YouSaid · the spoken record

Josep Piqué

lines on the record: 49
first: 2000-09-24
most recent: 2001-09-24
sittings or episodes: 2
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

“In his statement, the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Cooperation of the Kingdom of Morocco referred to the Spanish cities of Ceuta and Melilla and to other Spanish territories. In the context of the relations of friendship and good-neighbourliness that exist between Spain and Morocco, I wish to stress that the cities of Ceuta and Melilla, and the adjacent islands, are an integral part of the territory of Spain and that their citizens are represented in the Spanish parliament in the same capacity and under the same terms as the rest of their compatriots.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The budget for the coming two-year period will be discussed during this Assembly's session. The effort to impose budgetary discipline must continue, but rigid positions that prevent the Organization from facing up to its responsibilities must be avoided. Evading responsibility is something that the United Nations cannot afford to do, especially today. Unique legitimacy imposes a unique responsibility. The United Nations will be judged in this new millennium by its effectiveness in addressing the new problems confronting it, by its ability to transform uncertainties into solutions, insecurity into confidence and fear into hope. In conclusion, I would like to make one further comment.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Next April, Spain will also organize the Second World Assembly on Ageing, thus responding to the need to pay special attention to vulnerable populations those most likely to suffer the highest rates of poverty. The eradication of poverty is the primary objective of both the Millennium Declaration and Spain's policy for cooperation in development. If there is one group of people who are vulnerable by definition, it is people who are ill. The special session of General Assembly on AIDS and other infectious diseases highlighted the urgency of halting their spread. Spain will make a major contribution to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria, which has been created for this purpose. The United Nations will not be able to accomplish all of these tasks if it does not have the necessary resources to do so.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“At this session, the General Assembly must set in motion an effective monitoring mechanism for the Declaration. Spain is also working to define new fields for development cooperation. For example, Spain is a pioneer in the development of microcredits, which constitute a particularly suitable instrument for the development of the less advanced countries. This year, Spain organized in Las Palmas a high-level meeting on tourism and development in less developed countries with a view to placing its extensive experience in this 35 field at the service of tourism development in such countries, some of which, such as the small island States, have comparative advantages in this field from which they could benefit.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“As has already been communicated to the Secretary- General, the United Kingdom and Spain agreed, on 26 July in London, to relaunch their talks within the framework of the Brussels Declaration, issuing to this end a communiquÈ in which they underlined their political will to overcome all of their differences over Gibraltar and to conclude these talks promptly and successfully for the benefit of all the parties involved. Furthermore, they invited the Chief Minister of Gibraltar to participate in ministerial meetings within the framework of this process. The problem of development is central to the activities of the Organization. The Millennium Declaration constitutes the basic framework for these activities and must be implemented in its entirety.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We must continue to strengthen such points of agreement, incorporating the concerns of all. It is therefore important that the Durban Conference was able to adopt a final document. Spain, like the rest of the European Union, upheld to the end its commitment to the objectives of the Conference. We must take advantage of the agreement reached at Durban to continue to make progress in this field. Along the same lines, my country will organize, in the next few days in Madrid, in cooperation with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, an international consultative conference on student education in relation to freedom of religion or beliefs, tolerance and non-discrimination. I cannot fail to refer to the question of Gibraltar.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“This brings us to the need to conclude the process of reforming the Security Council. We need a more representative, democratic, effective and transparent Security Council. Spain, which is a candidate for non-permanent membership of the Security Council in the elections to be held during the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly, will strive, if elected, to increase the quantity and improve the quality of the consultations with non-member States, especially with those most affected by the issues being debated by the Council. Human rights and fundamental freedoms civil and political, as well as economic and social are the birthright of all humanity and not just of a particular group of States. Their violation today provokes condemnation in a way that it did not in the past.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The General Assembly must take concrete steps to implement the recommendations of the Brahimi report on peacekeeping operations by increasing the size of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations in the Secretariat, improving the participation of the troop- contributing countries in the decision-making process and strengthening civil police operations, in which Spain has played an active role. None of this will be enough if peacekeeping operations do not receive clear and adequate mandates, backed with the firm political support of the Security Council. If mandates are not clear and adequate, it will not be possible to send United Nations units to places in which they may have to use force. No country is prepared to risk the lives of its soldiers to defend empty words.