UNGA General Debate 1999
Return to Acronym Insitute page on the UN First Committee
General Debate, 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, 20-25 September & 29 September-2 October 1999
Argentina (President Carlos Saul Menem): "Argentina was…taking steps in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, including joining in last year’s declaration at the MERCOSUR Summit of a zone of peace, free of weapons of mass destruction. A compromise had also been reached on declaring that zone free of antipersonnel landmines. All States must renounce nuclear weapons and give unequivocal guarantees that their nuclear capability and most advanced technologies would be used exclusively for peaceful purposes." (UN Press Release GA/9600, 21 September)
Bangladesh (Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina): "She had…visited India and Pakistan following the nuclear test in South Asia and urged ‘that we must all do our utmost to preserve peace in our region and to devote our limited resources for economic and social development’." (GA/9597, 20 September)
Belarus (Deputy Prime Minister Ural Latypov): "[Belarus] urged all countries who had not become parties to the [NPT and CTBT]…to join those who had made the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free world their utmost priority. ‘We believe that the international community would be making a right step if it were to establish a preventive mechanism to take timely and coordinated measures to control the development and production of new types of weapons of mass destruction’... Belarus would therefore initiate a draft resolution to that effect at the current Assembly session." (GA/9608, 25 September)
Bhutan (Foreign Minister Jigmi Y. Thinley): "The abundance of weapons of mass destruction, as well as conventional arms, had not diminished. Progress on nuclear disarmament could only advance if the legitimate security concerns of all countries were addressed and there was a firm commitment to the eventual elimination of such weapons." (GA/9615, 29 September)
Brazil (Foreign Minister Luiz Felipe Palmeira Lampreia): "Giving first priority to tackling the problem of small arms, Brazil had approved an Inter-American Convention on Transparency in Conventional Weapons Acquisitions. The Assembly at the present session should endorse the holding of an international conference on illicit arms trafficking in all its aspects. … [T]he continued existence of weapons of mass destruction remained a threat to the security and very survival of mankind. All actions contrary to the aims of the non-proliferation regime should be condemned by the international community. Brazil would co-sponsor a draft resolution on the ‘New Agenda for Nuclear Disarmament’ during the Assembly’s present session." (GA/9595, 20 September)
Canada (Foreign Minister Lloyd Axworthy): "The human dimension made it imperative that the Council adapt the blunt instrument of sanctions into a targeted tool, so they hurt where they were supposed to hurt… [S]trengthened standards and priorities were needed for the negotiation of the strongest possible optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict. Canada would also be seeking an additional protocol to the Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel. It would provide legal protection to all personnel working in situations of armed conflict, including a broader range of locally employed personnel and those of non-governmental organizations." (GA/9603, 23 September)
Costa Rica (President Miguel Angel Rodriguez): "Costa Rica had abolished its army 50 years ago and had consistently advocated disarmament... Eliminating its army had led to Costa Rican society becoming an example of dialogue, respect and peaceful coexistence. He proposed the creation of a fund for the demilitarization of Central America…" (GA/9602, 22 September)
Egypt (Foreign Minister Amre Moussa): "[T]he situation of Iraq raised numerous questions, which did not have a bearing on the Government alone, but rather on the plight of its people and the suffering of its children. An objective and positive review of the situation of that important brotherly country had become necessary. That review should proceed from the premise that there were no everlasting sanctions and that people had a right to move on from the mistakes of the past. Indeed, Iraq made a grave mistake when it invaded Kuwait. A mistake, however, could not be corrected by a policy that would lead to the collapse of an entire society. Thus, he was following closely the efforts aimed at the suspension of sanctions, which should be a first step towards the lifting of sanctions." (GA/9603, 23 September)
Gambia (President Yahya Jammeh): "[Gambia] expressed great concern over the recruitment of children as soldiers, which must be stopped, as it was a blatant violation of international law and all norms of civilized behaviour. It was the responsibility of the international community to combat a situation where the leaders of tomorrow were exposed to a life of violence, vengeance and hate, a situation which bred in their minds the dangerous notion that he who wielded the gun commanded and deserved respect." (GA/9607, 24 September)
