Belarus, 1999

Please, Sir, accept my most

sincere congratulations on your election as President of

the General Assembly at this session, as well as my

wishes for every success in the discharge of this complex

and responsible mission. We are thankful for the work of

your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti. We also greatly

appreciate the efforts of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, to effectively and energetically lead our

Organization.

Belarus welcomes the enlargement of the United

Nations family of nations, which recently accepted three

new members: the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of

Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga.

The fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly is

being held at the doorway between centuries and

millennia. This fact alone urges us to take an in-depth

look at both the past and the present of the United

Nations and to think about its future. The expanding

global challenges, especially ethnic conflicts, deterioration

of the environment, transnational crime and terrorism can

be met only by concerted efforts of the United Nations.

Belarus will be actively contributing to the formation

of a new image of the United Nations as an organization

capable of tackling the challenges of the day. Our country

was among the Organization's founding members, who

bestowed upon the United Nations such high and noble

goals and principles. We are interested in their

consolidation and development.

This year the Organization experienced what was

probably one of the most serious tests in its entire history.

The United Nations was virtually marginalized during the

crisis around Yugoslavia. The decision to use military

force against a sovereign State was taken without the

authorization of the Security Council.

Although the settlement of the Kosovo crisis has

now been brought back under the auspices of the United

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Nations, a recurrence of attempts to randomly use force

outside the Security Council mechanism cannot be

excluded. Consequently, the question as to whether the

Security Council should remain the only — I reiterate, the

only — international institution to authorize the use of force

for the maintenance of international peace and security as

yet remains unanswered.

The answer that is today given to this question will

determine developments in the twenty-first century. Will it

be the age of fairness and the rule of law, or will the world

be thrown back into the era when force was the only

argument? From a historical perspective, such a

development would return us to the beginning of this

century. Let us recall that the dawn of the twentieth century

saw nations divided into two categories: subjects and

objects of international law, with their fate totally

dependent upon their ability to defend themselves by

military force.

I believe that a totally different world order would

most adequately meet the interests of all members of the

international community. This is a world order in which all

countries are equal and are protected by international law

and the United Nations. The prerogative of the Security

Council to establish and maintain peace and security is a

key element of this system.

Naturally this places a special burden of responsibility

on the Security Council and its members. We view the

increase in both permanent and non-permanent members of

the Council on the basis of equitable geographical

distribution to be an important measure that would improve

the Council's effectiveness.

Guided by the intention to contribute further to

strengthening peace and security, Belarus has presented its

candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security

Council for the period 2002-2003. The elections will be

held in 2001, during the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly.

As regards the responsibility of the United Nations for

the maintenance of peace and security, I would also like to

underline the need to make fuller use of the entire set of

measures envisaged in the Charter. Special emphasis should

be put on the prevention of conflicts by peaceful means,

which, if applied in a consistent and efficient manner,

would produce substantial results. This can be explicitly

illustrated by recent positive developments in the Middle

East peace process, which Belarus welcomes and supports.

I avail myself of this opportunity to reaffirm the readiness

of the Government of the Republic of Belarus to

contribute actively to the resolution of conflicts in post-

Soviet countries and, in particular, to host in our capital,

Minsk, the international conference on Nagorny

Karabakh.

More than half a century ago, sovereign States,

including Belarus, founded the United Nations to

“reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the

dignity and worth of the human person”. To uphold its

legal and moral commitments the international community

cannot and must not remain inactive in the face of gross

and systematic violations of human rights. Genocide in

Rwanda, events in East Timor — these and similar

occurrences must lead to immediate and decisive action

on the part of the United Nations. But such action must

be taken in full compliance with the decisions of the

Security Council.

At the same time it is obvious that the sacred

principle of the protection of human rights, once

interpreted selectively, becomes meaningless.

Unfortunately, double standards in the interpretation of

the notion of human rights are still applied all too often

in international politics. It would be dangerously

misleading to assume that human rights can be protected

by means that ignore the principle of the sovereign

equality of States. Disregarding State interests in the

pursuit of individual values can cause unpredictable

consequences.

Globalization is creating a situation in which the

prosperity and even more the underdevelopment of certain

regions, or conflicts in them, directly affect the global

state of affairs. From this perspective, the developments

of the twenty-first century will be largely influenced by

processes taking shape in the enormous Eurasian region,

of which my country is an integral part.

Multi-ethnic and multi-confessional Belarus has,

thank God, avoided the religious and ethnic conflicts that

have been so characteristic of many post-Soviet countries.

Duly organized governmental management and law

enforcement systems have allowed us to ensure an

adequate level of security for our society and people.

Situated on the crossroads between the east and the west,

the north and the south of the continent, Belarus will be

further contributing to international cooperation in

combating transborder crime, terrorism and illicit drug

trafficking.

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A few days ago Belarus became party to the

International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist

Bombings. We also support the idea of holding a United

Nations conference or a special session of the General

Assembly on the suppression of terrorism.

Belarus is ready to cooperate most actively with all

members of the international community to address these

and other global and regional challenges. Openness to

mutually beneficial cooperation is probably one of the main

features of Belarus' foreign policy, which sincerely seeks to

establish a network of good neighbourly relations

embracing our country.

