YouSaid · the spoken record

McKINNON

lines on the record: 81
first: 1993-09-24
most recent: 1995-09-24
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

“In taking stock of the United Nations 50 years, we have much on which to reflect. There have been good times, and there have been bad times. Reform and revitalization must stay on our minds. I wish to assure you, Sir, and all other members, of New Zealand’s commitment to help remould the Organization to that which will be needed to work for all of us as we head towards the twenty-first century.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I am gravely concerned that, despite all the warnings here in this Assembly last year, delegations have not made any real progress in the Working Group addressing the financial crisis. The United Nations — this United Nations — ran out of cash in mid- August. The arrears of Member States in respect of the regular and peace-keeping budgets have reached unprecedented levels. It is nothing short of a tragedy that on the eve of our celebration of the fiftieth anniversary, the United Nations, this body of ours, is on the verge of bankruptcy. At this critical point in the United Nations history, we need political will, not more words. “Words pay no debts”, as Shakespeare wrote. We need new ideas, not recycled platitudes. And, above all, Members must pay their dues, on time, and in full. We do stand here at a crossroads.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We were especially pleased to see the Convention on the Safety of United Nations Personnel opened for signature during last year’s session. We urge those that have not signed it to do so, and soon. We owe that to the thousands who have served, and are serving, in the United Nations operations worldwide. The improved procedures for consultation between the Security Council and troop contributors, initiated by Argentina and New Zealand, have now been in place for almost a year. Pleasing as this is, we still have some way to go. It is up to those of us who contribute troops to United Nations operations to ensure there is no slippage in these procedures. Regrettably, however, we do not appear to have a sustainable financial system.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I wish to commend the ground-breaking work that has already been done by Canada, the Netherlands, Denmark and others. My discussions yesterday with Ministers from these and other countries were encouraging to me. Progress can and should be made in this area. 20 At about this time last year I spoke to the General Assembly about a number of elements that I consider critical to the conduct of peace-keeping operations. These included a sustainable financial system, transparent political accountability, clear objectives, a credible legal regime that guarantees the security of United Nations personnel and, of course, the availability of resources so that objectives can be met quickly and efficiently. Progress has been made.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“And it works under the closest public scrutiny of Governments and the world’s media. New Zealand strongly supports practical steps to improve peace-keeping management. We have, in fact, provided additional specialist personnel to the Department of Peace-keeping Operations at our own expense. We have contributed to the strengthening of the Secretariat’s capacity in the demining area. And we shall continue these commitments because we believe that they are so necessary. We also entered into the United Nations stand-by arrangements earlier this year, and we hope that these will provide a clearer focus for peace-keeping and its planning. We have also studied with interest the Secretary- General’s recommendation, in his Supplement to “An Agenda for Peace”, that the United Nations should consider the idea of a rapid-deployment force.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“This is why New Zealand, despite its geographical distance from the region, has been willing to play its part. I believe that, one day, the United Nations mission in Bosnia will enjoy recognition of the successes it has achieved so far. It is a little too easy to focus on the problems of the United Nations. We need to remember its successes as well. I think of Cambodia and Mozambique, of El Salvador and Haiti, of Namibia and Angola and of the contributions to peace in various parts of the Middle East over the years. Even in Somalia, where a political settlement proved elusive, massive famine was relieved thanks to the United Nations. The United Nations is unique. It is called on to deal with the most intractable problems — the ones that others put into the “too hard” basket.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The need for Member States to maintain a collective approach in addressing these challenges has never been greater. Events in the former Yugoslavia over the past year have presented an enormous challenge to the international community. New Zealand fully supported the firm response made by this Organization and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization to the murderous shelling of Sarajevo late in August. The diplomatic efforts now under way, including the very important constitutional agreement reached last Tuesday, offer some prospect for bringing to an end almost four years of a most appalling conflict. Some have been dismissive of the achievements of the United Nations in the former Yugoslavia. That, however, is to overlook the saving of tens of thousands of lives and the substantial relief of suffering.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“At a time when, globally, resources are desperately needed for development, for the environment, for health, why is it that even modest measures, such as enhancing the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms are still being resisted? Neither peace nor development is advanced if States put increasingly scarce economic resources into the defence sectors of their economies. Far too much of the global economic capacity is going into armaments when the citizens of the world desperately need better health, better education and a better future for their children. The widespread availability of conventional arms and the resurgence of ethnic nationalism have, together, produced a very dangerous cocktail, which poses a major threat to stability in the post-cold-war era.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I pledge New Zealand’s ongoing assistance in this work. Of course, disposal alone is not the answer. Urgent progress needs to be made to deal with these hideous weapons, which go on claiming the lives of innocent people — farmers, their children, shopkeepers, collectors of wood, carriers of water — long after conflicts have ceased. I ask all the participants at the Conference which opened this week in Vienna, which has as its main aim the revision of international law on land-mines, to work together to achieve the tightest possible restrictions on these totally indiscriminate weapons. I want to work to eliminate them entirely from the world’s armouries. This leads one to the broader questions of arms transfers. We are profoundly disturbed at the unnecessary and irrational increase in arms transfers.