YouSaid · the spoken record

Erik Derycke

lines on the record: 65
first: 1996-09-24
most recent: 1998-09-24
sittings or episodes: 3
sources: un-general-debate

Every line below is reproduced as it was said and linked to the record it came from. Nothing here is summarised or generated. Directory · Search · Corrections

“It is therefore in a serious yet hopeful frame of mind that I look at the agenda of this session of the General Assembly and pledge my countryâs full support for the work ahead of us.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Nothing can make up for the damage this does to international cooperation and social progress. The political and moral responsibility of those Governments is at stake. None who speak from this rostrum can claim their attachment to United Nations ideals without accepting the financial obligations involved in being a Member, that is, payment in full, on time and without conditions of their financial contributions. In face of the excesses of the international system, the international community must be on guard. Here as well our Organization can be the worldâs conscience. Its weighty role is to help Member States formulate adequate responses to the globalization with which we are confronted.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The consensus proposal put forward by the group of 10 has numerous advantages and offers material for further reflection. It is quite disturbing to see that a minority of Member States are ignoring the evolution of international relations over the last 50 years while at the same time claiming for themselves a preponderant role in the maintenance of international peace and security. Postponing reform of the Security Council is tantamount to an assault on its credibility. The financial health of the Organization has not improved much over the course of the last year. Belgium believes that countries that accumulate arrears harm the entire international community. The damage goes beyond the resulting debt, because the Organization is denied the means fully to discharge its mandate. Furthermore, the reform process is jeopardized.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I hope that in the not-too-distant future, a balanced enlargement of the Council can be agreed upon. The work undertaken during the past year has sometimes been disappointing because of the stubborn resistance of several countries. Belgium belongs to the majority of Member States arguing for a strengthening of the authority of the Council. My country clearly laid out its position: we would like an equal increase in the number of permanent and non-permanent members, better representation of the various regions and self-imposed limits on the use of the right of veto under certain conditions provided for in advance. The privilege of veto is excessive when it is used to the detriment of the interests of the international community as whole.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I am also ready to take the initiative, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Convention of the Rights of the Child in 1999, to organize, together with UNICEF and all interested countries, a meeting in Belgium at which we can all share our experiences with regard to our respective legislation. The ideas that I have outlined will be not bear fruit if Member States do not cooperate fully with the Organization. Denying the Secretary-General the resources needed to turn the United Nations into an efficient instrument will only make matters worse. The Secretary- General deserves our full support in his reform efforts. The Security Council is crucial for the maintenance of international peace and security. Its reform is of concern to us all.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Like the enlistment of child soldiers, child labour is a moral scandal that must be remedied through the development of alternatives adapted to the sociocultural context at the local level. One of my Governmentâs priorities is the fight against the most repugnant forms of exploitation. We are alarmed by the use of the Internet by those who traffic in children and by networks of prostitutes and all the new forms of crime that make a mockery of traditional methods of defending the rule of law. Here, too, international cooperation is the only solution.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“That is truly the role of the State: to ensure that its citizens are protected â€” if necessary, through international law. I do not consider it realistic to develop a global ethical code without working for the protection and education of our children. Working together with other countries, the United Nations Childrenâs Fund (UNICEF) and other United Nations organizations, Belgium has played an important role in a number of initiatives. I propose that the General Assembly at its fifty-third session build upon its achievements with respect to the definition of standards for the protection of children. Child labour is a waste of human beings â€” for the girls and boys who are subjected to it and for future generations. Market forces must yield in this area.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Belgium has recently signed the Statute of the International Criminal Court and intends to work for its effective establishment. My country will also continue to support the two existing United Nations ad hoc criminal tribunals. Some countries still harbour doubts about that important undertaking. However, a balance has been found between international security and justice. The only remaining question is whether we, so-called civilized nations, are prepared to adopt binding rules so as to ensure respect for the most elementary and universally 23 accepted principles of respect for the human being and international coexistence. Adopting voluntary restrictions to strengthen an international ethical code can only benefit States and their citizens.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“My country is also a strong advocate of giving the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms effective universal application. It is also behind several initiatives designed to block the illegal transfer of small arms. The Brussels conference, which will take place in October, and our participation on the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, provide further examples of our commitment, which extends to all sectors of disarmament. How could it be otherwise, when some countries consider it useful to put on an alarming show of their nuclear expertise? A significant contribution to ethical renewal in international relations was the adoption, after much work, of the Statute of the International Criminal Court. It is indeed shocking that those responsible for the most reprehensible crimes, in particular genocide, can go unpunished.