Belgium, 2010

History has shown us that words can change the face of

the world. It has proven that the spoken word can

influence the future, but only when they go beyond

rhetoric. What is our global governance worth if it does

not go beyond the expression of ambitions and

intentions? Words remain ineffectual if they are not

followed up with action. We must therefore act. I say

“we”, the nations united, because no country, no matter

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how large, can respond alone to the great challenges

facing humanity. I say “we” because no large-scale

problem is limited to a single country, leaving

untouched the lives of those who live elsewhere. The

obligation to act is a shared, global responsibility.

That is why today my message is about

responsibility and increased accountability.

At the heart of any form of governance lies

responsibility, be it global or local, national or

international. But this is not enough. Indeed,

governance is not only about behaving responsibly; it

is also about being accountable. This applies not only

at the level of the single State, but also at the level of

our United Nations.

Human rights, security and development are at

the core of the mandate of the United Nations. Former

Secretary-General Kofi Annan pointed out the fact that

the three are inextricably linked when he said:

“There will be no development without security

and no security without development. And both

development and security also depend on respect

for human rights and the rule of law.”

(A/59/2005, annex, para. 2)

It has indeed become common knowledge that human

rights are unlikely to be protected in an insecure and

underdeveloped environment and that economic

development cannot be durably sustained in a society

where there is no rule of law.

Accountability in international affairs is about

respecting international law — the rules that govern

relations among States. Without a solid legal basis,

international cooperation remains optional and falls

short of the necessary transparency and long-term

sustainability. Important steps have been taken to

uphold the rule of law at the international level over

the past decades.

Belgium pleads for the universal acceptance of

the competence of the International Court of Justice

and the International Criminal Court. If all countries

were willing to follow up on this appeal, we would be

a step closer to having an effective and accountable

international system.

Meeting our responsibilities in the field of human

rights means ensuring efficient means and mechanisms

to ensure their protection. We need to instil more

coherence to our action. Unfortunately, today we focus

our attention all too often on how to react to human

rights violations while we should focus more on

prevention and on the root causes of those violations.

Human rights are universal. My country strongly

opposes any form of relativism in this respect.

International and regional human rights

instruments need to be strengthened. The evaluation

within the Human Rights Council in 2011 should give

important momentum to that strengthening.

There is also a need for increased accountability

in the field of security, another pillar of the United

Nations. Over the past year, important progress has

been made. The Review Conference of the Parties to

the Non-Proliferation Treaty came to a substantial and

balanced result. Respect for Non-Proliferation Treaty

provisions and cooperation with the International

Atomic Energy Agency are accountability in practice.

Unfortunately, the non-acceptance or non-respect of

these provisions by countries like North Korea and Iran

threatens the international non-proliferation regime.

In particular, Belgium welcomes the entry into

force earlier this year of the Convention on Cluster

Munitions. The prohibition of the production and use

of cluster munitions has become the international

standard. I am pleased and proud to announce that

Belgium has recently destroyed its entire stock of

cluster munitions.

The Millennium Development Goals and climate

negotiations are at the top of our twenty-first century

agenda, and rightly so. We are all responsible for our

planet. In fact, we are all accountable to current and

future generations, especially in the field of poverty

reduction and environmental protection. Let us not

forget the ancient Native American saying: “We do not

inherit the Earth from our ancestors; we borrow it from

our children”.

Creating a world that is equitable, a world that

will last, is our common responsibility. Belgium is

doing so by spending 0.7 per cent of its gross domestic

product on development cooperation.

If we indeed accept the need to be accountable

for the results we do or do not obtain, we should have

the courage to evaluate and adapt the institutions and

instruments at our disposal. In that respect, Belgium

fully supports the efforts of the European Union to

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participate in a timely and effective manner in the work

of the General Assembly.

If it is to contribute effectively to global

governance and to take up its global responsibility, the

United Nations needs to continue its efforts to become

more representative and more efficient. The creation of

UN Women was a welcome development, and it has

my country’s full support. Of course, gender will need

to remain a mainstream theme influencing the actions

of each and every United Nations institution.

