Russia

Once again, I am delighted to have this opportunity to address this representative audience. At the outset, however, I should like to wish the fifty-eighth session of the General Assembly fruitful work — work to successfully harmonize the actions of peoples and States; work on behalf of peace, security and progress. Those purposes were set out in the Charter of the United Nations by our predecessors, but, as we can see, they are still relevant. Even now, they provide a solid, long-term foundation for the activities of the United Nations. And, although the structure and the functions of the Organization took shape in an international environment fundamentally different from ours, time has only reaffirmed their universal importance. Today, the instruments of the United Nations are not merely in demand; they are, as life itself has shown, simply irreplaceable in crucial situations. That has been made abundantly clear by the following important fact: despite sharp differences concerning how to resolve the Iraq crisis, the situation is ultimately returning to the legal sphere of the United Nations. Russia’s position in that regard is consistent and clear. Only direct United Nations participation in Iraq’s reconstruction will enable Iraq’s people to decide their future. And only with active and — I want to stress this — practical United Nations assistance in Iraq’s economic and civil transformation will Iraq assume a truly new and worthy place in the world community. It is clear that, in recent years, the United Nations has increasingly been obliged to carry out fundamentally new tasks and to tackle threats that are different from, but just as serious as, those it faced before. Three years ago, at the 2000 Millennium Summit, I said here that the common enemy of the United Nations was terrorism. Was Russia’s voice heeded then? Did everyone understand the seriousness of the threat, and were our joint actions adequate? The events of 11 September proved that, unfortunately, they were not. To us in Russia, however, the style of the murderers who committed terrorist acts in Moscow, in Chechnya and elsewhere in Russia and in New York, as well as against United Nations staff in Baghdad, has long been painfully familiar. That style is identical everywhere, and the fact that the inciters of terror are easily recognizable — with regard to both the events of August this year and the terrorist attacks of previous years — only attests to the global nature of this threat. It is true that now we are listening to one another. And we understand that the United Nations must become — and is indeed becoming — the basis for a global anti-terrorist coalition. Here, I wish to take particular note of the Security Council’s Counter- Terrorism Committee. Terrorism is a challenge to the planet’s security and to its economic future. Therefore, the Committee must become a real and practical instrument for effectively fighting the terrorist threat. I should like to focus in particular on the humanitarian activities of the United Nations. That area consumes the lion’s share of the Organization’s energy, time and resources, but it does not always appear in the headlines, nor is it always familiar to the citizens of the more prosperous States. But it is precisely that area of United Nations work that is so fundamental and irreplaceable. The United Nations is helping millions of destitute people throughout the world — victims of hunger, of disease and of conflict — to survive and not to lose hope. That work is exceptionally important; it lends indisputable political and moral authority to the entire Organization. And it is here that the interrelationship between the moral and political content of international activities is particularly evident. I should like to take this opportunity to thank all staff members of the United Nations, all non- governmental organizations and, of course, the many volunteers who are participating in this noble work. Because we understand how valuable the Organization’s humanitarian mission is, Russia views it as a major political endeavour. We are already contributing to this work, and we are committed to increasing our contribution. Over the past three years, Russia has forgiven a total of $27.2 billion in debt of 5 developing countries, and we are currently granting significant tariff preferences to such countries. For the first time in many years, as our country has grown, it has become a donor to the United Nations World Food Programme. The horrors of starvation are well known to us from our own history. As a result of the civil war of the past century and the forced collectivization of the 1920s and 1930s, millions of people died of starvation in the Volga region, in Northern Caucasus and in other parts of our country. Hunger became a national tragedy for the peoples of Ukraine as well. We consider it our moral and ethical duty to expand our participation in food aid programmes. Russia intends to work actively to resolve acute environmental problems. A milestone will be achieved in that area by the World Conference on Climate Change, scheduled to convene next week in Russia’s capital, Moscow. We also believe it is essential that a global system be established to monitor and neutralize dangerous infectious diseases, and we consider the work done by the Global Fund to be a real demonstration of international solidarity in fighting the spread of AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria. Of course, the United Nations, like any system with a complex structure, needs to be improved. But the Organization’s past and current problems have never been problems of only the Organization per se; they have always been created by — and they continue to reflect — contradictions in the very system of international relations, particularly the system of international law. After all, politicians, including those represented in the United Nations, including the Security Council, do not always have at their disposal adequate and effectively functioning legal instruments — instruments that would enable them to deal effectively with the international and regional crises that arise. International law must, of course, be fluid and living, reflecting the realities of the contemporary world. I believe that many of the processes that are under way within the United Nations also attest to the constant changes that are taking place in the world. Such changes dictate a logic of evolution in the United Nations. Members of the Organization know very well that, as a rule, all of the achievements of the United Nations are shared successes, and that our failures are shared miscalculations. Such knowledge, however, brings with it great responsibility. First and foremost, we must be extremely careful about interfering with the fabric — the mechanisms — of the work of the United