Iceland, 1998

Allow me at the outset

to congratulate Mr. Opertti upon his election to his

prestigious position. I am convinced that he will guide us

wisely through the fifty-third session of the General

Assembly.

The world community is now confronted with

several dangerous situations which threaten the existence

of millions of people, situations which demand immediate

action by our Organization. I would like to draw special

attention to the plight of the people of Kosovo and the

alarming situation in several countries in Africa, where

wars have caused appalling suffering and directly threaten

the development and advancement of the whole continent.

Our Organization is also confronted with issues of a

universal nature which can determine the future of

humankind, such as the protection of the environment and

the delicate balance between economic growth and the

conservation of natural resources. In this respect, the

protection of the oceans and the marine ecosystem is one

of the most important tasks facing us today.

The fact that this is the International Year of the

Ocean allows me to draw the Assembly?s attention to the

fact that the oceans are the single largest source of protein

and a crucial part of Earth?s ecosystem. We have to come

to grips with the reality that the ocean?s bounty is finite

and that the ocean is not a bottomless receptacle of

human waste and pollution.

Pollution of the seas from land-based sources

remains a daunting problem. However, effective

implementation of the Washington Global Programme of

Action will certainly bring about much improvement in

this respect. Pollution by persistent organic pollutants is

another major concern. Prompt completion by the year

2000 of a legally binding instrument dealing with some of

these pollutants will be an important step towards

reducing and eventually eliminating this kind of pollution.

Accidents in which radioactive material from nuclear

waste treatment plants has spilled into the sea have

demonstrated clearly the dangers of such facilities. Under

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no circumstances should such plants be allowed to operate

near the ocean. It is my hope that our generation will take

the necessary measures so that future generations inherit

clean oceans free from contamination.

Nations with similar interests must strive for

agreements on sharing and sensibly managing common

stocks and fisheries on the high seas. We must ensure that

the harvesting of living marine resources can continue and

that economic development and conservation go hand in

hand. In order to ensure a vibrant and profitable fisheries

sector, States need to introduce the principles of private

enterprise into the fishing industry and make its products

compete on the free market. In Iceland we have devised a

market-driven fisheries management system which

encompasses both conservation of our resources and their

sustainable use.

The fishing stocks in the exclusive economic zone

around Iceland have been steadily growing since a system

of individual transferable fishing quotas was implemented

in order both to achieve desired economic objectives and to

protect our resources. However, fisheries in many parts of

the world are overexploited. In my view, this is mainly due

to the fisheries sector?s being inundated with government

subsidies, resulting in excess fishing capacity and the

distortion of market principles. No other single action could

bring about such positive results, in a short time, towards

achieving sustainable development in fisheries as the

elimination of government subsidies.

I would like to note that when we read United Nations

publications dealing with the state of the world?s fisheries

we are continually confronted with the expression

“overfishing”, not “fishing”. This implies, first, that

fisheries everywhere are utilized to the hilt, and, secondly,

that States in general have failed in the management of the

resources inside their economic zones. This gives a wrong

picture of the situation.

I wish to draw the Assembly?s attention to an

interesting study issued a few weeks ago by the World

Wildlife Fund on the root causes of the depletion of fish

resources in many parts of the world. The study states that

overcapacity in fishing fleets is a key factor and that

Government subsidies of this industry is another. It rightly

points out that one solution to this problem would be to

issue each fishing vessel tradeable rights to a percentage of

the catch. It goes on to say that this system has worked

well in New Zealand, Australia and Iceland.

In the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol to the

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change we stressed that the further harnessing of

Iceland?s abundant, clean and renewable energy sources

could contribute towards the global effort to limit

greenhouse gas emissions. Iceland has for decades placed

special emphasis on the utilization of clean and renewable

energy sources, such as geothermal energy and

hydropower. Of its own accord, and through extensive

investment, Iceland has replaced fossil fuels for space

heating and electricity generation with clean and

renewable energy sources. Those efforts, made prior to

1990, have severely limited the possibilities for Iceland to

further reduce the emission of greenhouse gases.

In our view, it must be recognized that the economy

of some countries is dependent on few natural resources.

They therefore have fewer options to secure their

economic base by comparison with countries with diverse

economies. It is both illogical and unfair to deny countries

the right to harness and utilize clean and renewable

energy. Such a result would run counter to the objective

of the Convention and be incompatible with Agenda 21.

