Austria, 1992

Let me start by

offering you, Mr. President, my congratulations and best wishes. With your

election an outstanding representative of the new democracies in Eastern

Europe has been chosen to preside over this Assembly. I should also like to

convey our appreciation to your predecessor. Ambassador Shihabi of Saudi

Arabia.

I wish to pay special tribute to the Secretary-General. His report

entitled "An Agenda for Peace" contains timely suggestions for a world in

which the very nature of conflicts has changed and which therefore has

outgrown the traditional means of conflict management. Austria supports the

Secretary-General in his quest to develop better instruments for the United

Nations to discharge its ever-growing world-wide responsibilities to prevent

and resolve conflicts.

Many of the Secretary-General's proposals reflect the need for more

efficient conflict prevention. In the case of the former Yugoslavia we have

seen the devastating effects of doing too little too late. Let me recall

Austria's proposal last year to dispatch peace-keeping forces to Bosnia and

Herzegovina when there was still a peace to keep. Always, be it in Somalia,

the Balkans or elsewhere, time-lags between the appearance of the first signs

of a crisis and resolute decisions for preventive action prove to be costly

in human lives, in destruction of property and in the loss of credibility of

the international community.

Peace-keeping operations must go beyond the mere observation of a

cease-fire. In order to meet today's challenges, peace-keeping has to play a

major role in conflict-prevention. Therefore, we support the

Secretary-General's proposal envisaging the deployment of observers at the

request of only one party to a conflict.

Preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping operations, peace-making and

peace-building will increasingly be among the main tasks of this

Organization. Inter-ethnic strife will, unfortunately, continue to be the

source of many conflicts in the future. We must all combine our efforts to

improve the Secretariat's capacity to deal effectively with these challenges.

The demands on the United Nations for peace-keeping and peace-building

are increasing in numbers of operations and personnel, as well as in the scope

of their mandates. We share the Secretary-General's concern about the need

for Member States to make the necessary resources available.

Austria, one of the largest troop-contributors over the years, is willing

to increase its contribution, both for traditional tasks, in the form of

providing military personnel, and for new tasks, in the form of assisting

difficult transition processes, through the dispatch of civilian police,

administrators and monitors of democracy. We have initiated a programme of

meetings and seminars on inter-ethnic peace-keeping and training for

peace-keeping, peace-making and conflict-prevention. Austria is now

organizing a seminar on assisting and monitoring elections, with the aim of

training officials for participation in future such United Nations missions.

At a time of excessive demands on limited United Nations resources and of

the increasing political importance of regional arrangements, the

Secretary-General's innovative approach of intensifying cooperation and

coordination with regional organizations should be wholeheartedly pursued.

Strengthening the bonds between the United Nations Secretariat and the

relevant regional bodies calls for continuous contact and communication.

In Europe the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE)

recently constituted itself a "regional arrangement" for matters of collective

security, in conformity with the Charter. Its Vienna-based Conflict

Prevention Centre will play an important role in future CSCE peace-keeping

operations. The negotiations in Vienna within the framework of the CSCE Forum

for Security Cooperation are particularly important for the development of

confidence and for security-building and disarmament. In view of the

proximity of the CSCE Secretariat in Prague and the Office for Democratic

Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw, both the United Nations and the CSCE

would greatly benefit from the creation in Vienna of a mechanism for liaison

between the European regional arrangements and the United Nations

Secretariat. Such an institution, a foundation of peace-keeping operations,

could make the combined efforts of all organizations more effective.

At a time of limited resources it seems necessary for the Organization to

make full use of all the facilities at its disposal world wide.

Decentralization of the Secretariat must be seen as an asset for the

Organization.

No conflict illustrates more dramatically the utmost urgency of the need

for implementation of the Secretary-General's proposals with regard to the

continuing aggression against the Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, a State

Member of our Organization. The most fundamental principles on which the

Charter is based are challenged: collective security, the non-use of force

against territorial integrity and political independence, inviolability of

borders, the rule of law, democracy, fundamental freedoms and human rights

especially minority rights.

In this regard, Bosnia and Herzegovina is a test case. If today

aggression and "ethnic cleansing" are permitted there, tomorrow they may work

in Sandzak, Kosovo, Vojvodina and Macedonia, and even in other parts of the

world. The consequences would be unimaginable.

Certainly, the international community has reacted to this aggression, to

the atrocities and to the needs of the victims. Both the CSCE and the

Security Council have clearly stated in various declarations and resolutions

the responsibility of the Serbian Government for these acts and have demanded

that they be brought to an immediate end. Cease-fires have been brokered,

crucial humanitarian assistance has been organized, sanctions have been

imposed and a political framework for a resolution of the conflict has been

created.

We owe a special tribute to all those courageous men who participate at

enormous personal risk in the peace-keeping operations. We deeply regret the

loss of human lives that has already occurred. It goes without saying that

attacks against peace-keeping forces warrant our utmost condemnation, whether

or not we know who might be responsible for such atrocious acts.

