Japan, 1992

I should like, first of all, to extend my sincere

congratulations to you, Mr. President, on your election to the presidency of

the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly. At the same time, I wish

to express to Mr. Samir Shihabi my appreciation for what was accomplished

under his presidency. His visit to Japan in April 1992 further strengthened

my country's close ties to the United Nations.

Last year, seven nations were admitted to membership in the United

Nations, and this year, another thirteen became Members. On behalf of the

Government and people of Japan, I extend my heartfelt congratulations to the

representatives of the nations attending this General Assembly for the first

time. Now numbering 179 Members, the United Nations is indeed a global

Organization. At the same time, its role in maintaining world peace and

security is increasing dramatically, thus presenting the international

community with unparalleled opportunities for realizing the ideals of the

United Nations Charter.

Member States have extremely high expectations of the Secretary-General,

Mr. Boutros-Ghali, who bears the awesome burdens of his office at a

particularly crucial juncture. I take this opportunity to pledge Japan's full

support for, and cooperation with, President Ganev and Secretary-General

Boutros-Ghali as we pursue our common goals.

Now, nearly half a century after the United Nations was founded, the

international community has been freed from the constraints of East-West

confrontation based on ideology and force. Nevertheless, this post-cold-war

world faces problems arising from the changing power relationship between the

nations that dominated the old international order, the resurgence of

regionalism, and the destabilization of regions by ethnic, religious and other

strife.

The Gulf crisis showed the high political and economic costs of restoring

peace once it has been destroyed. Every day, countless refugees in what used

to be Yugoslavia are being forced to flee their homes. Every day brings

numerous reports of atrocities there. In Somalia, the civil war, compounded

by severe drought, is resulting in untold human suffering. Urgent efforts

continue to be required to overcome poverty in many developing nations, home

to the majority of the world's population. The preservation of the global

environment for our children and grandchildren is another issue that demands

our serious attention.

These challenges only underscore the need to seek solutions to problems

in a spirit of conciliation and cooperation among nations. This conciliatory

and cooperative spirit should be a key element in advancing us towards the

creation of an international order for the new era while the United Nations

assumes even greater importance as the centre of our endeavours. Thus the

time has come to review the roles and functions of the United Nations and

seriously to consider how they may be strengthened, and to reflect upon how

each of its Members might best contribute to that end.

The Security Council summit meeting held in January 1992 provided an

unprecedented opportunity to examine, at the level of Head of State or

Government, the problems confronting the international community. In the

light of the present world situation, the Secretary-General's report entitled

"An Agenda for Peace", which was drafted on the basis of the deliberations at

the summit, is indeed a timely contribution. I hold Secretary-General

Boutros-Ghali's initiative, which was realized with the diligent assistance of

the Secretariat, in the highest regard.

In Japan's view, building a peaceful world will require the following

five-pronged approach.

First, efforts must be made to ease international tensions. The

agreement reached at the summit meeting between the United States and Russia

this past June to make substantial reductions in nuclear armaments is most

welcome. It is hoped that this will lead to progress in nuclear disarmament

by all nuclear-weapon States. The problem of proliferation demands that the

regime of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons be

strengthened and made more universal. The Treaty's signatories should

harmonize their positions so that when they meet in 1995 the smooth extension

of the Treaty will be ensured.

An important facet of non-proliferation is the provision of employment

assistance to weapons scientists of the former Soviet Union. To this end,

Japan is striving to make it possible for an international science and

technology centre to begin operation promptly in cooperation with the United

States and countries of the European Community.

The conclusion of negotiations on the chemical weapons convention at the

Conference on Disarmament and the anticipated submission to the General

Assembly at the current session of the draft convention on the prohibition of

chemical weapons constitute an epochal step forward. Japan earnestly hopes

that as many nations as possible will be original signatories to this

convention.

Conventional weapons are another area in which the vigilance of concerned

nations is called for to prevent regional destabilization, especially in the

light of the major arms transfers that have already taken place in some

regions. To increase the transparency of arms transfers and thereby

strengthen trust among nations, it is important that the United Nations

Register of Conventional Arms, the establishment of which Japan proposed

jointly with the European Community and other countries last year, be

implemented effectively. Japan and its partners in this effort plan to submit

a draft resolution to the General Assembly at this session calling for the

wide participation of Member States in the Register.