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The need to protect the rights of refugees and internally displaced persons, access to humanitarian assistance for affected populations and the situation of children in armed conflicts, in addition to the security problem of United Nations and associated personnel all these issues require effective solutions. If some States fail to meet their responsibilities in this area, it will be necessary to draw attention to their attitude repeatedly, until it changes. Peacekeeping is an essential instrument in this comprehensive approach to dealing with conflict.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We must urgently help them to meet their basic humanitarian needs, 34 especially given the approach of winter. This international action, to which Spain is contributing, must also include clear support for the economic and institutional reconstruction of the country. The future of Afghanistan is something that only the Afghan people can decide. Nevertheless, the international community must support them so that they can establish a stable Government and maintain normal relations with their neighbours and the rest of the world. In this task, the United Nations must play a fundamental role. The new diplomatic instruments that are required must accord special attention to humanitarian affairs.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We must deal with all the stages of a particular conflict through a comprehensive approach that includes efforts to prevent the causes, to keep the peace when crisis erupts, to consolidate that peace and, afterwards, to begin economic and institutional reconstruction. This idea has inspired the efforts being made by my country, in cooperation with the Russian Federation, in the demining project in southern Lebanon. It also motivates efforts, in which Spain is an active participant, to strengthen African capabilities to prevent and settle conflicts. For that reason, Spain was very pleased to welcome the birth of the African Union at the Lusaka Summit, as well as the New African Initiative that was adopted there. This approach must also be applied to international action in support of the Afghan people, whose situation is particularly dire.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Progress in the destruction and prohibition of anti-personnel mines as a result of the Ottawa Convention and the results of the Programme of Action of the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects are encouraging. The need to protect the environment is real, and the solutions cannot be postponed. The Kyoto Protocol offers some answers to this problem. Those who do not accept Kyoto will have to propose a better solution. In the meantime, its ratification will be the only practical measure taken in this field. That is why we welcome the agreement reached in Marrakech, which we believe to be a step in the right direction. New conflicts require new solutions.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The International Criminal Court is one of the key instruments of international relations that we will need in the new millennium. Spain has been involved from the start in the fight against the culture of impunity with regard to the most heinous crimes. It now seems more necessary than ever for the Court to start to act. The different legal systems of the world must be duly represented in the court, because globalization does not mean homogenization. No country must be marginalized from this historic process; all must be able to contribute to the Court their own views regarding international criminal justice. Arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation require greater attention from the international community.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“It has done so without renouncing its identity as a bridge between different cultures and regions of the world. That is the perspective from which my country backs the process of reform and modernization. It will continue to do so from the presidency of the European Union, which it will hold during the first half of next year. The phenomenon of globalization is responsible for much of the current uncertainty facing the processes of change. The United Nations, which thinks globally, is the natural forum for managing globalization. In addition to the fight against terrorism, effective instruments must be developed to combat drugs and transnational organized crime. This year, progress must be made in the preparation of a convention against corruption.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“These situations give rise to uncertainty, but they also give rise to a demand for solutions. Our peoples turn to us Governments and international organizations and they ask us to act, especially the United Nations. Its global vision, its universal composition and its vocation to defend the interests of all humanity give it a unique legitimacy in the eyes of our citizens. In order not to disappoint these expectations, the United Nations must face the challenge of its modernization, following the path charted by the Millennium Summit. My country has also undergone a significant process of modernization in recent years, which has enabled it to become fully incorporated into international life. Spain has been able to break away from the inertia of the past and seek new solutions to its new problems.