The Chronicle interview.

• Position: Interview

JAN ELIASSON was unanimously elected President of the sixtieth session of the United Nations General Assembly on 13 June 2005. He took over the presidency from Jean Ping of Gabon when the Assembly opened on 13 September and has led its work during the session when UN reform is at the centre of debate.

Mr. Eliasson has had a long and illustrious career in Swedish politics and international diplomacy, dedicating much of his international career to strengthening the role of the United Nations. He was Sweden's Ambassador to the United States for five years (2000-2005), following six years of service as his country's Deputy Secretary of State. He also served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York (1988-1992).

Mr. Eliasson was part of the UN mission, headed by Sweden's former Prime Minister Olof Palme, mediating an end to the Iran-Iraq war (1980-1986) and was the Secretary-General's Personal Representative on Iran/Iraq (1988-1992). He served as Chairman of the General Assembly's working group on emergency relief (1991) and Vice-President of the Economic and Social Council (1991-1992). In 1992, Mr. Eliasson was appointed UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs. He was involved in a number of operations in conflict areas, which included Mozambique, Somalia, Sudan and the Balkans, and undertook initiatives on humanitarian issues. A frequent lecturer on foreign policy and diplomacy, he has been a visiting professor at Uppsala University in Sweden, lecturing on such topics as mediation, conflict resolution and UN reform.

Horst Rutsch, with Nancy Kang and Paritosh Srivastava, of the UN Chronicle conducted this interview with Ambassador Eliasson on 13 July 2005, prior to the World Summit.

Un the significance of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly

We all must take full advantage of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly. The main reason for having such an ambitious approach to reform in 2005 is because of the realities out in the world today. We are facing very important global threats and challenges: thus, we need to find global answers and approaches to these fundamental challenges.

I also think we are facing a test of multilateralism, one which we have to take seriously. We are fortunate to have a good knowledge-base for this important discussion. We have comprehensive documentation of the needs involved and a strong analysis of the directions that we can take. For instance, we have the report of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change, we have the final report of the Millennium Forum, we have the Secretary-General's report titled "In Larger Freedom", and we have all the work that has been so skillfully conducted by [fifty-ninth] Assembly President Jean Ping on the outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting at the 2005 World Summit in September.

Many of these matters are still being negotiated by Member States, but I hope we can find common ground in all important areas of reform. We are in the midst of a crucial discussion that touches upon the areas of security, development and human rights. One of the most promising ideas in the reform proposals is the establishment of a peacebuilding commission. We should take advantage of this wealth of ideas and proposals, and deal with them seriously. Overall, so much is at stake not only for the United Nations but, above all, for all people in the world today.

On testing reform proposals against the practical results in the field

In my acceptance speech to the General Assembly on 13 June 2005, I spoke of the need to put every reform proposal through a "field test". Any reform would have to make a difference to the...