A/59/PV.58 General Assembly

I give the floor to the representative of China to introduce draft resolution A/59/L.30.

It is my honour to introduce draft resolution A/59/L.30, entitled “Enhancing capacity-building in global public health”, under agenda item 55. Enhancing capacity-building in global public health is an important element of the Millennium Development Goals. Three of the eight goals are health-related, and Goal 6 specifically states that we are to halt and to begin to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS and the incidence of malaria and other major diseases by 2015. The promotion of capacity- building in global public health will certainly facilitate the early realization of these Goals by the international community. In this increasingly globalized world, the danger of infectious disease is definitely not going to be confined to one State, one region or one continent. Once the disease breaks out, it might immediately threaten the whole world. The harm done to mankind by an epidemic such as HIV/AIDS, malaria, SARS or avian influenza is all too obvious. Only by joining hands can the international community better equip itself to respond to and prevent these diseases. This is the second time that the Chinese delegation has proposed a draft resolution with the same title. With resolution 58/3 as a base, the following elements have been added, after broad consultations with other delegations. The Assembly would take note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. It would note with appreciation the work of UNAIDS and the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria and the holding of the XVth International AIDS Conference, and would note with concern the recent outbreak of avian influenza, recognizing its impact on human health as well as on the economy and welcoming the joint ministerial statement issued by the States concerned in that connection. The Assembly would note the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, which brings together more than one hundred and twenty partners to provide timely and high-quality technical support. In the operative portion, the Assembly would encourage Member States, as well as United Nations agencies, to actively support capacity- building in global public health and health-care institutions, such as through the provision of technical and other assistance to developing countries, as well as countries with economies in transition. At the request of Benin, Chairman of the Group of the Least Developed Countries, I propose the following revision to the draft resolution, after consultations with interested parties. In operative paragraph 7, delete the words “including the least developed countries”. The paragraph now reads: (spoke in English) “Encourages Member States, as well as United Nations agencies, bodies, funds and programmes, in accordance with their respective mandates, to continue to address public health concerns in their development activities and programmes, and to actively support capacity- building in global public health and health-care institutions, such as through the provision of technical and other relevant assistance to the developing countries, as well as countries with economies in transition;”. (spoke in Chinese) The draft resolution, issued on 15 November, listed 126 countries as sponsors. Forty more countries have joined since then as sponsors. They are Albania, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Brazil, Cape Verde, Comoros, Dominican Republic, Estonia, Georgia, Ghana, Guinea, Guyana, Ireland, Jordan, Latvia, Lithuania, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritania, Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru, Nigeria, Norway, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Saint Lucia, San Marino, Seychelles, Suriname, Sweden, Switzerland, Trinidad and Tobago, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, Uruguay and Yemen. On behalf of the Chinese Government, I would like to sincerely thank all the sponsors and hope the General Assembly will adopt the resolution as already revised, by consensus. Having introduced draft resolution A/59/L.30, I wish to make a few remarks on the items under consideration today. The Chinese delegation would like to thank the Secretary-General for his reports on agenda items 45 and 55, and it welcomes the joint debate on these two items. The Chinese delegation endorses the statement to be made by the representative of Qatar on behalf the Group of 77 and China. By resolution 58/291, adopted in May this year, the General Assembly decided to convene a high-level plenary meeting in September 2005, with the participation of heads of State and Government, to undertake a comprehensive review of the progress made in the fulfilment of all the commitments contained in the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of all the major United Nations conferences. It will be a summit of critical importance to the future of the United Nations, to the strengthening of multilateralism, with the United Nations as the centre, and to our concerted efforts for world peace, security and prosperity. To ensure the success of the summit, all Member States should start now, in earnest, to prepare for it. First, we have to work actively for the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. It is a crystallization of the strong determination of Member States to strengthen the role of the United Nations and to uphold the United Nations Charter. In the past few years the United Nations and the Member States have worked hard to realize the goals enshrined in the Declaration, and some positive results have been achieved. However, the Secretary-General has rightly pointed out that the magnitude of the tasks before us is huge. In some countries the pace of implementation of the Millennium Development Goals is worrisome. The international community needs to redouble its efforts to ensure the implementation of the commitments contained in the Declaration. It is essential to further mobilize resources and increase inputs to development, so as to help all countries, developing countries in particular, to make greater progress in implementing the goals. Secondly, it is necessary to ensure, through integrated and coordinated efforts, that there is a comprehensive and balanced implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields. We agreed to that series of recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report. In that connection, I would like to stress the following points. First, it is necessary to carry out needed reforms in the social and economic fields, reorient the focus of our work and streamline the agenda. The basic purpose of the reform is to enhance the coordination strategy of the United Nations in the economic field. Secondly, the Economic and Social Council should formulate a multi-year work programme as soon as possible and strengthen its coordination and monitoring of its implementation in the economic field. We support continued dialogue between the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council on the one hand, and the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization on the other, in an effort to make the dialogue yield more positive and concrete results. Thirdly, it is necessary to establish an effective mechanism to assess and monitor the implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits. Next year will be the tenth anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women. Preparations for the celebration by the Chinese Government and relevant non-governmental organizations are now under way. Protecting and promoting the rights and interests of women is an important part of implementing the Beijing Declaration. We stand ready to work with all other delegations to further implement the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women. Finally, we believe that next year’s summit meeting of the General Assembly should review in a comprehensive manner all questions related to peace, development and reform and make forward-looking and visionary decisions at the political and strategic level, which will serve as guidelines and principles for our work in the years to come. Preparations for the summit should be open, transparent and inclusive. The drafting and negotiation of its outcome document should involve all Member States, with particular attention to the voice and demands of the developing countries. The report of the Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the Secretary-General’s comprehensive report on the Millennium Declaration and the report of the Millennium Project will be three basic documents for the preparation of the summit next year. We believe that the three interrelated reports can be directly considered in an integrated manner in the plenary with a view to producing a package of resolutions for future negotiation. The Chinese delegation agrees in principle to the recommendations of the Secretary-General regarding the dates, format and other organizational matters. We hope the Assembly will adopt a resolution as soon as possible on this issue and work out a road map and timetable to ensure an orderly preparatory process. The Chinese delegation is ready to work, in close cooperation with other States, for the comprehensive implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits and for a successful summit next year.

On behalf of the Group of 77 and China, I would like to thank the Secretary-General for the comprehensive and useful reports provided under agenda items 45 and 55, which are contained in documents A/59/282, A/59/224 and A/59/545. The issues dealt with in the two substantive reports highlight the main aspirations of all nations in the areas of development, the environment, peace and security, humanitarian needs, human rights, and special concerns of various countries. Our leaders have agreed upon certain common goals that are clearly articulated in the outcome documents of various United Nations conferences and summits, including the Millennium Summit. All our leaders agreed that those common goals must be achieved. Regrettably, the report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration points out that many of us are being left far behind, and to those countries those goals are becoming increasingly distant. Those goals include the objectives defined in the areas of development, peace, security, and reform of the international system. To address and reverse this trend, the Group of 77 and China would like to emphasize the following points. First, the Millennium Declaration must be implemented in its entirety. All its goals are equally important and should be given equal priority. The goals, as they stand, do not negate one another. For example, development and peace and security are inextricably interlinked. Security without sustainable development is inconceivable, and there cannot be sustainable development without sustainable peace. We have seen the erosion of multilateralism in these areas. Of primary concern is that the issues of peace and security should be addressed through strengthened multilateral policies and actions. The global problems of our times require collective action as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations and reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration. Second, realization of Millennium Development Goals and other internationally agreed development goals requires greater collaborative efforts by the international community. The Millennium Declaration highlighted not only our goals but also our responsibilities, which will help fulfil our aspirations. Whereas developed nations were urged to honour their commitment towards the allocation of 0.7 per cent of their GNP to official development assistance (ODA), developing nations were urged to improve governance. We continue to improve our governing systems and procedures and expect developed countries to live up to their commitments in ODA. Simultaneous implementation of our goals will be possible only if vital resources are made available. While some countries have met their commitment to provide 0.7 per cent of their GNP as ODA, a large number of developed countries have fallen far short of meeting this target. At the same time debt relief remains inadequate, as does access to the markets of developed countries, especially in areas of export that are of interest to developing countries. Trade is now a main avenue of financial resources that can help developing nations achieve their development goals, yet we continue to lack resources, despite the promises made. As a consequence, we continue to lack the basic resources that can empower us to participate fully in the global trading system. Such trade policies have also contributed to denying a large number of developing countries the benefits of globalization. Globalization has brought with it many opportunities as well as challenges that are unique to the current phase of this phenomenon. Comparing the lack of liberalization in labour forces to the significant progress in financial liberalization indicates an asymmetry that is contradictory and unacceptable in a world that is becoming increasingly borderless in economic transactions. We therefore call on the international community to provide the United Nations with the resources that would enable it to play its role effectively, whether in the field of development, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, or humanitarian affairs. The Millennium Declaration is no doubt important, but equally important are the outcomes of other United Nations conferences and summits. Those conferences dealt with diverse issues such as social development, sustainable development, advancement of women, financing for development, human rights and advancing the rights of children. They have provided a rich global policy consensus in areas that impact various aspects of our lives, and their outcomes also laid the foundation for the adoption of such an historic document as the Millennium Declaration. The goals of those conferences are intimately linked with the objectives of the Declaration. For that reason, implementing those outcomes is crucial to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In fact, they are the foundation on which the Millennium Development Goals can be achieved. Therefore we, the international community, should try our best to ensure that the implementation and follow-up processes are pursued coherently through a comprehensive framework. We believe that, in pursuing the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the outcome of the major international conferences and summits, their distinct identities should be maintained, while at the same time recognizing the need for thematic coherence in the process. This will not only help in promoting synergies and ensuring efficient utilization of resources, but will also lead to an optimal process of integrating the goals through themes that are common to the outcomes of the summits and conferences. The 2005 high-level plenary meeting will be critical to furthering our common purpose. At that meeting, therefore, we should clearly identify those obstacles that are impediments to implementing the outcomes of our conferences and summits. At the same time, we should recommend some concrete steps that could overcome those challenges and renew our commitment to achieving our common goals. While the Group of 77 and China will address the substantive issues related to the 2005 meeting at the appropriate time, at this stage we would like to comment on the modalities of the meeting. General Assembly resolution 58/291 states that participation in the high-level plenary will be at the summit level. The Group of 77 and China also stresses the importance of the participation of United Nations agencies, funds and programmes, as well as the international monetary, financial and trade institutions. The Group supports active participation by civil society, including non-governmental organizations and the business sector. Such participation should help in the intergovernmental decision-making process, in accordance with relevant General Assembly rules and procedures. The Group of 77 and China would also like to emphasize that a clear focus and priority should be given to development issues. It is our view that there should be a mix of plenary and interactive debates. Moreover, the preparatory process should be inclusive, open-ended and transparent. It should also benefit from input from different United Nations system-wide processes. The Group feels that the outcome should be intergovernmentally negotiated. The outcome should be all-encompassing, emphasizing the implementation of commitments of major United Nations conferences and summits and the Millennium Development Goals. The outcome should also reaffirm previous commitments and agreements and not seek to renegotiate outcomes of previous conferences and summits. As far as the timing of the High-Level Dialogue on Financing for Development is concerned, the Group of 77 and China is of the view that this should have high-level participation of all stakeholders; it should be visible and send a message of strong political commitment to this issue. We would like to see the issue of financing closely interlinked with the development agenda, and for this purpose the dialogue should receive maximum attention from our leaders and policy makers. The suggestions made by the Secretary-General in his report on modalities provide a good basis for further work in clarifying these details, and the Group looks forward to working on these issues under your leadership, Sir. We are confident that the two facilitators appointed by you, Mr. President, will take into account the concerns of the Group of 77 and China. The realization of the goals of the Millennium Declaration has gained increasing importance in the wake of the new realities that have emerged over the past years, which were so eloquently defined by the Secretary-General in his seminal address to the fifty- eighth session of the General Assembly. He said that we have come to a “fork in the road”, and there is a need for action to address the challenges that confront humanity. He also announced the establishment of a High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and while doing so he said, “The United Nations must confront all these threats and challenges — new and old, ‘hard’ and ‘soft’. It must be fully engaged in the struggle for development and for poverty eradication, starting with the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals; in the joint struggle to protect our common environment; and in the struggle for human rights, democracy and good governance.” Our Group looks forward to the report of the Panel, which, we are confident, will provide us with concrete suggestions to address those challenges. Our Group believes that the 2005 meeting provides us with an historic opportunity to strengthen multilateralism and to provide stronger basis for collective action against the threats to security and the menace of poverty and underdevelopment. It is our duty to realize the dream of the founders of this Organization to save the succeeding generations from the scourge of war and to raise living standards of humanity.

