Iceland

Let me begin by congratulating the President, on his election to his high office. I wish him every success and pledge to him the full support of my delegation. It gives me pleasure to welcome the new Member States which have joined the Organization since the beginning of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly - the new Member States of Andorra, Eritrea, the Czech Republic, Monaco, the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Slovakia. With 184 Member States - and even more prospective Members - our Organization is able to claim for itself a higher degree of universality than ever. In extending the reach of the United Nations, we serve the basic goals for which our Organization was brought into being; for the rule of law, freedom and the dignity and worth of the human person are ideals common to all men, irrespective of their cultural or geographical surroundings. But the simple reach of the United Nations must not be confused with its comprehensiveness as an institution. Therefore, as we recommit ourselves to the basic objectives inscribed in the United Nations Charter almost 50 years ago, we must also maintain the flexibility necessary to readjust our structures and working habits accordingly. The question how to maintain the cohesiveness of the United Nations amidst the myriad - and at times conflicting - demands being made of it presents itself nowadays with particular force. Changes on the world stage have taken place with almost dizzying speed in the last four years. The most important of those changes, the passing of the cold war, has created new opportunities for the United Nations and has raised expectations among the peoples of the world at large. At the same time, the world itself has in many ways become more unpredictable, placing serious obstacles on the path of long-term planning. To escape this quandary, there is a need to take a balanced view of what the United Nations can and cannot be expected to do. We must moderate ambition with reality. We must not divorce the words we use from the actions we are willing to take. If we do, we may indeed succeed in building a Platonic city in speech, a United Nations which would stand only a limited chance of ever being actualized, but the down side would be to risk undermining the trust invested by the public in our Organization. On the bright side, a number of recent developments have helped the United Nations in translating its basic vision into reality. Breakthroughs have taken place in regional conflicts which have been a thorn in the side of the international community for several decades. Governments have increasingly come to recognize the growing threat to the ecosystem of our planet. The protection of human rights is no longer seen as the exclusive domain of the nation State. Last but not least, mankind has moved further away from the brink of nuclear Armageddon. Those are considerable accomplishments. But this is none the less hardly the time for members of the community of nations to congratulate each other. There are regions of the world where terrifying carnage is still taking place before our very eyes. Deterioration of the environment, while highly uneven in gravity and scope, is a long way from being reversed. Human-rights abuses continue in many places on an appalling scale. And while the threat of a worldwide nuclear catastrophe may have passed, there is a dangerous proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, bringing uncertainty and new instabilities in its wake. Now is clearly the time to rise above these issues that divide our Assembly and to concentrate our efforts on dealing with such challenges effectively. The landmark peace agreement recently signed between former adversaries in the Middle East should be a source of encouragement to all nations. We are being reminded of the ancient truth that where there is sufficient devotion and will among the parties concerned, there is also a way to solve even the most intractable issues. My Government welcomes the historic accord between the State of Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization. We hope that the mutual recognition of the two parties will yield further agreements in the region, paving the way for a comprehensive peace settlement. While paying tribute to the vision and bravery of Israeli and Palestinian leaders, I take this opportunity to congratulate the Government of Norway on its initiative in bringing the ancient adversaries together at the same table, and I also commend the Governments of the United States and Russia for their valuable mediation. It is now up to the world community to provide the political support and the economic aid for reconstruction so vitally needed to keep the process alive. The Nordic Governments, for their part, have 34 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session already decided to participate fully in that endeavour. This is a process which cannot be permitted to fail. The world community has recently witnessed another bold step forward, which, hopefully, also marks an important contribution to international peace and stability. I am referring to the courageous statesmanship of the President of the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, in moving decisively towards democratic elections to Parliament. As the only democratically elected representative of the Russian people, President Yeltsin deserves the vigorous support of the outside world in carrying out his far-reaching programme of reform. A different area offering a glimmer of hope is South Africa. My Government welcomes recent progress towards genuine democracy in South Africa, including the decision to hold free and fair elections next year. The international community should now speedily heed the call of Mr. Nelson Mandela, made from this podium last week, for the removal of all economic sanctions, an action Iceland hopes will serve fully to normalize the status of South Africa in the community of nations. Iceland, for its part, has already abolished the embargo on trade with South Africa. Sadly, we face continuation of the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, not least the tragic situation prevailing in Bosnia and Herzegovina. It serves to remind us that ethnic conflicts can no longer be regarded as the sole responsibility of individual States. The inhumanity perpetrated on innocent civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other former Yugoslav Republics has reached a point where the international community must act, and decisively, with all the resources provided for in the Charter of the United Nations. My Government fully supports the negotiations sponsored by the United Nations and the European Community, and looks forward to an early agreement and implementation of the Geneva peace plan. The parties to the conflict must be brought to