At the
outset, I wish to greet this Assembly and to convey to it our esteem as well
as Tunisia's appreciation for the United Nations' tireless efforts to realize
the aspirations of mankind for peace, security and prosperity.
I should like to take this opportunity to repeat my warm congratulations
to you, Mr. President, on your election to preside over this session. We know
that your skills will contribute to the success of our work. I should also
like to command the positive role played by your predecessor,
Mr. Samir Shihabi, representative of the sisterly Kingdom of Saudi Arabia,
whose activities have extended the Arab and Muslim to the international level
under the leadership of King Fahd Bin Abdul Aziz, Custodian of the Two Holy
Mosques. Your predecessor made a major contribution to the work of the
General Assembly at its forty-sixth session.
I wish also to congratulate Mr. Boutros Boutros Ghali, the new
Secretary-General of our Organization and wish him every success in his
mission. He has embarked on his work with his accustomed characteristic
dynamism and determination, which augur well for our Organization's future.
I welcome the new Member States recently admitted to the Organization.
No doubt, they will make a valuable contribution to the work of the
international community in the service of security, peace and justice.
For a number of years now, the world has been undergoing radical changes
whose effects are beginning to make themselves felt at the international
level. Detente is starting to emerge within the community of nations, and to
create a climate conducive to the advent of world peace and security and the
attainment of the lofty objectives that inspired the establishment of the
United Nations.
The international community has welcomed the dawning of a new era based
on peace, security and the upholding of human rights in the wake of the ending
of the cold war with its ideological conflicts that were the source of
tensions and disputes in all parts of the world. Those changes show that the
international community has begun to regain its self-confidence and to put its
faith in concerted international action in the knowledge that international
problems can be resolved only through the strict application of the principles
enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, which all Member States have
undertaken to uphold.
Tunisia, in this new era continues to be devoted to the noble purposes
and principles upon which the United Nations was founded, and, therefore,
considers that the desired new world order must be forged, as of necessity,
through a process of peaceful and lasting settling of conflicts and resolving
disputes by dialogue and negotiation with a view to establishing peace and
security in the world.
Despite the encouraging developments in international relations, the
world today still faces major challenges in all fields and at all levels. We,
therefore, must show realism and determination in facing up to those
challenges within the context of the just and equitable application of
international legality.
Consequently, it is the first duty of the international community to
focus, without delay, on questions that threaten peace, on the basis of the
norms of international law and the values enshrined in the United Nations
Charter as well as on the methods of preventive diplomacy as set out by the
Secretary-General in his "Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277).
The cause of the Palestinian people is one of the most important of these
questions. This people has for too long been the victim of injustice, and it
is time for it to exercise, like all other peoples, its right to
self-determination and the establishment of its own independent State on its
territory, in conformity with international legality and international
instruments.
Proceeding from the stance of championing the rights of peoples and
adhering to the tenets of international legality, Tunisia has supported the
efforts of the United States of America, the Arab countries and the
international community to hold a peace conference on the Middle East, just as
it has supported every constructive effort aimed at settling this question on
the basis of returning the occupied Arab territories, including Al Quds, and
the exchange of land for peace pursuant to Security Council resolutions
242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978).
Tunisia has followed with interest the bilateral negotiations between the
parties concerned, particularly Israel and the Palestinian delegation acting
on the instructions of the Palestine Liberation Organization. It has also
participated in the multilateral negotiations on the Middle East.
While reiterating its support for the peace process, Tunisia joins the
international community in calling upon Israel to put an end to its policy of
settlement which aims at changing the demographic and social structure of the
occupied Arab territories, changing their Arab cultural identity and imposing
a fait accompli, as it is this policy that poses a major obstacle to the
achievement of peace in the region.
Tunisia has welcomed the positive developments witnessed by the people of
South Africa in the direction of constitutional reform and the search for a
formula that may lead to the emergence of a new, democratic society based on
equal opportunity and the elimination of disparities. However, the halting
negotiations between the authorities in Pretoria and the African National
Congress of South Africa and the escalation of violence are cause for grave
concern.
Tunisia again expresses the hope that the necessary conditions will be
met for the resumption and continuation of negotiations and the establishment
of a transitional Government to implement the desired political reforms with a
view to establishing a just and egalitarian society and putting an end to all
forms of racial discrimination and all types of violence. In this way, the
people of South Africa will be able to exercise their legitimate rights.
participate in bringing about the recovery of the African continent and
contribute to the strengthening of peace in the world.
