Tunisia

I am particularly pleased to express my congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. Your great diplomatic experience and your thorough knowledge of international affairs are the best guarantees for the success of this session. While assuring you of the readiness of our delegation to fully cooperate with you, we would like to wish you the utmost success as you carry out your responsibilities. Allow me also to express my thanks to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the remarkable role he played during the previous General Assembly session. His efforts made it possible to achieve positive results in the review and resolution of many issues. The Millennium Assembly takes place at a time when the world is at the crossroads of two different eras. This makes it particularly important that this fifty-fifth session provide us with the opportunity to take stock of what we have achieved together and to begin developing a forward-looking strategy that will allow us to face the current challenges. We can identify and face these challenges only within the framework of a multidimensional, international partnership in the political, economic, social and development spheres. President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his peers who met at the Millennium Summit have underlined the main challenges that the international community must face. These challenges should set priorities for our joint efforts in the next stage, so that we can make the next millennium a millennium of international partnership, of the development of joint strategies, of the promotion of societies and satisfying their multiple needs, of the struggle against poverty and epidemics, of conflict prevention and of the establishment of a lasting 13 basis for peace and international security. In other words we should make this millennium truly a millennium of the common future of mankind. The Declaration adopted by the Millennium Summit is a document of historical importance. It paves the way for the future work of the international community within the framework of the principles and purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. In the Declaration world leaders reaffirmed these purposes and principles and renewed their commitment to them. They also reaffirmed their adherence to the United Nations as the only forum for the expression of the international community's choices for the future and as the ideal instrument for achieving our collective aspirations. At the end of the last millennium there were several major summits — including the Millennium Summit, the South Summit, the Non-aligned Movement summit and the two special sessions of the General Assembly, devoted to social development and women. The results of these summits and meetings, the visions expressed and the decisions taken regarding the future of international relations provide an important point of reference that makes it possible to develop a global and consensual strategy in order to build a true partnership between peoples and nations. The goal of this partnership should be to take up the future challenges together. Among the lessons we have learned from these historic meetings was the consensus reached by all countries on the need for a renewed vision of the working methods that we have followed every year in recent decades in order to adapt to the requirements of our time, when different aspects of international life in the political, economic and social spheres are all interlinked. The challenges of our modern world require a global vision and common action that would take into account the link between peace, security and sustainable development based on a political approach that combines democracy, human rights and good governance, as well as overall strategies for the fight against poverty on an international scale. Indeed, poverty has been identified by major international authorities and also in the statements that emerged from the Millennium Summit and the Security Council as well as by the Secretary-General in his reports to the Millennium Summit and to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session as one of the main causes of international economic imbalance and as a source of instability, conflict and tension in many regions of the world. In our opinion, the international community is called upon today to objectively develop a concept of international peace and security as well as the means to preserve them. It is called upon to adopt a broader concept that takes into account not only the direct causes of wars, conflicts and tensions, but also their entrenched roots and the means to resolve them in order to ensure their prevention and to guarantee peace and security. The last decade has shown the magnitude of the means that are required to resolve conflicts and tensions throughout the world. This has generated a weakening of international will when true and direct participation in the quest for solutions to the many conflicts was needed. The United Nations, despite its limited resources, remains the main actor that can resolve these conflicts. Previous experiences have taught us, among other things, that the principle of conflict prevention remains the best way to avoid conflicts and the resultant human tragedy and economic and social damage, which are difficult to remedy. Indeed, within this international forum, we must work with regional organizations and international financial institutions to implement a strategic plan of action with new dimensions that would enshrine the principle of prevention as the main way to avoid conflicts and to deal with their deep and structural causes, through a global vision that would take into account the pressing needs of economic and social development. Experience has proved that stability and internal harmony within and between countries will not be achieved without national development and interdependent interests. It is difficult indeed to imagine how a society can engage in internal violence or get involved in an external conflict if its interests are protected and if it enjoys well-being and prosperity — both fundamental conditions for peace and stability. This vision conforms to the reform process under way at the United Nations, in the Security Council and at international financial institutions that have realized that the cost of prevention is far lower than the cost of post-conflict reconstruction, especially since certain 14 consequences, those that affect human beings, are difficult to remedy. It is therefore high time that industrialized countries and international financial institutions honoured their commitments towards disadvantaged regions and countries in the form of official development assistance, by encouraging foreign investment and by settling the debt problem, including the servicing of the debt, in order to meet the requirements of development and to contribute effectively to formalizing the idea of prevention based on multifaceted international aid. Before concluding my comments on the matter of peacekeeping and international security in this new international environment, I would like to underline the following. First, there is a need to introduce necessary reforms into United Nations procedures when it comes to peacekeeping operations, especially since the activities of our Organization are no longer limited to traditional missions, but also encompass disarming and reintegrating combatants, removing landmines, establishing State institutions