It is a
great honour for me, as Prime Minister of Canada, to
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speak to the Assembly today about the important issues
confronting us as Members of the United Nations.
(spoke in English)
The United Nations was born from a combination
of the essential needs of nations for stability and
security and the higher ideals to which we should all
aspire — freedom, democracy, human rights and the
rule of law.
(spoke in French)
Our responsibilities in this Organization are as
varied as they are important, and I cannot mention
them all, nor do each the justice they deserve.
(spoke in English)
Nor can Canada be effective by diffusing our
efforts across all of these matters. We must focus our
considerable, but limited, resources where we can
make a real difference. So let me turn to one particular
and key area where global interests and higher purpose
come directly together: the United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan.
The United Nations recognized shortly after the
attacks of 11 September 2001 that the Taliban regime,
by its promotion of terrorism, was a threat to
international peace and security.
(spoke in French)
Kofi Annan, our Secretary-General, whom we
thank for his 10 years of loyal service, summed up in a
few words the reason why we must combat terrorism.
Terrorism, he said:
“is a direct attack on the core values the United
Nations stands for: the rule of law; the protection
of civilians; mutual respect between people of
different faiths and cultures; and peaceful
resolution of conflicts.”
(spoke in English)
That is why we in the United Nations have the
responsibility to defeat terrorism. That is why, with
unity and determination, the United Nations undertook
its responsibility and its role in Afghanistan. And that
is why Canada, which lost 24 of its own citizens on
9/11, answered the call.
And there we are. The United Nations Assistance
Mission in Afghanistan is the United Nations single
largest political mission. It is also, by far, Canada’s
biggest and most important overseas mission. So the
United Nations mission is Canada’s mission.
No fewer than 19 United Nations agencies are in
Afghanistan. They are working tirelessly to help the
Afghan people and their national Government shake
off the perpetrators of terrorism and build a democratic
and secure society.
At the same time, approximately 20,000 troops
from 37 countries — roughly 2,500 Canadians
included — are contributing to military efforts to help
stabilize Afghanistan and eliminate the remnants of the
Taliban regime. And we want to do that once and for
all.
(spoke in French)
All our actions in Afghanistan — civilian and
military — are being taken in accordance with the
mandate of the Security Council. In short, we all stand
together with the democratically elected Government
of Afghanistan under the banner of the Organization
that represents our collective will. In Afghanistan the
United Nations mission is Canada’s mission.
(spoke in English)
Let us be realistic. The challenges facing
Afghanistan are enormous. There will be no quick
fixes. Moreover, success cannot be assured by military
means alone. This we all recognize. For success also
requires a strong and unwavering civilian contribution:
educators, engineers, elections advisers, direct and
technical aid. The list is lengthy, but the contributions
are essential.
That is why Canada is engaged in work like the
rebuilding of girls’ schools, ripped down and destroyed
by the Taliban in their frenzy of hate.
(spoke in French)
That is why last spring we increased our
development assistance, raising Canada’s total
contribution to nearly $1 billion over 10 years, to assist
the people of Afghanistan.
(spoke in English)
These two actions — rebuilding a shattered
society and providing a stable security environment —
go hand in glove. And we are making progress — of
that there is no doubt: 5 million refugees repatriated;
over 5 million children enrolled in primary schools;
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10 million Afghans registered to vote in successive
democratic elections.
More than one quarter of the seats in
Afghanistan’s legislature are now held by women —
remarkable in a nation where a few short years ago
girls could not attend school and women had no human
rights of any kind.
The success of this Mission, in providing both
security and development, is vital to the safety,
livelihood and very future of the Afghan people, but it
is also vital to the health and future of this
Organization.
(spoke in French)
Let us recall that the democratically elected
Government of Afghanistan, led by President Karzai,
requested the assistance of the United Nations and its
Member States in the struggle against terror,
intimidation, violence and oppression.
(spoke in English)
We have responded. But we have not made
Afghanistan’s progress irreversible — not yet.
