Austria, 2011

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.