General Assembly Session 55 meeting 29

The President

Members will recall that the Secretary-General presented his report to the General Assembly at the 10th plenary meeting on 12 September 2000.

Mr. Kolby (Norway)

At the outset, I would like to commend the Secretary-General for his excellent report on the work of the Organization (A/55/1) to the General Assembly.

Furthermore, in his opening statement to the General Assembly, the Secretary-General pointed out that the time has come to roll up our sleeves and start putting into action the bold pledges our "captains and kings" made during the Millennium Summit. I can assure you that my Government strongly shares this sentiment and that we will work with you and our fellow delegates to make this noble goal come true.

Among its important messages, the report highlights -- and thus concurs with the Millennium Declaration -- the fact that the elimination of poverty must be our first priority among the many pledges to be fulfilled. The fight to eliminate poverty is an overriding challenge, and there has been considerable progress in addressing this issue. But half of the world's population still must try to survive on less than two dollars a day.

We are pleased to note that the Secretary-General in his report focuses on girls' education as a critical factor in the eradication of poverty. We hope the launch of the informal task force in April will increase the efforts undertaken within the United Nations system to promote girls' education. The fight against poverty, underdevelopment and environmental degradation must be at the top of our agenda.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic, as the Secretary-General points out, has become a serious development crisis. In many countries the epidemic has had dramatic consequences, and there is a need for additional financial resources and development assistance to combat the virus. My Government welcomes the fact that an inter-agency task force chaired by the World Health Organization (WHO) has developed a strategy for improving the access of AIDS victims to anti-AIDS drugs. Norway has been a major contributor to health programmes related to HIV/AIDS, and we will continue to support these programmes. Recently the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation made approximately $5 million available to the WHO for health programmes in Africa.

In his report, the Secretary-General also draws particular attention to the importance of conflict prevention. In particular, we welcome his emphasis on strengthening the United Nations early warning and conflict prevention capacities. But we must all make the efforts needed to provide sufficient regular budget funding for the conflict prevention efforts of the United Nations.

The success of these efforts will, as the Secretary-General points out, hinge upon close collaboration with Member States, regional organizations and others. We have witnessed significant successes, but we have also during the last ten years uncovered disturbing and tragic weaknesses. We must learn from failures of the past, and improved coordination of our efforts can contribute to a better understanding of both the problems and the solutions.

Norway therefore supports the recommendations in the report of the United Nations Panel on Peace Operations headed by Ambassador Brahimi. Norway stands ready to engage in a broad dialogue on how to ensure the speedy and efficient implementation of recommendations in the Brahimi Report (A/55/305).

The conflicts in East Timor and Sierra Leone continue to cause immeasurable suffering for hundreds of thousands of people and place burdens upon the response system of the United Nations. I am happy to note that the United Nations still is intensely involved in the efforts to find solutions to these conflicts, in close cooperation with other organizations.

In his report, the Secretary-General deals extensively with the situation in Africa. As outlined by the Secretary-General, the United Nations is involved in a large number of development programmes and other activities in Africa. Progress is, however, dependent on resources that in too many cases are scarce. Norway agrees with the Secretary-General that Africa's problems must remain of the highest priority for the Organization.

Important reforms of the Organization have been implemented, and we appreciate the fact that the Secretary-General is dedicated to pursuing the reform process further. In these efforts he can rely on the full support of Norway.

Mr. Ryan (Ireland)

I welcome this comprehensive and stimulating report from the Secretary-General on the work of our Organization (A/55/1). In his introduction he notes that the turn of the millennium provides a unique vantage point from which to view humanity's progress and challenges. In fact, the Secretary-General himself was the driving force behind ensuring that we made full use of this vantage point at the Millennium Summit.

His challenging report to the Summit, the superb organization and the opportunity it gave to our leaders to interact with each other and to develop a common vision for the twenty-first century all provided the most effective possible starting point for a new era of cooperation in addressing our common problems and achieving our common goals. It is now up to us, the membership, to take up these challenges and do justice to this vision. The Millennium Summit is not, of course, covered in the report before us, but my delegation does not want the occasion to pass without offering our congratulations and appreciation to the Secretary-General and his team.

In this millennium year, it is appropriate that we look back as well as forward. Nowhere is this more true than in the central task of conflict prevention and peacekeeping. The reports on the United Nations reaction to unfolding events in Srebrenica and in Rwanda revealed serious inadequacies and showed how these inadequacies contributed to the tragedies which took place. Experience in Sierra Leone has also been salutary.

We must be clear on one thing. This is our Organization, and if it has been shown to have been wanting in meeting its challenges, we all share the responsibility. If the Department of Peacekeeping Operations must maintain nearly 40,000 troops on 15 different peacekeeping missions with a totally inadequate Headquarters staff, if United Nations troops are placed in the field without the necessary training or equipment, if United Nations troops are forced to stand by powerlessly while atrocities are committed and if communications are inadequate, we are all responsible to some degree, and it is incumbent on all of us to engage in the search for solutions.

The United Nations cannot work miracles. We have seen over the past year that if protagonists are determined to resolve their differences through conflict then they will do so. But the reports on past tragedies show that the United Nations can do much more to prevent conflict and maintain peace if certain problems are addressed. The Secretary-General has not just given us a challenge; he has also given us a framework in which to address these problems. I am referring, of course, to the report (A/55/305) of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations chaired by Lakhdar Brahimi. My authorities are fully prepared to take up that challenge, and we intend to participate actively in the process of ensuring the successful implementation of the key recommendations of the Brahimi report.

