Belgium

History has shown us that words can change the face of the world. It has proven that the spoken word can influence the future, but only when they go beyond rhetoric. What is our global governance worth if it does not go beyond the expression of ambitions and intentions? Words remain ineffectual if they are not followed up with action. We must therefore act. I say “we”, the nations united, because no country, no matter 47 10-54833 how large, can respond alone to the great challenges facing humanity. I say “we” because no large-scale problem is limited to a single country, leaving untouched the lives of those who live elsewhere. The obligation to act is a shared, global responsibility. That is why today my message is about responsibility and increased accountability. At the heart of any form of governance lies responsibility, be it global or local, national or international. But this is not enough. Indeed, governance is not only about behaving responsibly; it is also about being accountable. This applies not only at the level of the single State, but also at the level of our United Nations. Human rights, security and development are at the core of the mandate of the United Nations. Former Secretary-General Kofi Annan pointed out the fact that the three are inextricably linked when he said: “There will be no development without security and no security without development. And both development and security also depend on respect for human rights and the rule of law.” (A/59/2005, annex, para. 2) It has indeed become common knowledge that human rights are unlikely to be protected in an insecure and underdeveloped environment and that economic development cannot be durably sustained in a society where there is no rule of law. Accountability in international affairs is about respecting international law — the rules that govern relations among States. Without a solid legal basis, international cooperation remains optional and falls short of the necessary transparency and long-term sustainability. Important steps have been taken to uphold the rule of law at the international level over the past decades. Belgium pleads for the universal acceptance of the competence of the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court. If all countries were willing to follow up on this appeal, we would be a step closer to having an effective and accountable international system. Meeting our responsibilities in the field of human rights means ensuring efficient means and mechanisms to ensure their protection. We need to instil more coherence to our action. Unfortunately, today we focus our attention all too often on how to react to human rights violations while we should focus more on prevention and on the root causes of those violations. Human rights are universal. My country strongly opposes any form of relativism in this respect. International and regional human rights instruments need to be strengthened. The evaluation within the Human Rights Council in 2011 should give important momentum to that strengthening. There is also a need for increased accountability in the field of security, another pillar of the United Nations. Over the past year, important progress has been made. The Review Conference of the Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty came to a substantial and balanced result. Respect for Non-Proliferation Treaty provisions and cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency are accountability in practice. Unfortunately, the non-acceptance or non-respect of these provisions by countries like North Korea and Iran threatens the international non-proliferation regime. In particular, Belgium welcomes the entry into force earlier this year of the Convention on Cluster Munitions. The prohibition of the production and use of cluster munitions has become the international standard. I am pleased and proud to announce that Belgium has recently destroyed its entire stock of cluster munitions. The Millennium Development Goals and climate negotiations are at the top of our twenty-first century agenda, and rightly so. We are all responsible for our planet. In fact, we are all accountable to current and future generations, especially in the field of poverty reduction and environmental protection. Let us not forget the ancient Native American saying: “We do not inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children”. Creating a world that is equitable, a world that will last, is our common responsibility. Belgium is doing so by spending 0.7 per cent of its gross domestic product on development cooperation. If we indeed accept the need to be accountable for the results we do or do not obtain, we should have the courage to evaluate and adapt the institutions and instruments at our disposal. In that respect, Belgium fully supports the efforts of the European Union to 10-54833 48 participate in a timely and effective manner in the work of the General Assembly. If it is to contribute effectively to global governance and to take up its global responsibility, the United Nations needs to continue its efforts to become more representative and more efficient. The creation of UN Women was a welcome development, and it has my country’s full support. Of course, gender will need to remain a mainstream theme influencing the actions of each and every United Nations institution. Important discussions on the reform of the Security Council have been ongoing for quite some time. Belgium hopes that the negotiations will soon lead to concrete results. I have talked about institutions, and concerns about institutions are, of course, legitimate. But they should never lead us to forget that the first accountability of humankind is not created by abstractions or institutions, but by the face of a person in dire need; of the man, woman or child who is the victim of violence; of those who suffer the violence of nature, or from violence perpetrated by other men. When it comes to humanitarian protection and aid, responsibility and accountability have never been more necessary. That is why United Nations peacekeeping missions with strong mandates, especially in the field of the protection of civilians, are important and should be given the necessary instruments, not least in the context of the fight against sexual violence. In this context, Belgium strongly supports Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and its goals of ensuring the participation, protection and promotion of women in peace and security. The concept of sovereignty cannot be used as a justification for human rights violations against the citizens of any country. On the contrary, sovereignty implies the responsibility to protect, and we support the efforts of the Secretary-General to further put this principle into practice. My key message of increased responsibility and accountability also applies to certain situations in the world that I would like to address briefly: the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and Pakistan. The fiftieth anniversary of the independence of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been an opportunity to measure the unquestionable progress made over recent years. What is important as we move forward is the consolidation of peace and democracy in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgium is pleased that the mandate of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo has incorporated the element of peacebuilding alongside that of peacekeeping. The elections in 2006 allowed the Democratic Republic of the Congo to choose the path of democratization. The Congolese authorities have expressed their determination to persevere on this path in confirming their intention to hold elections in 2011. That deserves our full support. Despite all this progress, it is clear that many challenges remain. In spite of the rapprochement among its neighbours, the situation in the East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo remains worrisome. We were reminded of this by the shocking reports of widespread rape in Luvungi. The fight against impunity, which is crucial to my country, hinges first and foremost on the strengthening of the rule of law. It is one of the primary responsibilities of the authorities, but here, too, the support of the United Nations and the international community is crucial. Belgium calls on the international community to continue to assume its responsibility. Like in every country, the Afghan Government is held accountable by the Afghan people. We hope that last weekend’s elections contributed to this. However, the Afghan authorities do not stand alone. The international community, with a central role for the United Nations, assists the Afghan Government in enhancing the level of accountability to its population. Gradually, the Afghan authorities need to take on more responsibility, especially in the field of security. This transfer is welcome, but rather than being calendar- driven, it should be results-driven. The Belgian Government has decided to extend its current military and civilian presence until the end of 2011. We believe that 2011 will be of crucial importance in transferring further security 49 10-54833 responsibilities. The focus of the Belgian presence beyond 2011 will therefore likely be more and more on civilian assistance. Nobody can remain untouched by the devastation and human suffering caused by the floods in Pakistan. As members of the international community, we have to take on our responsibility. This “slow-motion tsunami”, as the Secretary-General called it, demands a long-term and strategic answer. Belgium therefore welcomes the three-step approach — the meeting last Sunday in New York, the meeting in Brussels next month of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, and the donor event in November — which clearly sets out the framework for reconstruction. We have to move beyond the stage of emergency aid. In this respect, I am glad to say that the European Union last week took the firm commitment to improve market access for Pakistan as a concrete measure to reinvigorate Pakistan’s economy. Allow me to conclude by recalling John F. Kennedy’s observation that the only reward for a politician is a good conscience. It may be true that not many other rewards should be expected for politicians. But even so, the conscience of a politician cannot free him from the obligation of being accountable to those he wants to serve, to the people he wants to represent and to the country he wants to lead.