Canada, 1998

Allow me to congratulate

you, Sir, on your election to the presidency of the General

Assembly. With your experience and dedication to the

goals of this Organization, you will guide us wisely and

effectively in our work this year.

And important work it is, for as the century draws

to a close, our security is more precarious than ever. The

spectrum of threats is wide and growing. Traditional

dangers persist, including the proliferation of weapons.

But new threats — terrorism, crime and drugs — arise

from a world in which the face of conflict has changed.

Economic and social insecurity for the majority of our

global population is on the rise. Increasingly, it is the

well-being of individuals that is directly at stake.

(spoke in French)

There is an urgent need for solutions. The

interdependence of all of our lives is unprecedented. It is

essential for us to work together to confront these

challenges. This means working through a vibrant United

Nations. For Canada, the universal values set out in the

Charter have acted as our moral compass in setting our

global agenda. The United Nations system serves as the

instrument in achieving our goals.

(spoke in English)

At the same time we recognize that the United

Nations faces its own worries, and it, too, must change.

But a strong, reinvigorated United Nations is still the best

foundation for the future. As the contours of that future

emerge, there is reason for hope. While old realities of

power persist, a new system based on humanitarian

standards, practices and law based upon needs and human

security is beginning to show through.

Perhaps this new reality can best be seen in the

common effort to eliminate anti-personnel landmines. The

Secretary-General has hailed the adoption of the Ottawa

Convention as an unprecedented achievement — one

accomplished through a unique partnership of non-

governmental organizations, Member States and

international groups working together to eliminate a

weapons system that victimizes the innocent.

23

Last week, Burkina Faso deposited the fortieth

ratification of the treaty, thereby crossing the threshold

needed to bring the treaty into force. This treaty, which has

already attracted 130 signatories and 41 ratifications, will

become part of the international legal framework as of 1

March next year. We welcome the offer by Mozambique to

host the first meeting of the States parties to the

Convention. We continue to urge those who have not done

so to sign and ratify the Convention and join in this

international endeavour.

But entry into force is just the first important step in

bringing the treaty to life. Now we have to meet the

treaty?s goals. An effective coalition for action must work

together in this next phase to take the mines out of the

ground and to help the victims. The United Nations,

through its mine action service, will mobilize and

coordinate the efforts of the international community.

At the signing of the treaty on landmines in Ottawa

last December, countries pledged $0.5 billion for mine

action. My own Government has allocated $100 million as

Canada?s contribution to rid the world of these very cruel

weapons. We have already put the money to work in some

of the most severely affected States, with projects in

Mozambique, Cambodia, Bosnia and Central America. Now

we must put everyone?s resources to work.

Landmines are not the only weapons that take a tragic,

disproportionate toll on civilian populations. Small arms

and light military weapons — cheap and easy to transport,

smuggle or hide — have become the tools of choice for

smugglers, terrorists and criminals.

The challenges arising from the proliferation and

widespread abuse of small arms and light weapons are

complex. But the impact on all of us, especially the most

vulnerable, is direct and devastating. Eighty per cent of the

victims are women and children. There are no easy

solutions and no shortcuts. We cannot, however, afford to

shrink from facing such a pervasive threat to our security.

In Canada we pursue a three-pronged approach, dealing

with the legal trade, illicit trafficking and peace-building

challenges of small-arms proliferation. We hope, by

working with others in the United Nations, to see the use

of this terrible weapon come to an end.

Illegal drug-trafficking also threatens our peoples?

security. The drug trade affects governance, undermines

human rights and promotes cross-border conflicts. That is

why Canada has proposed a Foreign Ministers? dialogue

group in the Americas. We hope that this will be a forum

which can provide guidance and generate ideas to help us

curtail the collateral impact of the drug trade on

Governments and on society. These and other emerging

threats to our security, including terrorism, crime and

environmental degradation, affect every one of us but are

beyond the reach of any of us alone. They demand global,

integrated solutions, which the United Nations is best

suited to provide. The International Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, concluded last year,

ongoing work in developing a convention on transnational

organized crime and the Kyoto Protocol to the United

Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change — all

show that we are capable of working together to enhance

our human security.

