Cyprus, 1994

I should like to extend to you,

Sir, my warmest felicitations on your well-deserved election

to the high office of the presidency of the General

Assembly. This is not only a mere recognition of your

long experience and your outstanding ability and diplomatic

skill but also a reflection of the esteem in which your

country, Côte d’Ivoire, is held in the United Nations.

I should also like to express our great appreciation and

admiration for the work of the Secretary-General and for

the determined and prudent leadership which he has

demonstrated on vital international issues.

Despite important positive developments on a great

number of issues occupying the attention and energy of

our Organization, a significant number of old problems

remain unresolved. Ethnic conflicts, nationalistic

chauvinism, ethnic cleansing, xenophobia, racial

discrimination, expansionist opportunism, social and

economic disparities, underdevelopment, the waste of

scarce resources on fraternal enmities, the lack of

necessary commitment for the protection of the

environment and gross and massive violations of human

rights are only some of the evils still afflicting humanity

today.

Among our priorities therefore should be the

unequivocal reversal of the results of aggression and

foreign occupation, support and defence of democracy,

the inversion of social and economic inequalities, the

protection of our environment and, finally, the protection

and enhancement of human rights for all.

In order to accomplish such goals on a universal

scale our Organization has to adapt, expeditiously and

effectively, to the changing conditions and to the new

challenges. Better coordination between the various

bodies that form the United Nations system is urgently

required. The Secretary-General’s recent decision to

boost the coordinating role of the United Nations

Development Programme on all developmental issues is

a commendable step in the right direction.

We are constantly witnessing world calamities.

Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia are dire and gory

examples. Our common goal should be to strengthen the

United Nations in order best to respond to today’s

challenges and the increased expectations of mankind for

security, economic viability and democracy. These

expectations can only be met by making the United Nations

more effective through the implementation of its own

resolutions and the mandatory provisions of the Charter.

The General Assembly, the most prominent global

democratic forum, represents the full membership of the

United Nations. It functions on the principle of sovereign

equality. As such, it has played a major role towards the

realization of the objectives of the world community and

must continue to do so in accordance with its mandate

under the Charter.

Given today’s political realities, however, the Security

Council has a substantially enlarged agenda and a more

dynamic role to perform. In accordance with the Charter,

that organ has the ability to decide and to act. Nowadays

it is able to act more effectively in the maintenance of

international peace and security. In today’s post-cold-war

era the Security Council is in a position to play a broader

and much more important role than ever before. In a world

where new challenges require urgent solutions, such a

development is welcome. Within the context of the

reinforced and expanded role, a successful outcome of the

deliberations on the review of the Council’s membership to

reflect the realities of today’s world is highly appreciated.

However, the effectiveness of the most powerful organ

of the United Nations is seriously compromised if it applies

double standards. It must act in every case with

determination and consistency. The record of its

performance indicates clearly that in those cases where the

international community has shown steadfastness to defend

the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and

fully to implement its provisions, peace and justice was

achieved. On the contrary, in those cases where unity of

purpose had not been exhibited or the interests of nations

or alliances had been placed above the universal principles

and the rule of law, the problems remain and peace is

elusive.

The financial difficulties confronting the Organization

pose severe constraints on its ever-increasing role in today’s

world affairs. Every effort should be made to provide the

Organization with the necessary means to perform its vital

mission effectively. In this regard I would recall that my

Government decided early this year, after an appeal by the

Secretary-General, to double on a voluntary basis its

assessed contribution to all peace-keeping operations.

Our commitment to the peaceful settlement of

disputes was thus manifested once again in a concrete and

practical way. We hope that our gesture will soon be

emulated by others. Our Organization desperately needs

generosity by its Member States if it is to continue

performing its herculean mission effectively.

It is widely acknowledged that economics plays an

important role in today’s world politics. Development,

the protection of the environment, poverty alleviation,

social progress, the improvement of health standards,

proper education and sound technology require financial

means for their attainment. In this exercise the United

Nations, through the Secretariat itself, the recently

enhanced United Nations Development Programme and

the various specialized agencies, performs one of the most

important missions, that of pursuing the betterment and

the economic well-being of peoples throughout the world.

These activities are also amply outlined in the Secretary-

General’s report, and therefore I do not intend to dwell on

them other than to declare that we are cognizant of their

importance and that they have our full support. We

commend the Secretary-General’s integrated approach to

development issues in "An Agenda for Development",

which complements his ground-breaking "An Agenda for

Peace". We fully subscribe to the Secretary-General’s

assertion that development is a fundamental human right

and that development is the most secure basis for peace.

