Spain, 1996

I

would like first of all to express to Ambassador Razali my

cordial congratulations on his election as President of the

General Assembly. I am firmly convinced that his qualities

will enable us to solve successfully the central questions of

particular relevance included in our agenda. Permit me as

well in these opening comments to extend my fraternal

gratitude to Mr. Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal for

his rigorous and able leadership during the fiftieth session

of the General Assembly. I would also like to express my

respect to the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-

Ghali, whose efforts at the head of the Secretariat in this

particularly difficult moment Spain considers very positive

and worthy of our support.

The Spanish delegation fully subscribes to the

statement made a few days ago by the Deputy Prime

Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs of Ireland on

behalf of the European Union, in which he set out the

common goals and priorities of Europe for the present

session of the General Assembly.

I would now like to refer in detail to various issues

of particular interest to my country. First of all, however,

I wish to reaffirm the strong commitment of Spain and its

new Government to the purposes and principles of the

Charter of the United Nations. On 26 June 1945 at San

Francisco, at a time when mankind still had not recovered

from the horrors of the Second World War, the

representatives of the peoples of the United Nations

expressed their firm resolve to save succeeding

generations from the scourge of war. They also reaffirmed

their faith in fundamental human rights; in the dignity and

worth of the human person; and in the equal rights of

men and nations, both large and small.

Fifty-one years later, when the necessary conditions

for a new international order based on cooperation and

solidarity among nations have finally been met, the

commitments made in San Francisco take on renewed

standing. The United Nations, in fact, constitutes at

present the best instrument at mankind’s disposal to face

and solve — jointly, on the basis of dialogue and

solidarity among Member States — the global challenges

confronting mankind at the end of the millennium.

We must make sure that our political commitment to

the Organization is manifested in actions, not only by

making available the necessary financial resources, but

also through the active search for consensus solutions for

the reform of the United Nations within the various

working groups of the General Assembly. Our

Organization, which was designed to respond to both

global challenges and to the needs of its Member States,

will not be able to play its double role in the coming

century unless it can count on a sound, solid and stable

financial basis. Convinced of this need, Spain, the ninth-

largest contributor to the budget of the Organization, pays

promptly and in full its assessed contributions.

When we celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the

United Nations with the renewed commitment of all the

Member States to the principles of the Charter, we all

concurred on the need to adapt the Organization to the

new international situation by enhancing its efficiency

through an in-depth reform which will revitalize and

strengthen it. Obviously, carrying out this task means the

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continuation and the deepening of the necessary

rationalization and savings measures already undertaken by

the Secretariat. In this respect, the approval at the last

session of the General Assembly of the programme budget

for the biennium 1996-1997, has given Spain satisfaction.

We are aware today more than ever before, of the

interrelated nature of the problems confronting the

international community and of impossibility for Member

States of solving them individually. This is why there is no

doubt that it is within the framework of the United Nations

where we must bring together efforts in order to face in

solidarity the many crises which menace the world.

The international community certainly cannot remain

impassive before the magnitude of problems such as the

ones faced by the African continent. This year we have

witnessed terrifying massacres — such as those in

Liberia — and the displacement of people in the Great

Lakes region, particularly in Burundi where we continue to

witness a terrible and tragic spectacle.

Africa is not, however, a continent entirely and

inevitably abandoned to hopelessness. There are countries

in which the tenacious efforts of their leaders and the

courage of their peoples allow them to embrace hope. The

return to the rule of law, the establishment of solid

democracies and respect for human rights are the way to

establish the foundations of a sustained and sustainable

development which will ensure the welfare of all Africans.

The Government of Spain has followed with great

attention the developments in the Middle East — focused

in the peace process between Arabs and Israelis — in

which the question of Palestine continues to be the central

point. We are following with great concern the serious

events that have taken place in recent days in Jerusalem,

the West Bank and Gaza, and we wish to reiterate our call

to the parties involved to abstain from all acts of

provocation and violence that could lead to a new

escalation of tension which could jeopardize the peace

process.

Furthermore, the Israeli elections held in May and the

establishment of the new Government became the basic

points of reference for the assessment of this complex issue

and for the analysis of its future prospects. After a brief

period of uncertainty, the Israeli Government has clearly

stated its intention to honour fully the contents of the

agreements concluded in Oslo and Washington in the spirit

of the principles of Madrid.