Last year, the strengthening of early warning mechanisms was a particular theme of the Secretary-General's report. Since then, there have been some important developments. The Secretary-General, in his report, refers to the Prevention Team that has been established by the Department of Political Affairs, and to the strengthening of the capacity of other departments and agencies in this area, as well as to the new interdepartmental Framework for Coordination.

The Security Council too has paid close attention to conflict prevention over the past 12 months, with two open debates and the adoption of comprehensive presidential statements. United Nations cooperation with regional organizations has been stepped up. Efforts have been made to tap the potential of non-governmental actors. However, as the Secretary-General points out, United Nations efforts in that direction require leadership and resources, and therefore political will on the part of the membership.

The report makes clear how much of our efforts in that direction must still be directed at the continent of Africa. Conflict prevention, peacekeeping and post-conflict peace-building by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and subregional organizations, in cooperation with the United Nations, remain vital if current conflicts are to be brought to a close, further conflicts prevented and conditions created for peaceful development. I am convinced that the efforts of the United Nations, in cooperation with the OAU and subregional organizations and with individual mediators, will ultimately prove successful in Sierra Leone, Burundi, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia and Angola, and that they will, over time, help Ethiopia and Eritrea to heal the wounds of war and to re-establish fraternal relations.

Outside Africa, the United Nations contribution was essential in the resolution of situations which had got out of hand, in particular Kosovo and East Timor. Delegations will understand if I welcome in particular the Israeli withdrawal from southern Lebanon in compliance with Security Council resolution 425 (1978). My country has been intensively involved with the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) for 22 years, an involvement which brought much sacrifice in human lives, but also much satisfaction, never more so than during the past few months. I would like to echo the Secretary-General's call for further efforts in the search for a just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

The Secretary-General correctly observes that disarmament is a critical element of the United Nations strategy for peace and security, and also that, despite some progress, deep concern remains at the risk posed by nuclear weapons. One particularly positive event was the successful outcome of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to which the New Agenda coalition, of which Ireland was a founding member, made a critical contribution.

Looking to next year's United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in all its Aspects, the Secretary-General points out that these are the weapons that kill most people in most wars. All too often, these weapons are in the hands of children. It is time that the control of trade in these arms was made a matter of international treaty, and my authorities call on all concerned to cooperate with the Secretary-General in making a success of the Conference.

The Secretary-General affirms his conviction that thriving markets and human security go hand in hand, but he cautions that globalization must be made more inclusive and that its benefits must be spread more equitably. If poverty is to be reduced and ultimately eliminated - and that must remain our common goal - then adequate development financing must be available. The Secretary-General is right when he says that the benefits of globalization will bypass those who are unable to attract private capital unless official development assistance is maintained and increased.

That is why my Prime Minister made a very precise, transparent and quantifiable commitment at the Millennium Summit: Ireland will increase its level of official development assistance so as to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product by the year 2007. That is why Ireland has consistently increased its contribution to United Nations funds and programmes, with emphasis on their core activities. That is why Ireland has consistently contributed to the relief of debt and why it will continue to do so, even though it does not itself hold any debt, all of its assistance being in grant form.

But development must also be sustainable and, as the Secretary-General points out in the report before us, the challenges in achieving sustainability are complex and multifaceted. Development in our own generation must take place in a manner which ensures that future generations will inherit an environment that will allow them to meet their needs. My authorities believe firmly in the need for a tool with which to measure the risks faced by countries in the face of environmental pressures. A solid and practicable environmental vulnerability index would be of great value to many Member States, and especially to the small island developing States, whose very existence is threatened by climate change. For that reason, Ireland is funding a technical study for the development of such an index, in line with the Secretary-General's call for innovative and practical solutions to the problems involved in the search for sustainable development. The work of the Commission on Sustainable Development is particularly crucial. It is essential that every effort be made over the next two years to ensure a successful outcome of the 10-year review of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development -- the Rio Conference.

Finally, I would like to draw one further point from the Secretary-General's report. He says that Governments, international institutions, civil society and the private business sector all gain from cooperation, because each achieves through cooperation what none could achieve alone. During this past year, up to and including the Millennium Summit, we have seen very significant progress in defining the common goals that we want to achieve. I am confident that, working together in the United Nations, we will succeed in reconciling our individual interests in the pursuit of these common goals.

Mr. Valdivieso (Colombia)

I would like at the outset to thank the Secretary-General for preparing and presenting his report on the work of the Organization, contained in document A/55/1. At the fifty-fourth session, my delegation expressed its positions and participated in the debate and consideration of many of the issues addressed in that report. We shall be taking the same approach during the fifty-fifth session, and will be stating our Government's positions and concerns throughout the year.

The Millennium Summit celebrations are behind us and we now need to begin, during our Millennium Assembly, to implement the Millennium Declaration proposals. We are certain that in our deliberations we will give them our full consideration, always avoiding giving priority to some over others of equal or more importance, particularly to developing countries.

