General Assembly Session 55 meeting 5

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will first hear an address by His Highness Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa Al-Thani, Amir of the State of Qatar.

Sheikh Al-Thani (Qatar)

It is a source of pleasure and pride for us to address, on behalf of the State of Qatar and its people, and before this honourable gathering, the Millennium Summit held by the General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters. We congratulate and salute Secretary-General Kofi Annan and his staff for their fruitful efforts in organizing this meeting.

It is no coincidence that most statements delivered from this podium since the Summit began have focused on the subject of globalization. This phenomenon, which is the product of economic, social, cultural and technological developments and breakthroughs in the field of information, has become not only a major factor in the process of political decision-making, but a standard for determining the elements of international relations.

We find ourselves talking about a world of diminished distances and dimensions, of easy means of communications among peoples and nations, by virtue of the emerging means that the informatics revolution has provided; a world in which we witness with great admiration the giant strides taken and the impressive results achieved through scientific research, particularly during the last decade of the previous century.

It is regrettable, however, that in this same world, technological and even linguistic illiteracy are widespread among the majority of its peoples. Approximately 1 billion of its inhabitants suffer in abject and disgraceful poverty. As a result of the economic invasion, the economies of many countries are threatened with permanent crises and stifling debts. Moreover, its natural environment is deteriorating due to abusive exploitation, which runs counter to the recommendations of numerous international forums, particularly the Conference held at Rio de Janeiro.

Is this not the way things really are? Is this state of affairs not far removed from the ideal of building on Earth and honouring human beings advocated by all religions and enshrined by international norms and covenants? As we take part in this international forum, which embodies the universality of man, are we not supposed to stand together, to think and consider the ideal formula for restoring normalcy and making up for what is lost before it is too late? We, as individuals and groups, have a great responsibility to bear with integrity in the service of present and future generations.

To achieve a better future for humanity and to realize the principles of the United Nations is impossible without collective political will, wherein all parties in the international community cooperate with each other in one concerted effort with the aim of adopting a strategy aimed essentially at narrowing the economic and scientific gap among States and at ensuring to the optimum the fair utilization of the fruits of technological progress. We believe that the United Nations is qualified to formulate an international system that includes globalization and spreads its blessings on all humanity, while curbing its negative effects.

Here, we should like to lay out our viewpoint concerning the procedural steps that may ensure the success of such a strategy. First, we firmly believe that the objective condition for bringing nations closer together lies in establishing a comprehensive educational plan based on eliminating linguistic illiteracy, promulgating compulsory education and providing opportunities for harnessing information technology in the service of the goals of development. The human being of the third millennium cannot be satisfied merely by knowing how to write, but should be able to master the use of the modern means of communication and to freely express his ideas and to discuss those of other people.

Secondly, in order to improve the economic situation of developing countries, particularly the poorest among them, serious consideration should be given to cancelling the debts of poor States. We believe that it may be useful for these debts to be converted into capital invested in development projects that would revive the production process and generate employment opportunities, which would, in turn, reduce, if not eliminate, the flow of emigration to developed countries. It would be appropriate, in this respect, to provide special support to those States that have taken fundamental steps towards democracy.

Thirdly, it is somewhat regrettable that development assistance given by donor countries is not proportionate with their gross domestic product. This runs counter to good judgement and logic.

Fourthly and lastly, we believe that it is in the interest of developed countries to be mindful of the great damage that will befall them by reason of their economic policies vis-à-vis the developing countries. We shall briefly refer, in this respect, to three indicators.

The first indicator relates to the developing countries that produce and export raw materials. Industrialized developed countries are indifferent to the high prices of their own products, while they raise objecting voices when the prices of raw materials, such as petroleum, rise in international markets, although such an increase is the result of high taxes imposed by those developed countries. The second indicator relates to the industrial countries resorting to various excuses with the aim of weakening the competitive power of some developing countries. The third indicator relates to the increasing restrictions that those developed countries and their giant corporations impose on the exploitation of the great advances that have been made in the various spheres of human knowledge and technology development, under the pretext of protecting intellectual property.

We endorse the constructive proposals submitted by the Secretary-General in his report concerning the elimination of armed conflicts in the world and the role of the United Nations in this respect. We would emphasize the particular importance of three issues.

First, the United Nations should be urged to enhance its role in bringing the Arab-Israeli conflict to an end. We welcome any other efforts that could be made outside the United Nations in this regard, provided that they pay due respect to the rights of the Palestinian and Syrian peoples established by international resolutions. In the same context, we believe that the issue of Holy Jerusalem should be accorded the extreme priority that it deserves, by reason of its distinct place in the hearts and minds of Arabs and Muslims, and since it is the cornerstone of any prospective peace in the Middle East.

The second issue is the necessity of moving quickly towards making the Middle East a nuclear-weapon-free zone. From this forum, we call on Israel to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The third issue relates to the necessity of putting checks on the way international sanctions are imposed. These checks should establish a time-frame so that these sanctions will not continue forever.

As we look forward to contributing to the improvement of the performance of the United Nations, we feel that the only way to realize this goal is to extend democratic practices and equal opportunities within the various international organizations. It is also high time to expand the membership of the Security Council so as to include, fairly and equitably, all regions of the world. The Arab world should have a permanent seat in the Council because of its importance.

At this time, on the threshold of the third millennium, we look forward to a peaceful and safe world, a world in which justice, security and prosperity reign free of division, war and misery while moving smoothly towards change, development and betterment that will contribute to the progress of all humanity.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of the Republic of Poland.

President Kwasniewski (Poland)

In history, an end also marks a beginning. Now, at the turn of the centuries, we have a strong sense that this is happening. History has quickened its pace, and the new face of the world is emerging before our eyes.

Many may find the balance of the passing century depressing: two world wars and hundreds of local ones; two ominous totalitarian systems; achievements of science drawn in work of destruction; famine; surges of egoism among nations and groups which crushed individuals. Yet, the twentieth century has also had its brighter pages. Owing to the progress of technology, mankind has been equipped with new medicines, new sources of energy and new means of communication. International cooperation has flourished. The world has learned to appreciate both its own multi-dimensional character and the multiplicity of cultures. Freedom, democracy, rule of law, tolerance, as never before in history, have built a common house for millions of people.

I am proud to represent a country which has made a substantial contribution to this positive transformation. Twenty years ago, the phenomenon of Polish "Solidarity" gave rise to a surge which eventually melted the ice of the cold war. In 1989, in the wake of the Round Table Talks, at an historic meeting of Government and "Solidarity"-led opposition, the Poles showed how the will to negotiate and agreement above divisions could bring about an historic breakthrough. Democracy, reforms, reconciliation and development have become part and parcel of Poland's everyday life. Ultimately, the whole of our region of Central Europe emerged as a force of stability, security, development and progress.

Aware of its assets and proportionate to its potential, Poland participates -- and intends to be even more actively involved -- in the construction of the new global order. This has been evidenced, inter alia, by the participation of thousands of Polish soldiers and observers in United Nations peacekeeping missions, by the efforts during our chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), as well as by the Warsaw Declaration, adopted last June, when, together with other democratic countries, we reiterated our determination to cooperate on the basis of fundamental values of democracy and human rights.

Let us ask ourselves, let us honestly consider: Have we really been able to develop and apply procedures and instruments to effectively protect human rights? Have we yet found a way to overcome divisions between the impoverished South and the prospering North? Are we able to protect the natural environment? Do we know how to ensure that the era of inexorable progress of information and communications really favours development of culture and education, and that it will not transform into an era of information chaos? In the face of the market diktat, do we not lose sight of the human person in his or her full dimension, including his or her spiritual values?

The term "globalization" has been coined for our new interdependence. I represent a country which has opened itself to the world, emerging as an even more active participant in trade, scientific and technological exchanges. We, in Poland, feel at ease in a world of cultural interaction and lively contacts between people.

We should remember, however, that there is also a dark side to globalization. The disparity between poor and rich countries continues to grow. I am convinced that we can succeed in this endeavour only if we accept that world development must be based on universal values. In this respect, the principle of solidarity will have an important role to play.

Solidarity is shared responsibility. It is sensitivity to the needs and fears of the weaker. It is willingness to cooperate and to offer support. It is priority of concerted efforts over unilateral action. It is respect for diversity and dialogue. But, above all, I perceive solidarity as freedom, dignity and welfare of the individual which are brought into the focus of attention of all political action and global campaigns. What the world needs today is a synthesis of the strengths, which the free market has undoubtedly demonstrated, combined with realistic and people-oriented solutions which have to be introduced into political practice.

The threshold of the twenty-first century poses a formidable challenge to the United Nations. The world has changed; the concept of international order is transforming. Hence the imperative need to reform our Organization in order to enable it to face great global challenges and, at the same time, to protect the rights of every person. Within the United Nations, we need efficient organs, a flexible programme, and effective use of resources. Our role -- as Heads of State or Government -- should be to provide clear guidelines, political support and adequate resources for the Organization.

We need our world Organization more than ever before. We must face up to the inevitable: changing lifestyles, changing ways of communication and of satisfying needs. In this new, ever changing world, the United Nations should offer us a sense of stability and predictability. I am deeply convinced that the United Nations is able to serve mankind in such a way, facing the challenges to come in this new twenty-first century.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Maldas Adamkus, President of the Republic of Lithuania.

President Adamkus (Lithuania)

A number of speakers at this historic event have already made numerous concrete and valuable proposals on ways to adapt the United Nations to the challenges of the twenty-first century. I hope that the final document of the Summit will enhance this process by setting concrete objectives for the Organization.

