Estonia

Let me begin by welcoming the United Nations new Member, Switzerland who has always been devoted to the cause of the United Nations and has now finally decided to join us. I look forward to welcoming East Timor as the newest Member of the Organization in the very near future. I would also like to pass on my congratulations to the newly elected President of the General Assembly. Today I would like to address three subjects of major concern for our globalizing world: the struggle against terrorism, human trafficking, and sustainable development. A year ago today, the whole world was still recoiling from the horrendous terrorist attacks in the United States. Immediately after the terror attacks, most States, including Estonia, and almost all international organizations expressed their solidarity with the United States. 12 We also associated ourselves with the North Atlantic Council's statement of 12 September 2001, which invoked article 5 of the Washington Treaty, as well as with relevant European Union statements and undertakings. Estonia is actively participating in the international coalition to combat terrorism. We have contributed a search and rescue team to Operation Enduring Freedom under United States leadership. Our highly trained explosives detection dog team is presently serving in Afghanistan alongside the forces of the other countries, which are helping to restore order in that war-torn land. We appreciate the noteworthy role of the United Nations and its Security Council in the universal campaign against terrorism. We fully recognize the importance of preventive measures and further standard-setting in this field. To date, not a single crime that could be classified as terrorism has been committed in Estonia. However, let me assure you that Estonia will continue to make all efforts necessary to fulfil its role in this ongoing quest for comprehensive international security. Indeed, I can announce for the record that Estonia has ratified all the relevant United Nations conventions and has promptly presented reports to the appropriate parties about the implementation of the various Security Council resolutions. We are confident that truly joint efforts, which make use of the input of all States, will eventually enable the international community to make remarkable progress in the global struggle against terrorism. In this regard, cooperation to counter the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is of particular significance, since sooner or later, terrorists might actually gain access to these ghastly tools of doom. Today, the United Nations faces the challenge of upholding its authority. For the sake of our future, and the prestige and relevancy of the United Nations, it is essential that the United Nations does not shy away from reacting effectively and decisively when confronted with real and formidable dangers. Full and unconditional implementation of Security Council resolutions is obligatory for all Members, just as is the effective enforcement of these resolutions. Therefore, we value highly the decisiveness of the international community to implement the resolutions dealing with Iraq. Estonia supports the Secretary-General's further efforts to obtain Iraq's compliance with the Security Council resolutions. The return of the United Nations weapons inspectors to Iraq is just a beginning. Further acts will have to follow. The possible results of international indecisiveness and appeasement are well illustrated by the history of the League of Nations, which disappeared from the international arena, just as did some of its member States, including my homeland, Estonia. The result was an international conflagration that left a large part of the civilized world in ruins, the very ruins upon which the United Nations Organization was founded. This taught us all a very essential lesson — inaction can often be much more disastrous than action. Another important issue which deserves to be touched upon here is human trafficking, in particular trafficking in women. The Estonian Government recently acceded to the three Protocols additional to the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, including the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. In June 2001, at the Women and Democracy Conference in Lithuania, the Nordic and Baltic Ministers for Gender Equality decided to launch a joint Nordic-Baltic information campaign against trafficking in women. The aim of the campaign, which will continue at least until the beginning of 2003, is to turn the general public's attention to the problems of prostitution and trafficking in people and to initiate public discussion about the problems surrounding the issue of trafficking in women. The joint campaign is being carried out simultaneously in the eight Nordic and Baltic countries, with all relevant institutions concentrating, throughout this year, on the matter of how best to combat this problem. We hope that we will soon have some concrete proposals for drafting amendments to appropriate national legislation. The problem of trafficking in women, however, is part of a broader series of issues relating to women, including their position in society, their participation in the decision-making process and so on. In order to discuss all of these topics in depth and to highlight 13 women's role in democratic societies, Estonia will host, in February 2003, a major international conference on women and democracy. I sincerely hope that that conference will help to further the cause of women's rights. Another crucial issue on the global agenda, and the last topic that I wish to speak about, is development cooperation and sustainable development. Having participated in the Monterrey discussions, and in the wake of the Johannesburg Conference, I would like to emphasize that the most important factor for sustained and sustainable development is a clear national goal and a road map for achieving it. Estonia is in the process of drafting a special sustainable development strategy, a process involving the cooperation of both civil society and the private sector. Estonia acknowledges the problem of environmental deterioration, and we have taken action to tackle it. Estonia has ratified the Kyoto Protocol — among many other international and regional agreements concerning the environment — and we will do our best to fully implement the decisions made in Johannesburg. Since the successful implementation of recent international decisions depends largely on the concerted action of the various parties, communication and access to information are becoming key issues. Bridging the digital divide between the haves and the have-nots is essential if we want all countries to benefit equally from globalization. Thanks to our rapid rate of progress, Estonia has been able to support development in various other countries. The creation of an e-governance academy in Estonia — a cooperative effort involving the Estonian Government, the United Nations Development Programme and the Open Society Institute — is a significant step towards bridging the digital gap with the countries of the Caucasus and Central Asia. The academy will also be open to other interested regions. The academy will draw on the experiences gained in various environments, thereby providing broad knowledge that will enable participants to choose or create the best solution for their particular situation. Among other things, this project demonstrates the synergy that can be created from cooperation between Governments, international organizations and non- governmental organizations. Today I have spoken about some of the issues on the global agenda, all of which have been discussed at length at recent international meetings and conferences. Those discussions provided us with useful signposts, agreements and decisions. Now it is time to implement them.