Finland, 1997

Let me extend to you,

Mr. Vice-President, my warmest congratulations on your

election.

The Foreign Minister of Luxembourg, Mr. Jacques

Poos, spoke on behalf of the European Union. I fully

associate myself with his statement.

The reform of the United Nations is inevitable. The

new imperatives of globalization and interdependence

must be recognized. Business as usual would inevitably

lead to the marginalization of the United Nations in world

affairs. I fully agree with Secretary-General Kofi Annan

that we should see these changes as an opportunity, not

as a threat.

Reform is in the interest of all Member States,

whether big or small, whether industrialized or developing

countries. Where else but at the United Nations can we

deal with the truly global issues such as the new security

threats of uncivil society, environmental degradation,

violations of human rights and poverty? Given the nature

of these issues, unilateral, bilateral or even regional

efforts are of course good, but not enough. Not even the

most prosperous and powerful nations on earth can

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successfully solve them alone. Only the United Nations has

a global mandate and global legitimacy.

The Secretary-General’s proposals are well attuned to

our thinking in Finland. The General Assembly should

consider these proposals as a coherent whole and give the

Secretary-General the authority to act on them during this

session. For our part, we, the Member States, must shoulder

our responsibility for those reforms that require action by

Governments.

Human rights must become an integral part of all

United Nations activities. We very much welcome the

Secretary-General’s comprehensive approach in this regard.

The celebration of the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights next year must

produce practical results. The celebration is an opportunity

to emphasize that human rights are universal rights that

belong to all individuals, irrespective of culture or political

systems. The duty of Governments is to promote, secure

and protect these rights. Therefore, the international

community has the authority to deal with human rights

violations wherever they may occur. There is no difference

between big or small States in this respect. Europe is by no

means an exception. The common standards must be valid

everywhere. The United Nations has a unique role to play

because of its global reach. I personally respect and support

regional arrangements and efforts to this end, but they must

be in accordance with common United Nations standards.

There is a genuine and growing demand for United

Nations action in the field. The United Nations response

today is hampered by inadequate resources. I pledge my

Government’s full support to Mary Robinson, the newly

appointed High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her

important and challenging task.

We in Finland are very serious people. We try to

practise what we preach. Promoting human rights, including

minority rights, is an integral part of our domestic policy

and naturally extends to foreign policy. As a new feature,

the Government intends to submit an annual report to

Parliament on the human rights situation in the world. We

hope such reports can and will contribute to a more regular

and informed public debate on human rights issues.

The United Nations has extensive experience in crisis

management and peacekeeping. Lessons have been learned.

One key lesson is the need to prevent emerging conflicts

rapidly and coherently. Rapid decision-making is imperative

both in the Security Council and at the national level. Once

the political decisions are made, they should be

implemented effectively and without delay. That is why

we strongly support the establishment of a rapidly

deployable mission headquarters. Finland has contributed

to it financially and is also ready to make personnel

available. We urge the Secretary-General to establish the

headquarters without further delay.

The recent local elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina

were undoubtedly a success. The implementation of their

results is the challenge for the coming weeks and months.

The Dayton peace process is advancing, but at a

disappointingly slow pace. Restoring normal living

conditions will require major efforts by all the parties in

the region. The international community, the United

Nations and other organizations will have a tremendous

task in assisting people to help themselves in this

devastated region. The High Representative for the

Implementation of the Peace Agreement on Bosnia and

Herzegovina, Mr. Carlos Westendorp, deserves our full

support in securing the implementation of the Sintra

agreements. There is also a need for the continued

peacekeeping presence of the Stabilization Force (SFOR)

or its successor force.

Africa is the one continent most ravaged by violent

conflicts and human suffering. The special session of the

Security Council on Africa at the ministerial level is

therefore a timely initiative. Crisis prevention and

peacekeeping capabilities in Africa should be developed

as a priority. We welcome the efforts already under way

within the Organization of African Unity (OAU) and

other regional and subregional settings. However, these

efforts need wider international support. Finland is

prepared to continue to do its part by providing assistance

in training. We are also organizing in Helsinki, Finland,

together with the OAU, a broad-based international

conference of non-governmental organizations to promote

their international involvement in strengthening peace-

building in Africa.

