General
Israel welcomes and supports the initiative for significant reform within the United Nations system. There is no contradiction between holding a deep commitment to the UN's founding principles, and being a forceful advocate for change in the institutions entrusted with implementing those principles. Indeed, a commitment to those founding principles is itself a major argument for reform, especially in relation to those procedures and institutions that have regrettably shown themselves not adequate to their tasks.
As the draft Outcome Document recognizes, reform in the United Nations system must be concrete, ambitious, and take account of the interconnected nature of the threats and opportunities facing our world.
Any approach to UN reform must recognize the integrated nature of the UN system as a whole. At the same time, no single issue can take precedence or hold reform on other tracks hostage. Security Council reform, in particular, has attracted considerable attention and is clearly overdue. However a single issue, however important, cannot be allowed to over shadow other areas in which immediate and concrete change is urgently required.
Israel is a country which believes deeply in the founding principles of the United Nations. But it is also a country that has been disadvantaged by some of the UN's shortcomings. The discriminatory attitude to Israel in many parts of the UN system is an anomaly needing urgent attention in its own right, but also a symptom of wider failings in the system. Only if the UN is able to address fairly the disadvantaged minorities within its own walls, does it stand any chance of advancing the needs of such groups in the world at large. A significant test of the effectiveness of any process of reform, therefore, must be the extent to which the United Nations genuinely becomes a organization of all its members.
For these reasons Israel has a sincere and profound interest in the success of the reform initiative, and is keen to work together with member states to achieve real results, both to restore and bolster the credibility of institution and to bring real benefit to the citizens of member states.
In particular, Israel would like to make the following comments on specific items under discussion:
Development
Israel shares the concern reflected in the draft Outcome Document about the slow and uneven implementation of the global development agenda. In particular, we are very concerned about the extent of poverty and hunger in the world, especially in Africa, the scope of the AIDS epidemic, illiteracy, and the status of women.
Israel believes that cooperation between emerging nations and the developed nations must be intensified, and is committed, through its Center for International Cooperation, MASHAV, to taking an active part in the world effort in the realm of social development. In this context, Israel is preparing detailed plans for millennium goals that include poverty eradication, education, leadership quality and the empowerment of women, and ensuring the food supply.
Regarding the challenges facing us in the realm of sustainable development and the environment, Israel is committed to continuing to implement the Kyoto Protocol, the promotion of Agenda 21, by, inter alia, developing alternative energy sources and participating in UN talks to formulate a long-term strategy to prevent global warming.
HIV/AIDS and other health issues
Israel agrees that a global initiative is of essence in order to strengthen the national health systems in developing countries. An emphasis should be given to programs such as training of public health personnel in the domains of epidemiology, infectious diseases and infection control, as well in psycho-socio interventions with children at risk as a result of AIDS.
Training community workers and nurses in granting them with skills in the field of early childhood development, from birth to 3 years, is also an important tool in reducing child mortality.
Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women
Israel has always placed high importance on the empowerment of women and gender mainstreaming in all walks of life. As such, Israel welcomes the goals outlined in the Outcome Document, which represent a concise summary of the results of the Beijing Summit and the relevant Millenium Development Goals.
Israel's experience in these subjects clearly shows that total and unconditional equality of men and women - as well as affirmative action where necessary - contribute greatly to a society's strength and security. Israel has further endeavored to share this experience with other, mostly developing, nations.
Since 1961, Israel’s international cooperation program has been contributing to the empowerment of women in the developing world. In the last 5 years alone, 4,000 women from 147 countries have been trained in different fields of socio-economic development, emphasizing gender equality in the development process.
All training activities address issues on the international agenda, which are of current concern to women, such as poverty alleviation, education, environment, migration, the girl-child, health, economic participation and conflict resolution.
The main goal of the international cooperation program of Israel, in the field of gender issues, is to strengthen capacity-building and leadership of women’s organizations and networks, placing the focus on women’s empowerment as a critical factor in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.
Meeting the special needs of Africa
Israel is of the view that agriculture should seek to provide food security and disseminate best agribusiness practices while promoting environmentally sustainable resource use. Israel proposes to put an emphasis on projects such as:
• Family-farm food security - the promotion of food security, primarily at the house hold level through the introduction of low-cost basic farm practice improvement.
• Core demonstration farms combined with small-holder out grower extension. Focal demonstration in agricultural periphery area and extension services to individual and groups of farmers.
• Demonstration of better environmental practices. Small scale pilot project activities focused on developing and disseminating best practices in remote local communities with environmentally degraded conditions.
• The African Market Garden approach. Such a project which could enhance yields and lowers risk on single households in arid and semi-arid zones. Israel is committed to work constructively on the text accordingly.
