General Assembly Session 57 meeting 53

The President

Before turning to the item on the agenda, I would like to remind the General Assembly that today, 20 November, is Africa Industrialization Day. Today, the United Nations family observes Africa Industrialization Day with the collective spirit of supporting and promoting the development of the African continent. It is also an occasion to remind ourselves that more than 30 of the world's 48 least developed countries are located in Africa.

We are at the end of the Second Industrial Development Decade for Africa. The Decade, covering the period 1993 to 2002, was declared by the General Assembly in order to focus on promoting sustainable industrial growth in the region. The United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO), the lead agency for this programme, has just released the Industrial Development Report 2000/2003. The report provides an analysis of industrial performance worldwide and relevant rankings. It is an acknowledged fact that basic industry, and manufacturing industries in particular, are indispensable to economic growth. A skilled work force including managerial cadres, access to capital and technology, good governance and peace and security are only some of the preconditions for industry to flourish. It is expected that by the year 2025 more than 50 per cent of Africa's population will be living in cities. In that context, the harnessing of new information and communication technologies will be key to rapid sustainable development.

This year, the special theme for this Day is new information and communication technologies (NICTs). It is not a coincidence that through NICT -- one of the most visible development tools -- opportunities for the industrialization of Africa have expanded. We find that NICTs are at the heart of mechanisms linked to developing new markets and improving existing ones and that they have the capability of bringing villages and nations closer together by facilitating electronic access to global knowledge and creating an environment for learning.

The programme of action envisaged in the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which was conceived and finalized more than a year ago under the auspices of Africa's leaders, set itself the goals of promoting accelerated growth and sustainable development, eradicating widespread and severe poverty and halting the marginalization of the continent in the globalization process. NICTs are an important tool for achieving those objectives: NICTs would facilitate human development, accelerate intra-Africa trade and improve access to markets of developed countries. Furthermore, NEPAD foresees the crucial role of NICTs in the context of Africa's recovery and calls for concrete and practical steps to develop a proper information and technology infrastructure.

The United Nations family, including UNIDO, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and the International Labour Organization, should continue their support for removing the many constraints that industry faces on using NICTs, through awareness creation and building capacity for national information networking activities and through facilitating public-private partnerships in the context of lessons learned from the United Nations New Agenda for the Development of Africa in the 1990s and the two Industrial Development Decades.

This is a day to renew the commitment of all parties -- including the African Union, the Economic Commission for Africa, the Conference of African Ministers of Industry and the country-specific bilateral public and private partnerships -- to the sustainable development of Africa.

The President

This morning, the General Assembly will begin a joint debate on sub-items (a) to (s) of agenda item 22.

I give the floor to the Executive Secretary of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, Mr. Wolfgang Hoffmann, to introduce the report of the Preparatory Commission.

Mr. Hoffmann (Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization)

I am pleased to be here today to report on the activities of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) is one of the cornerstones of the international non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Its total ban on any nuclear test explosions in any environment will help in ending the development of ever more sophisticated nuclear weapons, as well as in arresting the proliferation of these weapons.

To date, the Treaty has been signed by a total of 166 States and ratified by 97. Thirty-one of those ratifications are by annex 2 States -- the 44 States listed in the Treaty whose ratification is required for entry into force. The level and pace of signatures and ratifications indicates the firm support of the international community for the Treaty. The conference on facilitating entry into force of the CTBT, which was held in New York in 2001, led to a significant increase in signatures and ratifications.

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization was established six years ago to carry out the necessary preparations for the effective implementation of the CTBT and to prepare for the first session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty. The main activity of the Commission and its Provisional Technical Secretariat during recent years was the establishment of the verification regime to monitor Treaty compliance.

The global verification regime needs to be operational at the Treaty's entry into force. It will be capable of detecting nuclear explosions underground, in water and in the atmosphere.