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“These tend to be not international, but rather internal, conflicts and are therefore difficult to address with the instruments of traditional 33 diplomacy. Some of them have given rise to serious humanitarian crises that have afflicted our peoples. At a time when we have decoded the human genome and the advances of biotechnology pose new dilemmas, millions of people continue to live in conditions of extreme poverty, with less than a dollar per day to cover all their needs. As we witness the interconnection of economies worldwide and can send information instantly to any corner of the Earth, we see how globalization distributes its benefits unequally, making more visible and intolerable the breach between rich and poor, the powerful and the weak, the haves and the have-nots.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“They also have to do with regional conflicts, such as that in the Middle East, where there is an urgent need to stop the blind cycle of violence and return to the negotiating table. If the political will exists, negotiations are possible. Madrid, Oslo and the advances made at Camp David and Taba prove this. There is no alternative to the peace process and, at the end of the road, the State of Israel and the Palestinian State will coexist peacefully within secure borders. Terrorist attacks against innocent civilians cause alarm among our peoples, but they are not the only cause for uncertainty at the beginning of the new millennium. When the political and ideological confrontations that had defined the second half of the twentieth century were largely overcome, other types of conflicts emerged with force.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“The subject is of pivotal importance, and the very credibility of the United Nations is at stake. We have a historical opportunity before us; it would be a shame if we were to squander it. To their cynicism and disdain for elementary human values, terrorists often add a shameless opportunism in order to manipulate particular situations to their advantage. These situations undoubtedly require a solution on account of their intrinsic nature, on their own merits, without any relation to terrorist claims. We must all work together to find that solution. These situations involve structural problems such as poverty and the marginalization in which many millions of people live all over the world.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Resolution 1373 (2001) expresses the determination of the international community to maintain concerted action for as long as necessary against terrorism: against terrorism without adjectives, against the terrorists themselves, and also against those who lend them any type of support, active or passive. Progress has also been made in the negotiation of a general convention against international terrorism, overcoming some of the obstacles that had blocked the negotiations for years. Now that we are close to reaching an agreement, we must make an effort to eliminate the problems that are still pending. The goal must be to draw up an operative and effective instrument against terrorism that cannot be paralysed by interminable discussions of a political rather than a legal nature.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“It does have to do, however, with the difference between those who commit these kinds of acts or give them their support, and those who consider them to be atrocities and violations of the most elementary principles of human coexistence, which are common to all the great civilizations. The United Nations has risen to the occasion. Its action has been quick and effective, demonstrating that the Organization is indispensable at the dawning of the new millennium. Resolution 1368 (2001) made it possible for a coalition of wills, of which Spain is a part, to emerge in order to respond to the attacks.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“Terrorism cannot continue to be regarded as an inevitable evil for our peoples, but rather as a mortal enemy of them all. There can be neither excuses nor pretexts: this is the time to demonstrate the political will of each and every one of us to take effective measures for international cooperation against terrorism measures which Spain has been promoting for years to take a qualitative leap forward. Since 11 September, an important international consensus has emerged on the need to confront terrorism. This shows that terrorism has nothing to do with the differences between North and South or East and West, much less with a supposed conflict between civilizations. Many Islamic countries are among its main victims.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“We were all attacked on that day all of us who defend freedom, tolerance and respect for the dignity of human beings. Spain knows well the cruelty of terrorism and the grief that it can cause. Therefore, Spain, its Government and its citizens are in complete solidarity with the American people, the families of the victims and this city of New York, which is also our city the city of the United Nations. Once again, I wish to express my solidarity and my condolences to the families of the victims of today's tragedy. After 11 September, we cannot continue acting in the same way. There has been change in the political paradigm the coordinates that have guided us until now. The paradigm has changed, and now the political culture must also change.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“First of all, I would like to congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election as President of this fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly of the United Nations. Likewise, I would like to congratulate the Organization itself and its Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, on having been awarded this year's Nobel Peace Prize. Mr. Annan's re-election guarantees the continuous leadership of someone who has enormously contributed to strengthening the prestige of the United Nations and its role in the world. I also wish to emphasize my full support for the statement made in this Hall by the Minister for Foreign 32 Affairs of Belgium on behalf of the presidency of the European Union. The horror of the terrorist attacks of 11 September shocked the world.”
