Kingdom of the Netherlands, 1998

I speak to this Assembly with a sense of deference

and humility. Deference, because I realize that I am

speaking to the greatest multilateral organization of all time

and from a rostrum where have stood almost all the great

statesmen since the Second World War.

Humility because I was appointed just two months ago

to the post of Minister for Foreign Affairs, and so I am a

newcomer for most of the delegates. However, this is no

way detracts from the pride that I feel regarding my

country?s long commitment to the United Nations system

and the support that this Organization has enjoyed in the

Kingdom of the Netherlands.

I would also like to add that I feel reassured to realize

that most of what I was going to say to the Assembly has

already been said in the statement made by the Austrian

Minister for Foreign Affairs on behalf of the European

Union.

(spoke in English)

Article 23 of the United Nations Charter says that the

General Assembly shall elect 10 non-permanent members

of the Security Council. More to the point, the Article goes

on to say that the Assembly, in doing so, must pay due

regard

“in the first instance to the contribution of Members

of the United Nations to the maintenance of

international peace and security and to the other

purposes of the Organization”.

Well, my country at present is up for election to the

Security Council. In fact, elections are due to be held in

this very Hall in a few weeks time. And so it seems only

fair for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, as a candidate

for the Council, to explain where it stands: where it

stands on some of the core issues now faced by the

United Nations family, where its stands on the state of

affairs in the Organization and where it stands on the

Organization?s future. In other words, what is the

electorate looking at?

What the electorate is looking at is what I would

describe as a nation responding. Throughout the Kingdom

people hear the wants of the world, the needs of our

neighbours and of people in peril. It is in keeping with

the Dutch character to be penny-pinching but generous to

those in distress, to be demanding but tough on ourselves

as well, to hold strong views but carry a big heart —

easily critical, prone to compassion.

In much the same manner we look at this

Organization. We look at the Charter as a true monument

of modern times. We feel a strong commitment to

multilateralism, for reasons of principle and for reasons of

necessity. We seek to promote the institutions of

worldwide cooperation, with the United Nations at the

core. Together, they span the entire range of human

activity. We shall go on to give it the best we can offer

in the form of ideas and in the form of resources.

I would like to demonstrate how seriously we take

our Charter obligations by showing how, over the years,

we have pursued the purposes of the United Nations, as

spelled out by the Charter in Article 1. First, peace and

security. It is perhaps the most thankless responsibility the

United Nations carries. Indeed, the odds are

overwhelming. Since 1945, the number of violent

conflicts outstanding has risen from 4 to about 40. Their

average length has grown from about two months to an

average of 14.5 months in 1995. Peace and security is

where we have learned our lessons the hard way, and

more mistakes are bound to be made. We, the Member

States, need to shape up.

Meanwhile, the Dutch commitment to United

Nations peacekeeping is borne out by our record. The

Netherlands has taken part in 20 peacekeeping operations

so far, is currently engaged in three of them and is getting

ready to join a fourth one. Most recently, some 100 Dutch

troops were stationed in Cyprus, where they are

committed to keeping the two Cypriot communities at

peace. All in all, some 1,650 Dutch troops are engaged in

peacekeeping and multinational supervision. In fact,

peacekeeping operations continue to form one of the

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principal tasks of our armed forces, and we remain ready to

participate in up to four different peacekeeping efforts

simultaneously at the level of a battalion.

Peacekeeping does not stand by itself. There should be

a comprehensive response to the need for conflict

management. We believe in a continuum between

prevention, on the one hand, and reconstruction and

development on the other hand. After all, many of the

conflicts raging today take place in the developing world.

Affluent societies cannot in good conscience walk away

from a conflict once the smoke has cleared. Donor

countries cannot turn their backs to the ravages of war and

concentrate on the next CNN headlines. We believe that

emergency aid and political initiatives should be teamed

with longer-term development planning, reconstruction and

reconciliation. We believe in building a bridge between

conflict and development.

Another pillar of Dutch foreign policy is our strong

desire to ban weapons of mass destruction. Our objective

remains strengthening the non-proliferation regime,

supporting real progress in negotiations on the reduction of

nuclear weapons, and making existing conventions on other

mega-weapons effective and more reliable.

Still, we are not talking only about mega-weapons.

The transfer of small arms is a matter of concern for us as

well. They are piling up fast, most of them illicit. In many

countries they constitute a serious threat to the population

and to national and regional security and even contribute to

the destabilization of States.

Landmines are the plague of modern warfare, leaving

a disgraceful legacy of the present century to the next one.

Once in the ground, they keep. To this day people are

maimed or killed in Ypres, Belgium, by landmines put in

place during the first strategic use of them, over 80 years

ago. Mine clearance and banning anti-personnel landmines

have been pursued with renewed vigour in recent years, and

with due reason.

I now turn to the second of the purposes of the United

Nations: developing friendly relations among nations. Let

me point to the manner and measure in which the

Netherlands has contributed towards this.