We cannot expect that the process involving the renewal of the United Nations and the increasing role of the Organization will proceed on an easy and fast track. There might be a great deal of disappointment. The most important thing, however, is that the process be continuous.

The United Nations cannot solve all of the problems and meet all of the challenges. The success of our efforts to re-adapt ourselves to new realities will depend primarily on the involvement of States and the regions. The Member States should also play an active role in finding ways of addressing the needs of today.

The United Nations will enhance its influence when some Member States assume a greater share of responsibility by making an increased contribution to the Organization. On behalf of Lithuania, I would like to announce that my country is increasing its contribution to United Nations peacekeeping operations.

The development of our region demonstrates that the progress made by countries depends directly on the extent of the efforts made to achieve it. Our own experience during the 10 years of our independence has shown that a liberal democracy, a market economy, an open society and respect for human rights are the basic preconditions necessary for achieving progress in a short period of time. Only a very few countries, for example those with extensive natural resources, might ignore these principles, but, as history shows, not for long.

I believe that in the face of a globalized tomorrow, the United Nations will increase the scope of its human-dimension activities. Human rights should become a cornerstone of the emerging world structure. The United Nations should advance in the search for new and more effective instruments to fend off the challengers of human rights.

Globalization will continue to bring into question the limits of human rights applicability. My region is particularly interested in how the international community can promote the rights of people coping with a post-communist transition.

Ten years of profound transformation have endowed Central and Eastern European nations with invaluable experience. Good-neighbourly relations have become an earmark of the region. For instance, despite the serious disagreements that have existed in the past, the strategic partnership that has evolved between Lithuania and its neighbour Poland is a remarkable example.

The cases of the countries of Central and Eastern Europe have shown that integration works to the benefit of all participating countries and of their neighbours. Lithuania is working, and will continue to work, in the same direction with respect to the part it is playing in Euro-Atlantic enlargement.

Yet Central and Eastern Europe have to resolve numerous issues, which I will call "divorce legacies". In the process of the disintegration of one dominant power and one ideology, thousands, if not millions, of people are waiting to be compensated for lost lives, health or property. They are looking for justice, which is perceived as a compensation for their losses in the past. The United Nations could play a more important role in addressing the expectations of such people.

A number of speakers in this forum have underlined the importance of the principle of equality among nations. This is an essential principle of international relations. The leading nations in this multipolar environment, however, should also expand their role and take on more responsibilities. The right leadership can help to find a way out of a deadlocked situation. In this light, we note the progress made in the reform of the Security Council.

The United Nations has a commendable record of reconciling the differences that stem from our different backgrounds. The year 2001 has been proclaimed the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. It is a great honour for Lithuania to host, next April, the International Conference on Dialogue among Civilizations, which Mr. Koichiro Matsuura, Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), has kindly agreed to co-chair.

Over the last decades, the concept of civilization has outgrown its traditional cultural limits and today also involves social and economic values. The global community is being realigned according to this new blueprint. But the challenge is greater than that. The cultural richness that history has bestowed upon us must go hand in hand with the progress that globalization promotes. We must build a dialogue in a language acceptable to many. That language, I believe, should be based on the principles enshrined in key United Nations instruments, primarily the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the real challenge that we face now.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by Her Excellency Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland.

President Halonen (Finland)

The United Nations needs to be more relevant to its Member States, but especially to their peoples. It is important that all individuals sense the relevance of the United Nations and support its mission.

The United Nations has done, and needs to continue to do, good work for those most in need -- women, children, minorities and the disabled. The United Nations global conferences have addressed many human needs and individuals' everyday concerns, and we will continue in conferences on racism, AIDS, and the situation of children. I would emphasize that "We the peoples" is the central element of the United Nations Charter.

The United Nations must be essential also in the maintenance of international peace and security. Here I speak about a comprehensive concept of security. Peace is not only the absence of war. Democracy, respect for human rights, the rule of law and good governance are essential for comprehensive security and development. They are also effective means of crisis prevention.

Civilian crisis management should be developed and strengthened. A competent judiciary, a well-functioning educational system and effective local administration are everyday examples. Using the same elements, post-conflict peace-building consolidates a nation's foundation and prevents the renewal of conflicts. But we still need traditional peacekeeping, and therefore we should urgently consider the recommendations of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations.

As much as we must protect people from fear, we must protect them from want. We need to make them feel secure and respected. Human-centred sustainable development is the best means of long-term crisis prevention. It addresses the structural causes of conflict and thus builds a solid foundation for lasting peace. Elimination of poverty, respect for human rights and gender equality are crucial elements in this respect. I am convinced that there is no peace without sustainable development and no development without lasting peace. They go hand in hand in all parts of the world.

As a Co-Chairperson of this Summit, I have noticed that everybody is speaking about globalization -- and rightly so, because it is one of our major challenges. The United Nations must make a serious effort to ensure that all countries and all people can enjoy the fruits of globalization.

Another challenge to the United Nations is how to use the revolution in information and communication technology to advance development. At the same time, the United Nations must continue its work to improve basic education. We know that to be able to read and write is still just a dream for millions of our fellow-citizens. Concerning information and communication technology, the United Nations must establish partnerships, including partnerships with the private sector. To the developing countries, this revolution offers a chance to make leaps in development. Closing the digital divide would help narrow the gap between developed and developing countries and would help make them more equal partners in world affairs. Nevertheless, there is no magic formula for development. New and old remedies must complement one another. Increased assistance must focus on individuals and their needs. We must forgive the debts of the poorest countries and remove obstacles from their trade.

The participation of civil society is very important in terms of the relevance of the United Nations. Its input is needed in all United Nations activities. Non-governmental organizations have played a crucial role in setting the global agenda. This participation must be extended to civil society as a whole, including parliaments, the private sector and the business community. Their representatives could be included, for instance, in official United Nations delegations, as they are in Finland's. Wide international cooperation among all actors brings the United Nations closer to "we the peoples". I commend the Secretary-General for his initiatives on including civil society. Strengthening the United Nations requires new approaches to support. In his report entitled "We the peoples" (A/54/2000), the Secretary-General presents an excellent blueprint for the United Nations.

Faced with multifaceted tasks the United Nations needs a strong commitment to multilateralism from all its Members.

We know the facts. We know what we want. We know how to get it. All we need is the will to do it.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

Before I give the floor to the next speaker, I should like to draw the attention of members to a matter concerning the maintenance of order in the General Assembly Hall. There have been many instances of cellular telephones ringing in the General Assembly Hall while a meeting was in progress. The ringing of cellular phones interferes with the delivery of statements and disrupts the orderly proceeding of the meetings. In that regard, I urge members of delegations to turn their cellular phones off or to keep them in silent mode while in the General Assembly Hall. I thank members for their cooperation.

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Alpha Oumar Konaré, President of the Republic of Mali.

President Konaré (Mali)

A special session of the General Assembly devoted to children will be convened in September 2001, and I wish to begin my statement with this loving cry from the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF): children come first; children are our future. We look forward to a future without child soldiers and child victims of armed conflict; without trafficking in children to exploit and enslave them; without violence and cruelty to children; without the exploitation of child labour. The future is for children, for children who are better educated and better cared for.

And for the people of Mali, that future must not be made in the image of the present, a present of great poverty in material terms. This situation is not a matter of fate. It is the result of insufficient payment for our products; of the crushing debt burden; of our growing oil bills; of the lack of investment; and perhaps also of the poor management of our economies and of poor economic choices -- but of inappropriate cooperation policies as well.

There are solutions that can change this situation, that can bring about increased income, faster and more sustained growth and the conditions for sustainable human development. The war on poverty should take account of the specific characteristics of each country and should show respect for the disadvantaged and for the thousands of men and women, organizations and institutions that have always been waging that war.

We have to free up initiatives, especially private initiatives and those of civil society and non-governmental organizations, to consolidate local human resources and national capacities, to increase official development assistance, and to consider a more collective management of hydrocarbons in the spirit of the San José Agreement. We must also make greater use of the technological revolution and new information technologies.

In that connection we should pay special attention to the World Summit on Information Society to be convened in 2003 by the International Telecommunication Union with the participation of all parties concerned.

We need a climate of freedom and the rule of law in order to create a context conducive to good governance, to the fight against corruption and to participation by populations in all their diversity, especially cultural diversity, in the management of their affairs and in the free choice of their representatives.

We must have a clear, unambiguous common position that condemns brutal disruption of the democratic process. Military coups cannot be condemned in Africa accepted elsewhere. We have to prevent by all means genocide and flagrant violations of human rights.

We must also consider isolating regimes at war that refuse mediation efforts by the international community. We have to fight for greater human security by condemning the use of anti-personnel landmines and the secret nuclear arms race; by fighting against the proliferation of and illicit trafficking in light weapons; and by supporting the work of national, regional and international coalitions which include all of the actors concerned, including Governments and civil societies.

We have to condemn the physical mutilation of human beings, rejecting any self-proclaimed, so-called national amnesty following killings, and rejecting the culture of impunity.

Strengthening the culture of peace and human rights education will be the pillar of democratic progress and will support the emergence of a truly diverse community of democracies that are based on universal principles and far from holding to one single ideology. In this regard, we welcome the creation in Warsaw last June of the Community of Democracies, which will favour the expansion of democratic principles throughout the world.

Democratic progress in Africa feeds the momentum of regional and subregional integration. It has led to the creation of the African Union, which will enable our continent to be more responsible, to propose its own true alternatives to its problems and to assert its presence among all the international organizations. The African Union will create the conditions for a true partnership for irreversible globalization -- globalization that is not simply an economic process and is not synonymous with exclusion, with just the logic of the market or with an unbridled quest for profit and wealth. Globalization will be synonymous with sharing, with opening up to products from the South and with social justice. It must have a human face, or it will not be for us.

