PORTUGAL

TO THE FIFTY-FIFTH SESSION
OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Mr. President of the General Assembly,

Mr. Secretary General,

Distinguished Delegates,

It is with the greatest pleasure that I congratulate President Ham Hermanni Holken on his election to the presidency of this Millennium General Assembly. I pay tribute also to the outgoing president, Theo-Ben Gurirab and renew to the Secretary General my praise for his vision and for the notable and courageous manner in which he is carrying out his duties.

I would also like to convey our warmest welcome to Tuvalu, the newest member of the United Nations.

Mr. President,

My French colleague has already addressed this Assembly on behalf of the 15 Member States of the European Union, a statement to which my country fully associates itself I will now touch on some questions of particular importance to my country.

As the Prime Minister of Portugal stated here during the Millennium Summit, the United Nations finds itself at a turning point, which necessarily calls for an exercise of reflection on the future of the organization.

In this era of increasing globalization, we should give the UN the means to accomplish the missions we have entrusted it with, turning the organization into the foundation of a more stable, united and cohesive international community.

The international community faces three great challenges at the turn of the millennium: to strengthen our action on behalf of peace, to contribute to the eradication of extreme poverty and to guarantee the environmental conditions to perpetuate life on earth.

The increasing use of peace-keeping operations over the last decade which we have encouraged conclusively demonstrates their importance.

The results that have been obtained on the five continents tell us with certainty that we have chosen the right path. To continue this effort effectively, the UN must have at its disposal the necessary resources be they financial, technical, civilian, political or military.

A credible peace-keeping capacity is in itself a deterrent to conflicts, and, therefore, an integral part of the global system of conflict prevention of which the United Nations should be an essential component.

I stress, however, that the crucial question will always be of a political nature; we must gather the necessary courage to broaden the scope of the responsibilities of the UN. Let us not deceive ourselves as the Secretary-General Kofi Annan stated, "it is our function to intervene". And allow me to go further and say that it is a duty to do so to intervene in time, to intervene effectively, to intervene on the basis of international law.

Portugal is ready to do so, as it has shown in the past. We participated in the peace- keeping operations in Mozambique, Angola, the Central African Republic and in Guatemala. And today, we are part of the UN missions in East Timor, Bosnia, Kosovo and Western Sahara. With more than 1,000 peace-keepers, Portugal is currently the eleventh largest contributor to United Nations peace-keeping operations and first among its European Union partners.

During the Portuguese Presidency of the EU, we gave a decisive push towards the creation of the European Union's capacities to intervene, which we see as being offered in the service of international peace and co-operation. In the year 2003, the Union will have at its disposal a military force of 50,000 to 60,000, to which 5,000 police will be added as well as a civilian structure for crisis management.

This is a part of Portugal's external activities that will continue to be favoured, an importance equally reflected in our candidature to the Presidency of the OSCE for the year 2002.

Mr. President,

In this era of globalization, the existence of brutal asymmetries in the economic dimension is a factor of permanent tension and conflict. Around half of the world's population lives on less than USD $2 a day.

The turn of the new millennium is the opportunity for us to reaffirm our will to combat and eradicate poverty on a global scale. It may be a utopia, but, with our combined efforts, it is a goal that may be within our reach.

In the time that it takes to deliver each of the statements made during this General Debate, around three hundred children will die before reaching their first birthday.

Is this acceptable? The answer is obviously not.

Could it be, then, that the human and financial resources necessary to fight this tragedy are so great that they lead us into conformity? The answer is, again, no. Many of these deaths could be avoided through better management and without an increase in resources health, like education, should be priority sectors for development aid.

It is necessary to combine efforts and join policies and instruments: direct development aid must be complemented by mechanisms that find solutions to the debt problems of the poorest countries, by a reform of the regulatory institutions of the global financial and economic system, and by agreements that allow poor countries to place their products, without customs barriers, in the markets of the developed countries.

I would like to- stress, in particular, the importance of developing co-operative mechanisms between the UN- namely a revitalized ECOSOC and the Bretton Woods institutions. Our priority should be to redefine the role of each institution and avoid duplication of effort in a field where the United Nations should play a leading role.

It is equally important to give responsibility to the countries receiving aid, be it through the demand for an efficient use of funds or for "good governance". In this regard, I would like to emphasize that the fight against corruption should be a priority of all our governments.

Mr. President,

The Declaration of the Millennium states that the central challenge faced today is to ensure that globalization will be a positive reality for the entire population of the world and not a new factor of exclusion.

Only the United Nations is in a position to promote the "partnership for change" that Kofi Annan referred to in his report, "We the Peoples".

Mr. President,

Poverty is also, unfortunately, closely linked to infectious and contagious diseases - AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis - that cause millions of deaths every year and, in the case of Africa, are devastating an entire generation, threatening in a dramatic fashion the possibilities of future development.

More than ever, it is necessary to mobilize the energies of civil society, institutions and the international community as a whole in the fight against infectious and contagious diseases. The EU and the United States recently agreed in Lisbon to strengthen their cooperation in the fight against these scourges.

With regard to the environment, we must always keep in mind that economic growth and progress cannot be achieved at any price, particularly at the cost of our future.

