Spain

I sincerely congratulate Mr. Gurirab on his election as President of the General Assembly at this session, the last to be held 37 before the start of the new millennium, and I wish him great success in the performance of his duties. At the same time I wish to thank his predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, for the effective way in which he presided over the previous Assembly. Spain subscribes fully to the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland on behalf of the States members of the European Union and should like to contribute to this general debate by presenting my delegation’s point of view with regard to the complex problems facing the United Nations at this time. I should also like to welcome the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. Spain offers them its full cooperation in the tasks that await them as new Members of the Organization. This has, indeed, been a difficult year for the Organization. Serious crises have arisen in different parts of the world and, at times, the role played in them by the United Nations has been questioned. We are all aware of the efforts made by the Secretary-General to enable the Organization fully to play the role for which it was founded in 1945. However, in certain sectors of international public opinion the idea has taken hold that the United Nations has been incapable of assuming its central and proper role in such situations. Like any human institution, the United Nations has had its successes and its failures. Nevertheless, it has been a key factor in international relations throughout the second half of the twentieth century and it continues to be so on the threshold of the twenty-first. It fulfils an essential function, which will have to be progressively strengthened as the phenomenon of globalization develops. It is indeed a unique instrument for the international relations we are sharing for the twenty-first century. It is obvious that, while acknowledging the unique value of the United Nations, we must revise some aspects of the way in which it operates. That is why the process of reform undertaken by the Secretary-General is so important. We must continue to make further progress in that direction. I should like to stress that Spain does not think of the reform of the United Nations as an exercise whose sole and essential objective is to save money. Rather, we consider such reform to be a way of enabling it successfully to meet the challenges of the new century. A key aspect of this process is the reform of the Security Council. Spain believes that such reform must pursue three basic goals. First, there must be greater transparency in its working methods, with an increase in the number and the quality of the consultations, both between the countries that make up the Council and between those countries and other Member States. Secondly, it should be more efficient, for which purpose it would be advisable to limit the exercise of the right of veto. There are instances in which the exercise of this right, or even the more or less veiled threat to exercise it, has blocked the functioning of the Security Council and prevented the adoption of essential decisions that enjoyed a broad consensus within the international community. To a large extent, that has promoted the image of the United Nations as inefficient and impotent in the eyes of some sectors of public opinion. Thirdly, it should be made more democratic, which would mean adapting the Council’s composition to recent developments in the international community. In current circumstances, and given the split between Member States, it seems possible to reach a sufficient consensus only with regard to the idea of increasing the number of non-permanent members. Spain is in favour of increasing the representation on the Security Council of all regional groups. Delays in the payment of contributions by some States are unjustifiable and endanger the very operation of the Organization at the very time when it is called upon to carry out increasingly complex tasks. It is not possible to tolerate the current level of non-payment and at the same time require the United Nations to set up the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo, to organize the transition to independence in East Timor, to establish international criminal courts, to deal with the plight of refugees, to send peacekeeping forces to various parts of the world, and to allocate sufficient resources to its numerous development programmes. I would like my Government’s position on this subject to be properly understood. Spain is the eighth- largest contributor to the Organization’s regular budget, and as such has a very direct interest in matters such as budgetary discipline and the effective use of resources. Moreover, Spain considers that all matters of concern to Member States on this issue can and must be thoroughly discussed. What is not acceptable, however, is for anyone to make payment conditional on the granting of unilateral demands. The coming Millennium Assembly will provide a good opportunity to reflect on all these issues, as well as 38 on the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. That Assembly, in the preparation of which civil society will participate, must likewise encourage vigorous debate yielding concrete results. That debate must, in my opinion, focus on two main issues: the elimination of poverty and the consequences of globalization. A policy to eliminate poverty involves, inter alia, a strategy of conflict prevention, sustainable development policies, good governance and the regular provision of funds for development financing. All these mean that efforts must be pooled and responsibilities shared by developed and developing States alike. Globalization is a phenomenon that involves risks, but that also creates opportunities. The risk is that the weakest countries and the most defenceless sectors of the population will be marginalized from its benefits. Clearly, decisive action by Governments is needed, along with international cooperation. Threats to cultural and linguistic plurality likewise require decisive defensive measures. At the same time, globalization also generates opportunities and benefits: economic growth, better communications and greater access to information, as well as possibilities for bringing different peoples and cultures closer together. It is especially here that the unique value of the United Nations is most striking. In the face of all these new global problems, which go far beyond the capacity of States for individual action, only a multilateral response will suffice, the result of dialogue and international cooperation. The United Nations is the most appropriate forum for this. With regard to peacekeeping operations, only the United Nations, in the final analysis, has the legitimacy necessary to authorize them. This year Spain has doubled the number of troops that it contributes to these operations; they are currently deployed in United Nations missions in Guatemala, Kosovo, Bosnia and Herzegovina and East Timor. To this should be added the large number of troops that my country has placed at the service of missions authorized by Security Council resolutions, such as the Stabilization Force (SFOR) and KFOR. Spain participated in the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA) until its recent termination, and is now cooperating with the project to strengthen African capabilities for peacekeeping operations. As a reflection of my country’s commitment, Spain will in the next few weeks sign a memorandum of