Japan, 2003

I would like to extend

my heartfelt congratulations to Mr. Julian Robert

Hunte, Foreign Minister of Saint Lucia, on his

assumption of the office of President for the fifty-

eighth session of the General Assembly. I would also

like to commend Mr. Jan Kavan, former Deputy Prime

Minister and former Minister for Foreign Affairs of the

Czech Republic, for his devoted efforts during his

tenure as President of the fifty-seventh session of the

General Assembly.

First of all, I would like to touch upon the terrible

tragedy that occurred last month. Special

Representative of the Secretary-General Mr. Sergio

Vieira de Mello and other United Nations staff,

working diligently to facilitate the reconstruction and

stabilization of Iraq, sacrificed their lives as a result of

the cowardly bomb attack in Baghdad. On behalf of the

Government of Japan, I take this opportunity to pay

tribute to Mr. Vieira de Mello and his colleagues.

Much of our time and energy since the general

debate last year have gone into the discussion of the

Iraq situation. In that process, questions have been

asked about the role of the Security Council and the

United Nations with respect to the Organization’s

primary role of maintaining international peace and

security. On the occasion of this general debate, we

once again need to earnestly explore the meaning of

this matter.

There is no organization on earth more universal

than the United Nations. No other organization

addresses so many diverse issues as comprehensively

as it does. I strongly believe that the United Nations

will continue to play an important role that no other

international organization can fulfil. The United

Nations role should be enhanced through reform in

order to restore the confidence that was shaken in the

Iraq situation. All Member States are called upon in

our joint effort to strengthen the Organization.

38

Today, we face a situation in which the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the

threat of terrorism affect not only particular countries

or regions but the world as a whole, presenting a new

threat to our lives and our livelihood. It is imperative

for each country to regard the issue as its own and to

take action in concert with the countries facing such

imminent threats.

In order to establish an Iraqi Government run by

the Iraqis themselves as soon as possible, the

international community must join hands for securing

peace and promoting reconstruction, and the United

Nations must play an even more prominent role in

those efforts. Japan strongly expects that a new

Security Council resolution will be adopted, that the

path towards Iraqi self-governance will be clarified and

that the international partnership will be strengthened

to promote reconstruction and security. Together with

the international community, Japan continues to make

every effort towards the restoration of security and the

reconstruction of Iraq and in particular towards the

successful conclusion of the Madrid donors conference

for the reconstruction of Iraq to be held next month.

With respect to peace in the Middle East, I am

deeply concerned that the road map has reached a

critical stage. I call upon both sides to exercise the

utmost restraint in order to restore calm on the ground.

The Palestinian Authority must resolutely disavow the

use of terror, work expeditiously to establish a new

cabinet and take action to control the extremist

factions. Israel, in turn, must act with prudence and

caution, mindful of the consequences of its own

actions. In particular, the expulsion of Chairman Yasser

Arafat can only result in a deterioration of the

situation. Japan once again urges Israel not to proceed

with the implementation of measures which would

result in Chairman Arafat’s removal.

From the perspectives of peace and security in

North-East Asia and international non-proliferation, the

development and possession of nuclear weapons by

North Korea must never be tolerated. Japan once again

urges North Korea to immediately and completely

dismantle all of its nuclear development programmes in

a verifiable and irreversible manner. This issue should

be resolved peacefully by diplomatic efforts including

the six-party talks process. Based on the Pyongyang

Declaration between Japan and North Korea, Japan

seeks the resolution of various outstanding issues

between Japan and North Korea, including the nuclear

issue, the missile issue and the abduction issue, which

was addressed explicitly by the Assembly last

December in its resolution on the question of enforced

or involuntary disappearances (57/215). Upon the

comprehensive resolution of those issues, Japan is

looking to effect the normalization of its diplomatic

relations with North Korea.

With regard to Iran, Japan calls upon Iran to take

seriously the resolution adopted at the 12 September

meeting of the Board of Governors of the International

Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Iran must appease the

concerns of the international community regarding the

nuclear issue. It must comply immediately with all

measures prescribed in the resolution, which include

cooperating fully with IAEA to rectify problem points

by the end of October of this year. Iran must also ratify

the IAEA Additional Protocol immediately and

unconditionally and implement it in its entirety.

The very urgency of those issues reminds us of

the importance of the crossroads at which we now

stand with respect to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation

Treaty regime. The horror and devastation caused by

nuclear weapons should not be repeated. Japan is

redoubling its efforts to maintain and fortify the

nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime,

with this treaty as its core. At the fifty-eighth session

of the General Assembly, Japan will submit a draft

resolution entitled “Path to the total elimination of

nuclear weapons” and aim to secure adoption of the

resolution by an overwhelming majority of Member

States. Furthermore, Japan considers the early entry-

into-force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban

Treaty to be of extreme importance as a concrete means

of strengthening the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty

regime.

