Luxembourg, 2003

Ms. Lydie Polfer, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister

for Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, regrets that she is

not able to speak to the Assembly today and has asked

me to do so in her place.

The current President of the European Union, Mr.

Silvio Berlusconi, has already presented to the

Assembly the priorities and positions of the European

Union, which Luxembourg supports with conviction.

The United Nations remains in mourning

following the cowardly and inhuman attack of 19

August 2003 against United Nations headquarters in

Baghdad, which took the lives of 22 persons — most of

whom were United Nations personnel — including that

of Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, Special Representative

of the Secretary-General. Today our thoughts are with

those victims, who, day after day, through their work in

the service of the Organization, helped to make the

world a better place.

As was recently noted by the Secretary-General,

that heinous act raises important questions, because it

is

“a direct challenge to the vision of world

solidarity and of collective security rooted in the

Charter and articulated in the Millennium

Declaration”. (A/58/323, chapter I, para. 2)

It is our responsibility, as representatives of the

nations of the world, gathered here at the fifty-eighth

session of the General Assembly, to meet this challenge

and to try to provide constructive answers that open

prospects for the future.

A few months ago, the Minister for Foreign

Affairs, Ms. Lydie Polfer, presented to the Luxembourg

Parliament her foreign policy declaration in a context

characterized by the deep divisions in the international

community that marked the international situation at

the beginning of this year. At that time, Ms. Polfer

elaborated on these thoughts, which also define the

overall approach of the Luxembourg Government to

multilateral cooperation.

“During the debates on Iraq, all sides

extensively debated the role and the credibility of

our shared institutions. Have they shown their

limits? Have they ceased to function? Are they

still adapted to our day and age? Is

multilateralism still relevant today? I would like

to give a clear answer to this question. Yes, more

than ever, we need multilateral bodies that allow

us to work together so that international law can

be established and respected, with international

rules and procedures that ensure respect for

human rights and that govern the lives of all

States, regardless of their size. This is not just

wishful thinking, but something that is in our

interest.

“We must not only assist in the development

of these institutions, but also participate actively

in strengthening them through committed and

constructive cooperation. The United Nations is,

of course, the primary forum for such cooperation

to take place”.

But while we believe that multilateral cooperation

remains the best way of dealing with the many current

international issues, we must, however, reflect on ways

and means of adapting such cooperation to the

evolution of our world, with a view to defining a new

multilateralism for the twenty-first century and to

rethinking the conditions of a new kind of global

governance. In this context, the Millennium

Declaration charts a steady course that will enable us to

mobilize the international community to take action on

a number of specific, quantifiable objectives.

Among recent advances, I would like to highlight

in particular the achievements registered at the fifty-

seventh session of the General Assembly under the

leadership of President Kavan; we commend the

innovative work he did during his presidency of the

General Assembly. We wish also to stress the process

of reflection that was inspired by the Brahimi report on

peacekeeping operations.

Much work remains to be done, however. The

two recent reports of the Secretary-General on the

implementation of the United Nations Millennium

Declaration and on the strengthening of the United

Nations provide them with both an analytical

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framework and an operational plan of action of vital

importance. We must provide them with concrete

follow-up.

The United Nations must remain the premier

institution for meeting the challenges facing

humankind and for finding shared solutions. To quote

the expressive words of Kofi Annan,

“The challenge ahead is to strengthen our

capacity for collective action and thus forge a

common destiny in a time of accelerating global

change”. (A/57/387, chapter I, para. 2)

We must reaffirm the status of international law

while developing it to take account of new situations

and contexts. We are doing this successfully in the

fields of the protection of human rights, the fight

against terrorism, the environment, and in other fields.

The inception of the International Criminal Court

(ICC) is a major stage, which we welcome. We hope

that it will soon begin work on the full range of its

activities, in accordance with the terms of its Statute.

We appeal to all Members of our Organization to

accede to the Rome Statute in order to give the ICC the

universality that will enable it to fight impunity for the

gravest of crimes. We must continue, with

determination and courage, efforts to reform and

revitalize our institutions. Much has already been done,

thanks in particular to the efforts of our Secretary-

General regarding the Secretariat, whose structures

have been modernized and whose procedures have

been rationalized, though work must continue,

particularly in the financial, budgetary and

management areas.

