General Assembly Session 51 meeting 41

The Acting President

I should like to inform representatives that, following consultations on this item, and taking into consideration General Assembly decision 50/406 of 31 October 1995, it is proposed that the General Assembly decide to postpone consideration of this item and to include it in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session.

Mr. Dlamini (Swaziland)

While my delegation has no wish to comment on the way the Acting President has guided us, I should like to voice our concern over the item before us, which has been persistently postponed without clearly stated reasons being given to the General Assembly.

If I may request the courtesy of the presidency on behalf of my delegation, I would suggest that reasons be given so that, as delegates representing Member States, we will be in a position to know what to report back to our Governments. During our last report we mentioned the same thing -- that the issue had been postponed. Without clarification, however, this is frustrating for our participation, especially since the item was included by the General Committee in the agenda for the Assembly's consideration.

The Acting President

The General Assembly has taken note of the statement of the representative of Swaziland.

May I take it that the Assembly, taking into account decision 50/406, wishes to defer consideration of this item and to include it in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session?

The Acting President

The General Assembly has thus concluded its consideration of agenda item 49.

The Acting President

I call on the representative of Egypt to introduce draft resolution A/51/L.6.

Mr. Elaraby (Egypt)

It is a pleasure for me to be the first speaker at this morning's meeting to address agenda item 29, entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union", and to introduce a draft resolution on behalf of the co-sponsors, whose number is steadily increasing. This draft resolution is contained in document A/51/L.6.

In commemorating the agreement reached and signed between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) on 24 July 1996, the General Assembly today marks an important stage in its cooperation with international organizations. This is a very important step which the General Assembly mandated the Secretary-General to carry out in resolution 50/15 of 15 November 1995, in order to establish cooperation in all fields and to promote fundamental human rights and freedoms.

I can only thank the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the Secretary-General of the IPU, Mr. Pierre Cornillon, for their joint efforts and for the efforts of their staff, which were crowned with the effective implementation of the clauses of this agreement between the two organizations.

The conclusion of this agreement is a cornerstone in the edifice of consolidating fruitful and beneficial cooperation between our two organizations. It lays the foundations for the formal framework for this cooperation, which should be promoted by expanding its scope and content. We are very pleased that this agreement has been reached. It is an agreement that provides for cooperation and consultation between the organizations as they discharge their mandates.

The participation of the United Nations in the various forums of the IPU is incontrovertible. In addition to their participation in the New York meeting convened to follow up the World Summit for Social Development and jointly organized by the IPU pursuant to the conclusion of the agreement that we are commemorating today, their participation was inaugurated by sending representatives of the Secretary-General to the ninety-fifth and ninety-sixth Inter-Parliamentary Conferences, held in Istanbul and Beijing. I should also mention the meetings that took place very recently between the two Secretaries-General and the policy makers of their secretariats.

All this opens the door to very promising prospects for cooperation which will further foster the lofty objectives and purposes of both organizations. We hope that this across-the-board cooperation in all fields will grow, so as to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations in achieving its purposes under the Charter. These purposes can be furthered through the support rendered by the IPU, which can also play an extremely important role in promoting international peace and cooperation.

I would like to conclude by expressing Egypt's gratitude to the current President of the IPU, who was the main architect in the development of this cooperation agreement between organizations that have similar missions and principles.

On behalf of the co-sponsors of the draft resolution set out in document A/51/L.6, and the countries that subsequently joined them, I would like to present the various provisions of this draft resolution to the General Assembly.

In the preambular part of the draft resolution, the General Assembly recalls that it requested the Secretary-General to conclude an agreement on cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU and stresses its desire to strengthen existing cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU and to give it a new and adequate framework.

In the operative portion of the draft resolution, the General Assembly welcomes the conclusion on 24 July 1996 of the cooperation agreement between the United Nations and the IPU, considers that the signature of the agreement constitutes an important step for increased and strengthened cooperation between the two organizations, decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session the item entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union", and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to it at its fifty-second session on various aspects of cooperation that have taken place between the United Nations and the IPU in implementation of the cooperation agreement.

