Allow me first of all to express our most sincere condolences to the Armenian people for the painful events of today.
In 1996 the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations signed a cooperation agreement. Three years later, the fruits of this collaboration can be easily seen. A growing …
We are coming to the end of 1999, a date that many see as the end of an epoch, given the proximity of the new millennium. The
It is with humility that Western nations, such as mine, consider the development of mankind, which well before our year one was recorded by other calendars during thousands …
The twentieth century has been the century of the great wars, of millions of dead, of the atom and of totalitarianism. During this century we have demonstrated that we human beings have the ability to inflict total destruction upon ourselves. At the end of the millennium, it can be frightening to lo…
Today we will be adopting a draft resolution concerning cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which, among other things, welcomes the IPU’s initiative to hold a meeting of speakers of national parliaments at United Nations Headquarters during the Millennium …
The Group of Western European and other States is gratified to be able to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Since 1948, more than half a million individuals — nearly 750,000 persons — have contributed to these operations, serving the ideals of peace and …
I would first like to congratulate the President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session, Mr. Didier Opertti, of Uruguay, and to give him Andorra’s unconditional support during this year of reforms. I would also like to thank the outgoing President, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for his importan…
Andorra is a fervent advocate of multilingualism. The official language of my country is Catalan, which has been our language since time immemorial. However, the people of Andorra also have a good grasp of French and Spanish, the languages spoken in neighbouring States. This openness to other langua…
The Olympic Ideal is one of the positive expressions of the competitive instincts which haunt human beings, since the outcome is a “positive sum game”. When these instincts are taken to the point of absurdity, which nevertheless has its own logic, a “zero sum game” results, leading to conflicts, the…
The day before yesterday, I spoke in the Third Committee to convey a message with regard to the current debate on democracy and human rights versus economic and social rights, and it is fitting to restate that message today. Indeed, in our understanding, it is one of the goals of the United Nations …
As one of the sponsors of draft resolution A/52/L.9, it is my pleasure today to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his personal interest in the issue of cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Indeed, as a country whose Parliament, the Consell d…
I should like first to thank for his work the outgoing President, Ismail Razali. My Ambassador, the Andorran Vice-President for the fifty- first session of the General Assembly, was a firsthand witness to both the diplomatic skill and dedication of his Malaysian counterpart. On behalf of the Governm…
When we take the time to analyse the spirit of the Charter of the United Nations, we realize that the founding fathers and mothers of the United Nations were very careful to establish a system of sovereign equality of States in the supreme organ of our Organization, the General Assembly. At the same…
Since its admission to membership of the United Nations in 1993, the Principality of Andorra has worked to develop as a priority its active participation in the defence of respect for human rights and tolerance. It has also sought to attach special importance to the role of children and youth in soc…
The Principality of Andorra welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies.
Indeed, for a State like ours, which over the centuries has been spared non-democratic interludes, b…
What is happening in Africa? In 1960 the future belonged to it. The energy and pride of the new generation ready to take matters in hand seemed to guarantee an economic and social development that would be worthy of its ancient and numerous peoples. In 1990, social upheaval, AIDS, debt, lack of inve…
Allow me to address this Assembly briefly today in order to reiterate the interest of my State, the Principality of Andorra, in the process of reforming and enlarging the United Nations Security Council. Since my country was admitted to the United Nations in 1993, Andorra has been guided by the Char…
The Principality of Andorra has inherited a parliamentary tradition going back more than five centuries. Indeed, the establishment of the Consell de la Terra, precursor of our present parliament, the Consell General, goes back to 1419. In accordance with this tradition and pursuant to the Constituti…
Allow me first of all to express the honour I feel as an Andorran at the distinction that has been conferred on our small country by this Assembly through your election, Mr. Minoves-Triquell, as a Vice-President for this year’s session of the General Assembly. I thank you for calling on me to addres…
How can poverty be avoided? The Copenhagen Summit last March afforded us an opportunity to give some thought to that question. It brought many of us together to prepare the ground for the eventual eradication of underdevelopment, poverty and social fragmentation. It is true that many experts underes…
Today I am a happy man, able in this Hall to proclaim the merits of tolerance. I was born, raised and grew up in a small country in the Pyrenees, the Principality of Andorra. Ours is a State formed by peace, by 700 years of peace and freedom. Owing to our isolation and to our small size in a world o…
