Monaco, 2000

Allow

me, first of all, to congratulate you most warmly, Mr.

President, on your election to the presidency of the

fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly. Allow me

also to express the conviction that under your authority

our work will be conducted with the same high level of

vision and competence demonstrated by the President

of your country, Ms. Tarja Halonen, in her

Co-Chairpersonship of the Millennium Summit at the

side of the President of Namibia, Mr. Sam Nujoma. I

also extend my thanks and congratulations to the

Secretary-General, who continues to imbue the

international Organization and the entire international

staff he commands with the virtues of rigour,

moderation and integrity that he embodies in his

service to the great ideals of the Organization.

Those are the same ideals that have just been

reaffirmed by the Heads of State and Government.

They also reaffirmed their confidence in the capacity of

the United Nations to ensure the advancement of, and

respect for, those ideals so long as the international

community gives the Organization the necessary

support through a renewed commitment.

For a small State such as Monaco, nothing is

more important than such a reaffirmation of the ideals

that should govern relations between sovereign States

in a spirit of equality and dignity. It is not a question of

disregarding the profound differences that may exist

between States with regard to their objective

characteristics, influence or weight in the affairs of the

world. However, it is appropriate to reaffirm the fact

that, no matter how small, each State should enjoy the

right to respect, and that all States are be bound by the

same rules in conducting international affairs.

Its history of over seven centuries makes it

possible for Monaco to gauge what that reaffirmation

represents, a reaffirmation supported by the common

determination of all States represented here. For its

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part, the Principality associates itself fully with the

impetus provided by the Millennium Summit. To the

extent it is able, Monaco intends to contribute to

developing the full potential of that impetus.

Allow me, before I touch on the principal issues

we will be dealing with at this session in which

Monaco has a longstanding interest to address a

topic that seems to require some clarification: the

Principality of Monaco itself.

Though the notoriety enjoyed by the Principality

seems well established, since the whole world has

heard of it, all too often people have a one-sided view

of it in which it is reduced to a set of appealing but

vaguely archaic clichÈs.

Many people still believe that the casino is the

main source of income for the State, while in fact the

assessment paid by the SocietÈ des Bains de Mer,

which manages the casino, yields only 4 per cent of

public revenue. The rest derives primarily from taxes

and income from public property. In truth, the structure

of our budget is not very different from that of any

other country. As concerns expenses, many might envy

us, as we are able each year to devote a third of our

resources to investing in civil engineering projects.

Many people also believe that we depend to a

large extent on tourism. We are pleased, of course, that

Monaco attracts about 6 million visitors a year. But

here again reality contradicts the image of a tourism-

dependent economy, because tourism accounts for only

10 per cent of the principality's revenues. Of the rest,

40 per cent are the product of local or international

commerce, 20 per cent of banking activities, 10 percent

of industrial activities emanating from about 100

high-technology, non-polluting companies and the

rest derive from a variety of services.

Clearly, Monaco, rather than being a sort of old-

style paradise for a happy few, has all the

characteristics of a highly developed country.

In this connection, we must also note to what

extent the Principality provides jobs in the region.

Though Monaco has 30,000 residents, it has 38,000

workers, some 30,000 of which live outside of Monaco

and commute to the Principality every day, which

enables them and their families to enjoy the same

social benefits and educational, sports and medical

amenities as the people of Monaco themselves.

Monaco is undoubtedly a small country, but it

does not live in the past. On the contrary, we have a

broad and modern outlook, and it is this vision that has

enabled us to become a highly developed State that use

state-of-the-art technology and is involved in massive

projects, such as the one that has enabled us to build

out over the sea and thus expand our territory by more

than 20 per cent during the reign of the current

Sovereign Prince.

Although all of this is based on unarguable fact,

some still question the source of our prosperity. To our

surprise and indignation, we recently heard it said that

the Principality was too lenient with respect to certain

criminal activities. Quite the opposite: we have sought

ways and means of combating criminal activities and

have consistently reaffirmed our will to strengthen the

measures we take to meet the challenges of today.

All foreign activities require Government

authorization, which is granted only following an in-

depth investigation. Nearly every week the

Governmental Council must veto certain projects. In

the area of banking and finance, monitoring systems

have been set up, and here we also rely on the help of

our great friend and neighbour, France. The legislation

in place to combat money-laundering is the same as

that in most developed countries. In fact, in certain

areas, it is even more stringent.

