Luxembourg

As previous speakers have done, I would like to convey to the President my sincerest congratulations on his election to the presidency at the fifty-third session of the General Assembly. I am convinced that our Assembly will benefit greatly from his sense of authority and leadership. I also wish to express my gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his commitment and perseverance in conducting our work during the fifty-second session. The Secretary-General of our Organization is devoting tireless energy to opening up new avenues for our common efforts. He has emphasized the crucial importance of good communications to ensure that the United Nations will be a catalyst both for those directly involved in international life and for our peoples. We share that belief with him and encourage him in that respect. Last Tuesday, members heard the statement of Mr. Schüssel, President of the Council of the European Union. He spoke on behalf of all of the countries of the European Union, and Luxembourg fully supports the views expressed. 19 The presence of representatives of 185 States in this Hall reflects our common concern to ensure balance and security among nations, but also within our societies. Our concern is to ensure the permanence of values to which we are all committed in an ever-evolving world. In the context of its mandate to preserve international peace and security, our Organization regularly asks whether it has the means to ensure that the general interest, as perceived by our citizens, prevails. Surely, we must not be overly ambitious. We are aware of the complexity and the magnitude of the situations we face, and that these impose limits on our action. Therefore we must focus our operations and provide an appropriate framework for them. It is also our duty to acquire the means to act effectively whenever our ineffectiveness or slow response would seem to negatively affect the weakest among us. Luxembourg supports the efforts under way to provide our Organization with permanent structures and to make available to it forces prepared for rapid and effective intervention whenever the Security Council, guarantor of the preservation of peace and security, deems it necessary. Our common efforts to make our world safer suffered a serious setback following the nuclear tests recently carried out by two major countries in South Asia. We noted with satisfaction that the representatives of India and Pakistan have just announced from this rostrum that their countries are prepared to join the international community by acceding to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We invite them to proceed in that direction as quickly as possible. Will these efforts appear absurd, given the endless pursuit of the tragic discussion about the disarmament of Iraq? This spring the Security Council endorsed the memorandum of understanding submitted to it following the Secretary-General?s visit to Baghdad. Since then, such cooperation has been called into question. Such abrupt changes generate concern and discouragement and call into question the credibility of our Organization. It is the Security Council?s responsibility to take the necessary steps to ensure that its decisions in this area are fully respected. Our Organization is pursuing conflict prevention and peacekeeping. At the recent meeting between the United Nations and the representatives of regional organizations, the proposal for development of a culture of prevention was put forward. Progress has been made in the concept of mutually supportive institutions and on support for the initiatives taken at the regional and subregional level. While it is desirable to support such initiatives and efforts, we must remember that the Charter confers principle responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security on the Security Council and that the Council must fully play its role. We welcome the fact that in 1998 the Council once again authorized two peacekeeping operations, one in Sierra Leone and the other in the Central African Republic. The Ottowa conference on the prohibition of anti- personnel mines was undeniably an invigorating success in an area which constantly creates innocent victims. This treaty, which has just entered into force, will make it possible to save many human lives. The news that anti- personnel mines are again being sown in Angola and along the borders of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia is terrifying. Such action, if confirmed, must be condemned vigorously. In Kosovo, the violence directed against the civilian population must end. It proves that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia continues to follow paths which cannot but compromise progress in its integration into international and European structures. Armed action conducted by Albanian groups in Kosovo must also end. The scorn for human suffering displayed by the Serbian leaders and the extremists in Kosovo is incomprehensible. A new status for Kosovo must emerge. It is inconceivable that such a status can emerge under the sway of threat or, even worse, cold-hearted implacable violence, which would merely drive the wedge deeper to the point where the very idea of understanding would be absurd. As Security Council resolution 1199 (1998) requires, a political solution must be negotiated between the parties under the aegis of the international community. Firm cohesion between Europe, the United States and the Russian Federation should enable those in the region, as was the case previously, to address their future in a more rational and orderly way. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the extremist tendencies are on the decline. This political progress was rapidly reflected in concrete results achieved in the field, and today this war-torn country is engaged in reconstruction. It is comforting to note that a growing number of individuals charged with war crimes have been sent to the Tribunal at The Hague. The establishment and the 20 functioning of the structures decided on in the context of the peace process are today becoming a reality. The recent elections have confirmed this new realism. It is up to the international community to consolidate this trend, as it still appears to be fragile, and to ensure, in particular, the return of refugees and displaced persons. This latter question is particularly acute in Croatia and Albania. Another key element for opening the way to a brighter future is a firm, unequivocal commitment by the regional parties and the international community. I refer to the peace process in the Middle East. Five years after the Oslo agreements, we must note the stagnation of the peace process, whose logic — the principle of land for peace — the current Israeli Government never really accepted. The archaic and paralysing philosophy of refusal has unfortunately returned to the foreground; it is reflected in many initiatives which only increase tension, thus nullifying the efforts of those who advocate peace. The political leaders involved must reverse this trend so as to return to the good faith implementation of all the provisions of the Oslo agreements. Our action, in that region and in others, must focus on convincing the parties involved that there is no alternative to peace. It is regrettable that this central concept is also being called into question in a number of African regions. Tribal rivalries and resentments continue to supplant clearsightedness and the desire for good governance. In no case should the political leaders involved in the different flashpoints feel that their only choice is between submitting to events and shirking their responsibilities. The struggles for influence and the war in and around the Democratic Republic of the Congo are on the verge of degenerating into a regional conflict and bringing about a humanitarian catastrophe there too. The causes of conflicts and the promotion of peace and sustainable development in Africa call for a united response. The debate at ministerial level that the Security Council has just held on these topics was very helpful. The General Assembly will have occasion to consider this question over the course of its fifty-third session, with a view to a discussion on possible measures. While the future of Africa depends first of all on the efforts of Africans themselves, the international community must be actively involved in order to ensure respect for international law, and in order to carry out its duty of solidarity. Recent events, with the terrible bombings perpetrated in Africa and Northern Ireland, remind us once again of the intolerable nature of terrorism. It is up to the international community to acquire an effective means of combating this scourge on an international level, and to ensure that the perpetrators of such acts answer for their crimes before the competent courts. We owe it to ourselves to put a definitive end to the culture of impunity in connection with terrorism. Another priority for our General Assembly is reform of the Organization. We welcome the fact that some progress was made during the fifty-second session. But reform cannot be an isolated event; it must become a process that underlies all of our action. We pledge to continue actively supporting the efforts of the Secretary- General, and to add our efforts to his, with a view to giving the United Nations the capacity to respond in a flexible and evolving way to the challenges of the twenty- first century. Any in-depth reform of the system will remain fragile so long as the Organization lacks sound and reliable financial resources. The grave financial crisis which the Organization has experienced for a number of years must be considered as a threat to the effectiveness of the whole. Our proposed reforms will be consolidated only when all Member States have agreed fully to meet their obligations under the Charter by paying their arrears to the United Nations, and by paying on time and unconditionally the full amount of their obligatory contributions, both to the Organization?s regular budget and to the peacekeeping budget. The maintenance of security and peace in the world cannot be dissociated from the international community?s efforts on behalf of development. When we see entire regions, even subcontinents, experiencing poverty and malnutrition, there is a shocking imbalance which will soon pose a threat to the security of the States concerned and to respect for the fundamental rights of the human individual. When we see that generations of young people can hope for no future but unemployment or a frustrating inactivity, there exists a flagrant and unjust imbalance which will be a source of conflict. 21 When we see social categories permanently deprived of education and health care, that, too, is an imbalance to which we cannot be indifferent. The economic, financial and social crisis currently besetting South-East Asia, Latin America and Russia has exacerbated this trend. Rationally, the international community must acknowledge that the means of intervention traditionally, and almost mechanically, employed to overcome economic crises have proved ineffective this time. In his work Civilisation matérielle, économie et capitalisme, Fernand Braudel pointed out the profound source of this crisis: “the emergence of a savage capitalism, as distinct from what we consider to be a market economy”. A market economy, and particularly a social market economy, cannot do without a stable State capable of regulating competition and protecting the weak. The strengthening or restoration of a democratic, working State in the countries in crisis seems to