Despite its negative media image of being a continent of wars and of violence that often springs from a lack of democracy, of being a continent of calamities and disasters, Africa remains a continent with formidable assets, a continent that looks to the future with confidence. Today we intend to take up the duty of our generation in the struggle against poverty and disease, in mounting an unprecedented crusade against AIDS in a spirit of solidarity, even overcoming taboos, because we will not let ourselves die. Out of every ten people who have AIDS, nine are in Africa.

We also want to take up the duty of our generation to fight ignorance. Education, especially of young people and women, is our top priority. It must enlighten the new millennium and inaugurate the new century. We also want to fight environmental degradation and to preserve our common land.

The duty of a generation demands the solidarity of a generation. None of those objectives will be achieved without a greater democratization of the United Nations, through the expansion of the Security Council, so that it becomes more effective and legitimate and better represents the States and peoples of the world. The desired reform should also include the effective exercise by the General Assembly, as the supreme world forum, of all its prerogatives, and the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council so that it can play the role entrusted to it by the Charter.

None of this can be achieved if, at the dawn of this new, twenty-first century and of this new, third millennium, individuals and peoples are not placed at the heart of our concerns. As the Secretary-General has eloquently pointed out, we need to undertake a true dialogue of civilizations -- a dialogue based on solidarity, the law, tolerance and remembering; a dialogue that never forgets slavery, colonialism, fascism, xenophobia, racism, the fate of Palestine.

Glory to man, and may the United Nations live in a world of peace, solidarity, sharing and social justice. Please God that this Millennium Assembly will be a decisive step forward.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Frederick J. T. Chiluba, President of the Republic of Zambia.

President Chiluba (Zambia)

We have come to New York not only to celebrate, but, most important, to reflect on our achievements in the last millennium and to ponder our future. This occasion gives us the opportunity to redefine the working mechanisms of a United Nations which should be people-centred.

It is regrettable that, so many years after the establishment of this body, global peace is still far from being achieved, while the war on want is in dire jeopardy, as the vast majority of the world's population continues to live in abject poverty. Poverty is not an accident, but a result of inequitable economic and political interaction in which the weak continue to be deprived of resources necessary for development. It is totally unacceptable that -- in this day and age of modern technology and the information superhighway -- squalor, misery and disease continue to ravage millions of our people, especially women and children, who bear the brunt of poverty.

It is imperative for the international community to search its moral conscience and focus on this serious blemish. Measures to address this situation are clear. They include improved market access, deep and broader debt relief, foreign direct investment and other capital inflows, and financial and technical support in the multilateral trading system. The launch of the enhanced Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative by the G-8 countries has had little impact on debt and poverty. Eligibility for and access to the HIPC initiative must be more open in order to benefit many more countries that are in desperate need of support. Development partners that have not done so should strengthen their efforts to honour the longstanding undertaking to allocate 0.15 per cent of their gross national product as overseas development assistance to least developed countries, and more donors should move towards the 0.2 per cent target.

The impact of aid has been limited not only by its declining volume, but also by the lack of concrete action to address the issues of concern to developing countries. The world shares a common humanity, whose essence must go beyond mere rhetoric to concrete action to eliminate the obvious imbalances that continue to exacerbate poverty and marginalization. The United Nations must as a matter of urgency give poverty eradication the priority it deserves. We must develop clear, action-oriented programmes to combat this scourge, which claims more victims than wars. It is futile to claim a common global humanity while perpetuating structures of injustice and inequality.

Given political will and determination, poverty can be eliminated from the face of the world. The solutions to this crisis in large measure depend on the restructuring of the United Nations itself. In its present form the United Nations lacks the capacity to respond adequately to these problems. It is for this reason that my Government is calling for recognition of the need to energize and refocus the Organization as a matter of urgency, to enable it respond to these challenges. The United Nations should be made more viable in order to support transparency and good governance, improve human rights, preserve the environment, consolidate democracy and improve the standards of living of our people. It must be given the capacity to deal with the serious conditions and circumstances that continue to afflict the globe.

It is a contradiction in terms that while we have been championing democratization across the globe, we have not been able to democratize the Security Council.

As we commemorate the millennium, we should give hope to the war-afflicted peoples in many regions of the world by finding lasting solutions to the causes of conflicts.

Africa has been hardest hit by these conflicts. We, the members of this family of nations, must speed up our reaction to such crises. Our slow response has on many occasions proved very costly, leading to the loss of many lives.

We in Africa have recognized that military and other unconstitutional upheavals are the major causes of political instability. As a result, the Organization of African Unity (OAU) has adopted the "red card" principle, meaning that any OAU member State whose Government comes into power by unconstitutional means will immediately be suspended from the Organization until that Government restores democratic rule. The United Nations, in my opinion, needs to adopt a similar declaration to eliminate the unconstitutional removal of elected Governments.

My Government hopes that the unity of purpose expressed at this Summit will provide a historic opportunity to all of us to agree on a process for a fundamental review of the role of, and challenges facing, the United Nations.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Stjepan Mesi, President of the Republic of Croatia.

President Mesi (Croatia)

Time is running short. The moments in which we all intuitively feel that humankind is at a crucial crossroads are rare indeed. One such moment is now.

The twentieth century was a period of immense progress of science and technology. Man has soared into the air, stepped on the Moon and reached for the stars. Man has plunged into the depths of the sea and has begun to exploit the submarine world. He has linked and shrunk the world by information and communication technologies. At the same time, he has gained better knowledge, if not awareness, of himself. The causes of many diseases and the drugs for their treatment have been discovered, and the human genome has been mapped.

On the other hand, the twentieth century was marked by two world wars, two authoritarian systems with global ambitions, the cold war, the global arms race and the bipolar world. But, although a new global conflict has been avoided, confrontations have nevertheless remained.

In such a world -- and I am confident that we all share this awareness -- we must provide full support to this global Organization, the United Nations, and endeavour to make it, through common efforts, the most relevant and efficient factor in the present-day world, an Organization which every nation will truly experience as its own. I have in mind a regenerated and, in every respect, revitalized United Nations, capable of responding to the challenges of the new century and providing the much needed framework for efforts focused on strengthening security and on the achievement of progress and prosperity for all.

I believe that this eminent gathering is the opportunity to welcome the major contribution of the United Nations and, in particular, of the current Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. We firmly support his vision of a world befitting man and his fight against evil, a vision which has systematically inspired him throughout his rich career and which is also the point of departure of his proposal and call for a thorough reform of the United Nations structure and activity, including the reform of the Security Council and the peacekeeping operation system, and recognition of the role of the General Assembly.

It is with a sense of pride that I address the Assembly today on behalf of the Republic of Croatia, a small European country which has experienced war and is now affected by the many ills of a country undergoing transition. We need, urge and count on the assistance of the international community in overcoming the consequences of the war and strengthening the institutions of civil society and democracy. Croatia now seeks and is beginning to achieve its link-up with the Euro-Atlantic integrations and the European Union. Firmly committed to such foreign policy goals, we also expect their equally firm and encouraging support in this endeavour. We are still faced with the challenges of issues such as Prevlaka and the succession to the former Yugoslavia, which ought to be dealt with in accordance with the principle of the inviolability of internationally recognized borders, international law and equality.

Today I urge Members again to pool our efforts and actions, lest we should disappoint the millions of those who in the twentieth century gave their lives for a better tomorrow, as well as those who will spend the greater part of their lives in the twenty-first century. Let us help the young in the poor countries, as well as in the rich countries, to overcome the frustration with which they are currently faced, although for different reasons. Time is running short; let us set off before it is too late.

The path ahead is clear. Let us follow the signpost offered us by the Secretary-General in his report; let us breathe life into it. Let us start from the point of departure. Let us secure the recognition of the values of freedom, equality and the fundamental rights of States, peoples and, primarily, individuals. Let us secure the recognition of principles, and strengthen the instruments and standards of the fight against discrimination, intolerance, supremacy and dependence of any kind.

Let us harness our forces and endure in our efforts to curb the arms race, which is wasteful and lethal in every respect. Let us conclude new treaties and reinforce our support for existing treaties covering this field, particularly with regard to mine control and the control of small-bore weapons production and trade.

Let us espouse the positive achievements and promises of globalization, and attenuate its negative implications by favouring economic relations which will provide for the gradual emergence of poor countries from their dire predicaments. Let us reform the international financial institutions, but let us not, in the process, neglect or unilaterally avoid the discipline and commitments imposed by global interdependence.

Let us fight for the preservation of our rivers, mountains, seas and oceans, our common heritage on this planet. Let us commit ourselves to compliance with the undertakings we have assumed, because we thereby also preserve the basis of our own existence.

In conclusion, let me call on the Assembly to confirm our dedication to peace and to the protection of all rights of every human being, because relations of genuine equality on this global scale can only be established on such a foundation. Human life is the supreme value, and this is why we have the right and the obligation to stand up in its protection, wherever and by whomever it may be jeopardized, through our common global Organization.

The key to the future is in our hands. The future will be of our own doing. Let us boldly open the door of the new century and the new millennium. Let us do it together, here and now, for the world is at a turning point and time is running short.

Let me take this opportunity to thank all those who have expressed their sympathy over the tragic death of a Croatian citizen, Pero Simundza, who was killed in West Timor in the service of the United Nations.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Leonid Kuchma, President of Ukraine.