Such a positive statement of intentions would have

to be followed immediately by concrete and tangible

progress, which would strengthen the credibility of the

peace process as the only valid alternative to attain

peaceful coexistence in the region.

There are still many problems to be solved. On the

one hand, it is of course necessary to preserve and

strengthen the safety of civilians from the blind and

ruthless violence of terrorism; on the other, the closure of

the Palestinian territories, the delay in redeployment of

the Israeli Army in Hebron and the policy of settlements

represent serious obstacles for progress in the peace

process.

On the basis of the Florence Declaration issued by

the European Union, I avail myself of this opportunity

firmly to reiterate the commitment of Spain to the Middle

East peace process as the only way to solve this question.

In this respect, my Government will continue to work

actively, at the national level and within the European

Union, to promote the cause of peace and understanding

among the peoples of the region.

On a broader level, I wish to express my satisfaction

at the initial achievements of the Euro-Mediterranean

dialogue. The Spanish Government’s priority objective is

to contribute to the balanced and harmonious development

of the three dimensions of this process: political,

economic and human. To this end, it will be necessary to

maintain and enhance the “spirit of Barcelona” shown by

all countries participating in the Ministerial Conference

that my country had the honour of hosting last November.

In connection with the question of Western Sahara,

I must express the concern of the Spanish Government at

the suspension of the voter-identification operation and

the blocking of the settlement plan. In this respect, I wish

to recall before this Assembly Spain’s principled position,

according to which the question of Western Sahara will

be solved permanently only through the exercise of the

right of self-determination by the people of Western

Sahara in a free referendum with international guarantees.

The recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina have

ended a cycle in the process of implementation of the

Dayton Agreement that was marked by an inevitable

predominance of military over civilian aspects. Peace has

become a reality in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the

absence of confrontation is tangible evidence of the

success of the multinational military operation. However,

along with this success has been an absence of the

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necessary reconciliation between the parties and the

restoration of mutual confidence.

Since the onset of the conflict, Spain has contributed

to its solution with a substantial military presence in the

United Nations Protection Force, subsequently renewed in

the multinational, Implementation Force. My Government

intends to continue supporting stability and reconciliation in

the region as well as the United Nations efforts along those

lines.

The consolidation of democratic Governments,

growing respect for human rights and economic and social

progress are a tangible reality in and a stimulus for the

future of Latin America, a continent to which Spain is

linked by solid historical ties of mutual friendship and

confidence. We are particularly gratified by the positive

developments in Central America, where the consolidated

advances of democracy and the increasing stability of peace

demonstrate that efforts to promote the rule of law, good

governance and respect for human rights are finally having

tangible effects on the lives of the people.

I wish to underline, from this rostrum, Spain’s

commitment to peacekeeping operations. My Government

firmly intends to continue contributing to these operations.

I wish to pay my warmest and most sincere tribute to the

men and women involved in all these operations for their

altruistic and selfless work in conditions of extreme

difficulty and high risk, which sometimes has meant

sacrificing their lives in the interest of peace.

The United Nations peacekeeping operations have

become a cornerstone of the activity of our Organization.

I wish to highlight here the important momentum given by

the Secretary-General in his “An Agenda for Peace” to the

development and deepening of new concepts of preventive

diplomacy, peacemaking and peacekeeping.

The role of the United Nations in the decolonization

process, particularly in the definition of its general

principles, to which Spain adheres unequivocally, has been

fundamental. The current membership of this General

Assembly clearly demonstrates that the process has been

one of the great achievements of our time.

In fact, the main phase of decolonization ended some

time ago. However, anachronistic colonial situations persist

that ought not to be forgotten. One of the priority objectives

of the Spanish Government is the decolonization of

Gibraltar. Through its resolutions, this General Assembly

pointed the way to a decolonization process which, based

on the principle of territorial integrity, should be carried

out through bilateral negotiations between the United

Kingdom, the Colony’s administrative Power and Spain,

the State in whose territory the Colony is located. The

Spanish Government will carry out with the greatest

flexibility, but also the greatest firmness, the future

bilateral negotiations with the United Kingdom on the

basis of the Brussels Declaration of November 1984, with

the clear aim of moving forward in the process to

culminate in the restoration of Spain’s full territorial

integrity, generously safeguarding the interests of the

Colony’s population and convinced of the urgent need to

bring an end to the anachronism of the existence of a

colony of one European Union member State in the

territory of another friendly and allied member State.