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I should add that at the Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons we raised the idea of negotiating an agreement to ban the future production of nuclear weapons. That could take us a step closer to eliminating the nuclear threat. 19 But it is also important to address the issues relating to conventional weapons. I wish, first, to address the issue of land-mines. I want to congratulate the Secretary-General and his staff for the way they have picked up this issue and raised public awareness around the world. The Conference organized in Geneva this year was most timely — but more is needed. Both financial and technical resources need to be made available to help dispose of the millions of treacherous life- and livelihood-destroying mines that have already been laid.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“I recall that democratic representation was once at the heart of a tea party in Boston. Let us hope that there will not be a tea party in New York in 1996 on membership of the Conference on Disarmament. I also urge the members of the Conference on Disarmament to look beyond the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty. New Zealand wants to see an international agreement banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. That would be another important step towards negotiations on the total elimination of nuclear weapons. We urge the Conference on Disarmament to resolve its procedural differences and get the negotiations under way.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“The deadline for the negotiations is 1996, and the international community is holding the Conference on Disarmament accountable for meeting that deadline and producing a treaty that is genuinely comprehensive in scope. In this regard, the General Assembly has become increasingly concerned about the lack of accountability in the Conference on Disarmament. Limited and unrepresentative membership has been a large part of the problem. Enlargement is long overdue. New Zealand welcomes the progress made in recent weeks in Geneva, and we express our gratitude to Morocco for its efforts in this regard. However, the real test will be whether by the time we meet here again next year the new members will have been able to take their seats. For the moment, the outcome is still not satisfactory.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“All that China and France need to do is listen to international opinion and announce that their testing programmes have ceased. I want to welcome the commitment by three of the nuclear-weapon States — France, the United Kingdom and the United States — to a genuine ban on nuclear testing: a prohibition on any nuclear explosions, no matter how small. This is what we have always called for: a comprehensive ban — where the word “comprehensive” means just that. We are pleased that it is attracting serious support. New Zealand calls on the two nuclear-weapon States that have not yet indicated full support for this approach to do so quickly. Time is short.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“They were able to recall the painful memories in the region, going back to atmospheric testing conducted between 25 and 50 years ago. The South Pacific has not been alone in its opposition to nuclear testing. Governments, parliamentarians and peoples from every region of the world have spoken up in anger, alarm and dismay. The two Governments which are continuing to test nuclear weapons must heed the voice of the international community. They are dancing to a tune no one wants to hear. In these circumstances, New Zealand, along with a representative group of like-minded States, will submit an appropriate draft resolution to the First Committee of this Assembly. Testing is a backward step, and I condemn it. It is not too late.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“But the Conference went further than that, the vast majority of participants making it very clear that they were against nuclear testing. They also wanted to move towards the nuclear-free world envisaged in article VI of the Treaty. The cavalier disregard, and dismissal of the views of the many, has led to considerable disillusionment. It will take a long time to restore the trust that had been there. New Zealand and the rest of the South Pacific region have long stood tall and proud in opposition to nuclear weapons and their testing. We abhor testing wherever it occurs. But the decision to resume testing in what we see as our home region has particularly angered the people of New Zealand. The leaders of the South Pacific Forum nations expressed their outrage at their meeting just two weeks ago.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“New Zealand does not believe 18 that continued nuclear testing, wherever it takes place, contributes to a safer world. On the contrary, nuclear testing sends the wrong message to States which do possess or which aspire to the possession of nuclear weapons. It also tells them that the development of these weapons is still acceptable. The nuclear tests which have taken place since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons was extended have disturbed the delicate balance achieved at that Conference. New Zealand believed then, and continues to believe, that indefinite extension was the right option. The world needs a strong non-proliferation regime, one that cannot be called into question by changing global circumstances.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“But we need to move on to reinforce our achievements in controlling, reducing and abolishing the horrific weapons of mass destruction. We have yet to see the dividend we all expected to flow from the end of the cold war. The transition to a post-cold-war world is not easy. We are painfully aware of that. In recent years though, we have been encouraged to believe that a new world order was achievable. One of the reasons for this hope, this optimism, was that the nuclear scourge had receded. For the first time in 50 years nuclear Powers were committed to build down rather than to build up, to decommission and destroy rather than to commission and construct. However, recent events have cast a cloud over that brief period of optimism.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“May I first take this occasion to congratulate Ambassador Diogo Freitas do Amaral of Portugal on his election to the presidency of the Assembly in this important fiftieth anniversary year. I should also like to offer a special welcome to Palau as the one hundred eighty-fifth Member. Palau’s accession does signal honour to us as a fellow Pacific State. Here today I want to talk about making our global neighbourhood a safer place for all of us; the progress that has been made in the years since the end of the cold war, and what still needs to be done. Memories are short; it is hard to recall the degree of mutual suspicion that coloured global politics just a few years ago. We have made great strides in recent times. The world community has achieved much in its efforts to make the world safer, and more stable.”