and monitoring elections. These new missions require greater material and human resources, as well as collective efforts. Of course, this requires a substantial strengthening of United Nations preventive capabilities. Experience has shown that the success of peacekeeping operations depends on the prior consent of the parties concerned, on a clear mandate and on the availability of necessary resources. We have also observed through our experience in peacekeeping operations that serious problems do exist, especially when it comes to delays in reimbursing contributing countries. The report of the group of experts, developed under the chairmanship of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, contains important recommendations that command our attention and deserve in-depth study, especially since they deal with all aspects of peacekeeping operations. Secondly, the role of the Security Council in peacekeeping and international security is crucial and indispensable. It draws its strength from the fact that it is a universal tool and that it embodies international legality. As always since the 1960s, Tunisia remains ready to meet the United Nations calls, as well as those of the international community, to take part in peacekeeping operations throughout the world. Given the priority of the security of personnel serving in peacekeeping operations, in July Tunisia ratified the United Nations Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. The need to introduce reforms to the Security Council is dictated today by international developments that have taken place since the adoption of the Charter. In this context, increasing the number of permanent and non-permanent members of that body on the basis of equitable geographic distribution is an urgent demand. We would like to stress the need to reach a consensus that would make it possible to increase the number of permanent members. In this regard, I would like to recall that Tunisia supports the candidacy of Japan, Germany and other countries. An eventual solution should preserve the interests of all international parties and make it possible to satisfy the demands of developing countries and, above all, African countries, which are entitled to two permanent seats on the Security Council, to be distributed according to the rule of rotation. It is also necessary to improve the working methods of the Council in order to ensure that its work is marked by transparency and effectiveness. Since acceding to the Security Council as a non-permanent member, Tunisia has tried to ensure that its contribution to the work of that body is based on dialogue with the other members in order to bring viewpoints closer together and to reach results that would guarantee the success of all endeavours to safeguard peace and international security. Along the same lines, with respect to the role of the Security Council, we cannot overlook the question of humanitarian intervention, which has been the subject of widening debate in recent years and whose review calls for particular and sustained attention. We stress the need for an in-depth examination of all aspects of this matter. Indeed, if a particular humanitarian situation requires urgent intervention so that it does not deteriorate, such intervention cannot take place outside the framework of international law, the basic principles and norms of international relations and the provisions of the United Nations Charter. State sovereignty remains a fundamental tenet that can never be overlooked or ignored, because any violation of this 15 principle would alter the balance of international relations and risk the spread of anarchy. The question of sanctions is one of the most important issues that United Nations bodies, including the Security Council, have to face. The experience of the past decade has shown that the use of sanctions must be modified so as to alleviate their impact on peoples, while certain criteria, such as their use as a last resort after all other peaceful means have been exhausted, must be applied. In cases in which the imposition of sanctions is necessary, their duration should be limited. We should also define clear conditions for the lifting or suspension of sanctions and undertake an ongoing assessment of their humanitarian effects on the population of the target countries, as well as their direct impact on the interests of third countries. In this connection, with regard to Iraq, Tunisia has always reaffirmed the need to unite all our efforts in order to reach a peaceful settlement of the dispute that would make it possible to end the embargo, reintegrate Iraq into the community of nations, put an end to the tragic suffering of the Iraqi people resulting from the sanctions imposed over the past 10 years and help to direct the efforts of the countries of the region and their peoples towards the achievement of development and stability. All parties must cooperate in order to resolve the other humanitarian aspects of the problem, in particular the issue and fate of missing Kuwaiti nationals. With regard to the Lockerbie affair, the recent developments following the implementation of the agreement concluded on the matter and the suspension of the embargo imposed on Libya, it is time for sanctions to be lifted completely and definitively in order to allow the Jamahiriya to continue its overall development process and to support the Arab Maghreb Union (AMU) as it strives to achieve the integration and complementarity on which all of its member States place great importance. Tunisia has made the AMU a strategic choice. It is constantly working to promote the Union and to strengthen its foundations and structures. With the help of its partners in the Union, it has tried to give this regional organization new impetus so that it can respond to the historic aspirations of its peoples. With regard to the Middle East, we would like to express our regret that the negotiations at the Camp David summit meeting held in July stalled without an agreement that would guarantee a fair settlement of the Palestinian cause. Tunisia, which from the outset has supported the peace process on all tracks, is convinced that it is time to give concrete form to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people to build an independent State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital, in accordance with international law and the terms of reference of the peace process based on the principle of land for peace. Tunisia hopes that the American Administration will continue its good offices, and that other influential parties, such as the European Union, Russia and Japan, will step up their efforts to help the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government reach an agreement that would make it possible to establish a just and lasting peace and guarantee the national rights of the Palestinian people in accordance with General Assembly and Security Council resolutions, in particular Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle East will also depend on progress on the Syrian track. Israel is called upon to withdraw from the Golan and to comply fully with Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). Israel is also called upon to respect the international borders of Lebanon and to refrain from violating the borders drawn by the United Nations. Our States are encouraged to try to identify ways and means to face the phenomenon of globalization, with its consequences and economic and