General Assembly Session 55 meeting 17

The President

I call on the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Solomon Islands, His Excellency the Honourable Danny Philip.

Mr. Philip (Solomon Islands)

At the outset, Sir, let me convey the congratulations and best wishes of the Government and people of Solomon Islands on your election as President of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. Your proven tremendous skills as a consensus-builder and mediator will no doubt guide the Assembly to adopt useful decisions on the many important issues before us. My Government is committed to working closely with you and all Member States during this Millennium Assembly.

Solomon Islands warmly welcomes the admission of our sister nation Tuvalu as a new Member of the United Nations. This is further testimony that the United Nations is indispensable and that its body of international laws is vital to the protection and security of small island developing States. We look forward to working very closely with the delegation of Tuvalu.

The Government of Solomon Islands concurs that conflict prevention should be the cornerstone of collective security in the twenty-first century. We also acknowledge that peace and democratic stability are critical pre-conditions for economic growth and sustainable development. Moreover, economic and development cooperation have an important role to play in fostering these pre-conditions.

As highlighted in our Millennium Summit statement, the ethnic crisis in our country has challenged national peace, security and stability. It has resulted in the loss of human lives and property, the closure of all key industries in our economy and the displacement of more than 30,000 people. While it may not be comparable to major conflicts in other parts of the world, the net result in human loss and suffering is relative. Therefore, the international community, particularly the United Nations, must give equal attention to every conflict situation. All Member States, both large and small, must be treated fairly.

Challenges to the security and stability of small island developing States like Solomon Islands are, increasingly, beyond their capacity to cope. In such cases, the support of the United Nations and the international community at large is imperative. In the context of our crisis, our smallness and remoteness, limited resources, ethnic and cultural diversity and history are fundamental considerations.

Restoring law and order is the number-one priority for my Government as we strive to resolve our conflict. There is no peace without security. While a peaceful and comprehensive solution has to come from Solomon Islanders themselves, international support to sustain the peace process is necessary. Since we launched our national peace plan, we have made some progress in getting the conflicting parties to the table to negotiate and agree to a ceasefire. A ceasefire Agreement was signed by all parties concerned on 3 August 2000 and a National Monitoring Council to oversee its implementation was subsequently formed.

Despite some violations of the Agreement, my Government remains steadfast in our commitment to achieving peace. Further peace talks have since taken place in Honiara, the capital, and a draft framework towards a peace agreement was adopted. A more conclusive peace agreement will be negotiated in Cairns, Australia. Recognizing the importance of civil society participation in conflict resolution, reconciliation and reconstruction, my Government will continue to involve non-governmental organizations, including women's and church groups.

May I express my Government's appreciation to the South Pacific Forum countries for their understanding and support during this challenging time. I wish to mention in particular the recent visit by a Pacific ACP ministerial mission led by the Foreign Minister of Papua New Guinea to assess the current situation and make recommendations to the joint European Union/African, Caribbean and Pacific (EU-ACP) Commission. We further appreciate the efforts of the Governments of Australia and New Zealand in facilitating our peace process through their logistical support. To sustain long-term peace, Solomon Islands will need the cooperation of its development partners to rebuild the economy and to foster a development path that creates employment, ensures fair distribution of national resources and wealth and accommodates our diverse cultural traditions.

Only the United Nations and other international institutions have the scope and legitimacy to generate the principles, norms and rules that are necessary if globalization is to benefit everyone. The least developed countries (LDCs), including Solomon Islands, need international support to build the capacities to enable us to become more effectively and beneficially integrated into the global economy. The Third United Nations Conference on the LDCs next year will give the international community a unique opportunity to review, assess and adopt policies and measures that could effectively address the development constraints of least developed countries. Developing and sustaining competitiveness and productive capabilities, like all other aspects of development, is a long and often frustrating process. My Government, however, is prepared to work with our development partners to address these problems in a renewed spirit of solidarity and shared responsibility.

The past decade has witnessed the adoption of several international conventions and programmes of action, from the environment and sustainable development to social development and the advancement of women. Their five-year reviews, despite some progress, have indicated that insufficient resources remains a major obstacle to wider implementation, especially in rural communities in developing countries. New and additional resources are required if we are to make a difference. The United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on Financing for Development next year must produce a practical outcome on how to mobilize financing for development in the new millennium. The twenty-first century should be a century for better implementation of international programmes, a century for action rather than rhetoric.

The economic vulnerability and ecological fragility of small island developing States must be an integral basis for decisions on development cooperation with these States. Such cooperation in my view should continue to focus on better trading opportunities, including market access, capacity-building -- in particular, human resources development -- and adaptation and mitigation programmes to address climate change and sea level rise.

Investment in renewable energy remains a priority for Solomon Islands. Access to a reliable and cost-effective energy source is imperative if our rural population is to capitalize on the opportunities of the information age.

The international community must mobilize resources to implement the Secretary General's recommendations on bridging the digital divide between developed and developing countries.

Solomon Islands is committed to reform, strengthen and enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations system, including the Security Council, which has primary responsibility under the United Nations Charter for maintaining international peace and security. Greater flexibility and understanding should be demonstrated towards those that are striving to become new permanent members of the Council, including Japan and Germany. A similar attitude should be shown towards the reconfiguration of the United Nations regional groups to reflect present-day realities and to accommodate those Member States, including Australia and New Zealand, which wish to be placed in their most appropriate regional or geopolitical grouping.

Only an inclusive and universal United Nations can effectively perform its mandate in the twenty-first century. We must show greater understanding towards those who request to participate in the work of our Organization.

May I take this opportunity to reiterate the point made by Solomon Islands during the Millennium Summit relating to the principle of an all-inclusive and universal United Nations. A case in point is that which relates to the reunification of China, which would foster greater stability in world affairs and effectively bolster the activities of the Organization. This new approach by the United Nations for the two Chinas will enhance greater understanding in pragmatic diplomacy and pave the way for efforts currently under way in the Korean peninsula. This is not impossible to achieve, as we saw just before the turn of the century in the reunification of the two Germanys.

The challenges facing the United Nations in the twenty-first century are daunting. An effective United Nations demands the steadfast commitment and support of all its Members. The rich and powerful must pay their dues on time, in full and without conditions. Above all, the United Nations needs global political will and resources to maintain peace and security, promote sustainable development, address environmental degradation, combat poverty and disease and foster respect for human dignity.

Human problems will always remain with us, but the way to resolve them should be through dialogue and discussion. This is the approach my Government is taking towards resolving the current ethnic unrest in our country. Attaining peace could be a painful and slow process, it could be fragile and imperfect when achieved, but we believe we can do it. We must, however, go beyond achieving peace. We must provide our people with the values and skills that will sustain peace. As we enter the twenty-first century, let us reaffirm our commitment to work in partnership with others in pursuit of global peace and human security.

The President

I now call on Mr. Ralph Ochan, Chairman of the delegation of the Republic of Uganda.

Mr. Ochan (Uganda)

I should like to offer the apologies of my Minister, who was to have made this statement today. He has had to travel to Winnipeg, where the future of some of our abducted children will be discussed tomorrow.

I bring to you, Mr. President, and all Member States of the United Nations fraternal greetings and best wishes for the new millennium from the Government and people of Uganda. I also bring to you, Sir, and through you to the fifty-fifth session the personal best wishes of the President of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency Mr. Yoweri Kaguta Museveni.

I should like, at the outset, Sir, to congratulate you on your well-deserved and unanimous election to preside over this session of the General Assembly, which follows in the footsteps of the historic and highly successful Millennium Summit. Your predecessor, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia, deserves our heartfelt thanks for successfully presiding over so many special and regular sessions during his tenure as President of the General Assembly.

May I also take this opportunity to pay a very special tribute to our illustrious Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the exemplary work he has continued to perform on behalf of the Organization and the peoples of the world. The Secretary-General deserves special recognition by the United Nations family for his tireless efforts to address the numerous challenges that face the United Nations at the dawn of the new era.

Uganda warmly welcomes the admission of Tuvalu as the 189th Member of the United Nations.

For Uganda, events in Africa, and in particular instability in the Great Lakes region, continue to be of the utmost concern. For this reason, I crave the Assembly's indulgence if I devote a portion of my statement to those problems and challenges which confront us in the Great Lakes region.

As the international community is fully aware, the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo poses a major threat to the stability of the Great Lakes region and ultimately the entire African continent. That conflict has its origins in the massive violation of human and democratic rights of the people of the region during the long reign of dictators in a number of countries in the region. Evidence shows that when people are oppressed, sooner or later they will rise and take up arms against their oppressors. This is precisely what we are witnessing in the Great Lakes region.

During the 1980s and 1990s a number of dictatorships were overthrown, in spite of their determined attempts to save their regimes by resorting to the most inhuman methods of clinging to power -- namely, resort to genocide. This despicable weapon was not only used in Rwanda in 1994, but has also been used to a lesser extent in Uganda, Burundi and the former Zaire. The instability we are witnessing today is thus caused by the continuing struggle of the peoples of the region to proclaim their human and democratic rights.

In Uganda the people's struggle for fundamental change ended in 1986, resulting in the establishment of democracy, stability and economic progress which the people of Uganda have enjoyed over the past 14 years. Unfortunately, the instability and civil wars in neighbouring countries have continued to impact negatively on our attempt to consolidate the results of our victory. This has especially been the case when remnants of followers of our former dictators have attempted to form alliances with dictatorial regimes in some neighbouring countries to take advantage of the power vacuum there and establish bases from which to launch desperate, but ultimately futile, attacks on Uganda.

