General Assembly Session 52 meeting 20

The President

The Assembly will first hear an address by the chairman of the delegation of Estonia, His Excellency Mr. Trivimi Velliste.

Mr. Velliste (Estonia)

Mr. President, first of all I would like to congratulate you on your election as President of the General Assembly at this session. We wish you success in this responsible task in a year that will be of great importance for the Organization.

I would also like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude to the previous President of the Assembly, Ambassador Ismail, who showed exceptional commitment to the reform initiatives throughout the fifty-first session. That recently concluded session was an important step towards a reinforced United Nations which, with its universal membership, will have to be able to deal with serious problems facing the world today.

We expect the fifty-second session of the General Assembly to be a decisive landmark in the renewal and restructuring of the United Nations -- a major endeavour undertaken by Member States several years ago. In this respect we would like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, who presented his report on this question to the General Assembly on 16 July. My Government lends its full support to Secretary-General Kofi Annan in his efforts. We also note with satisfaction that part of this package has already been implemented.

Estonia is looking forward to an agreement within the foreseeable future concerning a response by Member States to the Secretary-General's proposals. It is our sincere hope that Members will deal with this matter in a constructive manner and that a generally acceptable scheme for reforming the United Nations will be agreed upon. We are confident that all Member States will benefit from the reform of the Organization.

I would now like to focus my address on points of specific relevance to present needs in the reform package. The aim of reform as a whole is to adapt the Organization to its new challenges, to make it more effective and efficient, more manageable and modern in every way. We are now remodelling this Organization to make it compatible with the twenty-first century. The world has changed -- the United Nations has to change with it. Having criteria for the appraisal of performance seems to be of crucial importance. Result-based budgeting should assure a strengthened linkage between intergovernmental mandates and their efficient implementation. Enhanced cost effectiveness envisaged for 1998-1999 is also an encouraging sign.

Estonia lends strong support to the idea of cutting the number of agenda items for future sessions. We also find the idea of consolidating the representation of different United Nations funds and programmes in Member States on common premises and under one flag to be very attractive. United Nations Houses would enhance the visibility of the Organization and provide a valuable source of information about it and its activities. I would like to note the positive experience Estonia has gathered in cooperation with the local United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) country office. Many programmes vital to Estonia have materialized owing to the support of the UNDP. We highly appreciate this cooperation and hope that the future United Nations House will be able to use that valuable expertise.

The financing of the United Nations is a question that interests all of us. Without adequate financing, the Organization would not be able to fulfil its mandate. This fifty-second session of the General Assembly must assess the impact of the Secretary-General's proposed reforms on the programme budget for 1998-1999 and define a new scale of assessments for its Member States. Estonia supports the Secretary-General's reform measures aimed at enhancing the Organization's effectiveness and better implementation of its programmes by reducing excessive and unnecessary expenditures.

With regard to the new scale of assessments, Estonia would like to see a more transparent scale based on the fundamental principle of capacity to pay to be adopted. All measures should lead towards putting the Organization on a sound and predictable financial footing. We believe that the main prerequisite for achieving this goal is that Member States clear their arrears to the regular as well as to the peacekeeping budgets. Estonia is committed to doing so.

We welcome the appointment of Mrs. Mary Robinson, former President of Ireland, to the position of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. Estonia supports the plan for the consolidation of the Centre for Human Rights and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights into one office. We would also like to stress the importance that we attach to adequate financing of the Organization's human rights machinery.

Two major events have occurred in the past year in the field of economic and social cooperation. The first of them was the adoption of the Agenda for Development. Estonia shares the perception of the importance of development issues for the United Nations. Health and education should also be high priorities. The second such event was the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly, the aim of which was to review the implementation of Agenda 21, the global plan of action for sustainable development adopted in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. Although the special session acknowledged the positive results which have been achieved since Rio, it also expressed concern over worsened overall trends for sustainable development. In this regard, we expect the fifty-second session of the General Assembly to give further political impetus to the implementation of the mandates and tasks defined at the session.

