Iceland, 1993

Let me begin by

congratulating the President, on his election to his high

office. I wish him every success and pledge to him the full

support of my delegation.

It gives me pleasure to welcome the new Member

States which have joined the Organization since the

beginning of the forty-seventh session of the General

Assembly - the new Member States of Andorra, Eritrea, the

Czech Republic, Monaco, the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, and Slovakia. With 184 Member States - and

even more prospective Members - our Organization is able

to claim for itself a higher degree of universality than ever.

In extending the reach of the United Nations, we serve

the basic goals for which our Organization was brought into

being; for the rule of law, freedom and the dignity and worth

of the human person are ideals common to all men,

irrespective of their cultural or geographical surroundings.

But the simple reach of the United Nations must not be

confused with its comprehensiveness as an institution.

Therefore, as we recommit ourselves to the basic objectives

inscribed in the United Nations Charter almost 50 years ago,

we must also maintain the flexibility necessary to readjust

our structures and working habits accordingly.

The question how to maintain the cohesiveness of the

United Nations amidst the myriad - and at times conflicting -

demands being made of it presents itself nowadays with

particular force. Changes on the world stage have taken

place with almost dizzying speed in the last four years. The

most important of those changes, the passing of the cold

war, has created new opportunities for the United Nations

and has raised expectations among the peoples of the world

at large. At the same time, the world itself has in many

ways become more unpredictable, placing serious obstacles

on the path of long-term planning.

To escape this quandary, there is a need to take a

balanced view of what the United Nations can and cannot be

expected to do. We must moderate ambition with reality.

We must not divorce the words we use from the actions we

are willing to take. If we do, we may indeed succeed in

building a Platonic city in speech, a United Nations which

would stand only a limited chance of ever being actualized,

but the down side would be to risk undermining the trust

invested by the public in our Organization.

On the bright side, a number of recent developments

have helped the United Nations in translating its basic vision

into reality. Breakthroughs have taken place in regional

conflicts which have been a thorn in the side of the

international community for several decades. Governments

have increasingly come to recognize the growing threat to

the ecosystem of our planet. The protection of human rights

is no longer seen as the exclusive domain of the nation

State. Last but not least, mankind has moved further away

from the brink of nuclear Armageddon.

Those are considerable accomplishments. But this is

none the less hardly the time for members of the community

of nations to congratulate each other. There are regions of

the world where terrifying carnage is still taking place before

our very eyes. Deterioration of the environment, while

highly uneven in gravity and scope, is a long way from

being reversed. Human-rights abuses continue in many

places on an appalling scale. And while the threat of a

worldwide nuclear catastrophe may have passed, there is a

dangerous proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,

bringing uncertainty and new instabilities in its wake. Now

is clearly the time to rise above these issues that divide our

Assembly and to concentrate our efforts on dealing with

such challenges effectively.

The landmark peace agreement recently signed between

former adversaries in the Middle East should be a source of

encouragement to all nations. We are being reminded of the

ancient truth that where there is sufficient devotion and will

among the parties concerned, there is also a way to solve

even the most intractable issues. My Government welcomes

the historic accord between the State of Israel and the

Palestine Liberation Organization. We hope that the mutual

recognition of the two parties will yield further agreements

in the region, paving the way for a comprehensive peace

settlement.

While paying tribute to the vision and bravery of Israeli

and Palestinian leaders, I take this opportunity to

congratulate the Government of Norway on its initiative in

bringing the ancient adversaries together at the same table,

and I also commend the Governments of the United States

and Russia for their valuable mediation. It is now up to the

world community to provide the political support and the

economic aid for reconstruction so vitally needed to keep the

process alive. The Nordic Governments, for their part, have

34 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

already decided to participate fully in that endeavour. This

is a process which cannot be permitted to fail.

The world community has recently witnessed another

bold step forward, which, hopefully, also marks an important

contribution to international peace and stability. I am

referring to the courageous statesmanship of the President of

the Russian Federation, Boris Yeltsin, in moving decisively

towards democratic elections to Parliament. As the only

democratically elected representative of the Russian people,

President Yeltsin deserves the vigorous support of the

outside world in carrying out his far-reaching programme of

reform.

A different area offering a glimmer of hope is South

Africa. My Government welcomes recent progress towards

genuine democracy in South Africa, including the decision

to hold free and fair elections next year. The international

community should now speedily heed the call of Mr. Nelson

Mandela, made from this podium last week, for the removal

of all economic sanctions, an action Iceland hopes will serve

fully to normalize the status of South Africa in the

community of nations. Iceland, for its part, has already

abolished the embargo on trade with South Africa.

Sadly, we face continuation of the conflicts in the

former Yugoslavia, not least the tragic situation prevailing in

Bosnia and Herzegovina. It serves to remind us that ethnic

conflicts can no longer be regarded as the sole responsibility

of individual States. The inhumanity perpetrated on innocent

civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina and other former

Yugoslav Republics has reached a point where the

international community must act, and decisively, with all

the resources provided for in the Charter of the United

Nations. My Government fully supports the negotiations

sponsored by the United Nations and the European

Community, and looks forward to an early agreement and

implementation of the Geneva peace plan. The parties to the

conflict must be brought to realize that a solution can be

found only through peaceful means. Iceland also attaches

importance to the effective functioning of the war crimes

Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. Those responsible for

atrocities must be brought to justice.