I now call on the representative of the Netherlands, who will speak on behalf of the European Union.

I have the honour to take the floor on behalf of the European Union, and the candidate countries Bulgaria, Romania, Turkey and Croatia, the countries of the Stabilization and Association Process, and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, and Serbia and Montenegro align themselves with this statement. We welcome this joint debate on the related topics of the integrated follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits, and the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration. These issues are indeed very closely linked, especially as in 2005 we will review them together. The joint debate is in the spirit of General Assembly resolution 57/270 B, the continued implementation of which we consider very important. On the follow-up to the major United Nations summits and conferences, we agree with the Secretary- General that these were indeed the basis of the Millennium Development Goals, and that their follow- up should remain closely linked to the follow-up to the Millennium Declaration. We welcome the Secretary- General’s report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and share its findings. We appreciate the balanced overview of progress on implementing the Millennium Declaration and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. The report shows progress made and also that there is no room for complacency. The year 2005 will be one of tremendous opportunity. When we review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration at the summit in September, we will have a chance to devise solutions to the major issues the world has to deal with, and, at that meeting, we will in particular have the chance to re-energize multilateralism in an increasingly interconnected and complex world, with a strong and more efficient United Nations system at the centre. To recommit ourselves to achieve our goals, in particular in the economic and social area, including sustainable development, and to state new guidelines, policies and arrangements where necessary to deal with the emerging challenges to peace and security, including violent conflict and terrorism. The European Union agrees with the Secretary-General that this review should indeed be at the summit level. We need this review in order to make sure that our instruments are on a par with the many major challenges of the twenty-first century. And, of course, we have major challenges to face in the areas of development, peace and security, environmental and social issues and human rights. We, the European Union, are willing to recommit ourselves to the agenda set at the United Nations. We are willing to consider and to suggest steps, whether on policies or institutions, that bring closer the attainment of our goals. We are also willing to be ambitious in view of the needs. As the great Michelangelo once stated: “The greatest danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.” I will now address the outcome of the Summit. It should be comprehensive and should discuss development, peace and security, the environment, social issues, human rights and the changes needed in order to achieve our goals and effective multilateralism. The outcome should be a succinct, comprehensive and politically meaningful declaration, focusing on implementation, endorsing progress that has been made and containing a clear reaffirmation of the goals set, as well as the commitments to respond to problems that need to be addressed by the world community. More specifically, the outcome should contain the following three objectives: first, a clear set of guidelines and policies on the challenges of collective security in its broadest sense; secondly, agreements to enhance our implementation of the commitments undertaken in the Millennium Declaration and through the Millennium Development Goals, as well as through the major United Nations conferences. We should acknowledge the crucial linkages between implementing the Millennium Declaration, achieving the Millennium Development Goals and the follow-up of United Nations summits and conferences. Thirdly, the objective of the outcome should include decisions on organizational reforms needed to help us achieve our goals. On the subject of the preparatory phase, the European Union welcomes and supports the report of the United Nations Secretary-General on modalities. It has clarified the process. We also welcome the position taken by the President of the United Nations General Assembly on the process at the recent informals. We would like to suggest the following phases in the preparation of the event. First of all, in December 2004, we should adopt a resolution on modalities. We are now awaiting the draft resolution to be prepared by the General Assembly President, which will help us set the stage for the summit and to settle some key organizational issues before the end of 2004. Secondly, from January to March 2005, we should enter into an informal exchange of views on the major issues at stake, including those identified in the High-Level Panel report and the Millennium Project report. Obviously, these reports and the discussions surrounding them will provide important input to the preparations for the summit, in particular as input for the report of the United Nations Secretary-General, which is due in March 2005. They should be informally discussed in New York, in capitals and at the regional level, in order to test the waters for the steps proposed. Thirdly, in March 2005, the presentation of the Secretary-General’s report for the event will help us frame discussions. Hopefully, the Secretary-General will also indicate how we will take forward the recommendations of the High-Level Panel and other documents, and which recommendations in particular need attention from the summit. The report should also clearly demonstrate the interconnectedness between the agenda of the major United Nations Conferences that underpinned the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). After all, even though the major United Nations conferences were, of course, not limited to MDGs, the road to the MDGs goes through places like Monterrey, Johannesburg, Beijing, Copenhagen and Cairo. Fourthly, after the presentation of the report in March 2005, additional transparent and inclusive consultations should be held on the basis of the previous informal discussions. Then, on the basis of elements to be suggested by the United Nations Secretary-General in his report next year, the General Assembly President could, in due course, present a draft declaration to Member States. There should be a comprehensive process of consultations, leading, in the final stage, to one process to negotiate the outcome document. We welcome the leadership role of the President of the General Assembly in the full preparatory process. Preparations should make full use of existing mechanisms that can provide input. The High-level Dialogue of the United Nations General Assembly on Financing for Development, the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on HIV/AIDS, the Economic and Social Council spring dialogue with the Bretton Woods Institutions and the World Trade Organization, the 2005 substantive session of the Economic and Social Council, the 2005 United Nations Environment Programme Governing Council and the functional and regional Commissions should play an important role. Statements or presidential summaries could include a focus on 2005 and give messages to the high-level event. The 2005 spring meetings of the Bretton Woods institutions should also be part of the input on the development side of the 2005 event. Financing for development, in particular, is essential in the comprehensive review of progress made towards fulfilling the Millennium Declaration and achieving the Millennium Development Goals. We welcome the report of the Secretary-General in this regard, and we feel it is a good basis on which to build. The meetings in 2005 that address financing for development will convey important messages. We see value in addressing financing for development at a major meeting in the preparatory phase, as well as providing for a specific focus on financing for development in the context of the summit itself. The Secretary-General’s report and its recommendations provide a good basis for achieving closure on this before the end of 2004. We look forward to other countries’ comments on these proposals. On the summit itself, as General Assembly resolution 58/291 mandates and as the report on modalities states, the summit should be a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, with the participation of Heads of State and Government. We also support the suggested dates. In order to ensure maximum participation by all stakeholders, the EU would welcome examining innovative ways of involving them, including civil society, the business sector and the international financial and trade institutions. The proposal for hearings is a very welcome one. We would be ready to consider building on this, for example by providing for some civil society participation in the summit round tables. To conclude, the European Union is committed to a good outcome and will, in particular, continue, through its own external policy and practice, to see what further improvements can be made to ensure that the objectives of achieving the MDGs are fully taken into account. I spoke about the opportunities that the summit in September 2005 has to offer. But the consequences of not seizing those opportunities are very clear to us as well. We need to reinvigorate our multilateral system in view of the challenges ahead. We need a United Nations Organization that is as effective as possible. To quote Mahatma Gandhi, “A small body of determined spirits fired by an unquenchable faith in their mission can alter the course of history.” I trust that we will be those determined spirits and that our mission will make the best use of the opportunities that 2005 has to offer for achieving our aims. That is the least that the struggle against poverty, injustice, environmental degradation, terrorism, conflict and insecurity requires.

On behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member States of the United Nations, I have the honour to make this statement on agenda items 45 and 55, on integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields, and on follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit. CARICOM States support the statement made by Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. However, we would like to provide some additional comments. We consider that the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals is essential for ensuring a safer and better world. That is why we attach the greatest importance to the high-level plenary meeting of the Assembly, to be held at the commencement of its sixtieth session, to review progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. We would like to use this occasion to offer our views on the process. Let me first, however, thank the Secretary- General for providing us with two very good reports on the two items in the joint debate, namely, documents A/59/224 and A/59/545. We find that the recommendations in the first report for further action to promote an integrated and coordinated approach and to strengthen ongoing activities for the implementation of the outcomes of conferences and summits represent a good basis for moving forward. Indeed, we agree with the Secretary- General in his analysis that an integrated approach should facilitate the forming of coherent, cross-sectoral alliances around common themes and goals for joint action at the national and international levels. It is generally agreed that the issue of integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences has to be closely linked with the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. What we believe needs to be emphasized now is the nature of those linkages. In this regard, we have a few suggestions to make. First, it will be particularly important for the Economic and Social Council to finalize soon — and hopefully no later than June of next year, as suggested by the Secretary-General — the identification of the cross-cutting themes common to the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits. The themes would then be used as a basis for the implementation of the outcomes of those conferences in an integrated and coordinated manner. Given the constraints of small island developing States, CARICOM member States would like to suggest that the whole question of vulnerabilities should be one of the cross-cutting themes. Secondly, given the primary responsibility that the regional commissions have in assisting Member States within their respective regions in the implementation of the conference outcomes, we would also like to suggest that the links between the regional commissions and a reformed Economic and Social Council should be strengthened. In our view, that will call for more dynamic debates within the Council on the reports of the regional commissions in the presence of the Executive Secretaries of the regional commissions, whom we expect to be held accountable for ensuring that all of the subregions within their area of responsibility are fully and effectively covered. The Council may also wish to assign to members of its Bureau focal point responsibility for liaising with the regional commissions, including participation, on behalf of the Council, in the work of their intergovernmental bodies, particularly on issues relating to the follow-up to conferences. That, we believe, should help solidify the links between the Council and its functional and regional commissions. A third area of concern is the coordination of the activities of the funds and programmes of the United Nations system. Given the significant role that organizations of the United Nations system play in assisting Member States in the implementation of the outcomes of the international conferences, it is particularly important that there be greater consistency and coherence among the strategic development frameworks of the funds, programmes and specialized agencies, including, in particular, the Bretton Woods institutions, since those frameworks invariably form the bases upon which programmatic activities are undertaken. In its resolution 57/270 B, this Assembly undertook to assess annually the implementation of the outcomes and summits and the achievement of the goals and targets set by them, as well as to provide the necessary guidance for further implementation of and follow-up to those outcomes. The beginning of the sixtieth session next year will be the occasion for the Assembly to undertake a first comprehensive review of the progress made in the fulfilment of all the commitments contained in the Millennium Declaration and the outcomes of other major United Nations conferences and summits. In that regard, we eagerly look forward to the Secretary-General’s promised comprehensive report on the Millennium Declaration early next year, since it will enable Member States to begin their preparations for participating in the summit. We concur with the Secretary-General’s stated intention to draw on the findings of his High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, given the interconnectivity among peace, security and development. In analysing the interconnectivity among those three issues, we have come to believe that global peace and security are under constant threat, largely because of wide-scale and persistent poverty and the absence of a good system of global governance that would help to manage world economies in a manner that would distribute the world’s resources more equitably. Given such a link, it is clear that solutions for one are dependent on solutions for the other. It is against that background that we believe that the two reports — the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, and the Secretary-General’s comprehensive report on the Millennium Declaration, which will focus on those issues — should be examined together if the correct linkages are to be made with respect to the critical decisions that the General Assembly will make following their consideration. The two reports to which I have referred are, however, not the only ones that should be considered by the summit. As item 45 clearly indicates, there are other major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields whose outcomes will also need to be reviewed within the context of the Millennium Development Goals. They include the high-level meeting of the Assembly on HIV/AIDS to be held in June next year, the high-level segment of the Economic and Social Council, the 2005 review by the Commission on the Status of Women of the implementation of the outcome of the Fourth World Conference on Women, the review by the Commission on Social Development of the implementation of the outcome of the World Summit for Social Development, and the report of the International Labour Organization’s World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, entitled, A Fair Globalization: Creating Opportunities for All. Given the development constraints of the small island developing States, which make them particularly vulnerable, the outcome of the 10-year review of the Barbados Programme of Action at the international meeting to be held in Mauritius in January next year will also need to be considered. That will help to ensure that the decisions taken at that meeting are incorporated into any integrated implementation plan that results from the Millennium Summit follow-up conference. The Secretary-General’s report on the modalities, format and organization of the high-level plenary meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly (A/59/545) clearly sets out his views on the issue, and we believe that it represents a very good basis for decision-making. CARICOM countries agree with the proposal to hold the summit over a period of three days, from 14 to 16 September, with participation at the level of heads of State and Government. We also believe that representatives of civil society should be provided with the opportunity to make their contribution to the high- level plenary meeting. That can effectively be accomplished by having a representative of the Civil Society Forum address the summit. Regarding the format and structure of the summit, we agree with the proposal to hold plenary meetings and four interactive round tables. We believe that each round table should cover the entire agenda of the summit, which has essentially already been broken down into three major themes, namely, the Millennium Development Goals, peace and security, and institutional reform. These, we believe, can provide a sufficiently broad focus and framework for discussion in each of the round tables. The preparatory process is probably the most important aspect for ensuring the summit’s success. We therefore agree with the Secretary-General that it should be open, inclusive and transparent, with a view to reaching an outcome that represents clear and concrete decisions that are action-oriented. We also believe that the Assembly President should lead the preparatory process. We therefore do not support the idea establishing a steering group. Should the President need assistance in carrying out his role, he may wish to appoint a number of facilitators who can work on his behalf. Finally, regarding the high-level dialogue on financing for development, we believe it should be held before the summit. We find the proposal of a two- stage approach to be attractive, for we see great merit in having a more in-depth dialogue around the end of June or in early July — around the time of the session of the Economic and Social Council — with a short meeting immediately before the summit to convey to the summit the report of the dialogue on financing for development. We also believe that, if the dialogue were to be held in New York, it would provide the opportunity for a larger number of countries to be represented and to participate in that important meeting. The CARICOM countries offer those suggestions in the hope that they will assist the President and the other members of the Assembly in taking final decisions on all aspects of the preparations for the high-level event in September next year. For we believe that the sixtieth session of the General Assembly will be a major landmark in the history of the Organization and that its outcome will enable us to choose the correct path as we seek to move beyond the fork in the road.

I have the honour to speak today on behalf of Canada and New Zealand, as well as Australia. First, we want to thank the Secretary-General for his useful reports under these items. They will be a significant resource for delegations to draw on, along with other inputs, over the next year in the lead-up to the 2005 summit. Today’s joint debate on items 45 and 55 bodes well for a useful outcome of next year’s summit, because it underlines the equal importance of those issues. We concur with the Secretary-General’s view that the summit will be an event of decisive importance and that it should result in a single, integrated package of decisions. It would be naïve — and indeed unhelpful — to deny that States will approach the event with different priorities. But it is our firm belief that if the summit is to be successful, no one area — whether it be development, peace and security, human rights or institutional reform — can be singled out to the detriment of any other, and no issue can be ignored. The preparatory process for the summit is, of course, crucial. We agree that it should be transparent and inclusive, as well as flexible and effective. Ministers should be included in a deliberate and targeted way. We support the conclusion of the President of the General Assembly that the preparatory process should have two stages: from now until the release of the Secretary-General’s report in March, when we should focus on discussion and exchanges of information; and after March, when we should focus on achieving a consensus outcome. While the Assembly President should lead that process, we agree with the suggestion already made that he could be usefully assisted by a group of friends — facilitators, if you like — to facilitate contacts with Member States. The high-level dialogue on financing for development is an opportunity to demonstrate our commitment to development. It is essential that the dialogue have a high profile and that it contribute substantively to the summit. Holding the dialogue back to back with the summit would give the dialogue the profile it deserves, but would make it too late to feed into the summit’s outcome. Having the dialogue earlier — perhaps in conjunction with the Economic and Social Council — would enable it to contribute substantively to the summit, but would not give the issue sufficient profile. Hence we can see some value in considering a two-stage approach. We urge the President of the Assembly — in conjunction with his facilitators, the representatives of Norway and Nicaragua — to quickly introduce a modalities draft resolution that will deal with all organizational issues. We agree that that draft resolution must be completed in December. The involvement of both the President of the General Assembly and the Secretary-General in this process is vital to ensuring the success of the event. We welcome their clear personal commitment to the process.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the member States of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), comprising Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. ASEAN would like to join others in expressing our appreciation to the Secretary-General for his report under agenda item 45, “Integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields” and agenda item 55, “Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit” (A/59/545). We also associate ourselves with the statement made by the representative of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We in ASEAN are collectively and continuously undertaking efforts to implement the Millennium Declaration, particularly the targets set out in the Millennium Development Goals and the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic, social and related fields. ASEAN has mapped out clear objectives and measurable targets through a number of action plans with a view to attaining the Goals. They include the creation of a genuine global and regional partnership among Governments, international organizations and all stakeholders. We would like to highlight some of our regional efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals. In the area of health, the Declaration on Healthy ASEAN 2020, adopted in Yogyakarta in April 2000, envisioned ASEAN citizens leading healthy lifestyles consistent with their values, beliefs and culture, in supportive environments. In that vision, health is placed at the centre of development and ASEAN cooperation is strengthened to ensure that our peoples are healthy in mind and body and that they are living in harmony in safe environments. During the Sixth ASEAN Health Ministers Meeting, held in Vientiane in March 2002, the ministers adopted the Regional Action Plan of the Framework for Promoting Healthy ASEAN Lifestyles. During the Meeting, ASEAN agreed to accord priority to a number of areas, including women’s and children’s health and control of communicable diseases, including HIV/AIDS and malaria. The prevention and control of disease is a very important foundation of our efforts to realize our vision of Healthy ASEAN 2020. It is recognized that diseases spread across borders and that any effort to combat disease must involve cooperation among countries. The outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in April 2003 and the avian influenza threat of early 2004 show that societies are vulnerable to any outbreak of emerging or resurgent infectious disease. Since the ASEAN+3 — ASEAN plus China, Japan and the Republic of Korea — Health Ministers’ Special Meeting on SARS, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, on 26 April 2003, and the subsequent Special ASEAN-China Leaders’ Meeting on SARS, held in Bangkok, Thailand, on 29 April 2003, ASEAN member countries have established national multisectoral task forces for the routine exchange of information on SARS. A hotline has been set up among health ministers and their senior officials to facilitate urgent communications. Successful ASEAN prevention and control measures aimed at addressing the outbreak include: public health strategies of detection, isolation and containment; the provision of timely and accurate information; public-private sector collaboration and networking; and social protection strategies for affected individuals and industries. ASEAN is currently implementing the Second ASEAN Work Programme on HIV/AIDS (2002-2005), designed to address the priority areas identified by the ASEAN Declaration on HIV/AIDS adopted by the Seventh ASEAN Summit, held in Brunei Darussalam in November 2001. The ASEAN Task Force on AIDS has already succeeded in mobilizing resources for high-priority regional activities aimed at increasing access to affordable medicines, reducing the vulnerability of migrant workers to HIV, anticipating the impact of HIV/AIDS on development and reducing the stigma and discrimination suffered by people living with HIV/AIDS, including support for national prevention, monitoring, treatment, care and support programmes. During the informal meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers and the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation held in New York on 27 September 2004, it was agreed that cooperation on HIV/AIDS would be established as a key area of cooperation. Such inter- subregional cooperation on HIV/AIDS provides a useful framework for the exchange of experiences and lessons learned. ASEAN shares and supports the global vision for sustainable development and is committed to integrating environmental considerations into economic, social and development activities. Such commitments were reaffirmed at the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in September 2002, and were guided by ASEAN Vision 2020, adopted in Kuala Lumpur in 1997. ASEAN Vision 2020, the Hanoi Plan of Action for Environment (1999-2004) and our efforts to realize the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community reflect our responsive integrated policy framework, which weaves together demographic dynamics, social development, economic growth, the use of natural resources, environmental protection and other development initiatives. ASEAN has worked closely together with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in proactively promoting regional and national cooperation aimed at implementing various United Nations multilateral environmental agreements. ASEAN member countries have a high rate of participation in those agreements, which in itself reflects our commitment to addressing global environmental issues. ASEAN strives to promote a common understanding and a collective voice in multilateral environmental negotiations and to promote greater coordination and synergy in the implementation of those agreements. During the ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting held in Bali, Indonesia, in October 2003, ASEAN leaders agreed to intensify cooperation aimed at addressing problems associated with population growth, unemployment, environmental degradation and transboundary pollution as well as disaster management in the region. ASEAN has managed to make significant progress in ensuring environmental sustainability. The ASEAN Agreement on Transboundary Haze Pollution signifies the culmination of concerted and intensive regional efforts to address transboundary haze pollution since the severe haze episodes of 1997 and 1998. The agreement is an important milestone, as it is the first legally binding ASEAN regional environmental accord to have entered into force; it is considered by UNEP to be a global role model for tackling transboundary issues. Other achievements include the recent signing of the ASEAN Declaration on Heritage Parks and Reserves, which lists nearly 30 protected sites in the region, and the adoption of the Framework for Environmentally Sustainable Cities in ASEAN and of the ASEAN Long- Term Strategic Plan for Water Resources Management. Also, just recently, ASEAN Ministers endorsed the ASEAN Agreement on the Establishment of the ASEAN Centre for Biodiversity. During the Fourth Meeting of ASEAN Ministers on Rural Development and Poverty Eradication, held in Singapore just last month, ASEAN ministers noted the importance of accelerating the implementation of rural development and poverty eradication strategies in ASEAN within the framework of the MDGs. ASEAN member States put together a comprehensive Framework Action Plan that will be implemented over the next six years and will serve as ASEAN’s key strategic plan to respond to the challenges of poverty alleviation. A number of projects have already been implemented under the Framework, adding to those already carried out to address rural development and poverty eradication priorities identified in the Hanoi Plan of Action. At the forthcoming Tenth ASEAN Summit, to be held in Vientiane, Laos, on 28 and 29 November 2004, the ASEAN leaders will focus on the consideration of ways and means to enhance cooperation within and outside ASEAN with a view to accelerating ASEAN integration towards the goal of an ASEAN Community as envisaged in ASEAN Vision 2020. Among the most important documents to be adopted at the Summit is the Vientiane Action Programme — the successor to the Hanoi Plan of Action — aimed at boosting ASEAN integration and narrowing the development gap among ASEAN member countries. The Summit will also endorse the Plans of Action for the ASEAN Security Community and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community, which are two pillars of ASEAN Concord II. In ASEAN Vision 2020, ASEAN leaders resolved to enhance human resource development in all sectors of the economy through high-quality education and the upgrading of skills, capabilities and training. ASEAN’s success in that area is reflected in the statistical annex to the Secretary-General’s report (A/59/282), which shows that South-East Asia has an enrolment rate of more than 90 per cent at the primary level and in the final grade of primary school and a literacy rate of more than 95 per cent. In 1988, ASEAN adopted the Declaration of the Advancement of Women in the ASEAN Region, in which ASEAN members pledge to strive to promote and implement the equitable and effective participation of women whenever possible, in all fields and at various levels of the political, economic, social and cultural life of society at the national, regional and international levels. In June 2004, the ASEAN Ministers for Foreign Affairs adopted the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence Against Women in the ASEAN Region. The Ministers agreed to undertake measures to fully implement the goals and commitments made related to eliminating violence against women. They also agreed to take all measures necessary to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women, to empower women and strengthen their economic independence, and to protect and promote the full enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms in order to enable women and girls to protect themselves against violence. I have shared just some of ASEAN’s efforts to achieve the targets set out in the Millennium Declaration. We feel that ASEAN has already made considerable progress by implementing its obligations and commitments. We note, however, that there are still different stages of development within ASEAN. We recognize that we require more resources — particularly in areas where regional cooperation would make an impact, such as poverty reduction and sustainable development. ASEAN supports the President’s current efforts in leading the consultations regarding the holding of the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly at the sixtieth session. We look forward to considering the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General drawing on the findings of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and on the Millennium Project. We recognize the importance of achieving the MDGs. ASEAN stands ready and is committed to achieve the visions and goals set out in the Millennium Declaration.

