Canada

It is a great pleasure for me to address this important gathering. I would like to congratulate you, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly and to wish you well. As is well-known, Canada has always believed in a multilateral approach to global issues — not for ideological reasons, but because it is a proven way to enhance security and to resolve those over-arching problems that transcend national frameworks. The present era provides us with enormous opportunities for action. We can improve health and extend life expectancy, especially in poor countries; we can safeguard security and the rights of citizens; and we can increase access to education and help people to fulfil their aspirations. The present era also presents us with urgent challenges: protecting the environment; rolling back diseases such as AIDS and malaria; preventing conflict and ending impunity for crimes against humanity; putting a stop to terrorism and organized crime; and controlling weapons of mass destruction. Each Government is responsible for taking action within its own borders. In this global era, however, such issues cannot be successfully addressed by States acting alone. Multilateral cooperation is indispensable to ensure the well-being of citizens and to protect them effectively from harm. We need only consider the fight against terrorism. None of us has ever believed that terrorism could be controlled, let alone stopped, without the cooperation of all of us. The task of drying up the sources of terrorist funding also requires coordination and effective legal regimes. Information- sharing is imperative if attacks are to be prevented. The United Nations has been playing an extremely useful role in this fight. Since the tragic events of 11 September 2001, the Security Council has been undertaking an extensive effort in support of the fight against international terrorism. We could also consider the issue of health. Distance from the source of new viruses no longer provides us with protection. The next virus may be just an aeroplane flight away. Multilateral cooperation is essential for the management of health threats. We risk disaster if we do not share with each other all information that is are available to us and if we do not coordinate efforts to combat epidemics. Coordinated action is also required for development in poor countries and to ensure reasonable access to health care. We need only consider, furthermore, the ongoing problem of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. The proliferation of these weapons of mass destruction among States and terrorist groups represents a growing threat. Such proliferation must be prevented through coordination, the strict application of export controls, rigorous verification, the enforcement of multilateral treaties and other forms of collective action under international law. We all recognize that the United Nations has enabled us to successfully address many international challenges. But we also recognize that we have failed in certain other cases. We have been slow to adapt the United Nations to changing circumstances. The time has come to begin bold renewal at the United Nations. This morning, the Secretary-General set out proposals that are timely, necessary and courageous. I congratulate him on his remarkable statement, and I can reaffirm that Canada subscribes fully to the objectives that he proposes. 22 The United Nations remains the principal instrument for effective multilateral action. I call on my fellow leaders to make meaningful United Nations reform a priority. (spoke in English) We should not be pessimistic about our ability to succeed. Consider some United Nations successes: the 2000 Millennium Summit and, in Monterrey, Mexico, the 2002 International Conference on Financing for Development. We created a shared framework on setting priorities for more effective aid; we set targets and key principles; we spelled out mutual accountabilities for developed and developing countries. That spirit of accountability and shared responsibility also lies at the heart of the New Partnership for Africa’s Development and of the Group of Eight Africa Action Plan. And it has led to policy initiatives with respect to market access and the availability of pharmaceutical drugs to poor countries. For instance, this year Canada eliminated virtually all tariffs and quotas on products from least developed countries. At the same time, the outcome of the World Trade Organization meeting in Cancún is very, very worrisome. Agricultural subsidies of developed countries must be radically reduced to give developing countries — particularly in Africa — the chance to prosper. The developed world has an obligation to act, and to act quickly. Colleagues, on no issue is progress more necessary or more urgent than on the protection of the innocent. Canada, in partnership with others, advocates putting the protection of people at the heart of the mandate of the Organization. Too often, conflicts are allowed to start, even when the whole world can see what the dreadful consequences will be. Too often, innocent civilians are left to their fate. Next year will mark the tenth anniversary of the genocide in Rwanda. In all conscience, we must ask ourselves: are we any more ready now than we were then to respond to another Rwanda? I fear the answer, unfortunately, is no. It was with our collective failures in Bosnia and Rwanda in mind that Canada sponsored the International Commission on Intervention and State Sovereignty. The Commission has done excellent work, and in its report, it argues that sovereignty entails responsibility as well as rights. The most fundamental duty of a State is to protect its people. When a Government cannot or will not do so, the responsibility to protect them becomes temporarily a collective international responsibility. Some question that idea because they fear intervention on slight pretexts or with motives other than human protection. Others, owing to their own tragic experience, fear that there would be too little outside involvement. We need to reconcile those two concerns. We believe — as does the Commission — that, in the face of great loss of life or ethnic cleansing, the international community has a moral responsibility to protect the vulnerable. The primary purpose must be to avert and end human suffering. No entity is more appropriate than the Security Council to authorize military action to protect the innocent. But the member States of the Council have sometimes failed the innocent. Past failures must motivate us to prepare better for future crises. We can reform how this place works, improve its effectiveness, enhance its relevance and inspire its participants. Before closing, I wish to comment on some of the challenges to peace and security that we face. In Afghanistan, much has been achieved and much remains to be done. For our part, Canada has been engaged in the war on terrorism from the outset. We are the largest current military contributor to the International Security Assistance Force. We have pledged 250 million Canadian dollars for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction. We are committed to helping the Afghani people build a democratic, pluralistic society. In Iraq, we have also joined the international effort to help the Iraqi people. We have decided to contribute 300 million Canadian dollars, one of the largest single-country pledges we have ever made. We are encouraged that the members of the Security Council are exploring how to elaborate upon the United Nations role in the reconstruction and in progress towards Iraqi self-government. The situation in the Middle East preoccupies us, as it does the entire international community. Innocent lives on both sides are being lost. Israeli families and Palestinian families fear for their children and for their future. Terrorism and violence — in whatever form, to advance whatever cause — simply creates more violence and takes even more innocent life. 23 For the international community, as for Israelis and Palestinians, despair is not an option. Our goal must remain a political solution based on two viable States, Israel and Palestine, within secure and recognized borders. We need to support Palestinian efforts to develop modern, transparent and responsible government. We need also to support those seeking to promote dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians in the search for practical solutions to the core issues. It is our responsibility to help those who are preparing for peace, which must one day come. When the time is right, the international community must be able to offer a robust international presence that will guarantee the safety and security of Israel and of a Palestinian State, and we should be getting ready to do so now. In addition, we should be looking for lessons on how the international community has acted in other places to stop violence — as, for example, in Cyprus and in Kosovo. Regional tensions, the war on terror and efforts at reconstruction in recent hot spots must, nevertheless, not distract us from continuing to help Africans realize their goals for trade and investment, democracy, human development and good governance. In summary, multilateral cooperation remains indispensable. The United Nations remains at the heart of the multilateral system. New challenges demand new structures, and a historic opportunity has emerged. Let us seize it, and let us realize the powerful idea that created the United Nations — the idea that nations can unite to save their people from the scourge of war. Let future generations say of us that we did not betray that idea — that we realized the potential of this great body, supported it, renewed it and re-energized it to better serve humanity.