I wish to share some preliminary thoughts on document A/55/1. We are aware of the considerable challenges in the area of peace and security. In paragraph 64, in particular, the need to resolve the conflict prevailing in my country is recognized. The Government of Colombia continues to be committed to seeking a political solution to a conflict that has lasted for more than 40 years, and requests the solidarity and persistence of the international community to achieve it. We will continue to work very closely with the Secretary-General's Special Adviser on International Assistance to Colombia, being convinced that progress towards attaining peace will be reflected in substantial improvements in the human rights situation.

With regard to the maintenance and consideration of peace, the basis of our discussions will be the Brahimi report (A/55/305) on peace operations. The report has been positively received by Member States, and there is general agreement on the need to make prompt decisions on its proposals, which will affect the future of the United Nations. However, we must bear in mind, first, that the General Assembly is the only organ that can give those decisions the international legitimacy needed to ensure their effectiveness; secondly, that it will be inconvenient to act on the basis of rigid timetables that subject these decisions to unnecessary time pressures; and, thirdly, that the Brahimi report is one of many documents containing recommendations, and therefore should be evaluated with the same consideration as other reports, such as that prepared by the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations (A/51/130)

The fulfilment of humanitarian commitments mentioned in the Secretary-General's report must be through a cautious balance that takes into account the limitations of the United Nations system, the need to respect the sovereignty of all States and the innumerable demands made by a humanitarian crisis. It is essential that we establish in all cases systems for cooperation and communication with national Governments willing to participate in preventing and overcoming humanitarian crises.

Development issues are of particular concern to Colombia. There is a proliferation of diagnoses of the situation in the South, such as those presented in the Secretary-General's report and in other reports submitted throughout the year. However, they lack recommendations on the collective and individual action necessary to ensure the fulfilment of the objectives in the Millennium Declaration. This matter merits more careful and balanced consideration adequately taking into account the responsibilities of the North and the South.

I conclude with a reflection on the beneficiaries of the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. Our consideration of the future of the United Nations must begin with an evaluation of the past within the international system. Which countries have been the great beneficiaries of the past? To what extent have the developing countries been the great losers of the past? Clearly, we developing countries have received important benefits from the existence of the United Nations. However, it is also clear that they have not been enough. We then ask ourselves: How can we ensure that the beneficiaries of the future include the peoples of the developing world? Many of the concerns and the challenges mentioned by the Secretary-General in his report directly involve the South -- our countries. We are interested in the debate; we will participate in it; and we hope to keep alive the exchange begun in recent months so that the solutions also involve our countries.

Mr. Abulhasan (Kuwait)

At the outset, my delegation wishes to express its great appreciation for the excellent and dedicated efforts of the Secretary-General in managing and administering the work of our Organization, as it has gone through difficult circumstances at the end of the last century, a century that witnessed many international problems. We congratulate him on the success of the Millennium Summit and its results, hoping that all States will respect their commitments in order to ensure the success and efficiency of our Organization in the new century.

Our delegation has studied the content of the Secretary-General's report submitted to us today. The reader of the report comes away with two realities. One is that we as Governments and peoples find the role of the United Nations indispensable in maintaining international peace and security and in facing the challenges connected to those issues. Secondly, the tasks of the United Nations have become extremely complex and all-inclusive, to the extent that it has become very difficult to separate issues of security and development and issues of political stability and economic prosperity.

Our delegation agrees with practically everything in the report, but we wish to make the following comments.

First, the issues connected with the establishment of international peace and security are the most pivotal tasks of the United Nations. We fully agree that those issues should be given prominence in the annual reports submitted by the Secretary-General, because they are closely connected to the economic and social problems we face today.

Secondly, the concept of collective security and the idea of conflict prevention should include all the international problems and issues we face, because, in the final analysis, they will affect the security of humanity as a whole, and that necessitates the consensus of all parties and respect for the sovereignty of all States.

Thirdly, Kuwait welcomes the explanation given by the Secretary-General concerning progress in peacekeeping operations. We also welcome the report of Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi (A/55/305), concerning his assessment of peace operations and the need to promote them as a major tool for maintaining international peace and security. We call upon the General Assembly to deal with his Panel's recommendations very seriously. Kuwait fully understands the importance of peacekeeping operations, since the United Nations Iraq-Kuwait Observer Mission (UNIKOM) plays an important role in maintaining peace and stability on our international border with Iraq, a fact that led us to voluntarily contribute two thirds of the budget of this force.

Fourthly, Kuwait believes that the problems of poverty and disease, which are claiming so many victims, have been around for a long time and are not, as is being said today, the result of globalization. Successfully confronting the dangers of poverty and disease calls for efficient action, which should begin with initiatives at the State level, which could then be combined with those of other States to become a collective and organized action.

Fifthly, Kuwait fully agrees with the Secretary-General's position on sanctions, as expressed in his report on the work of the Organization and the report to the Millennium Summit. We, like others, express deep sympathy for the peoples who suffer as a result of sanctions. At the same time, however, our sympathy should not go out to regimes that control the destiny of people under sanctions or that profit from sanctions. Such regimes have been characterized as tyrannical and dictatorial in both reports of the Secretary-General. Sanctions should act precisely against those regimes to force them to reform their policies. The international community's sympathy should go out to suffering people, not to their rulers.