As the conflict in the former Yugoslavia has exposed

the present limitations of regional structures, the United

Nations has assumed responsibility for reintroducing peace

and stability in the area. Meanwhile, there are outstanding

examples of cooperation and coordination between the

United Nations and other organizations, including the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the Western European

Union (WEU) and the Conference on Security and

Cooperation in Europe (CSCE) in the implementation of

Security Council resolutions with regard to the former

Yugoslavia.

In Iceland’s view there is a need to develop these

relationships further. Suffice it to say that NATO’s

readiness to employ military force for the relief of Sarajevo

and for the long-term implementation of the Geneva peace

plan would serve the interests of the international community

and should therefore be welcomed and encouraged.

Two years ago we welcomed the three Baltic States,

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as sovereign Members of the

United Nations. Since then the world community, and their

European neighbours in particular, have reached out and

offered cooperation and help in the ongoing reconstruction

of those Republics. The Baltic States have, for their part,

demonstrated their willingness to live up to the highest

standards of democratic societies. They adhere to

international instruments and are members of organizations

that are fully capable of monitoring their respect for

international obligations in the field of human rights and

fundamental freedoms. I should like to express my

Government’s hope that negotiations on the departure of all

foreign military forces from Estonia and Latvia will soon be

successfully concluded and a clear timetable established.

The recent departure of foreign forces from Lithuania should

set an example.

Restoring the environment and attaining sustainable

global development are among the most challenging tasks

facing the world community today. The outcome of the

United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, held in Rio de Janeiro last year, has brought

those tasks into sharper focus. The subsequent establishment

of the Commission on Sustainable Development was an

important step in facilitating international cooperation for the

effective follow-up and implementation of the outcome of

the Conference. However, declarations, strategies and action

plans are only as good as their implementation. If the

credibility of the United Nations in this area is to be

maintained in the wake of the Rio Conference, we must

make sure to obtain real action and results.

The action programme contained in Agenda 21 of the

Rio Conference provides a sound basis for our individual or

joint activities aimed at sustainable development. It does

not, however, cover all activities harmful to the environment,

including pollution of the marine environment from

land-based activities and the depletion of marine living

resources in many parts of the world. While the programme

contains important recommendations pertinent to these

Forty-eighth session - 27 September l993 35

issues, the main responsibility for developing global action

to protect the marine environment and to conserve its living

resources has been delegated to other forums, including the

United Nations Conference on Straddling Fish Stocks and

Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.

Iceland has participated actively in that Conference.

Together with Argentina, Canada, Chile and New Zealand,

Iceland has submitted a draft convention that seeks to deal

on a global level with the conservation and rational

management of straddling fish stocks and highly migratory

fish stocks. Consistent with the United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea, the draft convention calls for

increased regional cooperation in the establishment of

conservation and management measures and elaborates

mechanisms for the enforcement of agreed measures. My

Government will continue to work with all other interested

Governments to achieve results at the next session of the

Conference, results acceptable to all fishing nations, both

distant-water States and coastal States.

As a nation overwhelmingly dependent on marine living

resources, Iceland has supported efforts to establish an

international regime to govern all aspects of the uses of the

oceans. Iceland participated actively in the Third United

Nations Conference on the Law of the Sea and ratified the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1985.

Iceland believes that the Convention provides for a widely

acceptable regime for the rational exploitation of the world’s

marine resources and establishes rules for a wide range of

uses for the seas, thereby reducing the potential for conflict

among States in this field.

The Government of Iceland is greatly encouraged by

the results of the most recent round of consultations, under

the auspices of the Secretary-General, directed at addressing

problems which have prevented certain industrialized

countries from becoming parties to the Convention. We are

hopeful that at the next round agreement will be reached on

the framework of negotiations which will enable the early

entry into force of the Convention with universal

participation.

As early as 1989 Iceland emphasized in this forum the

need for a new international instrument, an "Earth Charter",

which would define the responsibilities and rights of nations

with respect to the environment. My Government regrets

that an agreement on such a charter was not reached before

the Rio Conference. We would therefore strongly support

transforming the Rio Declaration into an "Earth Charter"

before the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations two

years hence.

All nations have an obligation not only to protect and

preserve the environment, but also to promote human rights

and foster social and economic progress. The United

Nations Conference on Human Rights held in Vienna last

June was a world event of major significance. The results

of the Conference, especially when seen in the context of

improvements in the international political climate in the

recent past, give us reason to hope for a more effective

implementation of human rights and fundamental freedoms

everywhere.

