necessary continually to revise the complex Agenda for
Development and the commitments made in this
Assembly, as well as at the high-level global conferences
of this last decade of the twentieth century. At that annual
session, we could also effectively discuss certain specific
portions of the Second Committee items currently
discussed during the regular session.
Enlightened globalism will compel us, with alacrity
and dignity, to make good the humanitarian obligations of
this “one world” to the least-developed countries, to
Africa, to small developing islands and low-lying
developing coastal areas like Belize, to land-locked
countries and to other disadvantaged places. We should be
happy to do so without repeating any of the recent tired,
uncharitable and inaccurate nostrums about the death of
the obligation to accord economic preferences to poor
countries, even as we clamour that human rights and
23

humanitarianism have now been elevated to a place of
honour in the international pantheon.
Even as we extol the virtues of United Nations
globalism, we can discern another antidote or counterpart
to the gigantism of private-sector globalization. This is the
phenomenon of regionalism.
Regionalism is the concept that drives many current
proposals — including those of Belize — for reform of the
United Nations Security Council and is a suggested basis
for the selection of additional so-called permanent
members — privileged, although not serving indefinitely.
Incidentally, such a selection could be done entirely within
the region or, as is done in many cases at present, by the
Assembly.
Regionalism is the essence of Belize’s proposals for
shared seats on the Security Council, whereby adjacent or
proximate States can pool their resources to serve the
international community in that rather expensive enterprise.
We gratefully acknowledge the fact that Belize’s proposals
have attracted some attention.
Even as portions of Central Africa appear to teeter on
the brink, regionalism has been relatively effective and
remains the main hope for preserving peace and security in
several parts of this troubled world. It acknowledges the
reality that the Organization is not structured to carry out
peacemaking and peacekeeping undertakings on a sustained
basis.
My delegation also believes that regionalism can
become a critical element in the quest successfully to
confront the menace of narcotics without leading to
unwitting hegemonism.
We now see an abundance of formal arrangements for
subregional integration. These are occurring throughout the
five regions of the United Nations. Informal arrangements
also abound. These lead us to urge nations in all parts of
the world, as well as the global body politic, to explore
functional cooperation on a regional and subregional basis,
as we now try to do within the Association of Caribbean
States and as we have done for centuries in several
sub-areas of the Caribbean. We are now witnessing much
fruitful regional liberalization and the integration of labour
markets, competition policy, labour standards, monetary
systems, investments, technical cooperation and trade.
We are happy to witness such functional regionalism
in Africa, Asia, Europe and other parts of Latin America.
We are also witnessing a reordering of the globe as new
regions are identified and new relationships developed
between regions. Thus, instead of imagining that the
Pacific islands are worlds apart from the Caribbean and
Central America, as we did when we looked eastward at
them, we now see them as neighbouring fellow citizens
of the tropics as we look westward at them over our
fragile isthmus of Central America.
From this geopolitical vantage point as well, we see
East Asia as a partner to the Caribbean and Central
America. This helps us appreciate that the contemporary
approach to statehood fully justifies the aspirations of a
democratic Asian country that is one of the most
substantial players in the global economy for a greater
measure of political participation in the system of
international organizations. That country is Taiwan. In the
view of my delegation, such participation would be quite
consistent with prevailing notions of sovereignty. At the
same time, it is assumed that the territorial integrity of the
People’s Republic of China would be completely
unimpaired. We believe that the statehood and dignity of
the latter ancient, honourable and global Power should
and would be safeguarded in any situation we have
posited. Without meaning to interfere, we would hope
that, in this connection, as has been stated in other
contexts in these remarks, noblesse oblige.
Turning to another region, we must reiterate our
concern about the recent retardation of the peace process
between Israel and its neighbours. Again, we call for
improvement of conditions in southern Lebanon and
elsewhere and for the genuine autonomy that is the
birthright of the Palestinians.
Finally, we wish to suggest that regionalism,
including functional cooperation, will contribute
significantly to the fulfilment of the millennial dreams of
the architects of this great global Organization.


It gives me great pleasure to extend to you,
Sir, on behalf of the delegation of the United Arab
Emirates, our congratulations on your election as President
of this session of the General Assembly. Your election is
indeed an expression of the international community’s faith
in your competence and vast diplomatic expertise, and of
the high esteem in which we hold your friendly country,
Malaysia. At the same time, allow me to thank sincerely
your predecessor, who so ably led the deliberations of the
previous session of the General Assembly.
I should also like to take this opportunity to pay a
warm tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros
Boutros-Ghali, for the positive and important role he has
played in the past few years. My country supports his
re-election for a second term and appreciates his efforts to
enhance the role of the Organization in the maintenance of
international peace and security.
The fifty-first session of the United Nations General
Assembly is being held amid new international
circumstances and developments that have both positively
and negatively affected the global scene. Despite the
relative optimism that has permeated international
relations, threats to peace and security and to economic,
social and human development worldwide still remain.
The present détente in regional and international relations
does not necessarily mean that the international climate
has become more harmonious or homogenous. The
security and political independence of small States is still
threatened by the ambitions of States aspiring to spread
their hegemony and expand at the expense of their
neighbours.
The political situation in the Arabian Gulf region
during the past two decades has made us increasingly
convinced of the importance of rebuilding confidence
among the countries of the region. This confidence must
be anchored in the principles of full and mutual respect
for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and non-
interference in the internal affairs of States, and of
refraining from the threat or use of force. Every State has
the right to choose its political, economic and social
system, to preserve its natural resources and to resort to
peaceful negotiations as a means of settling disputes
within the context of bilateral, regional and international
initiatives and endeavours.
We also support the peaceful efforts currently under
way to complete the demarcation of borders among the
States of the region in order to enhance the national