Sixthly, our delegation shares the concern expressed by the Secretary-General in his report on the work of the Organization over the continued non-compliance by the Iraqi Government with the relevant Security Council resolutions and specifically over its rejection of resolution 1284 (1999). In connection with paragraphs 54 and 55 of the Secretary-General's report, we also share the concern over that Government's refusal to cooperate with the high-level coordinator to solve the problem of Kuwaiti prisoners of war and Kuwaiti property. We endorse those two paragraphs as they reflect the neutrality and objectivity of Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Those qualities have always led us to trust him when dealing with international problems of common interest.

It is also important to draw the attention of Member States to the fact that showing concern for people's suffering by expressing sympathy requires credibility so that such concern covers the sufferings of other peoples who may simultaneously be the cause and victims of suffering. Showing concern for the suffering of one people but not for another exposes political aims that have nothing to do with internationally accepted humanitarian principles, which are intrinsic to every human being.

It is for that reason that Kuwait continues to appeal to Member States to call directly on the Iraqi Government to solve the problem of Kuwaiti and third-party prisoners of war, and to end the suffering of their families who have been enduring it for over 10 years. We reaffirm the fact that solving these problems requires political determination on the part of Iraq to stop relying on political pretexts that only serve to perpetuate the suffering of innocent people. Every regional organization -- namely, the Gulf Cooperation Council, the League of Arab States, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Organization of the Islamic Conference -- has called on Iraq to solve this humanitarian problem. We hope that the Iraqi Government will respond to those appeals.

In conclusion, we in Kuwait would like to reaffirm our support for the efforts of the Secretary-General as the leader of the Organization. We firmly believe that without the support and cooperation of Member States, the United Nations will not succeed in meeting the challenges of the new century. We stress the need to concentrate on economic and social challenges. A careful reading of the Secretary-General's report to the Millennium Summit and an examination of the statistics on the victims of poverty, AIDS and drug abuse indicate that these matters cry out for sincere policies and full cooperation, as well as a rejection of conflict and individual interests. Failing to do so will deprive our generation and future generations of any enjoyment of the life granted to us by God the Almighty. That would be sheer selfishness.

Mr. Satoh (Japan)

At the outset, I would like to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption of the presidency of the Millennium Assembly. My delegation is prepared to cooperate with you in the course of this important session.

The Millennium Summit was a great success. The Millennium Declaration, which was adopted by a consensus among all the leaders of the world participating at the Summit, has set forth clear guidelines for the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. Of course, holding the Summit and adopting the Declaration are not ends in themselves but, rather, mark a new starting point. It is now the responsibility of all Member States to work for the realization of the goals set forth in that historic document.

The report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization provides a useful guide for our efforts in that regard. I would like to express our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General for producing that valuable report. Today, I would like to touch upon three issues.

First of all, I would like to stress anew the importance of strengthening the United Nations, and the Security Council in particular. As Japan's Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, and its Foreign Minister, Yohei Kono, made clear in their respective statements to the Summit and in the general debate, the Security Council must be reformed so that it reflects the realities of today's international community. In this context, it is indeed encouraging to note that during the course of those meetings, more than 150 countries stressed the urgent need for Security Council reform. Moreover, it is our understanding that as many as 70 countries specifically underlined the need to expand both the permanent and non-permanent categories of membership.

The Secretary-General was right when he stressed in his concluding remarks to world leaders at the Summit that

"Almost everyone one of you has called for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council. That surely must give new impetus to the search for consensus on this thorny but unavoidable issue." (A/55/PV.8)

We must now redouble our efforts in order to achieve Security Council reform, building upon the momentum generated by our leaders at that historic Summit.

As we all know, financial reform is also a task which requires our special efforts at this session. In order to place this valuable Organization on a sound and firm financial basis, it is essential to make the scale of assessments for the regular budget more equitable. And, given that requirements for peacekeeping operations are expected to increase, it is also important to attain more balanced budget sharing in the financing of peacekeeping operations. It is, I believe, the responsibility of all Member States to address this issue with a sense of urgency.

The Japanese Government welcomes the report (A/55/305) of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, and I applaud the efforts of Ambassador Lakhdar Brahimi and the other members of the Panel who produced this important document, which contains many useful suggestions.

We are in full agreement with the Secretary-General's assertion on 12 September that we should consider expeditiously the recommendations of the Panel. Japan, for its part, places particular importance on strengthening the functions of the United Nations Secretariat with respect to making its operations more effective. In this connection, we look forward to the early presentation by the Secretary-General of an implementation plan. We will participate in the deliberations on implementation in a forward-looking manner.

Finally, I would like to underscore anew the importance of human security, or a human-centred approach, in addressing the issues which the international community is now facing. As Prime Minister Mori stressed at the Summit, it is essential that we give priority to the protection of life and dignity of people when we tackle the problems before us, which include poverty, environmental degradation, conflicts, human rights violations, refugees and displaced persons, AIDS and other infectious diseases.

In this context, I strongly endorse the report of the Secretary-General, which stressed the importance of human security in various contexts. Recognizing that the United Nations should play a more active role in promoting a human-centred approach to various problems, Japan has to date contributed more than $80 million to the Human Security Fund, whose creation was proposed by the late Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi. I am pleased to remind the Assembly that Prime Minister Mori announced at the Millennium Summit that the Japanese Government would make a further contribution of approximately $100 million to this Fund. We sincerely hope that the Fund will add to the willingness and capacity of the international community to enhance human security as it addresses a broad range of issues in the coming years.