In accordance with the deliberations on the subject,

a successful implementation of the agenda for

development depends on the priority to be given the

following elements: the alleviation of poverty and its

underlying causes, especially in Africa and other least-

developed regions; health and the status of women.

There is an urgent need for clear and effective population

policies.

In this regard, the recently concluded Cairo

Conference on Population and Development rightly placed

great emphasis on development and the environment.

The new characteristic of the Conference’s Programme of

Action is precisely this linkage with sustainable

development and protection of the environment. It

constitutes progress by integrating control of population,

environmental protection and economic growth into the

approach to population issues.

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The Rio Conference was a historic turning point in

this direction. Yet the follow-up and implementation of the

decisions taken at the Earth Summit remain contingent on

the political will to save our living space’s web of life.

The Barbados Global Conference on the Sustainable

Development of Small Island Developing States, as the first

test of the international community’s attachment to the Rio

commitments, focused on the acute problems that small

island developing States are confronted with. Cyprus, an

active member of this group, reiterates its commitment to

the early and prompt implementation of the Barbados

commitments, and expresses the hope that every member of

the international community will conscientiously fulfil its

relevant obligations.

We also welcome the recent broader agreement on

seabed issues of the Convention on the Law of the Sea

promoting universal application of the new legal order

governing the seas and thus opening a new chapter in

international relations.

In the light of our philosophy and experience, we

attach much importance to the effective functioning of the

principal judicial organ of the United Nations - the

International Court of Justice. The increase in its

jurisdiction in contentious cases is encouraging. We also

attach great significance to the possibility of clarifying legal

points in political disputes through advisory opinions. The

International Court of Justice is indeed an integral part of

the United Nations peacemaking efforts and we

wholeheartedly support the Secretary-General’s proposal

that he be authorized to seek advisory opinions from the

Court as an important component of the peaceful settlement

of disputes in accordance with the United Nations Charter.

The Secretariat’s role in an improved, rationalized and

more effective United Nations is irrefutable. We have

nothing but praise for the many men and women in the

international civil service whose competence and dedication

under harsh circumstances enable the Organization to

respond to the ever-increasing demands in today’s global

environment. The Secretary-General has already done

much in the direction of rationalizing and streamlining the

Secretariat. He certainly has our support in the additional

measures needed to carry out this task. We join in

recognizing the imperative need for adequate financial

resources for the Organization, and for assessed

contributions to be paid in full and promptly by Member

States.

It should be recognized that true respect for human

rights provides the foundation for the structure and

organization of any society. Past and recent experience

in every region of the world has demonstrated that the

protection and promotion of human rights is an

indispensable ingredient of a stable, just and democratic

world order. Over the years, the United Nations has

played a leading role in affirming human equality, which

in essence forms the core of all rights, and in eliminating

separations based on ethnicity, religion, culture, socio-

economic disparities and political philosophies.

If we recognize the value of the axiom that in States

governed by the rule of law the rights of citizens must be

protected unconditionally, then we should also accept the

analogy: that the same rights should be safeguarded for

every single citizen of a global State governed by the rule

of law.

All the efforts of today’s global community should

therefore be exerted towards the implementation of the

basic idea inherent in the international law of human

rights - namely, that all the social mechanisms should

exist to enhance the dignity of human beings, not to

exploit them. Human rights are a powerful means to this

end.

In order to achieve full respect for human rights and

to eliminate human suffering, the world community must

clearly oppose extreme nationalism, take unequivocal

stands against policies of "ethnic cleansing" and continue

exerting steadfast efforts until we achieve the concrete

dismantling of unjust and inhumane social systems that

are based on ethnic segregation.

The effective promotion of human rights is naturally

entwined with the global trend towards democratization.

Cyprus is in the vanguard of States that have become

party to international instruments for the protection of

human rights, both at the global level, within the United

Nations and at the regional level, primarily through the

Council of Europe.

We have had occasion in the past to express our

support for the Secretary-General’s constructive and

timely suggestions for improving the potential of United

Nations peace-keeping. We are encouraged that much

progress has been made in this field. In view, however,

of the ever-increasing demands and the worsening

financial problems associated with peace-keeping, we

should continue to do our best to assist in discharging, as

effectively as possible, this major responsibility of the

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Organization. In this regard, may I recall that Cyprus, itself

a victim of foreign aggression, invasion and occupation, has

voluntarily undertaken the onus of paying on a yearly basis

one-third of the total cost of the United Nations Peace-

keeping Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP), which for the current

12-month period amounts to $18 million. Similarly, the

Greek Government generously offered a voluntary

contribution to UNFICYP of $6.5 million for the same

period.

