Austria, 2003

A few days

ago, the United Nations was again attacked in Baghdad

just one month after the United Nations

Headquarters was targeted in a devastating terrorist

attack. My heartfelt sympathies not only as the

Foreign Minister of Austria, but also as a former staff

member working here at the Headquarters of the

United Nations go to the victims, their loved ones

and all colleagues in the United Nations family. Sergio

Vieira de Mello and his colleagues died as heroes. As a

host country to the United Nations, Austria firmly

supports the Secretary-General's call to provide the

utmost security for United Nations personnel on

missions everywhere in the world. Those United

Nations staff members had dedicated their lives to

helping the most vulnerable. Today, we are called upon

to live up to their cause.

This has also been a year of lethal attacks on

politicians who courageously stood for a human face

for politics. We remember, with sadness, the outstanding

leadership qualities and invaluable contributions of Zoran

Djindjic and Anna Lindh. We are equally saddened to

learn that Ms. Aquila al-Hashimi, member of the Iraqi

Governing Council, has succumbed to the wounds she

suffered in the recent terrorist attack.

What is at stake today is the way in which the

United Nations can best shoulder its responsibility for

global security and peace and how we as Member

States can support the United Nations in this task.

Austria, as one of the host countries of the United

Nations, feels a sense of responsibility for the future

functioning of the Organization.

The intense public scrutiny of the Security

Council's actions over the past 12 months has opened a

window of opportunity for re-launching our efforts to

find unity of purpose based on a common security

agenda between all nations. In this context, I greatly

welcome the report of the Secretary-General on the

implementation of the Millennium Declaration, which

makes one thing crystal clear: we face nothing less

than the need for a far-reaching overhaul of the United

Nations system in order to enhance efficiency and

legitimacy.

We must respond to this challenge and

energetically revive the reform debate. The urgency we

are faced with today should render a new attempt more

successful.

First of all, a priority issue should be the reform

of the procedures of the United Nations system. The

composition of the Security Council is at odds with the

geopolitical reality of the twenty-first century. It does

not reflect the growing number of United Nations

Members or the necessary regional balance. Decision-

making is therefore perceived by many as lacking

legitimacy. In my view, this discussion is not only

about who should be represented in the Security

Council, but and this is at least as important

about ensuring that the decision-making is in the

interests of world peace and global security. In this

context the regional groups have to accept their

responsibility by coming forward with solutions.

As a member of the European Union, which is

about to give itself a constitution for the twenty-first

century, it is important to note that we are moving

gradually towards a genuine common foreign and

security policy. To this end, a security doctrine is being

elaborated by High Representative and Secretary

General Solana for the European Council. Speaking

with one voice also means more common positions in

Security Council matters. This logic might one day

even lead to the European Union having a seat on the

Security Council.

Austria sees its national interest best served by

the multilateral approach of a strong United Nations

system, with the Security Council living up to its

responsibility for world peace and with the primacy of

international law and the universality of human rights

maintained by all.

International terrorism is a direct and lethal threat

to global and collective security. The terror attacks of

11 September 2001, and those against the United

Nations Headquarters in Baghdad, have one thing in

common: they were targeted against civilization as a

whole. United Nations leadership is needed more than

ever to prevent and combat terrorism globally. In the

United Nations system-wide division of labour, the

Vienna-based Terrorism Prevention Branch of the

Office on Drugs and Crime contributes to counter-

terrorism efforts and offers valuable technical

assistance to States with regard to signing, ratifying

and implementing international conventions and

protocols related to terrorism.

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Another hard threat to international security is the

proliferation of arms, in particular the spread of

weapons of mass destruction. What is needed is

obvious: the strengthening and universalization of

existing disarmament, non-proliferation and export

control regimes. As a practical contribution to this

cause, Austria has agreed to serve as an immediate

central contact for the 109 subscriber States of the

Hague Code of Conduct Against Ballistic Missile

Proliferation.

Furthermore, the Conference on Facilitating the

Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty, which I had the honour to open on 3

September, appealed, in its Final Declaration, to all

States to sign and ratify that Treaty, in particular to

those 12 countries whose ratification is required for the

Treaty's entry into force. Let me repeat and support

that appeal.

In the field of non-proliferation, the work of the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) under the

leadership of Director General Mohamed ElBaradei is

essential. Last week's General Conference of IAEA

unanimously endorsed the necessity of strengthening

the international nuclear safeguards system. Recent

issues of compliance concerning Iran and the

Democratic People's Republic of Korea have again

shown the central role of IAEA.

One of the most important immediate tasks is the

stabilization and reconstruction of Iraq. We are

convinced that success in the aim of restoring the

sovereignty of Iraq as quickly as possible will hardly

be feasible without the United Nations playing its part

on the basis of a sound, viable and coherent policy.

In line with the human security approach, Austria

was among the first to offer humanitarian aid. In

Austrian hospitals we provided urgent medical

assistance for children in critical condition.

