Spain, 1997

I

should like at the outset to make two imperative

acknowledgments. The first is to congratulate Ambassador

Hennadiy Udovenko on his election to the presidency of the

General Assembly — and to congratulate the Assembly on

the election of an insightful and experienced politician to

preside over this session — which may, for many reasons,

prove to be an exceptional one.

The second is addressed to the Secretary-General at

this first regular session convened under his mandate. Mr.

Kofi Annan is a veteran of the United Nations system,

which explains how, in the short time since he took up the

post of Secretary-General, he has been able to submit an

important programme for the comprehensive reform of the

Organization.

I wish also to state my Government’s full support of

the statement made by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of

Luxembourg on behalf of the European Union. Spain shares

the commitment of the European Union to the reform of the

Organization; it is specifically upon this matter that my

statement will be focused.

When we speak of the reform of the Organization, we

frequently link it with the financial crisis which the United

Nations is undergoing. Yet I consider it important to

differentiate the two questions and to emphasize that the

reform process must not be seen solely as a remedy or

factor for saving the United Nations from the financial

crisis. On the one hand, the current crisis is fundamentally

a crisis of payments. I shall return to this matter later on.

On the other hand, the Organization’s supposed “failures”

reflect the limits of cooperation in the international

community as it exists at present.

The crisis is, in any case, one of growth. The United

Nations has to adapt and do away with the bureaucratic

obstacles accumulated by the Organization during the

decades of the cold war and to develop new means with

which to tackle the complex situations it now faces.

The great virtue of the reform programme introduced

by the Secretary-General on 16 July is that, building on the

better part of the thinking of recent years, it presents a

comprehensive plan to adapt all sectors of the Organization.

Recent experience has shown the difficulty of implementing

partial reforms. The links among the main functions

entrusted to the United Nations is becoming increasingly

clear: international peace and security can hardly be

maintained without genuine cooperation to promote the

development of the world’s States and regions, and

without respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms.

I should like straight away to declare Spain’s

agreement with this approach and to make clear the

backing which my country is willing to give to the

Secretary-General’s programme. I will now present the

views of the Spanish Government on the main aspects of

the overall reform process.

I shall begin with the reform of the Security

Council. This is undoubtedly one of the most significant

questions facing us, and its success will determine if the

Organization will be able to enhance its legitimacy and its

effectiveness in maintaining international peace and

security in the future. The reform of the Security Council

is a most sensitive task, involving an amendment to the

Charter; it must therefore be undertaken carefully, without

haste and on the basis of the broadest possible agreement.

It must promote greater cohesion among the

Organization’s Members and not create greater tension

and suspicion among them. We should not forget: poorly-

done reform could bring grave repercussions for the

Organization, which could lead to an irreparable crisis of

confidence.

An increase in the number of members of the

Security Council, and particularly of permanent members,

is a much more contentious issue than the improvement

of the Council’s working procedures. The category of

permanent members of the Security Council was created

in historical circumstances which no longer apply.

Furthermore, the enlargement of that category could

create more problems than benefits. Therefore, we

consider it wisest in the present situation to limit

enlargement to the category of non-permanent members.

Current proposals for enlarging the permanent

membership of the Security Council introduce formulas

which tend to meet the legitimate interests of a few

States, but fail to resolve serious problems raised for the

vast majority of Members of the Organization, and so

they cannot be positive for the United Nations as a whole.

As far as the veto is concerned, aware of the

difficulty in present circumstances of achieving its

elimination, we propose that it be limited to situations

involving Chapter VII of the Charter. In any case,

proposals for the creation of new permanent seats, with

postponement of discussion as to whether those seats

would or would not have the veto, are not very realistic.

22

The leading role acquired by the United Nations at the

end of the cold war in making, maintaining and

consolidating peace is without historical precedent.

Spain unreservedly supports United Nations efforts in

the maintenance of international peace and security. In the

last year, in addition to the Spanish contingents deployed in

the International Police Task Force (IPTF) and the

Stabilization Force (SFOR), forces from my country have

participated in the United Nations Mission for the

Verification of Human Rights and of Compliance with the

Commitments of the Comprehensive Agreement on Human

Rights in Guatemala (MINUGUA) demobilization process

and in the multinational protection force for Albania, which,

as the Prime Minister stressed just a few minutes ago, has

helped to avoid a serious internal conflict. Spain was also

ready to participate in the multinational force for Zaire. My

Government is also studying ways of enhancing the

Organization’s operational readiness, particularly by

increasing its rapid deployment capabilities.

While dealing with this matter, I must refer briefly to

certain situations of special interest to my Government. The

deterioration of the situation in the Serb Republic is a cause

of special concern. We must continue to give firm backing

to those in the Republic who are willing to cooperate with

SFOR, the High Representative and the special envoys.

