PRESIDENT CLERIDES ADDRESS AT THE U.N.
From: The Republic of Cyprus Press and Information Office Server at <http://www.pio.gov.cy/>
ADDRESS BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE REPUBLIC, MR. GLAFCOS CLERIDES AT THE 51st
SESSION OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE UNITED NATIONS
26/9/1996
Mr. President,
I would like to begin by extending to you my warmest congratulations on your
election as President of the General Assembly. We are certain that your long
experience, outstanding ability and diplomatic skill will guide us
successfully in our work at this fifty-first session of the General
Assembly.
Allow me also to thank your distinguished predecessor, Dr. Diogo Freiras do
Amaral, for his untiring efforts during the previous session.
During last year's session, which marked the 50th anniversary of the United
Nations, we reflected on the birth of the United Nations, assessed its
development and influence on international relations to date, paid tribute
to its achievements and identified some of its difficulties.
At the same time we acknowledged that our main responsibility for the future
of the Organisation is to ensure that it has the ability to address most
effectively the agenda of the 21st century.
In the Declaration on the Fiftieth Anniversary of the United Nations we
agreed that "in order to be able to respond effectively to the challenges of
the future and the expectations of the United Nations held by peoples around
the world, it is essential that the United Nations itself be reformed and
modernised".
Now, as we begin the 51st session of the General Assembly we should take
stock of what we have been able to accomplish and redirect our efforts to
what remains to be achieved.
During 1996 we continued our work towards the institutional and financial
reforms needed to make the United Nations a more productive and dynamic
institution, so that it will be better able to perform its key functions and
fulfil its mandates more effectively. In this regard, a fundamental priority
must be to ensure that the financing of our Organisation is placed on a firm
and lasting basis.
May I recall in this context, Mr. President, that the Government of the
Republic of Cyprus is voluntarily contributing one third of the total cost
of UNFICYP and in addition has increased by one third its contribution to
United Nations Peace-Keeping Operations in general.
During 1996 various High-Level Working Groups of the General Assembly have
continued their efforts on the institutional and financial reforms of the
United Nations. I would like to reiterate that we consider the work of these
working groups, covering a very broad spectrum of issues, as extremely
important. Such issues ranging from the strengthening of the main United
Nations Organs, to the further development of An Agenda for Peace and An
Agenda for Development deserve deep and profound priority consideration.
We subscribe to the need for reforming the Security Council, expanding it
and strengthening its capacity to discharge the duties assigned to it by the
Charter for the maintenance of international peace and security.
As for the reform of its working methods, we recognise that although
significant efforts have been made over the last two years to ensure greater
transparency and broader consultations with non-members, more remains to be
done. A good precedent has been established with the holding of briefings
and regular consultations, including those with troop-contributing countries
to United Nations Peace-Keeping Operations.
The reports of the working groups of the General Assembly and the proposals
from member-states that we have before us, provide a good basis for further
work. We all understand and accept the need to reform and revitalise our
organisation. Our responsibility then is quite clear: Let us make even more
vigorous efforts and display the courage and political will required, to
reach a successful conclusion on these issues by the fifty-second session of
the General Assembly.
This year's International Conferences, HABITAT II, the World Food Summit and
UNCTAD, have marked the completion of a comprehensive series of United
Nations sponsored Conferences which covered the full range of civil,
political, economic and social issues that affect the peoples of the world.
We attach great importance to the successful follow-up to United Nations
sponsored Conferences and their impact on those areas of the world where the
lack of economic and social development often contributes to conflict.
In this respect we welcome next year's General Assembly special session
which will be devoted to the assessment and review of Agenda 21 and the
results of the Rio Conference. It will be a unique opportunity to take stock
of what we have done so far to implement the recommendations agreed upon in
this all important Conference.
An area of particular concern in today's world is the persistent violation
of human rights. The human rights agenda has, for many years, been dominated
by efforts to establish international standards. Our duty must be to
implement these standards unequivocally and take a firm stand against all
forms of human rights violations in all cases.
The full implementation of the commitments entered into, will encourage
those around the world who believe in the promise of the United Nations to
help restore and keep the peace; to promote respect for human rights; to
expand and broaden social progress and to help those in urgent need. My
country is fully committed to the universal application and promotion of
these principles.
Mr. President,
Another area of particular concern to member-states is arms control and
disarmament. Under the auspices of the United Nations, the nuclear
non-proliferation regime has been further strengthened with the indefinite
extension of the Non-Proliferation Treaty.
We warmly welcome the adoption by the General Assembly of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. This represents the international community's
determination to bring to completion one of the most sought-after nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament measures in the history of the United
Nations. But the treaty is not the end of the process. There is need for
further systematic and progressive effort in order to achieve our ultimate
goal of the elimination of nuclear weapons and of general and complete
disarmament under strict and effective international control.
Another important development in the field of disarmament and arms control
is progress achieved towards the entry into force of the Chemical Weapons
Convention. Cyprus is in the final stages of ratifying this Convention. It
is our hope that the Convention will soon enter into force.
While recognising that much more needs to be done in the realm of
conventional weapons, we are encouraged by the progress made during the
review of the Conventional Weapons Treaty and the agreement on Guidelines on
the International Transfer of Arms at this year's United Nations Disarmament
Commission's session.
We fully share the view espoused by many that arms control and disarmament,
are and will continue to be an essential component of international
security, contributing to confidence-building and conflict resolution.
It is in this spirit that we proposed, as part of a comprehensive solution
to the Cyprus problem, the complete demilitarization of the Republic of
Cyprus, in which we have offered to disband the National Guard of Cyprus and
hand over all weapons to an International Force, in exchange for the
complete withdrawal of all foreign troops, as demanded by the relevant
United Nations resolutions.
