Our strength is in our unity. That lesson — that together we can achieve much more than we can alone — is a lesson that the world of today is learning in circumstances unanticipated in the twenty- first century: first the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, and now the cruel war in Ukraine. Now and in the future, the democratic world needs unity in overcoming the global consequences that the countries of Europe and worldwide are facing.
At the onset of the joint and united efforts made in response to the start of the war, the Republic of North Macedonia immediately and decisively aligned itself with European Union foreign policy and that of the democratic world. We joined global efforts in response to the war as a country committed to peace and to finding dialogue-based solutions and fully dedicated to European values. In doing so, we relied on our own experience and lessons learned, according to which peace, strength and progress can be achieved only with unity. We learned this lesson both when we peacefully declared independence in 1991, and in 2001 when we rose above internal inter-ethnic conflict, while today we rely on our experience in pursuing our established concept of “One society for all”, thereby setting an example of a functional, multi-ethnic democracy, while serving as a significant factor for stability in the Western Balkans and consequently in Europe,
which makes us a reliable partner of the international democratic community.
Functional solutions that work in a small area always serve as a road map to finding solutions in the global setting. No matter how many challenges arise in a given wide geographic area, they tend to erupt in a certain smaller area, only later becoming a potential global threat. That point of eruption today is an independent and sovereign State — Ukraine — whose citizens are faced with an unacceptable and unjustifiable aggression by the Russian Federation.
There are two especially concerning aspects that demand our full attention. One is related to the fact that a permanent member of the Security Council — the Russian Federation — committed the aggression. The fact that a country has decided to resolve a challenge using force — despite being a Member of an Organization founded on a commitment to preserving world peace — runs contrary to all endeavours and commitments of the civilized world to put an end to all forms of action that cause loss of human life and jeopardize the global peace. Furthermore, the demonstration of force by a geographically larger country against a geographically smaller country that is committed to fostering and sharing democratic values is a dangerous and impermissible precedent. In simple terms, everything must be done to prevent that from becoming a practice in this world we share, where there are geographically smaller and bigger countries.
As we can see, problems are multidimensional and affect us all. These are the challenges we will all face in the winter ahead, the most severe since the Second World War — to ensure the availability of food and energy for our citizens. Therefore, we must search for solutions while acting in unison. Our response or solutions to interlocking challenges is the essential topic of this debate — that solutions are to be found in solidarity and must be sustainable and science-based.
Speaking of sustainability, I believe that we should take into consideration another bitter experience from the war in Ukraine. The struggle for peace is ongoing and peace requires continual dedication to mutual understanding, vigilance and prompt action.
I should like to convey a clear message from my country. The unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine is a gross violation of the Charter of the United Nations and of international legal norms and principles. The aggression cannot be justified or relativized. The Russian Federation must put an immediate end to the aggression and withdraw its troops from Ukraine. History teaches us that no problem can be resolved by using force. Putting an end to the aggression is the necessary precondition to opening the only feasible way of finding a solution, namely, diplomacy and dialogue. The latter can and must be the sole mechanism for settling disputes and resolving differences between countries.
The uncertainty of the food and energy supply will deepen differences at the global level between the rich North and the poor South and bring millions of people to the brink of adversity, even threatening them with hunger. We will all — the economically more developed and economically less developed countries alike — feel the impact. We must rely on lessons learned from the pandemic. International solidarity should not be guided by whether it is needed among the better developed countries or among the less developed. That is especially true if we want to prevent the rise of new challenges ensuing from the growing dissatisfaction of citizens in global terms.
The pandemic has reminded us that we are all equal when faced with a common and, in this case, invisible enemy that has cost millions of human lives worldwide. The pandemic has also brought to light the importance of solidarity and unity, transposed into concrete, intentional cooperation. These are the principles that should guide our future actions when we face present and future challenges.
In the specific context of overcoming the consequences of the war in Ukraine, it is necessary to redouble our efforts to enhance international solidarity and mutual assistance on an equal footing, both in the European Union, where the impact of the Ukraine war is greatest, and worldwide. This applies in particular to finding viable solutions to overcoming challenges related to the supply of both energy and food. In that context, I underscore the important active role of Secretary-General Guterres and that of Tiirkiye’s mediation in the exportation of wheat from Ukraine.