President Kuchma (Ukraine)

Speaking from this high rostrum, I feel probably the same as everybody present here -- responsibility, solidarity and inspiration. Our participation in the Summit reaffirms our commitment to and support for the foundations of world order, based on the underlying principles of the Charter of the United Nations. These principles should continue to serve as the basis for the system of international relations in the next millennium.

In historic terms, the United Nations was brought into existence not so long ago. Even less time has elapsed since the creation of the newly independent States, including Ukraine. But even within this short period of time we have learned a lot. We know what the peoples of our countries want.

Like every people on earth, my compatriots want to live in a democratic country, without fear for their future and the life and destiny of coming generations. It has been from this angle that we perceive the role and place of the United Nations in the twenty-first century.

Disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons remain one of the essential tasks to be addressed by the United Nations and the world community. Not so long ago, Ukraine took an unprecedented step by renouncing the world's third largest nuclear arsenal. That gesture of goodwill, dictated by the responsibility for strengthening peace and for the future of mankind, gives us the right to call upon other States to follow this way.

I am convinced that nuclear weapons are useless and unpromising as an instrument of State policy. It is necessary to do everything possible to make sure that in the new millennium mankind gets rid once and for all of the fear of devastating nuclear disaster. In this respect, we support the idea of convening a worldwide international conference to work out ways and means of eliminating such a threat.

The United Nations should continue to play a key role in maintaining the international peace and security. It is quite obvious that such hazardous diseases as conflicts should be treated long before their eruption. I believe that today, as never before, there is an acute need to develop a comprehensive strategy of the United Nations for conflict prevention that should be based on a large-scale use of preventive diplomacy and peace-building.

It is on this premise that a peacekeeping philosophy of the United Nations and its Member States in the next millennium should be built. A secure and equitable world would be difficult to achieve without resolute and uncompromising response by the entire world community to new challenges related to the process of globalization. It seems that possible catastrophic consequences of some of them have not yet been fully realized.

Completely sharing the views expressed by previous speakers regarding the threat of international terrorism, I would like to draw particular attention to one of its specific manifestations, international computer terrorism. Unfortunately, criminals and malefactors have been increasingly enjoying the advantages of the information revolution. I would like to invite you to consider the appropriateness of working out an international instrument to combat computer terrorism.

The best and most reliable weapon of peace is steady economic development. For developing countries and countries with economies in transition, the main factors for success in economic reforms and poverty eradication programmes consist in obtaining free access to world markets, in liberalizing trade and resolving external debt problems. It is in this domain that both the United Nations and the international financial institutions can launch their initiatives.

Ensuring proper living conditions for future generations from the environmental standpoint is another urgent task that requires our joint and concerted efforts. In Ukraine, there is a clear understanding of the danger caused by the careless exploitation of natural resources and the use of new technologies.

Our people have been suffering the consequences of the largest technological cataclysm of the twentieth century, the Chernobyl nuclear power plant accident. We have made a decision to shut down this nuclear power plant by December 15th, 2000. This decision gives us an opportunity to work out a mechanism for consolidating efforts at all levels -- national, regional and international -- to resolve social, economic and environmental problems that affect the peace and security of individual countries and of all the humankind.

Time requires of all of us to act in unity with resolve and to assume the responsibility for the future of the United Nations. In the twenty-first century, the Organization should be provided with such capabilities, financial resources and structures that will allow us effectively to serve those on behalf of whom and for whom it was established.

I am convinced that by strengthening the United Nations the world community could significantly enhance its capacity to withstand the dangers and threats, to respond to the challenges of our time and to ensure stability, justice and predictability of international relations.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency, Retired Flight-Lieutenant, Jerry John Rawlings, President of the Republic of Ghana.

President Rawlings (Ghana)

The end of one millennium and the beginning of another marks a focal point for the hopes and expectations of peoples across the world. While there were great social and scientific achievements during the past century, we also have to admit that deprivation and inequality continue to grow.

The report of the Secretary-General to this Summit captures the challenges and the means to address them very comprehensively. We support the thrust of the report, and we call for international commitment to urgent action. In today's globalized world, we must not only ensure social justice internally, but we must also incorporate it in own our global interactions.

The failure in the past to recognize and apply the principles of equity and justice in international relations has determined the present unacceptable conditions of poverty, marginalization, criminality, the spread of disease, environmental degradation and global social disorder. Using the economic and technological edge of our millennium and converging ethical world-views, I believe as most of us do, that we can reverse these conditions and pursue the objectives of socially stable global societies, emphasizing trade, debt reduction or debt alleviation and the containment of the HIV/AIDS pandemic.

Education, particularly access to good quality basic education, provides the basis for the building of tolerant, socially stable communities. We must therefore mobilize the $7 billion a year needed to meet the educational costs of providing primary education over the next 10 years for the 130 million children in developing countries who do not now have access to it. Our efforts to strengthen education must necessarily include the education and empowerment of women, with emphasis on the girl child.

As a leading contributor to United Nations and regional peacekeeping, Ghana believes that regional or subregional efforts to contain conflict can only augment United Nations efforts to maintain international peace and security. This is best assured if structural weaknesses within United Nations peacekeeping operations are addressed.

If developing countries are to ensure for their peoples the decent quality of life which flows from a stable, developed environment, their capacity to govern responsibly needs to be reinforced, particularly through increased development assistance. The absence of strong and resilient institutions in regions like Africa has encouraged corruption from within and without.

I should like to speak for a few more minutes on the issue of corruption. Corruption is a global phenomenon. However, Africa, in particular, has suffered especially severe damage -- materially, socially, politically and morally. Seemingly, it is the only, or the most, corrupt continent in the world. Admittedly, Africa may have had -- it probably still has -- a few notably corrupt and tyrannical leaders and Governments. It may also be true that our continent is not yet free from this blight, which has drained some of our countries of resources, both material and human, which should have been used to improve the quality of life of the poor and the disadvantaged. Developing countries have to check corruption, but we are also entitled to demand that the developed world does not thrust corruption upon us.

Where do the proceeds of this corruption end up in the long run? They end up in the vaults of the financial and banking institutions of the Western world. For every dollar of corrupt money that is kept in Western banks, one African child may die, two African children starve and three African children suffer from disease and ignorance resulting from lack of health care or of education. There will be less corruption in Africa if there is no place to hide the proceeds of corruption or if the proceeds of corruption -- once uncovered, as has been done -- are returned to their real owners, the people of Africa, being served by Governments of integrity.

Companies and multinationals that are apparently reputable are known to engage in underhand deals with high-level officials in order to gain advantages over their competitors or to carry out unethical operations. Recently one Western company so seriously undermined a rival company from the same country in a bid for an important water project in my country, by falsely impugning its business ethics, that the latter company, which had offered much better terms, pulled out of the bid. Its withdrawal from the bidding process does not only represent a loss of integrity; it is Ghana's loss, as the water project still remains on the drawing board today. Some of my people will continue to drink unhealthy water, if they drink any at all.

In another case of competition between Western countries in Europe and in the Americas -- countries on both sides of the Atlantic ocean that believe in democracy and pontificate on the subject, and on the free market system and competition -- questionable arguments based on technical rules of origin, supported by false declarations by officials sent to my country by one of them in Europe, were employed in order to deny European market access to a Ghanaian value-added product, just because it was perceived to be an appendage of an American company. This is a very sad extension of the Western countries' own trade wars. Once again, we in the so-called condemned world are the ones who suffer.

A World Bank report recently blacklisted 29 companies for corruption in contract-awarding procedures in an African country. Which country? Our sister country, Nigeria. The overwhelming majority -- more than 80 per cent -- of the corrupt companies blacklisted by the World Bank, which is a Western institution, incidentally, were not Nigerian companies, but were from the very Western world that condemns us for our corruption.

That was bad enough. But even worse is the corruption of the domestic front men of such companies, whose corrupt moneys continue to be retained in Western banking and financial institutions and about whom there is a dead, stony silence. Politicians run the risk of being shot in a coup or a revolt, or of dying for their alleged corruption. Yet, whenever the money is uncovered, I can assure the Assembly that for every one politician or leader, there could be five corrupt African business collaborators whose corrupt moneys remain untouched in Western banks. Yet, as usual, it is the politicians who always face the risks.

Only last week, in an unprecedented diplomatic faux pas, a high-ranking Western diplomat in my country openly declared at a public forum that leading Western companies, including companies from his own country, offer bribes to Government officials in order to influence the award of contracts. In other words, Western Governments know about the corruption of their countries' companies operating in my continent of Africa, yet keep dead quiet about it. This is not good enough.

Questionable and dubious mergers and acquisitions are putting enterprises in Africa and the developing world, and even in the developed world itself, out of business.

I am convinced that Africa's political independence will remain meaningless unless it is reflected in a transparent Africa, a corruption-free Africa, an accountable Africa and a trusted Africa. But the temptations of the developed world must stop, if this vision is to be achieved.

Finally, the ongoing reform of our Organization must aim at achieving a world body that is development-oriented and representative, and take into account that that representation should not leave out responsibilities at the Security Council level. It also must become democratic and responsive. Making and using the United Nations as a real forum of the people, responsive to the global challenges of our time, will be our challenge as we embark on a new millennium.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Hugo Chávez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.

President Chávez Frías (Venezuela)

Venezuela and its Bolivarian people salute this Millennium Summit and, through it, all the peoples and countries of the world.

Two millenniums ago, Jesus Christ came to fight for justice, for peace, for dignity and for life. He died crucified. Five hundred years ago, the encounter and the conflict between civilizations were accelerated through a savage process of conquest, colonization, exploitation and domination. Fifty-five years ago, the United Nations was created in order to fight for security, equality and the happiness of peoples.