Ghana (Foreign Minister James Victor Gbeho): "Ghana urged support for the implementation of the Moratorium on the Import, Export and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa which aimed at stemming the illicit trafficking of those weapons in the sub-region. Recognizing the related issue of the forced participation of children in armed conflicts, Ghana intended to host jointly with Canada a workshop aimed at building on the Mali Moratorium and establishing a framework for keeping children out of conflicts." (GA/9599, 21 September)
Hungary (Foreign Minister Janos Martonyi): "Sustained attention should also be paid to the question of the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. The Ottawa Convention on anti-personnel mines would contribute greatly to the humanitarian and special problems caused by the use of those devices. It was also important to accelerate negotiations for a verification protocol to accompany the Convention on biological weapons. Hungary would contribute to any political initiative that would help the implementation of such." (GA/9607, 24 September)
Iceland (Foreign Minister Halldor Asgrimsson): "[On] the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Foreign Ministers of the five Nordic countries supported the urgent finalization of an optional protocol to ensure that persons below the age of eighteen years were not recruited into armed forces or armed groups distinct from governmental forces. Having children take part in armed conflicts or otherwise putting them at risk of becoming victims of such hostilities was clearly against their best interests. Protecting today’s children was an important contribution towards peace." (GA/9607, 24 September)
India (Minister for External Affairs Jaswant Singh): "[E]arlier in the year, India had been subjected, yet again, to an act of premeditated aggression. The act of faith which had resulted in the signing of the Lahore Declaration between Pakistan and India had been betrayed. A premeditated aggression by regular forces had been committed against India. In self-defence, India had taken all necessary and appropriate steps to evict the aggressing forces from its territory. Most regrettably, that aggression had set back the Lahore peace process that had been initiated. Whereas aggression over territory could more easily be vacated…the territory of trust which had been transgressed was infinitely more difficult to restore. … [G]lobal nuclear disarmament was the objective set out by the 1946 General Assembly in the first resolution it had adopted. That objective still beckoned the international community. India had been obliged to acquire nuclear weapons because of the failure of the existing non-proliferation regime to address its primary security concerns. Yet, India’s commitment to global nuclear disarmament stood undiluted. India was the only nuclear-weapon State ready to negotiate a nuclear weapons convention that would prohibit forever the development, production, stockpiling, use and threat of use of nuclear weapons and provide for the elimination of all existing weapons under international verification." (GA/9602, 22 September)
Indonesia (Foreign Minister Ali Alatas): "Although the Council’s work focused on conflict situations that were mostly in the developing world, developing countries were woefully under-represented on the [Security] Council. For the same reason, nuclear disarmament had achieved no substantial progress in recent years. The nuclear arms race surged along as countries sought to join and enjoy the dubious privileges of being nuclear-weapon States. The world was thus still in danger of nuclear self-destruction." (GA/9605, 23 September)
Iran (Foreign Minister Kamal Kharrazi): "[F]ull participation of all states as well as of civil society organizations was necessary in the global decision-making process. One of the most horrifying manifestations of exclusion had been the global arms race. It marginalized ‘others’ through accumulation of conventional and mass destructive agents of death, formation of rival military blocks and a race to expand spheres of influence." (GA/9606 24 September)
Iraq (Foreign Minister Mohammed Said al-Sahaf): "[I]n 1998, the Security Council was discussing the arrangements to conduct a comprehensive review of the implementation by Iraq of its obligations under Council resolutions, with a view to consider the lifting of the sanctions imposed on Iraq in 1990... While the Council was convening to discuss the matter, the forces of the United States and the United Kingdom launched a large-scale military aggression against Iraq, using the lies and fabrications of Richard Butler as a pretext for their aggression. In spite of that flagrant violation of the Charter, the Council remained completely crippled without taking any immediate collective measure. While the Council’s resolutions had imposed obligations on Iraq, they had in return imposed a specific obligation on the Council - that the embargo was to be lifted once Iraq had fulfilled its obligations under the same resolutions... The Council had failed to lift the embargo on Iraq due to the hegemony of the United States on the Council, which had prevented