Spain, 1998

Allow me first, Mr. President, to offer you my sincerest

congratulations on your appointment, and to express my

satisfaction that the work of the General Assembly at its

fifty-third session will be led by such a distinguished

representative of a country with which Spain has excellent

relations. I should also like to thank Minister Udovenko for

the efficiency with which he presided over the General

Assembly during the previous session.

The Foreign Minister of Austria has already set out

the main elements of the European Union?s position in the

United Nations. For my part, I should like to highlight

certain issues of particular interest to Spain.

It can generally be said that our Organization is today

in a stronger position than in previous years, which were

characterized by a predominant feeling of crisis. The major

reforms undertaken will enable the United Nations to

continue to be the main forum for international cooperation.

Dialogue, the promotion of respect for human rights and the

development of international life will continue under the

auspices of the United Nations. Furthermore, the

Organization has consolidated its primary function of

maintaining international peace and security.

An essential element of the strengthening process that

the United Nations is currently undergoing is greater

recognition of the limits that restrict its action. The process

of reforming the Organization, which the Secretary-General

has set in motion with decisiveness and determination, has

contributed significantly to a sense of getting the

Organization under control and of renewed confidence in its

possibilities. Spain will follow this process very closely so

as to support it and ensure that it is brought to a

successful conclusion.

The debate on enlarging the membership of the

Security Council deserves separate consideration. The

difficulties posed by enlarging the permanent membership

have been confirmed as negotiations have proceeded. We

must not attempt to force decisions that might create

divisions within certain regional groups. Reform must

reflect, as far as possible, general agreement between the

Members of the Organization, and in any case it must

respect the provisions of Article 108 of the Charter. We

must therefore acknowledge that at present there is no

realistic alternative to increasing only the number of non-

permanent members.

In order for our Organization to be able to perform

satisfactorily its indispensable work, it must be endowed

with sufficient funds. The Secretary-General is carrying

out a major reform designed to ensure, among other aims,

better use of the financial means made available to it by

States. However, the current financial situation is very

worrying, largely owing to the accumulation of arrears.

No State should forget that full and timely payment of its

contributions is a legally binding international obligation.

In 1999, my country will become the eighth largest

contributor to the Organization?s budget. We are fully

aware of the responsibility this entails and are ready to

assume it.

With the International Decade for the Eradication of

Colonialism about to end, I believe it is important to

recall that the historic work carried out by the

Organization in this field cannot be considered complete

as long as there remain colonial situations such as the one

which so painfully affects my country. I am referring, of

course, to the question of Gibraltar.

Every year the General Assembly renews its appeals

to Spain and the United Kingdom to continue their

negotiations with a view to putting an end to the colonial

situation of Gibraltar. The current negotiation process

stems from the so-called Brussels declaration of 1984, in

which the Governments of our two States undertook to

establish a negotiation process, to include sovereignty

issues, in order to settle all their differences. During the

1997 negotiating round I submitted a proposal that would

allow Spain to regain sovereignty over Gibraltar, while

maintaining for the inhabitants of the Territory all their

current benefits, granting them, in the framework of the

Spanish State, a greater degree of political autonomy than

they enjoy today, and agreeing, as an additional guarantee

26

of Spain?s good faith, to share sovereignty with the United

Kingdom for a long transition period.

I believe that that proposal should be able to form the

basis of an agreement that would, once and for all, put an

end to an anachronistic situation originating from the

dynastic wars of the early eighteenth century.

Respect for human rights is essential in guaranteeing

the maintenance of international peace and security. Our

Organization also plays a prominent role in this field.

The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the

adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights

should provide a powerful incentive to continue to develop

international instruments for protecting human rights. The

adoption of the statute of the International Criminal Court

during the recent Rome Conference marked a very

significant step in that direction. Spain firmly supported the

adoption of the statute, signed it on the first day, and is

prepared to carry out any actions needed to ensure its

prompt entry into force.

Likewise, I wish to back the important work

performed by the United Nations High Commissioner for

Human Rights, and to underline the importance that my

country attaches to the work of the Commission on Human

Rights, to which it has presented its candidature for the

period 2000 to 2002.

Terrorism constitutes a serious threat to domestic and

international security, to the development and functioning

of democratic institutions throughout the world and to the

exercise of human rights. Spain firmly believes in

strengthening the machinery of international cooperation,

for which the United Nations is a key forum. Spain, which

has ratified all conventions adopted on this issue, has

already signed the International Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and hopes that, as the

next step, a convention for the suppression of acts of

nuclear terrorism can be adopted.

Similarly, Spain gives high priority to the international

fight against drugs. This was evidenced by the Spanish

Prime Minister?s attendance at the special session of the

General Assembly in June, which was devoted to this

universal problem and which contributed substantially to

reaffirming our conviction that it is critical to consolidate

international coordination in seeking global solutions based

on the principles of shared responsibility, attention to

sustainable development and boosting regional and

interregional cooperation.

Multilateral development cooperation and poverty

eradication are crucial to the establishment of peaceful

international coexistence based on respect for human

rights. Spain is following with attention the

implementation of the reform measures proposed by the

Secretary-General. My Government praises the

momentum the Secretary-General is giving to the reform

of the environmental and human settlement sectors

directly linked to development. My country is

participating in studying new financing formulas to

provide sufficient resources for development cooperation.

