Croatia

It is a distinct pleasure for me to participate in the general debate of the General Assembly for the first time since my election as President of Croatia. At the outset, I would like to congratulate Ambassador Al-Nasser on his election as President of the General Assembly in its sixty-sixth session. I also thank Joseph Deiss for his excellent work during his presidency of the General Assembly in the preceding session. Let me also congratulate Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on his re-election to that important and challenging post and assure him of the full cooperation of my country. Current challenges — the fall of autocratic regimes, nuclear non-proliferation, terrorism, the continuing global financial and economic crisis, climate change, underdevelopment — require all of us here at the United Nations to firmly stand together and offer common solutions on the basis of solidarity, responsibility and respect for the rights and dignity of every person on the globe. Our responses to challenges must not remain just words. We need to translate them into concrete actions, aimed at advancing democracy, enhancing development and well-being, protecting human rights, respecting international law, ensuring 11-50871 32 social justice and promoting the rule of law, at the domestic, regional and international levels. I welcome the President’s decision to hold this debate under the theme of “The role of mediation in the settlement of disputes”. Mediation has rightly been recognized as an efficient and cost-effective tool, which the United Nations has at its disposal in addressing threats to the maintenance of international peace and security. Political issues often lie at the heart of crises. Therefore, the importance of early engagement and preventive diplomacy, including mediation, is even more significant in this period when United Nations peacekeeping operations are experiencing unprecedented demand and strain. My country has come a long way since the conflict in the 1990s, when Croatia hosted a total of five United Nations peacekeeping operations on its territory. We have developed a stable democracy and a free-market economy, and we serve as an anchor of peace, security and stability in the region of South-East Europe. That experience and the lessons learned have been the backdrop for our engagement in the Security Council, where Croatia has proved to be a responsible and dedicated partner in the common effort to maintain and build peace. We intend to pursue efforts with the same vigour in the Peacebuilding Commission, the Economic and Social Council and other United Nations bodies for which Croatia is a candidate. When all efforts to avoid conflict fail, the international community turns as a rule to the United Nations to stop the hostilities and maintain peace. Croatia will continue its engagement in peacekeeping operations under United Nations auspices. But keeping the peace is not enough. In countries emerging from conflict, peace needs to be strengthened and consolidated. Croatia has, in a relatively short time, effectively transitioned from a donor-recipient to a donor-provider. Today we share our knowledge and experiences with countries in the region, as well as with other countries in crisis, where our post-conflict experience in nation- building is particularly relevant. My country, working together with other Member States and the United Nations as a whole — and acting with the same enthusiasm and spirit that clearly characterized the international community’s ambitions almost six years ago when the Peacebuilding Commission was established — stands ready to play its part in the revival of the peacebuilding architecture and thorough implementation of its core functions. Croatia has completed its accession negotiations with the European Union (EU) and expects to become a full member in 2013. Once it joins the EU, Croatia will consistently advocate further EU enlargement and will not use its outstanding bilateral issues to set conditions for the progress of individual countries in the process of their integration with the EU. I have held numerous meetings with my counterparts in the region, in particular the Presidents of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In our meetings, we have discussed the continuation of the reconciliation process, the resolution of outstanding issues among the three States and our mutual political support. Croatia has pledged technical assistance in the process of integration into the European Union and has stressed the need to jointly define regional networks of infrastructure systems and submit them as regional projects for funding from EU funds. As a member of NATO and a future member of the EU, we have a keen interest to see South-East Europe become a region of security, stability and development. That may not happen overnight, but I firmly believe that with sustained effort and targeted actions by all politicians and peoples, the region will lose its negative reputation as an arena of political fragmentation often accompanied by bloodshed, and will deservedly become known as an area where good- neighbourly relations, tolerance and mutual cooperation prevail, thus making it a European success story of peacebuilding and reconciliation. However, without justice, efforts to ensure true reconciliation and sustainable peace may be unable to take root firmly. Croatia strongly supports determined efforts to put an end to impunity for the most serious crimes of concern to humanity and, in that context, reaffirms its commitment to international criminal justice in general and to the activities of the International Criminal Court in particular. Croatia supports the main purpose and primary functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), namely, the establishment of a lasting peace and reconciliation. Croatia appreciates the efforts to implement the ICTY completion strategy and its transformation towards residual mechanisms. Full cooperation with the ICTY 33 11-50871 and respect for international justice are a lasting commitment for us, not only in the context of the Euro-Atlantic integration processes, but also as an expression of Croatia’s core values and its role in the international community. We greatly appreciate the legacy of the ICTY, especially its contribution to international law, justice and reconciliation. That legacy has already improved national judiciaries in the region through its promotion of high standards of criminal responsibility for breaches of humanitarian law. Further development of international law, both international and national judiciaries and a better understanding of justice will be based on this positive legacy, but also on the lessons learned from some of the ICTY’s weaknesses. Future development of international criminal law should consider improving the efficiency of international courts and of State cooperation, as well as instituting a critical evaluation of some procedural and substantive laws. In that regard, we should consider more efficient measures to be taken in cases of non-cooperative States, the position of victims and their compensation, and the protection of witnesses, as well as the concept of joint criminal enterprise, and others. The protection of fundamental rights and freedoms must be ensured when addressing very serious security