Ukraine

It is a great honour and pleasure to congratulate the representative of the Group of Eastern European States on his election to the high post of President of the General Assembly at its fifty- seventh session. On behalf of the delegation of Ukraine, let me wish him success and assure him of our support. I would like to address words of respect and gratitude to his predecessor, Mr. Han Seung-soo. I would like to take this opportunity to convey cordial congratulations to a new, welcome Member of the United Nations, the Swiss Confederation. We look forward also to welcoming the Democratic Republic of East Timor as a Member of the United Nations shortly. 18 We consider the joining of the United Nations by those States a truly historic event which testifies to the viability of our great family of nations. The first days of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly began with a commemoration of the victims of the horrible terrorist acts of 11 September 2001. Over the past year we have repeatedly reflected on whether those events would remain a tragic moment in history, or whether they would prove to be a turning point. We have been searching for an answer to a question representing the most difficult challenge to humankind: how to preserve the fundamental right of every person — the right to life. For Ukraine, “terror” and “terrorism” are not just words. For decades, the Ukrainian people lived under the oppression of terror, which was raised to the rank of State policy. Next year Ukraine will commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the induced famine which in 1932 and 1933 took the lives of over 7 million Ukrainians. That most tragic event in our modern history, caused by the totalitarian regime, was a brutal act of genocide against the Ukrainian nation. At that time the world failed to respond to our tragedy. Nor did it recognize early enough the face of fascism: certain politicians and certain States thought that that evil would bypass them. The consequences of that inaction turned out to be enormous. Today, at the beginning of a new millennium, I am confident that each of us would like to rely upon the encouraging momentum of change which has taken place in the international arena, and to rely upon the unifying force with which the world responded to the events of 11 September 2001. In the face of the challenge of terrorism, the international community demonstrated its determination and resolve. Tangible results have been achieved by the antiterrorism coalition. We regard the fight against terrorism as one of the aspect of a broad and long-term process of comprehensive international action aimed at abolishing the philosophy of hatred and intolerance, which is exacerbated by conflicts in various regions of the world. The need for a new philosophy is particularly acute on the security front: success of the international presence in Afghanistan, the completion of the peacekeeping mission in East Timor and normalization in the Balkans are taking place alongside the dramatic developments in the Middle East, the so-called frozen conflicts in the post-Soviet space, which remain unresolved, and persistent security problems in Africa. In this context, the United Nations has no right to limit itself to passive observation and uninvolved analysis. At the Millennium Summit, the President of Ukraine, Leonid Kuchma, put forward an initiative on developing a comprehensive United Nations strategy for conflict prevention. We hope that ongoing discussions in the United Nations on the recommendations made by the Secretary-General on this issue will contribute to a real shift from a culture of reaction to a culture of prevention. The United Nations is capable of utilizing its consolidating force to strengthen the legal basis of international relations. We highly value the United Nations contribution to this process that brought into force the Rome Statute and led to the establishment of the International Criminal Court. Today, it is highly important to ensure the effectiveness of the Court and to preserve the integrity of its Statute. Another priority task in this sphere is to conclude the elaboration of a comprehensive convention on international terrorism. This year Ukraine became a party to the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings and the European Convention on the Suppression of Terrorism. Upon the completion of relevant domestic procedures on the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, Ukraine will be a party to all 12 universal instruments against terrorism. A number of tasks facing the international community in the social and economic spheres are further defining the role of the United Nations as a unique forum for dialogue among developed countries, countries with economies in transition and developing nations. As a member of the Economic and Social Council, Ukraine stresses the need for reform of the Council and for strengthening its coordinating role. That process would, inter alia, significantly strengthen the Organization's potential to ensure consistent and effective implementation of the provisions of the Millennium Declaration, the Monterrey Consensus and the outcome of the World Summit on Sustainable Development, held in Johannesburg. 19 At the Johannesburg Summit, the President of Ukraine proposed the formulation of innovative financial stimulation mechanisms for developing countries and countries with economies in transition, in particular through debt-for-sustainable-development swaps. In our view, such steps would have a positive impact on nations' rates of economic growth and ecologically responsible development. On 31 December 2001 Ukraine concluded its two-year term of membership of the Security Council. As a member of the Council, our country strived to make practical contributions towards finding solutions to critical security problems in many regions of today's world. Our country's position of principle is still that the Security Council is the only organ with the legitimate right to decide on the use of force, in accordance with the United Nations Charter. At the same time we consistently stand for increased transparency in the Council's work, and we hope that progress on internal changes will allow the process of comprehensive and long-awaited reform to start. An important element of Ukraine's participation in United Nations efforts in the sphere of peace and security will continue to be its contribution to peacekeeping activities of the Organization. We believe that the key role played by United Nations peacekeeping operations and the personal contribution made by each peacekeeper deserve adequate recognition by the international community. I am confident that everybody present in this Hall will share our view. At the current session of the General Assembly, Ukraine will present a draft resolution proposing annual observance of an International Day of United Nations Peacekeepers