Monaco, 1999

Allow me at the outset to congratulate you warmly,

Mr. President, on your well-deserved election and to assure

you of the delegation of Monaco's full cooperation in

assisting you in the discharge of your lofty mandate. Your

role in your country's exemplary struggle for independence

and for the dignity of the Namibian people are deeply

meaningful for us.

I should like also to thank the members of the General

Assembly for entrusting to my country one of the vice-

presidencies of this fifty-fourth session, at the same time as

Monaco is commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the

accession of His Most Serene Highness Prince Rainier

III — my father. I wish to assure the Assembly that the

delegation of Monaco will strive to be worthy of this

honour and to work closely with the other members of the

Bureau — whom I congratulate on their election — and the

members of the Assembly, to ensure that this session, the

last of the century, produces effective, concrete and

tangible results.

I avail myself of this opportunity to thank also

Mr. Didier Opertti, President of the fifty-third session of

the General Assembly, for his dedication and accessibility

and for the competence and diplomatic skill with which

he guided our work.

I should like also to congratulate and warmly

welcome the three new States Members of the United

Nations — the Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of

Nauru and the Kingdom of Tonga. The Government and

people of Monaco are particularly pleased to greet these

three countries of the Pacific, with which we share a

number of concerns about the protection of the oceans

and seas. We assure them of our readiness to enter into

and develop a solid and fruitful cooperation with them.

Finally, I should like most sincerely to express my

satisfaction, as many have already done from this rostrum,

at the resumption of the peace process in the Middle East

and the immense hopes to which it has given rise.

Since the general debate of the previous session,

many distressing events have unfolded, some of which

have had serious consequences that will last for years.

The conflict in Kosovo, with the thousands of refugees

and the massive suffering that it caused, was one of the

most obvious. The whole of the United Nations system

was mobilized, in a way that has certainly never happened

before, to assemble the resources required to come to the

aid of the populations in distress. The armed intervention

and the decisive role played by the International Criminal

Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia at The Hague, brought

to bear in defence of the principles of humanity and

human rights, seem to foreshadow a strengthened

determination on the part of the international community

to enforce respect for the fundamental values of justice

and human dignity that inspired the San Francisco

Charter.

We offer our sincere encouragement to the United

Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo as it

strives, despite the major difficulties in its way, to

implement the provisions of Security Council resolution

1244 (1999). We wish courage, perseverance and success

to the men and women responsible for carrying out that

noble mandate of ensuring security, extinguishing the

flames of hate and restoring good-neighbourly relations

among the communities.

12

I should also like to emphasize the crucial role played

by the United Nations in holding the election on self-

determination in East Timor and in the protection operation

that our Organization has recently launched to come to the

aid of the civilian population there. We are following

developments on the ground extremely carefully, and we

hope that implementation of Security Council resolution

1264 (1999) will proceed without hindrance or delay.

In this context, we should recall the very enlightening

debate held by the Security Council on 12 February on the

issue of the protection of civilians in armed conflict, during

which the subject of internal conflicts, which have now

become more numerous than those between States, was

discussed at length. It was recalled that such conflicts fall

under the purview of the 1949 Geneva Conventions, whose

fiftieth anniversary we have just commemorated, especially

the provisions of the Fourth Convention. Article 3, which

is common to all four instruments, imposes rules of conduct

that are binding on the High-Contracting Parties, whatever

the circumstances and nature of the conflict. That article

categorically prohibits any kind of attack on the life and

physical and moral integrity of the person, as well as the

passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions

without previous judgement or indispensable judicial

guarantees.

On 16 and 17 September, a further debate took place

in the Security Council on the same issue, the positive

result of which was the adoption of resolution 1265 (1999),

which makes considerable demands on both States and the

international community as a whole. It stresses in particular

that it is incumbent on States to put and end to impunity

and to prosecute those responsible for genocide, crimes

against humanity and serious violations of international

humanitarian law. The Principality of Monaco unreservedly

endorses these recommendations, which we consider to be

extremely important.

We have very high hopes for the establishment of the

International Criminal Court as a means of better

preventing war crimes and crimes against humanity. The

Principality of Monaco was one of the first signatories of

the Statute, which was adopted last year.

