UNdemocracy - General Assembly Session 56 meeting 49

Date	12 November 2001
Started	15:00
Ended	19:30

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A-56-PV.49 2001-11-12 15:00 12 November 2001 [[12 November]] [[2001]] /

The President: Mr. Han Seung-soo (Republic of Korea)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

More on this topic

Agenda item 9 (continued)

General debate

The Acting President

I call on Her Excellency Mrs. Maria E. Levens, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Suriname.

Mrs. Levens (Suriname)

My delegation cannot find the words to convey its sadness about the plane crash that occurred in a residential area in New York this morning. At moments like these, silence speaks for itself. The Government and the people of Suriname offer their heartfelt condolences to the families of all the victims. We pray that our love and friendship may bring comfort and peace to all who have been affected by this tragedy and by the horrific attacks on 11 September.

During the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations, the need for dialogue is proving to be essential throughout world. In Suriname, we have always tried to apply the concept of dialogue.

Suriname is a small country with a multi-ethnic population. Our ancestors came to Suriname generations ago from West Africa, China, India, Indonesia, Europe and the Middle East. We have been fortunate that, owing to mutual respect and understanding, in Suriname these groups have lived together and are living together peacefully. More than ever, we realize that this harmony should be treasured and nurtured, since we can no longer take peace and harmony for granted.

Our Government plays a very important role in this peaceful coexistence, because we have strongly promoted and actively worked for mutual respect and consensus. We believe that for people to be actively involved in the development of the country, they must be able to see themselves represented in national and local government. We strongly promote such consensus democracy in Suriname, for this power-sharing arrangement has stimulated all ethnic groups to be tolerant and respectful of each other's political ideologies, cultures and religions. Our Government and our people firmly uphold the principle of freedom of religion, as well as of tolerance and respect for each other's forms of cultural expression.

In the same vein, the indigenous people of Suriname live in the interior with their own cultural and religious beliefs. The needs and rights of indigenous people are dealt with at the highest level in our Government. Their views and concerns are shared with the central Government through continuous dialogue. My Government therefore looks forward to the first conference of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues, scheduled to take place in May 2002.

We know, and have experience of the fact, that people's primordial attachments become stronger at times of need and despair. The grief of families from the United States of America and other parts of the world has been deeply felt, and all over the globe many families and groups have turned to each other for comfort. Our hearts go out to all of the victims of the 11 September attacks and their families.

We cannot yet assess all the social and economic effects of those attacks. However, we have already seen the devastating effects on the Caribbean in terms of loss of income in, for example, tourism and trade. Natural disasters have also affected our area, and my delegation sympathizes with the people of the Caribbean, especially those of Belize and Cuba, whose countries were recently struck by hurricanes Iris and Michelle.

As a member of the Caribbean Community, we know that we have grave problems in the region. Limited access to global markets because of stringent trade rules and World Trade Organization (WTO) regulations have resulted in increased poverty in our region. Suriname pleads for an institutional arrangement between the United Nations and the WTO so as to allow developing countries easier access to that body.

We have further expanded and deepened our regional ties. In this respect, we would like to express our gratitude to the countries of the western hemisphere which have offered us assistance and shown their support for including us in the various integration movements.

We in the Caribbean enjoy a high level of democracy and are guided by the rule of law. Our Governments have been actively involved in creating an environment to attract foreign investors and to increase the production of goods and services. We still need assistance. The promises made by the developed countries in the Millennium Declaration of 2000 have not yielded an increase in official development assistance. We, the countries in development, need equal opportunities.

If we, as the international community, agree that human-centred development is at the top of our agenda, we need to understand that we have to achieve it together. If our goal is to eradicate abject poverty, we must make an effort to achieve that goal. Cutting in half by 2015 the number of people living on less than $l a day is one of the main goals we want to achieve for the benefit of the truly disadvantaged.

The International Conference on Financing for Development, to be held in March 2002 in Mexico, will give both developed and developing countries an opportunity to reach concrete agreements and make arrangements for resources for development. If we do not take the opportunity offered by that Conference to work towards sustainable development for all people in the world, we will miss a great chance to achieve a more equitable distribution of global wealth.

If we do not take that opportunity, we will also miss the chance to intensify our struggle to combat deadly diseases such as HIV/AIDS and malaria, which affect millions in the world. We in the Caribbean have committed ourselves to continue the struggle against HIV/AIDS in our region. We must not lose sight of the fact that people are still dying every day of this disease. It is up to us, the international community, to find solutions and improve the lives of those billions of people who are faced with global problems such as extreme poverty, HIV/AIDS, malaria, tuberculosis and illiteracy, as well as problems resulting from the debt burden, the refugee issue, environmental degradation and the widening gap between rich and poor.

Suriname has made great efforts in gender equality, and, with the assistance of the United Nations Development Programme, we have begun training programmes in gender sensitivity. We have women in high-level positions, and it gives me great pleasure to tell the Assembly that our current delegation consists mainly of women. We are pleased with this development in my country, but we still have a long way to go.

Our commitment to the role of women has prompted my country to work on a draft resolution in the Third Committee of the General Assembly on mainstreaming the situation of older women into society, to ensure that that part of the population will not be marginalized further in our societies.

Ageing has become a subject of increasing concern to the international community, for it raises significant social and cultural questions, as well as questions of economic stability. My Government will join the international community and the United Nations to address and support the United Nations initiative to achieve a society for all ages. We should come up with appropriate strategies to collectively deal with these issues during the Second World Assembly on Ageing.

Human development constitutes one of the key pillars of the development policy of my Government. People, especially our children, are our country's greatest treasure. This is why looking after their well-being is placed high on our national agenda. Suriname is looking forward to the Special Session on Children that has been postponed to 2002.

Suriname hopes that the World Summit on Sustainable Development of 2002, in Johannesburg, and the assessment of the Earth Summit of June 1992, will lead to recommendations and commitments for the implementation of real sustainable human development in a globally sustainable environment. Protecting the environment is the responsibility of all countries. Suriname took a first step in conserving biodiversity for contemporary and future generations by establishing the largest protected nature reserve in South America three years ago. With this first step, we hope to encourage other countries in the world to protect the environment, and to work together on the many emerging global environmental threats.

Suriname is extremely concerned about the trans-shipment of nuclear waste through the Caribbean Sea, but we are pleased to see that so many countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol.

The ever-widening global digital divide that prevents developing countries from benefiting fully from the advancements in information technology is a concern that we have discussed in various international forums, but it still needs much more of our attention.

The effects of globalization have not been favourable to most developing countries. However, we have come to understand and experience that our world is an interdependent one, and we cannot turn back this clock. The attacks of the 11 September have shown us how interdependent we are. The loss of lives was directly felt in the United States and in more than 80 countries in the rest of the world. The economic effects are also being felt in all parts of the world.

In conclusion, the Secretary-General and the United Nations received the Nobel Peace Prize this year at a time when the world was still trying to comprehend the horrific attacks of 11 September on the United States. Suriname hopes that this distinguished award will encourage the United Nations to continue its important work for human rights, peace, social justice, human development, human-rights education and economic prosperity for all the peoples of the world. We congratulate the Secretary-General on this prestigious award and his re-election. And we congratulate Mr. Han on his election as President and look forward to his guidance and leadership during the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly.

As members of the United Nations family, we are called upon to practice tolerance and to live together in peace with one another as good neighbours. Because of the devastating consequences of 11 September, we have the obligation to look closely at the root causes of terrorism. The causes of terrorism have to be discussed and dealt with to protect all our peoples and interests. For the world is our home, and we are the people who live in it.

Mr. Cimoszewicz (Poland)

We have just learned of the crash of an American Airlines plane in New York. We the Polish delegation, offer our heartfelt condolences, and express our sympathy to the Government of the United States and the Dominican Republic and to the families of the victims of this tragedy.

At the outset, let me offer Mr. Han my sincere congratulations on his election to the prestigious office of the President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. The delegation of the Republic of Poland extends to him its firm support in his demanding mandate.

Let me likewise express to the former President, Mr. Harri Holkeri, of Finland, our appreciation for his remarkable leadership, which he brought to the fifty-fifth session of the Assembly.

I should also like to convey to Mr. Kofi Annan, the distinguished Secretary-General, my sincere greetings, and to say how pleased Poland is at his second term in that high post. May I also take this opportunity to renew to him, and indeed to this Organization as a whole, my Government's congratulations on the recent Nobel Peace Prize. The award comes as a timely token of appreciation of the way the United Nations and the Secretary-General have been meeting their formidable challenge.

Mr. Kumalo (South Africa), Vice-President, took the Chair.

Mr. Cimoszewicz (Poland)

The appalling tragedy of 11 September calls for resolute reaction of the entire international community, for active solidarity with the United States and for effective counter-measures against those who sow death, hatred and terror.