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I welcome the entry into force of the Convention on the total prohibition of anti-personnel landmines and appeal to donor and victim countries to support the integrated activities undertaken by the United Nations in this field, including through voluntary financial contributions. But that is not enough. Conflict prevention should be a priority, and within our Organization we must also pay attention to the less spectacular aspects of conflict prevention, such as early warning and the establishment of an appropriate United Nations presence on the ground. Conflict prevention will make no sense if we do not at the same time put an end to the acquisition of arms by those who attempt to resolve their problems through violence. Belgium has responded positively to the European Union initiative to formulate a code of conduct for arms transactions.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In Central Africa, Kosovo and elsewhere, hundreds of thousands of families have been forced to flee their homes and their land. It is our shared duty to continue to assist humanitarian organizations in their efforts to come to the aid of these refugees and to enable them to return home. However, sometimes, when the roads or the family land are littered with landmines and children cannot go to school without being exposed to physical danger, returning can be a problem. We must rid ourselves of these landmines; their production must stop. These devices of death must be for ever banished from the Earth.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The crisis in the Great Lakes region is a moral challenge for the United Nations. It imposes on us the duty of solidarity. We must help Africa to find solutions and to implement them without interfering or trying to impose solutions. The United Nations, together with the relevant regional and subregional organizations, should involve itself in an initiative to restore dialogue to the region and to put confidence-building measures in place. I believe that a conference on regional security and cooperation in the Great Lakes region â€” if it is viewed as a process rather than as a single event â€” could serve as the vehicle for stabilizing the region. My country is willing to support such an initiative. Political instability, uninterrupted violence and challenges to the nation State have led to large-scale population movements.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The gaze of much of the world will be turned towards the United Nations at that time. It would be a terrible failure if on that occasion we were only able to refer poverty to various committees, soothing our conscience with meetings of fleeting significance. As the Secretary-General stresses in his report, the fight against poverty starts with good governance. Political democratization and mechanisms for revenue sharing are indispensable elements. The question of Central Africa is currently of particular importance for Africa. After hopes were raised for what some wanted to call an African renaissance, the continent has again become prey to violence that is becoming dangerously ethnic in character. Once again, the principal victims are among the most vulnerable people in the world.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this respect, my country supports the efforts placed on record by the European Union in the spirit referred to as â€œfair tradeâ€. 22 I would now like to say a few words about the United Nations, which is at the centre of all these interactions. I say to you, the representatives of the 185 nations committed to the pursuit of the objectives of the United Nations, that we have all too often forgotten our obligations under the Charter. Now that we are free of the shackles of the cold war and its ideological deadlocks, the obligation to strengthen cohesion between States and to promote social justice is more than ever the real order of business. In this respect, I support the proposal to devote the Millennium Assembly to the issue of the fight against poverty.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“In this regard some have proposed an economic security council. This is obviously an ambitious idea, but it does serve to show how serious the threat of financial instability and economic uncertainty is to our societies. In any case, an intensified dialogue between the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions must be instituted as a first step. Of course, regional strategies have been developed to strengthen economic convergence in certain regions and to integrate them into zones. Nevertheless, these regional strategies should respect the rules of multilateralism. Efficient partnerships based on mutual trade have to be developed with other regions without marginalizing third States. Developing countries must be integrated in commerce and enjoy the fruits of market liberalization.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Only a strong political international organization can counterbalance the forces of the financial markets. The loss of power of nation-States over financial and economic decisions is glaring; the social consequences are even more so. This does not call into question the existing consensus on the validity of controlled liberalization of trade, but it does put all Governments up against the wall. Has the time not come for some sort of regulation that benefits everyone? Indeed, liberalization cannot be an end in itself. It has no purpose if it does not contribute to social progress for the largest possible number of people. We should therefore strive together to find concerted responses to the uncontrolled and painful effects of this evolution by strengthening public control throughout the world.