And, In Informal Settings.

Among the innovations introduced at the Millennium Summit were four interactive round-table sessions to discuss the overarching theme of the Summit. "The Role of the United Nations in the twenty-first century." In the phrase of Prime Minister Gob Chok Tong of Singapore, Chairman of the firs Round Table, they provided "interactive discussion among leaders in an informal setting, away from aides, officials and prepared scripts." The Chairman of the second Round Table, President Kwasniewski of Poland, observed that be and his fellow leaders "all seemed to enjoy this innovative forum of more direct and informal discussion". President Hugo Chavez Frias of Venezuela, Chairman of the third Round Table, observed that an important consensus bad been reached in its sessions on the new to transform the United Nations. "One cannot navigate the twenty-first century with a map from the end of the second world war." And President Adbelaziz Bouteflika of Algeria, who chaired the fourth Round Table, said he was particularly impressed by the deep sensitivity some of the delegates from developed nations showed to problems of developing countries in "the most interesting debate" he had attended in many years.

The Chronicle is privileged to have received from the President of Poland and the Prime Minister of Singapore contributions reflecting their detailed assessment and appraisal of the Round Tables.

Frankness ... and Friendship

By His Excellency Aleksander Kwasniewski

President of the Republic of Poland 

I consider the debate in the framework of Round Table 2 at the Millennium Summit of the United Nations, which I had the honour and pleasure to chair, as one of the most fascinating exchanges of views I have witnessed in my political career. More than 30 world leaders took the floor m that debate. I sensed the intention they all shared to make use of this opportunity to bring forward workable solutions to the challenges and problems facing the world in the coming century. I also wish to thank Secretary-General Kofi Annan for his idea of holding those round tables and thus enabling the world leaders to discuss freely global dilemmas and all matters of concern.

The optimistic conclusion that I draw from the debate is that we approach in the same way the nature of our common challenges, among them, violent conflicts and instabilities, poverty, development gaps, pandemic illnesses and environmental hazards. And what is even more important, we seem to be equally convinced that timely and concerted action to address these challenges is necessary. Of course, we may differ as to the timing and specifics of our responses, but, as reflected in the Millennium Declaration, common denominator is placed highly enough to offer hope and optimism. I cannot say that the round-table discussion provided us with ready-made recipes, or magic formulas, to solve the problems we are all confronted with. The point is, however, that it produced a number of new ideas and approaches made not for the sake of catching the public eye, but for the sake of testing their usefulness through frank examination.

I left the Conference Room with strengthened belief that the agenda for change outlined in the Declaration really corresponds with our peoples' concerns and expectations.

Not surprisingly, development and globalization were brought to the centre of our discussion. We were in agreement that, while globalization provided unprecedented opportunities in trade and technological development, its benefits should be more evenly and universally spread. Globalization should become humane and better managed. It has to aim at eliminating development disparities instead of letting them to deepen; it has to address the risks of the new "digital divide," as well as many negative aspects associated with the phenomena, such as drug trafficking, money laundering and transnational crime. A strong plea was made for the reform of the international financial and trading system to make it more equitable.

In my opinion, the round-table discussion made it clear that the world cannot properly manage globalization unless this process is based on strong moral principles and values and, in particular, the principle of solidarity. This, in the first place, is true with regard to Africa. Action for Africa is a top priority. A new partnership for this continent was called for in our round table. It is to be built on both active participation of the Africans themselves and forthcoming attitude on the part of their partners. I was encouraged to see leaders, from the North and the South, recognizing that no effective solutions to African problems would be found without us joining forces to help Africans in overcoming the basic barriers in the development of their countries.

A lot was said on the most pressing challenge of fighting poverty. Among various specific observations, I noted a proposal to elaborate a coordinated United Nations global action plan for poverty eradication. It would include, as priorities, debt relief and increase in the official development assistance. Grave concern was expressed over the accelerating spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other pandemic illnesses. I believe that an appeal made by many participants to launch global programmes aimed at combating these illnesses--with the participation of all stakeholders, including the United Nations, Governments, non-governmental organizations and the pharmaceutical industry--should be given, as a matter of priority, all necessary consideration.

It was clear for many participants in our round table that there was a link between the stable development on the one hand, and effective human rights protection and existence of democratic structures and procedures on the other. It is true with regard to both developed and developing countries. There is also an obvious link between poverty alleviation and environmental protection. We need to bring the environment to the top of our political agenda. Environmental threats remain one of the most urgent challenges to be dealt with by us in the future.

It is worth remembering that, as one of the participants rightly observed, environment considerations can be a driving force in the economy and new, environmentally sound technologies can provide an important vehicle for growth.

Our discussion also touched upon the responsibilities of the United Nations in the maintenance of peace and international security. My fellow-leaders saw as a priority enhancement of peacekeeping operations, together with increased attention to conflict prevention, peacemaking and peace-building. I believe it necessary to take note of a widespread support for the Report of the Panel on United Nations Peace Operations, chaired by Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi, and its concrete recommendations. The renewed call for the reform of the Security Council, as well as the need expressed by some participants to assess critically the instruments of sanctions, should also be mentioned in the context of the UN obligations in the field of peace and security.

One of the important conclusions that can be drawn from the discussion is that we need the United Nations. Strengthened as it has to be and better adapted to the changing international environment, the Organization can and should play a leading role in managing our joint activities in better addressing all challenges to be faced in the immediate and more distant future.