The terrorist attack of 11 September, the way it came about and the circumstances by which it was conditioned should be seized by the international community as an occasion for an in-depth reassessment of the very foundations of the international order. Preoccupied as we are with ever-new developments each day, we tend to be mentally incapable of following signals that predict new trends in international relations. We have hardly been able to afford the time for searching reflection on, and adjustment to, negative phenomena that, if ignored, can, in time, become the breeding ground for upheavals and conflicts. In this era of enormous new challenges, it is time for creative thinking, vision and intellectual courage.

The essence of security has changed dramatically. In Poland's view, all aspects of security need urgent, thorough and imaginative reassessment. In this context particularly searching reflection must be focused on the role of the State -- an entity that operates in entirely new circumstances in an era of dramatically increasing integration, globalization and fragmentation. This is a time of interdependence and multiculturalism, in which openness, close international cooperation and interaction should be seen as countermeasures against diverse processes of fragmentation and disintegration, which can lead us even further towards the nationalism, separatism, closure and isolation that loom all around. Fragmentation is creating instability and conflicts. And the most dangerous fragmentation process of the current era is being generated by the widening development gap between regions and States, which has been so well attested and documented by many United Nations publications. In this, the role of the United Nations is particularly fundamental and crucial. There is no better-equipped and more universal forum to deal with those issues.

At the Headquarters of an Organization which the peoples of the United Nations established 56 years ago in order to maintain international peace and security, that axiom should be self-evident. The whole world is trying to respond to the challenges of globalization, the new scientific revolution, and -- quite recently -- the destabilizing forces of terror. The United Nations should find adequate answers to those challenges. This is a time for collective and resolute action.

Perhaps as ominous as terrorism itself is the fact that in some countries, the monstrous acts of violence that have taken place have been met with some sympathy on the part of those who are destitute, deprived of any hope, and who, driven to the margins of social life, have become frustrated and desperate.

Terrorists must never be exculpated or their actions justified. We need to do away with the reasons why many perceive terrorists as "present-day Robin Hoods". Though such a perception can be described as groundless, this does not release us from our responsibility to take a careful and courageous look at the phenomena that are emerging in the present international order, which tend to consolidate inequalities and lead to various social calamities.

From the very beginning, Poland has proclaimed itself entirely on the side of the international anti-terrorist coalition. We are working seriously and diligently on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).

Regional undertakings can make a significant contribution to drafting a global strategy for the struggle against terrorism. With that in mind, last week in Warsaw we organized a very successful international Conference on Combating Terrorism. The Conference was attended by representatives of 17 Central European, Baltic and Balkan States, including 13 Presidents. The Conference also provided a direct connection with the White House and President Bush, who had the opportunity to talk directly with the Conference's participants. The declaration adopted by the Conference indicates a strong political commitment to fight against that plague at the dawn of the twenty-first century, in close collaboration with the United States and the entire international community.

The plan of action adopted at that Conference spells out concrete measures. It is significant that the leaders of that region of Europe gave unanimous backing to the relevant actions of the United Nations, the European Union and other organizations.

In the course of Poland's very complicated history, my nation has on several occasions been betrayed by disloyal neighbours and allies and has paid the highest price for this. Therefore we understand better than anyone how priceless and crucial true loyalty and alliances are. Thus we will continue to support our friends and allies by all available means. Our principal goal at present is to ease peoples' fears - fears that have been imposed on them by the enemies of mankind.

The horrible scenario in which public order and the safety of peoples is threatened, passenger planes hijacked and destroyed, deadly viruses spread and water poisoned must not be repeated. We must defeat those who participate in, or contribute to creating, such a threat. Our approach must be a comprehensive one. Let me make it clear: there is no room for any selectivity, flexibility or relativism when the most fundamental values of humankind are openly and furiously attacked.

However, we need to reconsider our position on how to respond to the needs of those millions who every day suffer from hunger, disease and a lack of clean water. For them, the same question arises every morning -- a question that sounds like the classical phrase "to be or not to be". That question is how to survive. Extreme poverty deprives people of their inherent dignity and human rights and of their chance for a better tomorrow, thus pushing them to take desperate steps.

Let the tragedy of 11 September teach all of us to collectively combat evil. Let us do everything to ensure that the forces of darkness never prevail.

In the course of the last few years it has been eloquently argued, from this very rostrum, that globalization is a very positive force which will ultimately usher in an era of prosperity and stability and a global society. Alas, this has not happened.

This calls for a new approach to international cooperation, for a new role on the part of multilateral institutions, and for the restoration of the primacy of courageous political decisions and intergovernmental accords. This also calls, on the one hand, for greater moderation on the part of the strong and the rich, and, on the other, for more determined endeavours on the part of the weak and the poor, who must be convinced that their consistent aspirations to improve their own lot will ultimately pay off. In my opinion, the promotion of democracy and good governance offers one of the most important paths towards such a goal. Poland's own experience in the past 12 years, since the historic transformations of 1989, testifies to the merits of that path.

It is my Government's firm view that, in the face of the threats which will forever be symbolized by the atrocities of 11 September, the interests of international security would be well served by the earliest possible signature and ratification of, or adherence to, the multilateral conventions against terrorism which have been elaborated under the auspices of the United Nations. In particular, the spreading anthrax scare, which represents but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the potential danger of bioterrorism, and the spreading of fissile materials and chemical weapons are a powerful argument for the urgent need to strengthen and strictly enforce the Biological Weapons Convention of 1972 and other legal instruments in this field.

We should immediately move -- to quote the Secretary-General -- from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention.

While imperative, the struggle against terrorism must not obscure the necessity for the United Nations to effectively discharge the mandate entrusted to it by the international community -- a mandate whose scope is expanding over the years. This is not only true with respect to the international security problems which I have just referred to, but also concerns problems related to socio-economic cooperation, the protection of human rights and humanitarian issues, particularly those concerning refugees and the protection of the environment.

Also of major importance, in our view, is the elaboration and adoption of a package of regulations and commitments in respect of development aid, indebtedness and trade. Thus I wish to emphasize the importance of the full implementation of the set of principles and practical measures embodied in the Millennium Declaration. We are mindful, of course, that the translation of that programme into practical steps cannot be the responsibility of the United Nations alone. It is essential for other institutions and organizations, including financial, trade and regional ones, to help in that effort. Above all, individual States must become directly involved, otherwise the smooth and timely implementation of the Millennium Declaration could be seriously jeopardized.

The United Nations is now facing enormous and unprecedented challenges. These challenges - arising as they do at the dawn of the new millennium - mean growing divisions and, indeed, pose a risk of fragmentation of the international community.

My country, Poland, is ready to be an active participant in the process of searching for a new role for the United Nations. We have been active throughout the entire history of the United Nations, and we want to be active in the immediate future as well.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Abdurrahman Mohamed Shalghem, Secretary of the General People's Committee for Foreign Liaison and International Cooperation of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya.

Mr. Shalghem (Libya)

At the outset, I would like to congratulate the President on his unanimous election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. His choice to assume this high post is a reflection of Member States' appreciation of him personally and their confidence in his ability to conduct the deliberations of this session in a manner that would enable it to reach conclusions that would contribute to the strengthening of stability and the promotion of development all over the world.

I would also like to seize this opportunity to express our gratitude and appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, President of the previous session of the Assembly, which witnessed many activities that have gone a long way towards responding to the common concerns of the international community.

Our great appreciation also goes to Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, who continues to perform his duties with dedication and renewed vigour, even under very difficult circumstances. His re-election to a second term at the helm of the Organization and the fact that he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, together with the United Nations, this year is testimony to the appreciation of his work and the confidence in his ability to further enhance the role of the United Nations and to make it more effective in facing the challenges of the new millennium.

On 11 September, several American cities, including the City of New York, which hosts our Organization, were subjected to terrorist attacks to which thousands of innocent people fell victim. Once again I express to the people of the United States and the families of the victims, who lost their loved ones, my deepest sympathies. We in Libya, having been subjected to various forms of terrorism, including State terrorism, realize better than others the cruelty and the depth of feelings that the American people suffered and the psychological impact, particularly on the families of the victims. My country has therefore condemned those painful events, emphasizing our firm position, which denounces terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and calls for the eradication of this phenomenon, which endangers the independence of States and the lives of peoples.

We, in Libya appreciate the measures taken by the international community to uproot terrorism, including the number of agreements made -- the most important of which we are already party to, and the rest of which we are in the process of acceding to. Nevertheless, it is very evident that there is an urgent need to take other measures to confront the challenges posed by this phenomenon. This will necessitate seeking and eradicating the roots of terrorism. It is also imperative to take effective action to put an end to terrorist practices and to eliminate all the reasons and motives that stand behind terrorism.

Before achieving this, we must agree on a uniform definition of terrorism to determine ways of combating it. We cannot condemn terrorism and fight it when it hits one country and turn a blind eye when it hits other countries and peoples. It is also very dangerous to link terrorism to a certain religion or nationality, as terrorism has no nationality and no religion. Further, it is unacceptable to label as terrorism the struggle of peoples to protect themselves or to attain independence while ignoring real terrorism, which has several faces and is practised in different ways.