Moving the human security agenda forward also

requires that we redouble efforts to address the root

causes of conflict and risk. Peace and stability are

indispensable to security, but they are not, regrettably,

humanity?s birthright. They must be built. Two years ago,

we launched the Canadian Peace-building Initiative. Its

objective is to address the unique challenges of societies

recovering from conflict. Through this initiative, projects

have been undertaken in Guatemala to assist civil society

to implement the peace agreements, in Bosnia to promote

awareness of the peace accords, in Mozambique to

support a programme to exchange weapons for farming

tools, and in West Africa to support the initiative led by

Mali to promote a West African arms moratorium. These

are small steps, certainly, but constructive ones in

working locally to build peace.

Today, I am pleased to release a report entitled

“Peace in Progress”, which documents the results

obtained to date and the wide range of partners with

whom we have worked. As the title suggests, Canada

intends to carry on with its partners in empowering those

working to build peaceful and stable societies in their

own countries.

It has been a half-century since a distinguished

Canadian international civil servant, John Humphrey,

wrote the first draft of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. Since then over 60 international human

rights instruments have been adopted. Countries have

shown a new and welcome willingness to cooperate with

the international human rights system.

But we must build on that progress, and one of the

most important ways that the Assembly can make its

contribution this year is to support a strong United

Nations declaration on human rights defenders to protect

24

those who are protecting those whose human rights are

being abused.

(spoke in French)

The growing integration of human rights, including

women?s rights, into all other aspects of United Nations

activity is a recent and important breakthrough. On the

fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights, the conditions exist to achieve progress in attaining

the goals set out by its drafters. This is good news.

However, a review of the human rights situation around the

globe makes it painfully clear that we remain far short of

these goals.

We need to take advantage of the momentum that this

anniversary presents. The United Nations human rights

system must be assured of both the political support of the

membership and increased regular budget financing if it is

to do the job we have entrusted to it.

(spoke in English)

The growth of intra-State conflicts caused by

differences of religion, language, race or ethnicity has

reinforced the need to protect marginalized groups. To do

so, both Governments and civil society must have ready

access to information about human rights situations around

the world. To this end, Canada has launched for the record

an annual report drawn from United Nations sources, which

we are making available on the Internet to provide constant

updated information concerning human rights around the

globe.

Certainly, of those at risk from conflict, none are more

at risk than children. The targeting of children in

warfare — both as fighters and as victims — is intolerable.

The ground-breaking efforts of Graça Machel and the work

of the Secretary-General?s Special Representative for

Children and Armed Conflict, Olara Otunnu, merit special

and ongoing support.

Enhancing human security also requires establishing

legal instruments. The agreement in Rome to establish the

International Criminal Court is a major fundamental step

towards that goal. This Court will help to deter some of the

most serious violations of international humanitarian law.

It will help give new meaning and global reach to

protecting the vulnerable and the innocent. By isolating and

stigmatizing those who commit war crimes or genocide and

removing them from the community, it will help end cycles

of impunity and retribution. Without justice there is no

reconciliation, and without reconciliation there can be no

peace.

We need to move forward urgently in making the

Court a reality. We should begin during this session of

the General Assembly to bring the Court into operation.

We who have supported the Court should ratify the

Statute as soon as possible. We must also work to

understand and address the concerns of those States that

remain hesitant about the Court — without diluting its

effectiveness. Ultimately, we must ensure that we have an

institution that will be credible, responsible and effective.

Respect for civil and political rights is necessary, but

in itself is not sufficient to create the conditions for stable

societies. Stability also requires economic and social well-

being.

Regrettably, statistics show that countries with the

lowest income are much more likely to fall victim to

violent conflict than others. The number of people whose

basic human needs are not being met remains

unacceptably and dangerously high. A quarter of the

world?s people live in severe poverty; more than 800

million face malnutrition; 180 million children under the

age of 14 work as child labourers. As the United Nations

human development index makes clear this year, the gap

between the haves and the have-nots continues to grow.

Countries overburdened by debt are less likely to be

developed and more likely to succumb to conflict.

Reducing the debt of the least developed nations allows

them to devote more resources to basic human needs.

That is why at the summit of the Organization of African

Unity (OAU) in Ouagadougou I announced a $20 million

contribution to the African Development Bank to support

the most heavily indebted African countries. That is also

why Canada has forgiven virtually all development-related

debt owed to us by the least developed countries —

almost $1 billion — and why we encourage others who

have not already done so to do likewise.

