Belgium

Allow me to congratulate you most warmly, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly. Through you, I would like also to thank your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for the manner in which he conducted the preparatory work for the summit of Heads of State and Government which has just taken place. We are very grateful to him for having successfully met that challenge. Even though we had hoped for a more ambitious agreement, the summit allowed us to create a much- needed new impetus and new strategic guidelines for our Organization. Only a stronger and more legitimate United Nations will be able to respond to the challenges of the twenty-first century and implement the collective security consensus that we endorsed in the summit's outcome document. Belgium is a strong advocate of efficient multilateralism. I emphasize the word "efficient" because this is not just a declaration of faith. We need credible structures and strong institutions capable of effectively implementing our international commitments and addressing our common concerns. It is all too easy to indulge in rhetoric; we have to translate our words into action. That is why, in that context, I am pleased with the progress made during the summit. I am particularly pleased with the consensus reached whereby security, peace, development and human rights are not only interlinked but mutually reinforcing. That is a significant step forward in our efforts to build a more peaceful, more prosperous and more equitable world. That idea will guide our actions and form the basis of our approach. Without peace, there can be no development, and human rights can often be sorely tested. In the absence of development and respect for human rights, stability and security become elusive. The link between development, stability and human rights becomes most acutely apparent in fragile or failing States. These are often States devastated by conflict or by civil war - States whose leaders are no longer capable of meeting the basic needs of their people. Often, their economic situation has deteriorated dramatically, and sometimes their society itself is in disarray. A large number of the people of such States may be displaced. They may have fled, may be subject to abuse or exploitation and therefore cannot enjoy any of the guarantees that a State should be able to provide to its citizens. Some States are at risk of becoming zones of lawlessness, in which terrorist and criminal activities can thrive. The uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources can fuel all sorts of criminal networks or conflicts - often with an ethnic dimension - in which large numbers of weapons can circulate uncontrolled. Such States must return to peace, stability and the rule of law. They must take control of their own future and gradually begin to consider their prospects for development. This is not an easy task. The challenge is tremendous. Almost simultaneously, it is necessary to rebuild State institutions; disarm combatants, give them new prospects and reintegrate them into communities that are often impoverished; reorganize the army and security forces; and give the State the means to restore its authority, organize elections and create conditions conducive to development. We must help them break that vicious circle and regain their place in the community of nations. In that respect, the establishment of a Peacebuilding Commission is crucial. The creation of such a Commission not only illustrates our common resolve to help such States on their path to recovery; it allows us, first and foremost, better to coordinate and focus our efforts. Political, humanitarian, military and financial resources must be mobilized and used effectively to achieve our common goals. That is particularly true in the case of sub- Saharan African countries that are ravaged by deadly and prolonged conflicts, with the primary victims being the civilian population. The establishment of such a Commission would generate great hope. It is our common responsibility to make it a success. Belgium wants to contribute actively, including by sharing the experience it acquired in the transition processes in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Burundi. Belgium also attaches great importance to promoting the protection of human rights. My country welcomes the strengthening of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the decision to establish a Human Rights Council. But we regret that the summit was not able to finalize the Councilís modalities. 11 Belgium has fully supported the reform and will continue to focus on it. Democracy and respect for human rights are some of our common values and underpin our efforts to promote peace and stability. From now on, those values will be part of our collective security consensus and must be incorporated into our global approach throughout the entire United Nations system. They are our common responsibility. Among the summit's other achievements, I should like also to highlight the "responsibility to protect". This represents a step forward in the quest for solutions to the most glaring injustices. In the aftermath of the genocides that marked our last century, we solemnly pledged that such atrocities would never happen again. Let me now turn to good governance, which is essential if our efforts to create a more stable and prosperous world are to be successful. The summit outcome document repeatedly underlines its importance, and rightly so. Good governance is not a moralistic concept imposed from the outside. It is not about giving good or bad grades, and even less about good and bad students. It is not for others to say what are good policies and what are bad policies. No ó good governance is synonymous with effective governance and goes hand in hand with sovereignty. It is about governance that can produce results, make a difference for citizens and create fertile ground for development. Without it, the support of the international community cannot produce the desired results. Without it, the aid of the international community will not find the fertile ground essential to create the conditions for greater prosperity and stability. We have pledged to attain the objective of allocating 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to official development assistance. We will keep our promise. But we are aware that development is not only a question of money; first and foremost, it is a question of the effective use of resources. The necessary conditions must be established. What matters is the outcome on the ground. Poverty is not inevitable; all peoples have a future that belongs to them. They must take charge of it. We accordingly have stated, in paragraph 11 of the summit outcome document (resolution 60/1), "good governance and the rule of law ... are essential for sustained economic growth, sustainable development and the eradication of poverty and hunger". In the same outcome document, we also clearly reaffirmed our commitment to good governance and the rule of law, and reaffirmed that each country must take responsibility for its own development. Those are the terms of our global partnership for development, as set out in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation. All components of the international community have demonstrated generosity. That is particularly true of the European Union. But the international community can hardly be held responsible for the failure of States to protect or assist all or part of their populations. It is difficult to understand why today we must launch donor appeals to deal with the large-scale destruction of houses by a Government that deliberately leaves some 500,000 of its citizens homeless. That reasoning with regard to the subject of good governance also applies to the similar concepts of democracy and the rule of law. Those are extremely important objectives, both for the development of our societies and for the security of States. But, neither democracy nor the rule of law can be artificially imposed from outside. This is not about dictating exogenous models; we must take a bottom-up approach in creating suitable conditions for the emergence of mechanisms that ensure people's equitable participation in their own governance, in a spirit of inclusivity. In that regard, our first priorities should be the modernization of societies and States and the emancipation of women and children and their inclusion in the global dynamic. Past experience shows that the shortest path to democracy and the rule of law is the modernization of society. The role - indeed, the responsibility - of the international community is to galvanize that modernization process. We have a great responsibility. Before the end of the year, the Peacebuilding Commission must be established. We also have the task of making the Human Rights Council operational. I sincerely hope that the spirit that prevailed during the summit will also guide the work of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. We must continue to show determination, perseverance and vision in carrying out our work. Only through constant commitment will we make the United Nations the primary instrument for international relations. 12 That is the important task ahead of us. Our own credibility is at stake. We must once again make the United Nations the instrument par excellence of our strategy to build a more stable and more prosperous world for all. Our peoples demand that. Belgium is willing to rise to that challenge and to shoulder its responsibilities.