Occupation, provocation and aggression against peoples, like that against Libya in 1986, is all terrorism. The establishment of military bases on the territories of others is terrorism. Fleets that roam the seas are stationed off the coasts of other States and violate their territorial waters are forms of terrorism. The downing of civilian aircraft, like the Libyan aircraft that was hijacked and destroyed over Sinai in 1973, is terrorism. Mass massacres are terrorism. The training of extreme elements in certain countries and facilitating their arrival in other countries to carry out criminal acts, including assassinations, as happened in my country in 1984 and 1993, is terrorism. The acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and the threat of their use is terrorism. The imposition by one State of unilateral, coercive measures against other countries and the enactment by the same State of laws to punish others who maintain relations with these countries is also terrorism. Exploiting the Security Council to impose sanctions against peoples without any justification or evidence is terrorism. Preventing the Council from adopting measures to protect those who are subjected to killing and displacement constitutes support for and encouragement of terrorism.

Due to these considerations, we believe it has become important and necessary to take international action to combat terrorism at all levels. We think that such action could be effective if undertaken under the umbrella of the United Nations, in accordance with the purposes and principles of its Charter. My country was among the first to act in this context when, in 1992, we called on the Secretary-General of the United Nations to request the convening of a special session of the General Assembly devoted to the consideration of the means of combating terrorism.

Today, we renew this call out of a conviction that this is the best way to study the question of terrorism with a view to arriving at an accurate definition of terrorism far removed from selfish and subjective classifications. We are also convinced that this is the best way to deal with this phenomenon in all its political, economic and social aspects and, consequently, to take the necessary measures to fully uproot it.

Every year, we gather here to review and assess our achievements. Despite the tragic events of 11 September, we notice that the previous year witnessed a number of important developments. The General Assembly held more than one special session. Two high-level conferences were held within the framework of the United Nations, one of which was devoted to the situation of the least developed countries and the other, to our common struggle against racism and xenophobia. In the declarations and programmes of action resulting from these conferences, there was a rededication and commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations, aimed at maintaining international peace and security and developing friendly relations among States. It was also affirmed that more efforts would be made to implement priorities such as the promotion of development, the provision of shelter for all, the eradication of want and diseases, the ending of injustice and unfairness and the uprooting of discrimination in all its forms.

The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya participated in all these forums, and we are happy to have contributed to their successful results. Like other Members of this Organization, we have an interest in the establishment of peace, the realization of justice and the support of sustainable development. Notwithstanding all these achievements, it is abundantly clear that there is a need for further efforts so that we may be able to address the additional challenges facing all Members of the United Nations.

One such challenge is the environmental degradation that threatens life on Earth, our common home. Violence and armed conflicts also rage in several regions. Millions suffer from abject poverty in many places in developing countries. Diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, threaten the lives of entire communities.

There are still those who challenge the collective will and cling to unilaterally enacted laws, applying them to all. Old ideological barriers have been replaced with new barriers, including impeding access of many developing countries to the technology necessary for their development and advancement. Moreover, our world is still not free of criminal activity, including the illicit trade in small weapons and narcotics and transnational organized crime.

The United Nations is the tool of our common work in our efforts to face these challenges. Undoubtedly it has made many efforts, but it could certainly be more effective in carrying out its duties if drastic structural reforms were made to its organs and if new working methods were developed for its various mechanisms. Many proposals have been submitted over the past few years in this regard, but, unfortunately, they did not resonate with certain Powers that care only for their narrow selfish interests. This makes it incumbent upon the other Members of this Organization that have a real stake in reform to unify their efforts and capacities to effect inevitable change, if we want our Organization to succeed, consistent with the spirit of the times, and to meet the needs of the people.

For our part, we wish once again to reaffirm that such change should be aimed at achieving the following.

First, it must enhance and develop cooperation among the principal organs of the United Nations, and between these organs and other bodies and agencies of the United Nations system, with a view to resolving international problems in all their aspects.

Secondly, it must enhance the role of the General Assembly, making it more effective, so that it can carry out the functions entrusted to it by the Charter, including contributing to the adoption of measures to maintain international peace and security. The Assembly should have the authority to control and to hold accountable other United Nations organs, including the Security Council, which should be accountable to the Assembly.

Thirdly, it must establish a mechanism affiliated with the General Assembly to follow up the implementation of Assembly resolutions. We cannot wait indefinitely for the implementation of resolutions, most of which were adopted more than 50 years ago.

Fourthly, it must accelerate the introduction of radical reform to the Security Council membership in order to apply the principle of equitable geographic distribution and thus do justice to the disadvantaged regions in Africa, Asia and Latin America that are under-represented in the Council. Reform should also apply to improving the Council's working methods to ensure transparency in its work and democracy in its decision-making.

Fifthly, the privileges emanating from victories of the Second World War must be withdrawn, the most important being the right of veto, which has become obsolete. Therefore, there is no longer any justification for maintaining it, not only because it contravenes the principle of the sovereign equality of States, but also because it has been used to protect aggressors from condemnation. It is also being used to prevent the adoption of measures to protect those subjected to aggression, killing, displacement and other acts of genocide.

Seeking to establish peace and enhance stability is among the major purposes of the United Nations. This Organization certainly cannot perform all these functions alone. Member States can establish effective mechanisms to resolve the most intractable problems. In this context, we in the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya have made consistent efforts to assist countries suffering from conflicts and disputes. Talks held last June, under the auspices of the Qadhafi Charitable Organization, between the Government of the Philippines and the Moro Front, led to the signature of the Tripoli Peace Agreement, ending a bitter conflict and meeting the aspirations of both parties for the restoration of security and stability in southern Philippines.

We have participated effectively in various negotiations that have resulted in the settlement of the Ethiopia-Eritrea dispute and the conclusion of the Arusha Agreement, ending the conflict in Burundi. Together with other African countries, we are intensifying our efforts to support reconciliation in Somalia and the restoration of peace to the Democratic Republic of the Congo on the basis of the Lusaka Agreement, emanating from the agreement signed in the city of Sirte in September 1999.

Currently, intensive efforts are being made to implement the Libyan-Egyptian initiative, in coordination with the initiative of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, to achieve broad-based national reconciliation in the Sudan so that its people can live in harmony and stability, based on the unity and territorial integrity of that sisterly country and equality among its people.

We take great pride in our contributions and achievements. But above all, Libyans from all walks of life -- men and women -- greatly cherish the historic event that took place in March of this year, when African leaders announced the establishment of the African Union at the second Sirte summit. This was followed by the thirty-seventh summit of the Organization of African Unity, held last July, which took progressive practical measures to strengthen the fundamentals of this Union, which is an important transformation in the history of Africa, realizing as it did, the dream of the forefathers of a unified Africa. It was the culmination of the efforts of the great African leaders whose objective has always been the unity of the continent so that it could enhance its security and progress and build its future. It is a new phase in an African renaissance that will eliminate rifts that divide the continent and will establish one bloc for all Africans, capable of confronting various challenges in a world of large groupings.

The fact that Africa has taken all these initiatives and steps sends a clear message to other countries of the world that Africa fully realizes that resolving its problems and developing its abilities is primarily the responsibility of the Africans. Yet we must emphasize that there will be no peace, security or stability in the world as long as Africa suffers from problems and disturbances. For that, the United Nations and all countries must assist in the efforts of African countries to establish peace throughout the continent and to enhance security in all its corners. This requires primarily support for Africa's dispute-settlement mechanisms, assistance in eradicating the poverty of millions of its people and the elimination of diseases, particularly HIV/AIDS, which threatens the lives of more than 30 million Africans.

Moreover, a solution must be found to the problem of external debt, which devours most of Africa's earnings. Moreover, an end must be put to consequences of colonialism, the cause of Africa's underdevelopment and the obstacle to its progress. The only way to do justice to the peoples of Africa is for those States that conquered their land, looted the continent's resources and built their progress at its expense to apologize to the peoples of Africa for these practices and to pay them full compensation for the losses and damages caused by colonialism.

The international community has thus far failed to resolve the Palestinian problem, which is almost as old as the United Nations itself. This is essentially due to disregard of the core of the problem, which is that a land was usurped and its people were expelled from their homeland. Thus, Palestine remained occupied. Most of its people became refugees in various parts of the world, and those who stayed were made into prisoners in their own homes, deprived of the most basic human rights. The Palestinian people are being subjected to the most heinous crimes committed against any people in contemporary history. Palestinian children and young and elderly people are assassinated, their land is confiscated, their farms are burnt and their houses are demolished to be replaced by houses of settlers who came from various parts of the world in pursuit of unbelievable and illogical myths.

Old and new developments of the Palestinian question are sufficient proof that ending the suffering of the Palestinians under occupation cannot be achieved through plans that are never implemented. It has also been cogently proven that the problem will not be resolved by the resolutions that the United Nations has been reiterating for more than five decades.

