Mr. President,

It gives me great pleasure to extend to you my congratulations and those of the Indonesian Delegation on your election to the Presidency of the 53rd Session of the General Assembly. I should like to assure you of our full cooperation in the discharge of your duties.

To your distinguished predecessor, H.E. Mr. Hennaidy Udovenko, I wish to convey our felicitations for so ably guiding the 52nd General Assembly to a successful conclusion.

Let me also take this opportunity to pay tribute to our esteemed Secretary-General, H. E. Mr. Kofi Annan, for his dedication to the reform and restructuring of the Organization as well as for his determined efforts to seek a peaceful solution to conflict situations in various parts of the world.

Mr. President,

One of the great ironies of our time is that at the end of a century in which the amazing advances of science and technology could have been harnessed to effectively address the problem of poverty, scores of millions more people have slipped below the poverty line. At the same time, there has been a massive application of science and technology to increase humankind's capacity to dealing out death and destruction. Even in the best of times, humankind's use of economic resources has not been marked by any deep sense of responsibility but rather by mindless consumption that has often led to the degradation of our environment. Unfortunately, squandering resources is an old habit of the human race.

Today I fear that the awesome force of globalization, itself propelled by science and technology, is also being squandered: instead of serving to unify humankind in a decisive assault against the persistent, systemic problems of our time, it is being used to press the advantage of the strong over the weak, thereby widening the gap between the developed and developing world.

Herein lies the tragedy of the human race: that our vast capacity to alter the planet in which we live has been matched to a parochial vision. Large and complex actions are motivated by narrow self-interest. And in the narrowness of our perspective, we inflict great harm on one another. That is why the imbalances and inequities in international relations persist: we can never get rid of them until we attain that essential balance within ourselves, between the scope of our actions and that of our intentions.

Yet I do not despair. Against the backdrop of a century of conflict, one human achievement shines: the founding of the United Nations. It is admittedly a flawed achievement, for after five decades it has not yet brought us the global peace that we envisaged to be its greatest promise. But it has spared us from the horrors of another world war and possibly from a nuclear holocaust. That this flawed jewel of human reason should remain to serve us in a more effective way in the next century is an imperative. Through its instrumentality, it is still possible for us to tame the dogs of war and to exorcise the spectre of poverty. Through its processes of consultation and debate, we can still attain a broadness of mind that matches the global sweep of our actions. Through the habits of cooperation and trust that it engenders among its members and the countless individuals and institutions that participate in its dialogues, we might yet realize our shared vision of a global civil society. But first, it must be reformed, further democratized and fully empowered.

The United Nations as the central mechanism and catalyst for multilateral cooperation must be enabled to play its mandated role in the achievement and maintenance of peace, security and development. It is therefore of the greatest importance that it be provided with the resources with which to carry on its work instead of being strapped for funds as it is now. The legal obligation of every Member State in that regard must therefore be strictly met.

It is also essential that the ongoing process of reform of the United Nations must be intensified, particularly with regard to the Security Council, taking into account the desire of all states from all regions to participate in its work as well as present political, economic and demographic realities. For, indeed, developing countries are grossly under-represented on the Council especially at a time when its work is focused on conflict situations in the developing world. This anomaly has to be redressed by an increase in the representation of the developing world in the permanent as well as in the non-permanent membership of the Council. The legitimacy, credibility and effectiveness of its work depend on its representative character. Indonesia views the task of Security Council reform as a matter of urgency, but we must not be rushed into any hasty or ill- advised decisions that would be detrimental to the long-term interests of the Member States. In this context, there is a need to continue and accelerate the work of the Open-Ended Working Group on the reform and expansion of the Council.

Mr. President,

If the cause of disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament, has not made substantive progress in recent years, it is largely because there are states that believe they have much to gain by their exclusive possession of nuclear arms. The unjustifiable privileges conferred on the nuclear weapon states have given rise to a regime of discrimination and hypocrisy as well as a situation where non-nuclear countries, wishing to enjoy the same privileges, seek to become nuclear states themselves. Thus, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) has not fully met its objectives and the imbalances and discrimination inherent to it have persisted. Regrettably, too, the Second Preparatory Committee for the Year 2000 Review Conference failed to agree on substantive issues. Still, we must persevere and prepare ourselves for the next NPT Review Conference and focus on the inequities and imbalances inherent in the Treaty. At the same time, we urge the nuclear weapon states to implement faithfully both the letter and spirit of agreements relating to non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. We call on all states to refrain from developing these weapons so that we may the sooner attain our ultimate objective of their total elimination.

