Norway

First, I join other speakers in congratulating my Ukrainian colleague upon his election to his high office. Last week in Oslo, almost 100 countries agreed to a Convention text for a total ban on anti-personnel landmines. Who would have imagined, only a year ago, such a remarkable achievement in such a short time? Thanks to the tireless efforts and model cooperation of Governments, non- governmental organizations and civil society, we have reached this milestone event. I would like to extend a special tribute to the International Campaign to Ban Landmines and the International Committee of the Red Cross. They have been a driving force in our efforts to get rid of the scourge that landmines represent in the lives of men, women and children in conflict areas around the world. At the beginning of December we will meet in Ottawa for the signing of the Convention. I appeal to all countries engaged in this process to ratify the Convention. To those who have not yet joined us, I say: “Please do so as soon as possible”. Landmines cannot be allowed to terrorize, maim or kill more innocent civilians. The United Nations and its Members have an important role to play and responsibility for bringing success to the Ottawa process. I appreciate the support of the Secretary-General and welcome the fact that he will be the depositary of the treaty. We all have a strong moral obligation to increase our efforts to reduce the suffering and prevent new casualties caused by landmines. Norway intends to provide $100 million over a five-year period for mine clearance and assistance to victims. The spread of landmines, small arms and weapons of mass destruction is unfortunately only one of the many interlinked global challenges illustrating that the world now, more than ever, needs the United Nations as a well- functioning global Organization. At the threshold of the third millennium, it is unacceptable that poverty and pollution still dominate the daily lives of billions of people all over the world; it is unacceptable that hostilities and hatred still create deadly new conflicts and humanitarian disasters, between and within States on all continents; and it is unacceptable that basic human and individual rights are still widely violated through injustice by Governments and the negligence of the international community. Only the United Nations can tackle these universal and interdependent problems in a comprehensive and integrated manner. But the world has surely undergone radical changes since 1945, and so has the nature of the tasks confronting us. Hence, the United Nations also needs to change in order to do better what the Member States want it to do. I was therefore very pleased by the letter that Mr. Kofi Annan sent to all of our Governments last month. In clear and concise terms, the Secretary- General set out the elements of what is without doubt the most comprehensive reform package in the history of the United Nations. Let me state clearly that Norway warmly welcomes and fully supports the Secretary-General’s programme for reform and renewal of the United Nations. Together with the other Nordic countries, we have given our strong political backing to his reform proposals. We will work actively with other Member States to ensure that the General Assembly endorses the reform package this autumn. We want the reform plans to be implemented as soon as possible. Norway urgently wants a stronger and more efficient United Nations. Without such reform, we will have an Organization less able to promote development, peace and progress. Norway is, as many know, one of the main contributors to the United Nations system. We are one of the group of countries that fulfil the aim of allocating more than 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to development. One out of every 100 Norwegians has participated in peacekeeping operations around the world. In terms of money, resources and personnel, our voluntary assistance to humanitarian relief activities, is, I am proud to say, second to none. But we want to make sure that our contribution is put to good use. We want to see it utilized by the United Nations to improve the lives of people where the needs are the greatest. That is why we support the Secretary-General’s reform proposals. First of all, the reforms will ensure that more resources are allocated more efficiently for development. 11 The Secretary-General’s excellent proposal to use administrative savings for a “development dividend” is but one element in the process. We encourage him to continue further on the course that he has taken. United Nations activities targeting sustainable development, poverty, population, education, the promotion of the role of women in development and the implementation of the results of the Beijing Conference must be strengthened and integrated at the headquarters and field levels. Health should be among the main priorities. Increased international efforts are needed to assist developing countries in improving their national health policies and to combat emerging and re-emerging diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and AIDS. Member States must follow up by fulfilling their obligations to increase their transfers of aid to the developing countries and peoples that need it the most. Hopefully, this will also have the effect of creating the confidence needed to bring us forward in the Rio process, towards renewed environmental commitments which can pave the way for a successful meeting in Kyoto later this year. Secondly, the reforms will strengthen the ability of the United Nations to manage conflicts. Too often, the United Nations has shown a lack of capacity to act rapidly in the face of emerging