UNdemocracy - General Assembly Session 53 meeting 10

Date	22 September 1998
Started	15:00
Ended	19:20

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A-53-PV.10 1998-09-22 15:00 22 September 1998 [[22 September]] [[1998]] /

The President: Mr. Opertti (Uruguay)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

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Address by Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania

The President

The Assembly will now hear an address by the President of the Republic of Lithuania.

Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, was escorted into the General Assembly Hall.

The President

On behalf of the General Assembly, I have the honour to welcome to the United Nations the President of the Republic of Lithuania, His Excellency Mr. Valdas Adamkus, and to invite him to address the Assembly.

President Adamkus (Lithuania)

First, let me congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of this important session. I am certain that this session will provide us with the opportunity to discuss the role that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights has played during the last 50 years and has yet to play.

I should also like to take this opportunity to convey my respects to the Secretary-General, who, by his decisive steps in critical moments this year, has repeatedly demonstrated the importance of the United Nations in contemporary world affairs.

Throughout the last 50 years the United Nations has changed no less dynamically than the rest of the surrounding world. Reviewing the successes and failures of the Organization, we have to acknowledge its complex and important role in building a more peaceful world. The United Nations at present is living through a complicated period of internal reform designed to reinforce the values and principles which half a century ago encouraged the States of the world to sign the Charter establishing the United Nations, which guides us today into the twenty-first century. I speak of peace, democracy and the environment and of ensuring and promoting the development of freedom of the individual.

This year marks the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption by the General Assembly of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This crucial instrument declares the will of the people of the world to establish a universal understanding of individual freedom, equality and dignity, which are indivisible and must not be undermined. Today we should be particularly concerned to what extent the principles declared by the United Nations throughout the last 50 years have become the bedrock of our everyday life. It would be most appropriate to ask whether the United Nations has become an Organization of world nations rather than States.

In the contemporary world of advanced communications, the exchange of values and ideas takes place at a particularly high speed. It is therefore not surprising that freedom, justice and well-being carry the same meaning in Europe and Asia, Africa and America. I believe we are approaching a common denominator for democracy so that democracy will no longer be identified only with the West and rapid economic development only with certain regions of the world. Above all, we hope that the realization of human rights throughout the world is consistent with the spirit of the Declaration of Human Rights signed 50 years ago.

In the cold-war world of divided ideologies, the United Nations was one of the very few forums embodying the common human interest: the concern for peace. Today the United Nations can contribute considerably to the creation and education of free individuals and active citizens of the world.

History has proved that democratic and prosperous States provide the most favourable environment for human activities. The United Nations should therefore continue its efforts to promote democratization and sustainable development. The ongoing institutional reform of the Organization may serve this end. However, I should like also to underscore the need to pay even greater attention to the promotion and protection of human rights.

Willingly and freely we have empowered the Security Council to make binding decisions to which we are then committed. We therefore want the decisions to be of high quality, effective and acceptable. Two highly qualified industrialized countries could become permanent members of the Security Council; their membership would strengthen the Council and ensure democratic decisions. A broader representation of developing nations on the Council would also reinforce its legitimacy and enhance respect for it. These nations deserve additional seats, both permanent and non-permanent. Equitable representation in the Council should be expanded through a more just representation of regions, Central and Eastern Europe in particular.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mary Robinson, has noted that today's human rights violations are the causes of tomorrow's conflicts. War-ravaged Bosnia and conflict-inflamed Kosovo today are painful illustrations of these words. Lithuania welcomes the initiative of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to integrate human rights protection into the broad range of the Organization's activities. We likewise welcome the ongoing institutional reforms of human rights protection and propose to employ with greater effectiveness the experience and intellectual potential of such regional bodies as the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

One of the most laudable recent achievements of the world's nations is the adoption of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. By taking this decision, the international community demonstrated its readiness for a qualitative leap in international relations based on an effective system of international justice -- an instrument designed to complement national legal systems and to encourage their continuous development.

It is gratifying that the Court has been granted the right to charge persons with criminal responsibility for the gravest crimes of all: genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. This step demonstrates our resolution to fight against the horrors for which there are no -- and cannot be any -- political or ideological boundaries. "Crime of aggression" in the Statute is a pending issue requiring the political will of States and a more precise legal definition. The bitter facts of modern history remind us that aggression too often leads to genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

I would like to note that Lithuania, which actively participated in the work of the Preparatory Committee and the Rome Conference, will in the near future sign the Statute of the International Criminal Court.

Today we all face the challenges of our contemporary world which have been caused by rapidly developing technologies and negligent human activities. These challenges, although not as evident as open military conflicts, are no less threatening. A devastated and deteriorating environment may cause conflicts on a scale unknown before. The struggle for fresh water, rich soil and natural resources can turn man against man and nation against nation. Neither democratic political processes nor economic development will matter then.