realize that a solution can be found only through peaceful means. Iceland also attaches importance to the effective functioning of the war crimes Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Those responsible for atrocities must be brought to justice. As the conflict in the former Yugoslavia has exposed the present limitations of regional structures, the United Nations has assumed responsibility for reintroducing peace and stability in the area. Meanwhile, there are outstanding examples of cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and other organizations, including the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Western European Union (WEU) and the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in the implementation of Security Council resolutions with regard to the former Yugoslavia. In Iceland’s view there is a need to develop these relationships further. Suffice it to say that NATO’s readiness to employ military force for the relief of Sarajevo and for the long-term implementation of the Geneva peace plan would serve the interests of the international community and should therefore be welcomed and encouraged. Two years ago we welcomed the three Baltic States, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as sovereign Members of the United Nations. Since then the world community, and their European neighbours in particular, have reached out and offered cooperation and help in the ongoing reconstruction of those Republics. The Baltic States have, for their part, demonstrated their willingness to live up to the highest standards of democratic societies. They adhere to international instruments and are members of organizations that are fully capable of monitoring their respect for international obligations in the field of human rights and fundamental freedoms. I should like to express my Government’s hope that negotiations on the departure of all foreign military forces from Estonia and Latvia will soon be successfully concluded and a clear timetable established. The recent departure of foreign forces from Lithuania should set an example. Restoring the environment and attaining sustainable global development are among the most challenging tasks facing the world community today. The outcome of the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro last year, has brought those tasks into sharper focus. The subsequent establishment of the Commission on Sustainable Development was an important step in facilitating international cooperation for the effective follow-up and implementation of the outcome of the Conference. However, declarations, strategies and action plans are only as good as their implementation. If the credibility of the United Nations in this area is to be maintained in the wake of the Rio Conference, we must make sure to obtain real action and results. The action programme contained in Agenda 21 of the Rio Conference provides a sound basis for our individual or joint activities aimed at sustainable development. It does not, however, cover all activities harmful to the environment, including pollution of the marine environment from land-based activities and the depletion of marine living resources in many parts of the world. While the programme contains important recommendations pertinent to these Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 35 issues, the main responsibility for developing global action to protect the marine environment and to conserve its living resources has been delegated to other forums, including the United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks. Iceland has participated actively in that Conference. Together with Argentina, Canada, Chile and New Zealand, Iceland has submitted a draft convention that seeks to deal on a global level with the conservation and rational management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory fish stocks. Consistent with the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, the draft convention calls for increased regional cooperation in the establishment of conservation and management measures and elaborates mechanisms for the enforcement of agreed measures. My Government will continue to work with all other interested Governments to achieve results at the next session of the Conference, results acceptable to all fishing nations, both distant-water States and coastal States. As a nation overwhelmingly dependent on marine living resources, Iceland has supported efforts to establish an international regime to govern all aspects of the uses of the oceans. Iceland participated actively in the Third United Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and ratified the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1985. Iceland believes that the Convention provides for a widely acceptable regime for the rational exploitation of the world’s marine resources and establishes rules for a wide range of uses for the seas, thereby reducing the potential for conflict among States in this field. The Government of Iceland is greatly encouraged by the results of the most recent round of consultations, under the auspices of the Secretary-General, directed at addressing problems which have prevented certain industrialized countries from becoming parties to the Convention. We are hopeful that at the next round agreement will be reached on the framework of negotiations which will enable the early entry into force of the Convention with universal participation. As early as 1989 Iceland emphasized in this forum the need for a new international instrument, an "Earth Charter", which would define the responsibilities and rights of nations with respect to the environment. My Government regrets that an agreement on such a charter was not reached before the Rio Conference. We would therefore strongly support transforming the Rio Declaration into an "Earth Charter" before the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations two years hence. All nations have an obligation not only to protect and preserve the environment, but also to promote human rights and foster social and economic progress. The United Nations Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna last June was a world event of major significance. The results of the Conference, especially when seen in the context of improvements in the international political climate in the recent past, give us reason to hope for a more effective implementation of human rights and fundamental freedoms everywhere. For the first time ever it appears that the majority of countries in the world now pledge allegiance to the principles of democratic rule of law. Still, we are confronted with breaches of human rights all around the world. In the follow-up to the Conference on Human Rights, we must address such breaches squarely and focus attention on ensuring greater respect and accountability by Governments for