General Assembly Session 54 meeting 20

The President

This morning the Assembly will first hear an address by the President of the Republic of Tajikistan.

The President

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

President Rakhmonov (Tajikistan)

First of all, permit me to congratulate you, Sir, on your election to your important post as President of the General Assembly. We are convinced that thanks to your wisdom and experience you will successfully guide the deliberations of this important forum.

Over the past century mankind has made unprecedented strides in its overall progress. It has demonstrated with unprecedented force the creative genius and potential of the human mind. But at the same time, unfortunately, it has highlighted inherent human failings that are the root causes of tremendous social and political upheavals, the further exacerbation of global problems and the emergence of new challenges.

One of the most significant achievements of the twentieth century is the founding of the United Nations, with its indispensable legal framework and mechanisms giving it the tools to organize collective action on the part of States in order to counter current and future threats.

Tajikistan would like to see the strengthening of the United Nations and of its Security Council, as the body responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is extremely timely and useful, on the threshold of the twenty-first century, to rethink philosophically the lessons we have learned in order to define the principal parameters of a future world order and to develop a programme of action to put them into practice.

We see many valuable and mutually enriching ideas in such initiatives as the convening in the year 2000, at the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, and the millennium summit; the proposal by Russia to elaborate a concept of peace in the twenty-first century; the idea of Iran of a dialogue between civilizations; and the plans of a number of States regarding a culture of peace and other initiatives.

Tajikistan, for its part, intends to continue contributing, insofar as it is able, to this intellectual endeavour aimed at encouraging all States to join their efforts and concentrate on the main areas of international cooperation.

Having won their independence eight years ago, the people of Tajikistan have made their choice in favour of democracy. Although our movement towards the reform of the political system and market transformations in the social and political sphere has been seriously tested, despite all odds we have risen to the challenge. Today we can state firmly that we will not veer from the road we have chosen of building a democratic, law-abiding and secular society in Tajikistan.

The most recent proof of this are the results of a popular referendum on amendments to the Constitution of the Republic of Tajikistan, held on 26 September last, which have demonstrated growing support for efforts of the Government to establish lasting peace and accord in our country and, on that basis, to build up further civil society and to form stable democratic institutions.

Many States have needed hundreds of years to reach today's level of democracy. Tajikistan, like other new or restored democracies, will have to cover that distance within a shorter period of time while gradually tackling difficult and complex tasks in the civil, political, economic, social and cultural areas. It is clear that this will require timely, adequate and coordinated support from the United Nations, and we look forward to such support.

I wish to note with great satisfaction that the transitional period provided for in the General Agreement on the Establishment of Peace and National Accord in Tajikistan has entered its final stretch. Thus the way towards further strengthening of the fundamentals of peaceful democratic development has now been opened up.

In this context of critical importance, we are looking forward in the next few months to presidential and parliamentary elections in Tajikistan, which we hope will be successful with the necessary assistance from the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

Now more than ever before, the peace process in Tajikistan needs active support, particularly material and financial assistance from the international community. We hope to see remedied very soon the situation wherein donor States allocated only a small percentage of funds pledged in response to the appeal made this year by the Secretary-General of the United Nations for humanitarian assistance to Tajikistan. We would like also to express the hope that at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, as in previous years, full support will be forthcoming for the draft resolution on granting international assistance for post-conflict projects in Tajikistan.

The Government of Tajikistan, despite great difficulties, has consistently been implementing a programme of economic reforms in order to create an effective market economy. Step by step, an appropriate legal framework is being set up to provide a favourable environment for the development of small and medium-sized businesses, for foreign investments and for the promotion of market institutions, including in the areas of finance and banking.

The efforts of our Government are being supported by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and a number of other influential and authoritative international financial and economic institutions and agencies. At this new stage of development resulting from the transformation in our economic and political systems, we in Tajikistan are counting on the international community to provide as much support and assistance as it can.

