Bangkok--Sep 21--UNISBKK
Embargo until delivery (Tuesday, 21 September 2004, at approximately 10:00 a.m. New York Time, 14:00 GMT)
THE UNITED NATIONS SECRETARY-GENERAL
ADDRESS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
New York, 21 September 2004
Mr. President,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,
It is good to see so many countries represented here at such a high
level. I know this reflects your understanding that, in these difficult times, the United Nations is ? as you stated four years ago in the Millennium Declaration ? "the indispensable common house of the entire human family".
Indeed today, more than ever, the world needs an effective mechanism
through which to seek common solutions to common problems. That is what
this Organization was created for. Let's not imagine that, if we fail to
make good use of it, we will find any more effective instrument.
This time next year you will be meeting to review progress in
implementing the Millennium Declaration. By then I hope you will be ready
to take bold decisions together on the full range of issues covered in the
Declaration, helped by the report of the High-Level Panel on Threats,
Challenges and Change, which will be available before the end of this year.
As I said a year ago, we have reached a fork in the road. If you,
the political leaders of the world's nations, cannot reach agreement on the
way forward, history will take the decisions for you, and the interests of
your peoples may go by default.
Today I will not seek to pre-judge those decisions, but to remind you
of the all-important framework in which they should be taken ? namely, the
rule of law, in each country and in the world.
The vision of "a government of laws and not of men" is almost as old
as civilisation itself. In a hallway not far from this podium is a replica
of the code of laws promulgated by Hammurabi more than three thousand years
ago, in the land we now call Iraq.
Much of Hammurabi's code now seems impossibly harsh. But etched into
its tablets are principles of justice that have been recognised, if seldom
fully implemented, by almost every human society since his time:
Legal protection for the poor.
Restraints on the strong, so they cannot oppress the weak.
Laws publicly enacted, and known to all.
That code was a landmark in mankind's struggle to build an order
where, instead of might making right, right would make might. Many nations
represented in this chamber can proudly point to founding documents of
their own that embody that simple concept. And this Organization ? your
United Nations ? is founded on the same principle.
Yet today the rule of law is at risk around the world. Again and
again, we see fundamental laws shamelessly disregarded ? those that ordain
respect for innocent life, for civilians, for the vulnerable ? especially
children.
To mention only a few flagrant and topical examples:
In Iraq, we see civilians massacred in cold blood, while relief
workers, journalists and other non-combatants are taken hostage and put to
death in the most barbarous fashion. At the same time, we have seen Iraqi
prisoners disgracefully abused.
In Darfur, we see whole populations displaced, and their homes
destroyed, while rape is used as a deliberate strategy.
In northern Uganda, we see children mutilated, and forced to take
part in acts of unspeakable cruelty.
In Beslan, we have seen children taken hostage and brutally
massacred.
In Israel we see civilians, including children, deliberately targeted
by Palestinian suicide bombers. And in Palestine we see homes destroyed,
lands seized, and needless civilian casualties caused by Israel's excessive
use of force.
And all over the world we see people being prepared for further such
acts, through hate propaganda directed against Jews, against Muslims,
against anyone who can be identified as different from one's own group.
Excellencies,
No cause, no grievance, however legitimate in itself, can begin to
justify such acts. They put all of us to shame. Their prevalence reflects
our collective failure to uphold the law, and to instil respect for it in
our fellow men and women. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to
restore that respect.
To do so, we must start from the principle that no one is above the
law, and no one should be denied its protection. Every nation that
proclaims the rule of law at home must respect it abroad; and every nation
that insists on it abroad must enforce it at home.
Yes, the rule of law starts at home. But in too many places it
remains elusive. Hatred, corruption, violence and exclusion go without
redress. The vulnerable lack effective recourse, while the powerful
manipulate laws to retain power and accumulate wealth. At times even the
necessary fight against terrorism is allowed to encroach unnecessarily on
civil liberties.
