Malaysia, 1992

I should like at the outset to extend my

warmest congratulations to Mr. Ganev of Bulgaria on his election as President

of the General Assembly at its forth-seventh session. I am sure that with his

experience and skill he will guide the Assembly to a successful conclusion.

I should like also to take this opportunity to express my deep

appreciation to his predecessor, Mr. Samir S. Shahibi, who carried out his

tasks with dedication and commitment. He made an invaluable contribution to

the revitalization of the work of the General Assembly.

It is also a pleasure for me, on behalf of Malaysia, to extend a warm

welcome to the delegations of those countries that recently joined us as

Members of the United Nations.

. In the last two to three years we have seen dramatic developments and

changes around the world. In many ways we are at a historic point, where we

must make fateful choices that will determine the future of mankind. There

are opportunities to develop a new era of international cooperation based on a

collective desire to seek social and economic progress in a peaceful and

stable environment. There are renewed hopes in the ability of the United

Nations to play a central role in the maintenance of peace and security, while

at the same time being the catalyst for the revival of international

develolpment cooperation.

The end of East-West rivalry and the success of the role of the United

Nations in settling a number of regional disputes understandably gave rise to

euphoria about a new world order. Unfortunately, events of the last two years

prove that such euphoria has been rather short-lived. Numerous and complex

challenges, as well as uncertainties, are still unfolding.

Sadly, the dawn of the new post-cold-war era is looking more and more like the

old world order, characterized as it was by open conflicts based on clashes

between competing nationalists and ethnic forces. Certain parts of Europe are

once again becoming areas of tension and destruction, with ugly ethnic and

nationalistic strife in the former Yugoslavia and a number of component States

of the former Soviet Union. There are also disturbing unresolved local

conflicts in other parts of the world in Afghanistan, Liberia, Mozambique

and Somalia.

Indeed, our initial hope and confidence that the end of the cold war

would encourage and bring about better cooperation at the United Nations are

on the wane. Experience over the last several months has raised serious

concern about certain developments at the United Nations. Too much emphasis,

for instance, is given to the role of the United Nations in the maintenance of

international security, and there is less focus on the social and economic

dimensions of peace. There is also concern over the dominant role of certain

permanent members in the decision-making process in the Security Council,

pushing the scope of the Council's activities into areas considered by many to

be beyond its mandate.

There is also growing concern that the Security Council particularly

the permanent members - has a tendency to select when and where to apply

collective measures under the Charter to uphold the rule of law and restore

international peace and stability. One obvious example of such selectivity is

the case of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Council has yet to respond to

requests by a number of countries of the Organization of the Islamic

Conference for an emergency meeting, with formal debate, to consider the

situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, much less to invoke Article 42 of

Chapter VII of the Charter. To uphold the rule of law, the Council should

reverse the aggression by Serbia-Montenegro against Bosnia and Herzegovina and

should initiate legal proceedings against Serbian leaders and individuals

responsible for "ethnic cleansing" and other war crimes against Bosnian

Muslims and Christians.

The London Conference has yet to prove effective, and even the latest

Security Council action, expanding the size and mandate of the United Nations

Protection Force in Bosnia is limited to the protection of humanitarian

relief. It is Malaysia's strong belief that humanitarian relief, however

effective it may be, will not bring an end to aggression and atrocities, which

are causing so much destruction and loss of life, as well as outflows of

refugees to neighbouring countries.

The case of Bosnia and Herzegovina has highlighted the need for, and the

importance and validity of, preventive diplomacy. If the United Nations is

expected to play an effective role in the maintenance of international peace

and security, there must be greater recourse to preventive diplomacy.

Selectivity or double standards in dealing with potential conflicts and with

the parties involved would lead us nowhere and would only make a mockery of

the United Nations.

We are all conscious of the fact that the grave situation in Somalia was

largely ignored by the Security Council until the Secretary-General took the

Council to task. Millions of Somalians have been suffering for months, and

many are dying by the day in a tragic civil war that is raging out of

control. Somalia is in many ways a casualty of cold-war politics and is now

left to struggle on its own. In this instance the United Nations must assist

not only in bringing humanitarian relief as is being done - but also in

restoring normality. Continuation of the civil war in Somalia is of no good

to any party, and we urge the warring parties to settle their conflicts

speedily and peacefully for the sake of their people and country. There is a

Malaysian proverb that aptly describes the futility of such a situation: "The

victor becomes charcoal, and the loser the ashes."

