I wish to begin by congratulating my
colleague Mr. Stoyan Ganev on his election to the high office of President of
the General Assembly. He can rest assured that the delegation of Finland will
render him its full support in his challenging task.
On behalf of my Government I wish also to extend a warm welcome to the 13
new Members amongst us. Their participation in the work of the United Nations
will further strengthen the Organization.
Since the beginning of this year the United Nations has had a new
Secretary-General. Faced with many difficult challenges,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali has already shown, in word and in deed, that he is
firmly in charge. We wish him all success in his work.
The United Nations Charter was drafted under dramatic circumstances
during the final stages of the Second World War. After two world wars, the
United Nations was given the responsibility for maintaining peace and security
for future generations. Now, decades later, the Organization also faces a
multitude of other major challenges: those of development, protection of the
environment and promotion of democracy and human rights. Courageous and
visionary leadership is now called for to create a new United Nations for a
new international era.
The Security Council demonstrated such leadership at its historic summit
meeting held in January. After decades of cold war, the summit set new
priorities for the United Nations in the promotion of peace and security
worldwide, and provided guidelines for a more active United Nations
involvement in the maintenance of peace.
In response to the initiative taken by the Security Council summit the
Secretary-General has submitted an excellent report under the title "An Agenda
for Peace". In it he has innovatively addressed the question of how the full
potential of the United Nations can be most effectively used in the service of
peace and international security. The report is a comprehensive effort by the
Secretary-General to relate preventive diplomacy, peace-making and
peace-keeping, as well as peace-building, to the changing political and
security requirements of the world today.
I am especially pleased to note that the Secretary-General's thinking and
many of his recommendations are well in line with what Finland, often together
with the other Nordic countries, has itself long advocated.
As expressed so clearly in the Secretary-General's report, it is not
sufficient that the United Nations should succeed in putting an end to
conflicts. The best way to deal with conflicts is to prevent them. This is a
complicated but vital task, where the capacity of the United Nations should be
considerably strengthened.
Different methods could come into question, depending on the specific
circumstances of each case. But the necessary basis for any prevention is
continuous information-gathering and monitoring exercised both by the
Secretary-General and by the Security Council. Early deployment of monitors
or peace-keepers should be considered whenever necessary for effective
prevention.
May I add that we are also grateful to the Secretary-General for the
innovative treatment of post-conflict, comprehensive peace-building in his
report.
When the capacity of the United Nations to keep peace and prevent
conflicts has been stretched to its limit, it is natural that other
means should be taken under consideration. Here regional organizations and
agencies can play a significant role. The Secretary-General's repeated calls
for closer cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and
regional organizations are well-founded.
At its Helsinki Summit in July, the Conference on Security and
Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) responded constructively. CSCE has strengthened
its capacity for conflict management and peace-keeping.
We also support the Secretary-General's idea of periodic consultations
between the United Nations and regional arrangements on confidence-building
measures.
The tragic situation in former Yugoslavia shows clearly how a complex
problem requires an innovative approach. Under the joint leadership of the
United Nations and the European Community, the Conference, with its six
working groups, is seeking solutions to the multitude of political, ethnic,
humanitarian and other problems in the territory of the former Yugoslavia.
CSCE is also actively engaged in supporting the settlement of the conflict.
In this context, let me say that Finland supports the Security Council
recommendation to the General Assembly that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
should apply for membership in the United Nations and should not participate
in the work of the General Assembly in the meantime.
While regional organizations should play a greater role in dealing with
threats to security in their respective regions, the United Nations, through
its Security Council, retains, of course, its unique and primary role and
special instruments in maintaining international peace and security.
The Secretary-General reminds us of the most potent instrument available
to the Security Council, Article 42 of the Charter. We agree with him that
the last-resort option of taking military action is essential to the
credibility of the United Nations as a guarantor of international security.
While not underestimating the problems involved, we believe that the Security
Council and all Members of the Organization should seriously consider the
proposals of the Secretary-General concerning peace-enforcement units, as well
as the negotiation of agreements in accordance with Article 43 of the Charter.
Proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction constitutes a major
threat to international peace and security. International norms of
non-proliferation should be strengthened through universal and credible
adherence to them.
Finland welcomes the recently concluded chemical-weapons convention. It
is a vital and long-awaited part of the international non-proliferation regime
and should attract as many original signatories as possible. Finland, for its
part, will be among the first States to sign and ratify the convention.
Unrestrained accumulation of conventional arms can lead to regional
instability. It is therefore essential that especially the major
arms-exporting countries should exercise restraint individually and
collectively. It is also necessary that all relevant transfers should be
fully reported to the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms.
