In the 364 days since I last had
the honour to address this Assembly, the world has
changed dramatically. We have seen a profound change
in the global security situation. We see unprecedented
threats to peace and security in post-Second World War
Europe and the world, while terrorism, climate change,
human rights violations and the spread of the Ebola
virus continue to be global challenges.
We need a concerted effort to achieve peace and
stability in Europe and the Middle East, and to restore
the credibility of international law. No circumstances
can ever justify terrorism in any form. By signing
United Nations anti-terrorism conventions States have
promised to prevent and investigate terrorist crimes as
well as to refrain from supporting or tacitly tolerating
those crimes.
The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)
poses a serious threat to the people of Iraq and Syria
as well as the broader Middle East. This terrorist
organization executes prisoners, kills civilians and
commits genocidal acts against religious and national
minorities. Its brutality, barbarous crimes and extreme
ideology threaten all of humanity. It challenges the
universal human values enshrined in United Nations
documents. We must stop the terrorists. Estonia
commends all global efforts to fight the ISIL and other
terrorist organizations and stands ready to contribute
to those efforts. I should like to welcome the adoption
today of Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), on
foreign terrorist fighters.
A quarter of a century ago in the annus mirabilis
1989, Europe and the democratic world celebrated an
historical sea change. The Berlin Wall fell. The Cold
War that had divided the world into hostile camps for
half a century ended. This year we should celebrate an
anniversary of the triumph of freedom and democracy.
Instead, 2014 has turned out to be a year when the
international order as we have known it since the
cold war, has been violated and put in doubt. Cynical
geopolitics in international relations has once again
come to the fore. The international agreements upon
which the stability of the post-Second World War
security architecture relied, have been compromised.
Let me recall what we have collectively agreed
upon. The Charter of the United Nations of 1945
declares:
“All Members shall refrain in their international
relations from the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of
any state”.
In the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, all trans-Atlantic
countries agreed not to use force to change borders
or challenge the political independence of any State.
States agreed to regard one another’s frontiers as
inviolable; to refrain from making each other’s territory
the object of military organized occupation. No such
occupation or acquisition would be recognized as legal.
In the 1990 Conference on Security and Cooperation in
Europe (CSCE) Charter of Paris for a New Europe, all
signatories, from Vancouver to Vladivostok, agreed to
“fully recognize the freedom of States to choose their
own security arrangements”.
By annexing Crimea and invading Eastern
Ukraine, one of the signatories has violated all of these
agreements. Thus, we find ourselves in a completely
new and unforeseen security environment. We must
enforce the fundamental agreements upon which our
peace and security rely.
The Ukrainian crisis is not solely a conflict
between two countries. It is not even solely a European
issue. If instead of agreements and laws raw brute force
will apply in international relations; if changing State
borders by force will become an accepted norm, then the
stability of the whole world is threatened. As President
Obama said this morning, “This is a vision of the world
in which might makes right” (A/69/PV.6, p. 11). And he
added, “We believe that right makes might” (ibid.). So
does Estonia. We believe that too.
Such developments must be firmly condemned.
The international community cannot leave Crimea as
it is now. We cannot accept frozen conflicts created for
geopolitical ends. Referendums that are in agreement
with international law cannot be arranged in two weeks in
the presence of foreign armed forces. The results of such
referendums cannot be considered valid. Independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain the
fundamental rights of States and nations. That includes
their right to direct their own future and to choose their
allies, as stated in the CSCE Paris Charter. Such free
choices by sovereign nations cannot be accepted as an
excuse for aggression. However, it was not Ukraine’s
wish even to choose its security arrangements that was
used as justification for aggression. Its mere desire to
enhance trade and political relations with the European
Union, which is not a security arrangement, led to the
country’s dismemberment.
What can we do, then, to restore the validity of
international agreements? There were warning signs
of current events in Ukraine earlier. Alarm bells rang
already six years ago in Georgia, but few bothered to
hear the wake-up call. We must take, therefore, conflict
prevention more seriously. We must support States in
their choice of democracy, the rule of law and human
rights and decisions that follow from that. These recent
developments force us seriously to reconsider the role
of the United Nations. How can one of the fundamental
goals of the United Nations, global peace and security,
be promoted when basic international agreements are
ignored, State borders are changed, and territories are
annexed through force?
We cannot ignore that the Security Council has been
paralysed as international justice has been manipulated
and multiple crises have escalated. The Security Council
needs to be reformed. Its work methods and principles
must be revised, with special attention on the openness,
accountability and transparency of its processes. The
permanent members of the Security Council bear
enormous responsibility in guaranteeing international
peace. No permanent member should abuse the veto to
circumvent the principles of the United Nations Charter.
Human rights remain the most cherished of values
of the United Nations. Unfortunately, respect for
human rights can still not be assumed to be the norm.
We cannot accept arguments that for some countries
human rights do not apply for cultural reasons. Human
rights, as stated in the Universal Declaration, are
universal, inalienable and inviolable. They are based
on the humanity and dignity of each and every person.
