Sweden, 1995

First of all I should

like to welcome the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement

being signed today in Washington by Yasser Arafat and

Yitzhak Rabin. This show of reconciliation should be an

example to parties in various conflicts the world over.

As the United Nations celebrates its fiftieth

anniversary, it is time to look to the future. The world is

different. The end of the cold war, the spread of

democracy, economic globalization, and the explosive

growth of communications have led to far-reaching

changes. Distances between people are shorter, national

boundaries are more open and global interdependence is

increasingly apparent.

Security is no longer primarily a military matter.

Security also implies building confidence, justice and

equal opportunities to achieve lasting and sustainable

peace, both within countries and through closer

cooperation between countries and peoples.

Such cooperation is needed at the regional and

global levels. Further enlargement of the European Union

would be a step towards a pan-European community for

peace and security. We have a historic opportunity to

create a united Europe, ultimately developing integration

and cooperation to a point where war becomes

inconceivable anywhere on our continent. In my vision,

the European Union must be a genuine peace project,

opening itself towards the rest of Europe and the rest of

the world.

At the same time, major threats to human security

are global. They must be met by global action. Thus, we

must revitalize the United Nations system, and adapt the

Organization to the new reality. We need an effective

instrument for global cooperation — for peace and

security, for sustainable development, for justice and for

a life in dignity for all.

We are more convinced than ever that, with 50 years

of experience, the United Nations is an indispensable tool

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for achieving these goals. Fifty years of experience have

strengthened our support for the purposes and principles of

the United Nations Charter.

In pursuit of these goals, United Nations personnel all

over the world are making major contributions. They merit

our deep gratitude. We pay special tribute to those who

have lost their lives in the service of the world community

and we extend our sympathy to their families.

Appalling pictures of human suffering in Somalia,

Rwanda and former Yugoslavia force their way into our

homes. We see the United Nations humiliated. The apparent

shortcomings of the world Organization have sown doubts

about the feasibility of multilateral global cooperation. But

the problems of the United Nations are in fact those of its

Member States. They result from a combination of growing

needs and expectations, on the one hand, and insufficient

resources and a lack of political will, on the other.

Sweden’s former Prime Minister, Olof Palme,

developed this theme in a speech he gave from this rostrum

10 years ago at the special commemorative session to mark

the fortieth anniversary of the United Nations. He said:

“Let us not make the United Nations the

scapegoat for problems that reflect our own

shortcomings. It is not the United Nations that has not

lived up to us; it is we who have not lived up to the

ideals of the United Nations. It is by improving

ourselves and our policies that we can improve the

United Nations.” (Official Records of the General

Assembly, Fortieth Session, Plenary Meetings, 43rd

meeting, p. 64)

Let us not curse the dark but instead shed light. Let us

draw lessons both from the more difficult United Nations

operations of recent years, and the more successful ones —

El Salvador, Namibia, Mozambique and Cambodia.

We have learned that we must take action at an early

stage, before the catastrophe is a fact, before the genie of

violence has escaped from the bottle. The United Nations

Charter offers plenty of scope for preventive efforts. Action

must be undertaken with the consent of the States

concerned and their sovereignty must be respected. We

appeal to Governments: in an internal conflict accept the

assistance offered by the United Nations or by a regional

organization.

Prevention is seldom glamorous. It does not make

headlines. Long-term, often tedious, work, with the focus

on the fundamental causes of conflicts, must be backed

up by deliberate political support.

More resources must be earmarked for preventive

measures. This is an investment that is needed if we are

to avoid new tragedies. The Swedish Government is

currently studying how to improve the United Nations

capacity for early-warning and preventive action.

We have learned to focus on the security and needs

of human beings. Our goal must always be human

coexistence, irrespective of cultural, religious or ethnic

differences. We must never confine ourselves to drawing

up maps that reflect the realities of power politics. We

must never accept the evil of “ethnic cleansing”. If we do,

we will ultimately threaten ourselves and our future.

We have also learned the importance of the

principles of international law and respect for human

rights. Humanitarian law must be defended and reinforced

and war crimes investigated. For example, we must find

out what happened to those who disappeared in

Srebrenica and Zepa. By bringing war criminals to trial

we will enhance respect for humanitarian law.

Perpetrators of cruelty, rape and torture must be made to

understand that they cannot act out their perversions with

impunity. We support the international criminal Tribunal

for the former Yugoslavia, and the Rwanda tribunal.

We have learned that a democratic culture provides

greater potential for prevention and conflict resolution.