The Algerian delegation would like, first of all, to associate itself with the statement made by the representative of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. Today’s debate on follow-up to the Millennium Declaration and the implementation and integrated and coordinated follow-up of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields is very timely. It provides Member States with an opportunity to take stock of achievements in those areas four years after the Millennium Summit and, in the best possible conditions, to initiate the preparatory process for the September 2005 high-level meeting. The high-level meeting will coincide with the Organization’s sixtieth anniversary and offer Member States an opportunity to take note of the many achievements of the Organization, to promote the vision set out in the Millennium Declaration and to reiterate our attachment to the commitments we have undertaken, as expressed in the outcome documents of the major conferences and summits. It will thus forcefully remind us of the target date of 2015 for the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and will provide us with an opportunity to examine the means required to overcome the obstacles to their implementation. It is now broadly accepted — and the Secretary- General has clearly stated this in his report before us today (A/59/282) — that, absent concrete and bold action by the international community, the achievement by 2015 of the eight MDGs will be in jeopardy in certain parts of the world, in particular in Africa and in some of the less developed countries. A conclusion such as this is of great concern to us and it prefigures, to a considerable extent, what the conclusions will be in the Secretary-General’s overall comprehensive report to be presented in March 2005 in preparation for the high-level meeting. How can we fail to be concerned when the Secretary-General himself declares that the picture for the poorest countries of the world over the past 12 months is hardly positive, and that there have never been as many new cases of HIV/AIDS as over the past year, a fact which poses dire risks to the development prospects of entire regions in which hundreds of millions of people live? This daunting challenge is accompanied by many obstacles to the implementation of the MDGs identified in the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. These obstacles are not, however, insurmountable. We hope that the high-level meeting in September 2005 will be able to lend new momentum to the joint action to achieve a major breakthrough with respect to the 2015 objectives. The measures that must be taken are well known, as they are clearly set out in the Secretary- General’s report and will be described in greater detail in his comprehensive report to be issued next March. Furthermore, Jeffrey Sachs’ report, to be published in January 2005, will launch an appeal to world leaders to adopt a global plan to achieve the MDGs. The recommendations of the United Nations Millennium Project will undoubtedly provide a certain number of avenues to be followed. We know, through the draft report available on the internet, that in order to achieve the MDGs, we should essentially emphasize the following: the need for all countries living in extreme poverty to pursue a national strategy based on poverty reduction; the implementation, between 2005 and 2015, of the commitments of the Monterrey Consensus as regards concrete efforts to be made to achieve a level of official development assistance (ODA) of 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of each country; the importance of achieving, by the year 2006, the elements of the Doha Development Agenda so that low-income countries will have better access to the markets in wealthy countries; the need to reinforce the mandate of the resident coordinator within the context of the poverty reduction strategy adopted by each country to achieve the MDGs; and, finally, the importance of international scientific institutions, which must promote assistance for research and development to poor countries, with donor countries providing $7 billion in funding on a yearly basis. As regards combating poverty and equitably distributing the positive outcomes of globalization, we must take into consideration the conclusions of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, published in February 2004, which complement the strategies of the major United Nations conferences in the economic and social fields over the past decade. The high-level event in 2005 must also take into consideration the conclusions of the functional commissions of the Economic and Social Council, including the Commission on Sustainable Development and the Commission for Social Development, as well as the recommendations of the Commission on Population and Development, the special General Assembly session on HIV/AIDS, to be held in June, and the High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development. In short, the MDGs must be seen as a world covenant based on reciprocal commitments and shared responsibilities. To actualize these goals, an overall vision, political support and adequate financing in the context of effective partnership will now be more necessary than ever. The high-level meeting in 2005 will also have to examine other questions, particularly, matters relating to peace and security and reforming the United Nations, in the light of the recommendations of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, the report of which will be published at the beginning of next month. By reaffirming our faith in multilateralism as the only possible context in which to settle problems and tackle challenges in the world today, Algeria believes that the High-level Panel will formulate novel and coherent recommendations based on a strict analysis of global threats and a thorough and unsparing analysis of existing institutions and instruments within the United Nations. It is important that these recommendations assist us in working together to attain our common goal, which is to rehabilitate the global system of collective security and safeguard our multilateral system from the dangers that threaten it. We also keenly hope that the High-level Panel’s report will serve as a basis for our future debates and will enable Member States to arrive at a consensus on matters as important as those relating to global threats and institutional reform. However, such a result will not be possible unless the Panel approaches threats from a global and balanced perspective that links security and development and does not yield to the temptation to differentiate between threats according to their importance in the eyes of this or that country, or the way they are perceived in this or that part of the world. As for the necessary institutional changes, in particular reforming the principal organs of the United Nations, Algeria would like to emphasize its particular interest in this matter and the need to urgently take appropriate and agreed measures to reform the main organs of the United Nations. The very limited time available for the present debate does not, of course, enable us to tackle all these questions. I will confine myself to sharing a few comments, which arise from our consideration of two issues at the core of Member States’ concerns and which have been discussed by the High-level Panel. I am talking about pre-emptive action and reforming the Security Council. As regards pre- emptive action or war, I must say that this ill-defined concept has aroused serious concern for many countries, because it conveys ideas and a vision of the world that, if we are not careful, may lead to our drifting in dangerous directions and undermine the very foundations of the system of collective security defined by the Charter; and it may ultimately give legitimacy to and enshrine the law of the jungle. This doctrine, which has suddenly erupted into our debates, cannot and must not be equated with the natural right to legitimate self-defence, whether collective or individual, set out in Article 51 of the Charter and which applies only in cases of armed aggression. Nor should it be equated to preventive action involving longer-term strategic considerations arising from situations that might drift dangerously into imminent threats. In this connection, the Charter provides a whole range of diplomatic measures to be taken to prevent such menaces from becoming imminent or from materializing; and it defines situations in which preventive force or collective measures are justified, in keeping with Chapter VII. Having said this, a debate on the question is necessary and is undoubtedly useful and welcome, because of the emergence of new threats, to which globalization lends a global dimension. It is absolutely essential that, together, we examine the question of learning whether the collective security system defined by the United Nations Charter is still able to meet the needs of all States in matters of security and to identify any gaps or shortcomings that prevent us from reaching decisions more rapidly and effectively on collective action. From this perspective, additional measures to strengthen the effectiveness of existing multilateral mechanisms seem to us to be already desirable — in fact, necessary. The best response to the unilateralist option is to set in place a renovated, credible and effective multilateral framework that inspires general respect and the necessary trust. It is up to the United Nations to define the rules for such a context and to ensure that they are respected, because only the United Nations can confer the necessary legitimacy upon recourse to force. As regards reforming and expanding the Security Council, I would like, from the outset, to state that the status quo is no longer acceptable. The time has come to bring about a thoroughgoing reform of this body that will lend it the legitimacy that it increasingly needs, on the one hand, to be on the same page as the new international realities, and on the other, to strengthen its capacity to act against the new threats confronting the international community. In this connection, my country is very hopeful about the outcome of the deliberations we will be holding on the specific recommendations to be presented by the High-level Panel. Agreeing on Council reform will undoubtedly enable the United Nations to strengthen its credibility and to increase its effectiveness in the service of humanity. As regards the specific matter of expanding the Security Council, which, we must underline, is only one of the aspects of the overall reform of the Council, my country will spare no effort to help, particularly in the context of the African Group and the Non-Aligned Movement, in arriving at an equitable agreement that will take into account the true interests of all the regions of the world on the basis of the Panel’s recommendations. To achieve this, we must not be bound by rigid patterns and stereotypical formulas. We must take advantage of the opportunity inherent in the Panel’s report to situate our debate in the context of a dynamic, realistic and, we hope, fruitful response that will be able to forge a historic compromise on this crucial issue. Before concluding, I would like to say something about a question that is of the greatest concern to my country. I am referring to terrorism, and we know that this is a serious threat to international peace and security. In addition to the need for international cooperation and increased cooperation to confront this scourge in the context of existing mechanisms, we must urgently elaborate a global convention against terrorism that contains a consensus-based definition of what terrorism is and which avoids conflating terrorism and peoples’ legitimate struggle against foreign occupation. We must recall that terrorism violates human rights and, in particular, the right to life. Therefore, it must be combated as such, as emphasized by General Assembly resolution 58/174. Combating terrorism must be done at the global level on a concerted basis. It requires constant mobilization and unstinting cooperation by all as regards borders and cooperation among security services and the judiciary. We must intensify border cooperation and regional and international cooperation to organize effective action to confront the threat of organized international crime and drug trafficking, whose links with terrorism are now well established and recognized. My delegation shares the warning set out by the Secretary-General in his report (document A/59/282) concerning the risks inherent in transnational organized crime, and we very much appreciate his very relevant remark that “in an interdependent world, the damage to one’s neighbour will eventually be damage to oneself”. On these fundamental issues of security and development, we trust that the conclusions and recommendations of the High-Level Panel and those to be crafted by the Secretary-General in his comprehensive report of March 2005 will shed more light on our debate and guide our efforts towards the adoption of decisions commensurate with the challenges that confront humanity today.

