Norway, 2000

First of all, I would like

to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your assumption

of your important position. I would also like to

welcome Tuvalu as a new Member of the United

Nations.

Norway is committed to a strong and effective

United Nations. For decades, we have pursued a policy

of translating our commitment to the United Nations

into substantial contributions to the various activities

of the United Nations system. That is why some 60,000

Norwegians have served in United Nations

peacekeeping operations. That is why Norway today

contributes 1,500 military and civilian personnel to

United Nations and United Nations-mandated

peacekeeping operations around the world. That is why

we are supporting the peace and reconciliation efforts

of the United Nations in the Middle East, Colombia,

Cyprus and Sudan. And that is why a relatively small

country of 4.5 million inhabitants is one of the largest

donors of voluntary contributions to the economic,

social and humanitarian programmes of the United

Nations. This year, Norway is providing $1.3 billion

dollars for development cooperation. My Government

plans to increase that amount substantially over the

next few years. A large part of that will be channelled

through the United Nations system.

At the first session of the General Assembly in

the twenty-first century, and after the successful

Millennium Assembly last week, it is time to take stock

and act upon the decisions we have made. Here is what

Norway will give priority to in the time ahead.

We will focus on the root causes of conflict and

put the fight against poverty, underdevelopment and

environmental degradation at the top of our agenda.

Financing for development is essential. Norway

reached the 0.7 per cent target more than 20 years ago.

We are currently devoting 0.9 per cent of our gross

national product for official development assistance,

and my Government has pledged to reach a full one per

cent.

We will increase our support through the

multilateral development agencies, including our

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support to the United Nations Development Programme

(UNDP).

We will continue to advocate a more

comprehensive approach to peace-building. Conflict

prevention, humanitarian relief and long-term

development cannot be regarded as separate tasks.

They must be part of an integrated and coherent

strategy of human security.

We will continue to combat malaria, tuberculosis

and other diseases. Malaria alone takes two lives every

minute of every day of every year, mainly those of

children and pregnant women. We will significantly

increase our contribution to the vaccination of children,

so that they do not die of easily curable diseases.

We will intensify our efforts to help contain and

reduce the spread of HIV/AIDS, which in many

countries has become the single largest threat to

development. We will focus even more strongly on

Africa, as Africa needs a new and better deal. We call

for a renewed commitment to Africa and are prepared

to contribute substantially to this effort.

The United Nations has mounted more peace

operations during the last 10 years than during the

previous four decades combined. We have witnessed

significant successes, but also uncovered disturbing

and tragic weaknesses. Far too often and frequently

at great cost to the people we were supposed to

protect the United Nations has relied on last-minute

efforts and ad hoc arrangements. The rich and powerful

Member States must honour their promises to the weak

and defenceless.

Norway supports the recommendations in the

report of the United Nations Panel on Peace

Operations, headed by Ambassador Brahimi. We stand

ready to engage in a broad dialogue on how to ensure

the speedy and efficient implementation of the

recommendations contained in the Brahimi report.

Together with our partners, we will push forward

towards non-proliferation of weapons of mass

destruction. We will work for further reductions in

nuclear arsenals with a view to eliminating them,

building on the important results of the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review

Conference here in New York.

We will continue to combat illicit trade and the

spread of small arms. We should make full use of the

opportunity provided by the United Nations

Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and

Light Weapons in All its Aspects to take firm steps to

curtail this deadly traffic.

None of this can be done, however, if we do not

secure a sound financial basis for the United Nations

itself. We must put United Nations finances on a more

secure and predictable footing. We must close the gap

between the tasks we ask the United Nations to carry

out and the resources we make available to it. Zero

growth is clearly not sufficient. We cannot expect the

United Nations to carry out new and additional tasks

without additional funding.

No one must be allowed to commit war crimes or

crimes against humanity with impunity. Norway

therefore strongly supports the Statute establishing an

International Criminal Court. Now we must seek its

speedy implementation.

To effectively meet our common challenges, we

must build new partnerships between the United

Nations, civil society and the private sector. The

Global Compact' is one such initiative. The Global

Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization' (GAVI) is

another. Early next year Norway will host an

international conference in Oslo on the role of the

private sector in promoting investment and economic

development in the least developed countries.

We will continue to support efforts to enable

developing countries to take full advantage of the

benefits of multilateral cooperation. In particular, we

would like to assist the least developed countries

including small island developing States to benefit

more fully from joint international efforts, including

the legal regime for the seas and oceans established by

the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

Globalization provides opportunities for

unprecedented growth, but it can also lead to

marginalization and isolation. In our globalized world,

markets have become global much faster than politics.

There is an urgent need to adapt the international

trading and financial systems so that every country can

obtain its fair share of the benefits of globalization.

In our shrinking world, providing humanitarian

aid and emergency relief to people in need is the

responsibility of every Government. Norway will

increase its humanitarian efforts which are already

among the most intensive in the world both

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bilaterally and through United Nations agencies and

non-governmental organizations.

We will to the best of our ability continue to

facilitate peace efforts in countries where the parties to

a conflict request our involvement. Ultimately,

however, the responsibility for lasting peace rests with

the parties themselves.

Finally, we reiterate our call for reform and

enlargement of the Security Council in terms of both

permanent and non-permanent members. Broader

membership and increased transparency are essential to

the legitimacy and effectiveness of the Council.

For the first time since 1979, Norway is seeking a

seat on the Security Council. We hope to be elected,

after 22 years, based on our contributions to the United

Nations and on the principles of fair rotation. We

therefore ask for the support of the Assembly. Norway

will deeply respect a mandate from the Assembly. We

will be attentive to its voices and concerns. We will

remain committed to help those who suffer from

poverty and war, disasters and famine to place a strong

United Nations at the centre of world affairs, to ensure

that those who have the strongest backs bear the

heaviest burden. We ask the Assembly to allow us to

serve all Members.