A/55/PV.8 General Assembly

A gathering of such significance convened so early in the new millennium gives hope for the strengthening of cooperation among Governments so that humankind, especially the poor, can be better served. This historic occasion affords us an opportunity to reflect on the unique nature of the United Nations as the body that recognizes the sovereign equality of all States. At this point, Grenada would like to join the rest of the civilized world in mourning the loss of United Nations staff members in West Timor. Since its inception, the United Nations has had a major influence on shaping the modern world and on raising the standard of living of millions of peoples. Today, the people of Grenada thank the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific Organization, the United Nations Development Programme, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations and all the other bodies that have positively influenced our lives, and we praise them for their decolonization achievements. Severe poverty, crippling debt servicing, diseases including HIV/AIDS, disrespect for human life and disregard for the natural environment continue to threaten human progress. Debt forgiveness will go a long way to bringing relief to poor countries. Debt forgiveness is not a financial loss to the global economy. It provides an opportunity for the economic stimulation of the depressed and stagnant parts of the world’s economy. Debt forgiveness is a necessary prerequisite for the furtherance of globalization and economic development. Grenada requests lending countries, financial institutions and funding agencies to proclaim complete debt forgiveness for all developing countries, especially for the heavily indebted poor countries. Grenada also advocates the establishment of a disaster relief fund to facilitate quick responses for victims of the hurricanes, earthquakes, volcanoes and other natural disasters that strike us with such frequency and ferocity. I also want to place on record the support of the Government of Grenada for the proposal by the Commission on Global Governance that a well-equipped standing United Nations volunteer force be established. Grenada renews its commitment to the principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. However, until the basic needs of life — food, shelter, health and education — are satisfied, universal attainment of all human rights will remain very elusive. We urge greater effort in those areas. The widening gap between developed and developing countries in the midst of these rapid technological advances must be narrowed. The people of Grenada, therefore, in this age of information and communication technology, call on the United Nations, through consultations, to establish programmes and activities that will assist developing countries to bridge this digital divide. A cartel of powerful high-tax nations has launched a destructive high-powered attack on low-tax countries, accusing us of “anti-competitive” tax measures. They have used adverse publicity techniques deliberately to condemn and harm our economies. They have threatened various sanctions and have sought to block access to capital funds in multilateral organizations, as well as to impose financial protectionism and total ostracism. As a small island economy without much leverage, Grenada requests that this forum call on the G-7 and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development countries to multilateralize their approach and to involve the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization to serve the interests of all concerned. I cannot leave this podium without paying tribute to the Government and the people of the Republic of China on Taiwan for the assistance given to countries like Grenada in agriculture, fishing, health care, education, culture and infrastructure. Indeed, the Republic of China on Taiwan truly subscribes to the words of that great Chinese philosopher, Confucius, who said, “Give a man a fish and you satisfy his needs for a day; teach a man to fish and you supply his needs for many, many days.” This is why the Government of Grenada continues to advocate full membership for the Republic of China on Taiwan in this body. Finally, in today’s world of rapid technological advances we must never allow technology to take precedence over humanity. The Government of Grenada stands ready to work with civil society to ensure that the United Nations has the ability to respond to the needs of the people in the twenty-first century. Let the people be always our priority, and let us be guided permanently by Almighty God. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency The Honourable Barak Sope Maautamate, Prime Minister and Minister for Public Service of the Republic of Vanuatu.

The people of the Republic of Vanuatu, whom I am honoured to represent here, are proud to be part of this Millennium Summit on the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. When the Republic of Vanuatu was formally admitted as a full Member of the United Nations in 1981, the fundamental ideals and principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter became part of the framework for our nation-building strategy and a source of inspiration in our common endeavours to create a better world for our future generations. For the United Nations to maintain credibility in its central role of promoting a just and peaceful world in the twenty-first century, it will be important and necessary that its structures, its decision-making processes, its plans of actions, its focus and its directions relate to the daily interests and concerns of the majority of ordinary people on this planet — including children, the disabled, women and unemployed youth — and not just the interests and concerns of the richer and the more powerful Members of our Organization. The millennium report of the Secretary-General, which we commend, provides this Summit a good background as well as clear options for us to redirect and refocus the United Nations in its primary functions of assisting Member States in raising the standards of living of their respective populations. From our small island perspective, we feel it is also important to further stress the crucial place of a number of issues, including the following. At the current rate of population growth in developing countries, including Vanuatu, greater and easier access to education for our growing populations will become the greatest challenge for us all in this millennium. Other important issues include: providing improved health services to the poorest and most remote parts of our nations; increased gender equity at all levels of societies; better cooperation and rationalization of resource use between the United Nations and other multilateral bodies; a global village fully committed to peace, justice, law and order, mutual respect and tolerance; and a recognition of and respect for the fundamental right to self-determination. Over the past 50 years much progress has been achieved in economic and social advancement globally, and the role of the United Nations, other multilateral agencies and bilateral partners in this regard deserves our full recognition and continuing support. Much more, however, remains to be done. It must be a priority for the United Nations to fully address the issues raised at this Summit. The Pacific region and its development needs deserve due consideration in the new millennium. The region covers the largest area of ocean, contains huge marine resources, and has dynamic and diverse cultural and traditional values and a young and growing population. An earlier proposal for a separate Pacific grouping within the United Nations warrants serious consideration. The recent admission of Tuvalu, as the 189th member, is greatly welcomed by the people and the Government of Vanuatu. It is our prayer that this millennium will see a further increase in the Pacific- island membership. We would also like to suggest that the decision-making processes of the United Nations and related institutions based in the Pacific region that concern development programmes for our islands should be fully reviewed in the context of priorities established by the Pacific-island Member countries. We are concerned that some powerful countries are using regional institutions and programmes to promote their own interests in our region. We must not allow this trend to continue. Despite our meagre resources, the Republic of Vanuatu is proud to be able to participate for the first time in United Nations peacekeeping missions, in East Timor and Bosnia, in addition to our small contribution to regional peace-monitoring missions in the Pacific region. The recent tragic killing of three United Nations personnel in West Timor by militant groups must be condemned by this Summit. We urge the Indonesian Government to take appropriate steps to positively and effectively address the situation. As world leaders, we have time and time again expressed serious concerns and dissatisfaction because certain decisions and actions by the United Nations or its organs were not consistent with the purposes and intentions of the Charter. However, nothing has been done to right the wrong. At this Summit, we must recognize that when such errors are identified it becomes our joint responsibility — and it is in the best interest of this, our international family of nations and peoples — to make sure that the most appropriate actions are taken, and taken soon, to rectify such errors, so that we can embark on the new millennium with a clear conscience. In this context, as an active member of the Melanesian Spearhead Group, which is committed to promoting and safeguarding the Melanesian identity, values, traditions and rights, the Republic of Vanuatu calls on the United Nations to review the political and legal basis of its own undertakings in the 1950s and 1960s in relation to the fundamental rights and fate of Melanesian brothers and sisters in the Asia-Pacific region, in particular in West Papua. The continuing disputes and concerns raised about the legality of the United Nations-endorsed instruments which had been concluded during those years, such as the New York Agreement of 1962 to govern the United Nations administration of the so- called Act of Free Choice in West Papua, is a clear example of challenging the integrity and validity of United Nations resolutions at that time. This is simply a mockery of the fundamental principles of human rights and self-determination clearly enshrined in the United Nations Charter. The United Nations cannot and must not in this new millennium continue to turn a blind eye to its own past failures, which have lead to three long, agonizing decades of injustice, abuse of human rights and guerrilla warfare in West Papua. It is morally, politically and legally wrong to do so. The United Nations has competent agencies and institutions, such as the Committee of 24 or the International Court of Justice, which should be tasked with looking into this or give an advisory opinion. The Netherlands, as the former colonial authority, should also recognize that it has some responsibility in helping to resolve the unfortunate situation of West Papua in a peaceful and transparent manner. The resolutions we will be adopting on the new directions we are setting for the United Nations for the new millennium can have a significant impact on the future of our global relations and the lives of the world’s people, particularly in the small and poor countries. It is a challenging responsibility. We do not want to fail this time around. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Lamine Sidimé, Prime Minister of the Republic of Guinea.

At the outset, may I inform the Assembly of the serious events that have occurred in my country, Guinea, over the past 48 hours. In fact, as we met to take up the challenge of international cooperation in a peaceful and civilized fashion, my country, Guinea, a Member of the United Nations since 12 December 1958, a country that hosts more than 800,000 refugees among a population of 7 million inhabitants, had just undergone attacks on its international borders by assailants coming from Liberia and Sierra Leone. As I speak, fighting is going on to drive back the attackers. Through appropriate procedures, Guinea will soon be taking this matter up with the Secretary-General, the Security Council, the Secretary-General of the Economic Community of West African States and the Secretary-General of the Organization of African Unity. Guinea calls on the international community to join it in condemning unreservedly that unjust aggression. I would like first to fulfil the lofty mission, Mr. President, of conveying to you the warm greetings of the people, the Government and the President of the Republic of Guinea, General Lansana Conté, whose commitment to the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter has never wavered since our admission to the United Nations family in 1958. The delegation of the Republic of Guinea is pleased and honoured to be taking part in this Millennium Summit together with illustrious world leaders, whose presence in such great numbers undoubtedly attests to the influence of the United Nations and the continued interest in its action. To all those who have made this event possible, we extend our deepest thanks. In particular, we thank Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and we welcome his untiring efforts to strengthen the Organization. This is also the time and place to pay a tribute to all those whose clear- sightedness and vision have made it possible to establish this wonderful instrument for cooperation among nations, which for more than half a century has been seeking to provide a new basis and new guidelines for international relations. We are duty-bound to keep alive the dream of these eminent visionaries and to improve the instrument that they developed to serve a better, fairer, more humane and more brotherly world. The people and the Government of Guinea have faith in the United Nations, but it is our conviction that after all the upheavals that have taken place since 1945, and given the challenges facing mankind for the future, the time has come to readapt the missions and the structures of our Organization. Guinea pleads for more humanity and less exclusion in the United Nations. I say less exclusion because it is high time that the various parts of the world were equitably represented in the Security Council. In particular, the under-representation of Africa, Asia and Latin America among the permanent membership of the Security Council needs to be reviewed. Failure to do so would be ignoring the achievements in relations among States of the world over the past 50 years, and it would mean continuing to live on the basis of the ideas and views of 1945. I speak of greater humanity because the United Nations must be given sufficient resources to enable it to intervene in the struggle against poverty and the suffering of peoples and States in a large part of the world. After having committed itself to peoples to carry out decolonization, the United Nations must now be put in a position to carry forward its humanitarian and life-saving mission, which would make it possible for the community of nations to achieve what has been the driving force of the spread of progress in the nations of the North: the liberation of energies and access for the greatest possible number of people to knowledge, employment and consumption. The means exist today, and Secretary-General Kofi Annan has highlighted this in his important report “We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century”. These means include, inter alia, the available savings accumulated by nations, technological and scientific progress, and the renewal of a humanism that is broadly shared by the people of our times with the aim of safeguarding and promoting human dignity. These achievements of all mankind must help improve the lot of the disadvantaged people on earth. Guinea was one of the first African countries to join the United Nations and has been a member since 12 December 1958. Guinea, classified among the least developed countries, has a per capita income of $575, and alone, without any assistance, for more than 10 years has been meeting its international and humanitarian obligations while bearing the burden of subregional insecurity and the human, environmental and economic burden of the presence of more than 800,000 refugees, of which almost 12,000 new arrivals were registered last week alone. Among the community of nations, Africa and its problems do not seem to be a major area of concern, despite professions of good faith. In spite of everything, there is room for hope, because the ideas and generous solutions contained in Mr. Kofi Annan’s report are fully supported by my country, which will work with those who share those values and approaches to ensure that they are implemented. I conclude by wishing us all every success in our work. Long live international cooperation! Long live the United Nations! The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Nagoum Yamassoum, Prime Minister of the Republic of Chad.

