Luxembourg

I should like at the outset, Sir, warmly to congratulate you on your election to the presidency of the General Assembly, which marks the opening of the regular annual session. Your wise and dynamic leadership will determine the scope and outcome of our work. I would like also to thank Mr. Didier Opertti for his dedication and commitment throughout the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. Let me also reiterate Luxembourg's confidence, given our Secretary-General's characteristic tireless determination to promote dialogue, knowledge and mutual recognition, that his efforts will lead to greater mutual understanding. The respect accorded to, and the effectiveness of, our Organization will depend on the strong cohesiveness of its membership. Within its modest means, my country intends to contribute to this key objective. Luxembourg is proud of having participated in the definition of the European Union's core positions. These were explained to the Assembly by Mrs. Tarja Halonen, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland, in the statement she made in her capacity as current Chairman-in-Office of the European Union. This fall will mark the tenth anniversary of the end of the cold war, which for more than four decades hampered the harmonious development of international relations. Among other things, it prevented our Organization from fully discharging its mandate to maintain international peace and cooperation. This anniversary is definitely a happy one, even if much of what had been hoped for in 1989 has failed to materialize and the consequences of certain upheavals are still being felt. Nonetheless, today's international environment has seen far-reaching changes, and the international community is now in a position to tackle very complex challenges. My country hopes that this historic breakthrough at century's end will be further consolidated. Today is my first opportunity to represent my country from this rostrum and to address the Assembly, which comprises nearly all the countries of the world. Luxembourg is one of the founding Members of our Organization, and in October 1945, it was the smallest. Our presence in San Francisco was due to our determination to cooperate with the international community and to reaffirm our sovereignty. Today I would reiterate the commitment of the people of Luxembourg to our Organization, which is called upon to play a pivotal role in an international environment that is becoming increasingly globalized yet, at the same time, more and more fragmented. While the first aspect of this process, globalization, is most apparent in the economic field, the second, fragmentation, is more clearly felt in the political arena, as social inequities are increasing. This process will undoubtedly result in very complex tensions, heightening those that already exist and creating new ones. These will have to be analyzed and dealt with; to do this we will need imagination, clear-sightedness and, above all, an effective resolve and capacity to act. Our security and prosperity will depend on the way in which our Organization confronts these challenges. It would be unrealistic to expect a solution from the Organization every time humanitarian disaster strikes or a conflict breaks out. There is no such thing as a world government, and it would be a disservice to the United Nations to fail to acknowledge this obvious fact. Nevertheless, the United Nations is a platform and a forum for negotiations at the global level, and we should therefore exert every effort to ensure its smooth functioning. To do this it must have adequate funding to duty bound to respect their Charter obligation to pay in full, unconditionally and on time the amounts they owe to the Organization. This also means that increasingly, the 13 major political orientations of the Organization are decided upon by consensus, thereby ensuring the support of all States for its actions. It also means that the effort to update and reform the United Nations mechanisms still remains fully relevant. It is only through cooperation, understanding and solidarity, together with respect for commitments entered into and for the rule of law, that progress towards a true cohesiveness will be possible. All the Members of our Organization are directly responsible for ensuring that their contribution to the common undertaking and to its progress is not lacking. This was the case during the decision to create an International Criminal Court. We have thus reached an important stage in the field of international ethics and morality by providing ourselves with an instrument through which those responsible for atrocities in time of war and for crimes against humanity will be held to account. The international community will henceforth be more vigilant and will no longer allow those who have been found guilty of such crimes to continue to enjoy impunity. My country will ratify the Statute of the Court as soon as possible, and we hope that it will soon become a reality. My country's profound commitment to the European Union, which is preparing to enlarge its membership, is a sure reflection of our strong aspiration to strengthen both the internal cohesion of the countries of the region and to promote cooperation at an international level. The contribution of the European Union to the life of our Organization is intended to be a driving force for its further development. Small countries like mine tend to develop an acute awareness of their own vulnerability. This is often further aggravated by a considerable difficulty: that of making known to our foreign partners a little-known national reality. That explains our commitment to the vitality and smooth functioning of intergovernmental organizations. For us, the United Nations represents an irreplaceable forum for the exchange of ideas and experiences, but to an even greater extent it must be a tool for the maintenance of international peace and security, development and respect for universal values. A new Government has just taken office in Luxembourg. Its first