Maldives

It gives me great pleasure to congratulate His Excellency Mr. Freitas do Amaral on his election to the presidency of the United Nations General Assembly on this momentous occasion of its fiftieth anniversary. Aware of the strenuous task that this Assembly has to perform, I remain confident of his competence to guide our work to satisfactory conclusions. It is also my privilege and honour to pay a tribute to the President of the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire for the skilful manner in which he discharged the onerous responsibilities of the presidency of the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly. I would also like to convey my country’s deep appreciation to the Secretary-General for displaying exceptional capability and a capacity to meet the daunting challenges and obstacles to his noble mission, and for his ever-readiness to work selflessly not only to retain the credibility and the validity of the United Nations but also to make this Organization stand tall in this rapidly changing world. My delegation sincerely wishes him every success in his unenviable task. The United Nations is celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of its founding, and many of us are advocating the need for reforming and restructuring this Organization. There is no doubt in our minds that the world is passing through an era of dramatic change affecting the map of international political relations and changing the balance of economic and trade relations, a reason which would naturally justify this call. But we should not ignore the fact that this Organization has succeeded in preventing a third world war — and the greatest fear 50 years ago was that such a war would occur. Furthermore, this Organization has effectively freed the world from the evils of colonialism and racial discrimination. It has also helped in establishing a regime of international cooperation based on the principles of equality and respect for the rule of law. If not for the noble role that the United Nations has played in many 5 areas of human activity, we would not have harvested the progress we enjoy today in the fields of disarmament, containment of the proliferation of nuclear weapons, promotion of human rights, and many important issues such as those related to environment and the welfare of refugees, children, youth and women. Of course there have been failures and set-backs. Many a time we have come across situations which have made us suspect the credibility of the Organization and the effectiveness of its decisions. But the fact remains that the United Nations has served and is continuing to serve humanity — individuals, peoples and the world community as a whole — with profound dignity and with a sense of purpose, guided by the noble principles of the Charter. And if we are talking about reforming or restructuring this Organization, then our concentration should first be focused on the realities of today in order to transpose our collective efforts to strengthen international cooperation for the achievement of our common objectives in full accord with the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Moreover, the reforming and restructuring not only should be focused on the concept of international peace and security, but also should be extended to include the entire spectrum of the economic and social development of the human race. In other words, the effect of reform should reach all areas of United Nations activities, including those involving the maintenance of international peace and security, the achievement of equitable economic development, the revitalization of the international economic order, the protection of the global environment, the combating of terrorism and drug trafficking, the protection of human rights, and the promotion of democratic values and legal order within and among nations. I would like to take this opportunity to extend my compliments to the specialized agencies of the United Nations for their efforts to achieve economic growth and sustainable development. The Rio Conference on Environment, the Population Conference in Cairo, the Copenhagen Social Summit, and the recently concluded World Conference on Women, in Beijing, have taken us a long way in this regard. However it is regrettable to note that, in spite of the encouraging signs, the overall picture of development is not optimistic. The global Official Development Assistance (ODA) today is at its lowest level in 21 years. As a least developed island State, my Government is of the view that there is an urgently felt need to reverse this situation radically. A first step will be for all industrialized countries to live up to the targets specified by the United Nations. If we work in the spirit of collective responsibility and match our efforts with the concerns of the real people in the real world, I am confident that success will be achieved. As far as the principal organs of the United Nations are concerned, Maldives believes that the General Assembly should continue to play its central role as the global council which has the competence and capacity for taking collective decisions and reaching consensus on important matters related to international peace and security, development, and international cooperation in general. Meanwhile, the role and functions of the Security Council should be strengthened and improved upon in a way consistent with the realities of the present time, which obviously are significantly different from the geopolitical conditions which prevailed 50 years ago. However, the Maldives is of the view that if a major restructuring exercise is to be carried out it should be a result-oriented one, which would strengthen the authority of the Council and increase its ability to implement its decisions rather than simply increasing the number of members of the Council on a selective basis. Even if we go along with the emerging consensus that the membership of the Council should be increased, my country strongly feels that careful consideration should be given in the process to ensuring that the Council remains a representative body for all regions and groups of nations, including, of course, the developing countries and small States that share the responsibilities for maintaining peace and security in the world with the more developed and the larger Member States of the United Nations. The main criteria should be, we believe, the capability of the Member States to fulfil their obligations and commitments towards the United Nations and its principles, and their respect for and adherence to international covenants. Fifty years ago membership