Monaco

First of all I wish to thank the President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for the masterful way in which he accomplished his work. I would also like to thank the members of his Bureau. Significant progress was made during the session we recently finished. One item in particular concerns us as it involves the conduct and revitalization of our proceedings. Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the decision of the Secretary-General to appoint, as of 12 September 2002, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello to succeed Her Excellency Mrs. Mary Robinson as United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. My Government has always appreciated Mrs. Robinson's wholehearted commitment and knows it can count on Mr. Vieira de Mello, who has many times shown his competence and his dedication to the Organization, to show just as much commitment in promoting and protecting human rights. I am very pleased at the outset of the fifty- seventh session of the General Assembly to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the presidency both on my own account and on behalf of the highest authorities of my country, as well as to congratulate all the members of the Bureau. I pledge the full support and cooperation of the delegation of Monaco to help them complete their important work. One year ago, an attack, as vile as it was cowardly, struck the United States of America. That day its instigators and perpetrators placed themselves not only outside of the law, but outside humanity, outside of the universal fundamental values and principles that inspire our nations and guide the ethical, political, economic and social progress of States. That wanton act provoked an unprecedented reaction from the international community. It unanimously gave the members of the Security Council and the General Assembly sophisticated means to fight terrorism in all its forms, including by cutting off its financial resources. The Principality of Monaco participated in this fight with determination in response to requests by the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee. In broadening information exchange with other States, both bilaterally and multilaterally, we established or strengthened monitoring and surveillance measures which were necessary in the of legislative, regulatory, and judicial spheres. On 10 November 2001 I personally signed the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, which entered into force in Monaco on 8 April 2002, and our Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on instructions from my father, the Sovereign Prince, signed on 24 June 2002 Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. The Principality of Monaco, in fact, is or will be a party to all major universal and regional instruments designed to strengthen cooperation among nations to fight against terrorism. This has greatly enhanced our cooperation with other States. In that regard I must make reference to a law which was adopted unanimously last June by our National Council, the parliament of Monaco, and which entered into force on 8 August 2002. This law amends, strengthens and supplements the existing law on the involvement of financial entities in the fight against money-laundering and financing terrorism. The text takes into account Monaco's undertakings as a United Nations Member State as well as measures anticipated by competent bodies such as the Financial Action Task Force. Also on 8 August 2002, the authorities of my country were happy to have implemented the Council of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, even though the Principality of Monaco, while fervently hoping to be so, is not yet a member of that noble European institution. I also wish to note the speed and relevance of my country's response, especially since 8 our country is sometimes subjected to unjustified and incorrect criticism in this area. While terrorist threats persist and while civilian populations continue, unfortunately, to be subjected to the yoke of terror, the origin and form of this plague seem now to be better understood and under greater control. Measures, both national and international, have been implemented with the help of the Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) and seem to be yielding encouraging results. The strengthening and broadening of the mandate of the Terrorism Prevention Branch, as the Secretary-General has proposed in the report requested by our Assembly, seems to meet all of the conditions we need to upgrade the fight against terrorism, not only by allowing us to bolster cooperation among United Nations Member States, but also by providing enhanced technical assistance to countries that ask for it. Thanks to a prompt and effective international reaction, Afghanistan, for too long a home to terrorists, has regained its freedom. Its new provisional Government, which emerged from the traditional assembly, the Loya Jerga, last June, has endeavoured, particularly with the help of our Organization, to rebuild the country and to establish a democratic political regime. We wish it full success. Another area of satisfaction on the part of the international community is the nuclear disarmament agreement that was adopted last May by the two great Powers, the United States of America and the Russian Federation. Other events in the world are also hopeful. The Republic of Sierra Leone and the Republic of Angola are taking steps towards recovery in a peaceful and democratic spirit. Encouraging signs of hope are seen everywhere. In Africa, we again fervently hope for the success of the peace initiatives in Burundi and in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A calming of the situation in the Sudan is also of great interest to us. The Organization of African Unity (OAU), which became the African Union last July, has played an invaluable role in reinforcing harmony between African peoples. We are following this undertaking with intense interest, as it took on a new dimension this year. We take this opportunity to address to His Excellency, Mr. Amara Essy, Interim Chairperson of the Commission of the African Union, our sincere congratulations and encouragements. In Latin America, we see with hope that some countries, whose economic and financial conditions were once in bad shape, are in the process of recovery, thanks in particular to the help of international financial institutions. In Asia, finally, the prudence shown by the leaders of India and Pakistan over the border disputes has led to the reduction of tension in Kashmir. We are sincerely grateful for this. This is an excellent step, similarly to the one taken by Sri Lanka, which has renewed the dialogue with the Tamil separatists so as to put an end to too much suffering. Another source of satisfaction is Timor-Leste, which with the effective and valuable help of our Organization was able to successfully achieve independence and acquire political and financial structures that are crucial to its development. We are therefore happy to welcome very soon, the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations. We are also quite happy to welcome the admission of the Swiss Confederation as a Member State. Switzerland has always been, particularly since the creation of the League of Nations in