Two international issues that have long been on the agenda of the United

Nations are Palestine and South Africa. The current Middle East peace process

is showing signs of progress as, for the first time, negotiation, begin to

enter into substantive questions touching on the principle of land for peace.

The time has come for the United Nations to be involved in confidence-building

measures in the occupied territories, including the dispatch of observers, as

well as the extension of social and economic assistance beyond the current

limited efforts of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine

Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to help the Palestinians during the period

of transition towards self-rule and independence.

Similarly, in South Africa, the process of change towards democracy and

majority rule has reached a critical impasse, which calls clearly for a more

assertive and tangible United Nations role. Malaysia welcomes the decision of

the Security Council to send observers to help to create confidence and to

facilitate the process of change. But we believe that the United Nations

should be able to do more in extending confidence-building measures

particularly in restoring law and order as well as in looking at the needs

of black South Africans living in squalid conditions, long neglected under the

apartheid system.

On the question of Cambodia, Malaysia, being part of the Association of

South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the region, has a special interest in

Cambodia's peace, stability and economic well-being. Bilaterally, Malaysia

stands ready to join hands with its Cambodian neighbours in economic and

technical cooperation. We are also fully supportive of the United Nations

role in Cambodia and we are doing what we can to both assist and support the

United Nations peace-keeping efforts. To date we have already contributed a

total number of 1,060 men to the United Nations Transitional Authority in

Cambodia (UNTAC). The task before UNTAC is certainly not an easy one in

facilitating the process of national reconciliation and paving the way for the

setting up of a freely elected democratic Government. Actions of some

Cambodian parties could well threaten the Paris peace Agreements. Clearly,

the Paris Agreements must be fully implemented and the United Nations is there

to ensure such a course. Also the United Nations, as represented by UNTAC on

the ground, in its unique role in Cambodia, must gain the full confidence of

all parties in order to facilitate implementation of the Agreements in the

peace process.

The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in Somalia, is a serious

test of the credibility of the United Nations concept of collective security.

At a time when there is such enormous expectation concerning, and reliance on,

the United Nations collective security system to ensure the maintenance of

international peace and security, there is an urgent need to examine the

Charter and functioning of the collective security system. Under Article 24

of the Charter, Members of the United Nations confer the responsibility for

maintaining international peace and security on the Security Council

and the Council acts on their behalf. The general membership of the United

Nations surely has the right to expect transparency and accountability in the

work and actions of the Council. A major reform of the Council to achieve

such transparency, accountability and democracy is overdue.

The Council's present membership of 15 must be increased to a level that

is more representative of the United Nations general membership, which has now

grown to 179 countries. The representation of Europe in the Council far

outweighs the size of Europe. The present constitution of the permanent

membership largely reflects the situation immediately after the end of the

Second World War and has now become untenable and anachronistic. The veto

power which guarantees the exclusive and dominant role of the permanent five

in the Council must be examined anew. Malaysia will contribute to examining

in all aspects the structures of the United Nations. We regard as timely the

decision of the recent tenth non-aligned summit meeting in Jakarta to

establish a high-level working group to pursue the restructuring,

revitalization and democratization of the United Nations and will give it our

full support.

Malaysia would also support a collective effort by the General Assembly

to study the content and conseguence of the extremely valuable contribution of

the Secretary-General in his report "An Agenda for Peace". We hope that a

collective examination in a democratic fashion will help to define clearly the

important principles contained in the document and the actions contemplated as

a programme of action for the United Nations in a changing world order.

The time has also come for us to treat the financial crisis facing the

United Nations as a matter of utmost urgency if the Organization is to be the

foundation and centrepoint of the post-cold-war world order. The increasing

demands on the United Nations to undertake peace-keeping operations around the

world are overstretching its scarce resources. Arrears for both regular and

peace-keeping budgets now stand at around US$1.75 billion and they are

affecting adversely the ability of the United Nations to perform its tasks.

Of particular concern is the fact that more than half of the total arrears is

owed by two of the five permanent members.

Malaysia, like many other developing countries, welcomes the bilateral

agreements reached between the United States and Russia on nuclear-weapons

reduction and arms control. As a strong proponent of a universal disarmament

process within the United Nations framework, Malaysia welcomes the positive

work of the Conference on Disarmament on the proposed chemical weapons

Convention and we are happy to cosponsor a draft resolution on it at this

session of the General Assembly. Malaysia also believes that the process of

transparency and confidence-building would contribute to the general goal of

disarmament and peace, and we support the idea of a United Nations register on

armaments. Such a register, however, should not be limited only to the sale

and transfer of conventional weapons but should also include the production

and stockpiling of conventional weapons and in due course cover

non-conventional weapons.