Secondly, stepped-up efforts are needed to forestall the outbreak of

conflicts. Thus far, Japan has played an active role in the adoption of such

General Assembly resolutions as the Declaration on conflict prevention (43/51)

and the Declaration on United Nations fact-finding (46/59). To strengthen the

conflict-prevention function of the United Nations, the Secretary-General must

have the capacity, inter alia, to conduct fact-finding missions, to issue

early warnings and to monitor constantly the situation in potential conflict

zones. For this purpose, it is important that information about conflicts be

made immediately available to the Secretary-General.

In addition, I propose that there be set up within the United Nations

Secretariat a conflict-information clearing-house. This office would collate

information on conflicts collected through the fact-finding activities of the

Secretariat or provided by Governments, and would present it in an objective

manner to the Security Council and to Member States so as to help them

formulate their judgments on the situation.

I should also note here that Japan is in basic agreement with the concept

of preventive diplomacy described in the Secretary-General's report, but the

idea of preventive deployment of United Nations peace-keeping operations, for

example, with the consent of only one party to a conflict involves problems

which require further study.

Thirdly, stronger diplomatic efforts should be made by Members of the

United Nations to resolve conflicts peacefully. Considering the recent spate

of regional conflicts, efforts to resolve them by regional organizations and

United Nations Member States are increasingly essential. The efforts led by

the European Community to restore peace in the former Yugoslavia and the

efforts by the countries in the Asian region and the five permanent members of

the Security Council to restore peace in Cambodia are examples of the kind of

action to which I refer. The steps now being taken by the countries concerned

towards peace in the Middle East also deserve to be hailed. Japan, for its

part, also intends to play an active role in the multilateral consultations.

I intend to see that Japan continues to step up its diplomatic efforts to

build peace and stability in the Asia-Pacific region. As far as peace in

Cambodia is concerned, Japan has been playing an active role by, for example,

hosting the Ministerial Meeting on the Reconstruction and Rehabilitation of

Cambodia in Tokyo this past June. In cooperation with other countries, Japan

will continue its intensive and unremitting efforts to urge the Khmer Rouge to

work with the other parties in Cambodia and with the United Nations

Transitional Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC) to advance the peace process

quickly. Japan also intends to take an active part in the Security Council

deliberations on this issue.

Easing tensions on the Korean peninsula is of vital importance for peace

and stability in east Asia, and Japan intends to contribute in every way it

can to the creation of an environment conducive to dialogue between South and

North Korea. In this connection, Japan welcomes the establishment of

diplomatic relations between China and the Republic of Korea and hopes that

this will lead to ever-broader exchanges between the two countries in the

future.

I welcome the idea mentioned by President Roh Tae Woo of the Republic of

Korea in his address earlier today of enhancing opportunities for dialogue

among interested countries in north-east Asia, an idea that is consistent with

Japan's own thinking. I consider it vitally important for Japan's

relationship with its neighbour, the Russian Federation, to expand in all

aspects on a balanced basis. In this connection, I believe that the building

of a relationship of trust between Japan and Russia through the conclusion of

a peace treaty will greatly contribute to peace and stability in the region.

Fourthly, peace-keeping operations, which are at the very centre of the

primary role of the United Nations, should be strengthened. Extending to new

areas of responsibility, and with an ever-greater range of activity, United

Nations peace-keeping operations have evolved both qualitatively and

quantitatively in recent years. As mentioned in the Secretary-General's

report, however, they are confronted with many problems, including increased

demands for funding and a shortage of logistical personnel. More active

cooperation by Member States of the United Nations is therefore essential.

Last June, the Japanese Diet passed the International Peace Cooperation

Law, which put in place domestic arrangements that finally enable Japan to

participate in United Nations peace-keeping operations and international

humanitarian relief operations. In addition to the financial contributions it

has thus far extended, Japan intends to cooperate by sending personnel to the

maximum degree allowed within the framework of this new law.

In fact, a decision has already been made to send election monitors to

the United Nations Angola Verification Mission (UNAVEM II) in Angola to

oversee the elections there, and to send military observers, a construction

unit and civilian police to the United Nations Transition Authority in

Cambodia (UNTAC). The first teams have already been dispatched. Japan also

plans to send election monitors to Cambodia for the elections scheduled there

next year.

Japan believes that the principles and practices of peace-keeping

operations upheld by the United Nations for more than 40 years are still both

appropriate and valid today and will continue to be so in the future. The

idea of "peace-enforcement units", proposed in the Secretary-General's report,

offers an interesting approach to future peace-making efforts of the United

Nations, but requires further study because it is rooted in a mode of thinking

completely different from past peace-keeping forces.