sovereignty of each State. This will contribute to the
achievement of lasting peace, security and stability in the
region.
Inspired by our tradition, our history and our
commitment to peace, we in the United Arab Emirates
firmly believe that the Charter of the United Nations and
the principles of international law are the proper means of
settling disputes among nations.
Twenty-five years have passed since the occupation by
the Islamic Republic of Iran of our three islands, Greater
Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa. These are Arab islands,
both in their history and in their origin. They are the pillars
of our national sovereignty, territorial integrity and overall
inalienable national rights. Since the beginning of the
conflict, the United Arab Emirates has called on the Iranian
Government to end its occupation of the islands and to
enter into bilateral negotiations or seek the arbitration of the
International Court of Justice. Referring the case to the
International Court of Justice will ensure that each State has
a chance to submit the relevant legal and historical
documents and evidence to support its claim of sovereignty
over the three islands.
Despite our declared peaceful intentions, the mediation
efforts of some friendly countries and the good offices of
the Secretary-General, the Iranian Government rejected our
peaceful endeavours. It has established and equipped
facilities on the three islands whose features are not
exclusively civilian. It has built an electrical power plant on
Greater Tunb; and an airport, a refrigeration plant and a
fish-processing plant on Abu Musa. Moreover, Iranian
nationals, mostly from the military, have been settled on the
islands. We view this as a clear act of provocation aimed
at changing the demographic character of the islands and
imposing a new fait accompli. Through these acts and by
ignoring the repercussions of such a policy on the peace
and security of the region and on international navigation,
Iran has consolidated its illegitimate occupation.
The Islamic Republic of Iran has failed to heed the
repeated, serious and sincere appeals made by the United
Arab Emirates, the Gulf Co-operation Council, the Arab
States of the Gulf, the last Arab Summit meeting, the
Council of the League of Arab States and the States parties
to the Damascus Declaration to settle the dispute through
peaceful means. This violates not only our country’s
national sovereignty, but also international law and all the
international principles, norms and practices governing
relations among States, particularly among neighbouring
States.
We therefore call on the Government of Iran to
dismantle all the illegitimately established civilian and
military facilities on our three islands. We also call upon
Iran to respond to the peace initiatives we have advanced
and which are supported by sisterly and friendly peace-
loving countries; to enter into unconditional bilateral
negotiations conducive to a peaceful settlement of the
dispute; or to refer the case to the International Court of
Justice.
Security, stability and sustainable development are
urgent needs of societies all over the globe. My country,
which has always supported the inalienable rights of
peoples to resist occupation and aggression, condemns all
forms of terrorism and the acts of subversion and
sabotage facing the international community today. In this
connection, we agree with and support all the measures
taken by the State of Bahrain to preserve its security, its
national sovereignty and its political independence.
In this context, we reiterate our full support for the
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia in its fight against terrorism in
all its forms and manifestations, and against all threats to
its national security. We believe that the member States
of the Gulf Co-operation Council are bound by the
threads of a common destiny defined by the requirements
of peace and security of the whole region. Terrorism
defies all international norms and practices and runs
counter to religious and cultural beliefs, which are the
pillars of stability and prosperity for all societies. It must
therefore be addressed in an international context.
The United Arab Emirates has followed with grave
concern the recent developments in Iraq. We reaffirm the
importance we attach to preserving Iraq’s national
sovereignty and territorial integrity. We oppose any
interference in its internal affairs and the establishment by
neighbouring States of safety zones on its territory. In the
same context, we support all the measures taken by the
State of Kuwait to preserve its sovereignty, security and
territorial integrity.
The escalating human suffering of the Iraqi people
and the spread of disease and malnutrition call for the
immediate and full implementation of Security Council
resolution 986 (1995). However, the ultimate
responsibility for the alleviation of the suffering of the
Iraqi people rests solely with the Government of Iraq.
This can be realized only when the Iraqi Government
complies fully with its international obligations under the
relevant Security Council resolutions. Those obligations
include the release of all Kuwaitis and other nationals
2

imprisoned or detained by Iraq and the return of all Kuwaiti
property still in its possession.
My country supported the Agreement on Principles
concluded between the Republic of Yemen and Eritrea on
the Hanish archipelago. We renew our call to the two
Governments to commit to the principle of peaceful
settlement through international arbitration so that peace
and security can prevail in this region. We take this
opportunity to express our appreciation to the Government
of France for its mediation efforts.
The United Arab Emirates welcomed the peace
negotiations in the Middle East, beginning with the Madrid
Conference through the subsequent agreements relative to
the question of Palestine. We are disappointed by the
position of the Israeli Government, which has not honoured
the commitments entered into by its predecessor. The Israeli
Government has refused to withdraw from the city of
Hebron, and has embarked on an expansion of its
illegitimate settlement activities. More recently, it opened
a tunnel adjacent to Al-Haram al-Sharif, the Noble
Sanctuary, which threatens the structures of the Al-Aqsa
Mosque and alters the demographic character and legal
status of the city of Jerusalem. This is an act of provocation
that will arouse the feelings of Arabs and Muslims, and will
obstruct the achievement of a just, comprehensive and
lasting peace settlement to the Middle East problem and the
Palestinian question.
At the Security Council meeting held last week, the
international community reaffirmed its solidarity with the
Palestinian people, its support of the peace process, and its
opposition to all the measures recently taken by the Israeli
Government. The United Arab Emirates condemns all the
acts of violence recently committed by the Israeli occupying
authorities against the Palestinian people, which resulted in
firing at and thus the martyrdom of many Palestinians, in
addition to the injuries sustained by many more. We call on
the Israeli Government to put an end to its barbaric
practices, which run counter to the most basic norms of
international humanitarian law.
The Arab parties are determined to pursue the peace
process as an objective and a strategic option to which there
is no alternative. This calls for a reciprocal commitment by
the Israeli side, without any further delay or procrastination.
This commitment must be proven by the actual,
unconditional implementation of all relevant agreements
thus far concluded, to enable the Palestinian people to
exercise their legitimate rights, including their right to self-
determination and to the establishment of their own
independent State, with Jerusalem as its capital. It must
also include full Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian Golan
to the 4 June 1967 line, and from southern Lebanon and
the western Bekaa, to the internationally recognized
b o r d e r s , p u r s u a n t t o S e c u r i t y C o u n c i l
resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978), and
the principle of land for peace. These measures will
guarantee balanced and equitable security for all the
States of the region, and realize their peoples’ aspirations
for a new era of comprehensive economic and social
development.
We fully subscribe to the international call for a
regional and international nuclear-test ban, and for the
establishment of international zones free of all weapons
of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons. These
weapons pose a grave danger to our health, our
environment and our natural resources. I recently had the
honour to sign, on behalf of the United Arab Emirates,
the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, thus
enhancing its universality. We call upon the international
community and the relevant international bodies to spare
no effort to make the Middle East and the Arab Gulf
region a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction,
including nuclear weapons. The international community
must call on Israel to accede to the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and to comply with the
international safeguards regime of the International
Atomic Energy Agency.
Despite the efforts and good offices of the League of
Arab States and the United Nations to save Somalia from
its predicament, the civil war there continues unabated,
and the deteriorating humanitarian situation is cause for
grave concern. We therefore appeal to the rival Somali
faction leaders to shoulder their responsibility and bring
this tragic bloodshed to an end. They must set aside their
differences and form a national Government representing
all the factions of the Somali people, a Government that
can restore to Somalia its national unity, territorial
integrity, security and stability.
Political developments in the Republic of Bosnia and
Herzegovina testify to the importance that the
international community attaches to the Dayton Peace
Agreement, with a view to restoring normal conditions in
the Republic. My country supported that Agreement. We
consider it the first constructive step on the road to a just
and permanent settlement of the Balkan problem. We
welcome the results of the recent elections in the
Republic of Bosnia Herzegovina. We hope that these
elections will safeguard the territorial integrity of the
3

