Albania

Allow me first, Sir, to congratulate you on your election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. I am sure that 5 your leadership constitutes a guarantee of continued success. At the same time, I would like to express my appreciation to your predecessor, Mr. Udovenko, for his excellent leadership during the fifty-second session. It is a special pleasure for me to address the Assembly in this session, which coincides with the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of the Human Rights. Although decades have passed, this document remains profoundly relevant to our world today. In fact, its standards continue to be an essential guide for evaluating the development and emancipation of human society. The Member countries of the United Nations should be proud of this document’s lasting legacy. While affirming the ongoing importance of the Declaration, I would like to stress the need for the UN’s system of values to undergo an ongoing harmonization with new challenges. In this framework, on behalf of the Government of Albania, I commend the efforts made under the leadership of the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, in the process of reform of our Organization. We hail the positive results achieved so far, and encourage the United Nations to continue to respond concretely to the challenges of the twenty-first century. Nearly three weeks ago Albania once again attracted the attention of the United Nations due to the violent events aimed at striking a blow against the fragile democratic institutions that were under the process of restoration from the deep crisis my country passed through last year. Certain political forces that lost their power in last year’s free elections obviously encouraged the attack and occupation of the main State institutions. That attempt to overthrow violently the legitimate Albanian Government was condemned by the whole democratic world, which strongly supported the President of the Republic in his endeavour to reestablish the political equilibrium that had been deeply disturbed and to guarantee the normal and democratic functioning of State powers and institutions. We highly appreciate this, and thank the international community for the support offered to Albania during its difficult days, and we welcome the establishment of the group of Friends of Albania. We view this as an important instrument in our common efforts for the stability of Albania and the consolidation of State structures and institutions. We are conscious of the difficulties and negative phenomena with which we are coping. We are painfully aware that the civilian population of Albania continues to be considered the most armed in Europe. This is a reality which we have to face every moment. Taking into account the threat that this poses not only to Albania but also to the security of the region, our Government has appealed the United Nations for assistance in this regard. Allow me on this occasion to thank the Secretary-General for the seriousness with which he has dealt with this problem, and the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Dhanapala, for the mission he led to Albania. I want to express our readiness to work together with the United Nations to collect the weapons which fell into the hands of the civilian population during the political unrest of 1997. I want to state that my Government is working diligently to establish the long-term rule of law in our country. Through lengthy deliberations among Albania’s political forces, we have made an extensive endeavour to draft a constitution that recognizes the need to share political power and to secure human rights. It is my sincere hope that by the end of this year the Albanian people will be able to express their views on the proposed draft constitution. The adoption of a constitution ratified by the people of Albania that recognizes the fundamental rule of law and protects liberties will prepare Albania for complete integration into international structures. Most important, this path offers the best and brightest hope for our country. I want also to address Albania’s economic situation. Rebuilding the economy has been the highest of priorities for the Albanian Government, especially since the fall of the pyramid schemes which led to widespread micro- and macroeconomic collapse and to the impoverishment of many Albanians. Our response to this crisis was direct and decisive: in exposing the deceit of the pyramid schemes, in closing down the pyramid structures and in rebuilding trust in the Albanian economy. In cooperation with the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, the assets of those firms were audited, and we initiated the process of returning liquid assets to legitimate creditors. Now I can declare with conviction that pyramid-scheme-based businesses do not exist in our country any more. We are working at present to create new, active policies for employment, self-employment and professional training. The task of rebuilding Albania’s economy constitutes a great challenge that requires the support of the 6 international community. The Government has worked diligently to break down Albania’s decades of isolationism and to become part of the world community of nations. The main directions of our policy so far have been the following. First, the engagement of Albania in Euro-Atlantic integration is aimed at the creation of acceptable national standards in accordance with the common Euro-Atlantic values of common security, human rights standards, and the promotion of the liberal market-economy policies. Secondly, Albania’s cooperation with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) has also had concrete results, expressed in successful cooperation, in the framework of the Partnership for Peace, on the qualification of the Albanian army and police. The first Albanian company of