At the outset, I convey the greetings of the President of the Republic of Chad, His Excellency Mr. Idriss Deby, its Government and people, and express the hope that this exceptional Summit will lead to exceptional decisions measuring up to the event. I also congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on his important and happy initiative in organizing this Millennium Summit to mark the entry of our world into the new century. Let us pay tribute to him for the clear and objective way in which he expressed the exceptional concerns of humankind in his report (A/54/2000) before us at this Summit. It gives us the opportunity to review together the past century and consider the prospects for this century so that the world may be more just and more human for the vast majority of its inhabitants. The picture emerging from more than 50 years of communal life in our global Organization, whose main objective is international cooperation for the elimination of war and poverty, is very dark. How can we be happy with an international system which has reduced more than 3 billion human beings to almost complete poverty, while fewer than a billion people hold nearly 70 per cent of the revenue of the planet? The consequences are that millions of men, women and children know nothing of the joy or inner peace of satisfying the most elementary needs. The millennium that is coming to an end has undoubtedly been the hardest in the history of humankind, with its wars, tensions, epidemics and catastrophes. Our world in the new millennium has an enemy named poverty, an enemy with two faces: extreme poverty and insolent opulence. Until we succeed in bringing these two extremes together and introducing more humanism into their relations, the third millennium will be no different from the second. Those most deserving our consideration are the most numerous: the developing countries, particularly those of Africa, whose situations continue to deteriorate while the others continue progressing towards ever more growth and prosperity. Let us take care that this does not become fatal. We, the leaders, certainly have our share of responsibility, because we are not managing to meet all the expectations of our peoples. But is our will alone enough in a universe where all the economic, financial, industrial and technological powers escape our grasp and transcend the frontiers of national States, or even groups of them? What can we do when our own resources, however big they may be, do not, because of the selfishness of the richest, enable us to respond to the legitimate expectations of our fellow citizens? The past century was essentially dominated by injustice resulting from an uncontrolled chase after profit. The one that is beginning should learn the lessons of the past to construct a better world. To do this, it must be based on humanism and justice. To ultimately overcome the scourges from which most of humanity suffers, let us try at least to reduce and mitigate their effects. Today’s world has the intellectual and material means to do so. There is only one thing missing — the will to achieve it. This Summit provides us with a historic occasion to set the milestones for a new world. The vision and ambition that we nourish for humankind are the same as we have for our country. The Government of Chad has been trying for more than a decade to respond to the demands for liberty and well-being of a people which has been deprived since independence. On this subject, the Doba oil project, which has caused such great controversy throughout the world, reflects the great plans we have for our country. This project is unusual in that it involves two States, Chad and Cameroon, financial international institutions and civil society. It is seen as a pilot project for development, typical of the new partnership that should underpin international relations. Our Government has made efforts to overcome the reluctance about this project because the people of Chad have been waiting for oil for over 30 years. Moreover, we need the resources of this oil to promote vital sectors, such as health, education, rural development, the environment and infrastructures, which cannot be financed indefinitely by foreign aid. Finally, economic and social progress in Chad is the only way to support freedom and democracy in the country. I take the opportunity of this Summit to restate the gratitude of the people of Chad to all States, institutions and persons who have contributed to the happy outcome of this project. It is unanimously accepted that democracy and poverty often do not go well together. Nevertheless, the Republic of Chad, which has been classified as one of the poorest nations in the world, has for more than a decade kept up with democracy. The presidential and parliamentary elections to take place in a few months will, through the transparency and legality that we intend to give them, mark our determination to support democratic practices in Chadian society. Shall we have the support of all our friends and partners to keep up and resist possible upheavals that could provoke poverty in any emerging democracy? The system of consensual management of public affairs, which our country has adopted, shows our wish to create conditions of stability and calm, which are necessary for progress. Peace and stability are the foundation of development, which in turn reinforces them. We hope that calm and peace will prevail in the whole of the African continent and the rest of the planet. The many conflicts presently rending Africa, particularly the de facto break-up of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia, the fratricidal wars in Angola, Sierra Leone and Burundi, or between Ethiopia and Eritrea, or the tragic events recalled by the previous speaker, are unacceptable and anachronistic. The Republic of Chad solemnly appeals to all belligerents to pull themselves together and think of the millions of women and children who are terrorized every day, and who are asking neither for gold nor diamonds — sometimes, not even freedom — but simply peace, and even more simply, life. We also appeal to the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity to act with more conviction and firmness, if necessary, to put an end to these ruinous and murderous wars in Africa. While the rich countries continue to spend billions of dollars on weapons of all kinds to fight — we really do not know whom or what — the poor nations, particularly of Africa, are fighting, almost empty-handed, against a real, even if invisible, enemy: the AIDS virus. My country, while welcomimg the latest measures taken by the World Bank and the multinational corporations to fight this epidemic, feel that more and better can be done. If only a quarter of the expenditure on weapons were to be directed towards the fight against HIV/AIDS, particularly to care and research, the pandemic would already have been eliminated. Chad calls upon the international community as a whole, and the industrialized countries in particular, to show more understanding for the economic difficulties of Africa. In particular, this concern could begin by dealing with the debt problem which is such an obstacle to economic and social recovery in Africa and perpetuates the vicious circle of poverty. Palliative measures consisting of rescheduling or alleviating the debt will not solve the basic problem. If we sincerely want to reduce this flagrant inequality afflicting Africa, the developed countries and international financial institutions must take bolder measures by simply cancelling the debt. And that is not all. These initiatives must be accompanied by greater aid and greater foreign private investments if we truly want Africa not to be marginalized in the world’s economy. Political and social reforms introduced in most of the countries of the continent in the past decade should encourage such measures. Putting an end to human suffering and to the lack of understanding among men and States and preserving nature are the great challenges that we will have to face with greater conviction and which require new rules in relations among nations. From this standpoint, the United Nations is an irreplaceable tool to calm conflicts, increase cooperation, eliminate poverty, injustice and arbitrary actions: in brief, to reconcile mankind with itself. To do this, it must be restructured and be given enough resources to face the responsibilities and hopes placed in it. It must also be restructured in order better to perform one of the basic purposes for which it was created, namely, peacekeeping. This activity has developed considerably in recent years and has become multi-faceted and multi- dimensional and includes various kinds of preventive action. It has to rely on the entire machinery for settling disputes peacefully, but in the last resort more curative action may be needed which requires more resources and firm determination to give it deterrent force and make it productive. The succession of recantations and tomfoolery that we have seen in recent years, in Bosnia and Sierra Leone, is unlikely to strengthen the credibility of our Organization. The peacekeepers must be given sufficient means to impose peace and, if necessary, by force. There must be clear unequivocal resolutions on the use of force in peacekeeping because the peacekeepers must not serve as easy prey for warmongers of all kinds. The United Nations must also operate on an egalitarian basis that respects the present structure of the world. Nobody can ignore the fact today that power is no longer solely a matter of military force. The international system cannot continue to function with its eyes closed to the emergence of new Powers, to the changes in the position of the old Powers and to the far-reaching changes which have taken place in international society since the end of the Second World War, changes in the very concept of power. For all these reasons, the Republic of Chad is in favour of the reform of the Security Council. An expansion to include other continents would bring about greater democracy in its decision-making and more equity in its international relations and would reflect the real situation in international society. These principles, which are so dear to us, must lead us to admit the Republic of China, Taiwan, to our Organization. This would constitute justice for a State which, more than many others, fulfils all the conditions of State power and which contributes to peace and development in the world. I should like to conclude by expressing the hope that through our initiatives and decisions, this Summit, which is inaugurating our entry into the new millennium, will be different from all others, and leave its mark on international cooperation. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Cardinal Angelo Sodano, Secretary of State of the Holy See. Cardinal Sodano (spoke in French): I have the honour to convey to the Assembly the cordial greetings of His Holiness Pope John Paul II and his encouragement to the representatives of the world’s countries assembled here in New York to reaffirm their confidence in the work of the United Nations. It is the fervent hope of the Holy See that, at the dawn of the third millennium, the United Nations will contribute to the building of a new civilization for the benefit of all mankind, a civilization which has been called the “civilization of love”. The first duty of the United Nations is to preserve and promote peace. This was the essential aim of the founders of the Organization and it remains an imperative today. Still too often war brings affliction and suffering to peoples. In the face of new outbreaks of violence, especially civil and ethnic conflicts, the United Nations is duty-bound to intervene within the framework of its Charter to restore peace. In the name of the Pope I pay tribute to all that the United Nations has already done in this field, and I pay homage to the memory of the soldiers and civilian personnel who have died in the course of peacekeeping operations. The second duty of the United Nations is the promotion of development. Even today a significant part of the world’s population lives in conditions of poverty, which is an offense to human dignity. Furthermore, other evils, such as war, the destruction of the environment, natural disasters and epidemics are often exacerbated by the presence of poverty. How can we not draw attention to the fact that the majority of these scourges affect Africa in the first place and how can we not ask that Africa be given special attention and that efforts be made which are really capable of meeting its needs. The third duty of the United Nations is the promotion of human rights. The struggle for human rights is never ending and I would make special mention of the first of these: the right to life, which is so endangered today. Pope John Paul II expresses his support for the World Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance to take place next year in South Africa and he encourages every initiative aimed at preventing the spread of racism and intolerance, but, in addition to this concrete approach to human rights, human rights must be brought into sharper focus by giving them a solid ethical basis for otherwise they will remain fragile and without foundations. A fourth duty of the United Nations is that of guaranteeing the equality of all its Members. It is imperative that all be heard when common decisions are taken. In this respect I would recall the position of the Holy See with regard to sanctions imposed by the Organization. A process of revision should be put in place in each case, so as to ensure that these measures will not weigh most of all on innocent segments of the population. Christians, who this year have been commemorating the birth of Jesus in Bethlehem, feel solidarity for the efforts that the international community is undertaking so that the world of the future may be delivered from violence, injustice and selfishness. The Catholic Church proposes to contribute to this immense work above all through its proclamation of the Gospel of Christ, since, without spiritual progress, the material progress of nations will be vain and illusory. This conviction has guided the Church throughout its history, and it is also its commitment for the third millennium. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Sabo Nassirou, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Cooperation and African Integration of the Niger.

Mr. Tandja Mamadou, President of the Republic of the Niger, who would have liked to be here today, has, to his great regret, been unable to travel to New York. He has therefore asked me, on his behalf, to transmit the following message to the Assembly: “Whereas mankind has achieved considerable technical and technological progress and has raised the production of goods and services to an unprecedented level, billions of individuals are lacking the vital minimum because of poverty. The problem of poverty represents one of the major challenges that the authorities of the Niger have resolved to take up because it is true that they undermine the foundation of all national economic and social development policies and strategies. “Investigations carried out nationally show that 63 per cent of the population of the Niger lives in poverty, and 34 per cent in extreme poverty. The poverty threshold has been defined as $100 per annum per capita in an urban environment, and $70 per annum per capita in a rural environment. As to the thresholds of extreme poverty, they have been set at two thirds of these sums. “The great majority of the poor in the Niger live in a rural environment. The signs of this poverty are clear at various levels of the national economy. Thus, one person out of three has access to a health centre, one child out of three goes to school, one adult out of five is literate, and only 50 per cent of the population have access to drinking water. “In addition to this most alarming picture comes a high population growth rate and low income. Thus, the overwhelming majority of the people of the Niger are among the billion inhabitants of our planet who live on less than $1 per day. “In terms of poverty, it is easy to see that the social sectors and subsectors that are most affected are those of basic education — primary education, literacy, training — health, population, drinking water, hygiene, sanitation and living conditions. The vulnerable target groups are essentially women, who are crushed by the weight of domestic tasks, and young people, victims of underemployment and forced to seek work outside of the country. These vulnerable groups are also subject to illiteracy, especially in rural areas. “On the whole, all these aspects contribute, to a large extent, to signing away the policies and strategies for development, to making the national economy a low-performing one and to accentuating the deterioration of an environment already made too fragile by the climatic hazards found in Sahelo-Saharan regions like ours. “This is why, on the basis of our experience in the management of natural resources, we have produced a national plan oriented towards the fight against desertification, water and sustainable development, energy, urban environment, biodiversity and climate change. “The Niger has already acceded to the new strategic framework to combat poverty proposed by the Bretton Woods institutions during the Summit on growth and poverty in Africa, held in Libreville on 18 and 19 January 2000. That Summit, in which many African heads of State or Government participating in this Assembly took part, aimed to examine the prospects of the continent at the threshold of the new millennium and the challenges to be taken up to accelerate economic growth and eliminate poverty. “Strengthened by the legitimacy and institutional stability emerging from the free and transparent elections held last November, the Niger started a very open participatory process, with a view to elaborating, in the very short term, a strategic document to combat poverty. This new framework, beyond any doubt, is a most dynamic and effective measure in the fight against poverty because it is based on greater participation of citizens in its elaboration and on a better reading of the complex diagnosis of the nature of the determining factors of poverty. “Our strategy for fighting poverty gives priority to the search for a better fit between healthy economic management and sustainable human development, based principally on the agro-pastoral sector. This strategy is the backbone of the future economic and social development plan for 2000-2004, which the Government has just started putting together in order to respond to the many challenges of the millennium. In this endeavour we are fully aware that outside effort cannot replace domestic effort. “This is why we are so firmly convinced that, at the beginning of the twenty-first century, particular attention must be devoted to giving concrete form to the universal vocation of the world Organization. Peace, security and sustainable development are highly important concepts that require the much-desired expansion of the Security Council, and shall no longer simply be the exclusive responsibility of a club of military, economic and financial powers. “Because Africa is the subject of a large share of international initiatives and intends to become an active player, it must take a significant role in the reformed Security Council. And in Africa, there are countries that are able to play a determining role.” The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Yerodia Abdoulaye Ndombasi, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

