Indonesia, 1993

Let me first offer my

delegation’s congratulations to Ambassador Insanally of

Guyana on his election as President of the General Assembly

at its forty-eighth session. His elevation to this high office

is a fitting tribute to his personal qualities and record of

distinguished service to his Government and to the

international community. We are confident that under his

able guidance we will achieve substantive results in our

work.

I also wish to express our deep appreciation to his

predecessor, Mr. Stoyan Ganev of Bulgaria, for the dedicated

manner in which he presided over our deliberations during

the last session.

24 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

On behalf of the Government and people of

Indonesia, I extend a warm welcome to the Czech Republic

and the Slovak Republic as well as to Macedonia, Eritrea,

Monaco and Andorra upon their accession to membership of

the United Nations. We look forward to closely cooperating

with them.

Before proceeding, I should like to convey Indonesia’s

profound sympathy and solidarity with the Government and

people of India in the wake of the massive human suffering

and destruction visited upon them by the recent devastating

earthquake.

This forty-eighth session of the General Assembly is

convened at a time of sweeping global change and transition

such as has rarely been experienced in modern history. It

has given rise to revived hopes and new opportunities as

well as to new risks and uncertainties. As the rigidities of

the bipolar world have dissolved, earlier expectations for the

emergence of a new world order have now given way to the

sober realization that, instead, a new world disorder will be

with us for quite some time - a disorder characterized by

continuing turbulence, instability and unpredictability and

offering an often perplexing panorama of mutually

contradictory phenomena and processes.

The end of the cold war has led to a new climate in

international relations and a number of encouraging trends

and developments. Renewed confidence in multilateralism

as a viable approach to the resolution of the crucial issues of

our time has opened up vast new opportunities for the

United Nations and a more positive phase in international

cooperation. Better prospects have emerged for substantive

progress towards solutions to many regional problems long

considered to be intractable. In this context, fruitful

cooperation has been established between the United Nations

and various regional organizations, which have acted as

partners in facilitating the peaceful resolution of conflicts.

I therefore wholeheartedly agreed with our Secretary-General

when he recently observed that multilateralism today is

working more effectively than ever, as it should, for in

essence

"Multilateralism is the democracy of international

society." (The New York Times, 20 August 1993,

p. A 29, "Don’t Make the U.N.’s Job Harder")

In South Africa the new round of negotiations which

began last April has now yielded agreement on the

establishment of a multiracial Transitional Executive Council

and is progressing towards democratic elections early next

year. Elsewhere in Africa, despite formidable difficulties

and obstacles, practical frameworks for the resolution of

issues have begun to take shape. In Latin America we are

gratified to see an end to conflicts and the strengthening of

security as well as political, economic and social

development. In the Middle East a historic breakthrough has

been achieved in the Arab-Israeli peace process. And in the

Gulf region, there has been demarcation of the land border

between Iraq and Kuwait, under the auspices of the United

Nations, which we hope will be a further contribution to the

improvement of the political and security environment in that

region.

Recent developments have brought about a distinct

improvement in the overall political climate in the

Asia-Pacific region as well. Relations between countries that

were once at odds with each other have normalized and are

being continually enhanced. In Cambodia the final phase of

the peace process based on the Paris Agreements has been

consummated and has led to the rebirth of a revitalized and

democratic Cambodia.

With the dissipation of the East-West confrontation,

questions relating to disarmament and security have acquired

a totally new dimension. Scenarios of deterrence have

become irrelevant, while strategic premises that once guided

nuclear-arms control and disarmament efforts have lost their

validity. This quantum change has occasioned other

encouraging developments. The successful conclusion of

START II between the United States and the Russian

Federation has significantly reduced the world’s two biggest

nuclear arsenals. Last January more than 130 countries

signed the Convention for the elimination of chemical

weapons, thus proscribing the military use of these

instruments of death and mass destruction.

Last month, as we observed the thirtieth anniversary of

the signing of the partial test-ban Treaty, I was privileged to

preside over the special meeting of the States Parties to the

Treaty in the context of the Treaty’s Amendment

Conference. There it was resolved that the pursuit of a

comprehensive nuclear-test ban now taking place in the

Amendment Conference and the Conference on Disarmament

should be mutually supportive and complementary. We have

also welcomed recent positive developments concerning

nuclear testing, particularly the de facto moratoriums on

nuclear tests observed by the nuclear-weapon States and

their renewed commitment to work towards a comprehensive

test ban. Especially laudable were the decision of the United

States to extend the moratorium on nuclear tests until 1994,

the commitment of France not to be the first to resume

testing, and the declaration by the Russian Federation of its

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 25

refusal to resume testing even if others did. We hope and

expect that China will wish to do likewise.

