Luxembourg, 2000

Ms. Lydie Polfer, Vice-Prime Minister and Minister for

Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg regrets having had to

cut short her stay in New York. She has asked me to

make this statement in her place.

The Millennium Summit has given us the

testimony of the heads of State and Government. This

exceptional meeting was the opportunity for a renewed

commitment of States throughout the world to our

Organization, encouraging common efforts to give

every citizen the freedom to enjoy a decent life and

opening the way for self-fulfilment for individuals and

their communities.

We congratulate and commend you, Sir, as the

new President of the General Assembly. We also

express our gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Theo-

Ben Gurirab, for the vigour of his presidency.

Our Secretary-General has tirelessly emphasized

the urgent need to act by innovating and ensuring a

sustained pace for the work of the Organization. We

also commend him and especially encourage him to

continue his work.

My speech today will emphasize the themes of

Luxembourg's message to the Millennium Summit. The

speech by Mr. Hubert VÈdrine, the French Minister for

Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the European Union fully

reflects the point of view of my country.

In 1999 we restated the main themes of the

Luxembourg Government's involvement in Europe and

within the United Nations and its commitment to

strengthened international solidarity, demonstrated by

the fact that in 2000 my country has reached the

objective set by the United Nations of official

development assistance of 0.7 per cent of gross

national product. This year is a time to speak further of

the principle of shared responsibility, because the

world has to face the old challenges of violence and

development, as well as the more recent one of

globalization.

Globalization is both a source of achievement and

cause for concern. It is ambivalent and requires

adequate instruments in order to manage it and gear it

towards equitable development. Without a common

definition of the rules to be applied, it could give rise

to bitterness and revolt. But the use of violence might

compromise the path towards development. It is a

matter of concern that worldwide arms sales have been

on the rise since 1996. The horror of constant violence

committed by human beings against each other could

simply make us grieve. However, such a passive

attitude would not do justice to the realities of this

world. The number of armed conflicts has in fact gone

down, from 55 in 1992 to 36 in 1998, but this bare

statistic does not explain how this decrease took place.

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However, another statistic should grab our attention:

between 1974 and 1999, 113 countries went from an

authoritarian regime to a multi-party system. More

meaningful than statistics is the encouraging fact that

the number of negotiation processes has increased, the

key to their success often being innovative formulas to

achieve peaceful coexistence where previously there

was deadlock and resentment.

East Timor, the conference between Somalis in

Djibouti and the new inter-Korean dialogue are recent

examples. In spite of the obvious difficulties, these

constructive developments show by their number and

diversity that preventing conflicts is a strategy in

motion. We have to consolidate this strategy of

prevention in order to show that it produces lasting

results. Of course, there are many failures, and we must

not close our eyes to the difficulties.

In Kosovo, in particular, intolerant behaviour led

to a sort of blindness, even in people who had

themselves suffered oppression. Psychology teaches us

that former victims do not always avoid eventually

becoming executioners. We must put an end to this

vicious circle and stop unbridled criminality. The

commitment of the Special Representative, Bernard

Kouchner, and of all those who are working to brighten

a grey sky brings us a message of hope which will bear

fruit.

At the end of the cold war our hopes were

perhaps inspired by impatience. Today we see that

there are solid foundations: above and beyond

academic investigations and the awakening of

conscience, concrete action is being taken. We thank

the community of organizations and individuals present

in the field; those who pay with their lives expect

others to support them and to provide the necessary

means.

But the major responsibility is not to disappoint

those in direct need of assistance: victims, displaced

persons and refugees, those denied the protection of the

rule of law, even the means of subsistence. And when

management deficiencies lead to short-sighted over-

exploitation and stifling pollution of an environment

that can take no more, this phenomenon should be

reversed and responsibility established and assumed.

How can we believe that catastrophes will go

unnoticed or that international solidarity will not bother

to analyse the cause of events?

Crime must not pay. This concept will go from

theory to practice in the globalization era. Information

is spreading ineluctably and innovations are being

made. International law may be lagging behind certain

technologies, but it is in the process of being

developed. For example, universal participation in the

overall structure of multilateral treaties, which was

strongly stimulated by the Millennium Summit.

Another example is the courts to try war crimes,

genocide or crimes against humanity. After the creation

of tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda,

some countries are considering establishing courts in

cooperation with the United Nations. National courts

have instituted proceedings, and as a result the era of

impunity is ending. Luxembourg was the eighteenth

State to ratify the Rome Statute of the International

Criminal Court, which will go into effect after 41 more

ratifications.

