Romania

My most sincere congratulations go first to His Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session. His outstanding personal qualities and the consistently valuable contributions of his country, the Republic of Korea, to United Nations activities are clear guarantees that the stewardship of the current session of the General Assembly, which started under dramatic and sorrowful circumstances, has been entrusted to a safe pair of hands. I would also like to renew my heartfelt congratulations to our Secretary-General on the well- deserved awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize and on his election to another term in office. Romania will continue to support his commendable endeavours towards reforming the Organization in a way that should enable it to cope effectively with the challenges, old and new, of our modern world. The horrific terrorist attack of 11 September was a rude awakening for all of us. It brought into focus both the abyssal evil we have to confront and the high value of human solidarity in the international response to it. It also shed new light on some problems that the international community has been facing for quite a while and accelerated certain processes, the far- reaching consequences of which are still not easy to predict. There can be no ambivalence or half measures when it comes to condemning and effectively combating terrorism and militant, violent fanaticism of any kind. The tragedy that befell the United States and the United Nations host city affected all humankind and created a new resolve to bring to justice the perpetrators and those who support, abet or harbour them. We share the views of the President of the United States, Mr. George W. Bush, that what is at stake is not just America’s freedom but that this is the world’s fight, civilization’s fight, the fight of all who believe in progress and pluralism, tolerance and freedom. Belief in those fundamental values have inspired the noble concept of the dialogue among civilizations, so eloquently expounded by the Secretary-General in his address to the Assembly. Indeed, it is only through dialogue that points of convergence can be identified and cooperation becomes possible on matters that acquire significance once they become the object of shared concern. From the very beginning. Romania joined the international democratic community in its ongoing campaign against evil-doers and their supporters for a safer and freer world. The consensual view of the Romanian nation across the political spectrum was unequivocally expressed in Parliament’s decision to make Romania’s air, maritime and land space available to the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization and to provide access to any other facilities that our partners may require. This is tangible proof of our commitment to acting as a de facto member of the North Atlantic Alliance. My country firmly supports the relevant resolutions recently adopted by the General Assembly and the Security Council, and we have already undertaken the necessary steps to ensure their full implementation in Romania. Regional solidarity is also essential. At a very recent conference on the common fight against terrorism, held in Warsaw on 6 November, the heads of State of Central and Eastern Europe reflected upon their past common experiences and voiced their determination to stand firmly united in the fight against terror for as long as it takes. It is also appropriate to 18 highlight here the meaningful work done by the Bucharest-based Southeast European Cooperation Initiative Regional Crime Center for Combating Transborder Crime, involving active inputs from 11 countries. The Center should build upon its current activities in order to enhance its contribution to the worldwide fight against terrorism by making good use of existing liaison systems, intelligence-sharing and joint task forces. I fully agreed with Secretary-General Kofi Annan when he recently said that we must not let the terrorist attacks distract us from the rest of the work we have to do. In no way do these tragic events make the broader mission of the United Nations less relevant. Indeed, the new focus on terrorism should not divert us from the core business of the world Organization. The agenda of this session is both comprehensive and substantial. We share the view that a large portion of our work should be devoted to seeking practical ways to implement the broad agreement reached at the Millennium Summit along the lines indicated in the Secretary-General’s visionary road map report. We support the Secretary-General in his efforts to integrate human rights into the whole range of United Nations activities. We encourage closer cooperation between the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, other United Nations agencies and mechanisms and regional structures that have extensive expertise in this field, such as the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, whose chairmanship-in-office is currently held by Romania. We regard the enhancement of the United Nations peacekeeping capability as a top priority. Recent experience in the Balkans and elsewhere has taught us that proper policing can be at least as important as the use of military might in modern-day peacekeeping and peace-building operations. That is why Romania has decided, in addition to its previous commitments in the area, to contribute a significant contingent of military policemen to the international presence in Kosovo to assist the transition from conflict to stability. The United Nations can become a focal point for constructive interaction with regional or subregional structures and specialized organizations of civil society in dealing with concrete problems ranging from conflict prevention to peace-building and post-conflict rehabilitation, reconstruction and sustainable development. Probably the greatest challenge to the international community is still how to reduce economic and social disparities and to achieve sustainable growth and poverty