PERMANENT MISSION OF GREECE TO THE UNITED NATIONS

STATEMENT BY

H.E. MR. COSTAS SIMITIS

PRIME MINISTER OF THE HELLENIC REPUBLIC

AT THE MILLENNIUM SUMMIT

NEW YORK, 7 SEPTEMBER 2000

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I would like express my sincere appreciation to both coPresidents of the Millennium Summit, H.E. to Mr. Sam Nujoma, President of Namibia and H.E. Ms Tarja Halonen, President of Finland. Their well-known skills and broad experience will bring the work of the Summit, this unique opportunity for us all to reflect on our common destiny, to a successful conclusion.

I wish, also, to express my warmest congratulations to the Secretary General Mr. Kofi Annan for his excellent report "We the Peoples: the role of the United Nations in the twenty first century" which constitutes the basis of our deliberations.

The 20th century has bequeathed to us admirable achievements in almost all fields of human activity. In one hundred years the world, has achieved unprecedented results in the sciences, technology and communication. It has developed and refined ideas and practices on social cohesion, democratic governance, protection of human dignity and the application of the rules of law, transcending national barriers and local mentalities. The United Nations has played its part in assisting the transformation of the international community into a living organism partaking of the same values and principles. It has heavily contributed to the maintenance of international peace and security and the creation of new equilibria of relations between States, as well as to the redistribution of wealth between rich and poor countries.

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Yet, neither the United Nations, nor the international community as a whole have succeeded in eradicating scourges, which from time immemorial cast shadows on the prosperity of humanity: we are still witnessing, in alarming dimensions, poverty and malnutrition, social exclusion, deadly diseases, as well as incessant waves of international and internal conflicts of extreme violence. At the same time, the very beneficial human conquests, for which we are all - proud, have brought with them negative consequences hindering the environment, destroying the quality of human life, threatening, sometimes, the very basis upon which he have built international and internal solidarity and respect for the fundamental rules of humanity.

Our task must be, therefore, to find new avenues through which we will control and gradually eradicate the causes of the plights that tantalise our common lives. This task requires co-operation at all levels, but mainly at the global level; because it would 'be otherwise difficult, if not impossible, to have positive results in our world of close interdependence. And we strongly believe that the United Nations has a serious role to play in this respect. Its experience, its past achievements in these fields, its nature, as the only political international organisation with universal participation, which is coupled with its specialised organs and agencies, are solid material upon which we may rely in our fight against the problems of our world. But, it goes without saying, that in order for the United Nations system to effectively cope with this heavy burden, it must be duly empowered both institutionally and materially. Greece believes that it is necessary to strengthen the position and the role of the main organs of the U.N. The Security Council, in particular, needs a comprehensive reform to become more representative and more effective.

Its long history and involvement in international affairs has demonstrated that its inability to solve problems of magnitude is due both to its structural deficiencies, which date back to its institutional inception, and the unwillingness of the member States of the U.N. to give it room to become effectively involved in matters where State sovereignty-and vital-interests are considered to override international concerns.

We should not allow this situation to continue anymore. Now that we are all aware of the dangers surrounding us, but also of the potential that the United Nations have to properly deal with these matters. It would be unimaginable and unreasonable for us to waste such a comprehensive system; and not to make full use of its precious services in securing peace and amicable relations and fighting all deficiencies of the world order to which we have just referred.