Last week, the Secretary-General rightly drew our

attention to the vital renewal of the intergovernmental

bodies of our Organization — be it the Security

Council, the General Assembly or the Economic and

Social Council. With respect to the General Assembly

in particular, our President — whom I wish warmly to

congratulate on his election to his important post —

undertook a certain number of initiatives aimed at

revitalizing our annual session, in order to give it once

again the central place it should occupy as the primary

venue for meetings, debates and stock-taking. I wish to

assure the President that Luxembourg — which holds a

vice-presidency of the General Assembly — will fully

support his endeavours.

The ability to work with updated methods on a

streamlined agenda that focuses on the real needs of

our day seems to us to be a prerequisite for the

increased presence and greater relevance of the General

Assembly in international debates.

Important progress has already been made in the

areas of peacekeeping and peace-building. The

presentation in 2000 of the Brahimi report launched an

intensive process of reflection and debate, and led to a

number of crucial decisions aimed at more effective

management of peacekeeping operations. The adoption

of Security Council resolution 1327 (2000) and the

Assembly’s adoption on 3 July 2003 of resolution

57/337, “Prevention of armed conflict”, constituted

particularly significant events, which we welcome, just

as we support their practical implementation.

While the debate has developed considerably,

politically and conceptually, we must emphasize the

admirable work carried out by the United Nations in

the field, in often difficult conditions. It should be

recalled that today our Organization is managing 15

peacekeeping operations throughout the world,

mobilizing approximately 40,000 Blue Helmets and

civilian staff. We can rightly be proud of this, without

being complacent. The missions in Timor-Leste,

Kosovo and Sierra Leone have shown the decisive

impact that the United Nations can have when it has a

clear mandate and adequate resources.

Here again, much remains to be done. The

difficult situations that persist in countries such as

Afghanistan, Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia and in the Great

Lakes region, not to mention the “forgotten conflicts”,

continue to demand greater attention by the

international community. By contributing to the shared

effort, particularly in Kosovo and Afghanistan,

Luxembourg has shown its readiness to assume its

share of responsibility in this regard.

Special attention should be given in the future to

the problem of the transition from intervention in

emergencies and crisis situations to the handling of

post-conflict contexts. Integrating all dimensions,

particularly the political, humanitarian, security and

economic, in a single approach, perfecting the

instruments and methodologies adapted to this type of

challenge, seems to us to be an urgent and necessary

task.

The Government of Luxembourg is convinced

that the noble task of preserving peace must be based

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on a broad and complex concept of security. New

threats have been added to the dangers of traditional

military confrontation. At the forefront of those threats

are terrorism and the proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction.

Two years after the deadly attacks of 11

September, which touched the entire world, we can see

that great progress has been made in the fight against

terrorism. A firm position of principle and a

multidisciplinary approach remain indispensable in

order to combat and stop this widespread and

destructive phenomenon. Luxembourg will play its full

part in this effort, which must be pursued tirelessly,

with our Organization playing a major role.

The danger of the proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction continues to arouse the legitimate

concern of our peoples. World leaders have a

responsibility to confront this serious threat to peace

and security by establishing and strengthening the

necessary international regimes. For its part, the

European Union has decided, on the basis of the

European Council’s Thessaloniki Declaration, to

develop a long-term strategy against proliferation, and

has already adopted basic principles and a concrete

plan of action to give shape to this strategy.

Likewise, international arms limitation and

reduction efforts, particularly with regard to small

arms, must be continued and broadened.

But, given the immediate and tragic urgency of

violent conflicts and terrorist attacks, we must not lose

sight of a more structural cause of global instability

and insecurity: the persistence of poverty and

underdevelopment. In a world in which every year

almost 15 million children under the age of 5 die of the

effects of poverty, we must continue unabated our fight

for development. The Millennium Declaration, the

conclusions of the Johannesburg Summit and the

Monterrey Consensus have shown us the way and the

objectives to be achieved in order to establish a real

global partnership for development.

The dimensions of this basic problem are many

and interdependent. I shall cite just three.

