Spain, 1993

I should like first of all, Mr. President, to

convey to you my warmest congratulations. Your election

to the presidency of this Assembly is a clear

acknowledgement of your personal qualities and diplomatic

skills and is a tribute to your country, the Republic of

Guyana. We are pleased that you were nominated as a

16 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

candidate by the Group of Latin American and Caribbean

States, with which my country has particularly close and

cooperative relations.

I should also like to pay tribute to and greet warmly

Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The United Nations needs his

proven competence and political experience in order to face

the numerous challenges before us at the end of the century.

You may rest assured, Mr. Secretary-General, that in

carrying out your complex tasks you can count on the firm

cooperation of the Spanish authorities.

Allow me also to convey at this time to the

Government and the people of India our deepest sympathy

for and solidarity with the victims of the earthquake that

ravaged that country yesterday.

Over the last year the universality of the United Nations

has once again been enhanced by the admission of the Czech

Republic, Slovakia, the Former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia, Eritrea, Monaco and Andorra as new Members.

I welcome them all, and most particularly Andorra, a

neighbour of Spain with which we are linked by special ties

of history, culture and deep friendship.

A few days ago Belgium’s Minister of Foreign Affairs,

speaking on behalf of the European Community and its

member States, set forth our common points of view in this

general debate. On behalf of the Spanish delegation, I shall

mention some issues that I think deserve special attention.

A year ago, when I addressed this Assembly for the

first time, I referred, as did many other speakers, to the

fundamental changes that had taken place in the world since

the middle of the last decade. It is the Spanish

Government’s firm conviction that those changes have led to

the advent of a new era. The United Nations has a great

opportunity to play an effective, central role in harmonizing

world-wide the efforts of the international community in

order to achieve the common purposes embodied in the Charter.

Thus, it seems that the time has come to strengthen our

Organization by providing it with the necessary human and

material resources to enable it to carry out its goals. We

must also think about the measures necessary for a possible

revision of the Charter.

A review of the Security Council is an item on our

agenda, and this needs to be approached in a constructive

spirit and with the aim of increasing its representativeness

and ensuring that its actions be not only fast but also

effective. Such a review should be based on the criteria

established in Article 23 of the Charter, that is to say, taking

into account the contribution of Member States to the

maintenance of international peace and security and to the

other purposes of the Organization, and also to equitable

geographical distribution.

We believe that the time has come for a moderate

increase in the membership of the Council so as to reflect

the increase in the number of Members of the Organization

since 1963, when, for the first time, it was decided to

expand the Council’s membership.

We also deem it appropriate to consider the creation of

new categories: one that would enable certain States to

become permanent members without the right of veto, and

another that would allow more frequent non-permanent

membership in the Council to certain States with weight and

influence in international relations that have the capacity and

political will to contribute significantly to the fulfilment of

the purposes and principles of the United Nations. All this

would undoubtedly serve to put our Organization in a better

position to face the challenges of maintaining peace and

international security.

In this context, it is also necessary to make reforms in

order to deal with the changing nature of the tasks assigned

to the peace operations established by the Security Council.

The traditional concept of peace-keeping operations,

embracing monitoring of cease-fire agreements, interposition

between adversarial forces and the establishment of

confidence-building measures - all by primarily military

means - has been expanded, increasingly encompassing new,

non-military aspects. These new tasks range from

humanitarian assistance to nation-building, and include the

monitoring of elections and of the observance of human

rights. Nearly 100,000 men and women from all over the

world are currently serving in the framework of these

increasingly complex and demanding operations.

The United Nations has made a commendable effort to

adapt the structure and functioning of peace operations to the

new exigencies. We should pursue our efforts in this

direction, as we are convinced that it is always preferable to

solve a conflict under the aegis of the United Nations than

through the unilateral action of a Power or group of Powers

outside the framework of the Organization.

Here I should like to draw the Assembly’s attention to

some relevant questions regarding the proper functioning of

peace operations and to offer some ideas and suggestions

aimed at enhancing their performance and effectiveness.

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 17

When establishing a peace operation, the Security

Council should pay the utmost attention to defining

accurately its mandate. The Council should also receive

periodic information on the development of the operation.

Consultation mechanisms should be established with those

States that have a special interest, because of their

involvement in the operation or their troop contributions.

Special attention should also be given to questions of

safety. Acts of violence against the Blue Helmets have

increased alarmingly because of the growing complexity and

risks of the operations. The issue of safety should be

considered most seriously. In this regard we have examined

with the greatest interest the Secretary-General’s report to

the Security Council and the recommendations of the Special

Committee on Peace-keeping Operations. We believe that

the use of force against United Nations personnel must be

regarded as unacceptable interference in the exercise of the

responsibilities entrusted to the Security Council by the

Charter. When such acts occur, the Council should take

appropriate measures, the first of which should be to hold

responsible the perpetrators of the acts.