me to be an absolute priority. The international community cannot shirk the obligation to shoulder its responsibilities and lend a strong hand. It will do this not only because of its duty of solidarity, but because the interests of one and all are linked. Another area in which the interdependence of our objectives is particularly visible and tangible is that of the management of the world?s natural resources. It is clear that we need to be ambitious when it comes to the long-term management of our environment. Last year we met here in special session to undertake an initial evaluation of the implementation of the commitments undertaken at the Conference on Environment and Development a little over six years ago. At Rio de Janeiro and during last year?s evaluation session we defined the concept of a world partnership for sustainable development, a partnership respecting the fact that the protection of the environment cannot be dissociated from the economic and social development process. Undeniable progress has been made in recent years: the entry into force of the Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification. But it must be acknowledged that the world environment has continued to deteriorate. Accordingly, it is essential to accelerate the implementation of Agenda 21, the programme of action adopted in Rio de Janeiro. Luxembourg intends to shoulder its share of this responsibility. Accordingly, we have undertaken, in the context of the commitments made by the European Union at the Kyoto Conference, to reduce our emissions of six greenhouse gases to 28 per cent below 1990 levels by the year 2012. In the context of the Biodiversity Convention, we also plan to establish a national network of protected areas covering 10 per cent of our national territory. The goal of managing the world?s material resources as a good parent would reflect an atavistic concern, that of guaranteeing security through careful preparation for the future, in particular through suitable education. The recent Lisbon Conference devoted to the problems faced by young people rightly emphasized the need to provide training that is suited to the job market so as to prevent unemployment and marginalization. Such training must include education about responsibility. We therefore welcome the fact that the Lisbon Declaration commits Governments to ensuring the participation of young people in programmes that concern them. In that way we can come closer to democratic civic education based on the rights and responsibilities of citizens and on the participation of young people in civil society. Luxembourg has undertaken a long-term effort to make its own contribution to providing funds for development. Our efforts are aimed at attaining the target set by the United Nations of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for official development assistance before the end of the millennium. Our efforts occupy an important place in the struggle against poverty, which is one of the main obstacles to development. At present our contribution is 0.56 per cent of gross national product and is equivalent to official development assistance of $195 per capita. According to those criteria, Luxembourg is fifth among donor countries in the Development Assistance Committee. Fifty years ago our Organization adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. For the first 22 time, a universal organization declared its determination to place respect for human rights at the heart of international relations. Since then, we have made considerable progress towards ensuring recognition for the universal value of such rights and their effective enjoyment. Several international instruments have been added to the Universal Declaration so as to focus more precisely on what human rights represent and to ensure that the citizens of all countries of the world effectively enjoy these rights. Our Organization has established the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights, and concern for human rights now underlies all of its activities. This progress leads us to believe that human rights will find the central and permanent home at the heart of international life that they deserve. We also note that the Criminal Tribunals established by the United Nations to bring to trial those accused of crimes committed during recent wars in the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda have recently been able to strengthen their authority and the scope of their action. This affirmation of their importance played a considerable role in the preparation of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. I sincerely welcome the positive conclusion of the work of the recent Rome Conference. At the same time, I should like to emphasize the fact that the entire international community has given that new institution strong and constant support. The end of the culture of impunity represents a decisive turning point in international relations at the end of this century. But this turning point will be convincing only if the Members of our Organization display a commitment to provide the new Court with the necessary credibility. In this commemorative year, we must ensure that our achievements are assessed in depth and that we avoid complacency in the field of human rights. Only in this way will it be possible to expand the base on which we can build the values that the international community has so often said it is prepared to ensure for humankind as a whole. I am confident that the United Nations will remain capable of steadfastly pursuing the attainment of the great objectives it has set itself: to serve men and women, ensure respect for their rights, preserve them from the scourge of war and lead them towards development and fulfilment. Luxembourg?s support will certainly not be lacking.