In democracy the rule of law prevails, but

political action is crucial to its development. Through

the major conferences of the 1990s and their follow-

ups, the United Nations has shown clearly that such

conferences are also an important source of law. The

guidelines that emerge stimulate the creation of

domestic laws, and their juxtaposition produces a vast,

internationally recognized network. Future actions,

including the campaign against small arms, financing

for development and the World Conference against

Racism, will help promote the rule of law. Stable, but

not rigidly fixed, transparent and subject to democratic

controls, the rule of law is certainly one of the most

reliable pillars for development.

But the international community and the United

Nations will have to build other pillars as well as part

of the structure for a world in which poverty and

violence no longer threaten us. Without going into

detail, I refer to the need to remember, respect for

equality, the will for prevention and openness to

cooperation.

The century which is drawing to a close was the

most terrible in the history of mankind in terms of

absolute numbers of victims, and also in conceptual

terms, because it led to the development and use of

weapons of mass destruction. Above all, it saw several

cases of genocide on an unheard-of scale, openly

motivated by the most despicable racism. It is essential

to study the mechanisms which lead to these

aberrations into inhumanity, because repetitions of such

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destructive phenomena should be rejected and made

impossible.

The conclusion to be drawn is that we should

remember, which means escaping from ignorance and

always bearing in mind the lessons of the past. If the

countries of the European Union are very sensitive

whenever they encounter xenophobia, racism and the

rejection of those who are different, it is because we

are resolved at all costs to act to avoid once again

succumbing to the sickness of hatred. A Europe with a

growing population, a European Union spreading to the

east and the south, must act with determination to

continue the course of openness.

Luxembourg is a laboratory with a mixture of

peoples, as a result of our being at the crossroads of

French and German culture and because of the impact

of immigration of long ago. The moral outlook of its

citizens leads them to respect others and their

individuality. With the coming of sovereignty,

independence and development became a reality for

our country, and with them a strong adherence to the

principle of equality, whether of individuals or States.

It is the responsibility of all States to expose the

dangers of any tendency to feel contempt for others.

Unfortunately, division and lack of respect for the

worth of the individual can be seen on every continent.

Only five years ago the world deplored the most

violent racist crimes in Bosnia and Rwanda. Such

crimes must be rejected, for they create openings that

the prejudiced quickly take advantage of. We must

collectively assume responsibility in the fight against

this vicious circle.

Respect for equality requires that we do not make

independence a sanctuary. Rather, it demands that we

accept each other as partners and recognize the

legitimacy of our respective interests. Thanks to the

progress of the European Union, classic sovereignty

has been replaced for its member States by an

interdependence whose positive effects are impressive.

The solution, in the year 2000, is no longer abstract

independence, but concrete cooperation.

Throughout the year 2000, the Security Council

has devoted a great deal of time to Africa in

recognition of the seriousness of the phenomenon of

taking large portions of countries hostage. Some of

these crises are being fuelled by the exploitation of

natural resources. The significant international reaction

to these events is encouraging, but it must also lead to

the elimination of these situations. Among them, I will

mention the problems in Angola, Sierra Leone and the

Democratic Republic of the Congo.

These catastrophes, along with other

developments in particular in East Timor, in

southern Lebanon and along the border between

Ethiopia and Eritrea have contributed to a

considerable increase in United Nations peacekeeping

activities. However, these activities are suffering from

a lack of resources, to such an extent that both their

operations and their credibility are compromised.

Instead of being a deterrent, they risk becoming simply

an alibi.

I hope that this session will be able to adopt

energetic measures to implement the recommendations

of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations,

chaired by Mr. Brahimi. The lack of financial resources

should not be an insurmountable obstacle. Further, it is

appropriate to take up this issue as part of this session's

agenda item on the scale of assessments for

peacekeeping operations. But in fact, these activities

are above all operations aimed at maintaining

ceasefires. Achieving peace requires other efforts

first and foremost the will to prevent conflicts and the

determination to avoid their resurgence.

After the research, the passionate discussions and

the debates most recently those that took place in

the Security Council and in the General Assembly

committee on the prevention of conflicts in Africa

have we found sufficient will to now take action? Such

a critical mass is necessary if a determined will to

prevent conflicts is going to be manifested.

Human solidarity will be essential in those

instances in which the parties show they are incapable

of avoiding conflict and when attacks on the integrity

of individuals and major material consequences can be

clearly foreseen. Indifference and lack of assistance in

the face of danger no longer accord with the universal

awareness of the reality of our interconnectedness,

which grows in parallel with the spread of knowledge.

