Tunisia, 1999

I

would like first of all to extend to you, Sir, my warmest

congratulations on your election as President of the

General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session. I have no

doubt that your long diplomatic experience and your deep

knowledge of international relations will enable you to

guide the work of this session to a successful conclusion.

Your election is a token of appreciation from the

international community to you personally and to your

country, Namibia, which is noted for its prestige in Africa

and in the world. Tunisia, which stood by the fraternal

14

Namibian people in their successful struggle against

colonialism, is proud of its close ties with your country and

looks forward to strengthening and developing them further

in the interests of our two countries and peoples.

Allow me to take this opportunity to express our

sincere gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Didier Opertti,

for his valuable efforts during his presidency of the fifty-

third Assembly and for the wise manner in which he

conducted its work, which had a very positive impact on

the deliberations.

I take this opportunity also to express to the Secretary-

General our great appreciation for his relentless efforts in

promoting and strengthening the pacific, negotiated

settlement of disputes and crises in various parts of the

world. We commend him for his dedication to enhancing

the effectiveness and efficiency of the Secretariat and to

strengthening the Organization's role in meeting

humankind's desire for progress, security and peace.

I extend Tunisia's congratulations to the Republic of

Nauru, the Republic of Kiribati and the Kingdom of Tonga

on their admission to our Organization.

What characterizes this session is that it is being held

at the close of a decade that began with the prospect of an

end to the cold war, witnessed the emergence of new

concepts and future-oriented visions designed to avoid any

repeat of past errors and crises, and aimed to establish a

new world order based on security, peace, cooperation and

stability. Although optimism marked the early stages of this

new era, subsequent developments have compelled the

international community to conduct a comprehensive review

of the immediate past in order to solve the various

difficulties and problems of our world today.

As we meet during this session at the dawn of the

twenty-first century, we have a propitious opportunity to

discuss and exchange views about various possible methods

for amending the approach that we have taken over the last

few years and identifying its weaknesses and deficiencies.

We must then devise a renewed approach that will provide

future generations with the capacity to adapt, overcome

obstacles, preserve international peace and security and

ensure well-being and prosperity for all humanity.

For the framework of such a renewed approach to

maintaining international peace and security, we have in

mind three main themes. First, the change that has taken

place in the approach to armaments and to their role in the

world. Secondly, the growing need for increased attention

to settling regional disputes. Thirdly, the transformation

of economic and social development into one of the

cornerstones of peace and security globally. Despite the

great strides which the international community has made

in these three areas, much remains to be done before we

achieve the goal of a qualitative transition that would

allow us to guarantee security and tranquillity for all

people and for the generations to come.

Our world possesses huge arsenals of weapons,

especially weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons

foremost among them. It is extremely important, in our

view, for the nuclear Powers to take rapid steps to

eliminate these weapons, especially given the limits of the

current non-proliferation regime in the long term and the

impossibility of contemplating non-proliferation as a

substitute for completely dismantling and destroying all

nuclear weapons and banning them in the future.

We believe that as we move closer to the twenty-

first century, the international community has a historic

opportunity to achieve this noble goal or at least to

conclude an agreement on nuclear disarmament. In

working towards this goal, it is extremely important to

ensure that non-nuclear weapon States are not subject to

the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons in violation of

their security and territorial integrity. Consideration must

be given to the fact that non-nuclear-weapon States

constitute the overwhelming majority of Member States

and have freely chosen not to possess nuclear weapons.

We would like, in this regard, to address another

aspect of disarmament: small arms. We all know how

destructive small arms can be. Tunisia supports all

international efforts to curb small arms proliferation and

trafficking.

Tunisia, which has abided by all disarmament

treaties and conventions, reiterates its total commitment

to the disarmament objectives and its strong resolve to

continue contributing towards the achievement of these

goals in the various relevant fora, especially the

Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Tunisia recently

had the honour of joining the Conference, following the

Conference's decision last August to expand its

membership by admitting five new countries.

In implementation of the Ottawa Convention on the

Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and

Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their

Destruction, Tunisia destroyed large quantities of mines

during an official ceremony on 29 June 1999 attended by

15

a representative of the United Nations in Tunis. We hope

that all States parties to the Convention will participate in

the Convention process without delay so that the

Convention's objectives are achieved and transparency is

promoted pursuant to the Convention's article 7.

