Mr. President, at the outset I should like to express our deep thanks to all
delegations of Member States for the uananimous decision to confer the
presidency of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly upon us. That
can be conceived as an application of the rules of procedure, which provide
that the presidency of the forty-seventh session will be given to a
representative of Eastern Europe. However, I should also like to see it as
support knowingly given for all that our people have done to ensure that
Bulgaria would remain an example in the difficult transition from dictatorship
towards normalcy.
I should also like to express my delegation's gratitude to
Ambassador Samir Shihabi for his valuable contributions to achievements of the
forty-sixth session.
On behalf of my country I am pleased to welcome the new States Members of
the United Nations. We hope that other peace-loving States prepared to
implement the principles of the Organization will make their contributions.
The Organization's work has now been going on without interruption,
albeit with ups and downs, for 47 years. Today, we are happy to be able to
say that it is entering a new stage. The aggressive communist system that had
set itself the goal of spreading its colour over the entire planet no longer
exists. The peoples under its domination paid dearly for that experiment.
State, economic and social structures are in ruins, and the environment been
degraded. When we add the new investments needed to divert to satisfying the
real needs of society the vast military machinery and weapons stockpiles that
were accumulated we cannot help but exclaim to ourselves: What a waste of
resources!
The common denominator of communism's deeds is the wasting of millions of
human lives. People have been killed, tortured, mutilated and removed from
active life. Let us pay tribute to them, for through their suffering history
has once again demonstrated that although violence may well create empires, it
cannot preserve them.
In assessing today the United Nations place in human civilization we
recall that our inheritance from the Roman Empire was not the frontiers
established by its legions but Roman law, Roman architecture and Roman
philosophy all products of the thinking of the people of that era. The same
holds true for the Eastern or colonial empires. Reason alone leaves lasting
fruits. The failure of the badly brought up and poorly educated who have
tried to govern the world has provided further proof of this.
It is unnecessary to come up with lengthy treatises to understand that
throughout the succession of different forms of social organization the
institutions that last are those that ensure the best opportunities for
thought to emerge, spread, endure and evolve. Thought knows no local or
international boundaries. It creates links across space and time. It truly
unites nations. The best way to give a new impetus to the United Nations is
to work to transform it into an Organization of united minds.
Only the individual can create a thought. Even with the traditional
predominance of the State in society, we must recognize that it is the human
being who bears the responsibility for maintaining parliamentary democracy and
the effective production of goods. The protection of the human rights of each
human being must be the fundamental condition for accepting any State into the
United Nations family. Today, as we assess the 47 years that have gone by and
seek new directions, we see that compromise in this area is very costly and
the price is not paid only by those in the Gulag Archipelago; it is paid by
everyone.
We know that totalitarian regimes provoke domestic and international
crises and that their authoritarian decisions threaten nature and sometimes
even mankind's survival.
I should like to pay tribute to the Secretary-General,
Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, who submitted his report, "An Agenda for Peace," at
a time when a new atmosphere prevails within the United Nations. The
Bulgarian delegation warmly welcomes his message, which is designed to guide
the Organization towards efficiency and concrete results. It goes
without saying that the fundamental condition for the reform proposed by the
Secretary-General is the bridging of the gap between the declarations of
States and their true policies.
The Bulgarian delegation supports the principal ideas in "An Agenda for
Peace" and welcomes the fact that a "constructive discussion on that basis has
been initiated at the present session. We consider it would be useful to
create a special working group to accelerate the evaluation of comments and
proposals submitted by Member States.
For the Bulgarian delegation the link between international peace,
development and respect for human rights is basic. That link exists in the
Charter, and it was emphasized at the Security Council Summit Meeting on
31 January 1992. We should have it constantly in our minds when discussing
ideas of preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping and peacemaking.
Preventive diplomacy is a necessity, and the Secretary-General must be
supported in his efforts to develop that concept and give it practical
dimensions. In this connection there is a whole range of activities that
might be considered, such as: information-gathering on problems that may
provoke conflicts; the establishment of contacts with forces that may become
involved in conflict; the dispatch of fact-finding or other missions, both
long-term and short-term; the sending of special representatives; the
deployment of civilian or military observers; and, lastly, the deployment of
military troops should the need arise.