Important discussions on the reform of the

Security Council have been ongoing for quite some

time. Belgium hopes that the negotiations will soon

lead to concrete results.

I have talked about institutions, and concerns

about institutions are, of course, legitimate. But they

should never lead us to forget that the first

accountability of humankind is not created by

abstractions or institutions, but by the face of a person

in dire need; of the man, woman or child who is the

victim of violence; of those who suffer the violence of

nature, or from violence perpetrated by other men.

When it comes to humanitarian protection and

aid, responsibility and accountability have never been

more necessary. That is why United Nations

peacekeeping missions with strong mandates,

especially in the field of the protection of civilians, are

important and should be given the necessary

instruments, not least in the context of the fight against

sexual violence. In this context, Belgium strongly

supports Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and

its goals of ensuring the participation, protection and

promotion of women in peace and security.

The concept of sovereignty cannot be used as a

justification for human rights violations against the

citizens of any country. On the contrary, sovereignty

implies the responsibility to protect, and we support

the efforts of the Secretary-General to further put this

principle into practice.

My key message of increased responsibility and

accountability also applies to certain situations in the

world that I would like to address briefly: the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Afghanistan and

Pakistan.

The fiftieth anniversary of the independence of

the Democratic Republic of the Congo has been an

opportunity to measure the unquestionable progress

made over recent years. What is important as we move

forward is the consolidation of peace and democracy in

the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Belgium is

pleased that the mandate of the United Nations

Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic

Republic of the Congo has incorporated the element of

peacebuilding alongside that of peacekeeping.

The elections in 2006 allowed the Democratic

Republic of the Congo to choose the path of

democratization. The Congolese authorities have

expressed their determination to persevere on this path

in confirming their intention to hold elections in 2011.

That deserves our full support.

Despite all this progress, it is clear that many

challenges remain. In spite of the rapprochement

among its neighbours, the situation in the East of the

Democratic Republic of the Congo remains worrisome.

We were reminded of this by the shocking reports of

widespread rape in Luvungi.

The fight against impunity, which is crucial to my

country, hinges first and foremost on the strengthening

of the rule of law. It is one of the primary

responsibilities of the authorities, but here, too, the

support of the United Nations and the international

community is crucial. Belgium calls on the

international community to continue to assume its

responsibility. Like in every country, the Afghan Government is

held accountable by the Afghan people. We hope that

last weekend’s elections contributed to this. However,

the Afghan authorities do not stand alone. The

international community, with a central role for the

United Nations, assists the Afghan Government in

enhancing the level of accountability to its population.

Gradually, the Afghan authorities need to take on more

responsibility, especially in the field of security. This

transfer is welcome, but rather than being calendar-

driven, it should be results-driven.

The Belgian Government has decided to extend

its current military and civilian presence until the end

of 2011. We believe that 2011 will be of crucial

importance in transferring further security

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responsibilities. The focus of the Belgian presence

beyond 2011 will therefore likely be more and more on

civilian assistance.

Nobody can remain untouched by the devastation

and human suffering caused by the floods in Pakistan.

As members of the international community, we have

to take on our responsibility. This “slow-motion

tsunami”, as the Secretary-General called it, demands a

long-term and strategic answer. Belgium therefore

welcomes the three-step approach — the meeting last

Sunday in New York, the meeting in Brussels next

month of the Friends of Democratic Pakistan, and the

donor event in November — which clearly sets out the

framework for reconstruction.

We have to move beyond the stage of emergency

aid. In this respect, I am glad to say that the European

Union last week took the firm commitment to improve

market access for Pakistan as a concrete measure to

reinvigorate Pakistan’s economy.

Allow me to conclude by recalling John F.

Kennedy’s observation that the only reward for a

politician is a good conscience. It may be true that not

many other rewards should be expected for politicians.

But even so, the conscience of a politician cannot free

him from the obligation of being accountable to those

he wants to serve, to the people he wants to represent

and to the country he wants to lead.