task will be to ensure the continuity of our foreign commitments. But it also intends consistently to develop our policy of demonstrating our presence, participation and solidarity at the international level. This determination will be expressed through the major intergovernmental organizations, which define the rules of coexistence between nations and peoples. The United Nations unquestionably takes pride of place among them. My Government also intends to further develop its relations with the more remote regions of the world. This is an effort to respond to a real deficiency, which can be explained by our size and our limited human resources. It is important for us to remedy that situation through a balanced programme of contacts. The United Nations, and the presence of numerous delegations at United Nations Headquarters in New York and at Geneva, will doubtless provide us opportunities conducive to achieving that end. The United Nations Development Programme Human Development Report this year undertakes an in- depth analysis of the phenomenon of globalization. It clearly brings out the beneficial aspects and the opportunities provided by this process, while at the same time showing the negative consequences, which are very serious and worrying: instability in financial relations, high unemployment, an unsteady job market, the ravages of AIDS, the increasing inequalities between North and South, the extension of those inequalities to the field of knowledge and the constantly growing marginalization of a large number of developing countries. The political and social effects of these developments are no less worrying: increased impoverishment, new forms of crime and violence, increased migration, the destabilization of States and the growing number of conflicts. Faced with these issues, the States Members of this Organization have a major responsibility to assume. The proposals contained in the report therefore deserve constructive examination, and my delegation is ready to take part in it. Ensuring that there is a social and ethical dimension to globalization, agreeing on new rules for good world governance and protecting the environment are some of the major issues to be agreed on in forthcoming discussions. That is why we intend to deepen our commitment in areas related to human development. The fight against poverty, which the United Nations has declared to be a priority objective, cannot be conducted only in the economic sphere. It should be part of an overall plan that also deals with related factors such as the lack of family care facilities, shortcomings in education and health and insufficient administrative structures. A reallocation of resources is also required as part of this effort. In that spirit, Luxembourg is now in the process of meeting the targets of our Organization. Starting in the year 2000, it will be devoting 0.7 per cent 14 of its gross national product to official development assistance. The Government of Luxembourg has decided to increase that contribution to 1 per cent of its gross national product over the next five years. Education and health will be priority areas for our cooperation. During the negotiations in the Millennium Round in the World Trade Organization we must take account of that context and pay particular attention to the interests of the developing countries. We also support all the efforts designed to alleviate the debt problem, particularly in the case of the least developed countries. The vast majority of the people of Luxembourg uphold a model of society that strikes a fair balance between free enterprise and social justice. This model of a social market economy ensures development and social cohesion, even if it may require periodic adjustment. This should prove an inspiration at the regional and international levels. Through the experience that we have gained over one and a half centuries of independence, Luxembourg is convinced that the principles of democracy, respect for human rights, the functioning of the rule of law and the transparent and ordered management of public affairs are the essential elements that help to promote development. The major conferences that have taken place during the past decade on the subjects of human rights, social development, population, the advancement of women and human settlements have opened a new era of constructive dialogue and shared responsibility, which has made a major contribution to defining and redefining the action of the United Nations in the field of development. We must ensure that henceforth there will be coordinated, integrated and effective follow-up to the steps that have been taken. Those who represent civil society, the non- governmental organizations, are essential partners of our Governments in the implementation of the programmes and action plans developed and adopted during the major conferences. It is those people who work in the field in direct contact with women, men and children who are at the very centre or our efforts. We therefore attach great importance to their close association with the follow-up process for the conferences and the preparations for future activities. Other meetings are in preparation, notably those on the subjects of racism and development financing. Each of these initiatives is part of our effort to promote a fairer and more equitable society, both internationally and within our own national societies. The United Nations serves as a catalyst in this process. It is undeniable that in this field our Organization has found an innovative and useful role to play. It is indeed paradoxical that a decade that was originally marked by a desire for openness has ended with a disturbing new outbreak of bloody conflicts and practices that we thought had become things of the past. How can we overlook the growing number of humanitarian tragedies and fail to see the increasing expressions of nationalism, intolerance and refusal to accept those who are different? They highlight the historical or newly erected barriers which have made impractical any dialogue between majorities