I ask the interpreters to forgive me for not having submitted a text. I did not do so because I would like to depart from the beaten path. What can one recommend to the United Nations to make its peacekeeping work more effective? I should like to link that question to the ideas that a great mind of this century developed in a text entitled Civilization and Its Discontents, which led him to believe that there was a death wish among speaking beings. Unfortunately, that same death snatched the pen from his hand, and he was unable to further elaborate on the idea of the death wish and the discontent in civilization. There is indeed a discontent in civilization. It is not new. It is always reflected in a phenomenon whereby appearances are constantly shifting and concepts are caught up in a mad dance. That is what happened in the case of the League of Nations. The author of Civilization and Its Discontents wondered how the hordes that came from the place where such wonderful works as the “Emperor Concerto”, the “Musical Offering” and the “Ode to Joy” were written could have brought about that discontent in civilization, the First World War. Here I should like to jump ahead to say that civilization does not of itself dispel any discontent. The United Nations is also experiencing this shifting of appearances and the relentless devaluation of certain phrases, such as “respect for national borders”. Today there is no compunction about violating this principle, as our country can testify: for two years, as the Huns did in days gone by, hordes that are apparently civilized — to judge by their songs, which are gentle murmurs, and which I personally adore — have been trampling under foot concepts such as “respect for borders”, “respect for national sovereignty” and “respect for national resources”. Those people are here in this Hall. They have been in our country for two years and have given no indication that they have any intention of leaving. They remain in our country, thus violating the principles on which this Organization was founded. No one is forcing them to leave, and they have impertinently announced that they are not ready to leave. Patriotism and nationalism dictate that with our limited means we must do everything we can to put an end to this violation of the United Nations Charter and the Charter of the Organization of African Unity. I say this to the Africans present: “It is staring you in the face: the crossing of your borders, the threat to your national independence and the raiding of your countries’ wealth; it does not affect us alone. This new race of Huns could do the same thing to you tomorrow, because the discontent in civilization today demonstrates that civilization in itself is not enough to dispel this unhappiness, and so it will continue.” Given our experience, therefore, what must we tell the United Nations so that henceforth it will not be satisfied with merely observing what is happening, but will implement its own resolutions? We are not going to wait 40 years, as in the case of Security Council resolution 242 (1967) on Palestine; only now are attempts being made to implement that. We are not going to wait 40 years for a Camp David-style meeting to take place, or 40 years for the President of the United States to act before Security Council resolutions 1234 (1999), 1291 (2000) and 1304 (2000), which affect us, are implemented. We are not going to wait that long. Our patriotism and spirit of nationalism demand that we put an end to the violation of those principles that have brought us all here. Such violations make those who have occupied our country for two years unworthy of participating in this millennium celebration. Fortunately, the millennium has not yet begun; it will begin on 1 January 2001. The United Nations still has time to ensure the fulfilment of our declaration that we will not enter the third millennium as an occupied and humiliated country. That is the plea that I am making to the Assembly on behalf of President Laurent-Désiré Kabila, who is dealing with the business of war because of the occupation, the seizure of our wealth and the violation of our borders, and therefore cannot join us. Just as some prayed on the Acropolis and others on the Golden Bridge, I offer up my prayer on the banks of the Hudson, where I invite all present, whatever continent they are from, to ensure that those who are still in our country return home and give us a chance to remedy the damage caused by the satrap of whom all are aware, who for 32 years devastated our country, polluted minds and destroyed the morale of our people. Help us to send these people back home. Help us to put an end to the war. How do wars end? How did the war of 1939-1945 end? Through direct talks between the Allies and the Nazis. How did the Viet Nam war end? The American eagle had to go to see the Viet Cong and talk to them. How did the Algerian war end? General de Gaulle himself yielded to the need to speak with the Algerians so that the war could be ended. How has the war between Catholics and Protestants in Ireland, which has gone on for centuries, begun to come to an end? Through direct talks between Protestants and Catholics in Ireland. What about the war between the victims of aggression in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Rwandan, Ugandan and Burundi aggressors? How will it all end? Through direct talks between aggressed and aggressor. If other subterfuges are resorted to, it is because there are some who do not want the war to end. War is a profitable business for the aggressors. They are occupying our country, waging war against us and stripping our soil of the diamonds, gold, cobalt and prized lumber that their countries do not have. It is a rapacious war. If the United Nations asks us how to help it make its actions more effective in the future, I would respond by referring to other activities in which we approach a subject thinking we know what we are doing. We only think we know, but this is a lesson taught by delirious psychotics. We are facing a situation in which people are leaving their country without provocation. None of our soldiers is abroad. These people enter our country and declare deliriously that they are there to stay. Since we have suffered misfortunes, they come and settle in our country. This is counter to the principles that have brought us here. It is therefore quite futile to list and diagnose the evils underlying the re-emergent malaise in our civilizations if we do not operate on the basis of principles such as absolute respect, in keeping with the United Nations Charter, for the borders of others, and absolute respect, in keeping with the United Nations Charter, of the national and political independence of others. If we do not base our actions on those principles, this malaise will continue and those psychotics will bring nothing to the United Nations. Our task is to ensure that the United Nations works effectively and does not appear to be going around in circles. Whatever the consequences, we are determined to defend our rights and to eject by all means necessary those intruders in our country who insist on staying put. Our presidency will paraphrase the words of Corneille, spoken by Auguste: Has destiny, to injure us, chosen yet another of our loved ones to seduce? Let fate enlist the devil to the task — we are masters of ourselves and of our country. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Shaikh Mohammed bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Bahrain. Shaikh Al-Khalifa (Bahrain) (spoke in Arabic): I have the pleasure to address this important international gathering on behalf of His Highness Shaikh Hamad Bin Isa Al-Khalifa, Amir of the State of Bahrain, and to convey to all participants his greetings and hope that this Summit will achieve its noble goals and strengthen the role of the United Nations and adherence to its Charter and noble principles. Bahrain truly feels fully part of this vast gathering of this open and diverse United Nations community, for my country, throughout its history, has embodied these very values as a member of the great family of humanity through its tangible and continuous coexistence with various cultures, beliefs and principles. Bahrain continues, as it has throughout the ages, to take the lead and to serve as an example of this among its neighbours and within its region. Bahrain has consistently confirmed its pioneering role in free trade and economic openness. Furthermore, it has been a symbol of ideal coexistence and lasting peace with all its neighbours, as proven by over 5,000 years of history. This is a responsibility that Bahrain will willingly continue to bear in the future, as it has in the past. Having become a Member of the Organization in 1971, after attaining full political independence and the exercise of full sovereignty over all its islands, territory and territorial waters, as endorsed by the Security Council, the State of Bahrain has fully and actively participated in all meetings and activities of the United Nations. It has fulfilled all its membership obligations, both regionally and internationally, as was manifest during its term as a member of the Security Council in 1998 and 1999. Today, as we, the leaders and representatives of the States Members of this Organization, meet here to contemplate our future course, it is incumbent upon us to take this opportunity to reflect on our present situation and on the challenges posed by political, economic, scientific and cultural developments and changes. These developments and changes not only have their positive aspects, but also give rise to certain concerns and apprehensions, for example with regard to globalization and such issues as international peace and security and the fight against poverty, organized crime, terrorism, extremism and threats to the environment. Our gathering should offer an opportunity to identify the future priorities of the new century, in particular the issues of maintaining international peace and security and achieving peaceful and amicable solutions to all regional and international conflicts, given the negative effects of such conflicts on world progress and prosperity. The conflict and wars witnessed by the Middle East region for over half a century have proved, through their draining of the resources and potentials of States and peoples of the region and their hindering of development projects, the necessity and importance of such solutions. Today, while efforts are ongoing in the search for a solution to this conflict, we hope that the efforts of the sponsors of the peace process, the United States of America in particular, along with other regional and international parties, will succeed in achieving a just, comprehensive and lasting peace that will ensure the legitimate rights of the Palestinian people in establishing their own independent State with Jerusalem as its capital. The negotiations and contact between the parties to the peace process have proved that Jerusalem is the key to peace, because of its distinguished status for Arabs and Muslims. Israeli withdrawal from the Syrian territories occupied since 1967 is an important element in achieving a comprehensive, just and durable peace. Attention to the future of humanity and safeguarding it from other dangers such as terrorism and weapons of mass destruction should also be among the priorities of the future and the new century. Ensuring respect for human rights while ensuring that such rights are not exploited as a political pretext for interfering in the internal affairs of other states, promoting dialogue and mutual enrichment between civilizations, and the establishment of regional and international cooperation based on partnership and mutual interest should also be among these priorities. The lofty purposes and principles set out in the United Nations Charter in order to achieve justice, peace, security and stability throughout the world require us to strengthen the role of the United Nations and to restructure and reform its organs and work, in particular the Security Council, which requires transparency in its work and equitable representation in its membership. The role of the General Assembly in dealing with peace, security and justice, should also be confirmed. In conclusion, we would like to commend His Excellency, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his sincere and unceasing efforts to strengthen and invigorate the role of the United Nations in enhancing security, stability and peace throughout the world. May the peace and grace of God be upon you. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Mamadu Iaia Djalo, Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Communities of the Republic of Guinea- Bissau.

It is a great honour and privilege for us to be present at the Millennium Summit representing His Excellency Mr. Kumba Yalá, President of the Republic of Guinea- Bissau, who transmits to you the following message. “Gathered at the highest level at the Millennium Summit, our momentous meeting conveys our loyalty to common ideals and objectives, and recognizes the validity and importance of the principles and norms upon which our collective action is based, as defined in the Charter of the United Nations. “The spirit of shared responsibility that drives our Organization and inspires our work is a precious conquest that we must preserve, reinforce and adapt to the new times. “It is imperative to Guinea-Bissau that the capacity of the United Nations to carry out an ever-increasing role in international relations be strengthened. In this respect, we attribute great importance to the revitalization of the General Assembly and the rationalization of its agenda, just as we urge the reform of the Security Council with regard to an increase in the number of permanent and non-permanent members, keeping in mind the profound change the world has undergone, resulting in the greater representativeness of that organ and encouraging the principles of transparency and democracy in its work. “With the political landscape undergoing rapid and profound changes, the current times show that those transformations, far from being temporary, are part of a process that results from the need of nations to develop in an evermore interdependent world. With globalization, the ties and interconnectedness of human destiny favour the emergence of objective conditions for the effective participation of all members of the international community in the search for solutions to the problems of the contemporary world. “Efforts aimed at the establishment of peace and stability cannot, therefore, be dissociated from the efforts toward the economic and social development of the less fortunate. “These efforts should be undertaken as a global action, coherent and united, based on a structural transformation of the economies of developing countries, in particular the least developed countries, with a view to establishing the basis for sustainable socio-economic development. “This position should, obviously, be based on our own efforts, as much as in the capacity to reorient development policies in the direction of greater rationalization and efficiency, as in the search for definite solutions for the conflicts that still plague the world. “While Guinea-Bissau has been shaken by turmoil throughout its history, the consistency of the path of our diplomacy is proof of the unequivocal continuity of our commitment to the grand ideals of the Charter of the United Nations. “In this sense, our country is dedicated to the search for the right answers on the way to resolving the numerous crises that prevail in the different areas of the planet, particularly in our subregion of Africa. “It is based on these principles that our country, Guinea-Bissau, reiterates its firm determination to contribute, in cooperation with the countries represented at this Forum, to the full realization of the noble objectives and the materialization of the ideals of the Charter of the United Nations, in this, the threshold of the New Millennium.” The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Hersey Kyota, Chairman of the Delegation of Palau.

