YouSaid · the spoken record

Hubert Védrine

lines on the record: 103
first: 1997-09-24
most recent: 2001-09-24
sittings or episodes: 4
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

“The Union will contribute actively to this. Peacekeeping, strengthening international security and defending human rights are the central principles underpinning the European Union's foreign policy. Recent crises on Europe's very doorstep have convinced us that we cannot remain idle when these fundamental principles are violated. In this regard, the European Union approves of the priority given to peacekeeping during last week's meetings. Mr. Brahimi's report offers an in-depth analysis on this subject. It presents useful recommendations for the mandates of peacekeeping operations, operational planning in New York and deployment. It presents a unique opportunity to strengthen the United Nations capacity for peace operations. The European Union will actively participate in considering these recommendations.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“His international action, his independence and his vision have made a decisive contribution to asserting the key role the United Nations plays and must continue to play. The European Union wishes to assure him of its support for his work and for the Organization and its representatives. The Millennium Summit, an unprecedented gathering of 155 heads of State and Government, allowed us to address the main challenges facing the world community and the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century, which will begin on 1 January 2001. The Union notes with great satisfaction that the Summit produced a political document setting forth a road-map for the Organization for the years to come. These guidelines are based on ideas outlined in the Secretary-General's report. It is now up to the General Assembly to implement them.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“I have the honour of speaking this year on behalf of the European Union, which France is presiding over until the end of December. In this capacity, it is a great pleasure for me to congratulate the President on his election. It symbolizes the respect the international community has both for his country and for himself. I would also like to thank your predecessor, Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, for his skill in guiding the proceedings of the fifty-fourth session of the General Assembly, Mr. Sam Nujoma and Ms. Tarja Halonen for their work with you, Mr. President, as Co-Chairpersons of the Millennium Summit. 19 I would like to commend the Secretary-General of the Organization, Mr. Kofi Annan.”
2000-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 55 (2000)
“The United Nations must remain the unifying framework, and the Charter must remain the reference point. Preserving what has proved its worth, adapting when necessary, inventing new forms of regulation — these are three main areas for our work.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Within this transformation, to which the Director- General of the IMF is making an important contribution, and also in order better to stabilize the international economic and monetary situation and to support world growth, Europe will play an increasingly important role 18 since it is finalizing the introduction of its single currency, the euro, and we are anticipating the benefits. From this period we are living through, which is so full of contrasts, consisting of unprecedented progress and of crises threatening to wipe out our efforts, in particular those made under the aegis of the United Nations, additional progress must be forthcoming in building a more just and more peaceful world, because this is what we all want. Today’s world needs rules.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It is the responsibility of each State to make its contribution. We need also to define new rules adapted to today’s financial realities. My country is today presenting to its European partners some proposals to counter international financial instability. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) must naturally remain the pivot here. But the IMF must be more legitimate and more effective, working on the basis of clear, realistic, political and strategic guidelines, cooperating with other competent bodies, organizing dialogue between industrialized countries and emerging countries, ensuring the transparency of the financial system and reflecting the economic, social and political realities of partner countries — an IMF that can detect early warning signs to prevent crises from happening.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Innovative measures, such as making it impossible to invoke banking secrecy in judicial bodies investigating a terrorist attack, should be introduced. If we have the will to do this, we can launch this negotiation at the end of the present session of the General Assembly. President Clinton spoke here on Monday of this common struggle as a shared obligation. This is correct. In addition, we need to attack the multiple causes that breed terrorism. The eleventh point I would like to make concerns the remedy for not only the current financial crises, but also the malfunctioning of the international financial system as such. That is the issue here, as is shown by the increasing calls for a “new Bretton Woods”. Financial globalization is running wild now. New means urgently need to be found.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Tenth, we must combat terrorism in all its forms, whoever the perpetrators and whatever their motivation. The recent International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings is an important step forward, but that is not enough. We must also acquire the means to hunt down those who finance and instigate these attacks. France is proposing the negotiation of a universal convention against the financing of terrorism. We need to define concrete mechanisms for legal measures and mutual judicial assistance against those who finance terrorism. Effective sanctions, such as the seizure or the freezing of the assets of organizations or individuals that have participated in terrorist acts must be provided for.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This is the first normative framework to guide the international community in an area of scientific research where advances are already shaking our traditional concepts of life and social organization. France is submitting a draft resolution calling on the General Assembly to endorse this Universal Declaration. Ninth, we must contain and reduce the scourge of organized crime, beginning with drugs. The volume of illegal drug trafficking now approaches $500 billion — 8 per cent to 10 per cent of world trade. According to the International Monetary Fund, money-laundering operations represent from 2 per cent to 5 per cent of global gross domestic product. At the special session in New York in June we decided to put more emphasis on reducing the demand for drugs, in addition to what we have done about supply. Let us do so.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The Statute achieves an essential synthesis of the various legal traditions in the world and strikes a balance between the Court’s competences and the powers of the Security Council that is in keeping with the spirit and calling of the United Nations. We hope that those countries that still have reservations will be able to join us. In another field of law, the International Labour Organization has taken a historic step towards universal compliance with basic labour standards through the declaration adopted at its eighty-sixth conference, which is a commitment on the part of the 174 member States of the Organization. On 11 November 1997 the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization adopted the Universal Declaration on the Human Genome and Human Rights.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“17 However, even if we reinforce the Security Council, strengthen the hand of the Secretary-General and better handle future crises and other aspects of existing ones, this will still not be enough. We must regain the initiative, and for that we must extend our efforts to bring worldwide regulation to other fields. This brings me to my final points. The eighth requirement is to extend the rule of law in all its aspects. The Statute of a permanent International Criminal Court was adopted in Rome after intensive negotiations. It is a major step forward in the fight against the impunity of the foremost criminals. France was one of the first to sign it.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“They are capable of sounding the alarm, making proposals and cooperating in very practical terms to help build States governed by the rule of law. Parallel to these actions, we expect much from the activities of Mrs. Robinson, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, both in the Commission on Human Rights and in the various United Nations agencies, which must also — all of them — integrate the human rights dimension into their activities. After more than 10 years of negotiations, 1998 will see the adoption of the declaration on the defenders of human rights. This is a crucial text because these are the rights that dictatorships try to stifle and threaten.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“France remains heavily committed; it is the second largest provider of official development assistance. In order to modernize its aid and make it more effective, France has decided to reform its cooperation arrangements and increase coordination with other donors — in the first place with the European Union. More than 60 per cent of aid to Africa comes from the European Union. Europe is also the largest source of aid to Latin America and the second largest to Asia. France would like development resources to be more predictable. The Secretary-General has made proposals that we welcome in a constructive spirit, in particular the idea of a development account. We encourage the United Nations to continue its discussions in this area. Seventh, we need to work with the non- governmental organizations.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We should also pursue relentlessly the prohibition of chemical and biological weapons. Let us see to it that the Convention banning chemical weapons becomes universal and that the Convention banning biological weapons is made truly effective through a verification mechanism. Combating the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction also means preventing the spread of vehicles capable of delivering such weapons, while preserving useful civilian applications. In order to make progress in conventional disarmament, let us ensure that the Ottawa Convention providing for a comprehensive ban on anti-personnel mines comes into force as soon as possible. Sixth, we should continue to combat underdevelopment, whose link with crises needs no further demonstration.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Our primary objective here should be the entry into force as speedily as possible of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. France, together with the United Kingdom, was the first nuclear-weapon State to ratify the Treaty and is the only one to have completed the dismantlement of its testing centre. I call on all States that have not yet done so to accede to this Treaty — including India and Pakistan, which have announced their intention not to carry out any more nuclear tests. Another objective here would be a treaty banning the production of fissile material for military purposes. I proposed at the meeting of the five permanent members of the Security Council held in Geneva on 4 June last that we should launch such a negotiation. A universal, non- discriminatory and verifiable cut-off treaty would give new impetus to disarmament.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The conference would be placed under the aegis of the United Nations or the Organization of African Unity, with the active participation of the States of the region. Several African diplomatic initiatives have the same goal. We support those efforts. Africa is currently the theatre of other crises. Let us pay tribute to the tireless efforts of the Secretary-General’s representatives. Here I salute in particular the memory of Matre Blondin Beye, who died while on a peace mission. Fifth, there is a need to reinforce the multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation system. Following the nuclear tests in South Asia, whose risks everyone recognizes, we must strengthen the anti-proliferation regime and pursue the disarmament process in all areas — nuclear, conventional, chemical and biological.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“We must not abandon the goal of meeting the aspirations of the peoples of this region for a just and lasting peace which respects the resolutions and agreements that have been reached. Another region in crisis calls for our attention. As I mentioned earlier on the territory of the Democratic Republic of the Congo six or seven African States of the Great Lakes region are engaged in confrontation in a tangle of problems involving border issues, guerrilla activities, ethnic strife, refugees, the quest for arable land and so forth. It is illusory to hope for a separate settlement in each of these States. A regional crisis such as this calls for a regional solution. That is why my country has raised again the idea of a conference for peace in the Great Lakes region, which we suggested as early as 1995.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Now that the international community has just commemorated on a melancholy note the fifth anniversary of the Oslo accords, what remains of the peace process in the Middle East and the hopes born in Madrid? There is no longer a light shining in the night, and the fires of hatred are gaining ground. France continues to support the persevering efforts of the United States Secretary of State, but we do not wish to be left without any prospects at all should those efforts unfortunately not succeed. That is why President Chirac and President Mubarak have proposed in that event convening a conference of countries resolved to save the 16 peace. This concern for the future has been very well received. In liaison with Mr. Amre Moussa, we are working to further our proposal.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This is why my country has come out in favour of enlarging the Security Council, with, on the one hand, new permanent members — two seats for the North, to which Germany and Japan have every claim, and three for the South; on the other hand, there should be new non-permanent members for the North and South. This enlargement must at the same time preserve the Council’s effectiveness and not prevent it from carrying out its responsibilities under the Charter. I hope this fifty-third session of the Assembly will see progress on this reform. Fourth, we must increase the capacity of our Organization to prevent or settle regional crises. There is much to be done.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The lifting of the oil embargo has, by the Council’s resolutions, been made subject to the controlled dismantling of its weapons of mass destruction. Iraq must therefore meet these conditions — completely meet them, but only them. Once that objective is achieved, our aim must be to reintegrate Iraq into the international community, starting with the region. The only way to achieve that end is by Iraq’s complete compliance with the relevant resolutions — all the resolutions, nothing but the resolutions — which means Iraq’s unreserved cooperation with the United Nations and the bodies empowered to monitor Iraq’s disarmament. The third need is to increase the representativeness of the Security Council in order to increase its legitimacy.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“It has just begun action for the return of refugees. It has never ruled out the possible use of force. On this latter point, I hear voices urging us to forgo the authorization of the Security Council. But after this case there would be another exception, and then another. Little by little, any country would declare itself entitled to intervene wherever its interests, security or ambitions so required, and we would have to begin all over again. We must remain firm on this principle. Second, we must make sure that the authority of the Security Council is respected and its resolutions are complied with. This goes for all its resolutions. But today the question arises particularly in connection with Iraq.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“The first priority is to reserve for the Security Council a monopoly on legitimate enforcement action in the case of “threats to the peace, breaches of the peace, and acts of aggression”. Nothing can justify the use of force by a State, a group of States or an organization, however powerful, if prior authorization was not received from the Security Council — except in cases of self-defence. My country shares the impatience of those who deplore the fact that it should take so long to find a solution to various cruel conflicts — for example, in Kosovo, where the humanitarian situation is so critical. Since November 1997 France has warned of the risks of explosion; it has put forward many proposals in liaison with Germany and its other partners in the Contact Group to prepare the ground for a realistic political solution.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Is it not at this very moment trying to maintain peace on four continents with approximately 15,000 personnel engaged in about 17 operations? To cite just one example, no fewer than 20 agencies are trying to rebuild Bosnia. Nor do I intend to neglect the progress achieved in 1998, which I mentioned at the beginning of my statement. I wish simply to explain that the United Nations and the multilateral system do not today have the necessary means to meet all these challenges. But we cannot and must not give up. How can we restore the necessary vigour to our action? Allow me to make some suggestions in this area. First, we can preserve the powers that the Charter has given our institutions.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“I cannot list them all, but currently more than 30 conflicts, civil wars or State break-ups are under way that involve more than 40 countries in their aftermath of suffering. Twenty-two million civilians — displaced persons and returnees — have been affected by these conflicts and require assistance from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which is currently active in 118 countries. Nor can I fail to mention child soldiers; slavery, which still goes on in a scarcely veiled form; disappeared persons; and so many other tragedies. But I do not wish my statement to be a long litany of woe that is only too familiar to the United Nations, which is the first to learn of these situations.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Each day $1,600 billion is exchanged on the financial markets — huge sums of money that are greater than the means of intervention of all the financial institutions of the world. In 1970 those amounts were equal to the world’s gross national product. Today, they are 15 times greater. The nuclear tests in South Asia were a dramatic reminder that a very serious regional territorial dispute combined with a feeling, justified or not, of insecurity could open the way to nuclear and ballistic proliferation. In East Africa, a typical armed conflict was born of a border dispute. In the Great Lakes region, six or seven States are in the grip of regional conflict on the territory 15 of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Destabilization is threatening Central Asia, starting with Afghanistan.