the protection of human rights. This means, among other things, devoting more resources to this field as a reflection of the political commitment of Member States. Increased resources are required if the Centre for Human Rights is to be able to provide effective advisory services and human-rights monitoring. At the same time, Iceland would like to support the establishment of the post of high commissioner for human rights. The determination of our countries to promote social progress and better standards of life is an important commitment embedded in the United Nations Charter. Iceland hopes that the world summit in 1995 will serve to bring issues of social development into sharper focus and highlight, in particular, the plight of the more than one billion people living below the absolute poverty line. In this connection, I would like to draw special attention to the growing problem of world population control, which could have serious social, economic and environmental repercussions if not properly managed in the decades ahead. Around 90 per cent of the predicted world population growth between now and the end of the first quarter of the twenty-first century is expected to occur in the developing countries, placing enormous new strains on their resources. Against this background, the decision to convene an international conference on population and development in Cairo next year is to be welcomed. To stimulate social development, we need, among other things, economic growth. The liberalization of world trade is the single most important vehicle for world economic growth. The growing importance of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is clearly manifested in the 36 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session flood of new accessions and the overriding importance attached to the Uruguay Round by the Governments of the world. Since the end of the cold war, GATT has achieved an even greater role in international relations; countries in transition see it as a vital venue for their relations with each other and for their integration into the world economy. In the last few years political walls between cultures and nations have been demolished. Trade barriers must not, however, be allowed to replace iron curtains. Economic reform, the environment, job-creation and investment, to name but a few, are issues that affect and are affected by international trade. A successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round, which now seems to be within reach, would dramatically improve our ability to deal with those problems through international cooperation and trade. A failure, on the other hand, would be a fatal blow to the multinational trading system and to GATT. Protectionism would again raise its ugly head and conflicts would erupt, with disastrous consequences for the world economy. GATT’s business is therefore the world’s business. The Uruguay Round represents a tremendous opportunity to revitalize world trade. All countries stand to gain from this. The biggest gain will accrue to the developing countries and to economies in transition. We who are gathered here at the General Assembly representing the citizens, our countries’ consumers, cannot and must not allow special-interest groups to block the negotiations in the few strenuous final steps needed to reach the goal before the end of this year. Issues of social and economic development, of human rights and of environmental protection are part and parcel of the notion of extended security, which we are all getting accustomed to in the aftermath of the cold war. Arms control remains, however, a very important element of post-cold-war security. The success achieved in nuclear- and conventional-arms control in recent years represents a historical turning-point which must be exploited for the long-term advancement of global peace and stability. Here, the United Nations is singularly well placed to assume a more active role. This applies to both global perspectives and support for regional initiatives. The systematic acquisition of nuclear warheads, ballistic missiles, and chemical and biological weapons by a number of States is a matter of serious concern to the international community. Non-proliferation should be given priority and efforts made to ensure that the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is both universally adhered to and indefinitely extended. It is also to be hoped that the present moratorium on nuclear testing will eventually be succeeded by a comprehensive and verifiable test ban. Peace-keeping operations are among the areas where the Organization has enjoyed considerable success. The result is that Member States have placed increasing demands on the Organization. However, the time has now come to review the activities of the United Nations in this field. The goal must be to ensure that peace-keeping operations serve the purpose for which they were intended and that their mandates are specific and more limited in time. In this connection, the idea of a United Nations stand-by force that would enable the United Nations to act swiftly when crises arise should be carefully considered. The existence of such a force would enhance the credibility of and respect for the Organization. Meanwhile, Member States must live up to their current obligations and pay their assessed contributions to peace-keeping operations in full and on time. At the outset of my speech I referred to the need for the United Nations to be responsive to change. Since the last review of the membership of the Security Council took place, there has been a substantial increase in the number of States Members of the United Nations. At the same time the Council has, especially in recent years, increasingly assumed the role envisaged for it in the relevant provisions of the Charter. The time is therefore ripe to review the Council’s membership. The goal of such a review must be to make the Council more representative and thus, indeed, more effective. I would like to welcome initiatives taken recently to streamline the structure of the United Nations and to make its daily operations and management more effective. This is necessary in particular in order for the Organization to regain the trust of its Member States. In this connection, Iceland favours the establishment of a permanent office of inspections and investigations and hopes that such an office will help to ensure that allegations of fraud, waste and corruption are investigated expeditiously. Now, more than ever, there is an opportunity for the United Nations to adapt to the positive political developments of the recent past and to revamp its structures from within. Let us join forces in building a stronger United Nations, a United Nations which embodies the ideals of its founders and remains at the same time responsive to the basic needs of people everywhere.