I would like first to
congratulate the President of the General Assembly
on his election to that important position and express
my confidence in his leadership. It is also my great
pleasure to address the Assembly for the first time as
the President of the newest European Union member
State.
Our debate this year is focused on an issue of
paramount importance for our planet’s future — the
post-2015 development agenda. However, before sharing
my views on that central issue, I would like to share my
thoughts on a broader understanding of sustainability.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to outline sustainable
development without touching upon one of its
essential prerequisites: peace and security. As a global
community, we continue to witness, year after year, a
plethora of deadly and prolonged international crises
and new and emerging threats and conflicts.
The ongoing security and humanitarian catastrophe
in Syria, with all its terrible effects and potential to
destabilize the region, is naturally foremost on our
minds. We are saddened by the tremendous loss of life
as a result of that ongoing conflict. We are particularly
appalled and concerned by the findings and conclusions
of the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate
Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the
Syrian Arab Republic on the alleged use of chemical
weapons in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August
2013 (A/67/997). Croatia condemns in the strongest
terms the use of chemical weapons. The international
community must ensure that there is no impunity for
such crimes and that the perpetrators of those and
other crimes are held to account. In that connection,
we welcome the United States-Russia Framework
for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons of
14 September. The priority must now be to provide
for its prompt and full implementation, starting with a
process in the Security Council and the soonest possible
adoption of a relevant Council resolution.
The United Nations was established at a time when
the world was emerging from a period that had witnessed
the worst atrocities of the twentieth century. In fact, it
was established for the very purpose of ensuring that
such atrocities would not happen again. While we can
and often do debate the overall effectiveness of the
United Nations in ensuring international peace, it is
important that we build on the lessons learned from
both past successes and past mistakes.
In that connection, allow me to highlight one such
past success. January this year marked the fifteenth
anniversary of the end of the mandate of the United
Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern
Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium in Croatia. It is
considered to be one of the most successful peacekeeping
operations in United Nations history. The mission
was able to peacefully reaffirm the independence,
sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of
Croatia, and paved the way for normalizing relations
and cooperation in the region.
Over the past 20 years Croatia has undertaken a
long and demanding journey from being a host nation
for a number of United Nations peacekeeping missions
on its territory to a peacekeeping contributor. Today, we
are determined to continue our participation in many
current peacekeeping and peace-support operations
and missions around the world. This year also marks
the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the
International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia
(ICTY). It is a well-known fact that Croatia advocated
the establishment of the ICTY from the very beginning.
We wholeheartedly supported the strong
determination of the international community to finally,
once and for all, put an end to the culture of impunity
that had for so long accompanied wars and armed
conflicts. The establishment of the ad hoc criminal
tribunals changed the landscape of international
criminal justice and paved the way for a whole new
system, with the International Criminal Court at its
head. The establishment of the International Criminal
Court in 1998 can be regarded as one of the most
important civilization achievements in the last century
and the beginning of a new era of accountability. That
is why we are calling on those countries that have not
yet decided to adopt the Rome Statute to do so as soon
as possible.
Our own experience teaches us that peace often
comes at a high price. Maintaining peace often entails a
long-term and comprehensive commitment on the part
of the international community. The United Nations
recognized that fact in establishing the Peacebuilding
Commission (PBC) in 2005. Its aim is to direct and
sustain the attention and efforts of the international
community in post-conflict countries. Croatia’s interest
and engagement in peacebuilding started some time ago
and was further strengthened by our bitter experience
in recent history. From the very beginning, Croatia
actively participated in and contributed to the work of
the Peacebuilding Commission.
In the PBC we have focused on three different, yet
mutually reinforcing areas – strengthening security,
stimulating socioeconomic prosperity and promoting
human rights and gender equality. For example, as the
current PBC Chair and in line with the Peacebuilding
Commission’s action plan for 2013, Croatia helped
organize a joint meeting of the PBC and the Global
Compact on the important topic of business for
peacebuilding, which was held in June. Earlier today,
Croatia, as PBC Chair and in cooperation with UN-
Women, organized a high-level ministerial meeting
on women’s economic empowerment in peacebuilding.
The meeting emphasized the critical role of women in
peacebuilding processes and the fact that empowering
women in the economy is essential for realizing women’s
rights and achieving broader development goals.
In our view, progress in the areas of security,
development, the rule of law and human rights must go
hand in hand. We would especially like to stress the
critical importance that the rule of law plays in post-
conflict peacebuilding and, therefore, in achieving
lasting peace and sustainable development.
For its part, Croatia continues to follow the path
of promoting an open and pluralistic democracy as
the best guarantee for safeguarding the human rights
of its citizens. We believe that democracy needs to be
approached in a holistic manner. Human and minority
rights, the rule of law, good governance and the fight
against corruption are intrinsic to democratic values.
Democracy is not only about civil and political rights;
its focus is not only on free and fair elections, but also
on economic, social and cultural rights.
Croatia will continue to seek the upholding
of human rights standards across the globe. We
particularly support the abolition of the death penalty,
the implementation of anti-discrimination policies, the
effective and full protection of the rights of the child and
the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities.
We will also spare no effort in raising awareness
about the importance of upholding and improving
women’s and minority rights. Croatia fully supports
the pivotal role of the United Nations and its human
rights mechanisms, in particular the Human Rights
Council. For that reason, Croatia has presented its bid
for membership in the Human Rights Council for the
period of 2017-2019, remaining committed to making
an active and substantial contribution to the activities
and efforts of that very important United Nations body.
