General Assembly Session 55 meeting 27

The President

I give the floor to His Excellency the Honourable Elvin Nimrod, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Grenada.

Mr. Nimrod (Grenada)

My delegation greets and congratulates you, Sir, for presiding over the deliberations of the fifty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly -- the Millennium Assembly.

We pay tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the distinguished Foreign Minister of Namibia, for his effective and dynamic conduct of the fifty-fourth session of the United Nations General Assembly, including the preparations for the Millennium Summit and the President's Report.

Congratulations are also extended to our distinguished Secretary-General, who with great vision conceptualized the Millennium Summit, the execution of which was a great triumph for the United Nations.

A hearty welcome is extended to the small sovereign State of Tuvalu, as it joins the family of nations.

The Millennium Summit and this fifty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly are historic events that provide a unique opportunity to view humanity's progress and face the challenges before us.

Indeed, the Summit Declaration sets out a global vision for the twenty-first century. My delegation welcomes the inclusion of commitments to fight poverty, disease, ignorance, injustice, violence and degradation of the environment, among others.

In the matter of poverty and disease, the United Nations must address the inequalities that exist around the world. In this twenty-first century, more than 1.2 billion people live on less than one dollar a day. Millions of children and the elderly go to bed hungry. Disease and sickness wreak havoc on the lives of children, men and women. Today the HIV/AIDS pandemic cuts short the lives of millions of people who could be making useful and productive contributions to our world.

Trade is vital to the livelihood of Grenadians. For the banana-exporting countries of the Caribbean subregion, which includes Grenada, the export of bananas accounts for a significant percentage of foreign exchange. However, our economies are threatened by the callous ruling of the World Trade Organization (WTO) against the European Union banana regime of assistance to our small growers.

Our struggling farmers, with limited acreage, find it difficult, if not impossible, to compete with a transnational corporation. Our farmers need an adjustment period in order to effect the requisite structural changes needed by the new trade regime. We look to the United Nations to call upon the WTO to take into consideration the special structural problems faced by the small banana producers of the Caribbean.

We call for corporate responsibility. We appeal for measures to encourage the sustainability of small economies and economies in transition. We urge a more equitable global partnership.

You may recall that the Heads of State and Government, including the Prime Minister of Grenada, stressed recently in this very hall the urgency of releasing poor developing countries from their debt burden. The leaders expressed an interest in finding new approaches and new thinking with respect to this problem. A solution should be vigorously pursued with deliberate speed.

Debt forgiveness is not a financial loss to the global economy. Rather, it provides an opportunity for stimulation in the depressed and stagnant parts of the world's economy. Investing the dividends realized by debt forgiveness in the economy of the debtor developing countries -- especially the least developed and those with economies in transition -- would be a major investment in global development.

Another area that needs urgent and immediate assistance from the international community is that of natural disasters. The costly restoration of infrastructure and rehabilitation of the productive sectors, especially agriculture and tourism, and the high cost of recovering and rebuilding make the attainment of sustainable development a monumental task.

My delegation calls upon the United Nations and its agencies, the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank and other international agencies, as well as the private and public sectors in global partnership, including the Global Compact, to contribute to a well-structured disaster relief fund, a relief fund that can respond quickly and effectively.

A large percentage of the needs of the developing countries in the Caribbean subregion and elsewhere can be met. We look forward to positive developments envisaged from globalization, trade liberalization, information technology and sustainable development. These and other well-conceived programmes must be seriously pursued. Lip service is not enough.

As the Secretary-General noted in his report to the fifty-fifth General Assembly on the work of the Organization: "To some, globalization is imbued with great promise; to others, it appears deeply threatening." (A/55/1, para. 13)

The international community must help to ensure that the have-nots are on board this fast-moving train of globalization. All Member States need to share in the opportunities provided by globalization. This would act as a vehicle for international peace and economic security.

Removing some of the barriers to trade and capital flow are prerequisites to successful reduction of poverty and disease in the developing countries. This can be mutually beneficial to developed and developing countries.

Trade has been the engine of economic growth and development from the days of bartering to the present day of e-commerce and globalization. We therefore regard the unilateral interference in our offshore services sector as an attempt to hinder our trade in services and our role in the global economy.

In that connection, my delegation recalls the words of my Prime Minister about the unfair charges levelled against our offshore financial-services sector.

"A cartel of high-tax nations, comprising the richest and most powerful countries, has launched a destructive and high-powered attack on our country, accusing us of anti-competitive tax practices. Threats, imperialistic pressures and abuse of power in multilateral organizations are being used to force many small States, including Grenada, to give up our fiscal sovereignty. They have used adverse publicity techniques deliberately to condemn and harm our economies. They have threatened various sanctions, sought to block access to capital funds in multinational organizations and to impose financial protectionism and total ostracism."

That is fiscal imperialism. It tramples on the principle of sovereign equality. It is contrary to international law, and it undermines freedom of competition, global investment and trade liberalization.

The role of education in poverty alleviation, in the application of science and technology and in the vast area of information sharing and communications is vital. The Government of Grenada, recognizing the social, cultural and economic potential of education, is investing an increasing proportion of its limited resources to prepare its people to participate in, and benefit from, the information and technology revolution. Towards that end, the Government of Grenada is seeking the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, the World Bank and agencies and donors of goodwill to establish a new programme of distance learning by means of global computer interconnectivity.

Grenada attaches great importance to the convening in 2001 of the United Nations High-level Intergovernmental Event on Financing for Development. My delegation welcomes the attempt to address monetary, trade and financial issues in a holistic manner and in the context of globalization and sustainable development. The international community should not miss this opportunity to focus attention and resources on the pursuit of development, peace and stability.

And here, my delegation reaffirms that the root cause of conflict within nations and among nations can be found in some of the injustice done to the weaker members of the international community by the stronger ones. Unless the basics of life -- food, clothing, shelter, health and employment -- are attained, human rights and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be meaningless to those who suffer such extreme deprivations. This is especially so in the context of economic, social and cultural rights, which are downplayed in favour of civil and political rights. Since all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interrelated, attention to the full range of rights will contribute better to the observance and enjoyment of this noble goal.

I join my Prime Minister in paying tribute to, and publicly thanking, the Government and the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan for the assistance given to Grenada with respect to agriculture, marine resources, education, health, culture and infrastructure. The friendship and sincerity of the Republic of China on Taiwan have been a source of strength and endurance for our two countries. 1t is in this spirit that Grenada calls once more for the return of the Republic of China on Taiwan to full membership of the United Nations. A people that diligently works to achieve such high levels of human and technological development and a people that makes such positive contributions to the global economy must become a full Member of this great organization, the United Nations.

Finally, we must seek to ensure that the Organization is responsive to the ever-changing global environment. Let us ensure that we address the needs of our peoples. And let us move forward with a United Nations that is prepared to fuel the engine that would bring about more equitable participation in the global community. Let us always put people first and be guided by God.

The President

I now give the floor to the acting Minister for Foreign Affairs of Afghanistan, His Excellency Mr. Abdullah Abdullah.

Mr. Abdullah (Afghanistan)

On my way to the Assembly Hall, I was informed by the Supreme State Council of the Islamic State of Afghanistan that in a self-evident act of aggression hundreds of Pakistani military personnel -- army, plain-clothes personnel and armed Taliban -- are reported to have been positioned in the Shah Salim pass dividing the Pakistan border town of Chitral from north-eastern Afghanistan, bound for an attack on Badakhshan province.