The Spanish Government considers it imperative that

the appropriate financial resources be made available to the

United Nations in timely fashion to meet the cost of these

operations. We all share the responsibility for ensuring a

sound financial and administrative basis for peace operations.

Before a new operation is established, an estimate of its

financial implications should be presented to the Council.

A the same time, the task assigned to the Security

Council in terms of peace-keeping and peace enforcement

should not lead us to forget the competence of the General

Assembly on budgetary questions and in the field of

preventive diplomacy, especially peace-building. With the

cooperation of United Nations operational activities, the

General Assembly must play an important role in this overall

approach to international security, as is referred to by the

Secretary-General in his "An Agenda for Peace".

Neither should the Secretariat be overlooked. Its

structure and logistical capacity for managing peace

operations need to be reviewed and expanded. We applaud

the Secretary-General’s efforts in this respect.

Aware of the crucial importance taken on by peace

operations, Spain - which has participated and continues to

participate through a large number of military and civilian

observers in various operations, particularly in Central

America and southern Africa - decided a year ago to send a

military contingent of about 1,000 soldiers to Bosnia and

Herzegovina as part of the United Nations Protection Force

(UNPROFOR).

Within the framework of the increasingly necessary

cooperation between the United Nations and regional

organizations, my country sent observers to help in

monitoring compliance with the sanctions imposed against

Serbia and Montenegro and is maintaining naval units in the

Adriatic. Spanish personnel also take part in the observer

missions of the European community and the Conference on

Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

The people and the Government of Spain are proud of

the work being done by our forces and observers. I wish

to take this opportunity to pay tribute to those who have

given their blood and their lives while serving in these

peaceful humanitarian missions of the Organization.

Since the beginning of the terrible conflict in the former

Yugoslavia the Spanish people and Government have done

their best to alleviate the suffering of the population and

have contributed, within the framework of the Security

Council and the International Conference on the Former

Yugoslavia, to the development of a political process aimed

at achieving a peaceful solution acceptable to all parties.

We have all been appalled by the cruelty of that war and

frustrated by the endless negotiations.

It is only fitting to acknowledge the splendid work

accomplished, under extremely difficult circumstances, by

the United Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR). We

would also express gratitude for the skill and dedication of

the co-Chairmen of the Steering Committee of the

International Conference on the Former Yugoslavia.

Provided they can rely on the parties’ basic goodwill and

capacity for compromise, their efforts should lead to an

agreement before this coming winter brings with it a

dreadful human catastrophe. If the hoped for agreement is

reached, the international community and the Organization

will then be faced with a new challenge, that of guaranteeing

implementation of the peace agreement through the

establishment of a peace-keeping operation under the

auspices and authority of the United Nations. Spain would

be prepared to contribute to such a force.

This year the Security Council decided to establish an

International Tribunal to bring to trial those charged with

serious violations of international humanitarian law

committed in the territory of the former Yugoslavia. We

believe that this crucial step will also encourage at this

session of the General Assembly the speedy completion of

18 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

work leading to the establishment of a permanent

international criminal tribunal with universal jurisdiction.

In the past few months important developments have

taken place in various other parts of the world.

My Government is following with anxiety and hope

the recent events in Russia - with anxiety, because at one

time it appeared that the internal stability of that country

and, therefore, of Europe and the rest of the world, was in

jeopardy, but also with hope that the Russian people

themselves will become the masters of their own destiny.

We are concerned about the worsening conflict in

Abkhazia and the continued confrontation in Nagorny-

Karabakh between Armenians and Azerbaijanis. We appeal

to the wisdom and capacity for dialogue of all the parties

involved and reiterate our support for the peace efforts of the

United Nations and the Conference on Security and

Cooperation in Europe (CSCE).

In Angola the process of restoring democratic normality

and coexistence has been seriously hampered by UNITA’s

refusal to accept the outcome of free and fair elections, thus

preventing the implementation of the Bicesse Accords. This

has compelled the Security Council to impose sanctions on

UNITA in the hope that its leadership will reconsider its

attitude and begin to cooperate in good faith to put an end

to a conflict of catastrophic human proportions.

We wish to recall that a number of the problems arising

from the war between Iraq and Kuwait are still unresolved,

among them the exchange of prisoners and the return of

stolen assets by the invader. The fact that Iraq has not yet

recognized either the existence of Kuwait as a sovereign

State, Member of the United Nations, the demarcation of the

border between the two countries, which was recently

confirmed by the Security Council, constitutes a serious

obstacle to peace.