In the area of security, we consider the prevention
of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
especially proliferation to non-State actors, to be a
global security priority. Croatia believes that successful
non-proliferation is possible only through a combination
of diligent work at the national level and the widest
possible international cooperation. We firmly believe
that adherence to multilateral non-proliferation treaties,
as well as participation in informal non-proliferation
initiatives, are an indispensable part of non-proliferation
efforts. The most recent events in Syria are a horrible
reminder and warning of how important it is that all
international agreements on non-proliferation be
universally complied with.
Croatia is also very concerned about the issue of the
uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons
and their excessive accumulation. We believe that those
weapons present a great risk for the stability and security
of many weak and fragile areas around the world. A
milestone in that area is the successful completion and
opening for signature of the international Arms Trade
Treaty, a uniquely drafted document establishing rules
and criteria for trade in conventional arms. Croatia, as
an original signatory State, would like to add its voice
to those requesting urgent and universal adherence to
the treaty and its expedited entry into force.
Nowadays we are witnessing all around the world
the heavy toll of armed conflicts and wars. In any
humanitarian crisis, those paying the highest price
for the conflict are civilians, especially women and
children. We commend the efforts undertaken by the
United Nations and other international donors to help
civilians, and we are contributing to them as much as
we can.
Having been an aid recipient, we have learned that
the donor-recipient relationship can be effective and
efficient only if based on an equal partnership, mutual
respect and understanding. Development cooperation is
a multilevel process through which all sides can learn and
grow. Croatia will continue focusing its donor activities
on gender and child-sensitive issues, on maternal health
and the prevention of mortality in children under 5, as
well as on enhancing girls’ education.
In setting the stage for the post-2015 development
agenda, we, as a global community, will continue to
be confronted with many challenges, some of which I
have just mentioned. The United Nations Conference
on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) has provided us
with important guidance with regard to establishing
the goals and multilateral architecture necessary for its
implementation. In that sense, we would like to express
our satisfaction with the creation of the High-Level
Political Forum, which we hope will be a stepping stone
in the establishment of a strengthened institutional
architecture for sustainable development.
Scientists warn us that soon we will need two
planets to keep pace with the consumption-driven
growth necessary to sustain our ever-increasing
population. While we agree that a transformative shift
towards more sustainable development is needed, the
question remains how to achieve that shift. Knowledge
is the key. The science-policy interface, so often
highlighted in the run-up to the Rio+20 Conference
and integrated into the vision of “The future we want”
(resolution 66/288, annex), stands as a crucial link to
those innovative solutions.
To achieve a sustainable future, we need a
concurrent base of strong institutions, solidarity,
justice and social development, with an approach that is
more targeted towards marginalized groups, including
women’s empowerment, as well as a strong respect for
the environment and innovative growth.
Croatia welcomes the already widely accepted
view that education represents one of the main building
blocks in every society and is a crucial driver for
development. I am proud to represent a country among
the States championing the Global Education First
Initiative. Croatia is fully committed to supporting the
Initiative, and I would like to take this opportunity to
call upon others to join our efforts to give life to the
Initiative’s goals.
On 1 July, just over two and a half months ago,
Croatia became the twenty-eighth member of the
European Union (EU). One of the primary reasons
that my country strove to become a full member of
the European Union was to secure a safe, democratic
and stable future for ourselves and for forthcoming
generations. Croatia firmly believes that EU
enlargement has been one of that organization’s most
successful and productive policies. Because of that,
we believe that the European project should not and
cannot stop at our borders. We firmly believe in the
strategic importance of the EU’s enlargement policy.
It must be continued with respect to all countries of
the Western Balkans — based on their individual
merits — as it is the best option for long-term stability
in the region. We strongly support all of the countries
in our neighbourhood in their endeavours and believe
that their efforts towards future membership of the
European Union will be successful.
It is important to understand that reconciliation
and cooperation have become a new standard for
regional policies, and in that regard, we welcome closer
collaboration among all countries of South-Eastern
Europe, both bilaterally and in the framework of
regional organizations and initiatives.
Before concluding, I would like to address the
issue of United Nations reform. We believe that there
is a need for true reform of the current United Nations
structures and mechanisms if the United Nations is to
achieve its ambitious goals and strengthen its capacity
to meet new challenges.
The first area is Security Council reform. Croatia
commends the persevering commitment of Member
States to the ongoing negotiating process and believes
that broader understanding of sustainability should
find its place in that context as well. However, any
reform of the Council must not have a negative impact
on its ability to perform its main duties and meet its
primary responsibilities. Enlargement of the Council
is closely connected with the reform of its working
methods, while the continuing veto powers of the
permanent five continues to raise numerous questions.
That is why such reform must be comprehensive.
That having been said, it is Croatia’s position that any
enlargement should take place in both the permanent
and the non-permanent categories of membership, with
one additional non-permanent seat reserved for the
group of Eastern European States. That would more
properly reflect the reality of international relations in
the twenty-first century.
As a member of the Economic and Social Council,
we intend to continue advocating a stronger and more
efficient role for that main body in its efforts to seek
solutions to the most significant social and economic
challenges of our time. The General Assembly and the
Economic and Social Council should also find ways
of working together to support deliberations on the
complex matter of sustainable development. Within
its broad, overarching mandate, the General Assembly
remains the central point for all of our discussions.
Croatia welcomes the focus at this year’s debate on the
post-2015 development agenda.
Finally, I would like to stress that we are all aware
of the global challenges we face today. As a global
community, in looking for sustainable solutions,
we made strong commitments at last year’s Rio+20
Conference, and we will need to make new ones as
we proceed with the post-2015 development agenda.
To achieve all of that, we will need to strengthen
old partnerships and create new ones, both between
Governments and among Governments and civil
society and other key stakeholders. In that respect, it
is our belief that the United Nations and its institutions
offer the best chance to help meet those expectations.
Let us, as its Member States, make the best use of all
that it has to offer.