Monaco, 2001

In taking the floor here at the

Headquarters of our Organization — recipient of the

2001 Nobel Peace Prize — meeting in New York,

which has been so tragically attacked, I wish naturally,

at the outset, to renew to the delegation of the United

States and the great country it represents, our friend,

and the American people the expression of heartfelt

sympathy of the Principality of Monaco. Confronted

with insane actions that prompt horror and indignation,

we find ourselves in natural solidarity in this ordeal, as

well as in the task that now faces the international

community of making decisions and working so that

our States and societies will be spared other appalling

violent acts in the future.

I would like once again to extend to you, Mr.

President, and to all the members of the Bureau our

sincere congratulations on your election to the

presidency of this session of the General Assembly. I

am confident that, under your great leadership, our

work will be carried out in a way that will best meet

the expectations of the international community. I also

wish to assure you of the spirit of cooperation of the

delegation of Monaco.

I also wish to hail the brilliant re-election of the

Secretary-General, a clear sign of the confidence that

we have in his intelligence and humanity, which are

linked to his profound knowledge of the circumstances

in which he must discharge his noble mission regarding

world affairs, of which our Organization is seized. We

also wish to assure him of the great satisfaction that the

Principality of Monaco, my country, shares at the

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renewal of his mandate and of our full support, which

we will continue to offer him.

We are very gratified that the 2001 Nobel Peace

Prize was awarded to him jointly with our

Organization, a fully deserved and justified reward that

should motivate us — the States Members of the

United Nations — to work together even more with

him to champion peace and to fight the many seeds of

conflict that threaten our world, terrorism, human

rights violations, underdevelopment and pandemics

such as AIDS.

The tragic circumstances in which this session of

the General Assembly is taking place make it our duty

to contribute with even greater determination than in

the past to the struggle against terrorism. Owing to

their enormity and to the defiance that is behind them,

its manifestations can, as we have seen, pose a grave

threat to international peace and security. The

Principality of Monaco firmly supports everything the

Organization has adopted and implemented to stifle

this scourge, which can be so devastating to the

principles we all hold. The fact that what a lawyer

would call “edged weapons” were enough to bring

down one of the most modern and sophisticated

symbols of human creativity reminds us of the fragility

of our societies, which densely populated urban centres

and interdependence in all vital areas make even more

vulnerable in the light of the boundless contempt of

some for human life and human dignity.

Among the most important of the commitments

our States have undertaken on behalf of their peoples

by signing the Charter of the United Nations are the

obligations to maintain international peace and

security, to develop friendly relations among nations

and to encourage respect for human rights and

fundamental freedoms: commitments that a handful of

terrorists, in their blind facelessness, rejected with

appalling arrogance and savage brutality.

Two months to the day have elapsed since that

tragic event. Although emotions have by no means

subsided, the healing effects of time are beginning to

give us a little of the sense of distance that is so

necessary for more objective consideration of this

astonishing political challenge and this unacceptable

human tragedy.

The General Assembly very quickly undertook

such consideration through its debate in early October

on measures to eliminate international terrorism. For

its part, the Security Council had already correctly

marked out the initial path and the principal guidelines.

And the Secretary-General has repeatedly called on

Member States to remain more united than ever, and it

appears that his words have been heeded.

Although the nature of terrorism did not change

on 11 September, its scale did. The General Assembly

decided to respond with a complete cohesiveness that

has been rare in its history. By adopting its resolution

1373 (2001), the Security Council did not shrink from

drawing on the full scope and range of its powers under

Chapter VII of the Charter; it took note of the existence

of a threat to peace and an act of aggression and thus

decided on the exceptional measures that the

Principality of Monaco is proud to be implementing.

For us, following up on these initiatives with the

necessary effectiveness means not only implementing

the resolutions that reflect our common determination

and our commitment to fight terrorism and formulating

additional agreements and conventions, but also, first

and foremost, bringing our expertise to the

implementation of instruments that have already been

concluded and to which we have acceded or intend to

accede. Improving the Organization’s action in the

legal sphere is both indispensable and of top priority;

we know this, as does the Government of the

Principality. Therefore, yesterday I signed and

deposited, on behalf of my father, the sovereign Prince,

the instruments of ratification of the International

Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of

Terrorism. The Principality of Monaco considers it

essential that there be coordinated worldwide action

against all forms of financing of terrorism, in order to

deprive extremist movements of the resources that

enable them to do such serious harm to the

international community and to its deep-seated

aspirations to peace and security. Afghanistan, much of

whose territory is occupied and a portion of whose

people are today enslaved, is the most telling example

of this.