2001-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 56 (2001)
“European Union countries already are contributing much more than they should to the United Nations budget in accordance with this principle. Spain's stance will be a constructive one in the negotiations to review the scale of assessments later this fall. In an increasingly interdependent world, there is no alternative to multilateral cooperation. The United Nations must rise to the occasion in order to fulfil the expectations of the peoples who founded it. The countries represented here must face up to that responsibility by building an Organization capable of meeting the challenges posed by globalization in the new millennium. The United Nations that we want is possible. It is within our reach to achieve it.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Only then will we be able to send our troops to situations in which they will have to risk their lives in order to ensure that such mandates are upheld. Improving peacekeeping operations will undoubtedly be costly. Neither this nor any of the other tasks facing the Organization will be possible if it does not resolve its financial crisis. Spain is the eighth- largest contributor to its regular budget and pays its contributions on time, in full and without conditions. Therefore we have a direct interest in seeing the Organization's financial crisis resolved once and for all, as soon as possible. The principle of capacity to pay must continue to be the basic criterion for deciding the assessed contributions.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“It will require faster deployment of the necessary military and civilian units and larger-scale measures in order to consolidate peace once conflicts come to an end. Above all, if United Nations troops are compelled to take greater risks in order to guarantee the implementation of Security Council mandates, such mandates must be clear, realistic and have the unequivocal backing of the Council. All this will require a serious effort to find 40 common positions and to achieve consensus within the Council in the elaboration of the resolutions containing such mandates, eliminating any ambiguities that could hamper their effective application. It means more resolute and unwavering action against specific States or groups which may attempt to disrupt such action, including the possible application of sanctions.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“They have also seriously discredited the United Nations in the eyes of our peoples. Spain has a direct interest in ensuring that peacekeeping operations are well organized and managed, because at this time hundreds of Spaniards are participating in them in such faraway places as East Timor, Kosovo, Ethiopia and Guatemala. Moreover, last year Spain signed an agreement with the Secretariat on the Stand-by Forces — an agreement in which some of the recommendations contained in the Brahimi report already appear. Spain steadfastly supports these recommendations and hopes that they will be rapidly implemented. At the same time, we must be aware that all of this will require a much greater political and financial commitment on the part of all with respect to peacekeeping operations.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The Council's working methods must be improved by increasing the number and quality of the consultations among its members and with other Member States, so that the latter will not be left out of the decision- making process. The Organization that we need must also be able to act firmly and effectively on the ground in order to maintain the peace. The first step in this direction is to reflect on past mistakes. Therein lies the importance of the Brahimi report on United Nations peace operations, which — in the same way as former reports on Rwanda and Srebrenica — hit a nerve when it acknowledged our faults and proposed solutions for overcoming them. The Organization's shortcomings in this field have at times been very serious, and have cost human lives and brought great suffering to the peoples directly affected.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“First, it must be conducted on the basis of a broad and solid consensus, in order to avoid dangerous divisions among Member States and to provide the enlarged Council with the greater legitimacy it needs to carry out its work effectively. In the context of democratization, it must allow for an increase in the number of non-permanent members from all regional groups, and especially from the developing world. Spain considers that an enlargement of this category of non-permanent members would best reflect the trend towards the democratization of international society at the dawn of the third millennium. To enhance the Council's effectiveness, steps must be taken to prevent exercise of the veto power from blocking the Council in certain crisis situations. Finally, there must be greater transparency.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“For instance, the role of the General Assembly — the only body in which all the Member States are represented — must be enhanced, as it is the United Nations driving force for debate and political impetus. Civil society should be incorporated to a greater extent into the Organization's work. This would contribute to bringing people closer to the United Nations and to securing a greater commitment from them with regard to its work. It is also vital to reform the Security Council in order to enable it to fully perform its duties in the maintenance of international peace and security. The Spanish Government believes that this reform must draw its inspiration from the following principles.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Regaining sovereignty over this part of our territory is a longstanding goal for Spain, which is fully in favour of a meaningful dialogue. It is regrettable that the United Kingdom has not yet shown a genuine political will to resolve this problem. Because of this, 15 years after the start of bilateral talks in the framework of the Brussels process and despite the decisions of the General Assembly, we have not registered any progress at all on this matter, in spite of several concrete proposals put forward by our side. We want a United Nations that is capable of carrying out the tasks that have been entrusted to it. To achieve this, it must complete its process of reform.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“In the same way, the 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects must constitute a milestone comparable to the Ottawa Convention banning anti-personnel mines. 39 Another of the United Nations goals must be to conclude the decolonization process worldwide by doing away with the last vestiges of colonialism. One of them persists, as a painful anachronism, in Spanish territory. I am, of course, referring to Gibraltar, where, nearly three centuries after its population was expelled and the Rock occupied by British troops, a colonial situation still lingers. This is an infringement of my country's territorial integrity and contravenes the provisions of General Assembly resolution 2353 (XXII).”