Furthermore, Austria participates in the Adopt a

Hospital' programme and is about to equip two

hospitals in Nazariyah. Together with Slovenia and

Jordan, we are preparing the establishment, south of

Baghdad, of a centre for war-traumatized children.

These are efforts aimed at providing relief for the

weakest and most vulnerable members of Iraqi society.

In spite of renewed efforts by the international

community to revive the Middle East peace process,

the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians has

again tragically deteriorated. But current setbacks must

not stall the implementation of the road map. Austria

continues to strongly support the role and the

responsibility of the Quartet. The concept of two States

remains the only viable solution. The promise of land for

peace must be reactivated to create a basis of trust and

respect on which to build. Terrorism destroys such hope.

I turn now to what the Secretary-General called

soft threats. Here, his report coincides with the goals of

my recently concluded presidency of the Human

Security Network to strengthen the universal system by

forging interregional consensus on issues pertaining to

human security. That places the individual human

being and his or her protection at the centre of our

policies. As a concrete result of my presidency, the

ministers of the Network adopted a manual on human

rights education. That unique training tool, based on

the universality of human rights, is designed for global

use and adaptable to target groups. The Network also

adopted a strategy for supporting children affected by

armed conflict, along with a training curriculum for

child rights experts and a compendium of the relevant

international child protection standards an effort in

which we cooperated closely with the Special

Representative of the Secretary-General, Olara Otunnu.

The Millennium Development Goals have

become fundamental benchmarks in our efforts to

achieve more inclusive and equitable globalization, and

we both developing and developed countries

need to strive for their implementation at the global,

regional and national levels. In that context, as part of

the partnership effort agreed to in Monterrey, I am

happy to announce that Austrian official development

assistance will be increased by 35 per cent in 2004.

The Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable

Development recognized the importance of energy for

the attainment of the Millennium Development Goals.

Austria welcomes the additional impetus created by the

Renewables 2004 Conference. I am also glad that the

Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

will establish its secretariat in Vienna. Meanwhile,

Austria will use the synergies created by these

activities to continue its endeavours to build up the

capacity of the Global Forum on Sustainable Energy,

which I launched in 1999.

At this point, let me express Austria's

disappointment that the Ministerial Meeting in Cancun

could not sustain the momentum towards achieving

acceptable solutions for fair trade. Such a setback must

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not repeat itself, not least because trade is an engine for

development. I support the notion that we also need to

begin a reform of the decision-making process within

the World Trade Organization. We must avoid a

tendency towards ending multilateralism and towards

relying exclusively on bilateralism or regionalism in

trade.

This year, we commemorate the tenth anniversary

of the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human

Rights, which confirmed the universality, indivisibility

and interrelatedness of human rights as well as the

important nexus among human rights, democracy and

development. Human rights disasters that we have

witnessed since such as those in Rwanda and

Srebrenica must not be allowed to recur. One

essential step in that regard is the Optional Protocol to

the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel,

Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,

which I signed this morning.

Human rights must protect in particular the weak,

women and children. As a woman and as Foreign

Minister of my country, I have always spoken out in

favour of the rights of women and against the

frequently terrible infringements of those rights, such

as genital mutilation, the stoning of women and the

enslaving and trading of women and girls on the sex

markets. Those horrendous practices must stop. And

there is reason for hope: today is a good day for

women's rights. News has reached us that Ms. Armina

Lawal was acquitted by the Nigerian court. I am very

happy about that outcome. Let us remind ourselves that

the all-important fight against terrorism must not entail

a lessening of hard-fought-for human rights standards.

Over the years and under the guidance of the

Secretary-General, Austria has placed great importance

on a comprehensive dialogue of cultures and

civilizations. This November, I will host a second

media seminar on the topic of Cultural diversity: the

quest for common moral ground and the public role of

the media', exploring how the free media can

contribute to cultural understanding and respect. A

seminal event in the context of that dialogue was the

first-ever conference of European Islamic leaders in

Austria, held in June of this year, which adopted a

strongly worded declaration in support of tolerance.

How can we contribute to stability in the regions

of the world? Europe has its own experience with

creating a zone of stability and welfare. The signing of

the European Union (EU) accession treaty with 10 new

prospective members in April of this year is an

important contribution to security on our continent.

The strategy of EU is also geared towards exporting

that peace dividend to new neighbours of the enlarged

EU further to the east and to the south-east and in the

Mediterranean region. Let me highlight one

encouraging event from that region, which I was able

to witness from a close vantage point when I visited

Belgrade less than two weeks ago. I am talking about

the important gesture of President Marović of Serbia

and Montenegro and of President Mesić of Croatia,

apologizing on behalf of those of their countries'

citizens, who had committed acts of violence against

one another in recent history.

The vision of global solidarity, collective security

and a global culture of human rights are rooted in the

purposes and principles of the United Nations Charter

and of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. I

am grateful to the Secretary-General for his courage

and leadership to engage us in an honest, future-

oriented debate. The time to act is now. I can again

assure the Secretary-General that Austria supports him

in that important endeavour.