Luxembourg, 2002

The current Chairman of the European Union,

Mr. Anders Fogh Rasmussen, has already had an

opportunity to state to the Assembly the priorities and

positions of the European Union. Luxembourg, through

its commitment on a day-to-day basis, reaffirms its

dedication to multilateral cooperation and to the work

of this universal Organization.

President Kavan, you assumed your important

post through a new procedure designed to revitalize the

work of the General Assembly and intensify its impact.

I am sure that under your guidance we will achieve

other significant successes.

Mr. Han Seung-soo guided the work of the

previous session during a period when the international

situation was difficult and beset by serious problems.

Thanks to his extensive experience and his

understanding of international issues, a calm and

fraternal message of cooperation and concerted action

resulted from our debates. We all are deeply grateful to

him for that.

4

Our Organization also has the advantage of

having a Secretary-General whose humanism and

outstanding diplomatic skills are universally

acknowledged. He has begun his second term with his

characteristic dynamism, which we all admire.

We wholeheartedly support the Secretary-General

in the discharge of his important mission. There is no

doubt that multilateralism and the support of the United

Nations system for it have their own particular

dynamic. We are counting on him to guide the

Organization in accordance with the guidelines set out

in the important statement he made last Thursday.

Regarding Iraq, we believe that the international

community must continue to work through the United

Nations, which is charged with the maintenance of

international peace and security. Iraq must provide

unconditional and unimpeded access to the inspectors

as well as the necessary cooperation. It must fulfil its

obligations immediately. We are determined to support

the efforts of the United Nations to achieve that goal.

International law was strengthened considerably

with the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court on 1 July last. This

represents a major step forward in the process of the

promotion of the rule of law and in the fight against

impunity. This young institution must receive our full

support. Indeed, it represents a guarantee in terms of

the desire for protection, which is so deeply rooted in

each of us. The broadest possible ratification of the

Statute of the Court must remain a high-priority

objective of the international community. The

European Union is actively working to that end to

ensure that the Court is genuinely universal in nature.

In the same multilateral context, the

Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable

Development has just concluded with the observation

that our planet's natural reserves and resources are

limited and that only solidarity can reconcile the

legitimacy of development and the preservation of an

environment that respects life. It is humankind's

responsibility to achieve a balance in these two cases.

The Summit charted a course through the Plan of

Implementation, which sets out objectives and

timetables. Some may feel that they are not ambitious

enough, but they certainly can guide us. We need to

implement this plan, and here new partnerships

between the United Nations, Governments, companies

and civil society are an important tool. Governments,

however, still must shoulder all of their

responsibilities.

In Doha, the World Trade Organization decided to

link the opening of markets and technical assistance to

development. In Monterrey, a global consensus

emerged regarding financing for development. In the

wake of Johannesburg, there is a need now to create

synergetic relationships between public assistance,

support from companies, local resources and the

commitment of non-governmental organizations.

Poverty, pollution, overexploitation and, unfortunately,

violence, too, will continue for a long time to fuel

pessimism.

However, we are encouraged to note that

democracy and good governance are concepts and

practices that are moving forward and that are

increasingly broadly accepted. In this context, I should

like to pay tribute to the young African Union, which

specifically included among its objectives the

advancement of the principles of democracy and its

corollary, the protection of human rights.

Human rights, democracy, development and

security are closely linked. The Council of Europe,

whose principal mission is the championing of human

rights, pluralist democracy and the rule of law, has, like

the United Nations, had to face an tremendous

challenge following the events of 11 September. Like

this universal Organization, the Council of Europe,

whose chairmanship Luxembourg has held since

May — its tenure is for a six-month period — has

taken a series of specific measures in the international

campaign against terrorism.

In addition to advancing the process of the

signing and ratification of international instruments,

the Council has devised guidelines for an international

campaign that includes full respect for human rights.

Indeed, when security is threatened, respect for human

rights becomes all the more important. As statesmen, it

is our obligation to prevent anti-terrorist legislation

from infringing on, or even destroying, democracy in

its attempt to champion the fundamental values of

freedom and to safeguard human rights.

The events of 11 September provided a new

impetus, as we all are well aware, to cooperation

between institutional partners and, above all,

emphasized the need to pursue dialogue between

cultures and religions and to step up the process of

reflection on civilizations in order to promote tolerance

5

and universal respect for human rights when we are

faced with barbarism. Like the United Nations and the

United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural

Organization, the Council of Europe is committed to

that policy.

Coordination and complementarity between

regional and international organizations are, moreover,

among those priorities that Luxembourg has set for its

chairmanship. It might thus be useful to establish links

here with the important centres of the Council

of Europe, namely the European Court of Human

Rights — a unique mechanism for the protection of

human rights; the European Commission against

Racism and Intolerance; and, finally, the Committee for

the Prevention of Torture. It is indeed my hope that the

important work on norms and standards carried out by

the Committee at the European level will one day be

implemented at the international level, and that the

Optional Protocol to the United Nations Convention

against Torture — a Protocol that the Assembly will

soon be called on to endorse — will enjoy the same

success as its European predecessor. The establishment

of the rule of law for all of us is an objective for which

the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Mrs. Mary

Robinson worked tirelessly. She deserves our gratitude

for her courage and her contribution to this vital cause.

Her successor, Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, can also

count on our full cooperation and support.