Mr. Moushoutas (Cyprus)

The Millennium Summit and the general debate which has just concluded gave pre-eminence as never before to man's quest for a more equitable distribution of wealth. The halls of this Assembly are echoing the concern and anger of the least developed countries, the small island States and the developing States in general, about the widening gap between rich and poor, the negative impact of globalization, the unsustainable debt burden, the inexcusable and unacceptable loss of life from curable diseases, such as malaria, while HIV/AIDS, which plagues especially the African States, is spreading with frightening speed in other parts of the world.

It was correctly stated that we live in a world of abundance but with extreme poverty right on our doorsteps. The urgent need for action has never been highlighted as it was during the Millennium Summit, and at the highest representative level. The Declaration of this historic Summit, setting specific goals for the eradication of curable diseases and for combating extreme poverty, are realistic. What is needed is determination for action to make the Summit's promise a reality, as the Secretary-General stated.

We agree with the assessment that, in the fight against poverty and the negative effects of globalization, favourable trade terms, foreign investment and increased official development assistance are of paramount importance. What is more, we believe that international institutions could assist by being more receptive to the special problems and special needs of a number of developing States.

Extreme poverty and poverty in general, beyond the suffering they cause, are a source of the deterioration of the environment; they breed crime and are the root causes of conflicts. "Hungry people", said one speaker, "wake up angry people". We must try to implement the 1990s agenda commitment on development, especially now, after the reinforcement of those commitments by the Millennium Summit Declaration.

The Secretary-General's report concedes that many States have serious and legitimate concerns about intervention, and goes on to pose the question:

"if humanitarian intervention is, indeed, an unacceptable assault on sovereignty, how should we respond to ... gross and systematic violations of human rights ... ?" (A/55/1, para. 37)

We are among the many that share the concerns to which the Secretary-General referred.

We hold that the Charter of the United Nations, signed by 189 sovereign Member States, bestowed on the Security Council primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security and granted to it the authority to employ coercive measures, including the use of force, when threats or breaches of peace and security occur. Except in cases of self-defence, covered in Article 51 of the Charter, any use of armed force by any State for the solution of international problems is absolutely and unambiguously prohibited.

The Security Council remains the sole source of the legitimate use of armed force when dealing with breaches of peace and, of course, when systematic and gross violations of human rights are involved.

We cannot supersede or substitute these Charter provisions, for there is no alternative to the Security Council's legality in the use of armed force. What is more, there is no other international instrument which enjoys, as the Charter does, the unanimous support of mankind. Despite its more than five decades of existence, the Charter is as relevant as ever and indispensable -- even more so today. What is needed is strict adherence to its provisions by all.

If we accept intervention outside the United Nations framework, it may also encourage militant separatists to create conditions of bloodshed that are conducive to intervention. Even where the Security Council fails to agree to the use of armed force, there are other remedies which the Council may agree to employ. The founding fathers, in Article 41 of the Charter, gave us a list of coercive measures not involving the use of armed force that the Council may adopt. The coming into full operation of the International Criminal Court is an added restraint to human rights violations.

If the measures provided for in Article 41 prove inadequate, then the problem may be brought for deliberation before the General Assembly, which is the most representative main organ of the United Nations. We must not forget also that States have the primary responsibility for safeguarding the human rights of their people.

Respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of States and non-interference in their internal affairs cannot be and must not be interpreted as an impediment to safeguarding human rights or justifying inaction when systematic and gross violations of human rights occur. To the contrary, when the action to be taken enjoys the legality of a United Nations mandate, the chances are that it will meet its goals in redressing grave violations of human rights.

The use of armed force, motivated by good intentions but in violation of provisions of the Charter regarding respect for the sovereignty of States, is no solution. It is a cause of more problems to come. If we allow well-intentioned interventions outside the United Nations framework, we will be opening a Pandora's box, for, as we said before, there will always be leaders who, under the pretext of the humanitarian protection of the rights of peoples, minorities or ethnic communities, will use aggression for expansionist reasons. Paragraph 4 of Article 2 of the Charter prohibits such use of force.

The subject of humanitarian intervention is both crucial and challenging and needs thorough discussion within and outside the United Nations. We therefore welcome the Canadian initiative on the subject.

As to other issues raised in the report, cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations and civil society should be further strengthened, while the cooperation of the United Nations with the private sector, a potent partner, could reap many benefits for mankind, especially in the domain of the environment, when well monitored and Charter-oriented.

As to reforms, we believe that an enlarged Security Council reflecting the realities of today's world would also better serve the interests of peace and security. It is time to turn this widely shared position into practice.

On the question of sanctions, we believe that there is room for improvement and share the Secretary-General's view that the administration of sanctions must be geared to minimizing their negative effects on civilian populations and neighbouring States.

In conclusion, we would like to express appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report in document A/55/1 and for the ideas, suggestions and recommendations he has provided us as food for thought. We fully support the advice of the Secretary-General on the need to implement the goals of the Declaration of the Millennium Summit. We especially value his solemn warning never to leave the United Nations without resources to protect those who have placed their trust in it.

