Macedonia

At the outset, allow me to congratulate Mr. Jan Kavan on his election to the most prestigious post of President of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. My delegation is fully confident that his skilful leadership will bring success to this session. I wish to avail myself of this opportunity also to congratulate the outgoing President, Mr. Han Seung- soo of the Republic of Korea, for his tireless efforts and dedication in performing his duties. The United Nations community has recently become richer with the admission to its membership of the Swiss Confederation. Though the valuable contribution of that country to the goals of the United Nations was undisputed even before its formal membership, I congratulate the Swiss Federation on this decision. We are also looking forward to East Timor's joining the Organization, which will take place soon. The heinous acts of 11 September 2001, which struck New York, Washington and Pennsylvania, have brought the international community to a critical juncture, where it is faced with an ultimate challenge: how to find a way to successfully cope with the indiscriminate effects and devastating consequences of acts of international terrorism. 18 The promptness with which the world reacted and the solidarity expressed through the broadest coalition ever against terrorism was exemplary. The United Nations took the lead in combating international terrorism. The Republic of Macedonia, itself a victim of terrorist aggression, has joined the international coalition and is making its contribution to this end. Two days ago, on Sunday, 15 September, my country held, for the fourth time, free and democratic elections. They marked the progress achieved over the past year, and the fact that they went smoothly reaffirmed our commitment to democracy and to the rule of law. They also reaffirmed the maturity of Macedonian society, its Government and its citizens, thus once again establishing its position as an equal and respected member of the European family. Our elections an outstanding democratic achievement are clear proof that all along Macedonia has been seeking political and democratic solutions. They represent an outstanding example of the fact that democracy, elections and political freedom are the most effective mechanisms for a society and its needs, and the most efficient answer to violence as an instrument for achieving political goals. Terrorism has more than once proved itself not only an unworthy ally, but also a dangerous bedfellow one that always turns against those who use it in their pursuit of social change or justice. Therefore, there must be no double standards when dealing with political extremism and terrorism, because, as we have proved, there is not one issue that cannot be dealt with politically, or, better yet, through elections and dialogue, as we have done. The crises in recent history have shown more clearly than ever the importance of cooperation and solidarity among the countries of our region, as well as the importance of developing regional collective security mechanisms in South-eastern Europe. Macedonia, for its part, is making every effort to make its contribution to strengthening cooperation within various regional organizations and initiatives. Further improvement of good-neighbourly relations remains one of the priorities of the foreign policy of the Republic of Macedonia. Allow me in this context to reiterate our firm stance as to the need for the full implementation of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) concerning Kosovo. The Republic of Macedonia has provided continuous support for the efforts of the international community and has always met the requests of the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and KFOR in regard to the successful fulfilment of their mandate. We support the UNMIK policy of benchmarks' and believe that it will facilitate the building of a democratic, multi-ethnic society and strengthen the rule of law in Kosovo. Let me recall here the agreement on delineation and demarcation of the border between the Republic of Macedonia and the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, whose implementation on the ground is to start soon. At this point, let me stress that efforts aimed at undermining the validity of the Agreement, such as the ones we witnessed early this year by the local self- government and Assembly of Kosovo, should be definitively rejected and nullified. In that sense, we support the reaction of the Security Council, which determined that this action was null and void. There are still many challenges ahead of us in the region. All of our goodwill and efforts to provide sustainable stability will not yield results unless we seriously address the real problems present in the region as a consequence of 10 years of wars and instability. Organized crime, various forms of trafficking in drugs, arms, human beings and so on, which most often spur extremism and terrorism, have not been adequately taken into account. National measures do not suffice to eliminate these phenomena. Strong involvement and support on the part of the international community is also indispensable. Allow me to inform the Assembly that the Republic of Macedonia will once again this year submit a draft resolution on the maintenance of international security, good-neighbourliness, stability and development in South-eastern Europe. The draft resolution addresses the complexity of the problems of disarmament, stability and development in this region. The combat against terrorism must not distract us from other important issues on the United Nations agenda. The Millennium Summit and the Secretary- General's road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration have both identified the direction of future United Nations activities, to which we commit ourselves: the eradication of poverty, the struggle against AIDS, conflict prevention and protection of the environment. 