Monaco, 2002

First of all I wish to thank the President of the

fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, His

Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for the masterful way

in which he accomplished his work. I would also like

to thank the members of his Bureau. Significant

progress was made during the session we recently

finished. One item in particular concerns us as it

involves the conduct and revitalization of our

proceedings.

Secondly, I would like to take this opportunity to

welcome the decision of the Secretary-General to

appoint, as of 12 September 2002, Mr. Sergio Vieira de

Mello to succeed Her Excellency Mrs. Mary Robinson

as United Nations High Commissioner for Human

Rights. My Government has always appreciated Mrs.

Robinson's wholehearted commitment and knows it

can count on Mr. Vieira de Mello, who has many times

shown his competence and his dedication to the

Organization, to show just as much commitment in

promoting and protecting human rights.

I am very pleased at the outset of the fifty-

seventh session of the General Assembly to

congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the

presidency both on my own account and on behalf of

the highest authorities of my country, as well as to

congratulate all the members of the Bureau. I pledge

the full support and cooperation of the delegation of

Monaco to help them complete their important work.

One year ago, an attack, as vile as it was

cowardly, struck the United States of America. That

day its instigators and perpetrators placed themselves

not only outside of the law, but outside humanity,

outside of the universal fundamental values and

principles that inspire our nations and guide the ethical,

political, economic and social progress of States. That

wanton act provoked an unprecedented reaction from

the international community. It unanimously gave the

members of the Security Council and the General

Assembly sophisticated means to fight terrorism in all

its forms, including by cutting off its financial

resources.

The Principality of Monaco participated in this

fight with determination in response to requests by the

Security Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee.

In broadening information exchange with other States,

both bilaterally and multilaterally, we established or

strengthened monitoring and surveillance measures

which were necessary in the of legislative, regulatory,

and judicial spheres.

On 10 November 2001 I personally signed the

International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism, which entered into force in

Monaco on 8 April 2002, and our Permanent

Representative to the United Nations, on instructions

from my father, the Sovereign Prince, signed on 24

June 2002 Protocol Against the Illicit Manufacturing of

Trafficking in Firearms, Their Parts and Components

and Ammunition, supplementing the United Nations

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.

The Principality of Monaco, in fact, is or will be

a party to all major universal and regional instruments

designed to strengthen cooperation among nations to

fight against terrorism. This has greatly enhanced our

cooperation with other States.

In that regard I must make reference to a law

which was adopted unanimously last June by our

National Council, the parliament of Monaco, and

which entered into force on 8 August 2002. This law

amends, strengthens and supplements the existing law

on the involvement of financial entities in the fight

against money-laundering and financing terrorism. The

text takes into account Monaco's undertakings as a

United Nations Member State as well as measures

anticipated by competent bodies such as the Financial

Action Task Force.

Also on 8 August 2002, the authorities of my

country were happy to have implemented the Council

of Europe Convention on Laundering, Search, Seizure

and Confiscation of the Proceeds from Crime, even

though the Principality of Monaco, while fervently

hoping to be so, is not yet a member of that noble

European institution. I also wish to note the speed and

relevance of my country's response, especially since

8

our country is sometimes subjected to unjustified and

incorrect criticism in this area.

While terrorist threats persist and while civilian

populations continue, unfortunately, to be subjected to

the yoke of terror, the origin and form of this plague

seem now to be better understood and under greater

control. Measures, both national and international,

have been implemented with the help of the Security

Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)

and seem to be yielding encouraging results. The

strengthening and broadening of the mandate of the

Terrorism Prevention Branch, as the Secretary-General

has proposed in the report requested by our Assembly,

seems to meet all of the conditions we need to upgrade

the fight against terrorism, not only by allowing us to

bolster cooperation among United Nations Member

States, but also by providing enhanced technical

assistance to countries that ask for it.

Thanks to a prompt and effective international

reaction, Afghanistan, for too long a home to terrorists,

has regained its freedom. Its new provisional

Government, which emerged from the traditional

assembly, the Loya Jerga, last June, has endeavoured,

particularly with the help of our Organization, to

rebuild the country and to establish a democratic

political regime. We wish it full success.

Another area of satisfaction on the part of the

international community is the nuclear disarmament

agreement that was adopted last May by the two great

Powers, the United States of America and the Russian

Federation. Other events in the world are also hopeful.

The Republic of Sierra Leone and the Republic of

Angola are taking steps towards recovery in a peaceful

and democratic spirit. Encouraging signs of hope are

seen everywhere. In Africa, we again fervently hope

for the success of the peace initiatives in Burundi and

in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). A

calming of the situation in the Sudan is also of great

interest to us.

The Organization of African Unity (OAU), which

became the African Union last July, has played an

invaluable role in reinforcing harmony between

African peoples. We are following this undertaking

with intense interest, as it took on a new dimension this

year. We take this opportunity to address to His

Excellency, Mr. Amara Essy, Interim Chairperson of

the Commission of the African Union, our sincere

congratulations and encouragements.

In Latin America, we see with hope that some

countries, whose economic and financial conditions

were once in bad shape, are in the process of recovery,

thanks in particular to the help of international

financial institutions.

In Asia, finally, the prudence shown by the

leaders of India and Pakistan over the border disputes

has led to the reduction of tension in Kashmir. We are

sincerely grateful for this. This is an excellent step,

similarly to the one taken by Sri Lanka, which has

renewed the dialogue with the Tamil separatists so as to

put an end to too much suffering.

Another source of satisfaction is Timor-Leste,

which with the effective and valuable help of our

Organization was able to successfully achieve

independence and acquire political and financial

structures that are crucial to its development. We are

therefore happy to welcome very soon, the Democratic

Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations. We are

also quite happy to welcome the admission of the

Swiss Confederation as a Member State.