As the Government of Uganda has stated before, at various times it cooperated with a number of progressive forces in the region to help the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo free themselves from one of the longest and most oppressive dictatorships in the African continent -- I refer to the Mobutu dictatorship. In helping the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we were also hoping to free ourselves from the menace of destabilization, which had become the official policy of the Mobutu regime. That is why in 1997 Uganda found its troops in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

When a new regime came to power in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, we signed a protocol of cooperation under which Uganda and Congolese security forces would cooperate to contain the menace caused by the armed groups organized by the remnants of forces of Uganda's former dictators that were operating from Congolese territory. Unfortunately, within a very short period, the new regime in the Democratic Republic of the Congo chose to turn its back on its former allies and form an alliance with the very people who posed a threat to our security. Not only did this regime turn its back against its external allies, it also turned its back on its internal allies, thus provoking a fresh round of civil war in the country within a year. The result was that a number of African countries that had been allies in the struggle against Mobutu now found themselves sucked into the conflict.

Fortunately, these countries soon saw the folly of armed confrontation and chose to end the conflict through negotiations. The result was the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement. This Agreement was a major breakthrough in the attempt to establish genuine peace in the region because it addressed the problems of establishing a democratic and accountable government in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and catering for the legitimate security concerns of neighbouring countries. The Agreement still offers the best hope of establishing and maintaining peace in the region. For this reason, Uganda has worked hard to have this Agreement implemented. On 8 April this year, Uganda hosted an important meeting of the Political Committee established under the Agreement. At that meeting, a disengagement plan was adopted under which all the fighting forces in the Democratic Republic of the Congo would disengage under the supervision of the United Nations Organization Mission (MONUC).

Unfortunately, it has not been possible to effect the disengagement of forces in accordance with the stipulated calendar because one of the signatories, namely, the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, has done everything possible to block the implementation of this disengagement plan, as well as several other aspects of the Lusaka Agreement. On 14 August this year, an important summit of nine countries in the region plus the leaders of all the rebel groups fighting against the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo took place in Lusaka to identify the obstacles to implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. Their conclusion was that the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo was largely to blame for the current impasse. The principal ways in which the Congolese Government has prevented the implementation of the ceasefire are refusal to participate in the national dialogue, rejection of a distinguished and eminent facilitator who was agreed upon as a result of wide consultations and by consensus, restriction of the freedom of movement of MONUC peace observers, refusal to cooperate with the Joint Military Commission and continued violations of the ceasefire.

The leaders of the region have expressed their strong concern at the obstructions created by the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement. If the Democratic Republic of the Congo does not heed the calls of regional leaders, there is a serious risk that the region could become embroiled in another large-scale war. We therefore appeal to the Democratic Republic of the Congo Government to reconsider its position and choose the path of dialogue, with both its internal and external opponents, and to abandon the path of military confrontation.

Uganda wishes to reaffirm its full commitment to the Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement, which offers the best opportunity for bringing this conflict to an end. Uganda pledges its full support for all efforts aimed at ending the conflict and appeals to the international community to give moral and material backing to the Lusaka peace process.

Uganda believes that the problems of Burundi are essentially political and internal. As Chairman of the regional peace initiative on Burundi, President Museveni of Uganda has worked tirelessly in seeking a solution to the problem. In this capacity, he has convened and chaired many regional summits. We believe that a formula that creates democracy with security for all the people of Burundi is possible.

We wish to place on record our appreciation to the facilitator of the Burundi peace process, former President Nelson Mandela, and his predecessor, the late Mwalimu Julius Nyerere, for their untiring efforts in working towards a peaceful solution to the Burundi problem.

Uganda welcomes the agreement signed on 28 August in Arusha by the parties to the Burundi peace process. We regret, however, that a few of the parties did not sign the agreement. Uganda would like to appeal to them to sign the agreement as soon as possible for the sake of the future of the people of Burundi and the Great Lakes region. We call upon the United Nations and the international community to provide the necessary support and resources to enable the agreement to be successfully implemented.

Uganda is committed to the goal of general and complete disarmament endorsed by the United Nations at the first special session on disarmament, way back in 1978. It is against this background that we note with concern the failure of the Disarmament Commission to reach an agreement on the convening of the fourth special session devoted to disarmament. The holding of that conference is critical for addressing important issues related to disarmament. It is a matter of deep regret that the Conference on Disarmament has failed to agree on an agenda for two years in a row.

Uganda also attaches great importance to the Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel land mines. We supported the resolution on illicit trafficking in small arms last year because the proliferation and use of small arms and light weapons remains a major problem in our region. Uganda actively participated in regional initiatives on this matter, which resulted in the adoption of the Nairobi Declaration. We look forward to the international conference on the problem of small arms in all its aspects, scheduled to take place in July 2001.

The world has entered the twenty-first century with globalization as the most pervasive economic force to reckon with. Regrettably, the expected benefits accruing from the process are not guaranteed for all countries. For some, it has opened opportunities for rapid growth and development through increased trade and advances in technology. For others, the process has led to increasing income disparity and marginalization in the global economy. The biggest challenge facing us at the dawn of this century, therefore, is to muster the necessary political will to act together and create an enabling environment for the successful integration of the poorer countries into the global economy. Uganda is of the view that the issue of globalization can and should be seriously addressed multilaterally by the United Nations and by other international organizations. We are confident that with the commitment and goodwill of the major trading nations, the establishment of a rule-based multilateral trading system that has been institutionalized in the World Trade Organization will facilitate the integration of developing countries into the global trading system.

The challenge of ridding the world of the scourge of abject poverty deserves more attention now than ever before because, as more of the world's population is now enjoying better living standards, the situation of many others in the developing countries, especially the least developed countries, is deteriorating rapidly and dangerously. A larger percentage of the world's population lives on less than a dollar a day today than did a decade ago. The Secretary-General's report reveals that people living in sub-Saharan Africa are almost as poor today as they were 20 years ago. This is an extremely sad commentary on the state of development cooperation. Urgent measures should be undertaken to arrest this deterioration of the living conditions of the people in the developing countries.

In Uganda we believe that significant reductions in poverty can be achieved through sustained and broad-based income growth. We further believe that this can be effectively done through modernization of the agricultural sector, which dominates the economy and employs the majority of our population. That is why in the past two years we have been working to develop a comprehensive set of policies for the modernization of agriculture, as part of the Government's broader strategy for poverty eradication. Uganda welcomes and fully endorses the Secretary-General's recommendations on specific actions that need to be taken both nationally and at the international level to reduce the number of people living in extreme poverty.

The past decade has witnessed an unabated deterioration in the socio-economic conditions of the least developed countries. A quick review of progress in the implementation of the Programme of Action for the Least Developed Countries for the 1990s will show that there have been more setbacks than progress. While the least developed countries have undertaken far-reaching and sometimes painful measures of adjustment and reform, the actions by the international community have fallen short of their commitments to provide adequate external support to complement their efforts. As a result, the least developed countries continue to suffer from the lack of supportive external resources for development, owing to a steady decline in the flow of official development assistance.

While it is true that foreign direct investment flows have increased significantly in the past decade, the least developed countries are not yet equipped to attract such investment to a significant extent. High levels of external debt have negatively affected their economies, and despite decades of liberalization most industrialized countries still maintain protectionist measures in their markets, especially for agricultural products and textiles -- the two sectors in which developing countries have a recognized comparative advantage. All these factors have had the combined effect of stunting further the economic and social prospects of the least developed countries.

In this regard, Uganda strongly supports the Secretary-General in urging the industrialized countries to consider granting duty-free and quota-free access to exports from the least developed countries, as a demonstration of their commitment to the integration of the least developed countries into the global trading system. My delegation also urges the General Assembly to adopt the recommendations of the tenth session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development contained in the Bangkok Consensus and Plan of Action for least developed countries. We call upon the leading industrialized countries to live up to their commitments in the context of the agreement they reached in 1999 at the Cologne G-8 Summit. We also call for stronger support for relevant United Nations bodies such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) to enable effective implementation of their mandates to assist the least developed countries.

With specific reference to the African continent, where 33 of the 48 least developed countries are found, the socio-economic situation is much more precarious despite many efforts by many African countries individually and collectively to lay solid foundations for development. The difficulty in achieving positive results in Africa's development has been further complicated by the severity of Africa's AIDS crisis. We call upon the international community to lend support to Africa's own efforts to realize the objective of the African renaissance, which aims to place the continent at the forefront of human development and progress. The international community should support the efforts of African countries by fulfilling commitments made in the context of the United Nations New Agenda for Development of Africa in the 1990s. These commitments include the reduction of African debt, adequate resource flows, provision of greater market access and assistance in diversification and capacity-building. In this connection, Uganda supports the proposals made by the Secretary-General in his report to this session.

I reiterate Uganda's commitment to uphold the values and principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I pledge our Government's continued adherence to international human rights Conventions and norms.

In pursuit of an international human rights regime, it is imperative that we establish effective institutions and mechanisms for this purpose. Uganda will continue to support and work towards the establishment of a strong International Criminal Court. Of particular concern to us is the deterrence and punishment of the crime of genocide, which remains a continuing threat in our region.

At the national level, in a bid to implement the fundamental rights guaranteed by our Constitution, Ugandans voted on 29 June 2000 in a referendum for a political system of their choice. I take this opportunity to thank the international community for its support for the success of the referendum exercise. I am happy to report that the referendum was declared free and fair by both local and international observers. This experience convinces us that the referendum proposed for Western Sahara should be conducted as soon as possible. It offers the best alternative to the possibility of continued armed conflict.

In our struggle to end internal conflict, Parliament enacted the Amnesty Act 2000. Under that Act, an Amnesty Commission has now been established and is operational. The mandate of the Commission is to monitor programmes of demobilization, reintegration and resettlement of returnees, coordinate a programme of sensitization of the general public on the amnesty law, consider and promote appropriate reconciliation mechanisms in the affected areas and promote dialogue and reconciliation in the spirit of the Amnesty Act. There is a programme of reintegration into society, which involves acquisition of skills and a fund to promote self-employment. It is our hope that this process will bring to an end internal conflict and all human rights violations associated with conflict situations.

In closing, Uganda believes that as we enter the new century the United Nations should be reformed, equipped and provided with the necessary resources to implement effectively and efficiently the mandates the General Assembly and other principal organs of the Organization have entrusted to it. In this connection, Uganda hopes that the long-drawn-out negotiations on the reform of the Security Council will be finalized at the current session of the General Assembly. We are committed to the position of the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) on this matter, and would support Japan and Germany as permanent members of an expanded Security Council, as well as one permanent member each from Africa, Asia and Latin America.

