At the beginning of the third millennium, faster means of travel that began in the nineteenth century with railroad technology are today hurtling us around the globe at even faster speeds. Dramatic changes are taking place at all levels and in all modes of communication. From the train, to the autom…
First of all, may I congratulate President Jan Kavan, well known for his expertise in human rights, on his election to preside over this General Assembly. My congratulations also go to the outgoing President, Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his hard work, and I commend the United Nations Secretary-General, K…
Andorra will become, through the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) rotation scheme, a member of the
Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) of the United Nations at the beginning of 2001, for a period of three years. This is a great responsibility and a particular challenge for a small country …
This may be the most appropriate forum in which to have a conversation and to share our views on what we mean when we say “dialogue among civilizations”, simply
Let me begin by discussing the meaning of the word “dialogue”. The various definitions agree that dialogue is the activity of transmitting…
Allow me first of all to express our most sincere condolences to the Armenian people for the painful events of today.
In 1996 the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and the United Nations signed a cooperation agreement. Three years later, the fruits of this collaboration can be easily seen. A growing …
The twentieth century has been the century of the great wars, of millions of dead, of the atom and of totalitarianism. During this century we have demonstrated that we human beings have the ability to inflict total destruction upon ourselves. At the end of the millennium, it can be frightening to lo…
Today we will be adopting a draft resolution concerning cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), which, among other things, welcomes the IPU’s initiative to hold a meeting of speakers of national parliaments at United Nations Headquarters during the Millennium …
The Group of Western European and other States is gratified to be able to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of United Nations peacekeeping operations. Since 1948, more than half a million individuals — nearly 750,000 persons — have contributed to these operations, serving the ideals of peace and …
Andorra is a fervent advocate of multilingualism. The official language of my country is Catalan, which has been our language since time immemorial. However, the people of Andorra also have a good grasp of French and Spanish, the languages spoken in neighbouring States. This openness to other langua…
The Olympic Ideal is one of the positive expressions of the competitive instincts which haunt human beings, since the outcome is a “positive sum game”. When these instincts are taken to the point of absurdity, which nevertheless has its own logic, a “zero sum game” results, leading to conflicts, the…
The day before yesterday, I spoke in the Third Committee to convey a message with regard to the current debate on democracy and human rights versus economic and social rights, and it is fitting to restate that message today. Indeed, in our understanding, it is one of the goals of the United Nations …
As one of the sponsors of draft resolution A/52/L.9, it is my pleasure today to thank the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his personal interest in the issue of cooperation between the United Nations and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).
Indeed, as a country whose Parliament, the Consell d…
The Principality of Andorra welcomes the report of the Secretary-General on support by the United Nations system of the efforts of Governments to promote and consolidate new or restored democracies.
Indeed, for a State like ours, which over the centuries has been spared non-democratic interludes, b…
What is happening in Africa? In 1960 the future belonged to it. The energy and pride of the new generation ready to take matters in hand seemed to guarantee an economic and social development that would be worthy of its ancient and numerous peoples. In 1990, social upheaval, AIDS, debt, lack of inve…
Allow me to address this Assembly briefly today in order to reiterate the interest of my State, the Principality of Andorra, in the process of reforming and enlarging the United Nations Security Council. Since my country was admitted to the United Nations in 1993, Andorra has been guided by the Char…
The Principality of Andorra has inherited a parliamentary tradition going back more than five centuries. Indeed, the establishment of the Consell de la Terra, precursor of our present parliament, the Consell General, goes back to 1419. In accordance with this tradition and pursuant to the Constituti…
How can poverty be avoided? The Copenhagen Summit last March afforded us an opportunity to give some thought to that question. It brought many of us together to prepare the ground for the eventual eradication of underdevelopment, poverty and social fragmentation. It is true that many experts underes…
Today I am a happy man, able in this Hall to proclaim the merits of tolerance. I was born, raised and grew up in a small country in the Pyrenees, the Principality of Andorra. Ours is a State formed by peace, by 700 years of peace and freedom. Owing to our isolation and to our small size in a world o…
I have the pleasure and the great honour of being the youngest ambassador and permanent representative accredited to the United Nations. It is therefore natural that I should speak today in this General Assembly meeting to commemorate the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year. Moreover, this…
As I stated in the General Committee, for centuries the Principality of Andorra has taken a particular interest in matters relating to the dignity of the human being in all its forms. While the death penalty was in existence, the Andorran people were always deeply affected when it was applied. A Fre…
