Iceland, 2000

Allow me, Sir, at the

outset to congratulate you heartily on your election to

the Presidency of this General Assembly. Finland is a

close friend and partner within the Nordic community.

We wish you success with this challenging task and

pledge to you the full support of the Icelandic

delegation.

The Millennium Declaration provides the

commitments of the world community in the new

century. To prevent conflicts, maintain international

peace and security and make peace an achievable goal

at the end of armed conflicts, we need to continue

strengthening the United Nations and the international

legal system as a whole. Iceland has always supported

verifiable arms control and arms reduction measures

and will continue to support realistic disarmament

proposals aiming at maximum security with a

minimum of weapons. It is appalling to note the

enormous sums being spent on weapons, while the

money could be used to significantly improve the lives

of millions.

Today, when there is an obvious need to assess

the United Nations ability to conduct peacekeeping

operations, it has proved extremely important to have a

Secretary-General who has such a deep knowledge of

the matter through his own experience. I would like to

commend the Secretary-General for taking the

initiative to ask a panel of prominent experts in the

field to assess the situation. I welcome the Brahimi

report. Its recommendations should be implemented as

soon as possible.

Even though my country does not have a military,

it has been able to participate in peacekeeping

operations. It has done so in the Balkans by providing

medical staff, policemen and experts in the fields of

law, the media and women's rights. We have noted with

interest the recommendations made in the Brahimi

report concerning the non-military aspects of peace

operations. We will be studying them carefully now

that we are in the process of looking into how we can

strengthen our contribution to peacekeeping in the

future.

The report states that expressions of general

support in the form of statements and resolutions must

be followed up with tangible actions. We will be taking

these words of wisdom seriously in our policy-making.

In the preparations for the Millennium Assembly,

the Secretary-General encouraged Member States to

engage more effectively in the international legal

framework by acceding to a number of legal

instruments. One to which Iceland has decided to

accede is the Convention on the Safety of United

Nations and Associated Personnel.

The Security Council has the primary

responsibility for the maintenance of international

peace and security. Unfortunately, it has not succeeded

in reflecting the tremendous changes in the

international arena which have taken place since its

establishment. In order to ensure its credibility in years

to come, the reform process has to be accelerated.

The rules of international law governing the

relations between States are now well established; this

also applies in the fields of human rights and

humanitarian law. These rules set out the rights and

obligations of States and individuals. But ground rules

do not suffice if it is not possible to enforce them.

There are mechanisms to ensure respect and

compliance with these rules, such as the General

Assembly, the Security Council and peacekeeping

missions. As a complement to these mechanisms, an

effective international court system should be available

to bring those who breach these rules to justice, at the

same time serving to deter potential perpetrators.

With this in mind, I believe that the greatest

achievements towards strengthening the international

legal system in recent years have been the

establishment of the International Criminal Tribunals

for the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and for Rwanda

and the adoption of the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court. Iceland has ratified the

Rome Statute and encourages all other States to do so.

I welcome the proposal to include cooperation

between the United Nations and the Council of Europe

in the agenda of this session of the General Assembly. I

had the honour of chairing the Council of Ministers of

the Council of Europe last year. I am therefore well

aware of the important contribution made by the

Council to peace and stability in Europe, especially in

the field of human rights. The United Nations, the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE), the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO), the Council of Europe and other organizations

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responded to the serious situation in the Balkans by

joining forces and working together to make

reconstruction achievable.

In Kosovo, the politically motivated and inter-

ethnic violence must be stopped. Rogue elements

cannot be allowed to destroy possibilities created by

the international community. One ethnic group must

not be allowed to win at the expense of another. The

Kosovars have been provided with a unique

opportunity to build a just community in the region —

a community where the fundamental freedoms and

rights of every individual and minority group are

respected. Only by utilizing this opportunity are

Kosovars going to be able to build a stable foundation

for lasting peace and stability for future generations.

The same can be said about similar situations

elsewhere in the Balkans, such as in Bosnia and

Herzegovina.

The international community has taken on an

enormous task in building a whole new civic structure

within Kosovo. The development of a legal system and

free media have been two challenging tasks. The

elections to take place in October are also going to be

challenging. Hopefully, they can be carried out in an

orderly and peaceful manner.

It is very important to include women in the

political process. In this respect, I would like to

commend the United Nations Development Fund for

Women (UNIFEM) for the good work carried out in

Kosovo, not only in the political field but also in

fighting violence against women and in promoting

women's participation in economic activities.

The importance of human rights in securing long-

term stability and security, both within and between

countries, cannot be overestimated. It is therefore

essential that no compromises be accepted in this field,

and our aims should remain high.

The Security Council should be commended for

discussing the grave humanitarian crisis and security

threat posed by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, particularly in

sub-Saharan Africa, and also for discussing the issue of

children and armed conflict. The discussion in the

Council has served to concentrate the attention of the

international community on these issues and led the

way for others to take the measures required. Both

issues affect children in a very serious manner. I expect

them to feature prominently on the agenda of next

year's special session to follow up the World Summit

for Children. I also welcome the decision to hold a

special session of the General Assembly on the

enormous problem of HIV/AIDS and international

efforts to combat it.