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Marginalization and abject poverty are reappearing, thereby threatening the exercise of the most fundamental of rights. After the 1980s â€” a lost decade, from the point of view of development â€” the decade of structural adjustments has been unable to put economies back on the road to sustainable development. Differences in income, both at the level of society and at the global level, have been accentuated. What can we do? What must we do? The Internet and the financial markets by themselves cannot hold the international community together. We know that Governments alone are incapable of dealing with the problems with which they are confronted. This is why new forms of solidarity and new ways of dealing with these issues are indispensable.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This transparency obliges us more than in the past to reflect upon our concepts of the rights of the individual and the need to defend them. However, access to the global economic village has not led to a concomitant strengthening of solidarity. The capacity of men and women to adapt has been severely put to the test. The grip of the logic of the marketplace on the individual seems to relegate him to a secondary role in the international system. Our societies should henceforth reconcile the often very divergent effects that globalization has on the individual and on the State â€” namely, unemployment, competition and financial speculation. The balance between the freedom of some and the rights of others is all too often disturbed.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It is here, and nowhere else, that we can draw up universally accepted norms that have the approval of the largest possible number of States. The Organization can help us strengthen international consensus and the acceptance of codes of conduct designed to set the boundaries of human dignity and peaceful coexistence. Economic and financial power dominates the world, but the last few months have shown that it is not capable of running it. The globalization of political life and civil society leads us to attempt to reach beyond national limitations to confront our problems. Liberalization has generated significant growth in trade and investments. It has also led to increased transparency between our different social systems.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Thanks to television, more than one billion people can today discover both manâs incredible inventions and the worst abuses he is capable of. This is a scenario which touches our conscience. Todayâs crises affect the entire global system and call for solutions on the same level. The only way to respond effectively is to give a greater role to international solidarity and social justice. Those are the two pillars of the new international ethic that I would like to call for today. This is not a simple task. No Government likes to limit its room to manoeuvre, even for just causes, if it is the only one paying the price for its commitments. I am nevertheless convinced that the United Nations is the best forum to have a debate on this matter of international public interest.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The international communityâs responses have therefore been flawed and partial and subject to corporate logic and a narrow view of the issues. The limitations of these responses are well known to us. Countless children died last year from diseases which could have been eradicated. Tropical forests covering an area equivalent to three times the size of Belgium 21 disappeared. The developing worldâs debt remains untenably large, while expenditures for weapons continues to grow. Incalculable numbers of people have been detained, tortured, killed or forced to flee their countries. Hundreds of innocent victims have lost their lives in terrorist attacks. Global information networks and new technologies reduce distances.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It therefore seems to me that the time has come to rethink seriously the way in which international institutions and national Governments deal with the tensions and constraints which result from globalization. This means specifically that we must reflect upon the quality of life humankind will have in the next century. Despite worrisome forecasts, we seem unable to come up with a list of priorities which reflects the global public interest. We must establish a common frame of reference that ensures the peaceful coexistence of States and their citizens while at the same time respecting their diversity. This task is the indispensable corollary of globalization, which has numerous ramifications for current problems.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I would first like to congratulate our colleague, the Uruguayan Minister Didier Opertti, on his election to the presidency of our General Assembly. I would also like to associate myself with the statement made by our colleague, Mr. Wolfgang SchÃ¼ssel, who spoke on behalf of the European Union. My country shares and supports entirely the concerns and objectives he outlined. Unprecedented crises over the last few months have shaken our economies and the economies of the entire region. To varying degrees, the economies of the world have all sustained the social and political consequences of interdependence and the information systems that link them.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Let me conclude by saying that my country will make every effort — nationally, regionally and globally — so that the commemoration of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights will be a resounding success that reflects the capital importance of the event.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“However, I should like to express the hope that Member States will also spare no effort in having their provisions implemented. By so doing they will contribute to the universality of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights remains an inexhaustible source of hope for all those who are deprived of their rights, especially the victims of social, political or economic exclusion or exploitation on the basis of their race, origin, religion, sex or any other grounds. Consequently, I, fully subscribe to the Secretary- General’s stated intention to integrate human rights horizontally throughout the full range of United Nations activities. Belgium reiterates to the Secretary-General its full support in this respect.