The visionary Millennium Declaration and the

outcomes of recent world conferences — such as the

United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small

Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects and the

Durban World Conference Against Racism, Racial

Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related

Intolerance — also merit special attention. Without

question, these latter can contribute greatly to

improving, respectively, international security and

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understanding among peoples. On the fight against

racism, the subject of the Durban World Conference, I

would note that the Government of the Principality of

Monaco has decided to recognize the competence of

the Committee on the Elimination of Racial

Discrimination, established under the International

Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial

Discrimination, to receive and process communications

from individuals or groups of persons charging

violations of a right set out in that instrument, to which

Monaco is a party.

International economic and financial cooperation,

with its inevitable human and social consequences,

must also be included in the reflection prompted by

these events, which is more necessary than ever in the

light of the issues facing us today. Because it is in

part the result of the new interdependence, the

globalization of trade in products, manufactured goods

and services — disparaged by some and hailed by

others — must also be a part of our urgent intellectual

and practical endeavours, so that beyond the

constraints and imperatives that guide it, human beings

can regain their just, legitimate role. Above all, the

economy must serve today’s men and women, with

respect for their legitimate aspirations, their vital needs

and the age-old richness of their diversity.

Regional and subregional cooperation is

particularly conducive to such a goal. My country is

convinced of that; in the Mediterranean area we are

engaged in the trade, culture and technological spheres,

and are working to promote sustainable development

and environmental protection. Nor should we neglect

activities which by their nature tend to bring together

men and women from different backgrounds, such as

artistic and cultural events, academic meetings and

sporting competitions. In the Assembly’s debate on the

agenda item entitled “Building a peaceful and better

world through sport and the Olympic ideal”, the

delegation of Monaco will recall the irreplaceable role

in that connection of physical education and sport, as

well as of the Olympic games.

Another way to bring human communities

together is the multilingualism for which the United

Nations must be a model. That key item is on the

Assembly’s agenda this year. The Principality of

Monaco will state its views on that subject and will

stress the remarkable and unquestionable advantages of

multilingualism for genuine understanding and mutual

respect among peoples.

Alongside modern science and technology, which

are moving forward and rapidly becoming universal,

thus fostering exchanges among peoples, more

traditional forms of communication also have an

important role to play. In our view, teaching and

information, more than ever before, have a

fundamental role in spreading ideas of peace and

understanding among men and women in our troubled

times. Here, the General Conference of the United

Nations Educational, Cultural and Scientific

Organization has given us excellent regulatory texts,

working documents and programmes that we must

revitalize with increased energy in order to provide

greater hope to young people, who are often frustrated

by the harshness of daily life.

We also, and very often, give thought to the seas

and the oceans, which made such a contribution in

ancient times to meetings of civilizations and to the

spread of knowledge, thus enriching art and culture

while developing trade and solidarity. A few days from

now, the delegation of Monaco will state its views

during the consideration of the agenda item on oceans

and the law of the sea. My country has always been

devoted to better scientific knowledge and careful

protection of the marine environment, an indispensable

source for the harmonious flourishing of life.

Thus the Principality of Monaco, with other

Member States, requests the Assembly to grant

observer status to the International Hydrographic

Organization, for which it is the headquarters, in order

to allow that institution to strengthen its cooperation

with Governments and to advance international

initiatives and exchanges in marine cartography —

initiatives and exchanges designed to spread

knowledge of seabeds and coastal zones, as well as to

make navigation easier and safer.

Respect for the decisions and resolutions taken by

our forums and the strengthening of our regulatory

actions, as well as the implementation of the

declarations and plans of action of our recent global

conferences, are significant commitments to which the

authorities of the Government of the Principality of

Monaco are dedicated. In our difficult times, they

represent shared values which prompt us to act together

in the interest of our international community, which is

also in the interest of each of our countries.

To close on an optimistic note, allow me to

express the hope — a hope that I believe is shared by

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many here — that the wisdom of nations united more

than ever before will be able to triumph rapidly over

the evil represented by terrorism in its new global and

universal form, while extirpating from the world the

stubborn roots that fuel it.