On behalf of my delegation, I take this opportunity to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the major task of presiding over the important millennium session of the General Assembly. I would also like to congratulate the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Namibia, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, on his excellent leadership of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, which set the stage for the Millennium Summit.

Three years ago, I stood before the Assembly and stated from this very rostrum that, as the crisis in Afghanistan continued to unfold, we had to ask, and answer, important questions. At the time, I spoke of the dark and ominous movement known as the Taliban, which, backed by cross-border troops, had invaded Afghanistan. This year, at its millennium session, the General Assembly indeed has to answer major questions. One among many is the silence the world has chosen to keep in dealing with the Taliban and their Pakistani supporters. With the spread of Talibanism, which has led to the abject misery of the Afghan nation, massive insurgency and turmoil in the region and beyond, is it not high time that the international community put a stop to the Pakistani-operated Taliban processing machine? Certainly, mere rhetoric and inadequate reactions are not enough. It is with this view that I should like to focus my statement entirely on the situation in Afghanistan and its devastating regional and international implications, within the given time limit.

A question arises: what has been the result of the Talibanization of the occupied parts of Afghanistan? In an age of information and globalization, it has been a reign of terror imposed by a religious police, abuse in the name of religion, the elimination of all freedoms and civil liberties, massive violations of human rights, degrading and tormenting treatment of men and women, trafficking of women and girls, the forced separation of women from their menfolk, the random and deliberate round-up of individuals based on their ethnic and religious origins, the practice of scorched-earth policy, the torching and total obliteration of farmlands, orchards and other means of livelihood, the contamination of water resources, the forcible dispatch of children and adults to the battlefields, the removal of all but rudimentary religious education -- for male students only -- with the closure of all schools for females, the deliberate denial of access to humanitarian aid, the intensification of battles, an exacerbation of the situation, widespread terrorism and the destruction of the historical heritage and artefacts of Afghanistan in order to alienate the Afghan nation from its ancestry and historical identity.

The objective of the Pakistani military intelligence establishment, known as Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), through the imposition of the so-called Islamic Emirate of the Taliban, has been to create instability in Central and South Asia by means of terrorism. This "Islamic Emirate" has instituted Mullah Omar, the militia's leader, as the undisputed Amir-ul-Mo'mineen, meaning "Commander of the faithful" not only in Afghanistan, but in theory throughout the Muslim world.

The process the Pakistani military intelligence has chosen for the realization of its objective is to transform the Afghan nation into an exhausted, devastated, illiterate, ignorant and destitute nation struggling hard for mere survival. Pakistan wants to turn Afghanistan into its false front to mask illicit activities of narcotics trafficking, terrorism and other crimes, as well as religious extremism, by establishing centres and bases for such activities. Attempting to act as the champion of the Muslim world, Pakistan continues to carry out these activities under the name of Islam. It is therefore not a matter of astonishment that such activities have led to the defamation of both the noble religion of Islam and the image of Muslims throughout the world.

In short, the Afghan nation has become the direct victim of the diabolic dreams of the Pakistani military's hegemonic interests in the region. These diabolic dreams are pursued by the Pakistani military intelligence, ISI, an evil and extremist institution, while the implied risk and perilous consequences for the very survival of Pakistan as a State in the future are overlooked.

As the world is gradually awakening to the creeping Taliban threat, it is a matter of dismay that some "civilized" nations, on certain occasions, have preferred to deal with the reclusive and defiant Taliban, an entity which has failed to meet the minimum standard of being considered civilized, while having championed terrorism, human rights violations and crimes against humanity. It is no surprise that only Pakistan's military junta has continuously given its full blessing to the movement.

At least until early May of this year, the official position of Pakistan, from what its diplomats and officials strangely claimed, was that it maintained contacts with both parties to the conflict. However, Pakistan's News Network International (NNI) news agency reported on 25 May 2000 that General Pervez Musharraf claimed that Pakistan's pro-Taliban policy was "in accordance with Pakistan's national interest." Advocating that Pashtoons should be on the side of Pakistan, the General was quoted as saying, "We have a national security interest, both demographic and geographic." He further stated that in the realization of this security interest, "Pashtoons should be on our side and they", meaning Pashtoons, "are represented by Taliban."

The world must know that in a flagrant violation of recognized international norms and principles and in clear contempt of the United Nations Charter, the ruler of the Pakistani military junta, under the outrageous pretext of national security interest, has claimed the right to impose a certain ethnic group through the invocation of an ethnically provocative mandate at the cost of the sovereignty and political independence of Afghanistan, a Member of the United Nations and, prior to that, of the League of Nations, long before Pakistan was even born.

It is important to remember that terrorist training camps operating from the Taliban-held territories of Afghanistan, including those established by the infamous Osama bin Laden, whose dismantling has been repeatedly called for by the United Nations and the entire international community, have been established by Pakistan's military intelligence through the Taliban mercenaries and other extremist networks. They continue to utilize these territories as a ground for training, sheltering, planning and dispatching elements seeking to commit hostile acts against countries of the region and beyond. This is done under the guise of Islam, but, in fact, it is mainly in pursuit of Pakistani hegemonistic objectives directed towards Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics. Recent events and activities by extremist groups in Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan are manifest examples of the spillover of the Pakistan/Taliban-supported agenda in the region.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan believes it is high time that the Security Council, in accordance with relevant resolutions, undertook appropriate enforcement measures against Pakistan, which is the prime source of sponsorship of these activities.

The Security Council, in its unanimously adopted resolution 1267 of 15 October 1999, explicitly demanded that the Taliban mercenaries refrain from sheltering, supporting and training terrorists and planning terrorist acts from Afghan soil against other countries and that it extradite to the requesting States those indicted for committing international acts of terrorism.

The recent upsurge of terrorist activities in Central Asian countries and beyond, emanating from the Taliban-occupied parts of Afghanistan, requires drastic measures by the Security Council against the militia and its Pakistani supporters. The consideration of the imposition of further targeted sanctions and the expansion of the scope of resolution 1267 (1999), which must include the end of terrorist activities in all forms and manifestations in the Taliban-held parts of Afghanistan, could adequately, among other things, serve the cause of peace and security in the region.

Here I would like to welcome the proposal by the Republic of Uzbekistan for convening an international conference, at the earliest possible time, to debate the evil phenomenon of terrorism.

In spite of the current devastating drought in Afghanistan -- the most severe in 30 years -- Afghanistan remains the leading producer of narcotics. The production of illicit drugs, and their trafficking by the Taliban and the politico-military mafia of Pakistan, account for considerable revenue, which is used to finance the prolonged war in Afghanistan. This leads to considerable transnational organized crime, while adding to the number of addicts, both at home and abroad.

