Netherlands

I speak to this Assembly with a sense of deference and humility. Deference, because I realize that I am speaking to the greatest multilateral organization of all time and from a rostrum where have stood almost all the great statesmen since the Second World War. Humility because I was appointed just two months ago to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, and so I am a newcomer for most of the delegates. However, this is no way detracts from the pride that I feel regarding my country?s long commitment to the United Nations system and the support that this Organization has enjoyed in the Kingdom of the Netherlands. I would also like to add that I feel reassured to realize that most of what I was going to say to the Assembly has already been said in the statement made by the Austrian Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the European Union. (spoke in English) Article 23 of the United Nations Charter says that the General Assembly shall elect 10 non-permanent members of the Security Council. More to the point, the Article goes on to say that the Assembly, in doing so, must pay due regard “in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization”. Well, my country at present is up for election to the Security Council. In fact, elections are due to be held in this very Hall in a few weeks time. And so it seems only fair for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as a candidate for the Council, to explain where it stands: where it stands on some of the core issues now faced by the United Nations family, where its stands on the state of affairs in the Organization and where it stands on the Organization?s future. In other words, what is the electorate looking at? What the electorate is looking at is what I would describe as a nation responding. Throughout the Kingdom people hear the wants of the world, the needs of our neighbours and of people in peril. It is in keeping with the Dutch character to be penny-pinching but generous to those in distress, to be demanding but tough on ourselves as well, to hold strong views but carry a big heart — easily critical, prone to compassion. In much the same manner we look at this Organization. We look at the Charter as a true monument of modern times. We feel a strong commitment to multilateralism, for reasons of principle and for reasons of necessity. We seek to promote the institutions of worldwide cooperation, with the United Nations at the core. Together, they span the entire range of human activity. We shall go on to give it the best we can offer in the form of ideas and in the form of resources. I would like to demonstrate how seriously we take our Charter obligations by showing how, over the years, we have pursued the purposes of the United Nations, as spelled out by the Charter in Article 1. First, peace and security. It is perhaps the most thankless responsibility the United Nations carries. Indeed, the odds are overwhelming. Since 1945, the number of violent conflicts outstanding has risen from 4 to about 40. Their average length has grown from about two months to an average of 14.5 months in 1995. Peace and security is where we have learned our lessons the hard way, and more mistakes are bound to be made. We, the Member States, need to shape up. Meanwhile, the Dutch commitment to United Nations peacekeeping is borne out by our record. The Netherlands has taken part in 20 peacekeeping operations so far, is currently engaged in three of them and is getting ready to join a fourth one. Most recently, some 100 Dutch troops were stationed in Cyprus, where they are committed to keeping the two Cypriot communities at peace. All in all, some 1,650 Dutch troops are engaged in peacekeeping and multinational supervision. In fact, peacekeeping operations continue to form one of the 25 principal tasks of our armed forces, and we remain ready to participate in up to four different peacekeeping efforts simultaneously at the level of a battalion. Peacekeeping does not stand by itself. There should be a comprehensive response to the need for conflict management. We believe in a continuum between prevention, on the one hand, and reconstruction and development on the other hand. After all, many of the conflicts raging today take place in the developing world. Affluent societies cannot in good conscience walk away from a conflict once the smoke has cleared. Donor countries cannot turn their backs to the ravages of war and concentrate on the next CNN headlines. We believe that emergency aid and political initiatives should be teamed with longer-term development planning, reconstruction and reconciliation. We believe in building a bridge between conflict and development. Another pillar of Dutch foreign policy is our strong desire to ban weapons of mass destruction. Our objective remains strengthening the non-proliferation regime, supporting real progress in negotiations on the reduction of nuclear weapons, and making existing conventions on other mega-weapons effective and more reliable. Still, we are not talking only about mega-weapons. The transfer of small arms is a matter of concern for us as well. They are piling up fast, most of them illicit. In many countries they constitute a serious threat to the population and to national and regional security and even contribute to the destabilization of States. Landmines are the plague of modern warfare, leaving a disgraceful legacy of the present century to the next one. Once in the ground, they keep. To this day people are maimed or killed in Ypres, Belgium, by landmines put in place during the first strategic use of them, over 80 years ago. Mine clearance and banning anti-personnel landmines have been pursued with renewed vigour in recent years, and with due reason. I now turn to the second of the purposes of the United Nations: developing friendly relations among nations. Let me point to the manner and measure in which the Netherlands has contributed towards this. By geographical necessity, the Netherlands has always been a seafaring nation, a nation of traders. Besides making us the eighth largest trading nation in the world, it has made us an outward-looking people, internationally