This year has once
again confirmed the importance of the United Nations
as the truly indispensable multilateral forum for
addressing today’s global problems. The humanitarian
crisis in the Horn of Africa, ecological disasters such
as Fukushima, political developments like the Arab
Spring and terrorist attacks such as the assault on the
United Nations building in Abuja last August require
concerted action by the United Nations and its Member
States. Ten years after 9/11, joint action in the fight
against terrorism continues to remain central on the
multilateral agenda.
In the past nine months, we have witnessed
momentous changes in the Arab world that nobody
expected when we met one year ago. Pressure for
change is driven by the wish of women and men to
choose their own fate and to improve their chances for
a better life. These are legitimate demands. An
overwhelming number of young people were at the
forefront of this enormous tide, which started in
Tunisia and Egypt. We should pay tribute to their
courage.
In Libya, thousands lost their lives in the struggle
for freedom and democracy. In Syria, and to some
extent in Yemen, the suppression is ongoing. Austria
strongly condemns the systematic human rights
violations and the violence against peaceful
demonstrators. We strongly urge those responsible to
immediately stop the bloodshed and to engage in
meaningful dialogue and reforms. Austria supports the
Libyan people in its struggle for freedom. Over
€150 million blocked in Austrian bank accounts has
been de-frozen for humanitarian use. Both the Austrian
Government and private sector have provided
medicine, relief supplies and desperately needed fuel to
Libya.
The international community and the United
Nations have to support and assist the transition
process in the Arab world as the United Nations does
now in Libya. This period of change may last for some
time and will be full of challenges. Austria welcomes
all efforts undertaken by Governments in the region for
peaceful and credible change. We encourage the newly
empowered authorities to create a constitutional
framework based on democracy and human rights, in
order to fulfil their mandate for democratic change
responsibly and peacefully.
The events in the Arab world notwithstanding, we
must continue to focus on the Middle East peace
process. The Middle East took centre stage this week
here at the General Assembly — and rightly so. We
must build trust and we have to foster the belief among
Israelis and Palestinians that a negotiated settlement
can be achieved — a sustainable solution based on two
States living side by side in a secure and peaceful
neighbourhood within mutually recognized borders.
We have no choice but to return to direct negotiations
between the two parties. The Quartet, in its statement
yesterday, has shown a way to do that and has also
proposed concrete timelines. Austria fully supports the
Quartet statement. There is no time to lose.
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Austria welcomes President Al-Nasser’s choice of
theme for this year’s general debate. We appreciate
Qatar’s strong track record in that regard.
Last year’s tenth anniversary of the adoption of
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) on women,
peace and security reminded us that the promise of
women’s full and equal participation in all efforts of
maintaining peace and security, including in mediation
processes, has not yet come true and that we all need to
intensify our efforts.
In that context, let me also mention an Austrian
contribution to international mediation efforts. By
inviting political decision-makers from both Khartoum
and Juba to Vienna in recent years, Austria has
managed to offer the two sides a platform for
discussion. We are ready to continue to do so. The
Sudan and South Sudan have a shared past and must
resolve their remaining problems peacefully.
The United Nations headquarters in Vienna
serves as a dynamic hub for the promotion of peace,
security and sustainable development. I am proud to
announce that a liaison office of the United Nations
Office for Disarmament Affairs will open in Vienna soon.
Over the past year, the International Anti-Corruption
Academy set up its headquarters near Vienna, and the
Vienna Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation
and an office of the International Peace Institute were
established.
Austria fully stands behind the campaign
launched by the Secretary-General on Monday to
achieve universal access to modern energy services.
We support doubling the rate of improvement in energy
efficiency and the share of renewable energy in the
global energy mix by 2030. Austria provides
substantial support to the energy and environment
efforts undertaken by the United Nations Industrial
Development Organization. Last June, we hosted the
Vienna Energy Forum, where about 1,400 participants
discussed alternative energy concepts to reach the
energy goals of the United Nations.
The Fukushima nuclear catastrophe should
become a turning point in our approach to nuclear
safety. We owe it to future generations to make safety
concerns come first when using nuclear power. Austria
decided, in 1978, to forgo the use of nuclear energy.
Some countries have recently adopted a similar course,
which we welcome.
The last time I spoke at the United Nations, it
was during the thematic debate held in April on the
rule of law and global challenges. That was an
important step in the preparation of the high-level
meeting on the rule of law that will take place in
September 2012. Next year’s meeting will provide an
important opportunity to renew the efforts of both the
United Nations and Member States to promote the rule
of law. As a medium-sized country and as a strong
supporter of multilateralism, Austria attaches particular
importance to the rule of law, including at the
international level. The international system can only
properly function if it based on clear and predictable
rules that apply equally to all Member States.
The promotion and protection of human rights is
a core priority of Austria’s foreign policy. We are proud
to serve on the Human Rights Council for the period
2011-2014. For our membership in this body, Austria
has identified the following priorities, on which we
will take action.
Austria is firmly committed to respect for
freedom of religion and belief. We are deeply troubled
by recurring attacks against religious minorities in all
parts of the world and among all religions. To foster
tolerance, Austria has hosted a number of high-level
dialogues between religious and secular leaders over
the past decade. We think that that has become a new
and promising field of modern diplomacy, putting the
emphasis on conflict prevention.
Various forms of child trafficking and
exploitation constitute gross violations of children’s
rights. As a member of the Human Rights Council,
Austria will work to address that issue and to help
develop counter-strategies. We highly appreciate the
work of the Special Representative of the Secretary-
General for Children and Armed Conflict, Ms. Radhika
Coomaraswamy, and we strongly support the renewal
of her mandate.
Racism, xenophobia and discrimination on the
grounds of ethnic origin, gender, age, sexual
orientation and religious belief are ongoing challenges
and of concern to all of us. Austria is committed to the
fight against those abuses, including anti-Semitism.
Therefore, we will continue to press for action,
including in the framework of the United Nations. We
will also take initiatives during our membership in the
Human Rights Council to strengthen the protection of
journalists against all forms of threat and intimidation.
27 11-51372
Austria has a 50-year-long track record of
contributing to United Nations peacekeeping
operations. And we will continue our engagement. We
recently decided to deploy 160 Austrian troops to the
United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL), in
addition to our continued presence in the United
Nations Disengagement Observer Force and the United
Nations Truce Supervision Organization. Through its
participation in UNIFIL, Austria wishes to make an
active contribution to the maintenance of peace and
security not only in Lebanon but in the region as a
whole.
Austria welcomes the positive momentum in
international security policy over the past couple of
years. We salute the Secretary-General’s determined
leadership, including his five-point plan on
disarmament. We look forward to continuing our work
in this positive spirit at the first meeting of the
Preparatory Committee for the Review Conference on
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons, to be held in Vienna in May of next year.
We, and hope for progress with regard to the
establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the
Middle East.
Nevertheless, despite our collective efforts, we
have not been able to move forward on new
disarmament and arms control issues. The multilateral
machinery, and in particular the Conference on
Disarmament, remains deadlocked. Unfortunately, the
momentum that we had hoped to generate over the past
year has not materialized. Therefore, in Austria’s view,
the Conference on Disarmament has not only lost its
credibility, it is also risking its legitimacy. Austria will
therefore encourage the adoption of a draft resolution,
at the next session of the First Committee, on how to
move multilateral disarmament negotiations forward.
Austria remains committed to multilateralism and
to the United Nations as the noblest form of
international cooperation. We will therefore support the
efforts of the President and the Secretary-General to
further strengthen the Organization in order to better
enable us to face the challenges of our time.