In this regard, without losing sight of the unavoidable

debate on budgetary matters, Spain will consider a

possible gradual increase in its voluntary contributions

over the next few years.

On the subject of disarmament, Spain will shortly

ratify the Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the

Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-

Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction; it is pleased

with the swift pace of ratification of the Convention. It is

likewise of the utmost importance that next year we

should succeed in concluding negotiations on a protocol

on verification of biological weapons.

As regards nuclear weapons, I cannot but express

once again my concern at the nuclear tests conducted by

India and Pakistan, which go against the international

community?s efforts to prevent nuclear proliferation.

Nevertheless, we are optimistic about the forthcoming

commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning the

production of fissile materials for the manufacture of

nuclear weapons. Finally, we are confident that this

progress can be further enhanced by India?s and

Pakistan?s accession to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty.

The chief aim of our Organization continues to be

the maintenance of international peace and security. Here

the United Nations increasingly uses the means that

regional organizations or groups of States place at its

disposal. As a result, its response to various crises is

becoming more flexible and the legitimizing role of the

United Nations now carries more weight. Some good

examples, in addition to the Stabilization Force (SFOR)

and Operation Alba — to cite two cases in which Spain

respectively continues to play and played a particularly

prominent role — are initiatives such as the Stand-by

Forces High-Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG), which can

27

speed up United Nations intervention considerably, and in

which Spain is also beginning to participate. Moreover, the

mediation capacity of the Secretary-General and his

representatives has been enhanced even further over the

past year.

In this connection, I wish to reaffirm my country?s

commitment to the maintenance of international peace and

security, in the service of which 2,000 Spaniards are

currently serving. Indeed, in addition to participating in

SFOR, the International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the

United Nations Verification Mission in Guatemala

(MINUGUA), Spain this year sent a police contingent to

the United Nations Observer Mission in Angola (MONUA).

Furthermore, Spain intends to sign soon a memorandum of

understanding with the Secretariat to define the modalities

for making stand-by forces available to the Organization.

Humanitarian assistance operations have come to play

an increasingly important role. Aid workers from many

countries, including Spain, have lost their lives in these

missions. For this reason, my country will continue to

promote all measures that can help improve the security

and safety of personnel providing humanitarian assistance.

The ongoing process of globalization does not mean

the disappearance of the diversity of civilizations and

cultures, which coexist with increasing closeness. To the

contrary, this diversity itself constitutes a value which must

be used to promote solidarity and cooperation among

nations. Indeed, serious crises — some of which I shall

mention in this statement — continue to afflict the

international community; unfortunately too, our ability to

take action is still often limited.

The situation in Africa is cause for serious concern,

and justifies the special consideration our Organization is

giving to African crises. Suffice it to mention the armed

conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the tragic

humanitarian crisis in Sudan — in the solution of which

Spain is making a special effort to cooperate, the precarious

situation of Sierra Leone and Guinea-Bissau, and the

extremely serious exacerbation of tension in Angola, where

UNITA must respect the Lusaka agreements and where the

United Nations must continue to give its most valuable

support to the peace process.

In Western Sahara, the parties must continue to

demonstrate their good will so that the referendum on self-

determination envisaged in the Secretary-General?s

settlement plan can be held. The coming months will

undoubtedly be crucial. Spain will continue to back the

Secretary-General, his representatives and the United

Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

(MINURSO).

The situation in Kosovo is also extremely serious.

Spain backs the territorial integrity of Yugoslavia, but

President Milosevic´ and his Government must understand

that the international community will not remain

impassive in the face of an indiscriminate use of force

that is creating a very serious humanitarian problem. A

sincere negotiation process should be established as soon

as possible to enable Kosovo to regain the necessary

political autonomy in Yugoslavia.

In Latin America, the reconciliation process in

Guatemala continues to make good headway, despite

some tragic incidents, and is an inspiring example. We

are confident that the ongoing talks in Colombia will lead

to a process of national reconciliation, an objective to

which Spain has been giving its fullest support.

As regards the peace process in the Middle East,

Spain is deeply concerned about the current standstill and

actively backs the different initiatives presented,

particularly the European Union proposals, to safeguard

this process and implement the commitments already

made by the parties. There is an urgent need to put an

end to this conflict, which has already lasted too long; it

implies a threat to stability, fundamentally in the

Mediterranean, but with global repercussions. We must

find a solution to achieve a long-lasting reconciliation of

the Jewish, Christian and Islamic cultures. Spain is, to a

great extent, an example of such reconciliation, and we

stand ready to make all necessary efforts to achieve this

goal.

Lastly, in Asia, Spain is following with great

concern the situation in Afghanistan. In another context,

it is confident that the parties will succeed in reaching an

agreement to form a Government in Cambodia after the

recent elections.

I firmly believe that, after a period of excessive and

unjustified hopes and consequent disappointments, now is

the time for the United Nations to forge determinedly

ahead in fostering an international coexistence based on

respect for human rights, justice and solidarity.

Nonetheless, this will only be possible if it has the full

support of all of us. Spain hereby reiterates its fullest

commitment to the United Nations.

28