Romania

It is my honour to speak here and to participate for the first time in the Assembly’s general debate. The moment is all the more significant for us because Romania is celebrating 55 years of membership in the United Nations. My country and its people have always been firm believers in the ideal of countries working together for peace, prosperity and a better life for humankind. Nicolae Titulescu, one of the great Romanians of the twentieth century, once said that hardship creates the true brotherhood of nations. He said those words in September 1931, as President of the League of Nations, in a time of crisis. Today we are burdened again by immense challenges and have to live up to great responsibilities placed upon us by present and future generations. Communities all over the planet face mounting threats, which are often interrelated. Climate change exacerbates food and energy insecurity, health and population issues increase migration, while poverty puts pressure on regional security and stability. At the same time, we are heartened to see an ever increasing commitment on the part of the world’s nations to act collectively and to share vision and willpower to overcome difficulties. Climate change must be our next mobilizing issue. We must not let differences and the enormous complexity of interests define our drive. Negotiations in Cancún and thereafter, building upon the Copenhagen Accord, must pave the way for the timely adoption of a comprehensive and legally binding post- Kyoto agreement. Romania, including in its capacity as Chair of the Commission for Sustainable Development, will provide its unrestrained support and attention to international efforts to alleviate our planet’s environmental perils. While climate change will hit us ever harder, a global recession has just battered us. The crisis revealed the flaws of our national and international financial and economic systems. It has become obvious that the world’s financial system is no longer compatible with the realities of global competition, nor 10-54965 44 can it handle the misuse of free market principles. Indeed, the system needs to be revised. Sometimes, with sufficient resources, development can be achieved quickly. But development without good governance is less likely to be lasting. A country whose citizens do not enjoy equality and dignity can never be wealthy. From its own past Romania knows very well the negative impact that the lack of genuine democracy, human rights and freedom has on long-term development prospects. That is why we must never lose track of a milestone document — the Universal Declaration of Human Rights — adopted by this very Assembly, 62 years ago, in Paris. The principles, the values and the generous ideals enshrined in that Declaration must remain the underlying foundation of our governance efforts. Romania plays an active role in promoting those fundamental values in our part of Europe and wherever its experience can prove useful and needed. One must not forget that democracy starts with a basic step: free and fair elections. Electoral processes can be improved, including in the most advanced countries. States must be ready to accept that improvements are sometimes needed and be able to listen to and understand the calls for change, from within our societies or from outside. Out-of-country voting is a sensitive and challenging issue, including in my country. Romania works in cooperation with the United Nations Electoral Assistance Division, European institutions and the Community of Democracies to develop knowledge and codify best practices in the field of out-of-country voting. We hope that the results of a first seminar on this topic, hosted by Romania this summer, will be multiplied and shared by many countries and regions. Conflict prevention and peacebuilding are priorities in today’s world. Neither of them can be isolated from efforts to stabilize and reconstruct areas and societies affected by conflicts. To be successfully put into practice, that conceptual framework needs the complement of a consolidated United Nations operational instrument to which all Member States must contribute to the best of their ability. For this reason my country has taken a keen interest in, and offered substantial contributions to, civilian and military missions under the United Nations mandate and has started to develop dedicated capacities, of essentially civilian nature, in the area of stabilization and post-conflict reconstruction. Just a couple of weeks ago, Bucharest hosted an international conference to officially open the Romanian Training Centre for Post-Conflict Reconstruction. The Centre will be open to international participation, and we hope to develop enhanced cooperation with the United Nations Office for Partnerships. Today, Romania is honoured and proud to have consistently contributed to the management, through international cooperation, of a number of conflict situations and areas of instability. I pay my deepest respect to the men and women of Romania who have lost their lives and those who are risking their lives in conflict areas, as well as to all the military, police, gendarmes and civilian personnel serving all over the world to bring peace and security. We must reaffirm our determination to accomplish the commitments made at the outset of the United Nations-mandated international mission in Afghanistan. While we welcome the results of the latest conferences in London and Kabul and note the progress in ensuring the stability, security and development of that sorely tried nation, we look forward to the moment when the Afghan authorities will be ready to assume the entire spectrum of responsibilities incumbent upon them. Romania firmly supports the continued involvement of the United Nations and the international community in the reconstruction of Iraq and is ready to carry on helping. The success of the sovereign development of Iraq depends on national reconciliation and the development of harmonious relations with its neighbours. As regards the issue of Kosovo, Romania continues to uphold politically and practically the essential United Nations mandate there, as well as the roles of the European Union and NATO in ensuring the progress, stability and security of the area. While respecting the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice, Romania considers that the opinion does not examine the core of the issue, which is the legality of the creation of an alleged new State. Romania maintains the view that unilateral secession is not possible under international law. Accordingly, Romania will maintain its position of non-recognition of Kosovo’s unilateral declaration of independence. 45 10-54965 We continue to be concerned with the protracted conflicts in the extended Black Sea area and South Caucasus. While solutions to these conflicts continue to be explored in the agreed formats, they must also be monitored by the larger United Nations membership, as a way to encourage dialogue and to ensure that developments remain within the boundaries of international law and United Nations resolutions. In Georgia, which is among Romania’s top priorities, the United Nations must continue to play an important role, along with other actors such as the European Union, which through its Monitoring Mission contributes immensely to the stability of the area. Furthermore, we support the Middle East peace process on the basis of the principles and provisions of the relevant Security Council resolutions and of the road map. We express our hope that the current direct discussions will lead to the goal of two States living side by side in peace and security. We also hope that Israel and Syria and Israel and Lebanon can identify the means needed to find solutions to improve their respective relations. Concerning the crucial role of the United Nations in the area of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control, I would like to underline the need to both strengthen the relevance of international law and to fully implement it. Romania welcomes the new United States- Russian Federation treaty on nuclear arms reduction and the adoption of the Final Document of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which contains concrete actions to advance international cooperation in the field of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. The entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and future negotiations for a fissile material cut-off treaty continue to be issues of high interest for my country. The efforts evoked in my address require a vibrant multilateralism with a strong United Nations at its core. That premise demands, in turn, improved functional relations between the United Nations and other international organizations with a global or regional vocation. The roles of the European Union, NATO, the African Union, the International Organization of la Francophonie and others in working jointly with the United Nations in the field and at Headquarters must be supported and reinforced by all Member States. At the same time, the wide-ranging process of realignment and reform of the United Nations and its bodies must maintain the same pace. In that context, I would like to warmly welcome the creation of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women as a significant step in United Nations reform. We congratulate Madame Michelle Bachelet, former President of Chile, for her appointment as head of that entity and wish her every success. At the same time, I would like to commend Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and the entire Organization for their exceptional dedication and commitment to the advancement of women. The sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly gives us another year in which we must accelerate the Assembly’s renewal and work out historic decisions on Security Council reform. Romania shares the view that the overarching goal of Security Council reform must be to create a more effective, transparent and representative body, and my country will join any pragmatic move in this direction. We strongly believe that the Eastern European Group deserves better representation on the Security Council in any enlargement format. Let me conclude by saying that our role and position in the world’s affairs are not defined by our greatest achievements, but by how we use those achievements to strengthen the most vulnerable among us. That has been and still is the noblest mission and vocation of the United Nations, and of us all.