Malta, 1999

I join other delegations in

congratulating you, Mr. President, on your election as

President of the General Assembly. Your experience and

diplomatic skills will undoubtedly guide us successfully

through the fifty-fourth session. I would also like to express

our gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti, who

displayed such competence and ability in conducting our

work during the past year. We would also like to express

our deep sense of satisfaction and gratitude to the

Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his incessant

diplomatic intervention to help resolve conflicts in various

parts of the globe.

May I also take this opportunity to offer our most

sincere congratulations to the three new Members of this

Organization, the Republic of Nauru, the Kingdom of

Tonga and the Republic of Kiribati. I should also add that

Malta already cooperates closely with these three new

Members through our joint membership of the

Commonwealth.

For over half a century the United Nations has been

instrumental in fostering a culture of partnership among

States. The foundation and survival of a universal

Organization entrusted with the maintenance of

international peace and security and the promotion of

social justice, freedom and human rights is an

unprecedented achievement in the history of mankind.

Undeniably, great strides have been made by this

Organization in helping forge swords into ploughshares

through enhanced cooperation between its Member States.

We have striven individually and collectively, painfully at

times and imperfectly at others, towards a process of

political, social, economic and technological evolution.

Globalization has become a central concept in the way we

view the world. Interdependence has consequently become

the norm.

Overshadowing such progress, however, are the

armed conflicts, economic imbalances and social

dislocation that we still face. Events in our days show that

gross violations of human rights and disregard for

humanitarian principles continue to plague us. The

atrocities that human beings are capable of inflicting on

one another defy the noble aspirations that inspired the

birth of our Organization. The irony of such a situation

cannot be lost on anyone. Even less can the tragedy of

such a predicament be ignored.

Vicious armed conflicts, such as those we have been

witnessing in parts of Africa and in the Balkans, not to

mention the atrocities recently perpetrated in East Timor,

continue to destroy an untold number of lives, disrupting

entire societies, traumatizing tens of thousands of men,

women and children and diverting precious resources

away from development.

The international community cannot afford to be

complacent about the humanitarian crises that we are

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witnessing today. It is incumbent on each of us to rise to

the challenge of securing a world free from deprivation,

fear and oppression. Strengthening the United Nations to

become better equipped to address contemporary needs and

to meet the challenges of the future thus becomes more

urgent. The role of the United Nations in the promotion of

preventive diplomacy must increasingly assume particular

importance if, collectively, we are to defuse and resolve

potentially destructive situations.

Peace and security are intimately intertwined with

development and prosperity. Too often, lack of development

precipitates conflict. Promoting development helps prevent

wars and acts as a means of creating channels of

cooperation within, as well as among, nations. This was the

essential message emanating from the International

Conference on Population and Development in Cairo and

the Copenhagen World Summit for Social Development. It

was a commitment to consolidate the partnership of nations,

a commitment restated and underscored during the review

conferences held within the fifty-third session of the

General Assembly.

Democracy, good governance, respect for human

rights and the rule of law are essential foundations for the

attainment of peace and development and for upholding the

dignity of the human person. Where these are absent, our

efforts to implement post-conflict peace-building,

rehabilitation and reconstruction programmes in war-torn

areas must be intensified. The importance of cementing

ceasefire agreements with stable political and economic

institutions, while simultaneously creating partnerships

between Governments and civil society, cannot be

underestimated.

One of the main thrusts of the work of the United

Nations has been aimed at the equitable and long-lasting

reform of the Security Council, especially given the

expanded membership of the Organization. It is in the

interest of all to find a solution to the Council's reform that

will ensure its smooth functioning, transparency and

enhanced relevance.

While the root causes of conflicts are complex, the

illegal proliferation and trafficking of weapons clearly has

a destabilizing effect on society and only serves to prolong

conflicts. Increased global efforts are warranted to monitor

and control the illicit transfer of small arms and light

weapons. The emerging global consensus on the issue is

encouraging. Malta looks forward to the eventual convening

of an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all

its aspects. Addressing this disruptive phenomenon becomes

more urgent when it is compounded by its complex

linkages with other equally destabilizing activities, such

as international crime, drug trafficking and terrorism.

Responsibility for the plight of peoples cannot be

shirked by national Governments. Accountability by

individuals for their actions must be enforced. The

international community's outrage at shocking, massive

violations of human rights has found expression in the

Statute of the International Criminal Court. The adoption

of the Statute last year in Rome constituted an important

milestone. It is Malta's hope that it is only a matter of

time before the Court begins to function.

