Sweden, 2001

Let me start by

congratulating the United Nations and its Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on being awarded the Nobel

Peace Prize. This is an extremely well-deserved award

to a unique Organization and a unique Secretary-

General.

Let me also take this opportunity to express my

sincere condolences to the families of the victims of

yesterday’s tragedy near John F. Kennedy Airport.

We are all going through days of sorrow and

anger: sorrow for human suffering, for the loss of

human lives and for loss of security; anger, because

terrorists hit innocent people and because terror is

targeted at openness and democracy and threatens our

common security and welfare.

Seldom has the international community been

challenged as it was through the terrorist acts of 11

September. The United Nations rose to the challenge

and took the lead in the struggle against international

terrorism. Seldom have we — the peoples of the United

Nations — shown such a strong common reaction and

unity. Sweden stands wholeheartedly by the United

Nations in its call to fight terrorism, and we express

our solidarity with the American people and

Government at this difficult time.

We have now three immediate tasks. First, all

nations have to take action against terrorism, as stated

in Security Council resolution 1373 (2001): action

against the financing, planning and execution of

terrorist acts; and action that makes it clear to those

responsible for terror that they will be punished for

their acts.

We support the right of the United States

Government to self-defence, in accordance with

international law. We emphasize the central role of the

Security Council.

Secondly, we must assist the people of

Afghanistan in their immediate needs. The Afghan

people have suffered war, natural disasters and

oppression for decades. They are held hostage by an

illegitimate regime. Women and children are

systematically abused. Women are denied health care

and work; girls are practically denied education; and

their freedom is heavily restricted. Human rights do not

exist under Taliban rule. It is crucial that in all cities

now liberated from the Taliban human rights and law

and order be guaranteed.

The humanitarian situation facing the people of

Afghanistan is acute. The United Nations and all its

Member States must increase their efforts to meet the

needs of the Afghan population. Closed borders must

be opened immediately, both for refugees who seek

asylum and for the secure transport of emergency

supplies.

Thirdly, we must assist the people of Afghanistan

in the reconstruction of their country. The restoration

of this ravaged nation to a state of peaceful coexistence

must involve a political process leading to a

representative government that respects human rights

and fosters democratic development. The role,

protection and participation of women must be high on

every policy agenda.

While addressing these immediate tasks, we must

not lose sight of our long-term agenda.

A year ago, here in New York, heads of State and

Government from 147 countries adopted the

Millennium Declaration. Their message was clear: only

by working together can we meet the challenges of

globalization.

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Today we need to build coalitions and to join

forces, not only against international terrorism, but also

to fight other global problems. We need to join forces

in the fight for global justice. Globalization and

openness make people aware of what they have, and of

what they lack. People wish to participate. People wish

to share the benefits of development. This is positive

and represents a challenge to the international

community’s ability to narrow the gap between rich

and poor.

Globalization creates wealth, but that wealth must

be more equally distributed. Today, more than one

billion people live in absolute poverty. The Millennium

Summit pledged to halve poverty by the year 2015.

This is a welcome commitment, but it is still not

enough. Political efforts should be combined with

economic, technical and scientific progress.

Development cooperation, trade and agricultural

policies must aim at poverty eradication. The

instruments are there, and the possibilities today are

better than ever before, but we, the Governments, need

to show courage and political will. We must provide

hope of freedom for the oppressed, education for the

illiterate, food for the hungry, health care for the sick

and equality for women.

Increased official development assistance is

therefore crucial. Sweden is one of the few countries

meeting the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent of

gross national income in development aid. I urge all

developed countries, in particular the big economic

Powers, to make real progress towards achieving this

goal.

The poorer countries must be integrated into the

world economy, and the new United Nations road map

is a concrete and welcome step in this direction. The

International Conference on Financing for

Development, to be held in Mexico, and the World

Summit on Sustainable Development, to be held in

Johannesburg — in which the Swedish Prime Minister,

Mr. Göran Persson, will participate — could be the

starting points for new partnership arrangements

between Government institutions, civil society and the

private sector — a partnership for global justice.

HIV/AIDS is one of the greatest threats to

humanity in our time. In some countries, large parts of

entire generations fall victim to the disease. Millions of

children are orphaned. Economic progress is hampered,

and development opportunities are lost. All Member

States must show strong political and financial

commitment and solidarity. Sweden welcomes the new

global fund to fight HIV/AIDS and will contribute $60

million over the next three years to the fund.

A new round of broad negotiations in the World

Trade Organization (WTO) can make an important

contribution to worldwide growth and development.

But the interests and concerns of the developing

countries must be properly addressed. Every effort

must be made to liberalize trade. The example set by

the European Union — to open its market to

“everything but arms” — should be followed by others.

Developing countries should receive support in

building their capacity to fully integrate into the world

trading system and the global economy.

The global responsibility in terms of providing

more resources and greater market access to

developing countries is clear. But the main

responsibility for development rests with the

Governments and peoples in developing countries.

Good governance and sound national policies are

prerequisites for sustained development and poverty

reduction.

We need to join forces in the struggle for human

rights and democracy. When rights are respected, when

voices are heard, when society is tolerant, society also

becomes safer for all.