I think we all recognize that globalization presents

opportunities, but it also exposes all of us, especially the

most vulnerable, to greater economic and social

insecurity. The international financial turmoil of the past

months vividly demonstrates the impact these crises can

have on the daily lives of the least fortunate. It means

that we need to be sensitive to the social consequences of

financial volatility. And when crisis strikes, the United

Nations and its specialized agencies have a special

responsibility to assist those most severely affected.

25

There is no greater threat to our security than nuclear

proliferation. In 1945, Canada, despite the experience of the

most destructive war in history, decided to forgo the

nuclear option even though, as a participant in the

Manhattan Project, we had the technical capability and

material capacity to build our own nuclear weapons. In

1968, the Government of Canada confirmed that decision

and joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT). Every subsequent Canadian Government

has reaffirmed that commitment, and we have spent much

diplomatic effort to persuade others that nuclear weapons

are the problem, not the solution.

The non-proliferation regime has enhanced everyone?s

security. The credibility of that regime has been severely

tested over the years, but particularly over the past six

months. India?s and Pakistan?s nuclear tests put the entire

non-proliferation regime in jeopardy. Nuclear testing

undermines the basic goals and objectives of the Non-

Proliferation Treaty and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty. Testing puts all of us, not least the people of

the testing countries themselves, at greater risk. Therefore,

there can be no condoning these actions.

And there must be no rewards. We must not legitimize

the claims of would-be nuclear Powers, or confer any new

status on proliferators. We listened carefully to the

presentations of the Presidents of India and of Pakistan this

week and we welcome the indications they gave that they

would sign the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

But it is important to reiterate that Security Council

resolution 1172 (1998) calls upon India and Pakistan to sign

the Treaty without conditions, to participate purposefully in

the negotiations on a cut-off treaty on fissile materials, to

stop the weaponization of their nuclear programmes, to

impose strict export controls on nuclear technology and to

embrace fully the non-proliferation regime. We urge them

to do so.

In that spirit, we welcome India?s and Pakistan?s

decision to relaunch their dialogue on Kashmir. We also

recognize that preventing horizontal proliferation, while

crucial, is no more important than preventing vertical

proliferation. Nuclear disarmament is the other half of the

nuclear bargain. That bargain is a balance of responsibilities

and obligations undertaken by nuclear-weapon and non-

nuclear-weapon States alike. Not all nuclear-weapon States

have begun to fulfil their obligations under Article VI of

the Non-proliferation Treaty, and we call upon them to

fulfil their responsibilities.

As we all recognize, this period of globalization

multiplies the challenges. It is Canada?s conviction that a

dynamic, responsive and flexible United Nations system

is the best way, perhaps the only way, to meet these

challenges.

(spoke in French)

To fulfil its leadership responsibilities, the United

Nations must be assured of reliable and adequate funding.

We cannot revitalize the United Nations so long as

Member States, particularly the most wealthy and

fortunate among them, contribute less to a system from

which they demand more. Renewal can be achieved only

if Member States pay their assessed dues, present and

past due, on time and without conditions.

(spoke in English)

Let me now speak of the Security Council. The

Security Council remains at the centre of what the United

Nations is all about: protecting against conflict and human

risk. However, the Council?s legitimacy is increasingly

being questioned. To remain credible, the Council must

re-examine traditional interpretations of its mandate. The

Council needs to broaden its horizons in addressing

emerging threats which impact on our security. Thematic

debates on these issues, in which all Member States can

participate, are a good step. The addition of peace-

building to the Council?s range of responses to threats to

peace and security is also welcome.

But the Council must also be more willing and more

consistent in both how and when it becomes involved.

The Council belongs to all Member States. It cannot be

allowed to focus on solving the problems of one region

and be indifferent to those of others.

The way the Council does its work must be more

open and more transparent. For example, Member States

involved in and affected by matters before the Council

must be allowed to exercise their Charter rights. Far from

constraining the Council?s efficiency, this will improve

the decisions it takes and render its actions more

effective. The trend for permanent members increasingly

to assume more control over the agenda, thereby

marginalizing elected members, runs counter to the

democratic principles which so inform our political

institutions at the close of the twentieth century. The

distinctions between permanent and elected members need

to be narrowed rather than widened.

26

In sum, the Council we need for the next century must

be more responsible, more accountable and less

impenetrable. We hope that members will support Canada

in advancing these aspirations.