I would like to begin by paying a special tribute to the Secretary-General for his efforts to find a peaceful solution to the armed conflict in Afghanistan, and to his Special Envoy, Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, for his tireless work over the last two years.
Norway has for many years been involved in Afgha…
Norway welcomes this opportunity to discuss the complementary issues of promoting durable peace and fostering sustainable development in Africa. We would like to thank the Secretary-General for his report, which provides a good basis for our discussion.
Descriptions of the situation in Africa tend …
As we enter the twenty-first century, ensuring peace and development in Africa remains an issue of the most fundamental importance to the United Nations and to the world community at large. It is clear that the future of Africa rests primarily in the hands of the African countries. The Organization …
1990 was a momentous year for children's rights. On 2 September that year, the Convention on the Rights of the Child came into force. Later that same month, the leaders of the world gathered at the United Nations to attend the World Summit for Children. The year produced a series of promises, commit…
The situation in the Middle East remains one of the most complex and difficult political issues in the international arena. When we look for reasons for this state of affairs, it will not suffice to study the current situation, but we must also look to the recent and more distant past. However, rega…
The search for a real democratic society is a never-ending process. Democracy is a normative theory. The ideal, fully accomplished democratic process has not yet been realized. However, the resolution on the promotion of the right to democracy, adopted this year in the Commission on Human Rights, se…
The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea represents an important milestone in the efforts to establish an international rule of law. The challenge before us now is to ensure implementation of, respect for and knowledge of the overall legal framework it represents for all peaceful uses of …
Over the last decade the world has seen a growing number of natural disasters and humanitarian emergencies. In particular, natural disasters have been on the rise, spreading destruction and reversing development, their impact aggravated by human activity and poverty. There has also been an increase …
When we debated this item last year, Central America had only days before lived through one of the worst natural disasters of this century, Hurricane Mitch. Although the devastation it caused still has not been completely overcome, the situation has improved markedly. The hurricane triggered one of …
This year has been marked by several events adding to the remarkable history of the battle against the scourge of anti-personnel landmines. The Convention on the Prohibition of Mines entered into force on 1 March. With the successful outcome of the First Meeting of the States Parties in May, the Map…
Over the past 10 years we have observed an increasing acceptance of the rule of law as the governing principle in relations between States. Likewise, the body of international law has been strengthened by the adoption of several ground-breaking instruments such as the Rome Statute of the Internation…
At the outset, I wish to congratulate Mr. Kofi Annan, Secretary-General of the United Nations, and Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, Secretary-General of the International Organization of la Francophonie, for their efforts to develop cooperation between their two organizations and to extend it to new areas…
At the outset, I would like to commend the President of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia, Ms. Kirk McDonald,
We are impressed by the achievements of the Yugoslavia Tribunal, as reflected in its various judgements and in the report before us. Recent judgements and indict…
I wish to begin by commending Secretary-General Kofi Annan and the current Chairman of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC), Mr. Seyed Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran, for their commitment to the cooperation between the two organizations and their work to extend it to new fields of c…
My delegation welcomes this opportunity to consider the report of the Security Council to the General Assembly covering the period from 16 June 1998 to 15 June 1999. We express our appreciation to Ambassador Sergey Lavrov, President of the Council this month, for his excellent introduction of the re…
At the outset, I would like to commend the Secretary-General for his excellent and thought-provoking report to the General Assembly on the work of the Organization.
Among its many important messages, the report highlights the ever stronger interrelationship between the various activities of the Uni…
Almost five years ago our heads of State and Government gathered in Copenhagen and committed themselves to an ambitious agenda for poverty eradication, social integration and productive employment. In less than a year from now, in June 2000, Member State representatives will meet again to reconfirm …
In many of today’s conflicts, targeting civilians has become an integral part of war tactics. While in the First World War 5 per cent of the victims were civilian casualties, in today’s wars the figure is close to 90 per cent, and children are among those most affected by this development. The lack …
I am honoured to address the General Assembly on the important agenda item on relations between the United Nations and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). First of all, I would like to commend Poland for its efficient chairmanship in 1998.
Norway is a sponsor of the draf…
Winston Churchill called genocide “the nameless crime”, and it has been repeatedly pointed out that the crime of genocide remains in a class by itself, putting in jeopardy the very notion of an international community.
We welcome the first-ever judgements on the crime of genocide by an internationa…