The outbreak and persistence of conflicts in many

parts of the world compel our Organization to be constantly

ready to assume its responsibilities and to play the role it

has been assigned in this regard by the Charter. We believe

that the efforts aimed at consolidating preventive

diplomacy, collective security, the peaceful settlement of

disputes and adherence to international legality are

foundations of international peace and security and should

be further upheld.

However, despite the numerous successes of our

Organization in this field, there are still many hotbeds of

tension and war that require more coordination and

cooperation if they are to be curbed and prevented from

spreading. I should like in this regard to address the

question of so-called “humanitarian intervention”. This is a

sensitive and delicate issue. It requires, in our view, a

thorough and profound analysis taking into account all its

aspects, especially those related, first, to the sovereignty of

States and the need to preserve it as a natural right

enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations as a

fundamental element of international relations; and,

secondly, the necessity to save the lives of civilian

populations in times of conflict, in accordance with the

principle of international solidarity.

All States Members of the Organization are called

upon to consider all the implications of these principles in

order to reach consensus on this issue and to contribute in

a considered and balanced way to the debate on it. Such a

debate should not be confined to the Security Council, but

should also involve the General Assembly.

The issues related to the security problems confronting

the African continent should remain at the top of our

priorities. These issues need the strong material and

financial support of the international community if they are

to be resolved. Africa, in turn, has given top priority to the

question of the settlement of internal disputes. The

Organization of African Unity Mechanism for Conflict

Prevention, Management and Resolution has played an

important role in this regard. Since its inception, the

Mechanism has achieved encouraging results that reflect the

determination of African countries to rely, first and

foremost, on their own capacity to solve the problems that

threaten the security of the continent, in full coordination

with the United Nations. Given its importance, the

Mechanism needs stronger financial and technical support

from the international community, which would help to

enhance its capacities and to develop its effectiveness and

efficiency.

We must stress in this regard the extreme importance

of development, a basic guarantor of lasting security.

Indeed, there can be no stability without sustainable

development. Despite the relentless efforts of African

countries in the political, economic and social fields

aimed at improving the situation of their peoples, there

are still many difficulties that prevent many countries

from implementing their development programmes.

It has become a matter of urgency that the African

continent receive strong and continuous support on the

basis of its national priorities. We note in this regard that

the initiative of the Security Council and the General

Assembly to convene meetings to discuss and follow up

the situation in Africa bears testimony to a growing and

consolidated awareness of the need to address African

problems. While commending this approach, we must

emphasize the need to adopt practical plans which

Africa's partners can translate into concrete realities in an

effective manner.

We commend the various initiatives of the United

Nations, its specialized agencies and the Bretton Woods

institutions to promote sustainable development in Africa.

We believe, however, that it is important to ensure

coordination between United Nations initiatives and those

undertaken by donor countries if such initiatives are to

succeed. In this framework, we look forward to the

adoption of practical initiatives that respond to the

proposals spelt out in the report of the Secretary-General

on the causes of conflict and the promotion of sustainable

peace and development in Africa, particularly regarding

the debt problem.

In Tunisia, we are aware of the important role that

economic and geographical groupings play in today's

world in addressing the challenges posed by globalization

and in adapting to constant important changes. This

awareness prompts us to pursue our endeavours, along

with our brothers in the Maghreb countries, to complete

the establishment of the Arab Maghreb Union, which

remains a strategic and firm choice and which also

represents the aspirations of the people of our region to

16

prosperity, security and integration. This choice is even

more pressing in the light of our country's endeavours to set

up a Euro-Mediterranean space as a framework for

cooperation between all Mediterranean countries, for

solidarity between its peoples and for a cultural and social

dialogue on the basis of the noble values and high

principles in which we all believe.

With respect to the Middle East, where the conflict

has lasted more than half a century, peace, which is

cherished by the peoples of that region and indeed by the

whole world, still faces difficulties despite the efforts that

have been made by the international community,

particularly since the early 1970s. There is no doubt that a

comprehensive, just and lasting peace is the only way to

consolidate the foundations of stability and security and to

enable all parties to devote their resources and energies to

the development efforts of their countries and to ensuring

the well-being of their peoples.

