Canada

Canada is very pleased, Sir, that you have been elected to the presidency of the Assembly, and it is certain that you will, with tact and efficiency, assume the responsibility of guiding our work. You can count on our full cooperation. The United Nations has always had a special place in Canada’s foreign policy. As I address the Assembly for the first time as Minister of Foreign Affairs, I am reminded of something one of my illustrious predecessors, Lester B. Pearson, said about the United Nations: "We must cultivate international ideals, develop international policies, strengthen international institutions, above all the United Nations, so that peace and progress can be made secure." The Government that I represent shares his broad and noble vision of the role and place of the United Nations. In order to face the challenges that await it at the dawn of the twenty-first century, the international community needs, more than ever, a strong, credible multilateral institution equipped with the tools needed to fulfil our expectations. These challenges are the maintenance of peace and international security, as well as development, justice, democracy, human rights and the fight against inequalities. At a time when we are preparing to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, there is no more urgent task than the intensification of our efforts for reform in order to give our Organization the second wind it needs. Let us draw inspiration from the vision and enthusiasm of the people who drafted the Charter of the United Nations 50 years ago. The extensive upheavals that have shaken our planet since the fall of the Berlin Wall and the end of the cold war can be symbolized in a few images. I am thinking of the moving image of President Nelson Mandela taking the oath of office as democratically elected President of South Africa and the historic handshake between Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin and the Palestine Liberation Organization leader, Yasser Arafat. For their people and those in Cambodia, El Salvador - and soon, perhaps, Mozambique and Angola - who have discovered the road to peace, with the help of the United Nations, the future is filled with hope. There is also hope in Haiti, where a courageous people has been subjected for too long to oppression and abject poverty. We shall share their joy when they can finally welcome to his native land President Aristide, a living symbol of nascent democracy. But there are also unbearable images of the victims in the market in Sarajevo and the flood of humanity fleeing the killings in Rwanda. The international community cannot remain indifferent to conflicts that threaten the lives of millions of innocent people and expose them to the worst violations of their most fundamental rights. Recent experience has shown us that only a concerted and determined effort on the part of the international community can solve these problems. It is no easy task. Faced with the problems in Bosnia, Somalia, Rwanda or even Haiti, some people will be tempted to give up and wonder if the United Nations is wrong in trying to resolve essentially internal conflicts that have numerous complex causes. Canada does not share this opinion. We think that, despite these problems, the Security Council is on the right track, even though the steps it has taken have not always proved capable of solving all the problems. Consistent with that belief, we have always made a tangible contribution to United Nations operations, as far as our circumstances permit. 9 The Canadian contribution to peace-keeping operations in the territories of the former Yugoslavia totals more than 2,000 soldiers and civilian police. The Canadian Government decided a few days ago to renew once more the mandate of its troops for a six-month period. Canada has always been convinced that there can be no military solution to the Yugoslavian conflict. It is because we wish to give peace another chance that we have chosen to maintain our contribution to the United Nations Protection Force. We have also responded to the Secretary-General’s appeal for help in the tragedy of Rwanda. For two months ours was the only country providing an air bridge to Kigali. There are 600 Canadian soldiers serving under the United Nations flag, and many Canadian non-governmental organizations have mobilized to provide help to those in distress. We will also be in Haiti, with 600 soldiers and 100 police officers when the time comes to deploy the United Nations peace-keeping force. Our participation is a logical sequel to our numerous efforts of the past three years to restore the democratic process in this country, to which we are attached by language, geographical proximity and the many personal ties between our peoples. The Haitian people can count on Canada’s lasting help as they rebuild their economy. We are also contributing to the Middle East peace process. As the leader of the multilateral Working Group on Refugees, we are tackling with determination that task entrusted to us by the international community. Our objective is to contribute to the construction of a renewed region where, 10 years hence, no one will consider himself or herself a refugee. We are also providing substantial financial assistance to the Palestinian people’s reconstruction projects. We would favourably consider sending peace-keepers if the need should arise, thus carrying on a lengthy tradition of Canadian participation in peace-keeping operations