We would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report that has been presented under the two issues on the agenda. We also support the statement made by the Qatar delegation on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. When the heads of State and Government met in New York at the beginning of the new millennium, they asserted that peace, security and prosperity are extremely important questions for humanity. They also tried to outline an approach stressing that we can no longer support war, hunger and other evils. Four years have elapsed since then; but many people around the world are still living in poverty, sickness, displacement and foreign occupation. In his report (A/59/282), the Secretary-General tries to put these problems in the right perspective. The report states that the rule of law should be adhered to in all fields, including peacekeeping, international security, the organization of international trade and the protection of human rights, which are all very important issues. On this basis, he has reasserted the political will that has been expressed in an exceptional way, and at the highest level, in the Millennium Declaration and in the Millennium Development Goals. The rule of law and strict adherence to it constitute the only basis for establishing order and achieving development and prosperity for all. The rule of law governs relations between States, fair trade and equitable sharing of the world’s common resources in a way that achieves prosperity for all. Lastly, adherence to the rule of law is essential in establishing democratic relations among the nations of the world. Therefore, we are all in need to strengthen multilateralism, which must be the basis for international relations. However, the question arises: why is progress in implementing all the aspects of the Millennium Declaration and of the Development Goals taking place so slowly? Indeed, in many respects, no progress has been made. A growing number of people are dying in imposed wars; many have been displaced as a result of violence; and more women and children are dying under military embargoes imposed on civilian populations. Throughout the world, the poor are getting poorer, disease is spreading and the arms race continues. Thus, in general terms, the situation of the vast majority of the world’s population is worsening, despite the strong political will expressed four years ago in the Millennium Declaration in favour of reversing the trend. The Secretary-General’s report refers to that very clearly: “More than ever before, the global community needs an effective framework of norms to govern the behaviour of States”. (A/59/282, para. 12) I should like to refer to several worrisome trends picked up in the Secretary-General’s report. It is quite clear that we have yet to see a success story and that there will be none before next year’s high-level event, where we will consider the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals. That is one cause of concern, but of even greater concern is the fact that this stagnation is affecting most countries of the world. Thus, not only is there an absence of progress, but what progress there is occurring haphazardly. That is not auspicious for the international community. We are far from attaining the two main objectives of the Development Goals of eliminating poverty and hunger and of providing primary education for all. The 121 million children who do not attend school must enjoy the right to do so. We must also see progress on gender equality and the resources available to women. Greater effort must be made in that sphere and with respect to child mortality and maternal health care. We must also acknowledge that HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases continue to be serious threats in many parts of the world. Moreover, environmental protection is of great concern. We must develop a global partnership to stimulate further progress. That is one side of the issue. At the same time, however, of greater concern to us is that people are being deprived daily of their rights and fundamental freedoms under foreign occupation. The Millennium Declaration elaborated several goals that encapsulated the outcomes of the international conferences and summits held in the 1990s. Those meetings considered such issues as sustainable development, social development, the advancement of women, financing for development, human rights and the rights of children. Many conferences were also held on disarmament and the removal of weapons of mass destruction. They offered us an opportunity to achieve broad international consensus on the policies to be implemented in those varied spheres. The objectives they established are intrinsically interrelated, allowing us the real possibility to implement the Millennium Development Goals. That is why the international community is duty- bound, through the implementation and follow-up processes and in a global framework, to strive collectively to implement all the agreements established in General Assembly resolution 57/270 B and confirmed in resolution 58/291 and the results of those conferences and summits in the economic and social spheres. An international vision of our common responsibility was expressed at the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development and the International Conference on Financing for Development. While developing countries strive to meet their obligations, developed countries should maintain their side of the bargain. The Millennium Development Goals will not be attained if the flows of official development assistance are inadequate. Stress has also been laid on the fact that the developed countries should allocate 0.7 per cent of their gross national product to development assistance for developing countries, but that many countries have not reached that objective. Furthermore, we have been unable to ease the debt burden of the developing countries or even to register a gradual improvement of that tricky problem. With respect to trade, we are again extremely concerned. Developing countries still have no access to the markets of the developed countries, even where they have an apparent comparative advantage. We have also been unable to reorganize international trade to open the way for the development of the agricultural and industrial capacities of the developing countries. In fact, the very opposite has occurred and the assistance that could have been offered those countries has been counteracted. An issue of greater importance is that the developing countries have not been involved in decision-making in economic and financial issues. Globalization should ensure a just and fair distribution of its benefits. While we support the integration of developing countries in the process of globalization, it might actually be harmful if they are not given a share in their national policies and in international decision- making. Developing countries must enjoy preferential treatment and guaranteed multilateral cooperation and support. Next year’s high-level event will be an important and historic opportunity to meet the long-standing and new challenges to peace, security and development. We believe that every possible specific measure must be taken to reach the objectives in the areas of peace, security and development. There will be other opportunities, of course, to re-examine the substantive aspects of that event, but I wish here to make a few comments on its modalities. Resolution 58/291 stresses the importance of participation at that event at the summit level. We would urge that priority be given to development issues. The process should also include all players and be transparent and inked to other contributions and processes under way within the United Nations system. Furthermore, we must negotiate the anticipated outcome at the intergovernmental level. If the process is to include all players, we must consider the commitments already undertaken at the various major United Nations conferences and summits and at the Millennium Summit. Finally, we must insist that all Member States take full responsibility for implementing the recommendations of the event. With regard to the high-level dialogue on financing for development, the Syrian Arab Republic believes that we must ensure participation by all stakeholders in that far-reaching political dialogue. We must also send the message that political commitments are to be honoured. We also support the vision for the financing and timetable of development reflected in the Secretary-General’s report. In conclusion, I must insist on the importance of enhancing multilateralism and strengthening the United Nations system. We face a number of problems and challenges that call for collective global action. We must not fail in our effort to save succeeding generations from the scourges of war, poverty, disease, and exclusion. Peace and security will be achieved only if we consolidate justice and the rule of law and safeguard freedoms, rights and development for all.

My delegation associates itself with the statement delivered by the representative of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. We welcome the reports of the Secretary-General on agenda items 45 and 55, as contained in documents A/59/282 and A/59/545. We hope that this debate will help us in our joint efforts to review progress in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, especially in view of the preparations for the 2005 event. In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders pledged their commitment to fostering the development not only of their own citizens, but also that of people all over the world. The Millennium Declaration was adopted against a background of increasing poverty and deprivation for many people in the world. As we prepare for the five-year review of the implementation of that unprecedented Declaration, it is time to reflect on how much progress has been made towards the achievement of its objectives. The reports of the Secretary-General show uneven progress with regard to the eradication of extreme poverty and hunger in the world, with deterioration in some cases. They show that although much of Eastern, South-Eastern and Southern Asia and North Africa are broadly on track to achieving the Millennium Development Goal on poverty, there has been little or no progress in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean. In Western Asia, in fact, poverty has actually increased. Progress is also uneven in respect of other goals, such as the achievement of universal primary education, promotion of gender equality, reduction of child mortality, combating HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases, and ensuring environmental sustainability. Therefore, it is clear that unless urgent action is taken to enhance implementation and to address all aspects of poverty and underdevelopment, the poor in a large number of countries will still face little hope of emerging from lives of poverty and deprivation. So far, the political commitment to development espoused in the Millennium Declaration has not been translated into the reality of concrete implementation and delivery for the world’s poor. Reflecting on this challenge in his address at the fifty-ninth general debate of the General Assembly, President Thabo Mbeki said: “The question must therefore arise as to why the grandeur of our words and the vision they paint — of a world of peace, free of war, a world characterized by shared prosperity, free of poverty — has not produced the grand results we sincerely sought and seek.” (A/59/PV.5, p. 11) Part of the problem, in our view, is that the resources committed by the international community to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) remain highly inadequate. In that regard, we wish to stress the importance we attach to Goal 8 of the Millennium Development Goals, whose attainment will depend on development partners meeting their commitments. Commitments to poverty eradication and development, such as those made in Doha, Monterrey and Johannesburg, should be translated into real results. Only then will a truly equitable global partnership for development be established. We are concerned that sub-Saharan Africa continues to lag behind in the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. In chapter VII of the Millennium Declaration, under the title “Meeting the special needs of Africa”, the United Nations responded to the call of President Mbeki and many other African leaders to make the twenty-first century an African century. That was an important recognition of the special difficulties facing African countries. In that regard, the international community undertook to “support the consolidation of democracy in Africa and assist Africans in their struggle for lasting peace, poverty eradication and sustainable development, thereby bringing Africa into the mainstream of the world economy”. (resolution 55/2, para. 27) It went further and resolved “To take special measures to address the challenges of poverty eradication and sustainable development in Africa, including debt cancellation, improved market access, enhanced Official Development Aid and increased flows of Foreign Direct Investments, as well as transfers of technology”. (ibid., para. 28) We believe that the achievement of the goals of the Millennium Declaration by African countries is important for the whole world, because when one region fails to achieve them, the international community as a whole will have failed. We believe that for African countries to achieve the MDGs will require that, together and in partnership with the international community, they rise above current trends and take proactive action to substantially accelerate implementation. The international community, including the international financial institutions, needs to significantly scale up its assistance to Africa. The international community should also increase its support for the New Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD). Through NEPAD, African leaders have committed themselves to implementing sustainable socio-economic development programmes and to consolidating democracy and good governance in the African continent. NEPAD adopted the Millennium Development Goals as the centrepiece of Africa’s development agenda. On their part, African countries continue to take steps towards fulfilling the goals of the Millennium Declaration. Among those, we note that more African countries have indicated their intention to participate in the African Peer Review Mechanism, which will provide a framework for the sharing of best practices in our continent. Under NEPAD, numerous sectoral action plans have also been developed, covering key priority areas for development. Those actions of African countries need to be complemented by the support of the international community. That is critical for the long-term success of NEPAD and for the achievement of the MDGs on the African continent. My delegation is pleased to note from the report of the Secretary-General that the United Nations peace operations have achieved significant successes. We urge that support be provided for the expansion of the United Nations Organization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with an expanded and strengthened mandate. We support the Secretary-General’s call for enhanced support to the United Nations in responding effectively to the challenge of transnational crime. We are concerned at the growing trends of transnational crime across the globe, as noted in the report of the Secretary-General. The links between crime, civil and political strife, and the resulting negative effects of crime on peace, socio-economic development, good governance and democracy will hinder the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the achievement of its goals. My delegation continues to attach much value to the road map report issued by the Secretary-General as a useful guide to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. We support the efforts of the United Nations system to streamline its activities in the follow-up to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals by improving coherence and coordination at the country level. In that regard, we note that the United Nations Development Group (UNDG), in particular, has reoriented its work around the Goals, developing new guidelines for the United Nations Development Assistance Frameworks. We also note that many United Nations entities — including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Children’s Fund and others — are using the Millennium Development Goals framework for monitoring their own activities. However, it remains important that the work of the United Nations system on MDGs be based on the needs and priorities of every country. The important work being done by UNDG should therefore always be in support of the development activities of each country. As far as the 2005 summit is concerned, we believe that its agenda should be comprehensive and cover both the development and security-related issues, as does the Millennium Declaration. We look forward to the comprehensive report of the Secretary-General to be issued in March 2005, which we are sure will present both those important issues in a substantive manner and in a format that will enhance the preparations for the 2005 summit. We also made our position clear on many other aspects related to the 2005 summit in our statement during the informal meeting on 9 November, which I would not want to repeat here today. Suffice it to say that the South African delegation stands ready to participate actively in the preparatory process and to support the President of the General Assembly in whichever way is required. As we begin preparations for the five-year review of the Millennium Declaration, it is clear that a major breakthrough will be needed if the vision of human dignity, equality and equity articulated in the Millennium Declaration is to become a reality and not just remain a beautiful dream that will inevitably be deferred. The 2005 summit should lead to concrete commitments, enhanced cooperation, coordination and coherence at all levels, as envisioned in the Millennium Declaration. The task of achieving the MDGs may well be daunting, but we should not accept that it is an impossible one.