Among the many deliberate violations and instances of absolute disregard for international humanitarian law and the numerous crimes against humanity committed by the Taliban and their outside supporters in the year 2000, one could mention the following cases: the cold-blooded killing on 11 May of 198 young Uzbek and Hazara men imprisoned as hostages in Taliban jails; the brutal killing on 5 August of the United Nations mine-clearance employees affiliated with the Organization for Mine Clearance and Afghan Rehabilitation; the deliberate denial of access to humanitarian aid that, according to the European Union, in the light of the devastating drought constituted a breach of international humanitarian law; the forced blood-drawing and organ removal of innocent civilians along the Tagab-Nijrab route in August; the forced deportation of the civilian populations of the city of Aibak on 31 July 2000; the closing down in August, as part of the ongoing four-year campaign by the Taliban to keep women from working, of all bakeries run by the United Nations World Food Programme in which widows were paid to make bread that was then sold at a subsidized price to other widows, who number at least 25,000 in Kabul alone; the indiscriminate aerial bombardment of civilian neighbourhoods at Taloqan on 15 August; and the forcible displacement of hundreds of thousands of people throughout the north due to renewed Taliban military onslaughts.

We believe that the commission of those heinous crimes by the Taliban militia was largely attributable to the lack of adequate response by the Security Council and the international community to bring to justice the perpetrators and others involved in incidents at Bamyan in 1997, at Mazar-e-Sharif and Bamyan in 1998, in the north of Kabul in 1999, and in the killings of Iranian diplomats, a journalist and the military adviser to the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA) in 1998.

It is significant to note that the Taliban continue to deprive women of their fundamental rights, including the right to education, which affects over 100,000 female students in Kabul alone. Women are still barred from employment by the Taliban. While the predictable results will speak for themselves, present and future female generations of Afghanistan will be illiterate. The cultural and social impact of that criminal act on the country's future generations will be enormous.

Pakistani military intervention in Afghanistan is a fact well known to the international community. The hundreds of Pakistani prisoners captured while fighting alongside the Taliban and now in the custody of the Government; the mortal remains of hundreds of Pakistanis in the battlefields and the documents and identification cards obtained from their pockets; the intercepted radio transmissions; and the massive logistical support and the overt supply of large quantities of military hardware and ammunition, all prove the direct involvement of Pakistani army personnel in Afghanistan. In fact, Brigadier General Rustam of Pakistan's armed forces, who is currently stationed in Afghanistan's Kunduz province, commands the Pakistani-Taliban-bin Laden operations in the north. He has been assisted by two of bin Laden's henchmen, Abu Wara and Hubab. All of them were involved in the recent occupation of Taloqan and in the atrocities committed against the civilian population. It is important to mention that the November/December issue of Foreign Affairs magazine has estimated the total number of Pakistanis having fought in Afghanistan since 1994 to be in excess of 80,000.

A breakdown of Pakistani nationals fighting in Afghanistan include the following: Pakistani armed contingents, including units from the North-West Frontier Corps and different commando units, have actively participated in battles on various occasions; Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) officers involved in the planning and command and control of both intelligence operations and logistical support; ex-commissioned officers in charge of tactical operations, artillery support and logistics; frontier militia units; paramilitary members of extremist terrorist groups affiliated with the ISI, such as the Sipah-e-Sahaaba, the Sepah-e-Tayeba, the Harakat-ul-Ansar and so on; and the so-called volunteers from Pakistani madrassas, or religious schools.

Other categories of foreign fighters in Afghanistan include Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda group and its affiliated units from around the Persian Gulf, the Middle East and Africa, and extremist groups from Central Asia, South Asia and the Far East. In addition, thousands of Afghan refugees who were educated and trained in Pakistani religious schools are dispatched to the battlefronts of Afghanistan. Finally, there are conscripted and forcibly recruited persons from around Afghanistan who are deployed as canon fodder.

In this context, the Islamic State of Afghanistan appeals to the Security Council to mandate the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan to dispatch an investigation team to Afghanistan to verify and report to the Security Council on the presence of Pakistani armed men and Arab fighters who are working shoulder-to-shoulder with the Taliban mercenaries. This would break the silence that has thus far encouraged further Pakistani intervention in Afghanistan.

I should like to remind the Assembly that only those Afghans conscripted and forcibly recruited will be immune from prosecution by the Islamic State of Afghanistan for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. The rest shall be subject to indictment.

One must conclude that the failure of the Jeddah indirect negotiations in particular, and of other peace initiatives at large, derive from the sad reality that peace has no place in the Taliban agenda.

While striving for the realization of noble human values and principles -- the institution of a democratic system, the observance of human rights, including those of women and girls, civil liberties and elections -- the Islamic State of Afghanistan reiterates its firm position to strive to reach a peaceful settlement of the conflict and hereby declares its full readiness for the formation of a broad-based, multi-ethnic and fully representative Government through a workable mechanism such as the traditional grand assembly, or loya jirgah, or any other representative forum under the auspices of the United Nations. Meanwhile, as long as Pakistan continues to directly and massively intervene in the internal affairs of Afghanistan, the Islamic State of Afghanistan considers the task of defending the territorial integrity, national unity and political independence of Afghanistan its immediate priority.

The Islamic State of Afghanistan has high expectations that the United Nations and the international community will exert pressure on Pakistan to immediately cease its intervention in Afghanistan and to withdraw all its military personnel and armed nationals from Afghanistan; that the Security Council will address the question of foreign intervention, the existence of terrorist networks in Afghanistan and the effective implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions; that the Organization of the Islamic Conference will clarify its view of the Taliban's words and deeds -- spoken and carried out in the name of Islam -- which we believe distort, and are contrary to, the true spirit of Islam, its tenets and injunctions; that the United Nations Drug Control Programme will assist the Islamic State of Afghanistan in the fight against the production and trafficking of illicit drugs; that the United Nations and the international community will step up their efforts for an early and peaceful settlement of the Afghan conflict; and that the international community will provide humanitarian assistance to the war-stricken and drought-hit civilian population of Afghanistan. Here I should like to mention that the current drought, the most severe in 30 years, will have tremendous humanitarian repercussions.

We remain thankful for the statements made by the heads of delegation at the Millennium Summit and in the General Assembly expressing their legitimate concerns over the dangers emanating from the Pakistani Taliban-occupied territories of Afghanistan.

We deeply appreciate and support the indefatigable efforts of Mr. Francesc Vendrell, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Afghanistan and head of the United Nations Special Mission to Afghanistan (UNSMA), who has left no stone unturned, and no party to the conflict or countries concerned out of communication, in finding a peaceful solution to the Afghan conflict.

I should like to conclude by stating that the United Nations cannot embark on the new millennium without appropriately addressing the issues enshrined in its Charter, among others, the question of non-interference. Neither can this international body advocate globalization in its true sense when Talibanization is threatening regional stability in our part of the world. Certainly the Pakistani military junta will remain the prime actor in this dreadful and immense tragedy in Asia.

Like many others afflicted with the Taliban plague, we wonder how far the evil threat of Talibanism will spread, how many more souls it will bury and how many new borders it must cross before the conscience of the international community is awakened, not just to consider but to adopt immediate and drastic preventive measures.

The Acting President

I give the floor to Mr. Mohammed Said Al-Sahaf, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Iraq.

Mr. Al-Sahaf (Iraq)

It is my pleasure to congratulate Mr. Harri Holkeri on his assumption of the presidency of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly, and I should like to convey to him our best wishes for a successful accomplishment of his tasks. I should also like to express our high esteem to his predecessor, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Namibia, who conducted the work of the previous session with notable skill.

