Iceland, 1994

May I congratulate Foreign

Minister Essy of Côte d’Ivoire on his election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth

session. I am confident that he will steer our work to a

successful conclusion, and I pledge him the full support of

my delegation.

I wish also to take this opportunity to express my

Government’s satisfaction that South Africa, which now

takes its place as a full and respected member of the

community of nations, has been reinstated in the General

Assembly.

It is a much-vaunted truth that the end of the cold war

has released the United Nations from the bondage of a

world obsessed with military security. But there is another

change at work - perhaps less abrupt but equally

epoch-making - in the international system which has far-

reaching implications for our world Organization. I refer

to the progressive intertwining of the destinies of the

different peoples of the world, the globalization of the

world economy, the communications revolution and the

increasingly transnational nature of the issues of human

survival, be they environmental problems, poverty,

refugees or population pressures, and the eroding capacity

of the nation-State to address them single-handedly.

Global interdependence is causing greater demands

to be made on the United Nations than at any previous

time. The will to cooperate is gradually replacing the

spirit of confrontation throughout the world. At the same

time, it is not clear that we have created an organization

equal to the task of meeting the host of new demands.

Though adept at analysing their sources, we are still

inclined to deal with conflicts only after they arise instead

of preventing them. The dangers we face may be novel,

but the structures we draw on to cope with them derive

from a world that has largely vanished from view. Last

but not least, we saddle the United Nations with new

responsibilities without providing adequate resources to

tackle them. In this way, a discrepancy has come about

between our expectations of the United Nations and the

ability to deliver on them.

While our main challenge should be to seek to

transform the United Nations into a more effective

instrument for dealing with issues that truly are beyond

the compass of the nation-State, we should also bear in

mind that the United Nations was not designed to be a

substitute for national Governments. Wherever possible

the United Nations should work with its Member States

in areas where they are competent and draw to the

maximum extent possible on regional organizations. In

so doing, we reduce the burden on the United Nations and

facilitate the setting of priorities.

Looked at in this perspective, a number of

developments over the past 12 months give the United

Nations reason for encouragement. Democracy and the

principles of the free market are making new inroads, and

the protection of human rights is gaining momentum in

many parts of the world. In Eastern Europe the process

of democratic change is now irreversible. The negotiated

withdrawal of Russian troops from the Baltic States has

removed from the European continent one of the last

vestiges of the cold war. In Northern Ireland there is for

the first time since early this century a realistic chance of

lasting peace and stability. In the Middle East the

breakthrough achieved last year has been consolidated

with the Gaza-Jericho Agreement and a peace accord

between Israel and Jordan, hopefully paving the way for

a comprehensive peace settlement in the entire region.

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In South Africa, the spirit of dialogue has finally

triumphed over the forces of hatred and racism, offering a

model of tolerance for other countries on the troubled

African continent. In Western Sahara, there are brightening

prospects, provided that all the relevant parties do their part

in creating the necessary climate of confidence to enable

the people of Western Sahara to decide their own destiny

in a democratic election.

But there have also been setbacks. Gross violations of

human rights have continued in places as far apart as Haiti

and East Timor. The tragic injustice in the former

Yugoslavia, the chaos in Somalia, as well as the terrible

carnage inflicted on the people of Rwanda by their own

compatriots, demonstrate the intractable nature of many of

the conflicts that our Organization is being called upon to

deal with. Unlike the inter-State conflicts which

traditionally have preoccupied the United Nations, these are

conflicts taking place within the confines of the nation-

State, where legitimate authority has either collapsed or

been emaciated by civil strife. As the Organization adapts

itself to the new demands of the post-cold-war era, ways

must be found to address such internal crises in full

conformity with the United Nations Charter.

To heed this call, greater attention must now be

concentrated on the preventive dimension. Much effort has

in recent years been devoted to peace-keeping, which now

extends to non-military operations, including electoral

assistance, the provision of humanitarian relief and human

rights monitoring. This is as it should be, and countries

contributing substantially to such peace-keeping operations

certainly deserve both our gratitude and respect. At the

same time, we must make sure that the necessary resources

are also allocated to development.