crises. Therefore, we believe it is high time to establish a rapid-deployment mission headquarters for peacekeeping and other operations. Norway has offered to provide funding for personnel for this headquarters. Furthermore, we encourage other Member States to contribute to the Trust Fund for Preventive Action, which was established this year. We are pleased to note that the Fund has already facilitated the work of the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General in Central Africa. We want to cooperate closely on conflict resolution with our friends and partners in Africa, including through our training programmes for peacekeeping tasks in that region. Thirdly, the reforms will extend the capacity of the United Nations in the human rights field. Norway welcomes the proposals to strengthen the human rights secretariat and the excellent choice of Mary Robinson as High Commissioner for Human Rights. We pledge to work closely with her to ensure that the international community increases its focus on human rights violations. Human rights concerns must become an integral part of all core areas of the Organization’s work, including at Headquarters in New York. We must follow up reform of the Security Council. Our position is, I believe, well known: the Council must be made more representative and should better reflect changes in political and economic realities. We want new permanent seats for Germany and Japan and for the developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America. At the same time, a limited number of new non- permanent seats should be added. We need financial reform and changes to the scale of assessments. Some countries have experienced high and sustained economic growth, but still resist reforms which would better reflect their increased capacity to pay. Other countries feel that they are paying too much. We agree that the time has come to show flexibility in the discussions on lowering the ceiling on the scale of assessments to the United Nations budgets, as part of an overall solution. It cannot be justified that some countries unilaterally pay less than their legally binding share, or nothing at all. Non-payment is unacceptable. How can those of us who always make a point of paying in full and on time, without conditions, expect our citizens and taxpayers to continue financing free riders? We need better integration and coordination within the United Nations system and between the United Nations, regional organizations, Governments, civil society and non-governmental actors. For Norway, this is not least important in the area of humanitarian assistance. We welcome the proposal to enhance the capacity of the Emergency Relief Coordinator to deal more effectively with complex emergencies. In Bosnia we are engaged in peace-building under very difficult conditions. Men and women are serving a wide range of different organizations: the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, the United Nations civilian police, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and humanitarian non-governmental organizations. Without the excellent coordination and cooperation that has evolved between the High Representative, the United Nations Special Representative, the Stabilization Force Commander, the OSCE Head of Mission and others, the peace-implementation process would have been in dire straits indeed. Nationalist leaders in Bosnia are still inciting hatred. Refugees are being denied their right to return to their homes. Our personnel are being threatened. War criminals are still at large. But despite the failure of local leaders to fulfil their obligations, the recently held elections show that the international community has given this country hope for the future. We will stay the course and remain engaged in Bosnia until peace is consolidated. We will insist that wanted war criminals be brought to justice. The 12 convening of a United Nations conference to establish a permanent international criminal court in 1998 must be given priority. Norway remains committed to the Middle East peace process. While we will continue to work actively with other donor countries to ensure the availability of funding, we are extremely concerned by the current deadlock. The parties must realize that there is no alternative to the peace process and to the fulfilment of the spirit and the letter of the Oslo accords. Further credible efforts to combat terrorism must be undertaken. The current settlements policy is not conducive to the peace process. We must redouble our efforts to bring the parties back into dialogue about the remaining issues. We must not forget the success stories of United Nations conflict resolution. Just since last year, for example, the decades-long civil war in Guatemala has ended peacefully. We have had the pleasure of working with the United Nations and others, like the Group of Friends for Guatemala, in seeing through the ceasefire agreement signed in Oslo and the other peace accords. I would like to take this opportunity to commend the Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria Nacional Guatemalteca for their courage and determination to see the peace process succeed. Finally, our experience in Guatemala and other conflict areas corroborates the importance that the Secretary-General attaches to the close interaction between the civil society, Governments and the United Nations. We must make use of the dedication, resources and commitment to peace and progress that exist among citizens, in non-governmental organizations and in the private sector. Through the active involvement and support of civil society, we can build a stronger and more effective world Organization for the next century.