General Assembly Session 57 meeting 1

The President

It is a great honour and privilege for me to assume the presidency of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly today. Let me thank you, members of the Assembly for the trust and confidence you have extended to my country and myself. I would like to assure you that I will do my best to perform all my functions and tasks effectively and with full understanding of the concerns of each Member State, as well as of the interests of the United Nations membership as a whole.

At the outset, let me express sincere gratitude to my esteemed predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. Under his able leadership, you have all made the previous session successful in many areas. I personally highly value the fact that under his guidance an entirely new procedure of transition between General Assembly presidencies was established. The newly adopted rules for the election of the President and the General Committee several months ahead constitute an important achievement that will enable all future General Assembly Presidents to assume their responsibilities in a smoother, better organized and more efficient way.

The Czech Republic has always emphasized the indispensable role the Organization plays in maintaining international peace and security, enhancing economic, development and humanitarian cooperation, and promoting respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. Over the years, we have served the Organization in many ways, working in various governing bodies in intergovernmental processes and participating in development cooperation and in peacekeeping operations all over the world. I therefore assume the General Assembly presidency with a great sense of responsibility and commitment to contribute, in my own modest personal capacity, to further strengthening the role of the United Nations.

Allow me to share our priorities for the work of the fifty-seventh session. As we commemorate the tragic events of 11 September 2001, we must remain focused on the fight against international terrorism and uphold our international coalition. The strengthening of United Nations instruments, including the set of international treaties to combat terrorism, should be central to the efforts of the international community. In this respect, I highly commend the work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee, which has greatly contributed to the implementation of the historic Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). For the part of the General Assembly, we still have an important task to resolve. We lack a general convention against terrorism -- including a definition of international terrorism -- and I strongly urge Member States to proceed with their work in the ad hoc Working Group of the Sixth Committee on that issue. I am ready to take an active part in all United Nations efforts to combat international terrorism.

It is also crucial to continue our work in the area of conflict prevention. Recent experience suggests that certain conflicts can be prevented through preventive diplomacy, preventive deployment and preventive disarmament. The far-reaching recommendations of the Secretary-General's report on the prevention of armed conflict (A/55/985) serve as a guide to enhance the preventive capacity of the United Nations and to move from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention. Successful preventive strategies should include accountability and good governance, respect for human rights, promotion of social and economic development, and programmes aimed at attaining disarmament, education and gender equality.

The need for an effective strategy for conflict prevention is underlined by the number of existing conflicts troubling today's world. One of the most protracted of those conflicts is the Middle East conflict. International efforts to bring peace to the area, on both a bilateral and an international basis, have intensified in the past decade. Since its establishment, the United Nations has been actively involved in numerous efforts to resolve the conflict, most recently as one of the players in the "quartet" initiative. There is a growing hope that the "quartet" has the necessary potential to slow down the vicious spiral of violence and to bring new prospects for a peaceful settlement to the parties in the conflict. During our deliberations at the General Assembly, I would like to contribute, to the extent possible, to the existing efforts to find a political resolution to this conflict.

Other issues of great importance that I plan to follow closely include poverty eradication, the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic and the role of sustainable development in the accelerating process of globalization. The Millennium Summit was a remarkable milestone in our endeavour to explore ways to achieve a more equal distribution of the benefits of globalization. We believe that the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly is the session in which the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development should be duly addressed.

The Millennium Declaration laid out the set of development goals that have been widely accepted as targets for development cooperation. In Monterrey, substantial progress was achieved in the area of financing for development, bringing a number of recommendations to national Governments, local authorities and international institutions. The Monterrey Consensus itself gave us guidance on how to change our work in the United Nations in order to achieve better coherence and efficiency. We will also have to improve cooperation among the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council and the Assembly's Main Committees.

The fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly will face the very important and challenging task of preparing for the high-level dialogue in 2003 as a follow up to the Monterrey Consensus. Building global partnerships for development is a key to its success. During my time in office I will pay special attention to closer cooperation between the United Nations and major stakeholders, namely the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization, as well as other multilateral institutions, representatives of the private sector, and of course, civil society.