In Kosovo, in East Timor and in conflicts that are

often forgotten or that receive no recognition, particularly

those in Africa, it is the weakest and the most vulnerable,

particularly children, who suffer most. With the tenth

anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the Rights

of the Child taking place on 20 November, it is up to us

now more than ever to see to it that children, in peace as

well as in war, are strictly protected from all forms of

violence and subjugation. Following on from the

presidential statement of June 1998, Security Council

resolution 1261 (1999), adopted on 25 August, will, we

hope, make a decisive contribution to resolving the

distressing problem of the fate of children in times of

armed conflict.

My country, which is committed to that end, has

been host to a number of international non-governmental

organizations dedicated to the protection of children.

These associations are working hand in hand with the

United Nations specialized agencies. For its part, the

Principality of Monaco is actively contributing on a

regular basis to steps taken to improve the lot of the most

disadvantaged children.

Just as children need to be protected, women, too,

deserve the keenest attention from the international

community. Many forms of discrimination and

injustice — indeed, cruelty — including genital

mutilation, which is the cause of much pain and

humiliation, are still too often tolerated. They represent a

number of obstacles to women's achieving their full

potential. In a report recently submitted to the

Subcommission on the Promotion and Protection of

Human Rights, a non-governmental organization known

for its competence and precision denounced the

unacceptable treatment still being endured by women in

many countries, be they young girls, wives or mothers. I

should like in this connection to emphasize the high

regard in which we held the high-level debate that took

place in the Economic and Social Council last July on the

role of jobs and work in the elimination of poverty,

emphasizing in particular the advancement of women.

Women's access to jobs, as well as to education and

professional training, has been widely encouraged. It is

one of the areas of concern of the Government of the

Principality, which is taking specific measures in the

social and educational fields in order to deal with the

issue. Respect for equality between men and women in

daily life, as well as in the development of their

professional careers, in both public and private sectors, is

essential if we are to improve the situation of women and

combat the precariousness and poverty that often affect

them much more than men. We are particularly aware of

that. The substantial involvement of women in political

and economic decision-making can also contribute to

ensuring greater social justice, while stimulating and

balancing the economy. The authorities of my country are

convinced of this and are striving to take steps to adjust

13

and complete the legislation of Monaco so as to ensure that

in every respect it is in conformity with the requirements of

the United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All

Forms of Discrimination against Women, so that Monaco

can soon become a party to that essential instrument.

Because of the complexity and irrevocably globalized

nature of today's economy, it has become necessary, now

more than ever, to achieve greater balance at both the

national and international levels. Existing inequalities,

whatever their origin, must necessarily be reduced to make

sure that the dangerous gap separating the industrialized

countries from the most disadvantaged countries does not

grow wider. The Ministers of Economics and Finance of 44

States and Governments members of the International

Organization of La Francophonie were able to devote

themselves to that subject during their first meeting, which

took place in Monaco on 14 and 15 April last.

Those leaders, like those who met in Geneva at the

July substantive session of the Economic and Social

Council, recognized that globalization, if poorly controlled,

could have serious consequences for the future of all

nations. Stepped up trade and investment, and the adoption

of policies of liberalization — sure engines of growth —

have not yet enabled everyone to enjoy significant

development. We must guard against some being barred

from progress and from the benefits of the major trends in

the world economy, something that could have serious

consequences.

Aware of that danger and of the deterioration in

international relations it could cause, ministers of the

economy or of finance of Francophone countries, meeting

in Monaco, recognized the need for better supervision of

the human and social effects of ongoing economic

processes, including structural adjustment policies. They

stressed the importance of maintaining, or indeed

increasing, official development assistance, while adopting

appropriate measures to encourage private investment. They

indicated their grave concern at the unbearable burden of

external debt for many countries. The Government of

Monaco shares that grave concern.

The Monaco Declaration issued at the end of their

meeting by ministers of the economy or of finance of

Francophone countries solemnly recalled the fundamental

link among economic development, democracy and good

governance. The Declaration stressed the importance of

upcoming multilateral trade negotiations, noted the mission

of the World Trade Organization to encompass all members

of the international community, and stressed the importance

of improving the international trading system so that it

will make a greater contribution to sustainable

development and to meeting the real expectations of

peoples. It also invited the world financial community to

maintain its assistance to development, through both

official and private contributions.

The Principality of Monaco, which joined the

Intergovernmental Agency of La Francophonie in

organizing this first meeting, is committed to contribute

actively to implementing the Monaco Declaration and to

encourage the establishment of a permanent Francophone

centre for gathering and exchanging economic

information; the recent summit of heads of State or

Government of Francophone countries, held at Moncton,

Canada, from 3 to 5 September, agreed to establish such

a centre in Monaco.

