Bhutan, 1999

Allow me to congratulate you

most warmly, Sir, on your assumption of the presidency of

the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. My

delegation is confident that with your vast experience you

will steer us through the daunting array of issues before

us with great skill. I assure you of the full cooperation

and support of my delegation.

May I take this opportunity to express our gratitude

to His Excellency Mr. Didier Opertti for his leadership

and for his contribution to the work of the fifty-third

session of the General Assembly.

My delegation takes great pleasure in welcoming the

Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the

Kingdom of Tonga as they assume their rightful positions

in the comity of nations. It is appropriate that, at this final

session of the General Assembly of the twentieth century,

the United Nations family has been expanded by yet

another three Members. We look forward to the valuable

contributions they will make to the Organization, and to

working closely with them on issues of mutual concern.

This century has witnessed perhaps the greatest

changes in the annals of civilization, from enormous

strides in science and technology to advances in social

thought and organization. Yet we continue to witness the

worst forms of devastation arising from conflict and from

the buildup of destructive capacity. The United Nations

was born out of the ashes of the Second World War as a

reflection of the desire and aspiration of all people to live

in peace and harmony. At this, the last session of the

General Assembly before the end of the millennium, it is

incumbent upon us to consider whether the United

Nations has lived up to the high ideals and expectations

of all its Members.

The primary objective and responsibility of the

United Nations is the maintenance of global peace and

harmony on the basis of international law and the

sovereign equality of all nations. Even though the United

Nations moved swiftly to assume this important

responsibility of maintaining peace and security right

from its inception, its effectiveness has not been optimal.

The end of the cold war raised new hopes and

expectations, and renewed efforts to exercise that

responsibility. The task has been complex and difficult,

and, sometimes, decisive action on some issues has led us

to question why there was inaction on others. In our view,

the primary mechanism for the maintenance of peace and

security must make use of early dialogue aimed at

peaceful resolution of differences. The use of force to

resolve conflict must be considered with extreme caution;

it must be fully within the context of international law

and must enjoy the support of all the members of the

international community.

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The United Nations Charter entrusts responsibility for

the maintenance of international peace and security to the

Security Council. While the Council must have the

flexibility to act promptly, it, or its individual members,

must not operate in isolation. The Council must be

responsible to the international community at large and

must respond to our collective aspirations for a more

representative, relevant and effective Organization.

Bhutan associates itself with the position of the Non-

Aligned Movement, which maintains that new global

realities must be reflected through reform of the Security

Council, in terms of both its composition and its working

methods. The legitimacy of an increased role and voice for

developing countries must find expression in an increased

permanent representation on the Council. We trust that

deliberations on this matter will proceed within the

established framework of General Assembly mechanisms,

with the involvement of all Member States and with

continued transparency.

The threat to international peace and security posed by

the abundance of weapons of mass destruction as well as

conventional arms has not diminished. Progress on nuclear

disarmament can take place only if the legitimate security

concerns of all countries are addressed and if there is a firm

commitment to the eventual elimination of all such

weapons. Equal attention, we believe, must be given also to

the regulation of global trade in conventional weapons and

small arms.

Terrorism continues to jeopardize and undermine

human rights, fundamental freedoms and security in a

growing number of countries and situations. There is an

urgent need to accord greater priority to the elaboration of

a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. The

global community must enhance cooperation to prevent,

combat and eliminate this scourge.

Globalization offers unprecedented opportunities for

sustained economic development. Paradoxically, the rapid

processes of change and adjustment have been accompanied

by intensified poverty, unemployment and social

disorientation. Fears that current patterns of market-driven

globalization may even give rise to further marginalization

of developing countries are not altogether unfounded. All

these clearly indicate that there is an acute need for balance

in order to forge a middle path for the process of

globalization.

My country welcomes the decision taken at the

Cologne Summit in June 1999 by the G-8 aimed at

alleviating some of the debt burden of the heavily

indebted poor countries. We are hopeful that the effective

implementation of this decision will go a long way in

supporting national efforts to reduce the debt burden of

these countries to more serviceable levels and open for

them the opportunities for real and sustained economic

growth.

While we commend our development partners that

have reached or surpassed agreed official development

assistance targets, we regret that with a few exceptions,

the long-standing commitment to United Nations targets

for official development assistance remains largely an

unfulfilled goal. In this regard, Bhutan joins other

developing countries in underlining the importance of the

convening of a high-level conference on the financing of

development within the framework of the United Nations.

Bhutan recognizes that all parties must exert equal efforts

in order to foster a successful development partnership,

but it is increasingly concerned by the growing

marginalization of least developed countries in global

trade, whose share remains below 0.4 per cent. While the

least developed countries have taken steps towards

economic liberalization and institutional reform, their

smooth integration into the global economy must be

facilitated through preferential access to markets and

assistance for institutional capacity-building and

infrastructure development. In this regard, we are

heartened by the general sensitivity and responsiveness

shown by the World Trade Organization.

As a founding member of the South Asian

Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) family,

Bhutan is committed to further strengthening cooperation

in South Asia, where infinitely vast resources and

potentials remain locked and unrealized. We have made

progress in fostering cooperation, particularly in the social

fields, and in strengthening cooperation in the core

economic areas. Of special significance is our

commitment to establish the necessary mechanisms to

enable SAARC to move from a preferential trade

arrangement to a free trade arrangement within a

reasonable period of time.

One of the overriding responsibilities of the United

Nations is in the field of socio-economic development.

Over the decades, the contributions of the various United

Nations agencies have been remarkable, although these

have sometimes been taken for granted. It is important

that we recognize their contributions and provide them

with the necessary resources to effectively continue their

support to developing countries.

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Bhutan has always pursued a people-centred

development process. Our national development strategies

have always aimed at enhancing gross national happiness

rather than merely increasing gross national product. This

concept calls not only for economic development in the

conventional sense, but for enriching the lives of the people

in a holistic way, through the preservation and promotion

of our rich cultural heritage, through the protection and

conservation of our fragile mountain ecosystem and through

the strengthening and exercise of good governance.

In pursuit of an equitable balance between material

and spiritual development, the Government has consistently

allocated a large share of resources over the last four

decades for social services. Almost 30 per cent of the

present national budget is allocated to the provision of free

basic education and primary health care. To these are

attributable a substantial jump in our literacy rate — and

the advance in enrolment rate — and an increase in life

expectancy for the average Bhutanese by 20 years in two

decades.

We have realized that balanced development is not

always the easiest route to take. It entails considerable

contemplation, a cautious approach and a deliberate

choice of a measured path. It requires patience, restraint

and; indeed, courage: patience to persevere over many

years in order to reap long-term benefits, restraint and

self-control to refrain from fleeting compulsions and

courage to sacrifice immediate gains in favour of long-

term sustainable development.

I would like to seize this opportunity to thank the

many worthy members of this Assembly and the various

United Nations and other multilateral agencies for their

inspiration, cooperation and meaningful support in my

country's endeavour to ensure progress and sustained

gross national happiness.