Luxembourg

Allow me first of all to congratulate the President most warmly on his election to serve as President of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly. I also wish to convey my thanks to the previous President, Mr. Freitas do Amaral, for the commitment, skill and poise with which he led our work at the last session of the Assembly. I would also like to convey my appreciation to our Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, for his ongoing outstanding work for our Organization since beginning of his term. The views of the Luxembourg Government on the major international issues are the same as those expressed by our European Union partners. They were presented to the Assembly yesterday morning by Mr. Dick Spring, President of the Council and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland. Luxembourg learned with great satisfaction that our General Assembly, by an overwhelming majority, had adopted and opened for signature the resolution containing the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Yesterday, on behalf of the Luxembourg Government, I signed that document, which marks substantial progress towards the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and the creation of a safer and more humane world. I hope that the parties concerned will continue to work to create the right conditions for the rapid entry into force of this Treaty. Also in the area of disarmament, I support without reserve the United Nations work on the question of anti- personnel landmines, which day after day, long after the guns have fallen silent in a conflict, continue to claim countless victims. If there is any evil which must be eradicated, this is it. I rejoice in the significant progress which has been achieved, in less than a year, in the conflict in the former Yugoslavia. I welcome the holding of elections on 14 September, which marks a decisive stage for the future of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Bosnians, Serbs and Croats must now organize their cooperation by first setting up common institutions. I regard these elections as a first, important step in the framework of a process of democratization and stabilization that must be carried further. Its success will depend above all on the Bosnian parties. It will also depend on neighbouring countries, in particular Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Lastly, it will depend on the support of the international community. My Government is in favour of continued international civilian and military action in order to create the environment required to preserve peace and prevent a return to war. Luxembourg is concerned by the check to the peace process in the Middle East that has followed the change of Government in Israel. We take the view that there is 13 no alternative to this complex and fragile process: the fruit of arduous negotiations. We urge our friends in Israel to pursue this process, to comply with and execute the commitments undertaken pursuant to the Oslo agreements and to avoid creating fresh obstacles. We fear that any other policy may generate further tension and once again trigger a spiral of violence that would inflict suffering on all the peoples of the region. The alarming events that took place on the West Bank today threaten to destroy the results of several years of effort to achieve a just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The Luxembourg Government condemns the recent attacks launched by the Government of Saddam Hussein on the Kurdish population of northern Iraq. It was inevitable that measures would be taken to react to this fresh offensive. We call for a complete withdrawal of Iraqi forces and for full respect for the territorial integrity of Iraq. We hope that the implementation of the “oil-for-food” resolution may take place without delay in order to relieve the hardships suffered by the civilian population of that country. The situation in the Great Lakes region of Africa, in particular in Burundi, continues to give us the greatest cause for concern. I fully support the efforts of the United Nations, in close cooperation with the Organization of African Unity, to avert both the occurrence in Burundi of a tragedy such as occurred in Rwanda and a deterioration of the situation which could plunge the region into war. Over the last year, the United Nations has substantially cut the number of its peace-keeping operations. This reduction in our activities and the set-backs that we have witnessed in the past should not, however, diminish our efforts to enhance the United Nations capacity to avert, prevent the spread of and halt conflicts, and to save human lives. It is utterly unfair to criticize the United Nations whenever a peace-keeping operation runs into difficulties. Many of the shortcomings attributed to the United Nations could be resolved if all Member States undertook to pay their contributions to our Organization and, especially, make available to it the resources that it needs. For this reason, Luxembourg supports the ongoing work and reflection aimed at equipping the Organization with a rapid- intervention force that would enable it to react to crises in a timely fashion. Where non-military means have failed, it should be possible to deploy well-trained and properly equipped peace-keeping contingents in the field very promptly in order to give practical effect to the Security Council’s decisions. Greater responsibility should henceforth be given to regional organizations. The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is nowadays playing a leading role in conflict management in Europe and the Caucasus. The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) in the former Yugoslavia and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) in the Great Lakes region are doing the same. Other regional and subregional