Luxembourg

Like previous speakers, I should like to convey to the President of the fiftieth session of the General Assembly our warmest congratulations on his election to the presidency of the Assembly. As a representative of a country close to us, Portugal, he will, I am certain, discharge skilfully and effectively his difficult responsibilities in leading our deliberations. The President of our Council, Mr. Javier Solana, has recently explained the position of the European Union on the work of the United Nations and on the major challenges it is called upon to face. Those are also the views of my delegation. I welcome the promising prospects opening up in the Balkans and the Middle East. As for Chechnya, I must, on the other hand, regret that the parties have been lagging behind in restoring peace to that sorely tried region in the past year. In the former Yugoslavia, dramatic developments in recent months have changed substantially the nature of the conflict there. After years of civil war, atrocities and “ethnic cleansing”, we now see a glimmer of hope emerging. I welcome the recent agreements in Geneva between the warring parties, as well as that on the opening up of Sarajevo, which was arrived at thanks to the mediation efforts and the commitment of the American special envoy, Mr. Richard Holbrooke. I am, however, not unaware of the fact that negotiations on a comprehensive settlement will be lengthy and that its implementation will be a difficult task. The Government of Luxembourg is prepared to take part in the reconstruction effort as long as certain conditions are met: the effective implementation of a comprehensive settlement, the implementation of a disarmament plan and respect for human rights and for minorities, including the right of return. In the Middle East, negotiations for the conclusion of a second agreement on the autonomy of the occupied territories have just been concluded. Mr. Rabin and Mr. Peres, as well as Mr. Arafat, have shown exemplary tenacity and political will, and they deserve our warmest congratulations. We are all called upon to help in the success of this vast endeavour for peace now under way. My Government has launched an important action for cooperation in development in the occupied territories. It will also send observers to the forthcoming elections, which will be the decisive test for the creation of a civil and democratic society. My country notes with satisfaction the indefinite extension last May of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). It appeals urgently to the nuclear-weapon Powers to renounce any new testing and to comply with the current moratorium. Such a decision would help to create a climate favourable to the conclusion in 1996 of a global treaty on the banning of nuclear testing, one which is suitably verifiable. The Fourth World Conference on Women has just concluded in Beijing. My Government commends the progress achieved at that Conference. It hails the fact that, for the first time, the rights of women are recognized as an integral and indivisible part of all human rights and fundamental freedoms. In particular, we have in mind the recognition of the right of all women to control their sexual health and their access, on an equal footing, to economic resources. The “right to be different” claimed by religious fundamentalists should not hamper the implementation of these new principles. The events of some time ago led us to believe that the old bipolar world was a thing of the past and that a new world order was automatically about to succeed it. Unfortunately, reality has not confirmed that hope. The multipolar world in which we live has not at all become more unified, nor more supportive, nor safer. Ethnic conflicts have broken out in many parts of the world. Narrow-minded nationalism has gained adherents, and political and religious intolerance is spreading. We thought that with increased international cooperation, the role of multinational organizations would increase. This has not always been the case. Often, the role of our Organization has been ill perceived or badly presented to the public. 15 In many cases, the image given of the United Nations seems unfair. It does not take into account the many constraints under which the United Nations functions. Very often, the critics are aiming at the wrong target, forgetting that it is Member States that prevent the United Nations either from taking decisions or by acting, by denying it the necessary resources. The political commitment of Member States is often not commensurate with the ever-growing responsibilities of the United Nations. Our Organization must then today come to grips with a new situation arising from the fact that most current conflicts take place within the borders of a single State, and no longer pit States against each other. Intervention constitutes an interference that only the United Nations can legitimize. These ethnic or religious conflicts, whose origins derive from economic and social issues, are the result not only of regular armies, but of militias and clans. The civilian population is often the first victim, if not the main target. The missions demanded of the United Nations are also becoming more and more complex, difficult and dangerous. The United Nations is called upon to maintain peace, but often there is no peace to keep. The United Nations has none the less had a number of successes which have been important but which the media have tended to minimize, be they in Namibia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Mozambique or Haiti. In those countries, the United Nations has helped peoples to overcome years of civil war and to channel their energies into building democratic nations. These positive and courageous actions contrast with other, rather timid reactions to conflicts that threaten the lives of thousands of civilians and expose them to terrible violations of their basic rights. This was the case in Rwanda and was long also the case in the former Yugoslavia, even if the international community has provided substantial humanitarian assistance and helped to ease the suffering of the victims. But as long as the United Nations does not adopt a more defined and resolute approach that would allow it to prevent such catastrophes, the effectiveness and credibility of our Organization run the risk of being called into question. As I have just emphasized with regard to the conflicts in the former Yugoslavia, we must learn from our failures and near-successes. My country encourages efforts to provide the United Nations with its own rapid- reaction capacity. But the Organization should also determine whether increased cooperation with specialized regional organizations, such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization or the European Union, might not in certain cases be both more effective and more economical. At any rate, any new United Nations operation should be established only on the basis of a military appraisal as well. Furthermore, the United Nations should see to it that the commanders of an operation are given sufficient military resources and clear, consistent political guidelines. Our era has witnessed spectacular developments at the national level. The concept of the State has been called into question as both a mechanism for solving national problems and a basic element of the international system. States find themselves increasingly threatened with disintegration, their citizens seeking to escape the oppression of rigid structures and demanding to become part of ever more narrowly defined ethnic groups. In such a context, democracy would seem to be the best means of ensuring the viability of the State as manager of public affairs and guarantor of progress. At the national level, democracy provides the stability necessary for peace by ensuring respect for human rights and allowing the population to express its will. At the regional level, as in Europe, it involves States, large and small, in joint decision-making and contributes to development by encouraging cooperation and fostering peace. Democratic States do not war with each other. It is thus an important duty of the international community to promote democracy among and