the proper implementation of the Council’s resolutions. Iraq…demanded its clear and legitimate rights, namely the lifting of the sanctions, in accordance with Council resolutions. It had become clear for all, that the former special commission had been used by the United States and the United Kingdom to achieve their aggressive objectives against Iraq’s people, sovereignty and security. One of the basic pillars of the American-British hostile policy towards Iraq was the imposition of the two no-fly-zones on Iraq... That was a violation of the United Nations Charter and of international law. Proceeding from its legitimate right to self-defence guaranteed by all international covenants, Iraq would not hesitate to counter all the American and British aggressive acts aimed at violating the inviolability of its airspace and territory, and threatening its security and territorial integrity. The policy of the United States had also encouraged Turkey to carry out large-scale military operations inside Iraqi territory under the pretext of chasing the elements of the Workers’ Party of Kurdestan (PKK)." (GA/9606 24 September)
Ireland (Foreign Minister David Andrews): "Limited steps taken to date on elimination of nuclear arsenals did not amount to a determined process of elimination. Intent on securing a new consensus, Ireland had been among the countries which had launched an initiative ‘Towards a Nuclear-Free World: the Need for a New Agenda’. The approach of the 2000 Review Conference of the NPT underlined the imperative of a fundamental change in approach. New commitment on the part of nuclear-weapon States was needed." (GA/9609, 25 September)
Japan (Foreign Minister Masahiko Koumura): "[Japan] looked forward to working with other countries for the implementation of the recommendations of the Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. Japan would actively contribute to the convening of the ‘International Conference on the Issue of Small Arms’ to be held by the end of 2001. With the entry into force last March of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, it was now necessary to achieve a universal and effective ban on anti- personnel landmines and to clear the mine areas, while assisting mine victims, many of whom were children. On this question, Japan, having contributed more than $40 million to international organizations and non-governmental organizations, would strive for the goal of ‘zero victims’ at an early date. … Japan would make efforts for the early conclusion of negotiations on the Protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention. Japan appreciated and welcomed the important progress achieved in the recent talks between the United States and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea." (GA/9600, 21 September)
Kazakhstan (Deputy Prime Minister Assymzhomart K. Tokaev): "[I]nternational efforts to reinforce the non-proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction and fissile material remained at the centre of Kazakhstan’s policy. The renunciation of nuclear weapons and accession to the Treaty on the [NPT and CTBT] had become a natural choice for his country. Kazakhstan also supported the initiative to establish a nuclear weapons-free zone in Central Asia." (GA/9606 24 September)
North Korea (Foreign Minister Paek Nam Sun): "[North Korea] was being portrayed as a ‘dangerous area’ of nuclear proliferation and a source of ‘missile threats’. Those allegations were being used as pretexts for reviving a ‘Star Wars’ plan. Large-scale striking forces were surreptitiously amassed in and around South Korea. It was becoming almost a reality - not simply an assumption - that the Korean peninsula would be the second Balkan region, where the ‘humanitarian crisis’ had served as a pretext for war. In the Korean peninsula, the so-called ‘missile issue’ was likely to be used as a pretext. His country’s satellite launch was an exercise of equal rights for the use of outer space, and the strengthening of its national defence capabilities was an exercise of the sovereign right for legitimate defence. … [North Korea] had demonstrated its good faith towards the United States through sincere implementation of the Agreed Framework between the two countries during the last five years. Now it was the United States’ turn to show its goodwill. He welcomed recent partial lifting of economic sanctions against his country by the United States and said that his country looked forward to a comprehensive lifting of all sanctions. His country would participate in high-level talks between the two countries in response to the United States’ request and would suspend missile launches while the talks were underway." (GA/9608, 25 September)
Kuwait (Foreign Minister Suleiman Majed al Shaheen): "[A]lthough there had been three panels established by the Council last January to explore the possibility of mitigating the impact of sanctions and improving the humanitarian situation in Iraq, Iraq had regrettably declined to participate in their work. An intensive effort was currently under way in the Security Council to pass a new resolution in relation to Iraq’s remaining obligations, taking into consideration the recommendations of the panels. While concurring with the good intentions underlying those efforts, Kuwait reaffirmed the need for Council unity in dealing with that issue and demanded assurances that Iraq would remain committed to all the requirements of Council resolution 687, which should be treated as an indivisible political and legal unit." (GA/9605, 23 September)