The persistence of those and other conflicts should not

make us forget the progress achieved in the solution of

many others.

Here we would especially mention the success achieved

in Cambodia through the United Nations Transitional

Authority in Cambodia (UNTAC), with the holding last May

of elections for a Constituent Assembly, elections that paved

the way to national unity and reconciliation.

In the Middle East, the serious obstacles that were

threatening to scuttle the peace process launched two years

ago in Madrid have been overcome. The mutual recognition

between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization

(PLO), along with the signing in Washington on 13

September of an Agreement on the establishment of an

autonomous Palestinian regime in Jericho and Gaza, is a

development of far-reaching significance. Spain welcomes

this fundamental step in the tortured history of the Middle

East and is prepared, together with other countries, to

maintain its political and economic support in order to

ensure that the Agreement between the Palestinians and

Israelis becomes effective. We are aware that the process is

fraught with difficulties, but we believe that they can be

surmounted with the same courage and imagination already

displayed in achieving the recent agreements, and with the

support of the international community.

In Africa, new developments have taken place, although

not without some delay and difficulties. In Mozambique we

have witnessed the implementation of the General Peace

Agreement, with the invaluable cooperation of the United

Nations Operation in Mozambique (UNOMOZ). In Somalia,

the Security Council has given the United Nations Operation

in Somalia (UNOSOM II) one of the broadest mandates ever

conferred upon a United Nations operation. It cannot be

denied that problems of internal adjustment have been

caused by the very novelty and magnitude of the tasks

entrusted to UNOSOM II, and they will have to taken into

account in future peace-keeping operations. Nevertheless,

the Operation’s contribution has been vital in reducing the

consequences of a catastrophe caused by natural disasters

and armed rivalries that have claimed hundreds of thousands

of victims.

Turning to the question of Western Sahara, I wish to

express Spain’s full support for the efforts being made by

the Secretary-General and his Special Representative to find

a solution to the outstanding problems that will make

possible the holding of a free and fair referendum on self-

determination. That referendum will pave the way for the

climate of understanding and cooperation that is necessary

to deal with the challenges in the region. My country

resolutely supports the process of integration in the North of

Africa and the development of stronger links between

Europe and the Maghreb.

We also welcome the progress made in the transitional

process in South Africa, although we regret the fact that

violence still holds sway in certain areas. The progress

made in the drafting of a Constitution and the prompt

establishment of the Transitional Executive Council are the

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 19

best possible foundations for the holding of general elections

in 1994 to prepare the way for a truly representative

Parliament and a democratic South Africa that will be able

to find its true place in the Organization and in the

international community.

In Latin America, a number of recent events deserve

special consideration.

I should mention first the process of consolidation of

democracy through the free election of civilian Presidents

and Parliaments in nearly the whole of the continent. That

fact, enhanced by a number of forums such as the Rio

Group, the Central American Summits or the Ibero-

American Summits, has reversed attempts to violate the

legitimacy of the democratic process.

Latin America continues to place special emphasis on

the use of negotiation, mediation and conciliation in solving

its conflicts, in accordance with the provisions of Chapter VI

of the Charter.

Respect for international law and democracy are the

principles that have guided and will continue to guide the

activities of the international community aimed at restoring

democratic legality in Haiti. Those principles have also

inspired the decisive agreements with regard to the peace

process in El Salvador, where we hope the recommendations

of the Ad Hoc Commission and the Commission on the

Truth will be implemented. Finally, those same principles

will be the basis for reconciliation and development in

Nicaragua and Guatemala.

Once again this year I have to mention a matter that, as

the Assembly knows, is of fundamental importance to Spain,

namely, the decolonization of Gibraltar. I wish to reiterate

my Government’s firm decision to continue the process of

negotiation with the United Kingdom in a constructive spirit

and on the basis of the Brussels Declaration of 27 November

1984. Those negotiations should duly take into account the

legitimate interests of the population, but be based on the

doctrine established by the General Assembly that the

decolonization of Gibraltar is not a case of self-

determination but of the restoration of the territorial integrity

of Spain. The Spanish Government firmly hopes that those

negotiations will finally eliminate this anachronism.

In the field of disarmament new challenges have

emerged, such as the need to put an end to the proliferation

of weapons of mass destruction. Now, more than ever, we

need to redouble our efforts to move beyond a period of

confrontation that belongs to the past.

There is a pressing need to strengthen the multilateral

negotiating forums to enable them to face the new

challenges efficiently. In this respect, my country considers

that priority should be given to enlarging the Conference on

Disarmament, on the basis of a consensus that will enable

countries like Spain, which have been participating actively

in its work for a long time, to become members.

