S/PV.3046 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. With the permission of my colleagues, I shall make a brief introductory statement to our meeting today. This is a unique meeting, We are meeting at a time of momentous change. Just a year ago1 the Council met the challenge of Iraq's invasion of Kuwait, and the Council did that with great success. But today we face new challenges, and to set a new course in tackling them, it is right, I believe, that we should meet for the first time ever at the level of Heads of State or Government. Today, we must show that the Security Council is working with a common purpose. I welcome very much the presence today of so many Heads of State or Government. It is proof of the importance we all attach to the United Nations and of our commitment to the ideals of the United Nations. We come today from all parts of the world. Each of our countries has its own characteristics, its own concerns. But we are united in one particular aspect. We are united by our commitment to strengthen the wider community to which we belong, to reinforce collective security and to maintain international peace and security, In convening this extraordinary meeting this morning, I intended that our discussion could serve four important purposes. First, our presence today marks a turning-point in the world and at the United Nations. On the international scene, we have witnessed the end of the cold war. States Members of this Organization have divided and reformed themselves; This United Nations, the term of office of Mr. Perez de Cuellar has come to a close. He has served the international community for many years with outstanding distinction, and I am delighted to be able to thank him for that work, We are here not only to wish his successor, Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, well, but to give him our full backing in carrying out his man~ate, A new situation in the world needs new ideas and a new impetus. Secondly, we should today reaffirm 9ur_attachment to the principle of collective security, and to the resolution of disputes in accordance with the principles of the United Nations Charter. We should, send a clear signal that it is through the United Nations and its Security Council that we intend to deal with threats to international peace and security. Thirdly, we should today consider anew the means by which collective security is upheld through the United Nations and consider how best to update and to develop them. It is time to review all the instruments at our disposal - preventive action: to avert crises by monitoring and addressing the causes of conflict; peacemaking: to restore peace by diplomatic means; peace-keeping: to reduce tensions, to consolidate and underpin efforts to restore peace. These, I believe, are the matters that we should consider now. Even today, as we meet here, peace-keeping operations are under way in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Asia and Europe. The need is not likely to decrease in the future. We must consider how we can enhance the ability of the United Nations to respond effectively and ensure that it has the necessary resources, both financial and material, to enable it to do so. In all of these, of course, the role of the Secretary-General is vital. Fourthly, we should today commit ourselves anew to upholding international peace and security through reinforced measures of arms control, Activity to restrain the accumulation and transfer of arms, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, affects all Members of the United Nations. Arms-control policy has become genuinely global. The role of this Organization - not just the Security Council, but the whole of the Organization - is an increasingly important one. As we meet to consider the specific responsibilities of the Security Council, the wider concerns of the international community - even if we shall not discuss all of them today~ are also in our minds. It is of course true that without economic development and prosperity we cannot hope to achieve lasting peace and stability. But it is every bit as true thpt only when conditions of security and peace are assured can sustained economic development take place. Both are needed. Only when we have both can resources be directed to where they are so urgently needed - towards the economic and social needs of the world's population. The opening line of our Charter - the Charter of the United Nations - does not talk about States or Governments; it talks about people. The world now has the best chance for peace, security and development since the founding of the United Nations. I hope, like the founders of the United Nations themselves, that we can today renew the resolve enshrined in the Charter - the resolve to combine our efforts to accomplish the aims of the Charter in the interests of all the people we are privileged to represent. That is our role, and I wish the Council well in its work today. Members of the Council, we have a great deal to do today. In accordance with custom I shall, with your agreement, make my national statement when all other colleagues have spoken. We shall now commence our debate, and I invite the Secretary-General to address us.

Mr, President, Excellencies: it is a great honour for me to welcome you to this historic meeting of the Security Council. The significance of this gathering exceeds its symbolic value. It is one of those occasions when symbol enhances substance, Your presence here is a striking demonstration of your reliance on the United Nations. This expression of support is profoundly gratifying to the Secretary-General whom This meeting could not have been more timely. As the new era begins, it calls for both ideas and action to place international life on stronger foundations. What shape the emerging order will take, ·what defences will be built against anarchy and terrorism, and how entrenched inequities can be removed will depend greatly on the wisdom, foresight and compassion· of the world's leadership. It is the leaders of nations, engaged in joint deliberations, who can address not only the apparent problems but also the frustrations and fears that underlie and intensify them. As other swnmit gatherings are held regularly, it would be in tune with this time of the acceleration of history that the Security Council also meet at the summit level periodically to take stock of the state of the world, If this suggestion of mine is well received, it would strengthen the tone of authority that the United Nations needs at this critical stage, It would also help to assure that transfiguration of this house which the world hopes to be completed before its fiftieth anniversary, in 1995. There has hardly been a stage more critical in modern history. The revolution that is sweeping large parts of the world derives its momentum and authenticity not from any outdated or recycled ideology but from the primal need of peoples for freedom, for justice, for solidarity and for recognition of their identities. The contours of the global order to which it will lead are not yet clearly perceivable. But several lessons are already being driven home: Democratization at the national level dictates a corresponding process at the global level. At both levels, it aims at the rule of law. For national societies, democracy means strengthening the institutions of popular participation and consent, political pluralism and the defence of human rights,· including those of minorities. .For global society, it means the cllemocratization of international relations and the participation of all States i.n developing new norms of international life. Small States can play large cionstructive roles, and the record of the United Nations proves that political ,rill and imagination can make more fruitful contributions to peace than military power or economic power. Where such participation is not fully forthcoming, it needs to be encouraged •. That, in turn, requires the willingness to accommodate different viewpoints and a readiness to offer ispecial assistance to the democratization process, It would, of course, be naive to suppose that democratization alone, whether at the national or at the planetary level, will solve all our problems. At both levels, democracy is a delicate plant that needs the nourishing soil of peace, security and economic development. New ways of preventing internal disputes and inter-State confrontationswill therefore need to be developed. State sovereignty takes a new meaning in this context. Added to its dimension of right is the dimension of responsibility, both internal and external. Violation of State sovereignty is, and will remain, an offence against the global order. But its misuse also may undermine human rights and jeopardize a peaceful global life. Civil wars care no longer civil, and the carnage they inflict will not let the world remain indifferent, The narrow nationalism that would oppose or disregard the norms of a stable international order and the micro-nationalism that resists healthy economic or political integration can disrupt a peaceful global existence. Nations are too interdependent, national frontiers are too porous and transnational realities - in the spheres of technology and investment, on the one.side, and poverty and misery, on the other - too dangerous to permit egocentric isolationism. Collective security can be based only on collective confidence and good faith - confidence in the principles by which it is governed and good faith in the means by which it is sought to be ensured. With all the V/ convulsions in global society, only one power is left that can impose order on i.ncipient chaos: it is the power of principles transcending changing perceptions of expediency. (spoke in Fr@nch) Now that the cold war has come to an end we must work to avoid the C>utbreak or resurgence of new conflicts. The explosion of nationalities, which is pushing countries with many ethnic groups towards division, is a new challenge to peace and security. Could the United Nations discharge its :responsibilities if, instead of being composed of 166 States, it had double that number of Members? Nationalist fever will increase ad infinitum the :nwnber of communities claiming sovereignty, for there will always be dissatisfied minorities within those minorities that achieve independence. Peace, first threatened by ethnic conflicts and tribal wars, could then often be troubled by border disputes. The United Nations will have to adopt a new strategy to respond to the irredentist claims of ethnic and cultural communities or their calls for autonomy. It will have to take into account the abundant supply of arms, the aggravation of economic inequalities between various communities and the flow of refugees. We legitimately emphasize preventive diplomacy, which means identifying potential zones of conflict; offering good offices while those conflicts are still in the gestation stage and resolving crises before they degenerate into armed confrontation. That requires means for observation, a sophisticated communications network and new financial resources. It will also be necessary to obtain the agreement of the State in crisis as well as that of communities in revolt and to invent new federal formulas for the future. The whole strategy will be pursued under the pressures of extreme urgency, with combat and destruction and images of death, wounded people and refugees clouding the political scene, We have to some extent succeeded in establishing the foundations of this new strategy, We have succeeded in maintaining a cease-fire or restoring peace in Africa, Central America, Asia and Europe. We have gone even further; we have even touched on the sphere of the institutional management of national reconciliation, Behind the clamour of conflict, the tumult of aspirations and resentments, there is hope - the hope that the United Nations will act. The peoples expect Member States, and in particular those in a position to help, to rise above their rivalries, to respond to the peoples' need for dignity, equity and justice and to make the spirit of conciliation and dialogue prevail, for without it there can be no peaceful settlement of disputes. At this very moment millions and millions of victims of war, tyranny, fanaticism and economic injustice are anxiously following your deliberations, in the expectation that a remedy will be found to their ills and their misery. Their hope will not be in vain if people of good will, courage, compassion and vision take the initiative to resolve the problems that have broken so many human lives. You are those people of good will. On behalf of the men and women who work in this Organization, on behalf of the thousands of civil servants, military people, observers and experts who make history in far-flung countries and try to put an end to war and begin dialogue, I thank you for your presence he:r:e among us and for the hope that it awakens in those who pursue their daily struggle for the triumph of peace and sovereign justice.

Thank you, Mr. Secretary-General. I know the Council looks forward to hearing you on many occasions in the years ahead. Thank you very much for what you have had to say to us today. I now invite the President of France to address the Council. President MITTERRAND (interpretation from French): First, Mr, President, I should like to thank you for your initiative which has brought us together here as members of the Security Council. It is a very irnportant event, as the Secretary-General has just emphasized. I should like tc> tell him how pleased we are to see him today heading our great international society. I wish him every success in his work, in which we shall be unsparing in our support. In addition to those words of encouragement, I should like to express our gratitude to Mr. Perez de Cuellar, gratitude which has already been so well expressed by you, Mr. President. I myself had hoped for a meeting such as this 10 months ago, when we were a.t the end of a war waged to deal with aggression and to restore law and c,rder, under the aegis of the United Nations. That was a new, but essential s1tep, though the war of c.ourse inevitably brought suffering in its wake, There have been many upheavals since then, with people thrown onto the road, civil wars and the disruption of vast political entities of long standing. Where are we heading? We are looking for signposts, but we do not always :Eind them. It is the role of the Security Council and the General Assembly to J?Oint the way, Disorder and upredictability have become the rule. It will be said that perhaps there are too many things happening at the same time and that the only constant today is change. But are we now to mourn the old order and prefer, with Goethe, the great German writer, injustice to disorder? Surely not! Liberty has grown in the world; we must continue to help it. Are there any clear responses? It is true that a time of crisis, such as we are living through now, is also a time of choice. On the one hand there is war, exodus, the break-up of States and terrorism. Are they unavoidable? We can prevent them. That is my first assertiQn. Preventing them is precisely the primary task of the Security Council of the United Nations, in accordance with the Charter. A meeting like today's has been needed since March of last year. Prime Minister Major was absolutely right: the time was ripe for inviting us here •. By no means does everything depend on us - but a great deal does. Let me join my colleagues in tracing the route we should follow. First of all, a world in crisis requires instruments for comprehensive, universal a.ction; secondly, we must guarantee collective security; and finally, we must create new forms of solidarity. Needless to say, my statement will not be exhaustive, for we have only a limited amount of time to say what we want to say - and that may be a good t:hing. I shall merely put forward a few ideas, a few plans. It is a fact that since 1945 all the world's major problems have required a universal approach. We must now create the instruments for that universal action: instruments on security, on how to expand the means available to the Security Council for intervention. Take, for example, resolution 687 (1991), 1~hich put an end to the Kuwait war, Its strict implementation is necessary to restore peace in the Middle East, but it is not enough. The situation clearly ,calls for the creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction, which means the participation of all the States of the region - and of other regions. It also calls for universal adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuc~ear Weapons, For its part, France is in the process of ratifying that Treaty. France will also become a' party to Additional Protocol I of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin ' America - the Treaty of Tlatelolco - whose twenty-fifth anniversary will be marked in two weeks. (President Mitterrand) But the establishment of such a zone requires also the adoption of a convention banning chemicai weapons. That is possible, which is why I call upon all States to come to Paris to sign such a convention before the end of the year. We should also try to monitor and limit arms transfers and, as so aptly proposed by President Bush and President Yeltsin, to accelerate genuine reductions in nuclear weapons. We should establish a closer link between the concepts of non-proliferation and disarmament, and so forth, We are no longer engaged in a race towards over-armament; on the contrary. That is excellent news. Everyone must now participate in nuclear disarmament, provided first and foremost that all States in question are able to see that their security is assured. There should not be vast differences among the nuclear potentials of various parties. Economic interdependence is another axiom. We have a great deal of ground to cover in order to reap the practical benefits of such interdependence, We are now in a position to decrease military bu'dgets for the benefit of development. I would recall that many of us have called for continued dialogue between the North and the South. We do not want the gap to grow even wider. We must continue the work alread~ begun, for example, on the question of debt by considering the position of intermediate~income countries among the less wealthy. I would mention the case of Venezuela and France: without any great fanfare, we have been working since July to achieve an agreement between a consumer and a producer of oil. We must revise many of our methods, our concepts and our approaches, I shall not dwell on the question of the environment. Soon a conference on the subject will be held in Rio de Janeiro, where we shall have to take a broad view in order to save the planet while still enabling peoples to make progress. Peoples are often compelled to alter the natural balance, because they lack the means to live in any other way. ~I Human rights have triumphed - and I hope it is no temporary triumph - in the ideological struggle of the cold war. I am not proposing a new system. I merely remind the Council that democracy begins in the schools, We must consider and renew the role·of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to make it exemplary; we must consolidate it. It is time for the States that have left UNESCO to return and contribute to its great task, Collective security will be jeopardized very quickly if we do not create up-to-date conditions for it. Past experience has shown that not~ing can be done without the determination of States, particularly the major Powers, to reject the law of the jungle and the principle that might is right, That determination is reflected in the Charter of the United Nations. For a long time, the Charter was hobbled, but today all its provisions are usable, and we must implement them immediately. I am certain that other colleagues will also be making proposals to ensure the greater effectiveness of peace-keeping operations. I state that for its part France is ready to make available to the Secretary-General a 1,000-man contingent for peace-keeping operations, at any time, on 48-hours notice, That figure could be doubled within a week, Such deployments would involve activity by the Military Staff Committee, as provided for in the Charter, Secondly, it is indispensible that we develop preventive diplomacy. Members of the Council should undertake systematically to provide the Secretary-General with information on international security and to give him the mandate to maintain regular contacts with his counterparts, the leaders of regional organizations. Chapter VIII of the Charter, on regional arrangements, should no longer be disregarded, We must be able to turn as necessary to new bodies to meet specific needs. On the relationship between disarmament and development, suggestions have recently been made, for example by Germany, Those are good suggestions, which is why France recommends the establishment of regional funds for the conversion of military research and develop~ent to civilian production, for the benefit, to begin with, of new States: republics, with urgent needs, I which once formed part of the former·Soviet Union. I am certain that other countries too will be able to benefit, including States of the Middle East. Similarly, on the model of Europe, why should we not establish in each region appropriate arbitrating bodies? The European Community already has such a body. Those are a few of the possible instruments. We must, moreover, ensure that the United Nations has regular, increasing financing. To that end, arrears must be paid. I am not making any specific allusions, but I would remind the Council that this would make it possible to demonstrate that a spirit of cooperation will be present in our work. My third and last point concerns the conditions for a new solidarity. Security cannot be conceived solely in military terms. Obviously, it has an economic aspect which is in fact supreme over the other as time passes and so long as economic insecurity does not generate new military conflicts. Many proposals can be made. North-South confrontation should not be allowed to replace the East-West confrontation. I am sure all will agree to that. Politics, like economics, disarmament, social development and the environment, takes us back to the same law - that of solidarity. For a long time now the general term "developing countries" has not been in keeping with ' reality. Twenty years ago, we could believe in general and uniform progress. Today, there is in truth two basic categories of countries: some have succeeded in making progress, but many others - par.ticularly in Africa but elsewhere as well, such as in the Indochinese peninsula - are bogged down in a situation from which they cannot emerge without our assistance. If there are many kinds of developing countries - to use the traditional term that I am challenging - we need adapted forms of aid. Those developing countries which really are developing need private and public investment, cheap credit, and growth in international trade. Hence the importance of international negotiations currently under way. As for other countries which have not yet succeeded in bringing about true development, let us not mince words: how can they be reinjected into the world economy? We should really examine this, giving particular thought to the necessary control of primary commodities. Otherwise, intolerable situations will arise and countries of goodwill, which work and require a great deal of their citizens, often find themselves in terrible crises. Their two-, threeor five.-year plans for recovery are demolished simply because in a single week international speculation has come into play, Those are a few of the issues I would like the Council to consider. I very much hope - and my country is re~uesting it - that there will be a world swnmit on social development that·will enable us to rejuvenate our thinking on development itself and t6 highlight the human dimension of things. That is what I wished to say today. We are experiencing in Europe - in Western Europe particularly - an exceptional experiment: that of a community which has known atrocious wars. These wars monopolized the entire history of this century, piled destruction upon disaster, and long destroyed any chance our continent had. Well, we decided more than 40 years ago to settle our differences by negotiation, to bring about the necessary reconciliations and to learn to share our sovereignties and resources equally in the interests of security and the common good. I do not wish to set that up as an example. Many others elsewhere have much to teach us by way of example. All are rich in tradition, culture and contributions to world civilization. I simply ask Your Excellencies to be good enough, on behalf of the Security Council of the United Nations, to exploit them.