Republic and contribute to the establishment of democratic
institutions. We also hope that they will help restore normal
relations among the Bosnian people and pave the way for
reconstruction, following the war’s devastation. Peace,
security and stability can then return to this tormented
region. We take this opportunity to stress the importance of
bringing to justice war criminals who have committed
heinous crimes against humanity and humanitarian
international law in the former Yugoslavia.
The tragic events, raging wars and civil strife, and
untold human suffering of the peoples of some African
countries, are cause for grave concern. In view of the
historic relations that bind our countries together, we
reiterate our support for the efforts of the Organization of
African Unity in cooperation with the United Nations to
contain the conflicts by peaceful means so that their
peoples’ aspirations to peace, security, stability and
development may be realized.
The economic and social gap between the nations of
the world is still wide in spite of positive political and
economic developments on the regional and international
scene, the creation of economic blocs, and free trade in the
world. This has led to the exacerbation of poverty, illiteracy
and disease in many developing countries. Those countries
are already ailing under the heavy burden of debt and debt-
servicing, and are suffering from the deterioration of living
standards and dwindling development assistance from
developed countries, in addition to trade barriers adversely
affecting their economies.
The world conferences held over the past five years
achieved important results, and their recommendations have
become important strategies aimed at creating an equitable
and prosperous international environment. The international
community, which is still plagued by persistent violence,
organized crime, drugs and terrorism, must translate these
recommendations into a reality that will guarantee equitable
economic and social development and the free flow of trade
between the developed and the developing countries.
We firmly believe that this Organization still
represents mankind’s conscience in the face of lingering
world problems. To enhance its role under the Charter, the
international community needs to provide the necessary
political, financial and moral support to the Organization.
We must undertake major structural reforms, enlarge the
Security Council membership in accordance with the
principle of equitable geographic distribution, and improve
the functioning of the General Assembly, the Economic and
Social Council and the specialized agencies, so that they
can respond adequately to current regional and
international developments.
I would also like to stress the importance of
cooperation, consultation and coordination between the
United Nations and regional organizations. These
organizations can assist the United Nations to arrive at a
better understanding of regional problems that can affect
peace, security and sustainable development.
In conclusion, we hope that our aspirations will find
proper expression in the commitment by the States of the
world to the Charter of the United Nations and the
principles of international law. We look forward to the
realization of the noble objectives of this Organization.


Allow me to congratulate you, Sir,
on your election and to wish you success in carrying out
your duties during the fifty-first session of the General
Assembly. I wish all of us a productive and fruitful session
of the General Assembly and assure members of the full
cooperation of the delegation of Latvia in ensuring the
success of their work.
“Reform” was a much-used word during the previous
session of this body. The word “crisis” may become just as
prevalent during the fifty-first session. In this connection,
I should like to recall the words of United States President
John Fitzgerald Kennedy:
“When written in Chinese, the word crisis' is
composed of two characters. One represents danger
and the other represents opportunity.”
Since joining the United Nations five years ago, Latvia
has consistently supported reforms so as to avoid crises.
Our 50-year absence from the international community
makes us especially appreciate the fact that this rostrum is
the one place in the world from which all nations can speak
with an equal voice about matters of global importance.
A statement from this rostrum is a means rather than
an end. It can be but the first of many steps to a level of
human development that Immanuel Kant characterized as
eternal peace. Too often the closest we come to attaining
the ideal of a world without wars and the United Nations as
the maintainer of international peace and security is the
establishment of the mechanisms needed to halt armed
conflict. In this connection, may I recall that the joint
Estonian-Latvian-Lithuanian peacekeeping battalion, whose
training period will conclude next year, will be a
contribution of the Baltic States to the strengthening of
the mechanisms for peacekeeping and peacemaking
established by the United Nations.
The current world situation forces us to question
how often we have been too late, how often we have been
found lacking in wisdom, foresight and effective
diplomacy in our attempts to resolve disputes peacefully.
Somalia, former Yugoslavia, Chechnya, Rwanda — these
are not the only areas that have suffered recently. These
are problems for the entire global community, not only
the United Nations. It makes us think how far we are
from the ideal of eternal world peace, which few believe
possible, but whose realization is one of the fundamental
purposes of the United Nations. We all agree that peace
is a fundamental value and that war means catastrophe
and destruction. Still, we live in a world in which armed
conflicts constantly arise; where some profit from war;
and where relationships of dominance, the rules of the
game, and differing values do not exclude war as a
mechanism for pursuing national interests.
Reducing the possibility of local conflicts is an
important aspect of global security. Any local armed
conflict affects the global society as a whole, especially
in our rapidly changing and shrinking world, in which the
notions of distance, speed and information change rapidly.
International terrorism, the illegal trade in weapons and
narcotics, people fleeing their homes and other
consequences accompany local conflicts, but do not limit
themselves to the conflict zone alone. Political instability
and racial, religious and ethnic discord, combined with
low standards of living, breed armed conflicts. As
preventive measures, the United Nations must continue to
promote actively a respect for human rights, tolerance, the
universality of the United Nations, disarmament and the
implementation of arms-control agreements, and support
the economies of States that may need assistance.
We hail the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
(CTBT), which has opened for signature and ratification
after a long and difficult search for compromise. I intend
to sign the CTBT today. We are convinced that this
Treaty can move the world closer to peace. Latvia
considers it imperative that work be continued on the
control of conventional weapons. We support the
chemical weapons Convention, even though we are
concerned that the two largest producers of chemical
weapons have not yet ratified the Convention.
5