In Estonia, we believe that our task today is to provide the present generation with the safe, good-quality living environment and resources needed to promote a strong and diversified economy without compromising the needs of future generations. For that reason, over the last five years Estonia has signed, ratified and acceded to more than 40 bilateral and multilateral environment agreements and conventions. We have also established the Governmental Commission on Sustainable Development, led by the Prime Minister. Estonia is working closely with the countries in the Baltic Sea area to develop a Baltic region sustainable development strategy.

I would like to stress the importance that we attach to the consideration of economic and social issues by the General Assembly. With this in view, the work of the Second and Third Main Committees should be rationalized in order to avoid any overlap and duplication.

One of the central areas of the reform concerns renewing the Security Council. This year, Member States must continue efforts to achieve the goal of making the Council more representative and to improve its working methods. Estonia elaborated its position in cooperation with a group of smaller like-minded countries. We support enlargement in both existing categories. We also view Germany and Japan as potential new permanent members of the Council. The developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America should also be represented on a permanent basis.

Disarmament has been one of the United Nations priority goals since its founding. In fact, disarmament efforts have yielded considerable progress. The conclusion of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty last year was an important step forward.

One of the important responsibilities of the United Nations is managing conflicts -- acting rapidly in the face of crises. Peacekeeping continues to be an important activity of the Organization. In recent years, we have been witnessing a change in the role of United Nations peacekeeping missions. United Nations peacekeepers have been facing the challenge of dealing with internal conflicts throughout the world.

Estonia is continuing to take part in United Nations peacekeeping. An Estonian company has recently completed its successful deployment in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL). Together with Latvia and Lithuania, we are looking forward to contributing a battalion of peacekeepers to the United Nations peacekeeping operations. The battalion, called BALTBAT, will be operational from the beginning of 1998. I would like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to all Member States of the Organization that have been participating in this project. The initial experience of Baltic peacekeepers in United Nations peacekeeping missions has shown how regional cooperation evolves into global cooperation. The Baltic preparedness to merge as a joint battalion is an element strengthening regional security. It proves our readiness to assume responsibility as well as our right to choose our own means of security. Estonia is currently contributing civilian police officers and military observers. We have also joined the United Nations peacekeeping standby arrangement.

We strongly believe in the cooperation of the United Nations with regional organizations in all parts of the world. Reliance on the expertise and capacities of these organizations would allow us to avoid duplication and allocate scarce resources in the most effective manner. We do have examples of fruitful cooperation with regional entities. In Europe, we have been witnessing joint United Nations actions, in particular with the Organization for Security and Cooperation (OSCE) in Europe and with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

We would like to note that the structure and composition of regional organizations is changing. The European Union and NATO are gradually opening to new members. This is a very important phenomenon in the process towards enhancing stability and security in our region. Estonia associates its future with full membership in both of these organizations.

In conclusion, let me express my sincere hope that on the eve of the twenty-first century mankind is willing to reverse its classical interpretation of the past so eloquently expressed at the dawn of this century by the English novelist and poet Thomas Hardy:

"War makes rattling good history; but Peace is poor reading." [Thomas Hardy, The Dynasts, pt. II, Spirit Sinister]

The President

The next speaker is the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for Foreign Affairs and National Security and Attorney-General of Belize, His Excellency the Honourable Dean Barrow.

Mr. Barrow (Belize)

Permit me first to offer you, Sir, the congratulations of Belize's delegation on your election, and the assurance of our fullest cooperation as you follow through on the accomplishments of your distinguished predecessor, Mr. Razali Ismail of Malaysia.

As the world shifts gears towards a preoccupation with what could be described as millennium fever, our annual stocktaking exercise becomes particularly poignant. And if truth be told, the record of our success -- measured against the historical vision of the founders and against current challenges -- is not an unsullied one. Nevertheless, in every sphere of human endeavour, in every tangible advance of international comity, the signature of the United Nations can be found. We have contributed to fundamental changes for good in the fabric of the global community. Of course, and as is always the case with less than perfect man-made enterprises, our job is far from done.