The United Nations must continue to guide us on the environment, as has been the case since the Rio Conference in 1992. Responses from States, however, have fallen short often very short of what we had committed ourselves to in political statements and even in international treaties.

Let us not delude ourselves. In this crucial and strategic area, the United Nations does play an instrumental role, as reaffirmed in the Millennium Declaration, but only States can effectively produce results. It is not a task that can be subcontracted to the United Nations.

Civil society should use all its influence in this area, pressuring and making accountable those governments that believe that issues regarding the environment can be dealt with by a mere "opting-out" clause, as if it were a simple question of sovereignty.

We can no longer think in this way. Global warming affects us all. To face this common problem, we need common action on a global scale.

Portugal is, for geographic, historic and political reasons, a country linked to the oceans. For this reason we recognize their importance both to the land ecosystem and to the renewal of energy resources vital to the sustenance of millions of people. We welcome the launch of the Informal Consultative Process on Oceans and the Law of the Sea, and we attach particular importance to the debate on "Scientific Marine Research."

Mr. President,

Allow me a word on a recent initiative to which my country attaches great importance.

In Warsaw, earlier this year in June, a group of more than 100 countries, united by a shared belief, endorsed a constitutive declaration that established the Community of Democracies.

Recognizing that there are no exclusive models to determine how the will of peoples should be respected, the Community of Democracies will play a role in uniting the efforts of all those countries that believe a democratic representative system most adequately fulfills that objective.

Mr. President,

I would now like to reflect on some questions of a regional nature of particular importance to my country.

Africa is one of the great priorities of Portuguese foreign policy.

During the Portuguese Presidency of the European Union, the first Africa-Europe Summit was held, following a proposal made by Portugal. This Summit opened new vistas for the relationship between Europe and Africa, which will surely permit a joint process of reflection on the challenges and problems that the two continents face. The second Africa-Europe Summit will be held in Lisbon in the year 2003.

West Africa is, at this moment in time, one of our main concerns on the continent: the situation in Casamansa in Senegal; the recent conflict in Guinea-Bissau, from which the country is only now beginning to recover; the serious conflicts in Sierra Leone and Liberia; the refugees from those countries and their consequences on Guinea-Conakry; and the instability along the borders of all these countries.

The continuation and potential spread of these tensions and conflicts seriously threaten the security of this entire subre 'on of West Africa, which would have grave political, economic and humanitarian consequences. It is, therefore, necessary, while there is still time, for the international community to give greater attention to this sensitive region of Africa.

In what concerns Angola, we deeply regret the continuation of the war, which we believe is due to the lack of implementation of the peace accords of Bicesse and Lusaka, and to the violation by UNITA of the relevant Security Council resolutions. In our view, those instruments continue to be the reference point for a political solution to the Angolan conflict.

We welcome the strengthening of the sanctions regime against UNITA and reiterate our pledge to cooperate with the Sanctions Committee.

We consider that the presence of the United Nations on Angolan territory continues to be fundamental, both from a humanitarian and a political perspective. Only in this way can the United Nations quickly step in to support any political solution that may emerge.

Lastly, I welcome also the intention of the Angolan government to organize and hold elections in 2001. The promotion of the values of tolerance and dialogue and of democratic principles is essential to guarantee a lasting peace.

Mr. President,

One year after the holding of the referendum that allowed the people of East Timor finally to exercise their right to self-determination, the United Nations faces today a new challenge: administering East Timor in its transitional period and creating the necessary foundations for a new independent and democratic state, which will be a future member of ASEAN and the Community of Portuguese- Speaking Countries (CPLP) and we hope will be able to be admitted to the UN by 2001.

Portugal has always supported and will continue to support East Timor. Our total financial assistance, not counting our participation in the military component of UNTAET, will reach this year an estimated 50 million dollars, and will remain at this level in 2001 and 2002.

Much remains to be done, but the competent leadership of Sergio Vieira de Mello and the exceptional qualities of Xanana Gusmao allow us to look at the future with optimism.

Two days later, further militia activity took place along the border that led to the death of eleven people, this time of Indonesian nationality, who were assisting various NGO's and international organizations.

We welcome the swift response of the Security Council in adopting resolution 1319 and deciding to dispatch an evaluation mission to West Timor.

The new democratic government of Indonesia has shown a spirit of cooperation. It is now time for it to honour its commitment to reestablish law and order in West Timor, disarming and dismantling its militias. Their continued existence destabilizes the transitional process in East Timor and is an affront to the civilian and military authorities of Indonesia, disturbing the consolidation of the democratic regime in that country.

For our part, we stand ready to work with the Indonesian Government, helping it to resolve this problem. It was in this spirit that the Portuguese Prime Minister proposed here last week a stability pact for East Timor. And it will be in keeping with that spirit that we will participate in the Quadripartite Summit to be held soon in Djakarta, which will bring together high-level representatives of Indonesia, East Timor, Australia and Portugal.

Mr. President,

Guaranteeing peace, fighting poverty, protecting the environment, leaving a better world for future generations: this is our duty at the turn of the millennium.

Only in democracy can governments respond to these aspirations of our societies. Only a reformed and evermore democratic United Nations will be able to help us face this common challenge.

Thank you, Mr. President.