In the light of those irrefutable facts, the solution that should be sought, and on which all efforts must focus, lies in what my country has said before and reaffirms now: the Palestinian people must return to their homeland, from which they were expelled, and a democratic, non-racist State must be established in which all citizens are equal irrespective of religion or ethnicity, a State similar to the one that has been established in the Republic of South Africa. Any other solution would be a fantasy that would serve only to perpetuate the Palestinian tragedy.

Speaking of the situation in the eastern Arab region, my country reaffirms its unlimited support for sisterly Syria and Lebanon in their steadfastness in the face of Israeli aggression. We condemn all attempts to provoke those countries, and we uphold their right to recover all their territories under occupation.

Turning to the current situation in Iraq, we condemn the daily violations of Iraqi sovereignty and the continuous aggression to which Iraq is subjected. We call on all peace-loving countries to work towards the lifting of the sanctions imposed on the Iraqi people and towards putting an end to all schemes aimed at destroying their capacities and at dividing their land.

Tireless efforts have been made in the field of disarmament. My country is a party to most international disarmament agreements and is in the process of acceding to the remaining ones, including the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. But we firmly believe that general and complete disarmament cannot come about without a change in current norms and in the approach to disarmament issues. What we see today is a growing trend towards the control of small arms and light weapons rather than of the weapons of mass destruction that pose a greater threat to international peace and security and to human life.

That is why we wonder about the sharp focus on the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction, even though it addresses only simple, limited weapons that small and weak countries need to defend their borders against powerful countries that possess aircraft carriers and aeroplanes that can be refueled in the air. Why should we not focus our efforts on the destruction of chemical and biological weapons and of ballistic missiles? Why are nuclear-weapon States not serious about practical measures to destroy their nuclear stockpiles? Why are certain countries falsely accused of acquiring weapons of mass destruction while there is silence about the Israelis, who, as everybody knows, possess hundreds of nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction and conventional weapons? Moreover, Israel continues to defy the will of the international community, which has called on it to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to place its nuclear facilities under the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency in order to help ensure that the region is free of nuclear weapons.

We want the important question of disarmament to be dealt with in a comprehensive and non-selective manner. Efforts should be concentrated first and foremost on the adoption of practical measures to destroy nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. That should apply to all those that possess such weapons without exception; they should cease insisting on the development of new defensive systems that could threaten the world's strategic stability and trigger a new arms race. Unless the matter is addressed in that way, disarmament efforts will be meaningless; they will remain a great fraud perpetrated on all the peoples of the world.

During the past nine sessions of the General Assembly, we have reviewed developments in the dispute between my country and a number of Western countries over the United States aeroplane that crashed over Lockerbie. During the past two sessions, we have focused on the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya's cooperation with the Scottish court that has been meeting in the Netherlands since the two Libyan suspects decided voluntarily to appear before it. On each occasion, we have reiterated our request that the Security Council lift the sanctions it imposed on the Libyan people, because Libya has fully responded to the requirements of Council resolutions 731 (1992), 748 (1992) and 1192 (1998). That was confirmed by the report of the Secretary-General to the Security Council, submitted in conformity with paragraph 16 of Security Council resolution 883 (1993).

We are obliged once again to broach this question, and for a valid reason: the developments of earlier this year. As members know, on 3 May 2000 the Scottish court began its trial of the two Libyans suspected of being linked to the Pan Am aircraft incident. During the trial it became very clear that the judges were not convinced of the truth of testimony from the three witnesses offered by the other party as witnesses for the prosecution. The court concluded that the principal witness in the case, Mr. Abdul Majid Giaka, was lying, as were Tony Gauci and Edwin Bollier. In paragraph 45 of its opinion, the court stated:

"We have assessed carefully the evidence of these three witnesses ... relating to the MST-13 timers .... All three, and notably Mr. Bollier, were shown to be unreliable witnesses. [Their various statements were] at times in conflict with each other ... On some occasions, particularly in the case of Mr. Bollier, their evidence was self-contradictory."

It was thus fully expected that the Scottish court would acquit both suspects for lack of evidence. But the decision of 31 January 2001 ran counter to those expectations. The court convicted one of the suspects, Mr. Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi, and acquitted the second, Mr. Al Amin Khalifa Fhimah. That judgement came as a surprise to all political analysts and jurists, for whom it raised many questions, including why one of the suspects was convicted when the two principal prosecution witnesses were proven to have lied and when the court found the third unreliable. How could the court's decision to convict one man and acquit the other be explained, since they were both suspected on the basis of the same assumptions?

The only answer to those questions is that, at the last moment, the court departed from applying the law and instead took a political decision. The first to indicate this was Robert Black, an architect of the Lockerbie court, who said that the elements of the case against Al Megrahi were very weak. And Hans Köchler, a university professor appointed by the Secretary-General as an international observer of the trial, issued a report dated 3 February 2001, which included many comments, including the following.

"[The Opinion] is totally incomprehensible for any rational observer when one considers that the indictment in its very essence was based on the joint action of the two accused in Malta.

"The Opinion of the Court is exclusively based on circumstantial evidence and on a series of highly problematic inferences. As to the undersigned's knowledge, there is not one single piece of material evidence linking the two accused to the crime. In such a context, the guilty verdict in regard to the first accused appears to be arbitrary, even irrational.

"...

"This leads ... to the suspicion that political considerations may have been overriding a strictly judicial evaluation of the case."

In placing these facts before the United Nations membership, we want to stress that the conviction handed down by the court on 31 January 2001 was a political decision that had nothing to do with the law. The Libyan citizen Mr. Al Megrahi was kidnapped for political reasons, as confirmed in resolutions and statements adopted by a number of regional organizations, including at the Lusaka summit of the Organization of African Unity, the twenty-eighth ministerial session of the Organization of the Islamic Conference held at Bamako, and the meeting of Foreign Ministers of the League of Arab States held at Cairo earlier this year.

Our gratitude goes to the members of those organizations and to others that have shown solidarity with us from the outset for standing on the side of right. We call on all Members of the United Nations that support right and justice to take the necessary action to meet the demands of those organizations. The first is the immediate release of Mr. Al Megrahi, who was convicted for political reasons that have nothing to do with the law. His continued detention amounts to hostage-taking under all relevant laws and customs.

The second element of those demands is categorical rejection of the stubborn blockage of the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Libya, which ignores the provisions of paragraph 16 of Security Council 883 (1993) and the findings of the report of the Secretary-General in that regard. The Security Council should immediately, totally and permanently lift the sanctions imposed on Libya, in view of the fact that Libya has met all the requirements of the relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1192 (1998). The third element is support for the legitimate right of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya to receive fair compensation for the material and human losses it has incurred as a result of the sanctions.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to The Honourable Phil Goff, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of New Zealand.

Mr. Goff (New Zealand)

May I first express my condolences to the families and friends of those who died in this morning's air crash. This was a tragedy in a city that has already seen more than its share of tragedy in recent times.

We meet in New York at this session of the General Assembly under the shadow of terrorist attacks on this city just two months ago. We mourn the lives of nearly 5,000 people from 79 countries who, having done nothing to deserve that fate, died in the attack. The scale, premeditation, coordination and indifference to mass murder that characterize this attack represent a new age of terrorism. It is a terrorism that appears to set no limit to its consequences. Those responsible for it foreshadow a willingness to use biological, chemical and nuclear weapons of mass destruction. The potentially catastrophic effects if they are able to carry out that threat demand an urgent and comprehensive response to pre-empt any such action.

We cannot allow the rule of terror to replace the rule of law. We cannot tolerate the damage that terrorism has already done to the global economy. We cannot allow terror to threaten basic human rights to life and security.

New Zealand welcomes the lead by the United Nations in coordinating an effective and enduring response to terrorism. Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), adopted unanimously, sets out a blueprint for action which every Member State has an obligation to implement. Its emphasis is on measures to close off financial support and the provision of refuge for terrorist groups in every country of the world. International cooperation in imposing these measures and bringing the terrorists to justice will, in the longer term, lie at the heart of the campaign to defeat terrorism.

Removing the immediate threat posed by terrorists such as those in Al Qaeda and those who harbour them will, however, require more than resolutions. Time and again over the past three years, the Security Council has called on the Taliban to prevent the use of Afghanistan by terrorists to launch strikes against other countries. Those resolutions and the sanctions that accompanied them have been ignored by the Taliban. Where groups operate beyond the rule of law and countries put themselves outside of international codes of behaviour, the use of force becomes a necessary part of our response.

Multilateral action and cooperation on a wider front are also necessary if we are to be successful in removing the threat of terrorism on an ongoing and lasting basis. Comprehensive action is needed to minimize the threat of chemical, biological or nuclear weapons falling into the hands of extremist groups. No State should develop, test and hold weapons of this nature. Such weapons are a threat to humanity. Their use by States would destroy and otherwise harm innocent human beings as certainly as did the actions of the terrorist group that attacked New York.

