Belgium, 2002

Some

50 years ago my predecessor Paul-Henri Spaak said

before the Assembly, in a phrase that stands out in our

minds, “We are afraid”. At that time, totalitarianism

threatened democratic freedoms and our open society

was in danger. Fortunately, political and diplomatic

dialogue gradually won out over confrontation, mutual

threats and force. The advent of a freer world, more

united and more respectful of everyone is finally within

our grasp. After September 2001, all democratic forces

throughout the world felt a moment of fear, terror,

confusion and horror at the barbaric violence that

smashed their strongest beliefs into pieces. That

irrational hatred threatened the same democratic

values, fundamental freedoms and humanistic world

outlook.

The free world came together with a sense of

solidarity, compassion and survival. A coalition against

that vile crime stood side by side with the people of the

United States. We felt it was our duty; we felt that their

suffering was our suffering and that their cause was

also our cause. We could not permit there to be any

doubt in the minds of the enemies of our shared values;

we could not leave any scope for those who sought to

break the promise of a world of justice, progress and

peace.

Today we must move beyond fear. Our response

must be guided by clear-minded analysis and rational

action. The enemy is faceless but is not everywhere.

We all are now constantly vigilant, but must not reach

the point of being unable to look one another in the eye

without mistrust or suspicion. We are in an infinitely

great majority; only an infinitesimal minority is against

us. We cannot simply reduce the entire world to a

battlefield. We cannot simply make a division between

good and evil. To build a wall would be to fall into the

trap of those who openly display their hate and

intolerance. Instead, more than ever we must realize

that the source of wealth and hope in the world is

precisely its great diversity and pluralism.

The struggle against terrorism must, of course, be

based on effective methods with no room for laxity. I

want to make this point very strongly: fighting

terrorism must not lead us to distort the nature of

democratic tolerant life or respect for the rule of law.

Preserving our concept of a pluralist, open and tolerant

society must be our goal. We cannot be misled or

accept distortions of our firm belief in the fundamental

human rights and the rights of peoples. Combating

terrorism also means, above all, that we must defend

the fundamental rights and legal protections of every

man and woman. We have a humanist conviction and

we must defend it, because otherwise we would be

ceding victory to the terrorists. It would also be a

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mistake to believe that the fight against terrorism can

be won by military means alone. Military means are

admittedly necessary, but are not themselves enough to

put an end to this horrible phenomenon.

There is absolutely nothing that can justify

terrorism. No cause can justify terror. I categorically

and definitively reject the idea that we have to look to

the inequities of the world for the source of this

perversion of the mind and soul. In my view, that

would mitigate this abominable act. The origin of the

attack cannot be found there. However, we also know

that misery, injustice, poverty, exclusion and

humiliation create fertile ground for extremism,

intolerance and hatred to flourish by taking advantage

of the hopelessness and suffering of those left behind

by a society too quickly satisfied by its clear

conscience.

Why should we deny it? As our Prime Minister

Guy Verhofstadt has said, in less than a year we have

focused at least four times on the challenges facing the

world: at Doha, Monterrey, Rome and Johannesburg.

The elimination of poverty, debt reduction and

liberalization of international trade as a factor for

development are all questions that have been

repeatedly discussed. We all come to the same

conclusions. We identify the same causes. I am certain

that we all know the solutions that must be applied.

With such unanimity, it should be easy to put an

end to inequality. It should be easy to bring together a

world which for too long has been cut in two, a world

that generates tensions and frustrations. There cannot

and should not be a superficial division at the margin

of our wealth. We need a loftier conception of

cooperation, one that derives not from paternalism but

rather from partnership and mutual respect.

Putting an end to inequality and forging a new

solidarity is the way to ensure sustainable development

for future generations. At each of our summits, the rich

world has raised the hopes of the millions of indigent

people who are searching for a glimmer of light in the

darkness. However, each time, at the end of these grand

meetings, when the speeches are over, when those who

advocate on behalf of the poor have stopped their

ritualistic pleadings, poverty remains in place. One gets

the impression that we have offered those who

expected so much of us only empty rhetoric and

posturing.

The Millennium Goals must become a benchmark

for all the work of the United Nations and for that of

each of its Member States. We have to translate them

into financial tools and into access to markets and

technology. At Monterrey, my country pledged to reach

the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for

development cooperation by 2010. We have offered,

furthermore, new initiatives on the debt burden.

I also attach paramount importance to follow-up

of the Durban Conference against racism, and to the

implementation of the Durban Programme of Action.

Combating racism, discrimination and intolerance is

absolutely essential for the millions of human beings

who have often silently suffered from infringements on

their dignity. I stress the historic importance of the

agreement on the origins and causes of racism. It forms

the basis of a new partnership. Unless we recognize

past injustices, we will not have a solid basis for future

efforts.

Another challenge that we wish to address is to

attain absolute gender equality. This is absolutely

essential in a civilization of progress, in which our

ideals of democracy and humanism are realized. The

Secretary-General and his team, including his Deputy,

Louise Fréchette, can count on my country's

commitment and support for all the reforms under way.

We must revitalize the General Assembly, continue the

strengthening of the Economic and Social Council,

expand the Security Council and carry out

organizational reforms. I know that the United Nations

will take up these challenges.

The outstanding and far-sighted speech made by

Secretary-General Kofi Annan rightly, skilfully and

resolutely reminded us what, in the final analysis, is the

meaning of the world government and parliament. He

made his statement very convincingly and intelligently.

We share his view on reshaping our Organization so

that it can live up to our ambitions.

My country was at the forefront of combating

impunity for the most serious crimes and for the rapid

development of a true international criminal justice.