Spain is pleased to have fulfilled its aspiration of

becoming a full member of the Conference on

Disarmament. In this capacity, we will continue to

support the enlargement of the Conference to include

other candidates still hoping to join.

We are pleased that the General Assembly adopted

by an overwhelming majority the Comprehensive

Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which I have had the

honour to sign on behalf of my country. Spain will

participate in the network of seismological centres set up

for the international verification of compliance with the

Treaty and will support the early start-up of the Treaty

organization.

Universal adherence to the Treaty on the

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons continues to be a

priority objective, along with the other initiatives in the

field of nuclear disarmament.

Spain, one of the first signatories to ratify the

Convention on the Prohibition of the Development,

Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons

and on Their Destruction, is also pleased that the figure

of 65 ratifications necessary for its entry into force is

about to be reached. We trust that all the signatory States

that have yet to do so will deposit their instruments of

ratification as soon as possible.

My country is carrying out the necessary procedures

to ratify the new Protocol IV on blinding laser weapons

and we are making every effort to put an end to the tragic

effects of anti-personnel mines.

I referred at the beginning of my statement to the

need, which I know is shared, to proceed with the reform,

revitalization and strengthening of the United Nations. We

must make our Organization the centre for harmonizing

efforts to promote respect for international law, world peace

and equality for all, streamlining the mechanisms of the

Charter and removing the political and logistical obstacles

that all too often hinder its work.

As part of the institutional reform, the process of

expanding and reforming the Security Council stands out.

It is well known that Spain supports a moderate increase in

the membership of the Council as the result of a considered

negotiating process and with the final aim of enhancing the

legitimacy of its actions.

On the other hand, “An Agenda for Development”

must be a key element in this reform process and the

culmination of the series of major conferences focusing on

the integral development of the individual that have been

held in recent years.

In the general context of this common task of

reforming the United Nations, I should like in particular to

refer to the new measures, adopted by this Assembly in

resolution 50/227, on restructuring and revitalization in the

economic, social and other fields. These measures reaffirm

the unequivocal will of all countries significantly to

improve the work of the Economic and Social Council as

the central mechanism for coordinating and supervising

United Nations activities in the economic and social fields.

As an example of Spain’s commitment to the

development activities of the Organization, I should like to

recall that, in the past year, my country has concluded a

host of bilateral agreements with various bodies of the

United Nations system for the funding of specific projects

for developing countries.

The Rio Summit was a milestone in the history of the

fight against environmental deterioration and established the

basis for a concept of sustainable development that does not

compromise the welfare of future generations. However, the

health of our planet is far from being as good as it ought to

be. We must take advantage of the forthcoming special

session of this Assembly to give new impetus to the joint

efforts being made to protect the environment, the true

common heritage of humankind.

The Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action

adopted at the World Conference on Human Rights defined

the promotion and protection of human rights as a priority

objective of the international community. Spain fully

subscribes to this principle. The promotion and protection

of human rights are in themselves ineluctable necessities,

and the survival of many, many human beings depends on

their effective implementation. Sustainable development

for all is not feasible without institutions that help in the

realization of human rights.

In this regard, the High Commissioner for Human

Rights should have more resources at hand to continue his

laudable work on restructuring the Centre for Human

Rights. On the other hand, defending human rights is

particularly important where the weakest people, those

most needing protection and self-defence, are involved. In

this context, Spain believes that we should capitalize on

the stimulus of the World Congress on the Commercial

Sexual Exploitation of Children held recently in

Stockholm, to promote through this Organization the most

rigorous and comprehensive protection of minors.

In the final phase of the League of Nations, an

attempt was made, unfortunately without success, to

implement the trilogy of arbitration-security-disarmament.

The Government of Spain is convinced that the

prohibition of the use and threat of use of force must be

accompanied by a general provision in international law

making recourse to jurisdictional channels mandatory for

the settlement of disputes. It was for this reason that, in

a unilateral declaration of 15 October 1990, our

Government, the Government of Spain, recognized as

compulsory, ipso facto and without special agreement, the

jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice, as

provided for in the Statute of the Court.

It is true that the United Nations cannot solve all the

problems of humankind. But our Organization can look

back with the certainty that its role, in the past and in the

present, has not been and is not insignificant and that, for

many regions of our planet, the present and the future

would be different, harsher and more forlorn without the

United Nations.

For this reason, I could not conclude without

reiterating the firmest and most rigorous commitment of

Spain to the United Nations.