Good afternoon and thank you for the privilege of addressing you all today. Before I continue, I would like to extend the warm greetings of His Excellency Kuniwo Nakamura, the entire leadership and the people of the Republic of Palau. It is truly an honour and special privilege to be here with so many leaders on the auspicious occasion of the Millennium Summit. This Summit represents a very special opportunity to review the great achievements of the United Nations, take note of the vast global change which has occurred since the inception of the United Nations, examine the challenges which such change poses, and consider how to ensure that the United Nations can best meet the goals and serve the purposes set before it in the new millennium. The Republic of Palau, being the last Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands under the Trusteeship Council to achieve independence, obviously had no opportunity to be heard when the original collaboration on the direction of the United Nations occurred. However, this is a new world with a new order, and a genuine need has arisen for new directions for the United Nations. Palau is extremely pleased to welcome this opportunity to be heard on the subject this time around. The Republic of Palau firmly believes and hopes that the United Nations will strive to embrace the remaining non-member countries around the world, and to enable “We the peoples” together to forge a stronger international will and commitment to face all challenges before us in this new century. As a former Trust Territory under the administration of the United States of America, Palau had the advantage of being able to safely observe the sometimes rough-and-tumble developments of the post- Second World War, post-colonial, nation-building era which followed the establishment of the United Nations from beneath the protection of a super-Power’s umbrella. We were able to observe the many different models for addressing and adapting to the sea — changes which accompanied the period, while avoiding the need to adopt any one model ourselves. We thus were able to learn without the process of trial and error and all the costs and harmful effects which frequently come as a consequence of such a learning process. The stewardship of the United States of America provided Palau with the secure environment we needed to prepare ourselves to fully participate in the global community. For that, we express our sincere gratitude to the United States of America. While part of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, Palau did not slumber. As noted, we were actively observing the world around us, noting its changes and marking the pros and cons of various systems as they rose and fell with the ever-shifting realities which surrounded them. We concluded — as virtually all international actors, governmental and non-governmental, have come to realize — that the most stable system, the one most resilient to change, the one most capable of growing from and even embracing dramatic change, is the system which offers the greatest opportunity for active participation by the widest margin of its members. Time and again, the flexibility required for such a system to operate on its own right enabled the system to effect a positive response to external challenges, including paradigm shifts outside its membership. This observation suggests to Palau two salient points for the future operations of the United Nations. First, participation in the United Nations must be as wide as possible. The papers prepared by the United Nations Secretariat for this Summit correctly indicate that the old view of discrete nation-States has been overtaken by the realities of modern life. As it used to be said that no man is an island, the vast growth of transnational communications, multinational corporations, regional integration and non- governmental organizations now makes it possible to state that no island is an island either. In a very real and practical sense, there simply is no such thing as an entirely independent State today. In the light of that fact, the standards for membership in this body must be revised and made more inclusive. There are a number of international actors which play a vital role in regional and global developments and will continue to play such a vital role for the foreseeable future, yet are denied participation in this body. At least one such actor, the Republic of China on Taiwan, also meets the criteria set forth in standard, traditional definitions of a State, yet still has no recognition in the United Nations. That is simply untenable and compromises the inclusive objectives of the United Nations, objectives repeatedly acknowledged in United Nations Secretariat papers. Instead, and in order to maintain and further the effectiveness of the United Nations, we should acknowledge the passing of the old view of the international community and provide for full, formal participation in the United Nations based on practical considerations of the significance of an entity as an international actor. The second point which needs to be made is that participation must be as substantial as possible. By that, Palau means that decisions at every level of the United Nations must be open to real participation, that is, effective participation, on at least a representational basis by all Members. As the most obvious example of the failure of the United Nations to meet that need, we need only review a few basic facts concerning the Security Council. While the membership of the United Nations has increased from 51 at inception to 189 today, the membership of the Security Council has grown by only 10 members, none of which are permanent. The number and, more importantly, the identity of the permanent members have remained unchanged. As a result, the vast majority of all Members are denied genuine participation in what is arguably the most important organ of the United Nations. This, too, is untenable. There needs to be real reform of the Security Council, with a view to expanding real participation in that body. The Republic of Palau foresees that a significant step towards this goal would be to welcome Japan and a few others as new permanent members of the Security Council. Palau maintains that the steps suggested today are extremely important if the United Nations is to maintain and further its institutional effectiveness in the new global system. With that in place, we can then effectively address the challenging development issues facing the world in the new century. One primary challenge in the work of the United Nations is the issue of the environment. We must all individually demonstrate the necessary political will, from each and every Member State, to effectively combat environmental problems once and for all. One alarming environmental issue we have inadequately provided remedies for and which threatens the survival not only of small island States but also that of every country in the world is environmental sustainability. Environmental sustainability is everybody’s challenge. Industrial activities and agribusiness production continue to have an adverse effect on our soils and waterways. In many developing countries, massive deforestation, harmful farming practices and uncontrolled urbanization are major causes of environmental degradation. All those specific problems must be collectively looked into and provided with a scale of solid efforts whereby every country continues to meet its economic needs without compromising the ability of our planet to provide for the needs of future generations. In particular, my country strongly believes that every country must unequivocally demonstrate a rigorous political commitment to addressing one alarming environmental phenomenon, which is climate change. Evidence continues to mount and to demonstrate the inevitable reality of the impact of the emission of the so-called greenhouse gases that are responsible for global warming. The earth’s atmosphere is warming at an alarming rate, and sea levels have risen at an unprecedented rate. The Republic of Palau, in recent years, has witnessed a devastating portent of this global phenomenon. The rising sea level has invaded our taro patches and our agricultural land, subsequently destroying some of our prime sources of daily nourishment. Some of our neighbouring Pacific countries have had an even more disastrous experience with rising sea levels. Many have been displaced from their homes and have statistically become part of the estimated 25 million “environmental refugees” forced from their homes. The Republic of Palau, currently in possession of the chairmanship of the 16-island-member-State South Pacific Forum, is gravely concerned about the devastating impact of climate change on some of these island nations. As the inhabitants of a fragile ecosystem, we appeal to the rest of the international community to face up more aggressively to this inescapable reality. Climate change is a global problem whose full devastating impact can be minimized only if all countries willingly contribute on the basis of common but differentiated responsibility. In connection with our differentiated responsibilities, a particular sense of urgency attaches to the implementation of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. For there to be a genuine advance in our collective effort to combat climate change, the industrialized countries are called upon once again to commit themselves to the verifiable emissions limitation and reduction targets called for in the Kyoto Protocol. Such a commitment continues to be lacking, but it would essentially complete our first step towards reducing global warming. To demonstrate that global commitment, each of us must continue to remind ourselves that the challenge of addressing climate change is everybody’s business. We, as responsible citizens of the international community, must collectively forge a solid political will to make the necessary changes, specifically those that are called for in the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): Before giving the floor to the next speaker, I once again appeal to representatives to be kind enough to keep silent and to listen to these very good speeches; this will also enable us to move forward more smoothly. I thank members for their kindness and cooperation in this regard. The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Panapasi Nelesone, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Tuvalu.

It is a great honour and privilege to address the Millennium Summit on behalf of the Prime Minister of Tuvalu, who unfortunately has had to leave the Summit owing to some unforeseen but unavoidable urgent matters at home. As the youngest member of this great family of independent nations, Tuvalu places the highest value on the work of the United Nations. Over the past three days, the high spirit of goodwill and commitment that has been enunciated as Member States have reflected on the future role of the United Nations has indeed given Tuvalu great inspiration and a sense of pride in having joined this Organization. It has also given Tuvalu the highest expectations, and great hopes for the success of the United Nations in promoting peace and prosperity for all mankind. Peace is the absence of threat to the security and the survival of a nation. Without peace, there is no development and no progress. As with many of our island sisters and brothers in the Pacific and other regions, Tuvalu’s severe capacity limitations and extreme environmental and economic vulnerability to external forces constitute the most serious threat to our survival. While we welcome the vast opportunities for all countries to be gained through the process of globalization, international indifference to the situation of Indo-Pacific societies has only led to the undermining of our small economies. Tuvalu therefore strongly supports the full development and adoption of an environmental vulnerability index that can better reflect the extreme capacity limitation and vulnerability of small island developing States. In the same vein, the compelling findings about the consequences of global warming and climate change, in particular rising sea levels, are of the greatest concern to Tuvalu and to many other small island developing States. Already, some of our valuable land has totally disappeared, washed away by high seas. Even as this historic Summit progresses, our peoples face the real threat of being inundated by sea water. In keeping with the spirit of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, therefore, Tuvalu urges Member States and the international community at large to take serious heed of the pleas of small island States with regard to climate change, and to combat this threat more aggressively before it is too late. To that end, we also fully support the further promotion of frameworks for the Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS) as a means to promote and further ensure the security and survival of our peoples. In joining the United Nations, Tuvalu could not but notice the extent to which strong champions of democracy and human rights, and those that have genuinely contributed to the development of the prosperity and well-being of the international community, such as the Republic of China, are being excluded from the United Nations. Tuvalu strongly believes that the United Nations cannot be universally representative of the democratic peoples of the world until the question of the representation of the Republic of China in the United Nations is addressed by the General Assembly. Also of concern to us is the continued suppression of some peoples of the world by colonial means. Tuvalu therefore calls for the conflict in West Papua New Guinea to be properly addressed. Tuvalu has the greatest hopes that the work of the Millennium Summit and of the General Assembly will lead to constructive reform of the United Nations to make it a more meaningful and representative organization as it moves into the new century. May God bless the United Nations, and may God bless the dreams of its peoples. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Amraiya Naidu, Chairman of the delegation of Fiji.

It is my profound privilege to deliver the greetings of His Excellency the President of the Republic of Fiji, who deeply regrets not being able to share this momentous occasion of the Millennium Summit with all of us here at the United Nations. His Excellency Ratu Josefa Iloilo is nonetheless with us all in the spirit of this historic occasion to bid farewell to the second millennium and usher in the third millennium and the twenty-first century. Fiji takes great pride in its membership of the United Nations, and will continue to commit its spirit and resources to the peaceful goals and the principled ideals of this international family. As a sibling of the South Pacific family of nations, Fiji is proud also of the expanding membership of the United Nations community thanks to the admission of its fellow South Pacific nations in recent years. It is therefore with deep humility and reflection that Fiji takes the floor as the last speaker from the Government delegations, and immediately following Tuvalu, to offer its familial congratulations and embrace to Tuvalu, our sister nation from the Pacific. Indeed, every family meets with successes and shortcomings at different stages in life. The United Nations is no different. There is no question that the goals it aspired to 55 years ago have been achieved. There is therefore great cause for celebration today as we come together to close the twentieth century. The United Nations will be all the richer at the end of this day, with wisdom, commitment, thoughts and ideas expressed as the way forward for the Organization. This day has offered a remarkable opportunity to appraise what has been accomplished, as well as to look for ways to work together towards getting tangible results on issues affecting humankind. In its achievements, the United Nations is also continually refining its goals through the values and principles that are consolidated in the United Nations Millennium Declaration. In this process it is also redefining its mandates, structures, processes and resources to meet the rapid global challenges which are far more sophisticated today, and will be in the future, than those faced 55 years ago. It is this spirit of humble achievement that Fiji intends to bequeath to our future generation with the guidance of a United Nations, well equipped and well resourced to continue to rise to its future challenges. As family is the bedrock of social and political institutions, it therefore behoves each of us here to ensure that the United Nations remains intact, stronger and robust. Fiji is confident that these goals are attainable through the proposed reforms within the Organization being engineered by the Secretary- General, to whose dynamic leadership Fiji pays particular tribute. The United Nations family has enabled smaller, least developed or developing countries such as my own to contribute to world peace in our own, albeit small, way. While there have been measurable benefits of United Nations membership, there is also positive scope for much more equitable changes. My small country has contributed troops and civilian police to United Nations peacekeeping missions for over two decades and has in the process paid the ultimate price of the loss of 35 lives in the maintenance of peace. We have had a presence in the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon since that Mission began, and we continue to have a contingent there. Our civilian police are serving in Bosnia and Kosovo. Military observers are in the Iraq-Kuwait Mission, and more recently our troops have been sent to East Timor. Our soldiers in the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET) are serving with troops from Ireland and New Zealand in Suwai in East Timor, which borders West Timor. We know the area since Wednesday has been far from calm. Like any member of a family, Fiji has had its share of difficulties and triumphs. It is to the credit of the United Nations that the neighbourly feelings of respect, comradeship and understanding would prevail unimpeded in the halls and corridors of this building, even in times of conflict for its Member States. The laudable vision of the Secretary-General in the report “We the peoples” is the torch that will guide the United Nations and illuminate its steps for a holistic and collective journey into the twenty-first century. Let us seize this moment. This juncture is ours. Humankind is called on to leave this world better than we found it. Let us pause, look back at things that went wrong and strengthen our resolve to steer for a better future. There is no better time for this task than now, at the crossroads of two millenniums. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Ahmed Esmat Abdel Meguid, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States.

I am delighted to participate in the Millennium Summit. It is a unique, historic event. I wish to take this opportunity to congratulate the Co- Chairpersons and the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan. We congratulate him on convening this eminent Assembly, which has brought together the leaders of the world under the auspices of the United Nations, this Organization that personifies the conscience and the aspirations of the world. The League of Arab States was one of the first regional organizations. It was established in 1945, at the end of the Second World War. The League is entering the third millennium, and it welcomes its greater role in its new partnership with the United Nations. We think this event is of overriding historical importance in international relations. It is an opportunity for the leaders of the world to learn lessons and to benefit from the experience and achievements of the United Nations, as well as its shortcomings, in order to give it a new momentum as we proceed to the next millennium. Turning to the Organization’s future agenda, we need to delineate the objectives more clearly in order to improve United Nations bodies, such as expanding the Security Council membership to make it more democratic and representative of the international community so that the United Nations can become a centre for international policy and international legitimacy. The Organization must abandon selectivity and double standards and must come up with creative solutions in order to preserve international peace and security, ensure respect for human rights, promote democracy, guarantee that there is dialogue among civilizations, combat problems such as disease, poverty, unemployment, environmental degradation and terrorism and narrow the gap between countries of the North and those of the South. The developing countries should be assisted in attaining economic development, reducing their foreign debt and avoiding the negative effects of globalization. Throughout its history, the United Nations has achieved enormous successes, including the settlement of various conflicts throughout the world and resolutions adopted to try to resolve the Middle East problem and to restore peace to the region, such as Security Council resolutions 181 (II) of 1947, 242 (1967), 338 (1973), 425 (1978) and others. We believe that the faithful, total implementation of these resolutions is the way to realize just and comprehensive peace in the Middle East. This will be brought about through total Israeli withdrawal from all the Arab territories it has occupied since 1967, enabling the Palestinian people to return to their homes, to regain their legitimate rights and to establish their own independent State, with Jerusalem as its capital. It will be brought about by Israel’s withdrawal from the occupied Syrian Golan to the lines of 4 June 1967 and by dealing with the effects of Israel’s occupation of southern Lebanon, including the release of Lebanese detainees from Israeli prisons. Israel should also pay compensation for damages done as a result of its occupation of Arab lands. I would like to pay tribute to the constructive role played by the United Nations in its supervision of the implementation of Security Council resolution 425 (1978), regarding Israel’s withdrawal from southern Lebanon. We reaffirm the Arab position, which calls for disarmament in the region, particularly nuclear disarmament, to make the Middle East a nuclear- weapon-free zone and a region free of all weapons of mass destruction. The United Nations is the international forum for international legitimacy where efforts are made at regional and world levels to achieve the aspirations of the whole of humankind. The Arab League, which is the expression of Arab aspirations and legitimacy, is keen to solidify and strengthen its links with the United Nations. In conclusion, I hope that this historic Summit is successful and that it will lead to a future vision and better future for humanity. We also hope that Member States will renew their total commitment to the implementation of the Organization’s resolutions and the Charter’s provisions. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Romano Prodi, President of the European Commission.

