I shall speak today on four
fundamental topics: climate change, cybersecurity,
conflict resolution and cooperation among international
organizations.
In accordance with the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change, as well as
the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries are
obligated to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases.
Estonia has already achieved the basic target of the
Kyoto Protocol: our emissions of greenhouse gases
have been cut back by over 50 per cent. Fully
subscribing to the European Union statement on the
post-2012 vision for international climate, released by
the Portuguese presidency, we hope that the
negotiations concerning a new global climate deal will
reach a new comprehensive and global political
agreement by as early as December 2009.
Yes, we recognize that developing countries have
special needs in the areas of sustainable economic
growth and eradication of poverty. But we also need to
decouple economic growth from energy consumption
and carbon dioxide emissions. Investing in energy
efficiency will have a huge impact on our future.
Diversification of the energy supply and greater use of
renewable energies are the way forward.
The resources and the technology for
decarbonisation come primarily from industrial
nations. Therefore, we need to continue the dialogue
between industrialized and developing nations
concerning the adoption of a “green” economy,
reducing carbon-fuel dependency and counterbalancing
climate change caused by human activities. We need to
promote technology transfer, which is necessary for
developing environment-friendly energy production.
Estonia believes that the best way forward is to tie
development assistance to investment in clean
technologies.
If in the past people were connected by sea lanes
and trade routes, today we are ever more connected by
the Internet, along with the threats that loom in
cyberspace. Cyberattacks are a clear example of
contemporary asymmetrical threats to security. They
make it possible, with limited means and from a
distance, to paralyse a society.
In the future, cyberattacks may, in the hands of
criminals or terrorists or terrorist States, become a
considerably more widespread and dangerous weapon
than they are at present. Cyberattacks are a threat not
only to sophisticated information technology systems,
but also to communities as a whole. For example, they
could be used to paralyse a city’s emergency medical
services. The threats posed by cyberwarfare have often
been underestimated, since, fortunately, they have not
as yet resulted in the loss of any lives. Also, for
security reasons, the details of cyberattacks are often
not publicized.
In addition to taking concrete technical and legal
measures to counter cyberattacks, Governments must
morally define cyberviolence and cybercrime, which
deserve to be generally condemned in the same way as
terrorism and the trafficking in human beings are
condemned. Fighting against cyberwarfare is in the
interests of us all. It requires both appropriate domestic
measures and international efforts.
In April and May of this year, my country,
Estonia, coped successfully with an extensive
cyberattack, and we are prepared to share with other
countries the know-how that we have acquired. We call
upon the international community to cooperate in legal
matters in questions concerning cybersecurity. But,
since this whole subject is in a relatively new field, it is
essential to establish an appropriate legal space. As a
first step, we call upon all countries to accede to the
Convention on Cybercrime of the Council of Europe.
The Convention is also open for accession by
non-members of the Council.
We should move ahead and create a truly
international framework for combating these vicious
acts. The Global Cybersecurity Agenda of the
International Telecommunications Union, launched by
the Secretary-General in May, is an important initiative
for building international cooperation in this field.
Estonia also agrees with the assessment of the
specialists of the United Nations Institute for Training
and Research that a globally negotiated and
comprehensive cyberspace law is essential and that the
United Nations can provide the neutral and legitimate
forum necessary for that task.
The United Nations is determined to resolve
conflicts. Understandably, conflict prevention and
resolution, particularly in Africa, is a top priority. We
welcome the creation of a United Nations-African
Union peacekeeping force to quell the violence and
instability plaguing the Darfur region of the Sudan.
It is important to settle conflicts in other places as
well, such as Afghanistan. We need to increase the
presence and visibility of the United Nations there,
which would be an encouraging sign for the local
population and would also send a signal to other
international aid organizations and non-governmental
organizations that they should increase their activities.
The United Nations should also assume a greater role
in coordinating the reconstruction effort in
Afghanistan.
I would like to highlight one conflict in Europe in
which the United Nations has a significant role to play:
the conflict in Abkhazia, Georgia. Along with the other
“frozen” conflicts in the neighbouring region, it
remains among the last unresolved conflicts in Europe.
It is my hope that the Group of Friends of the
Secretary-General will have the determination to find
solutions that honour Georgia’s territorial integrity. We
cannot be satisfied with the current situation. It is
important to build confidence between the parties and
to resume the meetings between the representatives of
Georgia’s Government and those of Abkhazia. There is
no place for military provocations, internal or external.
A major task for the United Nations remains the
facilitation of the return of refugees to Abkhazia,
which, unfortunately, has been greatly hampered.
Progress regarding the conflict is possible if all
interested parties act in a constructive way. We must
generate the political will necessary to resolve the
conflict. In that context, I welcome the increased
contribution of the European Union (EU).
The international community should also secure
the best and most rational use of available resources,
including in emergency and crisis response situations.
For example, both the United Nations and the EU were
involved in managing the response to the Asian
tsunami in 2004 and the Lebanese crisis in 2006. That
once again brought to the fore the necessity of
developing common needs assessments to further
discuss the roles and mandates of the relevant actors,
such as the United Nations Office for the Coordination
of Humanitarian Affairs, the European Commission’s
Directorate-General for Humanitarian Aid and the
Community Mechanism for Civil Protection of the EU.
Poverty, armed conflicts and natural disasters
such as floods, tsunamis and forest fires are all causes
of another global problem forced migration, which
should also be tackled in a more concerted manner by
the whole international community. Being forced to
leave one’s home is always a tragedy. I know: my
family was forced to leave my country, fleeing brutal
Soviet occupation forces. Trying to integrate into a new
society is always a significant challenge. Only through
well-coordinated common efforts can we ensure that
people never again have to leave their homes because
they have no other option. Thus, a global approach to
human migration should remain a vital issue on the
United Nations agenda.