Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, May 30 offered his congratulations on the admission of Israel to the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) Regional Group at the United Nations.

"We are here today to celebrate something genuinely important, something that the United States has been committed to for a long time ...: the rectification of a long-standing and wholly inexcusable exclusion of one country -- and one country only -- from any of the regional groups of the United Nations ... Israel, " Holbrooke said.

"There are still things we need to clear up to make Israel's presence in the UN what it should be. But this is certainly the biggest single step in memory," he said.

Following is the transcript of Holbrooke's remarks, as delivered:

(Begin transcript)

Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke
United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations
Statement on the Admission of Israel to the Western European and Others Group (WEOG) Regional Group at the United Nations

USUN PRESS RELEASE

May 30, 2000

AS DELIVERED

Statement by Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke, United States Permanent Representative to the United Nations, on the admission of Israel to the WEOG, United Nations, May 30, 2000

We are here today to celebrate something genuinely important, something that the United States has been committed to for a long time, something that I pledged to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and publicly would be one of the American priorities in the last year of the Clinton Administration: the rectification of a long-standing and wholly inexcusable exclusion of one country -- and one country only -- from any of the regional groups of the United Nations. You all know that that, of course, is Israel.

I am so pleased that in the last two days the Western European and Others Group -- under this month's Chairmanship, Dutch Ambassador Peter Van Walsum -- has exchanged with Ambassador Lancry of Israel letters which make Israel a member of the WEOG here in New York. It is a historic step forward in the elimination of a huge injustice. My colleague Howard Stoffer wants me to say that it ends forty years in the wilderness, so I will say it with a little bit of embarrassment for Howie's more biblical approach to things than mine. This was a tremendous injustice.

I know that President Clinton is issuing a statement in Lisbon in a little while; Vice President Gore and Secretary Albright are issuing their own statements. The President, the Vice President and the Secretary of State all worked on this issue. We were told it couldn't be done but here we are to celebrate it, and I think it just goes to show that the UN is emerging into a new, I hope, post -ideological phase of its existence where issues are dealt with on their merits. It isn't over yet. There are still things we need to clear up to make Israel's presence in the UN what it should be. But this is certainly the biggest single step in memory, and I'm just so pleased that Ambassador Lancry is here with me today. Congratulations.

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(Distributed by the Office of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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