Security in an interdependent world. Medford, Massachusetts, 18 May 2003. Statement to the Fletcher School at Tufts University

Addressing the members of The Fletcher School Board of Overseers, Director General of the IAEA emphasised the principal actions that will be essential achieve security in an independent world: First, we must modernize and revamp the collective security system of the United Nations Charter - in terms of both preventive diplomacy and enforcement action. To start, the Security Council should be reconstituted to include the major political and economic powers of today's world. In addition, new working concepts, tools and methods are needed to ensure that the Council can effectively discharge its role as the body with 'the primary responsibility' for the maintenance of international peace and security. Second, we must create an environment in which, as foreseen in the UN Charter, the use of force is limited to situations of self-defence or enforcement measures authorized by the Security Council. Preemptive strikes, however tempting, can send the global community into uncharted and dangerous territory. Only an action authorized by the Council will bring international legitimacy and support to such a measure. More importantly, these limitations will restrict the use of force to those situations where force is indeed the last and only alternative. Third, we must take concrete steps to de-legitimize the acquisition or use of weapons of mass destruction. Clearly, a new approach is needed - an approach that applies to all weapons of mass destruction, and would include: universal adherence to conventions that ban such weapons; robust and intrusive systems of verification for all related weapons conventions; a clear road map and the determination to eliminate these weapons in all States, to abolish over time the divide between the nuclear 'haves' and 'have nots'; new doctrines of security that do not rely on the deterrent effect of nuclear weapons; and reliable enforcement measures, under the aegis of the Security Council, to effectively counter efforts by any country to illicitly acquire nuclear, biological or chemical weapons. Fourth, we must develop a comprehensive regime to ensure that weapons of mass destruction and their components will not fall into the hands of terrorists. This demands an effective global approach to the physical protection of nuclear and other radioactive material and associated facilities, better controls for chemical and biological agents, and an effective approach to export controls worldwide. Fifth, we must have the foresight to address decisively the chronic disputes that create the greatest incentives for acquiring such weapons. It is instructive that so many of the suspected efforts to acquire weapons of mass destruction are to be found in the Middle East, a hotbed of instability for over half a century. In any future Middle East settlement, it is essential that regional security arrangements including the establishment of a region free from such weapons be pursued as part and parcel of such a settlement. The same should apply in any future settlement of such disputes, including the one currently in the spotlight on the Korean Peninsula. We must understand that peace and security are indivisible. Finally, we must work collectively to address the root causes of insecurity and instability, including: the widening divide between rich and poor, in which two-fifth of the world's population lives on less than two dollars per day; the chronic lack of good governance and respect for human rights with despots in many parts of the world taking cover under the cloak of 'sovereignty'; and the increasingly perceived schisms between cultures and civilizations. Effective amelioration of these causes of insecurity will require adequate financial assistance by the developed countries - assistance that now shamefully stands at less than one-quarter of one percent of the combined gross national income of the developed countries- about half of the cost of the war in Iraq. Improving our performance in this 'global distributive justice' will go a long way towards addressing many of the social ills that affect our planet. Global respect for human rights should be the overarching norm, irrespective of any consideration of political expediency or short term interests. Effective remedy will in addition require an increased focus by international institutions, governments, and civil society on encouraging interaction among cultures and people in order to promote mutual appreciation of our differences. More importantly, we must appreciate that what unites us is far, far greater than what divides us and equally that what separates us, in terms of our beliefs, customs and traditions, are differences in which we should take pride and which should not be scorned, but cherished. None of us as mortals holds a monopoly on the ultimate truth; and yet all of us should continue to seek it, each in his or her own way. This is a tall order. But if our aim is to spare future generations the prospect of conflicts and wars in which humanity could self-destruct, we have no other alternative