Monaco has set up an information and monitoring

service on financial flows to allow for the involvement

of legal authorities when necessary and for the

exchange of information with the equivalent foreign

institutions. The Principality is in no way a laissez-

faire zone in which all types of wealth can be

accumulated. Nor can it be termed an `opaque'

financial venue, unless we believe that transparency

does not exist anywhere.

Some see Monaco as a kind of fiscal paradise, as

if we had attempted to create artificial mechanisms to

attract floating capital and wealthy people trying to

avoid taxation in their own countries. The truth is that

direct taxation was abolished in 1869, at a time when

there was no tax on the income of natural persons

anywhere in the world, and thus competition could not

have been an issue. The fact that this situation

continues to prevail today certainly places Monaco

among the countries having `soft' tax laws. But there

are, in fact, taxes: two-thirds of the country's income

emanates from direct or indirect fiscal contributions,

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that is to say, the value-added tax and the tax on the

profits realized from commercial, industrial and

intellectual activities.

In sum, Monaco is a highly developed country

that wishes to be an active participant in the European

sphere and that observes all international commitments

to combat present-day scourges such as financial

criminality and money laundering, which pose a clear

threat to the equilibrium of financial systems. The

Principality is, by its very nature, supportive of its

environment, but this is also the will of leadership.

I now turn to the basis of its external activities,

which also reflect its status as a small State focusing on

a few areas in which its tradition, experience and

abilities can provide added value at the international

level.

One of our priorities has always been

humanitarian action and social development. This was

made clear when, on 26 June last, His Serene Highness

the Hereditary Prince of Monaco, signed, in the

presence of the United Nations High Commissioner for

Refugees, the two Optional Protocols to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child, on the

involvement of children in armed conflict and on the

sale of children, child prostitution and child

pornography.

The actions taken in relation to the World Summit

for Social Development will be followed up during the

special session to review the achievement of the goals

of the World Summit for Children, to be held next year.

We expect that session effectively to address the issue

of the protection of children, who are always the first

among the civilian population to suffer in time of war.

The Principality also wishes to contribute to

development at the public level as well as in terms of

the non-governmental organizations, which are very

active in Monaco, where they receive the strong

support of all those who feel themselves morally

obligated to contribute to the activities undertaken in a

spirit of solidarity by a country that allows them to lead

a privileged life. We expect from the upcoming

Conference on the fight against poverty in the least

developed countries, to be held next May, and in

particular from the 10-year review of the outcome of

the United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development, known as Rio + 10, a new impetus for

international cooperation in these areas so vital to the

future of humanity, in which progress is currently

lagging.

It goes without saying that environmental issues,

including in particular those relating to the marine

environment, have always been priority concerns for

Monaco, situated as it is on the Mediterranean coast.

We will continue to follow up on these activities and to

take initiatives along the lines of those we have been

promoting.

I can only reaffirm the role that the Principality

plays in all relevant forums to intensify the struggle

against the severe scourges of our times, such as

terrorism, trafficking in drugs and in human beings,

and the illegal financial flows which they create or

sustain.

Let me conclude by expressing the hope that I

have been able to provide a clearer view of the

situation in present-day Monaco, a situation of

contrasts. Monaco is one of the smallest countries in

the world, but at the same time one of the most highly

developed. It is an anachronism for those with an

unrealistic or prejudiced view, but its economic

structures reflect great modernity and dynamism. Its

image may be identified with play and leisure, but the

fact is that it creates jobs well beyond its borders. It is

viewed as a curiosity, yet it remains an acknowledged

sovereign State, as proved by its participation in the

principal international organizations and by the fact

that its voice is heard in areas where its contribution

deserves to be taken into account.

I could continue that list of contradictions, but I

think those are sufficient to provide a key to what His

Serene Highness Prince Rainier III said when he

opened the fabulous new Grimaldi Forum a

conference and cultural centre in Monaco in

summarizing the inspiration that has always sustained

his dynasty and the Principality over the centuries:

`One does not need a great territory to have great

dreams, or a great number of people to make

them come true.