Croatia

Year after year, we gather under this universal roof to join our minds and resources in order to make the world a safer and more prosperous place or, at least, one a little less burdened with all the troubles we have been trying to resolve for decades but have so far not succeeded in eradicating. Never before have we assembled in such numbers and extent in the span of just a few weeks first the religious leaders, then the Parliamentarians, then the heads of State and Government and, finally, the representatives to the General Assembly at its fifty- fifth session. Let us hope that this unprecedented congregation will not remain just a tribute to the dawn of the twenty-first century, but will emerge as a foundation for a better United Nations and a better world it has to serve. When our heads of State met at the Millennium Summit earlier this month, they unanimously agreed on the importance of the United Nations for our common future. To say that the United Nations is the only Organization that brings together all the countries of the world would be stating the obvious, but we must never underestimate the simple fact that this is the only global Organization with universal membership and comprehensive scope that indeed belongs to all of us to all the peoples of the world. This is where the ultimate strength of the United Nations lies. Unfortunately, we have too often failed to recognize this. Some haunting facts should not be forgotten: the fact that 1 billion people in this world of ours live on less than $1 a day; the fact that 1 billion people do not have access to clean water; the fact that the last time the number of Security Council members was expanded was nearly four decades ago, at a time when the overall United Nations membership was almost half of its current size. The United Nations must amount to more than a resolution or a decision, a plenary meeting or informal consultations. We all have to work together, to spare no effort to make the Organization more proficient, more effective and fully at the disposal of all its Member States. That is why Croatia welcomes the millennium report of the Secretary-General and shares his views on the need for action to adapt the functioning of the Organization to the challenges of the new century. There is a growing need and plenty of room for improvement along the lines of efficiency, transparency, equality and good governance. There is no room for excuses or for delaying reforms any further. The time for reform is now. Croatia has been an active Member of the Organization since its international recognition as a sovereign State in the early 1990s. At that time, in spite of all our activities, Croatia was primarily the object of numerous peacekeeping operations and endless debates within the Security Council. Today, Croatia is a major generator of peace and stability in South-East Europe, an active promoter and facilitator of democracy in the region, a reliable partner and a member of numerous regional organizations and initiatives. We have not forgotten the difficult years when Croatia was on the receiving end of United Nations activities. Today, we stand ready to put our expertise gained in peacekeeping and other fields to the service of peace and democracy. The experience of the homeland war, as well as the lessons learned during peacekeeping operations in Croatia, have served us well in Croatia's active engagement in the United Nations peacekeeping mission in Sierra Leone. We are ready to expand our role in peacekeeping and to actively participate in its conceptual development. Croatia welcomes and will carefully study the recently published report of the Secretary-General on the reform of peace operations and the recommendations proposed. Unfortunately, the number of incidents with tragic consequences involving members of peace missions all over the world is constantly increasing. Just few days ago, three members of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Atambua in West Timor were brutally killed. One of them was Pero äimundûa, a citizen of Croatia. I would like to use this opportunity to pay tribute to him personally and to all peacekeepers whose tireless efforts cost them their lives in performing their noble tasks in the line of duty. Croatia is currently a member of the Economic and Social Council, the central body of the United Nations. The increasing development of the Council as a forum for policy dialogue, together with its follow-up dimension of the major world conferences, adds important value to its work and puts a heavy workload on its members. Croatia's international responsibilities start with those towards the region of South-East Europe. At the January elections, citizens of Croatia demonstrated their strong commitment to democratic values, respect for human and minority rights, the rule of law and economic reforms. They opted for broad changes that will bring them into the mainstream of the European integration processes. The new Croatian Government is well aware of all the responsibilities it has undertaken and all the opportunities that are arising. We firmly believe that Croatia's leading role as a contributor to peace and security in the region of South-East Europe will considerably contribute to turning this part of Europe into an area of peace and prosperity. In February, the Croatian Government adopted a programme that, as its primary goals, stresses democratic values, respect for human and minority rights, the return of refugees and displaced persons, good-neighbourly relations and integration