Philippines

I am pleased, on behalf of my delegation, to extend to Mr. Opertti our warmest congratulations on his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. Just three months ago, the Philippines commemorated the centennial of the birth of Asia’s first Republic. A month before that the Filipino people conducted the most sacred rite of a democracy: the election of national leaders by popular will. The successful electoral process resulted in the second peaceful transfer of power since our “people power” revolution of 1986. President Joseph Ejercito Estrada, with a resounding mandate from the Filipino people, has taken over the task of leading the Philippines into its second century as a free and democratic nation. But he does so at a very trying time; he must steer the ship of state on very turbulent waters, with global forecasts painting a picture of even more stormy weather ahead. And the Asian economic crisis rolls on; it is no longer just Asian nor entirely economic. It will wreak havoc anywhere and spare no one. It has already hit the Philippines hard, though perhaps not as badly as some other countries. Yet, for us, the only tenable direction to go is forward; to go back is to founder. Thus, the Estrada Administration’s economic policy will remain market- friendly, even as it is pro-poor and pro-business. The Philippines will keep the momentum of economic reform and strengthen in particular its financial and banking sectors. Like all other States, the Philippines pursues foreign policy to promote national security and development. But we view national security beyond the traditional concerns of sovereignty and territorial integrity. For in a global regime characterized by evolving multipolarity of political and military power and by growing economic and financial interdependence, with all their attendant opportunities and risks, my nation’s peace and prosperity increasingly depend on stability and growth abroad. As President Estrada has said, our way of life, our fundamental values and our institutions can flourish and find true expression only if we enjoy political stability, economic solidarity, sociocultural cohesion, moral consensus and ecological balance, at home as well as with our partners in the world. Our national security and development demand that we actively advance the internationally shared goals of freedom, openness, peace, prosperity and justice. It is in this context that the Philippines regards the United Nations, which it helped found 53 years ago, as a most important partner in our efforts to promote our own national security and development. Our part of the world, the Asia-Pacific region, is the scene of growing regional cooperation coexisting side by side with regional tensions. The Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) has not only increased its membership but has also expanded its work from the purely economic and social to the security and political fields. It took the lead in creating the ASEAN Regional Forum — the only regional security dialogue mechanism that brings together all the Powers with a stake in peace and stability in East Asia and the Western Pacific. The Philippines hosted the fifth ASEAN Regional Forum last July and is gratified with the growing trust and confidence among Forum participants and with the 6 progress in the promotion of greater transparency and mutual understanding in the region. Nevertheless, the Asia-Pacific region is not tension- free. Territorial disputes and issues left over from the Second World War fester. The Philippines hopes that as the new millennium dawns meaningful action towards the resolution of such issues will commence in earnest among the countries concerned. Peace in the Korean peninsula is essential. The Philippines supports ongoing efforts, including those of the Four-Party Talks and of the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO), to build the foundations of peace in the Korean peninsula. Peace in the South China Sea is crucial to peace and prosperity in East Asia. The Philippines encourages all parties concerned to scrupulously observe the principles contained in the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea of 1992. The ratification of the Treaty establishing the African Economic Community augurs well for Africa. The efforts at conflict resolution and prevention by the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and subregional organizations such as the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), deserve to be lauded. Nonetheless, one cannot escape the fact that the more intense of today’s conflicts have occurred in Africa. The tragic events in Rwanda, in Burundi, between Ethiopia and Eritrea, in Sierra Leone and now in the Congo are familiar to us all. Although these States are responsible for their future, the recurring and protracted conflicts in Africa demand a multilateral response to the political, economic and social ills of the region, and the need to address development issues is paramount. We also cannot afford to ignore the humanitarian disasters such as those in the Sudan. Indeed, political stability is required in Africa, but so is aid. Let no one in this Hall forget Africa and our collective duty to alleviate human suffering there. The Philippines firmly hopes that the Middle East peace process will resume in earnest and encompass all relevant parties. We reaffirm the need to achieve a comprehensive, just and lasting peace in the Middle East. The growing number of