Kingdom of Denmark, 2001

The Danish Government

associates itself with the statement made by the

Minister for Foreign Affairs of Belgium on behalf of

the European Union.

On 11 September a brutal blow was delivered to

the people of the United States of America. At the

same time, it was a strike against the foundations of the

United Nations and against its mission to secure peace

and prosperity for mankind in a spirit of collaboration

and shared values. Extremists have seen fit to take the

lives of thousands of innocent people to press their

message. The Danish people have reacted with outrage

and sorrow. We strongly condemn the criminal and

cowardly act; our thoughts and our compassion are

with the victims, their families and their friends.

This year the Nobel Peace Prize went to the

Secretary-General and to the United Nations. May I

congratulate both the Secretary-General and the United

Nations and its staff. The choice could not have been

better or the timing more acute.

The horrific terrorist attack on the United States

changed the agenda of the General Assembly. From the

outset, the international community has demonstrated

its resolve to confront the menace of terrorism. The

General Assembly and the Security Council have

passed resolutions unanimously condemning in the

strongest terms the terrorist attacks, and countries and

other international organizations have followed with a

host of other initiatives to that end. The international

community has stood up to the challenge united.

Denmark welcomes the broad coalition of

countries that has rallied behind the United States

response to the terrorist attacks in order to effectively

bring to justice the perpetrators, organizers and

sponsors of international terrorism.

By acting together, by acting resolutely, by

redoubling our efforts, we will stop the terror. At the

international level, we need the United Nations to

provide the norms and the international legal

framework required to define and criminalize acts of

terror. The United Nations has already put important

parts of the legal machinery in place with the 12

existing conventions aimed at combating specific forms

of terror. Furthermore, work is well under way towards

a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.

At the national level, countries must urgently take

concrete steps to implement Security Council

resolution 1373 (2001). States must have national

legislation in place in order to prosecute persons

supporting or committing acts of terrorism. At the same

time, countries must be ready to take steps to preclude

in all possible ways the operation and financing of

terrorist networks within their territories. All countries

should accede to and enforce the 12 conventions

against international terrorism and should ensure

prompt follow-up of Security Council resolution 1373

(2001).

Three weeks ago, the Danish Government

submitted a draft bill on national follow-up in our

Parliament, and I can assure the Assembly that

Denmark will do its utmost to cooperate with the

Counter-Terrorism Committee established pursuant to

resolution 1373 (2001).

These measures form part of our overall efforts to

create a better world, in which human dignity is

guaranteed and human rights and fundamental

freedoms are fully respected. Indeed, recent events

underscore further the need to make the world a better

place, in particular for those vast groups of people who

live in poverty. For poor people who see no possibility

of improving their economic and social standing,

turning to extremist religious and ideological views

and networks may be tempting. We need to secure real

political, economic and social opportunities for the

world’s poor and disadvantaged.

The goals identified by world leaders during the

Millennium Summit give our work direction in the

decades to come.

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Armed conflicts cause inconceivable human

suffering and material destruction and are often the

main obstacles to development. An effective response

to present-day conflicts requires a long-term political

commitment from a united international community in

the form of a diplomatic, political, economic, military

and civil engagement. The United Nations is the

international body vested with a universal mandate to

secure support for conflict prevention. Often, it is also

the only body capable of legitimate conflict

management. Thus many people around the world are

dependent on the effective and prompt reaction of the

United Nations.

Fortunately, we have in recent years witnessed

quite a number of successful United Nations

operations. Let me single out three examples, in three

different parts of the world.

First, in East Timor the United Nations presence

has furthered political progress towards the building of

a new nation State, set for May next year.

Secondly, the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia

and Eritrea has demonstrated the readiness of the

international community to resolve conflicts and has

strengthened the credibility of United Nations

peacekeeping in Africa. That Mission also marked the

first and successful deployment of the Multinational

United Nations Stand-by Forces High Readiness

Brigade (SHIRBRIG).