The slow pace of progress towards non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament compels us to work even harder to achieve global disarmament objectives. The convening of the Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament is essential for providing new political momentum that would enable and encourage the governments and peoples of the world to move towards disarmament, including the elimination of nuclear weapons. It is therefore imperative that we take further concrete steps leading to the convening of the Fourth Special Session.

Mr. President,

While disarmament marks time, discord is rampant in the form of armed conflicts, disputes and tensions between and within states in many parts of the globe. The situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina remains a source of continuing concern for Indonesia. Hence, we reaffirm our steadfast support for the full, impartial, and effective implementation of the Dayton Peace Agreements. In Afghanistan, we call on the warring factions to cease hostilities and to start constructive dialogue. The protracted civil strife in that country also threatens to spill over beyond its borders. We urge the parties concerned to cooperate with the United Nations in its concerted endeavours to restore peace and stability in the region. The dire situation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo calls for continued and concerted efforts in restoring peace and tranquillity. Indonesia is appalled by the terrorist bomb attacks on the American Embassies in the capitals of Kenya and Tanzania that caused the death of nearly 200 people and the wounding of thousands. We reiterate our condemnation of all acts and forms of terrorism wherever they may occur and whoever perpetrates them. At the same time, we stress that we will never condone the resort to unilateral acts of aggression and violation of the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states as means to combat terrorism. We therefore urge all states to enhance international cooperation in the fight against terrorism while strictly observing and implementing the relevant international instruments.

My delegation welcomes the recent positive developments concerning the Lockerbie incident that culminated in the adoption of Security Council resolution 1192 (1998). It is our hope that discussions can take place between the U.K, the US and the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya with the objective of implementing that Security Council Resolution, including on the appropriate trial arrangements. This will hopefully lead to a definitive settlement of this issue and the lifting of sanctions imposed on Libya.

In the Middle East, the situation in the occupied territories keeps deteriorating as the peace process remains in the grip of a stalemate. Israeli policies and practices of oppression and provocation have continued unabated. In a blatant attempt to change the demography of the occupied territories, Israel keeps building new settlements and expanding existing ones. More ominously, it has arbitrarily extended the administrative powers of the occupying authorities in Jerusalem beyond the city's borders in a bid to consolidate Israel's hold on East Jerusalem and the West Bank and thereby entrench Jerusalem as its capital. This would pre-empt negotiations on the status of the Holy City and threaten to unravel the peace process with grave repercussions not only for the Middle East but also beyond.

Peace and stability will continue to elude the region until Israel complies with its treaty obligations and unconditionally withdraws from all occupied Arab territories in accordance with all relevant UN resolutions, in particular, 242 (1967), 338 (1973) and 425 (1978). The peace process must be resumed and agreements reached must be implemented in their entirety, and not selectively or conditionally.

In Southeast Asia, the elections held recently in Cambodia, deemed to have been generally free and fair by international observers, should now lead to the restoration of normalcy in the country. It is time that all the parties in Cambodia resolve their differences in the spirit of national reconciliation and unity in the larger interest of their country and to work together toward the formation of a new government and thereby contribute to peace and stability in Southeast Asia.

Mr. President,

The world economy is teetering on the brink of recession, if not already experiencing one. Economic output has slowed for the developed and developing countries alike and growth in world trade has also decelerated. In addition, while official forecasts indicate a slow-down in the growth of world output to 2 1/2 percent, any such forecasts may still be too optimistic. Only a little more than a year ago, the world economy was on a significant growth path and the outlook was generally bright. In Asia, robust growth for decades had transformed much of the region into an economic powerhouse. Today, many of those same dynamic economies are crippled. One third of the world is grappling with serious economic slow-down and the frightening possibility of a depression.

In the affected countries, including Indonesia, economic turmoil has reached a devastating level, pushing their economies into recession and their people to the very edge of their endurance. Unemployment has soared, an unacceptable number of people have slipped under the poverty line, education has been severely affected, and food is in shortage. The experience of Southeast Asian countries in this financial turmoil has shown that even the most dynamic economies are vulnerable. In spite of the judicious macro-economic policies that they adopted and the often painful structural adjustments that they carried out, the development gains they earned over the decades crumbled in the span of a few weeks. The lesson of this debacle is that the market is driven by sentiments as much as fundamentals, by perception rather than facts alone.

