Belgium

At the outset, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate Minister Udovenko, our colleague from Ukraine, on his election as President of this session of the General Assembly and to express my most sincere thanks to Ambassador Razali of Malaysia for the invaluable work he helped us achieve during the fifty- first session of the Assembly. It is clear that the way in which we organize ourselves as a world community is of the utmost importance for questions of war and peace, poverty and wealth, and justice and injustice in the world. The United Nations Secretariat and the leadership of our Organization have a key role in this regard. All those serving United Nations institutions deserve our gratitude for the way in which they carry out their work, both here in New York and in the field, often in precarious situations in which some have even lost their lives. But we should ask whether we, the Member States, have done enough to find common responses. Have we given the United Nations the necessary tools for comprehensive management? Have we not blamed the Organization for a lack of success in some of its endeavours, when they may have been doomed to failure anyway because there was not enough support from Member States? We must be fully aware that, as Member States, we sometimes try to impose tasks upon the Organization which are beyond its capabilities, while we are all too often slow to provide help and support whenever and wherever it is really needed. More than once we have seen — in Africa, for example — that the United Nations has had to spread itself too thinly over vast distances and that adequate support for a United Nations role has not been forthcoming from Member States, which has weakened the United Nations ability to react when a dynamic response was needed in crisis situations. Has not the time come, during this session, to ensure that the Organization can act with renewed vigour and reconfirm its authority? I am convinced that the answer to this question should be positive, and that we should, like the President of the European Union and other previous speakers, throw our full weight behind the Secretary-General's proposals to prepare the Organization more effectively for the coming millennium. More efficiency and coordination, greater cohesion and better cooperation between Headquarters and agencies in the field are minimal changes, but fully justified. However, we need to do more because this year we must resolve the United Nations financial crisis. It is unacceptable that Member States should not pay their dues in full and that they attach conditions to the payment of what they owe. All the speakers in the general debate should be able to proclaim from this rostrum not just that they want to improve the Organization's efficiency and that they support the Secretary-General in his efforts to that end, but also that their contributions have been paid in full, unconditionally, thus proving their commitment to the goals of the United Nations and our common agenda. There can be no doubt that this agenda includes the achievements of the 12 United Nations conferences which, from the 1990 World Summit for Children to the 1996 World Food Summit, have paved the way for the current agenda in the area of international development. But responsibilities have often been distributed injudiciously and too widely, while mandates have proved insufficient. A more integrated approach in the social and economic sector has in any case become necessary. I therefore welcome the fact that the Secretary-General’s proposals for reform pay particular 29 attention to development, and I subscribe fully to his proposals. Furthermore, a well-balanced expansion of the Security Council should be achieved without delay. Belgium, together with a number of like-minded countries that share the general concern with regard to strengthening the authority of the Security Council, has clearly stated its views here in New York. We advocate an increase in both permanent and non-permanent members, greater regional representativeness, enhanced Council efficiency and a limitation of the right of veto. The right of veto is incompatible with the general interest. It should be possible to modify the decision-making mechanism so as to avoid recourse to this instrument, which has become entirely obsolete. Belgium also pleads for more transparency and closer cooperation between the Security Council and countries contributing to peacekeeping operations. Such organizational and financial reform can succeed only if it can rely upon a team of officials who see themselves as being at the service of the Organization and of the common good. Ultimately, an Organization reformed along these lines and better able to meet global challenges will have to strengthen its ties with and complement regional organizations, not only in the political field but also at the social and economic level. It will not be possible to make our world more humane without the joint effort of all international organizations in support of a global approach. In this effort, the United Nations, together with regional and specialized institutions, is a beacon of hope for millions of people. Strengthening the United Nations also means strengthening its ties with other organizations and associations so that they can keep pace with the overall reshaping of our Organization and of our world vision. I should like to provide two examples. With regard to its policy on Africa, Belgium again stresses the need for an objective approach on the one hand and accountability on the other. The approach that we wish to promote is based on universal principles, the most important of which is that of human rights sustained by mutual respect based on equality. It is high time that we progressed to true mental decolonization. Efforts originating in the region itself should be given every chance to prosper and should be fully recognized by the international community. As for Central Africa in particular, our common efforts should give priority to the reconstruction and democratization of the Congo, in the interests not only of that country and its people, but of stability in the Great Lakes region as a whole. On the other hand, in certain areas, such as Eastern Slavonia, United Nations “blue helmets” have succeeded in separating warring parties, protecting populations and preparing for reconstruction. It is therefore the responsibility first of the parties themselves and then of the international community to make every effort to prevent these achievements from slipping away. By extension, this is also true for the region as a whole. With regard to Eastern Slavonia in particular, it is important for the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be based on the accomplishments of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and for such activities to be inspired by and based upon United Nations experience in the region. I should now like to focus on another contemporary issue: disarmament. Needless to say, weapons of mass destruction should be forbidden. But this is also true for weapons whose sole purpose is to destroy human beings, such as anti-personnel landmines. In Angola, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Cambodia and elsewhere, these indiscriminate and cowardly weapons kill some 9,600 people and maim another 14,000 every year. They kill and mutilate more people than all the weapons of mass destruction