Hungary

Allow me first of all to warmly congratulate you, Sir, on your election as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-second session. I am pleased to see you, a high-ranking official from the rather underrepresented Eastern European Group, assuming that prestigious post of the United Nations. In fulfilling your challenging tasks during this session, you may be assured of the support and cooperation of the delegation of Hungary. I would also like to pay tribute to your predecessor, Sheikha Haya Rashed Al-Khalifa. During the sixty-first session, Member States worked hard to come to agreement on the proposals made at the 2005 Summit meeting, but we still need to do more to ensure that the United Nations system is managed coherently and effectively. I believe that the world needs, more than ever before, effective multilateralism, which is still a key word for the future. We should make progress on management reform, mandate review and disarmament, and define further concrete steps towards a renewed Security Council. Hungary would have preferred for the issue of Security Council reform to have seen more progress during the sixty-first session of the General Assembly. The impasse was certainly not due to the lack of effort on the part of the President of the General Assembly or to a shortage of creative ideas. We believe that the best solution would still be a balanced increase of seats to better reflect the political realities of today. The enlargement process should be combined with tangible improvement of the Council’s working methods. We welcome the adoption of the new resolution on the revitalization of the General Assembly. It is up to each Member State to make the work of the Assembly meaningful and to ensure that the Assembly takes up issues of genuine concern and takes decisions that have a real impact on the political process. Let me now turn to Geneva, where important reforms have taken place as well. The Human Rights Council has finally started its work, in an atmosphere of high expectations. The consensus over the universal periodic review mechanism sends a clear message that all countries will have their human rights records examined at regular intervals. Thus, no country will be immune from international scrutiny. However, in order to make it truly meaningful, we have to build a credible and robust mechanism. Special procedures and contributions to the review from treaty bodies and non- governmental organizations will prove to be essential in that regard. In order to better protect human rights and fundamental freedoms, the system of special procedures a unique web of protection has continued to provide effective action for the benefit of victims of human rights abuses. Special rapporteurs and independent experts have continued their work, giving a voice to the voiceless, even at times when the Council was focusing mainly on the task of institution- building. We are thoroughly convinced that both thematic and country-specific mandates remain valid, given the numerous human rights violations still occurring on a daily basis. In that regard, we concur with the Secretary-General, who has emphasized the need to consider all situations of possible human rights violations on an equal footing. Not having a special rapporteur assigned to a particular country does not absolve that country from its obligations under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other human rights instruments. I should now like to share some thoughts about an issue dear to my country. We welcomed with great satisfaction the recent decision of the Human Rights Council to establish a forum on minority issues. I am confident that the forum will provide a useful platform for dialogue and exchange of views between minorities, Governments and other stakeholders on issues related to national or ethnic, linguistic and religious minorities. Allow me to place special emphasis on the empowerment of women. We firmly believe in the need for the effective involvement of women in the decision-making processes at both the national and the international levels. In that regard, Hungary supports the ongoing debate on the future of the strengthened gender equality architecture. We welcome the steps taken towards achieving effective gender mainstreaming throughout the entire United Nations system. On 30 March, we witnessed the signing ceremony of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. That new international instrument will improve the living conditions of almost 650 million persons with disabilities all over the world, ensuring equal opportunities for them in all aspects of life. As the second State party to ratify the Convention and its Optional Protocol, we hope that they will enter into force soon. Seven years ago, our Governments made a remarkable promise to the world in adopting the Millennium Declaration (resolution 55/2). Although there has certainly been some progress in achieving its objectives, there will be regions of the world where the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) will not have been met by 2015 if we do not intensify our efforts. In the meantime, we must also emphasize the central role of national policies and development strategies in achieving the Goals. The sustainability of development depends heavily on national ownership and leadership. At the global level, the United Nations has a comparative advantage in providing technical assistance in the preparation and implementation of national development plans. We fully support the recommendations of the High-level Panel on United Nations System-wide Coherence to improve the operational effectiveness, inter-agency cooperation, predictability and accountability of the United Nations system. The Millennium Development Goals represent the global commitment to fundamental rights, which must be guaranteed if we genuinely seek to strengthen our democracies. Democracy should also mean creating the conditions for sustainable economic development that provides people with access through decent jobs to opportunities to achieve