Denmark

Allow me first to associate myself with the statement by my colleague, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the European Union. May I also congratulate you, Mr. Vice-President, and through you, President Holkeri, on your election to preside over this millennium Assembly. A few days ago, leaders from all over the world gathered at the Millennium Summit. They gathered to reaffirm their faith in the Charter and to give direction to the United Nations in the twenty-first century. The Charter remains as relevant as ever with its mandate to promote peace and security, create an international community based on the rule of law, uphold respect for human rights and promote social development. The new millennium brings new challenges to the United Nations in an ever more globalized world. Increased communication between countries and peoples reinforces the need for common norms of social and economic behaviour. The global United Nations conferences within the last decade bear witness to the value of the United Nations as a unique norm setting forum. The follow up conferences to the social Summit in Copenhagen and the Beijing Conference on Women are cases in point. These United Nations summits have advanced our understanding of the interaction between peace, development and human rights. The United Nations process on financing for development offers an opportunity for renewed commitment and action. The relationship between social development and promotion of human rights is today recognized. The best preventive action against conflict and strife is to ensure sound economic and social development based on good governance, respect for human rights and protection of minorities. An encouraging and innovative feature is the decision adopted by the Economic and Social Council in July to establish a permanent forum on indigenous issues thereby advancing the aspirations of indigenous peoples. The Danish Government and the home rule Government of Greenland welcome this recent development. We will actively support the work of the permanent forum. I welcome the fact that the Security Council has shown increasing attention to humanitarian issues. The open meeting in the Council on Africa in January gave new prominence to the humanitarian challenges for this continent. In the past year, the Council has taken up issues as diverse as AIDS in Africa, protection of civilians in armed conflicts and children in armed conflict. These initiatives increase our awareness of the root causes of conflict. The international community must shoulder its responsibility in relation to the AIDS epidemic in sub- Saharan Africa. The rapid spread of HIV/AIDS could seal the fate of more than 30 million Africans over the next five years and epidemic undermines decades of development efforts and dissolves the social texture of nations. It could destabilize entire regions. The AIDS epidemic is not a local problem. It is a matter of security of global importance. Africa has enormous potential but millions continue to survive on less than one dollar a day. The growing transfer of private capital rarely flows to the countries in Africa. We must do more to integrate Africa into the world economy. Trade opportunities must be improved. We must give free access to the markets of industrialized countries, as well as to products where African countries have a genuine competitive advantage. The legal framework of the World Trade Organization (WTO) must take into account the special difficulties of developing countries. Trade-related technical assistance must be improved. Peace and security, we know, are fundamental conditions for economic and social development. War, internal strife and political unrest have devastated large parts of Africa, causing untold human suffering and destruction. No one should expect easy solutions, but we must work together to prevent and resolve armed conflicts in Africa. We witness an increased African effort in the field of peace and security. The international community must support this trend through our active involvement. We must assist in capacity-building by relevant African organizations, and by backing United Nations peacekeeping efforts. Africa itself must create the conditions for international involvement. We welcome the initiatives by the Security Council to create common ground for United Nations peacekeeping operations by inviting the parties involved to discussions and special sessions of the Council in New York. Although the Camp David talks did not bring about an agreement in the Middle East, they represented a major step forward. They helped to narrow down differences on key issues. A breakthrough has never before seemed so close at hand. Time, however, is quickly running out. I urge the parties to seize this historic opportunity. I salute the political courage displayed by the Israeli and the Palestinian leadership in their efforts to achieve a durable solution. I welcome the recent decision by the Palestinian Central Council to defer the decision on the question of statehood in the interest of further negotiations. Democracy is a peacemaker. Democracies are much less prone to violent conflicts. The Secretary- General recently called attention to what he called fig leaf democracies. The fig leaf of elections does not by itself turn a dictatorship into a democracy. Elections can even lead to a backlash as frustrations rise and tensions turn into violence. Denmark increasingly