Kingdom of the Netherlands, 2007

I would like to begin by congratulating Mr. Kerim on his election as

President of the General Assembly. I would also like to

wish our Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, every

success at his first full session of the General Assembly

since taking office. He has been very active in his first

nine months. The Netherlands fully supports his efforts

to promote peace and development in the world and to

make the United Nations more effective.

I am convinced that the success or failure of the

United Nations depends on three fundamental factors.

The first is how much inspiration we draw from our

common values: respect for human rights, for the rule

of law and for our planet. The second is how much we

shoulder our responsibility as members of the

international community. And the third is how

successful we are in making the United Nations more

relevant and in increasing the impact of the

international community. I will deal with each of these

three themes in turn respect, responsibility and

relevance.

Next year it will be 60 years since the General

Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights (resolution 217 A (III)). The values contained in

that Declaration and in the conventions based on it are

our source of inspiration. In its preamble, the

Declaration sets out our mission: “the advent of a

world in which human beings shall enjoy freedom of

speech and belief and freedom from fear and want”.

For the past 60 years, those values have been our moral

compass, our common standard of achievement.

Whatever our differences of opinion, we must never

lose sight of that common ideal. We all agree that

every human being deserves a chance to build a good

life. Respect for human rights and the rule of law is our

deepest motive and our highest aspiration. Our

diversity rests on that unity. We should not hesitate to

hold one another to account.

As we speak, the situation in one country in

particular calls for urgent action by the international

community. In Burma, the military are shooting at

monks and civilians, who are demonstrating peacefully.

We strongly condemn that brutal use of force. Together

with the European Union and the United States, we call

on the Security Council to discuss the situation

urgently and to consider further steps, including

sanctions. Should the Security Council not reach

agreement, we will shoulder our responsibility. In that

case, I am convinced the European Union and the

United States will decide on further measures, together

with other well-intentioned countries.

When it comes to human rights and the rule of

law, I am not talking about abstractions. Every child

that can go to school, every family that can live in

peace and freedom with its neighbours and every

country that enjoys prosperity and tolerance is a step

towards fulfilling our dream.

Values connect us across our cultures and

religions. We must not allow cultural or religious

differences to create barriers to open dialogue. Asma

Jahangir, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on

freedom of religion or belief, tells us that religious

freedom is under threat in many parts of the world. So,

we have a lot to do.

The Netherlands wants to join forces with all

those who want to promote tolerance and dialogue

between civilizations. But we must not allow that

dialogue to put the universal validity of our common

values in question. We know from experience how

fundamental our shared values are. The Netherlands is

one country in the world. But in a sense, we are also

the world in one country. Our capital, Amsterdam, is

home to 177 nationalities. We have learned that only

through unity in diversity can we make progress,

locally, nationally and internationally. That means that

the rule of law must be strictly enforced so that people

can feel safe. It also means that we need to be more

tolerant and willing to take a critical look at ourselves.

Stressing our differences leads to polarization and

solves nothing.

We owe respect not only to one another, but also

to our planet. It gives us everything we need, provided

that we treat its natural resources wisely and do not

upset its natural balance. That is why sustainability is

one of our most important values. A value is not

something that we possess. It is not an achievement

that we can boast about. A value is a task, an incentive

to action. Cherishing values automatically means

accepting responsibility.

Membership of the United Nations goes hand in

hand with moral responsibility. It means more than

attending meetings and even paying our dues. It also

means keeping our commitments. The treaties we sign

must not remain a dead letter. Human rights must be

respected. The Netherlands is proud to contribute, for

example as a member and a Vice-President of the

Human Rights Council.

In 2005 the United Nations adopted the principle

of the responsibility to protect. In doing so, we sided

with all those suffering from genocide or crimes

against humanity. It is now time to put that principle

into practice. The United Nations has a key

responsibility as a protector of peace and security.

Each of us shares that responsibility. In this age of

rapid communications and global linkage, nothing is

far away anymore. What happens elsewhere affects us

all.