Heinous crimes against humanity are an affront to

the intrinsic values of civilization. They cannot be

tolerated. Likewise, the shameless disregard for human

rights that have been enshrined in various international

instruments cannot go unheeded. Effective protection of

those rights should not be allowed to fall victim to

excuses of national sovereignty. This is even more

compelling given that only last year we commemorated

the fiftieth anniversary of the signing of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights.

The international community has made great

headway in the way it deals with the world's resources to

safeguard the heritage of future generations. Since it

joined the Organization 35 years ago, Malta has played an

active role in this field. It would be remiss of me today

not to pay tribute to Professor Arvid Pardo, Malta's first

Permanent Representative to the United Nations, who

sadly passed away recently. His diplomatic skills and

judicious acumen, as well as his vision, were instrumental

in developing the concept of the common heritage of

mankind. This concept, so ably launched by Professor

Pardo on behalf of the Malta Government, was the key to

the process that eventually led to the adoption of the

United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

In a similar vein, during the last session, my

delegation was active in promoting the idea of a better

and more substantive discussion on oceans through

improved coordination among the various organs dealing

with the subject. In this regard, it is our hope that a

workable solution to this issue will be reached.

Malta's readiness to play an active and positive role

in the furtherance of international peace and cooperation

has led to the reactivation of our application for

membership in the European Union. In September of last

year, following elections and a change in Government,

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Malta reactivated its application, which had been frozen for

the previous two years. The application had been submitted

in 1990, and by the time it was suspended in 1996, Malta

was widely considered as a prime candidate for early

membership of the European Union. The 1998 reactivation

was therefore generally seen, both within and outside Malta,

as a resumption of unfinished business, rather than as a new

beginning.

The contractual basis of our present relationship with

the Union remains the Association Agreement signed in

1970, as subsequently amplified and amended. Until it is

superseded by membership, we expect this Agreement to

remain in force and to continue to be complemented by

additional measures in both traditional and new areas of

cooperation, including the areas of justice and home affairs.

We see our objective to join the European Union as

the most appropriate response to Malta's historical and

cultural heritage, as well as to the economic, social and

security requirements of our national development. The

accession negotiations that we hope to be conducting in the

near future will be guided by this perception. The outcome

of these negotiations will then be submitted to the

judgement of the Maltese people in a referendum.

Since independence in 1964, Malta has been

steadfastly committed to the critical role that multilateral

cooperation, as enshrined in the United Nations Charter, is

increasingly playing in the endeavour towards progress,

justice and stability within and among nations.

Over the years, notwithstanding constraints imposed

by its size and resources, Malta has engaged itself in many

United Nations-sponsored initiatives related to the

promotion of human rights, economic and social

development, disarmament, the peaceful settlement of

disputes and safeguarding the environment. As members of

the European Union, we expect to find increased

opportunities, as well as to benefit from an increased

capacity to pursue these and related objectives at both the

global and regional level.

This certainty springs from our conviction that the

European Union is at the forefront of endeavours to

strengthen international understanding and cooperation. Its

policies towards enlargement and regional cooperation, the

promotion of economic and social development, conflict

resolution and peacekeeping provide a constant gauge of its

relevance in this regard.

Malta views the enlargement of the European Union

not so much as an option but rather as a fulfilment. Each

enlargement step constitutes fulfilment for the Union

itself, and that contributes to the completion of an

historical process that reverses the age-old conflict and

the fragmentation of the European continent. It is also a

fulfilment for a candidate country like Malta in that

membership assures it of a continuing role in the political

and economic life of the continent where most of its

history and culture were, and continue to be, forged.

The unfolding of events in Europe over the last

decade highlights this fundamental dimension of the

Union's enlargement process. As they emerged from

political suppression and economic stagnation, the Central

and Eastern European States immediately defined their

national aspirations within the framework of European

integration. For its part, the European Union recognized

that the objective of membership for all the Central and

Eastern European States was a vital ingredient in

sustaining stability and progress throughout the continent

in the shorter and the longer term. Significantly, in spite

of the complexities involved, there is already a marked

readiness by the Union to contribute both assistance and

funds towards reconstruction in the Balkans while

simultaneously pursuing enlargement through Central and

Eastern Europe and with the two Mediterranean

islands — Malta and Cyprus.

Cooperation with the neighbouring regions and

around the world is, for the European Union, an

indispensable accompaniment to enlargement. Be it in the

traditional transatlantic domain, on the still-evolving

Eastern border or on its historical southern, Mediterranean

border, the Union provides a constant and credible

reassurance of the outward-looking dimension embedded

in the European integration process.