The President

I now call on His Excellency The Honourable George Odlum, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Saint Lucia.

Mr. Odlum (Saint Lucia)

Humanity, our greatest concern, is the reason why we are gathered here today. Humanity stands at a defining moment in world history. The challenge before us is to harness the collective consciousness and will of the international community to address the problems of planet Earth.

During the course of the past century, the disparities between and within nations have widened. Poverty, ill-health, illiteracy and hunger among the world's people have increased. The world's ecosystem, the foundation upon which we all depend for survival, is rapidly deteriorating. That is why we must regard this moment as significant in human history, despite Fukuyama's claim that history has ended. The Third Millennium offers us the opportunity to break away from the shackles of the past and create new beginnings. The choices that we make can change the face of humankind and lead to the accepted goals of global peace, economic and human security and the greater good of humanity.

The past century was replete with examples of nations preening themselves for conquest and domination. The conquistadors who plundered the New World are still at large, using global institutions, new technologies and weapons of destruction to oppress and dominate the weak, the innocent and the dispossessed sectors of mankind. The message that Saint Lucia brings to this Millennium Assembly comes from the pen of Saint Lucia's Nobel Prize Laureate Derek Walcott, who reminds us that, "There are no worlds to conquer/But worlds to re-create".

Minds that are historically poisoned with conquest can hardly experience the essential equanimity and calm of re-creation. The theme of this millennium Assembly reaches out in the direction of re-creation: a people-centred reshaping of the role and function of the United Nations and a purposeful moral thrust in re-creating the battered, demoralized societies in which we live.

That is why we must embrace the United Nations Millennium Summit's theme, "We the peoples: The Role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century". The attainment of meaningful transformation in the world system calls for a United Nations capable of assuming a vanguard role in development and in advancing human society and security. The United Nations system must play a critical role in promoting global responsibility. Global responsibility implicitly involves some form of moral commitment to human welfare. It is the formulation of economic programmes designed to bring about economic redistribution, to safeguard against economic crises and to formulate developmental policies that are in keeping with environmental protection and sustainability.

The United Nations should be strengthened to play a more central role in development, ensuring equity and security for its small, vulnerable Members like Saint Lucia against the greed of profit-driven Powers. Instead, we are witnessing a consistent, systemic weakening of the United Nations' role in development, with development issues being left to undemocratic institutions like the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO), which perpetuate global economic inequities and ignore the development issues and concerns of developing countries.

The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations' primary development agency, is now reoriented to giving advice in governance and democratic elections. The United Nations therefore plays a peripheral role in development, and small States like Saint Lucia are left on their own to be devoured by powerful States backed by powerful transnational corporations.

Saint Lucia joined this Organization and entrusted it with our hopes of peace, security and development. This Organization has passed on our trust to a few dominant Powers and corporations. If the United Nations has a diminished role in ensuring development, peace and security for its small and vulnerable Members, then our presence here is an unnecessary diversion of our scarce resources. In these circumstances we feel threatened and vulnerable that our trust has been betrayed.

The greater good of human security cannot be fostered simply through peacekeeping operations and humanitarian missions. There must be a global drive to empower people, through the elimination of the adverse conditions that cause the incapacitation of the human spirit and the imprisonment of the imagination. Hence, the United Nations of the twenty-first century must be capable of playing a significant role in liberating the human spirit and imagination through education and real opportunity. It must be able to reposition itself to give practical meaning to the rising tide all over the world as the common man aspires to higher and wider horizons.

In reaffirming our faith in the United Nations and its Charter, it is again with the hope of saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war. The threat to peace does not necessarily emanate from military warfare. There are new forms of war currently being waged on the small, the weak and the vulnerable.

In previous addresses to this Assembly, and in the statement of our Head of Government to the Millennium Summit, we pointed out the injustice perpetrated on Saint Lucia and other banana-producing countries of the Caribbean by the WTO, through its rejection of the marketing regime for bananas in Europe as being WTO-incompatible. That ruling has condemned our countries to the prospect of economic ruin, in that the stabilizing force of our economy has been dealt a mortal blow.

Since that ruling by the WTO, which granted an unreasonably limited time to adjust our economy, we have lost 50 per cent of our foreign exchange earnings, while thousands of farmers have become unemployed and poverty and crime are on the increase. Yet, despite our urgent economic situation, negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the United States have been stalled. Saint Lucia calls on the United States to resume discussions with the European Union on a new marketing system for bananas that could be acceptable to all, giving due consideration to the Caribbean proposal. But that is a pipedream. Our hopes have slipped on a banana skin, because there is a new sweetheart deal between Britain and the United States.

Resilient a people as we are, we are moving to diversify our economies and to build another sector -- financial services. Again, the economic giants are determined to crush our development efforts and subject our people to poverty by attacking yet another sector of our narrow economic base.

Saint Lucia has acted in good faith in fulfilling our obligations to the Charter of the United Nations, assuming equality of all Member States. We have respected the territorial integrity and political independence of other Member States and have never interfered in the internal affairs of another State.

Today, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has chosen to dictate the tax policies of Saint Lucia and other Caribbean islands by labelling our tax regime as a harmful tax haven and is threatening to impose sanctions for non-compliance with its prescribed changes to our tax policies.

It is Saint Lucia's sovereign right to determine its taxes. We cannot tell the OECD countries what taxes to impose, nor do we expect interference in the exercise of the sacred right entrusted to us by our citizens. Our development options are few and limited, and we consider the OECD action a violation of our basic human right to development and to pursue a decent standard of living for our people.

Our peace is threatened, our democracy is being undermined. The conditions for conflict are being created in my country and in the region, and yet, instead of addressing development, we are being asked to strengthen the United Nations to intervene in national crises.

Within the context of a globalized world, the concept of sovereignty is fast becoming an endangered species. No self-respecting nation would willingly abandon its sovereignty for the illusion of a better world, when all the signals from this brave new world are destructive and negative. In respect of peacekeeping interventions, one can surrender sovereignty to avoid a holocaust but certainly not to permit well-heeled rapacious countries to hog the capital flows in the financial services sector.

Mr. Odlum (Saint Lucia)

Last week, through our Heads of State and Government, we reaffirmed our faith in the United Nations and its Charter as indispensable foundations for a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. This reaffirmation is of particular significance to small developing States like Saint Lucia, lacking the size and resources to urge the international community to give due consideration to our concerns and interests. We agreed to entrust the United Nations with ensuring equality among States. It is of paramount importance to us that the United Nations does not flinch in its role of fostering international dialogue and consensus building, so that the concerns and interests of all Member States are adequately addressed and reflected in the work of the Organization. We do not expect our trust to be given to more powerful influences to determine our collective future. We rededicated ourselves to upholding the principle of equality of States and expect that equality to be realized in policy directives of the United Nations with a balance in representation of the interests of Member States and regions.

Saint Lucia calls on the United Nations to assume its rightful, central role in development and the governance of globalization, to promote democracy and good government nationally and internationally, to stand for right and the protection of its weak and vulnerable Members against the powerful and dominant and to seek equality and justice for all. This should be the focus of the United Nations in the new millennium if poverty is to be eradicated and peace enjoyed.

Saint Lucia cannot be enthusiastic about other issues until development and equity in the global economy become a priority. Our decline in revenues denies us the capacity to increase our contribution to peacekeeping, and we will be reluctant to do so until there is an increase in our participation and benefit from the global economy. Man cannot live by governance alone or peace alone. Our people must find the sustenance that will enable them to participate in governance and peace. Saint Lucia therefore eagerly looks forward to the convening of the intergovernmental conference on financing for development to discuss in a holistic manner issues of trade, finance and monetary matters in the context of globalization and trade liberalization.

We have always promoted an integrated approach to development and global issues, and this age of technology and interdependence lends itself more than ever to the integrated approach of assessing and addressing the issues at hand.

We continue to view the financing for development process as the missing and the critical link in the development agenda for a sustainable and lasting resolution to poverty and threats to peace. We hope that through this process the United Nations will reclaim its legitimate role in development, entrusted to it in the Charter, and promote the effective participation of all its Member States in the governance of the global economy and globalization, for the benefit of all the peoples of the world.

The greatest threat to world peace and democracy is the systemic imbalances and inequities in the global economy and the institutions that govern it. This situation is unsustainable and explosive. The thrust of many statements made during the Millennium Summit and this session has been to strengthen peacekeeping efforts with resources and personnel. We recognize that there is need for improvement in peacekeeping efforts to make them more effective. However, equal emphasis and effort are not being committed to addressing the real threats to peace and the primary causes of war. Developing countries are threatened by continued deprivation and inequities in the global economy. Unless these inequities and imbalances are corrected, we will continue to create situations of unrest and threaten intervention while causes go unaddressed.

Similarly, we parade the fashionable notion of poverty eradication in isolation, ignoring the complex, multi-faceted nature of poverty and the causes of poverty, including global economic inequities. This façade to placate the poorest is fooling some of the people, but not all of the world's poor. The holistic nature of development takes precedence over the palliative of poverty eradication. International cooperation in development should instead be demonstrated through meeting the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross domestic product in overseas development assistance, through debt cancellation, special and differential treatment on a contractual basis for developing countries and adequate financial support for the United Nations' development programmes.

We have reaffirmed our commitment to promoting democracy, albeit with the emphasis on democracy at the national level. The inherent problem in achieving this objective is clear, since democracy at the national level is undermined by the lack of a commensurate level of democracy at the international level. The world's peoples and leaders will rightly mock the call for democracy if this principle is not equally applied in the Security Council, the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization, the main institutions that currently govern world affairs in peace, security and the world economy, respectively. The United Nations must demonstrate leadership of democracy at the global level if we are to believe in this principle as a foundation for peace and prosperity in the new millennium. All Member States must be able effectively to participate in matters of peace, security and the global economy in order to give real meaning to democracy and governance.

