It is truly an honour
for me to address the Assembly at this global forum on
behalf of Montenegro and to reiterate our commitment
to the principles and purposes of the United Nations
and its Charter.
I hereby wish to congratulate Mr. Nassir
Abdulaziz Al-Nasser on his election as President of the
General Assembly at its sixty-sixth session, and to
pledge the full support of the Montenegrin delegation
as he carries out his demanding task. I also wish to
thank Mr. Joseph Deiss for his valuable contribution
and for strengthening the central role of the United
Nations in the global system during his presidency of
the General Assembly.
I would like to congratulate Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon on his reappointment, which I am certain
will result in the continuation of the reforms
undertaken to build a more efficient and coherent
United Nations system, and thus a safer and more
prosperous world.
Two months ago, Montenegro was replaced by
South Sudan as the youngest Member of our
Organization. I wish to congratulate South Sudan on its
independence and its full-fledged membership in this
body. I truly believe that this milestone will contribute
to security and serve as a good starting point for the
development of good-neighbourly relations.
We also support the democratization processes in
North Africa, as well as the actions taken by the United
Nations and the African Union in Côte d’Ivoire,
Somalia, the Congo and other parts of Africa to further
the overall progress of the entire continent.
In the context of regional cooperation,
Montenegro has contributed to overall stability in
South-East Europe by chairing the most important
regional initiatives, which has been a unique and rather
challenging experience for our Administration.
Montenegro is committed to further developing mutual
understanding and to strengthening all forms of
cooperation in the future. Our success and that of the
countries of our region is the success of Europe, too.
There is full consensus on the issue of European
Union integration in Montenegro. We are aware of the
fact that this process requires continuous contributions
from all stakeholders in our society. I am convinced
that we will have enough will, enthusiasm, capacity
and energy to tackle it during the forthcoming period.
I hope and believe that persistent and committed
work on the implementation of overall internal
reforms, based on the seven key recommendations
underlined by the European Commission and
accompanied by a policy of good-neighbourly relations
and regional and international cooperation, represent a
solid foundation for the European Commission to
recommend, in its progress report to the European
Council, that European Union (EU) accession talks be
opened with Montenegro.
We are taking firm steps forward on the
Euro-Atlantic path and are currently preparing our
second Annual National Programme as part of the
NATO membership process. The progress of the
Western Balkan countries towards European and Euro-
Atlantic integration is a key factor for regional stability
and lays the groundwork for long-term economic
prosperity.
As a United Nations Member State and a reliable
international partner, Montenegro is committed to the
maintenance of international peace and security.
Consistent with its capacities, Montenegro actively
participates in United Nations peacekeeping missions
in Liberia and Cyprus, while also keeping in mind the
regional security aspects.
Through our participation in the NATO-led
International Security Assistance Force, we directly
contribute to the efforts of the international community
to ensure lasting peace in Afghanistan, while at the
same time supporting global efforts in the fight against
terrorism. Through the EU ATALANTA mission, we
have joined the fight against piracy, the consequences
5 11-51360
of which have also been suffered by Montenegrin
sailors.
Nevertheless, in order to prevent new conflicts
that have the potential to cause humanitarian disasters
and put additional pressure on the already-burdened
peacekeeping mission contingents, it is necessary to
strengthen preventive diplomacy and mediation
activities in cases of potential and initiated conflict.
The further development of United Nations capacities
in this domain will contribute to the timely and
peaceful resolution of conflicts before their
complexities lead to serious international
repercussions.
In that regard, Montenegro strongly supports the
peaceful resolution of all existing conflicts, especially
those in the wider region of the Middle East and North
Africa. Priority should be given to the urgent signing
of a peace agreement between Israel and Palestine,
which is in their mutual interest. Only if both sides
refrain from violent actions will room be created for
confidence-building and a comprehensive solution to
the Middle East issue, making Israel a safe country, to
the benefit of both internationally recognized sides and
meeting the prerequisites for Palestine to establish a
stable State.
Montenegro also supports all the Security
Council resolutions and actions taken by the
international community aimed at stopping human
rights violations and fulfilling the legitimate
aspirations of populations, especially in Libya and
Syria.
Montenegro supports the principles of the
universality of human rights and the inadmissibility of
violating them or resolutions promoting their
protection and enhancement. We also support the
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights
and the Human Rights Council, to which we have
announced our candidature for the period 2013-2015.
Experience that Montenegro gained in its turbulent
past, when it provided shelter to refugees, can serve as
a basis for achieving long-lasting political
compromises aimed at securing peace in the region. In
our view, the Universal Periodic Review is an
important instrument for assessing the status of human
rights in the world.
I wish to emphasize our support of the work of
the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former
Yugoslavia, and the importance of all of the
international tribunals, especially when it comes to
systematic violations of fundamental human rights and
freedoms. They not only serve as an example and guide
for national courts, but they also function as a clear
deterrent to and inescapable destination for individuals
who ignore the rules established by the Geneva
Conventions.
