Allow me to extend to Mr. Amara Essy my delegation’s warmest congratulations upon his election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session. He may rest assured that the Hungarian delegation stands ready to assist him in carrying out his responsible tasks. Sincere words of recognition should also go to Ambassador Insanally, the outgoing President, for the outstanding and forward-looking manner in which he conducted the work of the previous session of the Assembly. As a representative of the newly elected coalition Government of the Republic of Hungary, may I be permitted first to assure this Assembly of nations that in its foreign policy Hungary will continue to serve the cause of international peace and stability, with special regard to the Central European region. We are committed to further developing our political and economic transformation in order to consolidate democracy and stabilize the market economy in Hungary. Our foreign policy rests on three closely interrelated main pillars, which we treat on an equal footing. First, we are determined to promote the full integration of Hungary into the Euro-Atlantic institutions. Secondly, we seek genuine good-neighbourly relations with all the countries in our region, especially with countries bordering ours. And, thirdly, we advocate respect for human rights, with particular emphasis on the minority rights of the millions of Hungarians who live beyond our borders. All in all, we intend to conduct our foreign policy in a most pragmatic and realistic manner and will act accordingly in our bilateral relations and in multilateral forums as well. 10 On the threshold of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, and in the present post-cold-war era, mankind is facing enormous challenges. The euphoria we felt and the great expectations we entertained only yesterday, when a new and promising world seemed to be emerging, have now taken on a bitter quality. As the bipolar world was falling apart and freedom and democracy were sweeping across the globe we had to recognize some negative aspects of those fundamental changes, such as the outbreak of violent nationalism and ethnic hatred fed by economic and social tensions. The international community, and notably the United Nations, has proved sometimes unable - and on a number of occasions its Member States unwilling - to meet the dramatic challenges of our times. New and violent manifestations of intolerance, which caught the world unprepared, aggressive wars and bloody ethnic conflicts accompanied by crimes against humanity and the abhorrent practice of "ethnic cleansing" are today unanimously considered issues that ought to have been tackled in a timely and resolute way. It is with deep regret that we note that the United Nations, together with other relevant international organizations, instead of preventing the outbreak of crises in a number of areas of the world, has, rather, been trying to react to them, either without the necessary determination or by belated action. Indisputably, the means available to the Organization for coming to grips with the many international problems were stretched far beyond existing capacities. We believe, however, that the time has come to take a good hard look at the role the United Nations is called upon to play and to devise new ways and means by which it can fulfil its raison d’être in our troubled contemporary world. We therefore reinforce our support for the Secretary- General’s Agenda for Peace and continue to regard it as a forward-oriented plan of action for the years to come. In this regard, we consider that special efforts should be made to resolve the problems facing United Nations peace-keeping operations, with a view to improving their efficiency and capability. In the event we are unable to find adequate answers to our failures and missed opportunities, we may well be on the verge of losing the precious benefits we have gained and the potential prospects that opened up at the end of the cold war for the international community, including the United Nations, to create a qualitatively new, cooperative world order. As has often been stated, we live in a time of great contrasts that are also reflected at the United Nations. We welcome the momentous results and encouraging progress in South Africa just outlined by His Excellency President Nelson Mandela, as well as those in the Middle East. The assumption of office by the first democratically elected President and Government of South Africa and its normalization of relations with its neighbours, the signing of the Declaration of Principles by Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the beginning of its implementation, the breakthrough in relations between Jordan and Israel and the hopeful evolution of talks between Syria and Israel, are all truly historic achievements and bode well for the future. The forthcoming 1995 Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will be an event of cardinal importance which can further enhance the aforesaid positive tendencies. Hungary is keenly interested in ensuring the indefinite and unconditional extension of the Treaty and is ready to contribute to achieving this important goal. Recent events have once again reinforced our conviction with regard to the critical significance of such an act. If the United Nations wants to live up to the promising processes, it must, first of all, adjust itself to the new realities. It would, therefore, do well to get rid of outdated, anachronistic resolutions which have nothing more to do with present-day developments. It must, however, be admitted that attempts to tackle crises in the former Yugoslavia, in Somalia, in Rwanda and elsewhere have not yielded conclusive evidence of the ability of the United Nations to find the right answers to major hotbeds of tension. Because of its geographical proximity, Hungary has followed with particularly grave concern the devastation and suffering across its southern borders, first and foremost in Bosnia and Herzegovina and in Croatia. We have supported to the best of our abilities the efforts of the international community aimed at finding a just solution to that human drama. The basis for the solution of this unprecedented crisis in the heart of Europe exists. The principles of the United Nations Charter and those adopted by the International Conference on Yugoslavia are there. They include respect for the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries, the inadmissibility of acquisition of territory by force, the elimination of the consequences of "ethnic cleansing", the return of refugees and displaced persons and the protection of human rights, 11 including the rights of minorities. These principles should never be ignored if we are to reach a just and lasting settlement in Bosnia, Croatia and elsewhere. Hungary has a vital stake in the restoration of peace and international legality in the former Yugoslavia. The volatile situation of the sizeable Hungarian ethnic community in the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro), the interruption of traditionally close economic ties with our southern neighbours, the serious losses we have suffered as a consequence of the sanctions regime imposed by the Security Council on the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, all inspire us towards an active involvement in the search for a durable and equitable settlement in those tortured lands. In achieving that goal