Rule of Law and Democracy
Israel welcomes the recognition in the draft Outcome Document that the rule of law and democracy are, alongside respect for human rights, core values of the United Nations and a key element in any security or development agenda. Israel also supports the establishment of the Democracy Fund, and is engaged in the internal procedures necessary to enable it to contribute to this initiative.
Peace building Commission
Israel supports the establishment of a peace building commission. UN peacekeeping has increasingly been involved in post-conflict reconstruction and return to normalcy, and indeed, this multidisciplinary task has become perhaps the primary function of peacekeeping as a whole. An advisory Commission, which would, on request, advise the Security Council on conflict situations, could play a significant role in ensuring a coherent response in the aftermath of conflict and in providing for coordination between efforts directed at peacekeeping, economic recovery and restoring the rule of law.
Clearly there is much work to be done in the development of modalities for the operation of such a commission. These modalities must recognize that there are no uniform solutions to conflict situations. They must also ensure that the work of the Commission is dictated by genuine priorities of need rather than political considerations, and that the interests of all stakeholders are involved so that they retain a sense of "ownership" and responsibility for resolution of the conflict, and for recovery and development.
Use of Force
Israel agrees with the draft Outcome Document that the provisions of the UN Charter are sufficient to address the range of security threats. In this context Israel notes the clear statements by the High Level Panel and the Secretary General recognizing that a state may use force in self defense in the event of both actual and imminent attacks, and believes that that this observation should also be explicitly included in the Outcome Document itself.
Terrorism
Israel notes that the draft Outcome Document rejects terrorism in all its forms and manifestations and in doing so reflects both international law, and the conviction of the overwhelming majority of states.
Israel is concerned however, that the Document undermines this position of principle by listing "factors that may contribute to terrorism". This list is partial and selective, ignoring, for example, such other potentially contributing factors as lack of democracy, incitement, corruption and extremism. More fundamentally, it is at odds with the almost universal understanding that the fight against terrorism must not be held hostage to any so called 'root causes'. It is hard to reconcile this list of contributing 'factors' with the Document's expressed commitment to "endorse and implement the comprehensive United Nations counter-terrorism strategy proposed by the Secretary-General" which rejected any attempt to explain or justify terrorism. Israel strongly believes that, for the Document's observations on terrorism to have legal or moral force, this reference must be deleted.
Israel is also of the view that the Outcome Document should recognize that the use of force by States has been exhaustively covered by international law, as was noted by the reports of the Secretary-General (para. 91) and the High Level Panel (paragraph 160). The Secretary-General has called "to set aside debates on so-called "State terrorism". It is within the scope of the Outcome Document, adopted by heads of State and Government, to have precisely that effect - and it should do so explicitly.
Israel supports the goal of concluding a comprehensive convention on terrorism during the sixtieth session the General Assembly, as well as proposals to strengthen the capacities of United Nations members States in the prevention of terrorism.
At the same time, Israel feels that the Outcome Document should recognize that States' failure to confront terrorism, is often not a matter of capacity so much as one of will, and that stronger mechanisms are required to ensure State compliance with obligations including under Security Council resolutions to refrain from supporting and to prevent terrorist activity and financing.
Disarmament and non-proliferation
Israel has read carefully the proposals by the SG in the draft document on the issues of disarmament and non proliferation and, while we fully support some of the proposals, others are unacceptable and more work on the text should be done in order bring it into a consensus one. Israel is committed to work constructively on the text and will propose some amendments accordingly.
Responsibility to Protect
Israel joins other countries in welcoming this important contribution to the preservation of human life and dignity. As the draft Outcome Document notes, in the first instance the response of the international community should be to encourage and assist states in exercising their own responsibility to protect their own populations. But clearly in cases of large scale atrocities the international community has a responsibility to use diplomatic means, and other means permitted under the UN Charter, to protect civilians.
General Assembly
The draft Outcome Document reaffirms the central position of the General Assembly as "the chief deliberative policy-making, decision-making and representative organ of the United Nations". Restoring the Assembly to this status indeed has to be a major goal of any process of reform, but such reform cannot take place without some fundamental changes in the working of the Assembly. In particular, it has to address the multitude of anachronistic and one-sided resolutions and the redundant bodies which not only undermine the credibility and reputation of the assembly, but also take a considerable toll on the UN's time and resources.
The treatment of the Middle East in the General Assembly is a reflection and microcosm of many of its failings. Israel is the only country to have subsidiary bodies of the General Assembly established to focus on its conduct, to be excluded from full membership in the regional groupings system, and to be the subject of some 20 one-sided GA resolutions every year. For Israel, along with other states who wish to see the Assembly's credibility restored in order to enable it to play a constructive role in the Middle East, the extent to which these prejudicial anomalies are addressed will be a key indication of the extent to which any reform process is concrete and genuine.
