General Assembly Official Records Fifty-Seventh Session
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United Nations A/57/PV.9 General Assembly Official Records Fifty-seventh session 9th plenary meeting Sunday, 15 September 2002, 3 p.m. New York President: Mr. Kavan .............................................. (Czech Republic) The meeting was called to order at 3:05 p.m. we could not leave any scope for those who sought to break the promise of a world of justice, progress and Item 9 of the provisional agenda (continued) peace. Today we must move beyond fear. Our response General debate must be guided by clear-minded analysis and rational The President: I now call on His Excellency action. The enemy is faceless but is not everywhere. Mr. Louis Michel, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister We all are now constantly vigilant, but must not reach for Foreign Affairs of Belgium. the point of being unable to look one another in the eye without mistrust or suspicion. We are in an infinitely Mr. Michel (Belgium) (spoke in French): Some great majority; only an infinitesimal minority is against 50 years ago my predecessor Paul-Henri Spaak said us. We cannot simply reduce the entire world to a before the Assembly, in a phrase that stands out in our battlefield. We cannot simply make a division between minds, “We are afraid”. At that time, totalitarianism good and evil. To build a wall would be to fall into the threatened democratic freedoms and our open society trap of those who openly display their hate and was in danger. Fortunately, political and diplomatic intolerance. Instead, more than ever we must realize dialogue gradually won out over confrontation, mutual that the source of wealth and hope in the world is threats and force. The advent of a freer world, more precisely its great diversity and pluralism. united and more respectful of everyone is finally within our grasp. After September 2001, all democratic forces The struggle against terrorism must, of course, be throughout the world felt a moment of fear, terror, based on effective methods with no room for laxity. I confusion and horror at the barbaric violence that want to make this point very strongly: fighting smashed their strongest beliefs into pieces. That terrorism must not lead us to distort the nature of irrational hatred threatened the same democratic democratic tolerant life or respect for the rule of law. values, fundamental freedoms and humanistic world Preserving our concept of a pluralist, open and tolerant outlook. society must be our goal. We cannot be misled or accept distortions of our firm belief in the fundamental The free world came together with a sense of human rights and the rights of peoples. Combating solidarity, compassion and survival. A coalition against terrorism also means, above all, that we must defend that vile crime stood side by side with the people of the the fundamental rights and legal protections of every United States. We felt it was our duty; we felt that their man and woman. We have a humanist conviction and suffering was our suffering and that their cause was we must defend it, because otherwise we would be also our cause. We could not permit there to be any ceding victory to the terrorists. It would also be a doubt in the minds of the enemies of our shared values; This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room C-178. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum. 02-59019 (E) *0259019* A/57/PV.9 mistake to believe that the fight against terrorism can The Millennium Goals must become a benchmark be won by military means alone. Military means are for all the work of the United Nations and for that of admittedly necessary, but are not themselves enough to each of its Member States. We have to translate them put an end to this horrible phenomenon. into financial tools and into access to markets and technology. At Monterrey, my country pledged to reach There is absolutely nothing that can justify the target of 0.7 per cent of gross national product for terrorism. No cause can justify terror. I categorically development cooperation by 2010. We have offered, and definitively reject the idea that we have to look to furthermore, new initiatives on the debt burden. the inequities of the world for the source of this perversion of the mind and soul. In my view, that I also attach paramount importance to follow-up would mitigate this abominable act. The origin of the of the Durban Conference against racism, and to the attack cannot be found there. However, we also know implementation of the Durban Programme of Action. that misery, injustice, poverty, exclusion and Combating racism, discrimination and intolerance is humiliation create fertile ground for extremism, absolutely essential for the millions of human beings intolerance and hatred to flourish by taking advantage who have often silently suffered from infringements on of the hopelessness and suffering of those left behind their dignity. I stress the historic importance of the by a society too quickly satisfied by its clear agreement on the origins and causes of racism. It forms conscience. the basis of a new partnership. Unless we recognize past injustices, we will not have a solid basis for future Why should we deny it? As our Prime Minister efforts. Guy Verhofstadt has said, in less than a year we have focused at least four times on the challenges facing the Another challenge that we wish to address is to world: at Doha, Monterrey, Rome and Johannesburg. attain absolute gender equality. This is absolutely The elimination of poverty, debt reduction and essential in a civilization of progress, in which our liberalization of international trade as a factor for ideals of democracy and humanism are realized. The development are all questions that have been Secretary-General and his team, including his Deputy, repeatedly discussed. We all come to the same Louise Fréchette, can count on my country’s conclusions. We identify the same causes. I am certain commitment and support for all the reforms under way. that we all know the solutions that must be applied. We must revitalize the General Assembly, continue the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council, With such unanimity, it should be easy to put an expand the Security Council and carry out end to inequality. It should be easy to bring together a organizational reforms. I know that the United Nations world which for too long has been cut in two, a world will take up these challenges. that generates tensions and frustrations. There cannot and should not be a superficial division at the margin The outstanding and far-sighted speech made by of our wealth. We need a loftier conception of Secretary-General Kofi Annan rightly, skilfully and cooperation, one that derives not from paternalism but resolutely reminded us what, in the final analysis, is the rather from partnership and mutual respect. meaning of the world government and parliament. He made his statement very convincingly and intelligently. Putting an end to inequality and forging a new We share his view on reshaping our Organization so solidarity is the way to ensure sustainable development that it can live up to our ambitions. for future generations. At each of our summits, the rich world has raised the hopes of the millions of indigent My country was at the forefront of combating people who are searching for a glimmer of light in the impunity for the most serious crimes and for the rapid darkness. However, each time, at the end of these grand development of a true international criminal justice. meetings, when the speeches are over, when those who That is why we continue to support the advocate on behalf of the poor have stopped their internationalization of the Rome Statute, and why we ritualistic pleadings, poverty remains in place. One gets are resolved to preserve its integrity. Admittedly, we the impression that we have offered those who know that the dialogue is never easy when law interacts expected so much of us only empty rhetoric and with politics, but we are convinced that in the long- posturing. term, nothing will block society’s right to demand justice when the most serious crimes against 2 A/57/PV.9 fundamental values are committed. States have primary efforts of South Africa, to which I pay tribute here. The responsibility for prosecuting the crimes covered in the Pretoria Agreement addresses the main causes of the Statute of the Court. We urge the world community, conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo: its including the most powerful among us, to give the territorial integrity and the security concerns of Court credibility and resources commensurate with its Rwanda. The United Nations Organization Mission in lofty mission. the Democratic Republic of the Congo has a crucial part to play in ensuring implementation of the Conflict prevention is one of my country’s Agreement, with its operation to disarm and demobilize foreign policy priorities. We are engaged concretely in the armed groups. preventive diplomacy, particularly in Central Africa, where Belgium is proactively supportive of the Lusaka I urge Rwanda and the Democratic Republic of and Arusha peace processes. Belgium actively the Congo to take advantage of this opportunity to advocates this approach within the European Union. restore to their peoples the peace and prosperity they Belgium is seeking to make this concept of conflict deserve.