Andorra, 1995

It is only right to begin by thanking the

outgoing President, Minister Amara Essy, who has done so

much for our Organization during the past year, and by

congratulating the incoming President, Mr. Diogo Freitas do

Amaral. On behalf of the people and the Government of

Andorra, I wish him every success and good fortune in his

important task. I have no doubt that this distinguished

personality from the Iberian peninsula, for whom I have

great respect and fraternal esteem, will take the helm of this

Assembly with a firm hand.

For the last 50 years Heads of State, Heads of

Government, Ministers and Ambassadors have been coming

before this General Assembly of the United Nations to set

out, with hope and with passion, their desire for world

peace and the development of our planet. Year after year

dignitaries from all corners of the globe have met in New

York to reiterate the ideals conceived in San Francisco five

decades ago. It is thus an honour and a privilege for me to

do the same today, as Minister for Foreign Affairs of the

Principality of Andorra, a very old and very small nation,

a State that is the fruit of 700 years of peace and

independence.

The celebration of anniversaries allows people to

pause briefly to look back on their past, to reflect, to draw

conclusions and to try to better prepare their future. Fifty

years after the horrors of the Second World War, “We the

peoples of the United Nations” now have the task of

reaffirming the importance of our Organization by

consolidating its founding principles and giving impetus to

the reform of the United Nations so as to make it a modern,

efficient instrument for the new international order that has

arisen since the end of the cold war.

The founding principles of the United Nations could

be summed up as follows: equality of States, tolerance, the

peaceful settlement of disputes and the promotion of

development.

The principle of the equality of States is dear to all

small States. The preamble to the Charter of the United

Nations refers to all nations, large and small. In the

General Assembly each State has one vote.

A sovereign State is not only a group — whatever

its size — of people; it is a history, a language, the will

of a people, a sense of independence — in a word, a

community of human beings. Some States, like ours,

Andorra, have only 60,000 inhabitants. Others have more

than a billion. But all have the right to speak and vote at

the United Nations. And, just as peace comes into being

when the powerful respect the small, the rule of law

becomes reality in international affairs when all are

treated as equals and when parties can solve their

differences at the negotiating table, not on the field of

devastation that results from the use of force.

Last year, the Head of Government of Andorra

stressed from this very rostrum that by their very nature,

small States intrinsically and essentially maintain the

values of respect for diversity and of peaceful

coexistence. To create a world balanced by the rule of

law in a world of instincts, exchanges must be based on

the principle of equality between States.

Nevertheless, the principle of equality should not be

reduced to the formula “one State, one vote”. The

principle of equality springs from the desire to understand

the other, to allow diversity and to exchange different

visions of humankind and society. The principle of

equality derives from the concept of tolerance. In this

International Year of Tolerance, we must be particularly

aware of the central position of this idea. The United

Nations cannot exist without tolerance. It would surely be

absurd to meet in this Assembly if all that were to come

out of it was the prevention and outlawing of the opinions

of others. Though it is sometimes considered less heroic

than force, diplomacy is the supreme instrument we have

in this forum, an instrument for respect and

understanding.

We in Andorra have resorted to diplomacy from

historical necessity from very early times; these 700 years

of peace of which we are so proud are probably the

result. We have also had to be tolerant and to respect

others because, during the numerous conflicts that have

shaken the European continent over the centuries, we

have sheltered on our territory those in search of asylum,

from whichever side they came. We have learned, I

repeat, of necessity, being weak and humble like all small

States, how to differ without imposing ourselves.

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Let us give tolerance the importance it deserves as a

founding principle of the United Nations. But tolerance

does not mean laissez faire. Just as John Stuart Mill set the

limits of individual freedom at the point at which that

freedom infringed on the liberty of others, tolerance is

limited only by intolerance. The United Nations has the

power to say “no” to those States and peoples who do not

respect the religious, political, moral and artistic convictions

of others; “no” to those States and peoples who do not

respect minorities, be they national or of any other kind,

and their languages, which are an essential element of

cultural transmission; “no”, above all, when repression is

accompanied by the use of force and by cruelty, torture and

other unspeakable acts. That is why, since joining the

United Nations, my country has attached such importance

to the Third Committee of the General Assembly and to

questions of human rights. Last year, Andorra took an

active part in the debate on capital punishment, applying

the constitutional ideas approved by its people, which loves

life and believes in it.