It is indeed of critical importance that steps be taken

towards the expeditious conclusion of a comprehensive

test-ban treaty, for without it our efforts to extend the

Non-Proliferation Treaty at its forthcoming 1995 Review

Conference may well be in jeopardy.

As the threat of nuclear confrontation between the

major nuclear Powers has receded, the dangers of nuclear

proliferation now appear to be their major preoccupation.

But, surely, the issue of non-proliferation should be

addressed in both its horizontal and vertical aspects. It is for

this reason that Indonesia has unceasingly stressed the urgent

need for a comprehensive nuclear-test ban as the litmus test

of our sincerity in securing non-proliferation, apart from the

necessity for States to submit themselves to the safeguards

of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

Another heartening development is the growing

prominence of regional dialogues on security. The Regional

Forum of the Association of South-East Asian Nations

(ASEAN), for one, will afford the ASEAN member States

and other South-East Asian nations, as well as the

extra-regional Powers, a regular opportunity to exchange

views and consult on security issues of common concern.As

is pointed out in the Secretary-General’s report, "An Agenda

for Peace", such regional action for peace and security, as a

matter of decentralization, delegation and cooperation with

the United Nations could contribute to a deeper sense of

participation,

consensus and democratization in international affairs.

These encouraging trends and developments offer

unprecedented opportunities for enhanced international

cooperation for peace and development. But we should

realize that these opportunities are fragile and fleeting in

nature and, if not resolutely grasped, may soon be

overwhelmed by the plethora of new problems and adverse

trends simultaneously emerging on the world scene.

Persistent conflict and violence, both between and within

States; the virulent resurgence of ethnic strife, both ancient

and recent; the menacing rise in religious intolerance; new

forms of racism and narrowly conceived nationalism; and the

alarming resort to terrorism and blatant aggression: all these

combine to obstruct the building of a more peaceful, secure,

just and tolerant world. These problems and trends have

also caused the disintegration of States and societies, which

stands in poignant contrast to the integrative trends, based on

growing interdependence, which at the same time have led

to the coalescence of States into larger groupings for

common economic and political benefits. Moreover, peace

and security cannot be sustained unless the very concept of

security itself is expanded to embrace such non-military

threats as structural underdevelopment and mass poverty,

acute resource scarcity and severe environmental

degradation, which together with prolonged natural disasters

conjure up the looming spectre of massive and

uncontrollable cross-border migrations.

It is a matter of grave concern that while the United

Nations is called upon to shoulder ever-expanding

responsibilities in the face of these new challenges, it is at

the same time shackled by a deepening financial crisis. If

this perennial financial crisis is not quickly resolved, the

consequences could be catastrophic for the international

community and all its aspirations to peace and development.

It is Indonesia’s ardent desire that the United Nations

should become fully effective as the central instrument for

a new and revitalized international order. Steps must

therefore be taken to ensure not only the financial viability

of our Organization, but also its fidelity to the dynamics of

democracy which demand the fullest participation and

engagement of all Members in the work of the Organization.

Along with all the non-aligned countries, Indonesia holds

that balance is essential in the relationship between the

General Assembly, the Security Council and the

Secretary-General, in conformity with their respective

mandates as enshrined in the Charter. Indonesia and the

other non-aligned countries have therefore done their utmost

to contribute to the consultations leading to the adoption of

General Assembly resolutions 47/120 A and 47/120 B on

"An Agenda for Peace". The Non-Aligned Movement will

continue to contribute to the ongoing consultations on the

other aspects of the "Agenda for Peace" and on the

rationalization of the Committee structures of the General

Assembly in order to enhance its efficiency and

effectiveness.

