Tunisia, 2000

I am

particularly pleased to express my congratulations to

you, Sir, on your election as President of the fifty-fifth

session of the General Assembly. Your great diplomatic

experience and your thorough knowledge of

international affairs are the best guarantees for the

success of this session. While assuring you of the

readiness of our delegation to fully cooperate with you,

we would like to wish you the utmost success as you

carry out your responsibilities.

Allow me also to express my thanks to your

predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for the remarkable

role he played during the previous General Assembly

session. His efforts made it possible to achieve positive

results in the review and resolution of many issues.

The Millennium Assembly takes place at a time

when the world is at the crossroads of two different

eras. This makes it particularly important that this

fifty-fifth session provide us with the opportunity to

take stock of what we have achieved together and to

begin developing a forward-looking strategy that will

allow us to face the current challenges. We can identify

and face these challenges only within the framework of

a multidimensional, international partnership in the

political, economic, social and development spheres.

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali and his peers

who met at the Millennium Summit have underlined

the main challenges that the international community

must face. These challenges should set priorities for

our joint efforts in the next stage, so that we can make

the next millennium a millennium of international

partnership, of the development of joint strategies, of

the promotion of societies and satisfying their multiple

needs, of the struggle against poverty and epidemics, of

conflict prevention and of the establishment of a lasting

13

basis for peace and international security. In other

words we should make this millennium truly a

millennium of the common future of mankind.

The Declaration adopted by the Millennium

Summit is a document of historical importance. It

paves the way for the future work of the international

community within the framework of the principles and

purposes of the Charter of the United Nations. In the

Declaration world leaders reaffirmed these purposes

and principles and renewed their commitment to them.

They also reaffirmed their adherence to the United

Nations as the only forum for the expression of the

international community's choices for the future and as

the ideal instrument for achieving our collective

aspirations.

At the end of the last millennium there were

several major summits — including the Millennium

Summit, the South Summit, the Non-aligned

Movement summit and the two special sessions of the

General Assembly, devoted to social development and

women. The results of these summits and meetings, the

visions expressed and the decisions taken regarding the

future of international relations provide an important

point of reference that makes it possible to develop a

global and consensual strategy in order to build a true

partnership between peoples and nations. The goal of

this partnership should be to take up the future

challenges together.

Among the lessons we have learned from these

historic meetings was the consensus reached by all

countries on the need for a renewed vision of the

working methods that we have followed every year in

recent decades in order to adapt to the requirements of

our time, when different aspects of international life in

the political, economic and social spheres are all

interlinked.

The challenges of our modern world require a

global vision and common action that would take into

account the link between peace, security and

sustainable development based on a political approach

that combines democracy, human rights and good

governance, as well as overall strategies for the fight

against poverty on an international scale. Indeed,

poverty has been identified by major international

authorities and also in the statements that emerged

from the Millennium Summit and the Security Council

as well as by the Secretary-General in his reports to the

Millennium Summit and to the General Assembly at its

fifty-fifth session as one of the main causes of

international economic imbalance and as a source of

instability, conflict and tension in many regions of the

world.

In our opinion, the international community is

called upon today to objectively develop a concept of

international peace and security as well as the means to

preserve them. It is called upon to adopt a broader

concept that takes into account not only the direct

causes of wars, conflicts and tensions, but also their

entrenched roots and the means to resolve them in

order to ensure their prevention and to guarantee peace

and security. The last decade has shown the magnitude

of the means that are required to resolve conflicts and

tensions throughout the world. This has generated a

weakening of international will when true and direct

participation in the quest for solutions to the many

conflicts was needed.

The United Nations, despite its limited resources,

remains the main actor that can resolve these conflicts.

Previous experiences have taught us, among other

things, that the principle of conflict prevention remains

the best way to avoid conflicts and the resultant human

tragedy and economic and social damage, which are

difficult to remedy.

Indeed, within this international forum, we must

work with regional organizations and international

financial institutions to implement a strategic plan of

action with new dimensions that would enshrine the

principle of prevention as the main way to avoid

conflicts and to deal with their deep and structural

causes, through a global vision that would take into

account the pressing needs of economic and social

development. Experience has proved that stability and

internal harmony within and between countries will not

be achieved without national development and

interdependent interests.