challenges, such as international terrorism. Croatia strongly supports the values and objectives of the United Nations Global Counter- Terrorism Strategy, since it confirms that the United Nations is at the centre of global counter-terrorism efforts. We had the privilege of chairing the Counter- Terrorism Committee during Croatia’s membership in the Security Council, and we are willing to share our knowledge and experience with others, in the region and beyond. The Arab Spring, which is rooted in the legitimate aspirations of ordinary people for improved economic opportunities and political participation, has just moved into summer, but its democratic gains must be preserved if we do not want to see another relapse into instability. I believe that the course of recent events in Libya has clearly confirmed that the coalition forces and the Security Council took the right approach in protecting civilians from the brute force of the old regime. I hope that the democratic forces in Libya will begin to build a new State that will provide the same level of protection and equal opportunities for all Libya’s citizens. It is crucial to work towards establishing the rule of law throughout the country. We trust that the National Transitional Council will succeed in achieving that goal. My country is ready to participate in Libya’s reconstruction, especially given its experience in post-conflict nation- and institution- building. Taking into account new political and humanitarian priorities in the field, Croatia has sent targeted humanitarian assistance to Libya, with an emphasis on medical and humanitarian needs. In the same vein, Croatia has recognized the legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, who need and deserve wide and undivided support. We share the international community’s belief that it is essential to normalize the situation and prevent further mass violations of human rights, strengthen democratic standards and the rule of law, and assist those who share the vision of a democratic Syria. Croatia shares the sense of urgency concerning the importance of securing an early resumption and conclusion of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, aimed at achieving a two-State solution. The current unprecedented and deep changes in the political landscape of the Middle East call for urgent and highly responsive action by all parties concerned. Mutual recognition — Israel’s recognition of a Palestinian State and Palestine’s recognition of the Jewish State — constitutes both the starting point and the desired outcome of peace negotiations. Failure to move forward on a two-State solution now may have unpredictable negative consequences, not only for Israel and Palestine, but for the whole international community. Given our recent experience of war and reconciliation, Croatia calls on the leaders of the parties concerned to shoulder their historic responsibility for the future of their peoples and for peace and stability in the Middle East. Recently, we witnessed an example of a new State being created in a generally peaceful manner, and I welcome South Sudan as the newest Member of the United Nations. However, this and many other ongoing crises, in the Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and other places, confirm the irreplaceable role of the United Nations in ending conflicts; and in this context mediation, as the theme of our debate, becomes even more relevant. Croatia continues to promote universal human rights and supports the mainstreaming of human rights 11-50871 34 within the United Nations framework. In that context, we give particular attention to issues such as the abolition of the death penalty, gender equality and combating all forms of discrimination, as well as the promotion of the human rights of the most vulnerable social groups, including women, children and persons with disabilities. Croatia strongly supports the concepts of the universality, interrelatedness and indivisibility of all human rights. Croatia welcomes the establishment of UN-Women, the new United Nations body focused on supporting gender equality and the empowerment of women. Croatia also supports relevant initiatives on the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and will continue to be actively engaged in the follow-up process to the 2008 joint statement on human rights, sexual orientation and gender identity (see A/63/PV.70). In response to dramatic changes in the world in the last few decades, comprehensive reforms of the United Nations system as a whole have been put forward. Those proposals include structural reform and improvements in the way United Nations bodies function, as well as revitalization of the General Assembly. Although there are many important elements in this process, reforming the Security Council remains essential. Croatia believes that the Security Council must adequately represent the current structure of the membership of the United Nations. We therefore support enlarging the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent membership categories. Taking into consideration that the number of members of the Eastern European Group has almost doubled, Croatia proposes that one seat be added for the Group in the non-permanent category. Croatia is also aware of the importance of resolving all the other elements of Security Council reform. As we witness the increasing challenges appearing around the world, it is clear that we must all make every effort to strengthen the capability, efficiency and credibility of the United Nations in general. We welcome the establishment of the Change Management Team, and look forward to seeing proposals for streamlining processes, increasing accountability and improving the efficiency of the United Nations in delivering its mandates. The challenges and consequences of climate change are undermining efforts to achieve sustainable development. Climate change must be further mainstreamed into the work of the whole United Nations system, with a view to supporting efforts to help the transition to low-carbon economies consistent with sustainable development, to strengthen countries’ adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change, and to minimize the possible security implications. In the light of diminishing natural resources, environmental degradation, extreme poverty, hunger and diseases, and social unrest, we agree with others that sustainable development has become the defining issue of our time. Our highly globalized and interdependent world means that we share not only the same challenges but a common fate. As a member of the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee, Croatia will be an active contributor to the preparations for next year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, the Rio+20 Conference. This summit meeting will provide a unique opportunity to reinvigorate the spirit of Rio and to restate a blueprint for political commitment, partnership and action on the ground without revisiting the agreements reached at Rio in 1992 or at Johannesburg in 2002. Finally, let me return to what this Organization stands for. In order to achieve our common objectives, we must demonstrate unity of purpose, firm resolve, solidarity and responsibility. Or, as a famous composer once said, “Only the pure in heart can make a good soup.”