Latvia believes that universal respect for human rights
should continue to be a priority of the United Nations and
its Members. Taking into account the ever-increasing tasks
of the United Nations human rights system, increased
allocation of resources devoted to United Nations human
rights activities is an absolute necessity. Double standards
on human rights are intolerable, and Latvia devotes
particular attention to this. The guidelines for the global
protection of human rights are the documents adopted at the
World Conference on Human Rights. Countries should
implement these guidelines and share with others their
experience in doing so.
In Latvia these guidelines have been applied to a
unique demographic situation caused by 50 years of
occupation. In accordance with a recommendation of the
World Conference on Human Rights, Latvia has established
an independent institution for the protection of human
rights: the State Human Rights Office. This office has a
mandate to hear and investigate complaints from Latvia’s
residents, inform members of society about human rights,
and make recommendations to the Government and
Parliament on legislation affecting human rights. In
establishing the State Human Rights Office, Latvia received
invaluable assistance from the United Nations Development
Programme, the High Commissioner for Human Rights and
the Centre for Human Rights.
The United Nations must continue to protect those
values that engender a respect for human rights, tolerance,
the rejection of violence and the promotion of peace. It is
not weapons or physical force that protect homes, people
and countries. Rather, true security depends, inter alia, on
good relations with all neighbours and on a strong
economy. Latvia is successfully implementing such a
policy. Our aim is to achieve rapid economic growth and to
attract foreign investment in Latvia. Already this year,
Latvia has one of the lowest rates of inflation in Eastern
Europe, along with a stable currency and rapidly rising
indexes of development. We have a well developed port
system, including the world’s second largest potassium-
salts-loading harbour and one of Europe’s largest harbours
for the transit of petroleum products.
Latvia is the geographical centre of the Baltic States
and is a natural economic bridge between East and West.
Our country belongs to the European family of democratic
States, sharing common values and cooperating for their
protection. Integration in the European and transatlantic
structures is the highest priority for Latvia. We are actively
working for the integration of Latvia into the European and
global economic systems, as well as for a close partnership
in the European continent, on both the governmental and
non-governmental levels.
Latvia is also participating in efforts to improve the
work of the United Nations so that the Organization can
react more effectively to the challenges of our time. In
support of the restructuring and revitalization of the
United Nations in the economic, social and related fields,
and in recognition of the desirability of frequent rotation
of Member States represented on important United
Nations bodies, Latvia has for the first time ever
presented its candidature for a seat on the Economic and
Social Council beginning in 1997.
A year has passed since the United Nations
celebrated its fiftieth anniversary, when much was heard
about the urgency of reform of the Organization. Yet
during the last year Member States have been unable to
agree on these long-awaited reforms. If Member States
continue not to make decisions, the United Nations will
slowly but inevitably lose its ability to pursue its global
goals effectively. As part of the reform efforts, it is
important that the United Nations periodically enunciate
and evaluate priorities to be pursued, in particular in
times when resources are limited but the demand for them
is growing.
One cause of the crisis facing the United Nations is
the financial situation. Each Member State's financial
contribution to the Organization must reflect its capacity
to pay. Contributions can be a great burden for
developing countries and countries with economies in
transition that are overassessed. A future system of
contributions must be fair, transparent and elastic in order
that it may readily adapt to economic changes.
Latvia would like to repeat its view that new and
innovative financing mechanisms are a necessity. It
supports the current effort of the Economic and Social
Council to study such mechanisms for the purpose of
financing development that is sustainable. The
introduction of new financing mechanisms and other
financial management tools can only improve the
currently weak financial discipline of Member States.
Latvia supports reforms that would result in the
reduction of the number of subsidiary bodies of the
General Assembly and the number of administrative
structures in the Secretariat, as well as a full introduction
of methods of modern management.
6

With regard to the reform of the Security Council, a
priority should be to adjust its membership in order to
achieve equitable geographic representation and to respond
to the increase in the membership of the United Nations in
recent decades. The effectiveness of the work of the
Security Council must be increased further by making its
working methods even more transparent and the exchange
of information with non-members more intense than at
present.
Latvia is a country that is attached to the ideals of
peace, democracy and human rights. It identifies itself with
the efforts of the global society to maintain and realize
these ideals. It is an active member of the community of
nations. This, we are convinced, is the genuine road to
security and social and economic prosperity for our country
and for the world.


On behalf of
the people and the Government of Papua New Guinea, I
congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election to preside
over the General Assembly at its fifty-first session. The
warm relations that have developed between our two
nations make it a particular pleasure to welcome you to
your high office and to wish you well in carrying out
your duties. I would also like to record our sincere
appreciation for the wise leadership with which your
predecessor guided our deliberations during the historic
fiftieth session of the General Assembly.
The rapid approach of the year 2000 raises the
question whether — and how — we are going to try to
make the turn of the century a turning point for the
United Nations. Despite the many thought-provoking
speeches made for the fiftieth anniversary, I regret to say
that signs of fundamental and far-reaching changes
required remain elusive. Yet we live at a time when the
only constant factor is change. The preamble to its
Charter makes it quite clear that the United Nations itself
was — and is — intended to be an agent of change. If
our Organization is to remain relevant to the challenges
ahead, then it, and we the Members, must adapt and keep
on adapting, as the world continues to change.
Invented to raise humanity’s sights beyond the
horizon of destruction caused by world war, the United
Nations must be continuously reinvented in order to play
an effective role in a rapidly changing world. The United
Nations has in fact been successful at one kind of change:
adding to our agenda responsibilities and activities in
areas such as peacekeeping, peacemaking, human rights
and sustainable development. It has, however, been very
much less successful in rationalizing its operations and
administrative support.
Humanity needs a much more focused, trim and vital
United Nations. Without internal reform, the risk of
overload is only too real — and, arguably, overload is
already here. Even more importantly, we, the Members of
the United Nations, have to do more, much more, to
adapt key institutions to the changed and still-changing
circumstances of a post-colonial, post-cold-war world.
Almost everyone agrees what the main issues and
options are. Yet as far as its permanent membership goes,
the Security Council in particular remains, much as it has
always been, the product of decisions made before most
Member States became independent. Some of the
strongest critics of the cost and alleged inefficiencies
of the United Nations come from States that are among
the slowest in paying their membership dues. While
they criticize weaknesses in the Organization’s
performance, they are often among the most eager
4