This year?s substantive session of the Economic and

Social Council demonstrated clearly that the industrialized

countries must make a concentrated effort to remove

barriers to trade and integrate the developing countries

into global markets. Many developing countries now have

flourishing private sectors, competing in world markets.

Last month I had the pleasure of visiting some

countries in the southern part of Africa, of observing the

enormous human and natural wealth of these countries

and of learning first hand about the possibilities available

to the people there. It is clear that peace has brought

prosperity to those countries. My country is engaged in

development cooperation in that area, focusing on human

capacity-building as well as training and education in the

field of fisheries. It should be stressed that, parallel to the

privatization of the economy, there must be increased

funding for building up social services, health care and

education. It is my firm intention that Iceland shall

increase its official development assistance to our partner

countries in Africa. This fall, I had the pleasure of

welcoming the first students, coming from three African

countries, of the new United Nations University Fisheries

Training Programme in Iceland. We hope that in the

future students from all parts of the world will come for

training in all aspects of the fishing industry.

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I would especially like to draw attention to the

importance of strengthening the position and role of women

in society, mainly with regard to their education and active

participation in the economy. In this respect, we have to

tackle the problem of overpopulation with comprehensive

solutions.

The volatility in the world?s financial markets has led

to severe recession in many countries and slowed economic

growth in others. Globalization is a part of the development

of the world today, and for all countries it entails both risks

and benefits. The risks must be borne by all, and the

benefits must be spread evenly and widely, especially to the

poorest.

Our Organization has seldom had more urgent tasks

than preserving peace, security and human rights. I would

like to express great concern over the nuclear tests recently

conducted by two countries in South Asia, and I welcome

recent statements by those States that they will adhere to

the provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty.

War has visited many countries since we gathered here

last year. Keeping peace requires our constant vigilance. In

several African countries war and ethnic tension have

brought death and destruction. The cruel fate of children in

war is more evident now than ever before. Once again the

people of the former Yugoslavia are confronted with a

problem of tragic proportions. In Kosovo thousands of

refugees are facing hunger and a cold winter.

Conflicts where the civilian population is targeted are

abhorrent and leave scars that take a long time to heal. We

now recognize that preserving peace demands more

intensive measures than before, such as the strengthening of

democratic institutions, policing, overseeing elections,

establishing judiciary systems and monitoring human rights.

In many countries it is as though the Middle Ages had

never ended and the darkness of intolerance, cruelty and

human rights abuses descends on people?s lives every day.

The fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Human Rights

should encourage us to be stalwart in our principles. Human

rights are universal, and the veil of religion and tradition

cannot and will not be accepted as an excuse for tolerating

flagrant human rights violations.

The international community must deal successfully

with problems such as terrorism and war crimes. The world

community has had to look on in horror as terrorists have,

in cowardly fashion, targeted innocent people going about

their everyday lives. We urge States to sign and ratify the

counter-terrorism conventions. The adoption of the Statute

of the International Criminal Court this summer in Rome

shows the firm commitment of the international

community to let law take precedence over lawlessness

and justice over injustice. Once the court is firmly in

place it is our hope that criminals who commit atrocious

acts, such as crimes against humanity, genocide and war

crimes, will have no escape from the long reach of

international law. We urge all States to sign and ratify the

Statute.

We look forward to the effective implementation of

the agreed outcome of the General Assembly?s special

session on drugs. Enhancing judicial cooperation and law

enforcement cooperation is essential, as well as bearing

down on money-laundering worldwide. The elimination of

illicit crops should be a high priority in the global drug

control strategy.

We strongly support the Norwegian and Canadian

initiative to control the proliferation of small arms and

light weapons. The huge number of these weapons should

be of great concern to the international community.

Our Organization must enter the next millennium as

an effective and reformed Organization, with lean

management, result-based budget, increased action

potential in the most vital fields, strengthened finances

and a clear commitment from all Member countries to

pay their contributions without conditions.

Finally, Iceland is committed to the ideals of the

United Nations. We have always been ready to shoulder

our responsibilities in every aspect of the Organization?s

work because we believe that all Member countries

should make their mark on events shaping the world we

live in today.