Although consistent in its principled position on the

enlargement of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO), Belarus demonstrates good will and acts

constructively to prevent the re-emergence of new dividing

lines in Europe. In this context, we support the idea of

adopting, at the Organization for Security and Cooperation

in Europe (OSCE) summit in Istanbul, the charter for

European security, which is to become a code of behaviour

for all of Europe.

Historically and geographically belonging to European

civilization, Belarus is seeking to become a full fledged

member of integration processes on the continent. The

rapprochement between Belarus and Russia is in line with

processes of global development. The consolidation of

efforts by Belarus and Russia, enjoying wide public support

in both countries, allows us to more effectively solve

problems faced by the two States and two peoples.

Belarus has become a full fledged member of the

Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). We share the values and

philosophy of the Movement and the provisions of the

NAM Plan of Action that are consonant with the United

Nations principles and objectives, as well as with the global

challenges of establishing a multipolar world order.

Regrettably, the world is entering the new century

with the burden of arms so powerful they can extinguish all

life on the planet. For this reason, disarmament, especially

in the nuclear sphere, remains among the main priorities of

the United Nations. A few years ago, Belarus made an

historic choice by relinquishing the possession of nuclear

arms inherited from the former Soviet Union. Now, we

urge all countries which have not yet become parties to the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

to join those that have made the establishment of a nuclear-

weapon-free world their utmost priority. We also stand for

an early agreement on the prohibition of the production of

fissile materials.

In conditions in which the nuclear Powers are still

not ready fully to relinquish the possession of such arms,

there is a pressing need to withdraw them from as much

of the world as possible, especially from heavily

populated regions. Proceeding from this, we once again

call on countries of our region to review their attitudes

towards the initiative put forward by President

Lukashenka of Belarus on the establishment of a nuclear-

weapon-free space in Central and Eastern Europe, as

reflected in the relevant resolutions of the United Nations

General Assembly. The assumption by countries of our

region of binding legal commitments not to deploy

nuclear weapons on their territory would be of paramount

importance to the security of the European family of

nations. I believe that, sooner or later, all our neighbours

will arrive at this obvious conclusion. Since time is of the

essence, we propose to begin consultations immediately

with all interested parties to exchange ideas and bridge

positions on this problem.

Other types of weapons of mass destruction are by

no means less dangerous. We welcome the appeal voiced

from this high rostrum to protect our children from the

scourge of nuclear, chemical and biological warfare. We

believe that the international community would be taking

the right step if it were to establish a preventive

mechanism to take timely and coordinated measures to

control the development and production of new types of

weapons of mass destruction.

Proceeding from this, the Belarus delegation at this

session will initiate a draft resolution on the prohibition

of the development and manufacture of new types of

weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such

weapons. Likewise, we support the proposal to adopt a

resolution on the consolidation of and respect for the

Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.

As was rightly observed in this Hall, the strength

and effectiveness of the United Nations depend on the

sustainable development of its Member States. Having

achieved independence, Belarus has chosen its own model

of economic development which adequately reflects its

national conditions and capacity. This is a model socially

oriented market economy. Our objective is not simply the

implementation of reforms for their own sake, but the

achievement of a more effective economy. In recent

years, we have been maintaining a positive dynamic of

gross domestic product growth that, in 1998, was up by

5

8 per cent. Belarus is a self-reliant country. Our outstanding

debt is only $133 per capita.

An open economy, Belarus exports more than half of

its gross domestic product and is taking energetic measures

to find an appropriate place in the international division of

labour. Our country has all the necessary prerequisites for

that, including extensive technical and scientific potential

and human resources. Economic performance is essential

for safeguarding social stability. The development of

democratic institutions is an integral part of sustainable

development. Mindful of that, the Government of Belarus

has initiated a broad dialogue between all political forces in

the country in an effort to jointly analyze avenues for the

further political development of Belarus at the beginning of

the twenty-first century. The parliamentary elections in

2000 and the presidential elections in 2001 should play an

important role in this process. The Government of Belarus

will make every effort to conduct these elections

democratically and freely.

Among the important global challenges facing the

United Nations is the protection of the environment and the

alleviation of the negative consequences of natural disasters

and technological catastrophes. For more than 13 years

now, this has been a matter of survival for the Belarusian

nation. The elimination of the consequences of the

Chernobyl disaster accounts for almost 20 per cent of our

annual budget spending. I take this opportunity to express

most sincere gratitude to all the States and international

intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations

which throughout these years have never been dispassionate

about the tragedy of the Belarusian people. Positively

assessing the efforts of the United Nations, Belarus today

calls upon the international community to continue

cooperation and strengthen the United Nations role in this

direction. Together with the Russian Federation and

Ukraine, Belarus will present a draft resolution on this issue

at the current session. We are hopeful that the United

Nations Member States will render their valuable support.

The current session of the General Assembly is an

important stage in preparing for the Millennium Assembly

that should take practical decisions worthy of this forum.

The Republic of Belarus has proposed as a subject for

discussion at the 2000 Assembly the issue of the United

Nations role in the furtherance of peace and human

sustainable development in conditions of globalization.

Aware of the historic importance of this event, Belarus will

actively contribute to the success of the Millennium

Assembly and Summit and reaffirms its commitment to the

goals and principles of the United Nations Charter.