Malta, 1992

It is with a special sense of

satisfaction that I wish to congratulate Mr. Ganev on his unanimous election

to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-seventh session. His

country, Bulgaria, is a protagonist in an exhilarating democratization and

liberalization process that is transforming a whole region and has already

ushered in a new era in international relations. It is therefore most

appropriate that, as a representative of his country and his region, he should

be presiding over the General Assembly in these momentous and challenging

times.

The exceptional nature of our times is reflected in the fact that over

the last eight months 13 countries have become Members of the United Nations.

We welcome these new Members, many of which are a direct product of the

dramatic developments of the last few years. Their membership constitutes a

further welcome affirmation of the universality of our Organisation.

In January this year a new Secretary-General took over the charge of the

United Nations. His Excellency Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali is a most respected

and long-time friend of Malta. He has brought an impressive dose of energy

and intellectual force to the task of restructuring the United Nations on the

solid foundations left by his predecessor. The international community is

indeed most fortunate in having individuals of such high calibre and

dedication consistently in its service.

Bold and far-sighted leadership is of critical importance at the present

juncture of international relations. Ours is a time when major challenges and

exceptional opportunities compete with each other for attention and action; a

time when hope, rather than fear, colours humanity's vision of its future - a

vision which places the individual at the centre of all activity and which

sees as an ultimate and cherished objective the creation of a just and

prosperous community of nations living in peace and harmony with each other.

Events over the past 12 months have brought home the reality that the

demise of the cold war did not automatically usher in the era of uninterrupted

peace, stability and prosperity to which we are all aspiring. Vast problems

still remain in the political, social and economic spheres, and at the

national, regional and international levels. What is new today is the

possibility for the whole international community to consider these problems

as a shared burden standing in the path of a common vision. We therefore

strive for their resolution on the basis of practical cooperation rather than

seek to exploit them divisively in the framework of ideological confrontation.

At first glance, the emerging world order presents a dark tapestry of

rekindled ethnic and national rivalries, massive economic disparities,

extensive and irreversible environmental degradation, and horrific instances

of human suffering. In the context of what is happening in the former

Yugoslavia, in Somalia, and elsewhere, it may indeed sound ironic to identify

the spirit of cooperation as the touchstone of this new world order.

Yet these unprecedented problems of our times have also generated an

unprecedented determination for cooperative action at both the regional and

the global levels. In cases like Yugoslavia and Somalia, the efforts so far

undertaken have fallen far short of the needs. Yet the international

community persists in its collective endeavour to achieve a peaceful solution

of these problems. In this it finds encouragement in the progress being

achieved elsewhere, especially in Cambodia, in Central America and in Angola.

A few days ago Malta joined a large majority of the United Nations

membership in deciding to deny the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia Serbia and

Montenegro its claim to succeed the former Socialist Federal Republic of

Yugoslavia, and consequently in calling upon it to reapply for United Nations

membership in conformity with the provisions of the Charter. We did so in the

light of our shared abhorrence of the atrocities that are taking place in the

region of former Yugoslavia.

In the Middle East, the peace process launched in Madrid last year

continues upon its fragile but persistent path. In South Africa, the hopes

for an early and peaceful dismantlement of the policy of apartheid have ebbed

and flowed in recent months in the wake of alternately encouraging and tragic

events. In these instances too, however, the collective determination of the

international community to promote a peaceful and lasting resolution of

long-standing problems, on the basis of principles contained in relevant

United Nations resolutions, is pre-eminent. Equally steadfast is the

collective determination to bring peace and justice to other still-troubled

peoples around the globe, in particular the peoples of Cyprus, of Afghanistan

and of Mozambique.

In the year of the Rio Conference we are perhaps particularly conscious

of the fact that the equitable and sustainable economic and social development

of all peoples is not only a major objective in its own right; it is an

indivisible component of international peace and security. The sharp economic

and social disparities which continue to intensify, both within and among

nations, pose a direct challenge to the hopes for peace and security raised by

the emerging new order in international relations.

There is growing recognition of the fact that an approach to these

problems must be rooted in the notion of global economic interdependence a

notion that must inspire concrete action at the global, as well as at the

regional, level on such questions as international trade, financial flows,

transfer of technology and debt relief. Major projects of regional

cooperation, such as those that are taking place in North America, Western

Europe and South-East Asia should therefore be conceived of as stepping-stones

towards increased trade and economic cooperation at the global level, rather

than as attempts to create a set of monolithic and competing trading blocs in

different parts of the world.

