Number 4 1998
Department of Public Information
You will be presiding over the last session of the General Assembly to take place entirely within this century. Does this at all affect your expectations of it and the role you envision as its President? At this session of the General Assembly, we shall be at the threshold of the year 2000. The United Nations must make the necessary preparations to make this moment in history an extraordinary occasion; it should propose an agenda focused on the key issue of extreme poverty-a searing reality that has no place in the modern world-as an indicator of progress. At the same time, it must not neglect globalization as a framework for the world economy. Preparation for this great Assembly in 2000 is one of the major tasks of this session, over which Uruguay is presiding, without prejudice to all matters relating to reform of the United Nations Charter and any progress that can be made in that connection. In its statement to the last session, the Uruguay delegation had observed that "the forum where the principle of juridical equality of States reigns supreme is undoubtedly the General Assembly (and) we need to find practical ways of revitalizing and invigorating (its) activity". Have you any ideas in this regard? Revitalizing the role of the General Assembly is tantamount to reaffirming the role of all States Members of the international community. This means that we must be particularly mindful of Article 10 of the Charter, which recognizes the General Assembly as an organ with the competence to discuss any issue falling within the sphere of the Charter, within the limits laid down by Article 12. This article attributes sole competence to the Security Council with respect to matters concerning peace and security. However, in practice, a flexible interpretation has enabled the Assembly to consider a matter that is before the Council, but without making any recommendations. To refer to another issue - a more complex one that involves problems that are hard to solve, which does not mean that the matter cannot be raised - it would be inappropriate to exclude the potential role of the Assembly in an analysis of the conduct of Security Council members in the event that, among possible changes in the current Council membership arrangements, provision is made for a formula linking permanent Council membership to assessment of members' performance regarding observance of the fundamental principles laid down in the Charter. I am fully aware of how tricky this issue is; moreover, I repeat, it is linked to a decision that could be adopted as part of the current process of reforming the membership of the Council. Your delegation had also spoken of the "great moral and political force" of General Assembly decisions. Given that these are not mandatory, how do you feel they can be given the added weight of "greater operative force" which Uruguay has mentioned as necessary? Needless to say, when speaking of giving "greater operative force" to General Assembly resolutions, Uruguay was not suggesting that the nature of Assembly resolutions should be changed or that the Assembly should be given general legislative powers. I believe that the international community is not yet ready to submit to an international legislative authority. However, non-binding Assembly resolutions unquestionably have great political and moral influence, because the y reflect ideas and proposals supported by all, or virtually all, humanity. These resolutions can have a greater impact on the conduct of States if the y are negotiated and drafted in such a way as to ensure that the y can be adopted by consensus; the y are thus more likely to be observed than resolutions adopted by a majority of States. Uruguay is one of the "original members" of the Organization, present at its creation 53 years ago. How far has the United Nations fulfilled the impulse and expectations that prompted your faith in it at that time? In the course of the more than 50 years of the Organization's existence, the re have been phases and actions that have been regarded as successful and positive by the international community; of course, the re have also been times when United Nations action has not been viewed in a positive light, because the United Nations has been unable to avoid a serious conflict, has not taken timely action or its action has not been effective enough. In any case, we must acknowledge that it is always very difficult to fully satisfy the parties to a conflict; furthermore, the greater or lesser leadership skills of the Secretary-General have strongly influenced the action taken by the Organization, at least as regards its most visible manifestations. That notwithstanding, I must say that it would be very difficult, at least for me, to imagine the international community without the United Nations. To name just two factors that make me feel that way: a third world war has been avoided, and the United Nations has played a key role in making international cooperation one of the main pivots of the contemporary world. This is still not enough; but when assessing the progress made, we must all acknowledge that the se are extraordinary achievements. The General Assembly of the year 2000 must become a special forum to enable the United Nations to reformulate and strengthen its social programmes against extreme poverty, hunger and deprivation among the most vulnerable population groups. Uruguay hosted, and lent its name, to the critical round of global trade negotiations held in 1986. How do you see the world economy today, particularly in the context of its ability to deliver livelihood and promise to the marginalized, whether countries or individuals? First of all, I shall regard the Uruguay Round as incomplete until negotiations have been held on agricultural products and services, a process that must be continued in Geneva at the World Trade Organization. As to the world economy, we have observed the difficulties that the international financial markets are experiencing. This has adverse effects on the economies of all countries, both those in which the crisis originated and those in which the situation has had an in, pact, in one way or another. Moreover, the