I thank President Mitterrand for his remarks. The initiative for a meeting of this sort did originally spring from President Mitterrand some months ago, and I am delighted to have been able to bring it about today. I now invite the Constitutional President of Ecuador to take the floor, concerns afflicting the spirit of modern humanity in this last decade of the twentieth century, four main issues are outstanding. The first is violence in all its forms, nuances and manifestations: violence from above and from below; institutionalized violence and the violence of protest; political and economic violence; religious violence and racial violence - in brief, all the various and devastating forms of violence that beset the world. Then, we have the age~old issue that political authority must be subject to the law - in other words, the limitation of power, which is a problem of conscience for any thinking person and which arouses profound ethical debate concerning the relationship between society and the individual, the balance between authority and freedom, the demarcation of authority, the juridical security of those governed, and respect for human rights. Another of our concerns is undoubtedly the protection of the environment as an expression of solidarity with those who will follow us in this exciting adventure of life on our planet and to whom we are morally obliged to bequeath clean water, pure air, fertile land and green surroundings. It is a self-evident truth that no one can claim ownership of the freshness of the air or the purity of water. Finally, there is human development, which is much more than economic development and the mere accumulation of material wealth, which goes beyond material consumption and which embraces a broad range of tangible and intangible possessions and values that together determine the quality of a people's life. These, while not the only ones, are clearly the concerns that most deeply pervade the human spirit today. For a long time following the Second World War, when the concept of economic development was born, the inevitable question. was: h_ow much does a society progµ.ce? The answer was always given i.!LJ!~onometric terms of the gross .n.~t::Jonal prodµct, Now things have changed and theguestions are different. How are the inhabitants of a nation faring? What is their quality of .life? And the answers must be found in the way in which the benefits of progress are distributed in a community and the ( fundamental needs of the human being are met. According to the criteria of the United Nations Development Programme itself, this involves longevity, education, personal security, political freedom, community participation and respect for human rights. As President Mitterrand just put it, this is the human dimension of development. In the past, the concern was quantitative in nature, always involving national production indices measured by econometric formulas which were often deceptive in countries of great contrasts. Today, the concern is qualitative and human development is understood to mean freedom, health, security, well-being, culture, environment, satisfaction in one's work, the good use of leisure time and a wide range of other values. Economic development does not necessarily and automatically presuppose human development. There are countries which, despite high levels of economic growth, have unacceptable social problems. Inversely, there are other I countries that have low per capita income and, none the less, have reached considerable levels of human development. The United Nations was established 47 years ago as an answer to the deeply felt need for peace and security in the world following the untold suffering caused by the last world war. Its birth was inspired a~ that historic time by the ideal so eloquently expressed in the preamble to its Charter, which states: "We the peoples of the United Nations, determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind ••• ". We are far from having completely won the battle for peace. There still persist aggressive intentions, inferiority complexes that lead to violence, and misanthropy in the minds of certain political leaders. Racial and religious fanaticism, senseless nationalism, and xenophobia also constitute threats to the harmonious coexistence of peoples. The United Nations has lent invaluable services to mankind. Just consider how different the world of today is from the world of SO years ago. We must remember the nature of nazi-fascism and the horrors of war and what followed. We had East-West confrontation with its implacable struggle to divide the planet into zones of influence, the madness of military expenditures, the SS-20s and the Pershing-2s that were targeted at human civilization, with the peace of the world subjected to the balance of terror. We need to recall these irrational and warlike elements in order better to admire and value the work done by the United Nations during its first 50 years of existence. Let us begin by recalling .the importance for the destiny of mankind of that one initiative taken on 26 June 1945 in San Francisco to establish a world-wide community of States capable of resolving, on the basis of unity and consens.us, problems that States could not have been able to resolve individually and in isolation. There is a clear parallel between the age-old process of forming human communities and the process of forming societies of States. In both cases, the same motivating factors exist. In the former case, man, an essentially incomplete being, ill-equipped to meet the needs of his own existence, was forced to join with others in order to survive; in the latter case, the State, which with the passage of years has proved incapable of resolving alone the problems of economic and social develppment, has also been compelled to establish communities of States in order to join forces and attain common goals. Jean Jacques Rousseau, one of the cl.assic exponents of political thinking and universal thought, in explaining the origins of human society, affirmed that in a society its mernbers, "giving of themselves to all give themselves to no one in particular and, since in any such partnership the partners enjoy equal rights towards each other, one wins in that exchange the equivalent of everything one loses, and greater strength to preserve what one has". The same thing happens in the international sphere, The liberty of States, which is called sovereignty, is not undermined but rather is strengthened by the establishment of international organizations. The Italian philosopher and jurist, Giorgio del Vecchio, in referring to this issue, states: 110nly by obeying the law of our nature do we become truly free. Thus, the sovereignty of a State is truly affirmed as such only when the State does not betray its own essence, in other words, its nature as a I participant in a possible and necessary community of States, in which it has the power neither to disregard nor to deny its own nature," ' Following the implosion of the Marxist regimes, in other words, the 1:rumbling from within of the walls and scaffolding of their systems, the bipolar distribution of global power and therefore East-West confrontation have disappeared. In this respect, I would say that I consider commendable the announcement made a few hours ago by Presidents Bush and Yeltsin of their readiness to eliminate nuclear missiles and reduce arsenals of other types of strategic weapons. This would be a major step on the road to disarmament. I say this as a leader who, deeply committed to the peaceful settlement of international disputes, proposed, last September before the General Assembly of the United Nations, the arbitration of Pope John Paul II to put an end to an old territorial dispute between my country and Peru. I am pleased in this connection to inform the Security Council that, since that time, we have begun an era of understanding and negotiation with the Government of Peru, inspired by the aspirations of peace and cooperation of both peoples. There can be no doubt whatsoever that a new stage has begun in the history of mankind. I believe that this meeting symbolizes that fact. It is the turning of a page of history. The challenge today is international economic and social justice and human development. A primary responsibility of the United Nations is to contribute to their attainment. Its fundamental mission as we look to the future should be the attainment of a new order which does justice to the poor countries, which allows them to participate equitably in global income and which distributes with justice the benefits of progress. That is why Ecuador enthusiastically supports the initiative to which President Mitterrand referred just a few moments ago, of convening a summit meeting on social development. Ecuador therefore enthusiastically supports the initiative1 to which ~•resident Mitterrand referred just a few moments ago, of convening a summit on ~ocial development. We must be clear about the idea that behind poverty there I l.urk serious threats to the peace because - as they had not in times gone by - t:he peoples of today have passed value judgements on poverty. People used to view poverty as a household object and with the familiarity with which one \riews a household object1 but they do not do so today. The conviction that poverty can be avoided leads to rebellion, and thus a dangerous and explosive l?Olitical equation has now arisen: poverty plus a value judgmement on it plus irebellion equal the breaking of the peace. The same thing is happening in the international sphere: mankind has. become aware of its own imbalances; ethical value judgements have been passed c,n countries' situations, and this has added a new chapter to modern economic 1science1 on the study of - to paraphrase Adam Smith - the causes of the J~overty of nations. Human development is1 definitively, the most important issue of our day. ]~on-military risks to security have increased. Today, in the marginal ,countries, there is more poverty1 ·more unemployment and more social instability than there was 10 years ago. The end of the cold 'war, as the Secretary-General said in his last report, will make it possible for mankind to release very considerable financial resources to social and to human development, This is, in the view of Ecuador, the most important, most crucial task of the United Nations during the new, historic phase, which is beginning today.

Mr. President, thank you very much. It was good to hear the environmental themes aired so thoroughly this morning, and many of us, of course, look forward to taking up that debate at Rio later this year. I now have pleasure in inviting His Majesty the King of Morocco to address the Council. King HASSAN II (interpretation from Arabic): Praise to the Lord, and prayer for the Prophet and his family. The holding of a summit meeting of the countries members of the Security Council, upon the invitation of His Excellency the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, Mr. Major, who is President of the Security Council this month, is an excellent initiative and, clearly, a commendable precedent in the history of the United Nations. The high level of representation of the countries members of the Council confers a special significance on this exceptional, historic event. It reflects not only the desire of the members of the Council to discharge their responsibilities but als~ their commitment to international cooperation and their support for the noble mission of the United Nations for greater understanding in the interest of world peace, all of ,which is with a view to avoiding a return to international confrontation and its sorry train of harmful consequences for the world. The peace between the wars lasted only a I short space of time, and hardly had one conflict been stanched when another confrontation of even greater fury and violence was unleashed, giving mankind no respite. This summit meeting is being held in appropriate circumstances, as it is taking place after the historic changes which have just occurred in the world and have profoundly altered all the givens of international politics. These changes have brought about a situation for our planet which was completely unforeseeable before the '80s. That is why this swnmit meeting is an invaluable occasion for us to exchange views on the events that we have experienced and to reflect, together, on effecti~e ways to meet the challenges now facing mankind as it enters the last decade before the twenty-first century. We cannot fail to take this opportunity to express our warmest· congratulations to the Secretary-General of our Organization, His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who, thanks to his intellectual powers and his moral qualities, has very deservedly assumed this highly responsible post. There can be no doubt that his election constitutes not only the consecration crowning his success in the duties he performed in his own country, but also a tribute to the region to·which he belongs and a just recognition of the contribution of Arabs and Africans to the development of the United Nations and to the accomplishment of its mission. We would be failing in our duty if we were not also to pay a special tribute to his predecessor, His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar who, through his tireless efforts, made an invaluable contribution to the revitalization of the United Nations and its positive development during a sensitive period in its history, so enabling it to tackle global problems and alleviate tension, thus commanding respect from the world at large. The fact that Morocco is part, at one and the same time, of Africa and of the Arab and Islamic worlds gives it the duty, on this happy occasion, of expressing its ideas and views while at the same time taking into account the positions of the various parties which belong to these same regions. We are therefore honoured to be able to transmit to you the feelings, observations and questions raised in our region by the initiative of the President of the Council in convening this summit meeting. As far as the United Nations is concerned, we commend the major role it has played since the end of the Second World War in establishing a new era based on the maintenance of peace and security and on the attainment of progress for all the countries and peoples of the world. Nevertheless, the Security Council, which has functions in the field of the maintenance of international peace and security, has not always been capable of carrying out its mission under the Charter of the Organization, and in particular under Chapter VI, The Council has, for most of the time, been paralysed because of the cold war, which was reflected in the Council by the exercise of the right of veto by the great Powers of one o~ another bloc •. For the same reason, the Security Council found itself incapable of finding satisfactory solutions to regional conflicts, which had harmful consequences in the international arena, The desire to support the United Nations role requires, first and foremost, action to maintain world peace and achieve the peaceful settlement of disputes. In other words, dialogue and mediation must be given_ pride of place, and all of the mechanisms of the United Na,tions and the provisions of the Charter must be employed; the Secretary-General must be given all the means of preventive diplomacy to prevent the degeneration of disputes into armed conflicts. In addition, the provisions of the Charter concerning collective security cannot become operational unless all .countries fully.respect international law and unless the principle of equality among States is made a reality, Since the end of the cold war, the United Nations responsibilities have broadened and its role has been increased. Given the new configuration of the world scene, the international community is itself confronting new difficulties and new challenges at a time when it aspires to peace. This is why all countries are hopeful that the Organization will be more effective at this crucial stage in the evolving international situation. In this connection the Kingdom of Morocco reaffirms the need to strengthen the organs of the United Nations, to improve their functioning and to review their mechanisms in order to increase their effectiveness and credibility and adapt them to the new realities they face, Morocco can therefore only support the often-expressed will to revitalize the United Nations and reform its organs, and we hope that precise and concrete proposals will be made in this respect as soon as possible. The strengthening of the organs of the United Nations and of their role in the maintenance of international peace and security requires that the international community give serious consideration to disarmament questions, In this respect, it is our view that the international instruments concluded in recent years all provide glimmers of hope and encouraging prospects in this area, Nevertheless, the progress achieved by the United Nations in the nuclear sphere should not prevent us from redoubling our efforts to ensure the success of the Geneva negotiations on the prohibition of chemical weapons and their destruction in order to rid ourselves of a devastating weapon that constitutes a negation of civilization and noble human values. We believe that disarmament will have no true significance unless it engenders in the countries of the North the dynamics of cooperation with the countries of the South to help the latter to free themselves from underdevelopment. Moreover, we believe in the need to establish a link between peace and disarmament, and it is regrettable that the close relationship that exists between peace and development is underestimated. We must not forget that underdevelopment has been and remains the greatest threat to world peace and security and that at the present time it represents the greatest challenge the international community must meet. We are a part of Africa, a continent that we cherish and respect. We suffer its problems and we share its aspirations, even though we may not always have benefited from all of the understanding we had the right to expect from the Organization of African Unity. It is a continent whose situation is worsening and where living conditions are deteriorating under the combined effect of growing indebtedness, the decline in the prices of raw materials, galloping population growth and the scarcity of foreign investment. In addition, Africa is confronted with a worsening economic crisis because of natural disasters, famine and the displacement of over 10 million refugees to neighbouring countries. This is a crisis that will imperil the continent's future if the international community does not take urgent measures to give effect to the commitments it has undertaken in this respect.' It is impossible to envisage the establishment of a new world order when the Arab world is living a tragedy that has lasted for nearly a half century. That tragedy is the tragedy of the Palest~nian people, deprived of the exercise of their rights, stripped of their territory and their homeland, threatened in their identity and their history, whose children are dying before the eyes of the entire world. Although the international community has set out to find short-term or longer-term solutions to some political problems, the persistence of this problem for so long a time demonstrates the inability of the universal conscience to resolve it and to put an end to its negative consequences. Thus the international community must redouble its efforts to find a definitive solution to the problem of the Middle East in accordance with the relevant resolutions of the Security Council, which have, inter alia, emphasized the withdrawal of Israel from the occupied Arab territories and the recognition of the rights of Palestinians, including the right of refugees to return to their homeland. Morocco was among the first to encourage dialogue among the parties to the conflict in the Middle East. In so doing, we were acting consistently in unhesitatingly supporting the peace initiative, We thus hope that that process will be completed and that the countries that have prepared the meeting of the parties to the conflict will encourage dialogue leading to a solution that will be just and acceptable to all. In this framework, we should like to focus on the specific status of the city of Al Quds Al Sharif and recall that in 1979 the Organization of the Islamic Conference entrusted us with the chairmanship of the Al Quds Committee. Over these 12 years we have continuously sought to find an equitable and just solution to the fate of the Holy City. We understand that the Holy Places in that city are of paramount importance to Muslims, Christians and Jews. That is why the Arab and Islamic side has shown openness in all the gatherings it has held, and in particular at the Summit Conference held at Fez in 1982, displaying a spirit of cooperation and taking the first steps towards .the other side. However, and to our profound regret, that openness and the initiatives taken with a view to attaining peace have been met.with political immobility, with rigid positions, the use of force and the fuelling of tensions. Clear progress has been achieved in the international sphere in respect of human rights. Morocco takes this opportunity to express its pleasure at this fact, because the concept of human rights, as we see it, is universal and can in no way be departed from or called into gue,stion. We believe that human rights mean respect for dignity and its corollary:, the safeguarding of individual and collective rights. It is to this principle that civilized communities are committed. It is a pleasure for us to say on this occasion that the principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights reflect·the human concepts which we have upheld for 14 centuries and which include political, economic and social rights. The second Caliph of Islam, Omar Ibn El-Khattab, proclaimed the principle of human rights in the following words: "How is it possible to subjugate man, when he is born free?". Your initiative, Mr. President, gives the countries members of the Security Council the opportunity, for the first time, to meet at the highest level and enables them to have a thorough and interesting discussion of the problems of o~r day. The exchange of opinions and the discussion reflected in the final presidential declaration which will be the culmination of our work today will allow us to note the progress we have achieved and the breadth of the tasks that await us if we are to meet the challenges with which we are confronted. While we cannot claim that our meeting will resolve the problems facing the world, we can at least affirm that this meeting has the merit of enabling us to consult together and to chart the course of that new world order to which we aspire.