Lesotho (Prime Minister Pakalitha Bethuel Mosisili): "The United Nations of the twenty-first century should give humankind hope for a world of diminished poverty with no threat of nuclear war. … Unfortunately, the threat from weapons of mass destruction continued, and there appeared to be no global determination to eliminate them. Unless the United Nations of the future was able to make significant progress in nuclear disarmament, it ran the risk of losing credibility as an institution dedicated to the pursuit of peace." (GA/9605, 23 September)
Lithuania (Foreign Minister Algidras Saudargas): "Although there was a consensus that weapons of mass destruction must be eliminated, nuclear disarmament was unacceptably unstable." (GA/9616, 29 September)
Mali (Foreign Minister Modibo Sidibe): "[T]he United Nations still had much to do in the area of disarmament and maintenance of international peace and security. The establishment of nuclear-free zones would make a significant contribution in that regard. Anti-personnel mines still presented a significant threat on the African continent. The convention on the banning of such mines needed to be universally signed and ratified. He saluted the historic decision of the Economic Community of West African States to declare a moratorium on the production, import and sale of small arms. Those efforts deserved the support of the international community. The moratorium needed to be supported and extended." (GA/9600, 21 September)
Marshall Islands (Internal Affairs Minister Hiroshi Yamamura): "He reiterated his country’s call, which had first been made at the 1995 [NPT] Conference, that such expertise for remedial measures [to deal with the aftermath of nuclear testing], as well as scientific and technical assistance, must be made available. The Marshall Islands sought to have the 2000 NPT Conference fully address that concern." (GA/9620, 1 October)
Mongolia (Prime Minister Rinchinnyamyn Amarjargal): "Since peace and stability were essential prerequisites for economic development and social progress, arms control and disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, should remain at the top of the world agenda. Mongolia welcomed the outcome of the 1999 sessions of the Disarmament Commission and of the Preparatory Committee for the Treaty Review Conference of the [NPT]… Last year…the General Assembly adopted by consensus the resolution on Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status. That was encouraging and testified to broad international support for its objectives and efforts. … Since only comprehensive arms control and disarmament measures would be effective in ensuring international security, he believed that prompt agreement on a new, comprehensive and non-selective agenda for disarmament would address relevant issues in a balanced manner. Such an agenda should prevent the development and use of new weapons, reducing military budgets and shifting resources towards human security programmes." (GA/9609, 25 September)
Nepal (Prime Minister Krishna Prasad Bhattarai): "It was…disappointing that, for three years in a row, the Conference on Disarmament had not been able to agree on an agenda of work. Some important arms control and disarmament measures had been taken without reference to the Conference on Disarmament. … Last summer’s flare-up of hostilities between two of Nepal’s close friends had exposed the myth that countries possessing nuclear weapons would not engage in conventional war against each other... The risk of an accidental nuclear war was magnified by the close proximity of the two countries." (GA/9618, 30 September)
New Zealand (Foreign Minister Donald McKinnon): "For much of the past year, the Council had been virtually paralyzed on the important question of the disarmament of Iraq of its weapons of mass destruction. The reason again has been the divisions among the permanent members who could block any action by veto. That was unacceptable." (GA/9616, 29 September)
Niger (Prime Minister Ibrahim Assane Mayaki): "Niger supported programmes for collecting and destroying small arms and light weapons. To this end, Niger had submitted to the Secretary-General a plan to stop the illegal circulation of small arms. He welcomed the international conference on small arms scheduled for the year 2001." (GA/9618, 30 September)
Oman (Foreign Minister Yousef bin Alawi bin Abdullah): "[Oman] reiterated the Arab League’s call for the lifting of economic sanctions against Iraq. Oman called on the Security Council to adopt positive and unified policies towards Iraq. He also called on Iraq to cooperate fully with the United Nations. … Nuclear States, especially the permanent members of the Security Council, should give security guarantees to non-nuclear States and deter the use of the threat to use nuclear weapons. The Conference on Disarmament, which was still debating technical issues, must seek to reach positive conclusions as soon as possible." (GA/9607, 24 September)
