Denmark

The unique role of the United Nations is to promote the well-being of people, the security and development of nations and the protection of our common world. It was built on a resolve to maintain peace and security and to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples. The United Nations peace-keeping activities are a challenge for all nations. For Denmark, it is a matter of the highest priority. The United Nations can rely on Denmark to respond swiftly and efficiently to the needs of the Organization for troops, civilian police, customs officials and personnel for humanitarian relief operations. We have made organizational arrangements to make this possible, even at very short notice. A recent example is Denmark’s decision to contribute civilian personnel to engage in a humanitarian effort and to promote human rights in Haiti. We favour a combination of peace-keeping operations with humanitarian relief operations. The 16 establishment of the United Nations stand-by forces will enhance the ability to respond quickly to emerging crises. Denmark is ready to participate with further elements and is establishing an international brigade for that purpose. Peace-keeping has its own special features. They are different from traditional military training. Peace-keepers must consistently act in full accordance with their role and mandate. As has recently been said, patience, persistence and pressure are key elements of peace-keeping missions. Seventy-three nations today contribute troops, military observers or civilian police to the many ongoing operations. The number of troop-contributing nations is increasing. This has placed emphasis on the need for training. Denmark stands ready to share its vast experience and knowledge in peace-keeping training and requirements. The cooperation between the Baltic States, the Nordic countries and the United Kingdom on a Baltic peace-keeping battalion is a good example of such cooperation. At present, a Lithuanian platoon is serving in the Danish battalion in Croatia. Keeping the peace worldwide is costly. Funds are limited, as is the number of trained and equipped troops. In the future we must utilize preventive diplomacy. In Macedonia, we have seen the positive effects of the first example of preventive deployment. Communication between the Security Council and the troopcontributing countries is imperative. Further progress is needed on this, for instance in the form of regular consultations between the members of the Security Council, the troop-contributing States and the Secretariat. Peace-keeping involves the important question of safety and security for United Nations and associated personnel. Peace-keepers act as a neutral force. They must be ensured the highest possible standard of protection. Attacks cannot be tolerated. We strongly support the efforts of the United Nations to draft a legally binding treaty in this field. The "Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277) led to discussions on a more active role of the United Nations in peacemaking and peace-keeping. It is to be hoped that the "Agenda for Development" (A/49/935) will inspire an equally important discussion on the role of the United Nations in development. Development policies must correspond to prevailing social, economic, environmental, religious and ethnic problems. We cannot fight tomorrow’s battles with yesterday’s weapons. My Government is proud to host the World Summit for Social Development in Copenhagen in March 1995. The challenge of the Summit, the first of its kind, is to create new foundations of peace through development. It presents a unique chance to overcome the North-South divide through new approaches. We must eradicate poverty and enable all people to earn a livelihood. We must promote social integration by fostering just, safe and stable societies with the full participation of all people. Discrimination in all its forms must be eliminated and human rights respected, and conditions for children and young people must be improved. As a link to the Beijing Conference on Women, the Summit must make a strong commitment to achieving full equality between men and women and to enhancing the contribution of women to social progress and development. Progress has been achieved in the preparatory process for the Summit, but this process is still marked by difficulties. Time for preparation is running short. The Secretary-General is making untiring efforts to promote the Copenhagen Summit and to secure its success. It is essential that Member States support the Secretary-General in his endeavours in order to keep up the momentum of the process. The Summit represents an opportunity for world leaders to commit themselves and their Governments to a better and more just world. Members may rest assured that, as hosts of the Summit, we will spare no effort to make it a success. We are very much looking forward to welcoming Heads of State or Government in Copenhagen. The World Conference on Human Rights in 1993 was a turning-point in United Nations activities for the promotion and protection of human rights. It is gratifying to see one of its central recommendations implemented in the form of the establishment of the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights. Steps should now be taken to increase substantially the resources for the United Nations human rights programme. We must enable the High Commissioner to discharge his mandate in full. Human rights are a vital element in preventing and resolving conflicts. We must therefore develop new approaches to monitoring human rights. One such step 17 could be to set up a team of human rights monitors to assist the High Commissioner. Freedom of expression is a basic human right. The fatwa against Salman Rushdie and others constitutes a flagrant violation of this right. We urge the Iranian Government to dissociate itself from this threat. Increasingly we realize that our actions or our negligence as individual nations affect other nations and their populations. All nations have a common future that we must protect from nuclear disasters, environmental degradation and weapons of mass destruction. Chernobyl taught us how important this aspect of security is. It is of great concern to my Government that many nuclear facilities in Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States are operating at critically low levels of safety. We must improve this situation. The Rio de Janeiro Conference in 1992 put renewed emphasis on environment and development. Denmark’s resolve