Romania

It gives me particular pleasure to congratulate Mr. Opertti most warmly on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-third session. Please allow me also to join those who have expressed their appreciation for the work done by the former President, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, during the past session. Since this is the first time that I am taking the floor in this Assembly, I would like to express to Secretary-General Kofi Annan our highest consideration and support for his activity, especially for his efforts in promoting reform of and a new image for the United Nations. Romania believes that the role of the United Nations in contemporary international life remains essential, given that, in the face of the new challenges to international security, we can react in a coherent and efficient manner only under the guidance of a unique system of values, such as that of the generally accepted principles of the United Nations Charter, whose validity remains indisputable. My country desires to participate actively in the process of redefining the role of the United Nations and of modernizing its functioning, and it supports the reform of the Organization as a whole. The beneficial role of United Nations preventive diplomacy, demonstrated these past years, as well as the new approaches regarding humanitarian aid, peacekeeping and post-conflict reconstruction, are eloquent examples of the usefulness of joint, coordinated action at the global level. Romania is actively involved in promoting these concepts and trends and is participating, to the extent of its capacity, in peacekeeping and peace-building operations. The participation of Romanian soldiers in United Nations peacekeeping missions in Bosnia, Angola, Kuwait, Somalia or Rwanda represents our contribution to the implementation of these concepts. The political will of Romania to act as a factor of stability on the international level was proved once more yesterday when we signed a memorandum of understanding with the United Nations regarding stand-by arrangements. This event, furthermore, supplements the recent accession of Romania to the Multinational United Nations Standby Forces High-Readiness Brigade (SHIRBRIG). The experience acquired in peacekeeping operations has highlighted the need to consolidate United Nations rapid reaction capacity. Romania is profoundly concerned about the conflict situations on the agenda of the Security Council and would like to take this opportunity to advocate, once more, dialogue among the parties concerned, in order to facilitate solutions negotiated by those directly involved in the conflict. It is essential not to lose the momentum for dialogue likely to lead to peace, because there is always a right moment for peace, just as there is also sometimes, unfortunately, a time which can lead to conflict. For example, in our view the Middle East today is facing a unique chance for peace. If the parties involved do not take advantage of this opportunity, the crisis might continue indefinitely. Let us do our utmost to avoid an unfortunate “too late” situation. We were on the verge of acting too late in Bosnia, in Northern Ireland, and we still run this risk in Kosovo. The evolution of the crisis in Kosovo remains extremely worrying. Romania continues to stand for the peaceful settlement of this conflict, and we support the efforts of the international community in this direction, including those of the Contact Group, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of Europe. Beyond all doubt, the countries in the region must be constantly consulted regarding measures that are to be taken for the settlement of the conflict. The Balkans and, in a broader sense, South-Eastern Europe have, inter alia, an image problem. The inventory of local disputes gets more attention than the inventory of real success stories. We forget that a number of these countries have managed to make the transition from dictatorships and centralized economies to democracies and market economies. It is a difficult process but one courageously undertaken by these countries. It is true that it is always up to them to improve their political image — not by falsifying it, but on the contrary by rendering it more exact. There is the need for a certain regional pride, for a legitimate aspiration to show the 14 world not only the spectre of intraregional conflicts, but also a promising economic and cultural potential that deserves every consideration and encouragement. Romania is particularly concerned about the still unresolved conflict situation in the eastern region of the Republic of Moldova. We believe that there are serious reasons for concern about the lack of progress in solving the two major problems of this region — namely, the withdrawal of foreign troops from the territory of the Republic of Moldova, and the negotiation of the political status of the eastern region of the Republic of Moldova. We support the need for the resumption of negotiations on the status of this region and the urgent implementation of the 1994 agreement on the withdrawal of the 14th Russian Army from the territory of the Republic of Moldova. We believe that the United Nations Security Council will continue to play a crucial role in the maintenance of international peace and security. We support the reform of the Council and want to have the discussions continued on equitable representation in the Council and an increase in its membership, with a view to finding generally acceptable solutions. Our approach is also aimed at obtaining an additional non-permanent seat for the Group of Eastern European States. In the context of increasingly diverse challenges to international security and the prevalence of non-military risks, the role of the United Nations in other fields — economic, social and legal — is becoming more important than ever. The economic and social dimensions of United Nations activities offer even more opportunities for a coherent and efficient management of dialogue and cooperation on global economic and social issues. The high-level dialogue which recently took place in New York on the economic and social impact of globalization re-emphasized the need for a coordinated approach to economic interdependence and other dimensions of international security. An effective response to the present challenges requires the participation of all States, as well as international financial and commercial institutions, in order to reach a new global financial balance. In a world of growing interdependence, the assistance provided by the United Nations system is a good example of the coordinated way in which we can address the various problems confronting us. Romania is developing effective cooperation with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the United Nations Children?s Fund (UNICEF) and other funds and programmes within the new United Nations development assistance framework. The Romanian Government would like to benefit more from United Nations assistance in priority fields in support of domestic reforms. This year, the fiftieth anniversary