France

Allow me to congratulate you. Sir, on your election as President of our General Assembly. Your outstanding abilities earned a unanimous vote, which is a tribute both to your country and to the example it sets in its newly regained freedom. Speaking from this rostrum last year, I welcomed the extraordinary winds of freedom which were sweeping oppressive regimes away everywhere in the world. I recalled the support that my country had always given to peoples' right to self-determination. I rejoiced at the promises of independence which arose on the ruins of empires. The distance covered since then gives us grounds for hope. While in Europe the barriers around blocs tumbled, in Africa the chains of apartheid were removed and in Asia Governments contested by their people fell, new sovereign entities were established. Let us therefore welcome the delegations of the new Member States that have joined us. These successes are also successes for our Organization. More than ever, the principles and rules of our Charter prove their immutable value; more than ever, let us show our commitment to them. I should like to turn to Mr. Boutros-Ghali and commend the example he sets us: the example of his energy, of his entire action focused on the aims of our Organization and the application of our Charter's principles. He succeeds someone who has brought honour to our Organization. But rarely will a Secretary-General have succeeded in overcoming so many crises and challenges in the first year of his mandate. Let us therefore thank him for his efforts, his imagination and his determination. In spite of freedom's victories, peace has not always been the child of liberation. Rivalries between neighbours, ethnic tensions and border disputes fan discord and foment insecurity to the point of provoking the return of war in all its cruelty and savagery. Yugoslavia, Liberia, Somalia: the names ring sadly in our ears, and the examples are, unfortunately, legion. Universal peace, our absolute principle, is still only an ambition. It must become our primary mission. To ensure that the paths of freedom become paths to peace everywhere, France proposes three lines of action: peace through the organization of security that is, peace-keeping operations and collective security and disarmament measures; peace through the affirmation of justice - that is, economic and social development to bring about greater fairness and equality among nations and peoples; peace through solidarity among States which know how to use their independence to establish beneficial cooperation. Let us speak first of peace through the organization of security. The immediate need is to halt the conflicts which are causing bloodshed in Europe, the border regions of Asia and Africa. They cast a sinister shadow over the successes of freedom and independence. The United Nations, strengthened by its new influence, reacted by mounting in the space of a few months peace-keeping operations on an unprecedented scale. Never before have so many men from such a large number of countries assembled under our flag, that of the international community. Stopping the expansion of a neighbour or faction, protecting populations, helping to deliver humanitarian aid, providing reassurance and at times renewing dialogue between the parties involved such are the many sensitive missions undertaken by the United Nations and our "Blue Helmets". Though peaceful, these operations are dangerous. It is not a question of making war; our mission is a mission of peace. The task, always the same yet always different, must be given all possible support at the local level and all available means of suitable protection and defence. There are cases in which we must intervene even though the cease-fire in question is neither complete nor lasting. There are cases in which, to impose respect, we must have clear rules of engagement binding on everyone. We need to define, for specific situations, a right of emergency, comprising measures for warning and protection. My country has several reasons for wanting this, as I am sure you will agree. Having become the leading participant in the peace-keeping forces, with what will soon be 6,000 men under the United Nations flag in former Yugoslavia, Cambodia, Lebanon, Western Sahara and El Salvador, France has paid a heavy price. Since the start of the year. eight of its sons have lost their lives, the last ones murdered in cowardly fashion. And they have not been the only ones. From this rostrum, I should like to pay a solemn tribute to all the soldiers of peace who have sacrificed their lives for the cause we all uphold. In the face of the increasing number of crises and the human tragedies resulting from them, our world is searching for new stability. It is adapting its instruments for peace and solidarity and devising others for the new times. It is essential that everyone be mobilized, most particularly the regional organizations. The Western European Union (WEU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) are in the process of shaping their future. The Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) is establishing its jurisdiction. In the wake of the Helsinki summit, France is now proposing to the CSCE member States the adoption of a code of conduct which would encompass and define the norms governing our collective security. This idea, which was also set out by Germany, could lead to the adoption of a treaty on security. France