The United Nations was not built in a vacuum of

values — quite the contrary. When, in June 1945, the right

words were being sought in San Francisco for the United

Nations Charter, those that were found were based on a

very clear vision of the dignity of the human being with a

universal vocation. The Universal Declaration of Human

Rights, adopted by the United Nations on 10 December

1948, made clear once and for all what was, is and will be

acceptable and desirable, and what is not, in order that the

inalienable dignity of every human being should be

respected and the limits of tolerance demarcated by

defining what we consider to be intolerable.

For instance, we find intolerable the ethnic and

religious intolerance that leads to disasters like those which

the horror-struck international community has been obliged

to witness in the territories that were once part of

Yugoslavia. To face up to these challenges, the United

Nations has made a considerable effort in recent years to

carry out large-scale operations to keep the peace. The

Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, informed us

on 3 January this year in his supplement to “An Agenda for

Peace” of the considerable increase in the deployment of

military personnel since 1988. On 31 January of that year,

9,570 “blue helmets” were engaged in peace-keeping

operations; as at 16 December last year, there were 73,393.

The near non-use of the veto in the Security Council

since the end of the cold war has encouraged this growth in

deployment. Very often, unfortunately, we hear so much

talk of the failures of United Nations operations that we

forget to mention the successes. When we now celebrate

the fiftieth anniversary of the Organization, we should

proclaim it aloud: the role of the United Nations has been

essential, and the results are highly positive. Let us not

ask the United Nations to do what the Organization

cannot do, and has no vocation to do, making it the target

of criticisms better levelled at the paralysis of Member

States. The United Nations is and will be what the

Member States wish it to be, neither more nor less, and

without miracles.

The complexity of the conflicts now afflicting the

world, as the Secretary-General has on several occasions

pointed out, lies in the fact that most of them are conflicts

within the borders of States, or former States. This makes

them more complicated than the conflicts we were

accustomed to during the years of the cold war, mainly

because in many cases the target for destruction is the

civilian population, and secondly because the task of the

humanitarian organizations and the soldiers sent to keep

the peace is not respected by the parties to the conflict,

which consider them as abetting the enemy.

The action for peace taken by the United Nations, an

Organization founded on the ruins of a ferocious war,

must be constant. It is our imperative duty to eliminate

war and to cut off conflicts at the root. We all know the

recommendations listed by the Secretary-General in his

“An Agenda for Peace”, so I shall not repeat them. But

I will underline the importance in the opinion of my

Government of preventive diplomacy. Precisely because

Andorra came into being as a result of a peace agreement

signed in 1278, which made our territory completely

neutral and which called for the destruction of all castles

and warlike fortifications, we can well understand the

possibility of stopping conflicts in time by means of

peace agreements that neutralize the power to harm of the

contenders by removing both parties’ access to

armaments.

But the United Nations and we, its Members, must

have the courage to act when the first signs of a conflict

lead us to suspect its existence. The world today needs an

international authority to facilitate dialogue, to suggest

compromises acceptable to the parties to the conflict —

above all, when the conflict is in its initial stages — and

to confirm the agreements reached by negotiation. The

United Nations has demonstrated that it is such an

institution, and it would be unjust not to recognize this

great merit during this anniversary. Let us imagine a

world without the United Nations, where force

predominated over law, where there were no standard

15

universal values for which to strive, where the human

community, which is capable of the highest and most noble

acts, fell into a vortex of egoism, war and destruction. The

United Nations is not optional in this world of

interdependent States, but indispensable.

Please allow me at this stage to evaluate the relevance

of Andorra’s modern development in this regard. As I have

said, Andorra is a land of peace, welcome and friendship.

