Sweden, 2005

A small boy on the run

remains vividly in my mind today, a boy with eyes that

have seen more horror than most of us in this Hall have

ever seen, a boy whom all of us have failed.

There are thousands of children like him in

Darfur. I met him when I visited areas of fear,

suffering, hunger and senseless violence. We owe that

boy in Darfur more: better performance; a stronger

connection between our declarations and our actions.

We have tools to prevent armed conflicts. We

have made many commitments to end oppression,

radically reduce poverty and protect our environment.

We have cures for many of the diseases that continue to

kill. The challenge before us is to use instruments for

peace, development and human rights, and to transform

our commitments into real action.

Cooperation across borders is not just a good

idea - it is a must. And for the truly global

challenges, the United Nations is indispensable. Our

joint commitment to the Charter of the United Nations

is an excellent starting point But as new threats emerge

and the world evolves, the United Nations must also

adapt.

We need a multilateralism that is effective, with

institutions that have teeth and a strong political will to

make them work. We need a multilateralism that is

based on common principles, not on the lowest

common denominator of the day. We need a rule-based

international order, applicable to all.

This is a crucial year for the United Nations. The

Secretary-General has, with great courage and vision,

led the way. The outcome of the summit sets the

direction. This session of the General Assembly has

been given the responsibility of following up on

important decisions. We must together achieve real

results in a number of areas. Let me highlight some of

the main challenges.

The first challenge is to make progress on the

Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). Millions of

people still suffer from extreme poverty. Important

progress has been made towards the goal of eradicating

poverty, but we need to do better. All developed

countries should make timetables for reaching the

target of 0.7 per cent of gross national income for

international development assistance by the year 2015.

Sweden will reach its one per cent target next year.

Equally important is that all countries live up to the

commitments on aid effectiveness, to our agreements

from Monterrey and to our promises to find new ways

of financing development.

Better progress in preventing maternal and child

mortality is vital for reaching many of the MDGs. We

must renew our commitment of universal access to

reproductive health care by 2015 and give more focus

to sexual and reproductive health care and rights.

Market access for goods and services must be

substantially improved for poor countries. Trade-

distorting subsidies need to be phased out. Sweden will

continue to work for reduced agricultural subsidies and

to press for speedy implementation of the development

dimension of the Doha work programme.

While the developed world can and should play a

bigger part in order to reach the MDGs, the developing

countries bear the critical responsibility for their own

development. The importance for the sustainability of

development efforts of good governance, well-

39

functioning democratic institutions and full respect for

human rights and the rule of law cannot be

underestimated.

The second challenge is to halt climate change.

Awareness of the connection between the way we live

our lives, particularly in the industrialized world, and

its effects on the long-term survival of our planet is

today greater than ever. But action is still much too

limited. It is deeply regrettable that no firm agreement

on the way forward was reached at the summit. All

parties to the Kyoto Protocol and to the United Nations

Climate Change Convention must continue to

implement their commitments. There is also a need to

urgently initiate a process aimed at controlling climate

change beyond the year 2012.

The third challenge is to combat terrorism

together. Terrorism has taken the lives of thousands of

innocent people. One of our most urgent priorities must

be to stop and prevent terrorism. It remains a threat to

all of us. We need to address these threats together,

with a broad strategy, and with respect for human

rights. The outcome of the summit has given us a

platform to build on. The United Nations should now

take the lead in developing a comprehensive counter-

terrorism strategy based on the Secretary-Generalís

excellent work. We must also conclude a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism,

including a legal definition, during the sixtieth session

of the General Assembly.

The fourth challenge is to better promote human

rights. Human rights are violated throughout the world,

creating enormous suffering and affecting both security

and development. Human rights must be mainstreamed

in all United Nations work as a core task of the

Organization. Sweden welcomes the decision to create

a Human Rights Council. That Council will need a

strong mandate to address any human rights situation,

respond to urgent human rights violations and monitor

compliance by all States with their human rights

obligations. We must all join in efforts to establish an

effective and legitimate Human Rights Council during

the sixtieth session.

The summit made a strong commitment to our

common responsibility to protect. We must now act

accordingly. The world has a responsibility to react in

order to prevent genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes

against humanity. The Security Council must be ready

to take responsibility if and when a State cannot give

its citizens the necessary protection. However, it is not

just a question of acknowledging the obligation to act;

it is also a question of being prepared to actually do so.

The fifth challenge is to implement commitments

on disarmament and non-proliferation. Weapons of

mass destruction could kill all of us here, all at once.

They could wipe out villages, cities and entire

populations in seconds. Yet we still do not take the

threat seriously enough. It should have been made clear

at the summit that disarmament commitments are to be

implemented and that non-proliferation undertakings

are to be complied with. The countries in possession of

nuclear weapons have a special responsibility to

disarm. At the summit, decisions should have been

taken to strengthen verification. There should have

been commitments to make the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and other

arms conventions universal. Negotiation processes

should have been given a boost by the summit. None of

that actually happened.

Sweden looks forward to the recommendations of

the Weapons of Mass Destruction Commission, chaired

by Mr. Hans Blix. The failure to address the threat

posed by weapons of mass destruction leaves us with

an immensely important task ahead.

The sixth challenge is to put the Peacebuilding

Commission in place promptly. Far too many people in

war-torn countries have seen a fragile peace relapse

into new conflict. With the establishment of the

Peacebuilding Commission, the United Nations is

better equipped to build peace in war-torn societies and

to prevent countries from relapsing into war. In order

to be successful, the Commission needs to draw on

lessons from international peace efforts. Regional

organizations will have important contributions to

make. The Peacebuilding Commission needs a well-

balanced composition, including major donor

countries. Let us establish this Commission before the

end of the year. Sweden is ready to do its part,

including through the swift provision of financial

contributions.

The seventh challenge is to reform the Security

Council and the Secretariat. United Nations reform will

not be complete without Security Council reform. If

the decisions of the Council are to be accepted as

legitimate and effectively implemented, the Council

needs to better represent the world of today. In

addition, the Councilís effectiveness must be

40

safeguarded. There should be no extension of the right

of veto, and the use of the veto should be limited. The

reform of the United Nations also requires the reform

of the Secretariat. The summit took several important

decisions on management reform. Those include a

review of internal rules, regulations and mandates and

the strengthening of the oversight system. But greater

flexibility must be given to the Secretary-General in

managing staff and resources. That would not only

make the Secretariat more efficient, but it would also

enable Member States to focus more on strategic issues

and make the Organization more dynamic.

The summit has provided essential momentum for

more effective multilateralism. The legacy of our

efforts will continue to be determined during the

sixtieth session of the General Assembly. During the

months ahead the task can be completed - the task to

create a United Nations capable of facing the

challenges of our time.

In conclusion, let me return to the subject with

which I began: Darfur. The United Nations must, above

all, serve the interests of the boy that I met there and of

all the other children, as well as the husbands, the

wives, the grandparents - men and women of this

world who lack security, hope and human dignity. That

is our mission.