Latvia, 1999

It is a great honour for me to address the

Assembly at its fifty-fourth session, and its President, Mr.

Theo-Ben Gurirab. You may be assured, Sir, of my

highest respect, and may I extend to you my best wishes

for success in your efforts.

This fifty-fourth Assembly, the last before the year

2000, inevitably gives us food for thought. On the one

hand, it urges us to turn to the achievements and the

major successes of which the United Nations can rightly

be proud. On the other hand, it urges us to rise to all the

challenges which the new millennium will not fail to put

before us. May our debates here help establish peace and

security throughout the world, settle conflicts and develop

innovative solutions to the problems we will have to face.

The noble ideals which have guided the United

Nations over the years have neither become outdated nor

lost their relevance. Peace in the world, combating

poverty, defending human rights — this is a programme

which is still in force and whose goals could not be more

clear-cut. It is rather like the struggle of the mythical hero

against the Hydra: he cuts off one head and nine more

grow in its place. Nevertheless, we cannot possibly give

up the fight and we must not drop our guard, not if the

world we wish to build is a civilized one.

8

(spoke in English)

The fifty-fourth General Assembly of the United

Nations is being held at a time when the United Nations

system has experienced a certain amount of strain and is

faced with important challenges. These have given rise to

questions about the effectiveness and the very relevance of

this body within the contemporary international system.

This scepticism ranges from concerns about the capability

of the Organization to address regional conflicts and the

needs of the developing world, to concerns about budgetary

management problems. No doubt there is some basis for

each of those concerns. Nevertheless, they should not

undermine the fundamental importance of a truly global

Organization which over a period of decades has earned

respect around the world. Our ranks are constantly growing,

and the United Nations continues to approach the goal of

truly worldwide representation.

Let me take this opportunity to congratulate the

Republic of Kiribati, the Republic of Nauru and the

Kingdom of Tonga upon their admission to United Nations

membership.

The reform process of the United Nations is under

way, and my country, Latvia, fully supports it. After all,

Member States are the ones that set the agenda of the

Organization, and it will be the quality and commitment of

each State that will ultimately determine the success or

failure of our common efforts.

Some of the negative feelings about the United

Nations stem from excessive expectations. One cannot view

the United Nations as a panacea, particularly where

decisions on long-lasting regional problems are concerned

or when preventive actions on a regional level are long

overdue. Yet even in those situations a modern United

Nations system is expected to seek earlier and more

effective involvement than was the case in South-East

Europe, East Timor or the Middle East. It must be stressed

that the painful refugee crisis of Kosovo could not possibly

be resolved without the direct involvement of the United

Nations and its institutions. But, sadly, the maximum

potential of the United Nations cannot always be utilized

because of prejudice, lack of political will or perceived

political ambitions. Let us not forget that the costs of our

reluctance to take action are extremely high: too often our

reluctance results in the deaths of innocent people and is

the cause of wholesale destruction which may take years

and decades to remedy.

The topical issues of cooperation, conflict

prevention, non-proliferation, arms control and

disarmament, humanitarian questions, environmental

protection, poverty eradication and gender equality need

to be addressed on a global scale. Without a doubt, the

United Nations and its institutions must play an

increasingly important role in resolving these issues.

Since the mandate of the United Nations is to serve

humanity, the United Nations should observe the principle

of universality. The United Nations capacity for conflict

prevention and preventive diplomacy is by no means

exhausted and further attention should be paid to fostering

the observance of these preventive principles throughout

the world.

Even as we speak here today, many people in this

world are suffering at the hands of terrorists or live under

terrorist threat. Any instances of terrorism should be

universally condemned, and steps must be taken to

strengthen the international response to this problem.

For the United Nations to become a truly modern

Organization, it must reflect the new realities of a

changed international context. Reform of the Security

Council remains central to the revitalization programme

of the United Nations and should reflect both the needs of

the international community and present-day realities. The

acquisition or possession of nuclear weapons must no

longer be the basis for super-Power status, and the future

model of the Council will have to reflect this reality. That

model should also make the Council more open to the

views and contributions of smaller States and non-

permanent members.