Continued democratization within individual countries

must be encouraged, underpinning a democratic

international community. Sweden is honoured to be the

host country of the International Institute for Democracy

and Electoral Assistance (IDEA), which supports

democratization processes throughout the world. The work

of IDEA will be a valuable complement to the efforts of

the United Nations and non-governmental organizations

in this area.

We have learned that troops must be made available

for rapid-reaction operations when non-military measures

have failed. As a conflict begins to escalate, every hour

is precious. The lack of well-trained and well-equipped

peace-keeping forces, ready to be deployed at short

notice, may preclude successful action. Failure to achieve

the proper execution of Security Council decisions due to

lack of troops undermines respect for the United Nations.

We welcome the efforts made — by Canada and

Denmark for example — to improve the United Nations

9

stand-by capacity. Sweden will contribute an international

force to achieve this objective.

We have also learned that the Security Council

mandates for United Nations peace operations must be

more precisely formulated. Clear messages to the parties

concerned are necessary. Unclear mandates may lead to

ambiguous perceptions of the United Nations role in a

conflict.

We have learned the need to strengthen the United

Nations ability to command and control peace operations.

We welcome the reinforcements of the Secretariat that have

taken place. Confusion occurs when troop-contributing

countries intervene in the field through direct contacts with

their own contingents. An effective forum for consultations

with troop contributors could add to more effective

management of peace operations. Such a forum should be

established under the Security Council, preferably in

accordance with Article 29 of the United Nations Charter.

We have also learned that coordination of diplomatic,

humanitarian and military efforts must be improved. Those

who are to do the work in the field — humanitarian

organizations and potential troop-contributing countries —

should participate at an early stage in discussions on the

implementation of mandates for complex United Nations

peace operations. In this context, I would like to underline

the importance of the United Nations Department of

Humanitarian Affairs.

Further, we have learned the need to involve

non-governmental organizations in such humanitarian

operations. We have learned the value of comprehensive

United Nations efforts in which humanitarian assistance,

peacemaking, peace-keeping and long-term peace-building

are carried out simultaneously, thus mutually reinforcing

each other.

We have learned that monitoring respect for human

rights can build confidence, thus allaying fears and

preventing the use of force.

We have learned the vital importance of regional

organizations for peace and security, as foreseen in Chapter

VIII of the United Nations Charter. The Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) is already

playing a prominent role in conflict management in Europe.

In other parts of the world — in Africa, Asia and the

Americas — regional and subregional organizations are in

a position to fulfil similar tasks, if necessary with the

support of the United Nations.

Military operations should be based on decisions

taken by the United Nations, the OSCE or corresponding

organizations in other regions. Other regional

arrangements may have a role in organizing and executing

such operations, but the bodies I have just mentioned

should assume overall political and strategic

responsibility.

As we approach the twenty-first century, the fiftieth

anniversary of the United Nations offers an opportunity to

establish a solid basis for improved global cooperation.

Sweden welcomes the reform process now under way in

the United Nations. To embrace multilateralism we must

all rise above short-sighted interests and focus on what is

best for global cooperation. We need political leadership

from Governments if we are to make progress.

Adapting the United Nations to the demands of the

new era will involve hard work and difficult negotiations.

We must not miss the opportunity provided by this

anniversary. We need speedy progress. A clear timetable

and a comprehensive framework are required for

necessary change.

The Commission on Global Governance, under the

chairmanship of Sir Shridath Ramphal and the Prime

Minister of Sweden, Ingvar Carlsson, offers several

proposals for a stronger, more efficient and more

democratic United Nations. The Commission’s report is

a valuable contribution and a source of inspiration for

United Nations reform.

In order to be effective and more representative, the

Security Council requires enlargement. We would

welcome Germany and Japan as permanent members. At

the same time, the need for geographical balance must be

met. We want a more transparent Security Council. We

want a composition and a decision-making process which

prevent the division of the world into spheres of interest.

The reform of the Security Council should be reviewed

after 15 to 20 years with a view to maintaining its

legitimacy and to achieving optimum flexibility.

We meet at a time when the financial situation of

the United Nations is critical. Last Monday the Nordic

Foreign Ministers, in a joint statement, highlighted the

threat to multilateralism caused by the present financial

crisis. Nowhere is the crisis in multilateralism seen more

clearly than in the unwillingness of some Member States

to pay their assessed contributions to the United Nations

in full, without conditions and on time. It is unacceptable

that so far only one third of the Member States have paid

10

their regular-budget contributions for this year. Countries

constantly demand more from the Organization, yet some

of them are not willing to pay their membership fees. They

apparently want others to foot the bill.

