I should like at the outset to extend my
warmest congratulations to Mr. Ganev of Bulgaria on his election as President
of the General Assembly at its forth-seventh session. I am sure that with his
experience and skill he will guide the Assembly to a successful conclusion.
I should like also to take this opportunity to express my deep
appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Samir S. Shahibi, who carried out his
tasks with dedication and commitment. He made an invaluable contribution to
the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.
It is also a pleasure for me, on behalf of Malaysia, to extend a warm
welcome to the delegations of those countries that recently joined us as
Members of the United Nations.
. In the last two to three years we have seen dramatic developments and
changes around the world. In many ways we are at a historic point, where we
must make fateful choices that will determine the future of mankind. There
are opportunities to develop a new era of international cooperation based on a
collective desire to seek social and economic progress in a peaceful and
stable environment. There are renewed hopes in the ability of the United
Nations to play a central role in the maintenance of peace and security, while
at the same time being the catalyst for the revival of international
develolpment cooperation.
The end of East-West rivalry and the success of the role of the United
Nations in settling a number of regional disputes understandably gave rise to
euphoria about a new world order. Unfortunately, events of the last two years
prove that such euphoria has been rather short-lived. Numerous and complex
challenges, as well as uncertainties, are still unfolding.
Sadly, the dawn of the new post-cold-war era is looking more and more like the
old world order, characterized as it was by open conflicts based on clashes
between competing nationalists and ethnic forces. Certain parts of Europe are
once again becoming areas of tension and destruction, with ugly ethnic and
nationalistic strife in the former Yugoslavia and a number of component States
of the former Soviet Union. There are also disturbing unresolved local
conflicts in other parts of the world in Afghanistan, Liberia, Mozambique
and Somalia.
Indeed, our initial hope and confidence that the end of the cold war
would encourage and bring about better cooperation at the United Nations are
on the wane. Experience over the last several months has raised serious
concern about certain developments at the United Nations. Too much emphasis,
for instance, is given to the role of the United Nations in the maintenance of
international security, and there is less focus on the social and economic
dimensions of peace. There is also concern over the dominant role of certain
permanent members in the decision-making process in the Security Council,
pushing the scope of the Council's activities into areas considered by many to
be beyond its mandate.
There is also growing concern that the Security Council particularly
the permanent members - has a tendency to select when and where to apply
collective measures under the Charter to uphold the rule of law and restore
international peace and stability. One obvious example of such selectivity is
the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council has yet to respond to
requests by a number of countries of the Organization of the Islamic
Conference for an emergency meeting, with formal debate, to consider the
situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, much less to invoke Article 42 of
Chapter VII of the Charter. To uphold the rule of law, the Council should
reverse the aggression by Serbia-Montenegro against Bosnia and Herzegovina and
should initiate legal proceedings against Serbian leaders and individuals
responsible for "ethnic cleansing" and other war crimes against Bosnian
Muslims and Christians.
The London Conference has yet to prove effective, and even the latest
Security Council action, expanding the size and mandate of the United Nations
Protection Force in Bosnia is limited to the protection of humanitarian
relief. It is Malaysia's strong belief that humanitarian relief, however
effective it may be, will not bring an end to aggression and atrocities, which
are causing so much destruction and loss of life, as well as outflows of
refugees to neighbouring countries.
The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina has highlighted the need for, and the
importance and validity of, preventive diplomacy. If the United Nations is
expected to play an effective role in the maintenance of international peace
and security, there must be greater recourse to preventive diplomacy.
Selectivity or double standards in dealing with potential conflicts and with
the parties involved would lead us nowhere and would only make a mockery of
the United Nations.
We are all conscious of the fact that the grave situation in Somalia was
largely ignored by the Security Council until the Secretary-General took the
Council to task. Millions of Somalians have been suffering for months, and
many are dying by the day in a tragic civil war that is raging out of
control. Somalia is in many ways a casualty of cold-war politics and is now
left to struggle on its own. In this instance the United Nations must assist
not only in bringing humanitarian relief as is being done - but also in
restoring normality. Continuation of the civil war in Somalia is of no good
to any party, and we urge the warring parties to settle their conflicts
speedily and peacefully for the sake of their people and country. There is a
Malaysian proverb that aptly describes the futility of such a situation: "The
victor becomes charcoal, and the loser the ashes."
Two international issues that have long been on the agenda of the United
Nations are Palestine and South Africa. The current Middle East peace process
is showing signs of progress as, for the first time, negotiation, begin to
enter into substantive questions touching on the principle of land for peace.
