Japan

Today, the international community is striving to meet challenges that the founders of the United Nations could not have envisioned sixty years ago. The fight against terrorism and efforts to ensure non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are just a few examples of those challenges. Japan has always pursued international cooperation centring on the United Nations. As the international community faces new realities, the United Nations must adapt and address them. The United Nations was created to bring about a peaceful, prosperous, and just world. To that end, Member States have united their strengths to promote international cooperation. Convinced that it can contribute to creating a better world through its own capabilities, Japan has endeavoured steadfastly to fulfil its role as a responsible United Nations Member. Our activities in Iraq and Afghanistan offer excellent examples. In Iraq, based on the relevant Security Council resolutions, Japan has joined international efforts to assist in the Iraqi people's own struggle towards a democratic and prosperous nation. Japan has been cooperating with the Iraqi people to help them improve their daily life and rebuild the foundation of their public life. The humanitarian and reconstruction activities of Japanís Self-Defence Forces and its financial assistance of $5 billion are working in tandem to that end. In order to promote international solidarity, Japan will host the third Meeting of the Donorsí Committee of the International Reconstruction Fund Facility for Iraq next month. In Afghanistan, Japan has from the very beginning taken the lead in assisting national reconstruction efforts. Japan hosted the International Conference on Reconstruction Assistance to Afghanistan in January 2002. Japan has been actively promoting Afghan efforts for disarmament, demobilization and reintegration. The Afghan people are working hard to prepare for presidential as well as parliamentary elections. Those elections are the most 32 important milestones for a new, democratic Afghanistan. The international community and the United Nations must stand by the Afghan and Iraqi peoples in their strenuous efforts to rebuild their countries. Weapons of mass destruction, missiles and terrorism threaten international security in todayís world. Japan is the only country ever to have suffered nuclear devastation. As such, Japan has been at the forefront in promoting nuclear disarmament and non- proliferation. Japan hopes to achieve a peaceful and safe world free of nuclear weapons. Furthermore, Japan has collaborated with other countries to prevent States of concern and non-State actors from acquiring weapons of mass destruction. We must allow no room for terrorism to prevail. In the fight against terrorism, Japan is doing its utmost to strengthen domestic legislation and related measures, and will continue to cooperate with other countries. The nuclear and missile issues on the Korean peninsula present a serious challenge to the peace and stability of north-east Asia and to the international community as a whole. Japan is determined to continue to seek a comprehensive resolution of the nuclear and missile issues and the abduction issue in line with the Pyongyang Declaration. The six-party talks must go forward. The benefit that the Democratic Peopleís Republic of Korea would receive by resolving those issues would be substantial. There is no benefit for it in continuing to pursue its nuclear programme. After the Second World War, Japan experienced a dramatic economic recovery, with the help of the international community. On the basis of our own experience, we are keenly aware that, in promoting international cooperation, self-help efforts are essential to overcoming difficulties and achieving a prosperous society. Japanís official development assistance therefore has been based on the principles of ownership and partnership. Environmental conservation must also proceed hand in hand with economic development. Japan has taken the lead in global efforts in such areas as climate change and environmental protection. In addressing development challenges, including the Millennium Development Goals, Japan will move forward, making further efforts for the strategic and effective use of official development assistance, bearing those principles in mind. The protection and empowerment of individuals and communities is the foundation of international peace and security. That is why Japan is advocating the concept of human security. Based upon that idea, Japan is making efforts to realize a seamless transition from humanitarian assistance to reconstruction support in countries such as Afghanistan, Sri Lanka and Timor-Leste. It is my strong belief that there can be no stability and prosperity in the world unless Africaís issues are resolved. Japan initiated the process of the Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD) in 1993. Last year, Japan organized TICAD III, with the participation of 89 countries and 47 international organizations. African countries are now promoting regional collaboration through the African Union and working to implement the New Partnership for Africaís Development (NEPAD). The collaboration between TICAD and NEPAD is significant, because both processes are grounded in the principles of ownership and partnership. A stable and prosperous Africa depends upon the promotion of trade and investment, together with official development assistance. This autumn, Japan will host the TICAD Asia-Africa Trade and Investment Conference. Today, in Africa, we are witnessing the unfolding of another humanitarian crisis. We share the international communityís grave concern over Darfur. Japan has decided to provide humanitarian assistance of $21 million. In addition, Japan intends to provide in- kind assistance to the Sudanese refugees in Chad. In East Asia, there has been remarkable economic development. Japan has been working with the countries in the region to build solid foundations for their own efforts towards economic development. In that region, active efforts are also under way to foster community-building. Building upon the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Plus Three, I have advocated the idea of an East Asia community. This year, Japan is a candidate for non-permanent membership on the Security Council. Japan, if elected, will redouble its efforts to play a constructive and innovative role in the Council, based on its global contributions. 33 As the international community rises to meet the challenges we face in todayís world, the United Nations must not be left on the sidelines. We need a strong and effective United Nations. Indeed, we must create a new United Nations for the new era. I applaud the timely initiative by the Secretary-General of establishing the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change. I trust that the Panel will present the Secretary-General with a bold and ambitious plan for reforming the United Nations. Peace and security, and economic and social issues are increasingly intertwined. The response of the United Nations must be coordinated and comprehensive. United Nations agencies and organs must be effective and efficient. Changes are needed throughout the United Nations system. The reform of the Security Council must be at the core of those changes. In recent years, the role of the Security Council has expanded dramatically in scope and nature. The Security Council must fulfil its expanded role, with the maximum cooperation and participation of the international community. To that end, the Security Council must improve its representation to better reflect today's world. In addition, the Council must be provided with adequate resources to address challenges effectively. Countries with the will and the resources to play a major role in international peace and security must always take part in the Councilís decision-making process. The Security Council therefore needs to be expanded, both in its permanent and non-permanent categories, adding new members from both developing and developed countries. The universal purpose of the United Nations ó our common goal - is to maintain international peace and security. In striving towards that goal, each Member State must fulfil its role, commensurate with its own capabilities. It is our conviction that peace cannot be achieved through force alone. On the basis of that conviction, Japan has played an active and distinctive role. Japan has made considerable resources available for United Nations peacekeeping operations, as well as for reconstruction efforts to assist in the consolidation of peace. Japanís Self-Defense Forces have conducted humanitarian and reconstruction activities in such areas as Timor-Leste and Iraq. Such global contributions to peace are rooted in the fundamental, cherished beliefs of the Japanese people, who have been seeking an honoured place in an international community that strives for peace and prosperity. Those contributions are, I believe, greatly appreciated by the international community. Recent United Nations peace operations show that there are many dimensions to the achievement and consolidation of peace. Making peace a reality requires comprehensive efforts, ranging from peace-building to nation-building. Japan's role has thus become increasingly vital to the maintenance of international peace and security, which is precisely the mandate of the Security Council. We believe that the role that Japan has played provides a solid basis for its assumption of permanent membership of the Security Council. In order to better reflect today's world, it is also necessary to remove the 'enemy State' clauses from the Charter, as the General Assembly has already recognized those provisions to be obsolete. The scale of assessments for Member States needs to be more balanced. Next year, the United Nations will celebrate its sixtieth anniversary. We will hold a high-level plenary meeting to review progress on all of the commitments in the Millennium Declaration. Development, global security and United Nations reform are all high on the agenda. Changes are needed on all fronts. The time has come to make a historic decision to reform the United Nations, and the Security Council in particular. Time is limited. Our future - the future of the United Nations - is at stake. I would like to call upon the members of this body to work together and take a bold step towards the creation of a new United Nations for the new era.