Introduction of draft resolution: Investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him. Delivered by Ambassador Nicola Clase, Permanent Representative at the Permanent Mission of Sweden to the UN. United Nations General Assembly, 6 December 2024, New York.
Mister President,
I am pleased to introduce, on behalf of the co-sponsors, the draft resolution contained in document A/79/L.26 on the investigation into the conditions and circumstances resulting in the tragic death of Dag Hammarskjöld and of the members of the party accompanying him.
We are grateful to all the delegations that support this investigation, in particular to the co-sponsors of the draft resolution, which now number more than (eighty).
Mister President,
Since 2015, the Dag Hammarskjöld investigation has generated a wealth of new knowledge. The latest report, which was published in October, is substantial and presents valuable new information.
We express our sincere gratitude to His Excellency Mohamed Chande Othman, who has led the investigation, first as chair of the Independent Panel of Experts, and thereafter as the Secretary-General’s Eminent Person. We also thank Chief Justice Othman’s team, the voluntary researchers that support him, and all the Member States that have worked with and contributed to the investigation.
Mister President,
The Eminent Person’s latest report sheds light on important new information generated from research in both private and public archives.
The Eminent Person assesses that it remains plausible that an external attack or threat was the cause of the crash. He notes that many eyewitnesses have stated that they observed more than one aircraft in the air and that the Secretary-General’s plane was on fire before it crashed. The Eminent Person notes that the alternative hypotheses that appear to remain available are that the crash resulted from sabotage or from unintentional human error.
In the report, the Eminent Person highlights several matters that warrant further follow-up. In this light, and in support of the Secretary-General’s recommendations, Sweden, together with our partners, is introducing the draft resolution before you today.
The draft resolution is largely a roll-over of the current mandate. Allow me to briefly highlight four of the operational elements:
First, operational paragraph one requests the Secretary-General to reappoint the Eminent Person to allow him to continue his work. This extensive investigation benefits from continuity. We firmly believe that Chief Justice Othman is best placed to continue the investigation.
Second, the progress of the investigation depends to a large degree on the cooperation by Member States. Operational paragraphs two and three therefore urge Members States, in particular those referred to in the report, to release any relevant records in their possession and to cooperate with and assist the Eminent Person fully, including by appointing independent and high-ranking officials to determine whether relevant information exists within their security, intelligence, and defence archives. Furthermore, operational paragraph four encourages Member State on a voluntary basis to assist the Eminent Person with specific tasks that are deemed useful for the continued investigation.
Third, much of the new information generated by the investigation in recent years comes from individual researchers and from private archives. We have therefore, in line with the Secretary-General’s recommendations, added language that recognises the role of those voluntarily assisting the Eminent Person in operational paragraph four. Operational paragraph five also calls on Member States to encourage individuals and private entities to ensure that any relevant records related to the death of Dag Hammarskjöld, and of the members of the party accompanying him, are made available for review by the Eminent Person.
Fourth and finally, operational paragraph six relates to making material from the investigations available online. This work is under way, and the paragraph is intended to support these efforts.
Mister President,
The resolution has a modest Programme Budget Implication, it will be considered by the Fifth Committee before it is put forward for adoption.
In the meantime, the draft resolution will remain open for co-sponsorship. We encourage all Member States that have not yet done so to join us as co-sponsors.
We trust that the resolution, as in previous years, will be adopted without a vote.
Mister President,
The United Nations and all its Member States must continue to do all they can to find out what caused the crash that killed Dag Hammarskjöld and the fifteen women and men that travelled with him.
We owe this to the families of those who perished more than 60 years ago, and we owe it to the United Nations as an organisation.
We can all be proud of the work that Dag Hammarskjöld did as Secretary-General. He was a man who believed strongly in the equal rights of nations, large and small. He was a champion of peace with an extraordinary sense of duty and vision. He was a spiritual man with great integrity. And he had faith in people, and above all in this organisation.
I thank you.