Your Majesty, we thank you for that very wide-ranging and comprehensive speech. I now invite the President and Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation to address the Security Council, fresident YELTSIN (interpretation from Russian): This summit meeting of the Security Council, the first of its kind on the political Olympus of the contemporary world, is a historic and unprecedented event. The end of the twentieth century is a time of great promise and new anxieties. The age-old search for truth and the attempt to discern what the future has in store for humanity seem to be getting a kind of second wind. Perhaps for the first time ever there is now a real chance to put an end to despotism and to dismantle the totalitarian order, whatever shape it may take, I trust that after all the unthinkable tragedies and tremendous losses it pas suffered, mankind will reject this legacy; it will not allow the twenty-first century to bring new suffering and privation to our children and grandchildren. The process of profound change is already under way in various spheres of life, and above all in the economic sphere. It is a problem that concerns not just individual nations or States, but the whole of mankind. After all, it is an economy mutilated by ideological diktat and built in defiance of all common sense that forms the principal material base of totalitarianism. A profound awareness of this causal relationship has led the Russian leadership to embark upon a most .difficult course of economic reform. We have taken that risk in a country where an all-out war was waged against economic interests for many decades. I am grateful to the world community for its support of our efforts and for understanding that the future not only of the people of Russia but of the entire planet largely depends on whether or not these reforms are successful. I am also grateful to the people of Russia for their courage and steadfastness. They should take a great deal of credit for the fact that the world community is moving ever farther away from the totalitarian past. Democracy is one of the major achievements of human civilization. All times and all countries have known people who have risen up selflessly in its defence. The people of Russia defended democracy at the walls of our Moscow White House. Now we must accomplish the most difficult task - that is, the creation of legal, political and socio-economic guarantees to make democratic changes irreversible. All of us our weighed down by a tremendous burden of mutual mistrust. It is no secret that a most profound abyss has separated the two States that until recently were referred to as the super-Powers. This abyss must be bridged. That is the wish of our nations and the commitment of the Presidents of the United States of America and the Russian Federation. The new political situation in the world makes it possible not only to advance new, original ideas but also to make even the most ambitious of them practicable. Our proposals have been outlined in our messages to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the President of the United States, Mr. George Bush. Russia believes that the time has come to reduce considerably the presence of means of destruction on our planet. I am convinced that together we are capable of making the principle of minimum defence sufficiency a fundamental law of the existence of contemporary States. Today there are real opportunities for implementing deep cuts in strategic offensive arms and tactical nuclear weapons; resolutely moving towards significant limitations on nuclear testing and even towards its complete cessation; making anti-ballistic-missile defences less complicated and costly and eliminating anti-satellite systems; considerably reducing conventional armaments and armed forces; ensuring practical implementation of international agreements on the prohibition of chemical and bacteriological weapons; and enhancing the reliability of barriers to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The problem of experts engaged in the development and production of such weapons, including nuclear physicists, has lately become a top priority. No country has the right to use its talents for political gains, at the expense I of international security. Russia is fully aware of its own responsibility and is taking steps to make provision for the social security of such experts. ~t the same time, we support the idea of establishing international centres which could coordinate appropriate research and support the most promising areas of work. I think the time has come to consider creating a global defence system for the world community. It could be based on a reorientation of the United States Strategic Defense Initiative, to make use of high technologies developed in Russia's de1ence complex. We are ready to par~icipate actively in building and putting in place a pan-European collective security system - in particular during the Vienna talks and the upcoming post-Helsinki-II talks on security and cooperation in Europe. Russia regards the United States and the West not as mere partners but rather as allies. This is a basic prerequisite for, I would say, a revolution in peaceful cooperation between progressive nations. We reject any subordination of foreign policy to pure ideology or ideological doctrines. Our principles are clear and simple: primacy of democracy, human rights and freedoms, legal and moral standards. I hope that this is something that our partners in the Commonwealth of Independent States also hold dear. We support their early admission to the United Nations and believe that this will have a beneficial impact on the evolution of the Commonwealth itself. The Commonwealth has been formed by the participating States on the basis of full equality and of their own free will. It rests on natural human ties among tens of millions of people. Russia is fully aware of its responsibility for making the Commonwealth of Independent States an important factor of stability in the world. This applies above all to nuclear forces. The participating States of the Commonwealth share the view that nuclear weapons are an integral part of the strategic forces of the Commonwealth under a single command and unified control. Today talks are under way about the future of the armed forces of the former Union. The main task is to carry out the transformation of them in a civilized manner and on~ clearly defined legal basis. Our top priority is to guarantee all human rights and freedoms in their entirety, including political ~nd civil rights and decent socio-economic and environmental living standards. I believe that these questions are not an internal matter of States, but rather their obligations under the United Nations Charter, international covenants and conventions. We want to see this approach become a universal norm. The Security Council is called upon to underscore the civilized world's collective responsibility for the protection of human rights and freedoms. In the near future Russia intends to adopt legislation that will reflect the highest international standards in the field of the protection of human freedom, honour and dignity. This applies above all to ensuring personal security, to the Criminal Code and the Corrective Labour Code, to protection of Russian citizens abroad, to alternative military service and to other issues. We are prepared to accede to the international ,instruments on migration and to join in the efforts of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. I believe that the experience of the world community in these areas will be useful for Russia and other States of the Commonwealth. A few days ago the 10 remaining political prisoners were pardoned by a decree of the President of the Russian Federation. There are no longer any prisoners of conscience in free Russia •. A special role in establishing a new international climate in the world belongs to the United Nations. This Organization has stood the test of time and managed, even in the ice age of confrontation, to preserve the nascent [ norms of civilized international cohabitation contained in its Charter. We welcome the United Nations increased efforts to strengthen global and regional stability and to build a new democratic world order based on the equality of all States, big or small. Russia is prepared to continue partnership betwe.en the 'permanent members of the Security Council. The current climate in the activities of this body is conducive to cooperative and constructive work. For us, the peace-making experience of the United Nations is particularly valuable. The new Russian diplomacy will contribute in every possible way to the final settlement of conflicts in various regions of the world that have been unblocked with the assistance of the United Nations. We are ready to become more fully engaged in these efforts. We will make use of the effective role of the United Nations and the Security Council and take part in the search for lasting solutions to the Yugoslav and Afghan problems and for a normalization of the. situation in the Near and Middle East, in Cambodia and in other regions. I believe that we need a special rapid-response mechanism, as mentioned by President Mitterrand of France, to ensure peace and stability. Upon decision of the Security Council it could be expeditiously activated in areas of crisis. We are prepared to play a practical role in United Nations peace-keeping operations and contribute to their logistical support. My country firmly supports steps to consolidate the rule of law throughout the world. It is necessary to enhance the prestige of the International Court of Justice as an effective instrument for the peaceful ·1 settlement of international disputes. On the whole, I think it is high time we considered serious reform of the I United Nations. The world has changed and certain areas of United Nations activities have lost their relevance. We should do away with those structures which yield no practical benefits to Member States. We are ready to present our proposals for reform of the United Nations. It is a historical irony that the Russian Federation, a State with centuries-long experience in foreign policy and diplomacy, has only just appeared on the political map of the world. I am confident that the world community will find in Russia, as an equal participant in international relations and as a permanent member of the Security Council, a firm and steadfast champion of freedom, democracy and humanism. Last year's events have confirmed that the nations of ,the world have now come of age and are capable of adopting responsible and meaningful decisions. This was vividly demonstrated by the developments in the Gulf, when our joint efforts resulted in the just punishment of the aggressor, and by the defeat of the coup in Moscow last August. Difficult work lies ahead for us all to consolidate the positive trends in the evolution of today's world and to make them irreversible. It is only on this basis that we can ensure a decent and prosperous life for our nations and every individual. Russia is prepared to do all it can to achieve this goal. In conclusion, permit me to wish Mr. Boutros-Ghali every success in his important post of Secretary-General of the United Nations.

Mr. President, thank you. I know the Council would wish me to welcome Russia as a permanent member of our Council. You are very welcome indeed. I now invite the President of the United States of America to take the floor. President BUSH: Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you for your key role in convening this first-ever summit of the United Nations Security Council. Mr. Secretary-Gen~ral, I offer congratulations to you as you take office at this time of tremendous challenge and opportunity. For the United States it is a high honour to participate and speak at this history-making event. We meet at a moment of new beginnings - for this institution and for every Member nation. For most of its history the United Nations was caught in a cold-war crossfire. I think back to my days here in the early 1970s as a Permanent Representative and of the way polemics then displaced peace-keeping. Long before I came onto the scene, and long after I left, the United Nations was all too often paralysed by cruel ideological divisions and the struggle to contain Soviet expansion. Today all that has changed. The collapse of imperial communism and the end of the cold war breathe new life into the United Nations. It was just one year ago that the world saw this new invigorated United Nations in action as the Council stood fast against aggression, and stood for the sacred principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter. Now it is time to step forward again, to make the internal reforms, accelerate the revitalization, accept the responsibilities necessary for a vigorous and effective United Nations. I want to assure the members of the Council and the Secretary-General that the United Nations can count on our full support in this task. Today, for these brief remarks, I will not talk on the economic and social agenda so eloquently addressed by President Borja, but, rather, I will mention the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, regional conflicts, destabilizing renegade regimes that are on the horizon, terrorism, and human rights; they all require our immediate attention. The world also challenges us to strengthen and sustain positive change. We must advance the momentous movement towards democracy and freedom - I believe our Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali called this 11democratization" - and expand the circle of nations committed to human rights and the rule of law. It is an exciting opportunity for our United Nations. We must not allow it to slip away. Right now, across the globe,. the United Nations is working night and day in the cause of peace. Never before in its four decades have the United Nations blue helmets and blue berets been so engaged in the noble work of peace-keeping, even to the extent of building the foundation for free elections. And never before has the United Nations been so ready, and so compelled, to step up to the task of peace-making - both to resolve hot wars and to conduct that forward-looking mission known as preventive diplomacy. In the lives of millions of men and women around the world its import is simple: it can mean the difference between war and peace, healing and hatred. Where there is fear and despair, it can mean hope. We look to the Secretary-General to present to this Council his recommendations to ensure effective and efficient peace-keeping, peace-making and preventive diplomacy. We look forward to exploring these ideas together. We must be practi~al as well as principled as we seek to free people from the spectre of conflict. We recognize every nation's obligation to invest in peace. As conflicts are resolved and violence subsides, then the institutions of free societies can take hold. As they do, they become our strongest safeguards against aggression and tyranny. Democracy; human rights; the rule of law - these are the building blocks of peace and freedom. We have witnessed change of enormous breadth and scope, all in but a few short years. A remarkable revolution has swept away the old regimes from Managua to Moscow. But everywhere, free Government and the institutions that give it form will take time to flourish and mature. Free elections give democracy a foothold, but true democracy means more than simply the rule of the majority. It means an irrevocable commitment to democratic principles. It means equal rights for minorities. And above all it means the sanctity of even a single individual against the unjust power of the State. The will of the majority must never degenerate into the whim of the majority. This fundamental principle transcends all borders. Human dignity, the inalienable rights of man: these are not the possessions of the State. They are universal. In Asia, in Africa, in Europe, in the Americas the United Nations must stand with those who seek greater freedom and democracy. That is my deep belief, and that is the belief of the American people, And it is the belief that breathes life into the great principles of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Our changed world is a more hopeful world indeed. But it is not absent those who would turn back the clock to the darker days of threats and bullying. Our world is still a dangerous world, rife with far too many terrible weapons, In my first address to the United Nations as President, I challenged the Soviet Union to eliminate chemical weapons and called on every nation to join us in that crusade. His Majesty King Hassan II of Morocco made that point so well right here today. What greater cause for this great body than to make certain the world has seen the last of these terrible weapons? So let us vow to make this year the year all nations at long last join to ban this scourge. There is much more to do regarding weapons of mass destruction, Just three days ago, in my State of the Union message, I announced the steps - far-reaching unilateral steps - that we will take to reduce our nuclear arsenal. These steps affect each element in our strategic triad: the land, the sea and the air. In addition to those unilateral steps we are prepared to move forward on mutual arms reductions. I noted the constructive comments of President Yeltsin here today, and tomorrow in my meeting with him we will continue the search for common ground on this vitally important issue. He responded with some very serious proposals just the other day. We welcome - the world welcomes - statements by several of the new States that won independence after the collapse of the USSR that they will abide by the nuclear non-proliferation Treaty. Yet realism requires us to remain vigilant in this time of transition1 the danger of proliferation remains. Let me single out the remarks earlier by the President of the French Republic, President Mitterrand, on this subject: a clarion call to do something about it, We must act together so that from this time forward people involved in sophisticated weapons programmes will redirect their energies to peaceful endeavours. We will do more, in cooperation with our allies, to ensure that dangerous materials and techology do not fall into the hands of terrorists or others. And we will continue to work with these new States to ensure a strong commitment in word and deed to all global non-proliferation standards. Today, the threat of global nuclear war is more distant than et any time in the nuclear era. Drawing down the old cold-war arsenals will further ease that dread. But the spectre of mass destruction remains all too real, especially as some nations continue to push to acquire weapons of mass destruction and the means to deliver them. Our triumph in the Gulf is testament to the United Nations mission: that security is a shared responsibility. And today, this institution spearheads a quarantine against the outlaw regime of Saddam Hussein. It is the strong belief of my country that we must keep sanctions in place and take the following steps to preserve our common security:. We must continue to focus on Iraq's capability to build or maintain weapons of mass destruction. And we must make clear to the world and, most important, to the people of Iraq that no normalization is possible so long as Saddam Hussein remains there, remains in power. As on all the urgent issues I have mentioned today, progress comes from acting in concert. We must deal resolutely with these renegade regimes, if necessary by sanctions or stronger measures, to compel them to observe international standards of behaviour. We will not be blind to the dangers we still face. Terrorists and their State sponsors must know there will be serious consequences if they violate international law. Two weeks ago, this Council in unity sent a very strong message to Libya, and let me repeat today: resolution 731 (1992), passed unanimously by this body, the Security Council, calls on Libya to comply fully with the requests of three States members of this Council. I would just like to use this meeting today to call on Libya to heed the call of the Security Council of the United Nations. Last year in the Gulf, in concert, we responded to an attack on the sovereignty of one nation as an assault on the security of all. So let us make it our mission to give this principle the greatest practical meaning in the conduct of nations. Today we stand at another crossroads. For perhaps the first time since that hopeful moment in San Francisco, we can look at ou~ Charter as a living, breathing document. Yes, after so many years it may still be in its infancy, requiring the careful and vigilant nurturing of its parents, but I believe in my heart that it is alive and well, Our mission is to make_ it strong and sturdy through increased dedication and cooperation, and I know that we are up to the challenge. The nations represented here - like the larger community of the United Nations represented by so many Permanent Representatives in this Chamber today - have it in their power to act for peace and freedom. May God bless the United Nations as it pursues its noble goal.

Mr. President, thank you for setting out so clearly the opportunities and responsibilities that lie ahead for the United Nations. I now invite the President of Venezuela to take the floor. President PEREZ (interpretation from Spanish): Ever since the San Francisco Conference in 1945, Venezuela has underscored the principles that, in its view, should guide the action of the United Nations. Then as now, that action is to organize the peace. But to organize the peace, the United Nations was compelled, owing to the circumstances of its foundation, to sacrifice sovereign equality in the fulfilment of its mandate. In San Francisco Venezuela expressed its hope that the formula adopted on the powers of the Security Council and the General Assembly "might evolve in time towards modalities that are more democratic and more representative of all peoples". The end of the East-West conflict; the momentum of the process of democratization throughout the world; interrelation and global economic interdependence; the end of the decolonization process and, more recently still, the resurgence of nationalities on the Euro-Asian continent all show us that circumstances are so different today that it would be imprudent to disregard the implications. The right of veto has been an extraordinary power. The circumstances on which it was based have to a great extent been superseded by history. It was highly useful in ensuring the survival of the Organization, which, without that power, might perhaps have met the same fate as the League of Nations. Now that those risks are gone, the Organization must restore the basic principle underlying its validity: that of equality of rights and obligations. The Security Council reflects political realities as they existed at the end of the Second World War, and not current realities. The General Assembly is repetitive in its resolutions and weak in providing political guidance to humanity. Its organs in the field of cultural, economic and social cooperation must be reviewed, reinvigorated, streamlined and effectively redesigned to contribute to North-South dialogue and the development of the peoples of the third world. The office of the Secretary-General must be strengthened and provided with modern management. I believe that another priority of the United Nations in maintaining peace is the strengthening of regional organizations in an operational relationship with the United Nations. The role of the international Court in The Hague should be complemented by the establishment of an international penal tribunal, as has so often been requested. The situations that have arisen in the Republic of Panama and now in Libya, bearing serious risks for peace and the enforcement of international law, alert us clearly to that need. Regional conflicts, which could become the most serious and aggressive threat to the peace, must be approached through a methodology that sets aside the interests that predominated in the past and reflected the quest for hegemony and zones of influence among the dominant Powers. The permanent representatives to the United Nations of. the Rio Group, to which Venezuela belongs, prepared a document for the consideration of the General Assembly. Its title is an accurate reflection of this change in global life: "From Confrontation to International Cooperation". I wish to stress the main lines of the Rio Group's declaration because they reflect the thinking of all Latin America on the role which this Organization should play. We can replace the nuclear threat with the challenge of disarmament. This task is not the exclusive responsibility of those who confronted each other during the cold war. It is a collective responsibility. It means reconverting to peaceful uses the industrial-military apparatus and controlling the flow of technology. It means the development of guarantees and controls by the international community. We must adapt the traditional concept of national sovereignty, incorporating into it the transnational responsibilities implicit in the interdependence of all our nations and in supranationality, which has been fully recognized through the democratization of global society. We must reshape the traditional concept of national sovereignty to the full range of State duties and peoples' rights. This is obvious when it comes to the issue of the environment and, even more so in connection with natural resources, which have been described as a collective heritage. We must ~lso adapt and reshape it to an essential body of human rights and States' commitments among themselves and towards their peoples with the new concept of a democratic legal philosophy. The Rio summit on development and the environment can be an initial staging ground for the democratization of international relations and the role which relations between North and South must now play. It must be followed by a summit on social development, as proposed by President Mitterrand, if we wish to be consistent with the goals that we have expressed. May I recall that Venezuela was the country which proposed an international convention on the question of the traffic in narcotic drugs and psychotropic substances. Venezuela was also spokesman for efforts to focus the international community's attention and action on the serious and persistent absurdity of underdevelopment, which continues to distort the fabric of North-South relations. Venezuela has been and remains a staunch promoter of relations among developing countries - South-South relations - in the conviction that it is in the interest of all nations to put an end once and for all to the inequality of conditions and opportunities on which contemporary international society has been built. The welcome reconciliation and cooperation between East and West must not be at the expense of the necessary cooperation and agreement between North and South. These are no longer national problems. If anything demonstrates that fact, it is the constant tension that exists between models of global economic organization and new regional structures.that are exclusive in nature and threaten to create not only competitive but antagonistic blocs. Here I wish to quote the reflections contained in the annual statement of the Canadian Institute for International Peace and Security, which I believe to be particularly timely and eloquent: "Can anyone seriously envisage a 'new world order' composed of three closed blocs formed by the wealthy sector of humanity wielding the economic dagger, calmly advocating democracy, market economies and disarmament to a majority that is ever more desperate, and all of this in a world of overburdened natural systems, openly proclaimed divergent values and massive migrations such as have never been seen before, as well as technology and weapons of mass destruction proliferating throughout the world?" We must deal with all of these risks in a democratic and legal way, just as in each of our national societies only the rule of law can safeguard international coexistence through a legal system that ensures international justice, No longer can the United Nations live on the sidelines of history, We have the good fortune to be able to strengthen ~nd guide it. Undoubtedly, this will require new instruments of action in accordance·with the new priorities we set together, And it is clear, perhaps for the first time, that the United Nations is indispensable to us all, We cannot and must not presume that this will be easy. But we can and must determine how it can be made part of the solution of present-day challenges, This means placing our trust in its leadership and in its set-up, as well as in the decision-making machinery. The guiding principles must be those that inspired its establishment, now brought to complete fruition. That is how I see the task of peace-building, peace-making and peace-keeping.