The Millennium Summit came to an end just a few days ago. From a certain point of view, it was an occasion for reviewing the state of international relations following the collapse of the bipolar international order. We have taken note of the increasing number of States complaining of the unipolar control over international affairs and the extent of the current and future dangers that this situation can give rise to.

More than 10 years ago, Iraq drew attention to the first signs of many dangers and basic problems that have since grown worse and become the focus of a significant part of the discussions of the Millennium Summit. In February 1990, President Saddam Hussein warned against the grave dangers resulting from the unilateral control assumed by the United States of America and its headlong rush to impose its hegemony on the world in general and on the Arab Gulf region and other Arab countries in particular. He also warned against the dangers posed by that State's recourse to illegitimate and immoral ways and means of achieving that goal, including the use of brute force; the exercise of pressure; political and economic blackmail; interference in the internal affairs of States; the fomenting of racial, religious and sectarian conflicts; and the use of international institutions to serve the interests of American policy.

Iraq also drew attention to the following situations at an early stage.

The first was the exploitation by the industrialized countries, the United States in particular, of scientific and technological progress for political purposes, with a view to engulfing all other countries of the world in a wave of capitalistic globalization, claiming that globalization is an inevitable fate to which all must submit, regardless of the negative consequences and dangers it entails for the lives of the vast majority of humankind.

Secondly, it drew attention to the adoption of a double standard as far as political positions are concerned, and it noted an indifference to the legal and political standards imposed by internationally binding agreements, where a balance is struck between rights and obligations in the process of the coexistence of interests among various countries, without any distinction or discrimination.

Thirdly, it noted the prevalence of the logic of "power and opportunity" in the exploitation of United Nations mechanisms to ensure the adoption of resolutions supporting the selfish political aims of one country or a few countries at the expense of common principles in international relations, without first giving consideration to obligations undertaken under the Charter of the United Nations and the principles of justice and equity -- hence the recourse to mandatory embargoes and comprehensive economic sanctions as a goal in and of itself, as well as the continuation of the policies of starvation and destruction of the economies of various countries and societies.

Fourthly, it drew attention to the imposition on the international community of unilateral policies through mechanisms and arrangements outside the international system, and to the fact that such arrangements were treated as substitutes for the United Nations in those cases where the hegemonic Powers, headed by the United States, expected to meet with strong opposition by the United Nations to those unilaterally determined policies, as we saw in the case of the aggression launched by the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.

Fifthly, it noted the phenomenon of the forcible adjustment and adaptation of established rules of international law to serve the unilateral policies of the hegemonic Powers, headed by the United States of America, through the imposition of strange and bizarre interpretations of the contents of such rules, or even total disregard for them when said Powers were unable to impose their strange interpretations thereon. An example of this dangerous phenomenon can be found in the feverish attempts to minimize the importance of the principles of State sovereignty, national independence and non-interference in the internal affairs of States.

Sixthly, it noted the phenomenon of evading responsibility in cases where the assumption of responsibility would not be profitable from an economic point of view, as is the case in questions related to environmental pollution, the expansion of the sphere of poverty in the world and the obstruction of the development of the States of the South, all of which are cases where the responsibility of the advanced industrialized countries is quite obvious.

The dangers, challenges and negative phenomena to which I have referred, as have many other speakers in the course of this general debate, have led to broad reflection on the solutions needed to overcome those difficulties and problematic issues. Iraq is of the view that the starting point is for United Nations actions to be a true expression of the will of all peoples and nations. That is how the Charter of the United Nations was drawn up, in order to establish a system of collective security based on common collective interests. The stability and effectiveness of the system of collective security is based on cooperation among partners and on the basis of specific obligations, not unilateral action and domination, as is the case today. The right of nations and peoples to live in peace and stability is the essential requirement for the maintenance of international peace and security. This right can be guaranteed only if it is firmly linked to the right to economic and social development and to freedom from any kind of pressure or interference.

This noble collective goal can be achieved only by upholding the United Nations system and by reforming and developing that system in order to invest it with the ability and competence to achieve that goal. Reform is particularly called for in the case of the Security Council, which must respect its obligations towards the community of States and must comply with the correct interpretation of the purposes and principles of the Charter in the performance of its functions and the use of its powers. It is also necessary to restore the role of the General Assembly in the maintenance of international peace and security, so as to ensure the necessary balance if the Security Council fails to assume its basic responsibilities under the Charter because of the unilateral and abusive exercise of its powers.

The wave of capitalistic globalization sweeping over today's world continues to widen the gap between the rich and the poor in the world. This dangerous phenomenon requires a forceful call to lay the foundations of a true international partnership in order to re-establish economic and social justice at both the international and national levels, upholding the principle of equitable sharing by all of the fruits of scientific and technological progress, and stopping rich countries from using science and technology as tools for imposing their policies of exploitation on the countries and peoples of the world. A dynamic partnership between the countries of the North and the countries of the South is fundamentally opposed to the logic of domination and unilateral power and to the transformation of science and technology into political tools for the subjugation of others. On the other hand, the call for democratization within countries will remain spurious unless its advocates adhere to a democratic course at the level of dealings with other States and with international organizations. Furthermore, the call for respect for international law and its primacy at the national level will remain devoid of credibility unless it is associated with the kind of conduct that calls for respect for the letter and spirit of the Charter of the United Nations and the rules of international law, and with the possibility of recourse to international judiciary bodies, with regard to the interpretation and application of legal provisions to ensure a delicate balance between powers and responsibilities, rights and obligations. Any affirmation of respect for human rights should not overlook the fact that civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights should, as a matter of equal importance and urgency, enjoy the same respect. Nor should such an affirmation overlook the fact that the world is characterized by cultural and civilizational diversity, and that the cultural and social assumptions tacitly accepted by a given culture cannot be imposed on other nations and peoples.

What I have just stated does not belong to the realm of theory. We in Iraq continue to suffer from the domination and abusive actions of the hegemonic powers headed by the United States of America. Our deep faith in the righteousness of our position explains the steadfastness shown by our country and our people in the face of the might of the unipolar Power.

The comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq have entered their eleventh year. By all standards, these sanctions amount to genocide and involve a brutal application of collective punishment and revenge against an entire people. There is no longer any doubt that these sanctions constitute a continued, flagrant violation of the United Nations Charter, of international law and of international humanitarian law. This matter has been confirmed by the reports of United Nations agencies and humanitarian and human rights organizations. The most recent testimony to that effect is to be found in the working paper adopted by the Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights at its fifty-second session, held in Geneva from 31 July to 25 August 2000. The paper affirmed that the comprehensive sanctions against Iraq are unequivocally illegal under existing international humanitarian law and human rights laws.

It is well known that both the United States and Great Britain claim that the oil-for-food programme, agreed to between the United Nations and Iraq, alleviates the impact of the unjust sanctions imposed against Iraq. Such a claim, however, is quickly proved to have no basis when set against the figures published by the United Nations itself. More than three and a half years have now passed since the inception of the programme, during which Iraq has exported $31.6 billion worth of oil. Of this total, $9.5 billion has been allocated to the Compensation Fund in Geneva and $1 billion allocated for operational administrative expenses of the United Nations while, in the course of three and a half years, only $8.3 billion has been disbursed for purchases to cover the needs of the Iraqi people.

