UNITED
NATIONS  GENERAL
ASSEMBLY
STATEMENT
BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE FIFTY EIGHT SESSION
OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
AT THE OPENING OF THE GENERAL
DEBATE
23 SEPTEMBER 2003
This
general debate of the fifty-eighth session of the General
Assembly takes place at a time of enormous challenge for
the United Nations. The participation of a significant number
of heads of State and government in the debate sends a strong
message of support for the United Nations, and reaffirms
to the people of the world that their leaders are at the
forefront of international efforts to address the broad
range of issues of importance to them. As President of the
fifty-eighth session, the presence of world leaders here
is encouraging for me.
Some
58 years on, recent unfolding, often tragic, developments
worldwide pose a serious challenge for the United Nations,
and particularly for the General Assembly. This is particularly
so in the areas enshrined in the Charter as the Organization's
primary objectives -- the promotion of economic and social
advancement; tolerance and peace; and the maintenance of
international peace and security, including collective security.
Lately,
we have engaged in a process of self-searching and re-examination;
looking, for example, at the goals we have set ourselves
in the economic and social fields, and our efforts to keep
peace in the world. Reform and revitalization of our Organization
is key to the success of our initiatives and, hence, is
among our priorities. The safety and security of United
Nations personnel has high priority and has taken on renewed
urgency following yet another attack on the United Nations
in Baghdad. As we express our sympathy over yet more loss
life and injury, I wish to assure the Secretary-General
of our continuing support for his efforts to protect United
Nations staff.
Our
achievements over the past decade are unquestionable; but
many of our initiatives are useful only if they lead to
concrete action. We the Member States of this General Assembly
are partners, and must work cooperatively to ensure that
urgent and necessary action is taken to implement these
initiatives, if we are to remain relevant. In doing so,
I believe it to be in our best interest to be consistent
in our respect for the Charter, and for international law;
to demonstrate by our action that this Assembly has not
only the capacity, but the political will, to constructively
address and resolve the complex problems of our world; and
to close the gap between our agreed objectives and the resources
needed to implement them.
The
General Assembly has oversight of the United Nations system
as a whole, and, hence, has before it the full range of
international issues. As advocate, supervisory and policy-making
body, it must give the direction necessary to ensure coherence
in the system, so that the Organization may respond in a
holistic manner to the many challenges it faces.
Heads
of State and governments must bring new dynamism to the
General Assembly this session. The political direction they
will provide will be key to enabling the Assembly to effectively
address critical issues such as sustainable development,
poverty alleviation, violation of human rights and fundamental
freedoms, terrorism and United Nations reform. This is the
direction we need for the entire one year of the session,
including from January to September 2004. For it is during
this less intensive, second part of the session, so to speak,
that we can look more reflectively at the decisions we have
taken in the fall, and begin the critical task of implementation
and other aspects of the Assembly's work.
We all
know the problems. I will be looking to heads of government
and other high-level participants in this general debate
for their advice on how best we may arrive at the solutions.
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