Excerpt [Press Release GA/ 10065]
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 20/ 09/ 2002
Fifty-seventh General Assembly Plenary
19th Meeting (PM)

General Assembly concludes general debate dominated 

by Terrorism, Iraq issue, Middle East, Africa
 

188 Speakers Took Part in Debate, Including 33 Heads of State, 14 Heads of Government

 

(...) The debate also had a major impact on the state of international affairs, he [Jan Kavan, Czech Republic, President of the General Assembly] noted, as clearly demonstrated by the development of the situation in Iraq. Time and concrete actions would show if the Iraqi offer was credible. He hoped, however, that the call for both multilateralism and compliance with United Nations resolutions would shape future policies towards Iraq. (...)

Louis Straker, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Commerce and Trade of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, said that the “world needed the United Nations more today than ever before” and added that in general he supported the collective judgement of the United Nations as opposed to rash unilateral actions. He expressed satisfaction at States uniting to fight terrorism, Iraq’s decision to readmit weapons inspectors, independence in East Timor and the support given to Afghanistan. Recognizing the links between terrorism and international criminal activities, such as drug trafficking, money laundering and organized crime, he pledged his country’s support in combating those threats. (...)

The instrument best designed to bring about peace was dialogue, she [Filomena Mascarenhas Tipote, Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guinea-Bissau] said. For that reason Guinea-Bissau encouraged the actors in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict to find global solutions for security and prosperity for both peoples. She also urged the leaders of Iraq to abide by Security Council resolutions in order to avoid an eventual action under Chapter VII of the Charter. (...)

Jan Kohout, Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Czech Republic, said that the international community needed to move from a policy of containment to one of active struggle against international terrorism. Participating in the fight against terror and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was one of its top priorities. In that context, all the Security Council resolutions on Iraq should be unconditionally implemented. Iraq’s failure to comply with the will of the international community and its efforts to produce weapons of mass destruction showed that the Iraqi regime represented an enormous risk to the security and stability of the whole world. Although it advocated the pacific resolution of international disputes, its own history reminded the Czech Republic that peace must sometimes be defended by force. (...)

Suriname also welcomed Iraq’s decision to allow inspectors to return to the country, and applauded the plan to achieve peace in the Middle East by 2005. (...)

This year’s debate, he [Jan Kavan, Czech Republic, President of the General Assembly] said, had had a major impact on the state of international affairs, as clearly demonstrated by the development of the situation in Iraq. Time and concrete actions would show if the Iraqi offer was credible. He hoped, however, that the call for both multilateralism and compliance with United Nations resolutions would shape future policies towards Iraq. (...)