There are also floating and semi-frozen allocations for certain needs of Iraq amounting to $10 billion that have not been disbursed owing to obstructions placed by the Americans and the British. Such egregious obstructions include the suspension of 1173 contracts, valued at more than $2 billion, relating to construction materials and humanitarian needs.

Despite increasing pressure on the international community to put an end to this ongoing genocide, two permanent members of the Security Council -- the United States of America and Britain -- insist on perpetuating this crime to further their plans to destabilize the Arabian Gulf region and preserve its hotbeds of tension with a view to prolonging their hegemony over and military occupation of the region and to plundering its wealth.

The United States openly declares that it is prepared to use the veto against any attempt to lift the sanctions imposed on Iraq. It is indeed shameful for the United States that its Secretary of State, Madeleine Albright, has declared on television that the continuation of sanctions is worth the death of 500,000 Iraqi children.

Just to clarify the matter, although the States Members of the United Nations have authorized the Security Council to act on their behalf provided that it do so in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations, pursuant to Article 24 of the Charter, the Security Council has, in the case of the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq, gone so far beyond the purposes and principles of the Charter as to turn itself into a cover for perpetrating a policy of genocide against an entire people. Therefore, it behoves the States Members of the United Nations to voice their opinion as to the extent of the Security Council's faithful compliance with such authorization. In this connection, it is worth mentioning that, under Article 25 of the Charter, Members of the United Nations agree to accept and carry out the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with the Charter. This means that implementation of the comprehensive sanctions imposed on Iraq, which have become illegal under international humanitarian law and human rights law, is no longer binding on States Members of the United Nations.

I must also point out that my country is being subjected to ongoing daily aggression by American and British aircraft in the no-fly zone imposed on northern and southern Iraq by unilateral decision of the Washington and London Governments. The aircraft launching the aggression take off from their bases in Saudi, Kuwaiti and Turkish territory. This continuous military action, which violates the integrity and sovereignty of Iraq's airspace, has no basis in law or in any binding resolution adopted by any competent organ of the United Nations. It constitutes instead an illegitimate unilateral action undertaken by the United States of America and the United Kingdom.

These belligerent acts constitute both interference in the internal affairs of Iraq and ongoing military aggression against Iraq through the imposition of the two no-fly zones. The illegal character of the imposition of those two no-fly zones has been confirmed by official statements issued by the Russian Federation, France and China, which have from the very outset declared their position that the imposition of those zones has no basis in law. This position is also supported by a former Secretary-General of the United Nations who, in his book entitled Unvanquished: a U.S.-U.N. Saga, makes it clear that the American claim that Security Council resolution 688 (1991) authorizes the launching of attacks against Iraq in order to enforce the no-fly zone is baseless and that the enforcement of the no-fly zones, far from having been endorsed by the Security Council, is no more than a unilateral act by the Governments of Washington and London.

The American and British acts of aggression have inflicted enormous material and moral losses on Iraq and gravely damaged its civilian infrastructure. The loss of human life to date has amounted to more than 300 martyrs, while more than 900 civilians have been wounded. The United States of America and Britain bear responsibility for these acts of aggression and for all their consequences, in accordance with the rules of state responsibility under international law. By the same rules, that responsibility is shared by Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey by virtue of their participation, support and assistance in carrying out these acts of aggression. The Saudi Government provides American and British aggressors with military facilities and the bases of Rafha, Dhahran, Khamis Mushait, Al-Jauf and Tabuk, from which scores of American and British planes take off to attack Iraq. In Kuwait, the rulers provide services, facilities and financing to the American and British aggressors at the air bases of Ali Al Salim and Ahmed Al Jaber.

Iraq has discharged its obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions. Consequently, the logical result would be for the embargo imposed on Iraq to be lifted. Moreover, the Charter requires that the American-British aggression against Iraq be condemned and that its perpetrators and those who participate in it -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey -- bear the international responsibility, with all its legal implications.

We cannot, under any circumstances, deal with an unjust position that ignores the record of our fulfilment of our obligations and that denies us our legitimate right to have the embargo lifted, as required by the Charter and the correct interpretation of relevant Security Council resolutions. A flagrant example of how the record of the fulfilment of our obligations has been flouted and how our right to have the embargo lifted has been denied is to be found in the underhanded way by which the United States of America and Britain have made Security Council resolution 1284 (1999) a vehicle for defrauding Iraq of its rights and for misrepresenting its full discharge of its obligations under relevant Security Council resolutions, including in particular resolution 687 (1991). Resolution 1284 (1999) does not represent a solution at all, nor is it, in essence, anything other than a deliberate ploy to further American anti-Iraq policy, as embodied in the indefinite perpetuation of the embargo. We have therefore clearly declared that we shall have nothing to do with that resolution.

The Middle East region is suffering from a grave situation caused by the fact that the Zionist entity that occupies the Arab Palestinian territories possesses a huge arsenal of weapons of mass destruction of all kinds -- nuclear, chemical and biological -- and long-range ballistic missiles. The Zionist entity occupying Arab Palestine refuses to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and refuses to place all its nuclear installations under the comprehensive safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Besides being a threat to peace and security in the Middle East region and the world, such a position exposes the double standard applied by the United States, which at once arms the Zionist entity and gives it unlimited support and deliberately ignores the provisions of paragraph 14 of Security Council resolution 687 (1991). This paragraph specifies that the measures imposed on Iraq should be applied to other countries in the region in order to make the Middle East a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and of all systems of delivery of such weapons, as well as to pursue the goal of imposing international prohibitions against chemical weapons. The Security Council has taken no action in this regard, despite the fact that Iraq has implemented all the required measures. Consequently, the way in which the Security Council has acted under American pressure in this context is a flagrant example of a double-standard policy.

The President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Marc Nteturuye, Chairman of the delegation of Burundi.

Mr. Nteturuye (Burundi)

On behalf of the Burundi delegation and on my own behalf, I first congratulate you warmly, Sir, on your election to lead the work of the current session. Your election is an honour and a sign of the great esteem in which the United Nations family holds you and your country, Finland, which maintains friendly, cooperative relations with Burundi.

I would further like to pay a well deserved tribute to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Namibia, who masterfully led the work of the previous session. We particularly appreciated his competence, dedication and high level of commitment to successfully fulfilling his mandate.

I also salute the dynamic and innovative work of Mr. Kofi Annan, the Secretary-General, to achieve peace, security and development throughout the world. My delegation greatly appreciates his report, "We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century", which undertakes a painstaking and uncompromising analysis of the great challenges of these times and proposes an approach to overcoming them so that it will be possible to live in a world free from want and fear, in a world that meets our aspirations.

Finally, it is my pleasure to welcome warmly Tuvalu as a new Member of our Organization, and at the same time to congratulate it on its wise decision to our ranks at this beginning of the new millennium.

My delegation unreservedly supports and endorses the Millennium Declaration, adopted by our heads of State and Government on 8 September 2000. We very much hope that its pertinent recommendations, made by almost all the world's leaders, will not become a dead letter. The United Nations, and each country in particular, must implement the appropriate strategies to translate the recommendations into concrete actions that can improve the future of our populations and peoples -- in particular the most disadvantaged.

