Norway, 1997

First, I join other speakers in

congratulating my Ukrainian colleague upon his election to

his high office.

Last week in Oslo, almost 100 countries agreed to a

Convention text for a total ban on anti-personnel landmines.

Who would have imagined, only a year ago, such a

remarkable achievement in such a short time? Thanks to the

tireless efforts and model cooperation of Governments, non-

governmental organizations and civil society, we have

reached this milestone event. I would like to extend a

special tribute to the International Campaign to Ban

Landmines and the International Committee of the Red

Cross. They have been a driving force in our efforts to get

rid of the scourge that landmines represent in the lives of

men, women and children in conflict areas around the

world.

At the beginning of December we will meet in Ottawa

for the signing of the Convention. I appeal to all countries

engaged in this process to ratify the Convention. To those

who have not yet joined us, I say: “Please do so as soon as

possible”. Landmines cannot be allowed to terrorize, maim

or kill more innocent civilians. The United Nations and its

Members have an important role to play and responsibility

for bringing success to the Ottawa process. I appreciate the

support of the Secretary-General and welcome the fact that

he will be the depositary of the treaty. We all have a strong

moral obligation to increase our efforts to reduce the

suffering and prevent new casualties caused by landmines.

Norway intends to provide $100 million over a five-year

period for mine clearance and assistance to victims.

The spread of landmines, small arms and weapons of

mass destruction is unfortunately only one of the many

interlinked global challenges illustrating that the world now,

more than ever, needs the United Nations as a well-

functioning global Organization. At the threshold of the

third millennium, it is unacceptable that poverty and

pollution still dominate the daily lives of billions of people

all over the world; it is unacceptable that hostilities and

hatred still create deadly new conflicts and humanitarian

disasters, between and within States on all continents; and

it is unacceptable that basic human and individual rights

are still widely violated through injustice by Governments

and the negligence of the international community.

Only the United Nations can tackle these universal

and interdependent problems in a comprehensive and

integrated manner. But the world has surely undergone

radical changes since 1945, and so has the nature of the

tasks confronting us. Hence, the United Nations also

needs to change in order to do better what the Member

States want it to do. I was therefore very pleased by the

letter that Mr. Kofi Annan sent to all of our Governments

last month. In clear and concise terms, the Secretary-

General set out the elements of what is without doubt the

most comprehensive reform package in the history of the

United Nations.

Let me state clearly that Norway warmly welcomes

and fully supports the Secretary-General’s programme for

reform and renewal of the United Nations. Together with

the other Nordic countries, we have given our strong

political backing to his reform proposals. We will work

actively with other Member States to ensure that the

General Assembly endorses the reform package this

autumn. We want the reform plans to be implemented as

soon as possible. Norway urgently wants a stronger and

more efficient United Nations. Without such reform, we

will have an Organization less able to promote

development, peace and progress.

Norway is, as many know, one of the main

contributors to the United Nations system. We are one of

the group of countries that fulfil the aim of allocating

more than 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to

development. One out of every 100 Norwegians has

participated in peacekeeping operations around the world.

In terms of money, resources and personnel, our voluntary

assistance to humanitarian relief activities, is, I am proud

to say, second to none. But we want to make sure that

our contribution is put to good use. We want to see it

utilized by the United Nations to improve the lives of

people where the needs are the greatest. That is why we

support the Secretary-General’s reform proposals.

First of all, the reforms will ensure that more

resources are allocated more efficiently for development.

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The Secretary-General’s excellent proposal to use

administrative savings for a “development dividend” is but

one element in the process. We encourage him to continue

further on the course that he has taken. United Nations

activities targeting sustainable development, poverty,

population, education, the promotion of the role of women

in development and the implementation of the results of the

Beijing Conference must be strengthened and integrated at

the headquarters and field levels. Health should be among

the main priorities. Increased international efforts are

needed to assist developing countries in improving their

national health policies and to combat emerging and

re-emerging diseases, such as malaria, tuberculosis and

AIDS. Member States must follow up by fulfilling their

obligations to increase their transfers of aid to the

developing countries and peoples that need it the most.

Hopefully, this will also have the effect of creating the

confidence needed to bring us forward in the Rio process,

towards renewed environmental commitments which can

pave the way for a successful meeting in Kyoto later this

year.

