Moldova

Allow me at the outset, Sir, to convey to you our warmest congratulations on your election as President of the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly. I am certain that your competence and active cooperation with United Nations Member States will pave the way for a successful and fruitful session. Allow me also to join previous speakers in expressing our deep gratitude to your predecessor, Mr. Harri Holkeri, for his outstanding work and for the professional manner in which he presided over the fifty-fifth session of the Assembly. I should also like once again, on behalf of the Government of the Republic of Moldova, to reiterate our warmest congratulations to Secretary-General Kofi Annan on having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, which was so well deserved, and for his re-election to another term of office. His tireless efforts in redefining the role of the United Nations in this changing world are certainly deeply appreciated and supported by my Government. The barbaric terrorist attacks of 11 September have radically changed the international security environment. Terrorism has become the most serious and immediate threat to the security and stability of our States. A challenge was laid down, not only to the United States of America, but to the entire world community. We fully agree with the statement made by the President of the United States, Mr. George Bush, in his statement before this Assembly at the 44th plenary meeting, that “that threat cannot be ignored” and that “civilization itself — the civilization we share — is threatened”. The fight against international terrorism has clearly become a priority for the United Nations. Today we see a strong international coalition emerging which, in the short term, is determined to bring to justice the perpetrators of terrorist acts and, in the long term, to eliminate this evil from the face of the earth. The Republic of Moldova, which immediately aligned itself with the ranks of this coalition, strongly condemned the indiscriminate large-scale terrorist attacks that took place in New York, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania. Moldova has also unreservedly supported the actions undertaken by the United States in its legitimate self-defence and in accordance with the United Nations Charter and Security Council resolution 1368 (2001). Likewise, we support the global and multidimensional approach adopted by the United States in its war against terrorism. The Republic of Moldova has demonstrated its political will to combat terrorist activities through concerted efforts with other countries in the framework of various regional and subregional organizations. 11 Our Government has strengthened its counter- terrorism legislation in order to comply with relevant regional and United Nations conventions and with the provisions of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001). Our country is also taking measures in order to speed up accession to most of the remaining specialized United Nations counter-terrorism conventions. This morning, I signed on behalf of my country the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. The tragic events of 11 September have shown that the international community must take further steps to resolve the longstanding international problems on which terrorism and violence feed. We must urgently address the conflicts around the world and eliminate their root causes and factors that can nurture the development of terrorism. I feel obliged to add my voice to those who see the phenomenon of separatism as a root cause of conflicts and a threat to international peace and security. In a globalized and interdependent world, separatism affects the bases of multicultural societies and poses grave danger to the sovereignty and integrity of States. Like international terrorism, separatism emphasizes what divides rather than what unites us. As a country affected by separatism for many years, we have constantly noted this phenomenon and the connections it sometimes has with other serious criminal activities, including sometimes terrorism. This is why, in our opinion, this issue, among others, must be taken into account by the United Nations Member States in their efforts to elaborate and implement a comprehensive and efficient counter-terrorism strategy. The fact that I am focusing on the issues of conflict settlement and separatism is not accidental. Over the years, my delegation has informed the Assembly of the efforts being made to resolve the conflict in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic of Moldova. However, I am obliged to note with regret the lack of any noticeable positive developments towards a comprehensive settlement. Despite the reasonable compromises on the part of the constitutional authorities in my country, the separatist regime continues to completely oppose any proposals to grant special status to the region as a constituent part of the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, the leaders of that region have given a unilateral interpretation to political documents worked out with the active mediation of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Another matter of continuing concern is the fact that in recent years the illegal production of different types of armaments has been noted in this region. These armaments have reached other conflict zones through third countries, supporting terrorists, criminal groups and secessionist movements. We should like to state once again that a complete and unconditional withdrawal of troops, munitions and armaments, as stipulated in the Istanbul OSCE Summit documents, would undoubtedly facilitate the peaceful and lasting settlement of this conflict. In this connection, I would like to emphasize that my Government encourages the recent efforts of the Russian Federation to cut back on its weapons deployed in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Given the considerable progress that has been already made, we certainly hope that the process of destruction and removal of the weaponry will be completed before the Bucharest OSCE ministerial meeting this December. I would like also to express our gratitude to those Members of the United Nations that have contributed financially to the OSCE voluntary fund established in accordance with the Istanbul decisions. The role of the United Nations in international peace and security remains an essential part of its global responsibilities. The Republic of Moldova reiterates its conviction that the best strategy for maintaining international peace and security is to