Mr. Pradhan (Bhutan)

My delegation would like to add its voice to those commending the Secretary-General on his report on the work of our Organization. With this document and his earlier report to the Millennium Summit, we have a comprehensive view of the ongoing activities of the United Nations and the possible actions that Members could initiate towards implementing the goals of the Charter. In the interest of brevity, my delegation would like to comment on only a few of the issues in the report.

The Secretary-General has not only envisioned the United Nations as a forum in which national Governments may work together, but over the years has made impressive inroads in involving private corporations, civil society and labour organizations in playing a role in promoting the goals of the United Nations Charter. His Global Compact initiative has been an important step in this direction. My delegation commends the Secretary-General and we ask him to continue his laudable work. It is now quite clear that such important sections of international society, which have so much influence on the lives of people across the globe, can be of great help in supporting our work here in this universal body.

Peacekeeping and peace-building are obviously vital and, as can be seen from the Secretary-General's report, these activities are expanding in scope. My delegation appreciates the many achievements of our Organization. We are also aware that the tasks are sometimes difficult and that failures loom large. Though peacekeeping and peace-building are of great importance and necessary to the maintenance of international peace and security, there is a need to take an objective look into the necessary and not-so-necessary activities with a view to keeping operational costs minimal and affordable. In this context, the Brahimi report is welcome and needs to be looked into and given due consideration.

My delegation was heartened to see the Secretary-General touching upon issues related to cooperation for development in his report. The great need of the hour, in order to fulfil the decisions taken by the international community, is to reverse the declining trend in disbursements of official development assistance. The least developed countries have been calling for the fulfilment of the target 0.15 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance from the target 0.7 gross national product agreed upon for all developing countries. We request the Secretary-General to continue to impress upon the developed countries the need to recommit themselves to this important goal and to fulfil the target in the interest of tackling poverty and to further international cooperation in development.

As the Secretary-General has emphasized, social and economic development has to be accompanied by good governance and be people-centred. With the expanding world population, which is expected to rise to 10 billion by 2030, we are deeply concerned by the pressures of population movements. This phenomenon could undermine the very foundations of nations and disrupt the hard-earned successes of socio-economic development achieved over decades. National Governments must not only take active and effective steps to control population growth, but also provide good governance and create the social and economic conditions to look after the welfare of their peoples. Otherwise, the peace and security of regions can be seriously undermined. This is an aspect that needs to be given more emphasis by Members and by the international community.

The Secretary-General has mentioned that he has received considerable support for the proposals made in his report to the Millennium Summit. My delegation sees this especially in the case of cooperation in economic development, and we are heartened to know of this widespread acceptance of the views put forward in his report. But verbal support is one thing and actual action another. The Secretary-General has rightly pointed this out and has called on Member States to go beyond verbal statements and, instead, begin to take concrete action. My delegation supports this call of the Secretary-General.

Mr. Schumacher (Germany)

On behalf of my Government, I would like to express my appreciation and respect for the work the United Nations has done during the last 12 months -- a year in which another 17 people have lost their lives in the line of United Nations duty in different international theatres, many of them in acts of violence with the culprits never having been brought to justice. This alone is a sombre reminder that the international community is still far from reaching its ambitious goals of peaceful and prosperous cooperation for the good of mankind.

The Millennium Summit, its final Declaration and the ensuing general debate have again provided a sharp analysis of the world's inequities and injustices, and many political declarations of intent on how to overcome them. True and immediate action to remedy these problems is still desperately needed. The Secretary-General's comprehensive and valuable report shows the enormous efforts the United Nations has made to meet the manifold challenges. Let us join the Secretariat in highlighting concrete actions that we, the Member States, are undertaking to support and advance the same endeavour.

I will thus focus on two points only. The first is our -- that is, Germany's -- contribution to the expeditious implementation of the Brahimi report, or at least parts thereof. The second is the quest for a more inclusive United Nations, "towards global partnerships".

Ambassador Brahimi's report reflects that there can be no sustainable development without lasting peace and security. The report highlighted two essential needs of today's peacekeeping: the need for better training and the need for quicker response time. New, multifunctional peacekeeping operations require an increasing number of qualified police and civilian experts. These experts can range from civilian police officers and election monitors to legal and administrative experts or medical and demining teams. Preparation for these complex deployments must begin in good time, before the need for a United Nations peacekeeping operation emerges and the mandate is formulated. Quick response time is the key word.

It is against this background that in July 1999 the German Foreign Office established a German international training centre for civil personnel to be deployed in international peacekeeping missions. One of its aims is to create a personnel reserve consisting of trained experts suited for the most diverse tasks and not limited to one single type of deployment. This is our immediate contribution towards the creation of a pool of qualified personnel who, as recommended by the Brahimi Panel, can be made available, upon request, to the United Nations -- or to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe -- anywhere in the world, quickly and in keeping with the specific needs of any given mission. A special civilian personnel database has already been established to create a quasi-standby facility, in order to support international missions in the crucial start-up phase, when qualified personnel are most urgently needed.

The courses are now open to international participants and non-governmental organizations. We plan to offer training opportunities to those countries that do not have their own training facilities for civilian personnel. For nationals from countries that would find it difficult to bear the costs of participation, we intend to arrange for specific grants. Four hundred people will have been trained by the end of the year 2000. Cooperation with other international training centres to create uniform training standards will be a high priority on our agenda.

