Summary: November 19, 2001: Follow-up to the outcome of the Millennium Summit. Statement by H.E. Mr. Jean DE RUYT, Permanent Representative of Belgium to the United Nations, on behalf of the European Union (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
It is an honor for me to speak on behalf of the European Union. The countries of Central and Eastern Europe associated with the European Union, Bulgaria, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, the Czech Republic, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, the associated countries Cyprus, Malta and Turkey, and the EFTA countries member of the European Economic Area, Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, endorse this statement.
Fourteen months ago our Heads of State and Government adopted the Millennium Declaration, thus reaffirming their faith in the Organization and in its Charter, which are the cornerstones to a more peaceful, prosperous and just world. The message given to the rest of the world was loud and clear: the principles and values on which our Organization is founded are universal principles, and the objectives that we set for our Organization cannot be attained unless we all pull together to attain
them.
As a premonition, our Heads of State and Government firmly reiterated that the fundamental principles that must underpin international relations in the XXIst century are freedom, equality, solidarity, tolerance, respect for nature and shared responsibilities. The restating of these values has taken on its full significance now in the world, which is emerging from the debris of the World Trade Center, as we have seen in particular at the Ministerial meeting on dialogue between civilizations and
as we saw during the general debate last week.
Mr. Chairman,
I started by mentioning the Millennium Declaration because the European Union would first and foremost like to reaffirm its strong commitment to this founding document and to the principles and objectives that it sets out. To this end, the way in which the Declaration is put into practice should be faithful both to the letter and the spirit of the Declaration itself. We believe that the Secretary-General's report, which presents a programme for implementing the Millennium Declaration, is indeed
a first step towards putting the Declaration into practice in this way, in that it draws up a full inventory of the efforts that our Organization must make to help attain these various objectives.
In fact, in the future we are expecting the Secretary-General to give us annual progress reports not only on what our Organization has accomplished, and on what its specialized agencies have done to achieve the objectives of the Millennium Declaration, but also on the progress made by the Member States, in particular in the framework of the follow-up of major conferences. In short, we would like the Millennium Declaration to be the touchstone for any practical steps taken by the United Nations
and its specialized agencies, and by all our governments.
This calls for more discipline from all of us. Rationalization, which is on the agenda for the General Assembly, should ensue as the logical consequence. We also need to agree on the parameters for determining the progress made, including at national level.
The Millennium Declaration gives us an opportunity to make this multi-faceted action more effective and more coherent with a view to realizing the objectives that we have set ourselves: the wide variety of actors involved, in particular in the area of development and human rights, means that it is indispensable that we set common markers indicating the way forward. It is these markers that we are asking the Secretary-General to provide, on a regular basis and in a succinct and operational form,
in particular concerning the objectives of development, as they appear in the annex to the Secretary General's report.
We should not forget that the objectives of the Millennium Declaration are ambitious. We cannot allow the grass to grow under our feet before getting down to work; the European Union is absolutely convinced of this. We would like this guidance to be given every year on the basis of information available throughout the United Nations system, including the Bretton Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization, in the various areas covered by the Millennium Declaration. Furthermore, we would
insist that the other main players continue to be duly consulted, namely the non-governmental organizations, civil society and academia.
Mr. Chairman,
We know that the road leading to the Millennium objectives is a difficult one, as it is both foggy and much-traveled, which is why it needs to be clearly and precisely marked out.
It is also a road with many junctions and forks, and it is essential that we don't take the wrong turnings, which is why we should like to have, at regular intervals, and in fact every five years, a report which is no longer merely factual, such as the guidance reports, but political, to enable us to take stock of the situation and take the decisions that are necessary in order to take the road leading us in the best possible circumstances to our final objectives.
Mr. Chairman,
The Secretary-General's report before us has focused particularly on the Millennium objectives for development, and we welcome this approach which corresponds to an absolute priority of the European Union and of its development partners. However, we should like the forthcoming guidance reports to give consideration specifically to the objectives of reproductive health in all its aspects.
Mr. Chairman,
The Secretary-General's report proposes submitting "thematic" reports each year on current topics, i.e. topics that have been dealt with at major UN conferences. We are in favor of this suggestion, on the clear understanding that it should aim to ensure coherence between these Conferences and the general objectives of the Millennium Declaration, and that it may not lead to duplication with any monitoring process, which might be decided at those Conferences.
Such integrated monitoring will have to be put in place gradually, while safeguarding both the integrity of the Millennium Declaration and the specific achievements of the major conferences. From this viewpoint also, some rationalization of the proceedings of the General Assembly and of its Commissions will be necessary.
The European Union is in favor of the suggestions made by the Secretary-General for the "thematic" reports from 2002 to 2004, the choice having been made in conjunction with the activities of the special sessions and conferences scheduled for the coming years. However, the emergence of new priorities after the dramatic events of 11 September might justify some adjustments, which the European Union is perfectly prepared to consider.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
| Top |
European Union Member States
Alerts by email
Email this page
Print this page