Wrapping up first day of debate, UN Assembly hears call for concerted action

Wrapping up the first day of its annual high-level debate, the United Nations General Assembly heard one world leader after another call for concerted action to fight the troubles that plague the international community.

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga

President Vaira Vike-Freiberga of Latvia, one of the UN's younger members, said the organization should remain the principal world body for mediating international disputes and formulating universal rules of conduct but needed structural changes to deal effectively with the new challenges of the 21st century. She underscored humanity's propensity for violence as its greatest problem. A peaceful settlement to the Israel-Palestinian conflict would have the additional benefit of removing the Palestinian cause as "an excuse for terrorists to justify their actions of murder and destruction," she said.

Turning to the problem of poverty, Ms. Vike-Freiberga declared: "As we seek to avoid a clash of civilizations between different societies of the world, so we must seek to reduce the growing discrepancies between the rich and the poor." She stressed that poverty provided fertile ground for modern-day slavery and trafficking in humans. Video

President Nicanor Duarte Frutos

For his part President Nicanor Duarte Frutos of Paraguay called for reform and a seat for Brazil, Latin America's largest country, as a permanent member of the Security Council. "Without a multiple and equitable participation in the crucial decisions of international politics which come before our organization, the United Nations, and in particular the Security Council, are bound to fail in their noble objective of maintaining peace in the world," he declared.

"In this context, Paraguay supports the aspiration of Latin America and other continents to be more amply represented in the Security Council, where the presence of Brazil as a permanent member will realize the major legitimate interests of our region," he added. Video

President Hamid Karzai

President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan pledged to continue the fight against opium production, which the UN anti-narcotics agency has listed as a threat to regional stability. "We see a direct connection between narcotics and terrorism, and it is in our absolute national interest to fight both," he said. "Both are transnational challenges. We in the region and in the international community must make the strategic decision, in the spirit of true partnership, to fight against both menaces."

Mr. Karzai stressed the progress his country had made, especially in education, in the two years since the previous Taliban regime was ousted. "While achievements are significant, and challenges inevitable, I point to what can potentially amount to a critical threat of terrorism. The crisis in Afghanistan may well be over, but the forces of violence are still looming," he said. "Embodied in various manifestations, from cross-border militant infiltrations to hateful teachings at places disguised as madrassas, terrorism continues to make inroads into the space of peace and prosperity which we want to secure for our nation." Video

President Vladimir Voronin

The President of Moldova, Vladimir Voronin, lauded the international community for concretely addressing economic, social and political ills, beyond "adopting emotive humanitarian declarations." While a common global value system was emerging, along with a new international order based on preventing and neutralizing threats, he warned that this intense integration could lead to situations in which the interests of specific countries had major impacts on the entire world. Towards this end, Mr. Voronin called for a geographically representative increase in the number of permanent and non-permanent members of the Security Council.

Turning to the situation in Moldova, Mr. Voronin said while economic recession and separatist movements had marred independence, his Government was doing its best to improve the situation. The Government had also decided to make integration with Europe a greater priority, a move that would require significant democratic reforms and the nurturing of civil society. Video

President Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez

President Francisco Guillermo Flores Pérez of El Salvador said that his people had suffered greatly from economic dependence and the conflict that had plagued them for so long. Now, looking at its current situation, he felt El Salvador could inform the way forward for many other States. Whereas even before the war, the country had been a poor, over-populated country, completely dependent on agriculture and the prices of coffee and sugar, it now looked to have found an effective way of fighting conflict and poverty.

The lessons El Salvador brought to the world were two-fold, he continued. People had to first learn how to live and then to learn why they were alive. It was essential, at a time when all wondered as to the future role of the United Nations, that the origin of the world body, which was to ensure such fundamental rights, be recalled. It was unacceptable for paralysis to rule when the issue at stake was the freedom of a country. The situation in Iraq could be discussed interminably, but it was obvious that the United Nations had not acted commensurately with an increasingly complex world. The people of El Salvador spoke from the position of having shouldered the burden of recovering from conflict. Video

President Alfonso Portillo Cabrera

The President of Guatemala, Alfonso Portillo Cabrera, said he came to the General Assembly to report as a Head of State who believed in interdependence and for whom sovereignty "was not a closed door separating nations." His attendance at the meeting also reflected his country's commitment to the UN, he said, whose presence in Guatemala had been crucial to the implementation of the Peace Agreements concluded in 1996. He said the Peace Accords provided his country with a programme for democratization, since they constituted a proposal for profound renewal in the modes of co-existence among Guatemalans.

While Mr. Cabrera expressed full support for the UN as the highest exponent of multilateralism, he also reiterated Secretary-General Kofi Annan's call to adapt the Organization to the "exigencies of globalization" without delay. He said Guatemala also supported efforts being made to improve the managerial capacities of the UN Secretariat, particularly the calls to make the Security Council more representative and its procedures more transparent, strengthening the General Assembly as well as the Economic and Social Council, in order that these three principal organs supported one another. Video

President Megawati Soekarnoputri

For her part, President Megawati Soekarnoputri of Indonesia said that the United Nations had displayed its merits for all to view. The world body had, among other achievements, maintained minimum standards for the protection and promotion of human rights, promoted the implementation of international law and put into practice an array of instruments for conflict prevention. Furthermore, the UN's contribution to the political and economic development of Indonesia had been well recorded.