into the European Union and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. The new Government is determined to fulfil all Croatia's ongoing international commitments and to assume new ones, if the need arises. The elections in Croatia at the beginning of this year resulted in important changes. They provided for an increased level of human rights protection and media freedom, as well as the acceleration of the return process. Important legislative revisions in the field of the return of refugees have opened the door for the unimpeded return of all Croatian citizens, regardless of their ethnicity and without condition of reciprocity. All the citizens of Croatia stand equal before the law in terms of the reconstruction of their houses and all other return-related rights. The Government of Croatia will do its best to fully implement those laws. Croatia is mindful of the fact that the return of refugees represents a necessary prerequisite for lasting stability in the region. In order to accelerate the process of return, the Croatian Government, in cooperation with UNHCR, has prepared a special return project for 16,500 persons, tailored to their needs. The necessary arrangements for the return of refugees to both Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina are to be made through central institutions of Bosnia and Herzegovina, in line with the new Croatian policy towards that country. Additionally, to speed up the process of two-way return with Republika Srpska, the former Prime Minister of the Republika Srpska and I have signed a joint declaration on the facilitation of the return of refugees. Through this document, we have committed ourselves to enabling the return of 2,000 people from each side, as well as to exchanging information and adjusting procedures in that regard. I can proudly say that real progress in the return process has been achieved. 3 At the same time, I have to stress that the number of returns to Croatia by far exceeds the number of returns of Croats to Bosnia and Herzegovina. Additional efforts have to be invested to speed up the return process of Croats and all others to Bosnia and Herzegovina. All the refugees have the right to return, but they also have a right to stay in the areas where they presently reside. For all those Bosnian Croats who wish to stay in Croatia, we have to provide appropriate help in finding new housing facilities. The success of the return of refugees does not depend solely on political and legal parameters. It has to be accompanied by the development of the State economy and the local economy. The return process must be sustained by job opportunities, small- and medium-size enterprises, strengthening of the social fabric and adequate schools and health institutions, as well as better living conditions generally. Otherwise, we shall just turn returnees into economic migrants and they will be on the road once again. Not a small part of legislative changes relates to the protection of human and minority rights in Croatia. The Croatian Government is of the opinion that the necessary preconditions have been met for excluding Croatia from the omnibus resolutions on the situation of human rights in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the Republic of Croatia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, which have been adopted by both the General Assembly and the Commission on Human Rights, and for the exclusion of Croatia from the mandate of the Special Rapporteur derived from the Commission's resolution. Important recognition of the progress Croatia has made in respecting fundamental values of democracy, human rights and rule of law came recently from the Council of Europe. The Monitoring Committee of its Parliamentary Assembly concluded last Friday that Croatia has honoured its obligations and most of its commitments undertaken at the time of its accession to the Council of Europe in 1996. Consequently, we expect that the monitoring procedure will be formally closed at the plenary session of the Parliamentary Assembly, at the end of this month. For the Croatian Government, cooperation with the International Tribunal in The Hague remains primarily a legal issue, not a political one. The Croatian State Parliament adopted the Declaration on Cooperation with the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in April, unambiguously affirming its support for the Tribunal, and this important document remains a framework for Croatia's policy towards the ICTY. It is our firm position that the guilt for the crimes committed must be individualized: no nation can be held collectively responsible for the crimes committed by war criminals claiming to act in its name. In order to improve the quality of cooperation with the ICTY, the Government Council for cooperation with the ICTY has been constituted and close working relations with the Tribunal established. Promotion of good relations with its neighbours is Croatia's high-priority goal. In its programme, the Croatian Government clearly stipulated that its relations with Bosnia and Herzegovina are based on good-neighbourliness, equality and transparency. Croatia will continue to cooperate with Bosnia and Herzegovina and the international community in the implementation of the Dayton Agreement, which remains the foundation of Bosnia and Herzegovina's self-sustainability and the guarantee of the preservation of the national interests of its three constituent peoples. Croatia's policy towards Bosnia and Herzegovina rests on full respect for the independence and