At one of the meetings of the Millennium Summit, which concluded on 8 September 2000, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Burundi, speaking on behalf of the head of State, stated:

"The Burundian people are in the process of turning a page in their history. The agreement on peace and national reconciliation was signed on 28 August in Arusha, Tanzania, before the eyes of the entire world, which hailed the occasion. This was a qualitative leap forward towards a better future for the Burundian people." (A/55/PV.7)

Later the Minister said, however:

"Everything has not yet been resolved ... the greatest remaining challenge is ending the war, without which the implementation of the agreement is practically impossible." (ibid.)

The end to the war was to have been negotiated yesterday, 20 September, at a meeting scheduled in Nairobi between the Government and the rebels, and before the heads of State of the region. The President of the Republic himself represented the Government. The heads of State of the region and, of course, the mediator were also there. The three political parties that had not signed the 28 August peace agreement were also there, and they signed the agreement. Thus the maximum number of parties have now accepted this agreement.

As for the rebels, only one movement, the FNL, was represented by its leader. The head of the other movement -- the CNDD-FDD, which is the more important group -- did not make the trip. The two movements refused to negotiate anything or to meet with the Government delegation. Rather, they contented themselves with repeating their preconditions and pleading that they had to consult their rank and file before making any commitments.

Thus the meeting was a failure. The hopes of the Burundi people of seeing the violence come to an end were dashed. The implementation of the peace agreement has been called into question. The signatories to the agreement on peace and national reconciliation -- negotiated two years ago -- are now accused of being traitors and men of straw, and are being asked to return to the negotiating table. Those taking part in the rebel uprising go so far as to call into question the good faith of the leaders who sponsored the negotiations and the signing of the peace agreement.

Before denouncing the 28 August peace agreement, the rebel uprising had hidden itself behind a series of preconditions for the ceasefire negotiations. The two principal preconditions were as follows.

The first precondition was the dismantling of the regroupment camps. This precondition has been meaningless since 31 July 2000, because the Government had committed itself to dismantling the camps by that date, and it kept this promise, as the United Nations has confirmed on the basis of reports from its agencies working in the field in Burundi. The facilitator, Mr. Nelson Mandela, himself publicly reaffirmed these reports during the signing of the peace agreement on 28 August.

The second precondition related to the release of political prisoners -- an issue that has been the source of a great deal of disagreement between the negotiating parties. But since then, thanks to the compromise that the parties have reached, contained in article 15 and point 20 of the second protocol to the peace agreement, the current Government can create an independent commission to look into, inter alia, the issues of prison conditions and political prisoners.

Mr. Nteturuye (Burundi)

That is why it has just asked the Secretary-General to send to Burundi a team of experts in criminal law to inquire freely into the existence or non-existence of political prisoners in Burundi. It is no longer possible to deal with this question outside of the peace agreement unless one wants to imperil the entire peace process. The Government and the people of Burundi were very grateful for the opportunity they had to explain to the Facilitator during his two visits to Burundi how delicate the problem was.

Burundians suffer enormously from war; they want finally to breathe the air of peace. Deadly, wanton ambushes against people travelling on the roads, attacks on innocent people in the hills and in the displaced persons camps, theft of livestock, destruction of houses, crops, social infrastructure and so on -- all of this must stop so that, finally, our country can regain its peace and tranquillity.

Setting conditions to halt violence is cruel, and the international community must condemn this attitude and those responsible for it. Given the intransigence of the rebels, the Government of Burundi calls upon the region and the international community to implement the provisions of article 2 of the peace agreement, which states that if the armed groups of the non-signatory parties reject the invitation made in the agreement to suspend hostilities and to start negotiations for a ceasefire, the guarantors of the agreement, particularly the Governments of neighbouring States, and the international organizations will take "the necessary steps to stop, demobilize, disarm and, where appropriate, arrest, detain and repatriate the members of these armed groups and, furthermore, take all appropriate steps against any party which encourages and supports such activities".

In the absence of a ceasefire not only do the innocent continue to die, but also the refugees and displaced persons cannot return home; assistance to rebuild the country cannot begin; and even the transitional institutions established cannot function properly. Why is the international community silent when two armed movements are holding hostage an entire people that had pinned so many hopes on the peace agreement which has now been signed by 19 out of 19 parties -- in other words, all of the negotiators?

The Government, as it has often repeated, is prepared to negotiate directly with the rebels and to conclude the ceasefire agreement as soon as possible. It will also continue to explain the peace agreement to the people so that they will support its contents and its programme. It is also continuing consultations in order to arrive at compromise solutions regarding the reservations expressed by certain parties about the agreement and other questions that are still pending.

We would be deluding ourselves if we said that Burundi will attain peace and security without a favourable environment in the subregion and in Africa in general. Unfortunately, nothing leads one yet to hope that peace will be established in the Great Lakes region any time soon. The Lusaka agreements signed in August 1999 still offer a few glimmers of hope before actually entering into force. However, they are an important basis for the resolution of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The summit that took place, again in Lusaka, on 14 and 15 August 2000 unfortunately ended in failure, even though it was one more chance to establish the basis for peace. However, a lost opportunity should not discourage us. We would like here to say that we very much support President Frederick Chiluba of the Republic of Zambia for his tireless efforts to find a solution to the question of the Congo, and we encourage him to persevere.

Contrary to the allegations made by the head of the delegation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo from this rostrum on 16 September, I wish to reaffirm that the only interest of my country, Burundi, is to maintain security over our borders. We have no other ambitions, political or economic, with regard to any neighbouring country. And we hope that the same applies to our neighbouring countries, in particular those who give refuge to and assist the Burundian rebels.

Each country, and the subregion in general, must focus on problems of development. The ideology of genocide, which is undermining the entire Great Lakes region, and the many armed rebellions by those who champion that ideology, will be overcome only through the concerted and determined efforts of all States of the Great Lakes region, with the active support of the international community.

In this context, the conference on peace, security and development for the Great Lakes countries, envisaged for several years now, can be successful only if each country of the region makes a meaningful effort to improve their domestic policies.

By holding the Millennium Summit, the United Nations chose a very opportune moment to discuss the great challenges that await us in the coming century: peace, security and disarmament, on the one hand, and development and the eradication of poverty, on the other.

As is so well summarized by the Secretary-General in his report, we must live free from fear and free from want. Although these two goals are the very essence of our Organization, it must be stated that, unfortunately, we are still wide of the mark. Fratricidal wars continue to break out in various parts of the world and it takes too long to put the fires out. Conflicts break out on the borders of neighbouring countries, and entire communities are forced into exile. Given the multitude of these conflicts and their complexity, the international community has only a mixed record of success. Like other heads of delegations that have preceded me, I am inclined to wonder why our Organization does not do better in preventing and resolving conflicts and in peacekeeping.

On this subject, we very much support the implementation of the valuable recommendations in the Brahimi report, which was the outcome of an in-depth study at the request of Mr. Kofi Annan on the activities of the United Nations in the area of peace. We welcome the steps already taken by the Secretary-General to prepare a detailed plan for the implementation of these recommendations.

If our Organization were to engage in some self-questioning, we would probably find that one of the primary causes for failure lies in the very functioning of the United Nations. The Security Council decides on everything, and it decides too slowly. In the face of urgent situations, there is too much procrastination due to political expediency which is very often insufficiently understood by the international community.