Straddling, as it does, both the horizontal and the

vertical axes of the Mediterranean, Malta attaches

particular importance to the promotion of cooperation in

this area. It is as much for regional and global

geostrategic reasons as it is in our own national security

interests for the Mediterranean to be considered as a

meeting place, rather than as a dividing line between

peoples and cultures.

Of particular importance to us is the Euro-

Mediterranean partnership launched in 1995 by the

European Union in Barcelona. This partnership provides

strong support for our belief that membership in the

Union will reinforce Malta's traditional role in the

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promotion of Mediterranean security and cooperation. One

of Malta's contributions to the Union will be the added

insight into, and the commitment to, Euro-Mediterranean

cooperation that Malta will bring with it. At the regional

level, as much as at the broader international level, Malta

sees its membership in the European Union as an element

of further involvement in the process of multilateral

cooperation for peace and prosperity in the Mediterranean.

Malta has welcomed, and is wholeheartedly involved

in, the Barcelona partnership because of its intrinsic merits

in promoting a concrete and effective programme of

cooperation in the Mediterranean. In this regard, at their

last meeting in Stuttgart, the foreign ministers of the Euro-

Mediterranean partnership agreed to reinforce

comprehensive stability in the region through the conclusion

of the Euro-Mediterranean Charter for Peace and

Stability — an initiative in which Malta has been active

from the outset and which it is keen to see take shape.

Despite the many challenges faced by the

Mediterranean, it is our firm view that lasting solutions may

be found. We sincerely believe that an early settlement of

the Cyprus question along the lines of the relevant Security

Council resolutions can be achieved.

Malta has been encouraged by the positive overtures

signalled by the major protagonists in the Middle East

peace process in recent months. What appeared to be for so

long an intractable problem has been slowly but steadily

unfolding towards the path of reconciliation and peace.

True cooperation within the region demands that the spirit

of reconciliation prevail. Recent events — most especially

the Wye II Agreement — carried forward by all those

working for peace in the region bode well for continued

dialogue and cooperation between the parties of the region.

It is in this light that we hail the progress achieved on

the question of Lockerbie and the resulting suspension of

sanctions on Libya. The satisfaction expressed recently by

both the Security Council and the European Union General

Affairs Council in respect of positive developments in

Libya also augurs well for the inclusion of Libya in the

Euro-Mediterranean process as soon as it adopts the

Barcelona acquis. We welcome this development.

May all these efforts lead to widespread cooperation

for the Mediterranean as a whole, bringing peace and

prosperity for its people in the years to come.

To many the new millennium is a time of promise and

expectation, a period of change and transition. Yet, to many

others — indeed too many — it is a time of difficulty and

trepidation, of unfulfilled promises. Poised as we are on

the brink of a new era, it is vital that the United Nations

prevails to safeguard the well-being and prosperity of

future generations.

Even our best efforts can be brought to nothing in an

instant, by the sheer force of nature. The recent

devastating earthquakes that hit the peoples of Turkey,

Greece and Taiwan have galvanized the international

community. Shocked by the loss of so many lives, the

displacement of whole communities and the pain of

thousands, the international response to alleviate the

suffering was generous and expeditious. It was yet

another instance where the expression of solidarity

towards the victims of a natural disaster unveiled the

human face of the international community.

That same spirit also inspires us when challenged by

man-made disasters. It was that same spirit that gave birth

to the United Nations.

We acknowledge that the United Nations cannot be

the perfect panacea for the ills of the world. Yet it

remains the unique platform from which to promote and

protect the inherent rights of all peoples to live in peace,

freedom and dignity. By focusing on human security in

its manifold dimensions — political, economic and

social — the United Nations will continue to be a beacon

of hope to all nations.

The General Assembly has always shown that it is

fully conscious of the need to invest in the future — an

investment that also requires the consolidation of a culture

of peace. This was the essence of the resolutions that

proclaimed the year 2000 as the International Year for the

Culture of Peace and the next decade as the International

Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the

Children of the World.

It is our fervent hope that the Millennium Assembly

next year will generate the necessary political will and

solidarity to ensure that our efforts on the international

scene bear fruit to safeguard the values on which this

Organization was founded. We must move the process of

introspection and deliberation forward to a process of

committed implementation and action. Strong political

will and conviction are needed to fulfil our common

goals.

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We should not aim for short-term remedies, but should

rather pool our collective efforts in order to achieve

long-lasting solutions to the challenges we face today —

the eve of a new era.

This is Malta's pledge for the new millennium. This

is what we aim to ensure — that our efforts, both at the

national and international level will be achieved.