Thank you, Mr. President, and thank you also for drawing some fresh subjects to the attention of the Council. I now invite the Federal Chancellor of Austria to address the Council. Mr, VRA,NITZKY (Austria): Mr. President, your initiative to convene this high-level meeting of the members of the Security Council is indeed timely: the end of the cold war has freed minds and resources which were for so long bound by a wasteful and useless confrontation. Dramatic changes have occurred in a very short time; a ne.w quality in international relations is making itself felt. Austria, situated on the former iron curtain, can certainly testify to that. These changes also provide us with a new, maybe unique, opportunity to face new challenges with a new perspective. There is a new partnership in global responsibility shared by all members of the Security Council. Permanent and non-permanent members alike have worked together and have enabled the Council to take a number of unanimous positions on some of the most complex and critical issues. In this Organization the powerful and the weak, the large and the small, the wealthy and the struggling come together as equals to solve their problems, to look for support, to look for justice. It certainly is in our interest to have the United Nations as effective as possible, as respected as possible, as' influential as possible, so that it can really fulfil our common goal, the maintenance of international peace and security. This Organization, its new Secretary-General and this, in many ways, new Security Council, must be agents of peaceful and constructive change. There are four major issues of great importance in this context: the strengthening of the United Nations in peace-making and peace-keeping; the need for further progress in disarmament and arms control, including the dismantling of weapons of mass destruction; the significance of human rights, minority rights and democratic processes for development, prosperity and peace; and the need for effective measures against poverty to create a long-term basis for stability and security in international relations. Peace-keeping activities are a very effective instrument of the United Nations, From its modest beginning, conceived with ingenuity and carried out pragmatically, peace-keeping has grown in size and scope, has g1own into a universally accepted and by now indispensable tool. Much experience has been gained over the years. I fully agree with the former Secretary-General who, when accepting the 1988 Nobel Peace Prize for the United Nations,peace-keeping forces, stated that the principles and techniques involved in peace-keeping may also be applicable to conflict resolution in general: the principles of impartiality and objectivity, the symbolic representation of international authority, the process of seeking compliance through cooperation, the capacity for fact-finding, the monitoring of the implementation of agreements, and the development of a capacity to prevent conflicts. Now the Security Council has begun to fulfil more effectively its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. Now we also have the chance to give a new impetus to a stronger role of the United Nations in these areas. Some of the recent crises have made one fact very clear: there is an urgent need for an early rei!Ction to potential conflicts. Preventive diplomacy both by the Secretary-General and, where appropriate, by the Security Council will have to be developed further. An early deployment of peace-keeping personnel, possibly also at the request of only one party to a conflict, may help to contain a dispute and facilitate a process of negotiation and compromise before· the outbreak of hostilities, I strongly believe that the Security Council will have to consider the possibility of this measure and other preventive measures. Many of the questions currently on the agenda of this Council relate directly to internal conflicts. They are born of ethnic, nationalistic or religious rivalries or are the result of long suppressed grievances. Nevertheless, they all sooner or later affect regional or international peace and security. The tragic situation in Yugoslavia provides an instructive example. Austria was among the first to call at an early stage for international peace-making efforts in this conflict and for the deployment of United Nations peace-keeping forces, We welcome the fact that the United Nations role in solving this crisis is now universally accepted. However, some of the bloodshed and destruction could have been avoided by a swifter response. In other areas the United Nations has clearly shown that it is indeed able to give an adequate response to new challenges by expanding the mandate of peace-keeping to new responsibilities, such as the protection of human rights or the supervision of free and fair elections. It may also be useful to recall the Charter's ambitious goal of multilateral peace enforcement and the creation of an effective system of global collective security. The authorization given by the Security Council to a coalition of States to use all necessary means to implement the mandatory resolutions of the Council was a significant step in this direction. Another step would be to have.a fresh look at Article 43 of the Charter. As one of the most important future tasks of the Security Council, I see a more active involvement in the areas of arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament. In Article 26, the Charter has given us an excellent programme for future action of the Council. This is not only a political priority of the first order; it also responds to the wishes of our peoples. Given the tremendous challenges of achieving sustainable development and international economic progress and social justice, the need for reduction of military budgets becomes obvious. Security can be achieved at a lower level, and the achievements in the intermediate-range nuclear forces (INF), the strategic arms reduction talks (START) and the conventional armed forces in Europe (CFE) negotiations clearly show that this is possible, The latest announcements by Presidents Bush and Yeltsin of further cuts are very promising indeed and highly welcome. New successes seem within reach also with regard to chemical weapons and a broadened acceptance of non-proliferation. The nuclear-weapon States in the terms of the non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) are also the permanent members of the Security Council. They have a special responsibility to develop policies that at least contain the promise of a nuclear-weapon-free world. The global efforts and the negotiations in Europe will, in my view, have to be complemented by regional and even subregional moves towards arms reduction and disarmament in Africa, Asia, the Middle East and also South America. They also can profit from the so-called peace dividend. A reduction of their military budgets can provide financial resources acguired for economic and social development. It is obvious that such efforts will be possible only in a climate· of international trust and confidence. Existing verification instruments will have to be strengthened and expanded. Technical expertise has been accumulated in specialized agencies; now, it has to be put to good use. One such organization, without a doubt, is the International Atomic Energy Agency, located in Vienna. Given its experience and its capacity, I am convinced that it should have a central role in the very special problem of the destruction of nuclear weapons. The protection of human rights and, in particular, of the rights of ethnic minorities too, has had an important impact on the development of peaceful relations between States. There is a direct connection between democratic processes within countries and the evolution of a political culture which is conducive to the peaceful settlement of disputes. From our own history, we know that peace was most threatened when human rights were abolished and minorities persecuted and when democratic processes gave way to totalitarian practices. Hwnan rights, minority rights and democracy are, therefore, important cornerstones in our common endeavour. The Secretary-General has identified these issues as priority areas for the future work of the Organization. I fully share and support this view. Today, nobody should be allowed to use outdated interpretations of legal documents as protective walls behind which human rights can be systematically and massively violated with total impunity. Democracy and hwnan rights are easily endangered in a state of poverty, as has already been said this morning. No system has ever been able to ensure peace and security unless at the same time it provided social justice. Our search for peace cannot be separated from the need to improve economic and social conditions everywhere in the world. Adequate strategies are necessary. They will have to be formulated quickly and implemented with speed and efficiency. As we move, through the actions of this Council, to strengthen an international system based on international law and justice, increased support will also be required for those institutions which care for and uphold the effectiveness of international law. In particular, I am referring to the International Court of Justice: its role must be expanded and strengthened in accordance with the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations. In conclusion, I should like to touch, briefly and in general terms, on the future of this Council. If our ideas are truly to bear fruit, we must act on behalf of as well as in the interest of all States. We must act in an even-handed, impartial 1nanner, and we must also be perceived as doing so. If we truly want to turn over a new page in the book of this Organization today, then we must also be aware that the realization of our hopes depends on the trust of all the world's States and peoples in our impartiality and in our goodwill. This trust we must earn - over and over again, Today is only a beginning.

Mr. Federal Chancellor, thank you for your very comprehensive remarks. I now invite the Prime Minister of Belgium to take the floor. Mr, MARTENS (Belgium) (interpretation from French): The framework of international relations has gone through profound changes during the past few years. The balance of power that emerged after the end of the Second World War has now dramatically shifted. As history is unfolding at such great speed, it is undoubtedly appropriate to call for an exceptional meeting to discuss some of the consequences of these changes for our Organization. That is why Belgium immediately welcomed your initiative, Mr. President, of convening a meeting of the Security Council at the level of Heads of State or Government. The radical turn in the balance of international relations indeed requires an updating of the role of the Security Council. It also requires a rethinking of the interplay between the various bodies of the United Nations. In the course of this process, the Secretary-General will have to exercise fully his right to take initiatives. In our changing world, the Secretary-General must invent new kinds of diplomacy; he must take new risks and meet many kinds of challenges, such as terrorism, the recurrence of civil wars and the emergence of international conflicts linked to the violation of human rights. His function will take on a more vital importance, and the international community will have ever higher expectations of him. When in 1978 Egypt took the "peace risk" and embarked on extremely difficult negotiations, our new Secretary-General seized the opportunity to show his courage and his talents as a diplomat. Needless to say, Belgium is extremely satisfied at seeing Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali occupying that seat within the Council. Your predecessor, Mr. Secretary-General, had the very difficult task of carrying out his important responsibilities at a time which was extremely important for the United Nations and for the world. Mr. Perez de Cuellar succeeded in becoming a true incarnation of the hopes of our Organization and ·. its Member States. The success of his efforts bear witness to his tenacity and his skill. Recently, thanks to his diplomatic talent, we saw a solution to the painful problem of the hostages in the Middle East. We fervently hope this process will be brought to fruition, Among the most important tasks before us, I see three which may be implemented through the means of action at our disposal: cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and international regional organizations; extension of the powers of initiative and inquiry of the Secretary-General and the Security Council; and the greatest possible efficiency of the United Nations peace-keeping operations, Furthermore, for Belgium, it is essential that the Security Council and the Secretary-General take full account of the importance of universal observance of human rights in international peace-keeping and security issues; they should act accordingly, with the full weight of their authority, First of all, I should like to address the issue of international regional organizations, which should be involved systematically in the Security Council's actions. Very recently, in its resolutions concerning the Yugoslav crisis, the Security Council constantly referred to the intervention of the European Community as well as to the efforts made within the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) framework. Belgium considers this road to be very promising, inasmuch as regional structures genuinely carry out their actions within the United Nations framework of values. In this context, some aspects of the Treaty on Political Union, which the 12 States members of the European Community have just concluded in Maastricht, should be highlighted. The Treaty invites the Twelve to broaden their cooperation to Security Council matters in order to defend their common positions. As far as Belgium is concerned, the framework of common foreign policy and security policy should enable the Twelve to speak with a single voice in due time. A particularly positive example of this increasing coordination of the Twelve is their common diplomatic initiative which led to the adoption by the General Assembly of the idea of an arms transfer register. In the same spirit, the Twelve will shortly be considering what action they can take to support the recent proposal of the German Government aiming at preventing proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The power of the Security Council and the Secretary-General to take initiatives is a second means of action at our disposal. That role would become more efficient if we could facilitate a swift United Nations response whenever conflicts or pre-conflict situations arise. My country has been defending the principle of an extension of the Secretary-General's preventive-diplomacy powers since 1983. Belgium's diplomatic efforts, which Germany, Spain, Italy, Japan and New Zealand have joined, resulted in the adoption of a resolution at the forty-third session of the General Assembly exclusively addressing the prevention of conflicts, Belgium and the aforementioned States, together with Czechoslovakia, then went on to examine the issue of fact-finding, which resulted in the adoption of a resolution a few weeks ago during the forty-sixth session of the General Assembly. The central theme of both of those documents is the role of the Secretary-General and the Security Council in the early stages of conflict situations. The Secretary-General should enjoy the full support of the Security Council whenever he considers taking early initiatives to deal with delicate situations. If need be, the Security Council could enhance that political support by requesting the Secretary-General to prepare a report on a specific issue. Moreover, he could be requested to contact the various parties as soon as it became clear that the conflict might reach alarming proportions. Accordingly, the Secretary-General might be invited by the Security Council to formulate concrete proposals aimed at preventing a deterioration of the situation. The third issue I should like to take up is that of peace-keeping operations, which are one of the most efficient means of action available to the Security Council in coordination with the Secretary-General. The Secretariat should now reorganize and streamline their management and administration, given the success of such operations and their increase in number over the past few years, and given also the new scope of those operations that will be initiated in the near future in our often very delicate political environment. We must first of all ensure the immediate availability of funds from the moment the Security Council decides on the launching of a peace-keeping operation. In this regard Belgium proposes the creation of budgetary reserves. The size of those reserves would be agreed on annually according to the operations planned. The Council could allocate a portion of them to the provisional financing of the preliminary stages of peace-keeping operations. Within the framework of peace-keeping operations set up by the Security Council, my country will give favourable consideration to the secondment of troops and observers to the United Nations for possible deployment. Through specific training programmes, Belgium will ensure rapid deployment of Belgian contingents in United Nations peace-keeping forces. In addition to the procedures and means of action at the Organization's disposal, the time has now come to place our actions once more in the pecspective envisaged by the authors of the Charter, to which all peoples aspire. In this endeavour to allow the fundamental principles of the Charter to prevail, it is essential that the Security Council and the Secretary-General show courage and initiative. The new solidarity has permitted the collective defence of international law; it should now serve the collective defence of human rights. Last October in the General Assembly Belgium stated that: "States are liable internationally for their national policies in the field of human rights." (A/46/PV.27. p. 49-50) Every State here today will agree that the fate of civil populations that fall victim to internal repressions fully justifies the compassion and concern of the United Nations. Indeed, all States Members of the Organization concur in their determination to defend human rights. They have committed themselves to acting to that end, in keeping with the Charter of the United Nations. My country believes that the raison d'etre of the principle of non-interference is to allow States to foster in freedom the well-being of their peoples. However, no Government should use that principle as a legal argument to condone abuses of human rights. State rights are subservient to human rights. The Security Council and the Secretary-General should focus especial attention on these matters. The Commission on Human Rights already provides mechanisms for denouncing serious violations of human rights. In this connection, Belgium would suggest that the Security Council deal with such cases at an early stage and support any action taken elsewhere to put an end to unacceptable situations that could pose a direct threat to international peace and secur i.ty. Recently, the United Nations has participated in the organization and supervision of free elections. Such assistance could also be provided in situations where administrative structures have collapsed as a result of natural disaster or conflict. The United Nations might decide on procedures to be implemented on short notice. Member States could thus draw up lists of national civil servants available for rapid deployment on certain missions. In addition to international peace and security, we should also make an effort to pursue justice in other fields in order, in the words of the preamble to the Charter, "to promote better standards of life in larger freedom" for the largest possible number of people. The Security Council and the Secretary-General are facing difficult tasks in the field of international peace and security. For the sake of efficiency, a thorough symbiosis with other United Nations bodies is required, taking into account their respective fields of competence. In that respect, all other objectives pursued by the United Nations continue to be of crucial importance, in particular, the need to pursue, together, sustainable economic development for all, fruitful dialogue between richest and poorest nations and the common fight against such scourges as hunger, disease, illiteracy and pollution. Belgium will continue to cooperate actively in the implementation of the decisions of the Security Council and, as it has in the past, it will continue to support the actions of the Secretary-General. If the better-organized and more unified world I hav~ just outlined is to live in peace, i't should also pay due regard to the problems of the less-well-off and poor in a more effective .way. Respec.t for the dignity and worth of every human being is a universal aspiration, one we should uphold not only in principle but one we should also try to translate into facts. Peace is a necessary step - but only a step - towards man's self-liberation, which requires the joint efforts of all Member States and of the whole of the United Nations. well with the matters at the heart of our debate today. I now invite the Prime Minister of Cape Verde to address the Security Council. Mr, VEIGA (Cape Verde) (spoke in Portuguese; English text furnished by the delegation): It gives me great pleasure, Sir, to see you presiding over this'important meeting of the Security Council. I congratulate Your Excellency on this timely initiative of convening this high-level meeting of the Security Council at this important time in the history of nations. I take this opportunity to affirm publicly my Government's great satisfaction at the election of Mr. Boutros-Ghali as the new Secretary-General. I pl~dge our full cooperation with him and wish him a successful mand~te. This meeti~g is convened at a time when profound changes are taking place in the world. In many parts of the planet one witnesses a redefinition of the political structures and goals of nations. At the same time, a strong movement for democratization is gaining momentum and taking hold everywhere; human rights concerns are gaining ever-increasing importance, while the serious problems of the world environment are capturing our attention and the need to address poverty and underdevelopment are becoming more acute and pressing. These are global symptoms of a world that is going through a process of deep transformation, the end result of which we only hope will be a better, safer, more just and prosperous world order. The Charter of the United Nations conferred upon this Council the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, so as to ensure a stable world, free from the scourge of war. This is a function whose implementation is becoming ever more pressing in a world that has accumulated massive amounts of highly destructive conventional armaments and has not ceased building and perfecting nuclear arsenals. This important United Nations responsibility was not successfully carried out in the past, as is well known to us all. For decades the ideological confrontation of the cold war crept into the deliberations of the Security Council and made it impossible for us "to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security" - to use the words in the preamble ·of the Charter. We are glad to note that with the end of the cold war the Council has now developed a new approach to its work, based on cooperation, especially between its permanent members. This cooperation has enabled the Council to assist, through negotiations, in the settlement of age-old conflicts in many parts of the world and to take swift and decisive action to reverse aggression and restore the independence and sovereignty of Kuwait. We believe that the Council has now embarked upon the right course of action by effectively and efficiently shouldering its responsibility of maintaining international peace and security. As a result, the eyes of the world have now turned to the United Nations as a source of international peace, stability and justice, and nations seem to have a renewed interest and faith in the Security Council as a peacemaker and as a guarantor of the independence and territorial integrity of countries. As a small, peace-loving country that under no circumstances condones the threat or use of force to settle international conflicts, Cape Verde welcomes this new era of positive cooperation in the Council and strongly believes that it should be further strengthened, in order to allow for full and regular implementation of the Charter collective security system. The United Nations, through its Security Council, has to act - as envisaged by the Charter - as the guardian of the security of nations, especially the small countries, and as a catalyst for the promotion of the primacy of the rule of law in I international relations. The actions and decisions of the Council in the last two years have raised new hopes in this regard. We strongly urge the Council to pursue this course and, certainly, as one of its members we shall spare no effort to promote and strengthen its Charter role of taking prompt and decisive action against aggression, of labouring to bring existing conflicts to a peaceful end and of creating a more stable and peaceful world environment. It is therefore imperative that, now that the Council has gained new impetus in carrying out its function and has gained the respect of the people of the world, it should act in such a way as to strengthen its international credibility and its moral authority, so that it will become an ever-present instrument for maintaining world peace and promoting and strengthening international security. A strong Security Council is certainly one whose decisions are based upon frank discussion by all its members and are a reflection of the views of all of them. In our view, the moral authority of the Council is bound to suffer whenever a decision is taken without exhaustive efforts to achieve consensus. We believe that when decisions of the Council command across-the-board support from its members, the possibilities of their implementation are considerably increased. The Council, in addressing aggression and illegal occupation, must be even-handed. Whenever a selective approach is taken in this respect, it necessarily damages the Council's 9redibility and substantially weakens its moral authority, Equally damaging to the Council's credibility is what could be perceived to be selective implementation of its resolutions. In our view, if the Council is to have, in the eyes of the peoples of the world, the credibility such an important organ deserves, then it becomes highly advisable that the Council secure the implementation of all its resolutions. The Security Council's role in promoting a safer and more stable climate needs to be strengthened. One of the most important tasks facing the Council in this regard is the implementation of the collective security system envisaged in the Charter. The new climate of cooperation between the members of the Council seems to have contributed to creating the conditions that will facilitate measures leading to the implementation of that system. It is unfortunate that we live in a world where there is still aggression by some States against others. We believe that aggression should always be swiftly and decisively reversed by the United Nations. On the other hand, we believe that the role of the peace-keeping forces should be strengthened. Although peace-keeping activities were ingeniously invented to fill, partially, the vacuum created since the early days of the United Nations, by the inability of the latter to implement the collective security system, we think that such activities have gained a life of their own and have become an indispensable and important tool in the hands of the Security Council in its conflict-management role. United Nations peace-keeping operations have been deployed in various parts of the world with proven success, and in many instances have contributed to defuse tension and prevented the escalation of hostilities and in some cases have even become an indispensable element of a negotiated solution. We also believe that, without interfering with the sovereignty of countries, the deployment of United Nations peace-keeping forces can play an important and decisive role in helping bring about a speedy peaceful outcome to national conflicts whenever no Government is really in charge and chaos sets in. National conflicts are sometimes as destructive as the fiercest international conflicts. The enormous loss of life and the human tragedy they produce demand no less attention and appeal for no less speedy a response from the international community. Apart from the loss of human lives, every national conflict has an international dimension, for it generates massive numbers of refugees, thus creating enormous social pressure in neighbouring countries, threatening their peace and stability. We are glad to note the positive response of the Security Council in this respect in recent cases, and we encourage the Council to pursue this course. Because of its important role and its beneficial result in conflict-management, we favour a review of the United Nations peace-keeping activities with a view to consolidating their performance and increasing their effectiveness. The Secretary-General has an important Charter role to play in assisting the Security Council in its peacemaking efforts, by bringing to its attention any matter that may, in his judgement, threaten international peace and security. This eminently relevant political function of the Secretary-General has not been implemented in the past as it should have been. In the current international climate, characterized by a proliferation of violent conflicts, we believe it to be of great importance that the Secretary-General use, as often as required, this prerogative of his as an inescapable functional duty that, when performed in a timely manner, might prevent a potential dispute from developing into an open conflict. We encourage the Secretary-General to make effective use of preventive diplomacy, Whatever the efforts of the Security Council in maintaining international peace and security, and however commendable the cooperation between its members might be, the Council measures, in and of themselves, will not suffice to secure the permanent stability of nations, to quell regional rivalries once and for all and to weed out violence. The Council's role will be facilitated when, and only when, the root causes of instability and conflicts are properly addressed. Therefore, if we, Members of the United Nations, are to succeed in creating a safer and more stable world, we should be prepared to couple the efforts of the Security Council with those of the United Nations system and the international community in general to help find an urgent and satisfactory answer to poverty, underdevelopment and social problems, all of them natural ferments that brew frustration and violence and spawn constant instability in world affairs. In this respect, we firmly support the initiative to convene a world summit on social development. In many instances, the best, most efficient and longest-lasting security measure to avoid conflict is to invest in the solution of social problems, the eradication of poverty and underdevelopment and to promote a cult of respect for, and strict observance of, the Charter principles - particularly, strict observance of the principle of the peaceful settlement of disputes.