Sub-Saharan Africa also deserves special attention. Of

particular concern is the serious situation which persists in

the Great Lakes region and in the Republic of Congo. Spain

supports the efforts under way to restore peace, as well as

the holding of an international conference under the

auspices of the United Nations and the Organization of

African Unity (OAU). Likewise, with reference to the

situation in Angola, Spain joins the appeal to UNITA to

comply with its international commitments and to finally

allow peace to come to this country.

My Government welcomes the recent agreements

reached in Houston to unblock implementation of the

United Nations settlement plan for Western Sahara, and

accordingly wishes to congratulate Morocco and the

Polisario Front. I equally wish to congratulate the Personal

Envoy of the Secretary-General, Mr. James Baker, on the

efficient mediation work he has performed. My Government

considers that the holding of a referendum, freely and with

international guarantees, in which the Sahraqui people will

exercise their right to self-determination, continues to be the

only acceptable solution to this conflict. Spain, which has

always supported the settlement plan, considers therefore

that the extension of the mandate of the United Nations

Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara

(MINURSO) is indispensable. My Government trusts that

the parties will continue to demonstrate flexibility and a

constructive spirit until the referendum is held.

Spain is also following developments in the Middle

East with the greatest concern. The peace process is,

without a doubt, going through one of its most difficult

phases. However, this dialogue is the only possible

alternative. The European Union, in particular through its

Special Envoy, the Spanish diplomat Miguel Angel

Moratinos, is making major efforts. I should like here to

reiterate the Spanish Government’s commitment to this

process and to restate our willingness to continue to work

actively for peace and understanding among the peoples

of the region.

With the signing of the Agreement on a Firm and

Lasting Peace in Guatemala, a process in which Spain

played an active role in the verification of compliance

with the accords, the way has been paved to stability, the

strengthening of democratic institutions and sustainable

development in Guatemala. Spain will continue to support

this process, through practical measures such as

multilateral and bilateral cooperation.

As I have already indicated, peacekeeping has

become a multifaceted activity. In addition to military

activities, it has become essential to take into account the

humanitarian consequences of conflicts. In fact, the

humanitarian role of the United Nations is increasingly

linked to peacekeeping. Spain accordingly supports the

Secretary-General’s initiatives to enhance the coordination

and rapid deployment capability of the United Nations

humanitarian response through the establishment of the

Emergency Relief Coordination Office.

Together with my Government’s official

humanitarian aid, I must refer here to the commitment of

Spanish civil society to such humanitarian operations, and

pay tribute to all the international relief workers and

missionaries who, generously and at risk to their very

lives, are deployed in war-devastated areas. Five Spanish

relief workers and four missionaries have been killed in

recent months while performing their humanitarian tasks.

Spain considers that additional measures must be adopted

to protect those participating in these humanitarian

missions, and we intend to introduce a proposal to that

end during this session.

Recent experience of the conflicts in the former

Yugoslavia and in Rwanda has highlighted the need to

23

create a judicial body to prevent impunity and to facilitate

reconciliation of war-torn societies and consolidate the

peace process. The creation of an international criminal

court is thus a matter to which the Spanish Government

attaches great importance.

Concern for the protection and promotion of human

rights, which is becoming one of the Organization’s

principal functions, underlies all these developments. As of

10 December and throughout 1998 we will be celebrating

the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. This will be an appropriate time to assess

the situation and to devise strategies which will allow us to

continue to move forward in the advancement of human

rights.

As pointed out by the Secretary-General in his report,

the United Nations human rights programme must be

integrated into the whole range of the Organization’s

activities. Spain supports the Secretary-General’s proposal

to consolidate the Centre for Human Rights and the Office

of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and stresses

the need to increase the human and financial resources

devoted to the human rights programme.

Spain will maintain an active policy in defence of

human rights and will help to ensure general respect for

human rights and for democratic principles.

Another of the Organization’s major functions is

cooperation for development. Spain welcomes the proposals

put forward in this area by the Secretary-General. In

particular, I should like to stress my support for the

Secretary-General’s various initiatives aimed at ensuring the

release of more funds for operational programmes.

The inclusion in development cooperation activities of

other than purely economic factors — such as social and

environmental ones — is the expression of a concept to

which the United Nations has given primary attention

through a number of international conferences held under

its auspices. I am referring to the subject of sustainable

development.

I would like to underline in this respect the importance

that the Spanish Government attaches to environmental

matters and our special interest in the problem of

desertification, which affects Spain so directly. I wish to

note in this context that my country is presenting the

candidature of Murcia as headquarters of the permanent

secretariat of the Convention to Combat Desertification. I

am convinced that Murcia would be an excellent

headquarters, and I therefore ask Members for their

support.

