Norwegian Peace Initiative
At the United Nations General Assembly:
President Chandrika Kumaratunga
15 September 2005
 Mr.
President,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates
Ladies and gentlemen
May I at the outset extend our sympathy and solidarity to the people and the
Government of the United States of America as they begin reconstruction and
rehabilitation, following the recent Hurricane disaster on the Gulf Coast .
We do so while recalling the generous and spontaneous response of the
people, Governments of other nations and the Government of the United
States, and so many member States of the United Nations, the UN and other
international agencies when the Tsunami waves hit Sri Lanka last December.
Mr. President, I had the honour to deliver my first address to this
august Assembly in my capacity as the President of Sri Lanka at the historic
Session in 1995 when the United Nations celebrated its 50th Anniversary. It
is a distinct pleasure therefore, to revisit this forum ten years later.
More so because we commemorate this year, both the 50th Anniversary of Sri
Lanka's UN Membership, and the 60th Anniversary of the United Nations. It is
time to take stock, and remain focussed with a view to moving forward. We
have a substantial unfinished agenda and new challenges to deal with.
Mr. President
The United Nations is the most representative universal body, that can
legitimately seek common solutions to common problems, that are acceptable
to our diverse membership. As recognized by the High Level Panel and the
Secretary-General in his report "In larger freedom: towards development,
security and human rights for all", the United Nations, despite its many
achievements, and because of its great potential, has to do more to keep
pace with the changes that have occurred in the world since its inception
sixty years ago. Reform of the UN must be in the multilateral interest and
embrace all facets of the UN's activities.
The vision that we will adopt at this summit should indeed be decisive. It
should serve as a roadmap which would catalyse further change and reform.
Reform must affect our entire agenda, the mechanisms we adopt to implement
it and the resources we make available. It cannot be piecemeal and must
benefit all member States equitably. The integrated approach to security,
development and human rights is the key to this.
Mr. President,
Allow me to re-visit an issue of current significance - global terrorism -
taken up both in 1995 and in the year 2000, where action remains pending
internationally, even as we in Sri Lanka are trying out an integrated
approach to resolve our problem in the midst of great challenge.
More than 10 years ago, my Government launched a bold policy of a negotiated
settlement in place of conflict, and a federal solution as against a
separate State. With the support of a broad multi-ethnic coalition of
parties I proceeded to talk with the rebel armed group the Liberation Tigers
of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) about ending the conflict, and discuss with all the
parties in parliament about a new more inclusive, political Constitution
that would share power with all communities. This policy shift laid the
ground work for a new approach to fighting terrorism and the peace process
in my country, that simultaneously addressed Security, Development and Human
Rights.
We engaged the rebels in a ceasefire that we hoped would save lives and
allow people, particularly those living in the conflict-affected areas to
live and work more closely and freely. This we believed would have a
positive influence on the overall climate for peace, thus improving
security. We increased development work in conflict-affected areas because
we believed that all of our citizens, irrespective of where they live, what
ethnicity they belong to, or even who they are forced to live under, must
have access to health, education and jobs. And we believed this would give
the rebel group, the LTTE an opportunity to engage in useful and
constructive work that may benefit the people directly, rather than
preparing for conflict.
And we took a number of steps to improve the human rights of all the people
of the country, with a special focus on the concerns of ethnic communities
who have not been fully included in the past.
As part of the peace process, successive Governments have given the LTTE all
facilities as a party to negotiations, including access to foreign entities
and Governments, at times using the good offices of the facilitators - the
Norwegian Government, who have made considerable efforts to move the process
forward under difficult circumstances. However, this process of engagement
and accommodation does not seem to have persuaded this Group to move away
from terrorism, as is evidenced by their recent killing of my Foreign
Minister, their continued recruitment of child soldiers and their killings
of political rivals.
Such actions of an armed group engaged in a peace process tests the
commitment of a vast majority of the people of the country, to pursuing a
negotiated settlement. Although we had the option of a military response, we
have rejected it. And instead are choosing a different approach - to
reiterate our commitment to a ceasefire and to a political solution, whilst
reviewing the previous approach towards negotiating with this Group. This
review has begun with a call to the international community to help exert
real pressure on the LTTE, in order that we can engage them in a process
that will lead to a lasting peace, bringing about democracy and human
rights.
Mr. President,
The challenge we face in Sri Lanka is not unique. Vulnerable democracies
which have undertaken bold, political initiative to address the root causes
of terrorism and seek political solutions by engaging ruthless armed groups
find themselves in a genuine dilemma as to how to develop a credible and
acceptable approach to such negotiations.
If a democratic State, which consistently conforms to international norms
and laws and uses non-military means to address the problem of terrorism,
weakens as a result of the activities of terrorists, chaos, and lawlessness
will follow. Extremism, fundamentalism and tribalism will reign supreme. As
a result, peace and security, within and among States, as well as
universally accepted human rights norms and fundamental freedoms will
suffer. It will also lead to weakening of the 'inter-Governmental system',
which is the bedrock of this Organization. This 'inter-Governmental system'
chain can only be as strong as its weakest link. It is therefore essential
to strengthen collective ability of the system to combat and address
terrorism.
In this regard, we must be absolutely clear that the engagement of armed
non-state actors for peace making should not be done at the expense of the
capability for democratic governance of a sovereign State that is conducting
itself according to internationally accepted laws and norms. The UN and the
international community can help in developing mechanisms that support
States engaging in such peace process and sanction terrorist groups that
undermine them.
Mr. President,
It is, therefore, timely for this Assembly to address the question of
practical means to deny external access and support to such entities to
sustain their military and fund raising activities that are detrimental to
the ongoing peace processes. We hope that the mechanisms already put in
place by the Security Council against such offending non-state actors will
eventually represent an effective deterrent against such activities. In the
absence of such measures, those groups may continue to engage in illicit
financing and arms procurement whilst enjoying the political privileges
gained through engagement in peace processes. This in turn will erode the
credibility of all our peacemaking efforts including those of the United
Nations, and years of work in codifying international legal and other
measures against terrorism.
Even with rebel groups engaged in peace processes we must adopt procedures
that reward genuine peace making on one hand, and impose sanctions on acts
of terrorism on the other. Without this, vulnerable democracies will find it
extremely difficult to launch and sustain effective negotiations with armed
groups.
The Secretary General in his report to the current Summit has correctly
observed that a small network of non-state actors and terrorists, have
brought about new challenges before the international community. The forces
of globalisation have aggravated this situation. Trans-national networks of
terrorist groups have acquired global reach and made common cause in posing
threats to democracy, peace and security within and amongst states.
Mr. President,
If we are to fight global terrorism, poverty and disease, we must take an
integrated approach to security, human rights and development, both
nationally and internationally. We must act together as a UN system to
support and strengthen States that are addressing these challenges
comprehensively. This would form an essential part of the mission of the UN
for the next decade.
Thank you |