1995-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 50 (1995)
“We need to share peace- keeping tasks, peace-keeping funding and peace-keeping supplies. We need to accept the democratic decisions of this Organization. We also need to adjust to the more complex and interrelated United Nations agendas of the future. I therefore leave with the Assembly New Zealand’s assurance of a renewed commitment to this unique and essential body and of our willingness to work in that spirit to ensure the continued relevance of the United Nations for the next half-century.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We consider that a limited expansion of the number of members, paying regard to an equitable geographical participation, is still a priority for the health of the Organization. It is time to do what is achievable and what benefits most Members. Given the need for 122 ratifications, we are aware that even a simple expansion, hopefully adopted next year, will take several years to come into force. It would not be unrealistic, therefore, for the year 2000 to see the first meeting of the expanded Council. There is no worth in being critical of some aspects of the United Nations without believing, as I do, that the problems can be cured. We, all 184 of us, are its doctors, and we need to act quickly. We need to apportion our costs fairly and systematically.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“But I cannot escape the conclusion that even if all of these were accomplished, the political legitimacy of the Security Council could still erode over a period of time. Ultimately it could lose the credibility vital to the role it carries out. Collective security requires the Council to be genuinely representative of the entire United Nations membership. We have, of course, as many others have done, followed the debate on Security Council reform in the Open-ended Working Group set up last year. We hear the case made for additional permanent members. We also hear overwhelming support for expanding the number of non-permanent members of the Council. There are shades of difference on the numbers for the total membership, but consensus does seem to be emerging around five or six new members.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“New Zealand certainly looks forward to working with other delegations to improve performance in this area, and I would certainly add that my Government was most interested in the comments President Clinton made here yesterday about the proposal for the elimination of the world’s 85 million anti-personnel land-mines. This is an urgent task. No one who has seen firsthand the human cost of mines can offer anything less than full cooperation to this end. Finally, when we look ahead to what would really enhance proper use of the collective security powers, we have to conclude that reform of the Security Council is a major task waiting to be fulfilled. Many of the things I have discussed today require reforms by the Security Council, or at least in conjunction with it.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“This is a critically important humanitarian function. New Zealand’s military forces have had a lot of experience in helping the United Nations with demining in Afghanistan, Cambodia and, most recently, Mozambique. The Security Council Mission that visited Mozambique about two months ago reported its dismay at the delays and at the state of the programme generally. At the request of the United Nations, New Zealand stepped in early in August and began the rescue effort for the programme. The wheel should not have had to be reinvented. It is a concern that lessons learned from earlier operations such as Afghanistan and Cambodia do not appear to be retained. Having seen firsthand the 28 effects of mines in Cambodia, I do believe we should move more expeditiously than the speed of the present performance.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“At the same time, a range of different considerations should prevail when the United Nations reaches the end of a successful peace-keeping process. The United Nations cannot simply walk away when a perceived end point - such as an election - has been achieved, because there may still be outstanding issues that need the ongoing support of the operation, such as humanitarian operations or local capability-building programmes to help provide the required sound administration. The United Nations deserves congratulations on its achievements in Cambodia, for example, but the future there is still not certain, and the United Nations must maintain its responsibilities. Rehabilitation in that country must continue. Another example of a situation in which peacemaking and peace-building have to be seen as a coherent whole is in the area of demining.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“A quick start-up capability, with owned or leased equipment immediately available to the United Nations, would have made a significant difference in the Rwanda situation. This is a practical and feasible step that can be taken to ensure that future collective security can in fact rise to the challenge. I have spoken about the factors that need to be taken into account in managing peace-keeping operations. I now wish to address the terms of their engagements. The United Nations should not be expected to take responsibility for a situation of up to 30 years because the parties to a conflict are unable or unwilling to summon up the necessary political will to reach a settlement. There comes a point when the parties must take their fate in their own hands rather than the Council avoiding the hard decisions just by rolling over the mandates.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“There are important lessons to be learned from the troop losses in Rwanda last April and again I draw attention to the linkage between mandates, rules of engagement, doctrine and planning. The United Nations will have to go beyond the current work being done on stand-by forces to address this problem. We believe that there is a case for redirecting a substantial portion of bilateral military assistance into forms of training that would better assist defence forces with the requirements of peace-keeping operations. There is also a role for the United Nations maintaining the physical equivalent of the peace-keeping reserve fund that it is supposed to have on the financial side now.