full personal development. We are particularly pleased that Hungary can share its transitional experiences, both as a member of the Advisory Board of the United Nations Democracy Fund and through the International Centre for Democratic Transition, which is based in Budapest and which has a partnership agreement with the Democracy Fund. The United Nations has a special responsibility to address challenges related to institution-building and to promote democracy. As Amartya Sen, the Nobel Prize winning economist has said, countries need not be fit for democracy; they need to become fit through democracy. Hungary, as an emerging donor, is determined to meet the obligations set out in the Millennium Declaration and the Millennium Development Goals. We are ready to increase our official development assistance and to carry out our efforts in line with the European Consensus on development and the Paris Declaration on Aid Effectiveness. However, we are convinced that scaling up the volume of aid in itself will not necessarily lead to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. It is also important to emphasize the need for better complementarity, coordination and coherence in development cooperation. Having been fully integrated into the European Union (EU) and NATO structures, we are committed to carrying out qualitative change in the outreach of Hungarian foreign policy. We want to make our policy and our presence more visible in all parts of the world: an active development cooperation and assistance policy coupled with an increased presence in United Nations bodies. We are resolved to attach special attention to creating more balance in the geographical scope of our cooperation policy in order to include African, Asian and Latin American countries. Stepping up our outreach efforts and developing not only assistance activities but also economic ties with Africa will mark the beginning of a new era in our relationship with that continent. We are also ready to assume more responsibilities in various international forums. Our ambitions are best embodied in our application for a non-permanent seat on the Security Council for the period 2012-2013. We view our potential membership as an opportunity to engage in constructive cooperation with all our partners in order to achieve our common objectives on the basis of shared interests and values. Let me now focus on some of the most urgent foreign policy issues of our day. Peace and stability in the Balkan region is of paramount importance to my country, and to Europe as a whole. While the question of the future status of Kosovo has drawn international attention, we are aware that the issue of Kosovo is a challenge that needs to be primarily tackled by Europe. Nevertheless, the United Nations has played a pivotal role in the process to date. Our hope is that that will continue to be the case until a proper solution is found. There is no doubt that there is a significant role to be played by the EU in facilitating a satisfactory solution for Kosovo. One thing is certain among all the uncertainties: the status quo is not a solution. More than ever, the region needs stability, economic development and inter-ethnic reconciliation. The European Union has invested much in the region in terms of material, political and military assistance. It has also offered the countries of the region prospects for joining the European Union. With regard to Serbia, we are convinced that reinforcing the prospects for future membership of the EU may facilitate finding a solution to the question of Kosovo. Hungary therefore looks forward to a successful outcome to the new round of negotiations facilitated by the EU-United States-Russia Troika, which the parties should approach in a constructive and frank manner. We hope that the encouraging signs of trust and a constructive approach will prevail in the course of the entire process, and that the parties will be able to come to an agreement endorsed by the Security Council. We are following with great attention the work of the teams set up recently by Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas to negotiate core issues related to a permanent solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. We welcome the initiative of the President of the United States to convene an international conference in November. Hungary is firmly committed to the reconstruction of Afghanistan. As a State member of the North Atlantic alliance, we have been involved in the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force since 2003. On 1 October 2006, we took over the leadership of the Provincial Reconstruction Team in Baghlan province. I am proud of the successful work done by Hungary’s military contingent and by Hungarian teams of aid workers. Moreover, I can confirm our future commitment in Afghanistan, which enjoys broad political consensus among all the parties represented in the Hungarian parliament. Nevertheless, we must not forget that the primary responsibility for the stabilization and development of Afghanistan lies with the Afghan people themselves. We are concerned about the security situation and the attacks carried out by Taliban and anti-Government forces, and we firmly condemn all hostage-taking actions. Drug production and trafficking continue to be a major source of instability, and we note the increase in opium production with grave concern. We encourage the Afghan Government, working in close cooperation with the international community and in particular with its regional partners, to take effective measures to stabilize the whole region. The stabilization of Iraq is one of the major challenges in the Middle East. We appreciate the results that have been achieved so far in the course of the country’s democratic transformation. However, the Iraqi political class needs to overcome the present state of deep division and start to walk down the path of reconciliation and cooperation in order to bring peace and stability to the country. As a precondition for a long-lasting settlement of the conflict, the international