Let me first congratulate
Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa on her election to the
presidency of the General Assembly. We believe that
under her guidance we will continue the reform process
laid out in the 2005 World Summit Outcome
(resolution 60/1). Our warm appreciation also goes to
Mr. Jan Eliasson, President at the sixtieth session, for
his inspiring leadership.
Let me take the opportunity to thank the
Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, for his brilliant
opening speech a few days ago (see A/61/PV.3), and
for his decade of dedicated work for the United
Nations. Slovenia appreciates the role of the Secretary-
General in helping to expand our understanding of
pressing issues, such as the protection of civilians and
the responsibility to protect. The commitment of the
Secretary-General to mainstreaming human rights in
the work of the Organization and his emphasis on the
rule of law in international relations and nationally will
remain a permanent legacy. The report “In larger
freedom” (A/59/2005) contains a fair vision of the
global responsibility that we share and reminds us of
the inevitable challenges that lie ahead.
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We live in a tightly interconnected,
interdependent and transparent world. It is logical and
it is right that nations should support and help each
other. What place in the world is more appropriate for
that recommendation than the United Nations? All
nations and all people should be asking themselves
how they can help each other. It appears that assistance
and contributions from affluent countries are more
effective. It seems easier for large nations to be great
nations. Unfortunately, not all nations are large. That is
true of most nations of the world, and it is, of course,
true of my country.
The implementation of the global partnership for
development is a priority of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs) to which Slovenia is fully
committed. The new external financial instruments of
the European Union as well as the tenth European
Development Fund open a new chapter in the relations
of the European Union with developing countries and
strengthen Europe’s role as a global partner in
development. That is a promising sign of progress in
the fulfilment of our commitments under the
Millennium Declaration.
In order to contribute in an important way, the
small countries must make a special effort. We can, in
fact, be effective. Smaller countries rarely threaten or
endanger other countries. They have knowledge of
small systems and knowledge of minorities within
large systems. They can perform special tasks that
demand special qualities and particular capabilities
such as flexibility, adaptability, a spirit of empathy and
cooperation. They can serve as honest brokers. There
are a number of successful small and medium-sized
countries. They can help each other to assume creative
and relevant positions as part of the international
community.
At the United Nations, we should continue to
review the concept of sovereignty. Many fear that the
erosion of sovereignty provides grounds for interfering
in State internal affairs. Indeed, the potential for
misuse is real. History teaches us that checks and
balances are necessary in order to shield right against
might. At the same time, the sovereignty of States must
be understood in the context of contemporary reality.
National borders are no longer an excuse for the
international community to turn a blind eye to
genocide, crimes against humanity and other gross
human rights violations.
Last year, for the first time world leaders
formally and universally affirmed the concept of the
responsibility to protect. The 2005 World Summit
Outcome (resolution 60/1) provides a detailed
framework for individual and collective responsibility,
in areas ranging from prevention and protection to
rebuilding. We regard the framework as a conceptual
breakthrough and wish to stress the need for all
members of the international community, and the
Security Council in particular, to deliver on the
implementation of that responsibility in practice.
Many crises are evolving as we speak, some of
which the international community will try to resolve,
while giving less attention to others. The suffering of
the civilian population in Darfur calls for our
immediate efforts. We should not allow the tragedy that
occurred in Rwanda or Bosnia and Herzegovina to be
repeated in Darfur or anywhere else.
Attention to the Western Balkans must not
diminish. We are committed to standing by our partners
in the region in their endeavours to expand their
relationship with the European Union and to facilitate
the advent of prosperity for their citizens. Kosovo is
now approaching an important and possibly sui generis
stage in the peace process. Finding common ground
between Serbian and Kosovar Albanian positions and
striking a political deal will be difficult. We are
confident, nevertheless, that all those involved will
summon up sufficient courage to take a critical step
forward and thus enable all ethnic groups in that region
to coexist peacefully and cooperate. We hope that the
integration process in Europe will provide the
appropriate vehicle for the stabilization of the region.
