THE PRESIDENT OF MALTA ADDRESSES OPENING SESSION OF WILTON PARK CONFERENCE

THE PRESIDENT OF MALTA ADDRESSES OPENING SESSION OF WILTON PARK CONFERENCE

 Following is a copy of the speech delivered this afternoon by H.E. Prof. Guido de Marco, President of Malta, at the opening session of the 601^st Wilton Park Conference being held at Wilton Park in West Sussex, UK.

The President left Malta today to open the four-day conference with the theme "A United Nations for the 21^st Century". The conference will focus on the deliberations currently underway within the United Nations and its member states as they gear up for the Millennium Assembly of the UN in September this year.

The President returns to Malta tomorrow, Tuesday 23^rd May. Dr Guz'� Cassar is Acting President.

The building housing the United Nations in New York, erected in the aftermath of the Second World War, reflected the hopes of its time, creative and forward-looking, uniquely structured it fringes the banks encapsulating a breathtaking skyline. Five decades later, the architectural and aesthetic philosophy of this edifice and the adjoining plaza somehow do betray their age.

Times have changed. New centres and aggregations of power have been forged. Today we are facing new realities on the international relations horizon of power and influence. The convening of the Millennium Summit is an acknowledgement that the UN needs to move along with the changing needs of the times, an acknowledgement that new arising challenges together with long-awaited reforms have to be effectively addressed.

The precursor of the United Nations, the League of Nations, had been plagued by isolationism and totalitarianism, political tendencies and realities that had handicapped the purpose and function of the Organisation. After the end of a second global conflict that had laid waste the achievements and expectations of civil society, the United Nations was founded with the specific aim of rebuilding the foundations of a viable international world order. Its founding fathers wanted to learn the lessons of history; never again, they said, should humanity endure the scourge of war.

However, Yalta and the subsequent division of the old continent and the whole world into zones of influence cast the planet under the spell and shadow of two super-power umbrellas. During the various phases of the Cold War, mutual mistrust arising from a climate of confrontation weighed heavily on, and mired in heavy terrain, the purposes of the Charter and the great potential inherent in the Organisation.

Whilst during the Cold War the United Nations' actions were stifled by the policies of confrontation between two opposing power blocks, the tearing down of the Iron Curtain offered new avenues for international co-operation. Hopes were high that the end of the power block stand-off and the correlative breakdown of ideology together with the rhetoric of division were to give way to a multi-polar society wherein global politics would move from a climate of d'�tente to one of entente. The sense of freedom that emanated from the apparent end of this era of tense stability was over-shadowed once again by the eruption of localised and ethnic conflicts, mirroring again the moral vacuum of mankind's inhumanity whenever engaged in conflict.

With the end of the Cold War, a unipolar reality emerged with the United States as the sole surviving superpower. Statesmen and academics alike were unfamiliar with this new scenario and its consequent impact on the conduct of international relations.

I believe we are still attempting to assess the impact and explore new paths to underscore the benefits of multilateralism.

Real politik was also moulded by factors beyond the reach of politics. Since the end of the Second World War, there was an exceptional rise in the volume of international trade and foreign investment, in the quantity of exports, together with more efficient means of transportation. The advent of new technologies also permitted ever faster financial transactions. Even if seen through the political lenses of the cold war, what became evident is that this trend was to continue to grow. What we learned from experience, was that the natural tendencies of economic and human freedom would force political freedom which tore away the divisions of the Berlin Wall.

Today, the virtual reality of cyberspace has become another realm where e-commerce and communications have a direct bearing on our daily lives. These are all factors of the phenomenon of globalisation which have made of our planet a promise of a global village, an interconnected society. Globalisation has created a wealth of opportunities but also a context of disparity where the lives of many have been thrust in a vortex of vulnerability and unpredictability; social objectives are not, in many cases, the concern of expanding global markets. This remains one of the biggest challenges for the new Millennium.

The history of this Organisation has been a mixture of success and failure. Through its good offices, through its specialised programmes and agencies, since its inception, the United Nations has provided a degree of assistance to developing states helping them acquire some needed economic and social progress and achieved some success in assisting former colonies in their transition to independence. Indeed, the decolonisation process was perhaps the one substantial achievement of the United Nations during the Cold War period.