In view of the procedural and ceremonial nature of the draft resolution, and given the lack of any financial programme implications, I would propose, on behalf of all the co-sponsors, that the General Assembly adopt it by consensus.

Mr. Yusof (Singapore)

Since this is the first time that I am speaking here during this session, I would like to express my sincere congratulations to Mr. Razali Ismail on his election as President and to take this opportunity to express my delegation's satisfaction at the manner in which he has steered the course of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly thus far. I have no doubt that he will continue to acquit himself honourably and with his own exemplary personal style of the responsibilities thrust upon him. On a more personal note, it gives me great pleasure to see a friend of Singapore presiding over the Assembly. I would assure him of the full support of the Singapore delegation and that he can call upon us for any assistance that he may require in the conduct of the affairs of the fifty-first session of the Assembly and throughout the term of his presidency.

Last year, on 15 November 1995, the General Assembly adopted by consensus resolution 50/15, "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union". That resolution was introduced by Mr. Nabil Elaraby of the Arab Republic of Egypt and sponsored by no less than 62 Member States. Today, we have learned that the number of sponsors of this year's draft resolution has increased.

In adopting that resolution the Member States of the United Nations recognized that national parliamentarians, through the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), share common objectives with the United Nations and that the IPU can play a crucial role in promoting the work and goals of the Organization.

My delegation views it as timely that the IPU, with its membership of no less than 133 national Parliaments, should seek closer participation with the United Nations. The ties between the two organizations, particularly in the areas of peace, human rights and democracy, date back to the establishment of the United Nations itself. On the basis of the shared objectives of the United Nations and the IPU, closer cooperation can only facilitate the work of parliamentarians and empower the work of the United Nations.

The key to cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU is complementarity. The United Nations is not a world Government. After all, its mandates are determined and its resources furnished by its Member States. Yet the United Nations has successfully established international law and set international standards and programmes in almost every field of human conduct.

However, sovereign power remains with sovereign nation States. The members of the IPU decide for their respective nations whether to assume binding international obligations and how to implement, nationally, the decisions that States have taken at the international level.

The task of exercising sovereign power should, and rightly, be exercised only by the parliamentarians, that is, by men and women elected by the people of each nation, men and women who are in direct contact with the general population, who are in touch with their shared aspirations and who understand their common interests.

This goes back to the original purpose of the United Nations, for the Charter of the United Nations begins with the preambular words:

"We the peoples of the United Nations ...".

Increased participation and collaboration with the IPU would therefore make the United Nations more representative, as the Parliaments represent the will of the people of every nation.

My delegation is of the view that it is only through a gainful collaborative relationship between the United Nations and the IPU that the will of the people can be better expressed at the international level through the United Nations and that, conversely, through the IPU, the voice of the inter-governmental process can be disseminated at the grass-roots level. In effect, it is a win-win situation.

In preparing the United Nations for the twenty-first century, a fundamental issue that has to be resolved is the United Nations financial problem. It has been repeated time and again that the key reason for that problem is the failure of some Member States to pay their dues in full and on time.

One reason that has been offered for the inability of Member States to fulfil their financial obligations to the United Nations is that domestic political bodies do not support their current share of the United Nations budget.

It is therefore good for the United Nations to bring the parliamentarians on board. The active participation of parliamentarians is needed to relay and explain to the public the issues involved, which would be helpful in garnering popular support for international action. This would address the problem of justifying the resources needed for international cooperation.

My delegation has therefore noted with pleasure that the Secretary-General's report submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 50/15 informs us that a cooperation agreement between the United Nations and the IPU was signed on 24 July 1996. My delegation welcomes the conclusion of that agreement, which formalizes the framework for effective cooperation between the United Nations and the IPU.

The effectiveness of the cooperation agreement has already been evidenced by the fact that a list has been drawn up of the concrete steps and actions to be taken by the members of the IPU as a follow-up to the implementation of the decisions and recommendations adopted at the World Summit for Social Development, which was held at Copenhagen in March 1995.