The disparity in the value placed on human life and tragedy depending on whether one is in Europe or elsewhere is cause for profound regret. If a hotbed of tension flares up in Europe, it is contained and eliminated on the double. And this is wonderful. However, it is particularly hard for us to bear given the large-scale conflicts that have been spilling blood in Asia for decades. And is Afghanistan really not a European problem -- Afghanistan, whose drugs are destroying the lives of hundreds of thousands of unfortunates, including in Europe? Afghanistan is not just Asia's pain and tragedy. It is Europe's, too.

We are extremely perturbed by the continuing intra-Afghan conflict. The international community must take all necessary steps to restore peace in Afghanistan as quickly as possible. It is unthinkable that the 20-year civil war that has already wreaked such irreparable losses on the long-suffering Afghan people should turn into a new 100-year war and continue into the third millennium.

We are deeply convinced that the only way to put an end to the long-drawn-out bloodshed in Afghanistan is through a political settlement to the conflict which would have as its cornerstone the formation of a broad-based Government that reflects and protects the interests of all political, ethnic and religious groups and strata of Afghan society.

We are sure that the main thrust in any settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan should be towards strengthening the leading role of the United Nations as the key mediator between the parties in restoring peace and achieving national reconciliation: the efforts of other international organizations, and of States, should complement and reinforce the work of the United Nations; they should not be undertaken in isolation from it, much less run counter to it.

In the context of strengthening the central role played by the United Nations in coordinating international efforts with regard to Afghanistan, the "six plus two" group of friends and neighbours must redouble its efforts. We believe that the Security Council should once again very seriously review the situation in and around Afghanistan and that it should take action, including imposing sanctions against those who are violating Security Council and General Assembly resolutions.

Engulfed in the flames of conflict, Afghanistan is the source of the many dangers, destabilizing the situation in Tajikistan, the whole of Central Asia and far beyond. In the countries of the Commonwealth of Independent States, active bilateral and multilateral cooperation is under way on countering the penetration from Afghanistan, and the proliferation in our region, of militant Taliban ideology, weapons, crime, terrorism and various forms of extremism.

I wish in particular to stress the seriousness of the drug problem. Specifically, the protracted war in Afghanistan has turned that country into one of the world's main drug centres. The Taliban movement has chosen an extremely dangerous course in turning the territory under its control into a gigantic drug production and distribution factory and warehouse. Also, despite appeals from the international community, this factory of death continues to increase its output.

In this context, I should like to remind the Assembly of the proposal I put forward at the twentieth special session of the General Assembly in June 1998 (A/5-20/PV.2) to create a "cordon sanitaire" around Afghanistan that would put a covering force along the drug routes out of that country. This idea was conceived because, given the current social and economic conditions in our country, it is no simple matter for Tajikistan to guard its 1,500-kilometre frontier with Afghanistan reliably. There is also a trend towards using Tajikistan not only as a transit route for drugs but also as a reprocessing station, and even towards expanding the market with Tajik consumers, all part of the plans of international criminal groups to destabilize the situation in our country. Still, the bulk of the drugs finding their way into our territory is still destined for transshipment to other countries, primarily European ones through Russia and the Transcaucasus. In this sense, the Tajik-Afghan border is the first line of defence for many other States, and the joint efforts of Tajik and Russian border guards to plug the leaks in it are serving the interests of a substantial part of the international community.

We note with satisfaction that our appeal has not gone unheeded and that over the past year there has been a breakthrough in Tajikistan's cooperation with the relevant United Nations agencies, in particular the United Nations International Drug Control Programme (UNDCP), whose leadership's support for the measures taken by the Government of Tajikistan to combat drug trafficking is becoming ever more active.

Under the agreements and projects reached and developed between the Government of Tajikistan and UNDCP, a number of specific activities are planned to increase the anti-drug capabilities of law enforcement agencies and the military, in particular those operating in areas adjoining the Tajik-Afghan border. An anti-drug agency reporting directly to the President of the Republic has been established. Cooperation between Tajikistan and UNDCP is a shining example of how efforts can be combined in order to fight shoulder to shoulder against one of the most terrible human evils. We are open to this kind of cooperation with all interested States, international organizations and institutions.