Pakistan (Foreign Minister Sartaj Aziz): "To provide political momentum to the bilateral dialogue on Jammu and Kashmir, at the Lahore Summit, Pakistan and India had committed themselves to intensifying their efforts to resolve that issue, he continued. However, India displayed no desire to genuinely address the dispute. The Kargil crisis was a manifestation of the deeper malaise spawned by the unresolved Kashmir problem and India’s escalating repression of the Kashmiri people. While Pakistan was ready for the resumption of the Lahore process with India, India had posed preconditions for resuming the talks. … The risk of a wider conflict in a nuclear environment presented serious dangers for peace and security in South Asia and the entire world. Hoping to resume bilateral talks with India, Pakistan would welcome the association of the true representatives of the Kashmiri people in promoting a solution consistent with relevant Security Council resolutions. Last May, India had put the final nail in the coffin of South Asian non-proliferation when it conducted five nuclear tests and declared itself a nuclear-weapon State. Confronted by an aggressive nuclear India, Pakistan was obliged to demonstrate its nuclear capability and thus restore nuclear deterrence and strategic balance. The response of the major Powers to penalize not only the offender, but also the victim, was patently unfair. Pakistan’s hopes for restraint had been shattered by the announcement of India’s ‘nuclear doctrine’. Even the Indian ‘offer’ of non-first use of nuclear weapons was designed to gain acceptance of India as a nuclear-weapon State. To preserve deterrence, Pakistan would be compelled to enhance its nuclear and missile capabilities. The international community must act immediately to avoid a hair-trigger security environment in South Asia... The Assembly should endorse the concept of strategic restraint in South Asia and urge India to disavow the proposed nuclear doctrine and refrain from further nuclear tests and adhere to the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty... For its part, Pakistan remained committed to the CTBT in an atmosphere free of coercion. It was now essential to convene a conference, with the participation of all the permanent members of the Security Council and other interested Powers, as well as Pakistan and India, to promote the goals of strategic restraint and stability in South Asia. Pakistan supported the call for preserving the [ABM] Treaty…and avoiding the development and deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems." (GA/9602, 22 September 1999)
Russia (Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov): "Russia consistently advocated reduction of nuclear arsenals and strict compliance with the non-proliferation regime. It realized the importance of the early ratification of the START II Treaty and initiation of the START III negotiations, under which Russia would be prepared, on a reciprocal basis, to agree to further considerable reduction of strategic offensive armaments. Naturally, that process would only be feasible if the existing agreements in that field, and first of all the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM), were strictly observed. The General Assembly should clearly support the preservation and observance of the ABM Treaty, which was a cornerstone of strategic stability." (GA/9599, 21 September)
Saudi Arabia (Foreign Minister Nizar Obaid Madani): "In spite of all Arab and international initiatives and proposals aimed at lifting economic sanctions against Iraq, the Government of that country had not responded in a manner that would help to move matters in the right direction. The Iraqi Government was encouraged by the fact that the Security Council itself was unable to take actions due to the inability of the permanent members to agree on a common vision. Iraq should be required to fully implement all international resolutions and to cooperate seriously with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) for the release of all prisoners and detainees and restoration of Kuwaiti properties. It should also refrain from all provocative and aggressive acts against Kuwait and other neighbouring countries. … [Saudi Arabia] supported the initiative aimed at turning the Arabian Gulf region into a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, whether nuclear, chemical or biological. Israel’s continued refusal to join the [NPT]…was a source of concern." (GA/9618, 30 September)
Sierra Leone (Foreign Minister Sama S. Banya): "[T]he proliferation of trade in light weapons, financed by cash from the sale of precious minerals like diamonds and gold, was at the core of Africa’s conflicts and their prolongation. … [T]he international community [should] support the recent Security Council decision so as to effectively prevent the availability and flow of arms to conflict areas. The decision should not be left to the merchants of death whose only interest was money." (GA/9618, 30 September)