It is difficult indeed to imagine how a society can

engage in internal violence or get involved in an

external conflict if its interests are protected and if it

enjoys well-being and prosperity — both fundamental

conditions for peace and stability.

This vision conforms to the reform process under

way at the United Nations, in the Security Council and

at international financial institutions that have realized

that the cost of prevention is far lower than the cost of

post-conflict reconstruction, especially since certain

14

consequences, those that affect human beings, are

difficult to remedy.

It is therefore high time that industrialized

countries and international financial institutions

honoured their commitments towards disadvantaged

regions and countries in the form of official

development assistance, by encouraging foreign

investment and by settling the debt problem, including

the servicing of the debt, in order to meet the

requirements of development and to contribute

effectively to formalizing the idea of prevention based

on multifaceted international aid.

Before concluding my comments on the matter of

peacekeeping and international security in this new

international environment, I would like to underline the

following. First, there is a need to introduce necessary

reforms into United Nations procedures when it comes

to peacekeeping operations, especially since the

activities of our Organization are no longer limited to

traditional missions, but also encompass disarming and

reintegrating combatants, removing landmines,

establishing State institutions and monitoring elections.

These new missions require greater material and

human resources, as well as collective efforts. Of

course, this requires a substantial strengthening of

United Nations preventive capabilities.

Experience has shown that the success of

peacekeeping operations depends on the prior consent

of the parties concerned, on a clear mandate and on the

availability of necessary resources.

We have also observed through our experience in

peacekeeping operations that serious problems do exist,

especially when it comes to delays in reimbursing

contributing countries.

The report of the group of experts, developed

under the chairmanship of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi,

contains important recommendations that command our

attention and deserve in-depth study, especially since

they deal with all aspects of peacekeeping operations.

Secondly, the role of the Security Council in

peacekeeping and international security is crucial and

indispensable. It draws its strength from the fact that it

is a universal tool and that it embodies international

legality.

As always since the 1960s, Tunisia remains ready

to meet the United Nations calls, as well as those of the

international community, to take part in peacekeeping

operations throughout the world. Given the priority of

the security of personnel serving in peacekeeping

operations, in July Tunisia ratified the United Nations

Convention on the Safety of United Nations and

Associated Personnel.

The need to introduce reforms to the Security

Council is dictated today by international

developments that have taken place since the adoption

of the Charter. In this context, increasing the number of

permanent and non-permanent members of that body

on the basis of equitable geographic distribution is an

urgent demand. We would like to stress the need to

reach a consensus that would make it possible to

increase the number of permanent members.

In this regard, I would like to recall that Tunisia

supports the candidacy of Japan, Germany and other

countries. An eventual solution should preserve the

interests of all international parties and make it

possible to satisfy the demands of developing countries

and, above all, African countries, which are entitled to

two permanent seats on the Security Council, to be

distributed according to the rule of rotation. It is also

necessary to improve the working methods of the

Council in order to ensure that its work is marked by

transparency and effectiveness. Since acceding to the

Security Council as a non-permanent member, Tunisia

has tried to ensure that its contribution to the work of

that body is based on dialogue with the other members

in order to bring viewpoints closer together and to

reach results that would guarantee the success of all

endeavours to safeguard peace and international

security.

Along the same lines, with respect to the role of

the Security Council, we cannot overlook the question

of humanitarian intervention, which has been the

subject of widening debate in recent years and whose

review calls for particular and sustained attention.

We stress the need for an in-depth examination of

all aspects of this matter. Indeed, if a particular

humanitarian situation requires urgent intervention so

that it does not deteriorate, such intervention cannot

take place outside the framework of international law,

the basic principles and norms of international relations

and the provisions of the United Nations Charter. State

sovereignty remains a fundamental tenet that can never

be overlooked or ignored, because any violation of this

15

principle would alter the balance of international

relations and risk the spread of anarchy.