Thank you, Prime Minister, for your speech and your very strong support for the United Nations role. I propose that we now suspend our meeting until 3 p.m., when I shall invite Premier Li Peng to address the Council.

I now invite the Premier of the State Council of the People's Republic of China to make a statement. Mr, LI Peng (China) (interpretation from Chinese): For the first time in the 47-year history of the United Nations the Security Council is meeting here today at the level of Heads of State or Government of its member States. I am very glad to have the opportunity to attend this meeting as the representative of the People's Republic of China and, together with my colleagues from other countries, to discuss major international issues including in particular ways to give support to a greater role for the United Nations in maintaining peace and promoting development in the world, as well as to exchange views on other issues of common interest. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity to thank the Right Honourable John Major, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, for his initiative to hold this meeting. I should also like to express once again our warmest congratulations to Mr, Boutros Boutros-Ghali on his assumption of the office of Secretary-General. The present-day world is at a vital turning-point. The old structure has come to an end, while a new one has yet to take shape. The world is moving in the direction of multipolarization. World peace, national stability and economic development are aspirations shared by peoples everywhere. The tense face-off between the two major military blocs in Europe, which lasted for nearly half a century, is no longer in place. Some regional hot spots have either been or are in the process of being removed. The international situation has eased to some extent. However; factors threatening world peace and causing international tensi9n have not been removed completely. While some old contradictions and confrontations have disappeared, new ones have cropped up; rendering our world neither tranquil nor peaceful. The Middle East question remains unresolved after the Gulf war, and the peace talks between the Arab countries and Israel are likely to be a long and difficult process. In some European countries conflicts of varying intensity; or even wars; have broken out as a result of ethnic strife. No one can say for sure that similar conflicts and wars will not take place in other parts of Europe. What deserves the close attention of the international community is the fact that the developing countries, whose populations constitute the overwhelming majority of the world total; are finding themselves in an increasingly difficult position. The gap between the North and the South continues to widen, with the rich countries becoming richer and the poor poorer. That state of affairs, if allowed to continue, will eventually lead to fresh disturbances or even new regional conflicts. The stark reality shows that the questions of peace and development, the two principal themes of the present-day world, remain to be solved. In contrast to a turbulent Europe, the Asia-Pacific region enjoys relative stability. The signing of the Paris Agreement has laid the /' foundation for a final settlement of the Cambodian conflict. Following their simultaneous admission to membership of the United Nations, the North and the South of Korea have signed a protocol on mutual non-agression and a joint declaration on the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula. The situation on the peninsula is moving towards relaxation and stability. Quite a few countries in the Asia-Pacific region have enjoyed a rather high economic growth rate thanks to political stability at home. This region has now become a dynamic and promising region in world economic development. A stable and economically prosperous China not only is in the fundamental interests of the Chinese people but also constitutes an important factor making for peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region and in the world as a whole. Over the past decade or more, China has firmly implemented the policy of reform and opening to the outside world initiated by Comrade Deng Xiaoping, which has brought enormous changes to the country. Now China enjoys political stability, social tranquility, ethnic harmony and sustained economic growth. With full confidence, the Chinese people are advancing on the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a developing country with a huge population, China knows full well that its modernization will take a considerably long period of time. The attainment of this goal requires two indispensable conditions, namely an environment of prolonged peace and stability internationally and prolonged political stability at home. China pursues an independent foreign policy of peace. It always maintains that differences in social system, ideology, cultural tradition and religious belief should not be an obstacle to establishing and developing normal relations between States. China is ready to develop friendly relations with all countries on the basis of the five principles of peaceful coexistence. It will never become a threat to any country or any region of the world. China is of the view that no country should seek hegemony or practice power politics. This should be made a principle to be observed universally in international relations. China does not seek a sphere of influence for itself. It does not seek hegemony now and will not seek hegemony in future when it grows stronger. The past few years have seen a further strengthening and development of friendly and good-neighbourly relations between China and the countries surrounding it, as a result of the concerted efforts of China and those countries. This in our view not only serves the common interests of both China and those countries but also contributes to the peace and development of the region and the world as a whole. In order to win a genuine peace in the world and create a favourable environment for development for the people of all countries, the international community is focusing more and more on the subject of what kind of new international order should be established. In our view, such basic principles as the sovereign equality of Member States and non-interference in their internal affairs, as enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations, should be observed by all its Members without exception. In ,compliance with the spirit of the Charter and the established norms governing international relations, and in the light of the changes in the international situation, the Chinese Government wishes to share with the Governments of other countries some of its basic views concerning the establishment of a new international order that will be stable~ rational, just and conducive to world peace and development. These basic views are: the principles of mutual respect for sovereignty and territorial integrity, mutual non-aggression, non-interference in each other's internal affairs, equality, mutual benefit and peaceful coexistence. The core of these principles is non-interference in each other's internal affairs. The people and Governments of the various countries are entitled to adopt the social system and ideology of their own choice in the light of their national conditions. All countries, big or small, strong or weak, rich or poor, are entitled to participate in world affairs as equal members of the international community and to,make their own contributions to world peace and development, The new international order should include a new economic order. As the ever-widening gap between North and South and the continued exacerbation of the disparities between them have become a destabilizing factor in international life, the establishment of a just and rational new international economic order based on equality, mutual benefit and providing for appropriate handling of the debt burden has become ever more ur.gent and crucial. The human rights and fundamental freedoms of all mankind should be universally respected. Human rights cover many aspects. They include not only civil and political rights but also economic, social and cultural rights. As far as the large number of developing countries is concerned, the rights to independence, subsistence and development are of paramount importance. In essence, the issue of h~an rights falls within the sovereignty of each country. A country's human rights situation should not be judged in total disregard of its history and national conditions. It is neither appropriate nor workable to demand that all countries measure up to the human rights criteria or models of one country or a small nwnber of countries. China values human rights and stands ready to engage in discussion and cooperation with other countries on an equal footing on the question of human rights on the basis of mutual understanding, mutual respect and seeking consensus, while reserving differences. However, it is opposed to interference in the internal affairs of other countries using the human rights issue as an excuse. Effective disarmament and arms control should be achieved in a fair, reasonable, comprehensive and balanced manner. Efforts should be stepped up to attain the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear and chemical weapons at an early date and to ban the development of space weapons. Countries in possession of the largest nuclear and conventional arsenals should take the lead in discharging their special responsibilities for disarmament. All nuclear-weapon States should undertake not to be the first to use nuclear weapons and not to use or threaten to use such weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States or nuclear-free zones. The nuclear weapons of the disintegrated Soviet Union should be placed under effective control, As the disarmament issue bears on the national security of all States, it should be discussed and addressed with their participation. The United Nations should uphold justice and play a more active role in maintaining world peace and promoting development, as well as in helping to establish a new international order. As most States Members of the United Nations belong to the developing world, it is only reasonable for people to expect that the Organization will do more to defend the rights and interests of the developing countries. In recent years, the United Nations has played an important role in maintaining world peace and security, accelerating the settlement of regional conflicts and promoting the economic and social development of various countries. In so doing, the United Nations has enhanced its prestige and that of its Security Council and increased peoples• confidence in the Organization. While affirming this, we must also be aware that the drastic and profound changes in the international situation have led to the re-emergence of numerous contradictions previously hidden from public view, adding to instability in the pursuit of peace and development in the world, It is in this sense that the responsibility of the United Nations and its Security Council has become heavier and that the challenges facing them have grown more formidable. China is ready to cooperate with all the other members of the Security Council, to discuss issues of common interest to the international community and to exchange views with them as equals in the spirit of seeking common ground while r,serving difference~, so as to expand areas of consensus. China sincerely hope~ that the United Natidns and its Security Council will play a still more active and constructive role in international affairs. We now have a newly elected United Nations Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros-Ghali. China supports the work of the Secretary-General and wishes to pledge its full cooperation. We are confident that, in discharging his duties, the Secretary-General will receive extensive support from the developing countries and the international community at large. It is our hope that this meeting will have a positive impact on the maintenance of world peace and security and that it will play an important role in helping to establish the new international order and to defend the rights and interests of the developing countries, thus making a contribution to the progress of humanity. start our afternoon session. I now invite the Prime Minister of India to take the floor. Mr. RAO (India): Mr. President, we appreciate the initiative you have taken in convening this meeting. Its deliberations can show us a direction which is indeed important at this juncture. It is good of you to have helped us.make a beginning. I also wish to pay a tribute to a personal friend and colleague of distinction and eminence, whom the United Nations has rightly chosen as its Secretary-General. To my brother Boutros Boutros-Ghali, our heartiest greetings. May I also recall with gratitude and appreciation the services of Mr. Perez de Cuellar, which have left so distinctive a mark on this Organization. We miss today the presence of a distinguished member of this fraternity, President Mugabe. We grieve with him in his personal bereavement and convey to him, through his delegation, our deepest condolences. To the President of Hungary, our good wishes for a speedy recovery from his indisposition. We are living in a time of change, palpable change. Until very recently, the Security Council's effectiveness was inhibited by the cold war. We have since witnessed an upsurge of democratic sentiment all over the world. We have been touched by the desire in diverse countries that the values of liberty, economic justice and the dignity of man should govern the conduct of world affairs. These are trends of which our discussions must take cognizance. The United Nations and the Security Council played the role required of them in recent months because the permanent members of the Council adopted a harmonious, cohesive and firm stance in dealing with the threats to the cherished values of man. India's support to the United Nations has been complete and consistent. It has had no fluctuations. Today, we welcome this fresh effective role of the Security Council and shall continue our support. In visualizing its future role, it is essential that we take note of the emerging forces, the socio-political undercurrents, that result in unrest, instability and the recurrence of violence across the globe. Lasting peace and security necessarily require comparable levels of human happiness across the globe. It is impossible to think of a United Nations functioning usefully or harmoniously while humankind continues to be riddled with ever-increasing disparities and while the world's natural resources - land, water and air - which are really humanity"s common heritage are getting fast depleted by thoughtless acts of overexploitation and environmental degradation. This is the single simple truth which this Organization has to take note of. All else falls in place, although the overall task remains extremely complicated, even with the best will in the world. The role of the United Nations must naturally rest on the Charter, which incorporates the vital framework for action for maintenance of international peace and security. But the Charter is only as legitimate and secure as its underpinning by the collective will of the international community. At every step, the interpretation of the Charter as well as the actions by the Security Council must flow from that collective will and not from the views or predilections of a few. A general consensus must always prevail, What is right and just must become transparent, It is as simple as that. Members of the Security Council, whether permanent or elected, should insist on this consensus, scrupulously avoiding the temptation to dictate for quick results. Besides, while prescribing norms and standards for national or international conduct, the Security Council must scrupulously accept those norms for itself. As the composition of the General Assembly has trebled since its inception, the size of the Security Council cannot remain constant any longer. Wider representation in the Security Council is a must, if it is to ·'., ensure its moral sanction and political effectiveness. While implementing its resolutions in good faith, it is incumbent on the Security Council to anticipate all the consequences of its decisions. Some consequences may be unintended, but they can affect those whom they are least intended to affect. For instance, economic sanctions against one country can have a major impact on its trading partners. For developing countries, this impact can be catastrophic. If the Security Council's actions are to continue to command adherence and support, it must take speedy and parallel action to address problems arising in a third country from the implementation of its resolutions. Besides, it must act decisively a~d in time to alleviate human suffering in the country in question, once the primary purpose of imposing economic sanctions has been fulfilled. I have profound respect for those who are crusading for the protection and preservation of human rights. A country with a history of over 5,000 years, with a record of non-invasion and non-annexation of alien territories, with the shining example of a powerful monarch like Asoka turning into an apostle of non-violence, another powerful heir apparent becoming the one and only Buddha, with a contemporary political system modelled on the best traditions of human rights and liberties - such is my country. Indian culture and human rights in their loftiest form are almost synonymous. However, having stated this, we cannot countenance a situation where all human rights are reserved only for the practitioners of terrorism, while Governments dealing with this menace are arraigned day and night on grounds of violation of human rights - real or imaginary, mostly the latter. I am fully conscious of the obligations of the State in preserving human rights, as contrasted with terrorist and secessionist elements killing innocent citizens with impunity. What should really be suggested at this meeting is perhaps to delineate the parameters that harmonize the defence of national integrity with respect for human rights. In this view, India is ever willing to discuss and contribute in the endeavour. It is also important to note that the content and nature of human rights are conditioned by the social, traditional and cultural forces that inform different societies. While the endeavour of the United Nations as being intimated in this meeting is gradually to move towards creating uniform international norms for human rights, such norms should not be unilaterally defined and set up as absolute preconditions for interaction between States and societies in the political or economic spheres. Our endeavour should be to work towards a just and fair world economic order and to encourage countries to move to~ards universal norms of human rights. We fully share the concerns expressed by several leaders on the threat posed to international peace and security by the proliferation of nuclear weapons. Another dimension of international security today is that of the possible loss of control over nuclear arsenals. What we are faced with is no longer the possible acquisition of such weapons by a handful of threshold States, but an uncontrolled spread of ready-made nuclear weapons across the globe by a variety of means and methods. The proliferation issue has thus assumed a qualitatively and frighteningly new dimension. While sharing these concerns, we wish to underline, however, that measures of preventive or punitive action on a selective basis will not achieve the results we are aiming at. The sense of disquiet and urgency that pervades the discussion of this issue is precisely because it has now become a global problem and not of a few potential nuclear-weapon States. In this imponderable yet terrible scenario, technical fixes or regional arrangements can no longer suffice. The difficulties of monitoring and policing activities in a large number of States, several of them not even accurately identified at any given time, preclude effective results. The Secretary-General cannot, I submit, be expected to be inspecting basements and searching for bombs. This can hardly succeed, as anyone can see. There must be some other way. What then is the answer to this difficult dilemma? In our view, the only logical route available to us is to pursue a global approach, based on a new international consensus on non-proliferation. To be effective, this global non-proliferation regime must be universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory and linked to the goal of complete nuclear disarmament. At'the third special session of the United Nations devoted to disarmament, held in 1988, the late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi of India put forward a specific Action Plan for Disarmament, which would eliminate all weapons of mass destruction in stages, eventually leading to a nuclear-weapon-free and non-violent world, The plan contained all the key elements of a new international consensus on nuclear non-proliferation. First, it called for the conclusion of an international convention on the prohibition of the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Second, it advocated a comprehensive test-ban treaty, Third, threshold States would undertake obligations not to cross the threshold, and this would be linked to corresponding obligations by nuclear-weapon States to eliminate their nuclear arsenals by the year 2010 at the latest. At the time this action plan was put forward, some nuclear-weapon States expressed difficulty in accepting these ideas in view of their adherence to the so called doctrine df nuclear deterrence. This doctrine was anchored in the specific context of East-West confrontation and the cold war. The cold war is now over; the nuclear stand-off is a thing of the past. The doctrine of nuclear deterrence is no longer relevant. We are now offered a historic opportunity to exercise statesmanship and move, quickly, to eliminate nuclear weapons altogether from the face of the Earth. In particular, the ideas India put forward in its action plan - or any alterations thereof - for example, a universal pledge to abjure the use of nuclear weapons, to conclude a comprehensive test-ban treaty and to develop a new, universal and non-discriminatory approach to non-proliferation, acquire compelling relevance. It is only within the framework of such a consensus, and through no other means, that the Security Council can deal effectively with the threats to peace emanating from the proliferation of nuclear weapons in its current, global dimension. If our meeting today can make a declaration along these lines, we will have made a truly historic contribution to the promotion of lasting peace and security. In fact, I would venture to suggest that, going even beyond India's action plan, the target date for a nuclear-weapon-free world should now be advanced to the end of the present century. It would be a hopeful note on which to enter the twenty-first century. Mr. President, the statement you will be reading out on behalf of the members of the Council at the end o,f today's meeting has been the subject of intensive, productive discussions. We were happy to be part of the exercise and to have made our contribution to it. We consider it an important statement. However, I find that the statement does not reflect one or two of India's crucial concerns. These I have mentioned clearly in my intervention just now. This, of course, does not detract from the significance of the statement you are about to make or from India's ~ooperation. Indeed, I trust that today's meeting will spur our common efforts to cooperate to mutual benefit and in the interest of all, in accordance with the provisions of the Charter.