Violations of human rights threaten the security

and well-being not only of the individual but also of

society, and they cause tensions and conflicts.

Sustainable development and political stability can be

built only on respect for universal and indivisible

human rights and on democratic development.

Discrimination in any form is unacceptable and

incompatible with these fundamental principles. It is

the responsibility of every Government to safeguard

equal rights and opportunities for men and women, as

well as the rights of the child.

Those guilty of human rights violations and

crimes against humanity should never find refuge

behind national borders. The transfer of Mr. Milosevic

to the International Tribunal demonstrates the resolve

of the international community to act against impunity.

It carries great symbolic value and will contribute to

the process of reconciliation.

The establishment of the International Criminal

Court will strengthen our ability to try suspected

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violators of international and humanitarian law. It is a

matter of the highest priority to have the Court

operational promptly, and I urge those States which

have not yet done so to ratify the Rome Statute.

Sweden also welcomes the initiative by the

Secretary-General to involve global business in

promoting human rights through the Global Compact.

We need to join forces to prevent violent

conflicts. We need to work against hatred and suspicion

between peoples and to stimulate a dialogue between

and within cultures. Preventing violent conflict is a

primary obligation of Member States under the United

Nations Charter, but it took us half a century to start

working towards this goal systematically. We now have

a better understanding of the complex root causes of

conflicts. The responsibility of preventing conflict

ultimately rests on every Government. Successful long-

term prevention cannot be imposed from the outside,

but the local parties should be encouraged and assisted

in containing an emerging conflict.

The Secretary-General’s report on conflict

prevention is a very valuable contribution to the

development of a global strategy. I urge all Member

States to take an active part in its follow-up.

A core task of the United Nations is to effectively

manage conflicts where prevention fails. It is the

United Nations that provides the legal foundation for

global action. Sweden therefore strongly supports the

process that the Brahimi report has set in motion. But

we, the Member States, have yet to provide the United

Nations with the necessary resources to strengthen its

capacities in the area of peace operations.

The Secretary-General’s efforts to strengthen the

ties between the United Nations and regional

organizations in the areas of conflict prevention and

peace-building are most welcome.

Cooperation with the United Nations is essential

in developing the European Union’s conflict-

prevention and crisis-management capabilities. In

Göteborg last June the Union adopted a framework for

increased interaction, so that European Union

capacities can provide real added value for the United

Nations.

We need to join forces for peace in the Middle

East. Our aim must be two States, Israel and Palestine,

with secure and recognized borders. The basis is

international law and the Security Council resolutions.

The situation has deteriorated in the past year, despite

strong efforts by the United Nations, the United States,

the European Union, Russia and others. A further

escalation must be avoided. Israel must withdraw from

the occupied territories, cease the settlements policy

and put an end to the extrajudicial executions. The

Palestinians must do everything in their power to stop

the attacks against innocent civilians. Sweden strongly

supports the recommendations of the Mitchell report,

including a monitoring mechanism, for an end to

violence and a revival of the peace process.

We must join forces for multilateral disarmament.

A world free from weapons of mass destruction would

be a much safer world. Multilateral agreements

contribute to security for the individual. They have

produced impressive results — chemical and biological

weapons have been totally banned. Still, however,

many challenges remain.

Three years ago, Sweden helped launch the New

Agenda Coalition — a group of States concerned with

the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament and

sharing a vision of a nuclear-weapon-free world. In our

case, the initiative was rooted in the firm belief that

both global and national security depend on

multilateral frameworks and platforms.

Last year, the 187 States parties to the Non-

Proliferation Treaty (NPT) adopted by consensus a

road map towards nuclear disarmament. Based on the

undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States to fully

eliminate their nuclear arsenals, a 12-step action plan

was agreed on. This promising outcome was also

confirmed by the General Assembly. All States parties

have pledged to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world

under strict and effective international control. I

strongly urge the four States remaining outside the

Treaty to sign and ratify it.

We have a number of important instruments to

prevent testing, to ban production of weapons material

and to improve verification. The Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, a fissile material cut-off

treaty and the Additional Protocol to the International

Atomic Energy Agency safeguards agreement pave the

way for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

Now it is now time to concentrate on their

implementation.

The United States plans for a strategic missile

defence system risk having a negative impact on

disarmament, non-proliferation and the whole NPT

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process. The ongoing consultations are welcome, but

the outcome is still uncertain. We strongly believe that

the new threats of proliferation require a multilateral

response built on the already existing safety net.

Deep cuts in strategic and tactical nuclear

arsenals are long overdue and should be accompanied

by effective mechanisms of verification and

irreversibility. Such treaty agreements can never be

replaced by unilateral declarations.

Weapons of mass destruction remain a threat to

mankind. Terrorists must not be given the opportunity

to threaten us with these weapons. Now is the time to

reinforce efforts to contain proliferation.

The United Nations remains a unique global

forum. It is the one organization we can all equally

count on and turn to for security and development — as

the safeguard of our common future. The United

Nations needs to be strengthened, and it needs reform.

We need the United Nations, and the United Nations

needs us.