Belgium, 1982

Mr. President, like my colleagues who preceded me

on this rostrum, 1 should like, on behalf of my

Government and of myself, to convey to you our

most warm congratulations on your election to the

presidency of the present session of the General

Assembly. Your dedication to the multilateral

ap¬proach to international relations, to the

authority and prestige of global and regional

intergovernmental institutions and to the unique

role of the United Nations constitutes the best

guarantee that this session will take place in a

most propitious atmosphere. May I convey to you

my good wishes for the success of your endeavors

and assure you of the full co-operation of my

Government and myself.

232. The efficiency of your actions may be

much enhanced by the fact that they take place

within an exceptional framework: that of the

report sub¬mitted to us by the Secretary-General

to guide us in our work. Mr. Secretary-General,

the Belgian Govern¬ment has in the past conveyed

to you the importance it attaches to the fact

that you have been called upon to assume these

high functions. It told you that Belgium was

ready to assist you to the best of its ability in

the difficult but vital task that you were

assuming. Today, the Belgian Government is

familiar with your report on the work of the

Organization, which I would not hesitate to term

a milestone for the Organization. It has come at

the right moment. It reflects the uneasiness

created by the growing tendency to seek solutions

to crises outside the framework of the United

Nations and the inability of the Organization to

have its decisions implemented. We must thank you

for having put on the agenda the central problem

of the Organization, that is, its "capacity to

keep the peace and to serve as a forum for

negotiations.... its evident difficulties in

doing so, difficulties related to conflicts

between national aims and Charter goals and to

the current tendency to resort to confrontation,

violence and even war in pursuit of what are

perceived as vital interests, claims or

aspirations". I can tell you, Sir, that from the

outset my country can sub¬scribe to every

statement contained in your report.

233. Belonging to the generation which spent

its youth during the tragedy of the Second World

War, I am among those who, 37 years ago,

enthusiastically greeted the birth of the

Organization. At the end of the nightmare during

which humanity suffered every possible anguish to

an extent previously unequalled, States—from the

largest to the smallest, from the strongest to

the weakest, from the wealthiest to the most

deprived, belonging to different systems— pledged

to work together to free mankind from all the

horrors it had just experienced, to free it from

war and genocide, to free it from torture and

hunger, to free it from discrimination, to free

it even from the fear of all those horrors.

234. However, at a time when the shortcomings

of the Organizations are being denounced, it

seems important to me to recall its positive

aspects. The work that it has accomplished is

considerable. One could recall the part that the

United Nations has played in decolonization. But

I could also refer to its action on behalf of

economic development of the so-called "new

countries", the efforts it has made in the field

of control, limitation and reduction of armaments

as well as in nuclear non-proliferation and its

initiatives to assure better understanding among

nations or between groups of States from East to

West and from North to South. Under its flag, the

"blue helmets" have tried to come between hostile

forces and to prevent the escalation of

conflicts. Despite the dif¬ficulties they have

encountered, their importance and the unique

character of their role have not changed.

235. None the less, the essential goal that

the sig¬natory States set for themselves at San

Francisco and to which those that joined later

adhered has still not been attained. I ask myself

why it is that, despite its important partial

successes, the United Nations has not fulfilled

the hope its founders placed in it. For my

compatriots, for the Government 1 represent and

for me personally, this Organization is and

remains the most courageous and generous attempt,

and the only adequate one that has been launched

since the dis¬appearance of the League of

Nations, to assure the world of a modicum of

order, understanding and co¬operation, without

which it would not be able to survive.

236. Moreover, I share the hope expressed by

the Secretary-General when he states that "we now

have potentially better means to solve many of

the major problems facing humanity than ever

before". Nevertheless, we find that not enough

use is being made of these means. The fundamental

problem does not lie in the functioning of the

institutions of the Organization, nor does it lie

in the application of one or another Article of

the Charter or in the work methods of its organs

or the actions of the Secretary- General. No—the

fundamental problem rests with us, the Member

States. We have too often let ourselves be

swamped by immediate problems and taken advantage

of by interests which are often purely national

in character.

237. We have forgotten that the Organization

was not created by us in order to perpetuate in a

new institution the habits and practices which

had led to the failure of the former one. We nave

forgotten the fact that we did not create it in

order to have it serve as a forum for our

diplomatic games, for the defense of our own

interests, or for the confrontation of our

rivalries.

238. What is worse, we have forgotten that we

created the Organization for mankind, not for

those of the East or the West, not for those of

the North or the South, but regardless of

frontiers, for all mankind.