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Next year the General Assembly will devote part of its session to the commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. That Declaration, without any doubt, is one of the most important texts of our times. It is the foundation of the whole array of standards that came after it and that have been incorporated into a number of international legal instruments. It is also the bedrock upon which rest all United Nations activities aimed at better respect for and promotion of human rights, in accordance with the Charter. In the spirit of the Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, a growing number of Member States, in full exercise of their sovereignty, have accepted international commitments by ratifying those human rights instruments.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The creation of the ad hoc tribunals for the prosecution and punishment of such violations and the necessary creation of a standing international criminal court, are important steps towards the fulfilment of these goals. However, it is essential that these international judiciary bodies should be given a fair chance to carry out their functions. Thus, their legal competence should be firmly established and recognized by all Member States. Respect for human rights has become an essential yardstick of the legitimacy of the exercise of State power and is increasingly considered a vital part of a country’s international status and influence. It has 31 become the new basis for the confidence we bestow on our fellow Member States.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The focus will be on interaction between humanitarian, political and military actors in situations of crisis. This will be an opportunity to analyse closely the often widely varying approaches to this problem. The objective of international humanitarian assistance is not only to guarantee the survival of victims of humanitarian tragedies. It should also help them be reintegrated into society. Viewed in this fashion, humanitarian assistance is an important factor in the protection of human dignity, human rights and humanitarian law. The international community must therefore put an end to the impunity of persons responsible for grave violations of international humanitarian law, whether committed against populations or humanitarian personnel.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“I believe that much remains to be done in order to improve and develop such cooperation: for example, joint planning for crisis situations, training, defining roles and mandates and, finally, implementation and follow-up of operations. We must bear in mind that humanitarian assistance must never be used for mere political purposes, and it cannot by itself be intended to provide a lasting solution to a conflict. Humanitarian assistance should therefore never be a substitute for political, diplomatic and military action. In this context, Belgium, in close cooperation with the International Committee of the Red Cross, intends to organize next year, an international seminar precisely on the relationship between humanitarian, political and military actions.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Our Organization is increasingly confronted with crises that require global responses comprising not only their humanitarian dimensions, but also their military, economic, political and social dimensions. In these circumstances, humanitarian organizations must not only continue to ensure a thorough coordination of the assistance delivered, but also develop stepped-up convergence between, for instance, United Nations Blue Helmets involved in peacekeeping missions and humanitarian workers. Greater interaction and cooperation between them is imperative if we wish to devise an integrated and suitable response to the ever more complex crisis situations facing the international community.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“These authorities must also ensure respect for humanitarian law, based on values for which a consensus exists within the international community but whose concrete application on the ground remains a daily challenge. This is another task for the United Nations. Existing legal instruments must be strengthened and expanded in order to extend the same maximum protection to humanitarian personnel in the field as is currently provided for military personnel in peacekeeping missions. In addition, the directives on humanitarian law such as those proposed by the International Committee of the Red Cross should also be revitalized and thoroughly examined.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Despite greater solidarity and increased humanitarian assistance granted by a growing number of humanitarian and non-governmental organizations, difficulties on the ground have continued to grow in recent years. Above all, in addition to the problem of access to victims, the lack of security and total disregard for international humanitarian law and human rights require our particular attention. Indeed, I am especially worried about the recent increase in aggression against humanitarian personnel. These acts are often carried out with the sole purpose of blocking their access to populations who are suffering. It goes without saying that the authorities hosting the humanitarian workers bear primary responsibility for their safety.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“My country made a great effort to ensure that we produced a strong legal instrument, with no exceptions or reservations, and we also advocated that assistance to landmine victims should be an essential part of this convention. Belgium is pleased to note that this international humanitarian standard will soon become a reality and invites all other States to 30 join in the effort. It is also my firm hope that States will not wait for the treaty to come into force before they honour this total ban. Humanitarian tragedies will continue to occur throughout the world. Whatever their origins, crises are become increasingly complicated. Still considerable in number, they create countless victims and immense human suffering.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“They kill and mutilate more people than all the weapons of mass destruction put together. It is high time that these devices were banned. In less than two years the objective of a total ban on anti-personnel landmines has met with a positive response in most parts of the world. Belgium, which was keen to play a leading role in this field, fully supports this objective. As chairman of the international conference on a total ban on anti-personnel landmines, which took place in Brussels in June, I myself noted the existence of the political will necessary to achieve a ban by the end of 1997. The recent conclusion in Oslo of the negotiations on a legally binding instrument means that most of us will be able to go to Ottawa in early December to sign this important treaty.