The symbolism of the United Nations is universally recognized, but our role in this millennium is to redefine its goals, sharpen its focus and make it a more efficient instrument for effecting global change and development. But this institutional change must be inspired and fired by the commensurate determination of Member nations to re-create their own societies. The resonance and sympathetic vibration of our visionary Secretary-General Kofi Annan is not enough. We as Member nations must set about the task of societal re-creation, within the parameters of our own societies, to offset the negative influence of moral degradation, crime, drugs and anti-social behaviour. These are the benchmarks of the uncivil society.

In the re-creation of our own societies we face the structural disadvantages of unemployment, illiteracy and the tyranny of consumerism and materialism. Our young people are cannon-fodder for the blandishments of cable television. They lap up a culture and a lifestyle that militate against their own self-development. They fail to understand the nexus between earning and spending and develop an appetite for consumer durables which their economic base could never support. They become aggressively fired-up with demands and rising expectations that neither the resources of the State nor their flimsy work ethic can entertain. They develop a culture of carping criticism that leaves no space for a culture of appreciation. Caribbean Governments look on almost helplessly at a growing phenomenon that threatens to disturb the rhythm of projected economic growth and breeds a kind of lawlessness which conventional law-and-order techniques cannot contain.

As globalization erodes the economic and social bases of our islands, international and bilateral aid dwindles. As ideologies and ideals give way to pragmatism, the weak social and political fabric of these fledgling nations is laid bare. The vocabulary of containment and patience can no longer hold back the anarchist tide of popular revolt. Small nations will encounter their own Seattles, with no National Guardsmen to come to the rescue, no sustaining philosophies to stem the tide, only the grim statistics of falling revenues and rising expectations.

Nations which attempt to grapple with these social problems have incurred the wrath of large countries, culminating in isolation and the imposition of sanctions. Countries like Cuba and Libya have felt the crush of sanctions. The United Nations system must rethink the strategy of imposing sanctions and must devise other means of ensuring compliance within the international community. The imposition of sanctions is often inhumane and is usually accompanied by devastating economic consequences and fails to produce the desired effect in targeted countries. The international community should realize that interventions, embargoes and sanctions do not a democracy make.

Because of the untold suffering inflicted on civilian populations, a twenty-first century United Nations system cannot continue to endorse the imposition of sanctions. What is even more devastating is that the general will of this Assembly is often flouted and ignored when the international consensus calls for a removal of sanctions. Is democracy merely a convenient attitude? If so, it begs the question as to the insistence that countries like Cuba should conform to the principles of democracy when these principles themselves are being compromised and rejected as a matter of convenience. It is these injustices and violations that have turned world opinion in favour of the embattled Caribbean country Cuba and have made its leader Fidel Castro a living symbol of the unconquerable spirit of our people to triumph over adversity and incredible odds.

More than ever, the positives of a reformed United Nations will become a refuge, a bastion of hope for nations nonplussed by events that seem suddenly out of their control. In my previous address to this time-honoured institution, I alluded to the plight of Africa. I should like to reiterate that as Africa was the last impression of the twentieth century, poetic justice demands that it must be our first preoccupation in the twenty-first century.

In the process of re-creation, Saint Lucia and the Caribbean must strive to become a catalyst for peace in the international forum. We must use our collective influence to contain the border disputes that threaten to create friction in Latin America and the Caribbean. We must also be wary of importing conflicts into our region.

In the case of Taiwan and China, it is vital that we pursue the line of working towards a one-China policy instead of fuelling the hostilities that characterize the existing relationship between these two countries. An early resolution of the impasse between Taiwan and China will strengthen the solidarity of the developing world.

In the case of Africa, the Caribbean has always enjoyed a peculiarly symbiotic relationship with Africa. Men like Padmore, C.L.R. James, Eric Williams, Sir Arthur Lewis and Walter Rodney have all worked assiduously at the side of African leaders like Nkrumah, Nyerere, Sékou Touré and Léopold Senghor in order to realize the ultimate dream of a united Africa liberated from the bondage of poverty, disease and exploitation. This noble tradition must continue. Once again, Saint Lucia calls on its CARICOM colleagues to pursue the possibility of obtaining observer status at the Organisation of African Unity.

The peoples of the African continent face the onslaught of the AIDS pandemic that threatens to decimate the population of the entire continent. But the devastating effect of AIDS is felt not only on the African continent. Today the world is confronted with the greatest health crisis in human history. The effects of this disease can destabilize fragile democracies and economic progress in both the developing and the developed world.

We welcome President Clinton's efforts to create an African AIDS Trust Fund and the pledge of one billion US dollars to combat AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa. We also welcome Cuba's undertaking to send three thousand Cuban doctors to Africa. However, given the transnational nature of the disease, the United Nations should use its institutions to launch a movement aimed at the complete eradication of this scourge. If the world is to survive the ravages of this plague, we must not only pledge financial resources towards research and the development of pharmaceuticals, but we must make those pharmaceuticals affordable and accessible and also continue to sensitize the international community to preventive measures.

At year's end, the General Assembly will witness the end of the first International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism. Much remains to be done before the United Nations is successful in carrying out its statutory mandate to ensure complete and absolute political equality for the peoples of the relevant territories. This must remain the guiding principle of the international community. That the majority of the remaining Non-Self-Governing Territories are small islands does not mean that the self-determination of their peoples is less important than for former territories which achieved sovereign status. We must resist all attempts to legitimize the present unequal colonial arrangements, which do not provide for full and absolute political equality. Saint Lucia therefore fully endorses the proclaiming of a second Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism and calls on Member States and United Nations organizations to fulfil their responsibilities under the Charter and relevant General Assembly resolutions.

On the initiative of the Government of Canada, a debate has started in the forum of the Organization of American States on the subject of global human security. It is comforting for developing States, and especially small developing States, to feel that the conscience of the international world has been pricked into focusing on the security of the entire globe -- the entire globe. On a discordant note, the United States of America is now concentrating its attention on a national missile defence system aimed at protecting the United States from missile attacks. At this strategic juncture in the new millennium, when world leaders are gingerly nurturing a culture of peace and disarmament, this action runs counter to the mood for reconciliation and universal nuclear disarmament. This unfortunate and myopic emphasis on the protection of one nation and one people might well trigger a rash of self-protective nuclear explosions, effectively eroding the fragile trust which underpins the hope for global human security.

There are no worlds to conquer, but worlds to recreate. The recreation of the United Nations must be posited on the basis of mutual respect between rich and poor, mutual respect between large and small nations. As small and desperate as our islands appear to be, we should hold fast to the principles that inform the operations of the United Nations.

We challenge the paradigm shift which the developed nations are cleverly manipulating to shunt the focus of the United Nations towards peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance. Saint Lucia states clearly and unequivocally that the United Nations focus should zero in on development as a radical instrument for eradicating poverty and war.

No $600 million carrot will tempt us to abandon the principle of a nation's capacity to pay. No Congress should determine the scale of assessments for the United Nations, and there should be no conditionality for paying arrears and meeting one's obligations to this Organization.

The hungry sheep look up and are not fed. The wolves run amok and batten on their hunger, and the cycle goes on in its impropriety. This Organization must not flinch in its millennial resolve to end the carnage.

"So I come to you from the weary battlefield of time Armed with the disappointments of yesterday The sufferings of today and the dreams of tomorrow In the struggle I may die But let's not forsake another tomorrow".

The Acting President

The next speaker is His Excellency The Honourable Bonaya Adhi Godana, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Republic of Kenya.

Mr. Godana (Kenya)

Let me begin by congratulating the President on behalf of my delegation on his unanimous election to lead the fifty-fifth regular session of the General Assembly. I am confident that his able leadership and vast diplomatic experience will steer the business of this session of the General Assembly to the desired outcome. I also wish to express my delegation's gratitude to his predecessor, Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab of Namibia, for the able manner in which he presided over the work of our previous session. I commend the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, whose commitment in shaping the United Nations to meet the challenges of the new millennium has won the respect and admiration of many. I particularly commend him for his selfless dedication to duty and encourage him to continue serving the international community with the same zeal.

The proliferation of conflicts in Africa continues to pose serious threats to peace, security and stability. Conflicts have had a negative impact on the continent's development capacity and continue to undermine efforts to improve the living standards of our peoples. They have caused considerable destruction and loss of lives, generated millions of refugees and displaced persons and exacerbated famine conditions in areas such as the southern Sudan and the Horn of Africa.

Africa recognizes the primary role of the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and security. It also recognizes the need for cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations in peacekeeping and peace-building. Such efforts have yielded positive results in some countries. However, there are others, such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where the United Nations has been slow to act.

Positive regional initiatives have been recorded in the cessation of armed hostilities between Ethiopia and Eritrea, under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity (OAU). We commend the parties for the maturity they have demonstrated. We urge both parties to the conflict to uphold the ceasefire while working towards a final negotiated settlement of that dispute. The United Nations is urged to speedily discharge its duty along that common border.

The establishment last month of a Transitional National Assembly and the election of the President of the Republic of Somalia was indeed a momentous occasion. I pay tribute to President Ismail Omar Guelleh of Djibouti for his mediation efforts and his steadfast commitment to the cause of peace in Somalia. I call upon the international community to continue providing support and humanitarian assistance to the Somali nation. I also hope that the recently concluded accord on Burundi will bring to an end the seven-year-old civil war and enable the people of that country to redirect their efforts towards reconstruction and development.

The recent unfortunate experience in Sierra Leone calls for a review of peacekeeping operations, particularly with regard to the safety, commissioning and deployment of troops. Kenya supports the recent initiative aimed at curbing the trade in illicit diamonds, which fuels and sustains conflicts in Africa. Kenya welcomes the decision by the Security Council authorizing the establishment of an international criminal court to try those responsible for atrocities committed in the civil war in Sierra Leone. It should signal to the rebels there and elsewhere that the international community will not tolerate acts against humanity.