Canadian defence personnel, diplomats and
development officers are on the front lines of the fight
for the future of Afghanistan. Canadians feel
tremendous pride in the leadership role they have
assumed, and we share equal grief for the casualties
they have taken. We are therefore acutely aware that
the United Nations job in Afghanistan is not yet done.
We have no illusions about the difficulties that still lie
before us. Difficulties do not daunt us. But lack of
common purpose and will in this body would.
After all, if we fail the Afghan people, we will be
failing ourselves. For this is the United Nations
strongest Mission and therefore our greatest test. Our
collective will and credibility are being judged. We
cannot afford to fail. We will succeed.
(spoke in French)
The United Nations is also facing other
challenges — in Haiti, for example. Canada has played
an important role there, dispatching troops, police and
development officers to support United Nations
activities aimed at restoring stability and establishing
democracy. And we are offering the country
$100 million in economic development assistance.
However, we must act together to ensure that our
multinational force paves the way for stability and
progress, and empowers the Government of Haiti to
help its citizens, the poorest in the western hemisphere.
(spoke in English)
Darfur, too, is a significant challenge, as
multinational security efforts are transferred from the
African Union to the United Nations. It is also a test of
the principle that this body endorsed last year — the
responsibility to protect. The United Nations has
authorized a mission there, with a robust mandate. But
will the Government of Sudan accept it?
In the Middle East, Canada has joined the
international community in the reconstruction of
Lebanon. But will the United Nations Interim Force in
Lebanon ensure security on Israel’s northern border
and lead to progress in the Middle East peace process?
Nuclear proliferation threatens us all. Are we
prepared to ensure that Security Council decisions will
be implemented fully? Will we act to halt activities that
have no reasonable purpose other than the acquisition
of nuclear weapons?
These are some of the tests the whole world must
face. And there are other challenges internal to this
Organization.
Will the new Human Rights Council become a
forum where human rights are genuinely put above
political maneuvering? Or will it emulate the fate of its
failed predecessor organization? I must say that the
early signals suggest that too little has changed and
that the page has not yet been turned.
And what will be done to make progress on
United Nations management reform?
(spoke in French)
Earlier this year Canada’s new Government was
given a mandate to make our national Government
more accountable and more responsible, to ensure that
taxpayers get full value for their money and to pursue a
clear, focused agenda that produces tangible results.
The United Nations should accept nothing less.
(spoke in English)
This Organization must become more
accountable and more effective. Management reform
must continue, and at an accelerated pace. The
taxpayers of Member nations, Canadians among them,
make significant financial contributions to this
Organization. They have the right to expect stronger,
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more independent oversight mechanisms, more robust
accountability for how funds are spent, and human
resources practices that are based on merit.
(spoke in French)
I have just described the tests by which this
Organization will be judged. Canada wants this to be a
positive judgment. We were there when the United
Nations was founded. Like the other countries, we
were motivated by a pressing need to establish a new
international consensus in a world devastated by war.
And, like the others, we were motivated by our own
pragmatic interests and noble aspirations for all of
humanity. More than 60 years later the formula
remains the same.
(spoke in English)
The challenge has always been the same: to bring
nations together to build a better world by forging
consensus on common purposes and by finding the
political will to translate these into action.
When these goals have been achieved, Canada
has always been with the Organization — through the
war against fascism, the cold war, dozens of United
Nations-sponsored peacekeeping missions, and more
recent multinational military engagements in the
Balkans and the Persian Gulf.
Today Afghanistan leads the list of challenges
that we face collectively — peacebuilding in a nation
where there is not yet peace, where progress requires a
wide range of capabilities undertaken by a wide array
of our Member States.
My earnest hope is that we will say with pride to
future generations of leaders: We, the United Nations,
took up that responsibility in Afghanistan, rose to the
challenge and met it firmly, collectively, successfully.
In this endeavour, as with the others I have outlined,
Canada will be there with the Organization at every
step along the way.