Mr. Prime Minister, thank you for that comprehensive contribution. I now invite the Prime Minister of Japan to address the Council, Mr. MIYAZAWA (Japan): The year 1992 marks a point of departure towards a promising future for the United Nations. It is thus most appropriate that, for the first time in its history, the Security Council has convened a meeting of Heads of State or Government at the beginning of the year. I should like to convey my sincere respect to Prime Minister John Major for his excellent leadership in making this summit meeting a reality. I should also like to extend a heartfelt welcome to President Boris Yeltsin, who is here at the United Nations for the first time as the leader of the Russian Federation. The political and economic stability of the Federation is of great importance to the peace and stability of the entire world, I am confident that Russia will successfully discharge its awesome responsibilities, not only as a Member of the United Nations but also as a permanent member of the Security Council. I also extend my warmest congratulations to Secretary-General Boutros-Ghali, who has assumed his new post amid growing expectations of the role to be played by the United Nations. I take this opportunity to express the firm determination of my Government to support him in all his endeavours. The cold war that divided East and West throughout the post-war period has finally ended, and the configuration of the world is about to undergo epochal change. While the international situation in this post-cold-war era is highly fluid, it also presents abundant opportunities to build a new and peaceful world order. The precise shape of this new world order is not yet clear, but all countries must join together to construct a new peace order appropriate to the new era, for the sake of the freedom and prosperity of humankind and the future of our planet. At this time of transition, the United Nations has begun to play, both in theory1and in practice, a central role in efforts to achieve and maintain world peace. Expectations of the United Nations among the peoples of the world have reached new heights; its role, and particularly that of the Security Council, during the Gulf crisis, remains vivid in our memory. United Nations involvement has been central to the attainment of peace in Central America, to the resolution of the conflict in Yugoslavia and to the final phase of the Cambodian peace process. United Nations peace-keeping operations have played a major role in ensuring world peace and security over the more than 40 years since the operation was first established. Their importance continues to grow, as reflected in the fact that five new peace-keeping operations were established in the last year alone, and, in the Asia-Pacific region, the United Nations Transitional Authority in Cambodia, soon to be established, will have a range of activities unprecedented in United Nations history. Clearly, more active cooperation by Members of the United Nations will be needed in this area. Keenly aware of this need, Japan is now striving to make the necessary domestic arrangements to contribute personnel to peace-keeping operations. I shall do my utmost to have the relevant legislation approved by the Japanese Diet during its current session, which commenced this month. What are the issues confronting the United Nations today as it responds to expectations for the role it is to play in the attainment and maintenance of peace? The major issues are, in my view: first, how the United Nations will adjust itself to the epochal changes; secondly, how it will improve its effectiveness in peace-keeping and peace-making efforts; and, thirdly, how it can secure a sound financial base that will enable it to carry out those efforts. First of all, I believe that, in securing a peaceful world order, the ideals and purposes of the United Nations Charter, which represent fundamental and universal values, will be of even greater relevance than ever before. It is incumbent on Member States to strive, constantly, to ensure that each of these values is respected in practice. At the same time, it is also necessary for the United Nations to evolve while adapting to a changing world. For example, certain sections of the United Nations Charter are based on the realities prevailing in 1945, when the United Nations was founded, which predate even the cold war. In addition, since the Security Council is at the centre of United Nations efforts to maintain international peace and security, it is important to consider thoroughly ways to adjust its functions, composition and other aspects so as to make it more reflective of the realities of the new era. This is a process in which Japan is prepared to take an active part. Secondly, it is important to consider concrete measures to strengthen the functions of the United Nations so that it can work more effectively to secure a peaceful world order. The importance of peace-keeping activities does :not need to be repeated here, but I should like to comment on the :need to strengthen the functions of the United Nations in the area of conflict prevention. It is essential that the Secretary-General, who plays a crucial role in the United Nations mediation efforts and good offices, be given sufficient information concerning tensions that could escalate into international conflicts. An important step in that direction was made last December with the adoption by the General .Assembly of the Declaration on Fact-Finding by the United Nations in the Field of the Maintenance of \ International Peace and Security, which was proposed and sponsored by Japan and other countries. It would also be useful if countries with sophisticated information-gathering capabilities would provide the Secretary-General with relevant information, as appropriate. I hope that this issue will receive due consideration. Thirdly, a sound financial base is essential to enhancing the effectiveness of the United Nations and to ensuring that its various activities are conducted smoothly. As reported last autumn by the then Secretary-General Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, the United Nations conti.nues to be faced with critical financial difficulties, At the end of 1991 a total of approximate'ly US$ 800 million in assessed contributions was still outstanding. If the United Nations is to play a central role in establishing a new and peaceful world order, serious efforts by all Member States are urgently required to resolve this issue. Nor are peace-keeping operations immune to these difficulties. In particular, the availability of funds necessary for the start-up phase of a peace-keeping operation is essential to its smooth deployment. It is also important that States concerned, including those which would extend considerable financial support to the peace-keeping operations, become involved in consultations on its establishment from the earliest steps, I should add that the International Court of Justie:e also plays an important role in promoting the peaceful settlement of international r, conflicts. At this time, when strengthening the rule of law in international affairs should be an important element in the creation of a new and peaceful world order, it ·is necessary to make better use of the Court and to enhance its functions. The threat of military force has long been considered the primary threat to peace and security. While this threat seems to have subsided considerably, humankind's economic and technological achievements have, ironically, given rise to a host of global environmental problems and other threats to human survival of a non-military nature. The United Nations will consider global environmental problems at the Conference on Environment and Development to be held in June, I would hope that this is just a beginning and that the United Nations will hereafter address these new threats with the determination and effectiveness they demand. The trend towards world peace that we are witnessing today will not endure unless the dividends of peace are shared by all - but especially by the peoples of the South who are beset with famine, poverty, disease and other hardships. The serious efforts of the United Nations in addressing the North-South problem should contribute to world peace and stability. It is also necessary to extend appropriate assistance to the self-help efforts of developing countries. Those .efforts, in turn, will foster respect for human rights and the spread of democracy, values shared by peoples in a11 parts of the world. In securing peace the United Nations also has a tremendousl.y important role to play in the field of arms control and disarmament. Japan has been in that actively contributing to· strengthening the role of the United Nations field and has strongly supported the efforts of the countries concerned towards disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, with a view to attaining strategic stability at a lower level of armament. I wel.come the disarmament proposals made very recently by President Bush and President Yeltsin. I sincerely hope that, through consultations between th& United States and the Russian Federation, they will lead to concrete results• The dramatic changes in the international milieu have once aga.:i.n highlighted the importance of disarmament efforts, including those to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. I need not point out to those assembled here today that, with the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the birth of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), the question of how to prevent the dissemination of those weapons, of their production facilities and of related technologies is one of vital importance. I commend the leaders of the CIS for their determination to liberate their institutions from military domination, and I hope that they will continue to work to prevent the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction as we11 as related technologies. The proliferation and transfer of weapons is a matter of concern to every member of the international community. Spurred by the initiatives from Japan and countries of the European Community, the General Assembly 1ast year formally adopted a resolution to establish a United Nations Register on Arms Transfers. I call upon the members of the Security Council to work together for the smooth implementation of this Register. Steps to strengthen the regime of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and to conclude successfully negotiations on the convention on chemical weapons this year are also of major importance. The Security Council ought to be seized of the developments made in these areas. In the light of the circumstances I have just described, I should like to propose the following measures to render the United Nations more suited to the international situation of the twenty-first century. First, looking ahead to 1995, when the United Nations will celebrate its fiftieth anniversary, I should like to propose that discussions be held within the Organization to ensure that it plays a central role in maintaining and strengthening the peaceful world order. These discussions should include a consideration of the functions and organizational structure of the United Nations. Secondly, in order to secure the smooth functioning of peace-keeping operations, I would propose the creation, as necessary, of a consultative mechanism on their establishment, particularly the establishment of large-scale peace-keeping operations. This mechanism would be in the form of a consultative group of an appropriate size whose members would include countries which are major contributors of funds, among other things, as well as the countries concerned in the region. I would also emphasize the importance of securing sufficient funds for peace-keeping operations at their initial stage, and invite Member States to make voluntary contributions to the peace-keeping-operation Trust Fund in the United Nations. Thirdly, I propose that concrete ways be sought to strengthen the role of the United Nations in facing non-military threats to the future security and prosperity of humankind, including those relating to the environment, refugees and poverty. I hope that the Secretary-General will bring these non-military threats to the attention of the relevant United Nations organs. Fourthly, in the area of arms control and disarmament, I propose that concrete measures be urgently considered for bolstering the efforts of the United Nations and the countries concerned to strengthen the control of, and to prevent the proliferation of, nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, in the wake of the dissolution of the Soviet Union, and to restrain the international transfer of conventional weapons. It is the responsibility of all the members of the international community to work for the maintenance of world peace. As we enter the twenty-first century, the Security Council and, indeed, every country in the world are required to face in earnest the problems which lie before us as we shape a new and peaceful world order. Having recently commenced its term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, Japan realizes that present circumstances confer upon it particularly weighty responsibilities. Japan earnestly embraces these responsibilities without reservation and, as envisaged in its Constitution, is determined to continue to extend maximum support to the United Nations in the name of international cooperation.