and minorities. In these circumstances, there is a new requirement. As the Secretary-General has said, strict adherence to the traditional concept of State sovereignty is no longer sufficient to meet present-day realities. We must investigate new ways to live together in society that will respect the character of each individual. We must find ways to improve the functioning of democracy so that it will be better able to accommodate internal diversity. This Organization, especially the organ responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security, has not been given sufficient means to adapt to new situations. The structures of the Security Council are inadequate after several decades during which it has been impossible to carry out a thorough review. Although discussions on Council reform have been under way for more than five years, there is a prevailing feeling of powerlessness. It seems unlikely that any new movement can result from the repeated clash of known positions. Since last autumn, Security Council action has been hamstrung by the reemergence of schisms harking back to a bygone age. Now as then, the result is an inability to act, so the matter of Iraq has been bogged down. For more than a year, Council members have been unable to work together and formulate a viable monitoring system that would guarantee that the Iraqi regime no longer possesses weapons of mass destruction. This dispute benefits only those who continue to flout international law. The credibility of the United Nations can hardly gain from this prevarication. The recent political and humanitarian crisis in Kosovo has shown that the community of nations no longer has either sufficient determination or sufficient means to prevent tragedies of that scale. In the face of the 15 horror of ethnic cleansing, a number of countries were obliged to shoulder their responsibilities. The tragic deterioration of the situation on the ground and the lack of realism at the negotiating table made military action inevitable. My country demonstrated its active solidarity during that tragedy, because a passive response to such crimes is no more acceptable in the international arena than it is at home. Today, pacification is under way in Kosovo, but minorities must be protected, respect for the law must be guaranteed, and democratic institutions must be set up. The Organization, in collaboration with other institutions, has taken these tasks in hand. The international community's commitment to build multi-ethnic, multicultural, democratic societies in the Balkans holds out to the Serbian leadership and the Serbian population the prospect of a peaceful, secure and prosperous future in the community of Europe. It is up to them to seize this opportunity. The Secretary-General has said that United Nations action cannot stop until stability, security and peace return to the entire African continent. That goal is far from having been achieved, with serious conflicts taking place in central Africa and in Angola. But there are glimmers of light in Sierra Leone, in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in the Horn of Africa. The crises there, while not yet resolved, are at least on the path of negotiation. It is encouraging to note that this progress has been achieved thanks to the active participation of the countries of the region. We cannot allow the fate of Africa to slip out of the field of action of the international community. We must control the diverse situations relating to politics, development and the democratization of society to enable the continent to recover its proper place in the comity of nations. That can be achieved only through sustained, concerted medium-term and long-term action by the international community and by the United Nations system. My country will participate fully in these efforts. In East Timor it seemed that, after 25 years of injustice and oppression, there was a process that would give the Timorese people an opportunity peacefully to take charge of their future. Their desire for independence was freely and clearly expressed under United Nations auspices. Despite the Indonesian authorities having committed themselves to guaranteeing order and security before and after the popular consultation, grave violations occurred in East Timor, followed by massacres and the large-scale deportation of civilians. We welcome the dispatch of a multinational force under United Nations authority to put a rapid end to the violence and the atrocities, and to repatriate people in decent conditions. We support the efforts of the Secretary-General and of the United Nations Mission in East Timor to continue the process leading to the independence of East Timor. We must quickly improve the island's humanitarian situation, which continues to deteriorate, inflicting suffering on the population concerned. In the Middle East, after years of deadlock, Israelis and Palestinians have resumed negotiations with the participation of other parties to the peace process, with the declared intention of concluding them by the autumn of 2000, which would coincide with the Millennium Assembly. Could anyone imagine a finer symbol of concerted international action to restore peace and security than lasting reconciliation in a land that is the cradle of so many religions and so many civilizations? The Millennium Summit will give us the chance to take stock of what has been accomplished and of what the complex decade of the 1990s has brought us, as well as to chart the course for future action. The Secretary- General has outlined this in his report on the work of the Organization. We must give him effective tools to forestall catastrophes, whether caused by the elements or by the hand of man, and to coordinate our work to minimize the consequences of tragedies we are unable to avert. In declaring its determination to tackle humanitarian challenges in a spirit of prevention rather than of reaction, the Organization has set itself an ambitious goal. It is up to us to prove our will and our capacity to work effectively to reach that goal.