This august body is familiar with the Secretary-General's report which
characterises the northern occupied part of Cyprus as one of the most
densely militarised areas in the world. The presence of 35.000 Turkish
troops and hundreds of tanks and other armaments constitute a clear and
present danger to peace and security in Cyprus and in the region.
Recent events in Cyprus have highlighted this clear danger as well as the
urgent need to implement our demilitarization proposal.
The brutal killings of two Greek-Cypriot unarmed demonstrators witnessed on
television screens by the entire world, and the wounding of many others,
including two United Nations peace-keepers, by the Turkish occupation troops
and Turkish extremists imported from mainland Turkey to the occupied part of
the island, marked this year's anniversary of 22 years of invasion and
occupation of substantial territory of the Republic of Cyprus by Turkish
forces.
Two United Nations reports on these tragic incidents state clearly that the
responsibility lies with Turkey and the Turkish-Cypriot illegal regime,
through the use of excessive and unwarranted force against unarmed
demonstrators who were simply trying to remind the world that for 22 years
Cyprus remains a divided country, whose people are still prevented by the
Turkish occupation forces from returning to their homes and lands and from
moving freely in their country.
Furthermore, it has by now become abundantly clear that the Turkish action
was orchestrated well in advance, and involved the import from Turkey of
3.000 terrorists belonging to the "Organisation Grey Wolves" with the
purpose of bloody confrontation between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.
This sinister plan aimed at demonstrating that the two communities cannot
live peacefully together in Cyprus and therefore separatist and partitionist
solutions should be sought.
While we mourn and condemn the brutal murder of the two unarmed Greek
Cypriot protesters, we also feel sorry for a subsequent killing of a Turkish
soldier and the wounding of another. We regret the haste with which the
Turkish Cypriot leader Mr. Denktash attempted to attribute responsibility
for this killing to the Greek Cypriot side before an independent United
Nations investigation published its findings.
The recent tragic events, however, will not waver us from our commitment to
seek a peaceful solution of the Cyprus problem through negotiations, as
provided by the United Nations resolutions.
These events only stress the need for expediting and increasing efforts to
find a just, lasting and workable solution to the Cyprus problem.
We are encouraged by the rekindled interest and more active engagement of
the international community in the Cyprus problem, as witnessed by the
appointments of Special Representatives from interested countries, including
the appointment of the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Professor
Han Sung-Joo. We welcome all initiatives set out to reinforce the United
Nations in the search for a just and viable solution to the Cyprus question.
Various United Nations resolutions and the United Nations Secretary-General
himself, have declared the present status-quo in Cyprus as unacceptable, a
view shared by the international community.
The time has come to make a further determined and sustained effort to solve
the Cyprus problem. To that end the Government of the Republic of Cyprus
will be working earnestly and with imagination with the United Nations
Special Representative and with all others supporting his efforts to prepare
the ground for negotiations on the main outstanding issues.
Any settlement of the Cyprus problem should be based on a State of Cyprus
with a single sovereignty, an international personality and a single
citizenship, with its independence and territorial integrity safeguarded and
comprising of two politically equal communities, as described in the
relevant Security Council resolutions, in a bicommunal and bizonal
federation, and that such settlement must exclude union in whole or in part
with any other country or any form of partition or secession.
The security of both communities is a crucial issue which would help the
finding of a solution and it will be necessary to devise effective
guarantees, demilitarisation and an international force to be stationed in
Cyprus. Demilitarisation represents an important contribution to this
settlement.
We are prepared to embark on face to face negotiations in 1997 once the
ground has been sufficiently prepared to ensure success. We are not,
however, willing, after 22 years of negotiations which have not yielded any
result on the main issues of the problem, to embark on another round of
fruitless talks, which on the one hand destroy the credibility of the
negotiating process, while on the other keep the attention of the
international community focused on the intercommunal constitutional aspect
of the problem, thus overshadowing the real issue which is the invasion and
continued occupation for 22 years of substantial territory of the Republic
of Cyprus by the Turkish forces.
We, on our part, will continue to do everything in our power to help the
Secretary-General of our organisation to succeed in his renewed efforts
through his newly appointed Special Representative in the search for a
lasting solution to the Cyprus problem.
At the same time the Government of the Republic of Cyprus will pursue its
application for membership in the European Union, because such membership
will have benefits for both communities. While we hope to keep accession
negotiations to the timetable already foreseen, we earnestly desire to reach
a solution of our problem before accession.
Mr. President,
At the beginning of my statement I spoke of the need to reform and
strengthen our Organisation. From this podium I have repeatedly underlined
the importance of honouring the commitments we enter into and of
implementing the decisions we take. I have stressed how essential it is to
uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter and to hold to full
account those who violate them.
The question of Cyprus, Mr. President, continues to be such a case of
accountability, due to the refusal of Turkey to implement solemn Security
Council and General Assembly resolutions, calling among other things for the
respect of the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and unity of
the Republic of Cyprus, for the withdrawal of all foreign troops, for the
return of the refugees to their homes and lands, for the respect of the
demographic composition of the Republic and the restoration of the basic
human rights and fundamental freedoms of the people of Cyprus.
As a matter of fact all these resolutions not only were not implemented by
Turkey, but also were violated by her.
Even the immense humanitarian problem of the missing persons remains
unresolved and the tragedy of their relatives is perpetuated.
All efforts should therefore be exerted by the Security Council and by all
those in a position to do so, to bring about a real change to Turkey's
attitude.
Mr. President,
The 50th Anniversary of the United Nations has highlighted the need for
maintaining and reinforcing our faith and that of future generations in our
Organisation. Implementation of United Nations decisions will go a long way
towards achieving this lofty goal.
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