The world has recently been witness to brazen acts by international terrorists who are increasingly operating under the banners of political extremism and religious fanaticism. Tajikistan shares the view that the fight against terrorism is one of the most pressing problems facing mankind today. Suffice it to mention the situation in Afghanistan, which confirms that narco-dollars are helping create an environment favourable to terrorism. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and deem it necessary to coordinate the actions of the entire world community to eradicate this scourge at the global, regional and national levels. We think it would be useful to convene, under United Nations auspices, a year-2000 conference to decide on joint organized world action to combat terrorism; this will be discussed at the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly.

Tajikistan has consistently supported United Nations efforts in the sphere of environmental protection. We appreciate the growing United Nations attention to the serious ecological problems facing our country and other States of Central Asia. We hope that the approach of the year 2000, which the United Nations has declared the International Year of Mountains, will help mobilize the international community's potential to help preserve biodiversity and natural mountain ecological systems. This is of particular importance to Tajikistan as a predominantly mountainous country.

We note with satisfaction that the leadership of the Secretariat, in particular Under-Secretary-General Sergio Vieira de Mello, is showing increasing interest in cooperation with our country to ward off the threat of a major natural disaster in the Central Asian region related to the problem of lake Sarez.

In this context, we believe it is time to focus world attention on the question of fresh water in all its aspects. Therefore, Tajikistan has proposed that 2003 be declared the International Year of Water. This initiative is prompted by the menacing deterioration of a situation in which millions of people lack access to clean water. It is well known that because of water pollution half of the world's population lives in unsanitary conditions; more than 5 million people a year die, and more than 3 billion become ill. As the population increases, the likelihood of "water wars" between States for sources of fresh water grows ever greater. Issues of water and other challenges of the new age are thus directly linked to problems of security in the context of interdependence.

In addition to its humanitarian aspects, the problem of water has other dimensions, in particular economic and ecological ones. Water is our common heritage, and it is necessary to ensure that all States share in the responsibility to preserve it for the benefit of future generations. Constructive global cooperation could become a worthy political dimension of the twenty-first century, and could guarantee that this will never acquire a military aspect.

We hope that the international community will respond favourably to our initiative on the resolution of water problems, which are of crucial importance not only for Tajikistan, which is rich in water resources, but also for the majority of other States Members of the United Nations.

It is vital to repair broken links and to create a new model for relations, particularly in the area of transport and communication. Addressing that key task will to a large extent determine the development in the next millennium of all Central Asian States that lack an outlet to the sea; these include Tajikistan.

My people has drawn new strength from peace and stability. The construction of a railroad, industrial enterprises and social infrastructure is now under way along the ancient historic Great Silk Road, which runs through the territory of Tajikistan. This year we are completing construction of a transboundary route that will give us access to the sea. That is our contribution to restoring direct communication among individuals and peoples along an ancient route that in the Middle Ages served as a bridge between East and West and that made possible dialogue among civilizations.

We expect that in the near future goods will flow along this route in both directions. This will undoubtedly foster better mutual understanding among all peoples of the East and the West, and also will have a positive effect on strengthening regional security and cooperation among neighbouring countries in Central Asia.

Experience has shown that turning to one's own roots is always a powerful means of spiritual therapy, especially for those who have overcome the tragedy of a fratricidal war and are entering a period of active post-conflict reconstruction. Now we are at the stage of renewal and of building a new democratic society, and we look back once more at our long history. At a time when, with active support from the United Nations, the process of national reconciliation is nearing its objective, our country is celebrating the 1,100th anniversary of the founding of the State of the Samanids, which marked the birth of Tajik statehood. We express our appreciation to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and to all the States and international organizations that responded to our appeal and have supported efforts to undertake international activities devoted to this momentous anniversary.

The age of the Samanids was not only a time of an unprecedented flourishing of science, culture and philosophy and of the emergence of Tajik statehood. It was also the time of the birth and blossoming of the mediaeval humanism that so enriched world civilization.

Allow me to express the hope that in the third millennium, now so close, the humanistic ideals will illuminate for the world community the arduous road to universal peace, sustainable development and peaceful construction.