Since Jesus' last supper so long ago in the year 33, up to this Millennium Summit of 2000, how many summits have men held! It sometimes seems that we jump from summit to summit while our peoples keep moaning from abyss to abyss. Despite fighters such as Christ, the good intentions of colonizers such as Father de las Casas and the good will of many in the United Nations during the past half-century, today's world remains marked and burdened by misery, inequality, hunger and death.

Simón Bolívar, the liberator of South America and the leader who inspired the revolution that is taking place today in Venezuela, dreamed one day, in his vision for justice, dreamed about scaling the Chimborazo summit. There, over the perpetual snows of the spine of the Andes, he imagined that he met Father Time, a wise, long-bearded old man. Following a dialogue on that peak, Father Time told him: "Go and tell the truth to man".

Today, I have come here as the standard-bearer of that Bolivarian dream to proclaim to the United Nations and the world: Let us tell the truth to man. Let us give meaning to the word "truth". We have two interpretations that are commonly accepted by many philosophical schools to define truth. The first holds that truth is not an abstraction or a dream. The truth is something that is happening at this very moment to every one of us and to all of our people. The second holds that truth is the only thing that links us to the whole, to all humankind. The Indian philosopher Jiddu Krishnamurti said that the truth is not static, a fixed point. The truth moves; it is a dynamic that goes many ways.

Of course, the United Nations was created in a historic moment. We were emerging from the horror of the Second World War and, under the looming threat of conflict, humankind rallied around that truth in order to put an end to that infernal human butchery in which millions died. But this truth has been left behind. It is no longer the truth today and has disappeared with time. The time has come at this Millennium Summit to make that truth a creative hope, a colossal challenge. Let us leave it behind. We cannot keep clinging stubbornly to a truth that is no longer true, that was valid at only one moment of history.

Of course, in the world today, millions of people continue to die every day, but not as a result of bombs or world wars. The truth is different today. Millions are dying today as a result of hunger, inequality, exploitation and poverty. Death is triumphant throughout the planet even as we meet here. That is why Venezuela adds it voice to the clamour of the wretched of the Earth, as Frantz Fanon would say, to call for a structural transformation of the United Nations, a radical change of the Organization.

We must democratize and expand the Security Council so that we can find the truth for all. The truth cannot be imposed by a minority, because then it would not be the truth. We would be living a lie of imposition and inequality. Venezuela joins that cry. Only in this way, can we the people begin to emerge from this abyss and scale the heights. A new world compact of the United Nations is necessary. We need a new democratic consensus in the United Nations. Venezuela joins that cry.

We must build on this new reality and on the new moment in which we are living. Only in this way can we hear the voices of the silent. I could have dispensed with these five minutes this morning and spared representatives the time of listening to me. I might have taken only three seconds. Why do I say three seconds? Because, according to statistics, every three seconds a child dies of hunger in this world. One, two, three: that is our truth.

It is said in the Bible that those who have eyes must see and those who have ears must hear. Let me say that those who have a heart should listen to the cries of the wretched of the Earth. Only in this way can we comply with the dictum laid down in the Book of Ecclesiastes: "For everything there is an appointed time, ...and an appropriate time for every matter on Earth." (The Holy Bible, Ecclesiastes, 3:1)

On this planet, let us build our new truth and act so that we may say that the time of the people has come. This is the call of Venezuela, on behalf of the Bolivarian peoples and of humanity: let us save the world!

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Heydar Aliyev, President of the Republic of Azerbaijan.

President Aliyev (Azerbaijan)

The twentieth century is coming to an end. Humankind will recall this century with its spiritual and intellectual progress, two bloody world wars, the collapse of empires and the emergence of dozens of new sovereign States, the tensions of the cold war and the collective efforts towards peace and stability. What will the world look like in the coming century? The relegation of the confrontation of two systems to the pages of history and the prevalent expansion of ideas of democracy and market economy should contribute to building the kind of world where the interests of all States are taken into account and a genuine equal partnership is established.

However, an analysis of the development of the international environment leads us to the bitter conclusion that stereotypes of rivalry are still alive. We are living through a very uneasy period, where a single wrong step could create an explosion of a situation and lead to a tragic return to the past. We face the challenge of treading a difficult path towards building a just and secure world order, and we all need to strive to achieve that goal.

The main trend at the present stage of the world's development is globalization. We are all concerned about the prospects of this complex and ambiguous phenomenon. Globalization should contribute to ensuring sustainable development, integrity and a stability of systems for governing nations, to overcome discrimination in economic relations and to improve the welfare of peoples.

The supremacy of the principles and norms of international law, the evolutionary character of changes, partnership and support by the more advanced nations to less developed States, mutual trust and recognition of national distinctions in light of the commitment to values cherished by all humanity should be the determining vectors of this process. The strength of democratic development is in its diversity.

Azerbaijan is making its contribution to the positive development of globalization. Using its geographic location, resources and potential, which are of geo-strategic importance to the whole world, my country has been effectively playing the role as a bridge between East and West, originating from a rich historical past and aimed towards the future. We are making enormous efforts to restore the Great Silk Road, to create the Europe-Caucasus-Asia transport corridor, to develop and export the hydrocarbon resources of the Caspian basin to world markets. These projects are of crucial importance for a free and fully-fledged development of nations in several regions of the world. They will give impetus to transnational cooperation and have a decisive impact on the development of the global environment.

However, external threats and internal problems, pressures and involvement in the struggle for spheres of influence have not allowed young and fragile democracies an opportunity to freely carry out the policy that would meet the interests and expectations of their peoples to strengthen and develop their statehood and to be involved in peaceful development. From the first days of their existence, they were forced to fight a hard battle for independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. States which have suffered from acts of aggression, seizure of territories and ethnic cleansing, aggressive separatism and terrorism, rightly expect maximally effective action from the United Nations to establish a just and secure world, and to protect the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Unfortunately, the South Caucasus has become a region where all these problems, threats and risks have become stark realities. The main destabilizing factor in the situation in the South Caucasus has been aggression by Armenia against Azerbaijan; this has brought incalculable tragedies to millions of people. As a result of this aggression, Armenian armed forces have occupied 20 per cent of the territory of Azerbaijan, carried out ethnic cleansing and expelled one million Azerbaijanis from their homes. The Security Council of the United Nations passed four resolutions in this respect, unequivocally confirming the sovereignty, territorial integrity and the inviolability of the frontiers of the Republic of Azerbaijan, and which unconditionally demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Armenian armed forces from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan. But, since 1993, and until now, the Security Council's decisions remain a dead letter.

Since 1992, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) has been engaged in the settlement of the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, but its activities have not been successful. Bilateral discussions between the Presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia continue, but they, too, have not brought about any results yet. We have had a ceasefire for the last six years, but it is not a solution to the problems.

I appeal to the United Nations to take all necessary measures to implement the relevant Security Council resolutions. Without a settlement to the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan, and other conflicts; without the removal of factors of external pressure, including foreign military presence, it is impossible to achieve peace and security in the region. If the South Caucasus were to acquire political integrity and neutral status, it would permit the establishment of normal mutual relations among the States of the South Caucasus and ensure their harmonious integration into the world economic system.

I extend my gratitude to the organizations within the framework of the United Nations and to the donor countries for their assistance to Azerbaijani refugees and displaced persons who have already been living in a state of poverty for over eight years. We feel an acute need for the continuation and increase of critically important humanitarian assistance until they can return to their homes.

The United Nations has a great responsibility for peace in the world. We pin our hopes on the United Nations. Serious and rational reforms should increase the effectiveness of the Organization, in particular of the Security Council.

Finally, I would like to underline our collective responsibility for peace and security on the planet and express our assurance that the results of the Millennium Summit will be a reliable basis for our journey into the twenty-first century.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Majesty King Harald V, head of State of the Kingdom of Norway.

King Harald V (Norway)

We must invest in the United Nations. We must give it the strength and resources it needs to accomplish the tasks we have assigned it. We owe it to our forefathers, who made it the object of their highest hopes and aspirations. We owe it to our children and grandchildren, whose future has been placed in our hands. We owe it to ourselves, because our generation has been entrusted with the knowledge to make the right decisions and the means to carry them out.

The United Nations rose from the ashes of the Second World War -- from the recognition that our powers of destruction had reached the point where peace was the only option. The advent of nuclear weapons reinforced this realization.

Yet the bloodletting, devastation and misery of armed conflict are still very much a reality in Europe, in the Americas, in Asia and in Africa. The United Nations should be empowered to deal effectively with the changing nature of conflict, to detect the seeds of conflict at an early stage, to manage conflict where it cannot be prevented, to mandate and equip United Nations peace operations that can deal with the complex nature of modern conflict. The United Nations should be empowered to provide post-conflict rehabilitation, to alleviate the suffering and protect the rights of innocent civilians, of innocent women and children, to punish genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It is essential to eliminate the causes of armed conflict. Most of them are closely linked to poverty, underdevelopment, and to the violation of human rights. The Norwegian Nobel Committee has long recognized these linkages by awarding the Nobel Peace Prize not only to the United Nations peacekeeping forces, but also to the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Children's Fund, and twice to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

The fight to eliminate poverty is the overriding challenge of the international community at the turn of the millennium. The Secretary-General is advancing not only the cause of development, education and health; not only the cause of peace; not only the cause of human rights and empowerment; but all three. They are inextricably linked and mutually reinforcing.