Supported by many world leaders, the Jubilee 2000

campaign to cancel debts that the poorest countries are

finding it difficult to repay enjoys wide backing. Given

certain modifications, it seems to us to be of great

interest, if only because it will enable countries

experiencing great difficulties to resume unhindered

progress towards development. Here, my country's leaders

are duly appreciative of the decision taken at Cologne last

June by the heads of State or Government of the seven

major industrialized countries and of Russia to reduce

significantly the external debt of some 40 such countries.

I reaffirm Monaco's unswerving determination to

meet its international obligations and its firm commitment

to the values of human rights and humanitarian principles,

and wish to affirm that the highest authorities of my

country are devoting close attention to progress in the

sphere of disarmament. The limitation and reduction of

nuclear weapons is a constant concern of the Government

of the Principality. In our view, universal ratification of

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) — which, to our great satisfaction, was indefinitely

extended in 1995 — should be promoted, as should the

complete application of the comprehensive safeguards

system of the International Atomic Energy Agency,

whose remarkable International Laboratory of Marine

Radioactivity we have been honoured to host since 1986.

The year-2000 conference of States parties to the

NPT will be decisive. Here, my country praises those

countries, some of them close friends, that have made

major sacrifices to dismantle a portion of their nuclear

arsenals while taking great care with the processing of the

fissile materials extracted from them. We unreservedly

14

share the view of Governments that favour the formulation

and adoption of international rules to prohibit the

production of fissile materials intended for the production

of nuclear weapons and explosives.

The Government of the Principality considers that

controls intended to prevent transfers of materials and

equipment that could be used for the manufacture of

nuclear weapons should be strengthened, but it strongly

favours improved international cooperation for the peaceful

uses of nuclear energy — given, of course, all the

necessary precautions with respect to environmental

protection.

The Principality of Monaco earnestly hopes for an

early end to all nuclear-weapons tests; the threat that these

weapons pose to mankind has often, and rightly, been

denounced. We are convinced that the accession of all

Powers to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

(CTBT) — which my father, the reigning Prince, ratified on

20 November 1998 — would be a giant step towards

limiting these dreadful weapons of mass destruction. As a

party to the CTBT, the Principality would wish to see

greater commitment to that important treaty. We welcome

the existence of nuclear-weapon-free zones established on

the basis of arrangements freely entered into by the States

of various regions, and hope that strengthening confidence

and international security will ultimately lead to the spread

of such zones.

Let me recall the keen interest of the Principality of

Monaco in the implementation of the 1993 Paris

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,

Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and

on Their Destruction, to which my country has been a party

since 1 June 1995, and of the 1972 Convention on the

Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling

of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on

Their Destruction, our instrument of accession to which was

deposited on 30 April 1999.

My country welcomes the measures adopted at

Maputo, Mozambique, last May, at the first Meeting of

States Parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the

Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel

Mines and on Their Destruction, which entered into force

in Monaco on 15 March 1999.

Engaged from the very beginning in the fight against

these deadly devices, which strike hardest at civilian

populations, particularly the elderly, women and children,

Monaco signed and quickly ratified this instrument. My

country is fully determined to continue its efforts to

contribute to eliminating these weapons once and for all.

When, on 12 November 1998, the Principality of

Monaco signed the International Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorist Bombing, it wanted to make a

formal commitment and to place clearly on record its

position in this regard. Through me, Monaco confirms

that decision before the Assembly, once again

condemning all forms of terrorism, which blindly and

mercilessly strikes too many innocents, as we have had

occasion once again to note recently.

In this spirit, it is appropriate to pay a special tribute

to the United Nations Mission in East Timor for the role

it is playing and for the courage its representatives are

displaying, notably the members of the international staff

that remained in place under the gravest of threats.

In this connection, I should like once again to

forcefully reaffirm our complete solidarity with United

Nations personnel, some of whom this year have lost their

lives, been injured, or suffered violence and other grave

offenses. Monaco, which was among the first countries to

ratify the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and

Associated Personnel, deplores in the strongest terms and

condemns without reserve the inadmissible acts of

aggression and intimidation of which they have been

victims. We take this opportunity to salute the first among

United Nations personnel, the Secretary-General, who

enjoys our highest esteem for his actions at the head of

the Organization, particularly during periods of crisis and

in the extremely difficult circumstances with which he is

regularly confronted.