Thirdly, the day after tomorrow is an important

milestone for the United Nations Interim

Administration Mission in Kosovo and for the people

of Kosovo. Hopefully, the latter will participate in

great numbers in the elections. The Danish

Government has noted with satisfaction that both the

Serbian and the Yugoslav Governments have endorsed

Kosovo Serb participation in the elections.

However, other conflicts, not least in Africa,

continue to cause tremendous suffering to the people

affected and to challenge the international community.

The prevention and management of violent conflicts

have therefore become an integral part of Denmark’s

comprehensive engagement in developing countries.

The United Nations has a unique role to play in

helping Afghanistan to rebuild itself and to re-enter the

international community. Denmark strongly supports

the work of the Special Representative of the

Secretary-General, Ambassador Brahimi. We are ready

to contribute further to the ongoing relief and

humanitarian efforts, as well as to the immense task

that lies ahead: reconstructing Afghanistan.

A conflict of particular concern is that in the

Middle East, which threatens to escalate beyond

control. The Mitchell report and the Tenet Plan still

provide important windows of opportunity. The United

Nations, the European Union, the United States and

neighbouring States must redouble their efforts to get

the parties to take immediate action to stop the

violence and to create the atmosphere necessary to

restart negotiations.

The Millennium development goals provide the

framework for each and every country to act in a

concerted fashion on a range of key development

challenges.

In this connection, I should like to refer to the

Secretary-General’s road map for the implementation

of the Millennium Summit Declaration, in which he

stated that we have just emerged from an era of

commitment and stressed that we must now enter an

era of implementation. This timely reminder has our

full support.

The last 10 years have seen more countries than

ever before commit themselves to a democratic and

accountable political system. This trend is encouraging.

Open societies committed to democracy are more

likely to respect the rule of law, human rights and

fundamental freedoms and to foster accountable

governments. National responsibilities for

development, as expressed through good governance

and the promotion of human rights and democracy, are

key to the peaceful settlement of conflicts and essential

tools for economic development. The New Partnership

for Africa’s Development is an encouraging step in this

direction.

In building on these positive trends, we must go

even further. We must take concerted steps forward on

a whole range of key issues, from security, human

rights and trade to development.

In this regard, our planning prior to 11 September

is now showing unexpected rewards. The World Trade

Organization (WTO) Ministerial Conference in Doha,

the International Conference on Financing for

Development in Monterrey, and the World Summit on

Sustainable Development in Johannesburg are all part

of the same, global process. They are a unique

36

opportunity for us to show that multilateral cooperation

in the economic field can make a difference and that

we can achieve globalization with a human face.

Our primary target is clearly to eradicate poverty.

This objective should be at the heart of the

international effort in the coming weeks and months.

We need a “Global Deal” that encompasses all human

beings, with the aim of achieving long-term sustainable

development, based on global coherence between

economic, social and environmental policies.

Thus, we need partnerships between developed

and developing countries; between all development

actors, including the wider United Nations family,

comprising the WTO, the World Bank and the

International Monetary Fund (IMF), and drawing upon

civil society and the private sector. All partners need to

be on board to achieve a balance between national,

international and systemic endeavours.

The Financing for Development Conference in

Mexico, to be held in March 2002, is a first and

important opportunity to demonstrate our new resolve

on development. We could leave Monterrey with

important elements of a global framework that would

help us pull an unprecedented number of people out of

poverty over the coming 15 years. The human and

security benefits at stake are compelling.

We face a great responsibility in the days, weeks

and months ahead. Both developed and developing

countries need to set their priorities straight in order to

strike this Global Deal. In that sense, a global

commitment to realizing the national potential for

development of the developing countries should be

met, in the spirit of partnership, by the developed

countries, with full support for reaching these goals.

We also reiterate the call on the industrialized

countries to grant more generous development

assistance and to increase their official development

assistance so that, as a minimum, it reaches the

established United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of

gross domestic product that is necessary to achieve the

Millennium goals.

Recent events have demonstrated that

international cooperation is indispensable. The United

Nations is the right forum for dealing with many of

these challenges. Let us equip the Organization to meet

them effectively. By closing a Global Deal, we can take

development forward on the broad front.