to abide by the Rio principles is strong. Our international development assistance of 1 per cent of gross national product (GNP) is guided by the principles of sustainable development. This will provide additional financial resources to developing countries and countries in transition in order to assist them in meeting objectives of sustainability. Our common future also calls for taking steps towards disarmament, arms control and confidence-building measures. It implies reducing weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons as well as weapons to be used in outer space. We have reached a time that is conducive to these aims and to allowing the role of the United Nations to be enhanced. Reform of the United Nations is necessary. Denmark supports a strong Security Council. We agree that the Council needs to be adapted to today’s world and that it needs to be enlarged. In enlarging the Council, priority should be given to additional seats for non-permanent members, allocated under the principle of equitable geographical distribution. A small number of new seats could be allocated as permanent seats. We entrust the United Nations with mandates to secure worldwide peace, security and development, but we fail to ensure the Organization the necessary financial means. It is not tenable, for instance, that troop-contributing nations cannot be reimbursed, and I simply fail to understand how some Member States can advocate United Nations actions, including peace-keeping operations, and then refuse to pay the bill. Denmark welcomes the withdrawal of the last troops of the former Soviet Union from Estonia and Latvia on 31 August, in accordance with concluded agreements. This is truly a historic event. It is of significance to future relations between the Baltic States and Russia, to stability in the Baltic area and for European security. The agreements must now be fully implemented by all parties in order to keep up the momentum. As for the former Yugoslavia, important results have been reached since the establishment of the Contact Group. The decision by the authorities of the former Republic of Yugoslavia to close the Serbian-Bosnian border and to accept international surveillance is a direct consequence of pressure by the international community. The continued negative reaction to the peace plan of the Bosnian Serbs must lead to their further isolation. Sanctions remain one of the most efficient instruments in our policy of isolation. We therefore welcome the adoption of resolution 942 (1994) by the Security Council last week. Against that background, we welcome the deferral of the question of lifting the arms embargo. Denmark firmly believes that the arms embargo should not be lifted, as this would entail risks of the conflict’s spreading. It would disrupt the peace negotiations, which combine the efforts of the United Nations, the European Union, the United States and Russia, and it would make the continued presence of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) impossible. UNPROFOR is playing an indispensable role in attempting to keep the peace and at the same time alleviate the plight of the people. With 1,400 troops, civilian police and monitors in the former Yugoslavia, Denmark is one of the largest troop contributors to UNPROFOR. We remain committed to our participation in this operation. We believe that a strict and effective sealing off of the border between Serbia and Montenegro and Bosnia and Herzegovina will be a new and decisive element. At short notice Denmark sent observers for the Mission of the International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia (ICFY) to monitor that border. 18 Denmark continues to make substantial contributions to the humanitarian relief work in the former Yugoslavia. Coordination by the United Nations and the European Union is progressing favourably. Denmark is placing both personnel and financial means at the disposal of that enterprise. We strongly condemn the renewed "ethnic cleansings" which the Serbs have systematically carried out. The persons responsible for these atrocities must be brought before the international tribunal set up for the punishment of crimes committed in the former Yugoslavia. In the Middle East political will and hard negotiations have created a historic breakthrough. Denmark warmly welcomes the signing of the Declaration of Principles between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) in 1993 and the Declaration signed between Israel and Jordan in 1994. The Gaza-Jericho Agreement was the next important step. International support is now needed to keep up the momentum. The holding of fair and free elections in Gaza and the West Bank will represent significant progress. We encourage the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli Government to ensure speedy implementation of the election process. Progress should also be achieved in the negotiations between Syria and Israel and between Lebanon and Israel. We welcome the clear political will of all parties to continue their efforts to bring about such progress. They all stand to gain significantly from peace, and the United Nations continues to have an important role to play. The tragic events in Rwanda revealed the weakness of the United Nations and of the international community. It was demonstrated that we were not able to provide an effective and timely response. The challenge remains to create stability and ensure Rwanda the proper conditions for development. This will require an international effort on a considerable scale, which can be successful only if it is firmly rooted in Rwanda and the countries of the region. On the African scene it is heartening to see the Republic of South Africa reinstated in its seat in the Assembly. It is now fully participating in the work of the United Nations. South Africa has proved to the world that a peaceful transition from repression to democracy is possible. It has set an example. This also confirms that the United Nations has a role to play in bringing about fundamental reforms in a repressive society. Denmark has been a staunch supporter of the forces of democratic change in South Africa. We will continue our considerable financial support to the consolidation of democracy. The best contribution of Member States to the United Nations is to reconfirm their will to implement the Charter, to accelerate the reform process and, indeed, to pay their dues. The United Nations is, and must continue to be, a vital instrument in the service of the peoples of the world.