Tunisia has followed with satisfaction the new

developments brought about by the signing of the Sharm el-

Sheikh Memorandum, which has created a new encouraging

climate for the reactivation of the peace process and the

faithful and full implementation of all agreements and

commitments. We hope that the final status negotiations

will lead to the resolution of the most important issues,

particularly the recognition of the inalienable rights of the

Palestinian people, in particular its right to establish an

independent State on its land, with Jerusalem as its capital.

On the basis of this firm position of principle in

support of the peace process, and eager as it is to see the

peace process succeed on all tracks, Tunisia insists on the

importance of reactivating negotiations on the Syrian and

Lebanese tracks from the point at which they stopped, as

well as on the necessity of the complete and unconditional

withdrawal of Israel from South Lebanon and from the

Syrian Golan Heights, in compliance with the relevant

United Nations resolutions and on the basis of the principle

of land for peace. Occupation and peace cannot co-exist.

Regarding the Lockerbie issue, Tunisia expresses its

satisfaction at the recent positive developments, to which it

and other parties of good will contributed. It also reiterates

its call for a speedy and final lifting of the embargo

imposed on the brotherly Libyan people.

With respect to the question of Iraq, Tunisia reiterates

its call for a peaceful solution in the context of international

resolutions. It also calls upon the international community

to join efforts to put an end to the suffering of the Iraqi

people so that all the efforts of the peoples of that region

can be directed towards development and the promotion

of stability. Thus, Tunisia, which has called for respect

for international legality, expresses the hope that a

solution will soon be found to all the humanitarian issues

resulting from this tragedy, particularly the question of

Kuwaiti prisoners of war and missing persons, in

conformity with the relevant Security Council resolutions.

Regarding the question of the three islands of

Greater Tunb, Lesser Tunb and Abu Musa, Tunisia

reiterates its support for the resolution of this dispute

between the United Arab Emirates and Iran through

peaceful means, either through direct dialogue or, if that

should prove impossible, by referring the question to the

International Court of Justice.

In another region of the world, the international

community has focused its attention in recent months on

another important question, that of East Timor. In this

regard, we welcome the adoption of Security Council

resolution 1264 (1999) and hope that its implementation

will enable the people of East Timor to achieve self-

determination and will, at the same time, maintain

security in the region and preserve the sovereignty and

integrity of Indonesia. We commend Indonesia's courage

in responding to the wishes of the people of East Timor

and the international community. We believe that a final

settlement of this issue can be achieved only in an

atmosphere of conciliation that involves all parties

concerned, and with the support and blessing of the

international community.

One of the most important phenomena characterizing

the end of this century is the growing globalization that

now dominates various aspects of our social life.

Although it has created new opportunities in the field of

economic development, it is likely, if not brought under

control, to lead to further disruption in international

relations and development plans. The international

community must seriously and firmly address the

challenges posed by globalization. This entails the

demonstration of stronger political will from all parties

and the implementation of all the commitments made,

particularly at the important conferences of the United

Nations.

Follow-up and implementation of the

recommendations of international conferences is, in our

opinion, of great importance. In this regard, we would

like to express our satisfaction with the continuing work

of the preparatory Committees for the two special

17

sessions of the General Assembly to review and appraise

implementation of the Beijing Platform of Action dealing

with women's and family issues and of the Copenhagen

World Summit for Social Development, which will be held

in June, in New York and Geneva respectively. However,

we note with concern that, despite the efforts made at the

United Nations, which has placed the eradication of poverty

high on its agenda, the agreed target set at the Copenhagen

Summit for increasing the amount of official development

assistance to 0.7 per cent of the gross national product of

developed countries has not yet been met.

This situation requires action at the international level

aimed at achieving solidarity, which we consider an

essential link between peoples. In this context we place the

recent call by His Excellency Mr. Zine El Abidine Ben Ali,

President of the Republic of Tunisia, to all world leaders

and to various United Nations and other international

institutions for the creation of a world solidarity fund. The

objective of this fund would be to collect voluntary

donations and contributions to be used in the fight against

poverty and in the development of the poorest regions in

various parts of the world, particularly in the least

developed countries that undergo various tragedies and

crises. Our country will endeavour, through its contacts

with brotherly and friendly countries and at the United

Nations and other international organizations, to rally the

necessary support for this noble humanitarian project and

for the elaboration of modalities for its creation as soon as

possible. This will enable us to be more responsive to our

options and commitments, which have gained the

acceptance of the international community and which have

been set forth in the recommendations of various

international conferences.