A successful and balanced outcome of the Uruguay Round of multilateral

trade negotiations would go a long way towards providing the necessary

defences against any insidious and harmful fragmentation of world trade.

The disappearance of super-Power confrontation has perhaps had its most

direct and visible impact in the field of disarmament. At the bilateral

level, there have already been significant reductions in the nuclear and

conventional arsenals of the two major Powers. The prospects for an

indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

and for a comprehensive test-ban treaty are encouraging. At its current

session the General Assembly will be considering a draft convention for a

comprehensive ban on chemical armaments, including their means of delivery,

which has been finalized by the Conference on Disarmament.

Malta welcomes these developments and expresses the hope that they are

the precursors to further cuts in strategic arsenals, especially as regards

weapons of mass destruction, thereby releasing resources to be used for

much-needed development purposes. At the same time, however, we should not

lose sight of other, less rosy, aspects of the disarmament question, that now,

more than before, assume greater relevance in the context of efforts towards

reducing tensions and enhancing international security. This is the case in

particular with regard to regional disarmament.

The proliferation of armaments, conventional or otherwise, at the

regional level is a matter of serious concern. It is a factor that directly

and negatively affects security and stability at both regional and broader

levels. At the same time, it absorbs scarce resources that could otherwise be

utilized for economic and social development.

The European experience, through the Conference on Security and

Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), has been that the progressive reduction of

mutual suspicion through the adoption of confidence- and security-building

measures plays a significant role in creating the necessary conditions for

disarmament at the regional level. Transparency is an important aspect of

confidence-building.

In this context, the setting up by the General Assembly last year of the

Register of Conventional Arms was an important first step, which Malta had

indeed advocated as far back as the late 1960s. It is hoped that this

initiative will be followed up, within the various regions, by determined

efforts towards other concrete measures of confidence building.

The United Nations system is today being called upon to play a

determining role in a vast and bewildering array of problems. Our

Organization was originally conceived in the perspective of global

cooperation, not of super-Power confrontation. After a 45-year gap, it is

only now, with the dawning of an era of cooperation, that it can therefore

begin to operate fully in pursuit of its essential vocation for peace and

understanding among nations. It is essential that we all play our part in

ensuring that it has the necessary resources, and appropriate structures, to

fulfil its tasks.

The original United Nations structures combine the principle of equality

with the pragmatic differentiation of roles and responsibilities arising from

different capabilities and historical circumstances. In the field of peace

and international security, the two complementary poles of the United Nations

system are the General Assembly and the Security Council. A dynamic

relationship between these two organs remains the prerequisite for the

credible and effective functioning of the United Nations in the field of peace

and international security.

Many of the issues related to these matters have been impressively

examined in two reports prepared by the Secretary-General during the course of

this year. The first is the report entitled "An Agenda for Peace". The

second is his first annual report to the General Assembly. These reports

contain a wealth of new ideas and proposals dealing with the evolving role of

the United Nations in preventive diplomacy, peacemaking and peace-keeping, and

the promotion of economic and social development. These ideas provide us with

an excellent stimulus to rethink the role that the United Nations can and

needs to play if the end of the cold war is to become the beginning of a

constructive peace.

In his reports, the Secretary-General also pays special attention to

regional cooperation, which is increasingly being seen as a useful, indeed a

necessary, complement to multilateral action at the global level.

Perhaps what is most needed in this regard is that regional and global

actions be better harmonized and made to dovetail into each other. This is

one reason why Malta proposed to the CSCE and the proposal was endorsed at

the Helsinki summit in July that the CSCE be designated as a regional

arrangement under Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter.

Likewise, Malta has been urging for some years that the provisions for

the establishment of technology development centres related to regional seas

envisaged in the Convention on the Law of the Sea be put into effect in such

obvious contexts as the Mediterranean, the Caribbean and the South Pacific.

We have also urged that these functional centres should illustrate the new

concepts of governance that have emerged as most appropriate to the new world

order that is, their governing bodies should include not only

representatives of States, but also non-governmental bodies, whether set up on

a national or on a plurinational basis. Such centres would be geared both to

encouraging the transfer of technology and also, and perhaps more important,

to promoting co-development of new, locally adapted technology.

