General Assembly Session 54 meeting 64

The Acting President

I call on the representative of Romania to introduce draft resolutions A/54/L.23 and A/54/L.33.

Mr. Ungureanu (Romania)

It gives me distinct pleasure to address the General Assembly for the first time and on an issue of worldwide interest at a time of global change. We are working together at the United Nations, with a common vision and in a spirit of partnership, to promote democratic values and consolidate democracy throughout the world at the dawn of a new millennium.

Today there is an almost universal recognition that the national interests of every country are best served by the growth of democracy on a global scale. Indeed, democracy favours and fosters political and social stability and economic growth.

Lately, a comprehensive notion of democratization has been emerging: democratization seen as a process -- a goal to be achieved -- rather than a "one size fits all" model to be imposed.

There is a set of universal values and principles, but each society works within its own context and its unique history and culture.

Many debates have pointed out the so-called democratic peace -- democracies rarely go to war against each other -- as well as to linkages between democracy and development, including the question of whether a democratic government promotes economic growth more effectively. The concept of good governance is also very much related to democracy.

Recent studies show that in this decade the number of democracies has almost doubled, while the number of armed conflicts has declined. It has been argued that properly balanced development that benefits all groups of society and fosters inclusive democracy is the best form of conflict prevention, offering better chances for escaping poverty.

The experience of countries that consider themselves new or restored democracies, some of them making the transition from totalitarian rule or from centrally planned economies, others recovering from conflicts, attests to the close relationship between democracy and the requirements of comprehensive development in a peaceful environment. The Third International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, held in Bucharest in 1997, focused on this critical link between democracy and sustainable development.

Another lesson learned was that sharing democratic values, such as political pluralism, separation of powers, parliamentary democracy, market economy and human rights, is by itself not enough to build a functioning democracy. A coherent network of institutions to serve and implement those values was absolutely necessary. This indissoluble linkage between values and institutions represents the substance of good governance.

We consider that by its scope and legitimacy, the United Nations is well placed to assist interested Governments in their efforts aimed at fostering democratic values and building democratic institutions.

It is in this spirit that the Romanian delegation, together with 44 other sponsors, has submitted a draft resolution on a Code of Democratic Conduct for consideration and adoption at this session of the General Assembly.

In addition to the sponsors listed in document A/54/L.23, the following countries also indicated their wish to co-sponsor the draft resolution: Argentina, Belgium, Bulgaria, Finland, Japan, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Paraguay, Poland, San Marino, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

The text before the Assembly embodies principles that are widely accepted and spells out practical modalities for carrying them out. They are aimed at consolidating democratic processes through the promotion of pluralism; the promotion and protection of and respect for all human rights and fundamental freedoms; the strengthening of the rule of law; developing genuine and periodic elections; creating and improving the legal framework and necessary mechanisms for enabling the participation of all members of civil society in the development of democracy; good governance; promoting a sustainable economic environment; and enhancing social cohesion and solidarity.

It is our view that the adoption of such a Code would fit naturally into the ongoing efforts to build upon a system-wide agenda for democratization aiming at enhancing the United Nations capacity to meet the new challenges with respect to democratization and good governance as part and parcel of the preparations for the upcoming Millennium Assembly.

In the last decade, Romania has come a long way, from dictatorship to democracy, from isolation to integration with Europe and the rest of the world. On the basis of its own experience, my country remains committed to the consolidation of new or restored democracies. We recognize the growing trend indicating that the process of democratization is a global phenomenon and accept that all democracies, both old and new, have much to learn from each other.

The Romanian delegation highly appreciates the report of the Secretary-General and congratulates his staff on the excellent work done. The report looks generally at the efforts of the United Nations in this field and reviews the overall process of democratization and the role that the International Conferences of New or Restored Democracies have played in this global process.

We attach special significance to the activities carried out by the follow-up mechanism to the Third Conference, which held a meeting in Bucharest last May. This innovative mechanism -- which brought together Governments, the United Nations system, academia and civil society organizations in an open and transparent way -- continued to advance concrete projects, as described in the report, and to plan for the Fourth Conference, to be held in Benin from 4 to 6 December 2000.

We support the idea put forward in the report that, 12 years after the holding of the First Conference of New or Restored Democracies in Manila, and with Africa completing the cycle of conferences to be held on the four continents, it is timely to assess the overall impact of the movement on the process of global democratization. In this respect, we commend the specific recommendations contained in the report.

As it did last year, Romania, the current chair of the international conferences of new or restored democracies, has the honour to submit at this session another draft resolution under agenda item 39, contained in document A/54/L.33. I am pleased to introduce this draft on behalf of the 53 sponsors listed in the document. The following countries have also expressed the wish to co-sponsor the draft resolution: Argentina, Belgium, Chile, Croatia, Germany, Japan, Norway, Portugal and San Marino.

In its preambular part, the draft resolution recalls the main events and documents of the movement of new or restored democracies, reiterates the principles and previous resolutions agreed upon by the General Assembly and takes note of the progress achieved so far in 1999.

In the operative part, the General Assembly would welcome the report and recommendations contained therein and would express appreciation for the work done by the follow-up mechanism.

In a special paragraph, Member States and the relevant specialized agencies and bodies of the United Nations, as well as non-governmental organizations, are invited to collaborate in the holding of the Fourth Conference, to take place in Benin in December 2000.

On behalf of the sponsors, I wish to express our hope that this draft resolution will be adopted by consensus.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to the representative of Algeria to introduce the amendments to draft resolution A/54/L.23 contained in document A/54/L.46.

Mr. Mesdoua (Algeria)

I have the honour to speak on behalf of China, Cuba, Egypt, Iraq, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malaysia, Pakistan, Singapore, the Sudan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Viet Nam and Algeria to introduce document A/54/L.46.