Furthermore, Indonesia believes that restructuring and

reform of the Security Council have become imperative in

the light of the profound changes that have taken place on

the international scene. We realize, however, that such a

process should be carried out with caution and

circumspection as it impinges upon some of the fundamental

aspects of the Organization’s purposes and functions. In

1946, the United Nations had 51 Members, six of which

were non-permanent members of the Security Council. In

1965, when the membership had grown to 113, there was a

corresponding increase in the non-permanent membership to

10. But despite the fact that more than a quarter of a

century has elapsed, during which the membership of the

26 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

United Nations has increased to 183, there has been no

proportionate increase in the Council’s membership. A

serious review and reappraisal of the Council’s membership

is necessary to ensure a more equitable and balanced

representation. An expansion of the Council would

strengthen it, making it more responsive and relevant to

prevailing geopolitical realities and more open to the

participation of small and medium-sized States, which

constitute the majority in our Organization.

Indonesia is also firmly of the view that an increase in

membership of the Council should allow for new members

which, if they are not to be given the veto power, should at

least serve as permanent members. They should join the

Council on the basis of a combination of appropriate criteria

that would adequately reflect the political, economic and

demographic realities of the world today in Asia, Africa and

Latin America. Such a judicious approach, in addition to

one based solely on equitable geographic distribution, would

enhance not only the Council’s representative character but

also its moral authority and practical effectiveness.

The peace process in the Middle East has finally

overcome the paralysis that has gripped it over the past 10

negotiating sessions. Indonesia has welcomed the signing of

the Declaration of Principles on Palestinian interim

self-government arrangements in the occupied territories as

a historic breakthrough in efforts to put an end to decades of

armed conflict and confrontation and to achieve a just,

lasting and comprehensive settlement. My Government has

equally welcomed the agreement on a common agenda in the

context of the Jordan-Israeli peace negotiations, as well as

the act of mutual recognition by the Palestine Liberation

Organization (PLO) and Israel. It is also clearly understood

that these first steps on the Palestinian question are an

integral and non-prejudicial part of the entire peace process,

which envisages a transitional period not to exceed five

years and continuing negotiations leading to a permanent

settlement based on Security Council resolutions 242 (1967)

and 338 (1973) in particular.

We applaud the fact that, with the implementation of

these arrangements, almost half a century of Arab-Israeli

confrontation and Israeli occupation of Palestine will finally

be coming to an end, and that the national and political

identity of the Palestinians will at last be universally and

irrevocably recognized.

Although the significance of these developments cannot

be overemphasized, we in Indonesia are aware that obstacles

and ambiguities still abound on the long and arduous road

towards a just and comprehensive settlement. Above all, the

scrupulous implementation of everything that has been

agreed upon will be of crucial importance. Hence, there is

an obvious need for the United Nations to play an active and

effective role throughout the ongoing peace process.

Indonesia reiterates its unflinching support for the struggle

of the Palestinian people, under the leadership of the PLO,

to secure their inalienable rights to self-determination, full

sovereignty and independence in their own homeland.

Equally, we call upon Israel to withdraw from all illegally

occupied Palestinian and Arab lands, including Jerusalem,

the Syrian Golan Heights and southern Lebanon.

In the tragedy that has engulfed Bosnia and

Herzegovina, the international community is faced with the

abysmally disturbing prospect of the forcible dismantling of

a multi-ethnic, multi-cultural and multi-religious society, the

brutal decimation of its people and the gradual diminution of

the territory of an independent and sovereign Member State

of the United Nations. The Security Council failed to stop

aggression and the abhorrent practice of "ethnic cleansing"

because it was unable to defend Bosnia’s sovereignty and

territorial integrity while preventing the Bosnians from

defending themselves by refusing to lift an ill-conceived

arms embargo; as a result, two-thirds of Bosnian territory

has now come under Serbian and Croatian occupation. This

refusal to allow Bosnia to defend itself and to protect its

people from being slaughtered cannot but be regarded as a

denial of the right to self-defence under the Charter.

Under threat of a continuation of the unequal war,

Bosnia today is being coerced into accepting a settlement

that would partition its territory along ethnic lines and would

practically reduce Bosnia to a cluster of small, incontiguous,

landlocked and perpetually vulnerable Muslim enclaves

within a so-called union of the republics of Bosnia and

Herzegovina. Having initially steadfastly opposed this ethnic

partition, its Government under President Izetbegovic has

now reluctantly agreed to such a division. However,

President Izetbegovic has done so conditionally, as part of a

comprehensive agreement that would ensure the legitimate

interests of Bosnia and Herzegovina in terms of its basic

territorial, economic and security needs, as well as with

regard to secure access to the sea and between the

Republic’s component parts.