of this Organization comprised only a few countries. They had the privilege of having a say in world affairs. They created this body to safeguard not only their own interests but also the interests of future generations of the entire world. The vast majority of Member States that are represented here today, including small States like my own country, Maldives, had been deprived of their 6 freedom in one form or other. It was the principles on which this Organization was founded that helped shape the events which eventually led to the restoration of the legitimate rights of deprived peoples on all continents across the globe. Now, ours is a community of nations that share the same values and depend on each other in achieving our common and individual interests. Among the Member States of the United Nations there is a large number of small States which are actively interacting with other Member States, not because they merely need the cooperation of the others for their survival and existence, but because they actually are inseparable parts of this large, interdependent world. What the United Nations is trying to do is to promote peace and justice, eliminate racial and religious prejudices and set up universal standards for aspects of our lives which affect our dignity as equal human beings. Small States are participating in this endeavour with the same conviction that the larger countries have. Therefore, it is more than reasonable that small States should be given the opportunity to play their role in decision-making and carrying forward the torch of our common mission. As I first mentioned, the reform of the United Nations must be comprehensive and should include the three main organs, the specialized agencies, and all aspects of the United Nations work and activities; a reform which would change the United Nations truly in to a “mission-oriented and results-oriented” Organization, to use the Secretary- General’s description. Therefore, my delegation feels that it is important to maintain effective coordination between the open-ended working groups which are already being established, and that we should, by all means, avoid producing a partial package of improvement. As the world anticipates seeing a revitalized United Nations, we should pause to review the current world situation. In this context, it is with great disappointment that we see that the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains as critical as ever. We are still witnessing the destruction of life and property, the violation of human rights and the defiance of Security Council resolutions by the Bosnian Serb leadership. The continuing deterioration of the situation has led many of us to doubt the applicability of the arms embargo. Many of us, furthermore, fear the consequences of partitioning Bosnia and Herzegovina on the basis of the ethnic composition of this independent State. We urge the international community to exert its influence on the Bosnian Serbs to accept the settlement now being proposed, which we are confident will result in a comprehensive and viable solution to this tragic episode. Meanwhile, we wish to express our deep appreciation to the countries that are contributing bravely to the efforts of the United Nations Protection Force under extremely difficult conditions. The situation in the Middle East seems to be improving through the peace process. The United Nations has continuously supported the rights of the Palestinian people to self-determination and independence. The recent accords, which enable the Palestinian people to exercise a degree of self-rule, are certainly a good basis for the realization of this objective. While appreciating the important role played by the sponsors of the recent initiative, we feel that the United Nations should continue to give support to the people of Palestine and to enhance, by all available means, the fulfilment of their legitimate rights. The recent events that took place in the Islamic Federal Republic of the Comoros demonstrate once again the vulnerability of small States to terrorism and the activities of mercenaries, which threaten not only the security and stability of small States, but also democratic institutions and the lawful existence of Governments. This time the victim was again a small island State in the Indian Ocean. But we have seen that acts of terrorism similar to this one — which took many innocent lives — are occurring rather frequently in many parts of the world. Recalling General Assembly resolution 49/31, on the Protection and Security of Small States, my Government calls upon the international community to take all necessary steps to prevent mercenaries from carrying out their criminal acts. Giant steps have been taken towards universal disarmament. During the Conference earlier this year at which the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) was discussed Maldives supported the Treaty’s indefinite extension, with the firm conviction that it plays a central role in containing the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Treaties have been concluded on chemical and other weapons of mass destruction. It is our fervent hope that the comprehensive test-ban treaty will be signed before the end of 1996. In the meantime, it is most important at this juncture that all States refrain from testing nuclear devices, and those which aspire to achieving nuclear-weapon capabilities should refrain from developing them. Instead, efforts must be made to 7 dismantle all existing nuclear weapons and free the world from this dreadful menace. Further, the countries of each region should agree to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones, thus striving collectively towards a nuclear-weapon-free world. Furthermore, my Government believes that the course of universal disarmament will translate into an increase in available resources that can be used for urgently needed humanitarian and social development needs. As mankind awaits the dawn of the twenty-first century with great expectations for peace and justice and for the emergence of a United Nations that will carry forward the noble mission for which it was created, we, the Government and the people of the Maldives, renew our commitment to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and pledge that we will do whatever is possible, in cooperation with other Member States, to uphold these principles and work towards a better future. My delegation wishes to extend its felicitations to all States Members of this Organization on this occasion of its fiftieth anniversary and to congratulate this world body on its tremendous achievements.