This Summit embodies the commitment of the world’s political leaders to strengthen the foundations of the United Nations, to renew it and to reshape it to fit the needs of a new century. It marks a time of hope and a time of expectation to cope with global issues such as fighting poverty, achieving sustainable development and seeking peace, security and human rights for all. We need global solutions based on global cooperation. The United Nations is uniquely placed to mobilize common action. The Secretary-General’s excellent report and his statement prepared for this gathering make that conclusion crystal clear. As a European, I am aware of how much the map of Europe alone has changed with the end of the cold war and the further development of the European Union. Europeans now have a unique opportunity to create a 500-million-citizen Europe that is truly whole and truly free, the largest community of democracies today. This is a first in recorded history. Much has changed in other parts of the world, too. Age-old rivalries are being replaced by cooperation. Dictatorships have fallen, to be replaced by democracies. Conflict remains in all too many places, but the march of freedom can be detected around the globe. This is not a prognosis we could have made 20 years ago. This Summit is taking place at a time of unprecedented hope, but also of unprecedented challenges. An age-old problem that is still with us is the gap between rich and poor countries, or between the haves and the have-nots. This is unjust and unsustainable. It is an affront to decency and a threat to our stability. The challenges of globalization are, by contrast, entirely new. How do we cope with these challenges? I see globalization as a new opportunity to be exploited. This is why I would welcome a new round of the World Trade Organization (WTO), based on four key principles: liberalization, including better market access for developing countries; stronger and updated rules; sustainable development; and the need to respond to the concerns expressed by civil society. A new trade round would help give people a share in the benefits of globalization, bridging the world divide. Clearly, the WTO cannot achieve this goal by itself. Other parts of the multilateral system, especially those responsible for social and empowerment issues, also need to be strengthened. At this time of great expectation, the emergence of a genuine world economy, underpinned by colossal technology forces, calls for a vastly improved system of global governance — that is, a common core of values, rules and practices to which we all subscribe. In the international arena, there is no alternative to democracy. In the international arena, there is no alternative to strong, multilateral institutions based on impeccable democratic legitimacy. Decisions and procedures must be transparent. Civil society must be more directly involved. Only improved multilateralism will ensure that globalization appears not so much as a threat, but rather as an opportunity not to be missed. The old “trade not aid” slogan does not adequately reflect the challenges of our time. We certainly need more open trade, but we must also improve financial flows to developing countries and strengthen our aid commitments. Without targeted aid, the workings of the global economy would be difficult to reconcile with the expectations of the poor. It is no accident that the European Union and its member States have been operating a wide-ranging programme of external assistance for years, representing more than half of all official development assistance worldwide, and some two thirds of all grant aid. This is the result of a deeply felt moral commitment to solidarity. In the demanding circumstances of the new century, the fight against poverty needs a change in approach. The European Union contribution has come in the form of the new Cotonou Agreement, governing its relations with African, Caribbean and Pacific countries. A daunting amount still remains to be done, and collaboration is the key to success. The European Union is committed to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) Debt Initiative, to which the European Community is the largest single contributor in the world. In Brussels in May next year it will be hosting the Third United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries. The socio-economic development of the South remains vital to our own stability and prosperity. Social development goes hand in hand with human rights. The new century should build upon the results of our generation’s struggle in this field. In its efforts to enhance respect for human rights, the European Union has been working to promote the abolition of the death penalty and has called for a moratorium on execution. The United Nations can play a major role in facilitating developments in this regard. I hope that the beacon lit at the Summit will illuminate the work of a new United Nations, placed on a firmer and more financially equitable footing, a United Nations for the twenty-first century. The European Community is fully aware of the challenges facing this Organization, and it stands ready to play its part in meeting them. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Azeddine Laraki, Secretary-General of the Organization of the Islamic Conference.

I bring the Assembly greetings from the Organization of the Islamic Conference, and its best wishes and prayers for the success of this historic gathering of heads of State and Government, perhaps the largest of its kind ever held on this planet. This is a momentous event. The atmosphere here is overwhelming, signifying the seriousness with which the heads of State or Government of the countries of the world view the opportunity to unite in the common cause of peace and prosperity, to be collectively pursued by each and every one of us in the new millennium ahead. We have entered the twenty-first century with great expectations, but also with some daunting constraints. In the century that has just gone by, mankind vigorously and successfully explored the environment and made considerable progress in uncovering, through acquired scientific knowledge and technological skills, some of the keys to alleviating many of human society’s social and material constraints and problems. The challenge now is to use the acquired knowledge and skills in a manner that would serve the interests of and cater to the needs of all humankind so that no one remains deprived of — indeed, so that everyone may benefit from — the resources with which our Creator has enriched the earth. The notion of dialogue among civilizations, introduced by Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran and Chairman of the Islamic Summit Conference, and adopted by the General Assembly, if pursued constructively and in the spirit of mutual respect, should take us a long way towards attaining the lofty objectives of peace and prosperity for all. I express the hope that the year of dialogue, to be proclaimed in 2001, may usher in an era of mutual understanding, healthy and fruitful contacts and the sharing of knowledge and skills and know-how on all fronts of human needs and endeavours, so that we may attain our worthwhile development goals, especially poverty alleviation, social integration, full employment and education and health care for all. This leads me to the idea of globalization, and to address some misgivings, misunderstandings and reservations with which it is being viewed in certain quarters, particularly in the third world. I share the view of Mr. Kofi Annan that we must make globalization an engine that lifts people out of hardship and misery, not a force that holds them down. We must carefully and meticulously ensure that globalization promotes equity, guarantees equality of opportunity, enforces transparency and fosters confidence and mutual respect in all dealings among the peoples and nations of the world. To attain that goal, it is imperative, indeed, essential, for an environment of freedom and justice to prevail for all peoples and nations of the world. Every human being deserves to breathe the air of freedom and to be empowered to exercise his or her role in constructive developmental undertakings for the benefit of society as a whole. This also calls for the end of foreign occupation, and the exercise of the right of self-determination, wherever people remain deprived of it — I refer particularly to the rights of self-determination of the peoples of Palestine and of Kashmir. As long as they, and any others in a similar situation, remain in bondage, humankind as a whole remains in a state of shame. It is incumbent upon the United Nations to help redeem those members of human society from their long-lasting predicaments so that they may regain their dignity and self-respect and join forces with the rest of us as free and equal partners in the developmental tasks that lie ahead. At a time when our world is at the crossroads of trends and events that either threaten mass destruction or promise a just and progressive future, let us not lose the precious opportunity offered by this Millennium Summit today. Let this be remembered as the time when the leadership of the world rose to the occasion and, using all its God-given wisdom, laid down the foundations of a healthy, safe and progressive global village to be our collective destiny in the new millennium. To that end, I pledge most solemnly the full cooperation of the Organization of the Islamic Conference. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency The Right Honourable Don McKinnon, Secretary-General of the Commonwealth Secretariat. Mr. McKinnon (Commonwealth Secretariat) It is an honour for me, as Secretary-General of the Commonwealth, to make this statement to this very important Millennium Summit. Allow me to join others in conveying our warmest congratulations to Tuvalu, the newest Member, which equally became a full member of the Commonwealth on l September. Since 1946, the platform here has given hundreds of world leaders the opportunity to declare their concerns, their needs, their wants, their aspirations and, of course, their despair. The same people have spoken of visions of hope and about excitement about what this great Organization could do, of what regions, the great Powers and, of course, small States could do. But it would be rather hard today to find a person amongst the l.2 billion who live on less than $1 a day who would say that this Organization should be garlanded for its success. I do, however, pay a tribute to the tens of thousands of United Nations staff around the world that do their very best to deliver on the mandates that are agreed to here. That the people are committed to this Organization there can be no doubt. The recent death of United Nations workers in Timor is very much a testament to that. But success by the United Nations must begin with clear, unambiguous and workable political decisions. We in the Commonwealth, a grouping of some 54 nations comprising 1.5 billion people, also want to make things better for those living in poverty, those who do not know peace, people who do not know where tomorrow’s food is coming from, those who have no permanent place to live, those who cannot contemplate education for their children, those who watch family friends die without health care and can only depend on immediate family for their old age. And, in today’s world of the digital divide, that gap widens even more. When one can travel to the other side of the globe in 24 hours, when one can move billions of pictures, of words, of dollars around the world in seconds, no one lives very far away from anyone any more, and everybody is our neighbour. The global neighbourhood means that we all have an interest in helping our neighbour. It is costly for us to have neighbours who are unwell, uneducated or unable to work, because ultimately the costs of rescuing them climb even higher and the costs become ours to meet. In the Commonwealth we are not able to tackle all these problems, but we do believe that they must be addressed. We will continue to uphold and pursue those basic entitlements of all people. Essential is, of course, the freedom to choose who should govern one. Equally, only those Governments with a high level of probity that support sound, democratic institutions, the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary, and that provide rights and opportunities for all citizens, regardless of race, gender, colour, creed or political belief, will truly be able to deliver to their people that which their people are entitled to expect. Our enshrined Commonwealth values require members to uphold these principles. And our commitment is exemplified by the fact that two of our members are currently suspended from the councils of the Commonwealth because democratically elected Governments have been overthrown. I am pleased that the leaders of the Organization of African Unity have also decided to make unwelcome those leaders who come to power using a loaded gun. There is a challenge, of course, to the United Nations to make unwelcome those in this institution who also use a gun to overthrow a Parliament or a Government elected by the people. In the Commonwealth we will continue to work hard to encourage the practice of good governance. It may not, by itself, put food on the table or educate a teenager, but it is fundamental to a society that wishes to progress. We will continue to run programmes to better educate, train and qualify people. We will continue to play our part in conflict resolution, encouraging trade expansion, and fighting communicable diseases. There are many times that we cannot go it alone, and we shall continue to work with the United Nations and other agencies, with development banks, regional institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. We believe that we must work together in this new millennium to better this world. If we work with others, all moving in the same direction, with similar goals and objectives, and with less discord amongst each other, we will improve on the last century. If we can convince ourselves that the malnourished child in a war-torn State is more important than who sits on what committee in this institution, I believe we will have some success, and the United Nations will get the praise we believe it deserves. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Abdolrahim Govahi, Secretary-General of the Economic Cooperation Organization.

At the outset, on behalf of the delegation of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), I express our gratitude to the United Nations Secretariat for the opportunity to deliver my statement at this Summit. The ECO region comprises a land mass of over 7 million square kilometres, inhabited by more than 300 million people who are bound together by deep-rooted historical and cultural ties, and represents enormous human and resource potential. Its seat located in Tehran, ECO is purely an economic organization seeking to promote multi-dimensional regional cooperation for the accelerated socio-economic well- being of its member States. It comprises 10 members. These are, besides Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan and Turkey, six independent republics of the former Soviet Union: Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, the Kyrgyz Republic, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. Having been granted observer status during the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly, we find that our joint endeavours with various United Nations specialized agencies and programmes over the past few years have contributed significantly in promoting the objective of the all-round socio-economic development of the ECO region. In the past decade ECO has signed memoranda of understanding with more than a dozen United Nations agencies, such as the United Nations Development Programme, the United Nations International Drug Control Programme, the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific, the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the United Nations Industrial Development Organization, the United Nations Population Fund and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and has since carried out joint missions, projects and activities with them in order to serve our common objectives vis-à-vis this region. ECO has also been granted observer status at the World Trade Organization since March 1999. Outside the United Nations system, we have mutually beneficial close contacts with the Organization of the Islamic Conference, the Islamic Development Bank, the European Union, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and the South Asian regional organization, the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation. The Tehran Declaration, issued at the dawn of the new millennium by our leaders on the occasion of their sixth summit, reaffirms our collective commitment to a prosperous ECO region. It addresses all important issues of our concern in the priority areas of trade, transport and communications, energy, the environment, health, drug control, etc. The Declaration, inter alia, welcomes the initiative, globally received and acknowledged by the whole world, of His Excellency Mohammad Khatami, President of the Islamic Republic of Iran, of a “Dialogue among Civilizations”, for which the United Nations has designated 2001 the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. In conclusion, I congratulate His Excellency Mr. Kofi Annan and the United Nations Headquarters staff for making excellent arrangements for this auspicious Summit. Coinciding as it does with the advent of the new millennium, we wish it every success. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency Mr. Jakob Kellenberger, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross.