Montenegro, as an ethnically, culturally and
religiously diverse society, is an active member of the
Group of Friends of the United Nations Alliance of
Civilizations and is committed to the fundamental
principles of integration, the strengthening of civil
society, tolerance and the fight against all forms of
discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance. We
are determined and committed to preserving the
fundamental values that civil society is based upon, no
matter what the challenges are and no matter what the
challenges that we, as a society and a State, will have
to face in the future.
Let me also briefly point out our current
economic developments. The fact that we are a small
and open economy, and therefore vulnerable to changes
in the global economic market, resulted in the global
economic and financial crisis stalling Montenegro’s
economic progress. Nevertheless, with the
implementation of our anti-crisis economic policy we
have lessened the impact of the global crisis and
stopped the downward trend in the Montenegrin
economy.
That crisis confirmed the soundness of the basic
principles of our economic policy — focusing on
further stabilization of public finances, improving the
business environment and structural reforms, so as to
establish a stable, dynamic and competitive economy
in the long term and to improve the quality of life of all
citizens of Montenegro. Despite being fully aware that,
if we are to mount an adequate response to the crisis,
we will have to make some difficult and unpopular cuts
in order to create a new, sound basis for strengthening
the economy, we also know that actions taken by one
stakeholder alone, no matter how successful, are
insufficient. We all have to play a positive role in order
to strike the right balance among success,
sustainability, social responsibility and solidarity in
this complex process.
Accordingly, we must not stop progress towards
achieving the Millennium Development Goals, the
realization of which creates the basis for the further
11-51360 6
development of human rights and fundamental
freedoms throughout the world. The fight against
poverty and diseases, gender equality, protection of
mothers and children, education, environmental
protection and sustainable development represent the
main prerequisites for progress and prosperity for our
societies and are high on our Government’s agenda.
Montenegro supports pragmatic reform in the
United Nations. As a small country, it is especially
interested in strengthening the authority and role of the
General Assembly — and other main United Nations
bodies — and in improving its efficiency of operation.
Increasing representation in the Security Council —
including granting a seat to the Group of Eastern
European States in the category of non-permanent
member — would result in a functional strengthening
of that body, improving its efficiency, accountability
and credibility, in accordance with the United Nations
Charter. A modern reform process, open to Member
States individually or to groups of countries, must be
based on a broad consensus on all five key aspects of
Security Council reform. I am sure that there is a way
to make a bridge between those goals and other
entities, such as the Group of 20, for instance.
In its further democratization, its improved
efficiency, its strengthened judiciary and administrative
system, its fight against corruption and organized
crime and its fostering of an inclusive society,
Montenegro and the resident and non-resident United
Nations agencies are working together to achieve the
strategic goals of our common policy. The United
Nations Development programme Resident
Representative and the One United Nations programme
have given an opportunity both to United Nations
agencies and State partners in the process to create and
monitor programme activities directly and on equal
footing, and to adapt programme activities to the
development needs of our country.
At the same time, the One United Nations
programme is an opportunity for gradual reform in the
operations of the United Nations system, creating a
simultaneous and well-coordinated approach that will
result, among other things, in avoiding overlaps
between United Nations agencies and in achieving
more efficient results in the implementation of national
priorities.
Montenegro supports nuclear non-proliferation
and objects to further expansion of the number of
countries that possess nuclear weapons. Moreover, we
support all agreements of the nuclear Powers on mutual
reduction of their nuclear capacities, creating a safer
world for existing and future generations. In that
context, I wish to thank the Secretary-General for the
appeal he sent late last month, requesting all countries
that have nuclear technology to adhere to the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. I wish to
emphasize that Montenegro ratified the Convention on
Cluster Munitions and that within less than a year it
destroyed all reserves of that type of weapons, thus
confirming again its commitment to the principles of
non-proliferation.
Montenegro is an environmentally conscious
State. That is a bedrock principle of our Constitution.
Based on that commitment, we have an additional
incentive to find solutions that are compatible with our
sustainable development policy. Our strategy for
development in Montenegro is to achieve synergy
between growth and employment, on the one hand, and
social equality, the environment and natural resources,
on the other.
The United Nations Conference on Sustainable
Development, which will take place in Rio de Janeiro
in 2012, represents an important opportunity to
promote international cooperation in the area of
sustainable development and an opportunity to make a
comprehensive evaluation of the progress made in the
past two decades. Montenegro, as a member of the
United Nations Commission on Sustainable
Development from 2011 to 2014, is committed to
contributing to the success of that Conference with its
constructive actions.
Montenegro is especially sensitive to climate
change issues. There are numerous potential negative
effects of climate change on Montenegro. A rise in sea
level and temperature would diminish biological
diversity. I therefore believe that the fight against
climate change requires a global, coordinated and
decisive international agreement, based on the
principles defined in the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change and its Kyoto Protocol.
The Framework Convention represents a key
multilateral forum for global action in the area of
climate change, and the sixteenth Conference of the
Parties in Cancún confirms that a multilateral approach
to climate change management under United Nations
auspices can give concrete results.
7 11-51360
Allow me to reiterate once again how honoured I
am to participate in the general debate of this global
forum on behalf of Montenegro and, together with the
representatives of 192 countries, to contribute directly
to the promotion of our mutual understanding and
peaceful coexistence, to the benefit of all of our
nations.