Despite the serious efforts of the international

community to combat terrorism in the wake of the

terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, precious lives

continue to be lost by terrorist attacks in Jakarta,

Baghdad and many other locations around the globe.

Insofar as improvements in the terrorism-related

response capabilities of all nations are required for the

eradication of international terrorist organizations,

Japan continues to provide capacity-building assistance

to developing countries, with special emphasis on

Asian countries. In addition, Japan calls upon all

Member States to work to bring about the early

conclusion of the counter-terrorism conventions as well

as the implementation of Security Council resolution

39

1373 (2001) in order to deprive terrorists of the means

for their activities and safe havens.

In the twenty-first century, we cannot address the

dangers and threats now confronting the world with

military and political measures alone.

Our responses must be well thought out, detailed

and sustained, addressing every facet of the issues we

face, including the social aspect, humanitarian and

human rights concerns, and the question of economic

reconstruction. Furthermore, we must strive to

guarantee human rights, democracy and good

governance by creating a social environment that

enables each and every human being to realize his or

her maximum potential.

On the basis of this realization, Japan has made

the consolidation of peace and nation-building one of

the pillars of its diplomacy and its international

cooperation efforts, and it is contributing actively in a

variety of areas, including peacekeeping operations.

Moreover, in the conceptual framework of human

security, Japan has made efforts to enhance both

protection and capacity at the individual, human level.

Japan will continue to work for the realization of the

recommendations made in the report submitted by the

Commission on Human Security in cooperation with

the United Nations, Member States and non-

governmental organizations, through diplomatic

measures such as official development assistance.

Specific examples of Japan’s efforts include

assistance in nation-building, such as the deployment

of Japan’s Self-Defence Forces in Timor-Leste; the

disarmament, demobilization and reintegration

programme it is now implementing jointly with the

United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan; and

support for the peace process and for reconstruction

and development in the form of efforts such as the

Tokyo Conference on Reconstruction and Development

of Sri Lanka.

Measures against infectious diseases are also

crucial in ensuring human security. The example of

SARS demonstrated to the world yet again the

importance of international cooperation in the

mitigation of such diseases. Japan welcomes the results

of yesterday’s General Assembly High-level Meeting

on HIV/AIDS, which reconfirmed both the

commitment of every nation to the goals set forth in the

Political Declaration and the importance of the Global

Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria.

With regard to Africa, Japan has been cooperating

for its development on the basis of the principles of

ownership and partnership, aiming at poverty

eradication through economic growth, as well as

providing assistance in conflict prevention in order to

secure the peace and political stability which are

prerequisites to development. The Tokyo International

Conference on African Development (TICAD) process

is now in its 10th year. TICAD III will convene on 29

September. In response to the ownership of the New

Partnership for Africa’s Development (NEPAD),

TICAD III intends to expand partnerships with

international organizations and the countries

concerned, and particularly with civil society and

Asian countries which have successfully realized

development, in order to share the wisdom and

experiences of the international community in the area

of African development.

As the representative of an Asian country, I

would like to take this opportunity to highlight two

issues that relate to peace and security in the Asian

region.

The first is the detention of Daw Aung San Suu

Kyi by the Government of Myanmar. Japan is

continuing to make serious diplomatic efforts to bring

about the expeditious resolution of this worrisome

situation and to facilitate concrete progress towards

national reconciliation and democratization.

The second issue concerns the Khmer Rouge

trials in Cambodia. Japan believes that it is necessary

for each country to extend considerable cooperation in

order to ensure that these trials take place and that they

exhibit an unswerving application of the principles of

law and justice of the international community.

In the community of nations, diversity is both

respected and cherished. For that reason, the

formulation of a set of common rules under which the

entire global community can act as one is of extreme

importance. The United Nations has made significant

progress in this area to date. I would like to explain

some of the agenda items which Japan will be pursuing

at the United Nations, here in the General Assembly

and elsewhere, in order to formulate such rules. Such

rules will constitute the basis for well-thought-out,

detailed and sustained responses to a broad spectrum of

issues, including socio-economic, environmental and

human rights issues.

40

In the field of the environment, it is imperative

that the international momentum for climate change

negotiations be maintained. I appeal to the

representatives of all nations who are gathered here to

recognize the importance of the early entry into force

of the Kyoto Protocol and of the formulation of

common rules which will facilitate participation by all

countries, including the United States of America and

developing countries.