The attainment of effective international cooperation

in the fight against terrorism is a priority objective for my

Government. The phenomenon of terrorism cannot be

controlled without complete and active cooperation at all

levels. The conceptual advances made in the area of

extradition that have taken place within the European

Union must be furthered in the United Nations. The

Spanish Government participates actively in the

negotiations on the International Convention for the

Suppression of Terrorist Bombings, aimed at creating an

effective tool in the fight against terrorism that is

acceptable to the largest possible number of countries.

Spain also supports the Declaration on Measures to

Eliminate International Terrorism and the Supplement to

that Declaration adopted by the Assembly at its last

session.

In this connection, I cannot fail to mention the tragic

situation in Algeria, a country which is a neighbour and

a friend of Spain and which has the solidarity and support

of my Government in its battle against the plague of

terrorism. The Algerian Government can count on

Spanish backing to continue resolutely the process of

political reform, in order to achieve the widest possible

base of support among the population, ensure peaceful

and lasting coexistence and to eradicate terrorism.

The fight against drug trafficking is also a question

of the greatest importance to Spain, and it is one that

undoubtedly has connections with terrorism and

transnational crime. My Government therefore supports

the creation in Vienna of an international crime

prevention centre designed to reinforce the Organization’s

capacity to combat these scourges.

Spain is pleased with the decisive role played by the

United Nations in disarmament and arms control. Spain

welcomes the outcome of the Oslo Conference and will

be signing the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use,

Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel

Mines and on Their Destruction, while promoting

discussion of this question in Geneva at the Conference

on Disarmament.

The preparation of a protocol to strengthen the

Biological Weapons Convention — particularly in the

field of verification; the negotiation of a convention to

ban fissionable material for the manufacture of nuclear

weapons; and the improvement of control and

24

transparency in conventional weapons: these are also

matters of importance.

The process of decolonization has without any doubt

been one of the Organization’s greatest successes. It may

therefore seem anachronistic to refer to this matter in a

statement that deals with the reform of the United Nations

and that focuses on the present and the most immediate

future, rather than on the past. The reality, however, is that

unresolved colonial situations unfortunately continue to

exist, and our Organization still has to deal with them.

With regard to these situations, Spain is affected

directly and painfully by the question of Gibraltar. The

existence of this colony on our territory — the colony of a

State that, like Spain, belongs, to the Atlantic Alliance and

to the European Union — is an anomaly and an

anachronism that we are trying to resolve within the context

of the doctrine established by the United Nations. In

resolution 2353 (XXII), and in accordance with resolution

1514 (XV), the General Assembly acknowledged that the

colonial status of Gibraltar violates Spanish territorial

integrity and that the principle of self-determination

therefore does not apply. The territory of Gibraltar was an

integral part of Spain, and the Spaniards who lived there

were expelled when a military base was established.

Pursuant to the repeated invitations made by the

United Nations to Spain and to the United Kingdom to

settle this matter by negotiation, my Government is engaged

in the search for a solution through the bilateral channel

established in the Brussels Declaration of November 1984.

The Spanish authorities have given repeated assurances that

the legitimate interests of the inhabitants of Gibraltar will

be respected. I very recently and publicly formulated a most

generous offer whereby, following the reincorporation of

Gibraltar into Spain, the current inhabitants of the colony

would be allowed to retain the broad outlines of their

present economic and legal situation. We believe that this

offer should help us advance in the bilateral negotiations

with the United Kingdom.

We all agree on to the irreplaceable nature of our

Organization and on the need to reform it. However, our

Organization cannot prosper, nor can the reforms be put in

place, if we Member States do not comply in full with our

financial commitments. As the Secretary-General himself

has pointed out, the Organization’s present financial crisis

is a payments crisis. The punctual and full payment of

contributions is an international legal obligation that should

be recognized by all States that respect the international

rule of law. It is unacceptable that any Member State

should place conditions on these payments or on the

payment of arrears. Such a practice would lead eventually

to the bankruptcy of the Organization we defend.

As early as 1996, the European Union introduced a

proposal designed to encourage States to meet their

financial obligations to the Organization and to establish

a fairer scale of assessments. Spain hopes that this

proposal will be carefully considered at this session.

The United Nations is the main international forum

entrusted with maintaining international peace and

security, with promoting development, human rights and

fundamental freedoms and with ensuring cooperation

between States. The indispensable nature of its role has

become clear in recent years.

Finally, I would like to restate the Spanish

Government’s firm commitment to the purposes contained

in the Charter of the United Nations and to reassert our

unshakeable determination to continue to participate in the

reform process in the firm belief that, together, we will be

able to adapt the United Nations to the requirements of

the new millennium.