As the Secretary-General noted in his report on the work of the Organization, we live in an era of realignment. Belize shares his view that this Organization has to continue adjusting to the changes which envelop today's world, so as to maintain the balance in favour of a more secure and predictable peace, greater economic well-being, social justice and environmental sustainability.

Despite sea changes in the international climate, the relevance of the original objectives of the Organization's Charter remains acute. There is still need to respond rapidly to threats to international peace and security. Economic and social development must be further advanced. Human rights, the rule of law and the ideals of democratic, accountable governance must be concretized in our daily life. And the changes, such as globalization and reshaping of the United Nations environment must strengthen the commitment of nations large and small to international cooperation. The one fundamental lesson that the experience of the last 52 years has taught is that we cannot go it alone. There is large benefit to be derived from multilateralism; and to our mind the United Nations is the one organization with the wherewithal and capacity to take global action on a global agenda.

We have been promised that the renewed United Nations system sought by the Secretary-General will become both more effective and more efficient. The extensive and far-reaching set of changes proposed in his Programme for Reform are said to be designed to achieve greater unity of purpose, coherence of effort and flexibility in response. Belize therefore joins with those voices applauding the attempt to strengthen and streamline the United Nations and enhance its institutional capacity. My delegation will eagerly await opportunities to hear comment and will participate in joint analysis of the proposed Programme for Reform.

One major hindrance to the Organization's capacity is its dire financial situation. We have noted proposals within the Secretary-General's Programme for Reform designed to ensure a viable financial basis for the Organization. It is my delegation's view, however, that there is still a need for greater clarification if financial solvency is to be assured. We are not entirely convinced that the creation of the proposed Revolving Credit Fund will alleviate the situation. We would rather see implementation of measures for harsher censure in cases of tardiness in meeting obligations. Let us again state our view that this Organization should be granted some measure of autonomy in generating revenue from sources outside national Administrations.

There is an ongoing parallel at the national and organizational level aimed at economizing. Streamlining, downsizing, or the process of retrenchment by any name, carries with it a human cost. We must therefore make every effort to ensure that the product of reform is greater than the sum of its parts. Within this context, we wish to offer the caution that in our eagerness to integrate Secretariat entities and units the critical thrust and focus of various departments, divisions and programmes, should not be lost. The gasp of the weak and poor all too frequently can barely be heard above the loudly trumpeted agenda of powerful constituencies.

Democracy, human rights and the rule of law have taken on renewed paramountcy, particularly in the post-conflict societies of Latin America. Good governance is the foundation upon which we build structures to ensure sustainable development and durable peace. In both the subregions to which Belize belongs this is a principle that achieves practical as well as intellectual expression. And we find this fact noteworthy: that so soon after internal conflicts convulsed the isthmus, the countries of Central America have been able democratically and constitutionally to reinvigorate their societies. It is also remarkable that so harmoniously has their economic integration movement advanced, that they are now prepared to contemplate the next step of political union. While this is logical, it is also a quantum leap.

Now, for juridical and historical reasons, Belize can only be an observer in this process. But we wish to assure our Central American brothers that in our heart of hearts we too are Morazanistas. We too are uplifted and inspired by this great visionary. And we sympathize keenly with the spirit of the legacy that now animates his modern-day progeny.

In the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) the coming of the single market is only the most dramatic expression of a new solidarity that Belize enthusiastically embraces. We continue to draw vital sustenance from what is, after all, a West Indian partnership rooted in a shared love for, and practice of, democracy, a democracy that is not resting on its laurels, but that is engaged now in a process of revitalization based on the urgent search for collective economic security and social advance.

The proposals for reform encompass suggestions to achieve greater coordination and cooperation among the United Nations agencies and entities which help nations like mine pursue the central priority of sustainable development. We hope, however, that the effectiveness and responsiveness of individual agencies will not be compromised.

More will have to be said about seeking innovative means to attract greater capital to finance development. The argument that a development dividend can be realized by a shift of resources from administration to development activities, is not, to our mind, persuasive. Any possible savings in administrative costs could hardly be adequate enough to make significant progress in our collective effort to eradicate poverty.