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I urge all members of the Assembly to support New Zealand’s initiative on this issue currently in the Sixth Committee, that the necessary flexibility be shown on outstanding issues and that we make a really determined effort to complete work on the draft convention this year. The question of resources is always before us. In my sixth point I would say that a critical tool for effective collective security is a strategy for resource availability. The situation we all saw recently in Rwanda is a classic case. Human resources were available but they lacked training and they lacked equipment. But there is also the need for a capacity in all peace-keeping operations for a forceful response in self-defence.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“That is an issue which, as many members know, New Zealand has pursued relentlessly during its time on the Council. It bears on the level of equipment with which the forces are outfitted and there is plenty of room for improvement. In addition, the legal regime under which peace- keeping operations are conducted needs to reflect the extraordinary personal risk which United Nations personnel are undertaking on behalf of us all in carrying out collective security operations. It is right that such personnel should be differentiated from soldiers in an armed conflict and that there should be a higher standard of legal responsibility for anybody who attacks them.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“But as I see it, parallel to the allocation of responsibility to the United Nations Force Commander must be a recognition that the national command structure will not seek to direct their forces in operational matters. If the national command authority has serious difficulties, then the appropriate course of action in all cases - except an emergency - is for the issue 27 to be resolved with United Nations Headquarters. If resolution is not possible the unit should be withdrawn. I come to the question of the safety of peace-keeping personnel. A major requirement for effective collective security is that countries contributing troops and civilian personnel should have confidence that their personnel in the field will have the best possible support to ensure their safety and security.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The budget of every peace-keeping operation should include provision, as a principal line item, for the preparation of a comprehensive review of the operation’s achievements relative to the mandate set. Such reviews should be separate from the financial performance review and should address the substance of the operation and seek to identify all relevant lessons for the conduct of future operations. I address now the question of command and control. There is a weakness in the command and control structures and they do need attention. It is true the personnel of national defence forces which contribute forces to the United Nations legally remain in their country’s national service.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“This is especially relevant when so many peace-keeping contributors are regularly placed side by side in the field. It is, however, particularly urgent in the face of new-style operations of the intra-country type where the use of force by factions, not necessarily Governments, is the challenge for this body to overcome. It is clear that common principles are necessary to guide peace-keepers on the appropriate use of force when they take part in operations in pursuit of an agreed United Nations strategic objective. As for the review, while there are plenty of mid-term reviews there is, as yet, no systematic process of review at the end of an operation.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The Council is now identifying more closely the terms of mandates for United Nations operations, and it is becoming usual to build a specific review cycle into its mandates. But there are still two areas of weakness. First, there is a great deal of mythology about and very little sound analysis of the circumstances in which force should be used by United Nations operations. Many believe this is governed by the use or non-use of the words "Chapter VII". This could well be a false conclusion. The rules of engagement rather than abstract reference to the Charter are much more likely to determine actual behaviour in the field. I am not alone in believing that there is a need to develop greater commonality in military doctrine for United Nations peace-keeping operations.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Ironically, the Security Council had, in resolution 814 (1993), already foreseen the need in the case of the United Nations Operation in Somalia (UNOSOM II) for a detailed political accountability and provided for a committee to follow the operation closely. But the committee was never established. New Zealand has proposed in the Security Council that a committee or an ad hoc working group should be established to fill this gap and enhance the accountability of the Organization to its politically responsible representatives. I certainly remain hopeful that progress can be made in this area. The third point I draw to the attention of members is the need for clear objectives with regular reviews. Clearer mission objectives must be developed and kept under review. I am delighted that some progress has in fact been made.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“However, and I speak as a politician and as a Minister responsible for the management and oversight of Government departments, the days are long gone when a public service mandarin could run a department or major operation without detailed political oversight. This is not a promotion of micro-management, nor am I implying any criticism of the Secretariat staff. But as any politician holding executive office in today’s democracies knows, the classic recipe for a failed project is for those who are politically accountable to lose track of implementation or to lose the game plan. We saw that all too clearly in the past year in Somalia.