The International Monitoring System (IMS) consists of 321 monitoring stations and 16 radionuclide laboratories that monitor the Earth for evidence of a nuclear explosion. The IMS uses seismic, hydroacoustic and infrasound monitoring technologies to detect possible nuclear explosions. Radionuclide monitoring technologies collect and analyse air samples for evidence of the physical products created by nuclear explosions. Progress in establishing these facilities has been good, considering the engineering challenges that face the establishment of this first worldwide monitoring network. Currently, 43 per cent of the monitoring system is operational.

Good progress in establishing the IMS was in great part made possible by those States hosting facilities. I would like to take this opportunity to thank States for their help and flexibility, and express my hope that the good cooperation will continue for the remainder of the build-up process and beyond.

A Global Communications Infrastructure carries the seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide data from IMS facilities to the International Data Centre. This global satellite communications network is also used to distribute data and reports relevant to Treaty verification to the States signatories.

The International Data Centre supports the verification responsibilities of States signatories by providing the products and services needed for effective Treaty monitoring. The Centre receives raw data from monitoring stations around the world, which it processes, analyses and transmits to States for final analysis. Improved software is enhancing precision in locating the events which produce seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and radionuclide data, and the verification system as a whole is being continuously developed and refined.

On-site inspections (OSIs) are provided for in the Treaty as a final verification measure, and the development of a draft OSI operational manual is a key task for the Preparatory Commission. The Commission is also acquiring inspection equipment and building up a pool of potential inspectors. A realistic field experiment was conducted in Kazakhstan in October 2002. The results of this experiment will facilitate preparations for real on-site inspections.

While the primary purpose of the CTBT verification regime is to verify compliance with the Treaty effectively, the verification technologies, data and products have the potential to offer a range of useful civil and scientific applications for sustainable development and the betterment of human welfare. In this regard, the Commission organized, at London in May this year, with the strong support of the Government of the United Kingdom, a Senior Experts' Discussion on Civil and Scientific Applications of CTBT Verification Technologies.

Seismic, hydroacoustic and infrasound data can be used in studies of the Earth's structure and for research on earthquakes, volcanic eruption forecasting, tsunami warnings, underwater event location and sea temperature and climate change monitoring. The data can assist in minimizing the effect of volcanic eruptions on civil aviation and can be used for oceanic swell research and atmospheric and meteorological studies. Radionuclide technologies offer opportunities for detecting radionuclide dispersion, monitoring radiation levels and studying natural radioactivity, as well as for supporting atmospheric studies, biological research and environmental change tracking. Follow-up meetings and seminars are already taking place among policy-makers and scientists in support of the work of the Commission.

The Commission organizes training programmes and workshops in support of States signatories in the enhancement of national technical capability for the implementation of the Treaty. They include training courses for IMS station operators in all four verification technologies, training courses for data analysis, storage and management, on-site inspection technologies, workshops for global communications infrastructure and workshops on international cooperation and national implementation of the Treaty.

In addition, the Commission promotes international cooperation among States signatories for them to participate in the fullest possible exchange relating to these verification technologies and the establishment and operation of national data centres. Since my last report to the General Assembly, international cooperation workshops were hosted by Senegal and Kenya. Next week I will open a workshop for the Caribbean region in Jamaica and for 2003 workshops are scheduled in Azerbaijan, Fiji and Malaysia.

Along the same lines, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization's Preparatory Commission and the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean, which share the same objective of enhancing international peace and security, concluded a Relationship Agreement in Vienna on 18 September. This is the first agreement concluded between the Preparatory Commission and a regional nuclear-weapon-free zone organization.

On 15 June 2000, the General Assembly adopted the Agreement to Regulate the Relationship between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, thereby accepting the Preparatory Commission as a new member of the United Nations family. The Commission remains an independent international organization, but has been given formal status by which it can contribute to the goals of the United Nations.