As a man with a long-standing commitment to environmental protection, I invite you to make use of the international capabilities of the United Nations and to pay more attention to ecological issues. If we are genuine in our attempt to place this institution at the vanguard of human rights protection, environmental issues should be given priority on our agenda. Lithuania will support every initiative to preserve and conserve natural resources. As one such step, I yesterday signed the Kyoto Protocol, reaffirming our commitment to tackling global warming by reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. Now we look forward to decisive action on climate change in Buenos Aires later this year.

Every individual has the incontestable right to live in a healthy and clean environment. I am certain that the United Nations can play a significant role in promoting respect for the environment among people and States of the world. With its long experience in international cooperation and its prominent international standing, this Organization can contribute notably to the environmental education of the global community. It can also serve as a promoter of inter-State cooperation through the timely exchange of information on disasters -- past, present and future. The Prior Informed Consent (PIC) Convention on trade in hazardous chemicals and pesticides, which was signed in Rotterdam a couple of days ago, is a remarkable example of prospective activities of the United Nations system.

The growing problems of international crime and terrorism affecting us are no less important than environmental issues. Terrorist bombings and illicit trafficking in arms, narcotic substances and human beings, as well as money laundering, infringe the vital interests of people and States to live in a secure and predictable world. The solution to these problems demands collective efforts as well as resolute and immediate action. It is gratifying that the heads of State and Government, as well as interior ministers, confirmed their commitment to constructive cooperation at the twentieth special session of the United Nations General Assembly, on drugs. The approved drug-demand reduction and prevention programme, along with the guidelines for international cooperation, should facilitate the resolution of these problems.

Children and young people -- our future -- should be the focus of the fight against drug-trafficking. Timely adoption and launching of preventive measures and educational programmes, as well as the building of a drug-free environment, must be our immediate first steps. It is delightful that Secretary-General Kofi Annan has shown particular attention to this problem.

Control of the arms trade, which is becoming increasingly complex, is another painful reality facing us at the end of this century. Smugglers arm not only terrorists, but also nations or States at war. Without any further delay we should forestall illicit arms circulation by, first and foremost, restricting the sale of small arms and light weapons in conflict zones. We should persist in our efforts to find an effective solution to the issue of general and complete disarmament.

The nuclear arms race, which emerged in South Asia this year, has revealed the survival of the cold war ideology of the balance of powers in the political thinking of certain States. Such reasoning is short on constructiveness since it does not enhance international security, and it diverts human resources and creative powers into erroneous directions, undermining the aspirations of the individual to a safer and wealthier life.

Lithuania is neither a zone of potential conflict nor a place for the manufacturing or circulation of conventional weapons or weapons of mass destruction. Nevertheless, Lithuania endeavours to participate actively in different agreements on disarmament and arms control through which it helps itself and others. My country has ratified the conventions prohibiting biological, chemical and certain conventional weapons. Ratification of the convention prohibiting anti-personnel mines is our long-term goal.

It is my belief that the right of the individual to a secure life and future -- a right still missing from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights -- fully corresponds to the spirit of the Declaration and should be realized through our political initiatives. The security of the individual will be best ensured if the State he lives in is secure. Good neighbourly relations and close regional cooperation are prerequisites for the peaceful coexistence of nations, and all humankind aspires to this. Lithuania is guided by those principles and maintains friendly, constructive relations with all its neighbours, Russia among them.

The United Nations today acts not only in a multi-polar but also multi-problem environment. By itself it is not capable of addressing and resolving all the problems which we often tend to call "hot" issues and which demand immediate solutions. Therefore, the Organization should interact with greater vigour in its endeavours with regional organizations that, in many cases, succeed in the areas where global forums fail. Europe has already provided us with an example of such productive interaction through concrete cooperation of the United Nations with the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

Europe, however, has other, smaller organizations which can also considerably contribute to the goals of the United Nations and to the implementation of their spirit. The Council of the Baltic Sea States, of which Lithuania has recently assumed the chairmanship, is one of them. This Council unites geographical neighbours who also enjoy many, more binding links: the promotion of mutual confidence, trade, culture and environmental protection. During the term of its chairmanship, Lithuania will strive for a more active and effective contribution of this regional cooperation body to the implementation of the goals of the United Nations.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a reminder of the indivisibility of the values of human life, dignity and welfare. Political activities at both the international and national levels should be directed to promoting and protecting these values. More and more threats to human rights and freedoms arise today from sources beyond the control of national Governments. Never before have the issues of coordination and enhanced cooperation been as crucial as they are today. The United Nations possesses all the potential necessary to perform the role of active international coordinator and peace promoter. But the realization of this potential requires determination from us, the representatives of nations and members of the international community.

The President

On behalf of the General Assembly, I wish to thank the President of the Republic of Lithuania for the statement he has just made.

Mr. Valdas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania, was escorted from the General Assembly Hall.