sovereignty of that country. Croatia sees this as the only way to a prosperous future for the Croatian people in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the care for whom remains our constitutional obligation. Croatia will continue to support Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina, but it foresees doing this in a transparent way, in accordance with the Dayton Agreement and with a clear Euro- Atlantic orientation. Transparent financing of the Croatian component of the Federation Army through the Standing Committee on Military Matters is only one of the steps aimed at enhancing the central institutions and concrete proof of the new Croatian policy towards Croats in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The relations between Croatia and Serbia cannot be regarded outside the framework of the international isolation of the Milosevi? regime. Croatia is not questioning at all the need to continue the normalization process with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, but its dynamics and substance will depend on the democratization of Serbia, which remains one of the necessary conditions for international and 4 economic stability in the region. Croatia hopes that the forthcoming elections in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia will be conducted in a democratic way that reflects the true will of the people and that they will result in democratic changes. Bearing in mind the fact that the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been denied an opportunity to monitor the elections means that the elections could lose their international credibility. Still, Croatia wants to believe that Serbia will find a way to end the present situation and join the mainstream of the political and economic integration process in the region and Europe as a whole. Croatia supports democratic developments in the Yugoslav Republic of Montenegro. An open, democratic, multi-ethnic, stable and economically viable Montenegro is in the interest of Croatia and of the region at large. In the course of this year a number of meetings have been held between the Croatian and Montenegrin officials at various levels, including the highest level. Two border crossings between Croatia and Montenegro are operating without impediment, and further steps for enhanced cooperation, especially economic ones, are under way. Croatia will continue to support the process of democratization that has already began in Montenegro and help in its opening towards Europe, firmly in line with the efforts of the international community. Croatia remains seriously concerned about the present situation in Kosovo and continued violence, whose victims are both Albanians and the Serbs. We hope that efforts of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) forces and civilian administration will be successful in bringing peace and stability to the region, as well as facilitating preconditions for the return of refugees. One issue, however, stands out in regard to the stability and lasting security of the whole region. It is the question of succession of States created after the dissolution of the former Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia. An important aspect of the succession problem is the question of membership of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia in the United Nations and other international organizations. The four successor States are of the opinion that this must be resolved in line with the already existing Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. That means that the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia cannot automatically continue the membership of the former State in the United Nations, and therefore, that it should do what other successor States have done apply for membership as the fifth successor. Moreover, the four successor States are of the opinion that the current practice in the United Nations should reflect the above-mentioned resolutions and be more consistent in that regard. Therefore, we call for immediate implementation of those resolutions and emphasize once again the importance of resolving the question of succession, despite the rejection by the present Federal Republic of Yugoslavia regime. There are still a small number of United Nations military observers within the international borders of Croatia. Their performance in Prevlaka, the southernmost part of my country, has considerably contributed to the lasting solution to this problem, which is definitely one of security, not one of a territorial nature. Since 1992, Croatia has accepted the United Nations mandate on Prevlaka, with the last six- month extension on 15 July this year. The steady normalization of relations between Croatia and the democratic Government of Montenegro has considerably improved the situation on the ground and should serve as a bedrock for a lasting solution for Prevlaka. In approaching the Prevlaka issue one has to respect existing international borders, as well as legitimate security concerns, land ownership rights and the need for economic cooperation and development in the region. The stability of South-East Europe is an inseparable part of the overall European stability architecture. Being at the same time a Central European, Mediterranean, Danubian and South-East European country, Croatia plays an active role in several regional initiatives that serve as a foundation for stabilization, cooperation and development in our part of the world. Let me mention in this regard the Central European