put together. It is high time that these devices were banned. In less than two years the objective of a total ban on anti-personnel landmines has met with a positive response in most parts of the world. Belgium, which was keen to play a leading role in this field, fully supports this objective. As chairman of the international conference on a total ban on anti-personnel landmines, which took place in Brussels in June, I myself noted the existence of the political will necessary to achieve a ban by the end of 1997. The recent conclusion in Oslo of the negotiations on a legally binding instrument means that most of us will be able to go to Ottawa in early December to sign this important treaty. My country made a great effort to ensure that we produced a strong legal instrument, with no exceptions or reservations, and we also advocated that assistance to landmine victims should be an essential part of this convention. Belgium is pleased to note that this international humanitarian standard will soon become a reality and invites all other States to 30 join in the effort. It is also my firm hope that States will not wait for the treaty to come into force before they honour this total ban. Humanitarian tragedies will continue to occur throughout the world. Whatever their origins, crises are become increasingly complicated. Still considerable in number, they create countless victims and immense human suffering. Despite greater solidarity and increased humanitarian assistance granted by a growing number of humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, difficulties on the ground have continued to grow in recent years. Above all, in addition to the problem of access to victims, the lack of security and total disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights require our particular attention. Indeed, I am especially worried about the recent increase in aggression against humanitarian personnel. These acts are often carried out with the sole purpose of blocking their access to populations who are suffering. It goes without saying that the authorities hosting the humanitarian workers bear primary responsibility for their safety. These authorities must also ensure respect for humanitarian law, based on values for which a consensus exists within the international community but whose concrete application on the ground remains a daily challenge. This is another task for the United Nations. Existing legal instruments must be strengthened and expanded in order to extend the same maximum protection to humanitarian personnel in the field as is currently provided for military personnel in peacekeeping missions. In addition, the directives on humanitarian law such as those proposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross should also be revitalized and thoroughly examined. Our Organization is increasingly confronted with crises that require global responses comprising not only their humanitarian dimensions, but also their military, economic, political and social dimensions. In these circumstances, humanitarian organizations must not only continue to ensure a thorough coordination of the assistance delivered, but also develop stepped-up convergence between, for instance, United Nations Blue Helmets involved in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian workers. Greater interaction and cooperation between them is imperative if we wish to devise an integrated and suitable response to the ever more complex crisis situations facing the international community. I believe that much remains to be done in order to improve and develop such cooperation: for example, joint planning for crisis situations, training, defining roles and mandates and, finally, implementation and follow-up of operations. We must bear in mind that humanitarian assistance must never be used for mere political purposes, and it cannot by itself be intended to provide a lasting solution to a conflict. Humanitarian assistance should therefore never be a substitute for political, diplomatic and military action. In this context, Belgium, in close cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, intends to organize next year, an international seminar precisely on the relationship between humanitarian, political and military actions. The focus will be on interaction between humanitarian, political and military actors in situations of crisis. This will be an opportunity to analyse closely the often widely varying approaches to this problem. The objective of international humanitarian assistance is not only to guarantee the survival of victims of humanitarian tragedies. It should also help them be reintegrated into society. Viewed in this fashion, humanitarian assistance is an important factor in the protection of human dignity, human rights and humanitarian law. The international community must therefore put an end to the impunity of persons responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian law, whether committed against populations or humanitarian personnel. The creation of the ad hoc tribunals for the prosecution and punishment of such violations and the necessary creation of a standing international criminal court, are important steps towards the fulfilment of these goals. However, it is essential that these international judiciary bodies should be given a fair chance to carry out their functions. Thus, their legal competence should be firmly established and recognized by all Member States. Respect for human rights has become an essential yardstick of the legitimacy of the exercise of State power and is increasingly considered a vital part of a country’s international status and influence. It has 31 become the new basis for the confidence we bestow on our fellow Member States. Next year the General Assembly will devote part of its session to the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration, without any doubt, is one of the most important texts of our times. It is the foundation of the whole array of standards that came after it and that have been incorporated into a number of international legal instruments. It is also the bedrock upon which rest all United Nations activities aimed at better respect for and promotion of human rights, in accordance with the Charter. In the spirit of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, a growing number of Member States, in full exercise of their sovereignty, have accepted international commitments by ratifying those human rights instruments. However, I should like to express the hope that Member States will also spare no effort in having their provisions implemented. By so doing they will contribute to the universality of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains an inexhaustible source of hope for all those who are deprived of their rights, especially the victims of social, political or economic exclusion or exploitation on the basis of their race, origin, religion, sex or any other grounds. Consequently, I, fully subscribe to the Secretary- General’s stated intention to integrate human rights horizontally throughout the full range of United Nations activities. Belgium reiterates to the Secretary-General its full support in this respect. Let me conclude by saying that my country will make every effort — nationally, regionally and globally — so that the commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be a resounding success that reflects the capital importance of the event.