The time has come for the United Nations to be involved in confidence-building
measures in the occupied territories, including the dispatch of observers, as
well as the extension of social and economic assistance beyond the current
limited efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine
Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to help the Palestinians during the period
of transition towards self-rule and independence.
Similarly, in South Africa, the process of change towards democracy and
majority rule has reached a critical impasse, which calls clearly for a more
assertive and tangible United Nations role. Malaysia welcomes the decision of
the Security Council to send observers to help to create confidence and to
facilitate the process of change. But we believe that the United Nations
should be able to do more in extending confidence-building measures
particularly in restoring law and order as well as in looking at the needs
of black South Africans living in squalid conditions, long neglected under the
apartheid system.
On the question of Cambodia, Malaysia, being part of the Association of
South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region, has a special interest in
Cambodia's peace, stability and economic well-being. Bilaterally, Malaysia
stands ready to join hands with its Cambodian neighbours in economic and
technical cooperation. We are also fully supportive of the United Nations
role in Cambodia and we are doing what we can to both assist and support the
United Nations peace-keeping efforts. To date we have already contributed a
total number of 1,060 men to the United Nations Transitional Authority in
Cambodia (UNTAC). The task before UNTAC is certainly not an easy one in
facilitating the process of national reconciliation and paving the way for the
setting up of a freely elected democratic Government. Actions of some
Cambodian parties could well threaten the Paris peace Agreements. Clearly,
the Paris Agreements must be fully implemented and the United Nations is there
to ensure such a course. Also the United Nations, as represented by UNTAC on
the ground, in its unique role in Cambodia, must gain the full confidence of
all parties in order to facilitate implementation of the Agreements in the
peace process.
The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Somalia, is a serious
test of the credibility of the United Nations concept of collective security.
At a time when there is such enormous expectation concerning, and reliance on,
the United Nations collective security system to ensure the maintenance of
international peace and security, there is an urgent need to examine the
Charter and functioning of the collective security system. Under Article 24
of the Charter, Members of the United Nations confer the responsibility for
maintaining international peace and security on the Security Council
and the Council acts on their behalf. The general membership of the United
Nations surely has the right to expect transparency and accountability in the
work and actions of the Council. A major reform of the Council to achieve
such transparency, accountability and democracy is overdue.
The Council's present membership of 15 must be increased to a level that
is more representative of the United Nations general membership, which has now
grown to 179 countries. The representation of Europe in the Council far
outweighs the size of Europe. The present constitution of the permanent
membership largely reflects the situation immediately after the end of the
Second World War and has now become untenable and anachronistic. The veto
power which guarantees the exclusive and dominant role of the permanent five
in the Council must be examined anew. Malaysia will contribute to examining
in all aspects the structures of the United Nations. We regard as timely the
decision of the recent tenth non-aligned summit meeting in Jakarta to
establish a high-level working group to pursue the restructuring,
revitalization and democratization of the United Nations and will give it our
full support.
Malaysia would also support a collective effort by the General Assembly
to study the content and conseguence of the extremely valuable contribution of
the Secretary-General in his report "An Agenda for Peace". We hope that a
collective examination in a democratic fashion will help to define clearly the
important principles contained in the document and the actions contemplated as
a programme of action for the United Nations in a changing world order.
The time has also come for us to treat the financial crisis facing the
United Nations as a matter of utmost urgency if the Organization is to be the
foundation and centrepoint of the post-cold-war world order. The increasing
demands on the United Nations to undertake peace-keeping operations around the
world are overstretching its scarce resources. Arrears for both regular and
peace-keeping budgets now stand at around US$1.75 billion and they are
affecting adversely the ability of the United Nations to perform its tasks.
Of particular concern is the fact that more than half of the total arrears is
owed by two of the five permanent members.
Malaysia, like many other developing countries, welcomes the bilateral
agreements reached between the United States and Russia on nuclear-weapons
reduction and arms control. As a strong proponent of a universal disarmament
process within the United Nations framework, Malaysia welcomes the positive
work of the Conference on Disarmament on the proposed chemical weapons
Convention and we are happy to cosponsor a draft resolution on it at this
session of the General Assembly. Malaysia also believes that the process of
transparency and confidence-building would contribute to the general goal of
disarmament and peace, and we support the idea of a United Nations register on
armaments. Such a register, however, should not be limited only to the sale
and transfer of conventional weapons but should also include the production
and stockpiling of conventional weapons and in due course cover
non-conventional weapons.
