Bhutan, 1996

I have the honour to convey

to the President and all the members the warm greetings

and good wishes of His Majesty Jigme Singye Wangchuck,

King of Bhutan, for the success of the fifty-first session of

the United Nations General Assembly.

We congratulate Ambassador Razali on his unanimous

election as President of the fifty-first session of the General

Assembly. We are happy that a close friend of Bhutan is

presiding over our deliberations. We are fully aware of his

wide experience and deep interest in the United Nations. He

is not only an outspoken critic of the shortcomings of the

United Nations but is also one of its greatest supporters,

and we look to this session with high expectations.

I would like to express our deepest appreciation to His

Excellency Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral for the exemplary

manner in which he conducted the Special Commemorative

Meeting of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations

and the fiftieth session of the General Assembly. I am also

grateful for the privilege of having had the opportunity to

serve in his Bureau.

We would also like to take this opportunity to pay a

special tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, for his leadership in steering the United

Nations through a period of many challenges and changes.

Twenty-five years ago, on 21 September 1971, Bhutan

became a Member of the United Nations. That day saw the

fulfilment of a long-cherished dream and was a historic

occasion on which the people of Bhutan joined hands with

the international community. We have since taken great

pride in our membership of the world body and have made

great strides. Bhutan has stepped forward to take an

active role by seeking membership in all major United

Nations and other international bodies including the

Bretton Woods institutions. Our membership of the

United Nations has provided us with the opportunity to

participate in all international discussions of importance.

Our participation, which we consider both a privilege and

an obligation, has always been guided by a positive

attitude, seeking to contribute constructively and fairly.

On the part of the international community, Bhutan

has received an outpouring of goodwill and friendship.

The United Nations and its agencies have come to our

assistance with enthusiasm and dedication. Every sector

in Bhutan has received the benefit of United Nations

assistance, and the lives of the people of Bhutan have

greatly improved. Today, the development of Bhutan rests

in the hands of young Bhutanese, many of whom were

trained through United Nations assistance. I take this

opportunity to put on record the heartfelt gratitude of the

people of Bhutan to the United Nations and international

institutions, in particular the United Nations Development

Programme, the United Nations Children’s Fund, the

United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations

Capital Development Fund, the International Fund for

Agricultural Development, the World Food Programme,

the United Nations Volunteers programme, the Food and

Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the World

Health Organization, the United Nations Educational,

Scientific and Cultural Organization, the World Bank and

the African Development Bank, many of which have been

working constructively in Bhutan for the last 25 years.

Bhutan takes the opportunity of the twenty-fifth

anniversary of our membership to rededicate ourselves to

the principles of the United Nations and its Charter. As

we rededicate ourselves to the United Nations and express

our support and gratitude, we are conscious of the fact

that the United Nations is at a crossroads, and that there

is a struggle for the heart and soul of the Organization.

The world has changed, and the United Nations too must

change to meet the new realities.

Today we would like to confine our remarks to a

few areas which we feel need to be addressed in the

process of reform and in preparing the United Nations for

the next century.

The increase in membership from the original 51

Members to the current 185 is the clearest indication that

the United Nations is truly a global body. The

representation and participation of all United Nations

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Members in the General Assembly give true meaning and

legitimacy to the United Nations, yet increasingly the

General Assembly has little influence in the work of the

United Nations. The role of the Assembly must be

enhanced. It must become the centre of the United Nations

and the source of both its moral and real authority. In order

to do this, the General Assembly must change its own

working methods, and its debates and agenda must be made

more meaningful. It must become the point from which all

United Nations policies emanate. The General Assembly’s

relations with other principal organs and bodies of the

United Nations must be streamlined and strengthened.

The structure of other principal organs such as the

Economic and Social Council must also be reviewed. In

many of the principal organs, subsidiary bodies and

commissions have taken a more prominent role than the

organs themselves. While we agree that the more detailed

work of implementing the technical aspects must be

devolved to commissions and subsidiary bodies, policies

must be made by the principal organs themselves. Many

here will agree that the subsidiary bodies, committees,

groups, and so forth, are too numerous to keep track of, let

alone participate in. All United Nations bodies must finally

be made accountable to the General Assembly. Unless this

linkage is strengthened, many Members will be excluded

from the activities of the United Nations. For many smaller

Members, the possibility of being elected to and

participating in many United Nations bodies is limited.

Therefore, the General Assembly is of paramount

importance for enhancing the participation and role of

Member countries.

In the area of peace and security, there is increasing

concern that the United Nations is unable to maintain peace

and provide security, particularly for its smaller and more

vulnerable Members. This view seems to persist despite a

number of successful interventions by the United Nations.

There is growing frustration that the Security Council, the

only body of the United Nations with any real authority, is

unable to respond to the challenges posed by the present

conflicts, and that the Security Council is primarily driven

by the views of its major members. The need for reform

and expansion is more and more keenly felt. In our view,

there must be an increase in the number of both permanent

and non-permanent members. Developing countries and

deserving countries from all regions must be included in the

ranks of permanent members. Using the objective criteria

of equitable distribution, the ability to contribute to the

work of the United Nations and the maintenance of

international peace and security, Bhutan believes that India

and Japan qualify for permanent membership of the

Security Council.