We cannot but view these developments as representing

a blatant case of negotiation under duress and of enforcing

peace without justice that may well lead to continuing

violence, human suffering and a lack of security. The force

of law should not be surrendered to the law of force.

"Ethnic cleansing" should not be rewarded, and we should

beware of establishing dangerous precedents that will haunt

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 27

the international community in the future and in other

regions of the world. My Government, therefore, will

continue to give its full support to the Government and the

people of Bosnia and Herzegovina in their legitimate

struggle to attain a just and viable settlement, with adequate

international guarantees as to the political and territorial

integrity of the country.

In Somalia, it is gratifying to note that normalcy has

been restored in the greater part of the country and that the

overall situation has undergone a major transformation. But

chaos and anarchy continue to persist, especially in

Mogadishu; this has imperiled the success of concerted

international efforts to establish a stable and secure

environment. We therefore sincerely hope that the leaders

of Somalia will expeditiously seek to agree on viable

transitional arrangements leading to political reconciliation

and to the establishment of a broad-based government.

In South Africa, it is heartening to note the determined

efforts by the leaders of the majority to engage in peaceful

dialogue and negotiations with the minority Government. In

a historic step towards ending decades of oppression and the

evil of apartheid, the multi-party negotiating forum has

scheduled 27 April 1994 as the date for the nation’s first

democratic elections leading towards the establishment of a

unified, democratic and non-racial South Africa.

In Cambodia, in spite of the myriad difficulties it

encountered, the peace process has now successfully

completed the final stage of implementation of the Paris

Agreements. We have wholeheartedly welcomed and

endorsed the outcome of the elections conducted under the

auspices of the United Nations Transitional Authority in

Cambodia (UNTAC). We have also welcomed the

completion of the work of the elected Constituent Assembly

with the promulgation of a new democratic constitution

establishing a constitutional monarchy. And just a few days

ago, the Government and people of Indonesia shared the

sense of joy and deep satisfaction at the official inauguration

of His Majesty King Norodom Sihanouk Varman as Head of

State, and the formation of the new Government of

Cambodia.

We all realize, however, that even after the expiry of

UNTAC’s mandate and the installation of the new

Cambodian Government, the United Nations and the

international community should continue to support the

people of Cambodia in the reconstruction of their country.

Indonesia, together with the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN), stands ready to contribute its share to this

effort.

Indonesia wishes to pay a tribute to His Majesty

King Norodom Sihanouk for his visionary leadership in

achieving this historic watershed in Cambodia’s history, in

unifying the Cambodian people and in bringing about

national reconciliation. My delegation would like to express

its gratitude to the Secretary-General and his Special

Representative, Mr. Yasushi Akashi, for their contributions

to a just and comprehensive settlement of the Cambodian

question. We also pay special homage to all UNTAC

personnel and volunteers who sacrificed their lives in the

performance of their mission to bring peace to Cambodia.

Increasingly, the international community has come to

recognize that, in a world dramatically transformed since the

end of the cold-war era, lasting peace and security can never

be assured in the absence of economic growth and

development. Yet despite the profound and positive changes

wrought in the political sphere, no corresponding

improvements have been registered in the world economy or

in international economic relations. It is therefore imperative

that international economic cooperation and development are

accorded top priority on the international agenda. The

crucial development challenges for the 1990s continue to be

the reinvigoration of world economic growth, the

acceleration of the socio-economic development of the

developing countries on a sustainable basis and, above all,

the eradication of poverty from the face of the earth.

By all accounts, the world economy has failed to

achieve substantial improvement over the past year. Belying

almost all official forecasts, recession in the developed

countries and stagnation in the developing countries have

persisted. According to the 1993 World Economic Survey,

world output will be outpaced by world population growth

rates for the third year in a row. These negative

macroeconomic developments have exacted an enormous toll

on the developing countries. Consequently, poverty and

underdevelopment remain the distinguishing features of the

majority of the developing countries. In the most vulnerable

economies, these have reached crisis proportions. Of

especially grave concern is the prolonged critical situation in

Africa, where tens of millions of people remain trapped in

abject poverty and social deprivation.