One of the lessons we have learned in recent years is

that we must focus more intently on the link between peace

and development. Increasingly, we have come to

understand that peace and security require solutions to

social and economic problems, that without development

there can be no peace. In this connection, I wish to pay

special tribute to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, whose agenda for development, submitted

two years after his pathbreaking Agenda for Peace, has

sharpened our awareness of the need for creating an

infrastructure of peace.

For there to be a stable and lasting infrastructure of

peace, a number of elements must be in place: a

commitment to democracy and respect for human rights, a

sound social fabric, a growing economy and a sustainable

natural environment.

As a representative of one of the world’s oldest

democracies — one which celebrates the fiftieth

anniversary of its second republic this year — I cannot be

accused of underrating the redeeming virtues of

democracy, which, as was pointed out earlier in this

debate, fosters the greatest force behind social and

economic progress: individual creativity. Democracies,

as a rule, also tend to honour human rights. By

promoting tolerance and respect for the dignity of the

individual, we contribute to preventing cultural, ethnic

and territorial conflicts. For good reason, human rights

are therefore increasingly being considered as an integral

part of the notion of extended security. It is thus to be

regretted that the efforts of the United Nations in this

important field continue to be strained due to lack of

financial resources.

The effective implementation and monitoring of

human rights standards, not least with respect to

vulnerable groups, should be a matter of priority for the

United Nations. The plight of children in some parts of

the world gives cause for grave concern. Four years ago,

the largest gathering of world political leaders assembled

here in this Hall of the General Assembly and endorsed

the principle that children should have the first call on the

resources of society essential to their survival, protection

and development. Next year we will assess how far we

have come in honouring the commitments undertaken by

the Summit for Children. At the same time we will be

celebrating the half-centenary of the United Nations. In

the view of my Government, this milestone event should

be used to give new impetus to efforts to ensure that

children are given the best social conditions the world

community can offer.

As it happens, the fiftieth anniversary celebrations

will coincide with the Beijing Conference on the status of

women. The timing is significant as the goals of

achieving equality, empowerment and security for women

are key to the social agenda of the United Nations as it

makes the transition into its second half-century.

Improving the status of women is of paramount

importance for the well-being of the family, and has

positive multiplier effects on overall levels of education,

health and population growth in society as a whole.

Conversely, where society has broken down or social

safety-nets are inadequate, women assume the largest

burden. There is therefore a direct link between the

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Fourth World Conference on Women, the recent

International Conference on Population and Development

held in Cairo and the World Summit for Social

Development, to be held in Copenhagen next spring. The

Copenhagen summit will afford us a much needed

opportunity to focus attention on the social ills that

compromise the ability of nations to develop their full

potential, be they poverty or disease, homelessness or

hunger, joblessness or social exclusion, crime or violence.

Fifty years after the United Nations avowed in its Charter

to promote social progress and better standards of living in

greater freedom, the time has come to put sustainable

human development at the top of the Organization’s

agenda.

In relieving the plight of the most underprivileged

segments of the world’s population, the role of economic

growth can hardly be overstated. The abolition of trade

barriers is the single most important factor for world

economic growth. Just as a rising tide lifts the boats, so an

increase in world trade will create new jobs and raise

incomes around the world. My Government therefore

strongly welcomes the establishment of the World Trade

Organization and urges other signatory States to ratify the

Uruguay-Round Agreement without undue delay.

Focusing on economic progress must not, however,

blind us to the need to keep an eye on other areas, which,

if neglected, might strip us of the harvest of increased

prosperity. One such area is the environment. Over the

past few years the United Nations has made significant

headway in its efforts to promote sustainable development

worldwide. The results of the Rio Conference on

Environment and development provide a sound basis for

further work. As we now assume the momentous task of

development, measures must also be taken to protect the

environment from detrimental patterns of production and

consumption.

