Italy, 2003

I have the honour to

address the fifty-eighth session of the General

Assembly on behalf of the European Union, over which

Italy presides until 31 December 2003. The associated

countries, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia,

Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, the Slovak

Republic and Slovenia, align themselves with this

statement.

On this occasion, I cannot forget the sacrifice of

Sergio Vieira de Mello and the other United Nations

officials who recently fell victim to blind,

indiscriminate hatred in Baghdad. Allow me also to

pay a tribute to the memory of the Foreign Minister of

Sweden, Anna Lindh, the victim of a brutal act of

violence. In their memory and in the memory of all

those who gave their lives in the service of freedom,

democracy and human rights, the European Union pays

a heartfelt tribute.

Two weeks ago, we commemorated the second

anniversary of 11 September. The European Union

remembers with great sorrow the victims of those

attacks, when the horror of terrorism struck this city,

the United States and the world.

The European Union welcomes the Secretary-

General's recent report on the implementation of the

development goals indicated in the United Nations

Millennium Declaration and its conclusions. We share

his view that the multilateral institutions should be

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updated and strengthened, and we are ready to

contribute actively to the goal of building an

international order based on effective multilateral

institutions and within the fundamental framework of

the Charter.

We are all convinced that two of the greatest

threats to peace and security today are terrorism and

the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The European Union condemns all acts of

terrorism, which are threats to democracy, human

rights and economic and social development. We must

be firm in our determination to destroy this virus and

free present and future generations from its attacks.

Efforts to combat terrorism must respect human rights

and the fundamental freedoms, the rule of law and

humanitarian law.

In this struggle, we are working in close

collaboration with and give our full support to the

United Nations. It is a battle that must be conducted for

the sake of freedom and democracy the universal

values enshrined in the Charter, which should be

deeply rooted in the lives of all the peoples of this

globalized world.

We must show the same commitment to stop the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their

vectors. We cannot shirk our responsibilities. The

European Union has doubled its efforts to put an end to

this threat to international peace and security. After

having recently agreed to an action plan, we are now

busy with its implementation. Universal subscription to

the main multilateral agreements is at the heart of the

European Union's policies.

World peace and security are indivisible. The

peoples of Europe are well aware of the need to

address both the military and the humanitarian aspects

of the North Korean situation. The European Union is

closely watching the six-party talks aimed at resolving

the current crisis relative to North Korea's nuclear

programme. The European Union sends a firm appeal

to North Korea to completely dismantle its nuclear

programme in a prompt transparent, verifiable and

irreversible manner, in compliance with the obligations

deriving from international non-proliferation

agreements.

The European Union reiterates its request to India

and Pakistan to adhere to the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to act in

compliance with Security Council resolution 1172

(1998). We forcefully encourage India and Pakistan to

pursue a process of political dialogue that will lead to

an agreement that is satisfactory to all the parties on all

the controversial points, including Kashmir: a problem

that cannot be resolved through violence or terrorism.

The European Union expresses its growing

concern over the development of the Iranian nuclear

programme and the risks of proliferation that it

involves. We reiterate our expectation that Iran will

demonstrate accelerated cooperation and full

transparency with the International Atomic Energy

Agency (IAEA) by acceding to its requests. Urgent and

unconditional acceptance, signature and the

implementation of an IAEA additional protocol on

safeguards are of the utmost importance. The

international community would consider it a sign of

Iran's commitment to the non-proliferation framework

and a step toward the desired reforms.

The non-proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction is a priority. It requires constant political

pressure and the use of every political and diplomatic

instrument available as the first line of defence. We

cannot allow weapons of mass destruction to end up in

the hands of terrorists or regimes that represent a threat

to world peace.

In that context, another grave danger is

represented by the increasing spread of light and

portable weapons and by the expansion of armed

organized violence, whose toll in human lives has

begun to exceed the lives lost in wars.

With regard to non-proliferation, the European

Union is firmly committed to supporting the United

Nations, particularly the Security Council, in pursuit of

the following common objectives: strengthening

international agreements; increasing support for the

monitoring agencies; and intensifying controls over

illegal trafficking. Finally, should all political and

diplomatic measures fail, recourse to coercive

measures provided for by the Charter cannot be ruled

out.