United Nations efforts in the realm of preventive diplomacy,
crisis-management and post-conflict peace-building must also include a greater
and more effective cooperation with regional organizations. We support the
Secretary-General's idea of making better use of the potential of regional
organizations. In our view this entails creating a system to coordinate the
efforts of agencies working at both the global and regional levels. As of
now, there could be such coordination with regard to the sending of
fact-finding missions or special rapporteurs, or to similar measures. We
believe that interesting ideas may emerge from a discussion of the
opportunities available to the United Nations to delegate certain functions to
regional organizations as provided in Chapter VIII of the Charter. At the
same time, we must not forget that the supreme responsibility for the
maintenance of peace has been entrusted to the United Nations.
We consider very useful the experience already acquired through the work
of the Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE). As an
example, let us take the establishment of the post of High Commissioner on
National Minorities, whose tasks could well be considered to come within the
field of preventive diplomacy, or all the confidence-building measures drafted
in the course of the Helsinki process, including the recently signed "Open
Skies" Treaty. Here I might mention a measure proposed by the Bulgarian
delegation at the Vienna negotiations, and already successfully tried, which
is to invite accredited military attaches to visit zones of tension in the
country where they are posted. With necessary adjustments, when feasible,
many of these measures could acguire universal status.
We feel that the reverse process could also be employed. The notion of
creating a universal register of conventional arms could also be implemented
at the regional level to prevent quantities of conventional weapons capable of
destabilizing a region from being stockpiled without any preventive control.
Regional registers would not only ensure increased transparency, but would
also assist in the creation and functioning of a world register. Bulgaria
reaffirms its commitment to the implementation of resolution 46/36 L,
"Transparency in armaments."
The reform of the United Nations cannot take place without strengthening
confidence among States. Continuation of the disarmament process is
absolutely necessary if the new climate in the world is to be maintained. We
pay a tribute to Presidents George Bush and Boris Yeltsin for having taken
courageous steps to reduce offensive nuclear weapons and to diminish the risk
of a nuclear holocaust. We hope that they will continue their efforts and
carry this process to its completion.
Encouraged by the success achieved in nuclear disarmament and knowing
that regional conflicts are still raging, we feel that it is time to take a
decisive step to resolve the problem of the non-proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. As a State party to the non-proliferation Treaty, Bulgaria
knows its value and supports the efforts to make it universal. We are in
favour of having it continue in force indefinitely after 1995.
We participated in the drafting of the Convention on chemical weapons
which we expect to see adopted at this session. From this lofty rostrum I
should like to confirm Bulgaria's will to be among the first countries to sign
the Convention and to work for its entry into force as quickly as possible.
In putting forth efforts to prevent world war, we must not forget that
regional wars are raging. Whether we speak about Iraq, Somalia, on Bosnia and
Herzegovina, the malady is universal, even if solutions can only be individual.
Since the beginning of the Yugoslav crisis, Bulgaria has adopted a
position aimed at preventing the conflict from spreading and at cooperating
with the international community in efforts to find a political solution to
the conflict. We participated in the London Conference, which stimulated
international efforts by launching a process of negotiations under the
auspices of the United Nations and the European Community. Bulgaria firmly
supports the principles drafted by the Conference because we feel that they
are the basis for a lasting and comprehensive solution to the conflict.
Bulgaria has recognized all of the Republics which, in accordance with
constitutional procedures, have clearly expressed their desire to become
sovereign States. That makes it possible to bring all the parties of the
former Federation together round a negotiating table but if one or two of
them were to be absent, it would be impossible to do so. We have therefore
recognized the existing international borders, showing clearly that we are not
getting ready to take advantage of our neighbour's difficulties for
nationalist purposes.
At this time it is extremely important to contain the conflict and to
prevent its spread. The Bulgarian Government has decided to continue to work
together with the international community in carrying out the decisions of the
London Conference and of the Security Council.
An additional but effective way is to deploy international observer
missions. Since the end of last year, the Bulgarian Government has declared
several times that it was ready to accept such a mission on its territory. We
support the decision taken by the Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE) to send missions to the neighbouring countries of Serbia and
Montenegro and we pay a tribute to the mission of the European Community which
is in Bulgaria.
I should like to recall that we invited another special mission of the
European Community and of the CSCE to lend assistance to our authorities in
the implementation of Security Council resolutions imposing economic sanctions
and the embargo on imports of weapons into the former Yugoslavia.
And while we are speaking of sanctions, I should like to draw the
Assembly's attention to the fact that they also affect the countries which
apply them. Whether we talk about the case of Iraq, Libya or the former
Yugoslavia, a large number of Bulgarian enterprises have been seriously
affected and our entire economy has suffered serious losses. If we wish to
punish only the guilty party, it would be only fair to consider setting up a
compensation programme for the non-guilty party.
