Brunei, 1992

I congratulate

His Excellency Mr. Ganev on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its forty-seventh session. I am sure he will guide us well.

I should like also to thank the outgoing President, His Excellency

Mr. Samir Shihabi. His valuable contribution to the work of the United

Nations was much appreciated.

I wish also to thank the Secretary-General for his efforts on behalf of

peace in the world. His report, "An Agenda for Peace", should be given urgent

attention by Member countries. I offer the Secretary-General my continued

support in all his demanding work.

This year, we are very pleased to greet the new Members of the United

Nations. Their admission should further strengthen our Organization.

Since last year's session we have continued to see great changes in the

world. Brunei Darussalam welcomed most of them. However, we have approached

others with caution. This is because we are not yet sure what they will lead

to. Generally, though, we feel that the Members of the world body are now in

a better position than ever before to build a just and lasting peace in the

world.

However, we believe that certain things must be in place before any

United Nations action can have a good chance of success. These are strong

bilateral relationships between individual countries which lead to

multilateral cooperation through regional associations. We feel that these

two structures are essential. It is our view that, if they exist, the United

Nations will be able to function well in terms of both peace-keeping and

peace-building. We think they are required because no one nation or single

organization is able to stand alone.

That is why my country, like many others, has been engaged in intense

diplomatic activity over the past year. We feel we have to establish a wide

range of bilateral relations and participate fully in regional and

international organizations. We think that, in this way, even small nations

such as ours can contribute a great deal to the success of this Organization.

We would like to see United Nations action complementing regional and

international institutions.

I feel that this is illustrated by the part the Association of South-East

Asian Nations (ASEAN) has played in finding a solution to the Cambodian

problem. ASEAN's hard work and patience in the initial stages was crucial.

So were the efforts of other concerned and interested parties. Also, the

willingness of the Cambodians themselves to seek a peaceful solution was a

most significant factor. The peace accord sponsored by the United Nations was

built on this foundation.

The situation in Cambodia today may offer a further illustration. We

believe it shows that peace-building does not necessarily end when an

agreement is signed. The effort must still go on. A continuing spirit of

cooperation among all parties to any international settlement must be

encouraged.

We, therefore, see reasons for optimism in our own part of the world.

But we do not overlook realities elsewhere. We are glad to note that, even in

some very difficult situations, individual countries are trying to play their

part in bringing peace and stability to their regions.

We are particularly glad to see this happening in the Middle East. The

peace talks sponsored by the United States and Russia are providing the

countries concerned with the means to make peaceful progress. Certainly, the

core problem of Palestine has not yet been resolved, and we regret that the

Israelis still defy Security Council resolutions 242 (1967) and 338 (1973).

But in spite of all this, we see some progress. For this reason, we urge

everyone involved to try to make the talks succeed. At the same time, we feel

that the United Nations still has an important role to play in the search for

a solution.

We believe that the world body should increase its effort to help bring

about peaceful change in South Africa. This would strengthen the considerable

efforts made by institutions such as the Commonwealth and the Organization of

African Unity.

In our opinion, there are sound reasons for the United Nations to be

involved in Cambodia, the Middle East and South Africa. This is because

certain favourable conditions have been created by those directly involved.

Unfortunately, this cannot always be the case. The situation in the

Balkans seems likely to be typical of the dilemmas the world body may be

forced to face in the future. On the one hand, there is a need to act because

of our moral and human obligations. On the other hand, there may be no

framework of good sense, reason and peaceful intent established at all

levels. Calls for United Nations action in similar circumstances may multiply.

That is why I do not feel we can consider peace and security only in

their political context. We see them as closely linked with economic

development. Here I refer to the grave social and economic problems faced by

a great number of developing nations. They pose a considerable threat to

those countries' internal security and, therefore, to international stability.

If present conditions continue, developing countries will be in no

position to undertake peaceful cooperation. This could mean that the United

Nations is called upon time and again to try to solve local conflicts under

very difficult circumstances.

We therefore think it is vital that developing and developed countries

engage in peace-building together. We feel there is an urgent need to provide

the building blocks of international peace today. These take the form of

cooperative international trading relations.

In my view, the first test we all face is whether we can bring about a

successful conclusion to the current Uruguay Round. Other things should then

fall into place, such as open markets and the free transfer of modern

technology to developing nations.

Those seem to me to be the most practical ways in which we all can engage

in preventive diplomacy. They will ensure that the primary role of the United

Nations is not only to solve political crises but also to help individual

nations and regions build their own peace in their own way.