Let me
begin by extending my congratulations to you, Sir, on
your election to the important function of President of
the General Assembly. You will steer the deliberations
of this key body of the United Nations through a
08-53129 32
difficult period of growing challenges to our common
security and prosperity. Let me assure you of our full
support in your endeavours. I also thank your
predecessor, Mr. Kerim.
My country is in full preparation for an enormous
task that has no precedent in our history. In January
2009, the Czech Republic will assume the
responsibility of the presidency of the European Union.
We will do our utmost to uphold our shared
commitment to world peace and prosperity within that
organization.
The European Union stands at the forefront of the
efforts to strengthen the United Nations capacity to
deliver effective international responses to global
challenges. The Czech Republic is committed to
playing its part and to further enhancing the European
Union’s contribution by searching for common
responses. The motto of the upcoming Czech
presidency, “Europe without barriers”, reflects our
desire to promote the removal of barriers not only
within the European Union, but also between the Union
and third countries. In our opinion, it is very much in
line with the efforts to enhance cooperation and to
strengthen the principle of effective multilateralism.
The agreements reached at the 2005 World
Summit sparked some substantive reforms, but the
process has reached a point at which it has become
necessary to give it a new impulse for further progress.
An important part of that progress is Security Council
reform. A more representative and transparent Security
Council will act with a greater international legitimacy
and authority. The Czech Republic therefore welcomes
the recent decision to launch the intergovernmental
negotiations. However, the authority of the Security
Council is being undermined by its inability to address
some acute international issues. I call on the Council to
reassert its authority in the maintenance of
international peace and security and to shoulder its
obligations.
The authority of the United Nations is being
tested, and so are our political and moral
responsibilities. By signing onto the Charter of the
United Nations, all of our countries have committed
themselves to living in peace and harmony and to
respecting the principles of peaceful resolution of
disputes and of refraining from the threat and use of
force, except in self-defence. Today, as security is
being challenged in too many parts of the world, those
basic principles, and the system of international law in
general, need to be upheld as ever.
And yet, we have recently witnessed systematic
provocations and, finally, a military aggression on the
part of a powerful country, a permanent member of the
Security Council, against its small neighbour with the
aim of carving that neighbour up. That action was
designed to create two tiny entities, totally dependent
in their administrative, economic and military
structures. Colonial Powers used to act in that way, and
I would like to stress that alleged interests, privileged
as they may be considered, cannot justify the violation
of our highest common principles, enshrined in the
Charter of the United Nation. Therefore, I fully
subscribe to the words pronounced by Sergey Lavrov
here earlier today:
“We cannot tolerate any attempts to resolve
conflict situations by violating international
agreements or by the unlawful use of force. If we
allow that to occur once, then we run the risk of
unleashing it in the future” ().
However, how can one think of redesigning new
Euro-Atlantic security structures without renewing the
trust that has vanished over the past few months?
After the Czech Republic sent substantial
humanitarian aid, it initiated an international support
conference for Georgia, to be held next month in
Brussels. We call upon the international community to
help alleviate the suffering of the tens of thousands of
people displaced by the conflict, as well as to help the
country with post-conflict reconstruction. We insist
that all internally displaced persons return home. The
immediate task is to ensure that all military forces are
withdrawn to pre-war positions. There is urgent need
for the deployment of an international and impartial
mission in Georgia to oversee the military withdrawals
and ceasefire implementation. Let me stress once
again, however, that a peaceful and lasting solution to
the conflict must be based on full respect for the
principle of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and
territorial integrity.
We need to step up efforts to combat international
terrorism. The stakes remain high. With our deep
condolences to the peoples of India and Pakistan, we
strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in New
Delhi and Islamabad. We must not be shaken, but must
stand up to that scourge united, stronger and more
determined. I was deeply moved by the condolences
33 08-53129
expressed by my Pakistani counterpart. It is touching to
hear that from someone whose country has suffered
immensely from terrorism.
Promoting and maintaining international security
requires concerted action. While there is a need for
strengthened United Nations peacekeeping capacity,
other organizations can effectively complement the
work of the United Nations in areas where they have a
comparative advantage.
We have all felt the pains of stabilizing a war-torn
country like Afghanistan. Despite the persisting lack of
security, the international community continues to
support development even in remote areas. By
establishing and running the provincial reconstruction
team in Logar province, my country has undertaken a
long-term commitment to contribute to the security and
development of Afghanistan. Let me express our full
support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-
General for Afghanistan, Ambassador Kai Eide, and
invite the United Nations to take a more active
approach and enhance its involvement and assistance
to Afghanistan. The Afghans need our support to turn
President Karzai’s words, “we must do what it takes to
win the battle of Afghanistan’s economic development”
(), into reality. A concerted effort between the
Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations and
other key international players, including Pakistan, is a
prerequisite to achieving that goal.