Under this Agreement, the Commission's links and interactions with the United Nations and its programmes, funds and specialized agencies are developing even further. In order to fully contribute to the work of the United Nations family, the Preparatory Commission has requested full membership in the United Nations system's Chief Executives Board for Coordination (CEB). The Preparatory Commission already participates in the work of the High Level Committees of the CEB. In light of the disarmament related issues in the Millennium Declaration, we feel it particularly important that the Preparatory Commission should be able to contribute fully to the work of the United Nations family.

We believe that it would be of great significance for the General Assembly to be kept abreast of the rapid development of our new and growing organization on a closer basis. In times of increasing concern about the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, the reports of organizations specialized in this field should be of particular relevance to the deliberations of the General Assembly. However, we understand that the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly is of utmost importance and that the clustering and biannualization of the agenda item on cooperation between the United Nations and regional and other organizations was an important part of the endeavours in this respect. We will therefore look for alternative ways to inform the General Assembly about the outcome of the next conference on facilitating entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, to be held in 2003.

I am grateful to Ambassador Bota of Romania, the current Chairman of the Preparatory Commission, for the excellent work he has performed in Vienna. I also want to thank Romania for introducing the draft resolution on cooperation between the United Nations and the Preparatory Commission this year.

In closing, I would like to emphasize that six years after its opening for signature, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has the confirmed support of the international community and is recognized as playing an important role in nuclear disarmament and in preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. By signing and ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, States confirm their commitment to these shared goals.

Mr. Pfirter (Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons)

It is a great privilege for me to address the United Nations General Assembly for the first time since my appointment as Director-General of the Technical Secretariat of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

I would like also to extend to you, Mr President, my most sincere congratulations for your election to this position, to which you bring experience, diplomatic skills and the respected voice of a country, the Czech Republic, whose contribution to the objectives and purposes of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) are well known.

The presence of a Director-General of an organization such as the OPCW at the United Nations universal body, the General Assembly, is as natural as it is necessary. It is natural because our Convention, and the organization it brought to life, are legitimate expressions of multilateralism in a field -- disarmament and international security -- where the central role of the United Nations is widely recognized. It is necessary because the CWC and the OPCW have a message to convey: this year and in fact every day, our work, like yours, simply cannot stop.

The United Nations has recognized the OPCW as the organization responsible for activities to achieve the comprehensive prohibition of chemical weapons in accordance with the Convention. At the same time, the OPCW, as stated by the Relationship Agreement between the two organizations, recognizes the central role of the United Nations in international peace and security.

Close cooperation between the United Nations and the OPCW seems self-evident. We are determined to work jointly to achieve mutual objectives -- by maintaining a close working relationship at all relevant levels and by making sure that effective coordination is achieved in the various areas where the United Nations Charter and our mandate can converge for the benefit of disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The organization I represent is the single international institution providing at the same time for disarmament, non-proliferation and international cooperation and assistance.

We verify the destruction of the huge existing arsenals of chemical weapons. We monitor chemical industry and trade related activities in listed chemicals to make sure they are consistent with the provisions of the Convention. We assist and remain ready to provide help for member States in need of reinforcing or creating their own protective capacities and, in cases of attacks or threats of attacks with chemical weapons, we will stand beside those in need.

These three unique elements -- disarmament, non-proliferation and international cooperation and assistance -- find in the CWC, through the OPCW, the indispensable articulation to become integral parts of a single effort. In this sense, the CWC stands as an example of what can be achieved when the political will exists to tackle questions of global concern through the formidable power of an internationally agreed instrument.

As I explained in my address to the First Committee last month, member States of the CWC are making substantive progress in the achievement of the goals set out by the Treaty.

Destruction of chemical weapons continues. And this is indeed crucial, as we are not talking here of a mere clean-up operation of the remnants of the cold war. We are dealing with weapons of mass destruction, tens of thousands of munitions, seas of deadly chemical agents -- all weapons of choice for terrorist groups, weapons that have been used in recent inter-State conflicts and that unfortunately remain within the inventories of some States.