is also continuing and will continue to advocate establishment of a court of arbitration and conciliation to prevent conflicts. It is fortunate, moreover, that Chapter VIII of the Charter has at last, in the space of a few months, taken on its full meaning. I applaud the action of our Secretary-General, who has recommended precisely that the States members of regional organizations contribute to peace-keeping operations. His thinking concurred with that of the CSCE at the Helsinki summit and with that of France. Indeed, the United Nations remains the necessary recourse in all these instances, as the case of former Yugoslavia has shown us only too well. Our Organization confers universal legitimacy on peace-keeping operations. It is the United Nations which shoulders, if need be, the overall responsibility. Hence, what is at stake today is not to relieve the United Nations of its task but to help it perform it in the most effective manner. Yes, our peace mission is above all a matter of prevention: preventing conflicts, or preventing them from worsening and spreading. France therefore welcomed with keen interest the Secretary-General's proposals in his "Agenda for Peace". These set forth in outline form a charter for preventive diplomacy which is urgently needed. Once the Gulf War was over, the President of the French Republic underlined the need for new thinking. I am glad to see that this new thinking is now well under way and that France's proposals are being considered. I am also pleased that the European Community is offering specific assistance. I should like to confirm today, from this rostrum, France's commitment to make available to the Secretary-General, at any time, a contingent of 1,000 men for a peace-keeping operation. I hope that this example will be followed, for our Organization must be sure that it can react quickly and forcefully as soon as there is a threat of a conflict or a conflict flares up. Reinforcement of preventive action should also encourage us to continue thinking about the reactivation of the United Nations Military Staff Committee. It is important, in any case, to strengthen the links between the Member States and the Secretariat Department of Peace-Keeping Operations, every aspect of whose work is deserving of praise. Preventive diplomacy, along with the development of peace-keeping operations, and the greater role for regional organizations: these are two indispensable pillars of the collective security system the world needs today. But there is a third one: disarmament. At their summit meeting on 31 January 1992, the members of the Security Council recalled that disarmament is one of our Organization's priorities and how essential it is for all Member States to fulfil the obligations they have undertaken with respect to arms control and disarmament itself. The progress achieved in two years has been spectacular: a reduction in stockpiles in Europe thanks to the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) and the CFE 1-A; the commitment by the two super-Powers to genuine nuclear disarmament, which will be spread over a period of many years; and the convention banning chemical weapons, which for the first time will eliminate an entire category of weapons of mass destruction. This disarmament effort is accompanied for the first time by a move for transparency: all treaties are coupled with stringent verification procedures, and in Europe we have signed an "open sky" treaty providing for free over-flight. Monitoring is the mother of all assurances. But the illegal spread of these same weapons threatens to break the momentum for peace. The war against proliferation must be stepped up and waged relentlessly. In this area, as in others. United Nations decisions must be fully respected. New measures will no doubt be necessary, particularly given the risk of the uncontrolled proliferation of ballistic missiles. To avert the danger, let us therefore strengthen international cooperation without delay. My country has in the past put forth proposals from this rostrum to stop the development of an arms race in space. France will shortly propose a measure to enhance confidence by making it mandatory to give advance notice of firings of ballistic missiles and rockets carrying satellites or other space objects. This notification measure, if adopted, would be complemented by the establishment of an international centre, under United Nations auspices, responsible for collecting and using the data received. In deciding to suspend its nuclear tests until the end of 1992, France has shown that it is ready to help further the disarmament process. The suspension is temporary and its extension will be subject to reappraisal. Let us act so as progressively to reduce the number and power of such experiments in a lasting way. France has also made a contribution to disarmament by ratifying Additional Protocol No. 1 of the Treaty banning nuclear weapons in Latin America. In other parts of the world, it supports proposals to establish denuclearized zones, especially in South Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. My country is ready to provide guarantees for security, in conjunction with other nuclear Powers, to countries committed to establishing such zones. This year, the General Assembly begins preparing for the conference on extending the non-proliferation Treaty, to be held in 1995. The indefinite extension of this Treaty without renegotiation is an