Since the Republic of Cyprus has itself been one of

the longest beneficiaries of peace-keeping operations, I

would like to avail myself of this opportunity to express the

appreciation of my country and its people to the

Organization and its peace-keeping function. I also take

this opportunity to express to the troop-contributing

countries our gratitude for sustaining UNFICYP for so

many years until the anomaly in the financing of the Force

was finally overcome in June 1993. On this occasion, I

should like to express the hope that a sound and fair

solution to the question of reimbursement to troop-

contributing countries will be found during the deliberations

at this session. My country stands ready to offer every

possible assistance towards the attainment of this aim.

I shall refrain from addressing the long list of

international problems described in this year’s report by the

Secretary-General (A/49/1) with which the Organization is

actively dealing and which extend to all five continents.

Each issue presents its own complications and special

characteristics. Together, all the issues provide a measure

of the enormity of what is expected of the United Nations,

the awesome burden of responsibilities of the Secretary-

General and the respect and admiration he deserves in

carrying out these tasks. As he has rightly pointed out in

the past:

"The United Nations, by undertaking a range of

problems as wide as the globe itself, must be expected

to achieve successes but also to experience failures."

(A/48/1, para. 512)

Our world has witnessed in the last few years the

creation of new areas of tension and conflict through the

unleashing of the destructive and centrifugal forces of

chauvinism and ethnic strife. There have also been at the

same time some notable successes through the resolution of

several regional issues and the withdrawal of foreign forces

following the end of our bipolar antagonistic world. We

have witnessed in many parts of the world the triumph of

reason, the entrenchment of democracy and the emergence

of free market economies. The achievement of putting an

end to the odious practice of apartheid in South Africa

broadens the vistas of human wisdom; the historic

Agreements between Israel and the Palestine Liberation

Organization (PLO) on the one hand, and between Israel

and other neighbouring Arab countries on the other mark

a new era in the Middle East. We express the hope that

the rest of the countries involved in this conflict will very

soon be able to join the others, thereby signifying one of

the major turning points in the history of the region.

Cyprus, an immediate neighbour, expresses the hope that

such a catalytic positive evolution in our region will not

leave our own problem unaffected.

Cyprus, almost a decade after the Cold War began

to subside, remains divided as a result of foreign

aggression and military occupation, and its people forcibly

separated. As a result of ethnic cleansing by the

aggressor, Cypriots are victims of gross violations of

human rights. A large component of the Cyprus question

in its present dimensions is the massive violation of the

human rights of the displaced persons who have been

evicted by force from their homes by the Turkish forces

of occupation and whose properties have been usurped by

illegal settlers imported from Turkey to Cyprus in a

systematic and well-planned policy made by the aggressor

to change the demographic composition of the occupied

parts of Cyprus. In the same vein, the humanitarian issue

of the enclave is another staggering dimension of the

Cyprus question. The missing persons still remain

unaccounted for 20 years after the Turkish invasion and

occupation of one third of the territory of the Republic of

Cyprus. This constitutes a severe violation of the human

rights both of the missing persons themselves and of the

tragic figures of their relatives.

I put it before the Assembly today that Cyprus is a

test case for the resolve of the international community

and of this Organization to demand and to enforce respect

for its will as expressed in a plethora of resolutions.

Twenty years after the Turkish invasion of 1974, the

problem remains unresolved. The number of Turkish

forces, despite resolutions of this Assembly calling for the

withdrawal of foreign forces from Cyprus, has in fact

increased, as is stated in the Secretary-General’s report of

30 May 1994. The presence of Turkish occupation troops

constitutes a serious threat to the people of Cyprus, and

has naturally given rise to a kind of arms race.

The General Assembly and the Security Council

have repeatedly reaffirmed the legal framework within

which a just and lasting solution should be sought. In its

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most recent resolution, resolution 939 (1994) of 29 July

1994, this basis is reaffirmed to be

"... a State of Cyprus with a single sovereignty

and independence and international personality and a

single citizenship, with its independence and territorial

integrity safeguarded, and comprising two politically

equal communities as described in the relevant

Security Council resolutions, in a bi-communal and bi-

zonal federation, and that such a settlement must

exclude union in whole or in part with any other

country or any form of partition or secession"

(para. 2).