In this respect, we wish to express our highest regard for the efforts of
the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, as well as those of the
Organization of African Unity under the chairmanship of President Abdou Diouf
with a view to reopening dialogue and putting an end to the use of violence as
a means of settling disputes.
The developments that have taken place on the international scene have
substantially contributed to the defining of the parameters of the new world
order and highlighted the tendency to effectively implement the principles and
achieve the goals of the United Nations Charter. This has given the
Organization a prominent status in the international arena, imparted a great
deal of effectiveness to its action and enabled it to move rapidly and
effectively, whenever possible, to put out the fires of discord, settle
conflicts and restore lasting peace.
Proceeding from this, Tunisia considers that the new world order cannot
emerge and gain strength without the elimination of all sources of tension in
the world.
Tunisia, while welcoming the start made in putting into effect principles
that it has long upheld, notes with deep concern the emergence of new sources
of tension in the world, particularly in the Arab Maghreb region, in Somalia
and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, as well as the exacerbation of the dispute
between the Islamic Republic of Iran and the United Arab Emirates over the
islands of Abu Musa, the Greater Tunb and the Lesser Tunb.
As far as the Arab Maghreb region is concerned, the Arab Maghreb Union is
entering its fourth year. In that short period, it has taken significant
steps towards the establishment of its structures within the framework of
rotation of its chairmanship between its member States. Nevertheless, certain
difficulties exist and stand in the way of the Union. We are trying to
overcome those difficulties and to find appropriate solutions to them. Among
the difficulties is the crisis between Libya and certain Western countries.
We hope a peaceful solution will be found for this dispute within the
framework of international legality, particularly since Libya has accepted
Security Council resolution 731 (1992). We hope that dialogue will be pursued
with a view to finding a political solution that would be in the interest of
the young Arab Maghreb Union and spare the region any escalation that may lead
to instability.
Tunisia also wishes to voice its profound concern over the situation in
the sister country of Somalia due to the famine, the prevalent violence and
the devastating war that threatens Somalia's very existence. Tunisia urges
the parties to the conflict to put an end to the bloodshed and hopes that they
will try and find an appropriate solution to the crisis, through a balanced
approach of dialogue and negotiation.
Despite its modest means, Tunisia has contributed to the humanitarian
assistance extended to that sisterly country. In this respect, we wish to
draw attention to the final document of the tenth summit meeting of the
Movement of Non-Aligned Countries on the subject of Somalia and urge the
international community to work for its implementation in order to put an end
to the martyrdom of the Somali people.
While denouncing the deterioration of the situation and the continuation
of acts of aggression, as well as the "ethnic cleansing" to which the people
of Bosnia and Herzegovina are being subjected, Tunisia considers that these
inhuman acts perpetrated against the Bosnian people should inspire the
international community to show more resolve and firmness in its actions so as
to preserve the existence of that people and protect its rights.
Tunisia supports the Security Council resolutions calling for measures to
protect the population and halt this savage aggression against the Bosnian
people, convinced as it is that such actions constitute a breach of the rights
of peoples and a flagrant violation of the values and principles enshrined in
the United Nations Charter.
The escalation of violence is also illustrated elsewhere by Iran's
military occupation of the islands of Abu Mousa, the Greater Tunb and the
Lesser Tunb, which belong to the United Arab Emirates. Proceeding from its
adherence to the principles of the United Nations and tenets of international
legality, which constitute an indivisible whole, Tunisia supports the United
Arab Emirates' full and complete sovereignty over its territory, recalls the
resolution adopted by the League of Arab States on this question, emphasizes
the necessity of avoiding any act that would threaten the security of the Gulf
region and calls for compliance with the principle of good-neighbourliness,
for acting in accordance with international treaties and other instruments,
and for resorting to the bodies that are competent to settle disputes of this
kind.
In the same vein, we wish to reiterate our support for the sovereignty
and territorial integrity of Kuwait, in accordance with international legality
and also wish to voice our concern over the destiny of the fraternal Iraqi
people, as well as for the territorial integrity of Iraq, which must be
preserved. In this connection, we hope to see our brethren in the region in a
position to treat the past as a closed issue, in consonance with the spirit of
understanding and solidarity that has always inspired the Arab nation.
The new international order will not be able to take shape unless an end
is put to the arms race, which constitutes a constant threat to international
detent-p. Tunisia, which, since the Paris Conference, has made clear its
position with regard to chemical weapons, welcomes the progress made towards
general and complete disarmament, particularly with respect to weapons of mass
destruction, which consume vast sums of money and huge resources. We also
welcome the current efforts to strengthen and consolidate the process. In
this respect, the agreement on chemical weapons recently concluded in Geneva
is a positive step towards disarmament and the strengthening of international
peace and security. However, the implementation of that agreement must go
hand in hand with the elimination of other types of weapons of mass
destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, especially in such a sensitive
region as the Middle East.