This is the first time that two draft resolutions have been introduced under this agenda item as long as the item has been discussed in the General Assembly. The new draft resolution contained in document A/54/L.23 has given rise to controversy because its sponsors are asking the General Assembly to endorse a set of rules on a very sensitive issue that were drafted outside the United Nations. Those rules have at no time been discussed or studied at the United Nations.

Above all, it has been the procedure followed and the approach taken by the sponsors that have caused problems, particularly since they did not agree, despite our request, to hold consultations or discussions on the matter. All our efforts remained a dead letter and received no response, even though the very spirit of the draft resolution has to do with democracy.

The sponsors of the amendments would like to reaffirm here in the Assembly their strong, total and unswerving commitment to democracy and the protection and promotion of all human rights. The amendments to draft resolution A/54/L.23 that the sponsors are proposing are therefore essentially an attempt to prevent the General Assembly from departing from its mandate by adopting a text that was drafted outside the United Nations.

I will not go into all the details of the amendments proposed by the group of countries I have mentioned and will confine myself to pointing out that the only substantive amendment refers to the operative paragraph, which would request the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on this issue at the fifty-fifth session. The other amendments proposed are essentially based on the Charter of the United Nations and the Vienna Declaration on human rights. Furthermore, I wish to recall that at this stage none -- I repeat, none -- of the amendments proposed in document A/54/L.46 relate to the Code of Democratic Conduct.

If the General Assembly accepts this precedent by adopting the Code, in the future nothing will prevent other codes drafted outside the United Nations on other questions, such as disarmament, from being proposed for adoption.

It is for all these reasons that the sponsors, including my country, deemed it useful to submit these amendments. We are convinced that the amendments will enjoy the broadest support, and we hope that in future Member States will respect the rules and procedures that govern our Organization so that we will not be faced with this type of situation again.

Mr. Krokhmal (Ukraine)

Ukraine shares the prevalent belief that the global process of democratization will lead to the establishment of a world system in which peace and security, prosperity and sustainable economic development will be effectively guaranteed. Such a system should be based on the universal principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

The full potential of the democratic process will be achieved only through joint action by the international community that is undertaken with a sense of common purpose and partnership.

Clearly, national actions also remain paramount. Ukraine, which has been dedicated to the principles of democracy from the very first year of its independence, cannot and will not renege on its responsibilities in the area of democratization. Ukraine has declared its political will to build an open, free and democratic State. Our country has been able to maintain peace and social accord; avoid tensions that have an ethnic, political or economic basis; and secure its national harmony.

The genuinely free and democratic elections to the Verkhovna Rada, or Parliament, of Ukraine and the three presidential elections that have taken place in Ukraine since 1991 underline the fact that we have achieved a great deal in this endeavour.

The most recent presidential election in Ukraine was held only two weeks ago, on 15 November. For countries with established democratic traditions, such elections are important but rather ordinary phenomena. For Ukraine, whose modern history has seen only three presidential elections, this phenomenon lends a democratic perspective to the entire process of the transformation of the economy and society.

As the results of that presidential election indicate, a new and important step has been taken towards the development of democracy and the further strengthening of State sovereignty. The presidential election was another confirmation of the high level of political activity in Ukrainian society and of its commitment to a democratic way of life.

Numerous representatives of Ukrainian non-governmental organizations, political parties and foreign observers contributed to transparency in the elections. On the basis of their observation of the conduct of the ballot, the observers stated that there were no irregularities which could have affected its results. At the same time, international observers noted certain shortcomings of the election campaign, which will be carefully studied in order to avoid them in future elections.

That presidential election greatly contributed to further structuring political life in Ukraine and to strengthening the foundation of the civil society that is taking shape in our country. The results of the presidential election also attest to the fact that Ukraine has successfully passed through a critical stage of its modern history and confirm that it has chosen independence, the course of democratic reform and the creation of a market economy. The election affirmed once again the irreversibility of our democratic choice.

In the process of transforming its society, Ukraine still faces very difficult challenges. The Ukrainian people realize that an effective response to those challenges depends largely on energetic internal changes affecting most fields of social and economic life. That is why the acceleration and deepening of the reform process is the basis for all our plans. A detailed presentation of these plans will be made by the President of Ukraine, Mr. Leonid Kuchma, in his inauguration speech tomorrow in Kiev. We hope that Ukraine's progress on the road to democracy will enjoy the wide support of the world community.

Our delegation commends the activities of the United Nations system in support of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies. We fully share the views expressed in the report of the Secretary-General (A/54/492) and the recommendations contained therein.

We are confident that all Member States will gain through shared experiences and "lessons learned" in their efforts to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies. In the spirit of recommendation 2 of the Secretary-General's report, Ukraine is ready to continue sharing its own experiences in settling inter-ethnic tensions and promoting tolerance towards national minorities. One of the areas in which such experiences could be useful to other nations is the treatment of a very delicate issue related to the return to Ukraine of Crimean Tartars deported during the Soviet totalitarian regime. Today the Crimean Tartars in Ukraine enjoy all the rights afforded by a democratic society and live in peace alongside the other peoples that inhabit our multinational country.

May I also take this opportunity to draw the attention of the General Assembly to the proposal of the President of Ukraine made during the recent summit in Istanbul, held on 19 November, to establish in Ukraine an analytical centre to study the problems of inter-ethnic relations. I am confident that the activities of such a centre would be beneficial to many new or restored democracies.

The process of democratization is a prevailing trend in the development of world civilization on the threshold of the new millennium. I would like to confirm that Ukraine is strongly committed to the principles of democracy and is ready to continue its cooperation with the United Nations in supporting the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies.