SPEECH BY CANADIAN FOREIGN MINISTER LLOYD AXWORTHY

AT UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY

U.N. HEADQUARTERS, NEW YORK

[...]

" Working together last year, 120 nations voted in favor of the international criminal court that will establish individual accountability for crimes against humanity."

"The adoption of the International Criminal Court statute was a qualitative step forward. It will help to end the culture of impunity and protect all people against the most egregious violations of international

law. The [General] Assembly's priority now is to bring the court to life. This means continued cooperation by all of us in building the technical underpinnings of the court. It also means ensuring prompt, widespread

ratification of the international court statute." [...]

FOREIGN MIN. AXWORTHY

Mr. President,

First allow me to congratulate you on your election as president of the General Assembly. Canadians are proud

to have accompanied you and your people on the journey to join the community of nations. And on behalf of Canada, allow me also to welcome the Republics of Kiribas (ph), Nauro and the Kingdom of Tongo as new members of the United Nations.

(Speaks in French; translated.)

Mr. President, your election is a tribute to your wisdom and dedication to the goals of the United Nations. Now in turn, I am certain that you will guide us well in carrying out the work that we are gathered to do on behalf of all the world's people.

(Resumes in English.) Indeed, Mr. President, it is "we the people" for whom the United Nations was founded and its purpose is forged. "We the people" -- not we the nation-states, or the ministers, or the ambassadors, or the secretariat. Let's recall those lines from the U.N. Charter. "We the peoples are determined to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, to reaffirm faith in human rights, to establish the conditions under which justice can be maintained, and to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom. And we have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish these ends."

Noble words and compelling goals, but do they still ring true, or is there need for new meaning and new commitment? How would "we, the people" assess the handiwork of the United Nations today and judge the world scene today when we have seen in the last year alone the brutal ethnic cleansing in Kosovo, the slaughter and maiming of innocents in Sierra Leone, Angola, both Congos, Sudan, and the cruel suppression of the independence agreement in East Timor. When we see kidnaping and terrorism plaguing virtually every region, the growing, powerful influence of the drug traffickers and criminals, and return of the slave merchants and the emergence of modern warlords who brutalize and exploit communities for economic gain. When we are all subject to the darker side of globalization where international commerce brings new but poorly distributed wealth, where helpless children are recruited into armies or sold on the Internet for exploitative purposes, where environmental degradation inflicts a large cost on the

smallest countries who can least afford it.

Our world on the eve of millennium is increasingly shaped by these and a variety of other threats, direct threats to people. If "we the people" are to have a chance to rethink the U.N. preamble, it might well say that we are determined to save existing generations from the grave new risks to personal and family security. But it's true there is another perspective, one that gives glimmers of hope. You could point with some satisfaction to the fact that through the combined efforts of people working together across borders, there is an emerging sense of accomplishment in responding to these new threats to human security.

As of today, 86 nations have ratified the convention on anti- personnel mines, ushering in a legal regime and a plan of action that will save the lives of thousands. Working together last year, 120 nations voted in favor of the international criminal court that will establish individual accountability for crimes against humanity. In the field of conflict, the United Nations is now attempting to rebuild the broken fields of Kosovo

after an unprecedented intervention for humanitarian reasons. And in East Timor, peacekeepers are bringing order to that long-troubled land.

So, "we the peoples" have not given up in the face of the confusion and turmoil and misery which beset our world. And we still search through the corridors of this building the words of cooperation and acts of consensus. (Speaks in French; translated.) But, we can't, because too many forget that it is "we the people" all the world's people, who are we are here to serve, not just a specific national interest. Too many protect their prerogatives, engage in exclusive power politics, or refuse to pay their bills, thereby paralyzing the institution and render it incapable of meeting the challenges for the collective well- being. (Inaudible) -- measure of peace and security. But it is neither absolute nor it is it a shield -- (inaudible) -- and that fundamental freedoms can be protected.

It is time, therefore, for "we the peoples" -- (inaudible) -- two years ago -- (inaudible) -- and raise our voices. (Resumes in English.)

Mr. President, there is a new road map to lead the way. Last week, the secretary general tabled a report on the protection of civilians in armed conflict in which he captures many of today's challenges and sets out 40

recommendations for action. The heaviest burden falls on the Security Council. The search for global peace increasingly turns on issues of personal safety. Modern conflict takes a huge, disproportionate toll in

civilians. In this world, the protection of civilians must be central to the Council's work. They must provide the sub-text to our future collective action and the impetus behind our efforts to prevent conflict, keep the peace, enforce sanctions, and support the collective will of the United Nations.

The way ahead is not without obstacles. There are legitimate questions about the purposes, limits, and standards for Council engagement for humanitarian ends, which also raise difficult contradictions with regard to the principle of non-interference. Clear and consistent criteria are needed against which the necessity or not of humanitarian intervention, including enforcement, can be judged and applied. These tests must be very demanding, based on fundamental breech of international humanitarian and human rights law.