19 The draft resolution will address the complexity of the problems of disarmament, stability and development in this region. The struggle against terrorism must not detract from other important issues on the United Nations agenda. The Millennium Summit and the Secretary- General's road map towards the implementation of the United Nations Millennium Declaration (A/56/326) go hand in hand in identifying the direction of future United Nations activities, to which we commit ourselves: the eradication of poverty, the struggle against HIV/AIDS, conflict prevention and the protection of the environment. Globalization remains one of the most important issues on the international agenda. It is obvious that there are some essential problems that need to be addressed immediately. In the new millennium, it is crucial that the international community address the development agenda in a more comprehensive way and improve the status of the protection of and respect for other fundamental human rights and freedoms. In that context, the implementation of the goals set at the International Conference on Financing for Development and at the World Summit on Sustainable Development together with the special session on children, the most important events of the United Nations this year require the strong political will and commitment of Member States during the forthcoming review period. In that regard, I wish to use this opportunity to welcome the United Nations Declaration on the New Partnership for Africa's Development adopted yesterday by the General Assembly as resolution 57/2. There is a need to build stronger partnerships with other relevant organizations beyond the United Nations system, such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, as well as with the business community, non-governmental organizations and others, in order for them to be closely engaged in the process. The fact that every fourth State Member of our Organization is classified as least developed is certainly no credit to any of us. That is why this issue must be given the highest priority. On disarmament matters, while the United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All its Aspects and the adopted Programme of Action marked a significant first step at the global level towards preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, we believe that there is a need for an enhanced follow-up process. The problem of small arms and proliferation has been a particular concern of the Republic of Macedonia and the broader region. It poses a serious threat not only to my country's security and stability, but also to the region at large. Therefore, it is necessary to take strong action to combat the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons. Strengthening the role and relevance of our Organization should remain a topical issue on the United Nations agenda. Additional efforts should be made particularly to strengthen United Nations preventive and peacekeeping capacities. Making progress on issues of equitable representation and reform of the Security Council is no less important. We are looking forward to the deliberations this year of the Open-ended Working Group, aimed at achieving meaningful progress towards making the Security Council more representative and transparent, while preserving and improving its effectiveness for the maintenance of international peace and stability. The Republic of Macedonia has from the very beginning been a strong supporter of the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC) and was one of the first 60 States to ratify the Rome Statute, which entered into force on 1 July 2002. We support the efforts of the ICC to become truly universal, while believing that the concerns expressed regarding the possibility of politically motivated prosecutions can be addressed in a way that will not compromise the spirit of the Court. The world today faces new challenges. Undoubtedly, the most important is the redefinition of the very essence of international relations. That effort to instil new values is questioned by regimes and rogue leaders who belong to the past and who, contradicting progress, have survived. We are, at this moment, all mesmerized by the development of events surrounding Iraq and the Middle East as a whole. Problems like these demand solutions. Many measures are being considered today, but they must be based on a common conviction that our main task is to construct a new and better world and that these extraordinary steps are not our primary goal. 20 Therefore, it is the firm conviction of the Republic of Macedonia that our most important tools must be dialogue and mutual understanding. We know that very well. The Republic of Macedonia being at the heart of the Balkans and of South-Eastern Europe, where over centuries various cultures and civilizations have left many traces, where Christianity and Islam have struggled for dominance and where ethnicities have become interwoven had every reason to support the proclamation of 2001 as the United Nations Year of Dialogue among Civilizations. As a follow-up and a practical contribution implementing the Global Agenda for Dialogue among Civilizations, the Republic of Macedonia will host in November of this year, in Ohrid a World Heritage city of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization a regional forum on dialogue among civilizations, the first gathering of that kind in the region of South-Eastern Europe.