Switzerland has always been, particularly since

the creation of the League of Nations in Geneva, a

steadfast participant in the international promotion of

peace, human rights and humanitarian protection. Our

congratulations and wishes for success and prosperity

are formulated to those two States, to their leaders and

to their people.

The United Nations needs them more than ever

now, and also needs all the good will and talent

possible to meet the high ambitions that we set for

ourselves when the Organization was created,

ambitions renewed firmly and solemnly at the

Millennium Summit, as well as during the large

international meetings that followed.

My country is committed to implementing the

action plans adopted during those exceptional

meetings. Our special session on children and the

second World Assembly on Ageing have tangibly

changed the perception that the international

community had of children and seniors. Both must

become actors who are more integrated and active

within our societies.

While deciding to increase its voluntary

contributions to the large programmes of the United

Nations aimed at development and the protection of the

environment, the Government of Monaco has at the

9

same time decided to concentrate its efforts on specific

areas and specific regions. The Mediterranean region is

an example of our fight against marine pollution that

aims to save regional flora and fauna. My Government,

whether through its Office for International

Cooperation for Development and the Environment, or

through non-governmental organizations (NGOs),

which are numerous and active in Monaco, is

encouraging the implementation of specific projects,

projects that are essentially ecological in nature,

depending often on the availability of micro-credits.

As regards the Mediterranean Sea, next 10

December we will be celebrating the twentieth

anniversary of the United Nations Convention on the

Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). It was indeed on 10

December 1982 that that text was open for ratification

by States at Montego Bay in Jamaica. It was the result

of almost 15 years of negotiations, which we will

solemnly celebrate on this coming occasion.

There are particularly difficult times, such as the

present moment, when the status quo is not good

enough, times when we must show determination in

order to bring innovative ideas to meet the fundamental

changes going on throughout the world. The Secretary-

General, whose dynamic nature and wisdom we

appreciate, mentions this in his report on the follow-up

to the major conferences organized by the United

Nations at different summits, including the Millennium

Summit. The report is important and timely.

The substantive session of the Economic and

Social Council in July also confirmed the need for such

steps. The Ministerial Declaration, adopted on that

occasion, focuses usefully on the importance of

developing human resources, protecting health, and

providing education, particularly for young girls, and

focuses on their contributions to development.

I would like to commend the President and the

Bureau of the Council. His Excellency Mr. Ivan

Simonović, its President and the Permanent

Representative of Croatia, and the other Members of

the Bureau have all toiled with competence and great

skill in order to guarantee the success of the Council's

work.

During the high-level debates, some trends

emerged that our Government believes are essential.

For example, there is the choice of a governance that

allows us to establish true partnerships that depend

mostly on the human resources of developing countries

themselves, as well as on businesses and civil society.

Yesterday's high-level plenary meeting of the

General Assembly produced solemn and excellent

results and enabled us to gain a better understanding of

the character and the imperatives of the New

Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), which

undoubtedly offers real prospects for mobilizing

resources for Africa and integrating it into the world

economy. The establishment by the Economic and

Social Council of an ad hoc advisory group for African

countries emerging from conflict is a step that we are

also following. Without political stability, there can be

no guaranteed sustainable development.

The concept of a culture of protection' advanced

by the Secretary-General, with regard to special

economic assistance, humanitarian aid, and help in

natural disasters, provides the advantage of associating

in a single thrust preventive action and priority

assistance to the communities affected. We appreciate

the principle and the scope of this activity.

In the aftermath of conflicts and crises, the link

between humanitarian action and long-term

developments is crucial for the success of any national

reconstruction programme. Public meetings of the

Security Council dedicated to such matters provide an

opportunity to emphasize, with the necessary impact,

the importance of such measures.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development

(WSSD), which has just finished in Johannesburg and

in which I participated, reminded us of the essential

concerns for the future. The Monterrey consensus was

confirmed, stressing the fact that there can now be no

stable and balanced development without serious

interdisciplinary thought and innovative ideas based on

a genuine will to protect our environment and to

respect the natural resources of our planet, including

sea resources and non-renewable natural resources, by

ensuring that we share them fairly and reasonably.

The Summit confirmed and strengthened the

principles proclaimed 10 years ago during the United

Nations Conference on Environment and Development,

held at Rio.

I will not reiterate my country's positions and

initiatives on these questions, as I discussed them at

length at Johannesburg. I should like to reaffirm,

however, that the Government of the Principality of

10

Monaco is determined to respect the commitments it

undertook on that occasion.

The international community must continue to

work tirelessly in the combat against AIDS and in the

fight against many endemic diseases, which, in some

parts of the world, are major obstacles to development

and progress. In response to the appeal launched by our

Secretary-General, my Government has decided this

year and for the next two years to make a substantial

exceptional contribution to the Joint United Nations

Programme on HIV/AIDS.

If we want globalization, in particular economic

globalization, to be of benefit to all, it will have to be

rooted to a greater extent and we all are aware of

this in a type of development that ignores neither

the basic needs of human beings nor the values of

justice, morality and equity, to which we all attach

particular value.

In speaking of the fundamental principle of

justice and of the moral values which have inspired our

Organization so profoundly, I should like to reiterate

how warmly we welcomed the recent entry into force

of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal

Court. The first Assembly of States Parties to the Rome

Statute has just been held, under the eminent

presidency of His Royal Highness Prince Zeid Ra'ad

Zeid Al-Hussein, Permanent Representative of the

Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan. Decisive and specific

steps were taken on that occasion.

I should like to close by appealing to the peoples

of Israel and Palestine to put an end to the violence and

to overcome their rancour and resentments. A shared

heritage and the belief in a future of coexistence

represent the underpinnings of a dialogue leading to

peace.