advocates of giving it new assignments. Their
actions — and inaction — suggest that they confuse
cutbacks in the resources available to the United Nations
with real reform.
Like other members of the Non-Aligned Movement,
Papua New Guinea is firmly committed to reforming the
Security Council. While we recognize that those whom
existing arrangements most favour are well placed to delay
or block change, we firmly believe that the Council’s
composition should be altered. It must take better account
of the geographical distribution and sovereign equality of
Member States. Concerned that it seems to be taking longer
to reform than it originally took to form the United Nations,
Papua New Guinea’s voice and vote are emphatically for
change. We believe that the time for action is now.
Papua New Guinea has embarked on an ambitious
programme of domestic reforms, including both
constitutional and economic-policy changes. Having
legislated a new system of provincial and local-level
governments in order to improve the delivery of services to
our people, we are actively engaged in implementation.
Twenty-one years after giving ourselves a “home-grown”
Constitution, we are now engaged in a comprehensive
process of reform that is equally “home-grown”.
My Government is just as determined to bring about
comprehensive structural adjustment. Following decisions
to devalue and float our national currency, the kina, we are
now reducing the size of the public sector. We are making
the official interface with the private sector more
business-friendly and encouraging commercial enterprise.
While international agencies and foreign aid donors provide
valuable support, the impulse, direction and pace of reform
are emphatically Papua New Guinea’s own. Being a
member of the Government that led Papua New Guinea to
its independence, I cannot allow our national sovereignty —
or our Government’s ability to respond to our people’s
needs — to be compromised now.
Experience of the difficulties of reform at home has
reinforced my Government’s commitment to reforming the
United Nations. The principles remain the same. We
strongly support efforts to ensure that the world has a truly
effective, flexible and responsive Organization through
which to cooperate in meeting the challenges of the twenty-
first century.
The United Nations is founded on the idea that
security involves much more than military defence against
threats of armed attack. Conscious of the threats and
limitations on self-defence that we face together with
other small island developing countries, Papua New
Guinea has always regarded collective security as an
important key to national security. Diplomacy is the
means by which we seek to cooperate with all other
States committed to peace.
As the current Chairman of the Melanesian
Spearhead Group (MSG), I am pleased to report that we
welcomed Fiji as a new member at our Summit in June.
We also adopted a document — “Melanesia Beyond
2000” — which outlines our objectives and strategy for
the MSG’s second decade.
We have emphasized our commitment to cooperation
on a wide basis and have also agreed to a proposal on
weapons control. The South Pacific Forum is developing
the idea on a region-wide basis. Following the extreme
outrage that the South Pacific felt when France resumed
its testing programme in French Polynesia last year, I can
now report that the programme has ceased. The remaining
nuclear Powers with interests in our region — France, the
United Kingdom and the United States of America —
have signed the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty
(Treaty of Rarotonga). France has been readmitted as a
post-Forum dialogue partner.
As much as we welcome the developments during
the past 12 months, Papua New Guinea believes that
more is required before our region can be described as
genuinely nuclear-free. Outstanding needs include a
broader treaty, systematic monitoring of former test-sites,
cleaning up, compensation and the provision of alternative
sources of income for the people of French Polynesia.
The Treaty of Rarotonga is complemented by the
MSG’s Lakatoro Declaration on Denuclearization in
Oceania. Subregional and regional efforts are again
complemented by similar arrangements negotiated during
the past year in South-East Asia and Africa, as well as by
the much older arrangements that apply to Antarctica and
Latin America. Papua New Guinea welcomes the
Brazilian proposal to link these arrangements into a
comprehensive nuclear-weapon-free zone covering the
entire southern hemisphere. Having supported the recent
passage of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty,
we would now like to see it extended to outlawing
simulations, limiting the development and acquisition of
new nuclear weapons and, ultimately, bringing about
complete disarmament.
5