We have yet to hear any general admission of satisfaction with the outcome of the nineteenth special session of the General Assembly to review and appraise the implementation of Agenda 21 and other agreements reached at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development. The special session clearly did not meet expectations for the adoption of clear targets, commitments and specific initiatives as we progress along the road from Rio. Long-term commitment and concerted action in the field are still critical if we are to continue to meet the needs of a rapidly increasing global population without depleting the resource base on which our very subsistence depends.

We are heartened that the practical agreements reached at the so-called Earth Summit + 5 included those of major concern to small island developing States, such as climate change, tourism and natural disasters. Belize, a country with a low-lying coastal plain, several coral atolls and more than 100 coral islands, experiences challenges similar to those that face small island developing States. At the United Nations we participate within the very active Alliance of Small Island States, and we remain faithful to the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Sustainable Development of Small Island Developing States, adopted at the 1994 Global Conference in Barbados. We look forward to the in-depth assessment of the Barbados Programme to be conducted at the forthcoming two-day special session to be held immediately preceding the fifty-fourth regular session of the General Assembly.

Belize will continue to insist that the constituency of low-lying coastal States be accorded the deserved support of the international community so that we too may share in the tangible benefits to be accrued.

Countries like mine will also increasingly depend upon the United Nations to steer the way forward in building the new framework within which developed and developing nations interact. Against the backdrop of globalization and market liberalization, a new partnership is called for. The role of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) and the regional commissions in examining the issues pertinent to globalization and development and the effective integration of developing countries into the international trading system is especially key, for the recent negative rulings by the World Trade Organization on the European Union banana regime, which secured access for African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, fully demonstrate the dangers inherent in unbridled liberalization shorn of consideration for the special needs of small, vulnerable and disadvantaged economies.

In the current climate, it is perhaps basest apostasy to question the new catechism of free trade. "Revisionism" is a bad word, and heresy will no doubt be swiftly repaid by excommunication. But has not the zeal of the convert blinded us to the humanism of the original aims of preferential access? After all, this was not some hopelessly capricious or unreasoning altruism. Preferential access regimes represented, rather, a real and sincere effort to enable small developing countries to produce for the international marketplace, to offer their societies a chance at a decent standard of living and to assure them a special stake in the global economy.

Although economic thinking has changed, the objective conditions of poor countries have not. Fervent recitation of the new mantra alone can never wipe out the diseconomies of scale for small, primary-producing States. We cannot now compete on equal terms. Yet our calls go unheeded for the comprehensive capital inflows and technical assistance so vitally necessary to achieve the structural adjustment that will enable us to participate equitably in the new trading arrangements. I repeat to the industrialized world what surely has now become our cri de coeur: do not cut off our legs, then tell us to run.

Development is still one of the most important aspirations in today's world. To return to my earlier complaint, the achievement of economic growth and sustainable development has not been balanced throughout the five regions that United Nations comprises. It is an understatement to say that globalization and economic liberalization have had a different kind of impact on some of us. A few nations now enjoy the increased well-being, while others are visited only by deepening marginalization.

The recently adopted United Nations Agenda for Development stresses the role of the Organization in development matters. The Agenda is one concrete manner in which we can collectively address the issues and problems relevant to development and, in particular, development's peculiar relationship with peace, democracy, good governance and human rights.

Belize repeats its call for an annual observance by the General Assembly at which development policy would be the focus of debate. Such encounters could maintain the Agenda's impetus, as well as provide a forum for discussing effective and coordinated follow-through with regard to commitments made at the several global conferences.

Preventive diplomacy and peacemaking are still the best means at the Organization's disposal in its efforts at conflict avoidance. The wide range of activities carried out in the name of preventive diplomacy must ever be mindful that success can be guaranteed only with the consent of all parties.

Both the Security Council and the General Assembly, in extending existing operations or authorizing additional ones, must continue to issue clear mandates. In the light of the financial situation, some collective discipline will have to be applied in authorizing mandates when adequate resources are not available.