We have all agreed on the goals for international development. We have the knowledge to achieve them, and we have the resources to achieve them. We live in an age of unparalleled promise and prosperity. We will not be forgiven -- and we should not be forgiven -- if we fail to fulfil this promise, if we fail to share this prosperity with the neediest among us.

The elimination of poverty is not only a bridge to peace and development, not only a bridge to human rights and individual dignity, but also a bridge to the preservation of the environment for future generations. For we shall never be able to cooperate effectively on how to husband the scarce resources of our planet, how to prevent the degradation of the environment, as long as so many are trapped in hopeless poverty.

So let us respond to the Secretary-General's call for a strengthened and revitalized United Nations not with indifference or pessimism, but with the resolve and determination it merits. I pledge that my country will do so, and together we will succeed.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Alhaji Ahmad Tejan Kabbah, President of the Republic of Sierra Leone.

President Kabbah (Sierra Leone)

Let me first of all pay tribute to all those who have lost their lives in the cause of peace under the United Nations flag.

Our world Organization comprises independent sovereign States. But the United Nations is about people, all people, irrespective of their colour, creed, or social and economic status.

We therefore commend our Secretary-General for reminding us that the United Nations is for and about people, about their welfare, their safety and security, and about their future. He has done so by choosing "We the peoples" as the title of his Millennium report, a document in which he provided us with not just an agenda for the years ahead, but concrete recommendations for our collective action on behalf of the peoples of the world. We must try harder, in the words of the United Nations Charter,

"to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples".

As we enter the new millennium, we have come to realize that the tasks of this Organization have become more difficult. Most of the problems and issues that the United Nations was created to tackle just over half a century ago have taken different forms and dimensions. They have become more complex and more challenging. Many of them seem to have become immune to the prescriptions and remedies we have developed over the years to tackle, resolve or eradicate them.

In several parts of the world, we have been witnessing the emergence of renewed manifestations of political and social repression, ethnic intolerance, racist tendencies, and rampant economic inequality. A few years ago, the concern was about the so-called cold war. Today we are being confronted by widespread "hot wars" -- real wars that continue to take a heavy toll on the lives of millions of people.

How then do we act on the challenges of the new century? How can the United Nations help meet the challenges that the Secretary-General has identified in his Millennium report? In my view, the answers lie in the process of adaptation.

The United Nations must adapt and re-equip itself to deal with the new manifestation of the perennial problems of human insecurity and underdevelopment. In many instances, we have to develop new approaches and new people-centred strategies for addressing the emerging and complex issues ahead.

In several ways, Sierra Leone has tested the capacity of the United Nations to adapt and to deal with some of the challenges of the new century. For example, in the areas of human rights protection and the administration of justice, the United Nations has been called upon to adapt to a unique situation by devising an innovative process of dealing with the phenomenon of impunity. The people of Sierra Leone called upon the United Nations for assistance, and the Organization responded positively with respect to the establishment of a special court to bring to justice persons who may have committed gross violations of human rights and grave offences in violation of international law and domestic criminal law.

In the area of conflict management, the Government of Sierra Leone recently accepted a Security Council ban, albeit a temporary one, on the export of Sierra Leone diamonds. Although this has resulted in the loss of much needed revenue, we did it in order to strengthen the Organization's capacity to deal with a new menace to international peace and security, especially in Africa: the menace of conflict diamonds. We welcome the proposal of the United Kingdom to place the issue on the agenda of the Millennium Assembly.

Also in the area of conflict management, Sierra Leone expects to host more than 16,000 United Nations peacekeepers in one of the largest operations the United Nations has ever undertaken. May I, on behalf of all the people of Sierra Leone, take this opportunity to express my profound gratitude to the Security Council for giving the United Nations Mission in Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL) additional responsibilities within its current mandate. Our thanks go also to those countries that have contributed troops and other resources to UNAMSIL. Their efforts have given true meaning to the term collective security. The situation in Sierra Leone as it developed demanded an appropriate response from our Organization, an organization that has pledged in its Charter to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war.

As we cross the threshold of the new millennium, the international community must rededicate itself to the pursuit of peace and human security in all its forms. As the British Prime Minister, Mr. Tony Blair, suggested yesterday, nowhere is this need for rededication more pronounced than in Africa, the most disadvantaged continent on our planet today.

We must, as a community of nations, redouble our efforts to eliminate the root causes of internal conflict. We must do so in the realization that internal conflict in any part of the world represents a threat to the rest. The evidence is overwhelming, whether it involves efforts to combat terrorism, contain health hazards such as malaria and HIV/AIDS or end ethnic intolerance. The universality of human security demands collective responsibility on the part of all nations.

There are, of course, various dimensions of human security. But for many States Members of the United Nations, including Sierra Leone, the most pervasive threat to human security is internal conflict. The traditional approaches to this phenomenon are no longer adequate. We in Sierra Leone have experienced the linkage between armed conflict and issues of human security. While we welcome, for instance, recent decisions by the Security Council in the area of peace and security, we strongly believe that these should be accompanied by even more innovative responses by our development partners, and in particular by international financial and development institutions.

Internal security and stability are the most critical bases for economic and social development. Orthodox prescriptions for re-launching the economies of post-conflict countries do not go far enough. The Bretton Woods institutions advise us, no doubt with good intentions, to invest in the education and health of our peoples. But we submit that such advice should not become conditionalities to the detriment of national security, for without security -- as in the case of my country -- even limited socio-economic gains could be swept away virtually overnight. The normal rules and procedures for development cooperation require greater flexibility to enable rapid and viable action for rehabilitating post-conflict countries. Such action will encourage and inspire those who have been misled and who have resorted to violence to give up their weapons of war and return to normal life as responsible citizens.

Meeting the challenges of the new millennium requires us to accept the fact that Government action alone cannot solve all our problems. Partnership in one form or another is required. This Summit, the largest assembly of world leaders, affords us the opportunity to re-examine our priorities, redefine our mission, sharpen our vision of the new century and provide the political platform on which the United Nations family can place its priority programmes for alleviating or improving the human condition throughout the world.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Thabo Mbeki, President of the Republic of South Africa.

President Mbeki (South Africa)

We have gathered at this important place to discuss what we might do together to address the problems that confront our common world. The billions of people we represent expect that a strong, clear, unequivocal and understandable message of hope will come out of this historic Millennium Summit. We will certainly have to jostle with the various pagan gods at whose feet we prostrate ourselves, over all of whom tower the gods of inertia, of the market and of globalization.

Scattered through the second millennium were terrible human-made moments of anti-human actions that brought great pain and misery to millions of people. Slavery was one of these. Colonialism was another, as was apartheid. The world wars were other such moments. The Holocaust carried out by Nazi Germany was such a human-made moment, as was the more recent genocide visited upon the people of Rwanda only six years ago. For many of us, all this deliberate and savage violence against human beings represents history, things that have come and gone. We choose to forget them, allowing the dead to bury the dead.

However, none of us can forget the living, whose mandates have given us the privileged possibility of speaking from this podium. Billions among the living struggle to survive in conditions of poverty, deprivation and underdevelopment. These conditions are as offensive to everything humane as anything we decry about the second millennium.

The poor of the world stand at the gates of the comfortable mansions occupied by each and every King, Queen, President, Prime Minister or Minister privileged to attend this unique meeting. The question these billions ask is, "What are you doing? You in whom we have placed our trust, what are you doing to end the deliberate and savage violence against us, which every day sentences many of us to a degrading and unnecessary death?"

Those who stand at the gates are desperately hungry for food, through no fault of their own. They die from preventable diseases through no fault of their own. They have to suffer a humiliating loss of human dignity they do not wish on anybody, including the rich.

These are the victims of the systemic violence against human beings that we accept as normal, and for which we judge the second millennium adversely. And yet, that millennium created the conditions for us to end this modern tragedy. Part of the naked truth is that the second millennium provided humanity with the capital, the technology and the human skills to end poverty and underdevelopment throughout the world. Another part of that truth is that we have refused to use this enormous capacity to end the contemporary, deliberate and savage violence of poverty and underdevelopment.

Our collective rhetoric conveys promise. The offence is that our actions communicate the message that, in reality, we do not care. We are indifferent. Our actions say the poor must bury the poor.

The fundamental challenge that faces this Millennium Summit is that, in a credible way, we must demonstrate the will to end poverty and underdevelopment in Africa and elsewhere. We must demonstrate the will to succeed, such as was demonstrated by those who died in the titanic struggle against Nazism and fascism, giving birth to this Organization.

If we took this epoch-making decision, it would not be difficult to arrive at the practical decisions about what we need to do to make the United Nations an effective, twenty-first century organization. Thus would we end its slide into a somewhat debased state that becomes a source of problems rather than a critical contributor to the urgent solutions we must find. In this regard, we will have to ensure that the poor play their role not as recipients of largesse and goodwill, but as co-determinants of what happens to the common universe of which they are an important part. The essential question we have to answer at this Millennium Summit is whether we have the courage and the conscience to demonstrate that we have the will to ensure that we accept no situation that will deny any human community its dignity.

I, like the poor at our gates, ask the question, "Will we, at last, respond to this appeal?" All of us, including the rich, will pay a terrible price if we do not answer practically, "Yes, we do."

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Petru Lucinschi, President of the Republic of Moldova.

President Lucinschi (Moldova)

Today, at the intersection of centuries and millenniums, it is natural to cast a critical glance over the past in order to have a clearer outlook for the future. The truth is that many things have changed for the better in recent years. The world has become more homogeneous. The feeling of inferiority, by which the destinies of many nations have been marked, is disappearing now. At the moment when the United Nations was founded, two thirds of its present Members were not yet independent States. Furthermore, in Eastern Europe, of which the Republic of Moldova is a part, the number of countries has doubled.