However, recourse to force can be avoided if all

the instruments of international law, including human

rights safeguards, come to prevail in all their effects.

We are all persuaded that that is the proper thing to do.

To that end, the European Union considers the

International Criminal Court a new instrument with

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great powers of deterrence and reiterates its full

support for the Court and its universalization.

The EU is and will always remain committed to

the promotion and protection of all human rights and

all fundamental freedoms. In that context, we reiterate

our strong support for achieving universal abolition of

the death penalty. In recent years, important progress

has been made in that direction, thanks in part to civil

society. Abolition is our primary goal. Where capital

punishment continues to exist, however, we are

requesting that its application be impeded through a

general moratorium on executions.

Conflict prevention and crisis management are

essential components of the EU's contribution to

safeguarding international peace and security. More

than 40,000 men and women of the European Union

are currently deployed on United Nations-led

or -authorized peace operations in the world.

The Union is directly involved in missions in the

former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Bosnia and

Herzegovina and, until a few days ago, the Democratic

Republic of the Congo, where it demonstrated its will

to contribute to the international community's efforts to

restore peace and stability in Africa, including by

military means.

In light of this concrete commitment, the

European Union reaffirms its support for reforming and

strengthening United Nations peacekeeping activities.

The decision by the Council of the European

Union to strengthen cooperation between the European

Union and the United Nations in the area of crisis

management reaffirms the Union's strategic relations

with the Organization. The Union is now drafting

guidelines on the protection of civilians in Union-led

peacekeeping operations that will fully reflect United

Nations principles.

Democracy is the only system of government that

can fully guarantee respect for human rights while

fostering development, prosperity and peace. The

European Union plans to increase cooperation with

countries that share the values of freedom and

democracy. In a spirit of openness towards the entire

international community, the European Union states its

willingness to give support to all States that intend to

comply with those principles.

The European Union continues to consider its

relations with Africa a priority and recalls the common

commitment to strengthen this dialogue. The European

Union has expressed a special interest in strengthening

African peacekeeping and conflict-resolution

capacities, and has also targeted its initiatives in those

fields on Africa. We are committed to supporting the

efforts of the African Union to establish a regional

security mechanism.

The European Union will continue to work for

inter-African peace and will support the efforts of

African States to end the many conflicts that afflict the

continent. Stable conditions for peace cannot be

created, however, without a strategy to eradicate the

causes of poverty and the social exclusion that fuel so

many conflicts in Africa and other regions of the

world.

On the long road towards managing globalization

and spreading its benefits to all, Europe will remain

firmly committed to Africa, and the European Union's

privileged partnership with African countries shall

continue. In this framework, we reiterate our support

for the New Partnership for Africa's Development and

for the hopes that it represents for African

development.

The European Union's special commitment to

Africa should also be seen in the framework of the

Millennium Development Goals, primarily designed to

eradicate poverty, hunger, disease, social and gender

inequality and environmental degradation. In this

regard, we reaffirm our commitment to fight AIDS,

tuberculosis and malaria with a view to eradicating

them.

The European Union expresses its deep regret

over the failure to achieve substantial progress at the

Cancun Conference organized by the World Trade

Organization (WTO), especially with regard to

agricultural products. We remain convinced that

increased liberalization of world trade, together with

development cooperation activities, can play a crucial

role in achieving the Millennium Development Goals

for a better world. This is why the European Union

believes that it is important to continue the negotiations

in the WTO framework with the determination and

flexibility needed to honour the commitments

enshrined in the Doha Development Agenda.

The European Union has made a financial

commitment, in line with the Monterrey objectives, to

increase official development assistance to 0.39 per

cent of gross national product by 2006.

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Our commitment does not stop at financial

contributions. We also intend to join our development

partners in a process that integrates the fight against

poverty and disease with progress in the field of

safeguarding human rights and fundamental freedoms,

good governance and environmental protection. The

protection of our environment, including through

implementing the commitments undertaken by signing

the Kyoto Protocol, is the benchmark of our ability to

foster sustainable development that reconciles the

demands of economic and social progress with the need

to protect natural resources. Those two goals are not

alternatives but rather the pillars of the Johannesburg

Declaration.