Indonesia had adopted firm legislation to prevent and eradicate the threat posed by terrorism, President Soekarnoputri said. Terrorist cells had been dismantled and their members prosecuted. The predominantly Islamic people of Indonesia fully supported this national policy. Large and active Islamic organizations and prominent Islamic figures had joined in condemning terrorist acts. Yet, it must be acknowledged that the motives and justifications employed by this terrorist minority concerned the unjust attitude of the big powers toward Islamic countries, particularly in regard of resolving the Middle East conflict. Video

President Olusegun Obasanjo

Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo expressed great concern about the persistent armed conflicts in West Africa. The conflict in Liberia, he said, had once again tested the will of the international community to respond pro-actively to wars and humanitarian catastrophes. Nigeria appreciated the UN Security Council's decision to authorize a multi-sectoral peacekeeping mission to Liberia to continue the achievements of the initiative of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

Turning to trade issues, President Obasanjo said that the system of agricultural subsidies was strangulating agriculture in developing countries and needed to be reformed. He also noted that the burden of external debt continued to constitute a major obstacle for the development of his country and of many other African countries. Regarding the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD), Mr. Obasanjo commended the G-8 for their Africa Action Plan to support the plan's implementation and expressed hope that this pledge of support would soon be translated into cooperation on specific programmes and projects. Video

Prime Minister Jean Chrétien

Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chrétien reiterated his country's belief in a multilateral approach to global opportunities and problems as a proven way of enhancing security and solving issues. "We should not be pessimistic about our ability to succeed," he said, noting some recent UN successes such as the 2000 Millennium Summit and the 2002 Conference on Financing for Development in Monterrey, Mexico. "We created a shared framework on priority setting for more aid," he said. "We set targets and key principles. This spirit of accountability and shared responsibility…has let to policy initiatives with respect to market access, and the availability of pharmaceutical drugs to poor countries."

Pointing to the fight against terrorism, Mr. Chrétien said that without cooperation from all, terrorism could not be controlled, let alone stopped. Stressing Canada's commitment to the fight against terrorism, he noted that his country was currently the largest military contributor to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan. Canada has also pledged $250 million for humanitarian assistance and reconstruction in Afghanistan, he said. Video

Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durão Barroso

"The United Nations should have a central role in defining a global strategy to defeat terrorism," Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durão Barroso of Portugal said. More security was necessary, but also more democracy, more dialogue between cultures and civilizations, more development, more and better environmental protection measures and a drastic reduction in poverty. The concept of "rule of law" should have real global resonance. International law would be irrelevant if its norms were not enforced, and, if necessary, by force.

The United Nations should establish without delay a real preventive culture in matters of armed conflict, he added. In the final analysis, the usefulness of the United Nations would always be judged as a function of its capacity to avoid and handle conflicts. In implementing that mission, the fundamental role lay with the Security Council. As to what justified that body's intervention, there was an immense grey area, which could be perilous in pre- and post-conflict situations. Video

Prime Minister Kenny Anthony

Prime Minister Kenny Anthony of Saint Lucia warned that the 2000 Millennium Declaration goal of halving global poverty "is receding into nothingness" and can only be rescued if developed countries make good on their pledges. "Moreover, we might challenge ourselves beyond merely halving global poverty, by aspiring to its virtual elimination," he added. He stressed that national security and international stability can only be realized where there is justice.

Prime Minister Anthony also said the time had come for the UN to bring the colonial chapter to a close by assisting non-self-governing territories, the majority of which are small islands in the Caribbean and the Pacific, to attain their right to self-determination. With regards to revamping the UN, St. Lucia called for completion of efforts to reform the Security Council to better reflect the realities of this new century, but that ultimately the strength of the world body must come from the political will of the Member States - a political will that must accept that everyone should abide by all decisions and resolutions adopted. Video

Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah

For its part Kuwait said the UN was the most important forum for combating terrorism. "The fight against this evil is an international responsibility all Member States must bear, not just one State or a certain group of States," Prime Minister Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah said. "Therefore we maintain that the United Nations remains the most appropriate forum for examining the issue and developing the most effective means to combat it and eventually stem it."

Referring to Iraq, whose invasion of Kuwait in 1990 unleashed the chain reaction that eventually led to Saddam Hussein's ouster in April, the Prime Minister called on the UN together with the international powers to stay the course and firmly face the continuing violence there in the face of terrorist bombings, including the attack on UN headquarters in Baghdad last month that killed top envoy Sergio Vieira de Mello and 21 others.Video

The Prime Minister of Spain, José Maria Aznar, addressed the Assembly, as well as the Foreign Ministers of Belgium, Louis Michel, and Japan, Yoriko Kawaguchi.