Belgium, 2005

Allow me to congratulate you most warmly, Sir, on

your election as President of the General Assembly.

Through you, I would like also to thank your

predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, for the manner in which he

conducted the preparatory work for the summit of

Heads of State and Government which has just taken

place. We are very grateful to him for having

successfully met that challenge.

Even though we had hoped for a more ambitious

agreement, the summit allowed us to create a much-

needed new impetus and new strategic guidelines for

our Organization. Only a stronger and more legitimate

United Nations will be able to respond to the

challenges of the twenty-first century and implement

the collective security consensus that we endorsed in

the summit's outcome document.

Belgium is a strong advocate of efficient

multilateralism. I emphasize the word "efficient"

because this is not just a declaration of faith. We need

credible structures and strong institutions capable of

effectively implementing our international

commitments and addressing our common concerns. It

is all too easy to indulge in rhetoric; we have to

translate our words into action. That is why, in that

context, I am pleased with the progress made during

the summit.

I am particularly pleased with the consensus

reached whereby security, peace, development and

human rights are not only interlinked but mutually

reinforcing. That is a significant step forward in our

efforts to build a more peaceful, more prosperous and

more equitable world. That idea will guide our actions

and form the basis of our approach. Without peace,

there can be no development, and human rights can

often be sorely tested. In the absence of development

and respect for human rights, stability and security

become elusive.

The link between development, stability and

human rights becomes most acutely apparent in fragile

or failing States. These are often States devastated by

conflict or by civil war - States whose leaders are no

longer capable of meeting the basic needs of their

people. Often, their economic situation has deteriorated

dramatically, and sometimes their society itself is in

disarray. A large number of the people of such States

may be displaced. They may have fled, may be subject

to abuse or exploitation and therefore cannot enjoy any

of the guarantees that a State should be able to provide

to its citizens.

Some States are at risk of becoming zones of

lawlessness, in which terrorist and criminal activities

can thrive. The uncontrolled exploitation of natural

resources can fuel all sorts of criminal networks or

conflicts - often with an ethnic dimension - in which

large numbers of weapons can circulate uncontrolled.

Such States must return to peace, stability and the

rule of law. They must take control of their own future

and gradually begin to consider their prospects for

development. This is not an easy task. The challenge is

tremendous. Almost simultaneously, it is necessary to

rebuild State institutions; disarm combatants, give

them new prospects and reintegrate them into

communities that are often impoverished; reorganize

the army and security forces; and give the State the

means to restore its authority, organize elections and

create conditions conducive to development.

We must help them break that vicious circle and

regain their place in the community of nations. In that

respect, the establishment of a Peacebuilding

Commission is crucial. The creation of such a

Commission not only illustrates our common resolve to

help such States on their path to recovery; it allows us,

first and foremost, better to coordinate and focus our

efforts. Political, humanitarian, military and financial

resources must be mobilized and used effectively to

achieve our common goals.

That is particularly true in the case of sub-

Saharan African countries that are ravaged by deadly

and prolonged conflicts, with the primary victims

being the civilian population.

The establishment of such a Commission would

generate great hope. It is our common responsibility to

make it a success. Belgium wants to contribute

actively, including by sharing the experience it

acquired in the transition processes in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo and in Burundi.

Belgium also attaches great importance to

promoting the protection of human rights. My country

welcomes the strengthening of the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights and the decision to

establish a Human Rights Council. But we regret that

the summit was not able to finalize the Councilís

modalities.

11

Belgium has fully supported the reform and will

continue to focus on it. Democracy and respect for

human rights are some of our common values and

underpin our efforts to promote peace and stability.

From now on, those values will be part of our

collective security consensus and must be incorporated

into our global approach throughout the entire United

Nations system. They are our common responsibility.

Among the summit's other achievements, I

should like also to highlight the "responsibility to

protect". This represents a step forward in the quest for

solutions to the most glaring injustices. In the

aftermath of the genocides that marked our last

century, we solemnly pledged that such atrocities

would never happen again.

Let me now turn to good governance, which is

essential if our efforts to create a more stable and

prosperous world are to be successful. The summit

outcome document repeatedly underlines its

importance, and rightly so.

Good governance is not a moralistic concept

imposed from the outside. It is not about giving good

or bad grades, and even less about good and bad

students. It is not for others to say what are good

policies and what are bad policies. No ó good

governance is synonymous with effective governance

and goes hand in hand with sovereignty. It is about

governance that can produce results, make a difference

for citizens and create fertile ground for development.

Without it, the support of the international community

cannot produce the desired results. Without it, the aid

of the international community will not find the fertile

ground essential to create the conditions for greater

prosperity and stability.

We have pledged to attain the objective of

allocating 0.7 per cent of our gross national product to

official development assistance. We will keep our

promise. But we are aware that development is not

only a question of money; first and foremost, it is a

question of the effective use of resources. The

necessary conditions must be established. What matters

is the outcome on the ground. Poverty is not inevitable;

all peoples have a future that belongs to them. They

must take charge of it.

We accordingly have stated, in paragraph 11 of

the summit outcome document (resolution 60/1), "good

governance and the rule of law ... are essential for

sustained economic growth, sustainable development

and the eradication of poverty and hunger". In the same

outcome document, we also clearly reaffirmed our

commitment to good governance and the rule of law,

and reaffirmed that each country must take

responsibility for its own development. Those are the

terms of our global partnership for development, as set

out in the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey

Consensus and the Johannesburg Plan of

Implementation.

All components of the international community

have demonstrated generosity. That is particularly true

of the European Union. But the international

community can hardly be held responsible for the

failure of States to protect or assist all or part of their

populations. It is difficult to understand why today we

must launch donor appeals to deal with the large-scale

destruction of houses by a Government that

deliberately leaves some 500,000 of its citizens

homeless.

That reasoning with regard to the subject of good

governance also applies to the similar concepts of

democracy and the rule of law. Those are extremely

important objectives, both for the development of our

societies and for the security of States. But, neither

democracy nor the rule of law can be artificially

imposed from outside. This is not about dictating

exogenous models; we must take a bottom-up approach

in creating suitable conditions for the emergence of

mechanisms that ensure people's equitable

participation in their own governance, in a spirit of

inclusivity. In that regard, our first priorities should be

the modernization of societies and States and the

emancipation of women and children and their

inclusion in the global dynamic. Past experience shows

that the shortest path to democracy and the rule of law

is the modernization of society. The role - indeed, the

responsibility - of the international community is to

galvanize that modernization process.

We have a great responsibility. Before the end of

the year, the Peacebuilding Commission must be

established. We also have the task of making the

Human Rights Council operational. I sincerely hope

that the spirit that prevailed during the summit will

also guide the work of the sixtieth session of the

General Assembly. We must continue to show

determination, perseverance and vision in carrying out

our work. Only through constant commitment will we

make the United Nations the primary instrument for

international relations.

12

That is the important task ahead of us. Our own

credibility is at stake. We must once again make the

United Nations the instrument par excellence of our

strategy to build a more stable and more prosperous

world for all. Our peoples demand that. Belgium is

willing to rise to that challenge and to shoulder its

responsibilities.