This is an ethical issue, but it is also an issue of

knowledge and technical resources. Luxembourg

intends to create a civilian action corps to go on

humanitarian and human development missions.

Luxembourg will contribute to the United Nations

funds for peace-building, and it is involved in

peacekeeping operations and in reconstruction

missions.

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The will to prevent conflicts entails the ability to

choose from among a great range of mechanisms that

are capable of dissuading those who, as a result of

ignorance or provocation, are turning to aggression.

This will to prevent conflicts can be that much more

effective in managing disputes if it is invoked well

before violence breaks out. Over eight years, the

discreet action of the High Commissioner on National

Minorities of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, Mr. Max van der Stoel, has

amply justified the confidence placed in him by 55

European States and former Soviet Republics and has

produced significant results.

When people are struggling in isolation, external

cooperation and solidarity can remove the most

difficult obstacles. The noteworthy Human

Development Report 2000 of the United Nations

Development Programme stresses the importance of

preventing conflicts, of inclusive democracy and of

respect for human rights as means of preventing

countries that have been bled white from being

excluded from the benefits of the global economy and

of global technology.

For their part, Mr. Annan and Mr. Brahimi remind

us that every action to reduce poverty and ensure a

solid foundation for growth is a step towards

preventing conflicts. This is one of the keys of

development. It is a very reliable method for building

confidence and reducing poverty. It is a responsibility

that we must take up.

The effort cannot be undertaken unless external

cooperation is not in itself an obstacle. In many cases it

gives rise to questions and resistance. But cooperation

that is not welcome is pointless. Unfortunately, at times

mistrust and a certain pride prevail and lead to a

fortress mentality. This in turn can lead to

overemphasizing identity issues and to the

development of a mental block.

When a terrifying earthquake rocked Turkey in

1999, the Greeks offered their assistance. This gesture

and the Turks' acceptance of it have profoundly

transformed bilateral relations that have been

particularly difficult. This positive, spontaneous

development was the result of the awareness of Foreign

Ministers Papandreou and Cem that the ongoing harm

being caused by the earlier mistrust was not acceptable.

This positive development is continuing, and it is

greatly hoped that it will soon be reflected in the

conversations, under the aegis of the United Nations,

between the Greek and Turkish Cypriot

communities conversations that are at present

indirect.

When confidence comes up against the invisible

wall of ignorance, even the tendered hand will not be

taken. Thus, those who are separated by a

psychological chasm should construct a bridgehead and

express in a decent manner their willingness to achieve

mutual recognition.

The Israelis and Palestinians were reconciled in

significant ways as a result of the Camp David

conversations. President Clinton, for his perseverance,

Prime Minister Barak and President Arafat, for their

awareness of history and their common acceptance of

their shared responsibility to the future, deserve

encouragement and the firmest support in their effort to

conclude this historic process. I am convinced that the

resources of this dialogue have not been exhausted.

There is an opportunity to achieve, within the next few

weeks, a framework agreement. It must remain clear

that the willingness to cooperate has been firmly

established. This willingness will be seconded by the

willingness of the international community, and of

Europe in particular, to offer its support to the

establishment of peace and to the reconstruction

efforts.

The sculpting of the role of the United Nations,

the shape of its future work, will be a complex and

demanding task if we expect the Organization to escape

its current fragility and affirm its responsibility. But

perhaps we can rely increasingly on the vast experience

that has been gained during past actions. The

development of this collection of experiences requires

increasing internal cohesion. The responsibility for the

development of this cohesion falls on the

Organization's Members. This is the objective we must

set for ourselves. The willingness to cooperate must

lead to the elaboration of healthy administrative and

financial structures, as well as to balanced relations

between the principal organs, none of which should be

exempt from periodic reform.

Today the United Nations cannot be said to be in

a position to meet these criteria. Therefore, is it not

indispensable that its Members pay their assessments

without delay or conditions, and in full?

The fact that the Security Council is not being

reformed and the distance between the Council and the

vast majority of General Assembly members does not

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contribute to the effectiveness of the Organization. The

bridges that the United Nations will try to construct

should include, in order to seek greater unity of action,

a reinvigorated relationship between the General

Assembly and a duly enlarged Security Council.

The United Nations will be put to the test. As a

result of the pursuit of globalization the Organization

will be in demand. Will it be capable of meeting the

challenge and of responding in a way that will put the

Organization at the centre of the major international

discussions? Even after the Millennium Summit it

would be rash to claim that this question is closed.

Luxembourg hopes that it will be possible to respond

positively, and Luxembourg reaffirms its willingness to

cooperate so that we can proceed together in this

direction.