within States by helping them to build a democratic system; by providing them with logistical and technical support for the organization of free elections; by promoting the creation of a public sector to guarantee the proper management of State affairs; and by providing the various sectors of civil society with the resources to consolidate the bases of democracy. The Government of Luxembourg provides tangible support to the activities of our Organization in this sphere. In our view, the promotion of human rights is another priority area. In particular, the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child represents a large step forward. This Convention is a valuable instrument 16 that helps to protect children from physical and mental abuse. It is therefore essential for Governments that have ratified the Convention to adopt and implement the necessary national legislation. The General Assembly has initiated international activity on behalf of millions of street children. My Government proposes that a similar effort be undertaken to assist millions of children who work by necessity or even compulsion. It is unacceptable, indeed intolerable, that at the end of the twentieth century more than a billion people live in abject poverty and almost 1.5 billion men, women and children lack sufficient food and drinking water and have no access to education or the most elementary health care. To be sure, certain parts of the South today are enjoying remarkable development. But others, on the African continent in particular, seem to have been left behind by the progress from which the world economy as a whole has benefited. It is also alarming that inequalities both within countries and between the countries of the South and the North are growing rather than shrinking, and that the richest fifth of mankind owns more than four-fifths of the world’s social product while the poorest fifth must content itself with 1.4 per cent. As concerns the developing countries, we have a duty to be supportive. This support should supplement and strengthen the efforts which these countries must undertake at the national level. Luxembourg has doubled its development assistance in just a few years. It has committed itself to the goal of achieving 0.7 per cent in official development assistance before the end of the century. It would also like to see new progress achieved in reducing the debt that continues to paralyse the development of many developing countries. Our Organization must play a central role as the major institution for international cooperation at the global level. This was in fact envisaged by our Charter. The Preamble stresses the need to promote “the economic and social advancement of all peoples” and thereby makes development one of the principal goals of our Organization. Fifty years after the creation of the United Nations, we believe that the time has come to begin an in-depth review of the activities and structures of the Organization in the economic and social spheres, taking into account the far- reaching changes that have occurred and the growing globalization of problems. This review should take cognizance of the fact that countries are being faced with new phenomena that are often diverse but are alike in reaching beyond national borders. I am thinking, inter alia, of such health problems as AIDS or of such environmental problems as the depletion of the ozone layer and global warming. There are also such social phenomena as population growth, the pressure of migration, the problem of refugees, and violations of human rights. Other trans-border issues that are of increasing concern are drug trafficking, and new forms of violence and crime and even international terrorism. We need an effective system built on these realities and better able to take into account the interests of all mankind, the poorest in particular. Such a system should be able to define integrated policies and lay down clear, coherent guidelines. Cooperation between international financial institutions and the United Nations system should be organized with this in view. Only the United Nations has the necessary legitimacy and authority for such reform. The work of renewal and clarification that has begun with the Agenda for Development is a natural component of this global perspective. My country, together with its partners in the European Union, intends to make an active contribution to the discussion to be held on this subject. On the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, several focus groups have considered the challenges facing humanity and the ability of the United Nations to meet them. In particular, I would refer to the Carlsson- Ramphal Commission, which submitted the report entitled “On Global Governance”, and an independent working group on the future of the United Nations which the Secretary-General himself established and which delivered the results of its study last June. These two reports set forth a number of potential reforms and make concrete proposals, including one to create an economic security council. I believe that these proposals are a valuable source of inspiration and make an important contribution to the reform work that should be pursued and intensified. I attach great importance to the consideration of these reports, which our Assembly has entrusted to the high- level Working Group recently set up in the framework of the strengthening of the United Nations system. Before concluding I should like to deal with two issues concerning the reform process begun by the Organization — expanding the Security Council, and 17 putting the finances of the United Nations on a sound footing. The Security Council today is invested with enormous responsibilities. Its decisions commit all Member States and have a decisive impact on the fate of millions of human beings. The Security Council must therefore reflect as faithfully as possible the determination of the international community as a whole. A Security Council more representative of today’s world would strengthen the legitimacy of its actions and facilitate the implementation of its decisions. My Government is in favour of a balanced increase that would involve the admission to the Council of new permanent and non-permanent members from both the North and the South. In particular we would like permanent-member status to be acknowledged for economic Powers whose positive role in international affairs has long been recognized. The improved representativeness of the Security Council cannot be achieved only by remaking its membership: it also requires greater transparency in its decision-making processes. Dialogue with other Members of the Organization, especially those countries that contribute troops for peace-keeping operations, must be enhanced. Finally, the time has come to delete from the Charter references to “enemy States” which have not existed for a long time now. Each and every one of us is aware of the seriousness of the financial crisis that the Organization faces. It results not only from sums disbursed, which are relatively speaking very modest if we compare them to sums invested elsewhere. It results essentially from the failure of Member States which fulfil inadequately, if at all, their obligation to pay their contributions to the budget of the Organization. Each and every State is bound under the Charter to pay its contributions on time and in full. The Luxembourg Government is in favour of a monitoring mechanism that would ensure the proper management of the United Nations system. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, Member States should endeavour to define an approach that could confer on the Organization new legitimacy and credibility for the next century. This will succeed only if they involve in this effort representatives of civil society and, in particular, those of non-governmental organizations. But in the final analysis the proper functioning and efficiency of the United Nations depend first and foremost on the political support that Member States, especially the most powerful, give to multilateralism, as well as the political, military and financial resources they are prepared to make available to international organizations.