social repercussions, and to adapt to it in order to ensure that its dividends are shared and to spare our peoples, especially peoples of the South, the negative fallout from it. The African continent is a region suffering most from development problems, despite major reforms undertaken by the countries of the continent in different areas. Despite the efforts made by certain African countries, Africa is still suffering from a severe lack of resources and assistance which prevents it from joining the global development process. In this context, one of the greatest challenges is to prevent the marginalization of the economies of developing countries and to ensure an international environment conducive to access to international markets and to an increased share of international trade. This will require the international community to provide the necessary impetus in the area of investment and financing if these 16 States are to develop, and to increase official development assistance, which has not only remained below 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of the countries of the North, but is actually decreasing, while the external debt crisis and debt servicing continue to burden developing countries. In this context, we recall the initiative of President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, calling for the recycling of debts in development projects, which would make it possible to reduce the debt burden and help the countries concerned. I also take this opportunity to recall the appeal made by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 1995 for the creation of a partnership and development contract between the countries of the south and north shores of the Mediterranean. This appeal is an extension of President Ben Ali's initiative, launched in 1989 from this lofty rostrum, for a global contract of peace and progress between the countries of the North and South aimed at strengthening cooperation and creating new prospects for stability and progress in the world. Given the major progress achieved in the scientific and technological spheres in recent decades, the millennium on which we are embarking will undoubtedly be one of science, technology and communications, necessitating the sharing of the benefits of progress, including in the field of computers, which will create great prospects for the harmonious and balanced development of countries. In this context, I recall Tunisia's initiative to hold a world summit on the information society, and its proposal, in the framework of the International Telecommunication Union, to host such a summit in 2003. I renew my appeal to all Member States and to the parties and institutions interested in this field to support this initiative and contribute as much as possible to organizing the summit in Tunisia. Peace and security are part of a concept with complementary dimensions; it is no longer limited to the outbreak, management and resolution of conflicts, but, rather, encompasses everything that contributes to strengthening stability and offers opportunities for development and prosperity. Furthermore, exclusion and marginalization, in all their aspects, undoubtedly lead to extremism and open the way to tension and violence. We know today that the struggle against poverty has assumed considerable importance. Indeed, while many societies enjoy well-being and prosperity, large fringes of the world's population experience poverty and destitution, which are alien to moral values and human rights. Furthermore, abject poverty is one of the most dangerous sources of conflict and instability. The fight against this planetary scourge and the violence and internal and inter-State conflicts that it engenders is a universal duty and a moral obligation that all international parties must assume. In this context, I wish to reiterate the appeal launched by His Excellency President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali for the creation of a world solidarity fund, as an instrument to complement existing international mechanisms, without replacing them. This fund could be financed by donations and voluntary assistance from the international community, and its objective would be to finance field programmes to fight poverty directly and urgently. President Ben Ali has made this proposal based on the success of the experience of the National Solidarity Fund, 26.26, set up in Tunisia in 1992, which helped lower the rate of poverty in our country from 22 per cent to 6 per cent. This proposal has been favourably received by member countries of the region and France, as well as by 12 international and regional organizations, such as the Group of 77, the Non- Aligned Movement, the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the South Summit and the General Assembly special session on social development. With the international community's awareness of the need to fight poverty, and given the wide support that the proposal to create a world solidarity fund enjoys, Tunisia would like to present, during the current session, a draft resolution in this regard, which it hopes will obtain all the support necessary from Member States. Tunisia has always attached great importance to democracy and good governance, because it is convinced that these values are an integral part of any rebirth and development. Since the change of 7 November 1987, we have introduced fundamental reforms to promote these values. Indeed, the principles of human rights, the culture of tolerance and respect for the right to difference are the bases of change in Tunisia, which has enriched the values of international solidarity and collective responsibility at all levels: political, economic and social. The existence of a national solidarity fund is the best reflection of the importance of this aspect in 17 national life. An individual's awareness of his responsibility towards the future of his homeland implies solidarity and cooperation with all components of society, making it possible to remedy the problems of exclusion and marginalization in society. Democracy, human rights, good governance and national solidarity are interlinked values that must take into account the characteristics and specific features of each society, since there is no standard model that can be applied to everyone everywhere. This vision, which has been enshrined at various international forums would, thanks to the positive results seen in different countries, including Tunisia, be likely to constitute one of the main concepts we have been called upon to adopt consensually and to implement in the new millennium. Indeed, the right of peoples to freedom and democracy is a concept that has become a daily practice in many countries and must be consolidated, taking into account the requirements of growth and progress that themselves constitute a fundamental condition for peace and stability. In this context, international partnership is a common denominator that must guide our action in the next millennium. Finally, allow me to express the hope that this session will mark the rebirth of solidarity among all components of the international community, within which the United Nations will play a leading role through its outreach and its ongoing harmonious actions. Our objective would be that our action should contain a human global dimension to establish a common strategy and conditions for security, stability, development and prosperity on the basis of the common interests of all peoples everywhere.