OPCW inspectors are active in checking destruction activities in all the declared possessor State's facilities. On this front, the task is Herculean, but progress is being made on a continuing basis.

In the United States, the goal of the destruction of 20 per cent of stockpiles of category 1 weapons has been completed. India has also met this crucial threshold. Another State party is making progress towards that goal, with approval given by the Conference of States Parties for it to meet this target by April 2003.

In Russia, where the largest stockpile of about 40,000 metric tonnes of warfare agents remain to be destroyed, agreements have been reached within the OPCW. A number of decisions have been taken that will hopefully enable the Russian Federation to meet its obligations to destroy chemical weapons and to convert some facilities to permitted purposes.

In that respect, we are greatly heartened, and warmly welcome, the 10 plus 10 over 10 initiative for these and related purposes over the next 10 years approved by the G-8 countries at the Kananaskis Summit.

Slowly but surely, the OPCW, together with its member States, is creating the conditions for a world actually free from these weapons of mass destruction. From a technological and scientific point of view, our work is very demanding, as it deals with listed chemicals that, in most cases, do have legitimate civilian applications. The same can be said about the technologies involved, which fall under the well-known label of dual use. That is why we have to make sure that the Technical Secretariat is in a position to uphold the core provisions of the Convention in the light of the breathtaking pace of progress in the chemical industry worldwide. This is an area where we are currently concentrating our efforts in order to ensure the future relevance of the CWC to all States parties.

While we continue our relentless efforts at oversight and our activities to destroy chemical weapons, we must note that this undertaking will demand ever-greater efforts from the organization in the very near future. Possessor States are announcing that new destruction facilities are coming on-line. This will have a considerable impact on our verification plan, which will grow accordingly.

The anticipated steep rise in verification activities is a clear indication of the challenges ahead for the organization. But the quantitative increase in verification activities is not everything that is involved, because the Chemical Weapons Convention is not only an instrument of multilateral disarmament. In parallel with the monitoring functions at chemical weapons related facilities, the CWC addresses the equally complex, and certainly more elusive, problem of the proliferation of instruments of chemical warfare. Given the vast scope of the chemical industry worldwide, efficient control of chemical proliferation is an arduous task that the Technical Secretariat has to face within the margins of its limited resources, especially against the backdrop of the growing number of facilities to be monitored.

The number of inspections will rise, but the nature of the exercise will also be altered by the combined influence of new technologies, evolving industrial methods and the lessons learned in the past few years by our inspectors. While facilities producing schedule 1 and 2 chemicals will permanently focus the priority attention of the OPCW, we shall also widen the scope of active industry monitoring activities in general terms. This process will be gradual, and it will be defined in consultation with member States and be fully in line with the Convention.

International cooperation and assistance are much more than good intentions under the CWC. Our activities in the field of international cooperation allow our member States to become full partners in the discharge of their Treaty obligations. As it is often said, the CWC is not a self-executing document. It requires constant interaction and an ongoing interrelationship between the Technical Secretariat and member States through their national authorities. This is indispensable both for verification purposes and for the enactment of implementing legislation and chemical exports controls at the national level.

Article X of the CWC mandates us to provide assistance in the case of the use or threat of use of chemical weapons. In the light of the importance of that commitment of the OPCW, we have been actively working to improve our preparedness and availability, not only in actual emergencies, but also in the area of capacity-building. Two months ago in Croatia, we conducted our first large-scale exercise, which allowed us to test our preparedness for chemical attacks and emergencies in real life conditions. We intend to continue with similar efforts in the near future, hopefully with the support and contribution of other international organizations, starting with the United Nations, as there are many areas where synergetic efforts can and must be found in this area.