Geneva, a steadfast participant in the international promotion of peace, human rights and humanitarian protection. Our congratulations and wishes for success and prosperity are formulated to those two States, to their leaders and to their people. The United Nations needs them more than ever now, and also needs all the good will and talent possible to meet the high ambitions that we set for ourselves when the Organization was created, ambitions renewed firmly and solemnly at the Millennium Summit, as well as during the large international meetings that followed. My country is committed to implementing the action plans adopted during those exceptional meetings. Our special session on children and the second World Assembly on Ageing have tangibly changed the perception that the international community had of children and seniors. Both must become actors who are more integrated and active within our societies. While deciding to increase its voluntary contributions to the large programmes of the United Nations aimed at development and the protection of the environment, the Government of Monaco has at the 9 same time decided to concentrate its efforts on specific areas and specific regions. The Mediterranean region is an example of our fight against marine pollution that aims to save regional flora and fauna. My Government, whether through its Office for International Cooperation for Development and the Environment, or through non-governmental organizations (NGOs), which are numerous and active in Monaco, is encouraging the implementation of specific projects, projects that are essentially ecological in nature, depending often on the availability of micro-credits. As regards the Mediterranean Sea, next 10 December we will be celebrating the twentieth anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It was indeed on 10 December 1982 that that text was open for ratification by States at Montego Bay in Jamaica. It was the result of almost 15 years of negotiations, which we will solemnly celebrate on this coming occasion. There are particularly difficult times, such as the present moment, when the status quo is not good enough, times when we must show determination in order to bring innovative ideas to meet the fundamental changes going on throughout the world. The Secretary- General, whose dynamic nature and wisdom we appreciate, mentions this in his report on the follow-up to the major conferences organized by the United Nations at different summits, including the Millennium Summit. The report is important and timely. The substantive session of the Economic and Social Council in July also confirmed the need for such steps. The Ministerial Declaration, adopted on that occasion, focuses usefully on the importance of developing human resources, protecting health, and providing education, particularly for young girls, and focuses on their contributions to development. I would like to commend the President and the Bureau of the Council. His Excellency Mr. Ivan Simonović, its President and the Permanent Representative of Croatia, and the other Members of the Bureau have all toiled with competence and great skill in order to guarantee the success of the Council's work. During the high-level debates, some trends emerged that our Government believes are essential. For example, there is the choice of a governance that allows us to establish true partnerships that depend mostly on the human resources of developing countries themselves, as well as on businesses and civil society. Yesterday's high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly produced solemn and excellent results and enabled us to gain a better understanding of the character and the imperatives of the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which undoubtedly offers real prospects for mobilizing resources for Africa and integrating it into the world economy. The establishment by the Economic and Social Council of an ad hoc advisory group for African countries emerging from conflict is a step that we are also following. Without political stability, there can be no guaranteed sustainable development. The concept of a culture of protection' advanced by the Secretary-General, with regard to special economic assistance, humanitarian aid, and help in natural disasters, provides the advantage of associating in a single thrust preventive action and priority assistance to the communities affected. We appreciate the principle and the scope of this activity. In the aftermath of conflicts and crises, the link between humanitarian action and long-term developments is crucial for the success of any national reconstruction programme. Public meetings of the Security Council dedicated to such matters provide an opportunity to emphasize, with the necessary impact, the importance of such measures. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD), which has just finished in Johannesburg and in which I participated, reminded us of the essential concerns for the future. The Monterrey consensus was confirmed, stressing the fact that there can now be no stable and balanced development without serious interdisciplinary thought and innovative ideas based on a genuine will to protect our environment and to respect the natural resources of our planet, including sea resources and non-renewable natural resources, by ensuring that we share them fairly and reasonably. The Summit confirmed and strengthened the principles proclaimed 10 years ago during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio. I will not reiterate my country's positions and initiatives on these questions, as I discussed them at length at Johannesburg. I should like to reaffirm, however, that the Government of the Principality of 10 Monaco is determined to respect the commitments it undertook on that occasion. The international community must continue to work tirelessly in the combat against AIDS and in the fight against many endemic diseases, which, in some parts of the world, are major obstacles to development and progress. In response to the appeal launched by our Secretary-General, my Government has decided this year and for the next two years to make a substantial exceptional contribution to the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS. If we want globalization, in particular economic globalization, to be of benefit to all, it will have to be rooted to a greater extent and we all are aware of this in a type of development that ignores neither the basic needs of human beings nor the values of justice, morality and equity, to which we all attach particular value. In speaking of the fundamental principle of justice and of the moral values which have inspired our Organization so profoundly, I should like to reiterate how warmly we welcomed the recent entry into force of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. The first Assembly of States Parties to the Rome Statute has just been held, under the eminent presidency of His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Decisive and specific steps were taken on that occasion. I should like to close by appealing to the peoples of Israel and Palestine to put an end to the violence and to overcome their rancour and resentments. A shared heritage and the belief in a future of coexistence represent the underpinnings of a dialogue leading to peace.