in the region. (spoke in English) The economic and social problems facing the international community often receive less headline attention than the armed conflicts. However, they are every bit as urgent. Hundreds of millions of people around the world continue to be condemned to a life of poverty. For whole sectors of humanity, such basic needs as a proper diet, drinking water, education and medical care are more of a dream than a reality. Certain parts of the developing world are currently experiencing remarkable progress, while others, unfortunately - the African continent in particular - are continuing to struggle. It is estimated that there are an unprecedented 19 million refugees and displaced persons in the world. We are witnessing a massive movement of people that none of our societies is able to manage without the cooperation of the entire international community. The recent Cairo Conference revealed the urgent need for effective measures to cope with the problems of population and development, problems that cannot be resolved without giving full recognition to the essential roles of women. Our ability to translate into reality the concept of sustainable development will have a very direct impact on the daily lives of our fellow citizens. The fishermen of Newfoundland and the Maritime Provinces of Canada are all too familiar with this problem. Their livelihood has disappeared, through the plundering of fish stocks in international waters off our shores. This is why we believe an agreement must be reached without delay on fishing on the high seas. We could easily add to the list of pressing problems that I have just mentioned. And no one can challenge the fact that all of these problems - from peace-keeping to development, including the fight against AIDS, drug- trafficking and the protection of human rights and the environment - require a determined, coordinated effort on the part of the international community. A great deal has been done over the past few years to help our multilateral institutions to effectively face these numerous challenges. However, much more needs to be done. Too often, the intervention of the United Nations comes too late, is too slow and is carried out under inadequate conditions. The lack of political will on the part of Member States cannot be blamed on the Secretary-General. On the contrary, I would like to pay special tribute to the Secretary-General and his staff. They have done more and better than anyone should expect from an institution deprived of the most elementary resources, lacking even a solid financial foundation. We must fully assume our responsibilities and give the United Nations the tools required to fulfil its unique 10 mandate successfully. However, it seems that we are unable to take a second look at the habits of the past. We invest too much energy in activities of marginal use and in unimportant quarrels when there is an emergency right under our noses. We waste valuable resources by allowing the numerous institutions and agencies we have created over the years to jealously protect their independence and resist change when circumstances require a pooling of energies. As a result of our extreme reticence to implement administrative reforms, we are handicapping the only institution on which we can depend, when modern and flexible management methods would enable us to respond much more effectively to the needs of the moment. Canada believes that the reforms of the United Nations system must be deepened and accelerated. We must do more and better with the resources at our disposal. Efforts should be concentrated on the following five major priorities, which I would like to bring to your attention. Firstly, we must strengthen the United Nations system’s capacity for preventive action. The United Nations already has a number of tools for detecting potential conflicts, and can use a variety of mechanisms to try to eliminate problems before crises break out. Lack of information is not the problem; what we need is the ability to better analyse this information, to develop appropriate strategies and above all to mobilize energy from all components of the system. In order to act rapidly, the United Nations must be able to count on qualified human resources, available on short notice, to complement its own personnel. This is why Canada has prepared for the Secretary-General an inventory of resource persons suited to missions of good offices or specializing in elections, human rights, the administration of justice and other such fields. At its first summit in January 1992, the Security Council recognized that non-military sources of instability in the economic, social, humanitarian and ecological fields have become threats to international peace and security. Let us recognize once and for all the need to expand the traditional concept of security, and to mobilize all components of the United Nations system to attack conflict at its very roots. We also feel that the preventive capacity of the United Nations system will be strengthened if we make better use of the expertise of those who have direct knowledge of the field. The United Nations Economic and Social Council should periodically hold public hearings, similar to those held last June on the Agenda for Development, with a view to assisting the United Nations to better anticipate problems and to develop strategies for attacking the economic and social causes of conflicts. The findings of its hearings could