The South Pacific Forum has expressed support for the
early conclusion of negotiations over a legal regime
covering civil liability for nuclear damage.
Committed to furthering cooperation against threats to
our region, the South Pacific Forum is working on an
arrangement through which member States can respond to
legitimate requests for assistance from one another’s
disciplined services, including police. The same
arrangement could also be used for consultations intended
to help prevent, manage and settle disputes. We continue to
broaden, deepen and diversify other areas of security
cooperation, including law enforcement.
Consistent with agreements reached at the regional
level, Papua New Guinea has adopted a comprehensive
code of logging practice designed to promote the
sustainable use and in-country processing of a rich
renewable natural resource.
We are gravely concerned at the threat that climate
change poses to the very survival of low-lying atolls. Entire
countries in our region face the risk of extinction. Papua
New Guinea joins with other developing countries in calling
on the advanced industrialized countries to look beyond
their immediate self-interest and adopt specific targets for
reducing greenhouse emissions, an issue which generates
considerable emotion among us.
Together with other coastal States in the region, we
look to distant-water fishing nations for cooperation in
giving effect to the United Nations Agreement on straddling
fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks so that it does
not weaken existing regional arrangements.
In the wider Asia-Pacific region, Papua New Guinea
calls for a reduction of avoidable sources of stress,
uncertainty and risk on the Korean Peninsula, both for the
sake of the countries directly involved and because of their
potentially adverse effects on other countries.
Concerned about events earlier in the year, I repeat
last year’s call for the United Nations to do its best to ease
the tensions between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Important regional organizations in the Asia-Pacific have
found ways of following the principle within the region.
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution
recommending that the United Nations identify options for
Taiwan to take part in the activities of bodies answerable to
the General Assembly. The United Nations has an
obligation to assist in maintaining a secure environment in
which economic growth and other forms of development
can continue for the benefit of the peoples of the region
as well as their partners around the world. It is therefore
time to address the question of Taiwanese participation in
institutions and processes set up to further the universal
objectives of the United Nations Charter.
Respect for the national sovereignty of Member
States is basic to the United Nations Charter. Small island
developing countries tend to be especially vulnerable to
a wide range of possible threats. Their development, and
even their very survival, often depend on international
cooperation and law.
Having achieved national independence under United
Nations supervision, Papua New Guinea is firmly
committed to the United Nations Special Committee on
the Situation With Regard to the Implementation of the
Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples. Despite criticism from certain
quarters, we were therefore pleased to welcome and host
the Special Committee’s regional seminar held in Port
Moresby in June. Together with all other members of the
Melanesian Spearhead Group and the South Pacific
Forum, we remain firmly committed to the orderly
decolonization of New Caledonia, with special safeguards
for the indigenous Kanaks. We will not accept illegitimate
attempts to delay or derail complete implementation of
the Matignon Agreements. Having reviewed the French
Government’s record elsewhere in the region, we ask
ourselves whether French Polynesia, as well as Walis and
Futuna, should be included in the United Nations list of
Non-Self-Governing Territories. The international
community has a duty to see that France meets its
responsibilities to the people of our region and a prime
responsibility must be the right of self-determination.
On Bougainville, my Government is firmly
committed to doing all that we can to resolve the crisis
that has racked the Bougainville Province in my country
since 1989. I therefore negotiated a cease-fire, arranged
a regional peacekeeping force and agreed to peace talks
in October 1994, only to find that the militant leaders
would not honour the agreements reached. Even so, my
Government has been prepared to talk to those who will
talk to us. We have established the Bougainville
Transitional Government and continue to provide
protection for people forced to flee from their homes by
the criminal actions of an armed and militant minority.
We continue to restore services and to encourage
reconciliation, but the mounting toll of destruction, injury
and loss of life caused by the militants gave the National
6

Government no alternative but to lift the ceasefire on 21
March this year.
Even now, rival gangs of armed criminals continue to
threaten the lives of innocent people, trying to destroy what
the people, provincial leaders and the national Government
are doing and reconstructing. They undermine all efforts to
maintain the rule of law. In a particularly barbaric attack on
8 September this year, 12 members of our security forces
were killed at the Kangu Care Centre in South
Bougainville.
Despite the worst efforts of the Bougainville
Revolutionary Army and its sympathizers abroad, my
Government is standing firm. We will not give them the
satisfaction of departing from our basic objective of
restoring peace and rebuilding all they have destroyed.
We appreciate the understanding displayed by the
United Nations Commission on Human Rights when it
considered the Bougainville situation earlier this year. It has
always been a complex domestic issue. In keeping with the
mutual respect for national sovereignty that is basic to
international law, Papua New Guinea calls on all other
States to refrain from statements and actions that send
misleading signals to those who violate our laws; to
cooperate in preventing smuggling and other illegal
violations of our borders; and generally to prevent outsiders
from interfering illegally in Papua New Guinea’s internal
affairs. In so doing, we add the reminder that it is not the
foreign meddlers who will suffer most from the effects of
the crisis — it will be the people of Papua New Guinea,
including the overwhelming majority of Bougainvilleans,
who consider themselves to be part of our nation and
entitled to the same rights as all other Papua New
Guineans.
Conscious of the violations that have occurred on all
sides and of the need to avoid any repetition, my
Government is in the process of trying to strengthen
existing arrangements by establishing a national commission
on human rights.
My Government has embarked on an ambitious
programme of structural adjustment, because we — and not
some outside body — think that we should in order to
ensure that development can be sustained for future
generations. While we accept external advice and appreciate
external assistance, we have not yielded to, and will not
give in to, external pressure. It is crucial that the official
conduct of such bodies not raise basic questions about
relations between these institutions and the sovereignty of
the member States that they are supposed to serve.
National and collective self-reliance are both means
of achieving and integral to the objective of sustainable
development. They are critical to maintaining and
strengthening the security and sovereignty of States.
National self-reliance is among Papua New Guinea’s
constitutional goals and directive principles. Collective
self-reliance through South Pacific cooperation is among
the commitments contained in my Government’s Pacific
Plan and implemented through our current national
budget.
My Government’s proposal that Papua New Guinea
should enter into a form of permanent association with
the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) is
intended to further the process by which we cooperate
with neighbouring countries to promote collective
self-reliance. We appreciate the positive interest that
ASEAN members have expressed in the idea and we
strongly support closer cooperation between ASEAN and
the South Pacific Forum.
As the only Pacific island country directly involved
in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council
(APEC), but by no means the only such country likely to
be affected by the process, Papua New Guinea has
proposed that APEC set up a scheme to help build
capacity among the 13 small island developing countries
in the region so that they are not left or pushed behind.
The proposal that we are now developing in greater
detail is emphatically not intended to be yet another
open-ended aid programme under a different name.
Rather, it is intended to help small island countries
manage their way through the transition to the
achievement of APEC’s vision of open-ended regional
free trade by the year 2020.
As an active participant in institutions established
under the Lomé Convention, Papua New Guinea would
like to encourage other member States to give early
consideration to the kinds of changes that would facilitate
development processes and objectives consistent with
World Trade Organization rules.
Conscious of the aid fatigue now spreading through
many advanced industrial countries, we urge Governments
and people of goodwill to recognize the time and effort
that development requires. With a few very honourable
exceptions, donor countries have not reached — and in
7

many cases have fallen far behind — aid targets to which
they agreed a generation ago.
Thus, not only has aid been reduced, but recipients are
even more locked and tied to donors’ own preferences. The
effect that the failure to honour commitments can have on
national forward planning can be very severe. It underlines
the need for a reduced reliance on aid and for the
development of a greater degree of self-reliance.
In view of the vital role that the business sector can
play in mobilizing capital for investment and trade, we
welcome schemes designed to assist in the development of
the private sector. We especially welcome the contributions
made to such schemes by the advanced industrial countries.
We cannot achieve all our reforms without the support
of world institutions. That is accepted. However, those
institutions themselves need to operate with greater
flexibility and to be more sensitive to the particular needs
of Governments to preserve democracy, the environment
and their people’s national identity and culture.
My Government takes a global view of Papua New
Guinea’s foreign relations and of issues on the United
Nations agenda. We encourage official agencies, business
and non-governmental organizations both to “Look North”
and to “Work the Pacific” for mutual benefit with close
neighbours. Conscious that we must not overlook
longstanding friends, we give high priority to reinforcing
core relationships. Our overall objective is to continue
reform at home in order to meet the challenges of global
change.
We will continue to support wider efforts at reform,
including those directed at and through the United Nations,
in order to meet the challenges of global change and
embrace the imperatives of reform in readiness for the
twenty-first century.


