Nepal, 1998

I wish to recall the late B.P.

Koirala, the legendary leader who became the symbol of

democracy in Nepal because of his long years of

imprisonment, self-sacrifice and struggle. As the first

elected Prime Minister of Nepal, he stood at this podium

38 years ago to this very day and declared that the

foreign policy of Nepal would be inspired by the purposes

and principles of the United Nations. He said that Nepal

looked upon the United Nations as an instrument for

promoting peace and justice among nations. Those

sentiments have always guided Nepal?s international

relations.

It is my pleasure to extend to you, Sir, the warm

congratulations of my delegation on your election as

President of the General Assembly. It is a tribute to your

great country?s contribution to the work of the United

Nations and a recognition of your own personal

qualifications. Please be assured of the cooperation of my

delegation in your work. I would also like to place on

record our appreciation to your predecessor,

Mr. Udovenko, for the wisdom and deftness of touch with

which he guided the previous session.

I would also like to express, on behalf of the

Government and the people of Nepal, our deep sympathy

and condolences to the Governments and the peoples of

Bangladesh and China on the massive loss of life and

property due to the recent devastating floods in those two

friendly neighbouring countries. We also sympathize with

the victims of hurricane Georges.

It is heartening to note that this year we are

celebrating the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal

Declaration of Human Rights. While we are guided by

lofty human rights goals in the international field, we are

no less committed to attaining them at the national level.

Our commitment to democracy, human rights and

uplifting the quality of life of the people is unflinching,

despite a low level of economic development and the

innumerable constraints, including the problem of

refugees. It is our firm belief that democracy and

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development should reinforce each other. Society can enjoy

uninterrupted peace and progress only when the rule of law

and the participation of an entire people in governance and

development are ensured.

We are a small nation with a great heritage. Our

tradition has been one of peace, compassion and

brotherhood. We have always striven to promote

understanding and goodwill among different nations,

especially with our neighbours. While retaining our age-old

cultural values, our people have struggled for years and

have made great sacrifices to establish democratic

institutions and to uphold the principles of human rights

and dignity. In this endeavour we are conscious of the

challenges that we have to face. But we are determined to

make all possible efforts to fulfil the aspirations of our

people and, in our limited way, to contribute to the

achievement of the noble ideals of this great Organization,

which provides us with a forum to express our views on the

concerns of mankind.

I consider it a privilege and an opportunity to make an

appeal to the developed nations to extend support and

cooperation in our endeavour to preserve the dignity and

honour of our people and the sovereignty of our nation. We

are determined to face every eventuality to defend those

ideals.

Centralized planning has failed to produce desired

results even after many years. We believe that unless

people are mobilized, from the grass roots to the policy

level, the reality on the ground is unlikely to change. To

realize this, institutional and legal changes are necessary.

Administrative, financial and political systems have all to

be decentralized. Real power has to be transferred to the

people. We have taken certain steps in that direction.

However, I admit that this is not enough.

We are committed to the empowerment of women.

But changing gender hierarchies without changing social

and economic hierarchies is not possible, as gender

relations do not operate in a vacuum. It is a fact that gender

relations are related to and influenced by social, economic

and political systems. Nevertheless, as a prelude to the

political empowerment of Nepali women, 20 per cent of the

seats in local bodies have been reserved. As a result, 36,000

women are now in the political hierarchy at the grass-roots

level. In my opinion, this is a significant breakthrough.

The list of problems facing us is endless. We live

today in an unequal world, where global disparities in

wealth and income are rising rapidly, widening the gap

between the rich and the poor, increasingly dividing

human societies into one of plenty, luxury and power, on

the one hand, and one of poverty and hardship, on the

other. The low level of economic development due to the

lack of capital and technology, among other things, is

hampering the progress and prosperity of developing

countries. Similarly, the falling prices of primary

commodities, the lack of access to international markets

and the low level of resource flows and the unfavourable

international economic environment have compounded the

difficulties of the developing countries. The worldwide

wave of liberalism in trade and services in the aftermath

of World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements has

moved the international economy to greater

competitiveness. However, the capacity of the developing

countries to trade needs to be sufficiently enhanced to

ensure a level playing field.

The current financial and economic crisis facing

many countries is affecting even the advanced economies

of the world, not to mention the vulnerable and weaker

ones. This calls for much-needed reforms in the global

financial system.

The developing world consists of 85 per cent of

humanity, more than one third of them in the least

developed countries. One third of the countries in this

most vulnerable category are landlocked, and this

structural deficiency is the greatest handicap to fair

competition and development. All these countries have a

vital stake in peace and development. In the shaping of a

new global dispensation, each category of nations should

have a voice and should receive fair and equal treatment.

Sustainable development is not only an economic or

ecological phenomenon; it also involves participatory

governance, empowerment of women and promotion of

equity and justice. In a developing country such as Nepal,

the role and participation of women in the development

process are of great significance because of the multiple

responsibilities of women. In this context, the role of the

United Nations system in enhancing the participation of

women in national development and in creating awareness

of the issues relating to women is laudable.

