Iceland, 1996

May I congratulate you,

Sir, on your election to the presidency of the fifty-first

session of the General Assembly and pledge to you the full

support of my delegation.

During the past fiftieth-anniversary year, the States

Members of the United Nations have reaffirmed their

support for the fundamental purposes and principles of the

Organization. The momentum created by the anniversary

must now be used to adapt the Organization to new

realities. To this end, both structural and financial reforms

must be undertaken, setting priorities and reallocating

limited resources. But the point of the exercise must not be

simple cost-cutting. What we need above all is a stronger,

not a weaker, Organization, better capable of dealing with

the enormous global challenges of the twenty-first century.

There is no alternative to the United Nations. The

further evolution of the Organization is therefore inevitable.

But the Organization will not evolve in a commonly

acceptable direction under duress. Agreement on and

implementation of necessary reforms will only be achieved

in a spirit of dialogue and accommodation.

This applies not least to the ongoing work to adapt

the Security Council. Changes in its composition and

working methods should remain a priority. The Council

must better reflect political and economic realities in a

rapidly changing world. Its continued effectiveness

depends on a constructive contribution by all its members,

as well as on equitable representation and manageable

size. There should be a geographically balanced expansion

of seats in both the permanent and non-permanent

categories, including permanent seats for Germany and

Japan. We should ensure that small and medium-sized

States have the possibility to be represented in the

Council.

The United Nations system must be strengthened

further in the fields of economic and social policy and

development. The revitalization of the Economic and

Social Council is important if the Council is to serve as

an important venue for coordination and policy-making on

issues which affect our daily existence. Iceland is a

candidate for election to the Economic and Social Council

for the next term and is prepared to contribute

constructively to the work of the Council and to the

debate on its future.

The signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty (CTBT) this week will be remembered as an

important step towards limiting the nuclear-arms race and

setting us on the path of genuine nuclear disarmament. I

would like to urge Member countries to sign and ratify the

Treaty as soon as possible.

The proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of

mass destruction is of continuous concern to the

international community. Unconditional and universal

adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons (NPT), the chemical weapons and biological

weapons Conventions, and now the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is a critical step towards

eliminating weapons that threaten life on our planet.

But the horrors associated with weapons of mass

destruction must not blind us to the widespread suffering

caused by increasingly destructive conventional arms.

Landmines especially are a growing menace,

indiscriminately maiming and killing innocents no less than

combatants. Iceland strongly supports a comprehensive ban

on the use, production and export of anti-personnel

landmines.

In the aftermath of the cold war, it has become

increasingly clear how prolonged regional conflicts can

have serious international implications. Events in Iraq are

only the most recent example. Such conflicts need to be

addressed in a comprehensive manner by the United

Nations. In addition to the important function of the

Security Council, the wider United Nations system should

be employed more actively to prevent armed conflicts as

well as to assist in the reconstruction of societies emerging

from war. Vigilance towards threats or acts of aggression

which can erode regional or international stability is a

necessary part of such preventive activity. International

terrorism is aggression by unconventional means. Its

victims are mainly civilians. The use or sanction of

terrorism by individual States is unacceptable. The action

of the international community should properly reflect the

universal abhorrence of alliances between terrorists and

individual States.

The sinister scheming of terrorists and organized crime

is of growing concern, not least since it is frequently based

on illicit drug trafficking. The United Nations can do much

to enhance international cooperation in crime prevention

and in the suppression of drug trafficking across national

boundaries. Iceland supports the holding of a special

session of the General Assembly in 1998 devoted to drug

control.

The international community must move swiftly to

enhance respect for relevant human rights instruments in

areas of conflict. The establishment of international war

crimes tribunals is a step in the right direction, provided

they receive the cooperation necessary to fulfil their

mandate from all parties concerned.

Through a series of international conferences, the

Organization has, during the past few years, addressed the

most important issues facing humankind. These

conferences have highlighted both the enormity of our

task and the complex interrelationship between the

various global issues we are often called upon to deal

with, be they absolute poverty, environmental degradation,

overpopulation, human rights abuses or social injustice.

Having concluded this unprecedented series of

conferences with the second United Nations Conference

on Human Settlements in Istanbul last June, we owe it to

future generations to join hands and spare no effort to

implement the decisions reached.

Universal human rights are the foundation on which

we base the work of the United Nations. This includes the

safeguarding of gender equality and the rights of the most

vulnerable groups in society: the poor and the disabled.

Children are increasingly the target of atrocities in war

and of human rights violations. Six years after the World

Summit for Children we still must do a better job of

honouring our commitments to children. In this context,

Iceland welcomes in particular the recommendations of

the Stockholm World Congress against Commercial

Sexual Exploitation of Children and wishes to see them

followed up as soon as possible.

Hunger and malnutrition are shameful phenomena on

the eve of the twenty-first century. With the resources at

its disposal, the international community should be able

to provide food security for the whole of mankind. The

forthcoming World Food Summit will hopefully secure a

commitment at the highest political level to rapidly

achieve this objective.

As a country owing its survival and prosperity to the

harvesting of living marine resources, Iceland has

consistently underlined the potential of the oceans as a

major source of nutrition. Icelandic fisheries have

developed experience and technology which could benefit

others. The Government of Iceland is prepared to

facilitate international cooperation in this field. Iceland

has contributed actively to the establishment of

international law governing the protection and sustainable

utilization of the oceans. The United Nations Convention

on the Law of the Sea has already proven to be a historic

success in the field of international law and remains

among the greatest achievements of the United Nations.

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The seas and the ocean floors are the depositories of

enormous resources. The agreement of the international

community on an extensive legal framework on this subject

is therefore a major accomplishment. The Convention offers

the prospect of resolving serious conflicts on the uses of the

seas which could be detrimental to international

cooperation. The Convention has already provided the basis

for further agreements, such as the recently concluded

Agreement relating to the Conservation and Management of

Straddling Fish Stocks and Highly Migratory Fish Stocks.

Iceland has actively participated in the adoption of the

Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the

Marine Environment from Land-based Activities. Pollution

of this sort is responsible for over 80 per cent of all marine

pollution. In order to facilitate the implementation of the

Programme, a draft resolution on institutional arrangements

will be addressed by the General Assembly at this session.

However, major challenges remain. Controlling the use

of persistent organic pollutants needs to be addressed.

Iceland welcomes the proposal put forward within the

United Nations Environment Programme to establish an

international committee in 1997 with the aim of reaching a

global agreement on this question.

This year, Iceland celebrates the fiftieth anniversary of

its membership in the United Nations. We have strongly

emphasized constructive participation. This reflects our

belief in the importance of multilateral cooperation for

smaller States and, in particular, in the hopes and

aspirations attached to the world Organization.

The United Nations is ideally capable of achievements

in specific areas which are beyond the reach of national or

regional authorities. However, it will never attain the

capacity to meet all expectations. As Member States debate

reforms, I would like to emphasize the importance of

setting priorities and making them well known. The shaping

of a new United Nations suited for the twenty-first century

must be complemented by vigorous information efforts with

the aim of ensuring continued public confidence and

support.