UN: Statement by Ambassador Kirsti Lintonen at Plenary Meeting on agenda item 102

Sixty-first Session of the General Assembly, Plenary Meeting, Agenda Item 102, Report of the Secretary General on the work of the Organization, New York, 2 October 2006

Statement by H.E. Ms. Kirsti Lintonen, Ambassador, Permanent Representative of Finland to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union

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Madame President,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union.

The Acceding Countries Bulgaria and Romania, the Candidate Countries Turkey, Croatia* and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia*, the Countries of the Stabilisation and Association Process and potential candidates Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Serbia, as well as Ukraine and the Republic of Moldova align themselves with this declaration.

*) Croatia and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.

The European Union thanks the Secretary General for his report on the work of the organization. It is very fitting that the report, for the first time, combines the progress made in implementing the Millennium Declaration with a review of the work of the organization. Such an approach reflects current efforts to ensure greater synergy and coherence between both internal and intergovernmental structures of the Organization, as well as efforts to coordinate and streamline the activities and policies in various areas of the Organization's work.

My comments will follow the outline presented by the SG in his report, starting off with development.

As the Summit of 2005 emphasized, development must be based on global partnership. The EU remains firmly committed to supporting country-led sustainable development through actions on aid volume, aid effectiveness, debt relief, innovative finance mechanisms, trade and the international institutions.

The Summit reaffirmed the Millennium Development Goals, together with the development goals and objectives agreed upon at the major UN conferences and summits, as the framework for development. What is important, is to embed the goals into country-led processes in a manner which would eradicate poverty and promote sustained economic growth, environmental sustainability and global prosperity for all. 

The EU has set a timetable to reach new levels of Official Development Assistance. By 2010, this will account for 0.56 per cent of the EU's Gross National Income - an annual additional 20 billion euros. By 2015 it will reach 0.7 per cent. The Summit recognized the value of developing innovative resources of financing, and various initiatives are being implemented, in which the EU member States play a leading role.

In the global response to HIV/AIDS the majority of the work must be in a substantial scaling up of preventive action and in achieving social change. Inclusive country-led strategies are a key element. We must constantly combat stigmatization and discrimination. We must also pay special attention to human rights, particularly the rights of persons belonging to vulnerable groups, as well as the sexual and reproductive health and rights of women and young people in accordance with the ICPD Programme of Action.

Africa is, as the SG emphasized, in need of urgent and concerted action in all areas. The EU will continue strengthening its relations with Africa within the framework of the comprehensive EU Strategy on Africa, which was approved by the European Council in 2005. In the course of next year this unilateral agreement will be transformed into a joint African Strategy in close co-operation with African Partners.

The primary aim of the strategy is the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals with a key focus on sustainable development, security and good governance. The strategy identifies good governance as a prerequisite for development. Good governance does not only encompass actions against corruption but also includes political, economic, social and environmental governance. Sound development requires adherence to human rights, democratic principles and the rule of law, as well as a commitment to strong and effective institutions.

As the SG rightly points out in his report, human security is threatened by environmental degradation. The EU remains firmly committed to joint international efforts to protect the natural resource base, achieve sustainable patterns of consumption and production, and safeguard the Earth’s biodiversity. To deal with the environmental issues in an effective manner, more coherence is urgently needed  in the UN system. I therefore call for an early resumption of the discussions on environmental governance, in line with paragraph 169 of the World Summit Outcome document. 

Inaction is the most expensive way to react to the challenges we are confronted with. In this regard, the EU welcomes the results of Montreal Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP 11), which initiated an important dialogue aimed at exchanging experiences and analysing strategic approaches for long-term cooperative action to address climate change. The EU is committed to participating actively in this dialogue, as there is an urgent need to promote the further development of coherent international climate change policies.

Peace and security. The EU fully shares the SG's view on the importance of conflict prevention and protecting people from violence. While the development agenda itself is powerful in addressing the root causes of conflicts, the UN must have additional tools for conflict prevention. Much has been done, but more steps still need to be taken to interconnect security and development, and in work related to the resolution of disputes by peaceful means. The EU also attaches great importance to promoting the concept of the Responsibility to Protect.

The EU sees the establishment of the Peace Building Commission, along with the Peace Building Support Office and the Peace Building Fund, as a key achievement of the UN reform process launched by the UN Summit. The PBC provides a much needed forum, in which all actors involved in peacebuilding can coordinate their efforts to ensure coherence between the security, development, human and political aspects of peacebuilding. The EU has for many years provided considerable input for peacebuilding activities all over the world and is ready to continue its commitments by actively supporting the work of the PBC.

The continuing terrorist attacks remind us that terrorism remains one of the most serious threats to all states and peoples. There is no cause or grievance that can justify acts of terrorism. The EU applauds the adoption of the United Nations Terrorism Strategy as an important step in combatting Terrorism. Its adoption by consensus demonstrates the determination and resolve of the General Assembly in our common fight against terrorism. The General Assembly should keep up the momentum and make every effort to reach an agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. The EU wishes to commend, once again, the Secretary General for his report which served as the basis for the Strategy. It now lies with the Member States of the UN to ensure the implementation of the Strategy in all its dimensions.