important event for international security. France, which is now a signatory of the non-proliferation Treaty, realizes that the nuclear Powers have a special contribution to make to this goal. France is ready to do its part. Collective security is the guard-rail of peace. Its development on an equitable basis will be the guarantee for all peoples. I shall now touch upon the subject of peace through greater justice by means of economic and social development. France has consistently said that there can be no lasting peace so long as some peoples are faced with extreme poverty and famine. There can be no peace so long as we seem to tolerate unacceptable discrepancies in standards of living. There can be no peace without hope for justice and for progress towards greater equality. Responsibility for real progress in this direction above all rests with our Organization and its Members, who are continuing to focus their efforts in this direction. The United Nations family in the broadest sense the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and all the specialized agencies is ready to assume this responsibility. However, I would like to see the nucleus of the family, the Secretariat, resume its proper role as a prime mover. What agency better than the Secretariat can appreciate and evaluate the order of priorities, provide the impetus, and avoid duplications and waste? But there can be no sustainable development in a deteriorating environment. The future of our planet requires ever closer solidarity between the North and South. Such solidarity should enable us to succeed in bringing about equitable development with due respect for the natural gifts of the Earth. The success of Rio is encouraging. But let us begin by respecting our commitment to devote at least 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to official development assistance. France will do so. It has already doubled the amount of its financing to the World Environment Fund and contributed to the establishment of a 20-billion franc programme agreed upon by the European Community. The General Assembly will shortly take up the Secretary-General's report on the results of the Rio Conference. It will have to decide among other things on the establishment of a commission for sustainable development that will be the central mechanism for following up the Conference's decisions. France, which was one of the first States to back the establishment of such a commission, hopes that it will convene at an early date, if possible in 1993, and that it will begin by examining how the pledges at Rio are to be implemented. Development and the environment remain the two major issues of the years ahead. Finally, the social dimension should not be absent from our concerns. The President of the French Republic, on 31 January 1992, gave his full support to convening a world summit on social development. Let us not forget that man must remain central to our concerns. It is for humanity, through the necessary solidarity among humans, that lasting peace will drive away the hatred and wars which still cast a pall over its future. I now turn to the subject of peace through solidarity. An important step forward has been taken with the progress of humanitarian activities that has been encouraged and supported by the United Nations. My country, which can take credit for having been a pioneer in this field, therefore welcomes the impetus which has thus been given to humanitarian action. The High Commissioner for Refugees, the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Action, and United Nations forces are cooperating in providing assistance to populations exposed to violence, be they in Iraq, Yugoslavia, or Africa. A new principle of humanitarian law is taking shape which meets the aspiration of humanity, including the most unfortunate among its members. It will be to the credit of our Organization, as the end of the century approaches, to have helped in this decisive and historic progress transcending the barriers of national jurisdictions and regulations. It was precisely to make such a point that the President of the French Republic went to Sarajevo to open the way for the arrival of relief to that martyred city. To lay down the law in this matter is essential; to act is better still. France never tires of repeating that human rights are inalienable. So long as they are not respected, no peace is legitimate. Today still, in too many places, populations are terrorized and minorities maltreated. The World Conference on Human Rights will be one of the important events and rendezvous in 1993. It will be the occasion for us to reaffirm the universality of human rights and to strengthen the effectiveness of mechanisms to ensure compliance. Humanitarian action and peace-keeping are necessary functions, but they are needed in specific circumstances. Sooner or later, peoples will have to address the necessity of renewing the ties of their solidarity and rebuilding together a space for exchanges and cooperation. Lasting peace depends on this. It is clearly inconceivable that the movement for self-determination, which was so earnestly desired, should be judged guilty after the fact of the worst regressions. The example of Yugoslavia is on everybody's mind. Can we tolerate a return to the most barbaric practices, the very names of which are an insult to the human race: the massacre of civilians, detention camps without humanitarian monitoring, "ethnic