239. Mankind is today the victim of three

types of scourges, which unfortunately are often

combined. The first is war, or the threat of war,

including civil war, which has become

increasingly cruel and deadly through the

ever-greater sophistication, multiplication and

wider commercial distribution of armaments. Then

there are poverty and hunger, which are, to be

sure, characteristics of underdevelopment, but

which—let us not delude ourselves—are not the

exclusive domain of those countries which we call

the poor countries. Finally, there is oppression

and the violation of the most elementary human

rights.

240. The existence of these three types of

scourges seems to me to call for the

establishment of three orders of priority, which

incidentally are interde¬pendent. The first order

of priority seems to me to include essentially

the following: first, the solution of so-called

"local" conflicts, which are so numerous and on

such a scale that they are turning our planet

into a planet at war, together with an effort to

end the civil strife which is tearing so many of

our countries apart; secondly, an increased

effort in the limitation, control and reduction

of all kinds of arms and of the arms trade;

thirdly, the prevention of international

confrontations.

241. The second order of priority is aimed at

developing between our States the mutual aid and

co-operation which alone can provide a stable

basis for international understanding and peace.

We must act vigorously to reopen the North-South

dialogue in order to establish among ourselves

efficient interna¬tional co-operation which will

ensure for all the fruits of economic

development. We must improve and adapt our

programmes of action and of economic development

in the light of the critical evolution of the

world economic situation. We must also fight

poverty, wherever it is rampant. We must concern

our Iives not only with those who are the poorest

in the poorest countries but also with those who,

in each of our Spates, do not have access to the

benefits of society, to schooling, to

participation in the production process, health

benefits and housing, who have been described as

the "fourth world".

242. The third order of priority has the

following aims: first of all, scrupulous respect

by each of our States for the Universal

Declaration of Human Right; then, the acceptance

and the implementation by the same States of all

of the rights generally accepted as indispensable

for the political, moral, cultural, social and

economic fulfillment of human beings—I have in

mind here, inter alia, the freedoms and rights of

trade unions—and lastly, there must be resolute

co-operation among all countries against

terrorism, whose blind violence threatens all

people.

243. The definition and the implementation of

these tasks have to take place in the context of

a determined effort to ensure respect for the

Charter and to allow the machinery of the

Organization to function as it should. Only this

type of effort will allow us to achieve that the

Secretary-General has assigned to us as the most

urgent aim: the return to the principle of

collective action for peace and security which is

enshrined in the Charter, so as to make the

United Nations better equipped to carry out its

essential task. I wish to state this forcefully,

because I, too, believe that without an efficient

collective security system, the small and the

weak will have no secure means of defense or

protection.

244. In the light of these considerations

should like to deal with a few aspects of the

international situa-tion. In view of the

remarkable statement made at the 8th meeting by

our colleague, Mr. Elleman-Jensen, the Danish

Minister for Foreign Affairs, on behalf of the 10

member States of the European Community, I need

deal only briefly with four questions. The first

one, based on the specific proposals advanced by

the Secretary-General, concerns the functioning

of the Organization. The three others relate to

the essential aim of combining our efforts to

defend man and his dignity. I shall address

myself to questions of disarma¬ment, the

promotion of the North-South dialogue and the

global negotiations, and the monitoring of

respect for human rights.

245. With respect first of all to the

universal task of the United Nations and the

active role it must play in the Held of peaceful

settlement of disputes, it seems to me highly

desirable that the simultaneous admission of the

two Koreas to the United Nations be con¬sidered.

That decision would be likely to promote a

dialogue directed to a peaceful reunification of

the Korean peninsula. There was, moreover, a

proposal made to that effect in January 1982 by

the President of the Republic of Korea, which

could constitute an adequate and equitable basis

for discussion.

246. The question of the functioning of the

Security Council deserves our full attention

also. You, Mr. Secretary-General, in your sombre

but accurate analysis of the present evolution of

the international situation particularly

emphasized the main obstacles to the activities

of the Organization anxious to redress this

situation, you informed us of the steps you

intend to take and of the remedies you would like

to see applied. I support those proposals. I

should like to take this opportunity to

congratulate you on the constructive role you

wish to play, which is fully in accordance With

the Charter. Indeed, Article 99 of the Charter

provides that the Secretary-General "may bring to

the attention of the Security Council any matter

which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance

of international peace and security".