current crisis, is one which both Governments and international agencies and organizations recognize as being extremely serious. This means that adjustments must be made in the Bretton Woods control mechanisms and procedures, which should take account of the relevant facts, particularly globalization. As part of the Latin American region and as an individual country within that region, Uruguay, which has been implementing a number of economic and financial adjustment programmes, does not question globalization, which is a reality. At the same time, however, we maintain that the necessary changes must be made in order to avoid purely speculative financial flows and actions that have an equally pernicious impact on national economies and very negative repercussions for international trade, in terms of job losses, the resulting effect on the labour market and the drop in quality of life for the populations concerned. The establishment of MERCOSUR - the Southern Cone Common Market in Latin America - is said to have added responsibilities to Uruguay's agriculture-livestock sector which your country has gracefully absorbed. Do you feel such initiatives, which reconcile regional imperatives with national aspirations, will increasingly be the pattern in inter-State relations? Since the entry into effect of the Asuncion Treaty, setting up MERCOSUR in 1991, intraregional trade between the States parties-Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay-has risen from approximately $3 billion per year to over $12 billion in 1997. MERCOSUR has had the effect of increasing Uruguay's trade with Argentina and Brazil in a wide range of agricultural and industrial products and services. It is now, unquestionably, the main framework for Uruguay's international relations, particularly in the area of trade, since over 50 per cent of Uruguayan exports go to member countries of MERCOSUR. However, Uruguay's economic growth is also a result of an increase in trade with countries outside the region, such as the members of the European Union and the Asian countries. Your country gives constitutional protection to the environment and places upon each citizen an obligation in that regard Would you feel the re can be an argument made for similar, binding international agreements on dangers to our planet, which we have so far addressed more through deliberation and dialogue, rather than collective compliance? The Uruguayan Constitution lays down the general principle that protection of the environment is a matter of general concern and that individuals must not engage in acts that lead to serious abuse, destruction or pollution of the environment. Moreover, in recent years, a number of laws and decrees have been passed, with a view to protecting the environment. Of course, at the international level, the world community must deal with the problem of degradation of the environment and depletion of resources, by establishing mandatory norms governing the conduct of States and other subjects of international law. However, lack of international rules is not the chief problem with respect to the protection of the environment, but rather failure to implement the rules. Over the past 25 years, there has been an extraordinary output of multilateral conventions, treaties, resolutions of international agencies, rules, codes of conduct and other types of instruments. Environmental law has perhaps been the area of international law that has developed most in recent years. The problem is not one of elaboration of instruments, but one of fulfilment of the obligations laid down in the instruments in question. Some conventions do not enter into force, or the y do with respect to only a small number of States or to States not involved in the problem dealt with. Furthermore, many of the conventions that have entered into force are not complied with, or are complied with only partially. The real problem is thus not a lack of "binding international agreements", but a lack of the necessary political will to implement them. The characters in the paintings of your country's great artist, Ignacio Iturria, were once described as "dreamy-whimsical, memory-provoking; history-laden". In a world that lives increasingly for the specific moment, do you feel such attributes, which reconcile a sense of the past with ideals, even seemingly impractical, of the future, would better serve the nations and peoples of our world? Iturria's paintings reveal his own particular way of seeing things; it would be inaccurate to say that his paintings reconcile values of the past with ideals of Uruguayan society's future. His paintings are a very personal vision, marked by a nostalgia shared by many people in our country. Tell us something about Didier Opertti Badan the person ... his passions, his interests, his hobbies ... Passions: My family and my job. Interests: a whole range, including matters relating to politics, education and teaching (in which I have always been involved), issues relating to economic integration as a way of enabling us to grow as a society and as a country. Hobbies: cycling, gardening and listening to good music. What brought you into politics? My awareness that I could serve people in a government activity, particularly in the area of public security, which must be guaranteed without sacrificing human rights, and by representing Uruguay in the international sphere, first as a delegate and as an ambassador, and the n as Minister for Foreign Affairs. It is in the latter capacity that I am now presiding over the General Assembly of the United Nations, which I view as a great personal, regional, political and professional challenge. Looking back on the twentieth century, who are some of the figures, in any field, whose lives and work you have most admired? In Uruguay: Carlos Vaz Ferreira, the philosopher and thinker, and Jose Batlle y Ordonez, President of the Republic for two terms, who was instrumental in establishing many of the institutions of Uruguayan society and was zealous in achieving social justice. Outside Uruguay: Charles de Gaulle, in politics, and Ham Kelsen, in the legal field, come to mind, to name just a few. |
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