Developments in and surrounding Ukraine have pushed numerous other conflicts worldwide into the background. However, the focus on such conflicts must remain sharp. Terrorism in all its forms is still a global threat to all humankind. Numerous hybrid threats are a cause of great concern and distress. Fake news and the opportunity for social networks to disseminate such
news on a mass scale via the internet are a challenge facing the entire democratic world. Authoritarian tendencies, disguised under the veil of disingenuous patriotism, pose a serious threat to human rights and freedoms and prompt potential instability.
We also face the burning issue of climate change, despite all efforts to put up a joint and united front in saving our planet Earth. The recent catastrophic floods in Pakistan are but one of the latest visible consequences in a series of extreme natural disasters worldwide caused by climate change. Biodiversity loss, air pollution and the lack of water impose themselves as priority threats, not only to the environment and ecosystems, but also to people’s lives. This situation will persist until every individual becomes fully aware that nature is not ours but is part of us, and that we must treat it as such. All these problems demand concerted action, founded on intensified and consolidated efforts focused both on prevention and on finding solutions.
Conflicts, instability, violence and climate change cause the spread of grave poverty for millions of people, as well as population displacements that are growing into an exodus. The waves of migration we have faced in recent years from Syria and Afghanistan are not winding down. Now, we also have millions of refugees from Ukraine.
The Republic of North Macedonia has opened its doors to citizens of Ukraine who have been forced to flee their homeland and seek refuge in our country. This is a good opportunity to duly commend countries worldwide that have welcomed the largest number of refugees, as well as the substantial number of citizens throughout the world who work every day to provide care for refugees and help those in need. My country, the Republic of North Macedonia, using its available capacities, remains committed to honouring its international commitments in the humanitarian area. If we are to successfully address and manage diverse forms of immigration, it is necessary to strengthen the awareness that this is a global challenge that necessitates coordinated activities in accordance with the principle of shared responsibility.
We learn from experience that no problem is a minor problem. Every minor problem has the potential to grow into a more difficult and larger-scale problem. However, our coming together here at United Nations Headquarters serves as a good reminder that strength and solutions can be achieved when we unite in support of genuine values. Multilateralism and respect for established rules and obligations, starting with the United Nations Charter, are the only way of providing the much-needed predictability in international relations.
We are building our future now, today and together. Despite all the deficiencies of international mechanisms, multilateralism and the United Nations, as its most visible and recognized form, endowed with the universal mission of preserving the peace, are still the key important catalysts encouraging joint efforts towards a better, safer and more just world.
Global challenges require a global response. No country can deal with twenty-first century problems on its own. Now more than ever, we need to demonstrate that multilateralism works and gives results in times of crisis. In that context, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ report Our Common Agenda (A/75/982) is to be our road map in pursuing global governance reforms that would open the way for the United Nations multilateral central system to adapt to the future and be able to contribute to joint endeavours.
The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development of course remains the starting point in pursuing global action. The Agenda not only addresses the chronic and persistent problems of poverty and inequitable development, but can also serve as a platform for finding solutions to all other problems, starting with the need for us to unite behind a new agenda for peace, while placing the human dimension in the focus of technological development in the digital era.
The Republic of North Macedonia is working intensively to accomplish the Sustainable Development Goals and supports all efforts aimed at making the United Nations stronger and more efficient. In pursuing the Sustainable Development Goals, as well as other development activities in the national, regional and global settings, we need to ground ourselves on the premise that we owe it to young generations to provide them with the conditions for progress.
Young people, their access to modern, forward- looking education and the resolution of problems they face must be at the centre of our attention and of our political engagement in the coming years. In that respect, I should like to emphasize that, for the second consecutive year, a youth representative from the Republic of North Macedonia is participating in the work of the General Assembly.
On 1 January 2023, the Republic of North Macedonia will have the honour of assuming the chairmanship of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), the largest regional security organization. This brings great responsibility, especially in light of the fact that my country will be taking over the OSCE chairmanship at a time when there is a military aggression in Europe, along with all ensuing consequences for peace and security in the OSCE area and beyond. Nevertheless, I am confident that we will successfully justify the trust bestowed upon us. North Macedonia has at times been the beneficiary of mediation-security mechanisms, including a United Nations peace mission, and has had first-hand experience of the benefits of the peacebuilding efforts of the international community. Relying on such experience, we stand ready to contribute to strengthening and developing security in the wider context. As the 2023 OSCE Chair, we will be fully committed to the noble mission of serving peace and security as a precondition for economic and social development, and I am confident that we will contribute to advancing multilateral security mechanisms.