as a way to pay tribute to the memory of fallen peacekeepers and to honour the participants in ongoing and past missions. We hope this will be unanimously supported. Ukraine views positively the advancement of the stabilization process in the Balkans, in particular in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Kosovo. Ukraine holds to a consistent position concerning the territorial integrity and inviolability of the borders of the Balkan States, and it fully supports the active involvement of European actors in an effort to further normalize the security situation in the region. In contrast to a promising assessment of the situation in the Balkans, we are compelled to voice our regret over the absence of progress in the settlement of other problems which are of particular interest to Ukraine. Among them is the Georgian-Abkhaz conflict. The absence of confidence between the Georgian and the Abkhaz sides stands in the way of a renewal of political dialogue. As host country to the third meeting of the sides on confidence-building measures, which was held in Yalta in March 2001, Ukraine stands ready to take practical steps, in cooperation with the United Nations and other interested States, in order to renew the spirit of Yalta. Speaking of the situation in Georgia, I cannot fail to mention that Ukraine is deeply concerned at the situation related to developments in the Pankisi valley. Ukraine believes that the existing misunderstandings can be resolved only through peaceful means, in compliance with the norms and principles of international law. We call upon the parties to employ all available political and diplomatic mechanisms to arrive at a mutual understanding and to take advantage of every opportunity to achieve détente in the current situation. Ukraine unconditionally supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia. The situation in the Middle East also remains a source of deep concern for Ukraine. It is quite obvious today that the parties have become trapped in a cycle of violence, which contradicts the true aspirations of both peoples and breeds yet more hatred and desperation. We fully support the efforts of the international community, in particular the Quartet and the countries of the region, aimed at assisting the parties in finding peaceful ways to settle the conflict. Ukraine, for its part, strives to contribute in every possible way to a peaceful settlement. In April this year, during his visit to the region, President Leonid Kuchma presented Ukrainian proposals in the framework of international diplomatic efforts aimed at a peaceful settlement of the Middle East conflict; these envisage a range of parallel steps in the security, economic and political spheres. I should like to take this opportunity to confirm Ukraine's readiness to offer a venue on its territory and to provide all appropriate conditions for the conduct of talks on this issue. The achievement of a final, just and durable peace in the Middle East is not possible without the resumption of peace negotiations on the Israeli-Syrian and Israeli-Lebanese tracks. The development of the situation concerning Iraq cannot fail to cause serious concern. We rely on the potential of the United Nations to solve this problem. The resolutions of the Security Council should be fully implemented. We expect that the new round of negotiations between the United Nations and Iraq will help to find ways to resolve this issue. Today, the world looks with hope to the unprecedented integration process on the African continent. We hope that the birth of the African Union will strengthen the spirit of African brotherhood and unity in responding to the numerous challenges that confront the continent: armed conflict, poverty and the HIV/AIDS pandemic. Ukraine welcomes the African Union's establishment and its far-reaching plans to revitalize the continent. We hope that the New Partnership for Africa's Development will unite the nations of the world in a global partnership in support of peace, stability and development on the African continent. For its part, Ukraine is ready to continue to strengthen its cooperation and expand its economic ties with the countries of a united Africa, including in the framework of the new global partnership for the development of the continent. Ensuring the proper implementation of the principles of the supremacy of law, the creation of conditions for economic growth and the effective functioning of the institutions of an open society are goals that remain fundamental in Ukraine's national policy. The President of Ukraine has launched a programme of political reforms to ensure a transition to a parliamentary-presidential form of governance. That process should bring about the further democratization of our society and should lead to consolidation of all domestic resources in order to achieve European standards and to strengthen concord in Ukrainian society. Our determined strategic goal is to become a member of the European Union and of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which should finally ensure the indivisibility of the European political, economic and security space. Our course of action is aimed at making Ukraine a pillar of political stability, economic prosperity and cultural renaissance. Here, I cannot fail to mention a tragic problem for Ukraine that is related to the consequences of the Chernobyl disaster. Our country must address — virtually on its own — a complex set of technological, social and economic problems connected to the mitigation of that disaster's consequences as well as to the closure of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in 2000. We expect that our efforts will be supported by concrete action on the part of the international community, in particular through the implementation of the new United Nations strategy for Chernobyl. Guided by the aspiration to achieve practical results, we are also determined to solve a broad range of other problems that have an important place on the agenda of the world forum. Undoubtedly, the fight against the HIV/AIDS pandemic is one of the most challenging of these. I should like to inform the Assembly that a regional conference for the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia will be held in Ukraine in November this year with the support of the United Nations and of other international partners. I am confident that, a year after the 11 September tragedy in the United States, each of us realizes the particular significance of the tasks facing the United Nations. Looking ahead to the new challenges, we hope that, in the cause of protecting civilization's values, we shall be guided by our wisdom, which will allow us to avoid tragic scenarios and to protect the rights of every inhabitant of the planet, including every new human being who comes into the world even as we speak in this debate: the right to life, the right to dignity, the right to this world.