The President

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

The President

I next give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Botswana, His Excellency the Honourable Lieutenant-General Mompati Merafhe.

Mr. Merafhe (Botswana)

I take great pleasure in congratulating you most warmly, my dear brother, on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. Your great country, Namibia, and its illustrious leader, President Sam Nujoma, have been very generous indeed in allowing us to benefit from the prodigious knowledge and experience you command on the workings of the United Nations, having spent the better part of your life in this institution. We are confident that under your seasoned leadership the fifty-fourth session will serve as a fitting climax to a tragic century. My delegation is ready to render you all the support you will no doubt need in carrying out your onerous responsibilities.

Your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, has earned our admiration and gratitude by the exemplary manner in which he presided over the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. We thank his country, Uruguay, for allowing us to tap his wisdom and benefit from his leadership skills.

Our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, and his team in the Secretariat have continued to discharge their responsibilities with unstinting devotion. The problems they have to deal with, and/or seek solutions to, are enormous, and yet they remain undaunted. We owe them an immense debt of gratitude.

We warmly welcome in our midst three new members of our Organization, Nauru, Kiribati and Tonga. We wish them the best and assure them of our friendship and solidarity.

Despite the many horrors of the twilight of this turbulent century -- the civil wars, the rampant terrorism in many places and other acts of savagery committed against millions of our fellow human beings all over the world -- we have made commendable progress in the past few years in the maintenance of global peace and security and the consolidation of freedom and democracy. An increasing number of the world's nations have organized successful elections in the past few years, many with the help of the United Nations. In two weeks' time, my own country, Botswana, will for the seventh successive time in a generation afford its citizens another opportunity to exercise their democratic right to choose their leaders.

Political pluralism may not have taken root in all the corners of the globe, but it has undoubtedly enthralled the imagination of all peoples yearning for freedom. It has become the weapon of choice, a powerful one at that, against tyranny. Democracy is, of course, not necessarily a foolproof panacea against all the societal imperfections that are our natural inheritance as human beings, but we believe that only in societies where the rights of all citizens, their fundamental freedoms, their beliefs, their culture, are protected and allowed the fullest expression possible under the law, can peace prevail. Peace is a prerequisite for development, for sustainable development.

At independence in 1966 Botswana was regarded, and rightly so, as an abject basket case, the poorest of the poor of the emerging African nations. Our desire to be free in those inauspicious economic and political circumstances was derided by those who did not wish us well as nothing more than a suicidal wish.

Today, a mere generation later, my country prides itself on having one of the fastest growing economies in the world, thanks to the peace and stability we have enjoyed since independence and the wise utilization of the few resources with which our desert- scarred and drought-prone country is, thankfully, endowed.

Democracy has been a way of life and second nature to Botswana. We attribute our peace and stability to it. We cannot, of course, forget the support we were given by the international community, particularly during the early years of our independence.

This is why we welcome the end, at long last, of military rule in Nigeria, a country whose importance to our continent and to the world at large cannot be gainsaid. A vibrant democracy in Nigeria will have a powerful effect not only on the west African region, but also on the continent as a whole.

We pledge our support to our Nigerian brothers and sisters in their struggle to nurture their democracy and to reconstruct their economy as well as to rehabilitate their institutions. We reiterate our aversion to coups and military rule, and laud the Organization of African Unity (OAU) Algiers decision to the effect that from now on those who overthrow Governments by means other than democratic elections will face isolation by our African community.

We welcome the signing in Togo recently of a peace agreement between the democratically elected Government of Sierra Leone and the rebels. We understand fully the circumstances which compelled President Kabbah to sign this peace agreement. We hope the agreement will bring peace to Sierra Leone. We urge the international community to contribute generously to the rehabilitation and reconstruction of that devastated country.

The Great Lakes region in Central Africa remains unstable, despite the signing recently of an Agreement to end the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The signing of the Agreement by its Government and its Southern African Development Community (SADC) allies and the rebels is the first step in a difficult journey to peace in Central Africa.

