Let me start, Madam, by
saying how pleased we are to see you presiding over
the General Assembly at its sixty-first session. You
have our full support.
The latest cycle of violence in the Middle East
and the recent escalation in Darfur have once again
highlighted the need for a strong multilateral response
to global challenges. Last year’s World Summit set out
an ambitious agenda on how to strengthen the United
Nations. Reform efforts must continue. The decisions
made here in New York during the sixtieth session
should be translated into concrete results in the field.
For too long, people in Darfur have suffered the
appalling consequences of conflict. Our common
efforts must be intensified to end the fighting and
violence, to ensure respect for human rights and
international humanitarian law and to end impunity. A
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United Nations peacekeeping force should be allowed
to protect the people in Darfur. We urge the
Government of the Sudan to accept such a force. A
continued African Union force presence is crucial for
the humanitarian situation and the transition towards a
United Nations peacekeeping force in Darfur. We urge
rebel groups that have failed to sign up to the Darfur
Peace Agreement to do so. Sweden stands ready to
contribute to a United Nations mission in Darfur. We
need to live up to the principle of the responsibility to
protect that we accepted at last year’s Summit. The
Security Council must show the will to act when
civilian populations are threatened by the most serious
crimes.
A comprehensive approach to the conflict in the
Middle East is urgently needed, with the strong and
increased involvement of the international community.
Positive contributions will be required from key
countries in the region, including Syria and Iran.
The events this past summer have shown that a
solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and long-
term security for Israel are objectives that cannot be
achieved by military means. Negotiations are the only
avenue to peace. The Stockholm Conference last month
resulted in immediate steps to extend support for
Lebanon’s early recovery. It is vital that we sustain our
commitment to Lebanon’s reconstruction and to the
strengthening of its sovereignty. Full implementation
by all parties of Security Council resolutions 1559
(2004) and 1701 (2006) is needed. Sweden is currently
preparing a military contribution to the United Nations
Interim Force in Lebanon.
The Israeli-Palestinian conflict lies at the core of
the tensions in the Middle East. The vision of an
independent and democratic Palestine, living side by
side with a secure Israel, based on the implementation
of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338
(1973), must be revived and concretized. Israel’s right
to exist should be unequivocally recognized by all. We
condemn rocket attacks against Israeli territory.
Terrorist attacks can never be justified and must end.
Sweden remains concerned at the humanitarian
situation in Gaza and the West Bank. Humanitarian
access must be guaranteed, and humanitarian law
should be observed throughout the occupied
Palestinian territories. The expansion of Israeli
settlements in the occupied Palestinian territories must
stop. This settlement policy should instead be reversed
as it undermines confidence in a credible political
process, as does the building of the barrier on occupied
Palestinian territory.
The situation in Iraq is serious, with its negative
impact on security in the region and beyond and with
untold suffering of innocent civilians. We need to help
the Iraqi people build a future free from war and
internal strife.
With an estimated 27,000 nuclear weapons in the
world, we have to make progress in addressing the
threat posed by weapons of mass destruction.
Disarmament and non-proliferation are crucial to world
security. They are interlinked. We must press ahead for
progress on both issues.
The international community’s concerns over
Iran’s nuclear programme must be met. No one wishes
to see an isolated Iran. Our wish is for Iran to take its
rightful place among nations in international
cooperation. But neither would we like to see an Iran
that pursues a nuclear weapons option. The Weapons of
Mass Destruction Commission, led by Mr. Hans Blix,
has presented a large number of constructive
recommendations in its report, entitled “Weapons of
Terror”. These recommendations offer a way forward
towards disarmament and non-proliferation.
There are over 1.1 billion people living in abject
poverty in our world today. Well over 100 million
children do not attend school. It is true that there has
been progress. The number of extremely poor has
declined by 130 million since 1990. Since the
Monterrey Conference in 2001, aid has increased by
over $50 billion.
The World Summit gave increased attention to
development issues, forging a vital link between
security, development and human rights in the fight
against poverty. But this is not enough. If we are to
implement the Millennium Development Goals by
2015, we have to do more. The primary responsibility
lies with the developing countries themselves. They are
in charge. Good governance must be the guiding
principle at all levels. Donor countries should actively
support the efforts of the developing countries to
reduce poverty and lend their full support to
developing countries in their efforts to increase their
participation in international trade.
The High-level Panel on United Nations System-
wide Coherence provides a unique opportunity to
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revitalize the support of the United Nations to the
developing countries. If the Organization can become
more effective at the country level, it will be able to
mobilize more resources and ensure that they will
reach the countries in need.
Sweden has always given high priority to the
strengthening of the United Nations. During this
session, it is essential that we stay focused on
implementing the decisions already taken and continue
to seek agreement on outstanding issues from the
Summit.
We created the Peacebuilding Commission as a
tool to assist countries in managing the difficult
transition from post-conflict situations. The country-
specific commissions should now deliver results,
beginning with Burundi and Sierra Leone.
The Human Rights Council must be a body that
reacts firmly against violations of human rights.
Thousands of innocent men, women and children
have been killed across the world through acts of
terrorism. This global threat can only by met by
collective action by Member States. That is why we
adopted the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism
Strategy (resolution 60/288) in the General Assembly a
couple of weeks ago. It sends a strong political
message that terrorism is unacceptable in all its forms
and manifestations, committed by whomever, wherever
and for whatever purposes, as it constitutes one of the
most serious threats to international peace and security.
The Strategy should now be implemented, with full
respect for human rights. Let us also build upon this
achievement to agree on a comprehensive convention
on terrorism during the current session of the General
Assembly.
The world needs a stronger and more effective
United Nations. In order to realize this, we need to
make further progress in Secretariat and management
reform. While a number of initial steps were taken
during the past year, some key reform proposals have
been deferred to the sixty-first session. These need to
be adopted and implemented.
The United Nations reform process will be
incomplete as long as the Security Council remains
unchanged. If we want its decisions to be genuinely
accepted as legitimate and effective, we must reform
the Council to better represent the world of today. This
is a difficult but vital area of reform. While expanding
the Council, we must safeguard its efficiency.
Therefore, there should be no extension of the veto
power. The use of the veto should be limited.
The General Assembly will remain at the heart of
the United Nations. During the past 12 months, by
agreeing on a number of essential reforms, the General
Assembly has in many ways revitalized itself. Let us
now continue to make full use of the broad mandate of
this crucial body, representing all the Member States of
the United Nations.
The time has come to build on the achievements
of the United Nations over the past year and to seek
solutions to the issues where we have been unable to
agree. The time has come to prove that the United
Nations can continue to make a difference — in Darfur,
the Middle East or wherever there is conflict, poverty,
and human suffering.