Lithuania, 1999

It is a special pleasure

for me to see Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab guiding the General

Assembly this session over the junction of two centuries

and millenniums. We will lend all possible support to his

endeavours, including through the Permanent

Representative of Lithuania, who is also one of his Vice-

Chairmen.

Another landmark of this session is the fact that we

have grown. We welcome the Republic of Kiribati, the

Republic of Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga to this

house of nations where all, large or small, are equal. We

are glad to see nations from the Pacific enrich the

organization. On behalf of the Lithuanian Government I

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pay our deep respects to the Secretary-General, who has

always been a brilliant servant of peace around the globe.

Speakers before me have referred to the symbolic

meaning of this session of the General Assembly. It may be

just a simple turn of our calendar pages or we can make it

a stepping-stone to a better world with less violence, more

food for the hungry, less deliberately caused suffering and

death, more care for the helpless and more shelter for the

homeless.

This century has taught us many lessons. Yet, even if

we have avoided another world war, we have witnessed too

many wars. The nature of crises has changed. Member

States should be able to find common ground in upholding

the principles of the Charter and acting in defence of

humanity. We should devise ways and means to prevent

humanitarian catastrophes and alleviate profound human

suffering. Just this last year, Angola and Kosovo, Sierra

Leone and East Timor have posed new challenges to the

United Nations and made us re-evaluate our actions in

conflict prevention; the role of the United Nations Security

Council and its interactions with regional organizations; the

Council's credibility with regard to speed of deployment;

the role of civilian police and civilian administration; and

the problem of impunity. When evidence of the murder of

helpless people percolates through international borders, the

dilemma emerging before the international community

becomes a moral one of the sanctity of human life and

strict international standards.

It is precisely towards this end that the United Nations

system is undergoing changes. A number of administrative

measures have been taken, especially those within the

power of the Secretary-General. One of the most urgent

measures which must be taken is reform of the Security

Council. The Council has too often been accused of failures

in the maintenance of international peace and security in the

specific cases I mentioned.

The efficiency of the Security Council's actions can be

enhanced by improving its representativeness, legitimacy

and credibility, thus generating wider acceptance of its

decisions. This would be possible primarily through an

enlargement of the Council's membership. The two most

qualified industrialized countries could become permanent

members of the Security Council: their membership would

strengthen the Council and ensure democratic decisions. A

broader representation of developing nations on the Council

would also reinforce its legitimacy and enhance respect for

it: they deserve additional seats, both permanent and non-

permanent.

In recent years we have seen the development of the

United Nations response away from peacekeeping to more

active conflict prevention and crises management of

civilian. Internal crises often lead to the complete

destruction of societies and their structures: repair and

rehabilitation of collapsed countries by the international

community are needed.

The United Nations needs both the means and

cooperation from all if it is to fulfil its mandate in terms

of its primary responsibility for maintaining international

peace and security. In this connection, Lithuania signed a

standby agreement as early as the beginning of 1998 and

provided a detailed description of its contribution. A

substantial part of our contribution is comprised of well-

trained civilian policemen who are now doing their duty

by serving in Kosovo.

A comprehensive set of political measures will have

to be elaborated before and adopted at the millennium

summit, which should be a breath of fresh air for the

Organization. We take this seriously and are ready to

assist in designing a meaningful future for the United

Nations.

Situations that deteriorate into conflicts are ignited

by a variety of causes, usually a combination of them.

The wave of economic crashes that swept through Asia,

Latin America and some European countries has had a

global impact. The quick recovery of many economies

shows that democracies with free market economies have

the strongest immunity against macroeconomic illnesses.

Markets and democracy allow for the fairest distribution

of resources within societies which would otherwise be

feeling the pain of economic injustice.

Similarly, concerns about the potential and actual

violence which more often occurs within than between

States are almost always well-founded in places with poor

human rights records. No one today is surprised by news

of violence sparked by various rebel groups that feel

marginalized in the States where they live.

Many instruments must still be designed to uphold

the principle that those responsible for gross violations of

human rights and crimes against humanity — who still

expect impunity — must be held accountable. The

establishment of the International Criminal Court is one

of the fruits of the new developments in international

relations. We are committed to the early entry into force

of the Rome Statute and to an effective International

Criminal Court.

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Weaponry and armaments can be reduced through

common actions, regardless of borders. There is literally a

consensus among nations that weapons of mass destruction

must be eliminated, but in reality the process of nuclear

disarmament is unacceptably precarious. We see reductions

in numbers of warheads in some places and the

development of nuclear weapons in others. Also, the

biological and chemical weapons which States have reduced

have become available to non-State terrorist entities that

feel almost no qualms about using them. I see no other way

to build a safer world than by reducing, eliminating and

very strictly prohibiting weapons of mass destruction and

the means for delivering them.

Conventional arms and weapons are also weapons of

mass destruction of life: half a million lives in Rwanda

were wiped out with clubs and machetes that can only be

considered weapons. Lives are lost to firearms and

landmines all over the world, even in places that can hardly

qualify as battlegrounds. The elimination of landmines is

under way. Nowhere else but in this Hall can we begin

effective conventional disarmament to be carried out under

the responsibility of all States.

Europe happens to be blessed with good regional

security instruments, the best of which was nevertheless

inspired by the deaths of millions in senseless wars. The

European security charter, the concepts for which are now

being discussed in the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), will further build on the

ideals of democracy, peace and unity set out in the Charter

of Paris for a New Europe on the basis of the Helsinki

Final Act. The implementation of OSCE principles,

including a country's right to choose its own security

arrangements, is fundamental to ensuring peace and

security. Finally, regional, subregional and bilateral

practical cooperative efforts do enhance broader European

endeavours and processes, including complementing — not

undercutting — the work of other Euro-Atlantic institutions.

We believe in collective security and have made

membership in effective alliances of democratic and peace-

loving nations — the European Union and the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization — our priority. The collective

security that we have chosen is the most efficient means of

meeting our legitimate needs.

Lithuania works actively in the Baltic region to create

security and stability based on cooperation and good-

neighbourly relations. The Baltic Sea region is becoming

one of the most stable and dynamic, developing and

promising regions in this part of the world.

Nine days ago, Secretary-General Kofi Annan spoke

from this very podium about a progressing supremacy of

collective needs over individual needs. In fact, his speech

was a testimony of brave and modern thought. It deserves

a place in textbooks for politicians and diplomats.

Conflicts are but one challenge for us. There are so

many inhabitants on Earth who need our help yet

sometimes cannot even ask for it. Children deserve our

strongest love, and yet they are helplessly suffering in

many parts of the world. They do not realize that the

adult world will soon celebrate the tenth anniversary of

the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the

Child, which has been ratified or acceded to by 191

countries — more than the number of United Nations

Member States. It is the most universal human rights

treaty, the violation of which must be inconceivable and

punishable. The newly adopted Convention on the

Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour should

also become universal and support compliance.

This year will also be the twentieth year since the

adoption of the Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). It is

symbolic and crucial that this Convention has been

strengthened by the optional protocol. Lithuania supports

the proposal by Austria, after its adoption by the United

Nations General Assembly, to have this new human rights

instrument opened for signature on 10 December, which

marks Human Rights Day 1999. States have to give

women the chance to address their grievances to the

CEDAW Committee as soon as possible, perhaps even at

the special session of the General Assembly on “Women

2000: gender, equality, development and peace for the

twenty-first century” to be held in June in the year 2000.

Ideals advocated by Woodrow Wilson at the

beginning of this century are celebrating their second

birth at the very end of the century. I am convinced that

after many ups and downs, the evolution of humankind is

finally taking the straight and right course.