turns her efforts towards the prevention and management of violent conflicts in line with our comprehensive engagement in developing countries and active involvement in United Nations peacekeeping activities. We will strengthen this ability to react quickly and effectively. We will also continue to support regional cooperation also when it comes to countering the uncontrolled spread of small arms. Landmines are substantial obstacles to development. Increased efforts by the United Nations, Governments and non- governmental organizations are necessary. Right now, new momentum is needed. The second meeting of States Parties to the Ottawa Convention provides an important opportunity. Peace operations are no longer a question of merely keeping the warring parties apart or monitoring ceasefires. They are a comprehensive and complex undertaking involving disarmament, demobilization of combatants, supervision of elections, monitoring of human rights and training of local police among others. We must enable the United Nations to adapt to the new realities, do things better and avoid such failures as happened in Rwanda. I fully support the recommendations in the Brahimi Report on United Nations peace operations. We must provide stronger political and financial support to the Organization. I welcome the proposed shift towards the use of civilian police and the rule of law, as I welcome the focus on rapid deployment of military and civilian personnel. Police and judicial experts are indispensable to rebuilding the economy in civil society, and their work must be based on a solid peace-building strategy. Close cooperation between the United Nations and other international organizations is called for. We must establish a partnership between the United Nations and regional actors. Last year the Secretary-General called upon Member States to pursue more effective policies to stop 33 organized mass murder and violations of human rights. I fully support this view. We cannot leave large groups of people unaided where national authorities do not live up to their responsibilities. Conflicts in Kosovo and East Timor raise serious questions with regard to some of the classic principles of international law, the principle of State sovereignty, the principle of respect for human rights and the principle of the non-use of force in international relations. On the one hand, we had a basic rule of international law incorporated into the United Nations Charter ó that the use of force in international relations is prohibited unless authorized by the Security Council or in self-defence. On the other hand, many countries find that there is a political and moral obligation to act in the face of atrocities causing large-scale human suffering within another State. There is no clear-cut solution to this dilemma. But surely no legal principle, including sovereignty, can be used as a shield to commit crimes against humanity and other serious violations of human rights. The Security Council has a moral obligation to act on behalf of the international community. We must remember that the United Nations was founded, in the words of the Charter, in order to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights. Any intervention reflects a failure of prevention. As a last resort, the international community must have the ability to act in the face of organized mass murder or ethnic-cleansing, even if the Security Council is blocked. The challenge is to keep open the option of humanitarian intervention without Security Council authorization in extreme cases, but to do so without jeopardizing the international legal order. We must ensure that the Security Council functions as effectively as possible. If not, the influence of the Council will be diminished. The permanent members of the Security Council should apply the right of veto only in matters of vital importance. Therefore, I reiterate my proposal to establish a procedural rule; a rule according to which a permanent member of the Security Council would have to state the reasons why it has decided to exercise its right of veto in a given situation. Furthermore, the Member State should state on which grounds it considers that matters of vital importance are at stake. I hope that this idea can be further developed and that it can gain broad support. I have addressed new challenges and possibilities at the start of the new millennium. Let me end by reminding this Assembly that old challenges still need to be addressed. Weapons of mass destruction are a lethal legacy of the cold war. They need our continued attention. Certain States are still pursuing the acquisition of weapons of mass destruction and building a missile capacity. There is a need for further improvement of the international non-proliferation regimes. Peace, development and human rights have been the essentials in the work of the United Nations from the very beginning. They remain essential. The primary responsibility for a more peaceful, prosperous and just world rests with Governments, but the United Nations is here to help us. The Millennium Summit confirmed our common will to work together as truly united nations. I cannot leave this Assembly without expressing my deep concern at the situation in Burma. The treatment of Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi is a disgrace, and I call on the regime in Burma to immediately restore Mrs. Aung San Suu Kyi's freedom of speech, movement and communication.