organizations in Africa, Latin America and elsewhere are performing similar tasks with the support of the United Nations. International security begins with the security of the individual, with respect for his fundamental rights and his protection against any violation of those rights, including the actions of his own Government. Nothing, therefore, can justify violations of human rights, which by their very nature have universal value. Our Organization plays an important role in developing international machinery designed to provide effective protection for human rights. This role takes the form, among others, of the efforts to carry out systematic investigations and enquiries with a view to sanctioning those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Luxembourg supports the early creation of an international criminal court, which would be a decisive step forward in ensuring respect for the principles of international law. Among the most vulnerable human beings are our children, and they therefore deserve special protection. The adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child marks a major advance. Scrupulously applied, that Convention will be an invaluable instrument in safeguarding children against physical and psychological violence. In 1995 my Government proposed to the United Nations a similar, indeed, a complementary initiative, to eliminate the exploitation of child labour. I welcome this Assembly adoption of that proposal designed to come to the aid of the tens of millions of children forced to work from an early age. This effort should be strengthened and further pursued. Luxembourg also hails the results of the Stockholm World Congress on the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. My Government is resolved to foster international cooperation in the prevention and suppression of sexual exploitation of children in order to effectively protect and safeguard children at the international level against such criminal practices. 14 The globalization of the world economy is bringing about profound changes in international relations. A veritable revolution in information and communication technologies reducing geographic distances to nothing has led to a speeding up of business transactions and financial flows, as well as increased integration of markets. Generally accepted ideas have been turned upside down, and serious questions have been raised even among industrialized countries, where unemployment has grown to alarming proportions. At the same time, we note that a significant number of developing countries remain on the sidelines of development and remain in great poverty. At a time when our Organization proclaimed 1996 International Year for the Eradication of Poverty, more than 1.5 billion human beings continue to live in a state of absolute poverty. We cannot remain indifferent to this situation. What should particularly disturb us is the inequality gap, which is widening both within countries and between the countries of the North and the South. This is a dangerous source of new tensions and conflicts. The United Nations Development Programme’s latest report on human development speaks of worldwide social fragmentation. It underscores the widening disparities between rich and poor States and increased imbalances in societies between inhabitants of the same country. The population explosion and uneven access to the fruits of technological progress further compound these distortions. This trend is likely to trigger increasingly massive migrations within countries and from poor countries to richer ones. In order to remedy this situation, I propose to develop a new strategy based on four main courses of action. First, we should provide follow-up to, and translate into operational activities, the results of the major conferences held since the beginning of this decade in Rio, Vienna, Cairo, Copenhagen, Beijing and, most recently, in Istanbul. The World Food Summit scheduled by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) for November and the special session on sustainable development in the spring of 1997 are also opportunities to define an integrated programme of action to foster human development. Secondly, we must halt the persistent decline of funds made available for development, a symptom of “donor fatigue”. In each of our countries we must launch a new movement of solidarity to benefit the poorest and least developed countries. The Government of Luxembourg has decided to increase year by year its contribution to cooperation for development. Our intention is to achieve the target of devoting 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to official development assistance before the end of this decade. A significant portion of these funds will be made available to the various funds and programmes of the United Nations system. This is not simply a question of solidarity and social justice on a world scale; it is, above all, a preventive policy designed to contribute, however modestly, to peace by encouraging development. The third main course of action is to strengthen the United Nations capacity to act in the economic and social field. That strengthening requires courageous reforms of its structures. Above and beyond the proposals of the Summit of major industrialized countries at Lyon, which I welcome, I advocate a single rigorous coordination structure for all economic and social activities and, especially, a concerted restructuring of the bodies and mandates concerned. In this context, I note with interest, the proposal of the XX Congress of the Socialist International, which took place recently in this very building, calling for the setting up of integrated economic institutions on the regional and international levels and for the setting up of a United Nations economic security council. Fourthly, we must develop cooperation