The cooperation of the United Nations, the
European Union and NATO needs to continue to the
benefit of the Balkan region as a whole. Looking into
the future, let me assure Members that both democratic
and prosperous Serbia and Kosovo do have a place in
the European family and that the Czech Republic is
ready to lend them a helping hand. We in the Czech
Republic have always had long-standing and
traditionally close and friendly relations with Serbia
and are keen to develop them further.
The recent arrest and transfer of Radovan
Karadzic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the
Former Yugoslavia was a promising sign of
cooperation of the new Serbian Government with the
international community. I call on the Security Council
to provide sufficient time to the Tribunal for the
completion of its work.
The Czech Republic considers international
criminal justice to be one of the pillars that uphold the
basic values of the United Nations. The ad hoc
tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as
well as the Security Council decision of 2005 to refer
the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal
Court, must be supported in order to end impunity for
the most serious crimes. Let me recall the Secretary-
General’s commitment at the opening of this general
debate: “We have the means to combat impunity and
must therefore do so” (, p. 3).
We need to undertake some bold steps in the area
of weapons of mass destruction and non-proliferation.
We should reduce the risk of those weapons being
misused or falling into the hands of terrorists. The
immediate task is to ensure a successful outcome of the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
review process and the entry into force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
In that context, I would like to express our
concern over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear
programmes. We fully recognize the indispensable
right of every country to exploit nuclear power for
civilian purposes, but we should act when it could be
diverted towards military purposes, in breach of
international commitments.
My country was among those that has vigorously
called for a new universal norm to prevent risks
stemming from the use of cluster munitions. The Czech
Republic will be among the first to sign the new
Convention on Cluster Munitions this December. I am
convinced that the more countries that join the
Convention, the more profound and positive the effect
it will have on the lives of countless individuals and
communities.
Security goes hand in hand with development and
human rights. In the sixtieth year of the existence of
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there is
still a long way to go from the merely formal
commitments of Governments to achieving a
universally shared respect for the rights and liberties of
every human being.
In recent years, the United Nations human rights
institutions have undergone long-awaited reform.
However, our goals have been only partially achieved.
Let me express my deep regret that the Human Rights
Council has been unable to tackle several serious
human rights situations in a timely and proper manner.
Although the Council is putting meritorious effort into
the newly established Universal Periodic Review
mechanism, the political imbalance of its agenda and
08-53129 34
the attempts to weaken the role of special procedures
and non-governmental organizations further diminish
the expectations of reform. Moreover, flouting the
appeals of the international community, as was done by
the Myanmar regime, has to be denounced.
The Czech Republic supports the principle of
responsibility to protect formulated at the 2005 World
Summit. The international community has the
responsibility to protect peoples worldwide in cases
where their Governments are unable or unwilling to do
so. Just over the past few years, we have seen some
quite tragic examples desperately requiring our
attention. I therefore welcome the Secretary-General’s
efforts to advance that issue. A valuable contribution
can also be made through the non-governmental
initiatives of leaders such as Václav Havel, Kjell
Magne Bondevik and Elie Wiesel. Earlier this week, I
had the honour to host an event in New York aimed at
presenting their thoughts and recommendations on the
tragic human rights and humanitarian situation in
North Korea.
This week, I took part in high-level meetings on
Africa’s development needs and on the Millennium
Development Goals. We have already witnessed early
successes and setbacks, and we realize that some goals
are more difficult to achieve than others. Now, at the
halfway point to the target date, we are well aware of
how much needs to be done in the remaining seven
years. Our commitment to development, and notably to
Africa, must not wane.
At the end of this year, the Follow-up
International Conference on Financing for
Development will present an opportunity to review the
implementation of the Monterrey Consensus of 2002.
The conclusion of the ongoing talks on the Doha
Development Agenda within the World Trade
Organization should also bring the tangible benefits of
further trade liberalization for developing countries. To
make that happen, the European Union has already
shown the necessary flexibility. Other key actors have
to follow suit if the talks are to get back on track and
be concluded soon. In that context, let me recall once
again the Czech presidency’s motto, “Europe without
barriers”.
Let me assure the Assembly that the Czech
Republic fully supports the European Union (EU)
commitments to intensify EU development assistance.
The Czech presidency of the Union will be yet another
incentive for us to step up our development assistance.
Soaring food and commodity prices, as well as
the negative impact of climate change, hamper
international development. All those issues require
strong political will. The new legal framework to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2012 is one
of the most important issues. The Czech Republic is
fully aware of the need to make significant progress
towards the adoption of a new post-Kyoto agreement.
The Czech presidency of the European Union will play
an active role in that process, which will culminate in
Copenhagen next year, where a new agreement should
be adopted.
I have outlined just a few points that are awaiting
our action. In many areas, time is running out. I would
like to encourage all Members of this universal
Organization to cooperate in our common efforts to
make this world secure and prosperous. The Czech
Republic is committed to doing its part.