We can only secure lasting peace in areas of

conflict if we combine defence with development and

diplomacy. We are putting that concept into practice in

the Afghan province of Uruzgan, together with our

Australian partners and other allies. It is a difficult and

demanding mission under United Nations mandate. The

international community must not abandon Afghanistan

to its fate. The hopes of millions of Afghans rest with

us. The United Nations needs to broaden and intensify

its role in Afghanistan.

The Peacebuilding Commission has a vital role to

play in bridging the gap between conflict and

development. In the past year, it has worked hard to

help several African countries that are on the difficult

road of reconstruction after being torn apart by

conflict. The Netherlands is actively supporting that

very promising approach, which focuses on prevention.

Assembly President Kerim has drawn attention to

another responsibility we all share: the need for prompt

action to tackle the problem of climate change. The

industrialized countries and that means all of

them should take the lead. But the countries that are

now enjoying rapid economic growth are also being

asked to develop more sustainably. The future lies with

those countries that excel in energy conservation and

the use of cleaner technologies. We are not yet making

sufficient use of the scope that innovation offers us.

The Netherlands wants to be a front-runner, not

only in our ambition to sharply reduce greenhouse gas

emissions, but also in developing new strategies to deal

with the negative effects of climate change. It is

important to take climate and nature into account in all

our investments. The most vulnerable developing

countries deserve more support in tackling the

problems they face.

In December, at the Bali Climate Change

Conference, the United Nations has a unique

opportunity to take charge of the situation and create a

united global framework for addressing the climate

problem. European government leaders would like to

see negotiations start in Bali on a follow-up to Kyoto.

The Netherlands and its European partners will do all

they can to accomplish that.

Responsibility also means ongoing efforts to

make the United Nations more relevant. The United

Nations is the platform for seeking global solutions to

global problems. The world needs an effective United

Nations. How can we be more effective, efficient and

credible? We need to strengthen the rule of law and put

an end to impunity. We are not yet making full use of

the instruments we have. I say this as Prime Minister of

a country that is proud to have the legal capital of the

world The Hague within its borders. Without

justice, there can be no lasting peace and no

reconciliation. We would like to see the jurisdiction of

the International Court of Justice and the International

Criminal Court accepted more widely. We stress the

need for cooperation by both member and non-member

States with the International Criminal Court in general

and with regard to the execution of arrest warrants in

particular.

The Netherlands will continue to make a special

effort to promote the international legal order. That is

why we have responded positively to the Secretary-

General’s request to host the Lebanon tribunal in the

Netherlands. Preparations for that tribunal are in full

swing.

Enforcing the rule of law is not enough to make

the United Nations more relevant. We also need to keep

a critical eye on how we work. Let us resist the

temptation to invest too much energy in resolutions we

adopt every year. It is better to invest in strengthening

confidence between North and South, West and East.

People and resources are scarce. We can only spend

each euro once. If we want to achieve our common

aims, such as the Millennium Development Goals, we

need to coordinate our efforts.

Several dozen United Nations agencies are active

around the world. We have planted a forest of United

Nations flags in various countries. We need a more

unified approach in order to help the poorest

developing countries more. We can work far more

efficiently if we pool our resources in a single

programme in each country. That makes demands on

donors. Several countries, including the Netherlands,

now fund various United Nations organizations on the

basis of multi-year plans. I hope that others will follow

suit.

The Netherlands supports the Secretary-General’s

efforts to reform the United Nations system and the

Security Council. Reforms are never easy, but they are

essential. In a world that is changing at breakneck

speed, we need multilateral institutions that can

respond to new developments. A relevant United

Nations means a dynamic United Nations with

dynamic institutions.

Reforms are sometimes seen as giving up

certainties. I am convinced that we need to reform in

order to safeguard what we all hold dear: respect for

human rights, enforcement of the rule of law and

sustainable development for all nations. Those values

are the lifeblood of the United Nations. Respect for our

values means taking joint responsibility. Responsibility

means a constant effort to make the United Nations

more relevant. We want our values to take concrete

form in the twenty-first century in people’s lives and in

international relations. That demands unity of purpose,

courage and resolution from us all. Above all, it

requires ambition, the ambition to make a determined

effort while respecting our differences to realize

our common ideals. What we need in the twenty-first

century is united values, united ideals, a united world

and the United Nations.