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Sometimes our interventions are not appropriate; some States take advantage of circumstances and deliberately carry out archaic policies of force that contravene the principles of the Charter. On other occasions, the abdication or implosion of States has released among various groups ancestral forms of hatred that are still very much alive, thus facilitating organized crime. All these are destabilizing factors which, while very different, all help to disorganize and imperil international relations. Several major crises have proved this recently. The Asian financial crisis reminded us that strong growth, when badly regulated, is vulnerable in a globalized world that is all too often dependent on the ultra-sensitive reactions of the trading floors and the increasingly rapid spread of contagious effects.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“This again was borne out in the spring of this year during the Iraqi crisis, when the Secretary-General was deservedly commended; in Africa, during the creation of the United Nations Mission in the Central African Republic, which was the first entirely new peacekeeping operation in four years; and even in the Balkans, where the difficult mission entrusted to the United Nations in Eastern Slavonia achieved its objective. And yet, as the Secretary-General himself emphasized recently, “Unpredictability and surprise have become almost commonplace” (A/53/1, para. 1), and the illusions of the end of the cold war have not stood the test of reality. Our world, let us acknowledge this fact, is not moving towards greater harmony.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Over the decades, the Security Council, except when paralysed by abuse of the veto, has almost always managed to shoulder its primary responsibility for international security. When it failed to do so, no other institution was able to in its stead. Since its first peacekeeping operation 50 years ago, the Security Council has launched 49 operations of this kind. The institutional framework established by the Charter has, in the most varied situations, ranging from cold war confrontation to the cooperation of recent years, proved its irreplaceable usefulness.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“That immense ambition was justified by the recent horrors, which at all costs were to be prevented from happening again — a necessary utopia, perhaps, or a superhuman task. But as the great French writer Albert Camus put it: ”Superhuman tasks are the ones man takes a long time to accomplish, that’s all.” A long time has elapsed, and we are still working on that, still toiling. We have no reason to be ashamed of what we have done as the United Nations throughout these 53 years, of what the Security Council and successive General Assemblies have done, as well as seven Secretaries- General — in particular the current one over the last two years, whose work has been so outstanding.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Mr. President, on your election, which attests to the high regard in which the international community holds you and your country, and which France, as an old and true friend of Uruguay, welcomes. We hope that the work of the fifty-third session of the General Assembly will, under your presidency, lead to the strengthening of the Organization. It was 53 years ago in San Francisco that we, “the peoples of the United Nations”, decided to join our efforts “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war...to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person...to establish conditions under which justice...can be maintained, and to promote social progress”.”
1998-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 53 (1998)
“Only international dialogue, the common management of crises, beginning with their prevention, and the wise conservation of the earth’s resources make it possible for the voice of reason and peace to prevail and for confidence in progress to be rebuilt. The United Nations is the right and the only legitimate forum for such international discussions, and the only one where they are universal. Our Organization is an irreplaceable framework and a vital necessity for us all. In the past, it has often been able to deter, address, resolve and prevent. Let us reform it so as to make it even more useful.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The summit of these States in Hanoi in November will attest to their interest in more balanced development and also to their commitment to respecting the multiplicity of cultures and languages. I will say no more, however — other than to draw one single conclusion. While the world has changed so much over the past 50 years, and even more over the past six years, its inhabitants still voice the same needs. The rule of law must be continually consolidated and the democratic ideal put into practice, faced as we are with the temptations of oppression and the use of force, for which new pretexts are constantly being invoked. How can we be sure that the factors that make for war and chaos are banned for ever from all continents, including Europe? At this moment of our Organization's reform, let us not forget the lessons of history.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“I am also thinking of the tenacious efforts of the United Nations to contain or defuse the crises in Haiti, Cyprus, Georgia, Afghanistan, Tajikistan and elsewhere. Finally, let us not forget, now or ever, much-needed development assistance. Of course, the insertion of emerging economies, including the former underdeveloped economies, into the global economy is an excellent thing; indeed, past efforts in this regard have proved to be well founded. But this must not be a selfish excuse for the rich countries to give up their effort to provide development assistance, which is equally necessary. In any event, this is very much an imperative for the leaders of the member States of the Francophone community.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“It is up to the Organization to state, or restate, the law and to recall the principles which must be the basis for any peace if we want it to last. I refer here to the resolutions adopted by the Security Council on the conflict in the Middle East, not forgetting resolution 425 (1978), which deals with the integrity of Lebanon in particular. Many other crisis situations where the wounds have not healed could be mentioned from this rostrum — so diverse is the work of the United Nations. In particular, I am thinking of the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, where security has been restored but where the construction of a State with viable democratic institutions remains uncertain; and of Albania, where the new stability, thanks to resolute European action authorized by the United Nations, is giving rise to new hopes.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The peoples of this region are once again stuck in an impasse, in a situation of humiliation, resentment, and the fear of terrorism. New efforts are therefore necessary so that these two peoples, Israeli and Palestinian, which are matched in terms of insecurity and fear of the future, can together find justice and security. France gave its full support to the action by the American Secretary of State, who recently went to the Middle East. Indeed, the United States has a special responsibility and special means to attempt to reinvigorate the peace process and effectively combat the deadly acts of extremism. France and Europe are ready to take part in any constructive move to this end. What can the United Nations do? It cannot take the place of the parties concerned, which have the primary responsibility.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“This United Nations commitment to promote peace and development must also serve to further human rights. That is why it is important for the humanitarian investigative task force in the Democratic Republic of the Congo to be able to carry out its mission. I might add that by spending too much time talking about crises in Africa, one might forget the essential point, namely that the African continent is taking off in quite an unprecedented way. My country believes in this. We are all still mobilized by the situation in the Middle East. The peace process, set in train on the initiative of clear-sighted and courageous men on both sides, raised tremendous hopes. We can clearly see the increasingly tragic consequences to which the current 21 stalemate would lead, were it to last.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“For instance, the Government of France, the United Kingdom and the United States recently agreed to act together with all those who wish to do so to strengthen the peacekeeping capabilities of African countries, under the auspices of the United Nations, of course, and in cooperation with the OAU. But, in France's view, encouraging Africa to become more involved in resolving crises certainly does not mean that the international community should relinquish its other responsibilities with regard to the African continent. It is therefore essential that the United Nations be ready, once the declared conditions are met, to act in Congo- Brazzaville. By the same token, the many recent tragedies in the Great Lakes region make sustained international involvement indispensable.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In Europe, the United Nations is pooling its efforts with those of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization in sensitive theatres of operation, and even with those of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. In Africa, for the first time, the Secretaries-General of the United Nations and the Organization of African Unity (OAU) have in the past year appointed a joint special representative in the person of Ambassador Sahnoun, in the Great Lakes region. It is good that these two organizations are working together. This development must be encouraged. We must also help African States and organizations to strengthen their own peacekeeping capabilities. To this end, countries outside the African continent must pool their efforts and not multiply the number of rival and sometimes redundant initiatives.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“This is why France supports the action of the international criminal tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, and hopes that the forthcoming conference on an international criminal court will be a success. Since the beginning of the decade, the Organization’s actions to promote peace and international stability have changed radically. The time has passed when large-scale peacekeeping operations were mounted solely under the blue flag of the United Nations, in Cambodia and the former Yugoslavia for example, in order to take on massive challenges alone. Today, the United Nations intervenes more and more frequently in conjunction with other organizations or by authorizing the action of regional actors.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“At this time, the United Nations is really the only organization that can try to bring order to an international society which is becoming fragmented and globalized at the same time. The United Nations is faced with both a resurgence of every kind of micro-nationalism and the strengthening of regional entities. Most conflicts are now not between States but within them. Given these new challenges, the United Nations has already demonstrated how adaptable and flexible it is. But we must continue. To ensure the lasting settlement of conflicts, consciences have to be assuaged and justice needs to be done to put an end to the endless cycle of revenge. The perpetrators of the most serious crimes must be tried impartially, with respect for the rights of the defence, and after an exemplary investigation which reveals the facts in full.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, starting on 10 December this year, will provide an opportunity to reaffirm, in the face of persistent violations and ever-recurring acts of barbarism, the universality of these rights. But we will also have to ask ourselves, in addition to making the usual declarations that are still necessary, what political and economic actions are needed to make real headway, in specific situations, towards respect for human rights, and how the emergence of democracies can be encouraged from outside. The United Nations, while adapting, must remain the preferred instrument for taking action in the interests of peace.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“It therefore welcomes the establishment in Vienna of a centre to deal specifically with combating new transnational dangers such as organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism, problems that we must fight with ever-increased vigour. It is also very much in favour of integrating the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Centre for Human Rights into a single entity in Geneva where the main humanitarian aid services are already established. It also hopes that the main issues involving disarmament can continue to be addressed in Geneva. From this rostrum, I applaud the appointment of Mrs. Mary Robinson to the post of High Commissioner for Human Rights. Her very strong personality is commensurate with the challenges her task entails.