signatures to and ratifications of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) raised hopes that nuclear weapons were becoming obsolete. Unfortunately, the nuclear- weapon States have yet to live up to their NPT commitments. Moreover, the recent nuclear tests in South Asia were a destabilizing development. The proliferation of missile technology and capability is just as fraught with danger, if not more dangerous, than the spread of nuclear weapons. These two make for a deadly combination for everyone; both must be stopped. So, too, must the continuing development and stockpiling of other weapons of mass destruction cease. Likewise, we need to put an end to the unregulated transfer and indiscriminate and often illegal circulation of small arms and light weapons. The Philippines is also deeply committed to the banning and destruction of anti-personnel landmines. My Government is deeply gratified that our common intense effort to conclude the Convention on anti-personnel mines succeeded last December. We strongly urge States that have not yet done so to sign the Convention. We urge all to assist in landmine clearance and the rehabilitation of landmine victims. Political instability and the collapse of peace and order in any State produce deleterious effects, including security threats for others. For this reason, the Philippines contributes where it can to the establishment or restoration of political stability in other lands, particularly in support of democracy. Cambodia’s recently held elections have been judged free and fair. But, as recent developments in that country show, democratic elections, while necessary, are not a sufficient condition for democracy or for peace and stability. Cooperation by all Cambodian parties, prompted by a deeper love for the nation’s good, is required. The efforts of the ASEAN troika, the Friends of Cambodia and the United Nations have not been in vain; they have just not been enough. Much could be done by the international community; but so much more needs to be done by the Cambodians themselves to pull their country back from the brink. The Philippines hopes to see a fully stable South- East Asia, where all peoples enjoy peace and national reconciliation. We hope to see all 10 countries in the region working together for a united and outward-looking South-East Asia, bonded in a partnership of dynamic development and in a community of caring societies. Thus, we are committed to assisting Myanmar and Laos 7 in their integration into a peaceful, prosperous, humane and just ASEAN. Peace and order are threatened by the evils of terrorism and transnational crime. Terrorism is a crime against humanity, and we strongly condemn it. Transnational crime in all its guises, including drug- trafficking, trafficking in women and children, and money- laundering, must be stopped. The Philippines joins the rest of the international community in hailing the adoption of the Rome statute of the International Criminal Court. I wish to convey my Government’s serious intention to consider the matter of accession to that treaty in the near future. The world needs economic solidarity. And the Asian crisis, which has spread to other regions, is our immediate global concern. For in its wake, millions of lives have been afflicted, with untold suffering. In its path, nations may fall. The Bretton Woods institutions have played a vital role in the global economy. But it is now clear that their methods and their resources, particularly those of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), are sorely insufficient to contain the crisis and to restore the health of afflicted economies. We need to replenish IMF resources, augment the funds of the World Bank and the regional banks, and develop new remedies for the new problems of a globalized economy. The United Nations can play a significant role in fostering international cooperation and action to solve the global crisis and mitigate its effects. Together, we can fight protectionism. The suffering spawned by the crisis must be addressed. The significant decline in official development assistance from donor countries needs to be reversed. Now more than ever, social amelioration programmes and safety nets must be enhanced. The crisis has forced us, too, to focus attention on the quality of governance. The issues of corruption and cronyism have been catapulted to the top of national debates. The ensuing convergence of ideas and resolve towards greater transparency and a more level playing field, at home and throughout the world, should be boons to our peoples and nations. The financial crisis has also confronted us with the reality that the world is dealing with a new phenomenon. This is the phenomenon of massive amounts of capital flowing across national borders at lightning speed, bloating economies into fragile bubbles as they rush in and shaking economies to their foundations as they are withdrawn. This is one aspect of globalization that carries great peril. It requires much diligent study and delicate handling. We have long recognized the need to recast the global trading regime and make it more responsive to the requirements of our time. Our efforts on this are well advanced. Now we must begin the work on the global financial system. Together, we must plan and build a new architecture that best suits today’s and tomorrow’s needs. The Philippines welcomes President Clinton’s eight- point agenda to lead the world out of the current global economic and financial