Nations yet to sign and ratify the United Nations Conventions on Chemical and Biological Weapons and treaties to ban mines and inhumane weapons must do so. Nations must equally commit themselves to the elimination of nuclear weapons, the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, and an immediate start to negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty.

The attack of 11 September should also encourage all nations to ratify the Rome Statute to bring into effect the International Criminal Court as a forum for pursuing action against those responsible for crimes against humanity.

Suppression of terrorism must also involve action to deal with its causes. States must consider whether the suppression of dissident or minority groups rather than allowing legitimate channels to voice dissent leaves resort to force as the only option.

The events of 11 September should encourage all countries and organizations, particularly those directly involved, to renew efforts to find a just and peaceful solution to the Middle East crisis. To achieve a peaceful solution between Palestinians and Israelis requires good will and flexibility on both sides. There can be no double standards in how the principles of human rights, freedom and social and economic opportunity are applied to all peoples.

One consequence of the campaign against terrorism has been to bring the world's attention to the situation in Afghanistan. Afghanistan reminds us that where a vacuum is created by the absence of legitimate government and the rule of law, it will be filled by extremist elements, criminal groups dealing in drug trafficking and terrorist organizations, all of which can operate with impunity.

The international community has for too long been indifferent to the situation in Afghanistan and to the long-standing refugee crisis that has resulted from 22 years of war, from famine and from Taliban oppression. Pakistan and Iran have carried the burden of 3.6 million refugees, while much of the world showed concern only when a handful of those refugees in desperation sought to enter other countries illegally. Too little concern has been shown internationally to the 300,000 Afghan children who have died annually from preventable causes. One in three children in refugee camps die before they reach the age of five. The groups now protesting against military intervention were silent while this human catastrophe was unfolding over the last few years.

Any loss of innocent life in conflict is tragic, and extraordinary measures must be taken to avoid it. But a failure to remove the Taliban regime and a failure to assist the Afghan people to put in place a broad-based, moderate and stable Government to replace the Taliban will mean the ongoing loss of hundreds of thousands of lives and the continued suffering of the Afghan people.

Renewed efforts are needed through United Nations agencies to provide emergency relief to people within Afghanistan and in the refugee camps to avoid unnecessary loss of life through the winter and in the months to come. The United Nations must stand ready to assist Afghanistan to rebuild itself once the conflict is over, working with as broad a coalition of Afghan groups as is possible to create a viable political, economic and social infrastructure.

Resolving the problems that have forced so many millions of people from their homes is fundamental to solving the growing refugee crisis. In Afghanistan and elsewhere, people flee their homelands through fear of death or persecution, or because of poverty and lack of opportunity.

In a world made smaller by advances in communication and transport, no State can ignore the plight in other countries or expect not to face consequences from unacceptable discrepancies in wealth, opportunity and human rights standards.

Suppression of criminal organizations responsible for people trafficking is a challenge which demands increased international cooperation. Those who profit from people's desperation and who, once paid, are careless as to whether or not their human cargo survives must be stamped out. However, removing the causes of people fleeing from their countries remains fundamental.

New Zealand's own region of the Pacific has not been immune from violence and instability. In recent years, we have seen conflict in East Timor, violence between Government and separatist movements within Indonesia and in Bougainville, ethnic conflict in the Solomon Islands and a coup that overthrew a legitimate Government in Fiji.

Problems remain in the region, but there have been notable areas of improvement. A peace settlement has been signed in Bougainville. Fiji has held democratic elections. Indonesia is seeking to resolve separatist conflict by offering greater autonomy. In East Timor, there have been free elections, and that country will gain independence as the first new nation of the twenty-first century in May 2002. International cooperation and a capable transitional administration by the United Nations have achieved a remarkable transformation in a poor and devastated country. I congratulate the Security Council on its endorsement of the Secretary-General's concept for a post-independence United Nations presence in East Timor to consolidate what has been achieved.

In acknowledging the role of United Nations personnel, I would also stress the need to ensure their proper protection in situations which are often dangerous. The murder of United Nations relief workers in Atambua, West Timor, and the failure to bring to account those fully responsible are a reminder that more must be done to protect our United Nations personnel. We endorse the Secretary-General's recommendations on extending the legal protection for United Nations and other personnel involved in humanitarian operations.

It is timely at this General Assembly to stress the importance of the role of the United Nations. The critical wars of the twenty-first century will not be won by single nations, however powerful, or even by coalitions. It is the United Nations acting collectively which will win the wars against terrorism, poverty and disease; threats to the environment; and the threats posed by conflict and weapons of mass destruction. The commitments made by heads of State and Government in the United Nations Millennium Declaration last year take on even greater relevance following the events of 11 September.

However, for the United Nations to achieve its potential, it must undergo reform. To prevent the General Assembly and the Secretariat from becoming overwhelmed by so many tasks that they fail to be effective in tackling any of them, we need to prioritize our agenda and to be more selective.

The Security Council needs reform. Its membership should be expanded to reflect contemporary realities, but without maintaining or extending the veto. Countries contributing to peacekeeping operations should be afforded greater involvement in the Council's decision-making with respect to those operations. Peacekeeping operations must be sufficiently resourced.

The capacity of the United Nations for rapid reaction must be strengthened. New Zealand is ready to enter into discussions on a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations on its participation in the standby arrangements system. This is consistent with New Zealand's long-standing readiness to contribute to peacekeeping operations and its current involvement in more than 12 such operations, including its commitment since 1999 of a battalion to help ensure the success of the United Nations operation in East Timor.

The United Nations was founded after the Second World War to build a world free from poverty, violence and the violation of human rights. Nations committed themselves to a collective response to problems that could not be solved by countries individually. Countries agreed on rules of international behaviour.

No one would claim that the United Nations has an unblemished record of success. But without it, the world would be a much less secure place, much less able to confront the difficulties which we face. Let this fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly reaffirm our commitment to work collectively to defeat terrorism, conflict, poverty and disease, and set the agenda for peace, development and respect for human rights for all.

The Acting President

I call on Her Excellency Ms. Lydie Polfer, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Luxembourg.

Ms. Polfer (Luxembourg)

First, I should like to express our very sincere condolences and sense of compassion to the families of the victims of the tragic accident that occurred this morning, as well as to the authorities of the City and State of New York, which have been so seriously affected by the terrorist attacks on 11 September.

I should, however, like to congratulate our President, Mr. Han Seung-soo. I am convinced that with the cooperation of Member States, he will be able to conduct this Assembly in a way to ensure that it responds ambitiously and effectively to the challenges before it.

President Holkeri conducted the Millennium Assembly deftly, wisely exercising his presidential authority and evincing a soothing sense of humour. We would like to thank him for that.

Our Secretary-General tirelessly continues his work to promote international peace and security. Member States wish to thank him for the imagination and wisdom shown as he discharges his lofty responsibility, and they have renewed his term of office. International public opinion has expressed its gratitude for his exceptional commitment by giving him, together with the United Nations, the Nobel Peace Prize. We would like to associate ourselves with that tribute. We congratulate him and wish him the best in his difficult work at the head of the Organization.

In the course of this first session of the twenty-first century, the General Assembly has begun its work under the sign of terrorism. The indescribable crime that was committed on 11 September 2001 against the United States of America and its citizens, male and female, represents a breakdown in international relations. It was not only America that was targeted by this infamous attack against the World Trade Center towers -- it was our lifestyle in an open, democratic, tolerant and multicultural society to which the broad majority of countries and peoples represented here aspire. That is unbearable to terrorists.

Civilian airplanes have become guided missiles through blind and murderous terrorism, and as a result we all feel attacked. We can't call this a confrontation here between civilizations, combat between North and South, between religions. The perpetrators of the repugnant attack of 11 September wish to deny by their act the very values that form the basis of the international community, which we have endeavoured to build for the past 50 years through the United Nations and its multilateral system.

The subsequent discussion in public opinion has shown that our societies do not yet know each other well enough. Ignorance leads to distrust and even hostility, promoting a chilling self-absorption. Dialogue among civilizations, as promoted and practised by our Organization, must now more than ever be at the forefront of our considerations.

Having expressed its compassion for the innocent victims of those cowardly attacks, the international community must now react with determination to ensure that the perpetrators receive the punishment they deserve and to defend itself in such a way as to prevent such acts in the future. I should like to take this opportunity to reaffirm our solidarity with the United States of America in its exercise of its legitimate right to self-defence.

Two days ago, the current President of the European Union, Mr. Louis Michel, gave a detailed description of the measures and initiatives taken by the 15 member States to combat the scourge of terrorism. Luxembourg is participating unreservedly in this joint effort.

Only through coordinated and interdisciplinary work will we be able to fight all forms of terrorism. Our response must be commensurate with the threat, while respecting the fundamental freedoms of the citizen -- a principle that underlies our civilization.

With regard to the situation in Afghanistan, we must work under the auspices of the United Nations with a view to promoting the emergence of a stable and legitimate Government that is representative of the Afghan population as a whole. Such a Government must respect the human rights of the Afghan people and develop good-neighbourly relations with all the countries of the region. In that context, I should like to welcome in particular the activities of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Afghanistan, Mr. Brahimi.