Our confidence is based on our practice of living together in unity and on the related benefits in the national, regional and international contexts. Today in this Hall, I represent a country in which all ethnic communities have equal, constitutionally guaranteed rights and obligations. We are working to make the Republic of North Macedonia a civic, democratic society in which differences are regarded as an enriching advantage, and not as an obstacle. Standing united as a multi-ethnic, functional democracy, today we are a successful example of a mini-Europe in the Balkans.
However, bearing in mind the significance of mutual understanding, respect and support, which prompt and motivate unity, working together with our two neighbours, Albania and Serbia, we have established the Open Balkan initiative. Today, the initiative has grown into a successful example of regional interconnectivity. It has also contributed to our shared commitment to removing unnecessary barriers to the movement of people, trade, the transport of goods and the provision of services. In the present circumstances, the initiative has enabled us to ensure the availability of food for our citizens, based on our agreement to help each other if faced with food shortages in our respective domestic markets as a consequence of the global crisis. We have further agreed that there will be no bans on trade in basic agricultural and food products. We are also intensively considering options for cross-border trade in electricity and providing assistance with various energy sources as part of our effort to overcome the serious energy situation the entire world is facing.
We are also developing good-neighbourly relations with a keen sense of responsibility and through dialogue, convinced that safeguarding national and State interests does not run contrary to broader integration processes and advanced cooperation with countries in our neighbourhood. Quite the contrary, self-affirmation finds its most relevant and appropriate reflection in a wider community of shared values.
Guided by these policies of building bridges, while employing functional diplomacy, dialogue and understanding, we have succeeded in accomplishing the strategic goal of becoming part of NATO, and today we are a proud, fully-fledged member of the Alliance. Seventeen long years after we were granted European Union (EU) membership candidate status, we have started accession negotiations with the EU. My country attaches particular importance to our speedy EU integration. We are working with dedication and persistence to undertake all the steps required for the accomplishment of my country’s second strategic goal.
The citizens of North Macedonia have waited far too long for this moment, and I acknowledge and understand their frustration and fatigue on this long road to Europe. But we have no alternative path to reaching our goal of better living standards. No one promised that the road would be an easy one. Indeed, despite the difficulties, the EU still represents the best option for our future and that of our children. We have neither the opportunity nor the privilege to abandon it. Now is the time to maintain full speed ahead and even redouble our pace.
I would like to underscore that the EU membership of the Republic of North Macedonia is of essential importance also to the European Union itself, especially in the new circumstances of the global context, in which such a message of encouragement that the enlargement process continues and awaits the entire region, which, regardless of its progressive leadership, is not immune to global challenges. This is especially true in conditions in which the European integration and democratic path of the Western Balkan countries should and must be ensured as a contribution to European peace.
The story of my homeland, the Republic of North Macedonia, which two weeks ago celebrated 31 years of independence, is a story of peace, cooperation and understanding, through which it was established while dealing with challenges and overcoming threats both to our internal stability and on our way to international integration. I therefore underline that we are solution-oriented, working together to face challenges that do not recognize State borders or ethnic, linguistic, religious or any other differences.
I am especially honoured and pleased that, as Prime Minister of the Republic of North Macedonia, I have the opportunity to addressing Members for the first time here at the United Nations, the Organization that is the guardian of peace, solidarity and prosperity.
I would like to offer my appreciation to Mr. Abdulla Shahid, President of the General Assembly at its seventy-sixth session, for his successful work. I am confident that Mr. Csaba Korosi, who has assumed the presidency of the Assembly at the seventy-seventh session, will be equally successful.
The pandemic and the war in Ukraine have brought to light human weaknesses and fragility even in our modern twenty-first century. Yet, as the pandemic has also demonstrated the power of innovation and the ability of science to quickly produce the necessary vaccines, humankind must also continue relying on science and keep believing in its humanistic foundations and capabilities and peace.
We are all in the same boat and we have no other choice except to treat each other with solidarity and work in unity, defending and advancing the fundamental values of freedom and peace throughout the world. Peace is reached by making compromises, but peace is preserved with mutual understanding.