I thank you, Madam, for giving me the opportunity to address the Millennium Assembly of the United Nations. With a staff of almost 12,000, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is active in practically all armed conflicts and most situations of international strife that could degenerate into an armed conflict. Its task is to protect and assist the victims. From such a vantage point, the ICRC is unfortunately witnessing disturbing trends in a growing number of conflicts. The number of helpless civilian victims, mainly women and children, is steadily increasing. The civilian population has become the very target in many conflicts. Meeting the particular needs of women and girls for protection and assistance will be a priority for the ICRC in coming years. International humanitarian law is regularly being flouted in an environment with an increasing number of identity-related and destructured conflicts in eroding State structures. In addition, new perpetrators of violence are emerging, sometimes difficult to identify and to get in touch with. Access to cheap and increasingly sophisticated weaponry is easy, and is further facilitated by today’s communication networks. This accessibility and the erosion of State power are the ingredients of many conflict situations. I thank the Secretary-General for having underlined, in his report to the General Assembly, that the issue of the proliferation of light weapons must be urgently addressed. There is a correlation between extreme poverty and violence. The eradication of extreme poverty clearly has a conflict-prevention dimension. There are dangers inherent in humanitarian action, of which we have been sadly reminded this week by the killing, in West Timor, of colleagues from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. What more must happen for more concrete action to be taken in order to better protect solidly motivated and courageous relief workers? Lastly, with a growing number of actors in the field, humanitarian activities often suffer from a lack of coordination, imprecise mandates and vague principles of action. An extensive body of international law, in particular the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and their Additional Protocols, sets out rules aimed at alleviating the suffering engendered by international and non- international armed conflicts. The High Contracting Parties to the fourth Geneva Convention have undertaken to respect and to ensure respect for the Conventions in all circumstances. More significant steps have to be taken in order to better ensure this respect. The ICRC offers advice and technical expertise to Governments. Together with its partners in the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the national societies and their Federation, the ICRC will pursue its dissemination of international humanitarian law and do its utmost to ensure respect for it. It also strives to assure that the rules of humanitarian law governing weapons are updated to take into account the rapid development of new military technology. The efforts of the United Nations in helping develop and promote international humanitarian law, and in particular the steps taken to afford better protection to civilians in armed conflicts, are greatly appreciated by the ICRC. Better implementation of existing humanitarian law remains one of my main concerns. A plan of action to improve implementation is part of the ICRC’s institutional priorities. Today’s — and no doubt tomorrow’s — humanitarian challenges cannot be met without a strong commitment to improved coordination between humanitarian actors. The ICRC is committed to efficient coordination. “Efficient” means that such coordination should amount to better protection and assistance to victims. This implies that each actor concentrates on his core competencies as practically exercised in the field. The ICRC cooperates with United Nations-led coordination mechanisms. As such, it discusses humanitarian issues and shares information, both in the field and by means of bilateral, high-level dialogue. There is no contradiction between the ICRC’s commitment to coordination and the equally strong commitment to the independence of its strictly humanitarian action, based on the principles of impartiality and neutrality. The credibility of the ICRC as an independent and neutral intermediary in situations of armed conflict, seeking to obtain access to all victims, is certainly in the interest of all: the community of States and, above all, the victims of armed conflict themselves. At the dawn of a new century, the Assembly can count on an ICRC willing to fulfil its humanitarian tasks through concrete action in the field wherever there is a need for protection and assistance. My strong hope — indeed, my expectation — is that the community of States will invest more in the prevention of armed conflicts and, should a conflict erupt despite all efforts, make it clear to all the parties involved that they are expected to respect the rules of international humanitarian law. The strong, political support given to the United Nations by the Millennium Summit is also encouraging for the ICRC, because it means support for policies aimed at better protection for the most vulnerable in this world. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by His Excellency, Count Carlo Marullo di Condojanni, Grand Chancellor of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta. Count Marullo di Condojanni: (Sovereign Military Order of Malta) (spoke in French): The Millennium Summit represents an opportunity to consider the real evolutionary prospects with respects to the programmes presented by the international community concerning the many problems facing the peoples of the world today, for which it is difficult to find adequate solutions. The Sovereign Military Order of Malta would like to congratulate the Secretary-General on the lofty moral message of his report, and we would very humbly like to remind the heads of State or Government gathered here of some priorities, in the belief that when they return home, they will, as the Secretary-General said, do their utmost and all that is within their power in order to diminish differences and make up for omissions, particularly at this stage in the history of humankind in when the globalization of markets, unless properly governed, may worsen existing imbalances, thereby making the rich countries richer and the poor ones poorer. Much will depend on how well we apply the new technologies to agriculture. These technologies must not become a new goldmine to be exploited by the few rich and powerful countries; on the contrary, they must be placed at the service of humanity, while at the same time we respect the fundamental laws of nature so that we do not destablize ecosystems. These new technologies must be harnessed towards harmonious and controlled development, assuring the poorer countries easier access to production systems. This may improve, if not solve, an age-old and chronic problem that has become intolerable to all those who care about the future of mankind. While we look forward with great hope to projects aimed at alleviating hunger in the world and at enhancing the quality of life by providing, at the least, sufficient food and medicine, we must not neglect, in addition to issues of basic survival, the spiritual development of man from an intellectual point of view, and therefore the right to education from a social point of view and the end of all discrimination from the point of view of the right to life with the necessary assurances, as well as respect for justice in the broadest meaning of this word. This is one of the purposes for which the United Nations was established, which expressly include the enhancement of behaviours complying with the principles of justice. In a world approaching the third millennium, the so-called civilized countries are unfortunately often late in providing people with effective justice. They openly declare formal adherence to the charter of human rights, but then trample on such rights whenever they fail to provide speedy trials and whenever they allow the use of unlimited pre-trial detention in criminal cases and, worse still, do not respect the individual right to an effective defence vis-à-vis the often excessive power granted to the prosecution. This breaches the primary rule that should govern criminal trials: the absolute equality of defence and prosecution before an truly impartial judge. Accordingly, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta firmly reaffirms its full response to the Secretary-General’s invitations to all nations “to sign and ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, so as to consolidate and extend the gains we have achieved in bringing to justice those responsible for crimes against humanity”. (A/54/2000, para. 330) Much more could be said on this subject, but that would require additional time. We hope, however, that the Millennium Summit may, by heeding the call of the Secretary-General, effectively stimulate better forms of international cooperation among States in order to deal with emergencies throughout the world and to increase legitimate universal control, which is now required by the global perspective in which the international community has been operating for some years. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by Her Excellency Ms. Najma Heptulla, President of the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments.

I am honoured to take the floor as the President of the Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments and on behalf of the oldest international organization, the Inter- Parliamentary Union (IPU), to present the outcome of the unique and historically compelling event held in this Hall from 30 August to 1 September, in cooperation with the United Nations and with the participation of some 148 Presidents of chambers from 140 countries. This first ever Conference of Presiding Officers of National Parliaments truly represents the commitment of representatives of the peoples, the Parliaments, to work ever more closely, together with the United Nations, to ensure that the twenty-first century is a century without fear, without deprivation and want, a century that allows for the fullest development of the inherent potential of each and every human being that will represent the real globalization. We thank the Secretary-General for his very inspiring address on that occasion. His messages will be reciprocated through our actions. After intensive debate, we unanimously adopted a declaration encapsulating our parliamentary vision for international cooperation at the dawn of the third millennium. It sets out the main challenges facing our societies and expresses our political resolve to successfully overcome them through international cooperation. It also contains recommendations on the role of parliaments in a reformed multilateral cooperation system. Parliaments stand firmly behind the United Nations and this support is both political and practical. Whether we belong to the majority or to the opposition in our parliaments, we are committed to offering the necessary political backing to the United Nations as the cornerstone of the international cooperation system. We are also committed to allocating the resources which the United Nations and the other intergovernmental institutions need to accomplish their noble mission. We are unanimous in identifying a democratic deficit in the United Nations and the intergovernmental regime at large. If the United Nations decisions are to interpret the concerns and aspirations of the peoples and if international agreements are to effectively find their way to our national reality, parliament, as the institution which legitimately represents society in its diversity and is accountable to it, should have a better say in the international cooperation process. No doubt it is for Governments to negotiate at the United Nations. Surely, our main role as legislators is to translate into legislative and budgetary provisions the agreements reached internationally by them. Yet it is in the wider interest of all, and certainly in the interest of democracy, that we be involved in the process in its early stages and not exclusively in the implementation phase. Intergovernmental organizations would also become more accountable and would be perceived as more transparent by the people if we were better informed about and associated with their action as people’s representatives. We are happy to note that the millennium declaration that this gathering will adopt calls for a strengthening of cooperation between the United Nations and the national parliaments through their world organization, the Inter- Parliamentary Union, which I have the honour to represent here. I and my colleagues will do all that is in our power, and attempt much that is beyond, to give concrete shape to the Assembly’s call. We are determined to see to it that the necessary work is done at the national level, and especially within our national parliaments, so that action can be taken to develop the parliamentary dimension of the international cooperation for which we are calling. To create this new partnership, parliaments intend to act in close consultation with Governments and with the intergovernmental organizations. Internationally, the Inter-Parliamentary Union is a unique instrument to relay the views of our parliaments to the intergovernmental system. This is why we can no longer accept that it be classified as a non- governmental organization and we look forward to identifying with the Assembly a status for the IPU which is commensurate with the constitutional status of parliaments and with IPU’s mission as our world organization. We were concerned that two of our fellow presiding officers were prevented from participating. The denial of visas to them runs counter to the spirit on which the IPU and the United Nations are founded and is contrary to the principles of democracy underlying the functioning of parliaments. Furthermore, it calls into question our ability to meet at the United Nations in New York to express the kind of support with which we want to provide it. I therefore call on all representatives and the host country urgently to help us find a solution to such problems. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): The Assembly will now hear an address by Mr. Techeste Ahderom, Co-Chairperson of the Millennium Forum.

Last May, representatives of civil society and non-governmental organizations from all over the world gathered in this great hall to consult about humanity’s common future and, in particular, about the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century. The meeting was called the Millennium Forum, and, in light of the wide ranging concerns of its participants, the geographic reach they embodied — including broad representation from developing countries — and the depth and breath of the organizations they represented, it was one of the most diverse — and significant — gatherings of civil society organizations ever held. The Forum was significant for its attempt to accelerate the process among non-governmental organizations of networking and coalition building across issue areas that has proved to be such a powerful force for change and social action in today’s world. The issues we considered included how to establish a just and lasting peace; how to eradicate poverty; how to set humanity on a path of sustainable development while protecting our shared environment; how to see that human rights everywhere are upheld, at all times, by all nations; and how to face up to the urgent challenges of globalization. In the end, despite our great diversity, we successfully agreed on a powerfully worded “Declaration and Agenda for Action”. It offers a bold vision for humanity’s future and outlines a series of concrete steps that the United Nations, governments, and members of civil society themselves can take to address the global problems facing humanity today. After hearing your speeches here over the last three days, I must say that our vision and plan of action are consonant with much of what has been said here. I am personally heartened by this and feel that this historic Summit may well be remembered as having opened the door to a long-awaited era of peace, justice and prosperity for all humanity. This new era will, of course, require concrete deeds and not just words. We in civil society stand ready to work with you and your governments, side by side, in a strong new partnership to create this new world. At the same time, civil society also stands ready to hold you to your commitments if you do not deliver on your words. Throughout history, from the abolition of slavery to the recognition of the equality of women and men, most great social movements have begun not with governments but with ordinary people. In 1945, civil society played an important role in shaping many of the key articles found in the Charter of the United Nations, especially in the area of human rights. More recently, non-governmental organizations have played a leading role in shaping and supporting an International Criminal Court, in the movement for debt cancellation, and in the International Campaign to Ban Landmines. On a number of occasions, Secretary-General Kofi Annan has said that civil society participation in and partnership with the United Nations is not an option, but a necessity. We appreciate his efforts to facilitate effective partnership with civil society at the United Nations. We thank him especially for opening the United Nations to the Millennium Forum last May, and for making the Millennium Forum Declaration available to this Summit as a United Nations document. We ask that you review carefully our Millennium Forum Declaration. I think you will find that, for the most part, we are simply calling on Governments to live up to the commitments and the principles that they agreed to in the great global conferences of the 1990s. We are also seeking increased access for non- governmental organizations to the United Nations General Assembly and its Main Committees. Allow me to give you a few highlights of what the Forum called for in its Declaration. The Forum’s participants believe that, when a billion people go to bed hungry every night, it is a gross violation of human rights. The Declaration calls for immediate debt cancellation. It also calls for a “Global Poverty Eradication Fund”, aimed at offering the poor access to credit. On globalization, the Forum took the view that, while it offers “significant opportunities for people to connect, share and learn from each other”, in its currently unregulated form it increases inequities and escalates disparities between rich and poor, undermines local traditions and cultures, and it marginalizes large numbers of people in urban and rural areas. The Declaration urges Governments to make serious “commitments to restructure the global financial architecture based on principles of equity, transparency, accountability, and democracy ...,” stating clearly that the United Nations should be the pre-eminent international organization overseeing the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organization. To conclude, the Millennium Forum Declaration seeks to articulate the hopes and aspirations of the peoples of the world. As its opening paragraphs state: “Our vision is of a world that is human- centred and genuinely democratic, where all human beings are full participants and determine their own destinies. In our vision we are one human family, in all our diversity, living on one common homeland and sharing a just, sustainable and peaceful world, guided by universal principles of democracy, equality, inclusion, voluntarism, non-discrimination and participation by all persons ...”. Oral presentations by the Chairpersons of the four round tables The Co-Chairperson (Finland): We shall now hear oral presentations by the Chairpersons of the four round tables. I give the floor to the Chairman of the round table held on Wednesday 6 September from 3 to 6 p.m., His Excellency Mr. Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore.