The suitability of the United Nations as the focal point for

international cooperation to build a new world order is its noble objectives

and universal character. For it is here that sovereign States are equal

partners, and hence the Organization provides a good starting point for

instituting democracy in inter-State relations and multilateral diplomacy.

Unfortunately, since the collapse of communism there has been an increasing

tendency on the part of the victors of the ideological rivalry to dictate

their values relating to human rights and democracy to others, not only in the

conduct of their bilateral relations but also in their activities at the

United Nations and in its bodies. Malaysia believes that a comprehensive and

constructive treatment of human rights issues must certainly take into

consideration the cultural and religious values that influence the national

outlook and development of Member States. We look forward to participating in

the World Conference on Human Rights next year.

The United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is an important

instrument for the maintenance of law and order in maritime affairs and for

international cooperation. As a littoral State, Malaysia would like to draw

the Assembly's attention to the use of the Straits of Malacca as a waterway

for international shipping. Larger and faster vessels capable of carrying

cargoes of a previously unimaginable magnitude now ply the Straits in record

numbers. Most of them are expected to share the same narrow waterway with

fishing boats and the ever-growing number of pleasure craft.

The increasing international traffic and the passage of large

sophisticated vessels through our waters have certainly landed us with new

problems, risks and responsibilities. In particular, the passage of tankers

carrying dangerous and hazardous cargo adds to our worries and the risks to

our environment. There have already been cases of collisions and spillage in

the Straits, polluting our sea and shore and affecting our marine resources.

The latest collison, last weekend, between two vessels in the Straits,

involving an oil tanker and a container is a glaring example. When such

accidents occur we have to do the clearing up, which is a financial burden,

and endure the sudden harm and destruction to our marine resources caused by

pollution. This is too much for the poor littoral States to bear alone.

Obviously there is an urgent need to take a fresh look at existing

international maritime law and regulations applicable to the Straits and find

a mechanism to share the responsibility of ensuring the safety of navigation,

as well as collectively to combat the growing piracy with effective

surveillance through the use of advanced eguipment and with the improved

resources at our disposal. To meet such objectives Malaysia is not suggesting

the introduction of levies or collection of dues but is asking for the

operational and financial responsibility for this to be shared eguitably among

the maritime nations, users of the Straits and the littoral States.

Any attempt at building a new world order must address the increasing

inequity in the international economic system resulting in a widening

North-South gap. The 1992 United Nations Pevelopment Programme human

development report, for instance, in highlighting the increasingly difficult

external economic environment and its adverse repercussions for developing

countries, has stressed that the North must be held primarily responsible for

this situation. The report pointed out that protectionism and subsidies in

the developed countries resulted in a loss of $500 billion a year for the

developing countries, ten times what they received in foreign assistance. The

total external debt of developing countries has multiplied thirteenfold in the

last two decades, from $100 billion in 1970 to around $1,350 billion in 1990.

While the deadlock in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Uruguay Round has yet to be resolved, recent tendencies towards unilateral

protectionist trade actions, the creation of new trade blocs and instability

in the major currency markets would only worsen the already difficult global

economic environment. Nothing short of a major reform and restructuring of

the world economy, including the financial system, is required in order to

bring about a strong revival and ensure its long-term stability.

In recent years some progress has been made towards revitalizing and

restructuring cooperation in the economic and social fields at the United

Nations. But those changes, no matter how constructive and well-meaning, are

not sufficient to revive international economic cooperation and to allow for

global social development for as long as the developed countries are not

prepared to initiate concrete changes at the policy level and to fulfil their

obligations, particularly in terms of meeting the official development

assistance targets.

The Rio de Janiero summit on environment and development has raised the

hopes of many that we have, within the context of the decisions of the summit

and the establishment of the Commission on Sustainable Pevelopment, set the

framework for launching a new global partnership with a view to economic

development and the protection of the environment. However, real success is

dependent upon the availability of new and additional resources as well as on

the transfer of technology from the North to the South. As agreed at Rio, we

are expecting our partners in the North to make their pledges during this

session of the General Assembly.

The world today has reached a defining moment in history. The

imperatives of global interdependence require that we members of the

international community work closely together in a new global cooperative

spirit to move away from the past decades of ideological confrontation towards

the building of a better world for all. In this regard the United Nations

remains the best forum and vehicle for bringing about a new global consensus

for international peace, security and development. Together, as a family of

nations, we must have the vision and courage to address our common interest

and future.