For the first time ever it appears that the majority of

countries in the world now pledge allegiance to the

principles of democratic rule of law. Still, we are

confronted with breaches of human rights all around the

world. In the follow-up to the Conference on Human

Rights, we must address such breaches squarely and focus

attention on ensuring greater respect and accountability by

Governments for the protection of human rights. This

means, among other things, devoting more resources to this

field as a reflection of the political commitment of Member

States. Increased resources are required if the Centre for

Human Rights is to be able to provide effective advisory

services and human-rights monitoring. At the same time,

Iceland would like to support the establishment of the post

of high commissioner for human rights.

The determination of our countries to promote social

progress and better standards of life is an important

commitment embedded in the United Nations Charter.

Iceland hopes that the world summit in 1995 will serve to

bring issues of social development into sharper focus and

highlight, in particular, the plight of the more than one

billion people living below the absolute poverty line.

In this connection, I would like to draw special

attention to the growing problem of world population

control, which could have serious social, economic and

environmental repercussions if not properly managed in the

decades ahead. Around 90 per cent of the predicted world

population growth between now and the end of the first

quarter of the twenty-first century is expected to occur in the

developing countries, placing enormous new strains on their

resources. Against this background, the decision to convene

an international conference on population and development

in Cairo next year is to be welcomed.

To stimulate social development, we need, among other

things, economic growth. The liberalization of world trade

is the single most important vehicle for world economic

growth. The growing importance of the General Agreement

on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) is clearly manifested in the

36 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

flood of new accessions and the overriding importance

attached to the Uruguay Round by the Governments of the

world. Since the end of the cold war, GATT has achieved

an even greater role in international relations; countries in

transition see it as a vital venue for their relations with each

other and for their integration into the world economy. In

the last few years political walls between cultures and

nations have been demolished. Trade barriers must not,

however, be allowed to replace iron curtains.

Economic reform, the environment, job-creation and

investment, to name but a few, are issues that affect and are

affected by international trade. A successful conclusion of

the Uruguay Round, which now seems to be within reach,

would dramatically improve our ability to deal with those

problems through international cooperation and trade. A

failure, on the other hand, would be a fatal blow to the

multinational trading system and to GATT. Protectionism

would again raise its ugly head and conflicts would erupt,

with disastrous consequences for the world economy.

GATT’s business is therefore the world’s business.

The Uruguay Round represents a tremendous opportunity to

revitalize world trade. All countries stand to gain from this.

The biggest gain will accrue to the developing countries and

to economies in transition. We who are gathered here at the

General Assembly representing the citizens, our countries’

consumers, cannot and must not allow special-interest groups

to block the negotiations in the few strenuous final steps

needed to reach the goal before the end of this year.

Issues of social and economic development, of human

rights and of environmental protection are part and parcel of

the notion of extended security, which we are all getting

accustomed to in the aftermath of the cold war. Arms

control remains, however, a very important element of

post-cold-war security. The success achieved in nuclear- and

conventional-arms control in recent years represents a

historical turning-point which must be exploited for the

long-term advancement of global peace and stability. Here,

the United Nations is singularly well placed to assume a

more active role. This applies to both global perspectives

and support for regional initiatives.

The systematic acquisition of nuclear warheads, ballistic

missiles, and chemical and biological weapons by a number

of States is a matter of serious concern to the international

community. Non-proliferation should be given priority and

efforts made to ensure that the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) is both universally

adhered to and indefinitely extended. It is also to be hoped

that the present moratorium on nuclear testing will

eventually be succeeded by a comprehensive and verifiable

test ban.

Peace-keeping operations are among the areas where

the Organization has enjoyed considerable success. The

result is that Member States have placed increasing demands

on the Organization. However, the time has now come to

review the activities of the United Nations in this field. The

goal must be to ensure that peace-keeping operations serve

the purpose for which they were intended and that their

mandates are specific and more limited in time. In this

connection, the idea of a United Nations stand-by force that

would enable the United Nations to act swiftly when crises

arise should be carefully considered. The existence of such

a force would enhance the credibility of and respect for the

Organization. Meanwhile, Member States must live up to

their current obligations and pay their assessed contributions

to peace-keeping operations in full and on time.

At the outset of my speech I referred to the need for

the United Nations to be responsive to change. Since the

last review of the membership of the Security Council took

place, there has been a substantial increase in the number of

States Members of the United Nations. At the same time the

Council has, especially in recent years, increasingly assumed

the role envisaged for it in the relevant provisions of the

Charter. The time is therefore ripe to review the Council’s

membership. The goal of such a review must be to make

the Council more representative and thus, indeed, more

effective.

I would like to welcome initiatives taken recently to

streamline the structure of the United Nations and to make

its daily operations and management more effective. This is

necessary in particular in order for the Organization to

regain the trust of its Member States. In this connection,

Iceland favours the establishment of a permanent office of

inspections and investigations and hopes that such an office

will help to ensure that allegations of fraud, waste and

corruption are investigated expeditiously.

Now, more than ever, there is an opportunity for the

United Nations to adapt to the positive political

developments of the recent past and to revamp its structures

from within. Let us join forces in building a stronger United

Nations, a United Nations which embodies the ideals of its

founders and remains at the same time responsive to the

basic needs of people everywhere.