The special session of the General Assembly on

the rights of children in May 2002 allowed us, once

again, to condemn that indifference which kills and

causes great suffering to millions of disadvantaged and

defenceless individuals. While the Convention on the

Rights of the Child has made it possible to specifically

improve the lives of countless individuals, work must

be stepped up and expanded in order to guarantee that

there will be a real difference for generations to come.

We view action in favour of women, which falls

under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms

of Discrimination against Women, in the same context.

Luxembourg would like to reaffirm its dedication to the

significant work carried out by the United Nations

funds and agencies in these areas. In particular I would

like to mention the United Nations Children's Fund

(UNICEF), United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA),

United Nations Development Fund for Women

(UNIFEM) and the United Nations Development

Programme (UNDP). International action for

reproductive health is at the crux of their programmes

and today it remains indispensable. It requires firm

support and the necessary budgetary resources. This is

why Luxembourg firmly supports the efforts of

UNFPA.

Reducing funding for women in difficulty is

totally unjust and considerably increases the suffering

of these individuals. To be sure, the work of those

dedicated persons who inspire these programmes —

including quite a few non-governmental

organizations — will not come to an end any more than

the labours of Sisyphus. But, are we not all aware of

the progress which has been made possible in the daily

life of individuals, groups and peoples, progress made

through institutions which have been carefully

conceived, democratically established, well managed,

which in addition benefit from the moral authority

provided them by the United Nations?

Bearing in mind the destiny of the individuals

who are threatened here, international officials must be

provided with the means to detect at an early stage any

possible violation of peace and international security. A

heightened awareness of our responsibility to provide

for the protection of civilian populations is in fact

necessary to allow for preventive action and, in

particular, for maintaining peace.

As has been rightly noted by the Secretary-

General, such preventive action should be done by

strengthening the capacity of operational and structural

prevention on all levels: local as well as national,

regional and international, bilateral and multilateral.

Increased interaction between all these levels is

required so as to replace a culture of reaction by a

genuine culture of prevention. The importance of

investing in conflict prevention strategies, which may

only yield fruit much later, is not always obvious. Such

a choice requires a strong will of commitment by all of

its players.

For its part, our universal Organization, through

the Security Council and other bodies of the United

Nations system, is dedicated to defining an outline of

possible international action for prevention to make it

more systematic and effective. The pivotal role of the

United Nations and its authority are essential to

achieve this end. It will be up to the fifty-seventh

session of the General Assembly to deal with this

question as well.

Increasingly, the need to focus attention on the

destinies and tragedies experienced by victims and

6

react to the fact that conflicts today deliberately and

increasingly claim victims among the civilian

population can be given priority status, because

international relations today are no longer hampered by

the ideological battles of yesterday. However,

antagonisms have not disappeared and may even cloak

themselves in new forms. We need to remain vigilant.

One year ago, the international community was

deeply shaken by the terrorist attacks of 11 September

2001 against the civilian populations of New York,

Washington and Pennsylvania. A few days ago we

visited Ground Zero as a sign of our grief and to

reaffirm our determination to act against barbarity.

While we can indeed note that the efforts made since

that tragic day to combat international terrorism have

achieved some specific results, this should not,

however, prompt us to let down our guard. Other

tragedies are still open wounds, such as the particularly

obvious case of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The Middle East, since Oslo, has seen

extraordinary efforts at mediation. Faced with violence

and hate, non-intervention and keeping one's distance

are not real options. Efforts are continuing, aimed at

creating conditions for new negotiations that might

make it possible to conclude the work that has been

languishing since Taba. The European Union is

actively participating in this process and is making

efforts, through new initiatives of the Danish

presidency, to once again put the political context at

the heart of our concerns. The tireless efforts of the

international community are required to emphasize the

need for moderation. Moderates, on whatever side,

have no easy task when faced with extremism. But we

support them. Peace requires all of us, in fact, to be

internally split, as noted by Mr. Shlomo Ben Ami, but,

I would add, it will also include reconciliation. And

this must be prepared with the new external partner and

also with those reluctant domestic forces, which must

be reintegrated into the peace process.

Developments in Sri Lanka, moreover,

demonstrate that hope can win the day over violence.

In the case of Timor-Leste, it is also thanks to the

United Nations that this hope has been fulfilled. And in

Africa, several hotbeds of tension have been eased in

2002, in Angola, in the Democratic Republic of the

Congo and in Burundi in particular. The effort made by

the international community in Afghanistan must, as

we know, be continued over time to insure the

establishment and functioning of a stable democratic

and fully representative State. The process of

normalization under way in the Balkans deserves

similar attention.

After some 160 years of existence as an

independent State, Luxembourg is fully aware of the

limits inherent in its size and the means available to it.

In foreign policy we are acting with the firm conviction

that the multilateral system of cooperation is one which

provides a place and a role for everyone. In an

interdependent world, we all must shoulder our

responsibilities and make our contribution. And that is

the basis of our commitment to the universal

Organization, as it is the basis of our action to support

development in the world. This is why we wish to raise

our official development assistance to 1 per cent of

GNP, after having been, in 2001, in the position to go

beyond the threshold of 0.7 per cent recommended by

the United Nations.

Our Organization brings together the international

community. It is the unique forum which allows for

exchanges and allows us to chart the path for totally

new solutions. And I am gratified to see that during

this session there are two new Members here in 2002,

namely Switzerland and Timor-Leste. We congratulate

them on having taken this decision and we extend a

warm welcome to them to our Assembly.