The protection and promotion of the rights of

disabled persons is also of great importance. Japan

welcomes the decision taken in June of this year to

establish a working committee which will draft an

international convention on the promotion and

protection of the rights of persons with disabilities;

Japan will actively participate in this process.

With regard to the United Nations Decade of

Education for Sustainable Development, Japan looks

forward to the adoption of a resolution promoting the

creation of an implementation plan in which the United

Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization (UNESCO) serves as the lead agency.

Disaster prevention is an indispensable element

for a safer world in the twenty-first century, not merely

because of its role in the follow-up to the World

Summit on Sustainable Development, but also as an

essential prerequisite for achieving much of the

sustainable development agenda. Japan proposes to

host the World Conference on Natural Disaster

Reduction in order to develop new strategies on

disaster prevention.

For the United Nations to fulfil the role of

bringing about a world of peace and prosperity based

on common rules embraced by the entire international

community, the reform of the United Nations,

particularly that of the Security Council, as its core,

must be urgently addressed.

Today’s conflicts have become more diversified

and increasingly complex, as evidenced in cases where

a civil war escalates due to the dysfunctional condition

of a State. To respond to these new challenges, the

Security Council has taken on new tasks, such as the

deployment of multinational forces, when necessary, to

restore order. Such tasks also include the expansion of

the role of peacekeeping activities from military and

police activities such as ceasefire monitoring to

humanitarian activities, including assistance for the

repatriation of refugees, as well as assistance for

democratic elections and reconstruction efforts. The

Security Council must take on a variety of these tasks

in working for the resolution of today’s conflicts.

For the Security Council to address these

challenges comprehensively, there is a need to

strengthen the functioning of the Council by including

countries that are both willing and able to shoulder

responsibilities at the global level as permanent

members. Japan continues to work diligently for the

realization of Security Council reform and would like

to assume greater responsibility as a permanent

member in a reformed Council.

The issues about which I am speaking today are

hardly new. Discussions on the reform of the Security

Council have been under way for 10 years now. Yet,

despite a series of exhaustive discussions about how

the Council should be reformed, we are still unable to

see progress in any concrete terms.

It is no exaggeration to say that, if we continue

along this path, the ability of the United Nations to

respond adequately to new and complex challenges

will be seriously brought into question. We must take

concrete action now. The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, makes a strong case for United Nations reform

in his report (A/58/323) entitled, “Implementation of

the United Nations Millennium Declaration”. He

proposes that we set 2005 as a deadline for reaching

agreement on the changes that are needed in our

international institutions if we are to meet the new

challenges, because 2005 not only marks the sixtieth

anniversary of the founding of the United Nations but

is also the year in which a review of progress on the

Millennium Declaration will take place. I am of the

view that a political decision should be taken on the

occasion of that review at a meeting of heads of State

or Government regarding the reform of the United

Nations, in particular the Security Council.

With regard to the “enemy State” clauses in the

United Nations Charter, a General Assembly resolution

was adopted in 1995, recognizing them to be obsolete.

Those clauses have not yet, however, been deleted

from the Charter. This is an extremely regrettable

situation. Japan will work to find appropriate solutions

to this issue, in view of the progress on United Nations

reform.

Administrative and budgetary reform of the

United Nations is also necessary in order to increase

both its effectiveness and its efficiency. With regard to

41

the size of the United Nations budget, it is necessary to

give careful consideration to the financial burden on

Member States. Japan calls on the United Nations both

to conduct a strict prioritization of its activities and to

eliminate those activities which are neither essential

nor urgent. We must also consider appropriate methods

to make the scale of assessments for all Member States

more balanced. Finally, equitable geographical

distribution among Member States for the number of

staff members of the Secretariat has yet to be attained.

The present situation is of concern and needs to be

improved.

Japan believes that international peace and

prosperity can be achieved only through cooperation

among nations, with the United Nations playing an

important role. Japan has used all means at its disposal

to contribute to United Nations activities, so that the

objectives contained in the United Nations Charter may

ultimately be realized. Let me make it clear that Japan

will continue to be actively engaged in United Nations

activities. However, the perpetuation of the same basic

Security Council structure of 60 years ago leads many

to question the legitimacy of the system under which

the United Nations operates. The legitimacy of the

United Nations is at stake.

In closing, I would like once again to urge all

Member States to take concrete actions to strengthen

the functions of this Organization and restore its

legitimacy in the eyes of the nations and citizens of the

world.