The question of sanctions is one of the most

important issues that United Nations bodies, including

the Security Council, have to face. The experience of

the past decade has shown that the use of sanctions

must be modified so as to alleviate their impact on

peoples, while certain criteria, such as their use as a

last resort after all other peaceful means have been

exhausted, must be applied.

In cases in which the imposition of sanctions is

necessary, their duration should be limited. We should

also define clear conditions for the lifting or

suspension of sanctions and undertake an ongoing

assessment of their humanitarian effects on the

population of the target countries, as well as their

direct impact on the interests of third countries.

In this connection, with regard to Iraq, Tunisia

has always reaffirmed the need to unite all our efforts

in order to reach a peaceful settlement of the dispute

that would make it possible to end the embargo,

reintegrate Iraq into the community of nations, put an

end to the tragic suffering of the Iraqi people resulting

from the sanctions imposed over the past 10 years and

help to direct the efforts of the countries of the region

and their peoples towards the achievement of

development and stability. All parties must cooperate

in order to resolve the other humanitarian aspects of

the problem, in particular the issue and fate of missing

Kuwaiti nationals.

With regard to the Lockerbie affair, the recent

developments following the implementation of the

agreement concluded on the matter and the suspension

of the embargo imposed on Libya, it is time for

sanctions to be lifted completely and definitively in

order to allow the Jamahiriya to continue its overall

development process and to support the Arab Maghreb

Union (AMU) as it strives to achieve the integration

and complementarity on which all of its member States

place great importance. Tunisia has made the AMU a

strategic choice. It is constantly working to promote

the Union and to strengthen its foundations and

structures. With the help of its partners in the Union, it

has tried to give this regional organization new impetus

so that it can respond to the historic aspirations of its

peoples.

With regard to the Middle East, we would like to

express our regret that the negotiations at the Camp

David summit meeting held in July stalled without an

agreement that would guarantee a fair settlement of the

Palestinian cause. Tunisia, which from the outset has

supported the peace process on all tracks, is convinced

that it is time to give concrete form to the legitimate

aspirations of the Palestinian people to build an

independent State, with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its

capital, in accordance with international law and the

terms of reference of the peace process based on the

principle of land for peace. Tunisia hopes that the

American Administration will continue its good

offices, and that other influential parties, such as the

European Union, Russia and Japan, will step up their

efforts to help the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli

Government reach an agreement that would make it

possible to establish a just and lasting peace and

guarantee the national rights of the Palestinian people

in accordance with General Assembly and Security

Council resolutions, in particular Security Council

resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

Achieving a just and lasting peace in the Middle

East will also depend on progress on the Syrian track.

Israel is called upon to withdraw from the Golan and to

comply fully with Security Council resolutions 242

(1967) and 338 (1973). Israel is also called upon to

respect the international borders of Lebanon and to

refrain from violating the borders drawn by the United

Nations.

Our States are encouraged to try to identify ways

and means to face the phenomenon of globalization,

with its consequences and economic and social

repercussions, and to adapt to it in order to ensure that

its dividends are shared and to spare our peoples,

especially peoples of the South, the negative fallout

from it.

The African continent is a region suffering most

from development problems, despite major reforms

undertaken by the countries of the continent in

different areas. Despite the efforts made by certain

African countries, Africa is still suffering from a severe

lack of resources and assistance which prevents it from

joining the global development process. In this context,

one of the greatest challenges is to prevent the

marginalization of the economies of developing

countries and to ensure an international environment

conducive to access to international markets and to an

increased share of international trade. This will require

the international community to provide the necessary

impetus in the area of investment and financing if these

16

States are to develop, and to increase official

development assistance, which has not only remained

below 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of the

countries of the North, but is actually decreasing, while

the external debt crisis and debt servicing continue to

burden developing countries.

In this context, we recall the initiative of

President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, calling for the

recycling of debts in development projects, which

would make it possible to reduce the debt burden and

help the countries concerned.

I also take this opportunity to recall the appeal

made by President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali in 1995 for

the creation of a partnership and development contract

between the countries of the south and north shores of

the Mediterranean. This appeal is an extension of

President Ben Ali's initiative, launched in 1989 from

this lofty rostrum, for a global contract of peace and

progress between the countries of the North and South

aimed at strengthening cooperation and creating new

prospects for stability and progress in the world.