Turning to disarmament and international security, we are disappointed that the Conference on Disarmament for the second year running has not undertaken any substantive work. This situation is particularly disturbing, since the Conference is the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum.

The Conference has for a considerable period of time been expected to conduct serious negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty and a treaty on nuclear disarmament. This Assembly has in various resolutions urged the Conference on Disarmament to undertake such negotiations. During its fifty-fourth session, for instance, the General Assembly passed four resolutions which, inter alia, called on the Conference to get down to serious work.

The lack of progress at the Conference is due to the reluctance of key nuclear-weapon States to submit themselves to negotiate in good faith, despite their obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. We still expect the nuclear-weapon States to honour their commitment to undertake genuine nuclear disarmament, which they renewed during the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty. Failure of the Conference on Disarmament will send the wrong signal to non-nuclear-weapon States and might well encourage those with nuclear ambitions to join that club. After the end of the cold war, there is no longer any justification for maintaining nuclear arsenals, if there ever was one. Kenya calls on the nuclear countries to preserve outer space as a nuclear-free zone.

The serious security problem posed by the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons is a matter of grave concern to Kenya. We hosted in March this year the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa Conference on the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons. The Conference, attended by 10 States of the region, adopted the Nairobi Declaration, which calls for greater cooperation and information-sharing between law enforcement and border control officials of States in our region, as well as the strengthening and/or adoption of national laws and control mechanisms governing civilian possession of arms, and urges source countries to regulate weapons and arms transactions through strict licensing. The Nairobi Conference was an important initiative. Kenya is in the process of organizing a follow-up meeting later this year.

In the same vein, I should like to express our full support for the International Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, scheduled for 2001. We hope that that Conference will adequately address our concerns.

A consequence of conflicts and the proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons has been the massive movement of refugees across borders. Kenya continues to host a large number of such refugees. This has put a heavy strain on our own scarce national resources.

I am happy to note that the Government of Kenya is in the process of finalizing the Refugee Bill 2000 in order to address the refugee phenomenon. The Bill is a result of joint efforts between the Government of Kenya, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other stakeholders. It will provide refugees with a better legal framework in which to live and exercise their rights. Kenya would like to see an end to the disparity in the treatment of refugees globally. We have noted with concern the bewildering inconsistency in the responses to the refugee problems in other parts of the world compared with those in Africa. We hope that in future the international community will respond in a fair and consistent manner to refugee crises in all parts of the world.

The promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms is firmly on the international agenda. In Kenya the Government effort is geared towards enhancing public awareness of existing rights and freedoms. In this regard, the Government has prepared a bill seeking to establish an independent human rights commission to monitor and protect human rights. That commission would also advise the Government on its international obligations on the protection and promotion of human rights.

During the last session of the Assembly I commended the High Commissioner for Human Rights for adopting a proactive approach to human rights issues. We continue to stress that human rights should be addressed in a global context through a dialogue-based approach. In this way, we will realize wider acceptance and observance of human rights.

The rise in transnational networks of crime, narcotics, money laundering and terrorism is another matter of grave concern to us. The effects of the August 1998 terrorist bombing in Nairobi are still evident in our economy and in the lives of Kenyans. We have undertaken measures to contain this menace by establishing special policing units and strict control of movement on border areas and other national entry points. We are also collaborating with international security agencies, such as Interpol, and have signed extradition treaties with a number of States. We call for concerted efforts to adopt effective international measures to eradicate the growing and dangerous links between terrorist groups, drug traffickers and armed criminal groups. The struggle against terrorism can only succeed if there is cooperation between all countries to track down and apprehend wanted terrorists.

Kenya supports the initiative to restructure and revitalize the United Nations in the economic, social and related fields. We stress that the promotion of development should remain a central priority of the Organization.

The process of reforming the Economic and Social Council should be expedited by organizing its work throughout the year and reinforcing its role in providing overall policy guidance for operational development programmes and funds.

Kenya supports the implementation of policies that foster economic growth in developing countries in order to bridge the widening gap between rich and poor. My delegation urges the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions to ensure the facilitation of stronger and more equitable international multilateral development cooperation designed to address the growing problems in economic development.

We are all aware of the challenging task of eradicating poverty consistent with the overall objectives and strategies agreed in the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action adopted at the World Summit for Social Development and with the outcome of the Millennium Summit. Kenya supports and continues to implement the Copenhagen Declaration and the Programme of Action. This commitment is manifested in our Government's determination to establish a firm policy and institutional framework for mainstreaming the poverty eradication agenda. The formulation of the National Poverty Eradication Plan is a step towards focusing national policies and operational priorities on the poor, as well as providing an enabling environment for them to participate in economic and social development.

Further, the Government of Kenya has developed an interim poverty reduction strategy paper, which has been prepared in consultation with all stakeholders. The strategy paper outlines measures designed to improve economic performance, while identifying key actions to reduce the prevalence of poverty.

The above measures are part of the Kenya Government's strategy to restore economic growth while maintaining economic stability. Economic reforms are gaining momentum and are expected to lead to a progressive increase in real per capita growth. Currently, the country is facing a severe drought, the worst in our country's history. This is having a debilitating effect on our economy. We appreciate the assistance received so far from the international community and seek continued support to deal with the situation.

Globalization poses enormous challenges to developing countries, and ours is no exception. Kenya welcomes initiatives that protect the weaker States from the adverse effects of globalization. The ability of African countries to participate effectively, exercise their rights and meet their obligations in the World Trade Organization (WTO) is an important determinant in their integration into the international trading system. My delegation is concerned about the growing protectionism manifested in attempts to support a new round of multilateral trade negotiations within the context of the WTO. Kenya is firmly opposed to the introduction of new protectionist barriers to trade camouflaged as labour, health and environmental standards.

At the same time, we urge the implementation of special and differential provisions in respect of developing and least developed countries because of their low levels of industrialization and the vulnerable nature of their economies.

The increased globalization of financial markets and capital flows poses new challenges for the mobilization of adequate resources. Kenya shares the concerns of developing countries over the general decline in official development assistance and the free flow of foreign direct investment to developing countries. Portfolio investment, which tends to be volatile and unpredictable, as experienced during the 1997 financial crisis, is a source of financial instability. We support the creation of a new international financial architecture for a more stable financial system. The global market environment poses enormous challenges, and there is an urgent need for supportive international policies that will ensure the financial system's efficient functioning.

The slow progress in Africa's attainment of sustainable economic growth is linked to the failure to mobilize resources. This has been aggravated by internal conflicts and the prevalence of diseases such as malaria and the HIV/AIDS pandemic, which in themselves have a causal relationship with poverty and deprivation. My country, in collaboration with international agencies, is zealously pursuing scientific research to find a cure for malaria and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. We call upon the international community to support our research efforts to find a cure for these diseases, which continue to ravage millions. Kenya wishes to stress the need to ensure the easy availability of existing drugs to those already afflicted.

Given that information technologies are important prerequisites for development, the developed countries should direct resources to accelerate the development of information technology in Africa. In this regard, Kenya welcomes the Okinawa Charter initiative of the G-8 countries and looks forward to the implementation of its aims.

My delegation notes the commitment made by the G-8 to speed up the pace of implementation of the enhanced Highly Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, in line with the targets agreed at the Cologne Summit. However, the initiative suffers from a lack of commitment to implementation and should be reviewed with a view to being speeded up. We share the concerns, expressed by the leaders from developing countries who attended the Okinawa G-8 Summit, on the impact of the debt burden to poverty alleviation efforts. Debt repayment in sub-Saharan Africa is to the detriment of health, education and other essential services. Kenya urges creditor countries to honour pledges for debt relief and increase balance of payment support to developing countries.

Kenya attaches special importance to South-South cooperation. It is in recognition of the important role of economic cooperation among developing countries that we continue actively to pursue economic integration with countries in our own subregion. The relationship between regional and subregional economic groupings is seen within the framework of the African Economic Community, which Kenya fully supports.

The institutions established in 1945 are overdue for an overhaul. The world political, economic and security landscape has changed, and so must these institutions. The United Nations must become a truly universal Organization, democratic and representative of the many diverse interests. Its organs should reflect this rich diversity, with effective representation and participation at all levels of decision-making. The General Assembly has to reassert its role within the Organization. The Security Council must also reflect the principle of equitable geographical representation and the realities of our times. Kenya seeks to have permanent seats on the Security Council allotted for Africa, to be filled by African countries on a rotational basis and on the same footing as existing permanent seats. The transformation of institutions dealing with other issues is equally overdue if we are to re-energize the efficacy and effectiveness of the United Nations, as called for in the Millennium Declaration.

Kenya appreciates the increased utilization of the United Nations Office at Nairobi. We are nevertheless dissatisfied with the level of involvement with environment and human settlement issues. There is a huge, under-utilized capacity in the Nairobi offices. It should be noted also that the Nairobi Declaration adopted by Member States in February 1997 declared the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to be the principal body in the field of environment. Kenya is therefore totally opposed to the creation of new institutions with similar concerns and calls upon the international community to strengthen the role of UNEP and the United Nations Centre for Human Settlements (Habitat) in Nairobi.

In conclusion, Kenya fully embraces the spirit of the Millennium Declaration, with a pledge to make its modest contribution in the general service of a happier family of nations.

The Acting President

The next speaker is Her Excellency Mrs. Benita Ferrero-Waldner, Federal Minister for Foreign Affairs of Austria.

Mrs. Ferrero-Waldner (Austria)

First of all, let me say how satisfied I am about this week's decision of our 14 European Union (EU) partners to lift the measures implemented on 31 January against Austria. This is a victory for reason, and it is also a victory for Europe. In the last seven and a half months -- a very difficult time, I must say -- the United Nations has stood by us. Austria treasures this support. The United Nations has had confidence in our firm commitment to universal standards and values. The report of the "three wise men", Martti Ahtisaari, Marcelino Oreja and Jochen Frowein, comes to the same conclusion. Austria will continue its role as an active, reliable and constructive Member State of the United Nations.