Unilateral withholding of payment cannot be justified.

Unilateral measures undermine multilateralism, particularly

when taken by the single most important contributor. It is

humiliating to see the Secretary-General spend time and

energy begging for funds when the world community is

demanding that the United Nations concentrate fully on the

tasks which it was designed for.

The United Nations needs revised scales of assessment

to better reflect Member States’ ability to pay. Together

with the United Kingdom, my Government has presented

concrete proposals to address this problem.

In the longer term, the resource base of the United

Nations must be strengthened. The possibility of additional

sources of funding needs also to be considered.

Poverty and social misery are the greatest long-term

threats to international peace and security. Some of the

poorest countries have been caught in vicious circles of

debt management. The United Nations must be given a

stronger and better-defined role in the economic and social

fields.

A clearer division of work is called for in development

assistance. Better coordination, more distinct priorities and

more effective management by the United Nations

development agencies are required. The governing boards

of these agencies must be in a better position to play their

leading role in the implementation of development

assistance. Furthermore, we need improved forms of

financing, with a higher proportion of assistance levied and

negotiated in advance. More long-term planning of

assistance is required, and the flow of funds must become

more predictable.

Sweden continues to be one of the largest voluntary

contributors to United Nations economic and social

activities. We expect other donor countries to assume their

responsibilities to the same degree. As regards total

development assistance, it must be possible for most donor

countries to reach the United Nations target of 0.7 per cent

of gross national product.

The United Nations is contemporary with the atomic

bomb. Today we no longer accept living under a nuclear

threat. The indefinite extension of the Treaty on the Non-

Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) was an important

step in the right direction. We urge those few States

which have not yet acceded to the NPT to do so without

further delay, thus making it clear to the world

community that they renounce the nuclear-weapon option.

In May of this year the 180 States which have

acceded to the NPT confirmed that the ultimate goal is to

abolish nuclear weapons. International bans on chemical

and biological weapons are already in place. It should be

possible, if there is political will, to achieve within 10 to

15 years an agreement prohibiting nuclear weapons, thus

making this threat to human existence a brief interlude in

our history.

A comprehensive test-ban treaty must be achieved in

1996, banning all nuclear tests for all time. In the

meantime, we urge the nuclear-weapon States to refrain

from all nuclear testing in order to ensure that faith in a

future free from fear of a nuclear holocaust can be

sustained.

Every day, every hour, around the world,

anti-personnel mines indiscriminately maim innocent

civilians, many of them children. The ongoing Conference

in Vienna to review the 1980 weapons Convention should

result in a strongly and concretely reinforced regime

against anti-personnel mines. This is a fundamental, moral

and humanitarian imperative, and it is one step on the

road to a total international ban on the use of

anti-personnel mines. Moreover, substantial resources

need to be invested in efficient mine clearance. Sweden

is ready to contribute expertise and assist in the

development of more advanced technology in this field.

Furthermore, at the Vienna Conference, Sweden has

proposed an additional protocol on blinding weapons. For

more than a decade we have worked for explicit

prohibition of blinding as a method of warfare. We now

hope that it will be universally accepted.

Security is a broad concept in today’s world. We

know that poverty, social injustice, environmental

degradation, rapid population growth and massive refugee

flows create fear, disruption and conflicts.

The major United Nations conferences on

environment and development, human rights, population,

social issues, women and human settlement all involved

crucial questions of survival. We welcome the outcome of

these conferences, the most recent of which was the

Fourth World Conference on Women, held in Beijing. We

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need to address both the root causes and the consequences

of social injustice. Sustainable social and economic

development can be achieved only with the full

participation of women.

To Sweden, multilateral cooperation is the most

important instrument for mastering the crucial issues of

survival. For this reason, we will continue to be an active

Member of the United Nations. For this reason, we believe

wholeheartedly that multilateralism is not only a matter of

solidarity, but, indeed, a question of enlightened self-

interest.

As an expression of our strong commitment to the

United Nations and to international peace and security,

Sweden is a candidate for a seat on the Security Council in

1997-98. Our candidacy is a matter of highest priority for

the Swedish Government and the Swedish people. It has

been launched with the full support of the other four Nordic

countries. As a member of the Council, we will make a

constructive contribution to its work. Our dedication will be

consistent with our record as a United Nations Member.

Our support for United Nations ideals and activities is

concrete, substantial and unwavering.