France

I wish at the outset to pay tribute to the remarkable work of the Secretary-General, who, through his outstanding personal qualities and sense of dialogue, gives our Organization unparalleled influence. I congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty- seventh session. I also congratulate Switzerland on its admission to our Organization, and Timor-Leste on its forthcoming admission. A year ago, to our stunned horror, New York and Washington were struck in unprecedented attacks. From now on no one now can disregard the dark side of the world: international terrorism that combines archaism with technology, and shifting underground 28 criminal networks with a growing risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. These formidable opponents insinuate themselves into the heart of the world's complexity. They play on frustrations and resentment, hatred and fears. They foil our plans; they know how to find weak spots and turn our weapons against us. No, the world is definitely not suffering from an excess of power. To the contrary, it is suddenly discovering its extreme vulnerability. Faced with these threats, the temptation to forge blindly ahead could emerge. That would be a serious mistake. Force cannot be the sole response to these elusive adversaries that are constantly changing. The example of Afghanistan shows this. Mobilizing the international community enabled us to overthrow a retrograde totalitarian regime that harboured and supported the Al Qaeda network and dealt a harsh blow to terrorist infrastructures. That was necessary, but it is not enough. We must now rebuild; we must help the Afghan people, maintain our efforts over the long term, and continue our work to bring about stability and democracy, but also to dismantle the drug economy and the trafficking it fuels. The fact that force alone is often futile is one of the characteristics of our age. We live in a world that is interdependent, where cause and effect may be distant, indirect and unpredictable. Let us take care that our interventions do not give rise to new frustrations, produce new imbalances or spark fires that we cannot put out. The case of Iraq is typical of this new situation. It is a country that has defied the authority of the Security Council and flouted international law for years. It is a regime that poses a grave threat to security, particularly the security of the peoples of its region, because of the risk of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Its conduct is the direct cause of the great suffering endured by its people. Is the international community concerned? Of course it is. Can it continue to tolerate this situation? Definitely not. Should it act? Obviously: the status quo cannot go on. France's determination to obtain compliance with the law is absolute. We must act, but we must do so effectively. We must act, but without risking results opposite to those we seek. We must take care not to exacerbate a situation that is already very disturbing. We must act, but there are many traps. Intervention that is politically or legally ill-defined or poorly mounted would not garner the broad support necessary; it might galvanize public opinion in the region against it, and the regime in Baghdad, which is isolated now, could benefit; lastly, it might exacerbate tension in the Middle East and beyond at a time when we should, on the contrary, redouble our efforts to return to the path of dialogue and peace. How are these traps to be avoided? How are we to succeed? There is only one way, and it is demanding. It is the path of responsibility collective responsibility. The world now is one of interdependence. Its stability concerns us all. All of us must contribute to it. The necessary measures must be adopted by the international community after in-depth and transparent consideration. Any temptation to engage in unilateral preventive action would be dangerous. We must take care to avoid any suspicion of bias or injustice. This is the only way to ensure that any action to enforce law and restore security does not add to insecurity. That is the best guarantee of effectiveness. That is why, in the case of Iraq, France advocates a dÈmarche made completely legitimate by collective deliberation. It requires two successive steps. First, we must together reaffirm the need for United Nations inspectors to return and demand that Iraq comply at last with its obligations under the Security Council decisions taken since 1991, and do so according to a definite timetable. That is the objective of the international community. It is also in Iraq's interest. If Baghdad persists in its refusal to allow the inspectors to return unconditionally, then there must be consequences. The Security Council should then decide on the measures to be taken without excluding any option. Responsibilities would be clarified. The world must be able to act. But it must also be coherent and effective, in a sustained way. That is today the real challenge to our values, and to our democracies. I recently travelled to the Middle East, the Balkans and Afghanistan. I realized the strength of the aspirations and hopes for peace. But I also saw how the efforts and energies of various parties need to be united and centred on a collective ambition. No Power can today assume sole responsibility for world equilibrium. The world aspires to be structured around poles of stability and progress. In addition to the United States, the European Union is 29 naturally destined to form one such pole, along with Russia, China, Japan and India, among others. In future each actor must make its contribution to the effort. It is a common project that we must build. That is the ambition that inspires the European Union, and France's action within it. The Union affirms its role on the world stage in the service of peace and prosperity. It is acquiring the appropriate diplomatic and defence instruments. With a view to major enlargement, the Union is also committed to genuinely re-making its design. That is the purpose of the Convention on the Future of Europe, guided by the principles of democracy and effectiveness for a future Europe. In that way, the Union will contribute to the stability of the continent and beyond. Finally, the European model reconciles in a unique way the requirements of social cohesion and economic performance to further a common plan, while respecting the diversity of all. For all those reasons, I am convinced that Europe's voice offers elements for addressing the major challenges of our time. Today, power in all its aspects must be shared. It is essential to listen to diverse approaches and points of view. A dialogue among cultures is essential. Only this will enable us to understand the main issues today by taking into account the history and aspirations of every people and every country. Only this can prevent us from having too narrow a conception of the world based on ignorance and on fear of the other. Only this can guide us in putting humankind back at the centre of our concerns and at the heart of our action and our shared commitment. Sharing means responding to the requirement of solidarity. Extreme poverty, famine, epidemics and financial crises are factors contributing to disorder and fomenting instability. Terrorism feeds on