and should be provided to the Security Council and the Secretary- General so that they can develop appropriate preventive measures. Any strategy for preventing armed conflicts also involves pursuing tangible disarmament objectives. Canada has established two priority objectives for the next few years: nuclear non-proliferation and the control of conventional arms. Nuclear arms control and disarmament are under way: we are continuing negotiations on a comprehensive test-ban treaty to ban nuclear testing for all time. Canada is working in the Conference on Disarmament to secure a mandate for negotiations on a convention to prohibit the production of fissile material for weapons purposes. Together, these treaties will have the effect of constraining and preventing a future nuclear arms race. In 1995 we will have to decide the fate of the world’s nuclear non-proliferation regime; the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is very important for Canada, and we believe that there is only one option: that the NPT must be indefinitely extended. I urge all Governments to support this option, which will allow for the continuation of a crucial instrument in preventing the spread of nuclear-weapon technology and provide new impetus to reduce existing stocks. We must also recognize that, although the threat of nuclear weapons is of prime concern, the ongoing use of conventional weapons is an equally dangerous and very real threat to peace and security. The task of controlling conventional weapons is the responsibility of every Government. Huge sums are being spent each year purchasing such weapons, often to the detriment of services essential to the public, such as education and health care. Those who are more concerned about the size of their military arsenal than about the welfare of their people should no longer expect to receive unconditional international aid. 11 The recently established United Nations Register of Conventional Arms is a start, and I urge Member States to make information available to the Register as Canada has done. More can be done, however. For example, next year we will be reviewing the Convention on certain conventional weapons that deals with land-mines. The abuse of land-mines is responsible for continued suffering and death of civilians long after the fighting has stopped. I welcome the proposal made by President Clinton on Monday to reduce and eventually eliminate the use of anti- personnel land mines. He can count on the support and assistance of the Government of Canada on this useful idea. We must strengthen the Convention by extending its scope to cover internal as well as international conflicts and by insisting on effective verification measures to ensure compliance. We will create a task force in Canada to consider other initiatives that might be taken in the coming months, and I look forward to sharing ideas on this subject with other ministers. Secondly, we must conduct an in-depth review of the United Nations economic and social activities. I think I speak for most members of the Assembly when I express serious concerns regarding what can best be described as the drift of the United Nations in the economic and social sectors. While the debate on the United Nations mandate in the areas of peace and security is lively and productive, it is unfortunately too often vague and directionless when we tackle economic and social problems. We are not saying that everything must be changed - far from it. But certain reforms have already been introduced; to mention but one, we welcome the decision to make the United Nations Development Programme Administrator responsible for system-wide coordination. But at a time when large sectors of international economic activities are beyond the control of States, and when the resources devoted to development and international cooperation are subject to all manner of constraint in all of our countries, we must rethink the role and mandate of all our multilateral institutions, including those of Bretton Woods. These questions will be taken up at next year’s Group of Seven summit, to be held in Halifax, and should be debated as widely as possible within other relevant institutions. Canada is ready to proceed with a comprehensive re- evaluation of its multilateral system as it applies to economic and social issues. If necessary, the relevance of certain institutions must be rethought, and a real solution must be found to the problem of duplication. We expect great things of the next chapter of the Secretary-General’s Agenda for Development. We share to a great extent his visions of development, which encompass all facets of human activity, and particularly its social dimensions. Although the full importance of these dimensions has finally been grasped, they are still poorly integrated in our development strategies. The time has come to translate this vision into new operational priorities and to adapt our institutions and structures to it. The Secretary-General should not hesitate to recommend radical reform if necessary. Together we can restore the relevance and leadership of the United Nations system. We must adapt it to the new realities of an ever-changing world. Thirdly, we must strengthen the rapid-intervention capability of the United Nations. The implementation of a number of the proposals advanced by the Secretary- General in "An Agenda for Peace" has enabled the United Nations to make great strides in the area of peace- keeping. Last April