Slovenia (Prime Minister Janez Drnovsek): "United Nations Member States and the international community as a whole must continue to promote efforts to strengthen the prohibition of landmines. Last year, Slovenia had established an International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Its aim had been to assist that region in getting rid of hidden landmines and to help those that had been wounded by them. The International Trust Fund had achieved many positive results in it first year and was now extending its activities to Kosovo." (GA/9607, 24 September)
Sudan (Foreign Minister Mustafa Osman Ismail): "[Sudan insisted that] the United States bombing of Al-shifa Pharmaceutical Factory in Khartoum last year unjustified... [T]he United States had made baseless accusations against the Sudan of involvement in international terrorism. Furthermore, the American Administration had imposed unilateral economic sanctions on the Sudan despite the international community’s clear and declared position on such economic coercive measures. He expressed his concern about the inability of the Security Council to take a decision on the Sudan’s request to send a mission to investigate the American allegations concerning the factory. Therefore, he called upon the United Nations to ask the United States not to object to the sending of such mission, since it was confident of the information and the causes that led it to bomb the factory." (GA/9618, 30 September)
Suriname (President Jules Albert Wijdenbosch): "The elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, remained the highest priority for all peace-loving nations… [Suriname] deplored the fact that the Conference on Disarmament, for the third year in a row, had not been able to reach a consensus on holding a special Assembly session on disarmament." (GA/9602, 22 September)
Sweden (Foreign Minister Anna Lindh): "[Lindh] reiterated her country’s call for a new agenda for complete nuclear disarmament. She called on India and Pakistan, as well as on all other States, to give up their nuclear ambitions. All countries should become parties to the [CTBT and NPT]… The five nuclear-weapon States also had the responsibility to complete nuclear disarmament. She encouraged the United States and Russia to re-establish the stalled START negotiations." (GA/9600, 21 September)
Tanzania (President Benjamin William Mkapa): "Arms dealers should stop supplying weapons to conflict areas and countries should adhere to the international conventions prohibiting the arms trade, especially between non-State entities. It was immoral and unacceptable…that natural resources which should be exploited to build a better future for African children were being used to buy weapons from rich countries that maimed and killed those very children and their parents." (GA/9597, 20 September)
United Arab Emirates (Foreign Minister Rashid Abdullah al-Noaimi): "[The UAE] called upon the Iraqi Government to complete its implementation of the relevant Council resolutions, in particular those relating to revealing the whereabouts and the release of Kuwaitis and other nationals who were being detained or held as prisoners of war. He also called on Iraq for the restitution of Kuwaiti cultural property. Compliance would contribute to the restoration of Iraq’s normal role at the regional and international levels. Nevertheless, the inhuman conditions visited upon the Iraqi people made it incumbent on all to seek an early end to their suffering. He called upon the Council to reach consensus on the drafts before it. That would lead to the implementation of resolutions in full in order to lift the international economic embargo imposed on Iraq. … [The UAE] renewed its call on the international community to exert more efforts demanding that Israel accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and subject all its nuclear facilities to the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The continuing state of conflict and military tensions between Indian and Pakistan over the question of Kashmir was a direct threat to regional and global security and stability. The United Arab Emirates invited both governments to exercise a policy of self-restraint and to resort to dialogue and peaceful negotiation in settling their differences." (GA/9600, 21 September)
United States (President Bill Clinton): "In the new century, how will patriotism be defined - as faith in a dream worth living, or fear and loathing of other people’s dreams? Will we be free of the fear of weapons of mass destruction, or forced to teach our grandchildren how to survive a nuclear, chemical, or biological attack? … I offer three resolutions for the new millennium. First, let us resolve to wage an unrelenting battle against poverty and for shared prosperity so that no part of humanity is left behind in the global economy. … The second resolution I hope we will make today is to strengthen the capacity of the international community to prevent and, whenever possible, to stop outbreaks of mass killing and displacement. … Finally, as we enter this new era, let our third resolution be to protect our children against the possibility that nuclear, chemical and biological weapons will ever be used again.
