Finland

Let me begin by congratulating Mr. Freitas do Amaral of Portugal on his election to the presidency of this fiftieth session of the General Assembly. I am confident that under his wise leadership we shall come to a successful conclusion of this historic session. My Spanish colleague, Minister Javier Solana, has already spoken on behalf of the European Union. I fully associate Finland with his statement. Fifty years ago the founders of the United Nations established the maintenance of international peace and security as the primary purpose of their new Organization. They also undertook to take effective collective measures to that end. Fifty years later the condition of the world is dramatically different, but the United Nations is as indispensable now as it was then. Its role under Chapter VII of the Charter continues to be a vital bulwark of world security, but its mission of peace now ranges much wider: the United Nations focuses on prevention of conflicts, it sustains development, it seeks to ensure the human rights and dignity of every individual. The world needs a strong United Nations. Certainly the small, the weak and the underprivileged among us need the United Nations the most. But the United Nations, in turn, needs the full support of all its Member States. It is intolerable that while all of us here will once again reaffirm our faith in the United Nations, the Organization is once more experiencing extreme financial difficulties. In this context I should like to draw the attention of the Assembly to a statement adopted yesterday by the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic countries — Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Sweden and Finland — on the financial situation of the United Nations. The text of this statement will be made available later. We all agree that the United Nations needs to streamline its work, set clear priorities and cut out activities that have become obsolete. Yet the main reason for the difficulties is that the majority of the Member States, permanent members of the Security Council among them, do not pay their assessed contributions on time, in full or without conditions. As a consequence, those who pay on time, in full and without conditions — such as Finland — are in fact penalized for their behaviour. It is high time for all Member States to acknowledge that to pay one’s dues is not an option, but an obligation, and that this obligation must be fulfilled, and fulfilled punctually. When payments are not made on time, it is normal to charge interest. This should be done also in the United Nations. It is also clear that the present scale of assessments needs to be revised rapidly to take into account the real capacity to pay of each Member State. Finland is prepared to support adjustments in cases where the pains of transition, natural disasters or other circumstances truly beyond the control of the Government concerned justify such exceptional treatment. On the other hand, upward adjustments should be the rule when economic development justifies them. A strong United Nations needs an effective Security Council, capable of acting on behalf of the entire membership. Finland is pleased that the Security Council has assumed its role under the Charter after the paralysis of the cold-war years. We also welcome the steps the Council has taken to improve its working methods and the transparency of its deliberations. To remain effective in the long run, the Security Council must be representative. There can be no effectiveness without legitimacy. Legitimacy grows from a true reflection of the increase in United Nations membership as well as from a frank recognition of changing realities. Finland therefore supports an increase in Council membership by five to eight new members. 16 The groundwork for the reform of the Council has been laid after two years of intensive debate in the Working Group of the General Assembly. Now it is time to move from discussion to true negotiation between Member States. A strong United Nations does not mean that our Organization should do what we, as Member States, should in the first instance do ourselves. Under the Charter, Member States themselves have an obligation to seek peaceful solutions to disputes and to make every effort to prevent conflicts in advance. The United Nations assists, but cannot replace, the Member States, nor should it be expected to do so. The permanence of, and unfailing respect for, universal norms is the basis of human security, whether in relations between nations or within the nations themselves. The historic decision by the parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty to make that Treaty permanent meant that a cornerstone of international security was kept in place and that the prospect of the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons became more attainable. The next step should be the conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear-test- ban treaty by the summer of 1996. The negotiations in Geneva are proceeding well. Under these circumstances, any testing is therefore a cause for concern. Finland has expressed its disapproval of the recent tests by France and China. The breakthrough achieved in the Middle East peace process two years ago will be followed by a new important agreement, to be signed this week. I should like to congratulate the negotiators on their courage and persistence. The international community should continue to support the reconstruction that peace has made possible. Finland is encouraged by the recent turn towards a peaceful solution in the former Yugoslavia. The international community has shown resolve in defending Sarajevo from persistent and cruel attacks on innocent civilians. The international community must show equal resolve once the peace agreement is reached. It must help to maintain peace on the ground and to reconstruct what has been shattered by war. But, above all, it is necessary that all parties to the conflict now finally commit themselves to peace. Some of the lessons from the conflicts in former Yugoslavia and elsewhere are clear. The capacity of the United Nations and the international community to coordinate an international response is still inadequate and not integrated enough, as so many speakers before me have already mentioned here. The United Nations bears the main responsibility to prevent, to react rapidly to and to manage often very complex emergencies. It is the central actor in peace-keeping operations. We must not allow the lack of financial resources and organizational difficulties to stand in the way. A continuum of ideas based on a broad concept of security — from respect for the rule of law and human rights to support for sustainable economic and social development — is already available in the Secretary- General’s twin Agendas for Peace and for Development. It is now for the Member States to put the best of those ideas into practice. Finland, together with its European Union partners, will do its share. True international security begins with the security of the individual, sometimes in relation to his or her own Government. Violations of human rights, including women’s rights, are not justifiable on any grounds. There are no cultural exceptions to universal human rights. The importance of mechanisms for the effective protection of human rights is now widely recognized. This is manifested, inter alia, in the efforts to establish systematic and organized judicial inquiry into, and penalties against, violations of international humanitarian law and human rights. Finland supports the early establishment of a permanent international criminal court. In addition to judicial mechanisms open mainly to States, the question of the right of individuals to rely on international human rights instruments is worthy of serious study and development. The very positive experiences gained during the 45 years that the European Court of Human Rights of the Council of Europe has been functioning illustrate the merits of this approach to human rights. I can speak to that. The Beijing Conference and other recent United Nations Conferences — Vienna, Cairo, Copenhagen — need active and integrated follow-up throughout the United Nations system. The platforms are there. They have established beyond doubt that sustainable human development and human security can be realized only through the empowerment of individuals and a strong civic society under law. In the international follow-up of the Beijing Conference, the roles of the General Assembly and of the Economic and Social Council are 17 crucial, not only for the efficient implementation of the Platform for Action, but also for strengthening the Organization in the social and economic fields. At the same time, action at the grass-roots level — not new bureaucratic superstructures — is what is now required. The follow-up to the Rio Conference offers some encouragement. Environmental concerns are now part of mainstream thinking on development. As a major forestry nation, Finland wants in particular to make sure that progress on forest issues is made in a solid and balanced manner and on a global scale. The past five decades have demonstrated to the world that the United Nations is a vital centre for harmonizing actions for the common good. The future will bring new challenges. Let us provide the United Nations with the political support and the financial means that it desperately needs to serve us for the future.