We see the new international order as one of freedom, democracy, and
human rights, which are noble and universal values that are consonant with the
ideals of the United Nations, to which the Tunisia of the new era subscribes.
On the basis of this conviction, Tunisia is working to make those values a
reality within the framework of a democratic process, the underlying
foundations of which are the upholding of the rule of law and the functioning
of the State through institutions based on respect for individual and
collective freedoms within a tolerant and open civil society where justice,
freedom, and equality prevail for all citizens and human rights are protected
and promoted.
Tunisia is convinced that genuine democracy rejects anarchy, the pursuit
of supremacy, and violence. Democracy is a civilizing value based on a sense
of responsibility and self-denial within the framework of recognized moral and
social principles. Nevertheless, the success of this process also depends on
recognition, in the case of every country of that country's specific features,
as well as its characteristic socio-economic and cultural conditions, which
are the foundations of their identity.
Tunisia takes pride that it will host, next autumn, the conference
organized by the United Nations on human rights in Africa as a prelude to the
International Conference on Human Rights. We also take pride in the fact that
our country has been chosen by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and
Cultural Organization to host the Conference on human rights and education to
be held next November.
Proceeding from the conviction that democracy and development are
mutually complementary, Tunisia has given human rights their full meaning by
extending them to the political, economic, social, cultural, and environmental
spheres. In this respect, we see it as one of our first duties to improve the
quality of life in a natural environment not threatened by desertification,
pollution, or erosion. For this reason, Tunisia has decided to draw up an
integrated national plan for the protection of the environment, and
participated in the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, where it put
forward constructive proposals.
Tunisia regards the protection of human rights as a daily duty that it
develops and strengthens in the interest of its citizens in order to ensure
for them a life of stability and dignity within a framework of sustainable
development. The protection of human rights, in our view, means reconciling
the interests of the individual and those of the community, for the interests
of individuals would lose all meaning if society were threatened by anarchy
and instability as a result of extremism and terrorism, especially when the
perpetrators employ violence and exploit religion for unstated ends.
The Tunisia of 7 November, being deeply attached to its Arab-Islamic
identity, has always been one of the torchbearers of Islam and one of its
largest bases. It therefore believes deeply in the message of openness,
brotherhood, and coexistence preached by our Muslim religion and by the other
revealed religions in general. Accordingly, concerned to prevent religion
from being turned from its true path and to protect human rights and civil
society from the actions of those who exploit religion in order to attain
their unstated objectives, Tunisia has decided to set extremism and terrorism
in their true context, and has done so in many regional bodies.
Tunisia believes that it is time to adopt a collective position regarding
this phenomenon and to cooperate sincerely in order to isolate extremist and
terrorist groups which hide behind religion, in order for us to protect the
interests of our peoples and our States and create conditions that make it
possible to address the real problems, face up to the challenges and protect
religion from any attempt to exploit and manipulate it.
It is common knowledge that many countries continue to suffer from a
difficult international economic situation that impedes their progress and
development. These countries await with impatience the fruits of the new
world order in the hope that this new era will be one not only of peace and
stability, but also of development and economic and social prosperity.
Although peace-keeping is the main concern of the new world order, the
fact remains that its viability will depend on its ability to assign to
economic and social issues their full measure of importance and to establish
just and equitable rules for international cooperation. For this reason, we
believe that the international community is today called upon to realize the
aspirations of .our peoples regarding cooperation, solidarity, and the
settlement of their basic problems. Thus, the new international order has a
duty to reconsider the structure of the world economy with an eye to the
general interest, without discrimination or exclusion.
Given the exacerbation of the world economic crisis and its adverse
effects on the process of development in the countries of the Third World
despite the major efforts and immense sacrifices made by our peoples, it is
essential that we put our heads together and try to find the best means of
facing up to the economic problems of the world in an appropriate manner. The
aim should be to enable our peoples to fully enjoy their economic, social and
cultural rights and to make it possible for them to contribute to the
democratization of our societies and the development of relations of
understanding and friendship between peoples.
Moreover, we hope the wealthy countries will be convinced of the need to
expand their cooperation and to change the way they deal with us
economically. This would encourage us and show appreciation for our efforts
and sacrifices in the drive to restructure our economies. What we are asking
the developed nations to do is to renounce their protectionist policies
against our exports, and to seek a solution to the debt problems.