reduction within and between all countries through appropriate policies and well-focused institution-building. The world’s leaders have pledged to engage political determination, financial resources and innovative policies to reduce global poverty by half before the year 2015. This is most commendable, but it may prove to be more difficult to accomplish than originally envisaged. The 11 September attacks have affected not only world security but also the global economy, which in the preceding months was already showing signs of a slowdown. The consequences are likely to be far- reaching and much more dangerous than those of the 1997-1998 Asian financial crisis. The volume of international trade, which increased by almost 13 per cent in the year 2000, may decline by as much as 3 per cent in 2001. People in developing countries in particular are going to be hurt again. The United Nations has an essential part to play in promoting further integration of the world economy in accordance with the principles of sustainable development. But let us face the reality: we live in a world where the developmental gap between the centre and the periphery, between North and South, between rich and poor, is still wide and growing wider. The existing mechanisms for an orderly transfer of resources appear to have been sadly inadequate. One would expect that the recent shock, and the renewed sense of global solidarity that it has triggered, would prompt us into action to address the underlying causes of blind anger: misery and hopelessness. The war against terrorism can be truly successful only if it also becomes a war against poverty, illiteracy, disease and intolerance. I trust that the collective wisdom and goodwill of responsible politicians everywhere will be able to produce new and effective international mechanisms meant to combine the vision of sustainable, environment-friendly development with good governance and the generalized observance of basic human rights. We see disturbing signs that the increasing polarization with regard to wealth creation goes hand in hand with a deepening knowledge divide. The 19 emerging knowledge economy has scarcely heeded the injunctions of globalization. It still appears to the eyes of many to be self-serving and parochial. However, it is precisely the link between economic development and the advancement of knowledge that should give the laggards a chance to catch up through a more rational utilization of resources, including intellectual resources. We hope to see a new pattern of open networking which will benefit each country — especially those that are less developed — as well as the international system as a whole. Again, existing institutions do not seem creative or flexible enough to address this challenge. The United Nations system may become the catalyst for concerted action in public- private partnerships to bring the “digital dividend” into every community and every home. The knowledge gap is compounded by the ubiquitous phenomenon of brain drain from the developing to the developed world. The problem is almost as old as the United Nations itself. How to reverse that trend, transforming it into a “brain regain”, is another major challenge facing us all. To put it simply, what we have here is a steady, not-so-hidden flow of subsidies from the poorer nations to the richer ones. After all, most of an education budget comes out of the taxpayer’s pocket. Banish the thought of regarding the individual as the property of the all- powerful State: that notion is dead and gone. But it may make sense to start thinking of some sort of legally binding international instruments built on a broader interpretation of the concept of intellectual property to ensure a fairer distribution of the benefits of knowledge. The European Union has recently regulated the transfer of players between soccer clubs. What about a similar contractual arrangement between, say, “Polytechnic University X Club” and “Microsoft Club”? Some experimental domestic schemes have worked well in linking industry to higher learning by resorting to market mechanisms. Why should we not consider international intellectual partnerships, mutually beneficial for countries having advanced technologies and infrastructure and those generating creative human energies? Romania supports the strengthening of the United Nations through comprehensive institutional reforms on the basis of the set of proposals now before us. As the Secretary-General rightly noted, the United Nations should turn from a culture of reaction to one of prevention, aiming at the root causes of the prevailing negative phenomena. We look forward to an increasingly effective General Assembly regaining its central position in the United Nations family, as called for in the Millennium Declaration. Experience shows that enhanced regional cooperation can be both the engine and the result of globalization. In a regional format, States can implement innovative strategies for better access to resources and markets. Regional organizations are poised to become a significant factor in the global community. Regional cooperation makes it possible to capitalize on the advantages of globalization while reducing its risks. A set of policies can be successful only if it relies consistently on the fundamental aspiration of ordinary people to a peaceful and decent life. The current unprecedented level of knowledge will, I am confident, enable us to find the requisite resources, both in ourselves and in society, for greater tolerance, mutual respect and constructive dialogue, as opposed to the primitive inclination to hatred and intolerance. It is incumbent on the United Nations, the only international organization of universal vocation, to identify within itself the resources for the resolution of problems of global concern. The United Nations should keep working tenaciously to renew its structures and improve its operational performance as we advance into the new millennium. Romania is ready and willing to add its contribution to that effort.