of the adoption of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights gives me this very pleasant opportunity to refer to the human dimension of our activity. It also provides us all with an opportunity to reflect more broadly upon the interdependencies which exist between human rights and peace, development and democracy. Romania supports the role played by the United Nations in asserting the universal nature of human rights and in consolidating the international system for the protection of these rights in collaboration with Governments and civil society. We also wish to contribute to an active and efficient United Nations involvement in the fight against terrorism, organized crime and illicit drug-trafficking. In this respect, we must take into account the fact that the global character of these new threats requires a global approach so that mankind can tackle them in a responsible way. We cannot afford the luxury of replacing effective action by endless debate or compassion by contemptuous judgement. We should condemn terrorism without speaking of terrorist peoples or countries. We should condemn fanaticism without claiming that there are fanatic religions or denominations. We should encourage dialogue and not confrontation, solidarity and not segregation. We have to work for the unity of Europe without instituting various degrees of “Europeanism”, which could lead to arbitrary divisions that separate and exclude rather than unite. We have to encourage the spirit of cooperation and mutual aid and not the tendency to pass judgement on others. We should not judge States for the undignified deeds of certain citizens, nor peoples for the historic accidents imposed on them by abusive leaders or barbarian ideologies. We should also refrain from condemning those who have different views from ours and should not use the name of democracy to encourage confusion between public affairs and private, between the values of pomp and sincerity, between honesty and demagogy. We should 15 not add to the confusion of the world by an ostentatious relativization of acquired traditions and values. In this context, Romania reaffirms its attachment to the concepts of multiculturalism and tolerance of all kinds. Allow me to recall that an international conference organized by the community of Sant?Egidio was recently held in Bucharest on the topic of peoples and religions. Representatives of all the major religions and denominations of the world participated in this meeting. As mentioned in the message of Pope John Paul II, the success of the meeting testified to Romania?s mission as “an interface between East and West, offering a genuine synthesis of cultures and traditions”. At present, many countries of the world are undergoing the complex and unique experience of regaining democracy. That is why there is great interest in good governance, strengthening democratic institutions and enlarging the participation of civil society in the exercise of democracy. It gives me great pleasure, in my capacity as Acting Chairman of the Third International Conference of New or Restored Democracies, to bring to the Assembly?s attention the fact that the ministerial meeting of the countries participating in that Conference took place a few days ago here at United Nations headquarters. On that occasion, a number of measures were examined concerning the implementation of the recommendations formulated in the document adopted last year in Bucharest. In this respect, we intend to present a draft resolution to the General Assembly with a view to ensuring the follow-up to this process until the next Conference. Romania highly appreciates the framework provided by the United Nations system, since it allows for the broad participation of all countries in all fields and enables the search for common interests that transcend national pride. Please allow me to raise a few issues relating to Romania, a country engaged in the broad and difficult process of economic reform. For us, maintaining an international environment that is stable, predictable and stimulating to business and investment is central to fulfilling our economic reform programme. Romania?s fundamental option — that of European reintegration and membership in NATO — is well known. Our political objectives remain unchanged. Even if the rate at which these objectives are achieved varies from one country to another, we have no alternative. As we strive to replace one system by another, we are encountering all the difficulties of transition: low standards of living, the confusion of values, a radical change of mentalities against the backdrop of social and administrative inertia. Everything has become a priority. Everything is compulsory. Everything is urgent. This is why I feel we need the support and encouragement of the international community, to the benefit of democratization and development. With regard to subregional cooperation, our experience shows that crisis situations are generally seen solely from the political, military and sometimes humanitarian perspectives, but rarely or never from those of economics or civil society. Certainly, there are well- targeted subregional projects, such as the Black Sea Economic Cooperation and those relating to transport routes linking the Caspian Sea to Western Europe, the ancient silk route. But we have to recognize that South- Eastern Europe lacks broad economic integrating projects that are assisted by the main international institutions. In the absence of such economic cooperation projects, our policy is somewhat reactive. We also have to recognize that, in crisis situations, we still focus on effects and not on causes; we try to limit the damage and prevent the spread of the crisis, but do not focus on the prevention of conflict itself. In our opinion, we should take better advantage of the framework provided by the United Nations system in order to work out development-oriented political strategies, in particular in the economic field. Similar developments — leading, on the one hand, to solidarity and, on the other, to an ever greater diversity of the problems that confront us — can also be noted in other regions of the world, not only in the Euro-Atlantic space. We have followed them attentively and appreciate the results obtained within the North American Free Trade Agreement, the Southern Cone Common Market, the Association of South-East Asian Nations and other organizations. Among the priorities established by Romania, it is worth mentioning the objective of developing and diversifying our political and economic relations with countries of other regions, taking into account the complex and dynamic developments of an ever more interdependent world under the impact of globalization. In conclusion, allow me to assure the Assembly of the commitment of the Romanian delegation to 16 contributing effectively to United Nations activities in various fields towards the successful outcome of the current session. We believe in the capacity of the United Nations to tackle the complex problems facing the international community on the eve of the third millennium.