Threat-perception and a new sense of urgency have become apparent after the tragic attacks in the United States in September 2001. Assistance has been finally understood as a necessity, especially for States lacking the resources to protect themselves against the possibility of an attack with chemical agents. Following the terrorist attacks on the United States on 11 September 2001 and the global realization of the possibility that terrorists might use weapons of mass destruction, an increasing number of States parties have invoked the Treaty provisions that request the Technical Secretariat to provide expert advice and to help strengthen their protective capacity. An increasing number of protection courses have therefore been presented by the OPCW in 2002, and some additional courses have already been scheduled for 2003 for the benefit of member States in Central Asia and Africa.

The OPCW is not a counter-terrorism agency, but it is clear that active implementation of the Treaty provisions can help against this looming menace. Doing that through a multilateral instrument like the CWC has the additional advantage of rallying forces that would otherwise remain unconnected at a time when the struggle for already-scarce resources is becoming acute.

In December 2001, States parties and the OPCW Technical Secretariat jointly identified a number of areas where useful contributions could be made to the struggle against international terrorism. Those include the promotion of universal adherence to the Convention, enactment of adequate national implementing legislation -- including penal legislation -- full and effective implementation of the provisions related to the destruction of chemical weapons capabilities, full and effective implementation of the provisions related to inspections in the chemical industry and transfers of scheduled chemicals to non-State parties, and the further development of the OPCW's capabilities to respond to requests for assistance in cases of use or threat of use of chemical weapons.

In addressing the General Assembly, I cannot fail to mention the high priority we attach to the principle of the universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention. With 147 States parties, the Chemical Weapons Convention already embodies a significant number of Member States of the United Nations. But the Chemical Weapons Convention is an international agreement open to all States without exception. It is for that reason that we have consistently called upon States that have not yet done so to ratify or accede to the Treaty. I repeat that invitation here today. To that end, we have also designed several programmes and outreach initiatives to ensure that all States willing to join the family of nations opposing chemical warfare can do so easily.

For a global agreement like this, which entails security implications for all Member States, ratification by all is our permanent objective, and we continue to work towards that end. We must acknowledge that some States outside the purview of the CWC are of clear proliferation concern. But for others the overall security scenario prevailing in their respective regions could be a determining, and perhaps a deterring, factor.

All those elements have to be borne in mind when we tackle the issue of universality. The overriding notion remains, however, that this is a Treaty where all States, possessors and non-possessors alike, can benefit in terms of their own security, first and foremost, and also in other important areas relating to the peaceful uses of chemistry.

In a few months, in accordance with the provisions of the CWC, we will conduct the first Review Conference since the Convention entered into force. The principal purpose of the exercise will be to conduct a comprehensive evaluation of the operation of the Convention from the legal and technical standpoints. The Review Conference will allow us to look into the past, to see what has been done and achieved in the first five years of the Treaty's operation and, perhaps more importantly, to identify the most urgent tasks we will have to face in the next five years. States parties will also be able to assess the implementation of the verification regime to date, and provide direction to the organization to continue its monitoring of the destruction process and of compliance. During the Review Conference, Member States will also have an opportunity to consider any scientific and technological developments affecting the CWC. Above all, this first retrospective and, at the same time, forward-looking exercise will be an ideal opportunity to reaffirm the validity and importance of the Chemical Weapons Convention.

If any lesson can be learned from recent events, it will confirm the continued urgency and validity of concerns over weapons of mass destruction. That is why we expect the widest participation of Member States at the highest possible level, as well as the active presence of international organizations and civil society, next April in The Hague. I do hope that the United Nations, as the principal Organization dealing with matters related to the maintenance of peace and security, will signal through its presence the high priority we all attach to efforts aimed at eliminating weapons of mass destruction.

In conclusion, let us remember that chemical weapons happen to be those which the international community has agreed to dispose of completely, without exception and in a verifiable manner. Let us never forget that the Chemical Weapons Convention is our common contract to achieve this lofty goal. Last but not least, let us always support the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which is no more and no less than the guarantor of that process.

Mr. Abelian (Armenia)

In my capacity as Chairman-in-Office of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization (BSEC) for the six-month term starting 1 November 2002, I have the honour on behalf of the sponsors listed in document A/57/L.11, as well as of Ukraine and The Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, to introduce the draft resolution entitled "Cooperation between the United Nations and the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization".

