Bhutan, 1998

It is with great pleasure that

I congratulate you, Mr. President, on your unanimous

election to preside over the General Assembly at this

session. This session is particularly significant because we

are celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. It is also important for a

less uplifting reason: during this session the international

community is confronted with serious challenges and is

hard pressed to find collective wisdom to deal with

disturbing developments and trends. As you guide us in

our deliberations on these issues, I wish you well and

would like to extend to you the full support of my

delegation. I also wish to join the preceding speakers, all

of whom have justly praised the excellent work done by

your predecessor, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko.

Our Secretary-General stated in his address to the

recent summit of the Non-Aligned Movement that

“human rights are not simply a matter of civil and

political freedom. Genuine freedom of choice

requires economic, social and cultural emancipation

too.”

From the very beginning of our development process and

to ensure such emancipation, Bhutan has been guided by

a philosophy of maintaining a harmonious balance

between material and spiritual prosperity. This we believe

is the way forward to attaining our goal of gross national

happiness.

I have the pleasure to inform the Assembly that the

throne of the Kingdom of Bhutan has always been the

fountainhead of the many changes in our country which

have led to greater empowerment of the people. Just three

months ago our King introduced, through the National

Assembly, some profound changes in the governance of

our country. These changes are in addition to the earlier

institutionalization of participatory decision making

processes at the district and grass-roots levels. Upon

dissolution of the appointed Cabinet, a new Council of

Ministers has been elected for a specific term by the

National Assembly. His Majesty the King has voluntarily

relinquished his role as the head of Government and was

further successful in convincing the National Assembly to

introduce a mechanism for the removal of a reigning

monarch through a periodic vote of confidence. Such

ongoing changes have further strengthened the rule of law

and have enhanced even further the direct participation of

the people in development and governance.

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As we stand at the threshold of another millennium of

human civilization, our generation of leaders and policy

makers must not fail to grasp the unprecedented

opportunities. Ours is the past and ours, too, is the future.

Even as we are engaged in the last defining moments of the

twentieth century, we have a decisive role in shaping the

beginning of the next thousand years. We cannot undermine

our own role. Narrow interests and differences must not be

allowed to deter us from the greater legacy we owe to

posterity.

I believe that we should look upon all the challenges

that have spiralled in recent years as a last reminder of the

growing vulnerabilities of human society. There is the

Asian crisis, which now threatens to cause global economic

contraction and is already undermining the social and

political stability of some nations. The environment is

wreaking havoc in many quarters of the world, causing loss

of life and property in both the richest and the poorest

countries. And just as trade, technology and the reality of

interdependence force us to abide with each other in a

world that is shrinking in space and natural resources, we

find ourselves torn apart by bigotry, intolerance and hate.

Terrorism is on the rise, our children are lured by drugs

and crime, and even the richest nations among us can ill

afford the rising cost of growing prison populations. Then,

there is the spectre of a nuclear holocaust, which continues

to haunt us. Unless we look at our future and manage the

compelling forces of globalization with a greater sense of

spirituality and social concern, I fear that the global village

will fail to provide much of that elusive state of joy and

contentment to which we all aspire.

Terrorism in all its manifestations is unjustifiable,

regardless of the cause it seeks to espouse. It must be

condemned in the strongest of terms. Those who use terror

or the threat of terror target innocent people. Their

objectives are clear: to foster an environment of fear if their

goals are not met. Such heinous crimes against humanity

must not go unpunished. The voices of those who live in

constant fear of having the most fundamental of human

rights — the right to live without fear and the right to life

itself — abused and violated can no longer be ignored. The

conclusion and effective implementation of a

comprehensive international convention on terrorism

therefore assumes great significance.

The recent nuclear tests in South Asia have aroused

much concern. However, we are heartened by the positive

steps being taken by the concerned parties to calm the fears

of the international community. As a small, peace-loving

country, Bhutan has always condemned nuclear armament

and advocated full and comprehensive elimination of all

nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction. Our

delegation urges all participants in the disarmament

processes to undertake a more realistic assessment of the

prevailing global security arrangement, which, we believe,

has the inherent weakness of enticing States to join an

exclusive club. Unless there is an accelerated process

towards complete and comprehensive denuclearization

beyond the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT) and beyond the Comprehensive Nuclear-

Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the world must be prepared to

face the eventuality of a nuclear club that will lose its

exclusivity.

Active and not passive interdependence is the

primary condition for all human progress in the future. It

is clear that prosperity in one part of the global village

cannot be sustained when poverty prevails in the other.

Yet unconscionable levels of disparity continue to grow

between the rich and the poor countries. While one

section of human society is burying itself in the waste of

conspicuous and excessive consumption, the other is

plagued by hunger and exposure. Against this backdrop,

it is sad to note that shrinkage of official development

assistance remains a serious concern. Political will must

be generated to reverse this trend and to inject new

vitality into international cooperation for development in

the interest of shared and sustainable prosperity.

Revitalization and reform of our Organization has

been the singular underlying theme of recent sessions of

the General Assembly. We are all agreed on the need for

major changes if the United Nations is to effectively meet

the current and emerging challenges of the twenty-first

century. As we continue to assess the long-term

implications of the Secretary-General’s proposal contained

in his report, we should bear in mind the needs and

aspirations of small and developing countries, which

comprise the overwhelming majority of the United

Nations membership.

Efforts should also focus on further strengthening of

the role and capacity of the Organization in the promotion

of development. In this regard, we welcome the inter-

agency collaborative arrangements, which we feel have

already led to improved coordination and cost-

effectiveness of the United Nations development agencies.

In so saying, I should like to place on record the deep

gratitude of the people of Bhutan for the vital role and

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contributions of the various United Nations agencies in our

country’s development efforts. These agencies often play a

lead and coordinating role in such sectors of our national

development programmes as health, education and

infrastructure. Indeed, it is the face of the United Nations

as a prime mover of development that the masses in many

of our countries most appreciate and cherish.

Differences in perspective have prevented us from

arriving at a meaningful agreement on substantive issues

concerning the reform of the Security Council. Sixty-five

lengthy meetings held by the Open-ended Working Group

on the question of Security Council expansion and reform

have yielded few results, and tangible proposals remain

elusive.

My country firmly supports the position of the Non-

Aligned Movement on this matter, as reiterated in the Final

Document of its twelfth Summit meeting, which was

convened in South Africa earlier this month. Bhutan is of

the view that the current permanent members have an

obligation to be more responsive to calls for multifaceted

reforms of the Council. It must be rendered more effective

and transparent through democratization and the

enlargement of its membership, both in the permanent and

non-permanent categories. New permanent members must

include countries that have the capacity to share greater

international responsibilities and reflect equitable

geographical representation. We believe that Japan, whose

apportionment of the United Nations regular budget will

exceed 20 per cent by the year 2000, and India as a

developing country which represents one sixth of humanity,

are two countries that deserve permanent membership in the

Security Council. We remain convinced that the presence

of developing countries is all the more essential for the

reason that they form the object of most actions of the

Council.

Before I conclude, my delegation wishes to express its

deep sadness over the loss of human life and destruction of

property and infrastructure in the aftermath of the worst

ever floods in Bangladesh. While the people of Bangladesh

battle against this cruel act of nature, the people of Bhutan

are one with them and have extended to them some

assistance. As a least developed country, Bangladesh does

not have the resources to alleviate the suffering of its

people and to put itself on the road to recovery and

normalization. We are hopeful that the international

community will respond promptly and generously to the

appeal of the Prime Minister and the Government of

Bangladesh.