The European Union appreciates the progress

made since the fifty-seventh session of the General

Assembly following the presentation of the Secretary-

General's report on reform, Strengthening of the

United Nations: an agenda for further change'

(A/57/387 and Corr.1). It continues to support the

Secretary-General's efforts to implement the reforms

needed to bring about efficient management capable of

achieving the objectives established for the United

Nations by the international community. We will work

for the adoption of a budget plan for the 2004-2005

biennium that supports the implementation of the

Millennium Declaration and the reform process begun

during the Assembly's fifty-seventh session.

Safeguarding international peace and security

requires a strong commitment to address regional

conflicts. A lack of such a commitment could entail

increased destabilization, to the detriment of the entire

international community.

In the Middle East, the European Union is deeply

concerned by the deterioration of relations between the

State of Israel and the Palestinian Authority and

reiterates its strong support for the road map, the only

hope for lasting peace and for paving the way towards

stability and development in the region. The European

Union will lend its efforts to this end within the

Quartet. To implement the road map, it is also

important that the European Union and the Group of

Eight countries have a specific and generous

commitment to a plan for the comprehensive economic

reconstruction of the area. Both Israel and the

Palestinian Authority must act urgently to implement

the commitments contained in the road map.

In Iraq, the European Union has welcomed the

end of Saddam Hussain's regime, whose power was

built on fear and the violation of human rights. The

formation of the Iraqi Governing Council was the first

major step towards a representative government of the

Iraqi people. The European Union stresses the

importance of the restoration of Iraqi sovereignty and

the establishment of a fully representative Iraqi

Government through democratic elections. The United

Nations has a vital role in this process. The upcoming

donors conference in Madrid provides a welcome

opportunity for all those who share our concern for

Iraq's future to make a positive contribution to the

political and economic regeneration of Iraq. We

recognize that, for the reconstruction process to be

successful, it will need to be accompanied by

improvements in the security situation.

In Afghanistan, the European Union wishes to

express its full appreciation for the work done by the

United Nations within the framework of the Bonn

process.

We will continue to assure our support for the

process of democratization also through assistance to

the reconstruction of the country. The European Union

underlines the importance of an effective reform in the

area of security as the basis for lasting security and

stability in Afghanistan and throughout the region. The

preparations for the 2004 elections to choose a

government and parliament that are representative of

all components of Afghan society are of primary

importance.

In accordance with the conclusions of the

European Council of Thessaloniki, the European Union

will continue to work tirelessly in support of the

Secretary-General's efforts to achieve a

comprehensive, just, viable and functional solution to

the Cyprus problem, consistent with the relevant

Security Council resolutions.

Relations between the countries of Europe and

Latin America are rooted in history and provide the

basis for intense collaboration and for the European

Union's strong interest in the region. The European

Union is committed to further improving the overall

arrangements of its relations with the countries of

Central and South America.

Lastly, the European Union will continue to

support the processes of stabilization, democratization

and development in the western Balkans. At the

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European Union-Balkan Summit in Thessaloniki, the

European Union reaffirmed its full consensus on the

future European perspective of the region. The

realization of those hopes will depend on the ability of

the individual countries in the region to implement

institutional, governmental and economic reforms, and

on the fulfilment of the political criteria of the

European Union, including full cooperation with the

International Criminal Tribunal for the Former

Yugoslavia and progress in the field of respect for the

rights of minorities.

The events of recent decades have profoundly

changed the world order. Today the conditions exist for

the democracies of the world to unite in order to spread

those values that are the unavoidable premise for all

others: freedom and democracy.

In the Millennium Declaration we promised food,

water, health and education to the greatest possible

number of citizens. Now the democracies must commit

themselves to providing, also and above all, the

intangible values from which the other, more tangible

ones spring, because without the prerequisites of

freedom and democracy there can be no hope for

lasting peace and development, nor can there be an

ultimate defeat of the challenge of poverty.