Udenrigsminister Per Stig Møller (K) holdt tirsdag (20. sept.) det danske indlæg ved den årlige generaldebat i FNs Generalforsamling, som bringes in extenso nedenfor.
Fokus lå på opfølgning af FN-topmødet, hvor der i det kommende år skal forhandles bl.a. Menneskerettighedsråd, Fredsopbygningskommission og Terrorismekonvention.
Beskyttelsen af menneskerettigheder blev fremhævet som et område, hvor FN skal styrke sin indsats med en langt mere seriøs tilgang. På samme vis må fredsopbygning i Afrika forblive en hovedprioritet både for sikkerhedsrådet og for Generalforsamlingen.
Tirsdag talte udenrigsministeren også ved en åben debat i sikkerhedsrådet. Emnet var civilsamfundets rolle i konfliktforebyggelse og fredelig konfliktløsning.
NGOer og andre dele af civilsamfundet spiller en central rolle i Danmarks internationale arbejde. Deres involvering lokalt i form af konkrete projekter, varsling af problemer og som mæglere i etniske, religiøse eller politiske stridigheder, er en forudsætning for løsninger, der holder.
Udenrigsministeren understregede betydningen af en dialog på alle niveauer med civilsamfundet, også i sikkerhedsrådet, og af et nært samarbejde lokalt mellem FNs missioner og civilsamfundet.
Udenrigsministerens øvrige dagsprogram inkluderede et møde med den amerikanske udenrigsminister, Condoleezza Rice, sammen med de øvrige EU-landes udenrigsministre. Her var hovedemnerne Mellemøsten og fremme af demokrati.
Endeligt havde udenrigsministeren møde med Nigerias udenrigsminister og formand for den Afrikanske Unions Eksekutivråd, Oluyemi Adeniji. De drøftede bl.a. Sudan og Vestafrika.
Her indlægget fra FNs talerstol:
Statement by H.E. Minister for Foreign Affairs of Denmark, Dr. Per Stig Møller to the General Debate of the 60th Session of the United Nations General Assembly on 20 September 2005.
Af Per Stig Møller (K)
The outcome of the Summit last week marks the beginning of another busy year for the General Assembly and the Member States of the United Nations. The summit gave us a new ambitious agenda and in the spirit of multilateralism, we must do our utmost to meet the goals set out. Denmark intends to pull up the sleeves and contribute to the work and I encourage others to do the same.
In his impressive report from March this year In Larger Freedom, the Secretary-General gave us the best possible basis for necessary and profound changes within the organisation.
This new interrelated reform agenda was captured by the assertion in the report that “we will not enjoy development without security, we will not enjoy security without development, and we will not enjoy either without respect for human rights”.
With these words the Secretary-General identified the three pillars in the United Nations of the 21st century: Security, Development and Human Rights.
Security
The custodian of international peace and security is the Security Council. In October last year, you elected Denmark as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. We have – to the best of our abilities – sought to translate the trust, bestowed upon us into action.
Denmark holds the chair of the Counter Terrorism Committee; we work for improvements in UN peacekeeping by pursuing a holistic approach to the concept of peacebuilding; we advocate better protection of women and children; and we support stronger emphasis on rule of law and the need to end impunity.
The Security Council must clearly demonstrate its will to enforce the decisions taken by it. If not, it looses its credibility, and the international community looses its only forceful multilateral instrument.
Targeted sanctions are an important instrument for achieving compliance with decisions of the Security Council and for compliance with international law in general.
We must continue an intensive dialogue on how best to implement sanctions and on how to follow up to ensure the desired outcome. The approach must always include both “carrot and stick” – incentive and punishment.
Fight against Terrorism
The UN plays a central role in efforts to fight terrorism and we support the Secretary General’s outline of a comprehensive UN counter terrorism strategy engaging the whole UN system in the fight against terrorism.
We will take an active part in its further development and implementation. We also welcome the new resolution on terrorism by the Security Council
Holding the chairmanship of the Counter Terrorism Committee under the Security Council, Denmark regards itself as having a special responsibility in this field. We have given priority to enhance cooperation between the relevant Security Council subsidiary organs dealing with aspects of terrorism. We will continue to do so.
We have also engaged in dialogue with parts of the UN family not previously involved in the fight against terrorism. The aim of this dialogue is to identify their role in helping states that would like to engage more actively in the fight against terrorism but lacks the capacity to do so.