Urgent reforms required to the working of the General Assembly include the following:
Dissolution of redundant bodies: Israel welcomes the draft Outcome Document's recommendation that the Secretary-General provide the General Assembly with an overview of all mandates older than five years with an indications of resources which could be shifted to other priorities. A conspicuous example of such wastage are the four bodies whose sole purpose is the dissemination of a partisan view of the Arab-Israeli conflict - the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People, the Division for Palestinian Rights in the DPA, the Special Information Programme on the Question of Palestine in the DPI and the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices. These bodies cost the Organization upwards of USD 5 million biennially.
Eradication of redundant resolutions and agenda items: The disproportionate focus of General Assembly resolutions on a single issue (some 20 of the 70 annual resolutions not adopted by consensus deal with Israel-related issues), many of them redundant and antiquated, cannot be sustained. The unique practice of breaking down issues relating to the Middle East into multiple resolutions (e.g. the four GA resolutions adopted on the subject of UNRWA, the five resolutions on the Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, and the four on the Situation in the Middle East) can also not be justified. At the same time agenda items multiplied throughout the main committees should be rationalized; a single debate on the Middle East in one committee would save considerable expense and leave time in other committees for issues which are all too often neglected. Another useful step would be to biennialize or triennialize relevant resolutions, and to dispense with resolutions confirming the mandate of bodies which are in any case perennial. Finally, the multitude of outdated resolutions indicates a clear need for an effective procedure for the removal of non-current items from the agenda , without granting a veto to the member state or states that originally sponsored the item.
Sovereign equality of states: Any true reform of the UN system must include scrupulous adherence to the principles of the Charter, including that of the sovereign equality of States. The time has come to rectify the anomaly of Israel’s membership in a regional group, and create a system where very state is able to participate fully in all fields of UN activity.
Culture of dialogue and debate: In order to enable the General Assembly to fulfill its role as a primary forum for international deliberation and debate, significant reforms are required. These include revised rules of procedure to ensure that debates can be conducted without selectivity and politicization, as well as an empowered GA President to enforce time limits and prevent attempts to hijack or divert debates for political ends.
Human Rights Council
Many of the failings evident in the work of the General Assembly are, if anything, even more pronounced in the Commission on Human Rights which, as the Secretary-General has noted, suffers from a severe "credibility deficit". Year after year, flagrant violators of human rights escape censure, even being elected to the Commission itself; while at the same time, states with conspicuously better records are vilified in multiple decisions.
The draft Outcome Document, beyond declaring reform of the Commission (and its transformation into a Council), changes only the system of election of its members. This is an important first step, but the international community must ensure that further steps are taken, realizing the Secretary-General's vision of a just, effective human rights organ.
It is in this spirit, that Israel believes that any human rights reform should contain the following elements:
First, there should be clear conditions for membership in the Council.
Second, the Council cannot stand alone. It must enjoy the operational, logistic and substantive support of an efficient and effective Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, as well as effective treaty bodies.
Third, the Council should not be overloaded by partisan requests using the human rights mechanism to achieve political gains. There are other fora for political debate, and procedural measures should be taken to prevent political agendas from undermining the effectiveness of its work. Such measures could include the prevention of agenda items devoted to one particular situation, as well as limiting the number of resolutions passed in any given year concerning a particular state.
Finally, as elsewhere in the UN system, every state - including Israel - must have the option of full membership in a relevant regional group as far as the Council is concerned.
Security Council Reform
Israel supports a reform of the Security Council which would increase the Council's effectiveness. 60 years have passed since the end of the Second World War and we share the view of many other member States that a change in the composition of the Council is overdue.
Israel believes that any reform of the Council should be adopted by the widest possible majority of member States. The process of reform should be one which unites nations, rather than dividing them. In Israel's opinion, such broad agreement is more important than the pace of reform, and believes that with time, a much wider consensus may be realistically achieved.
Israel maintains that an enlargement of the Council by 10 new members might burden the work of the Council and deny it the efficiency and speed of response necessary to insure effective action.
UN Secretariat
Israel concurs with other members that transparency and accountability should be increased and monetary resources at the disposal of the UN should be utilized more efficiently in the regular budget as well as in the budget of the peacekeeping forces. We believe that the UN should promote needed reforms, which were decided upon some time ago, in the organization's human resources. Every reform should be implemented in accordance with the newly defined priorities of the UN and the requirements of the reform itself, without increasing the budget. In addition, we have confidence in the Secretary General of the UN, who is striving to improve his bureau's work.
Conclusion
Israel believes that the current momentum for reform provides a unique opportunity to address many of the current shortcomings within the UN system. But to do so will require more than cosmetic or simply procedural change. Missing this opportunity to make the substantive changes needed to restore the credibility and effectiveness of the United Nations and would be a failure of tragic proportions - both for the institution itself, and for the citizens of all its member states, whose welfare it is designed to serve.