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“We must make a commitment to resolve this crisis before the conclusion of the forty-ninth session. The next point is the need for political accountability. There is in my view a parallel priority to develop and improve the Organization’s capacity for undertaking its collective security responsibilities. To do that we need to put in place more transparent procedures throughout the Organization. The management of peace-keeping operations is allocated to the Secretariat. This is necessary and appropriate in the same way any Government delegates responsibility for a complex operation to its public service.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The situation is not sustainable. It requires urgent action. Why do we have this crisis? There are some simple answers. Some members cannot pay; others will not pay; and some are arguing the legitimacy of their assessment. The General Assembly, this body, must confront this issue. The United Nations must stop extending credit to non-payers. There is enough evidence emerging to suggest that there may be serious inequities in the present system. 26 Some countries with extraordinarily strong growth over the past 5 to 10 years appear in the revised scale issued by the Committee on Contributions with a constant or even reduced contribution level. That is not acceptable. It must be remedied. We do not want a hollow celebration on the fiftieth anniversary with a cash crisis hanging over the Organization.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I would suggest that there are six critical elements: first, a sustainable financial system; secondly, a transparent political accountability; thirdly, clear objectives that incorporate regular reviews; fourthly, a clear, unambiguous command and control structure; fifthly, a credible legal regime that guarantees the security of United Nations personnel; and, sixthly, the availability of resources so that objectives can be met quickly and efficiently. Let me go back to that first point, a sustainable financial system. There is no doubt that the Organization is facing a financial crisis that cannot be ignored. We have had serious problems with reserves and we have significant debt to contributing countries. The largest contributor has indicated that it will unilaterally reduce its share of funding from October next year.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I am an enthusiastic supporter of improving our success rate, but much of that will come down to the way in which issues are managed. And it is that question of the management of issues that I wish to address. In our experience, the key is to use management tools based on proven modern public- and private-sector experience. This is very valuable. What are these tools? And how do we apply them to the conduct of peace- keeping operations?”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The strength of the Security Council is enhanced each year by the vigorous enthusiasm brought by new members on 1 January, testing what may have become an accepted second-best. I would remind the Assembly that the Charter clearly envisages that the norm for operations to maintain international peace and security will be United Nations operations. National operations are not ruled out, of course. I wish therefore to highlight and question recent trends toward coalitions under national command, and the implications for the collective security needs of small and distant countries where no strategic interest is involved. However, the Security Council will be judged on its effectiveness. Successes, hopefully, will outweigh failures, but we all have an obligation to improve the success rate.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The time is coming, in fact, when the General Assembly will have to address the question if the Security Council does not respond adequately to the concerns that have been raised. Under the Charter, much is expected of the Council’s permanent members. There is no doubt that they can and do contribute greatly to the work of the United Nations. Leadership and sacrifices by the large Powers were, for example, instrumental in successfully challenging aggression against the small State of Kuwait three-and-a- half years ago. I emphasize again, however, the importance of the collective nature of decision-making in the Security Council. Making distinctions between the views of the "P5" and the rest is not really healthy. The Council is a team of 15. It must work together, and by that I mean giving full weight to the views of all its members.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“A second area where the Charter could be more carefully applied is when disputes are first placed before the Council. I believe it should give affected States an adequate hearing before addressing the problem behind closed doors. Our experience on the Security Council suggests the investment in openness that would be achieved by developing a practice of collectively hearing directly from the parties involved would be worthwhile, even if it were done only informally. In the same vein, the Charter specifically contemplates the involvement, without vote, of troop-contributing countries in significant decisions. New Zealand has pressed this issue for some time, but so far with limited success.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“First, at the outset of a crisis, or even the signs of a crisis, we have to make more serious efforts through that preventive diplomacy to resolve problems and conflicts by negotiation. Efforts must be made at an early 25 stage to address the root causes of conflicts by the Security Council’s exercising all its responsibilities under Chapter VI of the Charter. However, on some occasions, in these days of modern media technology, we face the dilemma caused by the divergence between what the public perceives as happening and what is the reality. Extensive media coverage puts pressure on for immediate response. In the case of Rwanda, that was appropriate. In other circumstances, the media oversimplify and ignore the fact that conditions on the ground are chaotic and United Nations resources are over-stretched.