Finland

Let me extend to you, Mr. Vice-President, my warmest congratulations on your election. The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Mr. Jacques Poos, spoke on behalf of the European Union. I fully associate myself with his statement. The reform of the United Nations is inevitable. The new imperatives of globalization and interdependence must be recognized. Business as usual would inevitably lead to the marginalization of the United Nations in world affairs. I fully agree with Secretary-General Kofi Annan that we should see these changes as an opportunity, not as a threat. Reform is in the interest of all Member States, whether big or small, whether industrialized or developing countries. Where else but at the United Nations can we deal with the truly global issues such as the new security threats of uncivil society, environmental degradation, violations of human rights and poverty? Given the nature of these issues, unilateral, bilateral or even regional efforts are of course good, but not enough. Not even the most prosperous and powerful nations on earth can 8 successfully solve them alone. Only the United Nations has a global mandate and global legitimacy. The Secretary-General’s proposals are well attuned to our thinking in Finland. The General Assembly should consider these proposals as a coherent whole and give the Secretary-General the authority to act on them during this session. For our part, we, the Member States, must shoulder our responsibility for those reforms that require action by Governments. Human rights must become an integral part of all United Nations activities. We very much welcome the Secretary-General’s comprehensive approach in this regard. The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights next year must produce practical results. The celebration is an opportunity to emphasize that human rights are universal rights that belong to all individuals, irrespective of culture or political systems. The duty of Governments is to promote, secure and protect these rights. Therefore, the international community has the authority to deal with human rights violations wherever they may occur. There is no difference between big or small States in this respect. Europe is by no means an exception. The common standards must be valid everywhere. The United Nations has a unique role to play because of its global reach. I personally respect and support regional arrangements and efforts to this end, but they must be in accordance with common United Nations standards. There is a genuine and growing demand for United Nations action in the field. The United Nations response today is hampered by inadequate resources. I pledge my Government’s full support to Mary Robinson, the newly appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her important and challenging task. We in Finland are very serious people. We try to practise what we preach. Promoting human rights, including minority rights, is an integral part of our domestic policy and naturally extends to foreign policy. As a new feature, the Government intends to submit an annual report to Parliament on the human rights situation in the world. We hope such reports can and will contribute to a more regular and informed public debate on human rights issues. The United Nations has extensive experience in crisis management and peacekeeping. Lessons have been learned. One key lesson is the need to prevent emerging conflicts rapidly and coherently. Rapid decision-making is imperative both in the Security Council and at the national level. Once the political decisions are made, they should be implemented effectively and without delay. That is why we strongly support the establishment of a rapidly deployable mission headquarters. Finland has contributed to it financially and is also ready to make personnel available. We urge the Secretary-General to establish the headquarters without further delay. The recent local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina were undoubtedly a success. The implementation of their results is the challenge for the coming weeks and months. The Dayton peace process is advancing, but at a disappointingly slow pace. Restoring normal living conditions will require major efforts by all the parties in the region. The international community, the United Nations and other organizations will have a tremendous task in assisting people to help themselves in this devastated region. The High Representative for the Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and Herzegovina, Mr. Carlos Westendorp, deserves our full support in securing the implementation of the Sintra agreements. There is also a need for the continued peacekeeping presence of the Stabilization Force (SFOR) or its successor force. Africa is the one continent most ravaged by violent conflicts and human suffering. The special session of the Security Council on Africa at the ministerial level is therefore a timely initiative. Crisis prevention and peacekeeping capabilities in Africa should be developed as a priority. We welcome the efforts already under way within the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and other regional and subregional settings. However, these efforts need wider international support. Finland is prepared to continue to do its part by providing assistance in training. We are also organizing in Helsinki, Finland, together with the OAU, a broad-based international conference of non-governmental organizations to promote their international involvement in strengthening peace- building in Africa. In the Middle East, events over the past year have taken a dangerous turn for the worse. Fulfilment of the obligations of the Oslo accords, and with it real improvement in the daily lives of the Palestinians, is still the best hope the parties have for a just and lasting peace. A turn for the better is first and foremost for the parties themselves to achieve. We urge them to exercise restraint in actions and in words. Finland, together with its European Union partners, is prepared to continue to play its part in supporting the peace process, but clearly the 9 parties themselves must play theirs for there to be a process to support. The hopes for the peace process should not be betrayed in the face of provocation, humiliation or frustration. Terrorism is unacceptable. It only benefits the extremists on both sides. In disarmament, the focus is shifting from weapons of mass destruction towards conventional arms, including small arms, as so many colleagues of mine have already mentioned here. The suffering caused by indiscriminate use of landmines is high on the United Nations agenda, and rightly so. Finland welcomes the Ottawa convention. It is a step towards a truly global and effective ban on anti-personnel landmines, a target which my Government strongly supports. The Ottawa process contains a promise, but it is clear that much work is still needed. Participation in a total ban, particularly by those who are major possessors, producers and exporters of these weapons, must be secured through negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament. Finland will continue to participate actively in the Conference’s efforts to stop the further spread of anti- personnel landmines through a global and effective treaty. The positive trend in disarmament and non-proliferation has been strengthened by the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the bilateral commitments made by the Russian Federation and the United States regarding nuclear disarmament at the Helsinki summit. To assure further progress, these developments should now be followed up by Russian ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the START II agreement. Finland has consistently advocated a strong United Nations, mandated and capable of addressing socio- economic and development issues in an effective and coordinated manner. In today’s world, globalization of the economy, trade liberalization and the information revolution have created an environment of interdependence. Poverty, the root cause of so many other ills, can be eliminated only through sustainable development. Finland, together with the other Nordic countries, has long spoken for a more unified United Nations system, both at Headquarters and at the country level. The Secretary- General’s proposals go in the right direction. The creation of the United Nations Development Group is an important first step. Full integration at country level of all United Nations activities, including those of the specialized agencies, must remain the goal. The Economic and Social Council and the web of organizations and committees operating within it need to be united in purpose and in action. The proposed reforms do not suffice. The coordinating role of the Council should be made real. To achieve this is the responsibility of the Member States. If we do not take action, the Council will sink into irrelevance. Similarly, a more coherent United Nations response is required to provide protection and humanitarian assistance to the victims of disasters, whether made by man or nature. The Emergency Relief Coordinator must ensure coherence and coordination in disaster relief. In that role, the Coordinator must receive the full support of all the humanitarian agencies. On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of this Organization, I remember, more than 150 Heads of State or Government pledged their resolve to bring an end to the United Nations financial crisis. Today, two years later, only 89 Member States — I checked the figure today — have paid their dues in full and without conditions, and many of them did so late. More than half of the membership have not. Yet there are very few Member States whose non-payment stems from circumstances beyond their control, the only waiver known to the United Nations Charter. Non-payment is, in our view, a serious threat to the future of the United Nations, not only because of the unfair burden put on Member States that do pay, such as my country, but because it undermines the commitment and the solidarity that we as Member States share towards our common Organization and among ourselves. Finland understands the motivation behind the Secretary-General’s proposal for a revolving credit fund. However, such a fund — as we have understood it — would use voluntary contributions to cover unpaid legal dues. The United Nations might gain some respite, but so would the countries in arrears. Finland is not opposed to exploring this proposal if others so wish and if the establishment of such a fund is accompanied by real sanctions in case of non-payment of assessed contributions. Yesterday, we heard the Secretary-General in his statement ask the Governments assembled here to make the fifty-second session of the General Assembly a 10 “Reform Assembly”. This is a challenge that we and our Organization cannot afford to fail.