Andorra, 2004

A decade ago

I was elected the Head of Government of my country.

It was 1994, a time of hope for the world and for the

Organization of the United Nations. The collapse of the

communist system and the iron curtain and the

appearance of new democracies in the world, combined

with a positive economic outlook enabled us to

imagine a better future for humankind in the twenty-

first century.

Ten years later, we are living with considerable

concern in a world that is becoming more and more

violent, in which terrorist attacks are met with a

military response and those military responses seem to

generate new terrorist attacks. It would seem that we

are caught up in a terrible settling of scores and in a

spiral of hate, fanaticism and senseless bloodshed.

Every day, the media shows images of innocent people

and soldiers losing their lives in those conflicts. The

stakes continue to rise, yet the cause of world peace

seems increasingly vulnerable. The almost

instantaneous arrival in every home of images of the

most dramatic events taking place everywhere is even

becoming banal.

The privilege of being able to come so many

times to the Assembly on behalf of my country has

produced in me states of mind that have gone from

initial curiosity and the wish to know and learn to a

much more sceptical phase, by way of periods in which

large question marks were placed on the role we are all

playing in this game.

We want to be positive and optimistic and not to

betray the heritage of peace, harmony and open

welcome that are the essence of the life of the

Andorrans, both women and men. But it must be

admitted that it is becoming more and more difficult to

think in that way and to believe that the principles that

inspired, for example, the founding of the United

States of America, can still prevail.

That is because the notion of pre-emptive war has

now shaken us all. The principle of attacking before

one is attacked is no new invention. But it had seemed

to be a tribal memory or a type of behaviour belonging

to other, none too remote times in the history of Europe

itself.

The big questions are: what justifies a pre-

emptive attack? Which country or countries pose a

sufficient threat to allow taking such a risk? Why

attack one country and not another, perhaps equally

dangerous one? Are the sufferings of some people

more meaningful than the sufferings of others, and

consequently more deserving of action? Should the

conventions of international law be cast aside by

36

Members of the United Nations, as they are by lawless

terrorists?

What I would like to do today is reflect on the

things we can learn from the past that can guide us

towards a more promising and safer future.

For countries with a deep respect and admiration

for the history of freedom of the United States — and

Andorra counts itself among those countries — it is a

source of consternation to note that the doctrine of pre-

emptive attack has generated a level of distrust among

Governments and peoples. After the worldwide

outpouring of sympathy following the terrorist attacks

on New York and Washington, that changed perception

is profoundly troubling.

Neither can anyone claim that sympathy is

enough. Worldwide sympathy was the reaction to the

attacks on New York and Washington. We, the people

of Andorra, were very directly affected by the attacks

in Madrid six months ago. Very recently, Russia has

been added to the list of disasters. But sympathy alone

cannot break the cycle of fear and violence.

We need to address the causes of terrorism and

comprehend the forces that give it power in order to

respond together in compliance with the rule of law.

Tomorrow, my country will deposit instruments of

ratification for four conventions against terrorism, and

the rest are scheduled to be ratified in the coming year.

Mr. Kazykhanov (Kazakhstan), Vice-President,

took the Chair.

We cannot allow terrorism to unbind the rule of

law, since that would mean undoing the tissue of

civilized behaviour, which serves as a safety net in

modern culture. Instead of isolating one nation from

another, instead of moralizing and self-serving political

posturing, instead of giving in to fear, we must

recognize that our common vulnerability goes hand in

hand with a humanity that we also share.

Helping every member of the international

community to realize that what happens to others can

also happen to us creates a basis for tolerance and

understanding. How much stronger we, all the

countries represented at the United Nations, could

become in the fight against terrorism if we truly acted

together. A Security Council strengthened by a

common will to root out terrorism could do much more

than individual actions supported by a few

Governments.

We must give back to the United Nations its sense

of determination and help it to help us all in the

crucially important fight against terrorism. I call in

particular on the States that are permanent members of

the Security Council to think long and hard about what

they can achieve together, with the support of all other

United Nations Member States, to preserve

international order and models of civilized behaviour,

which this Organization represents and which it has

taken humankind so many millenniums of suffering

and progress to achieve.

In this context, Andorra would support an

increase — up to 24 — in the number of members of

the Security Council so as to guarantee a more accurate

representation of the reality of today’s world in that

important decision-making body.

I believe that the energy that feeds the cycle of

violence is the result of the abstractions behind which

we hide — abstractions of nation, religion or race. We

hide our vulnerability behind a kind of rigid certainty

or moral righteousness. Ignorance and the

unwillingness to recognize differences give rise to

xenophobia and racism.