In this era of increasing interdependence among nations

and escalating globalization, issues and problems, especially

those relating to growth and development, have become

global in nature and therefore cannot be solved through

short-term relief measures or through piecemeal reforms.

Therefore, all nations, both in the North and in the South,

should forge a new compact on development and, through a

democratic partnership, fashion global solutions to these

28 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

problems. Only in that way can we hope to restructure the

international economic system, redress its imbalances, and

render international economic cooperation more equitable

and thus more viable and more mutually beneficial.

The non-aligned and other developing countries

therefore call for the reactivation of a constructive dialogue

between the North and South. But this time, such a dialogue

should be based on genuine interdependence, mutuality of

interests and of benefits and shared responsibility. The

developing countries have expressed their readiness, both at

the non-aligned summit in Jakarta last September and in the

Standing Ministerial Committee for Economic Cooperation

in Bali last May, to engage the developed countries actively

in a dialogue on the key issues of the world economy. In

this context, President Soeharto of Indonesia, as Chairman

of the Non-Aligned Movement, in his meeting with then

Prime Minister Miyazawa of Japan as Chairman of the

Group of Seven on the eve of the G-7 Summit last July,

seized the opportunity to convey the non-aligned message,

entitled "An Invitation to Dialogue", to the developed

countries.

At that meeting, the Chairman of the Group of Seven

and the Chairman of the Non-Aligned Movement concurred

on the need to pursue a comprehensive approach to the

integrated issues of trade, investment and debt strategies,

including the review of the latter through the Paris Club. In

this encouraging first step the initiative by the Non-Aligned

Movement to establish a more constructive approach on

issues of mutual concern and interest was welcomed by the

Group of Seven, a fact that was subsequently reflected in the

Tokyo summit economic declaration.

Indonesia strongly believes that these positive

developments have bolstered the spirit of partnership already

articulated and demonstrated at such meetings as the eighth

session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and

Development (UNCTAD VIII) and the United Nations

Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED).

This evolving spirit of partnership should now be further

fostered and built upon during this session of the Assembly.

Obviously, both developed and developing countries have a

shared interest in jointly promoting this process across a

wide spectrum of key economic issues of common concern.

It is important that we in the Assembly carry the process

forward in concrete terms, and for this purpose the

non-aligned and other developing countries intend to submit

a draft resolution aimed at the reactivation of dialogue

between the developed and the developing countries. In this

context, the Secretary-General should be requested to prepare

a report on the modalities and ways and means of

reactivating such a dialogue. We believe that this would

complement his forthcoming report on an agenda for

development, which will contain an analysis and substantive

recommendations on ways to enhance the role of the United

Nations in the promotion of international cooperation for

development.

Such a spirit of partnership, lamentably, is conspicuous

by its absence from some other forums, particularly the

Uruguay Round negotiations, which are still mired in an

obdurate impasse. In this regard we sincerely hope that the

commitment made by the major developed countries at their

recent summit in Tokyo will translate into effective action

that will break the stalemate and bring about an equitable

and balanced conclusion to the Round.

Among the most urgent issues on the global economic

agenda is the external debt crisis of the developing countries

which, contrary to perception in some quarters, is still far

from being resolved and indeed continues to be exacerbated

by volatile exchange rate fluctuations in the major

currencies. Here too there is an obvious need for a

coordinated approach, in the spirit of partnership, involving

debtor and creditor nations as well as the international

financial institutions. Such an approach should aim at

decisive reductions in the bilateral, multilateral and

commercial debt burdens, especially of the least developed

and other severely indebted developing countries, in a way

that would at the same time allow sustained recovery and

growth.

Regrettably, all too often there has been a one-sided

view of the causes of the debt crisis which tends to fault the

developing countries for excessive and imprudent borrowing

and for the misuse of the resources thus obtained. This view

tends to ignore the link between the debt crisis, the paucity

of resource flows on appropriate terms, and the adverse turn

taken by the world economy since the early 1980s. This in

turn explains the insistence on domestic policy reforms on

the part of the debtor countries as the principal remedial

instrument.