247. I also believe that reactivation of the

preventive role entrusted to the Security Council

by the Charter, together with the prerogatives of

the Secretary- General, constitute the most

appropriate measure to ensure that increase in

tension in certain parts of die world does not

lead to confrontation, violence, or even war. The

initiative that the Security Council should take,

by virtue of its preventive role under the

Charter, presupposes, however that it would be

informed in time about the development of the

interna¬tional situation and that, in particular,

its attention would be drawn to the real dangers

that the existence of certain sources of tension

in the world might lead to.

248. The Independent Commission on Disarmament

and Security Issues, under the chairmanship of

Olaf Palme, has produced a report which is

excellent. This report proposes that you, Mr.

Secretary- General, be entrusted with the task of

presenting periodically a concise report on the

evolution of the international situation with the

precise aim of indicating what action should be

taken to ensure that dissension among nations

does not lead to violent confrontations. I

subscribe to this proposal which moreover, meets

the purposes of the Organization without

requiring any amendment of the Charter.

249. I should like to stress in that respect

the essential role which is vested in the

regional organizations. They are in a better

position to appraise and to judge the level of

tension or possible discord which exists in their

regions. If such be the case, they can help you

in preparing your informational report and advise

you on the nature of the actions that may be

con¬sidered and of the measures that may be

proposed to the Security Council.

250. Thus it becomes clear that the right to

take preventive action should be considered as a

duty the better to serve the objectives of the

Organization.

251. The problems that confront human society

today are numerous. Several are of such a scope

that solutions can only be found on a global

scale. Thus a heavy responsibility rests on the

shoulders of all of the Members of the

Organization, and particularly on the great

Powers which have special authority in the

Security Council. From their consensus and their

sincere understanding with other nations there

should emerge a better functioning of the

Organization and a better guarantee of the

establishment of an ultimate climate of lasting

peace.

252. This joint action, supported by the

political will and commitment of all the Members

of the United Nations, should allow a

transformation of the present situation of

uncertainty and crisis into a climate of mutual

confidence, a necessary prelude to the

estab¬lishment of an era of peace and universal

justice.

253. With the holding of the second special

session of the Assembly devoted to disarmament,

the year 1982 seems to mark a new phase in this

particular area, which is at the centre of our

endeavors and affects the universal conscience to

an ever greater extent. If the essentials of the

disarmament effort could have been preserved,

particularly the achieve¬ments of the first

special session, in 1978, whose Final Document

remains the solid basis on which to build our

future efforts, it would be vain to try to hide

the fact that the results of the special session

of 1982 fall far short of our expectations.

254. We have tried to check and even reduce

the increase in arms at a time when the sense of

insecurity was increasing in the world. We have

attributed that insecurity to the enormous

over-capacity for mutual destruction, whereas in

fact its roots lie in the increase in tension, of

which the arms race is but a symptom. Our first

priority, to ensure the security of States, is

therefore the establishment of a more favorable

political climate based on confidence, a sense of

reality and good faith. Tension must be reduced

before nations are disarmed. That is essentially

a political undertaking, which is within the

purview of the General Assembly at the

thirty-seventh session; I urge it to succeed

where the special session on disarmament has

failed.

255. Economic progress is also one of the main

objectives of the United Nations. The picture of

the international economic situation today does

not give rise to an optimistic outlook;

everywhere one hears only of stagnation,

unemployment, interest rates, fluctuations in the

exchange rates, and deficits in the balance of

payments. Peace and international security are

the primary goals of the United Nations, but we

should never forget that millions of unemployed

people throughout the world follow our debates

and wonder what the Organization is doing for

them.

256. The economic crisis makes it incumbent

upon the Organization and the specialized

agencies to take all possible measures to

mitigate the havoc caused by this depression,

which is both cyclical and struc-tural, and to

use every means at their disposal to alleviate

the present situation as quickly as possible. One

cannot sufficiently underline that absolute

neces¬sity. My country is profoundly convinced

that the United Nations, and more specifically

the Economic and Social Council, could and should

undertake this task by making recommendations to

the General Assembly, to Member States and to the

specialized agencies concerned, in accordance

with the principles of the Charter.

257. May I recall in this connection the

support that Belgium is giving to the action

undertaken by the Director-General for

development and international Economic

Co-operation, Mr. Ripert, to strengthen and

deepen the general economic debates in the

Economic and Social Council. Those debates, by

improving the co-ordination of economic policies,

could provide a new impetus to international

eco¬nomic activity.

258. Underdevelopment was already one of the

scourges of our world; the financial crisis of

today makes its elimination even more difficult.

As far as the dialogue with the developing

countries and the global negotiations are

concerned, it should be noted that economic

interdependence in the world has steadily

increased. However, the slowing down of economic

activity and the disruption of the international

monetary system have seriously affected the

volume of transfer of financial resources from

the wealthy countries to the poor countries. That

has resulted in a further deterioration of the

economies of the least-developed nations, already

strongly affected by the rise in oil prices.