oriented. Also, it has made us a multicultural society. Over 20 per cent of our population have their origins abroad — in Africa, in Asia, in the Arab world and in the Americas. Over time, we have built up strong relations with countries of all regions. Two constituent parts of our Kingdom, that is to say the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba, are located in the Americas. Our Caribbean Kingdom partners have important political and economic relations with their regional friends. They are engaged in the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), in the Organization of American States (OAS) and in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Rightfully, Africa is high on the Netherlands? political and development agendas. We encourage and support African countries in establishing peace, stability and democracy. We assist African nations in building up their mechanism for conflict prevention, management and resolution. We help Africa in strengthening its place in the world economy — for instance, through the World Trade Organization. Dutch aid flows to all countries of Africa — last year over $600 million worth. Turning now to Asia, the relations between the Netherlands and a large number of Asian countries go back to the sixteenth century. We are an original member of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). Naturally, therefore, we have assisted Asian countries that have been hit by the financial crisis and its economic and social effects. We do so through multilateral channels and through joint European and Asian initiatives. Overcoming the crisis is important, too, for political stability in the region. As regards Central and Eastern Europe, the Netherlands is heavily engaged in assisting countries of that region in their transition to market economy and democracy. Our involvement is a central feature in our relations with all candidates for accession to the European Union. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are at present the third most important donor, and we contribute to the Stabilization Force and to various organizations engaged in the region. The Netherlands and the Arab world have long- standing economic and cultural ties. The University of Leyden has traditionally been a leading centre for the study of Islam and Arab culture. We have a growing Arab community in the Netherlands. We continue to give substantial support to the Palestinian people and are a 26 major donor to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The third purpose of the United Nations, as spelt out in Article 1 of the Charter, is by far the most complex. Its binding element is the promotion of international cooperation, but cooperation in fields that, taken together, cover a wide range of human interaction. I would like to highlight some of them, without, of course, meaning to diminish any of the others. Notably, I will touch on development cooperation, human rights, and international law. Poverty eradication has been the primary focus of Dutch development aid policy for over a quarter of a century. The Netherlands, whose aid programme last year ran close to $3 billion, has actively tried to strike a balance in its aid policy between the economy, the environment and the people. We are pursuing development that is sustainable — sustainable not purely in terms of ecology but in a wider sense: development that addresses basic human needs, that respects human rights, that builds human capacities, that is socially responsible and that does not mortgage the choices of future generations. For many years, my country has been more than faithful to the international target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for development. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development average hovers around 0.25 per cent. The Netherlands stands at a self- imposed 0.8 per cent. In percentage terms, it takes third place among the major donors. In absolute terms, in money spent, it has made us the sixth largest donor country worldwide for 1997. All in all, $750 million from Dutch resources flowed to the United Nations system and to the Bretton Woods institutions in 1997. The new Netherlands Government is a strong believer in multilateral development cooperation. In its first major policy statement, it pledged that multilateral aid flows, including those to the United Nations system, are going to be expanded over the next several years. As the Charter says explicitly, international cooperation applies also to promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. We have made no secret of our attachment to the cause of human rights in the past; nor do we intend to hide it in the years to come. The Netherlands has been an active player in the Commission on Human Rights since at least 1980, has seen several of its countrymen serve in prominent human rights positions, has either drafted or supported countless resolutions and has strongly advocated standard- setting and monitoring. It is a topic that enjoys solid support in Dutch society and has constituted a clear political imperative for a quarter of a century. Member States can count on our toeing the line in the future. Promoting respect for the rule of law at the international level has been recognized as part of our heritage ever since Hugo Grotius, in the early 1600s. In modern times, the Netherlands has sought to contribute to the advancement of international law. Areas where we have made contributions include human rights, legal cooperation, crime prevention, criminal justice and so forth. Much of the groundwork for the International Criminal Court was done under Dutch chairmanship. If indeed we are to serve on the Security Council, what will be our aims in the next two years? Our aim is the primacy of international law. Our aim is building bridges. Our aim is addressing all issues before the Council. Our aim is more contact between non-members and the Council. And our aim is openness and transparency. In a nutshell, we will be driven by idealism, but guided by realism. It is in that spirit that we approach our membership in the Council and, indeed, the future of this Organization.