The human dimension makes it imperative that the Council adapt the blunt instrument of sanctions into a targeted tool so they hurt where they're supposed to hurt. The Council also needs to show resolve to implement sanctions once they are in place. This is kind of objectives of the chair of the Council's Angola Sanctions Committee, to develop tougher measures to constrain the trade in arms and diamonds, thereby making it more difficult for UNITA to wage war. It's time to tackle the new war economy, where a direct relationship exists between certain business, mercenaries, and warlords that perpetuates

misery, conflict, and the victimization of innocent people. A human security agenda highlights the urgent need to face clearly the Council's representation and its decision-making process, especially the inappropriate use and persistent threat of the veto, where it can

compromise, complicate, and slow down determined, urgent international action to protect people. The Council needs to come to grips with these challenges if it's to maintain its credibility in the eyes of the people it

serves.

Membership on the Council is a trust, and council members need to demonstrate their capacity to maintain that trust. The issues raised by the secretary general in his report on the protection of civilians in armed

conflict are ones that plague all peoples. His proposal, in fact, go beyond the privy of just the Security Council. The onus for action is the responsibility of all member states. For that reason, I would strongly

urge that the General Assembly become seized with this report and move quickly to establish mechanisms to give effect to its recommendations, including a system of reporting to review implementation.

Toward this end, Canada looks forward to working with Secretary General Annan and fellow members to establish a friends-of-civilians-in-armed-conflict group to help guide these efforts. To protect civilians in armed conflict, the Assembly has the means to enable the U.N. to act more quickly, the moral authority to establish universal standards that hold us all accountable, and the legitimacy to direct efforts into new areas of global endeavor.

The ability to respond rapidly when the security of civilians is threatened is essential. Giving the U.N. a rapid response capability, particularly through the creation of a rapid deployment U.N. headquarters, would be an important step. How much more effective could the U.N. have been in East Timor or Kosovo if this were so?

On the civilian side of police operations, the police and the judges and the civil servants and the human rights experts is also of growing importance. But insufficient capacity for rapid deployment is a problem here, too. Clearly the white helmets are as critical to building the peace as the blue helmets, and they deserve no less our attention. Those of us who are able might start by improving our respective national capacity to make contributions, something my government has begun and is working to improve, to be put as a service to the United Nations. Globally binding humanitarian and human rights standards for behavior and concrete mechanisms to hold transgressors accountable would also advance the

security of people subjected to the horrors of armed conflict.

The adoption of the International Criminal Court statute was a qualitative step forward. It will help to end the culture of impunity and protect all people against the most egregious violations of international law. The Assembly's priority now is to bring the court to life. This means continued cooperation by all of us in building the technical underpinnings of the court. It also means ensuring prompt, widespread ratification of the international court statute.

And strengthened standards and strategies are needed elsewhere. For example, the negotiation of the strongest possible optional protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict, accompanied by a comprehensive

action plan, will help to confront one of the most heinous aspects of modern warfare and conflict.

We also agree with the secretary general that more must be done to protect humanitarian workers who risk their lives to help the victims of war.

That's why Canada will be seeking an additional protocol for the convention on the safety of U.N. and associated personnel, to provide legal protection to all personnel working in situations of armed conflict, including a broader range of NGOs and locally employed personnel.

Finally, the Assembly can direct its efforts towards making the safety of people the emphasis in the wider range of global endeavors.

(Speaks in French; translated.) The greatest threat to human safety remains the possibility of nuclear annihilation and the hazards posed by other weapons of mass destruction. Yet the non-proliferation regime that

we have maintained and have built up over the past 50 years remains fragile. We should rededicate our efforts towards implementing (methods?) of the NPT towards an effective comprehensive test ban treaty that would

diminish the risk that these weapon systems pose to our collective security.

The (focus?) of the human cost is also the impetus behind the efforts to -- (inaudible) -- other weapons, including the challenges posed by small arms and (live?) military weapons. (Inaudible) -- proposal for a conference on (munitions trade?) of small arms and (live?) weapons is on the table of this Assembly.

(Resumes in English.) Transnational crime, the illicit drug trade, terrorism and human smuggling is a closely related challenge. They have a direct impact on the safety of all our people. In conclusion, an effective U.N. transnational organized crime convention and its protocols would be a start in providing that

protection.

Taken together, these efforts would be a strong beginning in orienting this Assembly to meet the real security needs of people today. And let's be very blunt. Improvement in human security is a necessary precondition for success in other important actions that we take to advance human economic aid and trade development.

Farmers cannot work fields strewn with mines. Children cannot learn when they are abused and brutalized by war. Investors will not send money to regions wrecked by conflict. Societies cannot flourish when resources are pillaged to fuel violence and people are victimized by terror. Ultimately, freedom from fear is intimately connected to the freedom from want. And it is freedom from fear for all peoples which is at the heart of the secretary general's report and its recommendations. And that provides the U.N. with a clear defining role at this century's close.

Our collective efforts to that end will give concrete expression to the hopes and dreams of the generation that first made "We, the people" the basis of this organization. Next year's Millennium Assembly and summit offers an opportunity to articulate a vision of the U.N. that places the safety of people at the center of its agenda.

But the U.N. cannot do it all. The challenges to advancing human safety are complex. Regional organizations play an important role. Practical cooperation between countries can address specific problems. And the participation of members of civil society and non-governmental organizations is also imperative. Security for all begins and ends with a strong, effective United Nations focus on this goal. We, the people, should resolve to work together to

achieve this end.

Thank you very much, Mr. President