General Assembly focuses on drug trade, human rights and economic inequalities

UN News Centre
Sept 29 2004

29 September 2004 – The illegal drug trade, human rights, the root
causes of terrorism and the deep economic inequalities between rich
and poor nations dominated the agenda as the General Assembly’s annual
high-level debate continued today at UN Headquarters in New York.

Colombian President Álvaro Uribe Velez said his country is making
advances in reducing the number of murders, kidnappings and terrorist
acts and the production of illegal drugs, but one of its highest
priorities now is to restore the confidence of its citizens in national
institutions. Without that step, any moves to boost economic growth
and stability would be undermined before they began.

Given the deep divisions caused by social and material inequalities,
Mr. Uribe Velez said, it was vital to try to promote strong economic
growth that at the same time is shared equitably by all Colombians.
He said that, to this end, the Government is subsidizing farmers and
peasant associations, increasing enrolments in schools and technical
workshops, and spending greater sums on child nutrition programmes.

Cyril Svoboda, Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, told the
Assembly that the undeniably troubled circumstances of Iraq today
should not divert the world’s attention away from other important
concerns, especially Afghanistan, the Middle East, Africa and the
Balkans. He stressed the importance of fighting for human rights,
citing treaties against the use of State-ordered torture and the
worldwide campaign to abolish the death penalty.

Guyana’s Foreign Minister S. R. Insanally said cultural diversity is
often overlooked in the race to help impoverished countries achieve
economic development, leading to disastrous results in the long term.
Turning to trade, Mr. Insanally said Guyana’s sugar industry “has
recently been struck a devastating blow” by trade liberalization and
the European Union’s reform of its trade in this commodity. He urged
wealthy nations to give more priority to the needs of poor States.

Foreign Minister Rogatien Biaou of Benin said that when his country
holds the Security Council’s rotating presidency in early 2005,
it will hold a special debate on the phenomenon of child soldiers
in a bid to find a lasting solution to the problem. Mr. Biaou also
urged the countries that have previously pledged to help the world’s
poorest nations achieve sustainable development to make good on those
promises – especially on giving official development assistance –
and not just offer hollow words instead.

Describing the fight against illicit drugs as his country’s “topmost
priority,” U Tin Winn, Chairman of the delegation from Myanmar,
said authorities in his country have over the past decade seized
and destroyed drugs worth more than $14 billion. The drug trade is
closely linked to much trans-national crime, he said, adding it was
important for States to work together if they were to defeat the
scourge. Mr. Winn also said allegations of human rights abuses in
Myanmar were “aimed at discrediting the Government for political
purposes.”

In his speech, Belarusian Foreign Minister Sergei Martynov spotlighted
the plight of the world’s least developed countries, saying very few
such States were meeting the target of 7 per cent annual economic
growth that is necessary to achieve one of the key Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) – halving the number of people in extreme
poverty by 2015. Mr. Martynov offered a robust defence of the United
Nations “as the most important collective problem-solving mechanism,”
adding that while it needs reform, it also needs greater support.

Armenia’s Foreign Minister Vartan Oskanian said the global curse of
terrorism will not go away until the breeding ground of deprivation,
poverty and injustice is drained. “This fight must go beyond effective
regional and international cooperation” to include aggressively
tackling the MDGs, he said, or else the inequalities and social
injustices will remain. Mr. Oskanian said it was critical that the
UN work more closely with regional organizations to achieve these aims.

Momodu Koroma, Foreign Minister of Sierra Leone, said his country was
now in a delicate post-conflict phase after civil war split the country
between 1991 and 2002. “This is the phase in which the gains of the
peace effort should be maximized,” he said, adding that traditionally
peacekeepers start “pulling out when the guns fall silent.” Mr. Koroma
emphasized that he does not means that he expects the UN Mission in
Sierra Leone (UNAMSIL), whose mandate currently lasts until June next
year, to stay indefinitely.

Hungarian Deputy Foreign Minister Gábor Bródi told the Assembly that
it was essential that the rights of national, ethnic, linguistic or
religious minorities are protected. “The presence [of such minorities]
within the frontiers of a country is not only an asset, but also a
source of social and cultural enrichment.” Mr. Bródi said Hungary
was alarmed by the treatment of ethnic minorities in its neighbour
Serbia and Montenegro, and called on authorities there to punish the
perpetrators of physical attacks or acts of intimidation.

Archbishop Giovanni Lajolo, the Holy See’s Secretary for Relations
with States, said poverty eradication and development must take
priority among the eight MDGs. To do that, the world must adopt a
fairer system of international trade and cancel the debt burdens of
the most impoverished States. Total and general disarmament was also
necessary, he added, if there is to be peace and stability.