Austria expects to resume fully its formal and informal work within the European Union. This is absolutely crucial in view of the important projects that lie ahead of us: first, the reform of the institutions of the European Union and, secondly, the enlargement of the Union, a matter of great importance and a historic responsibility. An enlarged Union will bolster European stability and prosperity. Its benefits will reach beyond Europe. Austria, as a country in the heart of Europe, will fully support and, in its own interest, accelerate the process of enlargement.

Since this fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly coincides with the turn of the millennium, we ought to undertake a broader examination of today's world. We ought to design policies of a long-term nature. All too often we have to cope with contradictions when engaging in day-to-day politics and when rapidly responding to crises on the one hand and addressing sustainable societal development on the other. A great number of our decisions taken today have important implications for future policy options. Generations to come will have to bear the cost, and they will enjoy the benefits of our policies.

It is in this context that I wish to pay tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his clairvoyance and leadership. His millennium report embraces a balanced analysis of the challenges the international community faces today, and it offers concrete, accomplishable and far-sighted recommendations. Austria welcomes this road map for the future course of United Nations activities and will follow its guidelines.

Furthermore, Austria supports the timely initiative of the Secretary-General to mandate a comprehensive review of peacekeeping operations in all their aspects. Since the environment for complex peace operations has become more challenging than ever before, Austria, as a major troop contributor, welcomes the report and the recommendations drawn up by a group of experts under the leadership of Mr. Brahimi. We are ready to support their implementation.

As Chairperson-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), I wish to outline a number of major achievements of the OSCE during this year. The OSCE serves as the primary forum for early warning, conflict prevention, crisis management and post-conflict rehabilitation in my region. This year we are celebrating the twenty-fifth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act. This truly historic document initiated the Helsinki Process, from which we still draw valid lessons for our common efforts to achieve "freedom from fear", to use this vivid notion from the report of the Secretary-General (A/54/2000, para. 65). Security and stability through cooperation and the effective protection of human rights within each country have a direct bearing on international peace and security. The fundamental significance of democracy, human rights and strong civil societies has been affirmed in the Charter on European Security adopted by the OSCE participating States last year in Istanbul.

The OSCE has proved to be a flexible institution, adapting itself to the far-reaching changes in the political landscape of Europe after the fall of the Iron Curtain. Over the past decade, it has evolved into a vibrant organization with a network of as many as 20 field operations.

Not only in South-Eastern Europe and Central Asia, on which I will elaborate later, but also in other parts of the OSCE area, we have been able to achieve concrete results in our continuing efforts for peace and stability. As to conflict prevention, I would like to mention the successful observation mission of the OSCE at the border between Georgia and the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation. We can also register some positive developments concerning the political resolution of "frozen conflicts" in Georgia and in Moldova -- conflicts which are often outside the spotlight of broader public attention but nevertheless have a highly destabilizing impact on the region and beyond. Through my frequent travels as Chairperson-in-Office, I wish to enhance the political awareness regarding these unresolved or potential conflicts and security risks. The conflict situation in Chechnya remains unresolved and a matter of great concern.

Let me mention an achievement in the institutional field. An important step in enhancing the civilian crisis management capability of the OSCE was set with the establishment of the Rapid Expert Assistance and Cooperation Teams (REACT), a programme which should speed up the deployment of highly trained civilian experts to the field.

What are the specific challenges the OSCE is currently facing in the prevention, settlement and management of conflicts? In South-Eastern Europe the work of the Organization focuses in particular on the strengthening of democracy, post-crisis rehabilitation, the rule of law and civil society. The promotion of free and fair elections plays a key role in achieving these goals. The OSCE is tasked with organizing local elections in Kosovo at the end of October this year and, only two weeks thereafter, of general elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina. In Kosovo, the OSCE has been involved in the complex task of civil and voter registration, which resulted in more than 1 million registrations. I note with regret that the Kosovo Serbs did not participate in the registration process and that Belgrade would not allow the registration of Kosovo Serbs in Serbia. The OSCE, however, will continue its efforts to bring about active participation of the Kosovo Serbs in democratic political life. We will not lose sight of our common goal of a pluri-ethnic Kosovo.

Kosovo is an excellent example of the new quality of the cooperation between the United Nations and the OSCE as a distinct component within the overall framework of the United Nations Interim Administration.

A central goal of Austria's chairmanship of the OSCE is to give equal attention to current, and often long-standing, conflicts as well as to potential security risks. In the pursuit of this policy, we support the explicit goal of the OSCE to create a common security space. This implies a strong focus on the Caucasus region and on Central Asia. The OSCE effectively contributes to the alleviation of the suffering of the civilian population in this region, the promotion of political dialogue between warring parties and the monitoring of post-conflict arrangements through observer missions.

Conflict prevention is key to the work of the OSCE in Central Asia. During my most recent visit to the region, I obtained a first-hand impression of its security problems. In addition to the destabilizing effects of the precarious situation in Afghanistan, the Central Asian region faces manifold transnational threats, such as terrorism, organized crime, illegal arms and drug trafficking and the degradation of the environment, as well as violent extremism and religious fundamentalism.

The OSCE is well placed to support the Central Asian States in their common efforts to deal effectively with these multiple challenges to their security. It acts as a political catalyst supporting the efforts of other, specialized international actors. The international conference, jointly prepared by the OSCE Chairmanship and the United Nations Office for Drug Control and Crime Prevention, on the issues of drugs, organized crime and terrorism, to be held in Tashkent on 19 and 20 October is only one example.

I cannot but re-emphasize the importance of the human dimension in the work of the OSCE. In the course of this year we have focused our work on a number of abhorrent facets of civil unrest, such as children in armed conflict, the proliferation of small arms and the trafficking in human beings, particularly women and girls. It is in this context that I would like to highlight the recent adoption of a comprehensive Action Plan for Gender Issues, which will guide the OSCE in its commitment to advance equality between women and men and to protect the human rights of women and girls in the region.

If we analyse the profound changes that have occurred in the recent past, we note that the individual citizen has gained in prominence not only as an actor in our democratic societies, with growing responsibilities in relation to the social, environmental and economic sustainability of our development, but as a victim of new threats to security.

It is noteworthy that the United Nations, the Group of Eight and the OSCE have increasingly moved action against terrorism, drug abuse and crime to the top of their agendas. I am pleased to point out that the negotiations on a Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, which were held at United Nations Headquarters in Vienna over the past two years, led to a successful outcome in the course of this summer. We are confident that the three additional protocols -- on trafficking in and smuggling of persons as well as on trafficking in firearms -- will be concluded this fall. Austria, in any case, will strive for a rapid entry into force and implementation of these important legal instruments. We are pleased that the United Nations Centre for International Crime Prevention will serve as the secretariat for the Conference of the Parties. I stress that my country is ready to join forces with our partners in the developing world to counter organized crime in all its facets.

Thanks to the human development reports of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), our understanding of development has shifted from macro-economic statistics to a more human-centred concept, defining development as a process of broadening the spectrum of choice, both of the individual human being and of society at large. I am pleased that the Human Development Report 2000 underlines the interrelatedness between human development and human rights. In short, the Report concludes that human development is an essential precondition for the realization of human rights. Human rights, in turn, are an essential prerequisite for comprehensive human development.

If, however, we accept that most challenges to human security have a human rights dimension, we may wish to take a new and more operational look at the promotion and protection of human rights. How can we make our human rights regimes more effective in our societies? The Secretary-General has shown us the path to follow, saying:

"it is the poison of ignorance, all too frequently, that lies at the heart of human rights violations, knowledge provides an antidote". (Press release SG/SM/6829, 10 December 1998)

Ultimately, it will be citizens themselves who, through better knowledge, become the owners of their human rights.

It is in this context that I would like to point out the initiative taken by all women Ministers for Foreign Affairs present at the opening of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. We jointly launched an appeal to our fellow leaders in order to energize our common fight against the global scourge of HIV/AIDS, a scourge which increasingly affects women and girls. Our efforts to counter the HIV/AIDS pandemic must be multifaceted. They must encompass access to adequate medical care, drugs and social protection; they must encompass information and services available to girls and women to help them understand their sexual and reproductive rights in order to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancies and sexually transmitted diseases, including HIV/AIDS. This should be combined with the education of young men to respect women's self-determination and to share responsibility with women in matters of health, sexuality and reproduction.

The United Nations Decade for Human Rights Education, spanning the period 1995-2005, was unanimously adopted by this Assembly at its forty-ninth session. We have reached its mid-term and might therefore wish to give it new momentum. We clearly came to understand that human rights education and learning serve as strategies for development on the one hand and as preventive tools for human security on the other.

Following an initiative taken by Austria in the framework of the "Human Security Network" of Foreign Ministers, an International Workshop on Human Security and Human Rights Education was convened in Graz, Austria, early this year. Experts from all continents called for human rights education and learning as a common endeavour of governmental, intergovernmental and non-governmental institutions. They concluded that human rights education should go beyond formal education so as to encompass all forms of learning and different modes of socialization. Innovative human rights education must be participatory and operational, creative and empowering. It must address all levels of society. All citizens, in particular all persons in positions of leadership, must regard human rights standards as a yardstick when making decisions.

In this context, I applaud the initiatives taken in Africa, South Asia, Latin America and Europe to have municipalities proclaim themselves "Human Rights Cities". I am pleased to announce from this rostrum that the city of Graz will be the first "Human Rights City" in Europe.

While we affirm the universality of our human rights, human rights education and learning will have to be rooted in the rich cultural plurality of the world. In the diversity of learning processes we will better comprehend the common humanity we all share.

Why, it will be asked, do I raise the issue of human rights education and learning at the General Assembly of the United Nations? It is because I am convinced that in this strategic triangle with human security and human development, human rights are of profoundly political significance for the direction we take in our development.

