Calls for stronger UN highlight second day of General Assembly debate
Opening the morning session, President Sulejman Tihic of Bosnia and Herzegovina drew on the tragic experience of his own country - torn apart a decade ago by ethnic war between Serbs, Muslims and Croats in which thousands were massacred - to highlight the need for effective UN action.
"If UN mechanisms had been more efficient, the aggression against Bosnia and Herzegovina would not have happened or, at least, the war could not have lasted that long," he said. "And genocide would not have been committed in the UN safe haven of Srebrenica and Žepa," he added of the UN-designated zone where between 7,000 and 8,000 Muslim men and boys were murdered in July 1995 after it was overrun by Serbs. Video
President |
But he warned that no amount of reinforcement would help without addressing hunger, poverty and inequality among and within nations. "The international community must understand - we all must - that peace, security and the stability of the world system are not uniquely related to political, military or strategic issues," he said. "Poverty and exclusion are some of the new threats to peace and security." Video
Sam Nujoma, President |
The world had enormous resources to fight and defeat poverty and hunger and developed countries should consider their support to the countries of the South as an act of enlightened contribution to regional and global stability, he declared. Like other leaders he called for UN reform, including the enlargement of the Security Council to reflect new economic and regional realities that did not exist four decades ago at the time of the last enlargement. Video
Thabo Mbeki, President |
He underscored the gulf between "the grandeur of our words and the vision they paint of a world of peace, free of war, a world characterized by shared prosperity, free of poverty" and the paltry results. For the wealthy and powerful, terrorism is the major threat, but "the poor and powerless feel threatened by a permanent hurricane of poverty, which is devastating their communities as horrendously as Hurricane Ivan destroyed the Caribbean island state of Grenada," he added. Video
President |
"There is a mounting recognition that global poverty and inequality threaten national security interests," he said. "Something must be done for the millions suffering in those countries, as well. To ignore them is at our own peril." He added that action to solve the conflicts in Africa must come through the UN. "This is the only path that confers a degree of legitimacy for any actions taken," he declared. Video
President |
Among measures he proposed for his continent of Latin America were debt relief and adequate social investment to allow the Millennium goals to be reached. He also called on rich countries to fully open their markets to agricultural exports from the developing world. Video
Pervez Musharraf, President |
He welcomed a resurgence of support for multilateralism, saying this must be based on the principles of the UN Charter. "All our collective aspirations can be best pursued within this world organization," he declared. "The United Nations must be strengthened and revitalized to respond to the challenges of the 21st century." Video
Vaira Vike-Freiberga, President |
But she reiterated Latvia's deep commitment to the UN and effective multilateralism. "Latvia believes that the UN must maintain its crucial role in the mediation of international disputes, and that the United Nations Member States must summon the collective political will to support the UN as a truly credible force for peace," she declared. Video
Robert Mugabe, President |
"We are seriously concerned that the United Nations, the pre-eminent instrument for the maintenance of international peace and security, watched helplessly while Iraq was plundered by the US- and UK-led so-called coalition of the willing," he declared. "Such belligerent gun-slinging diplomacy and illegitimate territorial occupation of the state of Iraq are blemishes on the fair play image of the UN." Video
Bingu wa Mutharika, President |
"We share the belief that a more representative and democratic United Nations will enhance the efficiency and credibility of this global organization," he concluded. "This will also enhance the efforts towards a just and more equitable sharing of global prosperity." Video
Prime Minister |
Other reforms would establish a permanent inspection and verification mechanism to curb the spread of weapons of mass destruction (WMDs), and mechanisms to protect threatened minorities, pre-empt new pandemics and manage the environment. "The time has come for real reform of the United Nations," he declared. "We must put aside narrow interests and work to common purpose to strengthen this universal institution, whose activities give force to our common humanity." Video
Prime Minister |
The world body should also assume more responsibility in resolving the violent conflict in Iraq and in restoring peace, stability and unity to the Iraqis, he said. Video