Cyprus, 1996

I would like to begin by

extending to you, Sir, my warmest congratulations on your

election as President of the General Assembly. We are

certain that your long experience, outstanding ability and

diplomatic skill will guide us successfully in our work at

this fifty-first session of the General Assembly. Allow me

also to thank your predecessor, Mr. Diogo Freitas

do Amaral, for his untiring efforts during the previous

session.

At last year’s session, which marked the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations, we reflected on the birth

of the United Nations, assessed its development and

influence on international relations to date, paid tribute to

its achievements and identified some of its difficulties. At

the same time, we acknowledged that our main

responsibility for the future of the Organization is to

insure that it has the ability to address most effectively

the agenda of the twenty-first century.

In the Declaration on the Occasion of the Fiftieth

Anniversary of the United Nations, we agreed that

“In order to be able to respond effectively to

the challenges of the future and the expectations of

the United Nations held by peoples around the

world, it is essential that the United Nations itself be

reformed and modernized.” (resolution 50/6,

para. 14)

Now, as we begin the fifty-first session of the

General Assembly, we should take stock of what we have

been able to accomplish and redirect our efforts to what

remains to be achieved.

In 1996, we have continued our work towards the

institutional and financial reforms needed to make the

United Nations a more productive and dynamic institution

so that it will be better able to perform its key functions

and fulfil its mandates more effectively. In this regard, the

fundamental priority must be to ensure that the financing

of our Organization is placed on a firm and lasting base.

May I recall in this context that the Government of

the Republic of Cyprus is voluntarily contributing one

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

Force in Cyprus and, in addition, has increased by one

third its contribution to United Nations peace-keeping

operations in general.

During 1996, various high-level working groups of the

General Assembly have continued their efforts on the

institutional and financial reforms of the United Nations. I

would like to reiterate that we consider the work of these

working groups, covering a very broad spectrum of issues,

to be extremely important. Such issues, ranging from the

strengthening of the main United Nations organs to the

further development of an Agenda for Peace and an Agenda

for Development, deserve deep and profound priority

consideration.

We subscribe to the need to reform the Security

Council, to expand it and strengthen its capacity to

discharge the duties assigned to it by the Charter for the

maintenance of international peace and security. As for the

reform of its working methods, we recognize, that although

significant efforts have been made over the past two years

to ensure greater transparency and broader consultations

with non-members, more remains to be done. A good

precedent has been established with the holding of briefings

and regular consultations, including those with countries

that contribute troops to United Nations peacekeeping

operations.

The reports of the working groups of the General

Assembly and the proposals from Member States that we

have before us provide a good basis for further work. We

all understand and accept the need to reform and revitalize

our Organization. Our responsibility, then, is quite clear:

Let us make even more vigorous efforts and display the

courage and political will required to reach a successful

conclusion on these issues.

This year’s international conferences — HABITAT II,

the World Food Summit and the United Nations Conference

on Trade and Development — have marked the completion

of a comprehensive series of United Nations-sponsored

conferences which covered the full range of civil, political,

economic and social issues that affect the peoples of the

world. We attach great importance to the successful

follow-up to United Nations-sponsored conferences and

their impact on those areas of the world where the lack of

economic and social development often contributes to

conflict. In this respect, we welcome next year’s General

Assembly special session, which will be devoted to the

assessment and review of Agenda 21 and of the results of

the United Nations Conference on Environment and

Development. It will be a unique opportunity to take stock

of what we have done so far to implement the

recommendations agreed upon in that all-important

Conference.

An area of particular concern in today’s world is the

persistent violation of human rights. The human rights

agenda has for many years been dominated by efforts to

establish international standards. Our duty must be to

implement these standards unequivocally and to take a

firm stand against all forms of human rights violations in

all cases. The full implementation of the commitments

entered into will encourage those around the world who

believe in the promise of the United Nations to help

restore and keep the peace, to promote respect for human

rights, to expand and broaden social progress, and to help

those in urgent need. My country is fully committed to

the universal application and promotion of these

principles.

Another area of particular concern to Member States

is arms control and disarmament. Under the auspices of

the United Nations, the nuclear non-proliferation regime

has been further strengthened by the indefinite extension

of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons. We warmly welcome the adoption by the

General Assembly of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-

Ban Treaty. This represents the international community’s

determination to bring to completion one of the most

sought-after nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament

measures in the history of the United Nations. But the

Treaty is not the end of the process. There is need for

further systematic and progressive effort in order to

achieve our ultimate goal of the elimination of nuclear

weapons and of general and complete disarmament under

strict and effective international control.

Another important development in the field of

disarmament and arms control is progress achieved

towards the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons

Convention. Cyprus is in the final stages of ratifying this

Convention. It is our hope that it will soon enter into

force. While recognizing that much more needs to be

done in the realm of conventional weapons, we are

encouraged by the progress made during the review of the

Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of

Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed

to Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate

Effects and the agreement on Guidelines for international

arms transfers at this year’s United Nations Disarmament

Commission’s session.

We fully share the view espoused by many that arms

control and disarmament are and will continue to be

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essential components of international security, contributing

to confidence-building and conflict resolution. It is in this

spirit that we proposed, as part of a comprehensive solution

to the Cyprus problem, the complete demilitarization of the

Republic of Cyprus, in which we have offered to disband

the National Guard of Cyprus and hand over all weapons to

an international force in exchange for the complete

withdrawal of all foreign troops, as demanded by the

relevant United Nations resolutions.