By geographical necessity, the Netherlands has always

been a seafaring nation, a nation of traders. Besides making

us the eighth largest trading nation in the world, it has

made us an outward-looking people, internationally

oriented. Also, it has made us a multicultural society. Over

20 per cent of our population have their origins abroad —

in Africa, in Asia, in the Arab world and in the Americas.

Over time, we have built up strong relations with

countries of all regions. Two constituent parts of our

Kingdom, that is to say the Netherlands Antilles and

Aruba, are located in the Americas. Our Caribbean

Kingdom partners have important political and economic

relations with their regional friends. They are engaged in

the Economic Commission for Latin America and the

Caribbean (ECLAC), in the Organization of American

States (OAS) and in the Caribbean Community

(CARICOM).

Rightfully, Africa is high on the Netherlands?

political and development agendas. We encourage and

support African countries in establishing peace, stability

and democracy. We assist African nations in building up

their mechanism for conflict prevention, management and

resolution. We help Africa in strengthening its place in

the world economy — for instance, through the World

Trade Organization. Dutch aid flows to all countries of

Africa — last year over $600 million worth.

Turning now to Asia, the relations between the

Netherlands and a large number of Asian countries go

back to the sixteenth century. We are an original member

of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the

Pacific (ESCAP). Naturally, therefore, we have assisted

Asian countries that have been hit by the financial crisis

and its economic and social effects. We do so through

multilateral channels and through joint European and

Asian initiatives. Overcoming the crisis is important, too,

for political stability in the region.

As regards Central and Eastern Europe, the

Netherlands is heavily engaged in assisting countries of

that region in their transition to market economy and

democracy. Our involvement is a central feature in our

relations with all candidates for accession to the European

Union. In Bosnia and Herzegovina, we are at present the

third most important donor, and we contribute to the

Stabilization Force and to various organizations engaged

in the region.

The Netherlands and the Arab world have long-

standing economic and cultural ties. The University of

Leyden has traditionally been a leading centre for the

study of Islam and Arab culture. We have a growing

Arab community in the Netherlands. We continue to give

substantial support to the Palestinian people and are a

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major donor to the United Nations Relief and Works

Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East.

The third purpose of the United Nations, as spelt out

in Article 1 of the Charter, is by far the most complex. Its

binding element is the promotion of international

cooperation, but cooperation in fields that, taken together,

cover a wide range of human interaction. I would like to

highlight some of them, without, of course, meaning to

diminish any of the others. Notably, I will touch on

development cooperation, human rights, and international

law.

Poverty eradication has been the primary focus of

Dutch development aid policy for over a quarter of a

century. The Netherlands, whose aid programme last year

ran close to $3 billion, has actively tried to strike a balance

in its aid policy between the economy, the environment and

the people. We are pursuing development that is

sustainable — sustainable not purely in terms of ecology

but in a wider sense: development that addresses basic

human needs, that respects human rights, that builds human

capacities, that is socially responsible and that does not

mortgage the choices of future generations.

For many years, my country has been more than

faithful to the international target of 0.7 per cent of gross

national product for development. The Organization for

Economic Cooperation and Development average hovers

around 0.25 per cent. The Netherlands stands at a self-

imposed 0.8 per cent. In percentage terms, it takes third

place among the major donors. In absolute terms, in money

spent, it has made us the sixth largest donor country

worldwide for 1997.

All in all, $750 million from Dutch resources flowed

to the United Nations system and to the Bretton Woods

institutions in 1997. The new Netherlands Government is a

strong believer in multilateral development cooperation. In

its first major policy statement, it pledged that multilateral

aid flows, including those to the United Nations system, are

going to be expanded over the next several years.

As the Charter says explicitly, international

cooperation applies also to promoting and encouraging

respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. We

have made no secret of our attachment to the cause of

human rights in the past; nor do we intend to hide it in the

years to come. The Netherlands has been an active player

in the Commission on Human Rights since at least 1980,

has seen several of its countrymen serve in prominent

human rights positions, has either drafted or supported

countless resolutions and has strongly advocated standard-

setting and monitoring. It is a topic that enjoys solid

support in Dutch society and has constituted a clear

political imperative for a quarter of a century. Member

States can count on our toeing the line in the future.

Promoting respect for the rule of law at the

international level has been recognized as part of our

heritage ever since Hugo Grotius, in the early 1600s. In

modern times, the Netherlands has sought to contribute to

the advancement of international law. Areas where we

have made contributions include human rights, legal

cooperation, crime prevention, criminal justice and so

forth. Much of the groundwork for the International

Criminal Court was done under Dutch chairmanship.

If indeed we are to serve on the Security Council,

what will be our aims in the next two years? Our aim is

the primacy of international law. Our aim is building

bridges. Our aim is addressing all issues before the

Council. Our aim is more contact between non-members

and the Council. And our aim is openness and

transparency. In a nutshell, we will be driven by idealism,

but guided by realism. It is in that spirit that we approach

our membership in the Council and, indeed, the future of

this Organization.