Brunei, 2005

I would like to offer my congratulations

to the President on his election. In doing so, I assure all

our fellow members of Brunei Darussalam's continued

strong support for the United Nations.

Much of the attention at almost every great

international meeting for the past four years has been

given to the inhuman acts of global terrorists.

Inevitably, this has focused on specific events. That is

understandable, of course, and we in Brunei

Darussalam again add our voices to the condemnation

of all such actions. We offer our deepest condolences

to the families of all who have suffered losses.

Nevertheless, as we meet our respected fellow

Members of the United Nations, we again state what

we have continuously said since the onset of the

current wave of global terrorism. These brutal attacks

extend beyond personal grief and national

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condemnation. They are symptomatic of many grave

threats the people of the world face today. As such,

they constitute nothing less than an attack on world

order.

For this reason, we believe it is high time the

world order asserted itself in modern terms. In other

words, a new, revitalized United Nations is called

for ó not for us as Heads of State, or for our

diplomats, or for any of us who are privileged and have

the means, the education and the opportunity to live in

hope and confidence. A new United Nations is needed

by the ordinary citizens we are privileged to represent here.

If world order is indeed under attack, that means

ordinary people and their families are also under

attack. In far too many ways, it is not merely an attack.

It is an all-out assault. It comes not merely from

criminal terrorists: it comes from many aspects of

globalization, from international crime, from new

technology, from social and cultural disruption, from a

rapidly degrading environment and from the grave

threats posed by the possible spread of fearful new

diseases. In real, immediate human terms, it comes

from fear, from injustice, from a loss of absolute values

and from sheer rage. It is revealed in feelings of

hopelessness and an almost total loss of confidence.

Many of us here, especially those from small

developing nations, are, therefore, convinced that

world order must be dramatically strengthened. As I

stated at the High-level Plenary Meeting two days ago

(see A/60/PV.6), there is no greater way to begin this

process than for each of us to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs). For this reason, we in

Brunei Darussalam will do whatever we can to achieve

them in our own country and to help our neighbours do

likewise.

In setting the Millennium Goals, we recognized

that, in order to re-establish world order, the root

causes of anger, despair, injustice and hatred must be

addressed. I would, therefore, once more like to

commend the Secretary-General and his staff and the

United Nations agencies, both professional and

volunteer, for all they have done in the field to deepen

our understanding of those causes. The causes have

become clearly defined in all their urgency. They are

political, social, cultural and economic. In each case,

we do not believe that solutions can be imposed. When

the international community is so gravely divided on

matters such as nuclear development, arms

proliferation, globalization, the environment and social

injustice, this body must be the judge of whether

international conduct is acceptable. Solutions to

international problems must come from truly united

nations acting in concert. In other words, the United

Nations must be an efficient world organization

committed to tackling root causes and insisting on

dialogue and negotiation as the sole means of settling

disputes, no matter how long it takes and no matter

how frustrating the process may be.

The global crisis arising from the search for the

best way to deal with modern, technology-fuelled

terrorism highlights that need. For many years, we

have maintained that understanding root causes must

be a very important part of any long-term approach to

tackling terrorist activities.

Of course, every possible form of bilateral and

multilateral cooperation is needed to deal with the

criminals involved. But condemnation is not enough,

and legislation is never sufficient. All attempts to

justify acts of terrorism must be resolutely countered,

not by exchanges of opposing definitions of evil but by

determination to eradicate all possible root causes,

which some may wrongly see as justifying such acts.

That is very difficult. It requires consensus here

at the United Nations on what constitutes injustice,

especially historical injustice, and on what constitutes

unfairness. That, in turn, demands a new, reformed

United Nations.

We are a small nation. Our interest lies in

working closely with all other Members. For that

reason, we shall offer whatever help we can to building

the broadest possible consensus on all the many far-

reaching decisions that the Organization is currently

called upon to make.

The most important of those decisions at present

concerns the question of United Nations reform. Like

many of our fellow Members, we have long given our

strong support to reform. In recent months, we have

held discussions with many colleagues that go far

beyond matters of principle; they have dealt with

specific proposals. Most of them aim at redesigning the

structure of the Organization, including the Security

Council. Our response has been the one we have

always offered. We will listen with respect. We will

acknowledge the good faith of all our fellow Members,

and we will help in any way we can to achieve the

broadest possible consensus. That, we think, is not a

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way of avoiding the hard decisions that have to be

made. On the contrary, we believe it serves to

recognize how hard those decisions are and how

important this body is to the world.

The consensus that was reached 60 years ago was

a strong one. It served the world well for many

decades. It now appears very clear that, although the

structure of the United Nations remains in place, the

world has changed enormously. A new consensus is

being sought. Unlike the consensus reached at the end

of the Second World War, it is not directed at the

means to maintain peace; it is aimed at creating the

conditions for lasting peace. We see that as the only

way for the United Nations to block all forces of

violence and inhumanity by means of a strong and just

world order.

When it is time for the Assembly to decide, we in

Brunei Darussalam will consider all proposals in that light.