While recognizing the need to take a balanced view of

the ecosystem as a whole, Iceland remains particularly

concerned over the deteriorating condition of the world’s

oceans. It is a hopeful sign that the international

community has shown increasing awareness of the

importance of the sustainable utilization of the living

resources of the sea. It has been estimated that the poorest

two-thirds of the world’s population get about 40 percent of

their protein from fish, and that food production must more

than double just to keep pace with the growth in demand in

the decades ahead. To meet this growth, it will be

necessary to rely not only on agriculture but also - and to

an increasing extent - on the sustainable utilization of the

living resources of the sea.

Such considerations notwithstanding, the ecosystem

of the sea is now in greater danger than ever before from

pollution and overfishing. Protecting the oceans against

the repercussions of economic and industrial expansion

will pose a major challenge to the international

community in the years ahead. Although much has been

accomplished, existing conventions aimed at containing

the pollution of the marine environment cover only a part

of the problem, as no global scheme addressing pollution

from land-based activities is in place. For this reason,

Iceland attaches great importance to the Conference on

the Protection of the Marine Environment from

Land-based Activities, to be convened in Washington next

year under the auspices of the United Nations

Environment Programme. We urge all States and relevant

international agencies to participate actively in the

preparatory process, commencing officially in Reykjavik

in March next year.

The responsible use of fisheries resources is,

however, no less important than combatting the threat of

marine pollution. The universal acceptance of the

sovereignty of the coastal State over its adjacent waters

was a necessary precondition of the effective management

by the world community of the living resources of the

sea. The application of the United Nations Convention on

the Law of the Sea, which extended the rule of law to

over two thirds of the Earth’s surface, has contributed

more than any single undertaking to the furtherance of

that goal. Against this background, Iceland particularly

welcomes the fact that this Convention, a crowning

achievement in the progressive development of

international law under the auspices of the United

Nations, will come into force in only a few weeks’ time.

My country remains strongly committed to the

establishment of an international regime governing all

aspects of the utilization of living marine resources,

including the high seas. For this reason, Iceland has

actively supported the drafting of a legally binding and

comprehensive instrument that would ensure the effective

management and conservation of fisheries outside the

economic zone of the coastal State. In Iceland’s view,

this goal could best be achieved by establishing regional

fisheries management organizations or arrangements open

to States with legitimate interests in the relevant fisheries.

Such provisions should not, however, be understood as

implying approval of existing forms of cooperation based,

in some instances, on unilateral decisions by a few States

20

aimed at excluding other neighbouring States,

notwithstanding the latter’s overwhelming dependence on

and proximity to the fisheries in question. Indeed,

unjustified discrimination would defeat the very aim of

establishing a new high seas fisheries regime for the benefit

of all nations.

The global challenge of development calls for bold

new thinking, backed by the solid commitment of the

international community to the goals enshrined in the

United Nations Charter. It also demands that we try to

establish consensus on the restructuring and reform of our

Organization in the near future. Efforts must be made to

improve the representational capacity and efficiency of the

Security Council and at the same time preserve the

constitutional balance between the various organs of the

Organization, not least between the Council and the General

Assembly.

We find ourselves on the threshold of a new era. Yet,

we are far from having rid ourselves completely of the

legacy of the cold war, which includes immense quantities

of armaments and the technology for producing them. It

would certainly be disastrous if the recent transformation of

the international security environment were to be

undermined by the growing proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction.

In this connection, my Government deems it of the

utmost importance that the Convention on chemical

weapons enter into force next year and that the Convention

on Biological Weapons be further reinforced. In addition,

the indefinite and unconditional extension of the

non-proliferation Treaty would be the single most

significant measure against the proliferation of nuclear

weapons. This should be followed up by universal

adherence to the nuclear-test moratorium and the conclusion

of a comprehensive test-ban treaty.

As we inaugurate the second half-century of the

United Nations, what better gift could the community of

nations bestow on itself? And in what better way could we

make a clean break with the cold war era?