I thank the Prime Minister for stressing his commitment to the work of the United Nations and setting out some proposals for its future. I now invite the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Personal Emissary of the Prime Minister of Hungary to address the Council. Mt, JESZENSZKY (Hungary): At this meeting of historic significance, I have the honour to deliver my statement also on behalf of the Prime Minister of Hungary, who regrets that he is not able to be present amongst us. I have just spoken to him on the telephone. The world order that appeared unshakeable for decades is now passing through a period of stormy and radical change. Following the end of the cold war, the world is witnessing the growing advance of freedom, democracy and the rule of law, A striking. manifestation of this progress was the announcement made this morning by President Yeltsin about the release of the very last political prisoners in Russia. However, this transformation is accompanied by tremendous difficulties and tensions which are especially manifest in the former Communist countries. At the present juncture, all the democratic Governments are being called upon to play an active role in shaping the course of world history for the coming decades. Mr. President, the Republic of Hungary welcomes and highly appreciates your initiative of inviting the States members of the United Nations Security Council. to meet in New York. The very fact that the States represented in this body are meeting at the highest level for the first time in the history of the world Organization is a telling indication of the increased role and importance of this forum, bearing as it does primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security. My country, as well as the region I come from, has always looked to this body with great expectations and hopes. We did so particularly in the dramatic days of 1956, when we believed that the United Nations would be able to stop the Soviet tanks from suppressing the democratic revolution and the freedom fight of the Hungarian people and could prevent bloody reprisals. Today, we are pleased that after 35 years the leaders in Moscow openly dissociate themselves from those past Soviet actions. For well-known reasons, however, no active assistance was forthcoming at that time, but the moral and political support of the United Nations still meant a lot to us. The experience of that period should encourage us to urge the United Nations, with its increased capacity for action, not to leave peoples alone in their struggle for the realization of their right to self-determination, and to do its utmost to ensure free and democratic development and the exercise of human rights in each and every country of the world. The favourable changes of recent years have created proper conditions for the United Nations to put into practice the principles and purposes enshrined in its Charter as long ago as 1945. The world Organization has now escaped the paralysing effect of great-Power confrontation, and is now able to respond more effectively to the challenges to peace and security. It is our firm belief that, along with its peace-keeping activities and by its involvement in making and building peace, the United Nations is becoming an irreplaceable factor of international relations. We hold that the peace-keeping missions of the United Nations should no longer be seen as some kind of an external force designed merely to confine conflicts and to preserve status guos, but as factors contributing creatively to removing hotbeds of crisis by upholding democratic values and enforcing respect for human rights, As a member of the Security Council, Hungary wishes to take its share in ensuring that this new philosophy of preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping is translated into concrete and effective measures. In this phase of profound transformations, a review of the activities and the efficiency of the United Nations has become necessary. What the world needs ~s a renewed and reformed United Nations capable of meeting the challenges of the present and the future. It was exactly a year ago that, under the authority of the Security Council, the multinational coalition of countries took action to liberate Kuwait. The operation against the Iraqi aggression was a landmark in the history of the United Nations. On the one hand, it provided evidence of the capacity of the international community, through the Security Council, to undertake peacemaking actions and to deal with local conflicts in the interest of collective security, as set forth in the Charter. On the other hand, it highlighted another, exemplary Security Council action: launching a large-scale humanitarian operation to save the Kurds of Iraq. We view those steps taken by the Security Council as a manifestation of the peace-building activity to safeguard human rights and the rights of minorities. For the Republic of Hungary, respect for human rights and the rights of national minorities is not merely a legal and humanitarian question: it is also an integral part of international collective security. Therefore, it is indispensable for the Security Council to take resolute action to defend and protect these rights. The presence, wherever needed, of United Nations personnel to guarantee the enforcement of those rights should be seen as an integral part of United Nations peace-building activities. The decisions of the Security Council regarding the military arsenal of a United Nations Member State having committed aggression are, in our judgement, a precedent deserving unreserved support. The limitation of the armaments and the number of troops of an aggressor State or, for that matter, of an aggressor army out of political control, as well as their disarmament under an international verification system, should be a new, important dimension of the activities of the Security Council. Central and Eastern Europe is the scene of major, crucial changes. The peoples of that region, after long decades, are again free to decide their own destiny. At the same time, the communist-dictatorial system has bequeathed a grave legacy. This may be a source of tensions jeopardizing and weakening the hoped for stability in the region. The United Nations is faced with great tasks in ensuring, with its authority and through avenues open to it under international law, that the transition to democracy and a market economy in the countries of that region follow a peaceful course and lead to stability. One of the most urgent tasks stems from the situation emerging after the disintegration of the former Soviet Union. Following more than seven decades of rule by a totalitarian regime, which took a toll of millions of human lives, what emerges is an economy in ruins with ensuing grave social problems, no clear-cut arrangements for the control of formidable nuclear weapons and the eruption of violent ethnic discords. This situation could plunge the wor.ld into a critical state, The successor States of the defunct empire are fully justified in their efforts to build the closest possible ties with the world community. This, in turn, can offer us reliable prospects for a positive settlement of the many relevant security and arms-control questions, as well as for the full observance of international standards in the fields of human rights and minority rights. Hungary is guided by these considerations when it lends support to a strong involvement of the former Soviet republics in the work of multilateral forums, primarily the United Nations and its specialized agencies, and also the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe process. The processes of rearrangement taking place in our region have led not only to potential crisis situations but also to an actual explosion in what was Yugoslavia. The senseless war raging in our vicinity has affected Hungary most directly. Continuous violations of our airspace and borders and the flow of over 50,000 refugees to our country are indications of a critical situation that poses a serious threat to international peace and security and carries additional grave implications. Public opinion in Hungary and the Government are deeply concerned at the human misery and material devastation brought upon the peoples of that land, including the continuous and systematic violations of the hwnan rights and minority rights of hundreds of thousands of Hungarians who live in the province of Vojvodina and the sufferings of those Hungarians who live along the Croatian front lines. The future of the Hungarians there, like that of any other minorities inhabiting the southern Slav States., could be assured by, among other things, the institution of territorial and cultural autonomies, as proposed by Lord Carrington. In our opinion, during the political negotiations aimed at reaching a durable and satisfactory settlement of the problems it is incumbent upon the Security Council to monitor carefully, in close cooperation with the European Community, the developments in that land and to deploy United Nations monitors or peace-keeping forces in all areas where tensions or conflicts might arise. In the present situation the United Nations has a major contribution to make to the solution of the conflict between the southern Slav peoples. Hungary pledges its full support for an early dispatch of United Nations peace-keeping forces, in accordance with the plan formulated by the Secretary-General. We expect such action - together with the embargo on all deliveries of weapons and military equipment, which must be strictly observed by all Member States of the United Nations - to facilitate significantly the reaching of a comprehensive political settlement there. The admission of former Yugoslav republics to membership in the United Nations would be a further step along the way to peace and stability in the whole region. The current involvement of the United Nations in the Yugoslav crisis can in no way replace talks between the peoples and minorities concerned, nor should it impede the conclusion of arrangements which would have to take into account the legitimate interests of all the parties concerned, We are of the view that a peaceful future for the region can be ensured only by reaffirming the inadmissibility of the forcible change of borders, recognizing the rights of peoples to self-determination and enforcing human rights. We consider that the setting up of a control mechanism for the verification of the provisions of the relevant agreements could be highly important elements of a comprehensive settlement. At this historic moment of unprecedented change we ought to consider another no less important repercussion of these transformations. The world has to face the challenge of dismantling enormous war machines and related manpower. Today we are witnesses of armies with unclear orientations or with no political control. Not only should war industries be converted to civilian purposes, but a large number of scientists, experts and professional soldiers also need to be retrained or reprogrammed. The future of the newly independent States in the Balkans and in the former Soviet Union hinges largely on the success or failure of this huge endeavour of human conversion. Parallel with this demolition and recycling process, there should be some new creations as well. In our view, under the changed international circumstances, due consideration should be given to the idea of the United Nations instituting a force readily and constantly available that could be mobilized on very short notice, at any given time, and deployed without delay in accordance with the purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter to any conflict-stricken region of the world. Today's event, unique in the history of the United Nations, and made possible by the fading away of the obsolete ideological confrontations of the past, gives us an opportunity, and creates much better conditions, to take up successfully the challenges of our era and to give the right answers to the global problems of security, democracy, economic and social development and ecology that we are faced with. In this context, the idea of convening a meaningful summit meeting on guestions of social development merits our close attention. Our gathering here also gives us an opportunity to reaffirm our confidence in, and support for, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, .the new Secretary-General of our Organizatlon, whose well-known commitment to peace United Nations in international relations will continue to grow in the years to come. The Government of the Republic of Hungary is ready to contribute fully to the strengthenng of our world Organization and to the improvement of its functioning in accordance with the exigencies of our times, There can be no doubt that the United Nations, born in 1945, will be a major factor in the world of the twenty-first century.

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for your statement on your own behalf and on behalf of Prime Minister Antall. I have been asked by the Prime Minister of Hungary to convey his apologies and most sincere greetings to all the Heads of State or Government of the countries participating in this meeting of the Security Council, and I do that most happily, I now have pleasure in inviting the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Personal Emissary of the President of Zimbabwe to take the floor. you, Prime Minister Major, presiding over our deliberations today. I congratulate you and I thank you for the very timely initiative you have taken in convening this historic gathering. I also take this opportunity to welcome our new Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and to convey to him Zimbabwe's congratulations on his election. Those of us who come from Africa have known him as one of our eminent intellectuals and as an unflinching defender of peace. We are appreciative of the enormous wealth of experience and skill he brings to the helm of this world body. We are greatly indebted also to his predecessor, Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, a dignified arbiter who, during his terms of office, turned around the fortunes of this Organization and tirelessly worked for peace, even to the very last minute of his tour of duty. We are grateful to him and we wish him good health and many successes in his retirement. As we meet today we are witnessing ominous developments that threaten to suffocate the fragile positive trends we had begun to see recently. Signs abound that we have entered a world situation almost as unpredictable and dangerous as that which prevailed in the cold-war era. Conflicts and tensions of a new nature are erupting in regions that had been spared instability in the post-Second World War era. We have heard many references to those situations in the speeches made this morning and this afternoon in this distinguished gathering. The bold strides in disarmament that had been made by the United States of America and the then Soviet Union had given us enormous comfort and hope that we were at last safe from the threat of nuclear annihilation. But instead of entering a post-nuclear age we are now witnessin~ the possible beginning of an age of dangerous and uncontrolled proliferation and civil strife in several areas. As was said by another spe~ker earlier, some of those areas of civil strife spill over into regional and international threats to peace and security. To make matters worse, as business booms in the international arms bazaar, the weak economies of the South remain in the grip of deepening crisis, while growing poverty - a tragically potent source of instability - is becoming a menace to recent gains in democracy~ The responsibility lies squarely with the United Nations and in particular with this Council to rescue us from this unpredictable and dangerous situation. The Organization of African Unity looks to this body to democratize the international system so that all nations big and small can participate fully in peace-making and peace-keeping. As the principles of the United Nations Charter must govern the global order we wish to construct, and since our efforts should result in a United Nations that is stronger and more effective, Zimbabwe holds the vie~ that the process must begin with a reexamination of the Charter itself in the context of the changing international circumstances. That is also the expressed view of the Organization of African Unity. A new world order cari best be constructed by reexamining the Charter, rectifying the flaws and closing the gaps that have been revealed by recent developments, and updating those of ~ts provisions that have been rendered obsolete by the new international circumstances. The fact that we have had to resort to improvisation in certain cases is in itself clear evidence of the need to revise the Charter. For instance, as Mr. Perez de Cuellar's report of 1991 rightly observed, the costs and capabilities demanded by modern warfare inevitably led to major modifications in the application of Article 42, Chapter VII, with respect to carrying out combined international enforcement action during the Gulf crisis. Also, we have developed and pursued peace-keeping and peace-making operations which are not provided for anywhere in the Charter. Yet these are among the most effective and successful activities of the United Nations. In the presentations made this morning and this afternoon, much stress has been placed on the importance of the peace-keeping role of the United Nations in the world. We strongly support that view. Certainly, the Organization of African Unity would like to see greater assistance from the United Nations in areas of strife in Africa that need some international external intervention. But, as I said, this was not specifically provided for in the Charter; we have been operating under arrangements we made in the early 1960s as the problems arose. It is in this context that I wish to comment on some aspects of the Charter and to share wit~ colleagues some preliminary suggestions regarding how we can bring some missing pieces 'into the Charter, how we can reinforce those of its provisions that have served us well in the past, how we can revive some of its potentially valuable provisions that have been dormant, and how we can update the provisions we feel have been rendered obsolete by the changed international situation. Obviously, I will not deal at length with these provisions; my task has been made lighter by some of the references already made by earlier speakers such as the President of Venezuela, the President of France and the Prime Minister of Japan to the need to look again at the Charter. In the emerging international situation we would like to see increasing use of Article 41, Chapter VII, of the Charter, relating to effective collective measures that can be taken, but not involving the use of armed force. That means more use of measures such as economic sanctions to ensure compliance with Security Council resolutions. But the problem with economic sanctions is the adverse effect they may have on third countries, or what are called victim States. Although Article 50 was designed to give some protection to such States, the experience of the Gulf war revealed that some gaps need to be closed. The application of sanctions against Iraq brought hardship to many countries in the region and beyond. The fact that representations continue to come to the sanctions Committee from the most affected States even today demonstrates the inadequacy of Article 50. What is required are clear criteria for determining who deserves assistance and standing United Nations ~rrangements for the mobilization of the resources needed to assist the affected States •. We hope that when the Secretary-General presents his recommendations to us before July, as we shall request him to do at today's meeting, he will have had time to reflect on some of the issues that we are only mentioning now. We shall certainly cooperate in looking at those issues in much greater depth, A related issue that may need to be looked at again is the effect economic sanctions may have on innocent civilians living in a State whose Government they cannot change. Such people lack the political means to reverse the very policies that give rise to the offence that is the object of sanctions. (Mr. Shamuyarira, Zimbabwe) In order to avoid the many misgivings expressed by some regarding the prosecution of the Gulf War, future collective enforcement operations must be fully accountable to the Security Council and should be truly representative. This can be achieved by strengthening Article 46 of the Charter, which gives a role to the Military Staff Committee. However, if we are to give such an important role to the Military Staff Committee, its membership cannot remain limited to only a few. Non-permanent members should also participate in all the work of the Committe~. This would ensure that collective enforcement actions are not dominated by a single group of countries. I Collective enforcement arrangements of the United Nations should also ensure uniformity. In the event of aggression, combined international enforcement action should be taken irrespective of who the aggressor is or who the victim. Zimbabwe believes that a collective security system liable to a veto by one or a few States is not reliable. It means that the Security Council cannot take any action in a conflict in which one of the permanent members has a direct interest. Undoubtedly, this was one of the considerations at San Francisco, but has that issue not now been overtaken by events? In this regard, consideration could be given to extending paragraph 3 of Article 27, which provides that in decisions relating to peaceful settlements of disputes under Chapter VI, a party to a dispute shall abstain from voting. Our view is that this should also apply to Chapter VII, so that those who wield the veto power may not block the imposition of sanctions or any other collective enforcement action where they are party to a conflict. A very positive development in the emerging new world order is the increasing reluctance we see on the part of the permanent members to use their own veto. They now prefer to reach decisions by consensus. We welcome and encourage this trend, and hold out the hope that the veto may eventually be abolished or will fall away because of disuse. While in the aftermath of the Second World War the victorious Powers had special privileges, now in the post-cold war era we believe that we are all victors and that there should be no losers. Consequently, no one deserves any special privileges. Zimbabwe and other non-aligned States have always subscribed to the principle that general and complete disarmament.can only be achieved in the multilateral forum of this body of the United Nations. In the face of the growing menace from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, which has been referred to, we hope that by addressing the issue of disarmament in resolution 687 (1991) and in the draft declaration before us, the Security Council has now come to recognize this principle as well. We also believe that the Security Council should ensure that the initiators of the Arms Transfer Register established by the General Assembly only last month, and to which Zimbabwe lent its support, will follow through on their assurances to us that, in time, it will develop into a comprehensive and non-discriminatory register that also covers nuclear-weapon stockpiles, domestic production and the transfer of dual-purpose items. In tandem with the Arms Transfer Register, we believe that multilateral disarmament could further be boosted by the use of the provisions of Article 26 and of paragraph 1 of Article 47 of the Charter, which empower the Security Council, with the assistance of the Military Staff Committee, to put in place a system for the regulation of armaments. These provisions, which have been dormant since the founding of the Organization, would have rendered unnecessary the ad hoe creation by resolution 687 (1991) of the Special Commission currently dealing with the disarmament measures imposed on Iraq. It is our view that an opportunity still exists to utilize them in implementing the disarmament measures for the wider Middle East region provided for in resolution 687 (1991). In addition to unil~teral reductions of nuclear arsenals, those who hold nuclear weapons should demonstrate their commitment to making the post-cold war world a safer place by subscribing to the conversion of the present partial test-ban Treaty of 1962 into a comprehensive test-ban treaty. Having ourselves recently acceded to the non-proliferation Treaty - and we are happy to note that some members at this table are in the process of acceding to that Treaty - we hope that at the next review of the Treaty·our oft-voiced concerns will be adequately addressed, In particular, we hope that the International Atomic Energy Agency's inspections of the nuclear facilities of recent adherents to the non-proliferation Treaty will be thorough and detailed. We should avoid taking action when it is too late. But the route we should take in the area of disarmament is to demilitarize consistently both the domestic and the international situations. The manufacturers as well as the recipients and users of dangerous weapons should be stopped from trading in death. We should demilitarize our societies in the new world order, In Africa, many Governments are rightly linking disarmament to development. They visualize a situation where more funds will now be made available for debt relief and various forms of aid. The vast sums of money being spent on armaments would go a long way towards ameliorating the plight of millions of people in developing countries who are in dire need of resources to raise their standards of living. In the new climate resulting from the ending of ideological confrontations, a reexamination of the conclusions of the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development, held here in New York in 1987, might help us to go forward. A proposal to expand the membership of the Security Council and to ensure equitable representation in this body has been before the General Assembly since 1979, alongside the other items which I mentioned earlier, which have also been before this body for some time. The Council.cannot afford to shield itself from change at a time when all the other major organs of the Un.ited Nations are going through a process of reform and when new international circumstances call for readjustments. The increase in the total membership of the United Nations alone is sufficient to warrant expansion of the membership of the Council. The Prime Minister of India gave us some figures to indicate the rapid increase that has taken place in the membership of the United Nations itself. The Security Council takes decisions of major importance on behalf of the entire membership of the United Nations. Those decisions should be made representative of the will of the general membership. In 1945, the Council represented 20 per cent of the United Nations membership; but now, with United Nations membership having risen to 166, the Council represents less than 10 per cent. Clearly, the Council has become less representative than it was before, and the question of equitable geographical representation also has to be addressed, One region is clearly overrepresented on the Council, while Africa and Latin America are not represented at all among the permament members. Zimbabwe believes that the decisions of an expanded and more representative Council would carry more weight, We support the proposal of the Organization of African Unity that matters of restructuring the organs of the United Nations should be discussed in the General Assembly so that members there can express their views and contribute to the new world order which we are discussing. On the question of human rights, Zimbabwe is fully committed to the promotion of the full enjoyment of all basi~ human rights by all citizens in any State that is a Member of the United Nations. Established principles governing inter-State relations - such as that of non-interference in the internal affairs of other States and infringing on the sovereignty of States - will have to accommodate efforts by the United Nations and by regional organizations to protect the basic human rights of individuals and social groups that are threatened in particular States. For example, when the United Nations condemned the doctrine of apartheid in South Africa, it became a concern of the whole international community to promote human rights there. It could no longer be described or regarded as a domestic issue in South Africa alone. We are pleased that steps are now being taken to dismantle the ugly edifice of apartheid in South Africa. Massive and deliberate violations of human rights or the existence of situations of oppression and repression can no longer be tolerated anywhere in the world. In the era we are entering, the Council will be called upon to deal more and more with conflicts and humanitarian situations of a domestic nature that could pose threats to international peace and stability. However, great care has to be taken to see that these domestic conflicts are not used as a pretext for the intervention of big Powers in the legitimate domestic affairs of small States, or that human rights issues are not used for totally different purposes of destabilizing other Governments. There is, therefore, the need to strike a delicate balance between the rights of States, as enshrined in the Charter, and the rights of individuals, as enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Zimbabwe supports very strongly both the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the Charter on these issues. Zimbabwe is a firm subscriber to the principles in the United Nations Declaration on Human Rights. However, we cannot but express our apprehension about who will decide when to get the Security Council involved in an internal matter and in what manner. In other words, who will judge when a threshold is passed that calls for international action? Who will decide what should be done, how it will be done and by whom? This clearly calls for a careful drawing up and drafting of general principles and guidelines that would guide decisions on when a domestic situation warrants international action, either by the Security Council or by regional organizations. This could be one of the tasks this Council could entrust to the Secretary-General, The welcome end of East-West confrontation should propel us to end the North-South confrontation as well, I am very glad that the President of France dwelt at some length on this matter this morning. Hence I will not belabour the point. The growing economic gap between the two sides will lead to catastrophe for us all. We should provide a forum for analysing and discussing these issues and finding viable solutions. The environment conference in Brazil next June will give participants an opportunity to discuss the very pressing problem of increasing poverty in developing countries and the alarming rate of degradation of the environment. After the debates, it will be up to the United Nations and its specialized agencies to implement those recommendations on which action could be taken. The specialized agencies of the United Nations are doing most valuable work in bringing expertise and skills to developing countries. We look forward to the convening of the projected World Summit on Social Development as another important forum for exchanging views, experiences and knowledge. The social condition of millions of people in developing countries must be a source of great concern to all leaders of Governments. While the technology of developed nations is enabling them to reach outer space, ours is not sufficient to reach the village, especially in Africa. A new world order that does not make a special effort to eliminate poverty and narrow the widening disparities existing between industrialized and developing countries will not be sustainable. African States face a multitude of problems as they enter the new world order. They are taking painful steps of political, social and economic adjustments of existing structures in order to be accommodated in the emerging new order and also in order to improve the standard of living of their own people generally on a more sustainable and permanent basis. They will need strong Governments to implement these reforms, and they will require financial and material resources on an increasing scale. Zimbabwe supports strongly the proposal of the Secretary-General to mediate in the civil strife in Somalia in particular. But we would urge him to take similar steps in five other African countries facing similar strife. Some of the problems of civil strife in Africa could be contained with vigorous preventive diplomacy by the Secretary-General as well as the Secretaries-General of the Organization of African Unity and the Arab League. We are pleased that the Secretary-General is taking very vigorous steps in this direction early in his tenure of office. We have also recently witnessed how ill-equipped the United Nations is to deal with problems of drug-trafficking and international terrorism, which are likely to become a major threat to international peace and security in the era we are entering. The President of the United States, in his intervention this morning, made reference to some of these important problem areas. We believe this could very well be the time to revive the idea of an international criminal code and to create an international criminal court. In a document entitled "The Hague Declaration on the Rule of Law in Inter-State Relations", the non-aligned States offered some useful ideas which were well-received by the General Assembly at its forty-fourth session, when it declared the 1990s a Decade of International Law. We hope that the Security Council will also consider taking decisions that will result in the establishment of the primacy of law in the emerging world ord~r and, in particular, consider proposals to strengthen the authority of the International Court of Justice. The Non-Aligned Movement has taken very vigorous steps in the direction of strengthening international law in the important meeting which was held in The Hague and which produced this very important Declaration. In the final analysis, I think we can all agree that peace and security based on mutual interests and shared values is much more likely to be enduring than that based on the threat of arms. It is therefore imperative that we take full advantage of the disappearance of cold-war rivalries and mutual suspicions to create and promote this shared community of interests and values. Where disputes do arise, let us focus on the root causes rather than on the symptoms. It is much better to prevent conflicts an~ disputes than to resolve them. This calls for the primacy of preventive diplomacy we are expecting from our Secretary-General. This calls for an activist role on the part of the Secretary-General in terms of Article 99 of the Charter, which calls upon him to bring before the Security Council any matter which, in his opinion, threatens international peace and security. It goes without saying that in order to play the key role envisaged in the Charter, both the Secretary-General and the United Nations require adequate resources. Is it not one of the great ironies of our time that, when it comes to war-making, resources become available in abundance, but when it comes to peace-making, resources become extremely scarce? It will not be possible for the United Nations to play a key role in the peace and security of a new world order if it is not rescued from its continuing financial crisis. We trust that, as we are giving the new Secretary-General a strong mandate and an elaborate programme over the next five years, he will be provided with the means of executing that task.