At the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, Governments reaffirmed their commitment to the achievement of sustainable development. After lengthy and uneasy negotiations, Governments endorsed a plan of implementation that contains at least some specific targets, timetables and ways to alleviate poverty and protect the environment. In addition, more than 220 partnerships representing $235 million in resources, were introduced at the Summit in Johannesburg to complement Government commitments.

I am aware that the World Summit did not meet all the expectations of all the people, but I am confident that the compromise reached will enable the United Nations to come up with mechanisms that would be instrumental in timely implementation of the commitments made in Johannesburg.

As President of the General Assembly, I will support an early follow-up to the World Summit on Sustainable Development. My attention will be focused also on regional initiatives, such as the New Partnership for Africa's Development.

Although I am aware that there is no direct causal link between poverty and terrorism, at the same time I am convinced that extreme poverty is one of the important ingredients which, combined with others such as unresolved long-term political conflicts, could potentially produce an explosive cocktail. At the very least, this can lead to a feeling of powerlessness, frustration and anger, which can create fertile soil for fundamentalist, radical or even terrorist behaviour.

I believe, therefore, that we have to implement the millennium development goals and fight poverty, not only for moral and humanitarian reasons, but also as an integral part of the fight against terrorism and extreme intolerance of all kinds -- as part of our struggle for a stable, secure and more just world.

I am convinced that, for anyone who truly understands the meaning of international solidarity -- and let me stress that I have in mind ordinary human solidarity -- the fight against poverty and for human dignity is a task which has to be tackled. There is no option of doing nothing or even doing less than our utmost.

Over the past two months I have had the opportunity to consult with some members on questions of United Nations reform. I have heard a clear message: we should make the work of the General Assembly more dynamic, lively and efficient. I plan to build on the achievements of my predecessors, Mr. Harri Holkeri and Mr. Han Seung-soo, and continue the work on the revitalization of the General Assembly. I intend to hold panel discussions on issues of common interest and informal consultations on items that require more information and interactive dialogue. In that regard, I rely on the active involvement of all members.

I want to further improve the working methods of the General Assembly by streamlining its agenda. In this regard we have already achieved some modest progress. For the first time ever, in a close and effective cooperation with the Secretariat, a draft programme of work for the entire main part of the fifty-seventh session was provided to Member States several weeks before the beginning of the session. In this programme, agenda items have been entrusted, allowing for joint or consequent debate on interlinked issues.

The support of Member States for this proposal could help eliminate repetitive speeches and create better preconditions for more complex consideration of interrelated and cross-cutting issues. In that connection, I would like to inform the Assembly of my strong intention to fully utilize the time allocated for our meetings, including by starting our work punctually. In chairing the meetings I am determined to adhere to the agreed time limits of speeches, and also in this respect, I hope to gain the support and full cooperation of members.

I look forward to the outcome of the ongoing work of the Secretariat on the enhancement of its effectiveness, as part of the implementation of the road map. I am convinced that this initiative, combined with the efforts on the revitalization of the General Assembly, could result in more profound changes that would make the United Nations truly efficient.

As the Chairman of the Open-ended Working Group on Security Council reform, I will do my utmost to facilitate discussion to bring Member States closer to an agreement. I would like to reiterate that a more representative Security Council reflecting the changed realities of today's world should be in the interest of Member States.

I would like to commend the Secretariat for the assistance provided so far to my office and me. Let me also express my hope that this kind of constructive cooperation will continue throughout the entire fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly.

Allow me a very brief concluding reflection. We all come from different parts of the world, bringing with us diverse backgrounds, skills, knowledge and approaches. The diversity of our views and cultures makes our discussions rich and powerful, sometimes even dramatic. On the other hand, we all have a lot in common, particularly our desire to live in a peaceful and secure world where the values and principles expressed in the United Nations Charter are fully honoured. I would like to plead with all members to work during the upcoming session in a spirit of partnership and solidarity. Let open discussion, mutual understanding and tolerance as well as constructive cooperation govern our deliberations. I wish all of us a fruitful and productive session.