We will continue our efforts to strengthen the synergies between relevant UN actors to further strengthen the UN’s counter terrorism capability.
Our efforts to fight international terrorism must be carried out in full respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It is imperative to strike the right balance between – on the one hand – preventive and swift action against terrorists and – on the other – adequate safeguards for the individual and not least for those who have been unjustly listed.
The Summit has sent an important political message about the dedication of UN member states to fight terrorism, even if it was not as strong as we had wished. We must now at this session of the General Assembly make all efforts to reach agreement on the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism. Any further stalling on this important issue would send the wrong message.
Weapons of mass destruction in the hands of non-state actors remain the single most frightening scenario. It constitutes a danger to civilisations all over the world. Nobody can claim to be safe. Everybody must acknowledge this danger and refrain from activities that increase the threat. We need a concerted effort in the field of non-proliferation and disarmament.
The failure of the NPT Conference this spring to produce an agreement and the lack of new commitments at the Summit must not lead to resignation but rather to doubling of the efforts. At the same time concerted action is needed to end illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons. Arms transfers must be transparent. Denmark strongly supports adoption of an international arms trade treaty. Such a treaty must be legally binding, include all weapons and be UN-based.
Peacebuilding and Development
Denmark favours a holistic approach to peace-building. We believe the UN is well placed to coordinate the international efforts to assist countries emerging from conflict.
Therefore we have actively supported the establishment of the Peacebuilding Commission. This new body will add value to the work done by various actors including the funds and programmes of the United Nations. I urge member states to ensure that the Commission will be operational by the end of this year as requested by the Summit.
It is a fact that conflicts in Africa continue to loom large on the Security Councils agenda. “African solutions to African problems” must not lead to indifference from donors. We must increase our assistance to regional capacity building and at the same time be prepared to provide the necessary human and financial resources to conflict prevention and peacebuilding efforts.
To this end, Denmark is sponsoring a major capacity building program in Africa in close cooperation with the African Union and ECOWAS.
The Summit confirmed the dedication to fulfil the Millennium Development Goals by considerable donor commitments as well as the need to pay particular attention to countries in Africa that are lacking far behind.
Denmark will remain well above the 0,7 (per cent) target and urges all donor countries to implement the goals decided by the Summit. The responsibility, however, does not rest with donor countries alone. In order to ensure sustainable development the world’s poor countries must prioritise human development, respect for human rights, tackle national inequalities and curb corruption.
In closely interrelated and interdependent world our collective security and prosperity depend critically on the success of our fight against poverty.
“Rule of law” and human rights
We must continue to look for new ways to enforce international law and protect those in need. Promoting the rule of law must be one of the main objectives when devising peace-building strategies in Africa, and when addressing democratic deficits elsewhere.
Indeed, prosperity and security will only occur if and when we decide to respect and promote human rights. It is our obligation to address and to act on human rights violations wherever they occur. And we must do so in a spirit of cooperation and understanding.
It is our common duty to measure every UN member states actual performance against the universal standards of human rights. Also when it takes the form of “naming” and even “shaming”. Otherwise we risk undermining these important norms of human decency and behaviour.
All governments must remember that they are in office for the people and not for themselves!
For these reasons, Denmark strongly supports the establishment of the Human Rights Council as a permanent, principal organ of the United Nations as well as an overall strengthening of the entire UN human rights machinery, including the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
60 years after the creation of this organisation, we should give human rights the proper attention and priority to meet the expectations of the people, whom we are meant to serve.
The grave crimes against humanity committed in Darfur serve as a reminder to the international community. Impunity is unacceptable. Some argue that we face a dilemma every time a country emerges from conflict. They argue that the pursuit of justice clashes with the pursuit of peace.
But peace and justice are not contradictory but in fact complementary. The precedent created by the referral of the Darfur situation to the International Criminal Court is promising and a major step forward in the fight against impunity and bodes well for the pursuit of international justice.
Reform of the United Nations
Lastly, let me briefly address the call by the Secretary-General and Member States, including Denmark, for management reform. The Secretary-General must be given the necessary discretionary powers accompanied by accountability and independent oversight. We need to modernise the way we work to enable the organisation to meet its share of the priorities set out at the Summit.
The coming months will be crucial. The outcome of the Summit must be implemented. We will be faced with many difficult but also important tasks. They have to be solved in a true spirit of international cooperation.
We must strengthen this great institution. It has a vital role to play – not least in the world of today! Denmark will spare no effort in doing its share!