How does Latvia see its contribution to the new

United Nations? My country is one of those nations that

could not be a part of the United Nations at its inception;

because freedom of choice was forbidden our people

when Latvia lost its independence in 1940, we have

special respect for this principle today. We also reserve a

special place in our hearts for the United Nations because

it was the first international Organization which we joined

after the restoration of independence in 1991. It was a

moment of celebration, pride and even euphoria as justice

prevailed and a long struggle to join the community of

nations finally came to an end.

But our people quickly realized that we were now

setting out along a new road. After a 50-year delay,

Latvia was faced with the task of becoming an equal,

responsible and contributing member of a new Europe

and a new, globalized international community.

9

Membership in the United Nations was just the first

step along that road towards reasserting our national and

our human rights. More importantly, we recognized our

responsibility to help other nations setting out on this path.

Yet, even at the very end of this century, we still

encounter thinking which a priori denies the right of nations

to choose their own destiny. Thankfully, such views are

becoming less and less acceptable as the years go by. For

Latvia, as a free and sovereign nation, the last few years

have been a remarkably successful period of active

integration into the international community, of internal

restructuring, of wide-ranging reforms and societal

regeneration. Fifty years of occupation have left us with a

heavy social, economic and psychological legacy, but we

have made tremendous efforts to overcome this in every

way. The support offered by the United Nations in this

onerous task has been of enormous significance and I

should like to take this opportunity to reiterate the heartfelt

appreciation of Latvia for the invaluable assistance provided

by the United Nations.

During this century Latvia has made a remarkable

turnaround. It has gone from the depths of tragedy to the

heights of success. In a few short years, Latvia has grown

into a politically stable State with strong democratic

institutions and practices. Latvia has restored a thriving

market economy and a deep respect for individual rights

and freedoms. Over the past few years and with the help of

the international community, Latvia has attached particular

importance to the process of forming a fully integrated,

harmonious society. It is a challenging but critically

important task for my country, the more so because of the

burdens imposed by our historical legacy. We perceive it as

an ongoing process that involves many cultural and

educational aspects and includes the important element of

the individual’s right to choose. Our goal is to give each

resident of our country an equal opportunity to contribute

to a civic identity that shares common goals and values

with all Europe. As part of this programme, my country

will continue to attach particular importance to

strengthening the role of the Latvian language and

incorporating minorities into the everyday affairs of the

country.

Latvia believes in complementarity between regional

and global efforts. For Latvia, integration into Europe

remains a high priority but it is not the end of the road.

Integration into the transatlantic security alliance would be

a prudent step but not a sufficient one. For Latvia to

succeed, and for the people of Latvia to have the full

opportunity they deserve to live secure, healthy and

prosperous lives, Latvia must be integrated into the

political, business and intellectual exchange of the global

community.

We are very proud that on 10 February 1999 Latvia

became the first Baltic State to join the World Trade

Organization as a full-fledged member.

Within the range of its capabilities, Latvia has

participated in peace operations in the Balkans and has

contributed to relieving the suffering of Kosovo refugees.

Latvia has been an active contributor to United

Nations revitalization through its membership in the

Economic and Social Council and the Commission on

Human Rights.

Latvia has put forward its candidature for the

Security Council elections in 2005. This spring my

country signed the Statute of the International Criminal

Court and is currently planning the ratification process.

A very visible indication of our appreciation of the

work of the United Nations and a concrete manifestation

of Latvia’s support for the Secretary General’s

programme for United Nations reform is our donation of

a historic, fully renovated building in the centre of our

capital as a shared home for all United Nations agencies

in Latvia. On 16 July this year, and as one of my first

official functions as President, I had the pleasure of

participating in the official inauguration of the United

Nations House in Riga, one of the first United Nations

Houses in Europe and the very first in our region.

I should like to express my country’s full support for

the proposed Millennium Assembly of 2000 and trust that

it will become a landmark in setting our sights for the

twenty-first century.

May the results of the fifty-fourth session of the

General Assembly advance our common cause at the

dawn of the new millennium.