This body is familiar with the Secretary-General’s

report which characterizes the northern occupied part of

Cyprus as one of the most densely militarized areas in the

world. The presence of 35,000 Turkish troops and hundreds

of tanks and other armaments constitutes a clear and

present danger to peace and security in Cyprus and in the

region. Recent events in Cyprus have highlighted this clear

danger as well as the urgent need to implement our

demilitarization proposal. This year’s twenty-second

anniversary of the invasion and occupation of substantial

territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish forces was

marked by the brutal killings of two Greek-Cypriot

unarmed demonstrators, witnessed on television screens by

the entire world, and the wounding of many others,

including two United Nations peace-keepers, by the Turkish

occupation troops and Turkish extremists imported from

mainland Turkey to the occupied part of the island.

Two United Nations reports on these tragic incidents

state clearly that the responsibility lies with Turkey and the

illegal Turkish-Cypriot regime, which used excessive and

unwarranted force against unarmed demonstrators who were

simply trying to remind the world that for 22 years Cyprus

has remained a divided country whose people are still

prevented by the Turkish occupation forces from returning

to their homes and lands and from moving freely in their

country. Furthermore, it has by now become abundantly

clear that the Turkish action was orchestrated well in

advance and involved the import from Turkey of 3,000

terrorists belonging to the Gray Wolves organization with

the goal of provoking bloody confrontation between Greek

and Turkish Cypriots. This sinister plan was aimed at

demonstrating that the two communities cannot live

peacefully together in Cyprus and therefore separatist and

partitionist solutions should be sought.

While we mourn and condemn the brutal murder of

the two unarmed Greek Cypriot protesters, we also feel

sorry for the subsequent killing of a Turkish soldier and the

wounding of another. We regret the haste with which the

Turkish Cypriot leader, Mr. Denktas¸, attempted to attribute

responsibility for this killing to the Greek Cypriot side

before an independent United Nations investigation

published its findings. The recent tragic events, however,

will not cause us to waver from our commitment to seek

a peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem through

negotiations, as provided by the United Nations

resolutions. These events only highlight the need to

expedite and increase efforts to find a just, lasting and

workable solution to the Cyprus problem.

We are encouraged by the rekindled interest and

more active engagement of the international community

in the Cyprus problem, as witnessed by the appointments

of Special Representatives from interested countries,

including the appointment of the Secretary-General’s

Special Representative, Mr. Han Sung-Joo. We welcome

all initiatives set out to reinforce the United Nations in

the search for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus

question.

Various United Nations resolutions, and the United

Nations Secretary-General himself, have declared the

present status quo in Cyprus unacceptable, a view shared

by the international community. The time has come to

make a further determined and sustained effort to solve

the Cyprus problem. To that end, the Government of the

Republic of Cyprus will be working earnestly and

imaginatively with the United Nations Special

Representative and with all others supporting its efforts to

prepare the ground for negotiations on the main

outstanding issues.

Any settlement of the Cyprus problem should be

based on a State of Cyprus with a single sovereignty, an

international personality and a single citizenship. Its

independence and territorial integrity must be safeguarded,

and it must be composed of two politically equal

communities, as described in the relevant Security

Council resolutions, in a bicommunal and bi-zonal

federation. Such settlement must exclude union, in whole

or in part, with any other country or any form of partition

or secession.

The security of both communities is a crucial issue,

which would be helpful in finding a solution. It will be

necessary to devise effective guarantees; demilitarization

and the stationing in Cyprus of an international force will

also be required. Demilitarization represents an important

contribution to this settlement.

We are prepared to embark on face-to-face

negotiations in 1997 once the ground has been sufficiently

prepared to ensure success. We are not, however, willing,

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after 22 years of negotiations that have yielded no results

on the main issues of the problem, to embark on another

round of fruitless talks. On the one hand, they destroy the

credibility of the negotiating process, and on the other, they

keep the attention of the international community focused

on the intercommunal constitutional aspect of the problem,

thus overshadowing the real issue — the invasion and

continued occupation, for 22 years, of substantial territory

of the Republic of Cyprus by the Turkish forces.

We, for our part, will continue to do everything in our

power to help the Secretary-General of our Organization to

succeed in his renewed efforts, through his newly appointed

Special Representative, in the search for a lasting solution

to the Cyprus problem.

At the same time the Government of the Republic of

Cyprus will pursue its application for membership in the

European Union, because such membership will have

benefits for both communities. While we hope to keep

accession negotiations to the timetable already foreseen, we

earnestly desire to reach a solution to our problem before

accession.

At the beginning of my statement, I spoke of the need

to reform and strengthen our Organization. From this

rostrum, I have repeatedly underlined the importance of

honouring the commitments we enter into and of

implementing the decisions we take. I have stressed how

essential it is to uphold the principles of the United Nations

Charter and to hold to full account those who violate them.

The question of Cyprus continues to be such a case of

accountability, due to the refusal of Turkey to implement

solemn Security Council and General Assembly resolutions

calling for, among other things, the respect of the

sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of

the Republic of Cyprus, the withdrawal of all foreign

troops, the return of the refugees to their homes and lands,

the respect of the demographic composition of the Republic

and the restoration of the basic human rights and

fundamental freedoms of the people of Cyprus. In fact, not

only has Turkey not implemented these resolutions, but it

has grossly violated them. Even the immense humanitarian

problem of the missing persons remains unresolved,

perpetuating the tragedy of their relatives. All efforts should

therefore be exerted by the Security Council, and by all

those in a position to do so, to bring about a real change in

Turkey’s attitude.

The fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations has

highlighted the need to maintain and reinforce our faith and

that of future generations in our Organization.

Implementation of United Nations decisions will go a

long way towards achieving this lofty goal.