I would like to express my
sincere congratulations, Sir, on your election to the
presidency, and my best wishes for success in the fifty-first
session of the General Assembly.
I wish also to thank your predecessor, Mr. Diogo
Freitas do Amaral, for his leadership and his personal
contribution to the positive achievements of last year’s
session.
Last year we commemorated the fiftieth anniversary of
the United Nations. That was a good opportunity not only
for historical reflection and drawing lessons from the past,
but also for setting out new priorities and tasks for the
years to come. It is obvious that the United Nations, if it is
to meet expectations, has to adapt itself to meet new
challenges. Slovakia supports all efforts that will contribute
to the enhancement of democracy, transparency and
efficiency in the work of the United Nations.
The need for the reform of the United Nations is also
confirmed by its current difficult financial situation. This
state of affairs can be resolved only if all Member States
meet their financial obligations in a timely manner and
pay their arrears, and if a new formula for determining a
more adequate scale of assessments based on a country’s
capacity to pay is adopted. In this context, Slovakia
appreciates the European Union proposal for the financial
reform of the United Nations and welcomes an open and
pragmatic discussion in this regard.
Let me stress that Slovakia, which has paid its
contributions to the United Nations regular budget in full
and on time, is also ready to bear its fair share of
responsibilities in financing United Nations peace-keeping
operations. Now, more than three years after our
admission to United Nations membership, it is high time
Slovakia was fairly allocated to an appropriate group for
the financing of United Nations peace-keeping. Bearing
in mind the available economic data and comparing them
with those of several other countries of the Central
European region, we are fully convinced that Slovakia
should be allocated to Group C, and we see no
compelling reason for further postponing this decision. Of
course, such a decision would be without prejudice to a
comprehensive review process of the method to be
applied for the apportionment of the expenses of United
Nations peace-keeping operations. But the contributions
of any Member State for 1993-1997 should be assessed
only on the basis of the scheme applicable in that period.
In the context of United Nations institutional reform,
great attention is focused on the Security Council.
Slovakia supports Security Council reform and is of the
opinion that the expansion of its membership should

reflect the principle of equitable geographical
representation. The membership of the Group of Eastern
European States has recently more than doubled, and this
fact should be duly taken into account in the Security
Council reform process. Countries able to bear global
responsibility should be granted the status they deserve in
the Security Council. On the other hand, expansion of the
membership should hamper neither the efficiency nor the
decision-making process of the Security Council, so the
increase should be a rather limited one.
Several inspiring proposals have been submitted to the
United Nations. Slovakia is of the opinion that we should
look for the positive elements contained in those proposals
and make maximum efforts aimed at reaching a generally
acceptable solution. Practice has shown that an increased
role for small and medium-sized countries in the Security
Council can contribute favourably to the effective
implementation of its decisions, thus improving the
authority and the democratic character of that body.
Slovakia actively supports the United Nations efforts
to maintain and strengthen international peace and security.
After three years of difficult negotiations, the Slovak
Republic has finally become a full-fledged member of the
Conference on Disarmament, thus filling the vacancy
caused by the dissolution of the former Czechoslovakia.
Slovakia, as a country using nuclear power solely for
peaceful purposes, unequivocally supports all steps which
prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons and create
conditions for their eventual elimination. Therefore, we
welcomed last year’s decision of the fifth Review
Conference to extend indefinitely the Treaty on the Non-
Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. This September we voted
for the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty. Last Monday I had the honour to sign it on behalf
of the Slovak Republic. We hope that it will soon enter into
force and become law in international relations, thus
making the world safer.
The world community is also paying close attention to
another important disarmament agreement — namely, the
Chemical Weapons Convention. Slovakia has already
ratified this important instrument and supports a speedy
resumption of the ratification process so that it can enter
into force.
We consider the problem posed by anti-personnel
landmines a serious one. We therefore welcome initiatives
aimed at a ban on the use, stockpiling, production and
transfer of this kind of weapon. For our part, we have
already unilaterally declared a moratorium on the export
of these devices, which cause casualties mostly among the
innocent civilian population.
Peace-keeping operations continue to be a major part
of United Nations activities. Slovakia sees their further
development through the enhancement of elements of
preventive diplomacy, with a significant strengthening of
their humanitarian dimension and a broader incorporation
of civilian components at all stages. Practical evidence of
Slovakia’s efforts to implement the basic United Nations
goals is our participation in the United Nations
Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja
and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and the United Nations
Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM III).
Slovakia, as a troop-contributing country,
understands the significance of appropriate protection for
United Nations personnel. Therefore, we have already
ratified the Convention on the Safety of United Nations
and Associated Personnel. The brave men and women in
blue helmets deserve stronger protection. We call upon all
other States which have not yet become parties to the
Convention to ratify it as soon as possible.
The European continent was the theatre of two world
wars in the past. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to
pay great attention to the issues of security and peace in
this part of the world. Underestimating the gravity of the
situation caused an immense human tragedy for millions
of innocent people in the territory of the former
Yugoslavia. The Dayton Agreements, and above all their
successful implementation, represent a turning point
towards a peaceful settlement of this traumatic conflict,
not only for its direct participants but also in a global
context. The international community also plays an
irreplaceable role in this process through United Nations
mechanisms. Slovakia is ready to get fully involved in the
reconstruction of the destroyed economies of the countries
of the region. We welcome Security Council resolution
1074 (1996), adopted just two days ago.
Maintaining peace and security in other parts of the
world is of no lesser importance. Preserving the
continuity of the peace process in the Middle East is an
important part of that. We must not allow the peace
process to end and the results achieved so far to be
destroyed.
We observe with concern the growth of instability
and the spread of conflicts on the African continent.
Slovakia supports all efforts by the United Nations, the
2