As a European country, Malta seeks to participate as actively as possible

in the many-faceted and far-reaching initiatives for regional cooperation that

are unfolding on the European continent. Recent developments in our region

have injected new life and vigour into longstanding institutions such as the

Council of Europe and the Economic Commission for Europe, whose pioneering

role in many areas of economic and social development at the regional level

has always been recognized. From the darkest days of the cold war, the CSCE

sought its vocation in the merging of the strict issues of disarmament with

the wider aspects of cooperation in the economic, social and humanitarian

fields. For nearly four decades the European Community has slowly and

painstakingly forged a path towards regional economic and political

integration which, in spite of the present difficulties, represents the best

guarantee for a secure and prosperous future for all the peoples of this

historically troubled continent.

Malta sees in its aspiration to become a full member of the European

Community a natural culmination of its European identity and of the role it

has played over the years in promoting European cooperation, within the

Council of Europe, the Economic Commission for Europe and the CSCE. For us,

membership of the European Community is an overriding political objective

founded upon the conviction that such membership offers us the best prospects

for political, economic and social development while permitting us to play our

rightful role in a unique experiment for regional integration.

Our geographical location in the centre of the Mediterranean has also

made us conscious of the issues which were so effectively highlighted at this

year's United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, notably the

awareness of the fragility of our planet Earth and the intimate relationship

that exists between human development and ecological stability. The General

Assembly at this session has an important task in following up the decisions

taken at Rio, with regard both to the implementation of the proposals and

recommendations contained in Agenda 21 and also to the establishment of the

new commission for sustainable development.

In this context, Malta shares the view that, in the endeavour to

restructure and adapt the United Nations system better to deal with the issues

of the new world order, a revitalized role could be found for the Trusteeship

Council as a guardian of the common heritage of future generations, to replace

its fast disappearing role as trustee of dependent Territories.

Over the 28 years of its United Nations membership, Malta has taken

particular pride in identifying its commitment to multilateralism, especially

through its many initiatives on issues related to the environment as it

constitutes a common concern of mankind. It is worth noting that this year

marks the twenty-fifth anniversary of Malta's proposal to the General Assembly

that the seabed and ocean floor be reserved exclusively in the interests of

mankind. Also this year we have been gratified to see our latest initiative,

related to the protection of climate for present and future generations,

resulting in the signing of the Framework Convention on Climate Change by over

150 nations. We earnestly hope that the ratification of the Convention will

proceed quickly to ensure its early coming into force.

The basic starting-point and the goal of our activities is the well-being

of the individual in society. The importance of the human dimension in all

our endeavours should not and cannot be underestimated. It is in this context

that Malta attaches fundamental importance to issues of human rights. Over

the years, the United Nations has elaborated major instruments relating to

human rights, starting with the Universal Declaration and leading up to the

Covenants on civil and political, economic, social and cultural rights, and

the Convention against torture, to all of which Malta is a party.

Collective action aimed at ensuring the effective protection of the

rights enshrined in these documents should not, in our view, be unduly

constrained by arguments over issues of national sovereignty. We believe that

the Commission on Human Rights and other relevant bodies should have their

mandates enlarged beyond their present monitoring role along the lines of the

relevant institutions within the Council of Europe. We look forward to the

United Nations Conference on Human Rights due to be held in Vienna next year,

in the hope that effective and bold steps will be taken in the endeavour

further to safeguard and guarantee the fullest possible enjoyment of human

rights at the individual level throughout the world.

This year the General Assembly will be holding special commemorations on

the conclusion of the Decade for Disabled Persons and on the tenth anniversary

of the adoption of the International Action Plan for the Elderly. Over the

years, Malta has taken an active role on the question of the elderly and the

aged, a subject which it first brought to the attention of the General

Assembly in the late 1960s. Today Malta hosts an International Institute on

Aging that plays a leading role in the promotion of new ideas and training in

the field of ageing.

1995, the year marking the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations,

will be devoted to two important conferences relating to social development

the World Summit on Social Development and the Fourth World Conference on

Women. We welcome these, together with the 1994 International Conference on

Population and Development, as a further indication of the growing commitment

of our Organization to the importance of the human dimension in international

cooperation a commitment which has been reinforced by the recent creation of

the Office of Humanitarian Affairs within the Secretariat and which, as our

Secretary-General so eloquently states in his report to the General Assembly,

is renewed daily through the quiet heroism of the many individuals working in

the field under the aegis of the United Nations throughout the globe.

In spite of the many difficulties and recognized weaknesses, we all

acknowledge how fortunate our generation is in its possession of such a global

organization as the United Nations, founded upon a Charter which encapsulates

the highest and most lasting ideals of humankind. It is my privilege to take

this opportunity to rededicate the commitment of the Government and people of

Malta to the United Nations.