It is obvious that the implementation of the Millennium Declaration requires the maximum solidarity and interaction on the part of the entire international community. The United Nations, as the world’s most universal and representative international Organization, should play the key coordinating role in that respect. We appreciate the analysis provided by the Secretary- General in his report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and note that it distinctly emphasizes the key problems faced by the international community. Importantly, the report provides a good foundation for identifying the optimal directions for further action in the forthcoming period. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are not a new notion to Tajikistan. They are reflected in our national priorities and Government programme documents. For instance, the target indicators of our national strategy for poverty reduction, which is a realistic and specific plan of action covering practically all social and economic areas, are fully coordinated with the MDGs. We share the view that achieving the MDGs at the dawn of the millennium remains feasible despite the discrepant situations in different countries of the world and the current trends, which can be either promising or indicative of stagnation and regress. The international community should respond to the challenge in a coordinated manner. Increased official assistance for development purposes, advancement towards a just trade system through rounds of development-oriented trade negotiations, and the settlement of the debt issue should be among the key components of such a response. It is important specifically to take into account the interests of those countries that find themselves in special situations. Tajikistan can, in a certain sense, serve as a good illustration of how urgent the aforementioned issues can be. For example, about 40 per cent of all budget revenues are currently being channelled into serving the country’s external debt. If that debt were written off, the freed resources could be invested in those areas that are critically important for achieving the Development Goals. Moreover, since Tajikistan is a landlocked country, its many regions are actually cut off from the external world, which complicates the social and economic development of the regions themselves and the integration of the country into the world economy. We do not conceal the urgency of the problems our country faces in seeking to achieve the MDGs. The Government of Tajikistan is fully aware of the responsibility it bears in addressing those problems. Reducing the number of people living below the poverty line, sustaining the level of gender equality achieved in education, lowering the child and maternity mortality rates, and the struggle against epidemic diseases, particularly malaria, are listed among our priority issues. Of special significance for us is the issue of providing our population with freshwater. With that goal in mind, Tajikistan is actively working to advance the water theme on the international arena. The International Decade for Action, “Water for Life”, 2005-2015, which was proclaimed by the General Assembly at the initiative of Tajikistan and which starts in March 2005, seeks to unite the efforts of Governments, the United Nations, international organizations, civil society and the private sector to achieve the internationally agreed goals with regard to providing universal access to freshwater. The fact that Tajikistan has been chosen, along with other seven countries, for the implementation of the well-known Millennium Project under the leadership of Jeffrey Sachs testifies to the commitment of the Tajikistan Government to the implementation of the MDGs. The leadership of Tajikistan fully approved of the idea of ours being a pilot country for the Project, and during his talk with Mr. Sachs in June 2004, President Rakhmonov personally confirmed the country’s readiness to implement the Millennium Project. Within the Project framework, designated teams of experts are currently involved in assessing the country’s needs in the implementation of the MDGs. The results of that assessment will be submitted to the Secretary-General in the form of an interim report containing specific recommendations. In the years since the Millennium Summit, peace and political stability have been firmly established in Tajikistan. Within a short period of time, the country managed to overcome the humanitarian crises caused by the civil conflict and entered a period of advancing sustainable development. According to the World Bank, progress has been made in poverty reduction, with the poverty level decreasing by 17 per cent. Over the past five years, the country’s gross domestic product has increased by almost 50 per cent. Thanks to the improved investment environment, investors find the Tajik market more appealing. Currently, plans are under development to increase domestic and foreign investments, with due consideration for the country’s essential institutional and political changes. Meanwhile, an analysis of the country’s progress towards achieving the MDGs proves that the successful implementation of the envisaged goal indicators will not be possible without broad investment and continued international assistance. What is urgently required is the further consolidation of efforts on the part of Tajikistan’s Government and partners — donor countries, the United Nations and international financial institutions — above all to move from emergency humanitarian assistance towards long-term economic assistance. We are confident that the international community clearly understands that our common success in the implementation of the MDGs depends on progress made by each individual country in achieving them. We fully approve of the conclusion drawn by the Secretary-General, who says that, in order to achieve the MDGs on schedule, we need a vigorous breakthrough that will give new impetus to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration and the commitments undertaken in Monterrey and Johannesburg. In that respect, our country pins major hopes on the high-level General Assembly plenary meeting to be convened in September 2005 to assess the progress made in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. We support the timing and format for the preparation and holding of that event that were proposed by the Secretary-General. We consider the General Assembly’s earliest possible adoption, before the end of this year, of the draft resolution on the 2005 summit to be of critical importance. We are profoundly convinced that the summit should be a comprehensive event with a broad thematic range covering all major aspects of the Millennium Declaration. We look forward to the issuance of the reports by the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change and the Millennium Project, which are expected to make a substantial analytical contribution to the summit discussions.

My delegation wishes to thank the Secretary-General for his reports on the points on today’s agenda. In particular, it would like to express appreciation for his reflections on the value of international law norms which the Secretary-General chose to touch upon in the preamble to his report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The importance of collaboration between nations on the basis of the norms of international law is a concept that Switzerland holds dear and to which it adheres in its foreign policy and in all aspects of its relations with other nations. The ongoing consultations on the format and modalities of the high-level plenary meeting of 2005 show just how much attention is now being focused on the political process launched in the context of the first five-year review of the Millennium Declaration. The imminent publication of the conclusions and recommendations of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, as well as the publication of Jeffrey Sachs’s final report on the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, will also lead to important political processes that will require all our attention. Without wishing to detract in any way from the importance of those political processes, Switzerland does not wish to lose sight of the ongoing efforts aimed at reinforcing the institutional architecture of the United Nations system’s organs of coordination. The structural coherence of the various processes for implementation of the outcomes of major conferences, both in terms of policies and at the institutional level, requires ongoing attention. That is why we wish to stress the following three points raised in the Secretary-General’s report on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major conferences. First, the Economic and Social Council must be the central platform for operational coordination throughout the United Nations system at both the institutional and the political levels. To strengthen the Council in that role, its working methods need to be reformed as quickly as possible. In particular, we hope that the consultations begun on the multi-year work programme of the Council’s coordination segment will bear fruit prior to the substantive session of 2005. As noted in the report, the establishment of a multi-year work programme would help the Council to strengthen the coherence and effectiveness of its management and coordination activities and would facilitate the horizontal integration of the work of its functional commissions on cross-sectoral thematic issues. In our view, it is also important to attempt to synchronize at least the programmes of the high-level segment and the coordination segment, with a year’s delay for the second, so that the coordination segment can ensure follow-up of the high-level segment’s political decisions. Secondly, the reform of the Economic and Social Council should go hand in hand with the reform of the commissions’ working methods. We take note of the fact that the commissions have begun to examine their working methods. In particular, we would like to point to the Commission on Sustainable Development’s decision to adopt a multi-year work programme and to organize its future activities on the basis of a series of two-year cycles, alternating a year of evaluation with a year of decision-making. We note that the first reactions to that reform have been positive and encouraging, but we are aware that it is still too early to evaluate that approach in a definitive manner. Thirdly, while the work of the functional commissions makes possible a differentiated follow-up to the major conferences on the basis of specific themes, the work of the regional commissions helps us to not lose sight of regional differences, which are of the greatest importance at the level of practical implementation. The data in the statistical annex to the Secretary-General’s report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration show that regional disparities are still strong. Switzerland therefore reiterates the importance of the role of the regional commissions as a focal point for the follow-up and evaluation of the progress made towards implementation of the goals and objectives of the world conferences as well as the Millennium Development Goals. My country favours reinforcement at the coordination level by means of regional coordination meetings between the regional commissions, the United Nations organs and the specialized agencies that develop the regional programmes. Although my delegation has chosen to focus its remarks on the analysis and recommendations in the Secretary-General’s report on the integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences, Switzerland attaches no less importance to the concrete commitments undertaken through the adoption of the Millennium Declaration. Fully aware that the collective responsibility for an integrated implementation of the Declaration does not relieve Member States of their individual responsibilities, my delegation wishes to announce that the Government of Switzerland intends to publish an exhaustive report on its contributions to the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals before the end of the first quarter of 2005. The report will focus, in particular, on goals 7 and 8, dealing with the environment and development partnerships, respectively. Its format will closely follow the directives worked out jointly by donor countries.