We also rely on United Nations institutions, such as

the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the

World Health Organization (WHO), the United Nations

Children's Fund (UNICEF), the United Nations Population

Fund (UNFPA), the Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations (FAO) and other institutions in view of

their prestige and experience as well as their interest in the

fight against poverty, to contribute efficiently to the speedy

creation of this fund.

The year 1999 represents a new landmark in the

consolidation of the democratic process in Tunisia. It will

be marked by pluralistic presidential and parliamentary

elections based on full transparency and freedom of choice

for citizens within the context of freedom and respect for

law. Tunisia has undertaken a programme of substantial

reforms over the past 12 years in different areas, having

amended the Constitution, allowing political pluralism and

a multiparty system, eliminating special courts and

enacting legislation in conformity with our obligations to

international treaties in the field of human rights, which

Tunisia has been among the first countries to ratify.

In the same spirit, Tunisia has long undertaken to

promote women's freedom and gender equality. It

publishes a special journal on children's rights and a code

on the care and rights of the elderly, handicapped and

other vulnerable categories. All these reforms embody

Tunisia's global vision regarding all dimensions of human

rights and confirm our country's strong belief in the

universality of such principles.

The creation of many multilateral organizations,

particularly the United Nations, represents the most

important achievement of the international community in

this century. Thanks to the solid institutional edifice in

which our Organization holds a privileged place, rules

regulating relations between States have been codified,

and common objectives, programmes and strategies have

been elaborated in order to address the problems

confronting the world.

Despite the successes and achievements in this

regard, certain weaknesses still mark international

relations, and various new disruptions and dangers have

emerged. In the context of all the developments and

changes that have occurred, the United Nations remains

the ideal forum and haven for the elaboration of collective

strategies to overcome challenges.

We believe that the millennium summit, to be held

during the fifty-fifth session of the General Assembly,

constitutes an ideal opportunity, which the international

community should fully utilize, evaluate its

accomplishments and build a strategy based on them in

order to usher in the new millennium with diligence and

confidence. That summit will also be a historic occasion

for heads of State and Government to debate this matter.

In this regard, we believe that the Organization

needs to be provided with all the necessary means to play

an effective role in international relations and affairs.

Reforming the Organization and its various structures on

the basis of the developments and changes that have

occurred will certainly ensure its vitality. Among the

urgent tasks that the Member States need to address today

is to reform the Security Council in a way that would

reflect the profound changes the international community

has witnessed, ensure global representation in this vital

18

body and consolidate the principles of transparency and

democracy in its working methods.

We need to stress, in this context, that we expect the

reform of the Security Council to lead to the fulfilment of

the requests of developing countries, primarily African

countries, to have permanent representation on the Security

Council, which would allow them to contribute to the tasks

and responsibilities assigned to this body in the

maintenance of international peace and security.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate the full

commitment of Tunisia to the purposes and principles of

the United Nations as enshrined in the Charter, the same

purposes and principles it has adopted and implemented in

its foreign policy. Tunisia is a peace-loving and justice-

loving nation. It has endeavoured relentlessly since its

admission to this body, and in all the forums to which it

belongs, to contribute with all the means at its disposal to

strengthen the foundations of international peace and

security. It makes every effort to encourage dialogue and

negotiations as the proper means for the settlement of

disputes and crises. It has participated in United Nations

peacekeeping operations since the early 1960s and presently

contributes to three of them. Last June Tunisia signed with

the United Nations an agreement that would place standby

forces at the disposal of the Organization.

Tunisia spares no effort in contributing to all

initiatives aimed at promoting cooperation, solidarity and

understanding between countries and peoples. That is the

direction we have freely chosen and that we intend to

pursue if and when my country is given the honour of

being elected to a non-permanent seat on the Security

Council for the period 2000-2001 by the Member States

and with the full support of the brotherly African Group,

other groups and friendly countries. We look forward to the

support of all Member States so that my country can

continue working with them towards fulfilling the task of

advancing the purposes and principles of the Charter.