Nations. Clearly, behind any such decision there should be more than general political rhetoric — mere words about so-called fair policies. I am convinced that any attempt to modernize United Nations instruments must be preceded by serious analysis and careful calculation. Such an approach should be taken, first and foremost, with regard to the principal international legal instruments. After all, guaranteeing that they remain effective is the only way to avoid a legal vacuum. As long as the norms of international law remain unchanged and operative, we must observe them. We must ensure continuity of security guarantees for States and for the world as a whole. We must analyse United Nations structures and mechanisms and try to understand which have proved effective and productive, as well as which have done the job they were intended to do and which now remain unused. We should remember that much of the potential of the United Nations has still to be tapped. There are many resources that we are only now learning how to use. I would like in particular to comment on the need to enhance the effectiveness of the Security Council. I am convinced that, given the deep-rooted nature of the current differences of opinion and the importance of ensuring that the Council remain effective, we must work gradually and very cautiously. We believe that at this stage we should be guided above all by the broadest possible agreement on all aspects of the expansion of the Council, as well as by the need to ensure that it maintains its current high status and the legitimacy born of agreed actions. After all, the Security Council, as the Charter makes clear, acts on behalf of the United Nations. The Security Council is endowed with a specific mechanism for harmonizing political will and for protecting the national interests of a great variety of States, and, through this, the interests of the entire international community. It is true that we often hear that the developed countries bear special responsibility for the destiny of the world. Such leadership, however, entails major obligations, primarily to ensure that the interests of the international community as a whole are reflected. Being a world Power means working together with the world community. Being a truly strong, influential 6 State means seeing and helping to resolve the problems of small and economically weak countries. In that connection, I believe that it would be useful to intensify the work that is being carried out by the United Nations in cooperation with the regional international structures. That will lead directly towards increased economic prosperity in various parts of the world, and thus contribute to the containment of potential threats and the maintenance of a common global strategic balance. We welcome the emergence of regional centres for coordination and cooperation in a united Europe. We favour the strengthening of integration processes in the Asia-Pacific region. And of course, we support the work of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), as well as that of the Collective Security Treaty Organization and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, whose authority and effectiveness are continuing to grow. Russia is not the only country that is interested in regional integration. Our CIS partners have also demonstrated their practical commitment to that same goal. This was reaffirmed during the recent CIS summit. We consider the development of our interaction with the European Union, which is multifaceted in nature, to be important. Likewise, with regard to security issues, we attach importance to the search new forms of cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. We should counter current threats to civilization only by means of collective responses whose legitimacy is not in doubt. In this respect, we need a systemic vision that combines political with, when necessary, military measures. Such measures should be agreed upon in advance, and be sensible and appropriate. The need to improve the peacekeeping mechanisms of the United Nations remains on the Organization’s agenda. The United Nations must be able to deploy peacekeeping — and, where necessary, peace-enforcement — operations more quickly and efficiently, in strict compliance with the United Nations Charter. I should like to note that Russia, which has always supported the peacekeeping functions of the Organization, is prepared to step up its participation in such operations, both under United Nations auspices and in coalition operations authorized by the Security Council. The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems remains a serious challenge to the modern world. The most dangerous challenge is the possibility of their falling into the hands of terrorists. We know what steps must be taken in order to eliminate such threats. These include the further universalization of the existing non-proliferation regimes, the strengthening of international verification instruments and the introduction of safe technologies in nuclear energy production. In general, this requires the renunciation by States of excessive arsenals and military programmes that could undermine the political and military balance and trigger an arms race. Russia believes that it is extremely important to prevent the militarization of outer space. We believe that a comprehensive agreement should be elaborated on this issue, and invite all countries possessing potential in this area to join our initiative. The Russian initiative to set up, under the auspices of the United Nations, a global system to counter these new threats has already been supported by the General Assembly. We propose the adoption of a new resolution during this session setting out specific further steps in this direction. In conclusion, I should like to recall that the solid structure of the United Nations has enabled it to withstand all of the many crises of the second half of the twentieth century. It has helped to overcome threats of global confrontation and, most importantly, helped to promote human rights. It has also helped to assert the principles of mutual respect and good-neighbourliness among States. The main thrust of the United Nations approach is that humankind has no alternative but to jointly construct a safer, fairer and more prosperous world. That is our duty to succeeding generations. In that important task we can have no better help than such time-tested instruments as the work of the United Nations, an Organization that, for half a century, took decisions that were crucial for the entire world. Russia is convinced that the United Nations must maintain its central role in international affairs. This is particularly relevant, and particularly important, for resolving conflict situations. This is our choice and our strategic position of principle.