These adverse aspects of globalization have furthermore greatly eroded multilateral cooperation for development. The concept of development, as a special part of a multilateral support system, has been largely replaced by the laissez-faire approach to the globalized economy. This has inter alia resulted in sharply contracted financial resources for development for the majority of the developing countries, particularly the LDCs. External indebtedness has escalated and protectionism in international trade has risen significantly as more and more countries have become inward-looking in this era of globalization. This dire situation will certainly impact on the implementation of the commitments agreed upon at the recent major global conferences including in the fields of environment and development, social development, population and development, women and development, habitat and food. It is therefore a matter of great concern to all of us that the achievement of sustainable human development will be further removed from reality.

I believe that our troubles are less the result of the vagaries of globalization than the consequence of an economic doctrine that has dominated international economic relations for many years now. This doctrine presents unbridled liberalization as a panacea for all economies, developed and developing. In their desire to integrate themselves with the global economy, many developing countries have audaciously opened up their economies--only to realize that the social and political costs of doing so often outstrip the benefits. Moreover, the inordinate emphasis on unfettered markets has led to the neglect of such development issues as international cooperation for development, the need for non-commercial financial flows and the necessity of differential treatment for developing countries. Thus, the international agenda has been governed by the interests of the developed countries in opening up opportunities for foreign investments, private capital flowsthat often turn out to be merely speculative--and the export of their manufactures.

In the face of such stark global realities, we must intensify international solidarity and cooperation. The international community should strengthen its management role in the world economy, in particular in the monetary and financial fields, including the establishment of surveillance and regulatory frameworks on short-term capital flows and trade in currencies, without constraining the liberalization of economies. This strengthened international management role is essential if we seek to avert future crises, alleviate the adverse impact of globalization and maximize its benefits. We should therefore seriously consider various initiatives for enhancing global financial and monetary cooperation. The proposed United Nations conference on financing for development would provide an opportunity to explore various options toward financial stability and development. It is also encouraging that the two-day High-level Dialogue of the General Assembly last week contributed to increased awareness and understanding of the economic and social impact of globalization and the need for international cooperation in addressing them. Another important proposal is the one made by the NAM for an international conference on money and finance for development in order to pursue the comprehensive reform of the existing international monetary and financial system.

Because we want the North-South dialogue to proceed in earnest, we should broaden and intensify South-South cooperation. Decades of development efforts have greatly increased the economic complementarities among developing countries. We must tap these complementarities and strengthen partnership in the South. In this effort, our developed country partners and international institutions can play a valuable role by participating in tripartite arrangements. In this regard, a number of steps to promote South-South Cooperation have been initiated, including a High- level Meeting on Regional/Sub-regional cooperation which will be held in Bali, Indonesia, this coming December. The commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the adoption of the Buenos Aires Plan of Action on South-South Cooperation will be held at a one-day special meeting in the General Assembly. Of great importance is the Group of 77 initiative on a South Summit to be held prior to the Millennium Assembly in the year 2000.

Mr. President,

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which was proclaimed as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. To us in Indonesia who are now in the midst of formulating and initiating far-reaching economic, social and political reforms, this is a particularly significant occasion. In fact, in line with our commitment to the Vienna Declaration, we have just launched a National Plan of Action on Human Rights aimed at infusing the various segments of society and of the Government, including the national security apparatus, with values conducive to the promotion and protection of human rights. We expect to sign and ratify in the near future several more UN conventions on human rights.

The Reform-Development Government that is now in place in Indonesia will carry out vigorous measures to further democratize the national life. For we know very well that our economic recovery will basically have to be driven by confidence, on the part of the international community as well as our citizens, in our own system of governance. To our people, this means the widest latitude of participation in the making of collective decisions that affect their lives.

Mr. President,

In the face of the challenges of our time, we in Indonesia will rebuild and refine the institutions that will make the laws of economics work for our society. At the international level, I believe that it is also necessary to build and refine the institutions that will make global economics work for all nations whether developed or developing.

Globalization is not the demon that has been menacing our prospects for the future. But for too long have we accepted doctrines formulated and waved in the name of liberalization. The most perceptive economists of our day have been pointing out that error and we must now heed them. Globalization and liberalization never required us to merely compete in dancing to the tune of the marketplace. It never told us to stop cooperating with one another. But many of us were enchanted with the gospel of unfettered laissez faire until it was seen that the contagion of a financial crisis in one developing country in one corner of the globe could plunge the entire world into depression.

Now it is clear if it was not sufficiently clear before that we are stewards of one another's welfarethat we must extend a hand to every brother and sister who falters, or in the course of globalization none of us, developed or developing, will see salvation. Human destiny is indivisible. Let us never forget that again.