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Disarmament and non-proliferation are another two essential elements of conflict prevention. It is vital to overcome the setbacks suffered in recent months by the nuclear non-proliferation process and to promote the signing and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty, with a view to its early entry in force. It is likewise a matter of concern that it has not yet been possible to start negotiations on a protocol on fissile material; it is urgent to achieve the necessary consensus to that end. The conclusion of the negotiations on the Verification Protocol to the Convention on Biological Weapons represents an achievement in this field that is as important as the entry into force of the Convention on Chemical Weapons.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Spain unreservedly supports the Secretary- General's efforts to direct the Organization's conflict- prevention. His report on Africa provides an innovative approach, proposing a wide-ranging package of measures to address the conflicts on the African continent. An important element in this arsenal of preventive diplomatic measures is a sound sanctions policy. Sanctions regimes must be carefully graduated in order to fulfil their goal: to penalize a particular government whose policies constitute a threat to peace, without harming the civilian population of that country, which in many cases is totally powerless to influence the decisions of its Government, or third parties. Sanctions must be applied in a flexible way and be subject to periodic review, enabling them to be adapted to changing circumstances.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The efforts by President Pastrana to reach an agreement that will put an end to decades of violence and lack of security deserve the support of us all. The difficulties faced by the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo in the accomplishment of its tasks should not overshadow its achievements to date in what is probably the peacekeeping operation with the widest-ranging objectives ever undertaken by the United Nations. Those objectives are to pacify the territory, to reconcile its population, to rebuild its economy, and to enable Kosovo, as stated in resolution 1244 (1999), to enjoy substantial autonomy and an administration that is truly its own, while respecting the principle of territorial sovereignty and integrity of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. Many of these conflicts could perhaps have been avoided.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The situation in Iraq is nevertheless proving to be frustrating. The interruption of weapons inspections, the absence of any foreseeable date for the lifting of the sanctions, the continuation of armed action and the difficult humanitarian situation in the country all combine to produce a situation that is far from encouraging. It is imperative that consensus within the Security Council on this matter be strengthened and that Iraq collaborate with the United Nations with a view to the full implementation of resolution 1284 (1999) and other relevant resolutions. Turning to Latin America, it is vital that the international community send a clear message of support for the peace process in Colombia.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Therefore, my country will maintain its commitment to a definitive settlement of that dispute during this decisive time and will support the efforts that the Secretary-General and his Personal Envoy are making in compliance with Security Council resolution 1309 (2000). New prospects for peace have opened up in the Middle East following the Camp David summit. It is vital to consolidate the important progress made there and take advantage of this historic opportunity to conclude an agreement on all outstanding issues. Spain considers that, pursuant to the Declaration of Berlin, the Palestinian people are entitled to establish their own state. The evolution of the peace process must be reflected in the resolutions to be adopted this year by the General Assembly, which must not be a mechanical repetition of the wording used in previous years.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The first sentence of the Charter states the resolve of the United Nations to save succeeding generations 38 from the scourge of war. We must not resign ourselves to the indefinite prolongation of some regional conflicts. In Africa a solution has not yet been found for the situation in the Congo, which for years has ravaged one of the richest and most influential countries of the continent. Angola and Sierra Leone continue to be the backdrop for civilian conflicts that are often financed by the illegal sale of diamonds and other precious resources. Political and practical support for the United Nations and the mission deployed on the ground has been a constant feature of Spain's policy concerning the dispute over Western Sahara.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Medium- income countries with serious external debt problems should not be excluded from debt relief plans, as long as they implement meaningful domestic programmes to eradicate poverty. In the health sector there have been severe setbacks in recent years in the fight against infectious diseases, especially in Africa. Spain actively backs the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) and the efforts under way to facilitate access to drugs against AIDS for patients in developing countries. It also supports the holding of a special session of the General Assembly on that illness. Moreover, Spain has a special interest in examining possible action against other infectious and parasitic diseases, particularly in Africa.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“My country follows the guidelines produced by the World Summit for Social Development suggesting that at least 20 per cent of cooperation resources be devoted to basic social sectors such as health, education, housing and employment, which have the greatest impact on the most disadvantaged sectors of the population and, as a result, on the eradication of poverty. Spain has prepared an ambitious microcredit programme aimed at meeting the needs of the least favoured sectors of the population of developing countries. Likewise, Spain has begun debt relief programmes in several countries, including Mozambique and the Central American countries most affected by hurricane Mitch. We resolutely support the Highly Indebted Poor Countries Initiative.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The Millennium Summit gave special attention to measures aimed at eradicating poverty. The specific implementation of those measures must be a basic aspect of the work of the General Assembly. The United Nations that we want must make it possible for developed and developing countries to conclude agreements regarding the role they must play in that task. The high-level meetings that will be held in 2001 on financing for development and on the least developed countries must not be wasted. Spain will certainly do everything within its power to contribute to their success.