As the acquisition of any political culture takes time, our efforts must be long-term and comprehensive. At the same time, there is a sense of urgency. This is why I appeal to the Assembly to give our efforts in this area a new momentum and new energy and direction. Lately civil society has pleaded for more political leadership in this field. We should be ready to respond and to develop new structures of partnership with civil society and with the institutions already active in the field at national, regional and international levels.

The global house of human rights must be built every day. It must be built by everyone and it must be owned by everyone. Only then will it be a house of prosperity, a house of freedom and a house of peace.

The Acting President

The next speaker is His Excellency Mr. Ural Latypov, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

Mr. Latypov (Belarus)

Let me first welcome Tuvalu as a new Member of the United Nations.

The current session of the General Assembly is an important landmark for the international community. We are still feeling the beat of the Millennium Summit. Our crucial task now is to seek specific ways to implement the provisions of its final Declaration.

In his address to the Summit, President Alyaksandr Lukashenka of Belarus clearly defined an ultimate objective, as we see it, for shaping the image of the United Nations in the twenty-first century, which is to meet the needs and aspirations of our respective nations and seek practical opportunities for real improvement of the quality of life of every single individual. This is the imperative that reality has been dictating to us. It is also the main thrust of the Secretary-General's report (A/54/2000) "We, the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century".

Belarus holds in high respect the unique historic role played by the United Nations in international developments of the second half of the twentieth century. As can be seen from all the Organization's previous experience, a stable, just and prosperous world can only be attained on the basis of the sovereign equality of States, their territorial integrity and political independence, non-interference in their internal affairs and respect for national traditions. Humanity has had to confront conflict and humanitarian stress every time those principles were disregarded. We believe that they will continue to be of similar importance in the next century.

Just as was the case 55 years ago, there is hardly a more pressing task for the United Nations than the maintenance of international peace. All Member States have equal rights to peaceful and sustainable development. Thus the security of no State, whether small island country or super-Power, can be achieved through disrespect for the interests of others.

The Republic of Belarus is committed to its choice of a nuclear-weapon-free world. We believe in the generosity and great meaning of the initiative by the head of our State to establish a nuclear-weapon-free space in Central and Eastern Europe. We are confident that in due time this idea will receive a sufficient number of proponents.

During this session Belarus has deposited its instruments for ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the additional Protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons. At the same time, a continuing absence of visible consensus within the United Nations on the key issues of the international disarmament process is becoming a dismaying reality. To exit this dead end would essentially require setting priorities and embarking upon an active dialogue aimed at achieving progress in both nuclear and conventional disarmament. Five million victims over the past decade -- is this not serious enough to make real action imperative?

It is crucial to maintain and consolidate the strategic global parity built under the complex conditions of the twentieth century. In this regard, preservation of and respect for the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty is a logical basis for the maintenance of international stability. Its violation could result in an extremely dangerous disruption of the established set of interdependent agreements in this area. The Republic of Belarus will again sponsor the resolution on the ABM Treaty during this session.

The time-span between the two most recent sessions of the General Assembly has been marked by the United Nations active involvement in the peaceful settlement of disputes, post-conflict peace-building and rehabilitation. We observe with satisfaction the actions taken by the Security Council, more resolutely and consistently than in the past, with respect to such complex situations as conflicts in Sierra Leone, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Angola and East Timor. My country has been following with hope the developments in the Middle East. We believe that the withdrawal of Israeli troops from Southern Lebanon and the Palestinian-Israeli peace talks will favour the resolution of the crisis in the region.

For over a quarter of a century attempts have been made to break a stalemate in the settlement of the Cyprus problem. It is crucial that the United Nations continue its work to resolve this crisis on the basis of the appropriate resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly.

The development of specific preventive measures for the elimination of root causes of potential conflicts should be the focus of United Nations attention in the near future. It is important to make irreversible the growing trend in international efforts to define universal mechanisms and specify practical measures of conflict prevention and crisis management. The activities of the Panel of experts headed by Ambassador Brahimi, in addition to the upcoming Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, are an important contribution thereto.

As the Secretary-General has rightly observed, the very credibility of the Organization as regards playing a decisive role in the war and peace process is at stake. In this respect, the Republic of Belarus has been and remains firmly committed to the preservation of the primary role played by the Security Council in decision-making on actions to avert threats to peace and security. Viewed from that perspective, further improvement in the working methods of the Council and reform of its membership on the basis of equitable geographic representation are not merely an important task, but a pressing imperative.

Belarus reconfirms its determination to constructively contribute to the activities of the Council should my country be elected as a non-permanent member for the period 2002-2003.

The tremendous benefits of globalization will be reduced to nothing unless there is a clear understanding of the dire need for the international community to learn a common language -- that is, the language of law. In recent years we have witnessed practical demonstrations of situations in which even the slightest deviation from internationally accepted norms would inevitably present an extreme danger not only for the violators themselves, but also for the entire international community. It is an encouraging fact that since its outset the United Nations has gained significant potential by accumulating all the far-reaching ideas, hopes and aspirations of humankind for building a better world.

Implementing the norms of international law at the national level should become a priority for the United Nations and its partners. Today my country is a party to the United Nations most important conventions and treaties. The establishment of a legislative model based on the United Nations Charter and international treaties and conventions, complemented by national legislation, is the objective we must all strive for.

The stability of the interdependent world is hardly attainable when the system of international politics is perceived solely as the domination of one State or interaction among separate groups of States. Differences in social and economic advancement will persist for a long time. Therefore, in a globalizing world the United Nations should play a more active role in promoting the economic development and social progress of all countries.

Belarus supports a sharper focus in international efforts on the problems of the developing countries, particularly in Africa. We also deem it expedient to take into account the needs of countries with economies in transition, which would by no means soften the focus on the problems of the developing world. We see no contradiction in such an interlinkage, as appropriate goals and objectives to this end could only be formulated jointly with the United Nations.

The Republic of Belarus shares the apprehensions expressed by many States over the environmental future of our planet. In this regard, we perceive as highly indicative the debates at the Millennium Summit and at the Summit meeting of the Security Council. Belarus has signed and ratified a number of important international agreements in the area of environmental protection, including the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Convention on Biological Diversity.

Against this background, we continue to be acutely sensitive to the ever-diminishing interest by the international community in the Chernobyl disaster, the world's largest technological catastrophe of the past century, to which Belarus fell a major victim. In this regard, I should like to quote once more from the address by the President of our country at the Millennium Summit:

"Without awareness of our joint responsibility for preserving the common human environment, all discussions of a fair distribution of the benefits and disadvantages of globalization will remain just shallow talk." (A/55/PV.4)

We are confident that the United Nations, which has so far contributed significantly to assisting our people in the relevant area, will be in a position to find new sources and mechanisms to help Belarus overcome the Chernobyl tragedy.

The ideas of democracy and respect for human rights can certainly play a key role in continuous human development in the twenty-first century. Yet to make this goal attainable, it is essential to relinquish attempts to use those principles to discriminate among peoples and "punish" unwelcome States and Governments. Regrettably, we must note a certain involvement by the United Nations in efforts to establish a "club of countries of advanced democracy" on the basis of some random criteria. It is inadmissible that the idea of the forum of new and restored democracies approved within our Organization should lead to the separation of peoples into teachers and pupils.

The principle standpoint of Belarus on this issue is the following: a truly democratic world can only be based on an equal dialogue among different civilizations.

This year is of special significance to the development of democracy in my country. Parliamentary elections due in October will be held in full conformity with democratic standards. We have invited international observers to monitor the elections and look forward to seeing them carried out and contributing in real terms to democratic development in Belarus.

Each session of the United Nations General Assembly is a milestone in the evolution of the United Nations itself and the development of the system of international politics as a whole. In that sense, the current session has been endowed with very special powers. It is up to us all to determine how much the United Nations will be able to show that the hopes and aspirations of our nations at the dawn of the new century were justified. In the discharge of these noble duties, the international community can invariably count on a due contribution by the Republic of Belarus.

The Acting President

The next speaker is His Excellency Mr. Juan Esteban Aguirre Martínez, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Paraguay.

Mr. Aguirre Martínez (Paraguay)

Before I begin, I should like to make a personal comment. As a former official of the United Nations Population Fund, I should like to express my great pride and personal satisfaction at being able to speak to the Assembly today and to address those countries with which I have worked, together with my other colleagues in the United Nations. All of us, of course, share a hope that our dream of a better world will come true.

It is a great source of satisfaction to see the President preside over the work of this Assembly, familiar as I am with his great personal and professional skills, which guarantee the success of our work. I should also like to express to his predecessor, Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, our gratitude and recognition of the efficient work he has done. Similarly, I would like to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for the detailed report on the work of the Organization that he has presented. It describes the important work carried out by the United Nations over the past year as well as the challenges for the future.

I should also like to express on behalf of my Government our pleasure at the entry of Tuvalu as a new Member of our Organization. This is an important step forward along the road of universality, which is the aspiration we all share.

The recently concluded Millennium Summit was a useful instrument for reflection by our Heads of State upon the present and future of the Organization. This Organization must adapt its structures and mechanisms for action to the new challenges facing humanity. I am certain that the numerous suggestions that have been made will help establish clear lines of action so the United Nations can operate more efficiently and effectively.

At the last summit of the Rio Group, which took place in Cartagena de Indias, Colombia, the Heads of State who comprise this political consultation mechanism endorsed the Cartagena Declaration as our singular contribution to the Millennium Summit and to the future of the United Nations. It is our intention to ensure appropriate follow-up to the initiatives and aspirations expressed in this document in order to make certain that they become a reality in the future for the benefit of all humanity in terms of democracy, trade flows, better dynamics in international relations in terms of human security and the pursuit of multilateral solutions.

I fully agree with the Secretary-General of our Organization when he says that the conclusion of one century and the turn of the millennium provide us with a unique vantage point for reflecting upon our common destiny. Fifty-five years have passed since the creation of the United Nations, and during that period we have seen many auspicious as well as many worrying events. Let us pause for a moment and think about all the good that we have done and the good that we have failed to do, as well as upon what we have done wrong or should not have done.