The last millennium has seen constant advances in the destructive power of weaponry. In the coming millennium, this trend can continue, or if we choose, we can reverse it - with global standards universally respected. We’ve made more progress than many realize. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine courageously chose to give up their nuclear weapons. America and Russia have moved forward with substantial arms reduction. President Yeltsin and I agreed in June, even as we await Russian ratification of START II, to begin talks on a START III treaty that will cut our Cold War arsenals by 80 percent from their height. Brazil has joined the Non-Proliferation Treaty, capping a process that has almost totally eliminated the threat of nuclear proliferation in Latin America. We banned chemical weapons from the Earth, though we must implement the commitment fully and gain universal coverage. One hundred and fifty-two nations have signed the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and while India and Pakistan did test nuclear weapons last year, the international reaction proved that the global consensus against proliferation is very strong. We need to bolster the standards to reinforce that consensus. We must reaffirm our commitment to the NPT, strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, make fast progress on a treaty to ban production of fissile materials. To keep existing stocks from the wrong hands, we should strengthen the convention on physical protection of nuclear materials. And today again, I ask our Congress to approve the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty.
We must stop the spread of nuclear weapons materials and expertise at the source. Since 1992, we have worked with Russia and the other nations of the former Soviet Union to do that. We are expanding that effort because challenges remain. But thus far, we can say that the nightmare scenario of deadly weapons flowing unchecked across borders, of scientists selling their services en masse to the highest bidder has been avoided. Now we must work to deny weapons of mass destruction to those who would use them.
For almost a decade nations have stood together to keep the Iraqi regime from threatening its people and the world with such weapons. Despite all the obstacles Saddam Hussein has placed in our path, we must continue to ease the suffering of the people of Iraq. At the same time, we cannot allow the government of Iraq to flout 40 - and I say 40 - successive U.N. Security Council resolutions, and to rebuild his arsenal.
Just as important is the challenge of keeping deadly weapons away from terrorist groups. They may have weaker capabilities than states, but they have fewer compunctions about using such weapons. The possibility that terrorists will threaten us with weapons of mass destruction can be met with neither panic, nor complacency. It requires serious, deliberate, disciplined concern and effective cooperation from all of us." (‘Remarks by the President to the 54th Session of the United Nations General Assembly,’ The White House, Office of the Press Secretary, 21 September)
Uruguay (Foreign Minister Didier Opertti): "[Uruguay] called on the United Nations to address the abusive use of light or small weapons, whose uncontrolled proliferation was reaching inadmissible levels with devastating effects. Uruguay strongly supported the convening of an international conference to deal with the illicit trade in such weapons. The culture of conflict must be replaced by a culture for peace. The entry into force of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Landmines in March had been an optimistic sign in that direction." (GA/9605, 23 September)
Uzbekistan (Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov): "Uzbekistan strongly supported the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons. Establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones had acquired a special importance in light of nuclear tests in South Asia... Central Asian countries, with the support of the United Nations, had come close to concluding a treaty on establishment of the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone." (GA/9600, 21 September)
Viet Nam (Deputy Prime Minister Nguyen Mahn Cam): "He hoped that countries outside the [southeast Asian] region would cooperate in implementing the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon Free Zone Treaty. The supportive attitude by China and Russia towards the Treaty was highly appreciated." (GA/9609, 25 September)