Most contemporary threats and challenges are of a global nature; this dictates the need for a collective response to them on the basis of a comprehensive consideration and respect for the legitimate interests of every member of the international community, in strict conformity with international law. The strength and effectiveness of our Organization depend directly on the active support of Member States, the policies they pursue and their readiness to use the platform of the United Nations for finding concerted solutions to emerging issues. It is obvious that in recent years our Organization has been facing conceptually new challenges. Accordingly, like any other complex system, it needs to be improved. The United Nations should continue to be capable of countering all the threats and challenges — new and old, “hard” and “soft”, in different and extremely dangerous combinations — since the goals of the Organization are still relevant today. On the initiative of the Russian Federation, two preceding sessions of the General Assembly adopted resolutions by consensus on outlining a global strategy to counter modern challenges and threats, with the United Nations playing a central role. Realization of this initiative will make it possible to fulfil the concept of collective security enshrined in the United Nations Charter. We hope that joint efforts in this field will continue during the current session of the General Assembly. We fully support the Secretary-General’s thesis about the indispensable need to strengthen the rule of law as one of the basic elements of modern international relations. For Russia, this is an imperative. One of the priorities in this direction should become the enhanced role of the United Nations as the main universal body that guides and coordinates the interaction of States in combating international terrorism. We are confident that Security Council resolution 1566 (2004), adopted on the initiative of Russia, will strengthen the United Nations anti-terrorist potential and provide additional impetus to the work of the counter-terrorist elements of the Organization. As Chair of the Security Council Counter- Terrorism Committee, our country intends to actively pursue the implementation of all the tasks standing before that Committee. In current circumstances, it is important not only to ensure anti-terrorist solidarity but also to take concrete practical measures. Unfortunately, terrorist activities are ever on the increase, with crimes unprecedented in magnitude and cruelty; and this proves the need to ensure reliable safeguards to prevent terrorists’ access to weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). The United Nations has significantly invigorated its efforts in addressing that task. Security Council resolution 1540 (2004) provides for a package of practical and legal actions, the realization of which should prevent non-State actors from acquiring WMDs. We hope that during the current session of the General Assembly it will be possible to complete work on the draft text proposed on the initiative of the Russian Federation and to adopt an international convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear terrorism, which would then join the list of international legal anti-terrorist instruments now in force. We anticipate that the recommendations of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change will enable the United Nations and other multilateral institutions to ensure a significant increase in their effectiveness. The Panel has been asked to contribute to the work on reform of the United Nations and its Security Council. The completion of this process should be marked by the broadest possible consensus among Member States, with the common goal of strengthening the United Nations. The United Nations should continue to improve peacemaking mechanisms, with a view to deploying more timely and efficient peacekeeping and, where necessary, peace enforcement operations. Of course, this should take place in strict compliance with the United Nations Charter. Here it is fundamentally important not to allow any circumvention of the Security Council’s powers, especially in situations where it comes to the use of force on behalf of the international community. The Russian Federation has consistently stood for enhancing and strengthening the capacity of the United Nations in the system of contemporary economic relations. Major United Nations conferences and summits of the last decade have provided a strong impetus to strengthening the role of the Organization in addressing global socio-economic issues. We are convinced that the coherence of the various implementation processes as a follow-up to those conferences should be ensured through full implementation of the mandate given by the relevant General Assembly resolutions, as well as through the use of the potential of the Economic and Social Council as the key coordination mechanism within the United Nations system. Progress towards attaining the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) is uneven. There are both encouraging trends and stagnation — and, in some instances, unfortunately, setbacks. It is obvious that the task of attaining the MDGs is relevant for virtually all regions of the world. Russia intends to make the necessary efforts to reach specific targets declared within the MDGs at the national level. The progress achieved will be reflected in the national report on the MDGs that will be prepared in 2005. On the whole, we concur with the Secretary-General that the attainment of the MDGs within the established time frame remains a realistic target, but it requires a new impetus to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, as well as to the commitments made in Monterrey and Johannesburg. We expect that such political impetus will be provided by the high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly to review the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. Preparation for this major event is among the most important priorities of the United Nations system in the forthcoming period. We support the timing and modalities for the preparation and holding of this event suggested by the Secretary-General. Positive experience of the Millennium Summit in 2000 should serve as a model to follow. We believe it is important to adopt a General Assembly resolution on the organization of the 2005 summit as soon as possible, but certainly before the end of this year. In our view, the summit should be a comprehensive and holistic event, with broad thematic coverage, encompassing all main aspects of the Millennium Declaration. We stand ready to continue to discuss its modalities, as well as all the documents that would provide a substantive contribution to its agenda.

Before touching on the specific issues in this year’s report on the implementation of the Millennium Declaration, I would like to make a few observations of a more general nature. Terrorism is a threat to our common security. It creates fear and want, and it seriously hampers economic and social development. Terrorism is a serious impediment to reaching the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). All this means that we must intensify our fight against that evil — a fight that cannot be won by military action and police work alone. In fact, the fulfilment of the Millennium Declaration and the achievement of the MDGs will go a long way towards eroding the basis for international terrorism. Norway favours a comprehensive review of all the chapters in the Declaration, with special emphasis on reform issues and the MDGs. Coherence is key to making globalization a positive force for all. We must, therefore, pursue good governance and the rule of law at both the national and the international levels simultaneously. We welcome the report entitled “A fair globalization: creating opportunities for all” (A/59/98, annex) as an important input to next year’s review of the Millennium Declaration. We all need to work actively to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to act for peace and security. One important way to achieve this is to expand and deepen United Nations partnerships with regional organizations. The process of strengthening United Nations peacekeeping is an ongoing one. As the report before us points out, the scale of current demands for peacekeeping operations means that even greater commitment is required from all the partners in the system — Member States, United Nations entities and regional organizations. Even though the capacity of the United Nations for peacekeeping has been considerably strengthened since the recommendations of the Brahimi panel, serious gaps remain. Rapid-response capabilities, tactical air support, field medical facilities and movement control are only a few of those mentioned in the report. We look forward to the Secretary-General’s recommendation on the new steps that should be taken in this respect. We also welcome the work being done to coordinate the participation in and support for complex peace operations by the various United Nations entities such as funds, programmes and agencies. We are aware of the ongoing dialogue within the Secretariat concerning the principles for ongoing and future integrated missions. While measures to ensure overall cohesion are necessary and positive, operational integration in peacekeeping missions must not be implemented in such a way that it compromises the integrity of United Nations humanitarian agencies. The report before us emphasizes the serious consequences of transnational crime. In a globalized world, we are facing new networks of organized crime in which borders are no hindrance. Those threats and challenges can be met only by increasingly close international cooperation. In that respect, we applaud the intensification of efforts in the United Nations to ensure more effective action against organized crime and to engage the whole United Nations system in the fight against transnational crime. We also support the Secretary-General’s appeal to all Governments and to the institutions of civil society to help the United Nations respond effectively to this challenge, and to all countries to ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its three Protocols. Providing humanitarian assistance to the millions that suffer the consequences of natural disasters, genocide, armed conflicts and other humanitarian emergencies all over the world is vital for establishing peace and security. The growing trend of the targeting of humanitarian personnel in conflict areas is a matter of great concern to the United Nations, Governments and humanitarian organizations. Such acts of violence are grave breaches of international humanitarian law. As in the case of international terrorism, which is sometimes associated with such attacks, we are forced to rethink our approach to security. But strict rules are not the only answer and may in themselves restrict access to the needy. A balance must be struck between security and access. Providing security to United Nations and humanitarian personnel is difficult and costly. But it must be done, and we must be willing to pay the costs involved. Next year the General Assembly will meet at the highest level to review the progress made in honouring all the commitments enshrined in the Millennium Declaration. As the report of the Secretary-General points out, the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) are still technically feasible, even in the poorest countries. But he also warns us that the window of opportunity is rapidly narrowing. Thus 2005 will be a critical year, particularly for Africa. The donor countries, in close cooperation with the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions, need to do more to make the Millennium Goals happen. The eighth Millennium Development Goal is crucial in that respect. In last year’s report, the Secretary-General proposed that the donor countries should agree among themselves on time-bound deadlines for the pledges contained in the eighth MDG. In our view, setting ambitious deadlines for trade, debt relief and official development assistance are particularly important. This should be seriously considered at the summit next year. In the end, there is a strong likelihood that new obligations — particularly for donor countries, but also for developing countries — will be necessary to reach the Millennium Development Goals. Finally, as regards the modalities, format and organization of the summit next year, it is our hope that these questions can be agreed upon at an early date, so as to enable us to prepare for the summit in a thorough and constructive manner.

We welcome this joint debate both because the topics under consideration are indeed closely linked and against the background of the importance of detailed and thorough preparations for the major event in 2005. We have consistently held the view that the follow-up to major events and conferences remains closely connected to the review of the Millennium Development Goals and the follow-up to the Millennium Summit. It is clear that the year 2005 will offer a unique opportunity and challenge. We are asked to put the process of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals on the right track, as a central long-term goal of the Organization. At the same time, the 2005 meeting will also provide a chance to express a renewed commitment to multilateralism — where necessary in new and creative ways. We hope that the High-level Panel established by the Secretary-General will make a substantial contribution in that respect. It is essential for us to reach a quick agreement on the process leading to such a high-level meeting, and I will focus my few remarks today on those aspects. Given the magnitude of the tasks ahead and the importance of the event, it seems indeed necessary and appropriate to convene this meeting at the summit level. We appreciate the outline offered by the Secretary-General on the modalities of such a summit and agree to the dates proposed by him to hold this meeting. As far as the outcome is concerned, we believe that it is of the utmost importance that the agendas on security and on development be dealt with in a manner that makes it clear that they are inseparable and mutually reinforcing. A concise yet comprehensive political declaration would seem to be the appropriate tool to achieve that goal. Such a declaration should therefore contain a set of policies to address new threats and challenges in the area of security and a commitment to enhance the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. Substance must thus take precedence over form but not exclude it. We are therefore of the view that the declaration should also deal with the necessary issues in the area of institutional reform. The success of a summit meeting in 2005 largely depends on the preparations we make for such an event. It seems of crucial importance to us that we get the process started by adopting a resolution on the modalities, including the level and dates, before the end of the year. Subsequently, or if possible even in parallel, we should start shaping our thinking on the substance of an outcome document. We would find it most useful to have a first set of informal discussions on the contents of the report of the High-level Panel at the earliest convenience and, if possible, also before the end of this year. The same goes for the Millennium Project report, which should also be addressed in informal discussions, probably between January and March 2005. Such extensive informal consultations would put us in a good place to work towards an outcome document for the summit meeting, together with the input provided to us through the report of the Secretary-General which will be before us next March. Regarding the high-level meeting itself, the report of the Secretary-General on modalities, as well as General Assembly resolution 58/291 give us clear guidance. The meeting should thus be a high-level plenary meeting of the General Assembly, with the participation of heads of State or Government. We also think that the active involvement of other stakeholders — in particular, of civil society, the international financial institutions and the business sector — are of particular importance to ensure the success of the 2005 major event. We therefore look forward to discussions on creative ways of ensuring such involvement. The best way to guarantee strong participation at the level of heads of State or Government is an early agreement on an outcome document. It is therefore crucial that we start our work on this as early as possible.

