Slovenia

Allow me at the outset to congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixtieth session. I would like to express to you the full support of the Republic of Slovenia as you carry out that extremely important and responsible task. May you have much vision, courage and resolve as you preside over the General Assembly during this anniversary year. Mr. Sardenberg (Brazil), Vice-President, took the Chair. At the same time, Sir, I would like to express our sincere recognition and gratitude for the efforts of your predecessor, Mr. Jean Ping, President at the fifty-ninth session of the General Assembly. His determined leadership, his insight into the current issues of the modern world and his enduring courage enabled him to guide the General Assembly in its sixtieth year, which promises to be a year of the greatest significance for the future of the Organization. We have assembled here to consider together in good faith how we should respond to the challenges of modern times and how our Organization should be adapted to the needs of the twenty-first century. We are here to act on the basis of our best understanding and our belief in the achievements of creative development for the well-being of the people of the modern world, to quote, Sir, your illustrious compatriot, Dag Hammarskjöld. The outcome document contains numerous meaningful and useful ideas. That document’s purpose is to enhance the effectiveness of the United Nations and consolidate its mission in the modern world. The reform of the Organization is of the utmost importance and was initiated at the right moment. This is a time of change for several international organizations and institutions. All are certainly aware of the current transformation of the European Union and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe. Such changes are difficult. We encounter obstacles such as the rejection of the European Constitutional Treaty in two referendums. The effectiveness of the machinery and the mission of the United Nations should also be improved through the creation of the Human Rights Council and the fight against terrorism. There were many discussions and diverging views on those two questions in relation to the outcome document. However, we cannot be successful if we have difficulty even defining terrorism or establishing the Human Rights Council. There is some indecisiveness in the outcome document in that respect. With respect to terrorism, the document speaks of dialogue and understanding among civilizations. With respect to the Human Rights Council, the outcome document proposes holding further negotiations to establish, among other things, its mandate and working methods. In today’s world, change and certainty are closely connected and interdependent. Attaining a balance between them involves values, rules, laws and the institutions of human dignity, equality and democracy — in short, human rights. The fact is, we live in a globalized and interdependent world in which we all are responsible for our security. It is significant that the outcome document warns that there can be no development without security and no security without development, and that both development and security depend to a 32 great degree on respect for human rights, the rule of law and democracy. Many efforts have been made to address the sources of suffering in the world. United Nations Member States must continue to support efforts to attain the Millennium Development Goals. Twenty-five European Union (EU) member States committed themselves to the target of allocating 0.7 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) to official development assistance by 2015. In that context, Slovenia, one of the 10 new EU members and a new donor, committed itself to attaining the target of 0.33 per cent of GDP for development aid. We underline the need for the long-term commitment and responsibility of all countries in order to attain the Millennium Development Goals. We are continuously surprised at the changing nature of the threats facing each and every country. The concept of security includes both State security and the security of the individual. Thus, it is important to effectively address various issues, in particular disarmament and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, as well as the problem of the proliferation of illegal small arms and light weapons, which affects numerous countries. We are rather disappointed that the outcome document does not include provisions on non-proliferation and disarmament, and we hope that work on those issues will continue after the summit. Terrorist attacks on innocent people fundamentally contradict the value systems of modern countries, in particular human rights, as formulated and stated in international conventions and declarations. Terrorist attacks are a violation of human rights, which are the foundation of modern societies; they represent an assault on the very essence of those societies and thus negate their very modernity. This negation is connected with the complex and paradoxical nature of the concept of modernity. It seems that the fundamental frustration caused by this complex and paradoxical nature drives terrorists to commit radical actions. Terrorism cannot tolerate the complex and paradoxical character of modern societies. Measures in the fight against terrorism are aimed at those whose actions deny and reject human rights as a fundamental value of modern societies. By examining terrorists’ attitudes and the meaning of terrorism, we should be able to define terrorism. An agreed definition of terrorism would provide clarity and help better ensure human rights. The more fully human rights are protected, the more successful we will be in our fight against terrorism. Human rights will be more fully protected when terrorism is without protection. Tolerating or justifying terrorism undermines human rights. That does not mean, however, that we can fail to respect human rights in waging our fight against terrorism. It is precisely universal respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms, including in the fight against terrorism, that will ensure the success of that fight and preserve the democratic and free principles of those societies which are being targeted by terrorists. Slovenia welcomes the affirmation of the principle of the responsibility to protect. By endorsing that principle, world leaders have made a conceptual breakthrough in the prevention of future tragedies like those of Srebrenica, Rwanda and Darfur. For the first time, we have recognized our national and collective responsibility to act in cases of genocide and ethnic cleansing, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Slovenia considers the responsibility to protect to be an integral part of national responsibility to protect a country’s people against atrocities. It is our understanding that the Security Council shares the responsibility to protect and that the use of the veto in the Council is fundamentally incompatible with that responsibility. We welcome the establishment of a Democracy Fund and intend to contribute to it. We strongly support a strengthened role for the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The strengthened role of the Office, to be financed from the United Nations regular budget, is good news for the realization of human rights on the ground. The level of agreement on the Human Rights Council is a disappointment. Numerous countries wanted and expected more. Unfortunately, for the moment, we are left without the necessary vision of a new Council, even though, in the preparations for the summit, we formulated good proposals for the Council’s structure and mandate. Slovenia wants a standing Council that is a principal organ of the United Nations, able to deal with all human rights concerns in all countries at all times. We want a Council that better addresses rights and freedoms, without double standards. We want a 33 Council that could convene and act in every instance of massive violation of human rights. We want a Council able to make recommendations to other organs and agencies of the United Nations system so that human rights are truly integrated in all areas of the Organization. Finally, we want a Council that reflects the diversity of the modern world and that gives a proper voice to civil society through non-governmental organizations. In the course of the sixtieth session of the General Assembly, Slovenia will continue to actively support the establishment of a strong and efficient new Human Rights Council. I have already mentioned the dialogue of civilizations. That dialogue should be based on universal, fundamental values. No differentiation between “us” and “them” should be tolerated. Human rights and fundamental freedoms are the manifestation of our common fundamental values. They are the best answer for ensuring a dignified life in our globalized, fast-paced and increasingly unsafe world. On the basis of our wealth of traditions and history and creative diversity, all individuals should be informed of and be able to realize their rights and freedoms, as this is the best long-term foundation for peace and development. Educating people about human rights and dignity is a prerequisite for this goal, and we are thrilled to see that the need for such education is properly reflected in the outcome document. As a member State of the Human Security Network we are pleased that the issue of human security has been included in the outcome document of the High-level Plenary Meeting and will continue to be discussed in the General Assembly. Cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations deserves our priority attention in future. As experiences from a variety of geographic environments and conditions have shown — in particular in South-Eastern Europe and Africa — synergetic cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations can be very effective. As Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), I call for the elaboration of a binding framework for permanent cooperation between the United Nations and that important regional organization as soon as possible. For 30 years now, OSCE has proved effective in very sensitive regions of the world. This year marks the thirtieth anniversary of the Helsinki Final Act, which established OSCE. Thirty years ago, the integration of East and West began. Today, our main duty is to integrate civilizations. One of the areas that should be further developed is strengthening dialogue among civilizations. It may be that the supreme importance of our outcome document rests on that dialogue.