Brunei, 1998

I

extend my congratulations to Mr. Opertti on his election

and my appreciation to the former President for all his

work over the last year.

In looking back over the year, I think we would agree

that it has been extremely disturbing for most developing

nations. At best, it has been one of troubling uncertainty

and a deep sense of frustration. At worst, it has seen terror

and despair. It is the uncertainty felt by millions in our own

region, caught unprepared by the process of globalization

and ending up unemployed. It is the frustration experienced

by those like the current, third adult generation of

Palestinian refugees who declare with understandable

defiance that they have suffered enough. It is the terror of

the innocent victims of bombings; of those who flee from

civil war; or of those, such as the people of Kosovo and

Rwanda, who have experienced savage inhumanity. It is the

despair of our neighbours in China, Bangladesh and Papua

New Guinea, stricken by devastating natural disasters.

For many, many millions of people, the end of this

century is not a time for any millennial celebrations. It is

a time of enormous human suffering. As many of us

remarked at the recent summit of the Non-Aligned

Movement, at a time when technology presents greater

opportunity for human development than ever before and

when the power of globalization offers us unique chances

to work together, how can this possibly be?

In trying to answer this question, the Non-Aligned

Movement recently spoke of a primary need to voice the

suffering of the billions it represents. It also spoke of this

Assembly as the only forum in which that voice can be

heard with the strength and insistence it deserves.

That is why I would like to thank our Secretary-

General, not just for attending the Non-Aligned summit,

but also for displaying heartfelt concern for the special

problems faced by developing nations. Above all, I would

like to thank him for what I feel is crucial in the

developing world today, and that is the call he has made

for leadership: leadership in ending local hostilities;

leadership in making peace processes work; and, perhaps

most important of all, leadership in summoning the

political will to translate policies made at the national,

regional or global level into day-to-day real benefits for

ordinary people. It is leadership, in short, aimed at

encouraging two things: first, tolerance in the acceptance

of differences and the need to resolve all disputes

peacefully, no matter how hard this may be; and,

secondly, in placing people at the core of policy-making.

As the Secretary-General has stated, the United

Nations is a place where the connection can be made —

one which is so often neglected elsewhere — between

economic and social development on the one hand and

international peace and security on the other. We entirely

agree with him. His observations reflect the need for us to

address not policy positions, but ordinary people’s

problems — jobs, education, food and security — and to

address them from their own perspectives and needs.

That is why we very much appreciate the fact that the

various conferences this body has hosted within the last 12

months have been directed towards recognizing people and

their day-to-day concerns. This is also very much in

agreement with the strong appeal we made last year, when,

in the context of United Nations reform, we stated that,

whatever we do, we have to be sure that nothing weakens

what the United Nations does well for ordinary people. By

this I mean its work in the field. It is this which gives the

Organization meaning to billions. It is the fundamental

reason for the existence of the United Nations today, a

body founded in the name of “we the peoples”.

So, in commending our Secretary-General’s efforts, I

would also like to give him our full support in fulfilling the

peoples’ need for economic prosperity and social

development, and in ensuring that these two concerns

remain firmly connected. This will place the emphasis in

the United Nations on work which will reinforce peace and

stability, reject violence and confrontation and strengthen

the foundation of social development. In other words,

nothing in the interests of ordinary people can be solved by

violence and war. If they have to exist, let the violence be

directed against despair and the war be made on suffering.