with the representatives of organized civil society, which is to say, the non-governmental organizations.The participation of non-governmental organizations in international organizations reinforces, in a sense, the political legitimacy of those international bodies. The representatives of civil society nowadays play a key role in the activities of the United Nations system, whether in the promotion of human rights and democracy, in humanitarian assistance or in cooperation for development. They make an invaluable contribution not only to the Organization’s operational activities but also to its thinking processes, as attested to by the significant participation of non-governmental organizations in the preparation, holding and follow-up of the major world conferences organized by the United Nations. This new dimension of our work was also highlighted at the congress of the World Federation of United Nations Associations, whose fiftieth-anniversary meeting, I am proud to note, was held in Luxembourg a little over a month ago. The financial situation of our Organization continues to be a matter of grave concern. As of July, the United 15 Nations cash flow was exhausted, and this situation can only worsen between now and the end of the year. Any attempt at a radical reform of the system will be futile if we continue to neglect the fundamental need to put it on an adequate and reliable financial footing. The United Nations cannot discharge its important responsibilities effectively if it is reduced to constant worry about making ends meet. Admittedly, the Organization could do even more to control its expenditure and enhance its effectiveness. Greater attention should be given, inter alia, to the question of establishing each State’s assessed contribution, which should be based on objective criteria and reflect each country’s real ability to pay. However, the crisis will be overcome only if each Member State fulfils its obligations by making full, timely and unconditional payment of its financial contribution. I therefore unreservedly support the proposals made by the European Union in this regard. In the ongoing reform process, one aspect is of particular significance. Within our Organization, the Security Council bears unique responsibilities as the organ entrusted with preventing and resolving conflicts.One of the greatest lessons to be learnt from the experiences and setbacks of recent years is that Security Council members must, if they wish to preserve its credibility, demonstrate their determination to enforce their decisions, once taken. The credibility and effectiveness of the Council with regard to peace-keeping and international security will be reinforced by the establishment of more open, transparent and collegial decision-making processes while maintaining close consultation with the countries supplying matériel and contingents. The not-insignificant progress made in this respect in the recent past should be integrated into the system. In addition, the Council’s legitimacy, and probably the quality of its decisions, would also benefit from a readjustment in membership. The enlargement of the Council should take into account the ability of member States to contribute to peace-keeping and to the achievement of the Organization’s goals. A better balance must be struck between industrialized and developing countries. The passing of the bipolar world has freed our planet from the ideological, political and military fetters that impeded to an extraordinary degree our capacity to act. Relieved of the threat of global confrontation and nuclear holocaust, we are now faced with a series of worldwide problems, old and new, that includes underdevelopment, environmental degradation, the proliferation of all kinds of weapons, terrorism, ethnic conflicts, drug trafficking, violence and crime in all its guises. Luxembourg is convinced that the solution to those problems lies not in isolationism, nor in nationalism, nor in fundamentalism of any description. We would also be deluding ourselves were we to put our trust solely in the market and private initiative to remedy all humanity’s ills. Only through an approach based on cooperation, solidarity, tolerance and mutual esteem can we tackle those problems successfully at both the regional and the world levels. This has been the approach of the European Union and its member States, which have succeeded in attaining, in Europe, a level of stability and prosperity hitherto unknown. The approach is based on the concept of democracy and of a market economy that is not uncontrolled but socially responsible, one in which the State fully shoulders its responsibilities in the areas of health, education and social justice. The system requires constant adjustments, but its principles and bases are not subject to debate. Other parts of the world have also successfully entered into a process of cooperation and regional integration. On the world level, the United Nations is the only truly universal Organization. We must work at this level to make a contribution vital to the solution of global problems, one that will complement the efforts being made at the regional level. That is the new and important responsibility that became evident in the course of the events and meetings that occurred the world over in commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations last year. There was emphasis on the need to set up new structures and to reform the United Nations, to give it the requisite capacity for review, action and cooperation. It is our hope that, with a heightened awareness of the interests of all mankind we, the representatives of the States Members of the United Nations, will succeed in displaying the vision, courage and political resolve needed to make our Organization an effective instrument capable of facing the challenges of the third millennium.