eliminate the root causes of conflicts. In this regard, we fully support the Secretary-General’s efforts to move into a culture of conflict prevention. The submission of periodic regional reports to the Security Council on disputes of various types that may potentially threaten international peace and security is another important and necessary measure. The unequal attention given by the international system to different conflicts is still a matter of great concern. In order to be successful, preventive strategies must reach all regions in crisis. The credibility of the United Nations is called into question whenever decisions mandating action in a particular crisis are not matched by timely deployment of peacekeeping forces. Experience in recent years has 12 shown that the United Nations capacity to meet an expanding and increasingly complex range of peacekeeping demands needs significant improvement. We are pleased to note that action has been taken to implement a number of practical measures proposed by the Secretary-General in his second report on the implementation of the recommendations of the Brahimi report on peace operations. Moldova has already established the legislation and institutional framework for its future participation in the peacekeeping operations. I should also like to express the readiness of the Republic of Moldova to participate in the stand-by system, for which the institutional and technical preparations are currently in their concluding stage. As we seek to enhance the United Nations capacity in conflict prevention and peacekeeping, we must also strengthen international cooperation for the promotion of sustainable development and the elimination of poverty worldwide. Development and poverty elimination are issues of tremendous importance to many Member States, including my own. Our economic development has been gravely affected by the illegal actions of separatists, as well by the negative consequences of globalization. These issues have been considered very important by our leaders at the Millennium Summit. Since the beginning of this year the world economy has experienced a certain slowdown. In the aftermath of the incidents of 11 September, this tendency has been exacerbated. The Millennium Declaration recognized that the problems of both developing countries and countries with economies in transition have become even more acute, even tragic in recent months, as a result of globalization. We hope that developed countries will increase their support for us in dealing with our problems by granting greater assistance for development. Debt cancellation would play a significant role in allowing us to free up financial resources and redirect them towards stimulating our economies. In meeting the challenges of globalization, the United Nations plays an indispensable role in international cooperation. We welcome its greater participation in development issues and in facing the tasks set out in the Millennium Declaration. These goals cannot be reached without significant financial support. The International Conference on Financing for Development and the World Summit on Sustainable Development to be held next year offer a unique opportunity to find the resources required to meet those goals. We hope that the outcome of these two significant international events will be successful in this regard. The Republic of Moldova remains open to all forms of cooperation and is willing to contribute, as much as possible, to reaching the common goals of sustainable development and economic stability. We consider that a comprehensive approach, based on the experience of other States and on the specific cultural character of a given country or region, will help us identify and apply the best strategy for sustainable development. In order for the United Nations to remain relevant and credible, it must maintain a strong commitment to the continuing programme of reform and renewal. The reforms that have been undertaken and implemented in recent years have already done much to strengthen and revitalize the Organization. However, much remains to be done and, in particular, we need to intensify our efforts to achieve a comprehensive reform of the Security Council. The Republic of Moldova believes that this reform should be guided by principles of equitable geographic representation, democracy, effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. It is on this basis that we will be able to modernize the Security Council and bring it into line with the substantial increase in the general membership of the United Nations. In this context I would like once again to reiterate the position of my country with respect to the enlargement of the Security Council in both permanent and non-permanent categories: the Eastern European Group should be given one additional non-permanent membership seat. Our country welcomes the process of revitalization and improvement of the General Assembly and, at the same time, supports efforts to restore the central role of the Assembly as a main representative body for debate at the United Nations. This year the Republic of Moldova is celebrating the tenth anniversary of its independence. During these 10 years as a Member State of the United Nations, we have fully shared the common values of the Organization. We have achieved many significant results in our internal development; much remains to 13 be done, however. We have nonetheless laid down the foundations of a democratic society. This was not an easy task, but we have made progress. The most important achievement has been that we have laid down the foundations of a democratic society, with basic human rights and the rights of national minorities being respected. The main achievement has been the consolidation of the Republic of Moldova as a peace- loving independent European country. The dramatic change of the situation in the international arena in the aftermath of the tragic events of 11 September calls for a new vision and a redefinition of the specific mechanisms for realizing the fundamental objectives of the Organization, which spring essentially from the founding philosophy of the Charter of the United Nations. In this respect, the Organization should draw conclusions from its own past and, relying on permanent support from its Member States, accomplish new tasks in the light of the imperatives of the time. I join in expressing the hope that the proceedings of the General Assembly — which are absolutely necessary for the international community in the twenty-first century — will also make it possible to ensure that this process moves in a positive direction.