Initiative, one of the oldest regional initiatives, and the Adriatic-Ionian Initiative, the newest. During its chairmanship of the Working Community of the Danube Region this year, Croatia will host the traditional Conference of the heads of the regional Governments as well as the Economic and Cultural Forum. Alpe Adria is another subregional initiative in which Croatia plays an active role. Croatia's role as an active observer in the South-East 5 Europe Cooperation Initiative additionally emphasizes our intention to contribute to regional security and stability. From the very outset, Croatia has actively engaged in the creation and implementation of the Stability Pact for South-Eastern Europe. This strategic process represents a comprehensive approach towards the region in which the concept of stability includes democratization and human rights, economic development and security issues. Croatia has presented several project proposals to all three working tables of the Stability Pact, the construction of the Adriatic- Ionian highway being the most important of them. The construction of this highway, stretching along the coastline from the Italian to the Greek border, would mean a significant improvement in road travel between the countries of the region, and would also bring economic development to the very part of the region that most dearly needs it. I have the satisfaction of informing the Assembly that at the beginning of this week Croatia hosted the parliamentary summit of the Stability Pact, which had complete success in strengthening the important parliamentary dimensions of the Pact. The Stability Pact also serves as a mechanism for facilitating the European Union (EU) and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) membership prospects for all those countries of South-East Europe that wish to pursue this path. Croatia is one of them. Full integration into the EU and NATO is the priority strategic objective of Croatian foreign policy. In a brief span of six months Croatia's international position regarding the European Union has thoroughly changed. It has gone from being a country with no institutional relations with the European Union to a country awaiting the start of negotiations on a stabilization and association agreement and, consequently, candidacy for EU membership. Croatia is very pleased with the results of the joint consultative task force, whose recommendations helped us to prepare the start of the negotiations on the stabilization and association agreement. We are encouraged by the European Commission high representative's statements that this generation of agreements will be tailored according to the present needs and achievements of the stabilization and association process countries, and that countries' further progress towards European Union membership will be assessed on their individual merits. In late November Croatia will host a summit of the European Union member States and the stabilization and association process countries Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and Macedonia. We feel privileged to host such a historic meeting, one that will signify the importance that the European Union attaches to the region within the framework of the Union's enlargement process. At the top of the Zagreb summit's agenda will be the issue of opening EU prospects to the region and the countries of South-East Europe. This is firmly in line with the policy of creating one Europe without walls or curtains of division. We see the arrival of the EU heads of State or Government to Zagreb as a tribute to Croatia's democratic achievements and a harbinger of our status of country associated with the European Union. In May Croatia entered the Partnership for Peace. This provided Croatia with an opportunity to contribute more actively to the peace and security of the region and to strengthen its democracy and stability at the same time. In parallel, Croatia has begun the substantial reconstruction and modernization of its armed forces, aiming to meet all NATO requirements as well as democratic standards. Croatia continues its active engagement in the pivotal European organizations, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe. It has achieved significant progress in working together with the OSCE on the improvement of security in the Danubian region through the engagement of OSCE civilian police monitors there, as well as in other fields of cooperation, such as the improvement of democratic standards in Croatia. World peace does not depend solely on peace and security in Europe. It is with concern that we look at the ongoing threat of new crises on the African continent, where tremendous amounts of human resources and money are feeding the war machines, instead of serving to fuel development. The cause of our special concern lies in the fact that many armed conflicts in Africa erupt encouraged by and with the participation of neighbouring countries, often using foreign mercenaries who sometimes come even from Eastern European countries. Croatia sees the implementation of the Non-Aligned Movement 6 principles, as well as of the principles of the Organization of African Unity and other, subregional organizations, as an important element in the political developments in that part of the world. These organizations undertake commendable efforts in order to establish mechanisms for conflict prevention, as well as to find the ways to end the ongoing crises. These efforts include the establishment of their own peacekeeping forces. In this regard, Croatia welcomes