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“With regard to Eastern Slavonia in particular, it is important for the activities of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be based on the accomplishments of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES) and for such activities to be inspired by and based upon United Nations experience in the region. I should now like to focus on another contemporary issue: disarmament. Needless to say, weapons of mass destruction should be forbidden. But this is also true for weapons whose sole purpose is to destroy human beings, such as anti-personnel landmines. In Angola, Bosnia, Afghanistan, Cambodia and elsewhere, these indiscriminate and cowardly weapons kill some 9,600 people and maim another 14,000 every year.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“As for Central Africa in particular, our common efforts should give priority to the reconstruction and democratization of the Congo, in the interests not only of that country and its people, but of stability in the Great Lakes region as a whole. On the other hand, in certain areas, such as Eastern Slavonia, United Nations “blue helmets” have succeeded in separating warring parties, protecting populations and preparing for reconstruction. It is therefore the responsibility first of the parties themselves and then of the international community to make every effort to prevent these achievements from slipping away. By extension, this is also true for the region as a whole.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Strengthening the United Nations also means strengthening its ties with other organizations and associations so that they can keep pace with the overall reshaping of our Organization and of our world vision. I should like to provide two examples. With regard to its policy on Africa, Belgium again stresses the need for an objective approach on the one hand and accountability on the other. The approach that we wish to promote is based on universal principles, the most important of which is that of human rights sustained by mutual respect based on equality. It is high time that we progressed to true mental decolonization. Efforts originating in the region itself should be given every chance to prosper and should be fully recognized by the international community.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Such organizational and financial reform can succeed only if it can rely upon a team of officials who see themselves as being at the service of the Organization and of the common good. Ultimately, an Organization reformed along these lines and better able to meet global challenges will have to strengthen its ties with and complement regional organizations, not only in the political field but also at the social and economic level. It will not be possible to make our world more humane without the joint effort of all international organizations in support of a global approach. In this effort, the United Nations, together with regional and specialized institutions, is a beacon of hope for millions of people.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Belgium, together with a number of like-minded countries that share the general concern with regard to strengthening the authority of the Security Council, has clearly stated its views here in New York. We advocate an increase in both permanent and non-permanent members, greater regional representativeness, enhanced Council efficiency and a limitation of the right of veto. The right of veto is incompatible with the general interest. It should be possible to modify the decision-making mechanism so as to avoid recourse to this instrument, which has become entirely obsolete. Belgium also pleads for more transparency and closer cooperation between the Security Council and countries contributing to peacekeeping operations.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“There can be no doubt that this agenda includes the achievements of the 12 United Nations conferences which, from the 1990 World Summit for Children to the 1996 World Food Summit, have paved the way for the current agenda in the area of international development. But responsibilities have often been distributed injudiciously and too widely, while mandates have proved insufficient. A more integrated approach in the social and economic sector has in any case become necessary. I therefore welcome the fact that the Secretary-General’s proposals for reform pay particular 29 attention to development, and I subscribe fully to his proposals. Furthermore, a well-balanced expansion of the Security Council should be achieved without delay.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“More efficiency and coordination, greater cohesion and better cooperation between Headquarters and agencies in the field are minimal changes, but fully justified. However, we need to do more because this year we must resolve the United Nations financial crisis. It is unacceptable that Member States should not pay their dues in full and that they attach conditions to the payment of what they owe. All the speakers in the general debate should be able to proclaim from this rostrum not just that they want to improve the Organization's efficiency and that they support the Secretary-General in his efforts to that end, but also that their contributions have been paid in full, unconditionally, thus proving their commitment to the goals of the United Nations and our common agenda.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“More than once we have seen — in Africa, for example — that the United Nations has had to spread itself too thinly over vast distances and that adequate support for a United Nations role has not been forthcoming from Member States, which has weakened the United Nations ability to react when a dynamic response was needed in crisis situations. Has not the time come, during this session, to ensure that the Organization can act with renewed vigour and reconfirm its authority? I am convinced that the answer to this question should be positive, and that we should, like the President of the European Union and other previous speakers, throw our full weight behind the Secretary-General's proposals to prepare the Organization more effectively for the coming millennium.