No peace or justice, stability or security can
be guaranteed unless the basic rights of all human
beings are respected and protected in every country
by all Governments. We must, moreover, pay special
attention to the rights of the most vulnerable groups.
Women’s rights must be protected everywhere. It is
crucial that empowering women and action against
gender-based violence be implemented in accordance
with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). We must
respect the rights of children and minorities, as well as
those of indigenous people. We must care for people
with special needs.
Free speech remains a crucial right. Some States
have made efforts to stop the free flow of information
on the Internet and to divide cyberspace along State
borders. This we must avoid. The Internet must remain
a universal platform for the uninhibited exchange of
information. Estonia is proud to be a founding member
of the Freedom Online Coalition, a community of 23
nations committed to promoting free speech online, and
the multi-stakeholder model of a free and open Internet.
It is a global initiative that brings together Governments,
non-governmental organizations, entrepreneurs and
think tanks.
In April, the Freedom Online Coalition gathered in
our capital and issued the Tallinn Agenda, a statement
expressing our strongly shared conviction that all people
are entitled to the same rights and freedoms, online as
well as offline. This is not a lifestyle question. The
Internet is a driver of economic growth and a key tool
for development. Since the 1990s it has blossomed into a
global network of nearly three billion users. Most of the
next billion Internet users will come from developing
countries. The United Nations post-2015 development
agenda should recognize the importance of new
technologies and e-services as a major contribution to
the security and prosperity of the world. As we grow
more dependent on digital services in our daily lives,
we become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cyber
security is essential, not just for protecting rights,
but also for economic prosperity. Cyberattacks can
paralyse crucial services or infrastructure. They can
cause enormous economic damage. Limiting access to,
or censoring the contents of the Internet, however, is
not the answer to cyber insecurity.
Achieving sustainable development is essential in
order to tackle some of the challenges we face. Even
in the current fragile security environment, we must
take care of the future of the planet and work towards
a world where everyone can live a dignified life,
free from poverty, violence and exclusion. In today’s
interdependent world, this is hard to achieve without
peace and stability.
The world today also faces the outbreak of a
deadly virus. This is no longer a local concern of a
few countries. Ebola has become an international
public health emergency. Despite efforts already made
by Governments and international organizations the
outbreak races ahead. We support the efforts of the
Global Ebola Response Coalition tasked to contain and
stop the spread of the virus.
Climate change is already an existential threat
to some countries. It has a dramatic impact on their
living conditions and their security. The small island
developing States are most vulnerable. If we do not act
soon enough other countries will be threatened as well.
We must see this problem globally, not just from the
perspective of short-term national or economic interest.
The risks of conflict, violence, insecurity, financial
and economic collapse, climate change, lack of resources
and natural disasters are inextricably intertwined and
need to be addressed comprehensively. The new post-
2015 development agenda must be truly universal.
Sustainable development goals are best addressed
together. Progress in these fields will be guaranteed by
good governance, transparency of decision-making and
low corruption. Effective and accountable institutions
are powerful enablers of sustainable development, and
modern digital technology helps us to create them. In
Estonia, we have developed an e-governance system
that increases transparency and limits corruption.
We have been sharing the system with all interested
partners and we continue to be willing to do so.
Since 8 May 1945, we have believed that we had
been freed of certain ideological demons for good. Yet
today we see the return of long-discredited ideas dating
back to 1938. The existence of co-ethnics abroad has
been used as a justification to annex territory. This is in
2014, not in 1938. So, too, we have seen a return to the
ideologies of hatred, lies and propaganda. We must be
clear in condemning extreme nationalism, homophobia,
xenophobia and religious extremism. We need to recall
and reaffirm the values that the United Nations was
created to protect. The United Nations, a unique global
instrument of security and peace, must succeed where
the League of Nations once failed.
Let us not forget that 75 years ago, on 23 August
1939, a pact was signed between Hitler’s Germany
and Stalin’s Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to
divide Eastern Europe into their spheres of influence.
A week later, on 1 September, Hitler attacked Poland.
On 17 September, two and a half weeks later, Hitler’s
erstwhile ally, the Soviet Union, also attacked Poland,
and the Second World War had begun.
The date of 31 August this year marked 20 years
since the occupation forces left Estonia — troops that
were there as a result of that same Stalin-Hitler pact. Yet
just a few days later on 5 September, an Estonian police
officer was abducted by foreign security services on
Estonian territory and taken by force to Moscow, where
he is still being held in the infamous Lefortovo prison.
We cannot allow anyone ever to divide countries
into spheres of influence. The community of nations is
only secure when its smallest members can feel secure.
We cannot and will not accept threats and intimidation
in twenty-first century international relations. We
cannot have peace, security or prosperity in Europe, or
in the world, unless we again find a way to enforce and
revalidate the agreements that we have all signed and
are parties to.