During the more than 700 years of its existence with its

own national identity, particularly in this century, when

wars have shaken our neighbour States and Europe,

Andorra has been a place of refuge, of asylum and of

peaceful coexistence. It is precisely now, when 50 years

have passed since the founding of the United Nations as a

result of the events of that tragic phase in human history,

and when we must still regret that irrationality is sowing

death and cruelty in many places throughout the world, that

we would like to recall, humbly, but with a firmness

informed by the realities of our history, the deep and

sincere conviction that Andorra can bring to the world.

There can be no difficulty in peaceful coexistence if there

is good will and understanding. There can be no

infringement of tolerance if there is respect for people and

ideas. In a word, magnanimity and indulgence will always

be more effective than ignominy and opprobrium.

From Andorra we proclaim peace; we call for it and,

if necessary, we demand it as a universal possession that no

one has the right to change or to violate. When there is

serious aggression against nature and the environment,

when materialism and speculation seek to obliterate

humanism and sensitivity, when the hypocrisy of interests

overcomes the reality of ideals, a generous-spirited common

effort must be made to find the path of peace and

coexistence.

The Andorran Constitution enshrines respect for and

the promotion of freedom, equality, justice and tolerance,

and the defence of human rights and individual dignity.

With that background, we forcefully insist before the

General Assembly that the primary purpose of mankind is

to achieve peace, without reservation and without ulterior

motive. None of us here can be satisfied with the results

until one day we can announce the great news that peace

reigns on Earth. The near-universality of the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the spirit of which

Andorra has always respected, is a positive example of that

common task. It thus gives me pleasure today to announce

that the Government of Andorra has submitted the Treaty

to its Parliament for ratification.

Peace must be promoted. By every possible means,

especially through education, we must spread the word

everywhere that only tolerance, common sense,

understanding, good will, solidarity, respect for cultural

diversity with its intellectual and spiritual stimulation,

variety and the struggle for social progress and

brotherhood can lead to peace and can provide pride and

dignity to all human beings while eliminating

intransigence and racial, religious, social and political

hatred, which are at the root of all conflicts between

peoples and civilizations.

There must be an end to the horrors and atrocities of

the wars that continue to take place in our civilized world

amid alarming indifference. These threats affect us all; we

must find the means to prevent violence against society

and against individuals. It is not enough to cry out in

compassion or frustration, or to make the excuse that we

are the victims of modern times, as Anthony Burgess put

it in his novel A Clockwork Orange. There must be

determination if we are to be able to say that we all have

a future. There must be serious, unhesitating commitment

on the part of those bearing the heaviest responsibility,

particularly with respect to the economic consequences,

which are in fact predominant in causing certain

scandalous situations and in keeping them alive. We must

act with morality if we are to be able to face repeated

aggression against human rights. It would be wonderful

if we could all make an unstinting effort to emerge from

the shadows and if, with one voice, we could set up the

machinery that would make peace triumph forever, and

could understand — in the words of François Mitterrand,

former President of the French Republic and therefore

former Co-Prince of Andorra — that “awareness of

injustice is not enough to combat injustice”.

As we strive towards peace let us always remember

that we can never reach the development goals set by

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali in his “An Agenda for

Development” without reducing the warlike and military

activities of the poorest countries. Let us face the facts:

development makes for peace, but without peace, without

eliminating unnecessary spending on military equipment,

without agreement among Governments that rightly

demand a better future for their citizens, there will be no

development.

But this must not mean a relaxation of the

development efforts that Member States and the

Organization itself have always promoted. Day after day

in the field, the United Nations Children’s Fund

(UNICEF), the United Nations Educational, Scientific and

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Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the World Health

Organization (WHO) carry out work that is far too

important not to enjoy our sincere support. I take this

opportunity to announce that during my stay in New York

I signed, on behalf of the Government of Andorra, the

Convention on the Rights of the Child, which reflects my

country’s recognition of the cause promoted by that great

text. Men and women like the late James Grant — who at

UNICEF carried out such tasks and contributed to the well-

being of so many children throughout the world —

demonstrate the productive vitality of the United Nations.

We in Andorra are much concerned with questions of

development. Despite our modest means and small territory,

we feel solidarity with victims of malnutrition, hunger,

sickness and the lack of educational opportunities. Our

foreign policy at the United Nations has been oriented in

that direction. Last March, the Andorran Head of

Government brought to Copenhagen a message of

solidarity, and declared that poverty was not inevitable.