Expansion alone is not sufficient. The decision-

making process of the Security Council, its relations with

the General Assembly, and other powers such as the veto

and the Council’s virtual hold over the appointment of

judges of the International Court of Justice and other

important positions in the United Nations, must be

reviewed.

Progress towards a world free of tension can only be

made with disarmament that includes all types of

weapons. While various steps have been taken towards

easing the nuclear threat, no significant progress towards

the goal of the complete elimination of all nuclear

weapons has been made. We must not lose sight of the

primary objective of the complete elimination of nuclear

weapons. The disarmament dialogue must include all

parties and address the genuine concerns of every

Member State.

A brisk international business in conventional arms

continues to pose a threat to peace and security. As long

as there is an unlimited supply of arms, their use in the

settlement of disputes will continue. We must expand our

initiatives at the United Nations to control the global arms

trade. Bhutan supports the steps taken towards the

elimination of chemical and biological weapons. The

United Nations Register of Conventional Arms is a useful

step. Efforts must also be redoubled to bring about a

moratorium on the manufacture, sale and deployment of

anti-personnel landmines, with the objective of

eliminating this weapon which kills indiscriminately.

With the major agreements and common ground

arrived at during the United Nations global conferences of

the 1990s, it was hoped that the stage had been set for

fresh impetus and a new direction in international

development. In reality the new era of development has

continued to elude us.

There is an emerging consensus that the new

approach to development must be to concentrate on the

well-being of the individual person and to release the

productive capacity of the human spirit and of nations

through social development, free markets, international

trade and investment. While this strategy has brought

progress to many countries, many poorer developing

countries have not been able to compete and benefit, due

to structural inadequacies in their economies or because

of the small size of their markets.

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To adapt to the new approaches to development, all

United Nations agencies have to undergo major changes in

their organization and operations. However, the resources

available to United Nations agencies have declined both in

actual and real terms. Many of them are unable to carry out

programmes at the level of previous cycles. In these

circumstances, many of the targets set in the major global

conferences, whether in health, environment, population,

education, or other social fields, may not be met.

It is often said that the overall contribution of United

Nations agencies to a country’s development is small.

While this may be the case in larger countries, it should be

pointed out that in many smaller countries the input of

United Nations agencies plays a substantial role. It is

unfortunate that the most far-reaching responsibility of the

United Nations, which can make a lasting impact in

improving the lives of millions of people, is being

constrained and reduced at a time when more efforts are

necessary.

The efforts of the United Nations development bodies

are of particular importance to the 48 least developed

countries. It has become increasingly difficult for the

concerns and needs of these countries to find a place in the

international development dialogue. The United Nations,

through the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development and all other agencies, must ensure that the

situation and the needs of the least developed countries are

kept in focus and as part of any agenda for development.

Otherwise we risk the further marginalization of a

significant number of countries.

The United Nations development agencies must ensure

that the resources they spend in finding and developing new

ideas and approaches are balanced and matched by

programmes and resources in the field. The agencies and

developing countries must work closely together in order to

regain the confidence of the donor community. Bhutan

strongly believes that the special role that many

development agencies fulfil must not be allowed to

diminish due to a lack of funds.

Bhutan recognizes that developing countries must

work closely with other major participants in the

international development effort, such as financial

institutions, bilateral donors and the world business

community. Bhutan has greatly benefitted from the

contributions and efforts of our bilateral donors. Their

assistance has been utilized effectively and has contributed

meaningfully to our development. We take this opportunity

to express our gratitude to our bilateral donors, in particular

India, Switzerland, Japan, Denmark, the Netherlands,

Austria, Norway, Kuwait, Germany, Australia and

Thailand, for their cooperation and generous assistance.

Allow me to express a few thoughts concerning the

impact of reform on the United Nations. We are aware

that the issue of reforming the United Nations system and

its organizational structure is not new, and that it was

raised just a few years after the establishment of the

United Nations itself. However, the issue of

organizational reform has taken on special significance in

the last few years, given the financial situation of the

United Nations and some of its major agencies. While the

dialogue on reform of the United Nations continues, the

Organization has had to implement major cuts in staff and

activities. The morale of the international civil servants

has been greatly affected. This situation should not be

allowed to continue for long. All Member countries must

take cognizance of these facts, work towards completing

the reform process, and place the Organization on a firm

financial footing at an early date.

We must not be afraid of reform and change. Major

changes have already been carried out, and there are still

many areas which need to be addressed. However, it is

our view that the process of reform of the Organization

should be time-bound. A long, drawn out process with no

end in sight will hinder the Organization in effectively

carrying out the vast responsibilities we have assigned to

it.

The calls for change and reform of the United

Nations, in their own way, are the best indicator of the

strong support of its Members. The United Nations today

has become an indispensable institution in international

relations and development. It is up to us, the Member

States, to ensure that it will be able to meet the

aspirations and expectations of all its Members, large and

small. It must become the source of inspiration for all and

a guiding beacon that will take the world to the next

millennium of peace and prosperity for all the peoples

and nations of the world.