In the Middle East, events over the past year have

taken a dangerous turn for the worse. Fulfilment of the

obligations of the Oslo accords, and with it real

improvement in the daily lives of the Palestinians, is still

the best hope the parties have for a just and lasting peace.

A turn for the better is first and foremost for the parties

themselves to achieve. We urge them to exercise restraint

in actions and in words. Finland, together with its

European Union partners, is prepared to continue to play

its part in supporting the peace process, but clearly the

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parties themselves must play theirs for there to be a process

to support.

The hopes for the peace process should not be

betrayed in the face of provocation, humiliation or

frustration. Terrorism is unacceptable. It only benefits the

extremists on both sides.

In disarmament, the focus is shifting from weapons of

mass destruction towards conventional arms, including

small arms, as so many colleagues of mine have already

mentioned here. The suffering caused by indiscriminate use

of landmines is high on the United Nations agenda, and

rightly so.

Finland welcomes the Ottawa convention. It is a step

towards a truly global and effective ban on anti-personnel

landmines, a target which my Government strongly

supports. The Ottawa process contains a promise, but it is

clear that much work is still needed. Participation in a total

ban, particularly by those who are major possessors,

producers and exporters of these weapons, must be secured

through negotiations at the Conference on Disarmament.

Finland will continue to participate actively in the

Conference’s efforts to stop the further spread of anti-

personnel landmines through a global and effective treaty.

The positive trend in disarmament and

non-proliferation has been strengthened by the entry into

force of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the

bilateral commitments made by the Russian Federation and

the United States regarding nuclear disarmament at the

Helsinki summit. To assure further progress, these

developments should now be followed up by Russian

ratification of the Chemical Weapons Convention and the

START II agreement.

Finland has consistently advocated a strong United

Nations, mandated and capable of addressing socio-

economic and development issues in an effective and

coordinated manner. In today’s world, globalization of the

economy, trade liberalization and the information revolution

have created an environment of interdependence. Poverty,

the root cause of so many other ills, can be eliminated only

through sustainable development.

Finland, together with the other Nordic countries, has

long spoken for a more unified United Nations system, both

at Headquarters and at the country level. The Secretary-

General’s proposals go in the right direction. The creation

of the United Nations Development Group is an important

first step. Full integration at country level of all United

Nations activities, including those of the specialized

agencies, must remain the goal.

The Economic and Social Council and the web of

organizations and committees operating within it need to

be united in purpose and in action. The proposed reforms

do not suffice. The coordinating role of the Council

should be made real. To achieve this is the responsibility

of the Member States. If we do not take action, the

Council will sink into irrelevance.

Similarly, a more coherent United Nations response

is required to provide protection and humanitarian

assistance to the victims of disasters, whether made by

man or nature. The Emergency Relief Coordinator must

ensure coherence and coordination in disaster relief. In

that role, the Coordinator must receive the full support of

all the humanitarian agencies.

On the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of this

Organization, I remember, more than 150 Heads of State

or Government pledged their resolve to bring an end to

the United Nations financial crisis. Today, two years later,

only 89 Member States — I checked the figure today —

have paid their dues in full and without conditions, and

many of them did so late. More than half of the

membership have not. Yet there are very few Member

States whose non-payment stems from circumstances

beyond their control, the only waiver known to the United

Nations Charter. Non-payment is, in our view, a serious

threat to the future of the United Nations, not only

because of the unfair burden put on Member States that

do pay, such as my country, but because it undermines

the commitment and the solidarity that we as Member

States share towards our common Organization and

among ourselves.

Finland understands the motivation behind the

Secretary-General’s proposal for a revolving credit fund.

However, such a fund — as we have understood it —

would use voluntary contributions to cover unpaid legal

dues. The United Nations might gain some respite, but so

would the countries in arrears. Finland is not opposed to

exploring this proposal if others so wish and if the

establishment of such a fund is accompanied by real

sanctions in case of non-payment of assessed

contributions.

Yesterday, we heard the Secretary-General in his

statement ask the Governments assembled here to make

the fifty-second session of the General Assembly a

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“Reform Assembly”. This is a challenge that we and our

Organization cannot afford to fail.