The Agreement will, however, amount to nothing without the full support of the international community, in particular that of the United Nations. We therefore urge the Security Council, in collaboration with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), to become actively involved in the full implementation of the Lusaka Agreement. Time is of the essence.

The case of Angola is a very sad one. The departure of the United Nations from that war-ravaged country has left a void, which has abetted one of the deadliest conflicts that has ever afflicted Africa. In the absence of the United Nations Angola Verification Mission, it is not possible to assess accurately the magnitude of the slaughter, the starvation and the general mayhem caused by disease and landmines in Angola. Nevertheless, we call upon the international community to intensify its efforts to end the tragedy, and we firmly believe that the tragedy can be ended only by the full implementation of the Lusaka Protocol.

We further call upon those among us who continue to give Savimbi's rebellion sustenance to cease doing so. We must all cooperate in ensuring that sanctions imposed against UNITA are effective.

We welcome, in this regard, the Security Council's recent establishment of panels to investigate violations of the sanctions imposed against UNITA and to find effective ways of tightening them. It is our fervent hope that the panels will not only be able to reveal the identities of UNITA's merchants of death, but will also advise on how such violators of United Nations sanctions could be deterred from defying the will of the international community.

The bloody war that has been raging between the East African neighbours of Eritrea and Ethiopia may be experiencing a lull as we meet here, but the fact, in our view, continues to be that this terrible war does not make sense. It is a war of brothers who, more than anyone else, should have found it easy to sit down to discuss whatever differences might have arisen between them. We urge our two fellow African countries to embrace each other under the OAU-brokered peace agreement and to make peace.

The question of Western Sahara has been on our agenda for too long. We urge the parties to redouble their efforts to conclude the identification process so that a referendum can be held to decide the future of Western Sahara once and for all, as called for by the OAU summit in Algiers.

The decision by Indonesia last year to allow the people of East Timor to decide their future as they saw fit was hailed by my country -- and, I am sure, by many others across the globe -- as a momentous and wise one. We lavished praise on Indonesia for this decision, fully conscious of the fact that it could not have been an easy one to make.

The decision was quickly followed by the equally momentous Agreement signed in May this year between the Governments of Indonesia and Portugal, on one hand, and the United Nations, on the other, by which the people of East Timor were to decide their future through a referendum. We were therefore disappointed, to put it as mildly as I can, by the tragic events that followed the holding of the referendum. The unleashing of militias on an innocent population -- which had, with so much dignity and calm, voted in a referendum, as invited to do by Indonesia and the United Nations -- deeply disappointed Indonesia's friends, including my own country. The destruction of Dili, the capital of East Timor, and its environs by the militias ennobled no one, including Indonesia, and deserves our censure.

Now that the East Timorese have unequivocally stated their preference, which is independence, they should be afforded all the assistance they need to fulfil their national aspirations without hindrance. Relations between the soon-to-be independent State of East Timor and the Republic of Indonesia should be cordial, and it is our hope that this will be the case.

The resuscitation of the Wye River Memorandum and its implementation recently have given a needed fillip to the peace process between the Israelis and the Palestinians. This gives us hope for the final phase of the negotiations that have just begun. We urge the Israeli authorities and the Palestinians to persevere in the quest for peace in the Middle East.

In the past few years we have witnessed a proliferation of summits and major conferences aimed at building a consensus on issues as diverse as women and development, youth, the environment, human rights, population and social development, human settlements, education and health. We have also convened conferences to address the dangers of weapons of mass destruction and to intensify the campaign against landmines. If summitry and conferences alone were the solution to the world's ills, our planet would by now have become a wonderful place to live. But this is not at all the case.

The cold war may have ended, but the old danger or threat posed to the security of humankind by weapons of mass destruction remains. This is, as always, exacerbated by the build-up of conventional weapons beyond the legitimate requirements of self-defence. Once again we urge those concerned to show political will and commitment by taking progressive measures to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating them.

The adoption by the OAU of the Pelindaba Treaty and the establishment of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone has demonstrated Africa's commitment to an early conclusion of a legally binding instrument to avert the dangers posed by nuclear weapons. We will continue to work assiduously with our partners in the developing world to pursue efforts aimed at ridding the southern hemisphere of all weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons.