As soon as its objective has been achieved, the international community, through the concerted efforts of the United Nations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and other international organizations, should set up an ambitious programme that is both political and humanitarian, with a view to helping to reconstruct Afghanistan and to ensure its integration within a stabilized region. Such an effort will require intensified political dialogue with all of the countries of the region.

At this time, the provision of assistance to the civilian population in Afghanistan and to the refugees across its borders is a matter of priority. My country has already raised almost 7 million euros for that purpose as part of a comprehensive effort within the European Union amounting to more than 320 million euros.

Although there are no grounds for making a direct connection between the events of 11 September and the situation in the Middle East, the situation there is becoming increasingly worrying. We note that, unfortunately, the fabric that was woven during 10 years of mediation efforts and that was almost completed at Taba is now unravelling before our eyes. During my recent visit to the region, I noted the extent to which the peace process, which has been deadlocked for far too long, is suffering from the absence of any real prospects and from increasing distrust among the parties.

That is why, together with our colleagues from the European Union, we are stepping up our efforts to convince the parties that only the cessation of violence and the recognition of two States will make it possible for negotiations to resume that can lead to a just and lasting peace in the region, on the basis of the establishment of a Palestinian State and the right of Israel to live in peace and security. The European Union stands ready to provide a framework for this process, in cooperation with the United States of America and the Arab States of the region, and to assist the parties with a view to facilitating the reconciliation that is necessary.

In the meantime, the United Nations will tirelessly pursue its efforts to achieve international peace and stability. In 2001, four reports of the Secretary-General -- dealing with peacekeeping, humanitarian action, the prevention of conflict and the follow-up to the Millennium Summit -- have shown the way forward. They show that it is necessary for the international community to be steadfast in its commitment to the prevention and management of conflict.

Any hesitation or fleeting expression of disinterest might risk encouraging elements that may want to aggressively defend their own interests without regard for the consequences at the national or international level. Europe has witnessed such dramatic chains of events, particularly in the Balkans, and we can only feel a sense of humility when considering their disastrous effects.

If this year the United Nations has not been on the front line in the Balkans, it has been working hard in the area of peacekeeping. I would like to make two comments about these operations. First, we note that there has been a considerable improvement in the quality of their management, following the conclusions of the Brahimi report. Secondly, there has been an international commitment to deal with hotbeds of tension as diverse and complex as those of Kosovo, East Timor, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Sierra Leone.

The balance sheet is relatively encouraging. Kosovo will soon be holding elections that will have important consequences for the future of the province. The United Nations operation in East Timor can, perhaps, be viewed as a clear success for international action. Attempts to restructure peacekeeping operations have been promoted through careful consideration in the Secretariat, the Security Council and the General Assembly, based upon an outstanding follow-up report.

The complexity of crisis situations often, of course, demands a prudent response, even when real progress has been made, as is the case in Sierra Leone. It is even more important to document international determination through clear mandates that allow for a strong response. We believe that the inclusion of troop-contributing countries in the decision-making process is essential. The increasingly integrated approach that has been chosen, as illustrated by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo and the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor, is designed to ensure a logical succession between the phases of prevention, peacekeeping and, finally, consolidation, reconstruction and development.

One of the most urgent tasks of our Organization is to provide immediate assistance for civilian populations that are the victims of natural disasters or crises brought about by human intervention. Luxembourg attaches particular importance to such needs, and we are endeavouring to support United Nations offices in this physically and morally demanding task. Since the fall of 2000, we have been coordinating, on an informal basis, the donor countries in New York, and our delegation takes pleasure in noting the dedication of the competent officials and authorities who head these services. I would like to assure the Assembly that my country is clearly aware of the need to protect, and ensure the safety of, personnel.

Humanitarian action, prevention, ceasefire agreements and peace-building activities hardly constitute the entire agenda of the international community. A functioning democracy is a major asset in progress towards development, as I have already emphasized. I need only reaffirm the importance of national efforts to combat corruption and foster the establishment, within our societies, of the rule of law based on an equitable and properly functioning legal system.

My country welcomes the efforts under way within the United Nations to put an end to impunity and to ensure that those responsible for committing crimes against humanity and other atrocities answer for their actions within an international criminal jurisdiction.

A special tribunal to judge crimes committed during the course of the civil war is in the process of being established in Sierra Leone, and Luxembourg has made a financial contribution to its establishment. In Cambodia, a law to establish a tribunal to consider the atrocities and genocide perpetrated under the dictatorship of the Khmer Rouge is now in force, and we must assess its compatibility with the memorandum proposed by the United Nations. The Tribunals in The Hague and Arusha have stepped up their work, and, for the first time, a former head of State is awaiting his trial in prison. We welcome these developments, as well as those who have joined us in the group of countries that have ratified the Rome Statute of the future International Criminal Court. The citizens of Luxembourg would be pleased to see that convention enter into force as soon as possible and acceded to by a broad majority of States.

In September 2000, heads of State and Government met here in New York. Since then, the Millennium Declaration has underpinned the actions of the United Nations and of States at the national level. Together with its European partners, Luxembourg has affirmed its dedication to the commitments entered into there.

I conclude by citing two facts that illustrate the awareness of my country's Government of the responsibilities its shares with all here in preparing for the future of coming generations. First, official development assistance from Luxembourg has reached 0.71 per cent of our gross national product; the Government has decided to raise it to 1 per cent by 2005. I have also submitted to my country's Chamber of Deputies Luxembourg's first nomination to serve as a non-permanent member of the Security Council.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Mohamed Benaissa, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of Morocco.

Mr. Benaissa (Morocco)

At the outset, I wish to congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo, on behalf of the Kingdom of Morocco, on his election to preside over the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session and to offer him our full support as he carries out his important task. I also take this opportunity to thank and congratulate his predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, on the effective and decisive manner in which he conducted the work of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session.

I also pay tribute to our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for all his efforts in serving the Organization and the international community as a whole and I congratulate him sincerely on his re-election to his post and on receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for 2001.

We have all been struck and shaken by the heinous terrorist acts that took place on 11 September in the United States. They were an attack upon thousands of innocent lives and a clear violation of all the religious, humanitarian and cultural values that we hold dear. Whatever our attitude towards and evaluation of those events may be, international relations have taken a different turn and a fateful outlook since that day. Those events were epic in their resonance and the extent of their repercussions is not yet clear. One thing is clear, however: we will have to face new challenges and new constraints. Morocco reaffirms its full condemnation of these actions and calls on all countries to mobilize their efforts to eradicate terrorism at its very roots. Terrorism represents a threat not merely to international peace and security, but to the human race as a whole.

We believe that the United Nations is the most appropriate institution for investigating the deepest causes of terrorism, not least because of the resolutions of the Security Council and the General Assembly establishing a unified and comprehensive set of guidelines on this wide-ranging subject. That is why we call on all competent bodies to do everything possible to fulfil their responsibilities for combating or preventing terrorism. Morocco is a multi-ethnic State founded on tolerance, equality and respect for international law. It will contribute fully to the fight against the scourge of terrorism and its dangers.

It is absolutely clear that the question of the Middle East is one of the most serious regional conflicts that the world has experienced in the past 50 years. Recently, we have seen a dangerous escalation in the conflict that has taken hundreds of lives, including those of many women and children, and undermined the infrastructure and services of the occupied territories of Palestine. Morocco has therefore condemned the attacks and called for a lifting of the siege of Palestinian towns and villages, where homes, schools and fields have been bulldozed. The forced colonization of Palestinian areas occupied since 1967 must come to an end. We must break the vicious cycle of violence and reprisals, and return to the negotiating table on the basis of the conclusions of the Mitchell report and signed agreements between Israel and the Palestinians.

Morocco feels that peace between the Arabs and Israelis will have to entail an Israeli withdrawal from all the land occupied since 1967 in Palestine and the Syrian Golan Heights and that part of the territory of Lebanon that remains under Israeli occupation. This must take place on the basis of full compliance with international law, in particular Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973) and the decisions of the Madrid Conference, which called for an exchange of land for peace. In this context, we heard with satisfaction the statement made by President Bush concerning the establishment of a Palestinian State and the expression of the will of the United States Administration to resume its active role in reviving the peace process in order to achieve a just, lasting, comprehensive and genuine peace for all the peoples and States of the region.

Morocco takes this opportunity to reiterate its concern over the suffering of the brotherly people of Iraq and the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in that country. These are direct results of the economic sanctions that have been imposed on that nation for the past 10 years and more. Morocco hopes that the talks under way between the United Nations and the Government of Iraq will help towards the lifting of the sanctions and put an end to the despair, pain and suffering of the Iraqi people.

Morocco welcomes all the efforts to be made by the United Nations and the Iraqi Government in the dialogue, which will be held in confidence and frankness, to find a just solution to the problem of detainees and people missing since the Gulf War. Morocco supports both the independence and sovereignty of Kuwait and the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Iraq itself.