The first dimension is the fight against

HIV/AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis, in which

Luxembourg is strongly involved and which was quite

rightly the focus of attention at the high-level debate

that opened this session of the General Assembly. The

second is international trade. The failure of the Fifth

World Trade Organization Ministerial Conference in

Cancún is undeniably a major disappointment. If we

want to achieve a balanced and more just trade system,

it is imperative that we resume the dialogue on the

objectives to be achieved and the way to achieve them.

The third dimension is financing for development,

which, according to the Secretary-General’s report on

the follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium

Summit, remains “well below the level needed to meet

the Goals” (A/58/323, para. 49), even though we are

pleased at a recent rise in the volume of official

development assistance. For its part, my country is

participating in this global solidarity effort by devoting

over 0.8 per cent of its gross national product to

official development assistance, with a view to

achieving the target of 1 per cent about midway

through the decade.

While development remains the new name of

peace, we must not lose sight of other factors of

instability, such as ecological problems, new infectious

diseases, transnational crime and corruption, and,

lastly, grave and repeated violations of human rights

and threats to democracy and good governance.

Let us not forget, in that regard, the wise words of

Mr. Annan, who has written:

“Greater respect for human rights, along with

democracy and social justice, will, in the long

term, be the most effective prophylactic against

terror”. (ibid, para. 76)

Given these multiple threats, defining a

programme of shared security on a global scale, within

multilateral bodies, is a primary objective. The

European Union, an international actor deeply involved

in a vast process of enlargement and constitutional

development, has begun the discussion of a strategic

concept of security and defence, which will make a

major contribution to the international debate in this

regard.

For more than a year, international attention has

been focused once again on the situation in Iraq. There

is no need to go over again before this audience the

sequence of events that led last spring to the onset of

war in that afflicted part of the world. We all remember

the deep divisions that emerged in the international

community during that period, threatening to upset the

very foundations of our Organization. Regardless of the

stand that we may have taken individually regarding

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these events, we must now look to the future to

determine the prospects of a better future for the Iraqi

people. That is the objective that should bring us

together now.

We are convinced that the United Nations must

play a central role here, on the basis of a clear and

substantial mandate accompanied by adequate

resources. While it is primarily up to the Iraqi people to

decide their own future, we all agree that sovereignty

should be transferred to the Iraqis themselves as soon

as possible.

In the phase of political, socio-economic and

diplomatic transition and reconstruction, there must

quickly begin a steady transfer of authority and

responsibility to legitimate institutions recognized by

the Iraqi people. That process must include the drafting

and adoption of a new constitution, and the holding, as

soon as the situation allows, of free, democratic

elections. Among the essentials for this are the

restoration of basic living conditions and security in

the daily lives of Iraqis, reconstruction of the basic

infrastructure and a rapid relaunching of economic

activity.

The Security Council and its members bear the

primary responsibility, but the emergence of an

independent, democratic, prosperous and peaceful Iraq

is in the common interest of all Members of our

Organization. Together with its European Union

partners, the Government of Luxembourg remains

confident that through a broad mobilization the

international community will be able to make a

decisive contribution to this objective.

Year after year, the General Assembly must

address the situation in the Middle East, particularly

the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, because progress

towards a just and lasting peace remains difficult. Even

faced with a resumption of tension and repeated acts of

violence and terrorism, which we emphatically reject,

we have a duty and responsibility to persevere in the

search for solutions that will enable reconciliation

among the States and peoples of the region. The search

for peace must be tireless. The European Union

remains prepared and determined to play its role,

especially through its action in the Quartet. We remain

convinced that the course charted by the road map

remains the right way to break the current impasse. But

all players who are directly involved must display good

will and good faith in re-launching the peace process

by creating the indispensable conditions of confidence

and security. That is the urgent appeal that we make to

them, that is the urgent task that we must undertake.

In the face of wars and violent conflict, in the

face of new threats, in the face of violations of human

rights, in the face of poverty and underdevelopment,

the law and multilateralism are an often fragile but

irreplaceable recourse for nations. While we must try

vigorously to remedy the weaknesses and

insufficiencies in multilateral cooperation, it remains a

source of hope for the men and women of the entire

world. This is a hope that we must not betray, this is

the primary responsibility that is ours at this fifty-

eighth session of the General Assembly.