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Spain is a signatory of the Protocol, as well as of the agreements on the ozone layer, bio-diversity, bio-security and desertification — the latter problem being one which especially affects my country. Unfortunately, globalization has also generated fresh opportunities for the development of universal plagues such as terrorism and transnational organized crime. However, globalization also provides us with new instruments to combat them, provided we agree on how to use them. Spain supports the drafting of a general convention against international terrorism, and is grateful to India for its initiative in that respect. The work aimed at the adoption of a convention against transnational organized crime must also be concluded. One of the United Nations top priorities is the fight against poverty.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The creation of an international system of criminal justice constitutes the most important change in international law since the adoption of the San Francisco Charter. I am pleased to inform the Assembly that my country's process of ratification of the Rome Statute concluded yesterday. I hope that the International Criminal Court will become a reality in the not-too-distant future. I trust therefore that the Rome Statute will be signed and ratified by the largest possible number of States, without directly or indirectly affecting its integrity and effectiveness. If there is one issue that makes us realize that there are global interests demanding our collective management it is that of environmental protection. It is imperative that the Kyoto Protocol for combating the greenhouse effect should come into force in 2002, at the latest.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The first is actions regarding which the international community cannot remain idle, such as war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide, which are offences referred to in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Consensus should also be reached among the permanent members of the Security Council over the cases in which they should refrain from exercising their veto to block Council resolutions aimed at putting an end to massive violations of human rights. The principle of State sovereignty continues to be essential in contemporary international society, but it must not be used as a protective shield to trample upon human rights with impunity. The establishment of the International Criminal Court signals the direction in which the international community is moving in that area.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“We shall do everything possible to ensure the success of such an important event. In this overall context, we must mention the issue of so-called humanitarian intervention, aptly proposed on more than one occasion by the Secretary-General. The United Nations that we want cannot be an Organization that remains paralysed in the face of massive violations of human rights, wherever they may take place. When that has occurred, its prestige has been seriously affected, and it has been left out of basic decision-making in times of crisis. The disgust provoked by a passive stance in the face of those atrocities and the need to strengthen the role of the 37 Organization in crisis situations are merely two sides of the same coin. It is essential that we be capable of building consensus on at least two fundamental issues.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The consequences have been borne by defenceless civilian populations. I refer to the situation of refugees and persons displaced within their own countries, civilian victims of armed conflicts and international aid workers who are subject to threats or coercion. It is essential to broaden the scope of our action in this area and to pay special attention to the most vulnerable sectors of the population. Last week, in this very city, the President of the Spanish Government signed the two Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, relative to children in armed conflict and on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. In that same vein, the General Assembly this year adopted a resolution (54/262) agreeing to the holding in Spain in 2002 of the Second World Assembly on Ageing.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“If the twentieth century has been one of formulating and structuring human rights on the international level, the next century must be that of ensuring that their effective implementation is universal. The practices in most urgent need of elimination are racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and intolerance. The 2001 World Conference against Racism must be an effective instrument to that end. We must also strive to abolish the death penalty, which we consider a punishment contrary to the dignity of the human being. The adoption of moratoriums against carrying it out could be a first step towards its total ban. Our Organization must also enable us to provide solutions, in a spirit of solidarity, to humanitarian problems that until recently have simply not been addressed.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“Spain would like to suggest some ideas for progress in three of the Organization's basic spheres of action: managing globalization, combating poverty and peace-making. The United Nations that we want must be our main instrument for meeting the many challenges of globalization. Its universal nature places our Organization in an ideal position for that purpose. It would be unforgivable if it were not capable of rising to that task, which has to be undertaken in very different fields. One such area is human rights. The process of the universalization of human rights constitutes one of the United Nations most valuable contributions to international relations since the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, in 1948.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“I wish sincerely to congratulate the President on his election to preside over the work of the Millennium Assembly. I would also like to express my appreciation for the work of his predecessor, Foreign Minister Theo-Ben Gurirab, which culminated in the recent Millennium Summit. I also welcome Tuvalu as a new Member State of the United Nations. I am sure that it will make a useful and enriching contribution to the work of the Organization. What kind of United Nations do we want? Why, and to what purpose, do we need the United Nations in this new millennium? The Millennium Summit was convened to answer those questions. The task of the General Assembly is to devise and implement the guidelines that the Summit proposed.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)