instability. Real action is what the world, not just Asia, needs urgently. Indeed, threatening clouds are overhead. Lives are needlessly shattered. We need to limit the damage now and start rebuilding as soon as we can. Another lesson the crisis teaches us is about how brittle and fleeting high growth in gross domestic product is. It is not difficult to associate the roots of civil unrest in the wake of economic hardships with the lack of social justice on the ground. The poor, who get hit first and hardest in any economic downturn, will always be restive if development yields dividends only for the rich. The crisis makes us realize that the fruits of prosperity and the pains of sacrifice must be enjoyed or borne equitably. The globalization of information and the media may have reduced cultural barriers to the point of homogenizing certain cultural aspects of life. But the world continues to suffer from cultural intolerance. The plight of children, the rights and advancement of women and human rights in general still need to be addressed vigorously by the international community. The continuing exploitation of children for pornography, prostitution and drug-trafficking, not to mention the suffering of displaced and refugee children, is a global problem. The Convention on the Rights of the Child should guide international action in this area. At the regional level, the Philippines and the United Kingdom, under the aegis of the Asia-Europe Meeting, have launched a joint initiative on child welfare with a view to creating a better international cooperation mechanism on this endeavour. The Philippines attaches great importance to the promotion and protection of the rights of migrant workers and their families, and we continue to call upon all countries to accede to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. All human rights — political, civil, social and economic — are universal, indivisible, interdependent and 8 interrelated. So long as any or all of these rights are not respected globally, we cannot rest, even as we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For the Philippines, the best and surest way to promote social justice and human rights is through a sincere commitment to the rule of law. And one law that is self- evident and immutable in all cultures is the sanctity of human life and the dignity of the human person. Many of the international commitments made at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, particularly Agenda 21, remain unfulfilled. And sadly, no new or additional resources needed by developing countries to implement many of the actions agreed at the Summit have materialized. We appeal for early action on these points. Sustainable development continues to be an important focus of Philippine foreign policy. As Chair of the sixth session of the Commission on Sustainable Development, the Philippines emphasized the role of civil society in the implementation of cooperative activities in key areas such as freshwater resources, the role of industry, technology transfer and capacity-building in development. Last April, the Philippines signed the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. We join other States parties to the Convention in urging the speedy entry into force of that Protocol. Addressing global challenges and problems requires international action and cooperation. The United Nations remains the principal multilateral forum for the initiation of such action and cooperation. As a founding member, the Philippines recognizes that the United Nations must have the active support of all its Members and adequate resources in order to be effective. We have supported the various reform exercises undertaken in the past years, and we will continue to do so, to ensure the continued relevance of this our reliable partner. Inasmuch as the overwhelming majority of United Nations members are from the developing world, the United Nations reform process must restore development issues to the core of the United Nations agenda. It should also enable the General Assembly to fulfil effectively its Charter- mandated responsibilities. There is a pressing need to modernize and reform the Security Council. The Council is the United Nations organ with the primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, and its decisions must be viewed as serving the collective interest of all United Nations Members. Thus, its membership must be enlarged to include more key global players and developing countries. Its working methods and decision-making processes should become more transparent and democratic. As a democracy, the Philippines is convinced that global efforts and cooperation to achieve peace, prosperity and development can succeed only if democracy thrives within nations and serves as the basis for relations between and among them. At the global level, this requires respect for the principle of sovereign equality among States, the commitment to enrich, not beggar, one another, the need to uphold and defend the principles of the United Nations Charter and international law, the pacific settlement of disputes, the promotion of all human rights, and respect for the one and only world we live in. Without exception, all nations need to cooperate and be part of the solution to all the world’s woes. For we are all in this together, and there are no others to blame. As Shakespeare admonished, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves, that we are underlings“ (Julius Caesar, Act I, scene 2).