Hungary

Let me at the outset extend to His Excellency Mr. Jan Kavan, former Foreign Minister of the Czech Republic, our sincere congratulations upon his election as President of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly. I want to assure him that he can safely count on the full support of my delegation in discharging his important responsibilities. I would also like to welcome in our midst the latest new State Member of the United Nations, Switzerland. It was only four days ago, when so many of us here paid tribute at Ground Zero to the memories of the thousands of victims who lost their lives last year in the brutal 11 September terrorist attacks. The remembrance there was heartbreaking, but at the same time it was a day of resolve as well. There is no doubt in my mind: this was a time that again brought into focus our deep commitment to freedom and democracy. In that regard, I would like to reiterate that the people and the Government of Hungary continue to maintain relentlessly their strong solidarity with the United States. Our contemporary world has been decisively transformed since 11 September 2001. The fight against international terrorism is high on our agenda. Hungary is strongly committed to the effective efforts of the community of nations to counter this threat. Towards that goal, we have consistently acted in cooperation with our allies and the rest of the international community. In that respect, Hungary supports the ongoing global endeavours of the United Nations aimed against terrorism. We find it crucial that Member States make every necessary and possible move to prevent further terrorist acts and implement national measures under relevant Security Council resolutions to combat that phenomenon. Effective cooperation among States is also indispensable to act resolutely against the menace of terrorism. Besides being a reliable partner in the global coalition, Hungary has taken the necessary domestic legislative and executive measures to implement the decisions of the international community. The Parliament of Hungary this week took the decision to ratify the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. By this legislative act, Hungary has become a party to all of the international instruments adopted by the United Nations against terrorism. We continue to attach particular importance to the unimpeded work of the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the Security Council, with which we maintain a particularly close relationship. In the context of the global coalition against terrorism, Hungary is following developments in Afghanistan with keen interest. We welcome the consolidation achieved so far by the Government of Afghanistan with the assistance of the international community. We wish to place on record our deep 15 appreciation for the excellent work done by the international forces. in that country. Further efforts to contain and eliminate terrorist groups in Afghanistan will remain a top priority. Hungary is committed to maintaining its support to the Government of Afghanistan as well as to its people. Iraqi non-compliance with Security Council resolutions is a serious concern for all of us. Hungary regrets that the Iraqi regime refuses to cooperate with the United Nations and continues to pose a threat to peace and security in the region and the world at large. The international community cannot disregard this fact and has to respond to it in a resolute manner. We will work closely with our allies and partners to pursue the full implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions, and we will do our share in the efforts to build a broad coalition of nations in order to prevent the Iraqi regime from producing and using weapons of mass destruction. Having entered the twenty-first century, mankind continues to face further major global challenges, such as illicit drug trafficking, money-laundering, corruption and transnational organized crime. The role of the United Nations in facing and tackling these phenomena is of paramount importance. By the same token, global risks are widened by new types of security threats. In our view, serious problems of regional stability, of low- intensity armed conflicts and threats of natural and man-made catastrophes are increasingly on the rise. Illegal transfers of nuclear, biological and chemical materials pose grave threats. Illegal migration and illicit trafficking in human beings are also rightly viewed as new forms of security risks. Hungary is more than prepared to play its role, with all the means at our disposal, to meet these new challenges through concerted international efforts, including regional arrangements. The year 2002 marked the beginning of a new review cycle of the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We expect the annual sessions of the Preparatory Committee leading up to the 2005 Review Conference to make a significant contribution to the further strengthening of all aspects of this legal instrument by ensuring its full implementation and promoting its universality. The early start of negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty stands out as the next logical step aimed at curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons. We cannot but regret that disagreements over the comprehensive programme of work are preventing the Conference on Disarmament from starting substantive work on this issue. One of the most important new threats to international peace and stability in the changed security environment at the beginning of the twenty-first century is caused by the proliferation of ballistic missiles capable of delivering weapons of mass destruction. Hungary is ready to join international efforts to counter this danger, including new political and diplomatic initiatives. The system of multilateral legal norms relating to non-proliferation, disarmament and arms control fails to include regulations on responsible international behaviour concerning ballistic missiles. Out of the several propositions emerged recently, Hungary lends its utmost support to the negotiations on an international code of conduct against the proliferation of ballistic missiles. We appreciate the vigorous efforts of the States members of the European Union to move this process forward and hope for its successful completion in the near future. Developments over the past 12 months have raised more critically than ever the question of how to address in an efficient way the challenges posed by the deliberate spread of disease, such as the anthrax incidents. The reinforcement of national public health and civilian defence capabilities is crucial, even though there are only a few countries that, acting alone, can put meaningful assets in place. International cooperation in this respect must not be a distant opportunity; it is in the interest of each and every country, and of all nations as a whole. Complementary preventive efforts would be needed as well to at least diminish the likelihood of such an occurrence. Among such preventive efforts, the benchmarking of arms control compliance will eventually have to find its legitimate place. That is why we deem important the successful conclusion of the Fifth Review Conference of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, to be resumed in November this year under Hungarian chairmanship. Hungary remains strongly committed to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and its verification regime. In this regard, we concur with the view that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation will also be essential to combat international terrorism. 16 Hungary has, from the very beginning, given its strong support to the establishment of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The ICC has become the first major multilateral legal institution of the twenty-first century. We were proud to become a State party to the Statute of the ICC and to be among those whose ratification helped bring about the entry into force of the Statute this year. We firmly concur with the view that international law will be strengthened through this new legal institution. As a sign of our deep commitment to the Rome Statute, my Government has decided to nominate a candidate to the panel of judges of the ICC. I am confident that the election of a Hungarian judge would contribute to the genuine realization of the objectives set out in the Rome Statute. Human rights are universal values. States Members of the United Nations are expected to observe the norms and standards of human rights and fundamental freedoms, including minority rights, adopted by the United Nations. By the same token, it will remain the moral and political responsibility of States to call upon others to act in accordance with their voluntarily undertaken obligations. Hungary will not hesitate to raise its voice when human rights are violated in any part of the world. International protection of minority rights remains a major preoccupation for us. We continue to pursue our efforts aimed at a functioning universal legal system for the protection of minorities. Globalization and interdependence are two major phenomena shaping the contemporary world, including the political landscape of the United Nations. By taking advantage of the opportunities stemming from these phenomena, all of us could seek a much better life for the inhabitants of our globe. The United Nations has the necessary instruments at hand. A better and more responsible use of these instruments can contribute to the implementation of the Millennium Declaration Development Goals, aimed at creating a more prosperous and sustainable world for generations to come. If we have the necessary political will and determination, we can have a United Nations that works relentlessly to improve the lives of all. That is, in the final analysis, what the United Nations was founded for.