Fifthly, in order to build peace throughout the world, dialogue and

cooperation should be strengthened and developed as appropriate to the

situation in each region. Europe's regional cooperation mechanisms, typified

by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), have grown out

of efforts for confidence-building against a backdrop of past conflicts. They

have evolved into frameworks for working together to achieve regional

stability and prosperity, and have begun to work to prevent conflicts and

augment their peace-keeping capability in specific ways.

Regional cooperation for peace and prosperity in other parts of the world

has not yet matured to the same degree as in Europe. Ways should be explored

to achieve forms of dialogue and cooperation that are well grounded in the

political and geopolitical characteristics of each region and tailored to its

needs.

With respect to security in the Asia-Pacific region, Japan considers it

important to maintain and strengthen the frameworks for dealing with issues

either bilaterally or among several countries concerned, and, simultaneously,

to seek to promote region-wide dialogue. I believe that, at the present time,

one of the forums that has the greatest potential for such region-wide

dialogue is the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Post-Ministerial Conference. Japan suggested last year that this forum be

used for political dialogue of the type to which I am referring. In an effort

to promote greater cooperation in the Asia-Pacific region which at the same

time is open to the outside world, Japan has been contributing actively to the

development of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC).

I should now like to turn to the question of responding to new threats.

The threats facing humankind today are not all military. Problems relating to

the deterioration of the global environment, refugees, poverty,

overpopulation, drugs, AIDS and other threats of a non-military nature are

becoming increasingly serious. It is not enough simply to treat the symptoms;

the United Nations and the international community must join hands to remove

the causes of these ills. It is no exaggeration to say that the solution to

these problems will demand the utmost of humanity's collective knowledge and

the application of its highest ethical and moral standards.

In this connection, I wish to re-emphasize the importance of respect for

human rights. Fundamental human rights are not only a universally cherished

value, but are also fundamental to ensuring a better life for each individual

and the development of a democratic society. The lack of respect for

humanitarian law and for the rights of minorities in recent conflict areas is

deeply disturbing.

With the end of the cold war, it is incumbent upon the international

community to grapple more seriously with the problem of poverty in the

developing world, since the maintenance of world order hinges largely upon

whether and to what degree the North and South cooperate. The United Nations

must redouble its efforts to combat poverty and to eliminate the causes of

social instability - which is rooted in poverty in the recognition that

economic development raises standards of living and thereby enhances political

stability.

In addressing the issue of poverty, we must bear in mind that conditions

differ from country to country. The economies of some countries are about to

take off, others are on the verge of solving their spiralling debt problems,

and others such as the sub-Saharan countries are still experiencing

crushing economic difficulties. We must therefore search for an approach that

is finely tuned to these differing circumstances.

Japan intends to assist United Nations efforts to deal more effectively

with these problems that affect all of humanity. For example, cognizant of

its role as a responsible member of the international community, Japan plans

to host an African development conference in autumn next year in Tokyo with

the cooperation and participation of sub-Saharan nations, major aid donors,

the United Nations and other international agencies to discuss the theme of

economic development in Africa. Another timely event that addresses these

problems is the United Nations social development summit, scheduled for 1995.

Japan intends to cooperate actively in both these meetings to ensure that they

will be genuinely fruitful.

I turn now to the subject of the environment and development. It is very

important that the follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environment

and Development, held recently in Rio de Janeiro, be maintained. Japan

intends to make active contributions to the work of the sustainable

development committee, the establishment of which is on the agenda of this

General Assembly session, and of such international environmental agencies as

the United Nations Environment Programme and the United Nations Development

Programme. The process of making the necessary domestic arrangements is now

under way. Japan will soon finalize the draft of its national action

programme, and is prepared to assist developing countries in the formulation

of theirs. In accordance with its stated goal that its environment-related

official development assistance be increased to between 900 billion and

1 trillion yen over the next five years, Japan will strive to identify,

formulate and implement the best projects through policy dialogue with

developing countries. At this stage I wish to confirm Japan's proposal that a

special session of the General Assembly devoted to environmental issues, as a

follow-up to the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, be

held before 1997.

Whereas refugees are returning to their homes in Cambodia and other parts

of the world, the refugee problem in the former Yugoslavia and in Somalia

remains extremely serious. The international community must unite to address

such complex problems as shelter, emergency aid, and assistance in

reintegrating refugees following their voluntary return home. Japan will

continue to be active in extending humanitarian aid through the office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and other international agencies.