During the last year many forums and organizations have adopted important

declarations and resolutions dealing with this crisis. The London Conference

produced a comprehensive plan of action, which could serve as a basis for a

settlement. But have these plans and resolutions been implemented? What is

needed is pressure, serious pressure, to make the aggressor desist from his

acts in flagrant violation of international law in particular, humanitarian

law and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of

Genocide. We must effectively rule out any possibility of not complying with

the political commitments undertaken in London. This holds true for all the

parties involved. The longer the conflict lasts, the greater the danger of

violation of the most basic standards of human rights.

In the context of this and other conflicts we should heed the

Secretary-General, who on a general basis commends Article 42 of the Charter

to the attention of all States; he says that under this Article

"... the Security Council has the authority to take military action to

maintain or restore international peace and security." (A/47/277.

para. 43)

Certainly, all peaceful means have to be employed to solve a conflict,

but if they prove to be of no avail, and in the case of clear, gross

violations of fundamental principles of the Charter, full application of all

the Charter's provisions must be envisaged. That is the core and essence of a

functioning system of collective security.

The disappearance of the East-West confrontation that paralyses our

Organization for so long gives us the chance to resurrect this system of

collective security as envisaged by the founding fathers of the Organization.

For the sake of mankind in the North and in the South, in the East and in the

West of our globe we must not miss this chance.

The objective fact of the dissolution of the former Yugoslavia has been

established in the convincing legal opinion handed down by the arbitration

commission, chaired by President Robert Badinter. Consequently, Austria,

along with many other countries, favours termination of the membership of

"Yugoslavia" in all international organizations. We welcome the admission of

Slovenia, Croatia, and Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations.

Ultimately all the successor States, including Serbia and Montenegro, have the

right to be admitted as Members, provided that they comply with the

established obligations of the Charter. Once the criteria established for the

successor States of the former Yugoslavia by the Charter of Paris and by the

peace conference have been met, the conditions will be in place for the

admission of that State to the United Nations. We will continue to judge the

real willingness of the authorities in Belgrade and other Serbian forces to

honour their commitments and international obligations not by their words but

by their actions.

The international community will have to act most vigorously to oppose

effectively the intolerable practice of "ethnic cleansing". I welcome the

decisions of the Security Council, which has taken steps towards the

establishment of security zones in Bosnia and Herzegovina to contain the mass

expulsions, to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian assistance and to

secure the functioning of the legitimate Government. We must continue to work

in this direction. The establishment of a no-fly zone over Bosnia and

Herzegovina, as proposed by France, would supplement that measure and end the

air attacks by the Serbian air force.

The horrible effects of "ethnic cleansing" will have to be reversed. The

aggressor cannot be allowed to enjoy the fruits of his aggression. The

international community will have to do more than care for refugees and

displaced persons: our goal must be to create conditions which would allow

those who were expelled or displaced to return to their homes and to regain

their belongings or be compensated for property destroyed.

Mr. Tadeusz Mazowiecki, a hero of the liberation of Central and Eastern

Europe, submitted, in his capacity as Special Rapporteur of the Commission on

Human Rights, a report containing a number of proposals, which should be

implemented as quickly as possible. I am thinking of the immediate necessity

to disarm irregular armed forces and civilians, and the expansion of the

mandate of the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to the whole of

Bosnia and Herzegovina in order to be able to collect information on human

rights violations and to deal with them. Another of Mr. Mazowiecki's

important ideas is the creation of an investigative commission to determine

the fate of the thousands of missing persons.

At this point, let me express my firm conviction that ordinary people,

both Serbs and Montenegrins, want prosperity and, first and foremost, peace.

The abhorrent acts carried out under "ethnic cleansing", the torturing of

innocent men and women in camps, the shelling of defenceless citizens: all

these crimes are being ordered and carried out by individuals who cannot claim

to act in the name of their people. Appropriate machinery must be established

to enforce Security Council resolution 771 (1992) and to provide for

- proceedings against all individual perpetrators punishable under international

law, such as by creating an international penal tribunal for war crimes.

Earlier this year the international fact-finding commission established

under Additional Protocol I to the Fourth Geneva Convention on the Protection

of the Victims of Armed Conflicts became operational. This commission could

also assume an important role to ensure the full implementation of the rules

of international humanitarian law.

Today the former Yugoslavia is suffering from the horrible ravages of

war. In a long-term perspective, economic recovery and concerted economic

assistance will have to be a part of any peaceful solution for the region.

Let me add here that Austria, long before the beginning of the process of the

it disintegration of Yugoslavia, strongly advocated international assistance for

the economic development of our neighboring country through various European

organizations in order to promote reform, prosperity and democracy. Then as

now our actions were motivated by a deep-felt desire to support economic and

political reform for the sake of the well-being of all peoples living in the

Balkan region, to which Austria is bound by strong ties of history. That is

why I feel that I must make an urgent appeal for the mobilization of further

financial means to bolster the humanitarian assistance necessary for the

survival of the suffering populations. There can be no doubt that, with good

will on both sides, questions and tensions arising from the cohabitation of

different ethnic groups in the same area can be resolved in a process of

cooperation.