The disintegration of rigid systems like those of
the Soviet Union and the former Yugoslavia has
produced a number of new States and new Members of
the United Nations. The process has sometimes been
called Balkanization. But a closer look will reveal that
many of the newborn countries, contrary to
expectations, have not regressed. Quite the opposite: a
lot of them have progressed, democratized and
reintegrated, or have expressed the desire to integrate
in a different way and have positioned themselves on a
new level. Many former republics of the Soviet Union
and Yugoslavia have thus become, or intend to become,
members of new multinational systems, such as the
European Union.
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Occasionally, we still hear expressions of
hesitation and fear: we should not, they say, sacrifice
our national interests for the sake of integration. One
of the problems of the international community today
is complex relations within multinational, multi-ethnic
and multicultural systems. The question is how to
facilitate the productive coexistence of national, ethnic,
religious and other minorities.
In the past, in Europe and elsewhere, mighty
dynasties or nations, driven by the ambition to rule
over weaker nations and minorities, practised imposed
integration. Modern integration no longer rests on
subordination; it depends on solidarity and
cooperation. Modern nations cultivate
complementarity. In the future, the United Nations
should encourage new projects and provide an efficient
framework for the management of religious diversity
and dialogue between cultures. We could then learn
from countries that had experienced a successful
transition from a central and autocratic system to a
decentralized and democratic system. Essentially, we
are concerned with sustained assistance in the
transition to democracy and coexistence within multi-
ethnic or multicultural systems.
I support the idea of the dialogue of cultures.
However, we should be careful not to develop that
concept into a clearinghouse for one set of standards. If
so, failure is a certainty. A dialogue between two sides
each convinced of the absolute truth of its own
existence is impossible. When dealing with subjective
or intimate concepts like faith, respect and individual
dignity, we can only hope to encourage debate within
individual systems, not between them. In the latter
case, one would be imposing one’s truth on the value
system of another.
Rather, a dialogue of cultures should be a venue
for cross-cultural discussion on objective matters like
democratic political systems, sustainable development,
security and energy. The promotion of dialogue on
matters of faith, culture or civilization is an
indispensable tool to create bridges between different
cultures.
Is there a general clash of civilizations? My own
answer is “no”. On the other hand, we should not
underestimate local and temporary clashes that may
serve purposes far from genuine cultural or religious
issues. There is one welcome and necessary clash: the
clash of our common and global civilization against
illegitimate radical groups that strive for power by
means of terror and that abuse religious beliefs and
ethnic bonds for their own particular agendas. We have
to be aware of this when dealing with such issues in
our own countries and stand ready to assist each other
if we are to preserve the universal values of
civilization.
Last year, Slovenia chaired the Organization for
Security and Cooperation in Europe; today, we begin
our year at the helm of the Board of Governors of the
International Atomic Energy Agency, and a little more
than a year from now we shall assume the presidency
of the European Union (EU). As a member, and current
Chair, of the Human Security Network, a group of
nations with diverse regional affiliations, we are
looking forward to deepening the understanding of the
concept of human security in order to be better
equipped to overcome the complex problems of the
modern world.
One of the items on the agenda of the Slovenian
EU presidency will certainly be energy security. To
facilitate insight into regional energy and stability
issues, the international conference entitled Caspian
Outlook 2008, recently organized in Slovenia under the
auspices of the Bled Strategic Forum, offered an
interesting experience in terms of how such issues can
be addressed at the regional level by parties that share
the same concern but look at it from different
perspectives. At the end of the day, all interested
partners have much to gain from political stability,
reliable flows of energy and stronger partnerships.
The Middle East crisis once again calls for the
focused attention of the international community.
Attempts to address this problem in all its complexity
and with the involvement of many countries should
continue with renewed energy. Slovenia is playing its
part in contributing to the immediate relief of the
situation in Lebanon through its contribution of troops
to the United Nations peacekeeping force there.
Slovenia welcomes the progress made towards
the implementation of the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and
Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their
Destruction. However, there are some aspects of mine
action on which we should continue to focus: dealing
with the universality of the Convention, the clearing of
minefields and providing assistance to mine victims.
Through its International Trust Fund for Demining and
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Mine Victims Assistance, Slovenia is striving to
alleviate the humanitarian threat that anti-personnel
landmines still pose to the safety, health and lives of
local civilian populations.
I am grateful for the opportunity to highlight, in
front of this distinguished audience, the importance of
the role of small countries. Their orientations, activities
and possibilities can contribute significantly to
multilateralism.