Let me at the outset welcome
South Sudan as the 193rd Member of the United
Nations. I commend the successful conduct of the
referendum on independence as a manifestation of the
principle of self-determination. That historic act has
put an end to a long civil war on the African continent
and opened up new horizons for the stability and
prosperity of the people of South Sudan.
Hungary fully aligns itself with the statement
made earlier by President Van Rompuy on behalf of the
European Union. To complement this, allow me to
outline my country’s position on three issues figuring
high on our foreign policy and development agenda,
namely, the Arab Spring, sustainable development and
the prevention and control of non-communicable
diseases.
More than 20 years ago, Central and Eastern
Europe, including my country, Hungary, was the scene
of sweeping political changes. Beginning in early 2011,
the world has witnessed, yet again, the outburst of
popular will for profound transformation, this time in
North Africa and the Middle East. Those of us who
took active part in the democratization process and the
transition to the rule of law and market economies in
our region have been following the events of the Arab
Spring with great empathy and understanding.
The revolutions leading to sweeping shifts in
Tunisia, Egypt and other countries were equally driven
by sincere desires for a better life and for putting in
place new political systems capable of better
responding to the aspirations of all parts of society. The
voices of Tahrir Square echoed the aspirations of
millions of people.
The overthrow of autocratic regimes is,
nevertheless, only the first step in that direction. As
shown by our own experience, the most difficult stages
of the transformation process are yet to come. The
victorious popular uprisings of the Arab Spring have
encountered tremendous challenges in terms of
establishing new power structures, drafting new
constitutions and other basic laws, as well as
conducting free and democratic elections, just to
mention a few. Essentially those measures require an
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internally driven process, carried out with the support
of the international community.
Hungarian society has, on the one hand, already
successfully met many of those challenges and, on the
other hand, made some avoidable mistakes. We
therefore feel equipped to share our experiences and to
offer a substantive toolkit for good governance and
democratic change. As a good friend and supporting
partner, Hungary truly hopes that those undergoing
transitional periods today will be able to benefit from
both our achievements and our omissions.
Far be it from us, of course, to try to give advice
or provide ready-made solutions. While we advocate
the universal character of human rights and
fundamental freedoms, as well as the virtues of the rule
of law and good governance, we believe that those
ideals can be implemented only in conjunction with
respect for the cultural, religious and other traditions of
each nation.
At this stage of what we see as a long transformation
process in the Arab world, we thus offer to share our own
experiences and lessons learned. The Hungarian
Government, in cooperation with non-governmental
organizations, has already carried out, and plans to
carry out in future, concrete projects and programmes
aimed at, inter alia, assisting the new emerging
democracies in North Africa and the Middle East in the
field of institution-building, security-sector reform, and
drawing up the legislative framework for political and
economic renewal. We welcome the central role and
increasing involvement of the United Nations and its
various agencies in support of the democratization of
those countries. Hungary stands ready to contribute to
such efforts and provide its specialized expertise.
Over the past two decades, since the Earth
Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the three pillars of
sustainable development have been the focus of the
international development agenda. Time has shown that
only a coherent approach to the environmental,
economic and social aspects of this concept can ensure
the long-term survival and prosperity of mankind. We
should not miss this chance to formulate new courses
of action in this era of reinforced mutual
interdependence and globalization.
Against the background of the constantly
deteriorating global environment, it is an increasingly
demanding task to strike the necessary balance
between ensuring growth in all regions of the world, a
decent life for our societies and the preservation of
natural resources in the interests of the survival of our
planet. One of the responses to this dilemma is the
concept of a green economy, which is gaining ever-
greater support. We consider the United Nations
Conference on Sustainable Development as a unique
event aimed at generating the widest possible support
for and acceptance of this green concept. Its goal is to
support the sustainability of socio-economic
development at the national, regional and global levels.
In addition, the concept of a green economy has
the potential to also contribute to job creation and the
eradication of poverty. If implemented in a coherent
manner, it will create new resources for achieving the
internationally agreed development goals. There is no
doubt that achieving these goals will require innovative
thinking in terms of technology transfer, investment
and fair trade.
In order to put this concept into practice, a
reorganization of the environmental architecture of the
United Nations is needed. Such reform should pursue
the goal of streamlining and unifying the existing
structures, with a view to increasing the coherence and
efficiency of the system as a whole.
It is our shared responsibility to develop joint
strategies to mitigate the effects of non-communicable
diseases. Their rapid growth is preventable and can be
controlled to a significant extent. Hungary has been in
the forefront of this fight, with national cancer and
diabetes control systems in place that may contribute to
paving the way for functional alternatives around the
world. It is also our fundamental belief that the
development of comprehensive national and regional
strategies for control programmes can significantly
lower the incidence of these illnesses. This can
contribute to prevention, early detection and adequate
treatment in a cost-effective way. We are also proud of
Hungary’s long-standing tradition of sharing
knowledge and providing educational and training
programmes for students and experts from all over the
world. In the past decades, hundreds of students from
outside Hungary have obtained their medical degrees
in our country. We are cooperating with various
countries, sharing knowledge and experiences in order
to contribute to the collective efforts that need to be
made to bring about better health worldwide.
The High-level Meeting gave momentum to this
fight, which needs to be fought not only on an
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individual level by the victims of these diseases, but
also by our countries and by the international
community working together. We need to capitalize on
this in order to reach the ultimate goal of saving lives
around the world and thereby move further towards
one of the founding objectives of the United Nations:
human development.
As members may know, Hungary has put forward
its candidacy for Security Council membership in
2012-2013. We continue to uphold the principles and
objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United
Nations and international law, such as the equality of
nations, the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect
for human rights. Hungary also stands ready to
contribute in a meaningful way to all efforts aimed at
enhancing the capabilities of the United Nations in the
field of conflict prevention and mediation. We believe
in an integrated approach to conflict resolution and will
advocate a stronger integration of security and
development concerns, as well as enhanced interaction
between the Council and other main organs of the
United Nations.
Let me conclude by assuring the Assembly once
again that Hungary will continue to contribute its
utmost to strengthening the global cooperation of
countries within the United Nations system, which is
so strongly needed to tackle today’s challenges.