I shall summarize the discussion for the round table I chaired. At the outset, I told my fellow leaders that I would divide the time equally among the subjects of globalization, peace and security, and any other issues. As it turned out, the discussion focused on globalization. However, there were a few interventions on peace and security, Security Council reform, and environmental issues. Let me first provide an overview of the concerns of the participants on globalization. There was no obvious North-South divide among the participants. All the leaders felt that globalization was a reality that had to be faced. There were enormous benefits for those who could take advantage of globalization. Others who lacked the capacity to do so, however, would find themselves falling further and further behind in the economic race. The negative effects of globalization have therefore to be moderated so that they will not strip away the small and the weak. One key point was that, while individual countries had national institutions to regulate the domestic market and moderate its social impact, there were no international institutions to regulate the global market and check the adverse effects of globalization on countries. On the “digital divide”, many leaders felt that bridging it would help close the widening income gulf. Others were of the view that they needed first to deal with more fundamental problems, such as lack of basic education and reliable electricity and water supplies. Several leaders argued that the rules of the international financial institutions were written to favour strong, rich countries. Undemocratic decision- making at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Trade Organization (WTO) was cited. Many said that a basic problem impeding their country’s development was their debt burden and urged debt relief. The leaders offered several solutions to the problems they had identified. Some mentioned the importance of development assistance in capacity- building so that countries could benefit from globalization. The United Nations could, for instance, give training in how to negotiate and take advantage of trade agreements. Members have to give the United Nations the resources to run such programmes. They should, first and foremost, show their political will and sincerity in wanting to help the poorer countries by paying their dues to the United Nations. To raise resources, one suggestion was an international tax or some other fiscal measure. This could help in finding a solution to the problems created by globalization. Another proposal was to create an economic security council within the United Nations, with the same binding authority as the political Security Council. This economic security council would monitor the global market and make recommendations to deal with economic developments that threatened the security of countries. An international anti-trust law to combat price-fixing and the abuse of power by monopolies, cartels and large companies was also suggested. Some leaders expressed the view that the decision-making procedures of the WTO, IMF and World Bank should be made more democratic, consultative, inclusive and transparent, like the United Nations General Assembly. The decisions of the World Bank and the IMF should take into account the different social and economic needs of various countries. There was discussion on whether new institutions should be created to deal with the new challenges of this era, or old ones reformed. Some participants cautioned that it would be hard to find resources for new institutions, as the cost of participating in existing institutions such as the WTO was already a great burden for small countries. In any case, the real problem was that strong countries could manipulate existing institutions for their own advantage, and that it was pointless to establish new institutions unless the decision-making process itself was made more democratic. The question was asked as to how we would follow up on the round-table discussion. One proposal was to use the Millennium Declaration as a plan of action to be implemented and monitored at both the national and United Nations levels. Let me end this summary with my personal observation. I believe that the round-table experiment was a success. A round table for leaders deserves to be institutionalized. Since the United Nations was founded, leaders have been coming to the United Nations to give their views on global issues on a single track, that is, through speeches in the plenary. Until this round table, the United Nations process had never provided for an interactive dialogue among leaders. I would strongly recommend that the United Nations build on this week’s experience. I suggest that we build into the United Nations process a round table for leaders every few years to allow interactive discussion among leaders in an informal setting, away from aides, officials and prepared scripts. This week’s round table has shown that such a format can give rise to fresh, useful and innovative ideas. An interactive round table would also foster closer friendship and understanding between leaders and hence warmer relations between nations. We should not wait for 1,000 years to have the next round table. Thank you for giving Singapore the honour to chair one of the four round tables. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): I give the floor to the Chairman of the round table held yesterday morning, His Excellency Mr. Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of the Republic of Poland. President Kwaśniewski: Yesterday I had the pleasure to preside over the debate in the second round table of this Millennium Summit. I wish to report today that we indeed had a fascinating — and I underline “fascinating” — exchange of views. More than 30 leaders took part in the debate. We tried to identify problems, find solutions and define the role of the United Nations. My conclusion from the debate is that we seem to share the same view concerning the nature of the challenges facing the world in the twenty-first century. These are, among others, security risks and local conflicts, poverty, development gaps, endemic illnesses and environmental hazards. Of course, it is much more difficult to find mutually agreed solutions to these challenges. However, the discussion yesterday offered some new ideas and new approaches. What is even more important, there was among us a common agreement that the United Nations should play a crucial role in defining the right answers to these problems and in implementing them. My feeling is, after having listened to my colleagues, that the main challenge ahead of us is the question of development and of the equal distribution of the benefits resulting from globalization. Many countries are faced with tremendous developmental problems as the gap between the haves and the have- nots continues to increase. It was broadly agreed that, while globalization provided unprecedented opportunities, including in trade and technological development, the benefits of globalization should be more evenly and universally spread. Technology offers a great chance, but first we have to satisfy the fundamental needs of peoples, including food, health and education. Globalization should become human and better managed. At the institutional level, it means reforms of the international financial and trading system that would make them more equitable. A win-win globalization has to address the risks posed by the new “digital divide”. Negative aspects such as drug- trafficking, money-laundering, the illicit arms trade and transnational crime need to be addressed as well. Concern was also expressed about the rise in oil prices and its consequences for development. The process of globalization has to be based on moral principles and values. The most important among them is solidarity. At the global level, that principle has to be translated first and foremost into solidarity with Africa. A strong plea was made to recognize the special circumstances of that continent and for the international community to undertake a concerted effort to address the plight the continent faces: poverty, conflicts, HIV/AIDS and so on. A new partnership for Africa was called for. That “new deal” would require a fundamental change of attitude, which should be based on independent thinking and active participation by Africans themselves, on a non-parochial, forthcoming and comprehensive approach by their partners, on a rejection of a welfare approach and on an emphasis on the root causes of the problems. The most pressing challenge, most participants seemed to agree, is the question of fighting poverty. Poverty is the most extreme form of abuse of human dignity. It is often the root cause of instability, conflicts, social tensions and environmental threats. Several participants stressed the need to elaborate workable mechanisms at all levels — global, regional and local — to alleviate poverty and close the gap between rich and poor, and to intensify international cooperation towards that goal. Leaders reaffirmed their commitment to achieving the goal of halving the proportion of people living in extreme poverty by 2015. It was mentioned that a coordinated United Nations global action plan for poverty eradication should be elaborated. Among the priorities for action, participants mentioned also debt relief, as well as the need to increase official development assistance. The debt burden continues to be a major impediment to development. It was suggested that some means to mediate between creditors and debtors might be helpful to better meet the needs and interests of both sides. Debt reduction for the poorest nations will enable them to address the most acute problems of social development. To borrow a phrase used by one of the participants, we have finally to move from words to deeds. Grave concern was expressed over HIV/AIDS, malaria and other pandemic diseases. These are considered to be a major threat to the achievement of development goals. To control these diseases, access to treatment and medical drugs at affordable prices should be assured, particularly for developing countries. There was a call to launch global programmes with the participation of all stakeholders, including the United Nations, Governments, non-governmental organizations and the pharmaceutical industry. In that regard, there was widespread support for the proposals contained in the Secretary-General’s report. The importance of investing in education and the promotion of the rights of children and youth were also stressed. Many participants underlined that stable development is not possible without effective protection of human rights and strong democracy. The conditions for democracy needed to be addressed in both developed and developing countries. In established democracies, increasingly low voter turnout as well as racist and xenophobic movements tend to threaten democratic norms and values. The leaders stressed the link between poverty alleviation and environmental protection. It was emphasized that environment should be placed high on the global agenda. Ratification of legally binding international instruments such as the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was also called for. As one of the participants observed, environmental considerations can be a driving force in the economy, and new, environmentally sound technologies can provide an important vehicle for growth. Ensuring security, preventing deadly conflicts and maintaining peace are still among the priority tasks of the United Nations. There is an urgent need to adapt peacekeeping operations to the new circumstances, and to pay increased attention to conflict prevention, peacemaking and peace-building. If the capacity of the United Nations quickly to deploy robust operations is not strengthened, if Member States fail to provide on time the necessary resources and personnel and if the Organization fails to improve the planning and management of these operations, the United Nations might lose its credibility. There was widespread support for the Brahimi report and for its concrete recommendations. Good-neighbourly relations and regional cooperation were also seen as a key to ensuring security. The call for reform of the Security Council was reiterated. Individual identification of those who commit war crimes and other crimes against humanity is important to avoid collective stigmatization and guilt. Support was expressed for the early establishment of the International Criminal Court. Some participants pointed out the need to assess critically the instrument of sanctions. There was a commonly shared view that the United Nations must be strengthened and that it must adapt to the changing international environment. The Organization was seen as an important vehicle to manage globalization. Several participants drew attention to the need to ensure democracy in international relations, and hence coherence and coordination among international organizations, both at the global and the regional levels, was called for. Some participants suggested considering the establishment of new institutions to deal with problems of globalization. The idea of an economic security council was mentioned. All in all, the discussion left me with an optimistic impression. I detected a wide-ranging meeting of minds and a determination to amplify our efforts to bring about change. This Summit is about change, and it was stressed that we should seize this opportunity to translate into action what has been agreed in principle. Implementation is not only a job for the Secretary-General, but is first and foremost the obligation of Member States. There was agreement that the round table served as a useful forum for an exchange of views. We all seemed to enjoy this innovative form of more direct and informal discussion. I believe that many of us would welcome this format being followed more frequently at the United Nations in future. I spent almost four hours with my colleagues and friends during the discussion, and it was one of the most impressive exchanges and meetings of minds in which I, as a fairly experienced politician, have participated. We should continue this job. The main message I want to offer is that we have a good future in front of us. We should support the United Nations in all its efforts. We should support the Secretary-General in his efforts. I think we have enough power, we have enough determination to do it. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): I now give the floor to the Chairman of the round table held yesterday afternoon, His Excellency Mr. Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías, President of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. President Chávez Frías (spoke in Spanish): I had an outstanding experience coordinating and assisting in a very diverse round table with heads of State, representatives of Governments of America, Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania. As our good friend, the President of Poland, Mr. Aleksander Kwaśniewski, was saying, we spent about four hours there, and the first thing I am going to say is that I am going to make a major effort in these first few minutes to reflect the spirit that prevailed and to stand in solidarity with the spirit and the creativity that was brought to bear. I think that is one of the recommendations I bring on behalf of my colleagues of round table number 3. We agreed at all the round tables that we must continue to give impetus to this experience that is just beginning. These round tables should be ongoing and held frequently; they should be interactive and creative because creativity emerges from that whirlwind of ideas. We must maintain the informal nature of these round tables so that we do not have written statements. They are fine, of course, but we should leave everything that occurs there open to spontaneity and creativity. This is also vital to the effort we must make in the years to come to seek and attain the truth or the truths of today and be able to truly begin to transform the world. This is essential. That is the first recommendation: Continuity, frequency and the institutionalization of the round tables. This is a way of reclaiming the ethical nature of participation, of restoring the ethical character of the dialogue and the creativity. My colleagues and I agree on one question based on the deliberations we are witnessing here and on the excellent report submitted by the Secretary-General to guide us at this Millennium Summit. How can the goals determined there be met? For example, reducing poverty by half by 2015; ensuring that by 2015 all boys and girls receive a complete education of good quality. How can this be achieved and not allowed simply to remain goals on paper? Perhaps some of the suggestions and recommendations I am going to present could try to answer that question. How can that be achieved? First, we agree with round table number 1, as was related by the Prime Minister of Singapore, Mr. Goh Chok Tong, that the establishment of an independent development council is necessary. However, it must have the same weight as the Security Council. It should not be an advisory or expert group. We will need that, of course. But we need a real council that takes decisions to confront the enormous challenge of reducing poverty levels and raising living standards, particularly of the poorest and most backward countries. One of the many great Secretary-Generals of the United Nations said on one occasion: the United Nations has not been created to take our peoples to heaven, but to save us from hell. There are many peoples at the gates of hell. It is not just because of bombs and bombers, but because of hunger, poverty and marginalization. So we propose the establishment of a development council in the United Nations in an institutional manner, with great authority and strong decision-making powers. It has to be representative and democratic. Secondly, we must institutionalize and reinforce the regional groups. They must meet. We must meet at the regional level so that we can frequently table recommendations and offer avenues to resolve so many tragedies within the existing United Nations bodies, which truly need a lot of dynamism. Thirdly, we also agree with almost all the round tables in that we consider it an urgent matter to reactivate the South-South dialogue and re-establish a North-South dialogue that will be frank, so that we can all seek solutions to the many problems. Because I am a spokesman for all my colleagues, I also wish to emphasize that we do not want this to remain words alone. We are demanding, with this 2000 Millennium Summit, that we truly begin to make changes now, not 50 years from now or at another millennium summit — the 3000 Millennium Summit. We want it now. Our peoples demand this now. Fourthly, I am going to borrow a phrase from one of my colleagues of round table number 3, who said that we cannot continue navigating through the new century with the map we had in 1945. One colleague even said that his country had not participated in the Second World War, which has been cited as part of the criteria to be a member of the Security Council. Well, he and the majority of us, including Venezuela, fortunately did not participate in the Second World War. The important thing is that we that we make and share the map for 2000 with other criteria. Round table number 3 by general consensus and very vigorously — there were many passionate interactive statements — proposes that democratization of the Security Council be faced and achieved. But it must be done because if it is not, many said we could lose the credibility of the message and the debate on democracy and equality, which is spoken of frequently in these forums. This is so necessary in order to effect change in the world. Do away with the veto in the Security Council — there was absolute consensus on that in round table number 3. That is what we are calling for. But I think we have to truly be heard and we must have a real response. I said this at the round table in one of my statements and, believe me, I am going to say here before members with the greatest respect: if we are not heard, if a year were to pass, if two years were to pass, if five years were to pass, and nothing happened here, and if heads of State and Government who represent millions of people were not convened, then I think we would need to attend another summit. I am sure that is not going to happen. I am sure we will be heard, because we are optimistic as we move forward into the new world and the new century. We are certain that people are going to pay attention to us. We speak for millions of people, not for ourselves alone. We clamour to be heard, now, once and for all. In closing, I wish to say that the United Nations Charter begins with a beautiful expression of democracy. It does not say “We the heads of State”. Nor does it say “We the heads of Government”. But it begins with a beautiful phrase: “We the peoples”. Let us recover that. Let us consult our peoples. Let us inform our peoples about what was discussed here, about the conclusions that were drawn in this Summit and about the concerns that were expressed here. There is a challenge before us, but I do not believe it impossible or utopian to establish channels for the participation of peoples at the world level. How can this be done? That is one of the challenges facing the United Nations — to inform and to receive criticism and input from our peoples. It seems to me that it is much easier today than yesterday, because we have had so much technological progress. Finally, to underscore the importance of hearing our peoples — because I believe this, and in Venezuela we have proved it — peoples know which way to go. Peoples have their own wisdom. The experience of centuries, of the many paths that have been taken, has given wisdom to our peoples. Let us listen to them. Let them speak. Bolívar, our liberator, used to say: “I believe more in the counsel of the people than in the counsel of the wise men”. And I think we find it in the ideas of Christianity — the voice of the people is the voice of God. Let us hear the voice of God through the voices of the peoples. I am certain that in the years to come we will find better paths for our world. I embrace you all most warmly, and I congratulate you heartily. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): I give the floor to the Chairman of the round table held this morning, His Excellency Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria. President Bouteflika (spoke in French): This Millennium Summit is an exceptional event. The fourth round table was an excellent opportunity for us to exchange views on three crucial issues: globalization, peace and security and the role of the United Nations. In today’s new world, national interests need to be defined in broader terms. Globalization is a reality. It is here to stay. It offers enormous opportunities, but also the risk of exclusion and, above all, of marginalization. We need to establish a set of rules to steer globalization, so to speak. The United Nations has a crucial role to play in this regard in order to transform it into a positive force, making it possible to advance towards development throughout the world so that each human being can achieve self-fulfilment. Our job is to develop an integrated response at three levels: national, regional and global. At the national level, we need to give priority to education, to take advantage of fresh opportunities and to reduce the gap between poor and rich. At the regional level, we must develop strategies for common action in order to work together to open up more our economic spaces, to reduce conflicts and to make real progress together in the area of education. At the global level, the Secretary-General’s report points the way. We need to open up markets more to the commodities of the developing countries; to create a world compact with the private sector to increase investment in African and other low-income countries; and to provide debt relief and increase official development assistance to stimulate growth in the poor countries. We hope that the process launched in the United Nations on financing for development will offer an opportunity to make great progress. In order to combat poverty, national efforts are necessary, but the consistent support of the international community is also crucial in order to mainstream the human and environmental dimensions into the globalization process. We must develop a consistent, global, approach in the economic, social and environmental protection areas. The question of the relationship between trade, the environment and social standards should be dealt with. Health, nutrition, employment, respect for cultural identity and, in particular, education, are all essential areas. Education must be central to international concerns. We must recognize that it is impossible for the poor countries, the vulnerable countries and the less powerful countries to catch the globalization train. Someone who cannot read cannot enjoy the benefits of information technologies; that goes without saying. The national and international efforts that need to be made are enormous, but they need to be made. Debt relief is necessary; indeed, it is crucial for many countries. It is absolutely vital for some of us. However, the excessive conditionalities imposed by the creditors are counterproductive. The question is, what can we do to make sure that this problem does not crop up again? The developing countries have experience with this. The experience of the last decade is hardly encouraging in this area. The development of strategies for debt relief in Africa has been proposed. As an African, I think I can say that our continent is still awaiting the results. The conditionalities are difficult and complex, but, when we look to the future, education and increased investments are the key elements. The African countries definitely need investment in manufactured goods and intermediate goods. To that end, it is essential that we build national infrastructures in order to attract private investments. Africa must create wider economic spaces, which are essential for the success of its industrial development. Participants said that they were in favour of a conference of the countries of the South, the theme of which would be revisiting globalization. We also deplored the fact that the new international economic order, which was debated in the United Nations in the ‘60s and ‘70s, is no longer relevant. The International Monetary Fund, in the view of the round table, should be reformed. When it was created, a large number of the members were still colonies. Today a discussion is under way in the countries of the North about the new role of this institution. However, the South is not a participant. This situation must be redressed. I turn to peace and security. Troop-contributing countries must be more involved in the negotiations and in the follow-up in work in the Security Council. Harmonizing regional mechanisms with the work of the Security Council is something that should be guaranteed. As was the case in the previous round tables, we stressed the fact that the present composition of the Security Council no longer reflected today’s realities. While much of the work of the Council concerns the situation in Africa, Africa has no permanent seat on that body. We must take into account the underlying causes of conflicts, which lie in poverty, instability, drug- trafficking, violence and terrorism, all of which are important manifestations and causes of destabilization. On the subject of terrorism, I think that no one in the interactive dialogue, which was entirely informal and free-flowing, challenged the idea that there was interaction between the idea of democracy and the concept of terrorism. There can be no democracy as long as there is terrorism. Moreover, terrorism cannot be a phenomenon which just concerns one, two or three countries. It is a worldwide scourge and it must be discussed by the whole world community. We particularly recommend to the Secretary-General that a fund be established or that a way be found to finance a study on the various sources of financing of international terrorism. This would be very salutary for democratic experiences which are still emerging in Africa. The eradication of terrorism is a condition for the establishment and the strengthening of the democratic process. Democracy is imperiled by terrorism on a daily basis because terrorism can exploit democratic freedom to develop. It is disquieting that terrorism is acquiring increasingly internationalized forms and that it has particular links with organized crime, including drug-trafficking. The General Assembly, therefore, needs to remain actively involved in this question. It needs to consider ways to combat this scourge. It was also proposed that the United Nations undertake a study — perhaps several studies — on this in as objective a manner as possible, on sources of financing, particularly countries which are bridgeheads for terrorist activities in the world. The need to strengthen the United Nations in the area of peacekeeping has been reaffirmed, and the recommendations contained in the Brahimi report were welcomed with satisfaction. I would also like to tell the General Assembly that a serious problem was raised in rather pathetic terms — the problem of debt. The past was revisited. The centuries of slavery and colonization, the plundering of the riches of the third world, the depersonalization of our peoples, the deculturation, the current plundering of the grey matter of our peoples — all of these things led one delegation to reject the idea of wiping out debt, and the following language was used: who owes what to whom? I tried to moderate this by asking if this was a question, and a very curt answer came: this is the question. I think rather more moderate proposals came from another country that we analyse the debts of the indebted countries to understand how the debt was accumulated. This might be done in a South-South framework in which the United Nations could be involved as a partner. I think everyone unanimously agreed to recommend the reform of the Security Council, the International Monetary Fund, the Bretton Woods agreements and all of the institutions born just after the Second World War. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): I thank President Bouteflika for his presentation. Now we have heard them all, and warm thanks to them. Now we will turn to the United Nations Millennium Declaration, contained in draft resolution A/55/L.2. The Assembly will now take a decision on the Declaration. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to adopt the United Nations Millennium Declaration?