My delegation would like to commend the Secretary-General for the comprehensive documentation presented for our debate today. We align ourselves with the statement made by the delegation of Qatar on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. The historic event of the Millennium Summit, which brought together our heads of State or Government, marked a turning point for the community of nations. On that occasion, world leaders committed themselves with one voice to work towards a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. The leaders set specific targets to halve the proportion of people who live in extreme poverty, reduce hunger, empower women, ensure education for all and reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS. My delegation concurs with the Secretary-General’s assessment that our common sense of purpose and commitment had been shaken by the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 and the divisive nature of the war in Iraq. The past year has proved the significance of a multilateral approach in addressing the challenges and threats facing the world today. We would like to recall the United Nations conferences and summits of the 1990s, the outcomes of which have given the international community a wealth of ideas to address and resolve most of the challenges facing the world today. We must not forget the important place of the International Conference on Financing for Development, held in Monterrey, Mexico, in March 2002, as a framework for the implementation of global commitments. The World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg, South Africa, in September 2002, carried forward the spirit of the Millennium Summit by reaffirming the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as well as augmenting those global commitments. Despite the commitments, the world today is neither peaceful nor more prosperous. This is clearly evident from the reports of the Secretary-General over the years. Progress in the achievement of MDGs is uneven and is not likely to be achieved by 2015 in some regions, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. While developing countries have mobilized all efforts to ensure a favourable enabling environment at the national level, this has not been matched by action at the international level. The means of implementation necessary to complement the efforts of developing countries are still wanting. More efforts will be required with regard to goal 8, which is paramount to the achievement of the other MDGs. This will require improvement in the quality and quantity of official development assistance (ODA), a fair and inclusive global trading system, alleviating the debt burden of developing countries, and increasing the distribution and quantity of foreign direct investment. We recognize the various initiatives launched in an effort to mobilize the achievement of MDGs. In that regard, we commend and appreciate the work undertaken by the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization under the leadership of President Benjamin Mkapa of the United Republic of Tanzania and President Tarja Halonen, of the Republic of Finland. We concur with their critical and positive message for changing the current path of globalization from a narrow preoccupation with markets to a broader preoccupation with people. They underscored the fact that globalization problems cannot be attributed to globalization per se but rather to its governance. Key issues include the rapid growth of global markets without parallel development of economic and social institutions to ensure equitable functioning, unfair rules of global trade and finance, failure of current international practices to respond adequately to challenges posed by globalization and market access, ODA, and the serious democratic deficit. My delegation fully supports the draft resolution that has been introduced by Tanzania and Finland under this item (A/59/L.38). My delegation welcomes the process of globalization as recommended in the report. This process has a strong and sound dimension based on universally shared values and respect for human rights and individual dignity. It is fair, inclusive, democratically governed and provides opportunities and tangible benefits for all countries and peoples. In that regard, we underscore the crucial role of nation- States as global actors, particularly on commitment to multilateralism, universal values, common goals and the extent of their sensitivity to the cross-border impact of their policies. We also would like to recognize the efforts of the Presidents of Brazil, Chile, France and Spain with regard to the Action against Hunger and Poverty initiative, and especially the proposals on innovative sources of financing. The Technical Group on Innovative Financing Mechanisms underscores the need to adopt a new supplementary approach to ODA aimed at increasing the amount of resources available and ensuring better practicality of aid flows. The Technical Group outlined measures aimed at providing a long-term predictable and continuous flow of resources to ensure that recipient nations succeed in efficiently providing for long-term development. Those initiatives need to be further explored by the United Nations. Coordination of the follow-up to and implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits are imperative to ensure coherence and avoid duplication. We recognize the important role of the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council and its subsidiary mechanisms in that regard. We welcome the initiative taken by the General Assembly in adopting resolution 57/270 B, which provides guidance for various actors to work cooperatively in the implementation of the outcomes of the major United Nations conferences and summits. In that respect, we welcome the establishment of a multi-year work programme aimed at enabling the United Nations system and relevant stakeholders to better prepare their contributions. Consequently, the role of the regional commissions in promoting intersectoral and multistakeholder dialogues at the regional level is crucial. It is our belief that the resolution should be fully implemented. My delegation welcomes the cooperation of the bureaux of the Second and Third Committees and the Assembly’s General Committee at the fifty-eighth and fifty-ninth sessions in ensuring coherent coverage of the process of integrated and coordinated implementation of and follow-up to the major United Nations conferences and summits in the economic and social fields. We further welcome the improvement in the work of the two Main Committees, particularly with regard to the rationalization of their future agendas through biennialization, triennialization, clustering and the elimination of items. However, due regard should be given to the needs and priorities of Member States, and especially developing countries. Interactive debates are also a useful tool in expanding discussion of the relevant issues. The 2005 high-level summit will accord us an opportunity to inject new energy into the pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. In order for that to happen, the event should attract participation at the highest political level and deliver a strong message to the international community. It is our proposal that this event have as its outcome a negotiated plan of action for the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals. In addition, as we work towards the high-level summit, we would like to propose that the preparatory process for the event borrow from the experience of the preparations for the Millennium Summit.

At the outset, I would like to express my appreciation to the Secretary-General for his comprehensive reports (A/59/545 and A/59/282), which clearly and concisely illustrate both the progress that has been made, as well as the challenges we still face. The Republic of Korea believes that coordination between the General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council is essential to achieving successful implementation of and follow-up to major United Nations conferences. In that regard, we support the Secretary-General’s call for greater predictability in the work programme of the Economic and Social Council in order to facilitate better horizontal integration and strengthen consultation between the General Assembly and the Council. Furthermore, in line with Assembly resolution 57/270 B, my delegation believes that we must continue to strengthen cooperation between the Second and Third Committees of the General Assembly and the general segment of the Economic and Social Council in order to avoid duplication of work. Moreover, we agree that the Assembly should move towards streamlining and organizing the work of the Second Committee more coherently in order to enhance its focus, visibility and participation. Global issues such as poverty, the digital divide and environmental degradation affect different geographical regions in distinct ways. Accordingly, regional organizations are often well suited to offer region-specific remedies and approaches that can reinforce global efforts to address those issues. The Republic of Korea is of the view that there should be a greater role for the regional commissions in coordinating economic, social and environmental issues at the regional level, as outlined in resolution 57/270 B. In that regard, we agree with the Secretary- General’s report, contained in document E/2004/71, of 25 May 2004, that the regional commissions can play an important role by serving as regional focal points to monitor and assess progress made towards achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). We also support enhancing the role of the regional commissions as promoters of intersectoral and multistakeholder dialogues at the regional level. And we agree that regional commissions should consider addressing the regional dimension of the cross-cutting themes that emerge from the outcomes of major United Nations conferences and summits. My delegation underscores the importance of strengthening the linkages between the policy guidance of the United Nations system and its operational activities. Indeed, overall United Nations policy development can at times be somewhat removed from conditions on the ground, leading to Headquarters- created mandates, projects and programmes that are difficult to implement in the field. In that regard, greater communication between policy development and the operational activities of the United Nations system as a whole is necessary, including through greater interaction between the governing bodies. Along those lines, we also wish to highlight the need for continued attention to improving coordination and coherence in operational activities among the United Nations funds, programmes and specialized agencies in the field. In particular, we believe that greater consistency among the strategic development frameworks of the funds, programmes and specialized agencies is crucial to achieving successful development objectives. Strategic development frameworks are the theoretical foundation of development programmes; divergent or conflicting mandates and priorities among agencies in the field can hinder our collective efforts to achieve development objectives. Unity and consistency among the development frameworks should remain a priority. The Millennium Declaration represents the common commitment of United Nations Member States to achieve peace and development for the international community as a whole. The goals enshrined in the Millennium Declaration are interrelated and synergistic and they require a holistic and multifaceted approach. We must remember that achievement of any one specific goal is highly correlated with achievement of other goals, meaning that, inter alia, peace is not achievable without development, and vice versa. The report of the Secretary-General (A/59/282) presents a mixture of both progress and challenges in the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. In the area of peace and security, the report illustrates both success in United Nations peace operations and continuing threats, such as terrorism, transnational crimes and violation of international humanitarian law. My delegation agrees with the Secretary-General that terrorism remains a serious threat to the global peace and stability. Terrorism also threatens the prosperity of the international community and hampers the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). The Republic of Korea condemns terrorists, who target innocent civilians, United Nations personnel and aid workers. These cowardly crimes undermine the capacity of the United Nations and international humanitarian groups to assist in reconstruction efforts and protect the vulnerable. Member States of the United Nations must remain steadfast in combating terrorism by, inter alia, adhering to all relevant international conventions. The Secretary-General’s report also highlights a disturbing regional variance in the level of progress towards the MDGs. As globalization expands and deepens, this growing regional development gap poses a serious obstacle to successful achievement of the MDGs. We must recognize that the welfare of geographic regions is interdependent. Lack of progress in one region can have negative ramifications in other regions. Accordingly, as we continue to pursue the MDGs, special attention should be devoted to addressing the marginalization of certain regions. My delegation is particularly concerned about the HIV/AIDS pandemic that continues to wreak havoc around the world. As noted in the Secretary-General’s report, the increase in the number of HIV-positive cases in 2003 is a stark reminder to the international community that greater attention must be devoted to confronting this terrible crisis. HIV/AIDS not only affects the health of people and nations around the world, but also hinders the development efforts of the most severely affected countries. The recent emergence of new large-scale epidemics, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), poses yet another threat to public health, as well as to trade, transportation and economic development. We must formulate a decisive plan to combat these and future health and development challenges. Allow me briefly to touch upon the modalities, format and organization of the high-level plenary meeting of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly in 2005. The 2005 high-level plenary meeting will be the first opportunity for the United Nations to undertake a comprehensive review of progress in pursuit of the Millennium Declaration and the major United Nations conferences and summits. As such, the Republic of Korea attaches great importance to the planning and preparation for this meeting, as well as its outcomes. In our view, the high-level plenary meeting must take concrete action to advance the implementation of the Millennium Declaration. The final document must therefore contain practical policy options. Furthermore, the meeting should pursue a balanced agenda that duly reflects both development and international peace and security. In this connection, my delegation looks forward to the upcoming report of the High-level Panel, the Sachs report, and the Secretary-General’s comprehensive report on the Millennium Declaration. We hope that the in-depth discussions on the reports will lead to fruitful conclusions. As agreed at the first informal meeting on 9 November 2004, the preparation process for the high-level meeting must be open, inclusive, and transparent in order to ensure the broadest possible participation by Member States. In this connection, my delegation hopes that, in order to help guide the preparation process, a resolution on the modalities, format and organization of the meeting that duly reflects the will of Member States, will be adopted as soon as possible. In closing, I would like to underscore that our collective efforts to implement the Millennium Declaration are the greatest test of our dedication to improving follow-up to United Nations conferences and commitments. We must remain resolute in pursuit of these worthy goals.

We have thus heard the last speaker in the debate on these items for this meeting.