General Assembly

Distr. GENERAL  

25 October 1995

ORIGINAL:
ENGLISH

Fiftieth session
Agenda item 29


COMMEMORATION OF THE FIFTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE
UNITED NATIONS

Letter dated 23 October 1995 from the Permanent Representative of
Sweden to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General


  I have the honour to enclose herewith a statement by 16 heads  of State or
Government  in support  of  global  cooperation, issued  in New  York  on 23
October 1995.

  May I ask for  your kind assistance in  circulating the present letter and
its annex as a document of the General Assembly, under agenda item 29.


                                                    (Signed)  Peter OSVALD
                                                        Permanent
Representative




















95-32348 (E)   301095/...
*9532348*
 Annex

STATEMENT BY 16 HEADS OF STATE OR GOVERNMENT
IN SUPPORT OF GLOBAL COOPERATION


  We,  the Heads of  State or Government of  Australia, Brazil, Canada, Cote
d'Ivoire, the  Czech Republic,  Egypt, India,  Indonesia, Ireland,  Jamaica,
Japan, Mexico,  the Netherlands,  the Republic  of Korea,  South Africa  and
Sweden,  gathered  together  in  New  York  on   the  eve  of  the  fiftieth
anniversary of  the  United Nations  in  order  to reaffirm  our  unwavering
commitment to global multilateral cooperation.   We join together in  making
the following statement.

1.   The world  is reminded daily of human  misery deriving from new threats
to  security  and from  growing  economic,  demographic,  environmental  and
social imbalances.    Global cooperation  is  critical  to the  survival  of
humankind.  We must  invest now in our future to prevent disasters tomorrow.
If we fail to act speedily and boldly  now, we will have to pay the price of
new miseries, and so will future generations.

2.   On  24 October 1995,  we mark  the fiftieth  anniversary of  the United
Nations and join in commemorating the United Nations  and its Charter.   But
celebrations will  be meaningless unless nations  use the occasion for a new
commitment to the renewal and adaptation  of the global multilateral system.
We represent small and large countries  from all continents, with  different
faiths,  cultural  heritage and  traditions,  and  with  different  economic
levels and  social structures.   Our  experiences have  led us  to the  same
conclusion:   a  strong commitment to  global cooperation in  the service of
peace and progress.  We reject unilateralist approaches to global problems.

3.  For 50 years, the United Nations  has been the international community's
most  important  collective  instrument for  the  maintenance  of  peace and
security, and  for the promotion  of justice, equity  and development.   Yet
the international  community needs to go much further to meet people's needs
and  aspirations, and  to  change  and adapt  the Organization  to  meet new
challenges  and take  advantage of  new  opportunities  available.   But the
United Nations cannot  do more than what its  Member States allow it to  do.
Nations need now to  make use of  the great potential of the  United Nations
to infuse it with a new ethos, a new strength and a new sense of direction.

4.  We welcome  the new world-wide trend towards regional cooperation.  Open
regionalism can become  a supporting instrument for global cooperation,  but
it  cannot replace  it.   The  United  Nations  should  become an  arena  of
effective  cooperation  among  all  the  people  that  make  up  our  global
civilization.

5.  We believe  that the potential  of today's global civilization can  only
be  realized with a  new understanding  of its  multicultural and multipolar
character. Cooperation must  be based on truly  equal partnership.  We  have
to  address  the  root  causes  of  human miseries.    A  culture  of social
solidarity  must  prevail  over  alienation  and  resort  to  violence   and
terrorism.   We must focus on the needs of the most  vulnerable.  We want to
prevent conflict and promote  political and economic equality between people
and  nations.   We are  all committed  to the  principles of  democracy  and
respect for the pluralism of the world community.

6.  We underline  the importance of the  United Nations system, particularly
in the following four critical areas:

  (a)   The capacity of the  United Nations to  prevent conflicts and  bring
security must be  greatly increased.   The United  Nations must  be able  to
anticipate  and  prevent  crises,  respond  more  rapidly  to  outbreaks  of
violence and efficiently manage and resolve crises when they occur;

  (b)    The  multilateral  economic  system   must  be  reformed  and   the
partnership  of  the   United  Nations  with  other  relevant   institutions
strengthened to facilitate beneficial participation  by all countries in the

global  economy. This is  essential to  the achievement  of greater economic
growth and integration, sustainable development, the eradication of  poverty
and the reduction of inequality.  The roles  and mandates of United  Nations
bodies  in  the economic  and  social  fields need  to  be  re-examined  and
strengthened;

  (c)  The United  Nations should work for  a democratic world, where people
can determine their future and where  human rights and fundamental  freedoms
are respected.  The United Nations should work  to foster the development of
and respect for international law;

  (d)   The United  Nations as  an Organization must  become more efficient,
effective  and representative.  Adequate financial resources  should be made
available.  All countries must pay their assessed  contributions in full and
on time.

7.  The fiftieth anniversary offers a unique opportunity.  This moment  must
not be lost.   Already, processes of reform  have been initiated  within the
United  Nations system, in  particular by the  Member States  in the General
Assembly  and  by  the  Secretary-General.    Recent  major  United  Nations
conferences have greatly advanced world-wide consensus  on what needs to  be
done and  set a very  full agenda.  Constructive  independent proposals have
also been  put forward outside the  United Nations system.   The success  of
all these efforts will  be judged  by how far they  meet the demands in  the
areas we have set out above.

8.  We will lend our  political weight to achieve early, concrete results in
the  effort to adapt and strengthen  the United Nations system.   We want to
generate  broad support  for an  improved global  multilateral system, based
upon a renewed political will of all Member  States, and which draws on  the
energies  and the commitment of independent organizations  of civil society.
We will take an  active part in the  discussions to  find ways and means  to
catalyse the reform process.  We will continue  to consult with one another,
and with  other members  of the  United Nations, to  see how  far it may  be
possible  to  set  an  agreed  framework  and  a  timetable  to achieve  the
necessary changes.


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