Yet with the demise of the Cold War the Organisation was given the opportunity to continue to unfold the hope of so many millions who looked to it for solace. Conventions and summits organised within the United Nations framework, though not always achieving the desired effective results, highlighted issues of global importance such as the environment and the plight of children. For the first time in its history the organisation was able to discuss in earnest what measures needed be taken in order to diminish the production of weapons of mass destruction. The UN is also the depository of important legal instruments that deal with a wide range of issues which affect almost every facet of humanity's existence on our planet. However, most importantly, the United Nations, endowed with the moral responsibility of leading humanity to paths of peace and progress, was poised to take effective action. The promotion of democracy and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights remain beacons of light in our quest for peace and justice.

I had the privilege of presiding over the 45^th Session of the United Nations General Assembly during which an unprecedented degree of international consensus and consequent corrective measures were collectively adopted to counter the invasion of Kuwait. The good relationship between member states, and in particular the Permanent Five within the Security Council early in the Nineties, served as a platform for the increased peace-keeping activities which gave the United Nations an added relevance and the realisation of its potential as a collective security system. However, since then, the UN has, to public perception, not lived up to expectations.

The United Nations is the most universal and representative of organisations, almost all-encompassing in its responsibilities. The Organisation was founded in order to bequeath to our children a better world, to spare them the ruin and sorrow of war that the founding fathers had twice experienced in their lifetime. The Charter of the United Nations was not only drafted as an international legal document but was also intended to be a political statement reflecting a moral vision of a peaceful and just world society.

The United Nations is made up of its member states. We cannot lump the UN with misgivings that are not actually of its making. Member states have to shoulder the responsibility of political stalemate. Moreover, during the past decade, its responsibilities have increased dramatically in scope and volume straining further the resources of this Organisation. In order to deal efficiently with these challenges, we, the member states, have to agree on how to advance the role of the UN in examining and resolving issues of immediate and long-term concern.

What are, today, the concerns of "we the peoples"?

Enshrined in the Charter is the faith "in the dignity and worth of the human person".

Since 1945, the United Nations has continued to build on the broad vision contained in the pages of this guiding document. Numerous human rights documents and platforms of action have been agreed to concerning the rights of man, woman and child.

Within this context, will a state grossly violating the human rights of its own citizens and within its own frontiers be infringing the provisions of the Charter and can such violations give rise to actions contemplated in Chapters VI and VII? Can a country or group of countries, acting outside the parameters of the United Nations Charter, take punitive actions including the use of force against such a state? These are questions which need be answered for a United Nations relevant for the twenty-first century.

The reform of the Security Council is fundamental in this debate. It is not just a question of an increase in numbers, whether permanent, quasi-permanent, or otherwise.

As Professors Baehr and Gordenker observe in their book The United Nations at the end of the 1990s, "The United Nations security system operates under serious structural limitations that have been understood from the beginning, for nothing can be done if one of the permanent members behaves cynically or casts the veto for irrelevant or selfish purposes or uses force."

In my considered view, if the primary responsibility given to the Security Council to ensure prompt and effective action for maintenance of international peace and security is to be retained, the structure and substance of the Security Council requires studied reform.

Furthermore, security no longer extends itself to the politics of power but increasingly to the very state of our planet. The environment has been foremost in recent collective agreements, sown by the seed of the Common Heritage of Mankind as applicable to the ocean floor and its resources. Sustainable development has now become a concept not only applied to nature but to the evolution of our habitat, whether it be from an urban, social or economic perspective. All these declarations and values inscribed in the documents deposited in this Organisation have demonstrated it to be a unique platform for consensus building. All these are layers of protection around which Member States seek to build a commitment to the acknowledged right of every human being to a dignified existence.

Yet we must seek to take our efforts further and deeper - from paper into practice. The shadow of the Poverty Curtain is burdening many with a meagre existence on the verge of human decency. In the words of Kofi Annan in his report on the role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century, "Extreme poverty is an affront to our common humanity. It also makes many other problems worse." Many recognise the correlation between freedom from want and our yearning for peace. In order to achieve these goals, there is a need for a stronger commitment to address poverty, the question of refugees including economic refugees, international terrorism, drugs, and disarmament.

Another item that I would like to highlight is the preservation of identity in the face of the unstoppable momentum of globalisation, because a global village is not synonymous with a society shrouded in uniformity.

These are concerns pertinent to us all. No less of concern are the latest on-going conflicts in Sierra Leone, in Sri Lanka, in Ethiopia and Eritrea. Every conflict presents its dangers, its challenges to the credibility of the international system. The UN is bound to react to and pronounce itself on such situations. The relative success or failure of delicate peacekeeping and peace-making missions contributes to the perception of either an empowered or a toothless United Nations.

For the United Nations to face up to these and other challenges there is a need for a serious reform of the whole system. Taken within a broader international context, gradual reforms such as the streamlining of the decision-making process need to re-focus on priorities, aiming at more efficiency and bringing about an effective management culture.