Landmines have continued to maim and kill innocent people. We must redouble our efforts to ban their production, stockpiling and use. We must all become party to the 1997 Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction.

The challenges of development have become more formidable in today's globalizing world. Increased integration of markets and the rapid transfer of technology and of other innovations, as well as a wide array of economic, social and political relationships, band our nations together and dictate a common destiny for our peoples. To survive the global competition, we in the developing world must timeously and adequately respond to the opportunities and challenges facing us. In order to do so we need to vigorously pursue strategies that will increase trade prospects. We need also to raise the productivity of our labour force and the quality of our human resources. It is crucial that in our pursuit of sustainable economic development, the basic tenets of democracy and good governance be upheld at all times and never be sacrificed.

At the Algiers summit of the OAU, our leaders had substantive discussions on how to harness the forces of globalization for the benefit of the African region and for the prosperity of our peoples. They solemnly committed themselves to striving to ensure that globalization does not transform Africa into a marginalized bystander. We recognize, however, that to move forward, the entire international community has to be fully engaged. This would by no means be merely a charitable act, but rather an investment in global peace and security.

The United Nations, as a universal forum, is uniquely placed to promote international cooperation by addressing the challenges of development in the context of interdependence. However, this can be achieved only if the United Nations is provided adequate financial resources. We note with deep concern that the last five years have seen a steady decline in the resources of the United Nations Development Programme, the leading operational arm of the United Nations.

Far too many of our people live in abject poverty. Far too many die of preventable diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria. Unemployment remains pervasive, especially among the young.

Africa's economic recovery and growth potential continue to be frustrated by the mounting foreign debt. Despite the numerous relief efforts, a durable solution to the problem has remained unattainable. My delegation acknowledges the efforts being made through the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative in 1996. But while the HIPC Initiative can be a catalyst in the search for the solution, it cannot be the solution itself. To reach the heart of the debt problem, it is imperative that the debtors and the creditors acknowledge the seriousness of the problem and work together to strike a compromise that could yield long-term results.

We appreciate the efforts being made by the Bretton Woods institutions and the donor Governments to address the debt problem, particularly the seminar recently held in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, chaired by the President of Botswana, Mr. Festus Mogae, whose results we hope will be followed up. We still believe, however, that the permanent solution to Africa's debt problem should go beyond the mere rescheduling of the debt-payment period to outright cancellation and debt forgiveness.

The alarming rate of the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic is undoubtedly the most worrisome and urgent problem facing sub-Saharan Africa, Botswana being one of the hardest-hit countries. My Government is responding with an aggressive national information and education campaign to combat this destructive disease. The achievements made so far in the health sector and the economy are in jeopardy.

The advancement of women and the elimination of all forms of discrimination and violence against them in many societies are yet to be achieved. Women and young girls are still subjected to all manner of brutalities.

The plight of millions of children who are conscripted into armies in various parts of the world is an outrage. The images of children being conscripted and trained to participate in senseless wars caused by the folly of adults dehumanizes us all. Everything must be done to discourage this evil practice and to punish those who insist on perpetrating it. The Government of Botswana fully supports the work of the Special Representative of General Assembly for Children and Armed Conflict and remains fully committed to upholding all the international legal instruments on the rights of children. My delegation attaches great importance to these issues and urges the community of nations here gathered to join their efforts in the search for solutions to these socio-economic problems.

In turning now to the reform of the United Nations, let me briefly say the following: A wise man adapts to circumstances, as water shapes itself to the vessel that contains it. So says a Chinese proverb. That the United Nations, particularly its Security Council, needs to adapt itself to the era in which it exists today, I think is axiomatic. The fact that the Security Council's undemocratic composition is an insult to the overwhelming majority of the Members of this Organization is also, I think, self-evident and recognized as such even by those who would, if allowed, keep this important organ as it is.

Africa, demands to be properly represented in the Security Council in both categories of representation. We will never tire of insisting on our demand for three additional non-permanent seats and at least two permanent seats.