peacekeepers has in fact made tangible progress in that direction. And thirdly, our cooperation with the European Union, the Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe has been further strengthened. It includes their assistance not only in the shaping and improvement of Albanian legislation, but also in monitoring the application of common standards. I take this opportunity to thank those institutions for their assistance and to express once again the willingness and the political commitment of our Government to raise the quality of this cooperation in the future. Albania’s cooperation with the European Union in the economic area remains a basis for multilateral cooperation. We consider membership in the World Trade Organization to be vital in furthering the liberalization of Albanian trading markets. In the meantime, we have strengthened our relations with international financial institutions, which have committed major financial resources to the economic development of Albania. On this occasion, please allow me to express my gratitude for the approval of the first United Nations Development Programme country cooperation framework for Albania, and my desire for the further strengthening of cooperation between Albania and the United Nations system. Albania now has serious and powerful partners for the development of our country. The Rome and Brussels conferences will be followed by another follow-up conference in Tirana, at which we will assess our progress and make new commitments for the future. Turning to matters of international policy, the Albanian Government has devoted much effort to regional concerns. Southeastern Europe has inherited a series of problems which are the political, economic, social, psychological and institutional legacy of the communist era. However, we are deeply convinced that there are ways and means to build up confidence, cooperation and friendship among the Balkan nations. Albania has embraced enthusiastically all the initiatives which cultivate peace and cooperation in southeastern Europe, such as the Central European Initiative, the Black Sea Economic Cooperation process, the South-East European Cooperative Initiative, the Royaumont Platform for Action and the process of Balkan cooperation. All these initiatives will contribute to transparency of borders, free movement of goods, people and opinions among the countries of the region, and the setting up of common values on trade, transport, energy, telecommunication and the environment that will lay down the infrastructure for stability and peace in the region. Towards this goal, we have worked on substantially improving bilateral relations with our neighbours. Significant steps were taken last year concerning relations with Italy, Greece and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, on which a great number of cooperative agreements were signed. Close partnership relations have developed with Turkey, Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Slovenia, et cetera. Although I am underlining these positive and encouraging aspects of regional cooperation in general, and especially of Albania’s relations with its neighbours, we cannot ignore the fact that in the Balkans there still exist enclaves where fundamental human and national rights and freedoms, including the right to life, are brutally violated every day. I am, of course, referring here to the problem of Kosovo. I would like to confirm the conviction of the Albanian Government that during the past months of the Kosovo crisis, Belgrade has ignored the appeals of the international community to find an appropriate solution to that situation, and has systematically destroyed the alternative of a peaceful solution, thus encouraging the option of violence. Some days ago, the Security Council adopted its resolution 1199 (1998), attributing the main responsibility and blame for what is happening in Kosovo to the authorities in Belgrade. That resolution testified to unanimous political will on the part of the international community to act strongly to find a peaceful, political 7 solution to the conflict, and left open the option of using other means if failure is repeated. We hope that this time the clear warning given by Security Council resolution 1199 (1998), the Council’s strong message issued yesterday and the warnings given by the NATO and world leaders, will be the last ones necessary to impose a political solution on the authorities in Belgrade, something which they cannot realize by themselves of their own will. The political archives of Belgrade are quite rich with false manoeuvres and untrue statements. The so-called withdrawal of special Serbian police forces from Kosovo and the end of fighting against so-called terrorists is a new version of them. This is an old scenario of a Bosnian type, and we Albanians have ample reasons not to believe it. What is happening today in Kosovo is the story of a tragedy foretold. Milosevic´ has in fact ordered the implementation of his “ethnic cleansing” policy against Albanians under the pretext of combating so-called Albanian terrorism. This has so far proved to be a constant element of his strategy. In that way, Serbian propaganda has been trying to justify the indiscriminate attacks, massacres and atrocities of the Yugoslav army against the Albanian population of Kosovo, such as the ones seen lately in the media. Newborn children, pregnant women and elderly persons have been massacred in a bestial way. The Albanian Government strongly condemns this policy and openly declares that Milosevic´ should be held accountable and responsible for genocide. The Albanian Government urges the following. First, there should be strong and extensive international monitoring and assisting presence in Kosovo. The nature of this presence should be in accordance with the developments in the situation there. Secondly, there