The truth is that the debt crisis of the developing

countries is a manifestation of the shortcomings of the

international system in providing access to adequate longterm resources on satisfactory terms. The gap was filled by

private banks, lending on inappropriate terms. The crisis

was triggered by deflationary policies introduced by the

developed countries. Debt-servicing became an oppressive

burden on the borrower countries when export earnings

declined following the collapse of commodity prices and

growing restrictions on market access to developed countries.

Forty-eighth session - 1 October l993 29

It is true that for a few middle-income countries the

debt crisis may be largely over. The same can be said for

the international commercial banks which in the past

provided these countries with huge amounts of loans.

However, for many low-income countries as well as lowermiddle-income countries the debt crisis is far from over.

Thus around 50 severely indebted countries continue to

experience great difficulties in servicing their debt, at a

terrible cost to their economies striving for recovery and

development.

Urgent action is needed and debt relief for these

countries should receive the highest priority, in particular for

those among the 50 countries which are the least developed

countries. To avoid any misunderstanding, Indonesia does

not regard itself as being among those 50 countries. The

Non-Aligned Movement has made this issue one of its

priorities in South-South cooperation and a programme is at

present being developed to extend concrete assistance to

these countries to augment their efforts at debt management.

The debt crisis must be considered as one of the factors

that led to the social crisis of the 1990s, for the latter is

clearly a function of poverty and underdevelopment which

in turn have given rise to internal political instability in

many countries.

In the efforts of the United Nations system and various

countries to address the social crisis, new and valuable

insights have recently been gained. It is irrefutable that in

developing countries structural changes have exacted an

exorbitant human cost. The developed countries too have

not been spared from this crisis, as the prolonged recession

has greatly strained their social security systems. Clearly,

therefore, the social crisis also calls for a global approach,

and indeed a consensus is growing that development and

international cooperation "should put people first".

Indonesia shares this view and fully commits itself to

the active participation of the people in the decision-making

processes involved in development, and to the protection and

promotion of human rights in all their manifestations,

including the right to development. We therefore look

forward to participating actively in such forthcoming

conferences as the World Summit for Social Development in

1995 and the World Conference on Women in the same

year. The World Conference on Population and

Development to be held in Cairo early next year should

provide an occasion for the international community to

cooperate on the basis of the essential linkages between

development, population and environmental protection. The

proposal to convene an international conference on financing

for development should be given serious consideration. We

anticipate the forthcoming report by the Secretary-General

on an agenda for development will mark an important

milestone in international cooperation for development.

With this report we hope that development will finally be

accorded as much emphasis as that given to the political

agenda.

A short time ago, the World Conference on Human

Rights was convened in Vienna. Surpassing most

expectations, the Conference adopted a Declaration and

Programme of Action which affirmed, among other things,

the principles of universality, indivisibility and

non-selectivity in the promotion and protection of human

rights. We are heartened by the fact that the Vienna

Conference recognized that in the promotion of human rights

and fundamental freedoms, the significance of national and

regional particularities and the various historical, cultural and

religious backgrounds of States must be taken into account.

Approved by consensus, the Vienna Declaration and

Programme of Action represents a new paradigm from which

to promote human rights in a non-selective, cooperative and

balanced manner. That being the case, the use of human

rights as political conditionalities for economic cooperation

is entirely against the agreements reached in Vienna.

This session of the General Assembly has been asked

to consider the establishment of a post of high commissioner

for human rights. It is Indonesia’s considered view that such

consideration should lay emphasis on the practical feasibility

of establishing this post and on whether such action would

in reality and practice enhance the promotion and protection

of human rights as called for in the United Nations Charter.

For it may be more beneficial to direct our attention to

enhancing the authority and efficacy of the existing

mechanisms and bodies, particularly the Centre for Human

Rights in Geneva.

The end of the cold war has opened a new chapter in

the history of humankind, a chapter full of portents as well

as bright promise. The essential text of this chapter is yet

to be written, in this Assembly and in the various

international forums where crucial issues are taken up. As

the principal international institution for multilateral

cooperation and negotiation, the United Nations has a central

role in the shaping and fulfilment of that promise. All

nations, developed and developing alike, can and should

have a part in realizing that promise through constructive

dialogue and democratic cooperation. In the course of this

30 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

endeavour, the vision and aspirations of the developed and

the developing countries can be forged into a broad and

dynamic partnership that would effectively address the

problems of today and successfully confront the challenges

of tomorrow. We hope that this process has now made a

modest but significant beginning.