259. That interdependence should lead each

group of countries to view the revival of the

world economy as a vital objective based on

mutual interest. That is why Belgium, together

with its partners in the European Community, is

wholly in favor of beginning the global

negotiations. A new North-South dialogue can

succeed only if it results in a satisfactory

outcome for all groups. Without such a dialogue,

that inter¬dependence in the future will be

accompanied by growing insecurity and antagonism

between nations.

260. Belgium, for its part, would like to see

new forms of co-operation substituted for those

risks, allowing us to overcome the crisis and

bring about a common responsibility for world

interdependence.

261. The establishment and the general

recognition of rights designed to protect the

fulfillment of the indi¬vidual and his

integration within the community are undoubtedly

a great victory for civilization over despotism.

Therefore, beyond doubt, the initial

responsibility for ensuring respect for these

human rights is primarily the duty of each State

within its own territory. Nevertheless, the

international com¬munity should not only endorse

those fundamental rights; it should also be able

to guarantee their observance.

262. It is not enough for States to endow

themselves with the means to implement human

rights. They need also the political will to

employ these means and to allow a procedure of

recourse in cases of omission or shortcomings, or

what could be described as "errors" of

interpretation of international norms, by the

respon¬sible national authorities. The

international community has already established

different forms of monitoring with respect to

human rights. However, we must admit that in most

of the cases these safeguards produce only meager

results, either because they are not binding, or

because of the small number of those who have

adhered to them. The causes of that deficiency

are numerous, but I believe that they can be

narrowed down essen¬tially to two.

263. In the first place, if it is true that

human dignity is universal and that each human

being has the right to enjoy his fundamental

rights without discrimination, it is also true

that the positive expression of this human

dignity may vary, depending on time and place.

Our sense of reality requires us to take these

dif-ferences into account and to achieve a more

effective protection of certain rights, a better

result based on concepts which are less vague. On

the whole, would it not be preferable to have a

well-defined number of rights accepted in the

different regions of the world that are

effectively and fully respected, rather than to

have a long list of theoretical rights?

264. In the same context, one may wish to give

more extensive thought to the organic links which

should be established between on the one hand the

regional monitoring machinery over human

rights—and I am happy to see that they are

expanding not only in Europe but also in other

parts of the world—and on the other hand the

international monitoring devices, whose role

could be reviewed in relation to their new link

with regional mechanisms.

265. Secondly, more effective protection of

human rights should, it seems to me, take into

account the diversity of the international

machinery. In a Utopia an independent body of

magistrates would be estab¬lished to ensure the

harmonious implementation of human rights all

over the world while taking local circumstances

into account. This body of magistrates would hold

itself aloof from the partisan interests that are

so dear to States, with their present egoistic

outlook.

266. The way that co-operation between States

has evolved within the Organization makes this

vision still rather remote. I should like to

suggest, however, that a number of practical

measures could be taken progressively to bring us

nearer to that goal. I think it would be

desirable first of all for States to make an

effort to designate, within existing organs or

institu¬tions, internationally recognized

personalities in the field of human rights and to

give them a status that would, like that of the

magistrates I mentioned earlier, ensure their

total independence. Such personalities already

exist in those bodies, but their independence is

not always safeguarded. Furthermore, I think it

would be useful if some of those personalities

could participate in the work of more than one

monitoring body, in order to establish among them

a personal link of co-operation prior to the

establishment of institutional Sinks. Lastly,

could we not envisage the simultaneous

participation of such personalities in the

institutions of the regions from which they come

and in international institutions, or is this

Utopian?

267. The Organization was created in the

aftermath of a ghastly war that was the result of

the dissemination of ideologies whose principal

characteristics were contempt for and enslavement

of humanity. Those ideologies plunged our

universe into a nightmare which lasted for 15

years. When it ended the world found itself rent

apart, bloodless and lifeless, and mankind was

for a long time traumatized by the horrors it had

perpetrated and suffered. It is not surprising,

there¬fore, that the primary concern of the

founders of the United Nations at its birth were

the protection, the dignity and the fulfillment

of man, and that in drafting the Charter and

establishing its institutions they made man the

centre of their concerns. We must remain faithful

to that original, basic concern, and we must give

priority to the accomplishment of this task that

has been bequeathed to us. Let us remember that

all of us here are the servants of mankind and of

its dignity, and that mankind must constitute for

all of us in our joint action the measure of all

things.