The conclusion of the cold war, of which this Organization was one of the most important theatres, seemed to herald a period of peace and prosperity for humanity, in fulfilment of the Biblical mandate to beat our swords into plowshares. Nevertheless, humanity is still facing terrible threats, not only to its security -- because war and violence persist in new and more sophisticated forms -- but also threats to its very existence, in light of the prospect that our planet may become uninhabitable as a result of human activities.

Consequently, in the new millennium the United Nations will be equally if not more important than it was in the previous millennium. Our Organization must of course adapt to new times. The reform of our Organization cannot be postponed any further. The structures of its main organs must adapt to the new characteristics of the international community, with the increasing number of nations which belong to it. We must adapt to the increasing role of civil society, the spread of the system of representative democracy, the globalization of our world markets and the intolerable persistence of serious social deficits in most of our States.

In particular, our Organization must adapt so that our efforts towards development are rendered appropriate for each individual wherever he or she may live and wherever his or her community may be located, and wherever we want to see our families grow.

The human being as the centre of development will continue to be at the centre of our mandate, as well as the commitments assumed by each and every one of our countries at summits of the United Nations over the past decade. The efforts made by each man, woman or child to take advantage of the opportunities offered by global markets and new economic trends is first and foremost a local and community effort and secondly a national effort, which can create opportunities for growth and ensure participation for each man and each woman.

The reorganization of the United Nations, and in particular its system of development, must ensure that it can respond creatively and flexibly to these community and national efforts. This will make it possible progressively to improve for each individual daily access to health, education, sanitation services, technology and reasonable credit, as well as the equitable participation of women in productive activities. In that way, we can ensure the integration of all our citizens into the global market and make certain they can benefit from this process.

It is vital that the cooperation activities of the United Nations be well structured and have a real impact on our populations, in particular women, children and adolescents. It is essential that these activities create an environment of national dialogue in each of our countries with a view to harmonizing views on development and creating consensus on the means for achieving growth, in order to give true meaning to social and productive investments and to meet the qualitative demands of civil society.

National consensus must necessarily be the basis for global consensus, and today more than ever it must be the basis for consensus among integrated groups that wish to negotiate with each other. However, a reorganized and renewed United Nations, in the ultimate analysis, must be the guarantor of the well-being of each of our citizens. The United Nations exists so that all of our citizens can benefit from new trends in trade, development and technology in order to achieve growth as individuals and as families and to improve their quality of life and feel that they live in a better world where their sons and daughters will be able to continue to grow, in peace.

Turning to another subject, we are concerned about the delay in the adoption of a decision about the future composition of the Security Council, because we feel that its enlargement cannot be postponed. Its composition must become more equitable and representative and allow for a better political balance. This gradual process of democratization must begin with an increase in both categories of members, permanent and non-permanent, and it should also include both developed and developing countries. Special attention should be given to the fact that the developing countries are now under-represented in that very important body. Paraguay also believes that this reform should include the gradual elimination of the veto rights of the permanent members.

We welcome the Brahimi report, which establishes a valid framework for the reform and strengthening of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Paraguay has always supported such operations as a fundamental mechanism contributing to world peace and security.

I should also like to refer to the regular budget of the Organization, in connection with the aspirations of some developed countries to reduce their contributions to a lower percentage. We believe that this should not mean that the assessed contributions of developing countries would increase to unprecedented percentages, even though the figures involved may seem to others modest or insignificant. It is paradoxical that some developed countries would have their contributions reduced precisely when they are enjoying excellent economic growth, while other countries that are experiencing difficulties would see an increase in their contributions.

It is in this context that we must seriously study the scale of assessments so that when we adopt it this year we will achieve a fair and equitable distribution of the financial burden of this Organization. We hope that together we will find balanced solutions and equitable formulas and timetables for redistributing the budgetary burden so that we can promote and reactivate the participation of large and small States in our Organization.

International relations have acquired a new dimension as a result of the revolution in computer technology, telecommunications and communications in general. The effect of this is what we call globalization, which has both positive and negative consequences. On the one hand it has produced a change in the consciousness of human beings, who for the first time feel they are part of a whole -- that is, of humanity in its entirety. On the other hand, it has increased the divide between the poorest countries and the more advanced countries owing to the advantages accruing to those that are better prepared for the dismantling of national barriers. In these conditions, solidarity takes on a new urgency. It is an act of justice for those peoples who see all their potential progress subordinated to this process.

In this regard, we fully agree with recent statements made by the representative of the Holy See during the special session of the General Assembly on social development, to the effect that the benefits of great scientific advances must be shared by all peoples and should not be enjoyed exclusively by the few. Otherwise we will merely be perpetuating differences and widening the gap between rich and poor countries.

We know that decades of development assistance under past conditions have not succeeded very well in eradicating poverty and cultural backwardness in vast regions of the world. Nevertheless, this should not become a pretext for reducing the amount of development assistance, especially multilateral assistance, nor should we see any increase in conditionality. We believe fully in the multilateral approach, and we should totally reject conditionality when determining how to provide development assistance. Nor do we wish to justify the lack of good governance in many nations, which has meant in some cases that efforts were wasted to a great extent and only fuelled corruption and caused the loss of age-old, noble traditional practices.

In the recent elections for the vice-presidency of the Republic, my country demonstrated once again the preference of our region for representative democracy. In the elections, which all observers considered exemplary because of the discipline, civic spirit and participation shown by the citizens, we saw the election of the opposition candidate, of the radical liberal party, Mr. Julio César Franco. The fact that two parties, until now adversaries, can share power is far from negative. Rather, it constitutes an opportunity to establish lasting political stability through the establishment of a Government of national unity that can efficiently foster the institutional and economic reforms needed in our country in order to achieve sustained progress.

I would like to take this opportunity to express our gratitude -- to the international community, to our friends in the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Rio Group, the European Union and the Organization of American States, and to the United States of America, Japan, the Republic of China and other countries around the world -- for their constant support for our process of democratization. I would like to say to all of them that thanks to their efforts Paraguay is continuing along the road to democratic growth.

We are certain that the spread of democracy and the increasing exercise of its freedoms by peoples will bring greater effectiveness to our State institutions in the short term. This, together with the increasing role of the private sector, can create fertile ground for investment and the transformation of productive activities in a large part of the world, leading to a reduction in unemployment and poverty.

International cooperation, for its part, must establish clear priorities and offer what each of us needs. It cannot be simply humanitarian aid, although humanitarian aid is fully justified in emergency situations. Instead, international cooperation should be aimed at the integral, sustainable development of peoples. These are two words that are used and misused -- "integral" and "sustainable". When we say "integral", we understand it to mean that aid must try to come to grips with the entire set of development problems of each country and of each individual, in order to guarantee respect for human rights -- not only political rights but also economic and social rights; and merely partial solutions should not be offered.

When we say "sustainable" we mean that assistance must not become an addiction for the beneficiaries. It should empower them to continue along the road to progress relying on their own efforts and should guarantee growth for future generations.

Combating poverty means building peace. The security of the world must be based on the elimination of the underlying causes of violence, two of the principal causes being ignorance and poverty. This does not exempt us, however, from taking effective measures to limit the use of the instruments of violence, from their most deadly form, such as weapons of mass destruction, to the more conventional, including small arms. In the latter case, my country supports the initiative to establish an international legal instrument with specific measures to check the illegal trade in such weapons.

The preservation of our natural environment is a great source of concern and a subject for reflection. Paraguay, like many other developing countries, gives extremely high priority in its national policies to preserving the integrity and diversity of our natural heritage, handed on by our ancestors. This is not only because on it depends our current and future wealth, but also because we are fully aware of our grave responsibility to all humanity, since we are the guardians of resources needed for its very survival.

Paraguay reaffirms its resolve to continue respecting and implementing the principles established in Agenda 21. In this regard, we attach high priority to the participation of the States parties in the legal framework developed during the implementation phase of the Agenda. With great pride I report that Paraguay is a fully fledged party to the most important international agreements on the environment.

In this area, finally, it is important to mention the need to come to grips with the grave problem of the unsustainable use of water resources. It is necessary to intensify scientific cooperation and research in order to reduce the effects of environmental disasters, both natural and man-made.

We believe that an equitable and fair trade system is vital for our development. In this regard, we reject any intent to perpetuate protectionist measures in the developed countries, particularly subsidies for agricultural production and exports, as well as the use of technical regulations as trade barriers against manufactured products. We claim our right to free access to the world's markets for those goods in which we are competitive.

On this occasion, as we highlight the importance of reaffirming our commitment to this Organization, I believe it is appropriate to stress the essential role that the international legal framework can play in the achievement of our common objectives. In this regard, the Government of Paraguay has paid special attention to the invitation by the Secretary-General to all Member States to take advantage of this opportunity to strengthen our support for the international legal framework by signing, ratifying or acceding to treaties deposited with him that bear a special relationship to the spirit and objectives of the Charter of the United Nations.

In this respect, I am very pleased to announce that on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Paraguay I have signed the following international instruments: the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child -- on the involvement of children in armed conflict, and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography; the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families; and the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination. I should also note that the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, of which Paraguay was one of the first signatories, is in the process of parliamentary approval.

I conclude by reaffirming the conviction of my country's firm belief in the United Nations, which is more necessary than ever in order to meet the great challenges of peace and development, which, despite significant progress, continue to be an urgent need of a great part of humanity.

The Acting President

The next speaker is His Excellency Mr. Li Hyong Chol, Chairman of the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea.

Mr. Li Hyong Chol (Democratic People's Republic of Korea)

On behalf of the delegation of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, I should like first of all to congratulate Mr. Harri Holkeri on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session. I believe that the present session will produce the desired results under his leadership. I pay tribute to his predecessor Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, who made a great contribution to the successful conclusion of the fifty-fourth session. I wish also to express our great appreciation for the efforts made by Secretary-General Kofi Annan to strengthen the role of the United Nations.

The central role of the United Nations in the new century should be to establish international relations and order to make the new century independent, peaceful and prosperous. No country can either defend its national dignity or achiev