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“But our efforts will succeed only if there is respect for the rules I have just recalled, which reflect our Organization's impartiality and credibility. If the United Nations were forced to comply with the unilateral demands of one among us, in regard both to its financing and its functioning, then how could it convince anyone in the future that it is impartial and faithful to the principle of the equality of all under the Charter, and generate respect for its decisions? I come now to restructuring. The Secretary-General has undertaken to restructure and regroup the Organization’s institutions. France appreciates the logic of 20 this approach.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Finally, the payment of contributions should not be a way of exerting pressure on the Secretary-General and the other Member States. With these rudimentary principles as a basis, France is open to discussion on all aspects of the problem. We will have to decide on the scale for apportioning assessments among all States. There is no perfect scale, but some are not as bad as others. The concept of each State’s ability to pay, which has enjoyed consensus since the outset, still seems simple, logical and fair today. On that basis, a solution can be found that takes account of the needs and interests of each State. France will do its utmost to facilitate the settlement of the financial crisis. We can be both imaginative and conciliatory — like the European Union’s plan.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“National interests and the concerns of regional groups must be given due consideration. In any event, I welcome President Razali’s perseverance throughout the fifty-first session of the United Nations General Assembly, which made it possible to draft a solid working basis from which we must now proceed to work to find a solution. Furthermore, financial reform of the United Nations is a particularly complex issue. It is shocking that the United Nations should be in a precarious state and therefore in a situation of financial and budgetary dependence with respect to its debtors. I believe that we will be able to move towards a solution on the basis of three principles: what is owed to the United Nations must be paid in full, on time and without conditions.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“In this connection, we must take into account the Security Council’s indispensable role in peacekeeping and thus elect countries able to contribute to this task, whether they are from the North or the South. Accordingly, my country is in favour of the accession of Germany, Japan and three countries from the South to permanent seats and the establishment of new non-permanent seats. For a Security Council composed solely of the principal countries of the North would not be representative. Nor should we forget that, once it is enlarged, and hence more representative, the Council will still have to be effective. That is essential. The proposals that have been submitted to us should make it possible to move forward. However, we are all aware that no consensus has yet been reached and that debates on this matter will be difficult.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“France approved of the move by the new Secretary- General at the outset of his mandate to continue the study initiated by his predecessor, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali. The main lines Mr. Kofi Annan has proposed for the work and the impetus he has given to the process of revamping the Organization have received France’s full support, a support shared by France’s partners in the European Union. The remarks made from this rostrum by its current President, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Luxembourg, illustrate this. I should like to comment more specifically on three points: the Security Council, financial reform and restructuring. The current composition of the Security Council no longer accurately reflects the political geography of today’s world. Clearly, it has to be reformed — that is to say, enlarged — to become more representative.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“To be sure, other organizations exist in various sectors, and these have their own, very important areas of authority. But none of them can take the place of the United Nations in giving the world of tomorrow a set of comprehensive rules. True to its tradition, France will support all the Organization's efforts to that end. I come now to the main object of the session which is beginning. To carry out the major role we expect of it, the United Nations must retain or reacquire the means to take decisions and to act. For this, we must resolve two matters: United Nations reform and the financing of the Organization. The ability of the United Nations to act in the years ahead will depend on the solutions we find together.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Political and economic entities are being organized and institutionalized: South-East Asia meets in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN); in Latin America, the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR) is developing, as are the Southern African Development Community (SADC) in southern Africa and the Economic Community of West African States 19 (ECOWAS) in the west of that continent. To some extent, one might also include cultural and political entities, such as the Commonwealth and la Francophonie. This is a sensible way to adapt to globalization. However, at the global level we need a coherent, effective United Nations with the resources necessary to carry out its missions. It is the task of this body to facilitate the smooth organization of international relations and to determine universally recognized rules of law.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)
“Fierce competition will render virtually impossible environmental conservation, however urgent, however vital in the true meaning of the word, as well as the fight against drugs and crime; greater respect for human rights will be compromised. Our common task must be to forestall such dangers and, at the same time, to consolidate, together, the achievements of recent years. For this, regional groupings are one of the best possible foundations. Europe, which has been the crucible of so many wars, has been showing the way for half a century. The growth rates achieved by many countries in Asia, in Latin America and now in Africa, announce the emergence of new centres of power and prosperity.”
1997-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 52 (1997)