Andorra is a small State; we are therefore convinced that,

apart from the importance of large programmes and their

inevitable macro-amplitudes, social development is a more

accessible goal when it is approached on a small scale, at

the level of the community or indeed of the family.

Hence, the Declaration of the World Summit for

Social Development includes a commitment proposed by

Andorra, which we shall invoke in our work in the

Assembly’s Main Committees. This commitment urges us

to

“Acknowledge and encourage the contribution of

people of all age groups as equally and vitally

important for the building of a harmonious society,

and foster dialogue between generations in all parts of

society”. (A/CONF.166/9, para. 29, commitment 4 (h))

Human beings, happily, are living longer, and their

numbers are growing. We must find new ways to guarantee

the balance of the social contract between generations, and

make social integration — one of the pillars of

development — work. To that end, we need to devote

special attention to the problems of unemployment and the

social integration of young people, particularly this year as

we mark the tenth anniversary of International Youth Year.

I have instructed our Permanent Representative to the

United Nations to devote time and resources to initiating a

dialogue with his counterparts on the question of youth.

We have recently seen how three great conferences —

those of Cairo, Copenhagen and Beijing — focused the

attention of the international community. Cairo addressed

problems of population, Copenhagen those of poverty and

social development, and Beijing the question of women.

It is vital that the conclusions of these high-level meetings

not become a dead letter; all Member States must assess

their results and consider their concrete applications, both

at home and throughout the world. But Cairo,

Copenhagen and Beijing must not overshadow other

similar conferences. I am thinking of Rio de Janeiro and

its impact on environmental policy. A country of the

Pyrenees, like Andorra, cannot shirk its environmental

responsibilities; that is why the office of Andorra’s

Secretary-General for the environment has drawn up

valuable initiatives to protect our ecosystem, our flora and

fauna, our waters and the air we breathe.

In this statement I have tried to recall the founding

principles that inspire the United Nations, and the great

themes on which the General Assembly will reflect over

the coming decades. Clearly, not everything has been

perfect during the past 50 years; there have been

situations where we Member States have not been

effective enough. Every day, we hear about hunger,

disease and lack of access to education, which affect the

poor more often than the rich. But now, on this

anniversary, let us take comfort from the work that has

been achieved. As I said before, let us consider what the

world would be without the United Nations.

None the less, on the eve of the third millennium,

when interdependence among the Earth’s peoples is

stronger than ever, we need the United Nations to be

increasingly nimble and flexible, able to process

information quickly and to react rapidly to any crisis.

Many reforms are needed: reform of the Security Council,

now under debate, and that of the Economic and Social

Council, which may take place in the future, will not be

the last. We also need more effective methods for

allocating resources and for evaluating the needs of each

department to avoid duplication of labour. The Secretary-

General has mentioned this on several occasions, and I

have no doubt that, given good will, we shall succeed.

The Principality of Andorra — in the words of our

Head of Government — is a very old nation and a very

young State. We are a newcomer to the United

Nations — the 184th Member. Nevertheless, it is to the

United Nations that we have set up our first diplomatic

mission. Our first Permanent Representative, who during

the next two years will be in charge of opening our

Mission and starting its activities, presented his

credentials to the Secretary-General just over a week ago.

17

With the humility of a newcomer, but with the joy and

energy of the convinced, we are making progress in our

task of participating in the work of the Organization.

I should like, on behalf of the people and Government

of Andorra, to affirm our support for the United Nations.

We wish it long life and much success in its struggle for

tolerance, peace and development, for the benefit of the

world and of generations to come. And we express our

hope that humankind will guard those values that will allow

us all to face the challenges of the future — love,

brotherhood and friendship.

Let me end this statement by quoting Robert Kennedy:

(spoke in English)

“It is from numberless diverse acts of courage

and belief that human history is shaped. Each time a

man stands up for an ideal or acts to improve the lot

of others, or strikes out against injustice, he sends

forth a tiny ripple of hope, and, crossing each other

from a million different centres of energy and daring,

those ripples build a current that can sweep down the

mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”