The idea of giving the world leaders an opportunity to meet in a more informal setting and to discuss freely the issues of their common concern has been excellent. I have an impression that we not only enjoyed participating in the round tables, but also found something very important for all of us, the leaders of our respective nations--the renewed spirit of common responsibility and necessary frankness and, at the same time, of sincere friendship in addressing our peoples concerns and needs.

I left New York encouraged by the success of our endeavour. We should, perhaps, explore the possibilities of using more frequently the round table or similar formats in the UN practice. The heads of State or Government can meet periodically to follow on their Millennium Summit themes and even focus on specific, selected subjects. What, for example, would be wrong with the foreign ministers of our countries engaging themselves in direct discussions while in New York for the annual General Assembly of the United Nations?

The most important task now is undoubtedly to ensure the necessary follow-up to the Millennium Summit. We cannot allow ourselves to lose the momentum provided by the Summit. Implementation of the agreed Declaration should not only generate tasks for the Secretary-General, but, first and foremost, serve as agenda for the Member States' actions. The success of the whole Summit will ultimately depend on the common will of leaders of the Member States and their ability in translating their declarations into concrete steps and results.

An Intimate Opportunity

By His Excellency Goh Chok Tong 

Prime Minister of Singapore

The United Nations is 55 years old and, over this time, it has institutionalized a standard format for its meetings. The Round Table of the Millennium Summit was the first effort in many years to depart from tradition. Singapore was privileged to chair one of the round tables. We believed that the round-table innovation would benefit the United Nations and its Member States because there would be genuine dialogue. For the first time, leaders gathering at UN Headquarters could have an interactive discussion instead of delivering prepared speeches. They would have the opportunity to speak freely of their concerns and priorities, without being hemmed in by official lines.

There was good interaction at the Round Table which Singapore chaired. Unfortunately, the shortage of time did not permit more extensive engagement and exchange of views. The major concerns of the leaders centred on globalization and its impact on their countries. None of them rejected the idea of globalization. There was no North-South divide. The overwhelming pre-occupation of those who spoke on the subject was how to cope with the challenges of globalization. They felt that their countries were not adequately prepared to benefit from it. They wanted more access to markets for their products, assistance in capacity-building, and foreign investments to create jobs for their people.

A number of interesting ideas emerged from the round table. However, these were not developed substantially because of time constraints.

Nonetheless, I believe that many of the ideas merit follow-up. For instance, key point was that while individual countries had national institutions to regulate the domestic economy and strike a judicious balance between market forces and social equity, there was no equivalent at the international level to mitigate the negative effects of globalization. An economic equivalent of the UN Security Council was proposed.

Other participants cautioned, however, that new international institutions must not be undemocratic in decision-making like some existing ones. New institutions would also impose significant additional resources in membership for poorer countries, which were already badly stretched by their participation in existing organizations. These leaders felt, therefore, that reforming existing institutions to enhance efficiency and democracy in operation and decision-making would be a better solution.

The "digital divide" also stimulated some discussion. Some countries were concerned that information technology (IT) could help narrow the income gap, but first they had to get access to it. Others felt that the income gulf between the IT-savvy and the IT-illiterate, both within a country and across nations, was widening rapidly. Still others were of the view that it was pointless discussing information technology when fundamental problems such as illiteracy and a lack of basic physical infrastructure had yet to be addressed.

My brief summary above of the discussions at the first Round Table is not meant to be exhaustive. My intention is simply to give a sense of its usefulness in generating new ideas that might never have been raised without it. I assess that the roundtable experiment was successful; there should be more such round tables, at least once every 10 years. It is much more conducive for candid and thoughtful exchange of views, and also provides an intimate opportunity for leaders to interact and get to know each other. Better understanding and friendship among leaders will, in turn, enhance relations between countries and create a more peaceful, stable and progressive environment for us all.

Allowing Rights To Flower

In an unprecedented treaty-signing ceremony held throughout the three-day United Nations Millennium Summit, some 40 instruments of international law were signed, ratified or acceded to by the leaders of at least 85 countries, in a collective action which significantly advanced the rule of international law. Altogether, there were more than 300 different actions on treaties, conventions and additional protocols that ranged from the defence of human rights through measures to circumscribe the use and proliferation of deadly weapons, to the protection of the environment.

By far the largest number of signatures went to two new optional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child--each received dose to 50, as well as ratifications. They seek to prevent children under the age 18 from participating in armed conflict and to eliminate the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcomed the signature as a "sign that humankind is coming together, at last to put an end" to such abuses.

The Millennium Summit offered a unique opportunity to express support for, and commitments to, the international legal framework consisting of, to date, 514 multilateral treaties (please see our last issue). A total of 84 delegations--59 9 at the level of heads of State or Government--signed or deposited instruments of ratification or accession to 40 multilateral agreements. A total of 273 treaty actions--187 signatures and 86 ratifications or accessions--took place during the three days. The treaties included:

* Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict-59 signatures and 2 ratifications:

* Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography-57 signatures and 1 ratification;

* Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women--18 signatures and 4 ratifications;

* Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court-12 signatures and 4 ratifications;

* International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism-10 signatures and 2 ratifications;

* Convention on the Safety of United Nations and Associated Personnel-7 ratifications and accessions.