At the same time, we have to recognize that the process of détente is being accompanied by the proliferation of local conflicts, and poverty has reached huge proportions. Under these conditions, apart from the efforts that every State has to make on its own, only a strong United Nations will be able to offer us equal opportunities for development, by diminishing the gap between prosperity and poverty and by encouraging the new democratic processes. In this respect, there is a need for a deeper definition and more rigorous observation of the rules of conduct at the international level, where the United Nations has to play a central role.

One of the main objectives of the United Nations in the new millennium will be more efficient management of the advances in the fields of information and high technology, so that they can be maintained within the framework of the development of civilization. In this connection, it is necessary to adopt and to implement strictly the guarantee measures of the nuclear security system in order to decrease the size of the more and more sophisticated arsenals, guided by the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems.

The adaptation of the United Nations to the new realities corresponds entirely to our common interests. However, we have to recognize that, although the accomplishment of these objectives will require efforts from every Member State, the major role is to be played, as before, by the big States. Albert Einstein used to say that powerful States need no ambassadors, their force speaks for itself. As for small States, it does matter how they express themselves. Being realistic, we realize that the security of the twenty-first century will depend on how the big States succeed in understanding and cooperating with each other and on the degree of harmonization of their interests. At the same time, we would like this to take place under conditions of respect for small States' legitimate interests.

There is no doubt that, as the Secretary-General has mentioned in the millennium report, all members of the international community should take advantage of the opportunities of globalization. For this purpose we have to find the corresponding modalities to mobilize all societies, Governments and international financial resources. Only in this way is it possible to build a stable and prosperous world, no matter from which point of the compass one is looking.

The Republic of Moldova reaffirms its support for the further development of the reform process of the United Nations, in particular of the Security Council. We support a moderate increase in the number of permanent and non-permanent Council members and ensuring better representation of the Member States, both the developed and the developing ones.

The Republic of Moldova -- a small State confronting transition problems; a State whose territorial integrity is being threatened by the conflict in the eastern regions, caused by the collapse of the Soviet Union; a State facing difficulties as a result of a series of natural disasters that happened this year -- sees in the United Nations a hope, a support and a guarantee of the development of every country.

Today the United Nations faces a new era, in which imagination and creativity must be matched by well tempered optimism and authentic pragmatism. The 189 Member States of the United Nations which presently grant personality and substance to the Organization undoubtedly possess the material and intellectual resources, as well as the political will, necessary for the achievement of certain projects serving the general interests of mankind. The Republic of Moldova supports the provisions of the Final Declaration of the Summit and joins the international community in its wish to create a better, peaceful and prosperous world.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Gnassingbé Eyadéma, President of the Togolese Republic.

President Eyadéma (Togo)

From this prestigious podium, I first welcome the felicitous initiative of the Secretary-General to convene this year the Millennium Summit, at which we are asked to examine the role of the United Nations in the world at the beginning of the twenty-first century. This extremely relevant initiative comes at a time when the world is entering an era of great change, with the end of the cold war and the dazzling development of information technology.

These transformations command our attention. They invite us to review the way in which we work and organize ourselves, so that we may acquire new and more effective instruments and institutions more suited to the new world realities.

The institution we have created for ourselves has stood the test of time, despite the storms and hurricanes that it has had to brave. It has held firm because its foundations are solid, but this does not mean that it does not need to be revitalized.

It is in this context that I would like to mention two important areas whose image I think the United Nations should transform: on the one hand, peacekeeping, and, on the other, development.

For a number of years many voices have been raised condemning the fact that the composition of the Security Council, the body to which the Charter entrusts in Article 24 the "primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security", no longer reflects current power relationships in the world. As the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, says in his report, its "composition ... today does not fully represent either the character or the needs of our globalized world." (A/54/2000, para. 44).

When the United Nations was created in 1945, two thirds of the current Member States were not independent. The world's population was 2.5 billion. Today, it is close to 6 billion. Africa, whose population is over 700 million, is made up of 53 of the 189 Member States of the United Nations. Over a third of the Security Council's debates and deliberations deal with Africa.

We therefore believe that it is high time to review the Council's composition in order to allow new permanent members to be chosen from among the new economic Powers that have emerged since the Second World War, to be joined by developing country regional Powers.

Furthermore, the emergence of new types of conflicts in recent years requires us to better design United Nations peacekeeping operations and to make them more effective. Otherwise, the United Nations would be weakened in its peace missions, as we were able to see in Bosnia, and more recently in Sierra Leone.

We are pleased that the Secretary-General has set up a high-level Panel that has prepared a report on all aspects of peacekeeping operations. Chaired by the former Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, that Panel made very important recommendations in the report submitted to the Secretary-General on 17 August.

We firmly support recommendation 3, contained in annex III of the report, according to which United Nations peacekeeping forces, once deployed, must be able to fulfil their mandate professionally and successfully. They must also be capable of defending themselves and of controlling those on the ground who would try to undermine their action by violence.

We also support recommendation 4, requesting that the mandates of United Nations peacekeeping forces be clear, credible and achievable. We also wish these operations to be adequately financed. We hope that the Security Council and the Member States of the United Nations will consider favourably the recommendations of the Brahimi report, and will ensure that they are implemented rapidly.

In the area of development, it is clear that multinational and transnational corporations play a crucial role today in world economic affairs. But they are noticeably absent from the United Nations economic forums.

In the same way as work is carried out within the International Labour Organization with the active participation of Government representatives, employers and employees, I believe that it would be desirable, within the Economic and Social Council, for Government representatives to come together with representatives of multinational corporations, who wield so much influence in the economic sphere. The effectiveness and the impact of that important United Nations body could also be enhanced in this way.

There you have a few thoughts that I wanted to bring to your kind attention.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Festus G. Mogae, President of the Republic of Botswana.

President Mogae (Botswana)

A great many global issues of fundamental importance that need to be mentioned have been mentioned and fully articulated by others, by colleagues whose oratorical brilliance and technical competence I cannot hope to equal, let alone surpass. Consequently, I will confine myself to addressing the scourge of HIV/AIDS in sub-Saharan Africa, including and especially southern Africa.

I stand before the Assembly to claim the dubious distinction of being leader of one of the countries that is most seriously affected by HIV/AIDS in the whole world. The fight against HIV/AIDS is therefore for us the challenge of the millennium.

In the last 25 years we achieved economic growth rates comparable to those of the Asian tigers, attained human development indices that were the envy of many, practised multi-party democracy and accountable and transparent governance, maintained an open society and ran an open economy.

Now we daily witness elderly mothers mourning for the untimely deaths of their beloved children, babies born today only to be buried the next day and a growing population of orphans yearning for parental love and care. These are the traumatizing realities of HIV/AIDS with which we live and with which we have to contend.

Having enjoyed peace and security and steady economic growth, we suddenly find our gains in social advancement reversed by this scourge. The economically active population in our society, our most precious resource, is being decimated. Our life expectancy is calculated to have been reduced by 20 years, from 67 to 47.

It is frightening to note that half of the people who become infected with HIV/AIDS are under the age of 25 years.

One of our major strategies to fight this rampant HIV/AIDS scourge has been to establish a multisectoral National Council that I personally chair. At the executive or technical level, we have established the National AIDS Coordinating Agency, headed by a senior official, to implement anti-HIV programmes. The thrust of our strategy is information, education and communication, and we have combined this with concerted efforts to destigmatize HIV/AIDS. We continue to hold consultative meetings with all key stakeholders. Our HIV/AIDS programmes include the prevention of mother-to-child transmission through the use of anti-retroviral drugs. We have set up Voluntary Testing and Counselling Centres in our major settlements, and more such facilities are being extended to other parts of the country. Community mobilization is being undertaken through house-to-house counselling. We have established alliances with Botswana's youth and other civil society organizations.

Our Government is also implementing a programme of home-based care to ease congestion in the hospitals and other health centres. More manpower and financial resources have been allocated, including through the diversion of development funds towards the fight against HIV/AIDS. We are grateful to Governments, the United Nations system, private organizations and non-governmental organizations that have established partnerships with us in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

So far, the Government of Botswana funds 80 per cent of all HIV/AIDS prevention and care activities, and this may not be sustainable. Some of our children have been infected at their very first experiment with sex. To spread our message as broadly as possible, we have established multi-sectoral HIV/AIDS committees in every town and every village in our country. We are determined to eradicate the scourge, or at least, halt its spread.

The HIV/AIDS pandemic is a global problem which calls for global action. The pandemic threatens human development and social and economic security. There is therefore an urgent need for concerted action on the part of the international community as a whole to fight this scourge.

For mankind to prevail over this scourge, we need commitment and unity of purpose. For those of us most directly affected, one more day of delayed action is a day too late for thousands of our people. Our people are crying out for help. Let us respond while there is still time.

In his report, the Secretary-General has called for "the reduction of HIV infection rates in persons 15 to 24 years of age -- by 25 per cent within the most affected countries before the year 2005 and by 25 per cent globally before 2010". (A/54/2000, para. 128). To achieve this target, we will need an infusion of tangible and adequate resources.

As developing countries, we cannot deal on our own with the whole spectrum of requisites for education and sensitization, testing and counselling, adolescent reproductive health, prevention of mother-to-child transmissions, acquisition of drugs and medication and care for the affected populations. We therefore need to pool our efforts and resources and work with the United Nations and the private sector to seek an effective remedy for this pandemic.