It is with the greatest satisfaction that I am today in a position to

inform the General Assembly of the resolution, through political dialogue, of

the controversy between Austria and Italy concerning the protection of the

Austrian population in South Tyrol. This dispute originated in the different

interpretations of the agreement signed by the two countries on

5 September 1946 in Paris. The issue was then addressed by the General

Assembly in its resolutions 1497 (XV) and 1661 (XVI), in 1960 and 1961. On

this basis, Austria and Italy reached agreement on a package of 137 measures

designed to benefit the population of South Tyrol - measures that Italy

pledged to enact. At the beginning of this year further legal measures were

adopted. On 19 June the two countries were able to inform the

Secretary-General that the dispute which had been pending with the United

Nations since 1960 had been settled.

Austria and Italy have thus been able to provide the community of nations

with a good example of how to resolve an ethnic conflict and how to guarantee

and protect the rights and identities of minorities. The measures taken do

indeed promise to provide a safe basis for the cultural, economic and social

development of the German- and Ladin-speaking groups in South Tyrol, as they

include sufficient legal safeguards at the national and international levels.

The resolution of this controversy was greatly facilitated by a positive

development in the political attitudes of all the parties involved in

particular, by increased confidence between the State authorities and the

ethnic groups. Although the protection of ethnic groups is clearly a dynamic

process, the minority has to be assured that the Italian republic will respect

its separate identity and will maintain the laws and regulations that have

been created for the advancement of ethnic groups. Furthermore, the minority

must be assured that its cultural bonds, based on common ethnic affiliation

beyond the Italian frontier, will not be impeded in the future. If such

confidence exists, the State will secure the loyalty of the minority.

Confidence will also create an atmosphere conducive to better and intensified

cooperation across the borders.

Respect for human rights is a crucial requirement for the settlement of

today's conflicts. The Austrian Government will take pride in hosting the

World Conference on Human Rights to be convened in Vienna in June 1993. The

invitation to host such an important event highlights Austria's dedication to

the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. The

principles embodied in the Charter of the United Nations and in other

international human-rights instruments have undeniably become universal

standards. It is imperative that all members of the international community

fulfil their voluntarily accepted obligations to promote and respect human

rights, humanitarian law and democratic values. Human rights, democracy and

development are inextricably linked and are of the utmost importance in an

increasingly interdependent world. We shall continue to promote a

comprehensive concept of human rights based also on different cultural

traditions and encompassing civil and political, as well as economic and

social, rights. There must not be a new North-South divide in the

interpretation and application of human rights. Our unitary world requires

consensus on this vital issue. In preparing for the Vienna conference, we

shall strive for such consensus. I can assure the Assembly that the Austrian

Government will spare no effort to contribute substantially to the preparatory

process and that it will provide excellent facilities for the Conference.

The Secretary-General has introduced the concept of an integrated

approach by the United Nations to political, economic and social issues.

Adequate economic and social development are prerequisites for international

peace and security. The current and future status of the world social

situation, the inclusion of vulnerable and socially disadvantaged groups in

development, drug-abuse control and crime prevention rank high on the

international agenda of an increasingly interdependent world. Peace and

security are closely linked with economic and social development. We must

take advantage of the end of the cold war to put more emphasis on issues of

social and economic development.

As the Secretary-General has said, the convening of a well prepared world

social summit will remove a key aspect of current threats to global security.

This summit should concentrate on three concrete issues: poverty,

unemployment and social disintegration. The Austrian Government supports such

a social summit. Good governance as a result of sound economic management and

comprehensive social and environmental policies, as well as respect for human

rights and democratic values, should be the basic objective of political

leadership.

While the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development did

not fully succeed in producing a comprehensive Earth charter or a clear

commitment to protection of the world's forests, the agreements reached at Rio

do represent a positive achievement. We must all share responsibility for

care of our planet, and the developed countries must take the lead. This

realization should give rise to a new quality in North-South relations.

At Rio it became apparent that, in the long term, environmental

protection and economic prosperity cannot be achieved at each other's

expense. Ecology and the economy are not intrinsic foes; for the sake of our

common well-being, and for the sake of future generations, they need to become

very close allies. After Rio it is impossible to speak of protection of the

environment without also addressing the development challenge. Nor is it

possible to focus on development without taking into account the ecological

dimension.

Regarding the issue of international conflicts in the environmental

sphere, I am very pleased to note that the Austrian proposal for the

establishment of Green Helmets, submitted during the forty-fourth session of

the General Assembly, has been favourably received. That Austrian initiative

is reflected by the machinery provided for in the main Rio documents for

preventing and settling such disputes.

Rio demonstrated that the global problems of mankind cannot be solved by

governments alone. Hence Austria welcomes the mobilization and the manifold

contributions of the non-governmental organizations and the media. This level

of involvement of groups and individuals must continue.

The end of the East-West conflict and the growing awareness of the

interdependence between North and South are leading to a new era for mankind.

Regional cooperation offers new dimensions. There is a keen desire for

preventive diplomacy. The resolution of ethnic conflicts is one of the

greatest challenges of our time. Awareness of the interrelationship between

development, environmental protection and the guaranteeing of human rights in

the broadest sense of the term are on the increase. Let us work together to

take advantage of all these opportunities.