Given the major progress achieved in the

scientific and technological spheres in recent decades,

the millennium on which we are embarking will

undoubtedly be one of science, technology and

communications, necessitating the sharing of the

benefits of progress, including in the field of

computers, which will create great prospects for the

harmonious and balanced development of countries.

In this context, I recall Tunisia's initiative to hold

a world summit on the information society, and its

proposal, in the framework of the International

Telecommunication Union, to host such a summit in

2003. I renew my appeal to all Member States and to

the parties and institutions interested in this field to

support this initiative and contribute as much as

possible to organizing the summit in Tunisia.

Peace and security are part of a concept with

complementary dimensions; it is no longer limited to

the outbreak, management and resolution of conflicts,

but, rather, encompasses everything that contributes to

strengthening stability and offers opportunities for

development and prosperity. Furthermore, exclusion

and marginalization, in all their aspects, undoubtedly

lead to extremism and open the way to tension and

violence. We know today that the struggle against

poverty has assumed considerable importance. Indeed,

while many societies enjoy well-being and prosperity,

large fringes of the world's population experience

poverty and destitution, which are alien to moral values

and human rights. Furthermore, abject poverty is one

of the most dangerous sources of conflict and

instability. The fight against this planetary scourge and

the violence and internal and inter-State conflicts that it

engenders is a universal duty and a moral obligation

that all international parties must assume.

In this context, I wish to reiterate the appeal

launched by His Excellency President Zine El Abidine

Ben Ali for the creation of a world solidarity fund, as

an instrument to complement existing international

mechanisms, without replacing them. This fund could

be financed by donations and voluntary assistance from

the international community, and its objective would be

to finance field programmes to fight poverty directly

and urgently.

President Ben Ali has made this proposal based

on the success of the experience of the National

Solidarity Fund, 26.26, set up in Tunisia in 1992,

which helped lower the rate of poverty in our country

from 22 per cent to 6 per cent. This proposal has been

favourably received by member countries of the region

and France, as well as by 12 international and regional

organizations, such as the Group of 77, the Non-

Aligned Movement, the Organization of the Islamic

Conference, the South Summit and the General

Assembly special session on social development. With

the international community's awareness of the need to

fight poverty, and given the wide support that the

proposal to create a world solidarity fund enjoys,

Tunisia would like to present, during the current

session, a draft resolution in this regard, which it hopes

will obtain all the support necessary from Member

States.

Tunisia has always attached great importance to

democracy and good governance, because it is

convinced that these values are an integral part of any

rebirth and development. Since the change of 7

November 1987, we have introduced fundamental

reforms to promote these values. Indeed, the principles

of human rights, the culture of tolerance and respect for

the right to difference are the bases of change in

Tunisia, which has enriched the values of international

solidarity and collective responsibility at all levels:

political, economic and social.

The existence of a national solidarity fund is the

best reflection of the importance of this aspect in

17

national life. An individual's awareness of his

responsibility towards the future of his homeland

implies solidarity and cooperation with all components

of society, making it possible to remedy the problems

of exclusion and marginalization in society.

Democracy, human rights, good governance and

national solidarity are interlinked values that must take

into account the characteristics and specific features of

each society, since there is no standard model that can

be applied to everyone everywhere. This vision, which

has been enshrined at various international forums

would, thanks to the positive results seen in different

countries, including Tunisia, be likely to constitute one

of the main concepts we have been called upon to

adopt consensually and to implement in the new

millennium.

Indeed, the right of peoples to freedom and

democracy is a concept that has become a daily

practice in many countries and must be consolidated,

taking into account the requirements of growth and

progress that themselves constitute a fundamental

condition for peace and stability. In this context,

international partnership is a common denominator that

must guide our action in the next millennium.

Finally, allow me to express the hope that this

session will mark the rebirth of solidarity among all

components of the international community, within

which the United Nations will play a leading role

through its outreach and its ongoing harmonious

actions. Our objective would be that our action should

contain a human global dimension to establish a

common strategy and conditions for security, stability,

development and prosperity on the basis of the

common interests of all peoples everywhere.