The suitability of the United Nations as the focal point for
international cooperation to build a new world order is its noble objectives
and universal character. For it is here that sovereign States are equal
partners, and hence the Organization provides a good starting point for
instituting democracy in inter-State relations and multilateral diplomacy.
Unfortunately, since the collapse of communism there has been an increasing
tendency on the part of the victors of the ideological rivalry to dictate
their values relating to human rights and democracy to others, not only in the
conduct of their bilateral relations but also in their activities at the
United Nations and in its bodies. Malaysia believes that a comprehensive and
constructive treatment of human rights issues must certainly take into
consideration the cultural and religious values that influence the national
outlook and development of Member States. We look forward to participating in
the World Conference on Human Rights next year.
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is an important
instrument for the maintenance of law and order in maritime affairs and for
international cooperation. As a littoral State, Malaysia would like to draw
the Assembly's attention to the use of the Straits of Malacca as a waterway
for international shipping. Larger and faster vessels capable of carrying
cargoes of a previously unimaginable magnitude now ply the Straits in record
numbers. Most of them are expected to share the same narrow waterway with
fishing boats and the ever-growing number of pleasure craft.
The increasing international traffic and the passage of large
sophisticated vessels through our waters have certainly landed us with new
problems, risks and responsibilities. In particular, the passage of tankers
carrying dangerous and hazardous cargo adds to our worries and the risks to
our environment. There have already been cases of collisions and spillage in
the Straits, polluting our sea and shore and affecting our marine resources.
The latest collison, last weekend, between two vessels in the Straits,
involving an oil tanker and a container is a glaring example. When such
accidents occur we have to do the clearing up, which is a financial burden,
and endure the sudden harm and destruction to our marine resources caused by
pollution. This is too much for the poor littoral States to bear alone.
Obviously there is an urgent need to take a fresh look at existing
international maritime law and regulations applicable to the Straits and find
a mechanism to share the responsibility of ensuring the safety of navigation,
as well as collectively to combat the growing piracy with effective
surveillance through the use of advanced eguipment and with the improved
resources at our disposal. To meet such objectives Malaysia is not suggesting
the introduction of levies or collection of dues but is asking for the
operational and financial responsibility for this to be shared eguitably among
the maritime nations, users of the Straits and the littoral States.
Any attempt at building a new world order must address the increasing
inequity in the international economic system resulting in a widening
North-South gap. The 1992 United Nations Pevelopment Programme human
development report, for instance, in highlighting the increasingly difficult
external economic environment and its adverse repercussions for developing
countries, has stressed that the North must be held primarily responsible for
this situation. The report pointed out that protectionism and subsidies in
the developed countries resulted in a loss of $500 billion a year for the
developing countries, ten times what they received in foreign assistance. The
total external debt of developing countries has multiplied thirteenfold in the
last two decades, from $100 billion in 1970 to around $1,350 billion in 1990.
While the deadlock in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)
Uruguay Round has yet to be resolved, recent tendencies towards unilateral
protectionist trade actions, the creation of new trade blocs and instability
in the major currency markets would only worsen the already difficult global
economic environment. Nothing short of a major reform and restructuring of
the world economy, including the financial system, is required in order to
bring about a strong revival and ensure its long-term stability.
In recent years some progress has been made towards revitalizing and
restructuring cooperation in the economic and social fields at the United
Nations. But those changes, no matter how constructive and well-meaning, are
not sufficient to revive international economic cooperation and to allow for
global social development for as long as the developed countries are not
prepared to initiate concrete changes at the policy level and to fulfil their
obligations, particularly in terms of meeting the official development
assistance targets.
The Rio de Janiero summit on environment and development has raised the
hopes of many that we have, within the context of the decisions of the summit
and the establishment of the Commission on Sustainable Pevelopment, set the
framework for launching a new global partnership with a view to economic
development and the protection of the environment. However, real success is
dependent upon the availability of new and additional resources as well as on
the transfer of technology from the North to the South. As agreed at Rio, we
are expecting our partners in the North to make their pledges during this
session of the General Assembly.
The world today has reached a defining moment in history. The
imperatives of global interdependence require that we members of the
international community work closely together in a new global cooperative
spirit to move away from the past decades of ideological confrontation towards
the building of a better world for all. In this regard the United Nations
remains the best forum and vehicle for bringing about a new global consensus
for international peace, security and development. Together, as a family of
nations, we must have the vision and courage to address our common interest
and future.