I am confident that, as world leaders, if we act in unison in addressing this challenge that faces our common humanity, we will have good reason to celebrate our contribution towards saving "succeeding generations from the scourge of war" -- war in all its manifestations.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Emomali Rakhmonov, President of the Republic of Tajikistan.

President Rakhmonov (Tajikistan)

The hopes and aspirations of all the peoples of the world are focused on the work of our world forum. The peoples of the planet expect us to develop a strategy of partnership that will respond to their key interests and meet their needs.

We are firmly convinced that our Summit provides us with a wonderful opportunity to discuss issues of United Nations restructuring so as to address twenty-first-century goals and to re-evaluate the global challenges faced by humanity at its current stage of development.

Tajikistan wholeheartedly supports the Millennium Assembly's determination to strengthen the key role of the United Nations as a universal mechanism for maintaining international peace and security and for developing multilateral cooperation based on reaching a mutually acceptable balance of interests for all nations.

The process of globalization that is so dramatically influencing the evolution of society should be aimed at eliminating, rather than intensifying, the serious imbalances that divide the world today. Therefore, in order to avoid social, economic and political upheaval and shock and to ensure economic security, we believe that these processes should be backed up by a considered and purposefully oriented social policy, especially in countries with economies in transition.

The United Nations is called upon to encourage processes aimed at reducing the development gap between the rich and poor nations, in particular, by attracting investments to those countries with economies in transition that do not possess oil and gas resources.

Tajikistan shares the view of many that forgiving the accumulated debts of the countries that have gone through large-scale conflicts or natural disasters would provide a powerful impetus to sustainable peace-building in those countries. We are convinced that such measures would free up significant internal resources that could be used for education and health care, for alleviating the consequences of conflicts and for responding more effectively to natural disasters.

Tajikistan is striving to do whatever it can to contribute to the resolution of pressing ecological issues. We call upon the Assembly to support the well-known initiative of our country to proclaim the year 2003 as the "International Year of Freshwater". If, in the coming century, through our consolidated efforts, we are able to ensure access to freshwater for all the people on our planet, we will save every second citizen on the earth from infectious diseases. That is important not only for Tajikistan, but for the entire international community.

If the Sarez Lake dam breaks, billions of cubic metres of water will pour down the nearby valleys, flooding millions of hectares of land and making approximately 5 million citizens of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan and Afghanistan homeless.

An equally pressing global ecological problem is the Aral Sea crisis, which is the result of the irrational usage of natural resources. These problems can be dealt with only with the assistance of the international community.

The community of nations must take decisive steps and coordinated action to fight international terrorism, the illegal drug trade and the uncontrolled trade in weapons. Together with our partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States, Tajikistan is seriously concerned that we are being turned into a source of constant threat to the security of other countries, and not only those of Central Asia. We believe that the international community should take extraordinary and significant measures to curb aggression, terrorism and other forms of extremism.

It is important that we increase our activities aimed at achieving a peaceful settlement to the Afghan problem. The lessons to be learned from what has happened show us that only with the firm support of the leading world Powers -- first and foremost, Russia and the United States of America -- and, of course, with the goodwill of the parties to the conflict, will the United Nations be able to resolve the conflict in Afghanistan. In this connection, we consider the first meeting of the Russian-American working group on Afghanistan, held in Washington in August 2000, to be a promising start.

We believe that the peacekeeping activities of the Organization should be based on full respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of nations and that they should be timely, equal to the situation as it develops and based on the coordinated collective actions of the international community. Only the Security Council has the exclusive right to sanction, on behalf of the international community, the use of force for the purpose of maintaining peace or restoring international peace and security.

It is our sacred duty to future generations not only to protect the United Nations, but, working together with it, to make the world a better and more secure place that is worthy of them so that they can live better and happier lives.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

Before giving the floor to the next speaker, I would like to make an appeal. There are 21 speakers remaining on the list of speakers for this meeting. Since we must exhaust the list at each meeting, I appeal to the participants in the Millennium Summit to respect the five-minute time limit for each speaker. That will allow us to hear all the speakers on the list for this meeting.

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency the Honourable Bernard Dowiyogo, President of the Republic of Nauru.

President Dowiyogo (Nauru)

The Republic of Nauru is pleased to participate in this historic Millennium Summit.

Despite having joined the United Nations only last year, Nauru values very highly the work of this body and also holds the highest expectations for its success in the new century, since it was through the assistance of the United Nations some thirty-five years ago that the people of Nauru secured the support of the international community for a vote on self-determination.

Having enjoyed thirty-five years of independence, Nauru is greatly encouraged that, through the assistance of the United Nations, our East Timor brothers and sisters have secured a path towards independence. On this occasion we join in prayer with the families of the three United Nations personnel killed yesterday on duty in East Timor and yet we can remain confident that the continued support of the United Nations will see the people of East Timor through to their final step of nationhood.

On the other hand, our Melanesian brothers and sisters in West Papua are still striving to break the imposition of colonial domination and foreign control following the so-called act of free choice in 1969. It is imperative that West Papua be given the rightful opportunity of a democratic referendum by its indigenous peoples. The United Nations cannot stand by and witness the destruction of the people of West Papua, where already more than a half million people have been lost as a result of human rights abuses. We must not witness another catastrophe in this area as occurred in East Timor.

Nauru would therefore support a United Nations resolution that would permit the people of West Papua the choice of self-determination.

My Government is concerned that the area comprising the Pacific States does not receive sufficient attention from the United Nations. So often it becomes lumped with Asia and is thereby overwhelmed by Asia. Oceania is a distinct area with unique characteristics and challenges. The Pacific should be recognized by the United Nations on its own as a separate regional group.

I am happy to charge the Assembly with the task of ensuring that, during this session of the Summit and the General Assembly, the Pacific region become a separate national group.

As small island developing States we are especially noted for our vulnerability, particularly in respect of the fragility of our environment. Together with our brothers and sisters of the Pacific, the people of Nauru are threatened with genocide through global warming and the rise in sea-level. Nauru joins all responsible nations of the world to urge, especially those countries responsible for the present levels of pollution, swift and early implementation of the goals enshrined in the Kyoto Protocol.

Indeed, any cold wind is likely to inflict severe damage, whether that cold wind arose from the rise in sea-levels, pollution of fishing grounds, financial sanctions or, as in Nauru's case, the exhaustion of its only export, phosphate. While tourist posters may conjure up images of paradise in the Pacific islands, the developmental challenges are real and ominous. With high rates of population growth and vulnerable economies there is increasing dependence on external aid and there has been a steady decline in per capita incomes and standards of living resulting in increased poverty.

With substantial external debt, the developing States of the Pacific not only require development assistance but considerable foreign private investment.

Even as small island developing States have attempted to strengthen their slender resources, they occasionally come under attack from the developed economies. The attacks recently from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on offshore financial regimes, including Nauru, have not been based so much on money laundering, but rather on the more dubious reason of so-called harmful tax practices. Nauru has been appreciative of the support of the United Nations Offshore Forum which has at least recognized the damage posed by the OECD attacks. If the small island developing States are to be sustainably developed they will need a massive cooperative effort from the developed States and a genuine appreciation for their unique challenges.

One of the developed States which has extended a hand of cooperation has been the Republic of China. As a robust democracy and champion of human rights values, the Republic of China has demonstrated both capacity and enthusiasm to contribute meaningfully to international welfare and progress. Along with a number of other States Members of the United Nations, Nauru therefore supports the inclusion of a supplementary item on the agenda of the General Assembly to examine the international situation of the Republic of China.

The 23 million people of the Republic of China deserve no less than proper international recognition, and as long as they are excluded from the United Nations we cannot consider this body universally representative of the peoples of the world.

In conclusion, I am hopeful that as the United Nations strides into the new century, reform of the Charter will assume greater prominence. We certainly cannot accept that the United Nations continue as it does without allowing wider and deeper involvement of the international community in addressing core global challenges. As leaders, we have a duty to the peoples of the world to ensure that the new century is a safer, more prosperous one than the twentieth century.

In this the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of our Christ, it is my sincere hope that love and understanding amongst the peoples of the world will prevail, for it has been said that the rule of law without love is tyranny.

The Co-Chairperson (Namibia)

The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Ferenc Mádl, President of the Republic of Hungary.

President Mádl (Hungary)

At the threshold of the twenty-first century, we live in a time of serious challenges and great opportunities. Today, there can be no doubt in our minds that a new phenomenon, globalization, is clearly on the march. It is in this context that the United Nations should spare no effort to unfold the hitherto hidden promises of globalization for the benefit of all mankind.

By the same token, it is the common responsibility of the Member States to play their part effectively to counter the disadvantages of this new phenomenon, especially for those of us who have so far been less fortunate. In this regard, the millennium report of the Secretary-General deserves our full attention and deep appreciation. I am more than confident that his major conclusions will find their way to help us fulfil the enormous tasks this Summit faces.

It is often, but rightly, said that global challenges require global responses. In our time, nations can and will only be able to fight poverty, transnational organized crime, corruption, money-laundering, international terrorism and illicit drug-trafficking if they act in concert. Hungary is ready and willing to play its part to that end.

One of the major concerns of the international community is the issue of the protection of the environment. I believe that the time has come for us all to rededicate ourselves to address environmental issues, including the degradation of the environment, and, at the same time, to exert redoubled efforts to preserve the blessings of nature on our planet for generations to come. The principle of polluter-pays should find its proper place in all relevant international documents. In this regard, Hungary is more than prepared to act regionally, as well as globally, to that end.

For us Hungarians, a nation proud of its history, values represent the basis