community must enable Iraqi leaders to assume ownership and govern their country in an independent way. Hungary is very concerned about the acts of violence perpetrated by the security forces of the Burma/Myanmar Government. We are committed to respecting human rights and democracy, and we therefore strongly condemn the brutal physical attacks against peaceful demonstrators. I reiterate our previous call on the Government of Burma/Myanmar to fully respect human rights and the norms of democracy, in particular the rights to peaceful assembly and to the free expression of opinions. Due to one of the most worrisome conflicts on the African continent the one raging in Darfur the situation in the Sudan and nearby countries is still unpredictable and explosive. Hungary welcomes the renewed momentum in the efforts to resolve the Darfur conflict, in particular the agreement reached on the deployment of the African Union-United Nations hybrid force and the subsequent adoption of Security Council resolution 1769 (2007). We consider it essential that the Hybrid Operation be launched, and that troops be fully deployed in the full number authorized, as soon as possible. I would like to commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on having made resolving the Darfur conflict a priority, as well as on his visit to the Sudan. It is in that context that I reaffirm our support for the peacebuilding and peacekeeping efforts of the United Nations. Hungary welcomes the fact that the Peacebuilding Commission has started its work and has met in a country-specific format to consider the cases of Burundi and Sierra Leone. We look forward to the first report on its work. We consider the Commission to be an important instrument to enhance the capabilities of the United Nations to support countries emerging from conflict. We are fully aware of the need to strengthen the capacity of the United Nations to mount and sustain complex and multidimensional peacekeeping operations. Hungary commends the efforts made by the Secretary-General to achieve that purpose and welcomes the General Assembly’s decision to establish the Department of Field Support. My country’s track record in the field of peacekeeping demonstrates that we are willing to actively support the Security Council’s decisions. Hungarian military and police personnel are present in many of the peacekeeping missions of the United Nations, namely, in Cyprus, Georgia, Kosovo, Lebanon and Western Sahara. My recent participation at the fifty-first General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and my talks with Director General Mohamed ElBaradei reaffirmed my conviction that questions relating to nuclear safety and non-proliferation should remain high on our agenda. Hungary shares the concerns of the international community over Iran’s nuclear programme. We deplore Iran’s failure to take the steps required by the IAEA Board of Governors and by Security Council resolutions, steps necessary to re-establish international confidence in the peaceful nature of its nuclear programme. We welcomed the adoption of Security Council resolutions 1737 (2006) and 1747 (2007), and we fully comply with the obligations set forth therein. We hope that Iran will soon realize that a diplomatic and negotiated solution is possible and that compliance has many benefits. Hungary continues to support the process aimed at achieving the denuclearization of the Korean peninsula in a peaceful manner and welcomes the first promising results of the Six-Party Talks. Developments related to the North Korean nuclear issue have underscored the importance of the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Hungary supports all multilateral, regional and bilateral efforts that contribute in an effective manner to our common goal of achieving disarmament and curbing the spread of weapons of mass destruction. Such efforts must also aim at upholding and strengthening key international treaties and export control regimes. In that context, one of the most important challenges is to ensure compliance with the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Moreover, Hungary welcomes the entry into force of the International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism, which we ratified in April. An urgent issue in the field of counter-terrorism is the full and earliest possible implementation of the United Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy. In that regard, the main responsibility lies with Member States, which should all also actively participate in the upcoming implementation review. The conclusion of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism remains another high priority for Hungary. Fifteen years after the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, the Rio Summit, it is evident that, at the current pace, our efforts will not be sufficient to halt the emerging global threats, in particular that of climate change. The European Union has a clear position in that regard, and it has proposed to speed up the drafting of a new global compact. As a member of the EU, Hungary fully agrees with the urgency of the matter. We hope that the ongoing deliberations on the future of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and of the Kyoto Protocol will lead to concrete results within two years. I would like to take this opportunity to welcome the efforts made by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to raise awareness about climate change in the international community. On behalf of my country, I would like to reiterate Hungary’s commitment to upholding the rule of international law, to giving priority to effective multilateralism, to spreading the culture of cooperation and the peaceful settlement of international disputes, and to making every effort to preserve a sustainable environment for future generations. In conclusion, Hungary is strongly committed to working with you, Mr. President, during the sixty- second session of the General Assembly to achieve the objectives set out in the 2005 World Summit Outcome.