On a related subject, we have learned of efforts under way to develop the Organization's rapid-deployment capability. This dimension is necessary, but any deployment in this sense must withstand the scrutiny of national consent. Again, we would prefer to see the preventive aspect stressed rather than the enforcement side. Further, a rapid-reaction capability is not needed solely to respond to threats to peace in the traditional sense. Recent measures employed to enhance the Organization's humanitarian response to both man-made and natural disasters are also demonstrative of the requirement for the institutionalization of a rapid-response capability.

In the Secretary-General's programme for reform, deserved emphasis is placed on strengthening international cooperation to combat the new threats to civil society. The deleterious effects of crime, drugs and terrorism know no borders.

The administrative changes to be instituted by the Secretariat to focus action through the United Nations crime prevention and criminal justice programme should give us the upper hand in waging war against the forces of uncivil society.

Countries such as mine expend huge amounts of limited resources in addressing these concerns, which, in a small State, can amount to nothing less than threats to national security. Further, we are convinced that the global nature of the problem requires the highest level of international cooperation that can be achieved. This must embody the concept of multilateralism and reject unilateral devices which disrespect the sovereignty of States.

Belize's declaration affirming respect for the personality, sovereignty and independence of States, which was sponsored by 30 members of the Organization of American States (OAS) at the twenty-seventh session of its General Assembly at Lima, Peru, speaks directly to this issue and strongly promotes the spirit of partnership that must underpin an interdependent approach to addressing the common problem of narcotics trafficking and abuse.

International cooperation in this regard must mean the avoidance of not just political, but also of economic, unilateralism. For example, the banana industry in my country may well be destroyed by the efforts of the very people who claim to be our partners in the fight against illicit drugs. We have a saying in Belize that the same knife that sticks the sheep sticks the goat. If the prosperity of strategically vulnerable southern Belize is to be sacrificed now on the altar of the new orthodoxy, it will not be long before the substitute blandishments of the drug trade undermine our national anti-narcotics efforts to the point where they too become only burnt offerings at the feet of the deity. The immutable, compassionless law of the market is very much a two-edged sword.

It is in this context that the forthcoming special session of the General Assembly on illicit drugs is especially timely. It will afford Member States an opportunity to discuss joint action in preventing money laundering, international cooperation in judicial affairs and law enforcement. But the debate must be a thoroughly holistic one that looks carefully at the interrelatedness of economic well-being and effective anti-narcotics policies.

We commend the prudence of this Assembly in its decision that the Open-ended Working Group on the Question of Equitable Representation on and Increase in the Membership of the Security Council and Other Matters Related to the Security Council should continue deliberations during the current session.

In the absence of any general agreement within the Working Group, Belize would find it difficult to accept a strict deadline in relation to Council expansion. Further, we do not wish to see qualitative distinctions in the decision making ability of existing and possible new permanent members. We note with gratitude that Belize's comprehensive proposals on the subject are still included among the views being considered.

On another issue related to reform, the principles of equitability and universality confer urgency on the claim for consideration of the Republic of China on Taiwan. Twenty-one million people living in a successful, robust and prosperous democracy should be entitled at the very least to a discussion of their circumstances. The blanket "no", the annual ritual that continues to slam the door shut on even the possibility of debating their aspirations, is irrational and unenlightened. A way must be found to review this situation in a manner consistent with the rights of the parties and the spirit of the Charter.

This Organization, it appears, is completing a period of intense self-examination and introspection. We must continue to counter the influences that would ascribe a diminished role to multilateralism. Our flexibility and a visible search for consensus have enabled us to retool. We are demonstrating that we are still equal to the tasks ahead. With reform and renewal moving to the fore this year, it is clear that the crisis of confidence is over.

With an able chief executive, the United Nations is now, therefore, strengthening and repositioning itself to surmount the challenges that face us.

It is our sincere wish that in the weeks ahead we will reach a new pass in our great undertaking, and that momentous debate will result in keen, relevant and timely decision-making.

The President

I now call on the Chairman of the delegation of Antigua and Barbuda, His Excellency Mr. Patrick Albert Lewis.

Mr. Lewis (Antigua and Barbuda) --> -->

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