The settlement of armed conflicts is also of crucial importance to Africa, which, unfortunately, is still being plagued by bloody but entirely contrived confrontations. What is happening in Africa requires our Organization to adopt a new and pragmatic approach enabling us to maintain and strengthen peace in Africa on the basis of respect for ceasefires and the encouragement of dialogue between the parties, and confidence-building. We need to provide for preventive action, as stated by the Secretary-General at the opening of this session of the General Assembly. We need early warning mechanisms for areas of tension. If we have such mechanisms, then we will be able to deal with the deep causes of conflict, like injustice, poverty, epidemics and refugees.

Morocco, which is eager to support peace and security in Africa, welcomes all efforts undertaken in this area by the United Nations and international and regional organizations. Morocco, as always, has responded this year to the United Nations request for troops from the Moroccan Royal Armed Forces to participate in the international peacekeeping operations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

The Kingdom of Morocco is determined to expedite the process of constructing the Arab Mahgreb Union as a strong and balanced regional organization that will lead to permanent stability in the region and strengthen economic, social and cultural institutions. It would also enter into fruitful partnership with other regional organizations, including the European Union. Morocco remains convinced that such a Union is inevitable and most useful.

The efforts to establish a Mahgreb organization, however, depend upon finding an enduring, just and final solution to the problem of the Sahara. The conflict there is a stumbling block preventing the fulfilment of the hopes of the peoples of the Mahgreb for good relations, complementarity, stability, prosperity and peace. It is these hopes that have guided us since independence, especially since the historic conference in Tangiers in 1958. Although some claim otherwise, the settlement plan did not come to a halt because of the huge number of challenges following the identification process, but because of the huge difficulties mentioned by the Secretary-General himself in his last three reports to the Security Council.

Finally -- and again contrary to the claims of some -- the Security Council, in resolution 1359 (2001), requested the four parties concerned in the Sahara conflict to begin negotiations on the basis of the framework agreement tabled by the Secretary-General in the Security Council and known as the Baker plan. In fact, the initiative of the Secretary-General, enshrined in the draft framework agreement, is aimed at a negotiated settlement of the conflict. As the Secretary-General himself put it, this is a last chance to reach a speedy and final settlement in the Sahara conflict. Morocco accepted the draft framework agreement as a basis for negotiation, and is ready to continue cooperating with the Security Council, the Secretary-General and his personal representative, Mr. James Baker, in order to achieve a just, peaceful and final settlement of the Sahara issue.

In keeping with international law and the Charter, Morocco invites all other parties to provide the same positive response to the appeal contained in Security Council resolution 1359 (2001) to start negotiations in order to achieve a political solution of this totally contrived conflict.

The fact that Spain continues to occupy two Moroccan cities, Ceuta and Melilla, and the islands off the coast of Morocco that are near them, is a pure anachronism and totally out of line with the values and principles upheld by the international community. Morocco, which would like to see a European-Mediterranean community and dialogue between the two shores of the Mediterranean, considers that a good relationship based on cooperation and good neighbourliness with Spain is one of our basic strategic goals. However, if we are to achieve that goal, Spain will have to show an understanding of and good faith towards Morocco's rightful claims on Ceuta and Melilla and the islands off the coast of Morocco, so that Moroccan sovereignty over this territory can be exercised, with full guarantees for the economic, social and cultural rights of the Spanish residents of these two cities. There have been similar precedents, in places like Hong Kong and Macao. Thus, we can refer to such previous settlements that will be in the interests of both Morocco and Spain.

Changes in the world economy make it essential for Mediterranean countries to give their economic relationships a strong impetus based on new concepts and approaches. That is why Morocco has tabled very ambitious projects with some of the other countries in the eastern and southern Mediterranean regions.

There is the initiative of His Majesty King Mohammed VI, known as the Agadir declaration of 8 May 2001, which provides for the enlargement of the free-trade zone that now exists on the basis of agreements between Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia. The ideas for this free-trade area to be enlarged with the involvement of other Arab Mediterranean States form a solid basis for the States on the south and east coasts of the Mediterranean to integrate in a framework of partnership and cooperation, as under the Barcelona Declaration, involving countries on the north shore of the Mediterranean and the European Union in general.

International peace and security do not depend only on responses to political challenges. They also depend on social and economic problems. We specifically cite problems of the environment and lack of natural resources, where there are so many challenges facing our planet, not least of which is access to water and drinking water at a reasonable price. My country had the honour of contributing to this cause at the seventh Conference of the Parties to the Climate Change Convention, which took place in Marrakech between 29 October and 9 November 2001. This Conference resulted in positive steps on the way towards an international conference on sustainable development to be held in Johannesburg next year.

With regard to the social issues that are of concern to international organizations, the Kingdom of Morocco considers that the United Nations should increase its efforts to benefit children, because they are the future of the human race. The Kingdom of Morocco, upon the recommendation and leadership of its sovereign, His Majesty Mohammed VI and their Royal Highnesses Prince Moulay Rachid and Princess Lalla Meriem, has spared no effort at the regional and international levels to ensure the success of the Global Movement for Children. Morocco has in this regard organized three important conferences on children this year aimed at mobilizing all possible resources -- regional, Arab and African -- in order to make sure that children enjoy their rights to health, education and justice. Based on such convictions, Morocco is determined to effectively contribute to the success of the special session on children to be held next year.

For the second time in 10 years, our Organization has received the Nobel Peace Prize, which is both an honour and a burden. An honour for its success in preventing wars and in settling disputes peacefully; and a burden because it leads to rethinking the role of the Organization so it can become an effective tool in responding to the new challenges and so it can fulfil its goals of building a world in which peace and security prevail and in which all peoples of the world can harvest the fruits of technological and scientific advances. Let us therefore rise to the level of such challenges and engage in a true partnership and solid visionary outlook so we can achieve these noble objectives.

The Acting President

I now give the floor to His Excellency Mr. Mikhail M. Khvostov, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belarus.

Mr. Khvostov (Belarus)

The delegation of Belarus would like to express its deepest sympathy to the families of the victims of the plane crash that occurred this morning in New York, as well as to the Governments of the United States and the Dominican Republic.

My delegation would also like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session on his election to that responsible post. His election is undoubtedly clear recognition of the Republic of Korea's role in international affairs. We would also like to express our gratitude to the President of the General Assembly at the previous session, Mr. Harri Holkeri. His successful presidency of the Millennium Summit and Assembly is a clear example of his personal talent and leadership skills.

The United Nations is entering the new century under the leadership of Mr. Kofi Annan. His unanimous re-election by the General Assembly to a second five-year term came as an unequivocal acknowledgement of great appreciation for his work as Secretary-General. We welcome the recent well-founded decision by the International Nobel Committee to grant the Nobel Peace Prize to the United Nations, and to Mr. Kofi Annan personally.

The consequences of the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 against New York and Washington, D.C., are as present and as painful as ever. In that regard, our country does not consider this session of the General Assembly just a regular event in the life of the United Nations. For Belarus, the point is that, as Member States, all of us must demonstrate collective wisdom and display the collective will to make our world less vulnerable in the face of acts of insanity that push not only individual countries but the whole of humanity to the very edge of a global catastrophe.

As a responsible member of the international community, the Republic of Belarus cannot remain indifferent to this threat. In his message to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, the President of the Republic of Belarus, Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka, clearly explained the views of our country with regard to international activities to combat terrorism:

"In the present situation, the role of the United Nations in consolidating the efforts of States in the fight against terrorism is growing in stature. We can achieve real success in this effort only when the unique capabilities of the United Nations are used, especially as regards eradicating the root causes that generate and support terrorism. We believe that the United Nations should be at the centre of the efforts to develop strategies and tactics for the measures to be taken by the international community to combat terrorism."

Having actively supported all the anti-terrorist resolutions adopted by the Security Council and General Assembly, and being party to the 12 United Nations conventions on terrorism, Belarus welcomes the measures aimed at defining and eradicating not only terrorism itself but also its root causes. We firmly support the work of the Committee established by the Security Council under resolution 1373 (2001), and are ready to cooperate closely with that body.

Last year, during the Millennium Summit and Assembly, we called for the preservation of the United Nations as a unique universal international institution uniting all the countries of the world. When we talk about establishing the conditions necessary for effective implementation of the goals set out in the Millennium Declaration we are talking about the future of the Organization itself. We believe that the implementation by the United Nations of the provisions of the Millennium Declaration during the first year after the holding of the Millennium Summit is cause for a certain optimism. In that regard, I would like to underscore that the Republic of Belarus has already drafted a special governmental programme on implementing the Millennium Declaration.