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“What we watched with horror on our television screens was destruction on a scale we thought only megaton bombs were capable of. The systematic slaughter of men, women and children simply because of their ethnic origin leaves us all outraged. There are no easy answers. But the first key to unlocking the possibilities for a genuine collective security must be the proper application of the United Nations Charter. We have to decide at exactly what point the United Nations should get involved in the peacemaking operation. Do we recognize a problem, and, if we do, is the preventive diplomacy that we so firmly believe in occurring? In my view, we have to follow the intention of the Charter.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“And there are New Zealand nurses, firefighters and aid workers spread around the globe in support. Against this backdrop, however, New Zealanders are puzzled at times by the way in which the United Nations carries out some of its important tasks. In Bosnia, despite the employment of what is by any standards a large, well- armed and well-trained force, people see on their television screens nightly the frustration of the United Nations Protection Force by small groups of irregulars, a single policeman or even small groups of non-combatants. In Haiti they witnessed a boat full of Blue Berets turned away by a small group of pistol-toting thugs unconvincingly called "attachés". And what can one say about the appalling tragedy in Rwanda? How can so much hatred have been unleashed so viciously, killing hundreds of thousands?”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Collective security, or working together, is the cornerstone of the security of small States. Today they are the overwhelming majority of the membership of this Organization. New Zealanders recognize that peace is indivisible, that remoteness is certainly no safeguard: a problem in any part of the world can ripple to the Earth’s farthest corners. While we are the country probably most distant from the Balkans conflict, we have sent an enhanced company of soldiers to help in efforts to ease suffering and, I earnestly hope with the will of the parties involved, one day bring peace throughout the former Yugoslavia. For the same reasons, our defence personnel can be found engaged in peace-support operations in Africa, the Middle East, Asia and most recently Haiti.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“From our experience of - and I do not hesitate to say this - a turbulent two years on the Security Council and as a committed founder Member of the Organization, I would like to take this opportunity to offer some observations about the problems we see as players in the collective decision-making process. When New Zealand took part in the founding of the United Nations we and many others saw our primary purpose as providing for a system of collective security. Until very recently that was little more than a vision. With the end of the confrontation between two super-Power blocs, the goal of "the organized common peace", of which President Woodrow Wilson spoke so eloquently three generations ago, presents itself. We must not let it slip from our grasp this time. It will, however, take real effort and real determination.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“The peoples of the world want to believe in the United Nations and what it should achieve. If, however, within some parts of the Organization we are bereft of purpose and intentions this golden anniversary threatens to be less joyous and more muted than many of us anticipated. New Zealand has a strong vested interest in the United Nations success, as do most small States. The New Zealand people have always believed in the United Nations, in a collective approach to the resolution of global and regional problems. This has been demonstrated by strong support for the United Nations by successive Governments.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“I should like, first, to congratulate Mr. Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire on his well-deserved election as President of the General 24 Assembly at its forty-ninth session and to convey to him our good wishes for every success in his work. The general debate is our chance, as Members of the United Nations, to undertake together an annual review of the Organization’s work - its successes and its failures - and to identify collectively the issues we want to focus on. With the fiftieth anniversary next year, there is a pressing need to do so. That will be the occasion to chart our new priorities for the twenty-first century. Our responses to some of today’s challenges and tragedies have ranged from excellent but often under-reported to woefully inadequate and, consequently, defiantly reported.”
1994-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 49 (1994)
“Would that not give a point to the fiftieth anniversary celebrations that lie ahead in 1995, and would it not make the United Nations of the next 50 years a more effective, more dynamic and exciting place to do the world’s business in than the conditions of the last 50 years have allowed? The deprived of this world expect no less. The well-off know the world is too small for the huge gap that now exists amongst all people to remain.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)
“Let us certainly go on talking about financial reform, but let us also secure the financial basis of the Organization while we are doing so. But what is the real dream that all of us have? I would urge all members to keep making, from year to year, real progress towards satisfying those basic human aspirations I mentioned at the outset and to do so with a strong, well- equipped and well-focused United Nations. Specifically, I want to see a reshaped Security Council, a more tightly focused General Assembly, better peace-keeping practice, a Secretariat equipped to handle peace-building and partnership arrangements, and financial arrangements built on efficiency and punctuality.”
1993-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 48 (1993)