we expect the international community to uphold the principles of the Charter of the United Nations and to enforce the relevant resolutions of the Security Council. We also expect that appropriate ways will be found in the course of post-conflict peace-building there to alleviate the burden of losses incurred as a result of the sanctions regime by the countries most directly affected, such as Hungary. Hungary is following with keen interest the encouraging process of the revitalization of the United Nations. In this respect, I wish to reaffirm that we attach particular importance to the question of the reform of the Security Council with a view to ensuring its transparency, representative character and effective functioning, in order to better reflect the realities of our contemporary world. In this context we fully concur with others in supporting permanent membership in the Security Council for Germany and Japan. Hungary welcomes the ever-growing recognition that in maintaining international peace and security regional organizations should be given a more decisive role. In our view, the time has come to work out the necessary arrangements whereby regional organizations can effectively contribute to conflict resolution, namely, preventive diplomacy, peace-keeping, peacemaking and post-conflict peace-building. We endorse the proposition that by involving the regional organizations under the umbrella of the United Nations, and in particular of the Security Council, in the safeguarding or restoration of international peace and security, our world can indeed be made a much safer place. We, for our part, are prepared to share in efforts at securing wider participatory action. This autumn Hungary is honoured to act as host in Budapest of the next Review Conference and summit meeting of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE). We expect the Conference and the summit meeting not only to contribute to the better functioning of this important regional arrangement but also to serve as a useful vehicle in the efforts towards a democratic and integrated Europe where rationalism may prevail over nationalism. Furthermore, we are convinced that success within the CSCE is not only beneficial to the peoples living in the CSCE region but that it can also underpin efforts at conflict prevention and crisis resolution in other parts of the world. In this context we believe that the realization of the Dutch-German proposal to establish a genuine and practical division of responsibilities between the CSCE and the United Nations in the settlement of conflicts within the CSCE region, while upholding the principles and provisions embodied in the relevant chapters of the United Nations Charter, could well be a major step forward. Following the Budapest Summit, when Hungary is to take over for a year the duties of the chairmanship-in-office of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE), I personally intend to pay particular attention to the consolidation of mutually advantageous cooperation between the CSCE and the United Nations which is so promisingly unfolding. Promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms are a high priority of Hungary’s foreign policy. In this connection, I would like to recall that in the Vienna Declaration of the World Conference on Human Rights it was solemnly stated that the promotion and protection of all human rights is a legitimate concern of the international community. Consequently, we find it indispensable that, in this spirit, the United Nations should act in the defence of human rights, irrespective of where violations of those rights occur. In our world of interdependence and growing interaction, Hungary calls for the development by the United Nations of an integrated response-capacity to combat the repeated waves of human rights violations. We view with serious concern the alarming increases in the reported cases of gross violations of human rights, as well as the frequent occurrence of such violations in situations of internal armed conflicts or ethnic strife. These developments have serious repercussions affecting peace, security and stability in the given region and beyond. In this regard, we should be mindful of the requirements laid down in the Vienna Declaration for all Governments to promote and protect human rights in their own countries, regardless of their political, economic and 12 cultural structures. On the one hand, an open and active dialogue, simultaneously constructive and critical, needs to be established and sustained in order to promote the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. On the other hand, a stronger commitment to economic and social development in various areas of the world would considerably facilitate the observance of these universal values. By the same token, we believe that the United Nations has not yet exhausted the means available for the international protection of human rights. We urge the international community to seek new and innovative means and methods to safeguard the rights and freedoms of our fellow human beings, wherever they may live. We wish to see the United Nations embark in a timely manner - within the framework of preventive diplomacy - upon the road of international protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms. Rather than responding only to reported human rights violations, the United Nations should build effective preventive mechanisms into its activities whenever the need arises. The notion of preventive protection should also include adequate international monitoring. Following decisions of the competent organs of the United Nations, such as the Security Council or the Commission on Human Rights, civilian human rights monitors could be deployed if in any part of the world the human rights situation so warranted. Hungary, for its part, is prepared to participate with monitors in joint actions of the international community in this field. In these endeavours, we also count on the effective participation of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. The High Commissioner has had our full support ever since he assumed his office, and we pledge our cooperation in the carrying out of all aspects of his mandate. We would like to reiterate that adequate financing of the human rights activities of the United Nations should be ensured through the regular budget. I cannot conclude without mentioning the issue of sustainable development, with its many aspects covering industrial and agricultural development, trade, human resources, regional cooperation, protection of the environment, and so forth. Clearly, what is at stake here is our ability to tackle these global issues without delay. The growing sensitivity with regard to these questions cannot but be welcome. We consider the work of the United Nations Conference on Population and Development, held recently in Cairo, to be an important step in that direction at a time when contrasts between requirements of human development and limited resources are becoming more and more evident. In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm that Hungary continues to be a strong supporter of multilateralism. Nations are looking to this Organization for protection and assistance. We must not let them down in these critical times. In spite of failures, we should keep faith with the United Nations and meet the challenges which, in the final analysis, will determine mankind’s destiny in the new millennium.