Two weeks ago, I visited New York in order to participate in the annual meeting of the Council of Presidents, a forum of former Presidents of the UN General Assembly. Issues of reform were top of the agenda. An aspect of great concern is that the centre of gravity of the Organisation has moved from the General Assembly outside the parameters of the Organisation itself. If this tendency were to continue, the future of the United Nations can be seriously undermined.

Ten years ago, as President of the General Assembly, I initiated a resolution calling for the revitalisation of the General Assembly. Because the "re-strengthening" of the General Assembly, where every state is equal in its sovereignty, is a necessary reform. Instead of meeting only from September to December, I had suggested that the General Assembly hold its meetings in three part sessions: the first dedicated to political affairs; the second to economic affairs and development; the third to human rights and social matters. This means also that the General Assembly will be in Session for the better part of the year. The General Assembly which works for three months of the year and hibernates – except for its Committees – for the better part of the remaining nine, is not conducive to its relevance within the United Nations structure. I believe that the Assembly has to make an effort in order to be further involved in the decision-making process at the UN.

It is clear that the Assembly has to live up to the responsibilities entrusted to it by the Charter in order for it to be relevant. Because when the General Assembly voices its concerns and acts in concert it gives expression to the voice of humanity. However, the impression is that the Assembly has been almost absent, condescending and mute, lying dormant and seemingly far removed from issues which are of primary concern and within the range of responsibilities entrusted to it by the Charter. Many such issues are not even discussed, let alone the General Assembly taking the lead role in examining issues of global importance. In this respect, we must ensure against the Assembly becoming a glorified talking group.

It is for these reasons that the Council of Presidents urged the President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General, and members of the Security Council to shift once again the centre of gravity towards the General Assembly enabling it "to play its full role and exert the influence expected of it." For, in the Charter, there exists a delicate balance among the various organs of the UN.

Reform of the United Nations is of the essence for the future: no country, large or small, can claim hegemony over valid and creative ideas, and the General Assembly is the ideal stead where these ideas can be voiced and debated, botched or endorsed.

A clear example of this is Malta's role in the United Nations since its adhesion back in 1964. Three years later, Malta proposed the concept of the common heritage of mankind as applied to the seabed and ocean floor, resulting in the historic adoption of the Convention on the Law of the Sea in 1992. The endorsement of the proposal and the adoption of such an important convention could only have been possible in an arena such as the United Nations.

May I here suggest that one of the first steps in the path of reform start with the revitalisation of one of its organs which has now fallen into disuse because of a lack of purpose. The Trusteeship Council was very actual in the international context fifty years ago when the process of decolonisation was constantly altering the colouring of our maps. However, in the present circumstances, Malta's proposal for adapting the purposes of the Trusteeship Council from those taking into trust the fate of territories to that of taking into trust the common heritage of mankind, is a step in the positive direction. The concept of Trust – a concept of English common law which is fundamental in its fiduciary nature – is one reflected in the mission of the League of Nations and later the United Nations in so far as territories are concerned.

We have to apply the concept of Trust to new realities. We believe that the United Nations holds in trust for humanity its common heritage and its common concerns: the environment, the resources of the sea and the seabed, the rights of future generations, and the safeguarding of the rights of peoples in situations of complete breakdown of the organs of the state. We believe that the Trusteeship Council, built on the solidarity of the human family can serve as an instrument to combat poverty, illiteracy, underdevelopment, misery, and hunger.

The Charter was adopted over fifty years ago, when the boundaries, the realities and the challenges facing humanity were different. Times have changed and therefore we, the member states, must adapt this unique Organisation and equip it accordingly to face the realities of this eventful phase of history.

Adaptation to a changing environment requires a new frame of mind. We must look together for a New Deal, taking full advantage of what the latest technology and telecommunications provide us with, at the same time giving to globalisation a veritable social dimension, a human face.

The United Nations must maintain its place as the guarantor of world peace, adhering to the principles and purposes of the Charter, stressing the importance of the human dimension in the world. A UN for all nations is that universal Organisation that adheres to its founding principles whilst adjourning and adapting its policies, objectives and methods to the needs of today. A UN for all Nations is an Organisation that embraces the concept of solidarity, weaving the fabric of an inclusive society.

The Charter was designed to save us from the scourge of war. It is our duty to bequeath to our children a kinder, more stable world. Building a Second Generation United Nations, a UN for all nations, is a challenge we have to face today so as to render it a reality tomorrow.