cleansing"? A solution can only come about from two distinct measures: on one hand, the establishment of a higher framework for arbitration and conciliation; on the other, the protection of minorities. The latter, living within recognized borders, should have the benefit of guarantees, equitable representation being one and not the least such guarantee. Hopes have been raised in places where once everything still seemed to be impossible. I would like here to pay a tribute to men of good will, including Prime Minister Panic of Yugoslavia. This is yet another reason to intensify our efforts and help the Yugoslav peoples out of their tragic impasse. Let us conceive, let us decide, and then let us impose. In Cambodia, a long-suffering people has been making its return to the international community since the Paris Agreements reached under United Nations auspices. This progress embodies a great deal of hope for the Cambodian people and for Asia as a whole, and must not be jeopardized as a result of the refusal of the Khmer Rouge to open up its zone and demobilize its forces. There is always room for discussion among partners of good will. No one should use the pretext of his own complaints to try to block a peace plan which is binding on all the signatories of the Paris Agreements and, beyond that, upon the entire international community. After so many years of war in the Middle East, the prospect of a settlement based on justice and security for all is beginning to emerge thanks to the courage and clear-sightedness of all the parties. When the time comes, the international community, through the Security Council, will have to give its guarantee to a settlement. There is still a long way to go. The European Community is contributing to this future construction. France is doing its part in this. In South Africa, in spite of the terrible traces left by the hateful system of racial discrimination, the resolve to end apartheid and build a new open city has at last won the day. I would like to express from this rostrum today France's concern at the rising violence in South Africa and tell the leaders of that country: do not destroy the enormous hope you so recently inspired. I shall mention only briefly our old Europe, since its trials and tribulations are widely known, as are its bursts of hope. I can say much, however, in only a few words. The peoples of Europe wish to speed up their march toward peace, unity and prosperity. Such is the ambition affirmed by the signatories of the Maastricht Treaty - to create a genuine union of democratic States having the redoubled strength that comes from the combination of cultures, economic means and political resolve, as Mr. Douglas Hurd said so well when he spoke previously on our behalf. I am pleased and proud that the French people voted in favour of ratifying the European unity treaty. My fellow citizens chose the only future of any value, a future which will build peace on solidarity political, economic, and human. The European Union will not be inward looking, self-centred, and closed. On the contrary, the citizens of the European Union will be patriots of the old continent become the new world. They will have a sense of solidarity among themselves, be responsive to their brothers on the rest of the continent, attached to their respective nations yet firm in the face of any heightened national sentiments which invoke nationalism only the better to divide humanity and serve designs of domination and exclusion. The collapse of the wall which separated our continent spurred the efforts toward union. Today the difficulties of this Europe, separated from us for too long, then liberated, but weakened and troubled, are yet further encouragement to us to create this pole of stability on which all Europe will be able to build its peace and prosperity. That Europe will not be self-centred. When the time comes, it will welcome its neighbours from Central and Eastern Europe as brothers. Setting the example and opening the way are the first steps of true solidarity, that same solidarity which it is incumbent on our Organization to implement. The Union will undertake to serve the very ideals of our Charter: "We, the peoples of the United Nations" and now, we, the peoples of the European Union. I shall now conclude. It is incumbent on Governments, as it is on peoples, to set the example. Let us not hide from the fact that peace, like life, has no price but does have a cost. It is unacceptable for the United Nations to be foundering in an increasingly severe financial crisis. Certainly, our Organization has the necessary ambition to express at the global level that general resolve which Jean-Jacques Rousseau said is more than the simple addition of individual interests. But the sum total will be all the greater and all the more universal as the contribution of each and every one is significant and generous. The United Nations will have value only in so far as each State, in compliance with the Charter, fulfils its responsibilities. There can be no better service nor better example to humanity than to enable the duty of solidarity to prevail. Let us discharge this duty, first of all, by honouring our obligations. Peace is not a gift from heaven; it depends, above all, on human resolve. Thus a new era is opening for nations as for peoples. Today, as I speak, it is still in a state of confusion. Tomorrow, it will shine with the fires of justice, peace and solidarity.