At the international level, all states ? strong and weak, big and
small ? need a framework of fair rules, which each can be confident that
others will obey. Fortunately, such a framework exists. From trade to
terrorism, from the law of the sea to weapons of mass destruction, States
have created an impressive body of norms and laws. This is one of our
Organization's proudest achievements.
And yet this framework is riddled with gaps and weaknesses. Too
often it is applied selectively, and enforced arbitrarily. It lacks the
teeth that turn a body of laws into an effective legal system.
Where enforcement capacity does exist, as in the Security Council,
many feel it is not always used fairly or effectively. Where rule of law
is most earnestly invoked, as in the Commission on Human Rights, those
invoking it do not always practise what they preach.
Those who seek to bestow legitimacy must themselves embody it; and
those who invoke international law must themselves submit to it.
Just as, within a country, respect for the law depends on the sense
that all have a say in making and implementing it, so it is in our global
community. No nation must feel excluded. All must feel that international
law belongs to them, and protects their legitimate interests.
Rule of law as a mere concept is not enough. Laws must be put into
practice, and permeate the fabric of our lives.
It is by strengthening and implementing disarmament treaties,
including their verification provisions, that we can best defend ourselves
against the proliferation ? and potential use ? of weapons of mass
destruction.
It is by applying the law that we can deny financial resources and
safe havens to terrorists ? an essential element in any strategy for
defeating terrorism.
It is by reintroducing the rule of law, and confidence in its
impartial application, that we can hope to resuscitate societies shattered
by conflict.
It is the law, including Security Council resolutions, which offers
the best foundation for resolving prolonged conflicts ? in the Middle East,
in Iraq, and around the world.
And it is by rigorously upholding international law that we can, and
must, fulfil our responsibility to protect innocent civilians from
genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes. As I warned this
Assembly five years ago, history will judge us very harshly if we let
ourselves be deflected in this task, or think we are excused from it, by
invocations of national sovereignty.
The Security Council has just requested that I appoint an
international commission to investigate reports of human rights violations
in Darfur and determine whether acts of genocide have been committed. I
shall do so with all speed. But let no one treat this as a respite, during
which events in that devastated region continue to take their course.
Regardless of their legal definition, things are happening there which must
shock the conscience of every human being.
The African Union has nobly taken the lead and the responsibility in
providing monitors and a protective force in Darfur ? as well as seeking a
political settlement, which alone can bring lasting security. But we all
know the present limitations of this new-born Union. We must give it every
possible support. Let no one imagine that this affair concerns Africans
only. The victims are human beings, whose human rights must be sacred to us
all. We all have a duty to do whatever we can to rescue them, and do it
now.
Excellencies,
Last month, I promised the Security Council that I would make the
Organization's work to strengthen the rule of law and transitional justice
in conflict and post-conflict societies a priority for the remainder of my
tenure.
By the same token, I urge you all to do more to foster the rule of
law at home and abroad. I ask all of you here today to take advantage of
the arrangements we have made for you to sign treaties on the protection of
civilians ? treaties that you yourselves have negotiated ? and then, go
back home, to implement them fully and in good faith. And I implore you to
give your full support to the measures I shall bring before you, during
this session, to improve the security of United Nations staff. Those
non-combatants, who voluntarily put themselves in harm's way to assist
their fellow men and women, surely deserve your protection, as well as your
respect.
Throughout the world, Excellencies, the victims of violence and
injustice are waiting; waiting for us to keep our word. They notice when
we use words to mask inaction. They notice when laws that should protect
them are not applied.
I believe we can restore and extend the rule of law throughout the
world. But ultimately, that will depend on the hold that the law has on
our consciences. This Organization was founded in the ashes of a war that
brought untold sorrow to mankind. Today we must look again into our
collective conscience, and ask ourselves whether we are doing enough.
Excellencies,
Each generation has its part to play in the age-long struggle to
strengthen the rule of law for all ? which alone can guarantee freedom for
all.
Let our generation not be found wanting.
Thank you very much. End.
--InfoQuest (NM)--