Over the last fifty years, it is the same people who decide the fate of humanity while safeguarding the interests of some States as a matter of priority. People who seek urgent assistance thus have the impression that they are being held hostage or are being abandoned to their fate because international solidarity, so keenly awaited, does not materialize. My delegation, therefore, reiterates the hope that we will re-think the functioning, composition and attributes of the Security Council in order to revitalize it and to adapt it to this ongoing state of change.

The question of the equitable representation of all regions of the world on the Security Council and the question of increasing the number of members, both permanent and non-permanent, deserve our attention. They are in tune with the imperatives of democracy and legitimacy in making decisions in this highly important Organization -- the United Nations. Only such a reform can restore the confidence of all Member States in reviving the force of law in international affairs, because today, weak nations are confronting, basically, the law of force.

In order to do this the establishment of the International Criminal Court, the Statute of which was adopted in Rome in 1998, will, I am sure, be a useful tool to combat impunity.

Although sanctions fall exclusively within the competence of the Security Council, from 31 July 1996 until January 1999, Burundi lived under a regime of economic sanctions imposed by neighbouring countries, which was in violation of the United Nations Charter because it was not an initiative of the Security Council. As has been pointed out, such sanctions have proved to be both unfair and counterproductive. Because of the adverse effects of these sanctions in the economic and social area, those who suffer the most are innocent people -- the elderly, women and children. The Security Council should therefore resort to targeted sanctions only in serious and exceptional circumstances when other methods of pressure have failed, in order to avoid causing harm to the entire population.

The other major obstacle to world peace is the proliferation of light weapons -- paradoxically, in poor countries. Only with the combined efforts of all States will we be able to deal with this phenomenon, because arms manufacturers and merchants form a worldwide network that represents big financial interests. Any peacekeeping programme should therefore include, as a matter of priority, the monitoring of flows of light arms, since it is such weapons that are used by most clandestine movements to cause death and destruction through terrorism.

Furthermore, fear cannot be dispelled from the world as long as competition to produce weapons of mass destruction continues. Our Organization should do everything it can to bring about complete global denuclearization in the medium term. This standing threat to humanity undermines all hopes for a world of peace, to which the founding fathers of our world Organization aspired.

Those with the responsibility of governing some of the poorest countries in the world appreciate, on a daily basis, just how hard it is to ensure that peace can prevail in a community that is bereft of food and other basic needs. A proverb in our national language, Kirundi, says, "If you go to sleep with an empty stomach, you will wake up with a heart full of hatred". It is no secret that the world has an abundance of riches and resources of all kinds. But that does not prevent people in some parts of the world from dying of hunger or malnutrition, while their fellow human beings in other parts of the world -- and sometimes even in their own countries and cities -- are wallowing in luxury. This means that true cooperation is the kind that encourages growth in production and income to enable people to take control of health, education, nutrition and decent housing. By giving greater assistance to the poorest countries, the rich countries would be working not only for a fairer world but for greater security for their own people.

The millennium report of the Secretary-General, submitted under agenda item 49 (b) of the fifty-fourth session, rightly stresses the seriousness of the tragedy caused by the HIV/AIDS pandemic throughout the world, focusing particular attention on Africa. Of the 36 million people who are HIV-positive, more than 23 million are in sub-Saharan African. According to that report, in the same region, more than one child in ten has lost its mother to AIDS. The very pessimistic prediction has been made that by 2010 there will be 40 million orphans. Burundi has not escaped this dangerous epidemic, which appeared at the beginning of the 1980s and is continuing to cause devastation today, particularly among the most active and, therefore, the most productive people.

In the meantime, with the assistance of the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund and other actors, to which we extend our heartfelt thanks, my Government has launched a robust prevention policy against HIV/AIDS. A special fund has been established to combat this scourge, which could decimate entire generations. That is why we endorse the recommendations of the Secretary-General to reduce the HIV infection rate, particularly by increasing access to information, education and health services for people who are already infected. At the same time, we recommend that the pharmaceutical industry be provided with all the financial support necessary to develop an effective and affordable vaccine to eradicate this scourge by the end of the century.

Before we can be sure of having built a more secure and prosperous world, we must be mindful of the need to bequeath to our children an environmentally balanced planet. Unfortunately, we have to say that the industrial progress that was supposed to have generated prosperity is making our natural environment increasingly unhealthy. We must, as a matter of urgency, control the quality of industrial production and the phenomenon of population growth, particularly in urban areas, if we wish to safeguard quality of life for future generations.

We have often behaved as if nature would remain healthy without our making any effort. Today, desertification is a threat to many countries that used to be covered with vegetation. Drought has invaded regions that used to be crossed by great rivers and streams. In those places where there is still enough water, it takes millions of dollars to treat it to make it potable.

My delegation would like to reiterate the Secretary-General's appeal to all Member States at the Millennium Summit to fund an assessment of ecosystems before it is too late. The result would no doubt be a clear, realistic programme to protect our environment.

Despite the difficult situation in which we have been living for several years, Burundi, in close cooperation with other Member States, will work steadfastly to achieve the goals pursued by our Organization. We hope that the United Nations will adapt to current challenges and to changing international relations for the benefit of all humankind.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Hussain Shihab, Chairman of the delegation of Maldives.

Mr. Shihab (Maldives)

Allow me at the outset to associate myself with previous speakers in congratulating Mr. Holkeri on his election to preside over the General Assembly at this historic session. It is a tribute to his distinguished political experience and to the invaluable contributions made by his country, Finland, to the work of our Organization.

I should also like to extend my appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister of Namibia, for the excellent manner in which he discharged his responsibilities during the fifty-fourth session.

I would also like to pay a special tribute to our Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for the inspirational leadership and the moral authority he has brought to our Organization. His report to the Millennium Summit, "We the peoples", will remain a powerful and luminous beacon as we strive to make the world a more just and peaceful place for future generations and the United Nations a more effective, efficient and responsive Organization in the new millennium.

Exactly 35 years ago today, Maldives was admitted to the United Nations. We were proud to take a seat in this world body, which has seen steady growth in its membership, activities and influence. Today, we are pleased to welcome to our midst the island nation of Tuvalu. We look forward to working with Tuvalu in furthering the cause of small island nations for a more economically humane and socially just world that is environmentally sustainable in the future.

Wars, hunger and famine have marred much of the twentieth century. Terrorism, drugs and the spread of HIV/AIDS threaten to destroy the peace and prosperity of our future generations. Economic inequality and social injustice have tended to increase, despite many laudable efforts to the contrary. As technological advances bring untold riches and opportunities to many, many more continue to live in deprivation, their lives becoming increasingly marginalized in a fast-changing world.

Only a few days back, the Millennium Summit brought together the largest-ever gathering of world leaders in human history. It was not only a historic occasion but also one that rekindled the hopes and aspirations of the world's peoples. The Millennium Declaration adopted at the Summit charts out a future vision for the world in which "the peoples" have rightfully been given pride of place in our efforts to reshape the future of humanity. As my President, President Abdul Gayoom, stated at the Millennium Summit, "The gap between expectation and result must be eliminated" (A/55/PV.3) in the new millennium.

The leaders of the world have recognized the dangers posed to the future of humanity. They have pledged themselves to a better world -- a world that is more just, a world in which every human being can live in dignity, a world that rejoices in its diversity of races, religions and culture. They have pledged to strengthen the United Nations so that it may have the resources and capability to deliver the dreams of "we the peoples" of the world. It now remains for us to translate these words into deeds, rhetoric to reality. Action must begin now.

