16.09.99

* It is good to be in New York, and with so many friends. And it is of course a great honour for me to be awarded with this prize

I still feel very emotional when I see that humanitarian work and commitment - not just mine! - is duly praised and recognised. Because nothing like it touches deeply in you soul and feels on your skin.

It is almost unbelievable how many people, in today's "globalised" world, have nothing left but their life and their dignity: and how much work and relief is needed to preserve even that!

* This is what I have been trying to convey to ordinary people out there, who do not have access to satellite or intelligence reports, and who make up their mind about what is important to them - and what isn't - watching the evening news before dinner, at home.

If I succeeded unmaking people dwell, even for a few minutes, on the usefulness, and the value of humanitarian aid, I believe I have a reason to be proud of myself. I never sought visibility for myself, or for my office: but I always felt very strongly that humanitarian relief needs the wholehearted support of our taxpayers; and that humanitarian crises, especially the new "forgotten crises", ought to be placed under the spotlight of the media, to prevent both human rights violations on the spot, and donors' fatigue elsewhere.

* I am particularly grateful to those friends who have managed to be here today [, like S. Vieira de Mello, K. Annan?, Amb. Fulci; etc.] carving out precious time out of agendas which are no doubt over-burdened with yet another major crisis.

I regret, at this point in time, not to be able to share with them part of this burden, as I have until very recently; and I miss especially the opportunity to get there, in the field, close to the refugees and displaced in Darwin, or in West Timor, or - why not - in Dili itself, to bring solidarity and confort both to those suffering and to our dedicated humanitarian staff.

* But I wish to reassure everyone: I am not accepting this award as some kind of "Oscar to the career"!

Although pressing political engagements will keep me for a while focussed on national and European politics (in chronological order), my firm intention is to get back to dealing with wider international relations soon. Starting, perhaps, with shouldering the process of the ICC's Statute agreed in Rome last year. We live in a world which is not trouble-free, and that badly needs the ethical deterrence of the ICC's jurisdiction.

* I also wish to say a few words about the East-Timor crisis and what it means for the UN. It is the price you pay for inviting an un-diplomatic person like me to New York, these days.

It is difficult to imagine another crisis that would compound so many political, humanitarian and ethical problems so closely inter-linked with the UN's own mandate and image.

- Because the Timorese crisis finds its constitutional "raison d'ętre" and the fact that the UN never recognised - and rightly so - the "the facts" annexation of this territory by Jakarta.

- Because the catalogue of violations of human rights which have taken place ever since in East-Timor (from religious persecution to deportation; from man killing to cultural oppression; and so on) is like a negative mirror-image of all the Statutes and conventions in the protection of human rights adopted by the UN - starting with the Universal Declaration if 1948;

- Because the UN eventually put its flag on the framework and on the organisation of the August referendum, and guaranteed its unfolding with the UNAMET mission.

* Let's look at things for what they are: this is not a secession process. It is a perfectly legitimate, constitutionally-built democratic self-determination, meant to be solemnly and peacefully approved and ratified in due course by the government of Jakarta.

How could this be disrupted, without provoking the swift and decisive action of both the Indonesian government and the Security Council? How could so much suffering be inflicted to so many people, guilty only of participating in good faith in a democratic exercise? And how could the UN accept, once more that its image, its credibility, its flag be sweated and nearly destroyed, when so much is at stake?

* I know well enough on what side beats the heart of the Secretary General, of Sergio, and of the Secretariat; and I have great sympathy for the Secretariat; and I have great sympathy for their relentless efforts in pushing the UNSC to decide, soon enough, the minimum measures to restore some security in East-Timor, and some credibility for the UN. They are nearly there, and I hope UN peacekeepers will be on the island in the next few days.

* The scandal. I cannot think of another word - is that people in the capitals "that count" still keep the habit of dealing with those issues - which are issues of life or death not only for the people of East Timor, but also for the values and principles that we are committed to uphold - as in a sort of diplomatic "Trivial pursuit".

In which well-learned officials prepare for the next move, weighing the tactical odds both in New York and in their capitals in favour or against this or that course of action, this or that paragraph in the resolution.

Will China accept such a precedent of military "intrusion" in Asia? Is Russia going to acquiesce? Will the Australians, or the Europeans, put at risk a substantial and lucrative market for their exports? My answer to those questions, too often repeated in those corridors, in "who cares?" This is what public opinion thinks of those issues, when faced with the drama of East Timor.

* Diplomats and officials can retrench behind their instructions, their mandates, their habits and procedures. Governments and politicians ultimately cannot they need the support of public opinion, the contribution of their taxpayers, the vote of their citizens. Hopefully, the first decade of the new Millennium will not be like the one which is ending, and which has witnessed the scandals of Bosnia, of Rwanda, of Afghanistan and East Timor. No organisation can ultimately base its existence solely on diplomatic pacts, or government-to-government "ententes". And no institution can legitimately outlive a prolonged lack of public support, such as the Security Council is experiencing now. I wish people in this house and in the capitals "that count" think twice about the lesson of East-Timor. Before dealing with budget arrears stop being a US-only problem.