The Greek Cypriot side has for years accepted that a

bi-zonal bi-communal federation was the basis for the

settlement of the Cyprus problem. The Turkish Cypriot

leadership, fully supported by Turkey, has now made it

clear that they have abandoned federation as the basis of

the solution and are promoting a loose confederation with

separate sovereignty for its two component parts.

The Secretary-General rightly and clearly attributed the

failure to make progress as follows:

"For the present, the Security Council finds itself

faced with an already familiar scenario: the absence of

agreement due essentially to a lack of political will on

the Turkish Cypriot side." (S/1994/629, para. 53)

In the same report to the Security Council, the

Secretary-General states the following:

"... a good offices mission, which by its nature is

dependent on the consent and cooperation of the

parties, is not an adequate method to deal with a

situation in which, for the past several years, one side

has consistently flouted the wishes of the international

community, as represented in the Security Council."

(ibid., para. 58)

My view is that if this flouting and violation of

Security Council resolutions is allowed to continue, there

will be no solution of the Cyprus problem. It is therefore

necessary for coercive action to be taken against the side

that flouts the United Nations resolutions.

There is also a further issue that requires to be

urgently addressed. This is the problem of the military

build-up which is taking place in Cyprus. The anxieties

created by the presence of foreign troops on Cypriot

territory have given rise to a significant military build-up.

Security is an extremely significant area, and is an

issue of substance as well as a way to improve

confidence. I have therefore proposed the following.

Firstly, the leaders of the two communities during

the intercommunal talks should make a solemn

declaration to the Secretary-General on behalf of their

respective communities renouncing the use of force

against each other and undertaking to take all the

necessary measures to prevent attack by members of one

community against the other.

Secondly, the Government of the Republic should

take the following measures: repeal the National Guard

Law, disband the National Guard and hand over all its

arms and military equipment to the custody of the United

Nations peace-keeping force; undertake to maintain the

police force of the Republic at its present numerical

strength, armed only with light weapons; undertake the

total cost of a substantially numerically increased United

Nations peace-keeping force; agree that the United

Nations peace-keeping force will have the right of

inspection to ascertain compliance with the above; agree

that the National Guard armoured cars, armoured

personnel vehicles and tanks, which will be handed over

to the custody of the United Nations peace-keeping force,

can be used by the United Nations peace-keeping force to

patrol the buffer zone and to prevent intrusions in it; and

deposit in United Nations accounts all money saved from

disbanding the National Guard and from stopping the

purchase of arms after deducting the cost of the United

Nations peace-keeping force, to be used after the solution

of the problem for the benefit of both communities.

The Turkish Government, parallel to the above,

should withdraw the Turkish occupation forces from

Cyprus, as well as the illegal settlers, whose presence in

Cyprus, apart from violating United Nations resolutions

calling on both sides to respect the demographic

composition of Cyprus, constitutes a military threat.

The Turkish Cypriots under arms should disband and

hand over their weapons to the peace-keeping force.

The Turkish side complains that it has been isolated

internationally. The responsibility for this does not fall

on the Republic of Cyprus or on the international

community. It falls squarely on the shoulders of the

Turkish leadership, which, by an act of purported

secession, declared a separate State. The international

community and the Republic of Cyprus simply respected

Security Council resolutions 541 (1983) and 550 (1984),

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which deplored the purported secession, asked all States

Members of the United Nations not to recognize it and

called upon the Turkish leadership to recall the act of

secession. All States respected these resolutions except

Turkey.

A small country has been violated by an aggressor, in

contravention of the Charter of this Organization, which

denounces the use of force. Twenty years have passed, and

the Security Council’s many resolutions remain

unimplemented. Unless the aggressor is faced with

progressively more severe consequences for its disregard of

international legal order, a very bad example and precedent

will be allowed to cast doubt on the international

community’s resolve and effectiveness.

With the advent of the fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations, we are bound to review our past

performance and chart new avenues for the future. Did we

meet the goals set in 1945 by our founding fathers in the

aftermath of two devastating wars? Did we create the

prerequisite for a just and peaceful world? Did we save

succeeding generations from the scourge of war? As we

near the milestone of the Organization’s fiftieth anniversary,

let us do some soul-searching, let us not be complacent and

let us no longer be guilty of errors of omission and

commission. Above all, let us not remain inactive because

of inertia. People and nations all over the world have ever-

greater expectations of the Organization and the way in

which it responds to the new challenges of our times. The

Charter, by and large, has stood the test of time, but it is

our responsibility to make the United Nations a more

effective Organization. It is the world’s last chance for

peace.