Let me conclude by once again wishing you well, Sir, in your tenure of office as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. We can assure you that our commitment to the United Nations remains as strong as ever. This Organization, I am sure we all agree, is irreplaceable.

The President

I now call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Worship of Bolivia, His Excellency Mr. Javier Murillo de la Rocha.

Mr. Murillo de la Rocha (Bolivia)

The men of the Andes scrutinized the skies to decipher and predict the future. If they were looking at the skies today, they might not manage to understand the message written there. On the one hand, there is the promise of unlimited prosperity, with man in apparent control of nature and his environment, thanks to the outstanding strides made in knowledge, the tireless flow of data and financial resources, the almost genetic transformation of the means of transportation and communication, the growing empire of freedom and the reaffirmation of democratic values on a global scale.

On the other hand, however, the new millennium is arriving with disquieting signs. Financial crises are increasingly frequent and ever more acute. The gaps between the haves and the have-nots are widening. Confusions, fear and uncertainty prevail over a large part of the planet. Thus must one see both sides of globalization: one of promise, the other of threat.

The effects of the two aspects of the process are felt in Latin America with singular intensity. The crisis of the financial markets and the constant decline in commodity prices have struck at the heart of the economies of our societies and subjected them to pressure, in some cases intolerable. Nothing seems to be in its place and few dare to anticipate the future.

Nevertheless, the men and women of Latin America have a right to keep hoping. My own country maintains a very cautious optimism. Not many years ago, Bolivia felt with particular intensity the tragedy that is affecting other nations of Latin America. Drug trafficking, the external debt, the collapse of mining and the crisis in the political system all conspired to create a picture of confusion and anguish that seemed to be insurmountable.

What we have done since then belongs to history. I shall summarize it here for no other reason than to share our experience, because our task, far from over, seems to have only just begun.

Tired of sterile and debilitating political confrontation, Bolivians decided to take the road of cooperation and dialogue. The coalition Governments on which the political system has been based and nurtured since the early 1980s proved the intelligence of an old constitutional norm, but they also showed that the letter of the law is worthless if it is not steeped in the spirit in which it was written. It was in the spirit of questing for consensus that the political Constitution was reaffirmed, the true independence of the National Electoral Tribunal was guaranteed and the Constitutional Tribunal, the Judicial Council and the Office of Ombudsman were established. Lastly, institutions and social organizations were incorporated into the discussions of the major problems affecting the nation in a dialogue that President Hugo Banzer, at the start of his mandate, called on to support the Government's work with a broad civic consensus.

Mr. Murillo de la Rocha (Bolivia) --> -->

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325         elif dclass == "subheading":

326             if agendagidcurrent and (not gadice or agendagidcurrent == gadice):

global WriteSpoken = <function WriteSpoken>, gid = u'pg009-bk02', dtextmu = u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Muri...ways, is ready to make its firm contribution.</p>', councilpresidentnation = None

/home/undemocracy/unparse-live/web2/unpvmeeting.py in WriteSpoken(gid=u'pg009-bk02', dtext=u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Muri...ways, is ready to make its firm contribution.</p>', councilpresidentnation=None)

69     print '</cite>'

70

71     print dtext[mspek.end(0):]

72

73     print '</div>'

dtext = u'<h3 class="speaker"> <span class="name">Mr. Muri...ways, is ready to make its firm contribution.</p>', mspek = <_sre.SRE_Match object>, mspek.end = <built-in method end of _sre.SRE_Match object>

<type 'exceptions.UnicodeEncodeError'>: 'ascii' codec can't encode character u'\xe1' in position 2808: ordinal not in range(128)
      args = ('ascii', u'\n\t<p id="pg009-bk02-pa01">The first conclusion t...ways, is ready to make its firm contribution.</p>', 2808, 2809, 'ordinal not in range(128)')
      encoding = 'ascii'
      end = 2809
      message = ''
      object = u'\n\t<p id="pg009-bk02-pa01">The first conclusion t...ways, is ready to make its firm contribution.</p>'
      reason = 'ordinal not in range(128)'
      start = 2808