It is my particular honour to address the General Assembly. I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the President on being elected to his position and to wish him every success in his work during these challenging times.
The world in which we live today requires joint, global and concerted efforts as the key to success in addressing serious global crises. We strongly believe that we must strengthen the multilateral system based on international law. We must make sure that it is effective and fair and able to endure and deliver results that will serve to achieve our common goals and commitments, as well as a better future for our planet and peoples. We need to safeguard the role of the United Nations as the centre of global cooperation. We are also hopeful that genuine efforts will be invested in the reform of the Security Council, as our main instrument for securing global peace and security.
In 2015. we adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development based on the consensus that, in order to transform our world, we need to realize that sustainable development cannot be realized without peace and security, and that peace and security will be at risk without sustainable development. In 2023. at the mid-point in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, the assessments of the Global Sustainable Development Report show that the efforts to achieve that synergy have proved insufficient to date. Time to reinvigorate our political commitments to the full and efficient implementation of the 2030 Agenda and its Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) is irreversibly running out.
In the meantime, the necessary boost came with the Secretary-General’s vision offered in Our Common Agenda (A/75/982) as an overarching road map for fighting the multiple crises. The preparatory process for next year’s Summit of the Future — along with its outcome, the Pact for the Future — represents a unique opportunity to strengthen national and international governance and to make it more sustainable and resilient to future crises and shocks, thereby safeguarding the planet for future generations.
The international financial system is increasingly unable to adequately and efficiently respond to the challenges at hand. More needs to be done to update and upgrade the global financial infrastructure so that
it becomes more adapted to the needs of the world. Most notably, we need to scale up development and climate financing. In that regard, we support the efforts by the international financial institutions to review their structures and operating processes with a view to reform in order to meet the challenges of the twenty-first century.
Peace is not maintained by itself. Investment in conflict prevention is far more cost-effective than investing in conflict resolution and post-conflict recovery. That is why conflict prevention and sustaining peace should be at the centre of the framework of the New Agenda for Peace, intertwined with a renewed commitment to multilateralism, global solidarity and trust. Croatia, as Chair of the Peace-building Commission (PBC) for 2023. strongly advocates for the strengthening and enlarging of both its geographical and thematic scope. We support the Secretary-General’s call for the universality of conflict prevention and sustaining peace. The PBC should also work more closely with international financial institutions and regional actors, forming a sustainable peace network. In addition to its advisory powers, the PBC could also be vested with decision-making powers, enabling it to establish United Nations civilian missions upon request by the countries concerned and thereby helping to address the root causes of instability. In that regard, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and its Sustainable Development Goals can be an excellent prevention tool by fostering prosperity and inclusion, while leaving the world a safer place for future generations.
According to The Global Sustainable Development Report 2023. Croatia’s performance in implementing the Sustainable Development Goals was among the top-ranked countries. However, we still have a lot of work ahead of us. Croatia has a large natural heritage that it wants to preserve for future generations through the implementation of the SDGs. While accepting the clean energy transition. Croatia is taking a number of measures to alleviate the transition shock due to the rejection of fossil fuels and to ensure a fair transition and prevent energy poverty.
With regard to biodiversity. Croatia is committed to working jointly for the development and full implementation of the ambitious and transformational Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework. Furthermore, we firmly believe that the protection, restoration and sustainable use of biodiversity is essential for the prevention of pandemics and the promotion of the One Health Approach, which needs to be included in future prevention plans. We are also committed to working together to intensify cooperation in protecting the marine environment and combating plastic pollution. If we want healthy oceans and seas, our ambition needs to be high and ocean protection needs to be stepped up significantly. Croatia welcomes the landmark adoption of the Agreement under the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Marine Biological Diversity of Areas beyond National Jurisdiction. The successful negotiation of that agreement is the most recent proof of devoted multilateral work and represents not only a milestone in conserving the marine biodiversity of nearly two thirds of the world’s oceans but also a triumph for multilateralism. Today Croatia proudly joined the first tier of countries that have signed the high seas treaty and is committed to ratifying it as soon as possible. We call on other countries to do the same in order to enable its swift entry into force and the commencement of its effective implementation.
As a State member of the European Union. Croatia has already committed itself politically and legally to contributing to making Europe the first climate-neutral continent by 2050. By further pursuing that course and accelerating the development of renewables and increasing green investments, we believe that we can turn the current crisis into a new chance for our economies. In that regard. I would mention as an example one such project that can boost new growth in the European economy based on decarbonization and clean industry. It is the North Adriatic Hydrogen Valley project, which encompasses Slovenia. Croatia and the Italian region of Friuli-Venezia Giulia. When we put the clean energy transition at the heart of the fight against climate change on the global level, we should not forget that the most vulnerable communities, which have historically contributed the least to climate change, are often the ones most and worst affected — both by climate conditions and by the costs of the green energy transition as a remedy. The establishment at the twenty-seventh Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP27) of a loss and damage fund to help vulnerable countries cope with the destructive effects of climate change marked a historic breakthrough in that respect. How we go about addressing the issue at the Climate Ambition Summit and COP28 will be a true test of trust and solidarity among nations and will have an impact on current and future generations.
Creating a world of peace and security that respects human rights and promotes social progress is the very foundation of the United Nations. The number of human rights violations and humanitarian crises around the world shows that more must be done to prevent atrocities and operationalize the responsibility to protect. Croatia is honoured to be contributing to that cause by serving as co-Chair. along with Costa Rica and Botswana, of the Group of Friends of the Responsibility to Protect in New York. The Croatian Government remains committed to determining the fate of 1.806 persons who went missing during our homeland war in the 1990s. Based on that tragic national experience, we continue to give our unwavering support to all efforts to provide answers to people still suffering the anguish of uncertainty anywhere in the world.
We remain committed to combating hate speech, advancing the rights of women and children, protecting minorities and abolishing the death penalty. Gender equality is the foundation of a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world. In that regard, we want to highlight the importance of education and equal opportunities for girls and boys. We will continue advocating against discrimination and hate speech, including antisemitism.
Croatia continues to attach the utmost importance to the welfare of its immediate neighbourhood in South- Eastern Europe. We must fully tackle issues relating to the past and the legacy of war. such as resolving the remaining missing-persons cases, engaging in meaningful cooperation in handling war crimes without discrimination and in line with international standards, ensuring access to archives, and other unresolved and highly sensitive problems. We actively support the European perspective of our close neighbour Bosnia and Herzegovina and warmly welcomed the recent European Union (EU) decision to grant Bosnia and Herzegovina the status of an EU candidate country. We continue to advocate for electoral reforms that can ensure the legitimate representation of all its constituent peoples — particularly Bosniaks. Croats and Serbs — at all levels of Government, which in our view is essential to the country’s future stability and prosperity.
We are very concerned about the latest developments in relations between Kosovo and Serbia and would like to encourage measures to de-escalate tensions. And those two countries need to focus on normalizing relations, delivering on their commitments and starting to implement what was agreed on this year in Brussels and Ohrid. We continue to advocate for universal recognition of the Republic of Kosovo and its right to existence as an equal member of the community of nations. It is in our interests to promote the stability and further development of the region, in addition to the process of European integration, which we believe remains crucial to the future prosperity of our neighbours and which we hope will be accelerated in the coming years.