Thank you, Mr. Minister, for your contribution, Perhaps I might ask you to take back to President Mugabe on behalf of the Council our deepest sympathy at his recent bereavement. Mrs. Mugabe was very well known, I know, to many people present and she will be very greatly missed. I would be grateful if you would pass our very strong sense of loss to President Mugabe when you return. With the permission of the Council, I should now like to make a statement in my capacity as representative of the United Kingdom. Today's meeting is, I think, a historic event,· the first time in its history that the United Nations Security Council has met at the .level of Heads of State or Government, an extraordinary event to match extraordinary times. We meet here today partly to celebrate - to celebrate the appointment of a new and distinguished Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. And in one way, our new Secretary-General is a lucky man: he is the first Secretary-General in many years to inherit a United Nations that is confident in its own ability to solve problems while still being conscious of the magnitude of its task. We celebrate too a new world Power: the Russian Federation, the Power which has now emerged from an aberration that lasted for 70 years. I think we are here also for other reasons: to gather strength from each other for the tasks ahead; to revitalize our joint sense of purpose; to reaffirm the intention of the United Nations to redouble its efforts in the cause of peace - but not to forget, as we do so, that we need economic development and prosperity in order to achieve lasting peace and stability. A ·great deal has already been achieved. Last year, the United Nations authorized the international community's response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. Today, Baghdad is still defying international law and human rights. Iraq must comply with all the relevant United Nations Security Council resolutions. Saddam Hussein's defiance hurts the Iraqi people, but sanctions must remain fully in force until all the resolutions are implemented. In the aftermath of Iraq's eviction from Kuwait, Saddam Hussein turned on his own people. Resolution 688 (1991) set up a humanitarian mission to help the fleeing Kurds and Shi'ites. Their plight still remains our responsibility. As time goes on, more of Saddam Hussein's wickedness is revealed. Even today he is stopping food, medicines a~d other vital supplies going to the Kurds. The Security Council cannot ignore that breach of resolution 688 (1991). We cannot lay down the shield we provided to protect Iraq's vulnerable communities. There will be other such crises. People everywhere expect the United Nations to react, to save lives. This can be done with full respect for Charter principles; but people increasingly agree that humanitarian affairs are every man's affair. In recent weeks, the Security Council has been involved in taking decisions on Yugoslavia, Cambodia, El Salvador, Somalia and Western Sahara. The Council recently adopted resolution 731 (1992), unanimously condemning State terrorism, and Libya must respond positively to the demands that this Council has made of it, The world already has an effective instrument to uphold collective security, but it is not yet a perfect instrument, and I hope this meeting will set in hand work to strengthen the United Nations. New ideas focus on new opportunities in preventive diplomacy, in peace-making and in peace-keeping, but what do we mean by preventive diplomacy? I believe we mean action to avert - or at least to contain - crises, and we must exploit the unrealized potential of the United Nations Charter. We need also to be more active in crisis prevention. That is just as important - if not more so - than perfecting our skills at crisis management, The Secretary-General - our new Secretary-General - should take the initiative boldly, the initiative to draw potential conflict to the attention of the Security Council. In the past, his predecessors have often been hobbled by the political rivalry between Member States, often reflected most sharply in the Council. In future, the Council must be prepared to act before tension becomes conflict. The Secretary-General deserves an assurance of our good faith in his good judgement. This meeting can give him that assurance. Peace-making and peace-keeping should run in parallel. Demand, in the future, is not likely to decrease·. We should like to enhance the United Nations ability to respond. We recognize the load placed on the Organization and the skills and experience of its staff, but we want the United Nations to be able to carry out its mission even more effectively, and that is why we propose that the Council should invite the Secretary-General to give his ideas on how this might be done. It will be an important report. The report might look at the United Nations role in identifying, and dealing with, the causes of instability and potential crises, as well as the contribution to be made by regional bodies in helping the work of the Council. If we are to safeguard international peace and security, the States Members of the United Nations - all of them without exception - must also be active in arms control, and this means giving high priority to three central objectives: First, we must implement what has already been agreed, notably in the START and Conventional Armed Forces in Europe Treaties. Secondly, we must commit ourselves to working for further measures of disarmament, both regional and global, with special attention in 1992 to the chemical weapons convention, I strongly endorse what was said earlier by a number of speakers on this particular point. Thirdly, we must make sure that each of us has in place arrangements which prevent proliferation and discourage the accumulation of lethal weaponry. I can announce today that the United Kingdom Government is acting to strengthen controls on the export of specific biological materials and (The President) organisms which could be misused for weapons purposes. We are also looking at the ideas of others, including our German colleagues, which are intended to limit further the scope for proliferation. These are daunting challenges at a time when the map is being radically reshaped, but we can draw on valuable new assets: a new degree of cooperation between the former enemies of East and West; a new readiness to help each other, for example in the destruction of surplus nuclear weapons; a new awareness, from the Iraq war, of the dangers of proliferation; and a new willingness, shown in the adoption of the United Nations register of arms transfers, to cooperate on a global basis here in the United Nations itself. Between now and the Conference to renew the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1995, we have a unique chance to consolidate the gains of the last few years on a truly durable basis. Britain believes that all States must respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Good government is not a luxury, it is the bedrock on which we build a stable and prosperous society, and that in turn is essentially built on international peace and security. Peace-keeping operations tend now to include provision for hwnan rights verification and free and fair elections as vital components of a peaceful settlement. I am sure that is right, and I hope that will continue to be the case. In the first four decades of the United Nations, my own continent experienced fewer dramatic changes than almost any other area of the world. The cold war imposed upon Europe immobility of an unenviable sort - the uneasy stand-off of two nuclear-armed, opposing camps. But this decade has been different. This decade has seen headlong and profoundly hopeful change come to Europe - a chain-reaction of revolutionary change. That change is personified, clearly and unmistakably, by the presence in this Council today of two outstanding figures from the first generation of post-communist leaders - President Yeltsin of Russia and Foreign Minister Jeszenszky of Hungary. We meet them here as friends and partners. Today, we share a common outlook and common objectives. Other things are different: no longer are the leaders of East and West competing. No longer does ideology drive us apart. No longer do we threaten each other. And not least among the benefits is the prospect of making ever more productive use of the United Nations. The 1990s will be a decade of transformation in Europe. There are huge tasks to be accomplished in the rebuilding of economies smothered by communism for generations, and in rooting democracy firmly in the soil of open politics and free markets. There are risks too: the communist empire has bequeathed a host of potential problems between peoples and States. Some of them have already led to conflict. The United Nations can play a key role in promoting acceptance of the principles of the Charter and the peaceful settlement of disputes. Colleagues, we in Britain will work closely with the Secretary-General - closely, to strengthen and enhance the United Nations capacity to respond to crisis, and incipient crisis, wherever it threatens. The challenge is a formidable one, and it is one which only the United Nations, with the full support of Member Governments, can meet. Today I am happy to pledge to you the full support of the British Government in that movement. I now resume my functions as President of the Security Council. I should like to turn to the presidential statement that is the outcome of our negotiations and deliberations today. It is my understanding that the members of the Security Council are content for me to issue the declaration which, in accordance with custom, I shall read in a moment as a presidential statement on their behalf. I am grateful for that authority, and I should now like to read out to the Council the statement that has been agreed. It reads as follows: "The members of the Security Council have authorized me to make the following statement on their behalf. "The Security Council met at the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York on 31 January 1992, for the first time at the level of Heads of State and Government. The members of the Council considered, within the framework of their commitment to the United Nations Charter, 'The responsibility of the Security Council in the maintenance of international peace and security', "The members of the Security Council consider that their meeting is a timely recognition of the fact that there are new favourable international circumstances under which the Security Coun6il has begun to fulfil more effectively its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security, "A time of change "This meeting takes place at a time of momentous change. The ending of the Cold War has raised hopes for a safer, more equitable and more humane world. Rapid progress has been made, in many regions of the world, towards democracy and responsive forms of government, as well as towards achieving the Purposes set out in the Charter. The completion of the dismantling of apartheid in South Africa would constitute a major contribution to these Purposes and positive trends, including to the encouragement of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. "Last year, under the authority of the United Nations, the international community succeeded in enabling Kuwait to regain its sovereignty and territorial integrity, which it had lost as a result of Iraqi aggression. The resolutions adopted by the Security Council remain essential to the restoration of peace and stability in the region and must be fully implemented. At the same time the members of the Council are concerned by the humanitarian situation of the innocent civilian population of Iraq. "The members of the Council support the Middle East peace process, facilitated by the Russian Federation and the United States, and hope that it will be brought to a successful conclusion on the basis of Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973). "They welcome the role the United Nations has been able to play under the Charter in progress towards settling long-standing regional disputes, and will work for further progress towards their resolution. They applaud the valuable contribution being made by United Nations peace-keeping forces now operating in Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. 11The members of the Council note that United Nations peace-keeping tasks have increase~ and broadened considerably in recent years. Election monitoring, human rights verification and the repatriation of refugees have in the settlement of some regional conflicts, at the request or with the agreement of the parties concerned, been integral parts of the Security Council's effort to maintain international peace and security. They welcome these developments. "The members of the Council also recognize that change, however welcome, has brought new risks for stability and security. Some of the most acute problems result from changes to State structures. The members of the Council will encourage all efforts to help achieve peace, stability and cooperation during these changes. "The international community therefore faces new challenges in the search for peace. All Member States expect the United Nations to play a central role at this crucial stage. The members of the Council stress the importance of strengthening and improving the United Nations to increase its effectiveness. They are determined to assume fully their responsibilities within the United Nations OrganizatioJl in the framework of the Charter. "The absence of war and military conflicts amongst States does not in itself ensure international peace and security. The non-military sources of instability in the economic, social, humanitarian and ecological fields have become threats to peace and security. The United Nations membership as a whole, working through the appropriate bodies, needs to give the highest priority to the solution of these matters. "Commitment to collective security "The members of the Council pledge their commitment to international law and to the United Nations Charter. All disputes between States should be peacefully resolved in accordance with the provisions of the Charter. "The members of the Council reaffirm their commitment to the collective security system of the Charter to deal with threats to peace and to reverse acts of aggression. "The members of the Council express their deep concern over acts of international terrorism and'emphasize the need for the international community to deal effectively with all such acts. "Peacemaking and peace-keeping "To strengthen the effectiveness of these commitments, and in order that the Security Council should have the means to discharge its primary responsibility under the Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security, the members of the Council have decided on the following approach • .. They invite the Secretary-General to prepare, for circulation to the Members of the United Nations by 1 July 1992, his analysis and recommendations on ways of strengthening and making more efficient within the framework and provisions of the Charter the capacity of the United Nations for preventive diplomacy, for peacemaking and for peace-keeping. "The Secretary-General's analysis and recommendations could cover the role of the United Nations in identifying potential crises and areas of instability as well as the contribution to be made by regional organizations in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter in helping the work of the Council. They could also cover the need for adequate resources, both material and financial. The Secretary-General might draw on lessons learned in recent United Nations peace-keeping missions to recommend ways of making more effective Secretariat planni~g and operations. He could also consider how greater use might be made of his good offices, and of his other functions under the United Nations Charter, "Disarmament, arms control and weapons of mass destruction "The members of the Council, while fully conscious of the responsibilities of other organs of the United Nations in the fields of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, reaffirm the crucial contribution which progress in these areas can make to the maintenance of international peace and security. They express their commitment to take concrete steps to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations in these areas. "The members of the Council underline the need for all Member States to fulfil their obligations in relation to arms control and disarmament; to prevent the proliferation in all its aspects of all weapons of mass destruction; to avoid excessive and destabilizing accumulations and transfers of arms; and to resolve peacefully in accordance with the Charter any problems concerning these matters threatening or disrupting the maintenance of regional and global stability, They emphasize the importance of the early ratification and implementation'by the States concerned of all international and regional arms control arrangements, especially the START and CFE Treaties, "The proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction constitutes a threat to international peace and security. The members of the Council commit themselves to working to prevent the spread of technology related to the research for or production of such weapons and to take appropriate action to that end. "On nuclear proliferation., they note the importance of the decision of many countries to adhere to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and emphasize the integral role in the implementation of that Treaty of fully effective IAEA safeguards, as well as the importance of effective export controls. The members of the Council will take appropriate measures in the case of any violations notified to them by the IAEA. "On chemical weapons, they support the efforts of the Geneva Conference with a view to reaching agreement on the conclusion, by the end of 1992, of a universal convention, including a verification regime, to prohibit chemical weapons. "On conventional armaments, they note the General Assembly's vote in favour of a United Nations register of arms transfers as a first step, and in this connection recognize the importance of all States providing all the information called for in the General Assembly's resolution, * * * "In conclusion, the members of the Security Council affirm their determination to build on the initiative of their meeting in order to secure positive advances in promoting international peace and security. They agree that the United Nations Secretary-General has a crucial role to play. The members of the Council express their deep appreciation to the outgoing Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Javier Perez de Cuellar, for his outstanding contribution to the work of the United Nations, culminating in the signature of the El Salvador peace agreement. They welcome the new Secretary-General, His Excellency Dr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and note with satisfaction his intention to strengthen and improve the functioning of the United Nations. They pledge their full support to him, and undertake to work closely with him and his staff in fulfilment of their shared objectives, including a more efficient and effective United Nations system. "The members of the Council agree that the world now has the best chance of achieving international peace and security since the foundation of the United Nations. They undertake to work in close cooperation with other United Nations Member States in their own efforts to achieve this, as well as to address urgently all the other problems, in particular those of economic and s.ocial development, requiring the collective response of the international community. They recognize that peace and prosperity are indivisible and that lasting peace and stability require effective international cooperation for the eradication of poverty and the promotion of a better lite for all in larger freedom. 0 That concludes the statement we have agreed. I would inform the Council that the statement will be published as Security Council document S/23500. The Security Council has thus completed its business for this meeting, and I therefore declare it adjourned. The meeting rose at 5.10 p,m.