That is why we continue to support the

internationalization of the Rome Statute, and why we

are resolved to preserve its integrity. Admittedly, we

know that the dialogue is never easy when law interacts

with politics, but we are convinced that in the long-

term, nothing will block society's right to demand

justice when the most serious crimes against

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fundamental values are committed. States have primary

responsibility for prosecuting the crimes covered in the

Statute of the Court. We urge the world community,

including the most powerful among us, to give the

Court credibility and resources commensurate with its

lofty mission.

Conflict prevention is one of my country's

foreign policy priorities. We are engaged concretely in

preventive diplomacy, particularly in Central Africa,

where Belgium is proactively supportive of the Lusaka

and Arusha peace processes. Belgium actively

advocates this approach within the European Union.

Belgium is seeking to make this concept of conflict

prevention, conflict management and post-conflict

support an essential part of international doctrine. We

need standing monitoring and warning mechanisms to

alert us in time to crises. Such mechanisms could spare

the lives of many people. For similar reasons, we need

to develop a real strategy against the illegal financing

of conflicts and the related illegal trade in natural

resources. The sordid exploitation of such resources —

for instance, conflict diamonds — too often contributes

to finance or at least prolong regional tragedies such as

civil wars and inter-ethnic conflicts.

To face this challenge, a credible international

monitoring system, based on common standards, has to

be established. Substantial improvements must be

made in the functioning of the various sanctions

committees, and we believe that a single monitoring

body, with a long-term mandate, should be set up.

Africa is at the centre of our concerns, but also of

our hopes. The creation of the African Union during

the Durban summit of the Organization of African

Unity, along with the dynamic of the New Partnership

for Africa's Development (NEPAD), are major steps

forward taken in recent months. The strengthening of

democracy and the recent successful elections in Africa

are an encouraging sign. The prospects for Africa also

include regional integration of African countries,

which we encourage. We can see some positive but still

fragile signs with regard to reconciliation in countries

that have been too long devastated by conflicts, such as

the Great Lakes region, Angola and the Sudan.

Further efforts have been made this year to find a

solution to the conflict in the Democratic Republic of

the Congo. The inter-Congolese dialogue has led, first,

to the signing of a partial agreement at Sun City, which

created a dynamic of reconciliation, thanks to the

efforts of South Africa, to which I pay tribute here. The

Pretoria Agreement addresses the main causes of the

conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: its

territorial integrity and the security concerns of

Rwanda. The United Nations Organization Mission in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a crucial

part to play in ensuring implementation of the

Agreement, with its operation to disarm and demobilize

the armed groups.

I urge Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of

the Congo to take advantage of this opportunity to

restore to their peoples the peace and prosperity they

deserve. I would also like to pay tribute to the Special

Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. Niasse, for

bringing all the Congolese parties to the negotiating

table with a view to arriving at a democratic, inclusive

agreement.

Through the many meetings I have attended in the

region, I have become acquainted with Congolese

political figures. I know that they have the will, the

authority, the competence and the grasp of history to

realize the dream of peace and prosperity of a

population which has suffered for too long.

I should like also to pay tribute to the South

African and Tanzanian mediation in the context of

negotiations for a ceasefire in Burundi. Despite the

progress made, there has been a resumption of violence

that could undermine the gains recorded in the Arusha

process — so ably facilitated by the political and moral

authority of President Nelson Mandela. I would also

urgently appeal to all international partners to consider

which concrete steps should be taken to help Burundi

emerge from its political, economic and social crisis.

The difficulties prevailing in this area are without a

doubt complicating the political solution.

Another area in need of structural stability is the

Middle East. Men, women, mothers, fathers, children

all are suffering on a daily basis from the violence, and

for this reason we must reaffirm those principles that

will enable us to find a lasting and equitable solution:

land for peace, a viable Palestinian State and security

for Israel. Rather than going beyond the gains made

through Oslo and Madrid, we should enshrine and

reconfirm them by translating them into reality. This is

what the European Union has sought to do by drawing

up a road map setting out the actions to be taken by the

parties concerned with a view to achieving a

comprehensive and lasting solution.

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Lastly, let me ask a question that I think is of

global significance. The question of Iraq is a challenge

to all of us, because it involves questions at several

different levels: the need to eliminate a major threat to

the international community; the need to ensure the

credibility of our Organization; the need to determine

whether a country has weapons of mass destruction that

can bring death to millions of people; the need to

determine if a country is failing to meet its obligations

to the United Nations; and the need to know if a

preventive unilateral military action is or is not a

doctrinal problem under international law.

All of these questions are core issues with respect

to our Organization, its missions and its individual and

collective political responsibilities.

I wish to recall that each and every one of us, in

signing the Charter of the United Nations, solemnly

undertook to comply with that Charter. Therefore, on

behalf of my country and of its citizens, I wish to make

a clear appeal to Iraq. I formally and solemnly ask the

Iraqi authorities to implement urgently and

unconditionally the resolutions adopted by the United

Nations. Respect for our Organization and respect for

what we are, collectively and individually, is the only

way of avoiding recourse to force. I ask the Iraqi

authorities to seize this last opportunity.

All of these challenges require a united,

multilateral reaction in a spirit of solidarity. The world

is a village now, but too often we are rather narrow-

minded and do not listen to one another. Sometimes the

other is seen as a stranger or even an intruder. Human

civilizations must learn more about one another in

order to live together in harmony.

The citizens of the world have different

perspectives on life, on religion, on the way they

organize their society, on the past and the future. But

they all dream of justice, happiness and equality. Often

they dream the same dream, but the path to

implementing that dream sometimes varies. Respecting

others even though they are different will help us move

towards a more harmonious world. This is what we, as

political leaders, have a responsibility to do, in order to

broaden day after day the common area of the values

that we share.