should be an immediate NATO military intervention for peace enforcement in Kosovo, as peaceful measures applied by the international community have so far failed. Thirdly, the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia should start an investigation in accordance with her mandate in order to indict Milosevic´ as a war criminal. The current conflict in Kosovo, as rightly pointed out in the resolutions and presidential statement of the Security Council, may have a strong spillover danger. The neighbouring countries are directly affected not only by the wave of refugees, but also by its impact on the ethnic and political relations inside these countries. We have already been witness to these effects. Albania has made its position quite clear. We are in favour of an immediate end to the conflict and the initiation of negotiations between Belgrade and Priština with the international involvement of a third party. This would guarantee their success. The negotiations should define the future status of Kosovo. The Albanian Government strongly believes that any solution to the Kosovo crisis should take into consideration and respect the will of its inhabitants for self-determination in accordance with the relevant international conventions. Humanitarian problems have always been the focus of attention of our Organization, which has also gained valuable experience on how to deal with them. I would like to draw the Assembly’s attention to one the most acute developments which has already been the object of attention in United Nations bodies. Thousands of Kosovo Albanians — women, old people and children — have left their country and have gone as refugees to Albania, Montenegro and the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. Hundreds of thousands of others are now homeless, driven to wander in the forests and mountains of Kosovo, constantly facing terror and death; and it is now almost winter. In spite of the known difficulties, the Albanian Government has taken all possible measures to cope with the difficult situation which was created as a result of the influx of Kosovo refugees in northern Albania. Albania, in cooperation with specialized agencies, has actually created suitable conditions to face the urgent need for food and temporary shelter. We appeal to these agencies to continue their assistance until this refugee crisis is resolved and Albanians can safely return to their homes. We are convinced that the United Nations and the Security Council will fulfil their responsibilities in accordance with the United Nations Charter in the efforts to overcome the Kosovo crisis, which in fact has become a crisis of the Balkans and Europe. It is high time the United Nations and other international forums urgently intervened for the restoration of peace; otherwise we risk having a wider conflict. On this occasion, I would like to thank the Security Council once again for the adoption of resolution 1199 (1998) and to commend in particular the initiators of that resolution, which constitutes an essential step in bringing peace to Kosovo and stability to the region. 8 Albania, like many other countries, is being affected by a set of phenomena such as drugs, illegal trafficking and organized crime. The Albanian Government has taken determined measures and is predisposed to cooperate with other countries to fight against these social scourges. We held a special session of the General Assembly this year devoted to the fight against drugs, as well as an open debate in the Security Council on children in armed conflicts. These efforts testify to the special attention paid to these social problems, and our Government hails them. We appreciate the debate held by the Security Council on Africa, the System-wide Special Initiative on Africa and the engagement of the United Nations system for peace and development in Africa, a continent with incredible natural and human potentials. My country also desires a peaceful solution to the conflict in the Middle East and the restarting of the dialogue between Israelis and Palestinians, in conformity with the relevant international agreements and resolutions of Security Council. We believe that the international community has often acted insufficiently in punishing the perpetrators of and the people politically responsible for crimes against mankind. Consequently, we appreciate the efforts made by the United Nations for the establishment of an International Criminal Court, and we consider this a process of strengthening the conscience of the international community, as well as a step forward in creating a collective positive reaction against such crimes. The Albanian Government is of the opinion that the institutional reform of the United Nations is an ongoing process which is affected by the ever changing real world. The United Nations will be better able to face the new challenges of the new millennium if the intergovernmental institutions of the United Nations become even more democratic in their structure. One key area of such reform is the Security Council. Albania follows attentively the proceedings of the Working Group for the restructuring of the Security Council and the efforts made to find a solution to this question. We are of the opinion that any decision to reform the Security Council should have the widespread support of member countries and must take into account the new realities that are occurring in international relations. The reform of United Nations, and especially of the Security Council, will be a reality only if there is a general will to provide the United Nations with the necessary political support. Only then will this Organization lead our world to the common goal of the creation of a global society of sovereign nations based on the rule of law, respect for human rights, personal and religious liberties, economic prosperity and international peace.