the Government of Canada took the initiative of inviting the major troop-contributing countries to a meeting in Ottawa to discuss problems associated with political direction, command and control and the training of peace-keeping- operations personnel. In this regard, I am pleased to announce that Canada will soon open a centre for peace-keeping research and training. The centre, to be located on the site of the former military base in Cornwallis, Nova Scotia, will be named after Lester B. Pearson, Canadian recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. I invite Member States to come and join us so they can share our experience and help fine- tune our future approach. The experience of the last few years leads us to believe that we need to explore even more innovative options than those considered to date. Recent peace- keeping missions have demonstrated the limitations of the traditional approach. As we now fully realize, rapid deployment of intervention forces is essential. In the light of the prevailing situation, the Government of Canada has decided to conduct an in- depth review of the short-, medium- and long-term options available to us to strengthen the rapid-response capability of the United Nations in times of crisis. From among these options, we feel that the time has come to study the possibility, over the long term, of creating a 12 permanent United Nations military force. We will ask the world’s leading experts for their input and will inform all Member States of the results of the study. (spoke in French) Fourthly, we must improve the functioning of United Nations decision-making bodies. The Security Council currently bears enormous responsibilities. Its decisions are binding on all Member States and have a determining influence on millions of people. It is essential that the Council be able to reflect as accurately as possible the wishes of the entire international community. For this reason, it is imperative that the composition of the Council be reviewed. By making the Council more representative of today’s world, we can enhance the legitimacy of its actions and facilitate their implementation. Canada will continue to play an active role in the negotiations launched during the last session of the General Assembly, with a view to concluding an agreement as soon as possible. However, an expanded Council must not be seen as a panacea. As we have said on a number of occasions, the Council must make its working methods more transparent and become more receptive to the viewpoints of non- member States with special concerns. More specifically, Canada has advocated closer dialogue between the Council and troop-contributing countries. The informal practices developed in recent years are a good start, but in our view we must look for practical ways to institutionalize them. We ask the members of the Council to keep an open mind in this regard. Finally, we must put the United Nations on a sound financial footing. It goes without saying that the United Nations can fulfil the mandates we give it only to the extent that Member States meet their financial obligations and contribute generously to its voluntary funds. The sums in question are no doubt modest when compared with those invested elsewhere, but they represent none the less a burden that is already significant and growing larger at a time when many of our countries, Canada most definitely included, are going through a difficult period of budgetary adjustment. Our taxpayers do not question the need to contribute to the United Nations, but they are entitled to expect that their contributions will be spent judiciously. That is why we attach such great importance to the need for sound management of the system’s resources. The recent creation of the new position of inspector general should help tighten controls and improve administrative practices. There is also a need to review budgetary procedures in order to make them more transparent and to simplify those that govern peace-keeping operations. Reviewing the scale of assessments is always a perilous undertaking, but I believe the need to do so has become urgent. The current system suffers from serious distortions and no longer reflects properly Member States’ ability to pay. We hope the General Assembly will make this a priority issue at the current session. In the final analysis, the future of the United Nations depends on the willingness of its Member States to lend it political and practical support. This support depends in turn on the degree of support the Organization receives from our respective citizenries. It is not only Member States’ credibility that is at stake, but, even more important, that of the United Nations. Governments must strive to work together and in cooperation with private enterprise and non-governmental organizations to define our new vision of the United Nations for the next century. This is, in part, why the Canadian Government has provided support to the Canadian Committee for the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations. That Committee, which brings together leaders from all sectors, has prepared a remarkable programme of activities to commemorate the anniversary everywhere in our country. The emphasis is being placed on youth education and the main subjects of the United Nations agenda. Next year at this time, all eyes will be turned towards the General Assembly. Let us make that anniversary the beginning of a new era for the United Nations.