I thank you, Mr. President, Madam President, Your Excellencies, ladies and gentlemen. May I first thank you all for attending this historic Summit and for having given us clear guidance. In the course of these three days I have listened to you closely, and I have read carefully the Declaration you have just adopted. I was struck by the noteworthy convergence of views expressed concerning the challenge before us and by the urgency of your appeal for action. (spoke in English) You have said that your first priority is the eradication of extreme poverty. You have set specific targets to that goal, and you have prescribed measures for achieving them. If the measures are really taken, we all know the targets can be reached. Many of you have said that you understand the potential benefits of globalization but that your peoples have yet to feel them. You have acknowledged that part of the solution lies in the hands of sovereign States, which must give priority to needs of their people, especially the poorest. We all know that States alone cannot solve the problems of globalization. They need to work in partnership with the private sector and with civil society in the broadest sense. You have also called for a more equitable world economy in which all countries have a fair chance to compete and in which those who have more will do more for those who have less. Speaker after speaker has stressed the urgent need to release poor countries from their burden of debt. You expressed interest in finding new approaches to this problem, including a system of arbitration or mediation which would balance the interests of creditors with those of sovereign debtors. I will give further thought to this idea and suggest ways in which it could be done. You have said that it is intolerable, as we enter a new century, that millions of innocent people, especially women and children, should still fall victim to brutal conflict. We all know that in this area the United Nations has fallen short of the world’s expectations. We must strengthen our capacity and improve our performance so that vulnerable communities feel able to count on us in their hour of need. That is why so many of you have welcomed the report of the Panel on Peacekeeping Operations and promised to act quickly on its recommendations. You have reaffirmed the vital importance of international law, which is the common language of our global community. Over 80 of you have taken action during this Summit to adhere to international legal instruments that are central to the spirit of our Charter. Most of these actions concerned protocols that seek to protect children from abuses that bring shame to all humankind. Your action is a welcome sign that humankind is coming together at last to put an end to them. You have called for higher priority to be given to the special needs of Africa, where poverty and all its attendant ills seem most intractable. You have said that we need more effective international institutions, starting with the United Nations. In your minds, clearly, the reform we began together three years ago is not complete. I agree and look forward to working with you to take it further. Almost every one of you has called for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council. That surely must give new impetus to the search for consensus on this thorny but unavoidable issue. You are rightly concerned with the effectiveness of this Organization. You want action, and above all, you want results. You are right, and I look forward to working with you over the coming year to ensure that the United Nations of the twenty-first century can deliver real improvements in the life of the world’s peoples. Excellencies, you have sketched out clear directions for adapting this Organization to its role in the new century. But ultimately, you are yourselves the United Nations. It lies in your power, and therefore it is your responsibility, to reach the goals that you have defined. Only you can determine whether the United Nations rises to the challenge. For my part, I hereby rededicate myself as from today to carrying out your mandate. I know that the whole staff of the United Nations does the same. Now let me wish you all a safe journey home. Thank you very much. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): I thank the Secretary-General for his statement. Now I give the floor to Her Excellency Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland and Co- Chairperson of the Millennium Summit of the United Nations. The Co-Chairperson (Finland): This Summit has been a great success. The Millennium Declaration gives inspiration and guidance for the future of the United Nations. The Summit spirit has been excellent. Now the General Assembly has to continue the same spirit. The clear message of the Summit is that the world and its people need the United Nations and want to make it even stronger. At the same time, it is clear that we also need to strengthen the possibilities and to have contact with the people outside this house. All the world leaders addressed globalization, and rightly so. Another important demand is the participation and input of the whole civil society. I think you all are already convinced that the round table discussions have been an excellent new start for the discussions and to show the political will. I do hope that round-table discussions will be used in the future. Their informal character adds a great deal to the United Nations normal way of working, and this is the way to create the political will that we all need to do what we want. The Summit has also been complemented by many side events, and I do not want to mention them all, as I do not want to risk omitting any. I think all have been a great success. I thank you, Mr. Secretary-General, for your excellent initiative in organizing this Summit and all the preparations to make it a success. I hope you will give our warm thanks to the Secretariat staff and all the people we have not even met but who have made the Summit possible. Last but not least, I would also turn now to my colleague, President Sam Nujoma and thank him for his devotion and also his excellent cooperation I have felt during this Summit. I hope it is a good symbol for larger cooperation. Thank you, colleagues, for your invaluable contribution and active participation in the Summit. I have the feeling we made a new spirit for the new millennium. The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): We have come to the close of this historic Millennium Summit of the United Nations. Over the past three days, an unprecedented number of heads of State or Government have gathered here and reaffirmed their faith in and commitment to the United Nations in its search for world peace, development and human security in the twenty-first century. I thank all my dear colleagues for the thoughtful and constructive contributions they made in plenary meeting and also for their fruitful exchanges in the interactive Round Tables. That was a good innovation at the United Nations and it passed the test. I also extend my deepest gratitude to my colleague and Co-Chairperson, Her Excellency Ms. Tarja Halonen, President of the Republic of Finland, for her leadership and cooperation. The Chairmen of the four interactive round tables did much outstanding work, and I also extend my deepest appreciation to all of them. They are: Mr. Goh Chok Tong, Prime Minister of Singapore; Mr. Aleksander Kwaśniewski, President of Poland; Mr. Hugo Chávez Frías, President of Venezuela; and Mr. Abdelaziz Bouteflika, President of Algeria. Their summaries, presented here, highlighted the range of challenges and problems facing the United Nations and the whole world. The Secretary-General’s report (A/54/2000) and the Millennium Declaration have given us proposals and ideas for action. In addition, our illustrious Secretary-General has initiated many outstanding tasks, especially with his report, entitled “We the peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century”, which provided an excellent basis for our discussions. I encourage him to continue his courageous efforts. We all owe a debt of gratitude and appreciation to the outgoing President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session for a job well done, and specifically for the concise, political, authoritative and visionary United Nations Millennium Declaration, produced under his able leadership. In this context, I congratulate the newly elected President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session, and call upon him to ensure the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, and in particular to pay attention to paragraph 51 thereof. In our various statements, we placed people and their legitimate interests at the centre of our common pursuit. We agreed to take constructive and additional steps to address the special needs of Africa and to assist the people themselves in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable social development. We spoke eloquently about the recognized need to comprehensively strengthen the United Nations and effective means to do so. Many speakers reaffirmed the centrality of the General Assembly as the chief deliberative, policy-making and representative organ of the United Nations. They further reiterated the urgency of the reform and enlargement of the Security Council in all respects to make it more representative, transparent, democratic and legitimate. At the end, we adopted a historic Declaration with a vision for the future and far- reaching implications for the peoples of the world. But the peoples of the world want to know what is next, after this unique Summit. The Declaration in itself will not put bread on their tables, heal the sick, arrest the spread of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, stop the wars, erase poverty and the burden of debt, enhance respect for human rights and guarantee their right to development. We cannot, therefore, afford to go back home from here and continue business as usual. We, as heads of State or Government, have the mandate and the responsibility individually and collectively to take bold steps to help the people to help themselves. We must act now by translating our commitments into action. It is time to combine our vision and our renewed commitment with the increased resources for the United Nations in a purposeful manner so that it can move forward. We must fulfil our promises of a better, more peaceful, more prosperous and more just world for all. The time to act is now. Lastly, I thank you once again for the opportunity to co-chair this historic Millennium Summit and for your kind cooperation for a united world freed at last from all social scourges and human suffering. Minute of silent prayer or meditation The Co-Chairperson (Namibia): I now invite representatives to stand and observe one minute of silent prayer or meditation.