There is not much use in wondering now if the

results would have been different, and the dangers

facing us today less severe, if different policies had

been applied after the criminal and unforgivable

attacks of 11 September 2001; if the peace process in

Israel and Palestine had been more successful; or if we

in the United Nations had been able to play a different

role. Granted, our response, as the United Nations, to

other international crises has been imperfect, and we

are constantly striving to rectify the way in which we

approach such issues. But the results have been

invaluable. Our efforts averted worse bloodbaths,

greater harm to the oppressed and ever more extreme

trauma and despair.

What good is this Organization if we lack the

wisdom and moral strength to attempt to reconcile our

fellow nations? How could we continue to hope for

peace and justice in the world if the United Nations

ceased to press forward with its mission?

Andorra has never been a wealthy country,

though its inhabitants have always been free. In this

respect, we have a privileged history. Other nations

have endured greater privations and fratricidal wars,

have lost customs and traditions and have had its

citizens flee into exile.

37

Conscious of the moral debt which we owe to

others, three years ago we proposed to increase our

development assistance to 0.7 per cent of our budget

for next year. Although that represents a great effort for

us, as a small country, I am happy to inform the

Assembly that that commitment will be honoured. I am

also sure that my successor as head of Government will

continue to increase Andorra’s contribution to the

objectives of development until we reach 0.7 per cent

of gross domestic product. We will also become a

member of the Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations and help to make its worthy

mission a reality.

We live in a world of limited resources and

opportunities. Competition for them is increasing with

the growth of globalization. The worst outcome of the

inevitable future competition would be increasingly

violent demands on the part of one nation or another.

Yet the essential issues facing us are not restricted to

just one part of the world; nor can they be defined in

terms of the advantages or interests of a single nation.

Preserving the environment and maintaining a strong

global economy, dignified standards of living and safe

and peaceful political relationships all require a

concerted effort.

The task will not be easy. It will require all the

courage, energy, diplomatic talent and communication

skills that we can bring to bear. Our joint task has

never been as important as in the coming year.

Yesterday, I listened carefully to the words of the

Secretary-General, who set a very high standard for all

in his opening speech. I would like sincerely to

congratulate the Secretary-General for the courage of

his words. I have heard many impressive speeches in

this Hall over the past 10 years. The Secretary-

General’s statement yesterday was the best, by far, of

all of them.

Although Andorra joined the United Nations just

10 years ago, our country is not a new one. Quite the

contrary — the Principality of Andorra is one of the

oldest and most peaceful nations in the world. Our

frontiers have not changed for centuries, and we have

practised parliamentary democracy for over half of that

time. In fact, we have had uninterrupted peace since

1278.

In the thirteenth century, during the violent period

of the Cathar heresies, which created upheaval in our

part of the world, two powerful lords — the Count of

Foix in the north and the Bishop of Urgell in the

south — managed to overcome religious and political

differences to negotiate an agreement which made the

Andorran State possible. Through the 1993

constitution, we keep their successors — the President

of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell — as

our heads of State in a personal, joint and indivisible

manner. The continued existence of Andorra over the

centuries has, indeed, been the result of a skilful and

constant will to negotiate between our people and their

powerful neighbours.

The democratic process which began with the

setting up of the Council of the Land in 1419 was

essential for our survival as a free community.

Although conflicts have also threatened Andorra

during its history, mutual understanding has protected

us better than have the high peaks of the mountains

which surround us or the rigorous winters which

isolate us from the outside world for weeks and weeks

at a time. When I read Andorran documents from past

centuries, I recognize how deeply ideas of

independence and respect for others have guaranteed

our well-being and our security.

Given the bloody course of European history

during previous millenniums, we hold this as a

remarkable accomplishment. We have never had an

army, nor have we produced one single offensive

weapon of any type. Our only weapon has been the

wisdom and prudence of our forebears, who had the

good sense to keep out of all neighbouring conflicts.

That good sense has been inherited by the new

generations of young Andorrans — women and men

who are very well prepared for the world of today,

open to knowledge of new technology and full of

legitimate pride in being members of a small State in

which they have every chance of being the main agents

of their future, but who are, at the same time,

perplexed by the growth of new religious fanaticism

and exclusiveness and by the return of old fanaticisms,

which we had considered forgotten.

At this, the dawn of a new era, we must pass on

to them the trust which we have placed in the United

Nations and in the supremacy of law over force. This

our fathers taught us, and this our children must learn

if they are to be worthy members of humankind.