In this regard, I would like to express our gratitude to the Albanian chairmanship of BSEC for the successful conduct and conclusion of its term and the preparation of this comprehensive draft resolution. I should also like to extend our thanks and appreciation to the Secretary-General of BSEC, Ambassador Valeri Chechelashvili, who is joining us today in this Hall, for the leadership that he provides in running the day-to-day business of the organization. We very much look forward to continuing to work with him in his efforts to build the efficiency and effectiveness of the organization.

This year, we have been celebrating the 10-year anniversary of BSEC. When it was established in 1992, no one could assure that this intergovernmental forum would survive. Yet, 10 years later, have we not only managed to stay together, but also to build on our experience and achievements to evolve into a viable regional organization. This spirit has been marked by the enhancement of BSEC's effectiveness and the expansion of the scope of its activities. BSEC has brought together 11 member States with varied resources, histories and economic conditions, as well as with some major political problems among certain member States. What we have in common is the shared goal to promote economic development, stability and prosperity for our countries and around the Black Sea.

We realized that, by combining and maximizing our resources, we would be better able to compete in and benefit from the modern globalized economy. One of the major goals of BSEC has always been the promotion of intra-regional cooperation and the development of effective partnership with other regional and international organizations, particularly the European Union and the United Nations system.

The adoption of BSEC's charter in 1998 and its transformation into a regional organization in 1999 were key qualitative steps forward in ensuring its role as an important tool for regional cooperation. Its granting of observer status in the United Nations in 1999 provided an international legal identity and thus a further positive spur to continue pursuing its goals and principles. In this spirit, BSEC has gained tremendous institutional growth and has successfully completed its formative stage. The creation of a system of related bodies and subsidiary organs has ensured its transformation into a full-fledged international organization and enhanced its effectiveness.

The draft resolution before us today is a comprehensive and result-oriented document. It incorporates and reflects the major goals, principles and objectives laid down in the BSEC charter and the declarations adopted at its summit meetings in 1999 and 2002. The draft resolution emphasizes the strengthening of regional cooperation in various fields, such as trade, finance, energy, transport, communications, agriculture, health care, environmental protection, science, combating organized crime, terrorism, illegal migration and illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons.

The draft resolution also attaches great importance to the enhancement of relations with the European Union and the United Nations system. It welcomes the signing of cooperation agreements between BSEC and the Economic Commission for Europe and between BSEC and the United Nations Environment Programme, while the cooperation of BSEC with the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and the World Trade Organization are considered to be priority issues. The draft resolution highly encourages the cooperation between BSCE and other regional organizations and initiatives.

The text we have before us was subject to extensive consultations both here in New York and in Tirana, Albania, during the seventh meeting of the Council of Ministers of Foreign Affairs.

I should like to draw the Assembly's attention to the following minor editorial changes that have been made to the document since it was submitted.

In the second line of paragraph 5, the word "particularly" has been inserted after the word "initiatives".

In paragraphs 11 and 12, the words "Secretary-General of the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization" have been replaced by the words "the Black Sea Economic Cooperation Organization".

The objectives of BSEC remain clear and understandable: to develop equal partnership, to strive for a better life for the peoples of the region and to achieve stability and prosperity around the Black Sea through regional cooperation in various fields. The adoption of the draft resolution will undoubtedly further enhance BSEC's international image.

I should like to conclude by expressing the hope that the General Assembly will, as in previous years, give its unanimous support to the draft resolution before us.

Mr. Ouch (Cambodia)

I have the honour, on behalf of the 10 States members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, the Lao People's Democratic Republic, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- to introduce draft resolution A/57/L.16 on cooperation between the United Nations and ASEAN. May I thank all the other co-sponsors for their support to this draft resolution.