The Security Council summit represented a firm recommitment to the
purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations. The
Secretary-General, for his part, has seized the momentum and turned this new
commitment into a programme for concrete action. In the promotion of peace
and security, this is indeed the beginning of a new era in the history of the
United Nations.
On the same positive note, I should like to turn to another summit, the
Earth Summit, held at Rio de Janeiro. Alongside the task of maintaining peace
and security, a new equally courageous and visionary leadership is called for
on sustainable development. At Rio a remarkable number of Heads of State and
Government responded to that call and drew guidelines for world-wide
sustainable development. Although our expectations could not all be
fulfilled, the Earth Summit showed that the United Nations and the
international community can achieve remarkable results when minds meet.
Yet Rio was only the beginning of a long process towards sustainable
development. In that process, a fundamental change is needed first and
foremost in attitudes a change in our own life-styles. And we need a strong
political will to direct that change. A sustainable future can be brought
about only by putting the treaties agreed upon at Rio into force and by
translating the principles of the Declaration and Agenda 21 into action. In
this the Commission on Sustainable Development will have an essential role to
play.
The conventions signed at Rio are just an initial core for a
comprehensive legal framework, which should guide mankind in the right
direction. What we do need is a full set of internationally binding
agreements which redirects production and consumption patterns in each and
every country. We also need effective conventions covering natural
resources. Here instruments on desertification and sustainable forestry are
the most urgent ones.
The future of mankind requires sustainable development, management and
conservation of forests of all types of forests everywhere. Forests have
both an important national dimension and an important global dimension.
Forests are a valuable national resource which must be utilized for the
benefit of the local population. Sustainable forestry is also economically
beneficial. While the sovereignty of nations over their forest resources
should be respected, that sovereignty should not be misused.
Finland, for its part, is prepared to participate actively in launching
the negotiations on the global forest convention on the basis of the forest
principles agreed upon at Rio. Here we have to build a better understanding
of the need for such an international instrument. We also have to build
mutual confidence founded on the unique role of forests in the global
ecosystem.
To implement what was agreed at Rio is a tall order for any country, and
particularly for developing countries. Many of them will need the assistance
of the international community and the United Nations. New and additional
resources required by developing countries must be provided in a timely
manner. That is a heavy task for the donor community, as it has to shoulder
the responsibility of also assisting the new democracies in transition.
The results of the Earth Summit do indeed underline the unique and
indispensable role of the United Nations in promoting development. They will
have a crucial impact on the entire economic and social sector of the United
Nations and on the work of the Economic and Social Council. Development
deserves the same priority and attention as peace and security.
Development is not only economic and social progress; it is also
promotion of democracy and human rights. No longer do questions of violations
of human rights belong exclusively to the sovereign domain of States. On the
contrary, respect for human rights and democracy is an integral part of
international relations. It is therefore one of the main responsibilities of
the United Nations to see to it that they are respected world wide.
The Economic and Social Council is the principal organ of the United
Nations for development. It is important and urgently necessary that the
Economic and Social Council be strengthened so that it can gain the true
leadership role for sustainable development and promotion of human rights and
democracy.
The demands put on the United Nations today are unprecedented. New
challenges have to be met and financed. Finland shares the
Secretary-General's concerns regarding the Organization's ability to function
in the present financial crisis. We are therefore willing to consider
constructively any of his proposals. Finland is particularly anxious to see
the General Assembly take the first step recommended by the Secretary-General:
the establishment of a peace-keeping reserve fund to meet the initial expenses
of peace-keeping operations pending receipt of assessed contributions. The
Nordic countries have long advocated this step. With the recent expansion of
operations, the need for such a fund is acute.
It is not in keeping with the honour, interests or legal obligations of
the Member States for the United Nations to exist in "its present mendicancy",
to use the words of the Secretary-General. For members of any club, paying
dues is <» duty, not an option. While exceptional measures may be needed to
guarantee the uninterrupted functioning of the United Nations in the present
crisis, the overall funding of the Organization must be built on the
collective responsibility of the entire membership. We have a common interest
to invest in improved security and development towards a more prosperous and
democratic world.
The United Nations Charter remains fully valid today as regards the
maintenance of international peace and security and, by and large, also as
regards the promotion of international cooperation in the economic, social,
and human rights sectors. In facing the new challenges, especially in the
promotion of sustainable development and democracy, the primary issue is how
we can best build on the Charter and even amend it, where necessary.
As it approaches the end of the second millennium, humanity is faced with
formidable challenges. Meeting them will not be easy; I have no illusions
about that. Yet the United Nations now has a. better chance than ever to use
its full potential and show leadership for the sake of a better future.