the determination of the African countries to solve their problems regionally and with support from the United Nations. The situation in the Middle East continues to shift between the brink of war and the brink of peace. The peace process between the Israeli and Palestinian sides must be maintained, and all of us should spare no effort to extend assistance and support to the accomplishment of this paramount task. From its own experience, Croatia is well aware of how important it is to strengthen the peace process through Security Council and General Assembly resolutions that are supportive of it, both in language and in political substance. Thus, Croatia advocates that forthcoming resolutions on the Middle East reflect all the aspects of the ongoing peace process, serving as an important impetus for its successful completion. Croatia is a country highly contaminated by antipersonnel landmines, with about 1 million landmines scattered over many parts of its territory. Their presence poses serious obstacle to the economic development of the country, and even more so to the return of people to their homes. The mine-clearing process is under way, but it has to be intensified if real progress is to be seen anytime soon. Many of the ongoing activities are performed in cooperation with donor countries, to which we extend our sincere gratitude; but maximum efforts have to be made to eliminate this evil completely and for good. In this connection, Croatia calls for further international assistance so as to enable the unimpeded development of the country at large. Let me briefly address the issue of the reform of the Security Council. Croatia holds the view that the present structure and functioning of the Security Council does not properly reflect the reality of international relations in the twenty-first century, or the need for universal democratization. We support increasing the number of permanent and non- permanent seats in the Council, taking into account equitable geographical distribution as well as contributions to the United Nations budget. However, reform must go beyond the sole issue of membership enlargement. The Council's methods of work should be made more transparent, in particular regarding informal consultations, which have proved to be anything but informal. The subject of greatest concern is that, with the advent of globalization, the number of people that are marginalized and strongly affected by its negative effects is growing. Therefore, we have to minimize the negative impacts of globalization and, at the same time, make its benefits available to all. The effects of globalization on the international economy are significant and call for enhanced cooperation through multilateral institutions. In addition to the efforts aimed at avoiding marginalization and at ensuring full integration into the world economy, the countries with economies in transition face challenges associated with privatization and structural and macroeconomic reforms. In the case of Croatia there is an additional challenge, that of the post-war recovery. In such circumstances, our pivotal goal is to consolidate economic recovery and create conditions for sound and sustainable economic and social development. Our overall economic programme and policy measures are designed to support further economic stability, with stable prices and low inflation, concurrent economic growth, a faster rate of employment and more exports. To attract foreign investments that are so important for the ongoing process of development, a new Investment Law has been adopted. Constructive economic cooperation on bilateral, regional and global levels remains Croatia's firm goal. Croatia has recently signed the Protocol of Accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO) and, within a few months, once the process of ratification is completed, Croatia will become a full member of the WTO. The challenges facing the Organization are numerous. Answers will have to be found for questions regarding how to renew the structure and mandates of the main United Nations bodies, how to ensure better management and mobilization of new resources, how to define new forms of partnership, both with the private sector and with non-governmental organizations, how to make cooperation more effective 7 and, above all, how to turn the United Nations into a result-based Organization. Croatia believes in the potentials of the United Nations and considers that it will be made truly efficient if we the Member States accept our responsibilities towards it. Croatia is ready to work together with all international actors in searching for the right answers to the challenges that lie ahead. Stability and prosperity of the world will become possible only if we never stop looking for ways to improve them. Croatia will continue to use its best efforts to preserve the positive trends in its general achievements and to contribute to European and world stability. In conclusion, allow me to congratulate Mr. Theo-Ben Gurirab, the Foreign Minister of Namibia and the President of the fifty-fourth session of the Assembly, on his dedicated work and on the great skills with which he performed his demanding job. I would also like to congratulate Mr. Harri Holkeri, Foreign Minister of Finland, on his election as President of the fifty-fifth session and to wish him all success in his future work. Finally, I would like to express the hope that this Millennium Assembly will result in new commitments that will bring progress in responding to the challenges of the new century.