Population is another problem facing all humankind - a problem that

demands the cooperation of both developed and developing countries. Japan

wishes, in preparation for the 1994 world population and development

conference, and with the cooperation of the United Nations Fund for Population

Activities and the United Nations University, to hold in 1994 a meeting of

eminent world authorities on demographic issues, and in this regard we

sincerely ask for the cooperation of Member States.

I wish to refer now to steps towards revitalization of the United

Nations. The United Nations is currently faced with a number of structural

problems. These relate to its organization which has not adapted fully to

the changing times to the serious budget crisis, and to the insufficiency of

communication between United Nations agencies.

First, the most serious requirement of the United Nations as a global

Organization today is legitimacy, trustworthiness and efficacy. If the United

Nations is to realize the ideals and purposes of the Charter - based on

legitimacy, trustworthiness and efficacy including the maintenance of

international peace and security, it must have the complete confidence of its

Members. In this respect, the United Nations must reshape itself in response

to the epochal changes that we have recently witnessed changes that could

not have been foreseen when the Organization was founded. These include the

rapid transformations in the international situation, the dramatic increase in

United Nations membership and shifts in global power relations.

However, the United Nations Charter itself still contains historical

relics, such as the former-enemies clauses. And the way in which the

Organization is structured makes one question whether it can effectively meet

expectations. With the aim, in part, of enhancing trust in, and the efficacy

of, the Security Council, which has a particularly important role in the

maintenance of international peace and security, Japan believes that it is

necessary to consider seriously just how the United Nations as a whole should

be structured. This effort should include consideration of the functions,

composition and other aspects of the Security Council. In my view, it is

necessary for the United Nations itself to begin to deal with this issue with

a view to strengthening its functions. The year 1995, which will be the

fiftieth anniversary of the Organization, may prove to be an important

juncture in the process of addressing this issue. The re-examination of the

structure of the United Nations should also be accompanied by reform of the

Economic and Social Council, which plays a role as important as that of the

Security Council. The discussions on the Economic and Social Council that are

currently being held in this direction are a welcome development.

The second crisis facing the United Nations is that of the budget

deficit. The United Nations is on the verge of bankruptcy. If it is to

emerge from its chronic shortage of funds. Member States must honour their

obligations and immediately pay their assessed contributions. It is

imperative that those Member States that are in arrears pay what they owe.

The rapidly increasing demand for funds to finance peace-keeping operations

must, in the light of the importance of these operations, be met. In

particular, the availability of funding at the start-up stage of an operation

is of crucial.importance and could determine the outcome of the operation as a

whole. Japan therefore plans to put before the General Assembly at the

current session a draft resolution to ensure that the financial requirements

of major peace-keeping operations at the start-up stage will be met without

imposing new financial burdens on Member States. I sincerely hope that this

draft resolution will receive wide support from Member States.

The third problem concerns insufficient communication among United

Nations agencies. Better communication among the component agencies of the

United Nations is necessary to ensure that the limited resources of the United

Nations are used effectively and that the Organization's full potential is

realized. Specifically, it is important to improve liaison between the

Security Council and the Economic and Social Council, and communication

between the Security Council and the General Assembly. The establishment, for

example, of a mechanism for periodic exchanges of view and close contact

between and among the Presidents of the Security Council, the Economic and

Social Council, and the General Assembly either two or three at a time

should be considered. Furthermore, it is important for the Economic and

Social Council to have access to, and to provide the Security Council with,

information as provided in Article 65 of the Charter. Finally, whenever a

major peace-keeping operation is undertaken that will entail a major financial

commitment, it is essential that there be established a mechanism for

consultations among the permanent members of the Security Council, the major

sources of financial support, the countries providing large contingents of

operations personnel and the countries of the regions concerned.

The United Nations is entering an era of greater potential than it has

ever experienced in its history of nearly half a century. This is also a

time, however, that will test whether the United Nations can evolve into a

global organization with the capability to achieve peace and prosperity for

all humankind. The very magnitude of the challenges and tasks that lie ahead

demand that now, more than ever before, each Member State be keenly aware of

its responsibilities and carry its share of the burden.

Attaching central importance to the United Nations, and committed to

its own ideals as a peace-loving State, Japan is determined to contribute

to the international community in a manner that is commensurate with its

position and responsibilities in terms not only of financial resources

but also of personnel and by enhancing its political role in the effort

to build a new order of peace. And as a non-permanent member of the

Security Council, Japan is striving to bring about a more peaceful world.

I should like to conclude with the pledge that I shall do my utmost

to see that Japan, in a spirit of conciliation and cooperation, continues

to enhance its active contributions to the international community.