I would like, first of all,
to join the speakers who have already addressed this
Assembly in congratulating Mr. Kerim on his election
as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-
second session.
It also gives me great pleasure to welcome the
appointment of Mr. Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General
and to acknowledge the distinct manner in which he
has started his activities, as well as his tireless efforts
to breathe a new dynamism into the United Nations
with the purpose of optimizing its functioning.
The present session is especially meaningful for
the Republic of Moldova, marking the fifteenth
anniversary of its having joined the United Nations
family. As a State Member of the United Nations, the
Republic of Moldova has demonstrated faithfulness to
the principles and purposes of the United Nations
Charter by totally supporting the objectives of the
Organization and sharing its responsibilities.
The globalization process is occurring
everywhere and is of concern to all of us. As members
know, those issues are addressed in the Millennium
Declaration (resolution 55/2). In our opinion, the
present level of aid is not sufficient; the identification
of innovative sources of financing and an increase in
the effectiveness of existing aid are imperative. In that
vein, we hope that the recommendations in the areas of
development contained in the report of the Secretary-
General’s High-level Panel on United Nations System-
wide Coherence (A/61/583) will help us overcome the
fragmentation of the United Nations so that the system
can deliver as one, in partnership with all Member
States.
The high-level event organized under the
auspices of the Secretary-General that preceded the
general debates drew attention to climate change,
whose fatal effects have been experienced all over the
world. We know about that very well as, this summer,
our country suffered the worst drought in 60 years. We
highly appreciate the United Nations institutions, first
and foremost the Food and Agriculture Organization of
the United Nations and the World Food Programme,
and all Member States which immediately answered
our request for help. We continue to count on such aid
in mitigating the consequences of the drought.
Under these circumstances, we favour the
adoption of a new international agreement in this area,
and we hope that the next session of the Conference of
the Parties to the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change will be able to
negotiate new arrangements for moving beyond the
Kyoto Protocol.
Terrorism remains a major threat to the internal
security of countries and to international security. In
that regard, the Republic of Moldova wholeheartedly
supports United Nations efforts in fighting terrorism.
One example of this is our joining the International
Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear
Terrorism. Internally, the Government has undertaken a
series of concrete actions towards fighting terrorism by
adopting its national strategy for preventing and
fighting money-laundering and terrorism financing, as
well as by implementing relevant resolutions of the
Security Council.
We see in the present session of the General
Assembly an opportunity to finalize the draft of a
comprehensive convention on international terrorism
aimed at reaching an international consensus on a
normative framework in that area. Heightened attention
must be given to the fight against terrorism nourished
by separatist tendencies that affect the sovereignty and
territorial integrity of States. I wish to assure members
that our delegation will participate actively in
coordinating the negotiating process in the Sixth
Committee of the General Assembly.
The United Nations has represented for decades
the proper forum for tackling varied problems related
to disarmament and non-proliferation. The Republic of
Moldova welcomes the new approach to controlling
small arms and light weapons and in that context we
are in favour of a new agreement in the area of arms
sales. We support the international community’s efforts
aimed at establishing an efficient security system and
arms control system and remain a faithful supporter of
implementing the Treaty on Conventional Armed
Forces in Europe (CFE).
I wish to reiterate on this occasion the position of
the Republic of Moldova that the withdrawal of the
Russian troops that remain on Moldovan territory
against our will, in conformity with the obligations
assumed by the Russian Federation in 1999 in Istanbul,
would create the necessary conditions for ratifying and
applying the adapted CFE Treaty.
The Transdniestrian conflict remains a continuous
obstacle to promoting reforms and ensuring the social
and economic development of our country. A year ago,
speaking in the Assembly, we addressed in great detail
the problems related to the conflict and expressed hope
for a final sustainable solution. Today, I have to state
regretfully that the negotiations process suspended
since April 2006 because of the rigid and non-
constructive position of separatist leaders supported
from outside Moldova could not be restarted, in
spite of our constant efforts. That serves as a screen for
promoting some political and mafia interests foreign to
the people of the region. Continuous violations of
fundamental human rights in the Transdniestrian region
and the inefficiency of the existing peacekeeping
mechanism make imperative the need to transform that
mechanism into a multinational civil mission with an
international mandate.
In the context of United Nations consolidation,
the Republic of Moldova supports the adoption of
decisions necessary for the revitalization of the
General Assembly, reform of the Security Council and
the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council.
In that respect, we consider that the Security Council
needs to be extended in both permanent and non-
permanent categories, as a result of which the Eastern
European Group would be offered an additional
non-permanent seat.
We welcome the adoption of resolution 61/16, on
the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council,
the major body for coordinating the economic and
social activities of the United Nations. The Republic of
Moldova presented its candidature for the current
year’s elections to the Economic and Social Council,
and I take this opportunity to thank all the Member
States that granted us their trust.
The Republic of Moldova has constantly
supported the maintenance and consolidation of the
Organization’s role in resolving crisis and conflict
situations, aiding in post-conflict construction and
providing humanitarian assistance to affected zones in
various parts of the world, especially to the zones
affected by conflicts, including the GUAM region. In
that respect, we welcome the decision of the General
Assembly to maintain in the agenda of the current
session item 16, entitled Protracted conflicts in the
GUAM area and their implications for international
peace, security and development, and the increased
attention it is paying to the issue.
I would like in conclusion to reaffirm the will of
the State I represent to cooperate in and actively
contribute to the common efforts of Member States to
strengthen the United Nations as the Organization that
holds the key role in peacekeeping, security and
sustainable development.