The important thing that we have come to realize is that there is an organic link between development, peace and security in the context of globalization. The recent tragic events in the United States of America reaffirmed that interdependence. Belarus welcomes the intensive work undertaken at the United Nations in 2001 in preparation for the International Conference on Financing for Development. We are convinced that this forum must lay the foundation for a new international consensus on global economic and financial issues. Belarus believes that such a consensus should be built while taking into consideration the specific interests and needs of countries at different stages of social and economic development. The overall success of the forum will ultimately depend on the application of that approach.

While addressing the most pressing social and economic challenges of the modern world, we must not weaken our focus on the area of international security and disarmament. The statistics on military expenditures, which have reached $800 billion per year worldwide, are of particular concern in the present alarming international situation. It should be noted that our country has been pursuing a consistent policy in the field of disarmament. We have made a significant contribution to the consolidation and development of international non-proliferation regimes for weapons of mass destruction, including a reduction in the number of such weapons and the elimination of existing arsenals.

Belarus has been consistently and comprehensively fulfilling the provisions of all nuclear disarmament treaties to which our country is a party. The recent concluding inspection under the Treaty on the Elimination of Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles, which was carried out in Belarus in February 2001, confirmed our country's strict observance of all the conditions envisaged in that document. As a nation that voluntary relinquished possession of nuclear weapons and completely withdrew them from its territory in 1996, Belarus is determined to advocate the necessity of providing legally binding guarantees to non-nuclear States, including the elaboration of an appropriate international convention to that end.

The Republic of Belarus is among the States that consider the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty to be a critical component of maintaining strategic stability. The outcome of decades of tense negotiations in the search for a compromise that saved the world from a growing nuclear threat must not be dismissed. Strategic stability is a practical imperative for each and every State without exception. Negotiations on such an important issue should be conducted on a multilateral, non-bloc basis with the participation of all interested States and in strict conformity with the provisions of the Charter.

We welcome the efforts undertaken for the universal prohibition of chemical weapons and support the destruction, as soon as possible, of existing arsenals of weapons-grade poisons, as well as the efforts to achieve the universality of the Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. This summer Belarus concluded its agreement with the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons on the privileges and immunities of that organization.

We also pursue a similarly responsible and consistent policy with regard to reducing conventional weapons. In strict implementation of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, Belarus was among the first of the parties to that Treaty to ratify the agreement on the adaptation of the Treaty. Ratification by the Republic of Belarus of the Treaty on Open Skies in 2001 is proof of our consistent policy in this field.

One important dimension of our foreign policy is to make practical contributions to the strengthening of regional stability, based on the principle of comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperation with neighbouring countries in all areas relevant to security and disarmament. As part of this policy, Belarus has concluded an agreement with Lithuania on measures for strengthening confidence and transparency, and we are making progress towards signing similar agreements with Ukraine and Poland.

Conflict prevention remains among the most important issues on the agenda of the United Nations. The events of the past year have proved that the initiatives undertaken by the United Nations, together with the active personal involvement of the Secretary-General and complemented by the work of regional organizations and individual United Nations Member States, have been an effective -- and very often the only -- solution to the escalation of conflicts in various regions of the world.

This is the appropriate point to mention the situation in Afghanistan, which is of particular concern to the international community. Developments in that country and in the region as a whole run the risk of spiraling out of control. Military force cannot resolve complex problems that have been building up for years. We are convinced that the complex tensions within Afghan society can be defused only by means of a balanced domestic dialogue based on strict compliance with the standards of international law.

It is essential not to weaken the intensifying political effort to give a new impetus to the peace process in the Middle East. There is no alternative to the peaceful establishment of an independent Palestinian State through political negotiations, based on the strict observance of Security Council resolutions already adopted and the decisions of other relevant international forums. It is regrettable that the Security Council was unable to reach consensus on a United Nations presence in the region at this crucial moment. We consider it extremely important that we continue our efforts to settle unresolved problems on the Lebanese track, in tandem with the complete withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Golan Heights.

We are also concerned about the situation in Kosovo and Macedonia as the result of aggressive separatism and international terrorism. Here, too, we believe that political logic must prevail over the logic of force. On the eve of the forthcoming general election in Kosovo, Belarus confirms its adherence to the principle of the territorial integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and supports the diplomatic initiative by the Russian Federation legally to confirm the existing national borders in the Balkans.

The situation in Africa continues to remain unstable. We believe that the establishment of the African Union and the further strengthening of other African regional structures, with an effective United Nations involvement, are important prerequisites for the maintenance of peace and stability in that continent. A comprehensive approach envisaging integration of the political, economic and social resources of the African States is of crucial importance. Belarus supports the immediate implementation of all the decisions taken at the Summit of the Organization of African Unity held in Lusaka, Zambia, in July 2001.

It is important to maintain the momentum that has been created in the political process leading to statehood for East Timor and to its admission, as a fully fledged member, into the world family of nations.

We must encourage the active efforts being undertaken to continue dialogue, on the basis of equality, between North and South Korea.

The Cyprus problem continues to be a pressing issue. We call for the resumption of negotiations on this question, in accordance with the provisions of the relevant resolutions of the Security Council.

The Republic of Belarus has been increasing its participation in major United Nations international legal instruments in a number of strategically important areas. These include the combat against organized crime and drug trafficking. Belarus has signed the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its supplementary Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, as well as the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air.

Beyond that, the Republic of Belarus has become a party to the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel, the Convention relating to the Status of Refugees, the Protocol Amending the Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs.

The current session of the General Assembly represents an important stage in the process of establishing a legal framework for Belarus to join the United Nations system of peacekeeping operations. On 1 October 2001, the Republic of Belarus signed a memorandum of understanding with the Secretariat regarding its participation in the United Nations Standby Arrangements System. We see the recent visit of representatives of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations to Belarus to test and select Belarusian candidates for United Nations civilian police contingents as an important initial step in the process of implementing this memorandum.

Of major importance in the Millennium Declaration is the promotion by Member States of the principles of sustainable development. It remains clear, however, that implementation of the paradigm of sustainable development in many developing countries and in countries with economies in transition continues to be confronted with major difficulties.

In this regard, we attach particular importance to preparations for the World Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in Johannesburg in 2002. We consider the Rio + 10 Summit to be an appropriate forum for defining new approaches to the solution of global problems and for developing new and effective financial, institutional and legal mechanisms for their implementation.

The current session of the General Assembly is of fundamental importance to my country, since it will consider issues relating to the cleanup of the consequences of the disaster at the Chernobyl nuclear power plant. The economic, social and humanitarian ramifications of this problem cannot be overestimated. Suffice it to mention here just one figure: over the past decade, Belarus has spent $12.5 billion on the cleanup of the Chernobyl disaster. However, the people living in the contaminated areas have not yet been able to return to their normal way of life. There is a need further to rally international support for my country's efforts to mitigate and minimize the aftermath of the Chernobyl catastrophe.

In this context, we greatly appreciate the initiatives proposed by the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, Mr. Kenzo Oshima, to intensify international post-Chernobyl cooperation, including shifting its focus towards assistance for sustainable development of the contaminated areas and enhancing the region's human potential. The findings and outcome of the special United Nations assessment mission to the three most affected States earlier this year are expected significantly to contribute to the understanding of what precisely should be done in the near future. In the course of the current session of the General Assembly, a draft resolution entitled "Strengthening of International Cooperation and Coordination of Efforts to Study, Mitigate and Minimize the Consequences of the Chernobyl Disaster" has jointly been submitted by the Governments of Belarus, the Russian Federation and Ukraine. I call upon all delegations to support it.

In his road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration, our Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, observed quite rightly that

"The international community has just emerged from an era of commitment. It must now enter an era of implementation." (A/56/326, para. 11)

This means that the successful implementation of the Organization's strategy in this era of globalization depends on us, as United Nations Member States, and us alone. This is not only our common privilege; it is also our common responsibility.

Belarus is confident that the United Nations and the international community are capable of mobilizing political will and technological and intellectual resources for the sake of building a stable and prosperous world.

For the Republic of Belarus, the tenth anniversary of its independence coincided with the second presidential elections in the history of my country. The support of the overwhelming majority of voters for Mr. Alyaksandr Lukashenka confirmed the soundness of the democratic foundations of the Belarusian society.

Similarly, the foreign policy of our country will remain consistent and constructive. It will be guided exclusively by the basic principles of the United Nations Charter and universally recognized norms of international law, including the aspiration for the establishment of a world order in which the interests of all countries, big and small, developed and developing, in both the North and the South, are equitably taken into account. Cooperation with all United Nations Member States on a mutually beneficial and constructive basis will remain the central priority for the Republic of Belarus.

The Acting President

I now call on His Excellency Mr. Brian Cowen, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland.

Mr. Cowen (Ireland)

I congratulate the President on his election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly and thank him for his successful efforts to take forward the work of this Assembly. My colleague, Foreign Minister Louis Michel of Belgium, has already addressed this General Assembly on behalf of the European Union. Ireland associates itself fully with his remarks.

We meet at a moment of uncertainty. The spectre of war once again casts its shadow across the continents. Forty years ago, when addressing the Assembly, President John F. Kennedy warned: "Mankind must put an end to war or war will