Let me now turn to the second major point, our quest for a more inclusive United Nations, and let me quote part of paragraph 5 of the historic Millennium Declaration, contained in resolution 55/2:

"We believe that the central challenge we face today is to ensure that globalization becomes a positive force for all the world's people. For while globalization offers great opportunities, at present its benefits are very unevenly shared,

while its costs are unevenly distributed. Thus, only through broad and sustained efforts to create a shared future, based upon our common humanity in all its diversity, can globalization be made fully inclusive and equitable."

Foreign Minister Fischer and many of his colleagues highlighted this point in the recent general debate.

I would like to draw delegations' attention to the new item, "Towards global partnerships", which Germany has introduced into the agenda of this session of the General Assembly. It is well known that globalization and big global challenges in many areas have led to the emergence and increasing importance of new global players, especially from civil society and, in particular, from transnational business. The Secretary-General rightly attaches importance to an appropriate involvement of these new players in the United Nations work.

Together with a number of other countries, Germany is of the opinion that it is up to the Member States to discuss these issues in a constructive spirit, with the aim of reaching a focused, coherent and integrated approach, including everyone and leaving no regional grouping aside. In this spirit, we are already conducting consultations with a number of interested States from all regions, in order to jointly introduce a draft resolution on this topic at this session of the General Assembly. We will be working to achieve the widest possible consensus on this issue, and we are very grateful that the reactions received so far have been quite encouraging.

As the Secretary-General has asked us to roll up our sleeves and start putting into action the bold pledges that our heads of State and Government made during the Millennium Summit, we made an attempt to follow his advice. I would be grateful if Member States made use of the German training centre for international peacekeeping missions and helped us to find a fruitful consensus on our draft resolution, "Towards global partnerships".

Mr. Ling (Belarus)

Since this is my first statement to the plenary of the General Assembly in my capacity as Permanent Representative of the Republic of Belarus, allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-fifth session of this important body of the United Nations and to wish you every success in discharging your mission.

The discussions at the current session of the General Assembly on such an important matter as the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/55/1) are focused on issues of unique importance. The intensive and fundamental analyses of the major trends in the development of today's world made by heads of State and Government during the Millennium Summit and further addressed during the general debate provide us with a particular responsibility in following today's discussion.

The Republic of Belarus commends the United Nations Secretary-General Mr. Kofi Annan for the high professionalism in his leadership of the United Nations during the past year. All of us have been witnesses to truly outstanding work aimed at strengthening the United Nations and defining the principal priorities for its future development. The Secretary-General's report is an important part of this work.

In the past year, as the Secretary-General rightly observed in his report, the international community was still not close enough to meeting its major goals as defined by the preamble to the United Nations Charter. Over this past year the United Nations has not succeeded in saving humankind from the scourge of war and in establishing a harmony between human rights, social progress and better living standards with greater freedoms for all subjects of international law. We welcome the fact that the United Nations has not remained a passive bystander to such a state of affairs. The initiatives of the Secretary-General to launch an independent study on Srebrenica and Rwanda, as well as the idea of the creation of a high-level panel to make recommendations aimed at increasing the effectiveness of peacekeeping operations, chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, have served as vivid examples of this. The speediest possible analysis of the report of this group and a definition of the mechanisms for the implementation of its recommendations are vitally important to us from the point of view of enhancing the effectiveness of the process of the United Nations peacekeeping functions.

The people of our countries need peace. In the last century Belarus made an important contribution to this process in demonstrating full compliance with the obligations of the United Nations by relinquishing the possession of nuclear arms. The President and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belarus recently reaffirmed the intention of Belarus to continue its contributions to the process of disarmament. During the course of the present session the Republic of Belarus has already deposited documents for the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and Protocol IV -- on blinding laser weapons -- to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects. Belarus will continue to defend the noble initiative of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central and Eastern Europe.

The Government of Belarus has carefully studied the section of the report dealing with sanctions. We support the conclusion made by the Secretary-General in his report that these coercive measures do not always yield identical results and that in recent years the effectiveness of these measures has been increasingly questionable. Moreover, in this context third countries often are the parties who suffer. Belarus is no exception in this regard. Therefore, we support the proposal made during the general debate by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, Mr. Jan Kavan, concerning the creation within the framework of the United Nations of a special group similar to Mr. Brahimi's panel to make a comprehensive and impartial analysis of the whole range of questions related to sanctions. Belarus is ready to actively participate in the work of this group at all its stages.

In analysing the section of the report, "Meeting humanitarian commitments" (A/55/1, para. 109-153), the delegation of the Republic of Belarus would like to draw the Assembly's attention to the issue of Chernobyl. Today, on the eve of the fifteenth anniversary of the disaster, we still believe that this problem is an anguish that not only Belarus continues to suffer from. Both the President and the Minister for Foreign Affairs of my country have praised the United Nations role in mitigating the consequences of this catastrophe. We sincerely hope that the United Nations will further assist in the development of new forms of cooperation with Belarus on this matter.

The Millennium Summit and the Millennium Declaration adopted by the heads of State and Government put forward several important tasks before the United Nations. Part of the work on renewing the United Nations began last year. That is reaffirmed by the report of the Secretary-General that we are considering today. But the major part of the work still lies ahead of us. Belarus is ready to face new challenges and actively implement the objectives facing the United Nations.

