[Title] Chairman's Statement

1. This occasion has been given added meaning by the full participation in the political discussions of the President of the Russian Federation. This partnership, which is a reflection of the reforms that have taken place in Russia, reaffirms our wish to tackle together today's problems in a constructive and responsible manner.

2. We strongly believe that the parties to the Bosnian conflict should accept the plan presented to them on July 6th in Geneva. We urge them to do so before July 19th. If the opportunity is not seized, there is a grave risk of renewal of war on a larger scale. The parties should refrain from any military action.

We shall ensure that the measures made known to the parties in the event of either acceptance or refusal are implemented.

We support the Action Plan undertaken by the UN for the rehabilitation of Sarajevo and we welcome the signature on July 5th by the European Union and the parties concerned of the Memorandum of Understanding on the EU administration of Mostar.

Concerning the UN protected areas in Croatia, we urge compliance with the cease-fire, the resumption of talks and the mutual recognition of existing borders.

3. Following the death of Kim Il Sung, we must continue to seek a solution to the problem created by North Korea's decision to withdraw from the IAEA. We urge the DPRK to continue to engage the ROK and the international community, including a continuation of the talks with the US and going forward with the scheduled summit with the ROK. We also urge the DPRK to provide total transparency in its nuclear program through full and unconditional compliance with its non-proliferation obligations and to remove, once and for all, the suspicions surrounding its nuclear activities. We support the renewed efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear issue through dialogue and we stress the importance of the DPRK's ensuring the continuity of IAEA safeguards and maintaining the freeze on its nuclear program, including no reprocessing spent fuel or reloading its nuclear reactors.

4. We have welcomed the Israeli-Palestinian Declaration of Principles and the signing of the Gaza-Jericho agreement as a first step in its implementation. We recognize the need to speed up the delivery of assistance and create the circumstances for a real improvement of living conditions. Progress on the other bilateral tracks and in the multilateral negotiations is now essential in order to achieve a lasting and comprehensive settlement of the Arab-Israeli dispute and a wider process of peace and co-operation in the whole Middle East/Mediterranean region. We call upon the League of Arab States to end their boycott of Israel. We support the efforts of reconstruction of a prosperous and independent Lebanon.

We reiterate our resolve to enforce full implementation of each and every relevant UN Security Council resolution concerning Iraq and Libya until they are complied with, and recall that such implementation would entail the reassessment of sanctions.

We call upon the government of Iran to participate constructively in international efforts for peace and stability and to modify its behavior contrary to these objectives, inter alia with regard to terrorism.

We support the Algerian government's decision to move forward on economic reforms, which must be pursued with determination, while urging Algerian leaders to continue a political dialogue with all elements of Algerian society rejecting violence and terrorism. We condemn the recent massacre of Italian sailors and other victims, and express our condolences to their families.

We call upon the government of the Republic of Yemen to resolve political differences within the country through dialogue and by peaceful means, and to ensure that the humanitarian situation, particularly in and around Aden, is addressed. International obligations, including sovereignty and territorial integrity, should be respected.

5. Responding to the recent call by the Secretary General of the United Nations, we have devoted special attention to the situation in the African continent. We salute the achievement of the people of South Africa in ending apartheid by constitutional means, committing ourselves to assist the new government in its efforts to construct a stable and prosperous democracy. At the same time we are painfully aware of the humanitarian tragedy affecting many African countries and we will do our utmost to help them. We are particularly appalled by the situation in Rwanda and call for uninterrupted continuation of the humanitarian action carried out by France through the rapid deployment of UNAMIR II. We urge a stable cease-fire leading to a political settlement and an increased and urgent humanitarian effort. We support efforts to implement the settlement in Angola.

6. We demand that the military leadership in Haiti comply fully with all relevant UN resolutions and allow a restoration of democracy and the return of the democratically elected government of President Aristide. We call upon all states to bring pressure on the de facto regime as well as to enforce strengthened UN measures in relation to Haiti.

7. Proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and missiles is one of the most serious threats to international peace and security. We call upon all States that have not yet done so to accede to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states. We declare our unequivocal support for the indefinite extension of the Treaty in 1995. We underline the importance of continuing nuclear arms reduction, and confirm our commitment to achieve universal, verifiable and comprehensive Treaties to ban nuclear tests and the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. We reaffirm our commitment for the earliest possible entry into force of the Chemical Weapons convention and welcome the Special Conference of States parties to the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. We support full implementation of the UN Register of Conventional Arms. We agree to co-operate to prevent nuclear smuggling. We assign priority to the problems of anti-personnel landmines, including efforts to curb their indiscriminate use, halt their export, assist in their clearance worldwide. We shall work together and with others for effective export controls to ensure that trade in armaments and sensitive dual-use goods is carried out responsibly. We encourage non-proliferation efforts in the Middle East and South Asia.

8. The UN has a central role in preventive diplomacy as well as in peace-keeping, peace-making, post-conflict peace-building. It is essential that all such activities be fully mandated, effectively planned and organized, and be financed to meet the demands placed on them. All UN members have clear responsibilities in that regard and must fulfill them. Arrears must be eliminated and dues paid promptly and in full, while a more equitable scale of assessments should reflect changes in the world economy and in UN membership. The UN reform must continue in order to ensure efficiency, streamlining of functions and cost effectiveness.

Regional organizations can make a significant contribution in the field of preventive diplomacy and peace-keeping, fully consistent with the UN Charter as well as relevant CSCE documents. We stress the importance of the consent of all parties in peace-keeping operations, and reiterate the need to respect in all cases sovereignty and territorial integrity. We also emphasize that a mandate is to be sought from the UN when peace-keeping forces can be confronted with the need to use force beyond the requirements of self-defense.

The CSCE Budapest summit in December should be an important landmark in the process of enhancing the CSCE's role and capabilities.

We support the conclusion of the Pact of Stability aimed at promoting good relations in Europe.

In the Asia/Pacific area, we welcome the beginning of regional security dialogue, in particular in the ASEAN Regional Forum.

9. We support the improvement of international monitoring mechanisms and procedures for the promotion and protection of human rights everywhere, including the rights of persons belonging to national minorities, and pledge our support for the newly created office of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. We are determined to strengthen efforts to combat racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia, aggressive nationalism, antisemitism and other forms of intolerance.

The international community should equip itself with more efficient means to respond in a prompt way to humanitarian emergencies world-wide. We shall seek to improve our capabilities through the UN and other appropriate mechanisms to fulfill such requirements.

10. We condemn terrorism in all its forms, especially when state-sponsored, and reaffirm our resolve to co-operate in combating it with determination. We call upon all countries involved to renounce support for terrorism, including financial support, and to take effective action to deny the use of their territory to terrorist organization.

We stress that organized crime and narcotics trafficking are a threat to political as well as economic and social life, and we call for increased international co-operation. We have agreed that the proposed world ministerial conference to be held in October in Naples at the initiative of the Italian government will be a most important occasion to advance such co-operation.

11. The meeting has also given us the opportunity for an exchange of views on the reform process in Russia, a historic task that President Yeltsin and the Russian government continue to bring forward with the confirmed support of the international community. President Yeltsin presented Russia's views on global economic and security issues. We intend to co-operate on such topics as transnational crime, money laundering, and nuclear safety.

12. Looking forward to Halifax, we shall continue to co-operate closely in order to increase the conditions for maintaining peace and stability in the world.