Organization of African Unity and other organizations
involved in the search for peaceful solutions for eliminating
crises and violence.
Slovakia supports the efforts of the Secretary-General
to achieve a durable solution to the question of Cyprus that
will guarantee respect for the sovereignty, independence,
territorial integrity and unity of the country, in compliance
with the relevant United Nations resolutions. My country is
prepared to continue its mission of good offices by
organizing meetings of the political party leaders of both
Cypriot communities.
As far as humanitarian assistance is concerned, we
emphasize the need for the efficient mutual cooperation of
all involved entities, together with a strengthening of the
coordinating role of the Department of Humanitarian
Affairs. Early warning as one element of preventive
diplomacy and the rapid reaction of the international
community in response to an emerging crisis situation are
factors which significantly affect overall results. The role of
the Department of Humanitarian Affairs in the
reconstruction of territories suffering from military
conflicts, including in demining, is important.
International conflicts and internal strife are not the
only threats to international security and the stability of
States. Increasingly, acts of terrorism and organized
transnational criminal activities undermine democratic
societies and become their joint enemies. We strongly
support international cooperation aimed at their suppression
and elimination. We will study with interest several timely
initiatives put forward during this General Assembly
session, such as the initiatives of Poland, the United
Kingdom and the United States. We are convinced that
granting observer status to INTERPOL in the General
Assembly will have a positive impact on the activities of
both organizations in this field and will enable closer
cooperation.
Human rights will undoubtedly continue to be high on
the United Nations agenda. Full respect for human rights is
a prerequisite for freedom, justice, stability and peace. We
commend the efforts to increase the efficiency of the
United Nations human rights programmes, the work of the
High Commissioner for Human Rights and his policy goal
of transforming the Centre for Human Rights into an
overall coordinator of human rights policy and action within
the United Nations system.
In less than four years of statehood, Slovakia has
established a system of democratic institutions. All
commitments under the relevant human rights instruments
have been incorporated into its legislation. Our country
respects the rule of law and guarantees all citizens within
its jurisdiction respect for human rights and fundamental
freedoms, including for the individual rights of persons
belonging to national or ethnic minorities.
We have established an inter-ministerial coordinating
committee for women’s issues as an advisory body to the
Slovak Government. It is designed to initiate and monitor
the implementation of the conclusions and
recommendations of the Fourth World Conference on
Women.
Family issues are very closely interlinked with the
rights of women and the rights of the child. In today’s
world, the family requires better protection and
promotion. A strong family is a basis for a sound society.
An international centre for family studies has been
established in the Slovak capital. We are interested in
signing a memorandum of understanding between the
Government of the Slovak Republic and the United
Nations on the promotion of family issues through the
Bratislava International Centre for Family Studies and the
United Nations.
Sustainable economic and social development is a
sine qua non for full enjoyment of human rights and the
decent life of mankind on all parts of the globe. We
welcome the new, integrated and comprehensive focus of
the United Nations on these issues, as reflected in the
series of United Nations conferences and summits held
during the term of office of the current Secretary-General.
He deserves his share of credit for their success. Now and
in the years to come, we have to concentrate on the
implementation and review of the recommendations,
conclusions and plans of actions adopted in Rio, Vienna,
Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing and Istanbul. We consider the
convening of a special session of the General Assembly
in 1997 to review the implementation of Agenda 21 a
timely course of action. As a new member of the
Commission on Sustainable Development we will pay
special attention to these activities.
The Economic and Social Council should play a key
role in fostering international activities for sustainable
economic and social development; its coordinating role is
needed. We support efforts to enhance the efficiency of
the Economic and Social Council and to streamline its
procedures. Its sessions should be more focused on
topical issues. The relationship with its functional
committees requires further reflection and improvements.
3

Unnecessary duplication in the work of the General
Assembly and the Economic and Social Council should be
avoided. The consideration of economic issues in the
Second Committee and social ones in the Third Committee
seems nowadays an increasingly artificial separation. As
these issues are interlinked, it would only benefit us to find
a proper remedy for this artificial separation. This may
require a new redistribution of responsibilities among the
Main Committees.
A close interconnection between environmental issues
and economic development is reflected in the process of
economic transformation in Slovakia. Economic
development in Slovakia has reached a new level, and the
foundations for the transition to a market economy are now
firmly laid. This can be seen in the positive economic
results achieved in 1995, when Slovakia ranked second
among the countries of Central and Eastern Europe, with a
real annual gross domestic product growth of 7.4 per cent.
The Slovak economy is closely linked with the
development of regional and world economies. As a
founding country of the World Trade Organization,
Slovakia is actively participating in the ongoing integration
process and the formation of a new trade system on the
regional and multilateral levels. In this context, the
cooperation of the Central European Free Trade Agreement
countries may be an example worth following in the
integration of countries into the multilateral trade system
and global economy. We see the Central European Free
Trade Agreement not only as a vehicle to promote trade
between its partners, but also as a step on the road to full
integration into the European Union in the future, which is
one of our foreign-policy priorities, together with
membership in the North Atlantic Treaty Organization
(NATO) and in the Organization for Economic Cooperation
and Development.
We welcome the positive results of the ninth session
of the United Nations Conference on Trade and
Development (UNCTAD), which stressed the need for the
improvement of cooperation with the WTO and the Bretton
Woods institutions. The reform of its intergovernmental
structure, the focus on a smaller number of priorities with
a view to integrating developing countries into the
international trade system, should lead to a renewal of the
status of UNCTAD in the global economy.
The forthcoming Ministerial Meeting of the WTO in
Singapore will be a good opportunity to further strengthen
the Organization’s regulatory role. Slovakia also places
particular importance on cooperation with other United
Nations agencies. We are interested in actively
contributing to the improvement of their functioning.
I am convinced that the United Nations will prove
its viability in the future, as it has so far, and confirm its
unique role in the community of nations. The Slovak
Republic is prepared to do its utmost for this goal.