For over two decades, Maldives has managed to make significant economic and social progress. We are indeed proud of what we have achieved with the limited resources at our disposal. A stable political environment, a supportive international community and the creativity of our people have combined to help our economic growth. However, this does not reduce in any way the vulnerability of our economy. We continue to have a small and narrow economic base comprising fisheries and tourism, both of which are extremely susceptible to external forces that are often beyond our control. Indeed, the precarious nature of our economy is readily evidenced whenever the price of tuna plunges in the international market. Similarly, any downturn in the economy of major tourist markets or regional instability casts a long shadow on our tourist industry.

We do not want to wear the least developed country label for ever. As a small but proud nation, we, too, would like to be a self-reliant country. National pride, unfortunately, does not feed our population or educate our children. It is for these reasons that during the Economic and Social Council meeting in July this year, Maldives argued against its removal from the list of least developed countries, which would undoubtedly pull the rug from underneath our feet. Indeed, our successes in national development to date have been highly dependent on the concessional finance and developmental assistance we have enjoyed as a least developed country. The withdrawal of access to such concessional assistance at this crucial stage of our development would seriously cripple our developmental efforts. Our economy will slide backwards if we lose preferential access to markets. Our debt burden will become unsustainable.

We take some comfort in the decision made by the Economic and Social Council to defer the consideration of the recommendation to graduate Maldives from the list of least developed countries. The structural impediments facing our developmental efforts are so formidable that the country's graduation at this stage is not justified. Our geophysical fragmentation, combined with remoteness from major markets, accentuates our vulnerabilities, many of which are unique. Maldives is not simply an island nation; it is a nation of islands. In fact, we have over 1,100 small, low-lying islands. Our population is scattered over 198 islands, each of which needs to be provided with adequate administrative and socio-economic infrastructure. Poor and porous soil conditions prohibit most agricultural production, while avenues for economic diversification are extremely limited. Transport and communication costs are prohibitive. That is why we have appealed to the international community to take a closer look at our situation and re-examine the issue of our graduation from the list of least developed countries. We hope the international community will understand and support our cause.

Since the adoption of the Barbados Programme of Action, the small island developing States have been waiting for the international community to meet the pledges made at the Conference on small island developing States, while their economic and ecological challenges have increased manifold. We therefore are happy that the world leaders at the Millennium Summit have once again highlighted the special needs of small island developing States, including the necessity of developing a vulnerability index that can truly capture the unique features of these States. The leaders have also resolved to implement rapidly and in full the Barbados Programme of Action and the outcome of the twenty-second special session of the General Assembly. These are welcome developments which we hope will soon be translated into action by the international community.

Allow me to stress the importance of the early completion of the vulnerability index called for by this Assembly. In developing this index, we believe, the international community should take into account not only those factors that are similar among the island States but also those that are unique to particular island States. For example, while some may be prone to cyclones and hurricanes, others may be more affected by beach erosion or coral bleaching.

Maldives has consistently voiced its concerns over the negative impact of environmental degradation on small island States. We welcomed the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. Unfortunately, the slow pace of its ratification by the international community continues to endanger many small island developing States. It is indeed regrettable that to date only 23 countries have ratified the Protocol.

We are, however, heartened by the fact that the Millennium Declaration calls upon the international community to expedite the early ratification of the Kyoto Protocol to ensure its entry into force by the tenth anniversary of United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in 2002. We call upon the United Nations to take a leading role in making the relevant resolve of our leaders at the Summit a reality. As the President of the Maldives, speaking at the Millennium Summit, declared,

"Humanity's quest for progress must be sustainable. We have no right to destroy the Earth. Ecological damage must be stopped. Global warming must be curbed. All low-lying countries must be saved." (A/55/PV.3)

The protection and security of small States continue to constitute an issue of critical concern to my country. Among the 189 Members that compose the United Nations today, many are small countries which require protection from a variety of threats to their security. The Maldives believes that within the sphere of international peace and security, which has always remained a high priority on the United Nations agenda, the security of small States should continue to receive special consideration as a political and moral obligation of the international community. The interest and concern of the United Nations on this issue should not be allowed to diminish, even in the future.

Globalization is today a reality. No country, large or small, can swim against the tide of globalization and the digital revolution that is reshaping the modern world. Globalization must benefit all countries. Its costs must be shared evenly by all countries. The least developed countries must be granted duty-free and quota-free access to the markets of developed countries for their exports. They deserve debt relief, including debt cancellation, in return for demonstrable commitments to poverty reduction. Development assistance needs to be increased. We remain hopeful that the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries, to be held next year, will usher in a new era of development for the least developed countries.

During the course of last year, the United Nations was able to record some important achievements. The follow-up sessions to the world conferences on women and on social development reaffirmed the goals of creating a more just and tolerant society. Modest but significant progress was achieved by the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons towards freeing the world from the scourge of nuclear arms. Efforts towards the establishment of an International Criminal Court are moving ahead. A valuable framework for strengthening United Nations peacekeeping operations has been laid out by the Brahimi report (A/55/305).

Yet many shortcomings and frustrations continue to plague the world community. Conflicts based on ethnic arrogance rage on. Poverty persists at a level that is morally repugnant. The spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic needs to be urgently addressed. International peace and security continue to be threatened by terrorism and drug trafficking cartels operating within and across borders.

A comprehensive and permanent peace settlement in the Middle East continues to elude us. This is disappointing. We would like to reiterate our full support for the cause of the Palestinian people and to encourage the sponsors of the peace process in the Middle East to continue to pursue their efforts towards achieving a lasting peace in the region.

The situation in the Gulf continues to trouble us. Peace, progress and security in that region can never be achieved unless settlements on all unresolved issues are complied with fully by all the parties concerned in conformity with the relevant United Nations resolutions. We would like to reaffirm our unwavering support for the independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Kuwait. As I mentioned before, we continue to believe that the United Nations has an obligation to uphold the security and territorial integrity of all Member States, including small States.

The Maldives firmly believes that the myriad challenges facing the world today can be effectively addressed only in a multilateral framework in which the United Nations must play the central role. Despite the many shortcomings it may have, the United Nations remains the only truly universal organization where global issues can be addressed. We believe that an increasingly interdependent world calls for a strengthened multilateral system with an effective international legal regime that is respected by all nations. It is with this conviction that the Maldives has become a State party to a number of international conventions and treaties, including the eight conventions and treaties to which we became party during the Millennium Summit, taking advantage of the opportunity offered by the Secretary-General.

We fully support the steps being taken by the Secretary-General in the process of reforming our Organization. While there has been much progress, more remains to be done. Reform of the Security Council to reflect the political reality of the modern world is essential if the United Nations is to remain a credible and effective organization, enjoying the confidence of the peoples of the world. Reform of the United Nations must aim at enhancing the legitimacy of the Organization, making the United Nations more democratic and transparent, and reinforcing the ability of the United Nations to uphold equality among nations.

At the Millennium Summit, our leaders illuminated the way forward. It now remains for us to move forward in concert, for the benefit of the peoples of the world.

The Acting President

I give the floor to the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Zimbabwe, His Excellency Mr. Stanislaus Mudenge.

Mr. Mudenge (Zimbabwe)

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