The European Union has time and again expressed its disappointment at the lack of progress in multilateral negotiations on disarmament and non-proliferation. This summer the Conference to review the progress made in the implementation of the UN programme of action on small arms, followed the path of the NPT review conference and the Summit, and did not yield any substantial results. This was another sadly missed opportunity in the world in which small arms continue to cause massive destruction, and fears of proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are rising. This is why we agree with the Secretary General  that quick and decisive action is needed. The EU would like to convey its appreciation to the SG for his efforts towards successfully removing  the prevailing negative linkages which have complicated the work of the Conference on Disarmament. It is a high time that we tackle the deadlock of multilateral negotiations in this important field of the UN's work for peace and security. We believe that the development in revitalizing the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva represents a positive example in that regard.

The European Union supports all the efforts to mainstream rule of law into the activities of the UN system. In this respect, we welcome the inclusions of rule of law at the national and international levels to the agenda of the General Assembly. The European Union also looks forward to the early establishment of the Rule of Law Assistance Unit as anticipated by the SG and endorsed by world leaders at the Summit 2005.

The International Criminal Court is of utmost importance for ending impunity and establishing the rule of law in post-conflict situations. Furthermore, bringing to justice perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes contributes significantly  towards preventing these crimes from happening again and towards promoting the prevention of conflicts at their early stages.

Based on the Summit conclusions, a decision was reached to establish the Human Rights Council as the focal point for the United Nations' efforts to safeguard human rights and to develop further the framework of international human rights law. The European Union is strongly committed to ensuring that the Human Rights Council will be able to meet the objectives set by our leaders at the World Summit, and the needs and expectations of the rights holders, the people of the world. The active participation of non-governmental organisations is a central element of the work of the United Nations human rights machinery, and should be further strengthened on the basis of the practices established under the Commission for Human Rights. Another important element is the special procedures, through which we can benefit from the knowledge of leading human rights experts and address in a flexible manner specific issues of concern.

Another important decision made at the World Summit was the doubling of the resources of the Office of the High Commissioner on Human Rights. The European Union is pleased to note that the Plan of Action presented by the High Commissioner in May 2005 has been complemented by the first biennial programme plan for the years 2008-2009. The European Union strongly supports the approach taken by the High Commissioner on Human Rights to meet the set objectives.

We welcome the recent improvements in the area of humanitarian action, including the establishment of the Central Emergency Response Fund. The newly launched cluster leadership approach is important, as it strengthens coordination by more systematically identifying roles and responsibilities within the UN system. However, much more remains to be done to improve humanitarian response. The currently deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Sudan and the DRC is particularly alarming. Gender-based violence is a grave concern that deserves urgent attention. The protection and assistance to IDPs needs to be strengthened further. Also, the predictability of humanitarian funding needs to be improved, as some emergencies remain chronically under-funded or neglected.

The reform of the intergovernmental bodies and  the secretariat was prominent during the past 12 months. In some areas progress was achieved, in some, particularly regarding the reform of the UN's main bodies, we are still looking forward for an early agreement. In accordance with the overall efforts for more efficiency and coherence, the EU welcomes the creation of the High Level Panel on System Wide Coherence. We look forward to the report of the Panel and to a constructive follow up of its recommendations. It is vital that the Organization  continue to move towards enhanced efficiency and effectiveness as agreed by our Heads of State and Governments at the World Summit. The European Union is committed to the work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on Mandate Review, and remains fully dedicated to the process of strengthening and renewing the Organization.

We also welcome the progress already made in Management Reform - the establishment of an ethics office, the implementation of whistleblower protection, and the agreement to reform the current unwieldy ICT systems. However, much remains to be done. The EU welcomes the measures taken to strengthen accountability and improve ethical conduct. Only through strengthened accountability and better management will the United Nations become stronger and more effective. Strengthening oversight in the UN is one of the EU's priorities. 

There are almost 90,000 personnel serving on 18 UN peacekeeping operations, directly impacting the lives of hundreds of millions of people. Thus we recognise the need for a more integrated and mobile global workforce and look forward to discussing this and other proposals in the context of human resources management reform.

The United Nations security system has gone through a major overhaul. The protection and security of staff in the field and at HQs is of utmost importance. Given the need for urgent renovation in order to make the UN Headquarters in New York safe and more functional, we need an agreement on funding of the Capital Master Plan during this session.

Before concluding, I would like to make a remark on Chapter VI of the SG's Report which deals with global constituencies. The EU fully shares the views of the SG in these issues: security is not an issue for governments only, and development needs are human needs.

I would like to conclude by thanking the Secretary General and the staff of the UN for the work well done, both in Headquarters and in the field. The European Union applauds the Secretary-General on the numerous ideas and changes in the past 10 years to bring the United Nations up to best international practices. Further, I would like to convey special words of appreciation to Mr. Jan Eliasson, the former President of the General Assembly for his tireless work for our Organization.  

Thank you.