The rights of women were significantly enhanced

with the adoption last year of the Optional Protocol to

the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of

Discrimination against Women. Iceland has signed the

Protocol and is preparing its ratification.

I cannot fail to condemn the terrible plight of

those women around the world who are still enduring

major human rights abuses, including female genital

mutilation and trafficking, as well as severe restrictions

on their freedom of movement and the right to work.

During the Millennium Summit, the Prime

Minister of Iceland signed the two Optional Protocols

to the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Iceland

welcomes their adoption and hopes that they will

further secure the human rights of children.

We have to put extra effort into working towards

the elimination of racial discrimination. It is worrying

to note the trend towards increasing racism and

xenophobia in certain parts of the world, including

Europe. This needs to be fought at all levels. The

World Conference to be held in South Africa next year

will without doubt play an important role. Iceland

welcomes this Conference and feels that, in the light of

history, South Africa is a very appropriate venue for it.

As reflected in the report of the Secretary-

General, “We the peoples”, fighting poverty remains

one of the main challenges to the United Nations.

People living in poverty do not have the opportunity to

exercise many of their fundamental rights and

freedoms. They cannot benefit from the possibilities of

globalization. We need to reverse the current trend, as

decided at the Millennium Summit. But more needs to

be done. Globalization and new technologies offer

many opportunities to reduce poverty at a faster rate

than in the past.

We have been strengthening our development

cooperation, both bilaterally and multilaterally. At the

bilateral level, we have concentrated on a group of

African countries with a focus on strengthening their

fishing industry and education and health areas, with

the potential to positively alter the lives of people in

need. On the multilateral level, we will be contributing

to the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative

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through the World Bank and the International Monetary

Fund.

Most of our decisions are based on compromises,

in which each and every one of us has to give a little in

order to reach an agreement. It is very important to

keep this in mind, not only when we discuss substance,

but also when the time comes for us to pay our dues,

both to the regular budget and to the peacekeeping

budget. It is crucial for the good functioning of this

Organization that all Members pay their contributions

fully, on time and without any conditions.

In recent years, the oceans of the world have

received increased attention in the General Assembly.

We welcome this development. Iceland's economy is

based on the sustainable harvest of living marine

resources. The health and responsible stewardship of

the oceans are therefore of critical importance to us.

Last year, we resolved to improve United Nations

coordination in the area of ocean affairs. Towards that

end, we established an Informal Consultative Process

to discuss the Secretary-General's report on the oceans

and the law of the sea. I was pleased with the

implementation of this decision of the first Meeting of

this Process last spring.

However, we must act carefully when seeking to

improve our coordination and cooperation in this area.

Ocean issues must be addressed at the appropriate level

and be consistent with the rights and obligations laid

down in the Convention on the Law of the Sea. We

must fully respect the sovereign right of States over

their natural resources and the competence of existing

international organizations. Above all, the integrity of

the Convention must be preserved. We must be mindful

that the Convention provides the legal framework

within which all activities in the oceans and seas must

be carried out.

The United Nations specialized agencies have an

important role to play in promoting the conservation

and sustainable use of the oceans. A key area in this

respect is marine scientific research. We need more

accurate and policy-oriented information on the state of

the oceans. Coordination towards that end would be a

worthy task for the new Informal Consultative Process

on Ocean Affairs.

At the onset of a new millennium, it is more

pressing than ever before to ensure the access of people

in the developing countries, especially in rural areas, to

readily available and sustainable energy. Today, about

one third of the world's population does not have such

access, and this situation is obviously a serious

obstacle to the development of these communities. In

my country, we have been able to bring sustainable

energy to all households in the country. We are sharing

our experience and knowledge with the developing

countries through the United Nations University

Geothermal Training Programme, which is located in

Iceland and funded by my Government.

The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio created a

momentum for building a secure future for humankind

and life on Earth under the banner of sustainable

development. Soon, world leaders will meet again at a

global conference to take stock of the progress made in

meeting these challenges, laid down in Agenda 21 and

the other Rio agreements. It is indeed true that we have

not been able to live up to all the expectations raised in

Rio, but we should not fail to acknowledge the

progress that we have made.

The concept of sustainable development has truly

become accepted as a fundamental guiding strategy in

environmental and socio-economic affairs. In my own

country, which is dependent on fisheries, we believe

that we are reaping the benefits of the sustainable-use

regime for our fish stocks in the form of a healthy

ecosystem and a robust economy. Regional and

international efforts to prevent the pollution of the

oceans have continued to gather strength and we can

expect further efforts, in particular to control pollution

from land-based sources.

It is my belief that, in charting a course for the

future, we should be looking at success stories and

learning from them, rather than concentrating on the

obstacles we face. Let us be guided by the doers, but

not the doom-sayers.