New Zealand, 2002

Mr. President, may I

begin by congratulating you on your assumption of the

presidency and assure you of New Zealand's

cooperation during your term of office.

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The opening of this, the fifty-seventh session of

the General Assembly, came just one day after the

anniversary of the terrorist attack of 11 September

2001, which shocked this city and the international

community. The premeditated and callous mass murder

of 3,000 people from 79 different countries was a sharp

warning to us of the ongoing threats to peace and

stability in our world. It was to protect humanity

against such threats that the nations of the world came

together in 1945 to establish this Organization in the

belief that collective action was necessary to guarantee

global peace.

Today, in the second year of a new millennium,

the need to act multilaterally is greater than ever

before. Terrorism, weapons of mass destruction,

environmental degradation, people-smuggling, drug-

trafficking, diseases such as HIV/AIDS and the

unsustainable depletion of our natural resources are all

global matters that require a collective response.

We can be proud that a year ago the response by

the United Nations to a new and unprecedented level of

terrorism was immediate, united and effective. The

primary victim of the attack, the United States, sought

and secured international cooperation that achieved the

incapacitation of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization

and the removal of the Taliban regime that had hosted

it. It was a model for international unity of purpose and

multilateral action. It was a lesson that should not be

forgotten as this Organization tackles other problems

confronting humanity.

New Zealand has worked wholeheartedly under

the mandate provided by the United Nations to defeat

terrorism. We have introduced legislation to deny

terrorist organizations funding and resources in line

with Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). We have

sought to assist our neighbours in the Pacific to do the

same. We have committed peacekeeping personnel to

the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) and

combat forces under Operation Enduring Freedom in

Afghanistan. But we are also aware that actions to

suppress terrorism must be accompanied by measures

to tackle the causes of terrorism. Injustice, lack of

opportunity, hopelessness, desperation and the failure

of legitimate channels to redress grievances all give

rise to resort to terrorist actions.

The failure to resolve differences between Israeli

and Palestinian people in the Middle East continues to

be a catalyst for recruitment into terrorism. The

Secretary-General, in opening this session, spelled out

the basis for resolving the dispute. He referred to land

for peace, an end to terror and to occupation, and to

two States, Israel and Palestine, with secure and

recognized borders. Both peoples are destined to live

side by side. Both will benefit from an end to violence

and a negotiated settlement. But agreement requires

good faith from each side and a determined effort by

the international community. We fully endorse the

Secretary-General's renewed call for an international

peace conference. Progress on this issue is now more

vital than ever.

The situation in Iraq is also a threat to world

peace, but we must look for solutions that will resolve

and do not exacerbate that threat. No nation can be

exempt from the requirement to comply with the

resolutions passed by this Organization. That is

necessary if the rule of law is to apply internationally.

No nation can be allowed to commit aggression or to

use weapons of mass destruction against its own

people. The requirement to comply with United

Nations resolutions is not the instruction of one

country to Iraq; it is collective instruction that should

have the unanimous endorsement of all Member

countries.

Iraq's non-compliance with Security Council

resolutions is a challenge to the entire United Nations

membership. The United Nations must meet this

challenge. How the situation is resolved matters to us

all, not least the countries of the region itself.

Those who can exercise influence over Iraq

should do so to avoid the need for resort to other

actions. The response chosen by the Security Council

must, however, take into account the need not to

impose further costs on ordinary Iraqi people innocent

of any wrongdoing. The response should not involve

actions that undermine, rather than strengthen, the war

against terrorism.

The United Nations has shown that collective

action can save lives and help rebuild nations. We will

soon welcome the world's newest nation, East Timor,

into the United Nations, and we should celebrate the

success of the United Nations peacekeeping mission

and Transitional Administration in that country. I

congratulate Sergio Vieira de Mello, the Secretary-

General's former Special Representative, on his role,

and I thank those countries that contributed so much to

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giving hope and opportunity to the people of that small

country.

New Zealand has had a battalion of peacekeepers

deployed in East Timor since September 1999, and also

has peacekeepers serving in 12 other countries. We are

proud that they have performed their role with

professionalism and respect for the people in whose

countries they operate. Notwithstanding the small size

of our population, New Zealand currently is the

twenty-second-largest contributor to the United

Nations peacekeeping personnel.

The promotion of human rights is another area

where multilateral action by the international

community is essential. In the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights and in the International Covenant on

Civil and Political Rights, the United Nations has set

out universal standards for the observance of human

rights. There is no justification for any country to

deviate from those human rights standards. It is a mark

of shame that States Members of this Organization

continue to breach basic human rights and a disgrace

that other countries too often act as apologists for the

offending regimes.

An important landmark in the last year has been

the entry into force of the Rome Statute of the

International Criminal Court. As the culmination of

longstanding efforts by non-governmental

organizations, Governments and the international

community as a whole, it offers the prospect of

bringing justice to the victims of the most horrific

crimes known to humankind and bringing their

perpetrators to justice. It will serve as a deterrent where

none has existed before. We have listened carefully to

those who argue that the Court is not necessary and

that it unduly jeopardizes their peacekeepers, but we

cannot agree. The status quo, relying on domestic

jurisdiction alone, has failed humankind throughout

history and has borne witness to appalling crimes. The

new regime has carefully built-in safeguards to protect

the innocent.

We were dismayed by the actions of the Security

Council in July. At that time, we challenged both the

legitimacy and the substance of the Council's action.

We do not believe that it was consistent with the Rome

Statute or that the Council is able to arrogate to itself

the power to change treaty relationships.

A further issue on which greater progress must be

made is that of disarmament. The fact that humanity

survived the nightmare of potential nuclear destruction

during the cold war cannot be allowed to make us

complacent about ongoing threats from weapons of

mass destruction.

We welcome the Treaty of Moscow and the

agreement between Russia and the United States to cut

the number of strategic nuclear weapons each country

deploys. These reductions, however, are not a

substitute for irreversible cuts in, and the total

elimination of, those weapons.

In some respects even greater danger is posed by

short-range tactical nuclear weapons. There is a real

risk that these could be launched by accident or in

confusion, with no time available for communication

between opposing sides.

Over the last year, two significant events have

made our world a most dangerous place. The first is the

emergence of international terrorist groups that have

shown their willingness to use weapons of mass

destruction — biological, chemical or nuclear —

should they gain access to them.

The second is the situation in South Asia, where

the world recently came close to direct conflict

between two countries with nuclear capability. The

international community has not done enough to reduce

those risks.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has

not been brought into effect. Progress towards the

implementation of undertakings made by nuclear-

weapon States at the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review

Conference has stalled. Nations have not taken

sufficient steps to stop the production of fissile

material and to reduce stocks.

In this and in many other areas much more needs

to be done to address growing problems that affect all

of us. The awful toll of HIV/AIDS, slowness in

response to global warming and the growth in the

smuggling and trafficking of people are but three

further examples.

It is essential that we renew our commitment to

multilateralism as the best way to address global

problems. That requires not simply money but, must

importantly, political will. It is not a case of putting

global interests ahead of national interests. Global

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interests are national interests. The United Nations is

our most valuable international organization, but we

need to do more to enhance its relevance, value and its

unique authority. All of us are stakeholders in its

success.