Mr. Yel'chenko (Ukraine)

The symbolic character of the year 2000 and the convening of the historic Millennium Summit of the United Nations will inevitably influence the consideration of every item on the agenda of the current session of the General Assembly. This is especially true with regard to the consideration of the report of the Secretary-General on the work of the Organization (A/55/1). I would like to join previous speakers in thanking the Secretary-General for this important document containing concise and thoughtful coverage of the United Nations' activities over the past year.

My delegation believes that a forward-looking approach towards assessing the United Nations' achievements and failures during the past twelve months would correspond in the best way to the spirit of the Millennium Assembly. In the course of the just concluded general debate we heard repeated calls for action to implement the commitments made at the Millennium Summit. Therefore, an action-oriented approach is really essential for making the Summit's promise a reality.

I will focus my comments on the portion of the report covering the Organization's activities related to the maintenance of international peace and security. Ukraine subscribes entirely to the words with which the Secretary-General opens this part of the report:

"Sustainable peace and security for all countries and peoples remains a central objective of the United Nations at the dawn of the twenty-first century, as it was when the Organization was founded over half a century ago." (A/55/1, para. 29)

The lessons of the last decade in the maintenance of peace and security have impressively proved the indispensability of the United Nations, but they have also revealed its serious limitations and shortcomings. Therefore, it is not accidentally that the task of redressing those limitations and shortcomings has come to the forefront of the discussion as the Organization enters the new century. Let me address the major areas where the changes are indeed imperative.

Ukraine joins the Secretary-General in welcoming the growing attention of Member States towards conflict prevention. For the last decade, my country has consistently advocated the need to strengthen this dimension of United Nations activities. We agree it is very important to maintain the existing broad commitment to improving the capacity of the United Nations for effective preventive action.

In this connection, I would like to reiterate the proposal put forward by the President of Ukraine Leonid Kuchma to develop a comprehensive conflict prevention strategy for the United Nations. Addressing the meetings at the highest level of two principal organs of the United Nations -- the Millennium Summit and the Security Council Summit -- the President of Ukraine made a number of suggestions as to what could become concrete elements of such a strategy. In particular, one of its key components could be the establishment of United Nations regional centres for conflict prevention. Another integral element could be conflict prevention operations, which should gain prominence as a qualitatively new model of peacekeeping activities.

Recognition of the importance of conflict prevention should also find its manifestation in everyday activities of the Security Council. For example, the Secretary-General informs us in his report of the establishment of a Prevention Team within the Department of Political Affairs, which meets regularly to identify conflict situations that may offer potential for preventive action (A/55/1, para. 42). We believe it would be truly beneficial to initiate the practice of the Security Council receiving regular briefings by the Prevention Team.

The report of the Secretary-General takes note of a significant increase in peacekeeping operations over the past 12 months. That increase coincided with the beginning of Ukraine's membership of the Security Council. In that regard, I am proud to state from this rostrum that, since Ukraine became a member of that organ, there has been not a single newly established or substantially expanded peacekeeping operation -- from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to Sierra Leone, to southern Lebanon, to Kosovo, to East Timor, to Ethiopia and Eritrea -- to which my country has not contributed trained and properly equipped personnel. Ukraine's commitment to peacekeeping operations explains our determination to strengthen that key instrument available to the United Nations in discharging its responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. A powerful impetus in that endeavour was provided by the Security Council's summit meeting, which resulted in a number of very important undertakings, including a pledge to adopt clearly defined, credible and achievable mandates. Ukraine will pay special attention to practical implementation of another Security Council summit commitment: to strengthen consultations between that organ and troop-contributing countries.

It is also very important to give urgent consideration to the pertinent recommendations of the report (A/55/305) of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations. As we have been informed, the Secretary-General has already committed himself to implementing the changes for which he is responsible. This morning the Security Council started to discuss the recommendations that fall within its area of responsibility. The General Assembly too should respond to the Secretary-General's appeal to act expeditiously on the Panel's recommendations. In that connection, Ukraine believes that the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations represents the best and most appropriate forum in which to consider the report, and calls on its Bureau to convene a special session to start the discussion, with a view to making prompt recommendations to the General Assembly. We also think it is important to initiate a mechanism of regular consultations among the General Assembly, the Security Council and the Secretariat on the implementation of the Panel's recommendations.

The last issue I would like to take up relates to economic sanctions imposed by the Security Council with a view to maintaining or restoring peace and security. Ukraine could not agree more with the very precise conclusions contained in the Secretary-General's report regarding both the efficacy and the negative side effects of sanctions. In that respect, I would like to reiterate Ukraine's strong view that it is absolutely necessary to develop a clear and coherent methodology for the imposition and lifting of sanctions that takes into consideration the concerns of civilian populations and the interests of third countries. We believe it is important to maintain the recent Security Council practice of defining time limits for sanctions at the time of their imposition. It is of primary importance to develop objective criteria and mechanisms for assessing the effectiveness of sanctions and their impact, including on the target State. We also support the immediate lifting of sanctions when there are sufficient grounds to believe that they have served their purpose. Ukraine is determined to pursue efforts aimed at what the Secretary-General defines as

"the evolution of sanctions into a more potent instrument of deterrence and conflict prevention". (A/55/1, para. 101)

Let me conclude by stressing Ukraine's willingness to maintain its resolve to contribute actively to the common endeavour aimed at strengthening the United Nations.