On our march towards a democratic and just society,

we face many challenges, such as pervasive poverty, mass

illiteracy, environmental degradation, population explosion

and, above all, gender inequality. We believe that many

problems related to economic development can be more

effectively tackled through regional and subregional

cooperation among nations. Tremendous opportunities are

5

available for subregional cooperation in our part of the

world among the countries in the Ganga-Brahmaputra-

Meghna basin. These opportunities include water resources

development, flood control, energy supply, forestry

management and environmental protection, among other

things. Development efforts in water resources, for

example, would help irrigate the fertile fields in the plains

of India, improve the waterways so vital for the

transportation sector of Bangladesh and generate

hydropower in Nepal to meet the energy needs of the

region as a whole. Such a development strategy may be the

key to the future prosperity of the region.

Nearly a quarter of the world?s population continues

to live in extreme poverty. This is largely because our

approach to development, in which the State plays an

overwhelming role, has given rise to inefficiency and

corruption, and our reliance on unregulated market forces

has led to an increase in inequality across the world. We

believe there is a need for a third alternative in which the

human being is at the centre, not the State or market forces;

the human being with faith, values, emotions; the human

being with dreams and aspirations as a citizen, as a member

of family and as an economic being. This approach takes

into account all the dimensions of the human being and

society. Changing economic relationships and structure

alone is not enough. The individual also has to change. We

believe that this is what we should be pursuing in the

twenty-first century.

I bring the greetings and good wishes of the

Government and the people of Nepal to the Secretary-

General, Mr. Kofi Annan. In a comparatively short period

of time, he has proved his dedication to the task of

modernizing our Organization and his great diplomatic

talent and statesmanship in defusing situations posing a real

threat to international peace and security. In the process of

reform which he has started with his far-reaching package

of proposals, he can count on Nepal?s support.

Reform by its very nature is a continuing process. The

United Nations and its principal organs, such as the

Security Council, must adapt to the dynamics of change.

However, we, the Member States, have so far failed to

arrive at a general agreement to improve the composition

and functioning of the Security Council to better reflect the

reality of a vastly expanded membership of the

Organization. The recently concluded summit of the Non-

Aligned Movement in South Africa reaffirmed the

collective position of non-aligned countries in this regard.

No scheme of reform, however, should undermine

the power and authority of the General Assembly, which

is the nearest thing to a world parliament. All the leaders

of Nepal who have addressed the Assembly have

underscored the role and authority of this most democratic

and representative organ where each of us has a voice and

vote equal to that of a great Power, on any questions or

any matters within the scope of the Charter of the

Organization.

Sound and secure financing is the basis for good

management of the Organization. We believe that all

Member States must fulfil their obligations to make full

and timely payment of their dues.

In its primary role in the maintenance of

international peace and security, peacekeeping has been

and will remain one of the indispensable tools of the

United Nations. As a troop-contributing country, we are

happy to commemorate 50 years of United Nations

peacekeeping. Over these years, Nepal has contributed

more than 32,000 troops and military and civilian police

monitors to various peacekeeping missions of the United

Nations around the globe. Many of them have lost lives

or limbs in the cause of peace. Nepal has signed a stand-

by system agreement with the United Nations. We are

committed to deploying up to 2,000 troops, including

medical and engineering units, military observers and

headquarters staff, and 200 police monitors available to

be called at any time by the United Nations, even on

short notice.

The recent nuclear tests in South Asia, which came

as a disturbing development, have nevertheless reinforced

our commitment to speeding up the time-bound nuclear

disarmament process. We welcome the declarations made

by the Prime Ministers of India and Pakistan in this Hall

last week to facilitate the entry into force of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

My delegation is happy to note that the Secretary-

General has recognized that the United Nations Regional

Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the

Pacific, known as the Kathmandu Centre, has provided a

valuable forum for meetings on regional confidence and

security-building measures. As host to the Centre, Nepal

would urge Member States of the Asia-Pacific region to

increasingly avail themselves of the services of the

Centre.

Problems related to drug abuse and terrorism defy

territorial barriers. As the Prime Minister of Nepal,

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Mr. Girija Prasad Koirala, stated at the Durban summit at

the beginning of this month, they add to the intricacies of

complex regional and global relations. The terrorist

bombings in Kenya and Tanzania deserve universal

condemnation. These bombings and the subsequent missile

strikes came as a shock, reinforcing our belief that

concerted international efforts are essential in this regard.

Let me conclude by briefly mentioning the South

Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC),

consisting of seven countries of the region representing one

fifth of humanity. We are united in a common effort to

improve the quality of life of all our peoples. The recent

Colombo summit agreed to draw up a SAARC social

charter to give further dimension to regional cooperation.

The seven SAARC countries also finalized a text of a

regional convention on combatting the crime of trafficking

in women and children for prostitution. The convention will

be signed in Kathmandu at the next SAARC summit. This

will be another landmark in regional cooperation in South

Asia.