these things. Generosity must be the corollary of power. It is our political and moral duty. It is also in our own interest. Accordingly, France has pledged to augment its development assistance, which will increase by 50 per cent over the next five years. Owing to its geographic proximity and historical and cultural ties, my country has a deep friendship for Africa. It feels a special responsibility. That continent, more than others, needs the solidarity of the international community in the difficult trials it is experiencing: the too-numerous conflicts that persist; the return of the spectre of famine; the economic difficulties; and the tragedy of AIDS, which today strikes nearly 30 million Africans. Yet Africa is rich in potential, rich in the enthusiasm of its young people and in the energy of its civil society, and rich in memory, in tradition and in a treasury of wisdom from which we all have much to learn. Important efforts are under way today to advance human rights, democracy, the fight against corruption, and favourable economic and social policies for strong and balanced growth. The establishment of the New Partnership for Africa's Development attests to the continent's willingness to take charge of its development, in the context of a renewed partnership with the industrialized countries. Let us recognize and support those efforts. In particular, we must help Africa to move forward on the path of conflict resolution in Sierra Leone, Liberia, Eritrea, Ethiopia, and the Sudan. Those tragedies concern us all, because today there are no more localized crises. Instability spreads. The international community must mobilize. In the Great Lakes region, the agreements signed at Lusaka, Pretoria and Luanda must be implemented. They must lead to the withdrawal of all foreign troops present in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the disarmament of foreign armed groups, to reconciliation and to a return to peace. With regard to Western Sahara, it is good that the Security Council, in its most recent resolution, resolution 1429 (2002), gave Mr. James Baker the time to work to bring the parties closer together. That time must be used to make progress. We must stay engaged in the Balkans, where the progress made this year must be consolidated in Kosovo, in the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Linking the Balkans to Europe through the rule of law and democracy is, more than ever before, our common aspiration. In the Middle East, we must emerge from the impasse and restore hope. The situation will worsen as long as the parties remain prisoners to the logic of violence. There is urgency to act. The Palestinian Authority must use all available means to prevent and curb terrorist actions. With a view to the creation of an independent, viable and democratic Palestinian State, 30 based on the 1967 borders, it must pursue its reforms, particularly in the institutional context. For its part, the State of Israel, while it legitimately wishes to defend itself against terrorism, must do so with respect for international law. The security imperative cannot by itself take the place of policy. Settlement-building must cease, and the Israeli armed forces must withdraw from the occupied territories, as demanded by the Security Council. Measures must be taken quickly to improve the now alarming humanitarian and social situation of the Palestinian people. On the basis of Security Council resolutions 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 1397 (2002) and the principle of land for peace which all the Arab countries, meeting in Beirut, agreed to recognize at the initiative of Saudi Arabia the political process must be relaunched with the aid of the `quartet'. We support the convening of an international conference at an early date. The objective must be a just, comprehensive and lasting peace; a peace based on the coexistence of two States within secure and recognized borders, guaranteeing security for the Israelis and offering the Palestinians a normal life with dignity; a peace based on a comprehensive settlement of the regional conflict between Israel and its neighbours. The attention that we pay to regional crises must not distract us from the responsibility that we must assume in the face of global challenges. The United Nations is playing its full role in the fight against terrorism. Let us do likewise in the other great struggles of our time. Let us fight tirelessly against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. The President of the French Republic has proposed that the Security Council meet at the highest level in 2003, during the General Assembly, with a double mandate: to review non-proliferation policy and to give it a new impetus. Let us mobilize all actors for sustainable development in a renewed partnership, in conformity with the commitments made at Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg. The time has come to strengthen concrete cooperation to permit access by all to basic resources such as water and energy, to basic social services such as education and health, and to food security. Let us also call for the ratification and full implementation of the Kyoto Protocol on climate change. Let us establish true global governance of sustainable development and give it the necessary coherence. France proposes the creation of an economic and social security council and of a world environmental organization to give all countries especially those of the South the possibility of making their voices heard on those issues. Finally, let us fully exercise our responsibility to defend and promote human rights. These are universal. Progress, often fragile, must be encouraged. Violations, often so numerous, must be punished. Let us strengthen the authority and the universality of the International Criminal Court to enable it to ensure that the most serious crimes at the international level do not go unpunished. This new tool is essential to build a more just and democratic world where the principle of responsibility is fully respected. Through ambitious conventions, let us provide better protection, as we did for children, for the disabled and for the victims of forced disappearance and torture. Let us fight against corruption. Let us commit ourselves to the negotiation of a universal convention against human cloning for reproductive purposes, as proposed by France and Germany. Yes, the principle of collective responsibility is at the heart of the international system. It is at the heart of United Nations action. In order to play its full role, the Organization must pursue its reforms. In particular, we must increase the representativity of the Security Council by enlarging both categories of membership. France supports the aspirations of Germany, Japan and India in particular. The United Nations is the keystone of the world order. The generous and strong ideas that presided over its birth, just after a world conflict that pushed the limits of barbarism to the unspeakable, retain all their currency. The contemporary world is complex, confusing and unpredictable. It is urgent that we forge among nations a new alliance, a community of destiny. That is our future; that is our chance. Through our actions, let us respond to the expectations of the world's peoples.