We are about to embark on a new century, one in which a borderless world will not be a mere catchphrase. As the representative of my Parliament to the Assembly, it is a personal pleasure for me to be here today to witness the formalization of the relationship between the United Nations and the IPU.

The formalization of this relationship reflects a reaffirmation of the IPU's belief that the United Nations and its organs are responsible for and capable of creating a better world for tomorrow. It is a reaffirmation of the belief that multilateral cooperation is a necessity and that it is in the self-interest of all States to resolve the challenges that threaten all humankind.

I am grateful to have been given this opportunity to express the view of the Republic of Singapore that formalization of the old, but tried and true, relationship between the IPU and the United Nations brings with it the hopes for the future of the peoples of the world: peace, justice, equality and the dignity of all humankind.

Mr. Pelufo (Uruguay)

It is an honour for me to address this Assembly on agenda item 29, "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union".

Permit me first to express my country's great interest in this matter. Uruguay has supported from the outset the inclusion of this item on the agendas both of the General Assembly and of the Inter-Parliamentary Union. We believe that two institutions as important as these in today's world cannot work alone or apart from their respective activities for peace, democracy, human rights and the development of peoples. On the contrary, they must join their efforts so that these purposes and goals may be achieved as quickly and efficiently as possible.

My delegation recognizes the contribution made by the Secretary-General in his report (A/51/402) and welcomes the results of the cooperation agreement signed by the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 24 July this year. The agreement strengthens relations between the two organizations and greatly facilitates activities complementary mutually and allows the organizations to cooperate more closely in joint efforts in specific areas of their activities for the benefit of mankind. We are convinced that the link that has been forged through this agreement will also make it possible for the world Organization of Governments and the world organization of parliaments to maintain substantive cooperation and in this way better express the will of peoples at the international level.

As a result of this agreement as well as through the political will displayed by many Governments and inter-governmental organizations, my delegation wishes to highlight the convening of a meeting on the follow-up activities to the World Summit for Social Development, with the purpose of expanding cooperation among Parliaments, Governments and intergovernmental organizations in order to implement effectively the results of the World Summit for Social Development.

The convening of this meeting on 5 and 6 September, as well as of others which may take place for the attainment of the same goals, will contribute to a better implementation of the principles and precepts of the United Nations Charter and of other instruments of international law and policy.

Bringing national parliaments closer is a way of reaching out to the ordinary citizen in order to achieve an exchange of ideas and contributions which would otherwise be difficult. The former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Uruguay and current President of the Inter-American Development Bank, Mr. Enrique Iglesias, stated years ago that

"Parliament in this regard is key because it expresses the voices of the parties; and together with them public opinion, the media, and professional and technical circles are heard. In this way, one can articulate a highly unified foreign policy."

It is with this conviction that my country has a coherent foreign policy, where the major principles and themes that guide the conduct of our country abroad are shared by all actors in the national political arena. This, in my country's view, also takes place in a forum such as the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which expresses and deliberates the positions of the vast majority of the world's political forces.

At the regional and subregional levels, the parliamentary delegations of my country have followed and continue to follow with particular interest the treatment of items addressed by the Latin American Parliament, which is presided over at present by a Uruguayan legislator. This matter has also been under consideration in MERCOSUR, the common market of the South, which through the Protocol of Ouro Preto, created as one of its bodies a joint parliamentary commission. This is the body which represents the parliaments of the member States of MERCOSUR.

Whenever the Inter-Parliamentary Union or the United Nations is involved, Uruguay has shown a total commitment to democracy as the way to govern the future of our peoples. As we maintain firmly that the United Nations should achieve innovative ways towards greater democratization of the system, Uruguay, which is a country with deep democratic convictions, is pleased that parliaments can make a contribution, convey their experiences and be one more voice in this concert of the peace and prosperity we all hope for.

Mr. Minoves-Triquell (Andorra)

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