Secondly, the reforms will strengthen the ability of the

United Nations to manage conflicts. Too often, the United

Nations has shown a lack of capacity to act rapidly in the

face of emerging crises. Therefore, we believe it is high

time to establish a rapid-deployment mission headquarters

for peacekeeping and other operations. Norway has offered

to provide funding for personnel for this headquarters.

Furthermore, we encourage other Member States to

contribute to the Trust Fund for Preventive Action, which

was established this year. We are pleased to note that the

Fund has already facilitated the work of the Special Envoy

of the Secretary-General in Central Africa. We want to

cooperate closely on conflict resolution with our friends and

partners in Africa, including through our training

programmes for peacekeeping tasks in that region.

Thirdly, the reforms will extend the capacity of the

United Nations in the human rights field. Norway welcomes

the proposals to strengthen the human rights secretariat and

the excellent choice of Mary Robinson as High

Commissioner for Human Rights. We pledge to work

closely with her to ensure that the international community

increases its focus on human rights violations. Human

rights concerns must become an integral part of all core

areas of the Organization’s work, including at Headquarters

in New York.

We must follow up reform of the Security Council.

Our position is, I believe, well known: the Council must be

made more representative and should better reflect changes

in political and economic realities. We want new

permanent seats for Germany and Japan and for the

developing countries of Asia, Africa and Latin America.

At the same time, a limited number of new non-

permanent seats should be added.

We need financial reform and changes to the scale

of assessments. Some countries have experienced high

and sustained economic growth, but still resist reforms

which would better reflect their increased capacity to pay.

Other countries feel that they are paying too much. We

agree that the time has come to show flexibility in the

discussions on lowering the ceiling on the scale of

assessments to the United Nations budgets, as part of an

overall solution. It cannot be justified that some countries

unilaterally pay less than their legally binding share, or

nothing at all. Non-payment is unacceptable. How can

those of us who always make a point of paying in full

and on time, without conditions, expect our citizens and

taxpayers to continue financing free riders?

We need better integration and coordination within

the United Nations system and between the United

Nations, regional organizations, Governments, civil

society and non-governmental actors. For Norway, this is

not least important in the area of humanitarian assistance.

We welcome the proposal to enhance the capacity of the

Emergency Relief Coordinator to deal more effectively

with complex emergencies.

In Bosnia we are engaged in peace-building under

very difficult conditions. Men and women are serving a

wide range of different organizations: the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization, the United Nations civilian police,

the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) and humanitarian non-governmental

organizations. Without the excellent coordination and

cooperation that has evolved between the High

Representative, the United Nations Special Representative,

the Stabilization Force Commander, the OSCE Head of

Mission and others, the peace-implementation process

would have been in dire straits indeed.

Nationalist leaders in Bosnia are still inciting hatred.

Refugees are being denied their right to return to their

homes. Our personnel are being threatened. War criminals

are still at large. But despite the failure of local leaders to

fulfil their obligations, the recently held elections show

that the international community has given this country

hope for the future. We will stay the course and remain

engaged in Bosnia until peace is consolidated. We will

insist that wanted war criminals be brought to justice. The

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convening of a United Nations conference to establish a

permanent international criminal court in 1998 must be

given priority.

Norway remains committed to the Middle East peace

process. While we will continue to work actively with other

donor countries to ensure the availability of funding, we are

extremely concerned by the current deadlock. The parties

must realize that there is no alternative to the peace process

and to the fulfilment of the spirit and the letter of the Oslo

accords. Further credible efforts to combat terrorism must

be undertaken. The current settlements policy is not

conducive to the peace process. We must redouble our

efforts to bring the parties back into dialogue about the

remaining issues.

We must not forget the success stories of United

Nations conflict resolution. Just since last year, for

example, the decades-long civil war in Guatemala has

ended peacefully. We have had the pleasure of working

with the United Nations and others, like the Group of

Friends for Guatemala, in seeing through the ceasefire

agreement signed in Oslo and the other peace accords.

I would like to take this opportunity to commend the

Government of Guatemala and the Unidad Revolucionaria

Nacional Guatemalteca for their courage and determination

to see the peace process succeed.

Finally, our experience in Guatemala and other

conflict areas corroborates the importance that the

Secretary-General attaches to the close interaction between

the civil society, Governments and the United Nations. We

must make use of the dedication, resources and

commitment to peace and progress that exist among

citizens, in non-governmental organizations and in the

private sector. Through the active involvement and support

of civil society, we can build a stronger and more effective

world Organization for the next century.