While endorsing the Secretary-General's ideas in his "Agenda for Peace"
wherein he calls for regional arrangements to contain crises in accordance
with Chapter VIII of the Charter of the United Nations, Tunisia will continue
to contribute with all the means at its disposal to the strengthening of this
process. It will do so in particular in the bodies of which it is a member,
namely, the Organization of African Unity, the League of Arab States, the
Organization of the Islamic Conference and the Non-Aligned Movement. We also
hope that international economic issues will be accorded a larger share in the
process of restructuring the United Nations, because of their effects on the
future of peace in the world.
Tunisia is convinced that the United Nations has a decisive role to play
in the process of development in the Third World, and hopes that the
Organization will continue to play that role in order to help those countries,
which still sorely need the support of the Organization, and its specialized
agencies in finding appropriate solutions to the problems of indebtedness,
deteriorating commodity prices, deteriorating terms of trade, drying up
capital inflows to middle-income countries and the transfer of the wealth of
developing countries to the rich creditor nations.
In this connection, Tunisia calls for a strengthening of trade in
accordance with the international trade order which has emerged from the
multipartite trade negotiations at the eighth session of the United Nations
Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), as this would be the ideal
framework for strengthening the efficacy of international trade. Tunisia also
calls for more participation by the developing countries in the
decision-making process relating to international trade.
Social questions today have assumed a higher position in the
Organization's scale of priorities, particularly the issues of employment,
health, education and the environment, which play a highly significant role in
eliminating the causes of tension and in improving the quality of life for all-
While welcoming the high priority accorded to such issues, Tunisia calls
for promoting the tendency further and for the allocation of more adequate
financial resources that would make it possible to meet the needs of the
peoples of the Third World and to enable them to exercise their natural rights
to employment, education and health. Proceeding from this, Tunisia supports
the proposal for convening a world summit meeting on development in 1995 on
the occasion of the Organization's fiftieth anniversary, following the
international Conference on Human Rights scheduled for next year, the
Conference on Population and Development that would be held in 1994 and the
Women's Conference in 1995.
The eyes of the peoples of the entire world are today turned towards the
United Nations, which is the living conscience of mankind and the beacon of
its hope for a better future.
Therefore, Tunisia has renewed its longstanding attachment to the Charter
and the goals of the Organization. It has always supported the Organization's
efforts and is determined to support its action to ensure that law, justice
and peace will have the upper hand in the world. The best proof of the stance
is, of course, my country's continued participation in the peace-keeping
operations organized by the United Nations, in the Congo and Namibia, in the
sixties and, recently, in Western Sahara, Cambodia and the former Yugoslavia.
We are convinced that the establishment and maintenance of peace depend
on the intensification of peace-keeping operations whenever the need arises.
In this connection, it may be necessary to conduct an in-depth study of the
best means of tightening and supporting those operations while increasing the
Organization's ability to continue to stage them successfully.
The ideas and proposals that were thrashed out in the summit meeting of
the Security Council last January have highlighted the need to develop and
maintain a balanced relationship between the General Assembly, the Security
Council and the Organization's Secretary-General, as well as for a
strengthening of the role of the General Assembly, in the light of the
important functions assigned to the Assembly under the Charter and in
conformity with the new realities that have been created by the current
developments in the international situation. The Security Council's role
should be developed in consonance with those developments.
We consider that it is high time we considered collectively the
representation of the international community in the Security Council in the
light of the great responsibilities assigned to it in maintaining
international peace and security.
In so doing, we shall have strengthened the democratic character of the
organs of the United Nations in conformity with the new spirit of democracy
now prevailing in the world. This will satisfy the yearnings of many peoples
and will ensure for our Organization greater confidence and credibility in the
eyes of international public opinion.
We are fully convinced that our Organization, by virtue of its great
experience and influence, is capable of giving effect to this ambitious
civilizing project and making a valuable contribution to the strengthening of
cooperation among Member States within the framework of a new outlook that
will open up promising vistas for mankind and give it renewed hope and
confidence.
Tunisia has already put forward many ideas and proposals to bring about
these new reforms and tendencies that, in our view, must shape international
economic relations. On more than one occasion it has made appeals to this
end, most significantly in the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session by
President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali from this very rostrum, for the conclusion
of a covenant of peace and progress between the industrialized and the
developing countries.
The constructive spirit prevailing in the work of this session once again
confirms the determination of the United Nations to play to the full its
assigned role in the international arena in the maintenance of peace and
security in the world. We are convinced that the Organization will succeed in
consolidating the achievements of mankind and in providing it with the
opportunities it needs for progress and prosperity.