There is a clear link between international peace and

security on the one hand and economic and social

development on the other. In this new era, when the United

Nations is renewing its efforts to maintain international

peace and security, we must note the persistence of deep

disparities and serious economic and social problems

besetting all countries, in particular the developing countries.

To confront these challenges, the reform of the United

Nations should extend to the Organization’s economic and

social machinery. The reforms, which have already begun,

should be aimed at achieving more effective functioning and

at using available resources more rationally to meet the

needs of developing countries.

In that context, let me mention the convening of the

first session of the Commission on Sustainable Development.

We hope its work will maintain and even intensify the great

momentum generated by the Rio Summit on environment

and development and lead to the speedy implementation of

the commitments made there in Agenda 21.

But it is not enough to repair and fine-tune the

machinery we intend to use to deal with the challenges of

development. We need clear guidelines by which to steer it

unerringly towards the wide range of current needs, in

particular those of the developing countries. Hence, we look

forward with great interest to the Secretary-General’s

"Agenda for Development"; in conjunction with "An Agenda

for Peace", this will supplement the guidelines for action by

the international community with respect to the indivisible

equation of world peace and economic and social

development.

In that context, I want to recall that the third

Ibero-American Summit, held at Salvador de Bahía, Brazil,

last July, considered "An agenda for development", with the

emphasis on social development. The conclusions adopted

by the Heads of State or Government of the 21 participating

countries were submitted to the Secretary-General as a

contribution to the preparation of his own "Agenda for

Development".

The final document of that Summit stressed the

growing interrelationship among the concepts of

development, democracy and human rights. It drew

attention to the priority that should be given to the fight

against poverty both on the governmental level and when

allocating resources and creating machinery for international

cooperation. Our starting-point should be to promote

integrated economic and social development, bearing in mind

the three priorities the Secretary-General set out at the last

session of the Economic and Social Council: redistribution,

integration and protection.

The structure of and developments in the world

population give rise to grave uncertainties about their

consequences and about the aspirations of developing

countries to attain sustainable development. These and other

important issues such as large-scale migration, improving the

machinery for cooperation, and managing resources for that

purpose will be discussed at the International Conference on

Population and Development to be held next year at Cairo.

We hope that Conference will mark a significant step

towards the solution of these questions by addressing

together the issues of population, economic growth and

sustainable development.

The Spanish Government considers that there is also an

urgent need to integrate women into the development

process, eliminate discrimination against women and ensure

their full participation in the economic, social, cultural, civic

and political spheres. We trust that this commitment will be

renewed and buttressed by the international community at

the Fourth World Conference on Women, to be held in

Beijing in 1995.

The World Summit for Social Development, the

convening of which my country strongly supported from the

outset, is to be held at Copenhagen in 1995. It will give a

political impetus to improving the living conditions of the

most disadvantaged sectors of our populations. It will help

promote their social integration and the creation of a concept

of social development taking into account the relationship

between peace and well-being, while aiming to reduce

poverty and increase employment.

Year after year from this rostrum we emphasize our

firm intention to build a better world in which the protection

and promotion of human rights and fundamental freedoms

will become real and effective. Unfortunately, year after

year we are forced to observe that, despite all our efforts, the

practices that endanger human life, freedom and security

persist. It is therefore no longer enough to state our

readiness to step up our efforts; we must now move, in

solidarity, to action.

In that respect, the outcome of the Vienna Conference

on human rights gives us an excellent opportunity to work

steadfastly towards our common goal. We now have a set

of universal rules, universally accepted; we must now insist

on their obligatory application. There can be no democracy

without respect for human rights, and without democracy

there cannot be the harmonious, balanced and lasting

development to which we all aspire.

For that reason, it is of high importance that we

proceed expeditiously to implement the Vienna

commitments, in particular the programme of action. In the

view of the Spanish Government there are two key issues

the resolution of which could lead to unprecedented progress

in this area. First, we must agree on the establishment of

the office of a high commissioner for human rights; and

secondly, we must provide the United Nations Centre for

Human Rights with the resources it needs to carry out its

mandate fully.

In my statement today I have tried to address the most

pressing challenges facing the Organization, challenges

inherent in the increasingly free but increasingly uncertain

world in which we live. I have also advanced proposals for

the reform of the Organization aimed at adapting it to the

new circumstances.

It is difficult but necessary that we focus both on the

new problems and on the reform of the Organization. Our

ability to do this will determine whether the United Nations

can increasingly serve as the proper forum for resolving

world problems.