Bulgaria will continue its efforts to organize a conference to reaffirm
the applicability in the Balkans of the principles of the CSCE. The Bulgarian
initiative for a Balkan forum is a concrete example of the general principles
of the Helsinki Final Act, as applied to the actual conditions in the
Balkans. In this context the setting up and carrying out of a special
programme for the economic recovery of the Balkan States, a kind of "Marshall
Plan", is of prime importance.
Bulgaria is working to establish relations with neighbouring States on a
stable legal basis. We have concluded treaties of friendship, cooperation and
good-neighbourliness with Greece, Turkey and Romania, and we are now in the
process of signing such a treaty with Albania, Slovenia and Croatia. We wish
to live in peace and a state of good-neighbourliness with all the peoples in
our region, including the Serbian and Montenegrin peoples with whom we have
long historic ties. We hope that, as soon as possible, they will once again
find their place in this Hall. That would be the best sign that the problems
have already been resolved.
The death of thousands of people and the suffering of millions of
others, especially women, children and the elderly, the huge flows of
refugees, and the barbaric practice of ethnic cleansing must not be
forgotten. These flagrant violations of humanitarian international law have
eloquently shown the overriding need to create an international penal court
which would have the competence to judge individuals who commit crimes against
peace and humanity. Perhaps it would be appropriate to analyse the
possibilities of using for these purposes one of the permanent courts already
in existence the International Court of Justice or the European Court of
Human Rights. In any case, this requires discussion and Bulgaria favours
continuing the work of the International Law Commission on drawing up the
draft statute for such a court.
We think that after the cold war it is imperative to strengthen the role
of international law in international relations. This is necessary, in our
view, because the bipolar structure of international relations has disappeared
and therefore it is necessary to replace it with clear, precise, legal rules
which are also universally recognized. On that basis, we should, in our
opinion, promote above all, the strict implementation of the provisions of the
Charter and strengthen the role of the United Nations in international
affairs.
Bulgaria energetically supports all actions and measures which have been
laid down in the biennial programme for the United Nations Decade of
International Law. We are convinced that the most important part of the
programme is the part dealing with ways and means to bring about the peaceful
settlement of international disputes. In this context, I should like to
inform representatives that on 23 June 1992 the Bulgarian Government deposited
with the Secretary-General a Declaration of Acceptance of the binding
jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice. Furthermore, on that same
day we withdrew our reservations on the jurisdictional provisions of a number
of international conventions, such as the International Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimation, the International Convention
against the Taking of Hostages, and others. I should like to extend the
Bulgarian delegation's support for the recommendation of the Secretary-General
contained in paragraph 38 of his report "An Agenda for Peace", namely that the
General Assembly could, pursuant to Article 96, paragraph 2, of the Charter,
authorize the Secretary-General to take advantage of the advisory competence
of the International Court of Justice. Such a possibility would considerably
strengthen the effectiveness of the work of the Secretary- General.
I began my statement with some thoughts about the role of man as the
only being capable of using reason and of original thought. Honour and
dignity are inherent in each human being, and history shows us that all
conflicts are more or less linked to violations of human rights. Our
Organization has created very good standards in this field and emphasis must
now be placed on improving the machinery for monitoring and implementing
existing standards.
The crises that have followed the disintegration of multinational
federations have demonstrated the importance of the problems of ethnic and
religious minorities within the overall framework of human rights protection.
In this context, my country is deeply concerned over the fate of the Bulgarian
minority in Serbia. Although it is not directly affected by the war, this
population has a justified feeling of insecurity with regard to its future and
identity, and should not be forgotten by the international community.
Democratic Bulgaria has succeeded in finding an original and effective
approach to solving these problems. The Bulgarian Turks have their
representatives in the national parliament, and bear their share of the
responsibility for the future of our country. Ethnic tolerance is a
characteristic trait of the Bulgarian people; one of the most telling example
is the way the Jews in Bulgaria were rescued during the Second World War.
The words "war" and "peace" have been intermingled in my speech, as they
are, moreover, in real life. But it is clear that peace will win out in the
end, because it is in peace that man shows himself to be reasonable and
creative. Those who preach peace still remain among us; those who cry
violence are not. That is why, in Bulgaria, we have said a last farewell to
communism and sided with the nations that are united in their way of thinking.