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“All those serving United Nations institutions deserve our gratitude for the way in which they carry out their work, both here in New York and in the field, often in precarious situations in which some have even lost their lives. But we should ask whether we, the Member States, have done enough to find common responses. Have we given the United Nations the necessary tools for comprehensive management? Have we not blamed the Organization for a lack of success in some of its endeavours, when they may have been doomed to failure anyway because there was not enough support from Member States? We must be fully aware that, as Member States, we sometimes try to impose tasks upon the Organization which are beyond its capabilities, while we are all too often slow to provide help and support whenever and wherever it is really needed.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“At the outset, allow me to take this opportunity to congratulate Minister Udovenko, our colleague from Ukraine, on his election as President of this session of the General Assembly and to express my most sincere thanks to Ambassador Razali of Malaysia for the invaluable work he helped us achieve during the fifty- first session of the Assembly. It is clear that the way in which we organize ourselves as a world community is of the utmost importance for questions of war and peace, poverty and wealth, and justice and injustice in the world. The United Nations Secretariat and the leadership of our Organization have a key role in this regard.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In this context, I would like to mention the efforts to reform United Nations institutions and, in particular, the quest for efficiency and sound financial management that should be the watchword of the functioning of our organizations. I began my statement today by denouncing fear and with a plea for a new international moral code. I would like to conclude an observation that I made at the outset: that words are hollow if they are mere figures of speech and diplomatic formulas. Our words must be alive, and they must spring from peace, silence and complete transparency. Only then will we be able to understand the language of the many children, women and men afflicted by underdevelopment, war and indifference.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Obviously, these programmes, which are meant to eliminate the potential causes of new conflicts, must be developed in a climate of peace that ensures respect for human rights. This fin de siècle is characterized by the size and urgency of rehabilitation operations and by humanitarian intervention and aid. Despite exceptional crises situations, we must not forget the importance of implementing global and sustainable development. The major thematic conferences of the United Nations were designed to establish a strategy for the growth of the human being. I believe that the effective implementation of the moral and political decisions taken at these major conferences is fully in keeping with the new moral code that I hope to see emerge.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The increase in number and size of peacekeeping operations that has characterized the recent history of our 2 Organization has allowed the development of political concepts and given a new dimension to international military cooperation. It has also allowed for positive and necessary developments in the field of international humanitarian law. The Belgian Government hopes that the recent agreement between the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and the Secretariat on the applicability of humanitarian law to peacekeeping operations will permit a swift adoption of the lines of conduct to this effect. This is indispensable and should be welcomed unreservedly by all troop-contributing countries. For peacekeeping operations to succeed they must be followed up by rehabilitation programmes.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“The Belgian Government has taken part in various peacekeeping operations and is assuming military leadership of the United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium (UNTAES). I am convinced that the success of UNTAES will contribute significantly to the re-establishment of a society which we hope will be pluralist, tolerant and peaceful. Last year, the General Framework Agreement, negotiated in Dayton and signed in Paris led to the establishment, under United Nations auspices, of the NATO-led implementation force (IFOR). My country is, with its partners, part of this peacekeeping operation whose role is to be a force for solidarity, reconstruction and hope for a new Europe. The recent elections in Bosnia and Herzegovina allow us to look toward the future with a degree of optimism.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Anti-personnel mines are particularly inhumane weapons. Belgium is tirelessly pursuing, in every international forum, its objective of total and universal prohibition of anti-personnel mines. The Belgian Government regrets that very little progress has been made to date. Next October we will participate in the Ottawa conference which, I hope, will be able to give a significant boost to the achievement of our objectives. When preventive diplomacy and arms control cannot keep peace, peacekeeping missions become necessary. In our view, these peacekeeping and peace-restoration missions remain one of the primary responsibilities of the United Nations.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)
“Preventive diplomacy is meaningless if weapons remain available to extremist groups who seek, by the suppression of others and by "ethnic cleansing", solutions to problems which should only be found in dialogue, consensus and political negotiation. The United Nations Register of Conventional Arms is an essential element in making the arms trade transparent, a goal which my country and others support. Since its inception, Belgium has provided the arms Register with the information requested. The extension of the Register to other categories of arms is extremely desirable. The Belgian Government believes nevertheless that, for now, the main priority should be making the Register universal. We, together with our partners of the European Union, will continue to concentrate our efforts on this aspect.”
1996-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 51 (1996)