ASEAN, which was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok, is an expression of the collective will of the nations in the region to bind themselves together in friendship and cooperation to secure for their peoples the blessings of peace, freedom and prosperity. ASEAN and the United Nations have been development partners almost from its establishment in 1967, when the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and ASEAN started their long-standing and productive relationship.

On 29 July 2002, on the occasion of the 35th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting in Brunei Darussalam, the ASEAN Foreign Ministers agreed on the need to enhance cooperation with the United Nations as a pre-eminent multilateral institution. It is as a follow-up to this declaration that we are submitting the draft resolution calling for closer cooperation between the United Nations and ASEAN. Such cooperation is vital to the realization of the basic objectives of ASEAN, which include, among others, accelerating the region's economic growth, social progress and cultural development and promoting stability and peace.

In the light of the many facets of globalization, cooperation between the two organizations will contribute to economic growth and sustainable development in the region so that we could maximize the benefits of globalization while reducing its negative effects, in particular among the region's least developed countries, which thus far have not been fully integrated into the new realities of a globalized world. There is no doubt that ASEAN has contributed to building a culture of peace and cooperation in the region through enhancing habitual cooperation and maintaining regional peace, stability and security.

We have just successfully concluded the eighth ASEAN Summit, held at Phnom Penh, Cambodia, which attracted worldwide attention, followed by the sixth ASEAN plus Three summit meeting with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea and a separate ASEAN-India summit. China signed a framework agreement for a free-trade pact with ASEAN, as well as a Declaration on the Conduct of Parties in the South China Sea. Japan concluded an agreement focusing on human resources and investment, with the possibility for a free-trade agreement in the future. And, in a very positive move, India, at its first summit-level meeting with the group, offered to negotiate a free-trade area with ASEAN. I am pleased to report that the Summit also saw the strengthening of collaboration between ASEAN and Africa, represented by the President of South Africa in his capacity as Chairman of the newly established African Union. He spoke about the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which we fully support. Finally, ASEAN will also strengthen its cooperation with the Greater Mekong Subregion. On 3 November 2002, Cambodia hosted the first Greater Mekong Subregion Summit, held at Phnom Penh.

In the area of peace and security, the Phnom Penh Summit focused on strengthening cooperation to combat terrorism in the wake of the heinous terrorist attacks on 11 September last year and of the attack carried out more recently in Bali, which struck at the heart of ASEAN. It adopted a Declaration on Terrorism, which expresses ASEAN's determination to build on measures announced last year in the Declaration on Joint Action to Counter Terrorism by ASEAN leaders in Brunei Darussalam to intensify its efforts to prevent, counter and suppress terrorist activities in the region, while urging the international community to support its efforts. Also last year in Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN and the United States signed a Joint Declaration for Cooperation to Combat International Terrorism.

At the same time, ASEAN believes that the United Nations is the proper forum for international cooperation and therefore cooperates, both individually and collectively, with the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Committee. The ASEAN Regional Forum and the ASEAN plus Three process are viable and increasingly significant forums for peace and stability in the region.

In the area of technical cooperation, productive cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) was underscored when the UNDP was officially designated an ASEAN Dialogue Partner. Ties between ASEAN and the UNDP were further strengthened by the launching of the ASEAN-UNDP subregional programmes, aimed at better assisting ASEAN in its regional cooperation and integration efforts. ASEAN cooperation has evolved over the years with such United Nations funds and programmes as the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and international agencies of the United Nations family, in particular the United Nations Industrial Development Organization; the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization; the United Nations International Drug Control Programme; the United Nations Children's Fund; the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS; the World Health Organization; the International Labour Organization; the International Maritime Organization; and the International Atomic Energy Agency.

For the reasons that I have cited, we feel that the resolution under consideration will be beneficial for both the United Nations and ASEAN.

The President

I now give the floor to the representative of Fiji, who, in the course of his statement, will introduce draft resolution A/57/L.21.

Mr. Naidu (Fiji)

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