understanding on placing a rapidly deployable peacekeeping force at the disposal of the United Nations. On the eve of the twenty-first century, it is no longer tolerable to mankind’s ethical conscience that atrocities and war crimes should go unpunished. But until recently the international community had not channeled these generalized feelings into a course of concrete action. Yet again, it was the United Nations that did this, by convening the Rome Conference at which the Statute of the International Criminal Court was adopted. Spain signed the Statute, and the ratification process is now at an advanced stage. Moreover, Spain has taken initiatives to promote the signing and ratification of the treaty in order that it may enter into force as soon as possible. The United Nations has made a vital contribution to the universalization of human rights. Having been elected a member of the Commission on Human Rights for a three-year period, Spain will continue to cooperate with the United Nations in the defence of these rights in line with one of the basic tenets of its foreign policy. Closely related to this issue is the concept of human security. At a previous session of the General Assembly, Spain took the initiative to propose a draft resolution on the safety and security of international humanitarian personnel, which was ultimately adopted as resolution 52/167. The activity of the Special Committee on Children and Armed Conflict is especially important at this time, as is the significant work of the Secretary- General’s Special Representative on this matter, Mr. Olara Otunnu. The recent Security Council resolution 1261 (1999) is a major step forward in the approach to this problem. Development cooperation is undoubtedly one of the main global issues on the United Nations agenda. The special meeting on development financing planned for 2001 must be properly prepared, and the follow-up of the major conferences must continue. Spain attaches special importance to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt (HIPC) Initiative, whose scope and depth must be enhanced. In the wake of hurricane Mitch, Spain initiated debt-cancellation programmes for the most harshly affected countries of the Central American region. My country has made a substantial effort in recent years in respect of its development cooperation programmes. Not many years ago Spain was an aid 39 recipient, while it now stands above the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average in the percentage of its gross domestic product devoted to development. In 1998, official development assistance funds grew by 14 per cent, placing Spain among the three developed countries which had most increased these funds during the year. With regard to disarmament, the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament will continue to prepare for a conference on small arms to be held in 2001, and will attempt to offset recent reversals in the non-proliferation regime. It is essential that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty should speedily enter into force, and that difficulties in the preparation of the next review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons be overcome. It is also necessary to conclude negotiations on a verification protocol to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, and to address the issue of fissile materials. There are many other global issues on which the United Nations plays a vital role, such as the fight against terrorism, drugs and organized crime. However, I should like to dwell for a moment on another matter to which my Government attaches great importance: problems of ageing and of older people. Spain wishes to contribute to the debate on an international strategy on older people based on the existing model in my country. Spain has also submitted its candidacy as the venue for the second World Assembly on Ageing, which could be convened in 2002. Finally, allow me to refer to the problem of decolonization. At the conclusion of this Decade for the Eradication of Colonization, my country continues to endure the presence of a colonial enclave on its territory. Gibraltar was occupied by British troops in 1704, during one of the European wars of succession. The Territory was turned into a military base and the Spanish population was expelled. Until very recently Spanish citizens in Gibraltar suffered grave discrimination in the exercise of their rights. General Assembly resolution 2353 (XXII) backed the Spanish views on the decolonization of the Territory, recognizing that Gibraltar’s colonial situation should be settled not through self-determination, but, rather, through the restoration of Spanish territorial integrity. Unfortunately, its terms have been ignored by the colonial Power. Spain and Great Britain began a process of negotiation on all the issues, including sovereignty, based on the 1984 Brussels Declaration, but no significant progress has been made. Spain has made a proposal to the United Kingdom that takes into account the interests of the inhabitants of the colony and would allow for the recovery of sovereignty over the Territory after a lengthy period, so far without reply. My Government will continue both its dialogue with the United Kingdom and cooperation with the decolonization Committee in following up on this issue. From the crises the world has lived through this year, we must learn certain lessons. One is without doubt that the political resolution of the crisis in Kosovo has only been possible thanks to the United Nations, which faced an urgent challenge, and on the success or failure of its response depends to a large extent the public image of our Organization. In the Western Sahara Spain has supported with concrete measures the action of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), and also the Secretary-General’s settlement plan. It is willing to increase this support if asked to do so by the Organization and if the parties directly involved agree. The new possibilities in the Middle East after the signing of the Sharm-el Sheikh Memorandum are seen by my country with great hope, and we are firmly committed to continue cooperating with all sides so that the process begun in Madrid continues on track. Other regions of the world have suffered particularly during this past year. Unfortunately, this is especially true of Africa, and therefore I wish to emphasize my country’s support for the integrated approach taken by the Secretary-General in treating the causes of the conflicts and promoting peace on that continent. Finally, the most recent challenge to the United Nations is the situation in East Timor. Spain welcomed the adoption of Security Council resolution 1264 (1999), and is willing to contribute to the multinational force to guarantee security in the Territory. My country, likewise, has announced a special contribution to the fund established by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees(UNHCR) to deal urgently with the acute humanitarian situation and the refugee problems on the island. 40 The Organization’s undertakings are sometimes visible, at other times hidden, but they are always indispensable. The citizens of our countries must value them so that the United Nations may enjoy the backing that it needs in order to perform its important duties effectively. On the threshold of the twenty-first century, Spain reiterates yet again its firm commitment to the Organization and its willingness to put its capacity for external action at the service of the purposes and principles enumerated in the Charter.