Bulgaria, 2003

Allow me, at the outset, to congratulate you

on your election to the presidency of the fifty-eighth

session of the General Assembly. This session will be

one of the most decisive ones for the United Nations.

In that spirit, I welcomed the call of the Secretary-

General to heads of State and Government to actively

participate in the work of this session.

I have come to New York to solemnly reiterate

Bulgaria’s steadfast support for the United Nations. Its

principles, objectives and the spirit of solidarity that

inspires it are at the very core of my country’s foreign

policy. I should like to pay sincere tribute to the

remarkable efforts of the men and women who work

for the Organization in every corner of the world. The

terrorist attack against the United Nations in Baghdad

on 19 August reminded us that nothing that we wish to

do through the United Nations would be possible

without the self-sacrifice of those people. I take this

opportunity to honour the memory of Sergio Vieira de

Mello and his colleagues, and I express once again the

most sincere condolences of the people of Bulgaria to

their families.

The barbaric act of 19 August sounded the alarm:

terrorism is far from being vanquished; the vigilance of

all United Nations Member States must be redoubled

and the effectiveness of their efforts tripled. Indeed, the

very function of the Security Council’s Counter-

Terrorism Committee cannot truly be effective unless it

is supported by regional and subregional organizations.

It is a question of creating a genuine global anti-

terrorist action network in which a high-priority role

naturally devolves to the European Union, to the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and to the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE). In my view, it is important that all United

Nations Member States sign and ratify as soon as

possible the 12 Conventions related to the fight against

terrorism, as the Republic of Bulgaria has done,

without, however, forgetting to address the origin —

indeed, the root causes — of these desperate acts.

At the end of this year, Bulgaria will conclude its

two-year mandate as a non-permanent member of the

Security Council. The conjunction of circumstances

caused our Council membership to coincide with a

particularly dynamic — indeed, dramatic — phase in

international life, during which the very credibility of

the United Nations was put to the test. It is obviously

too early to draw all the possible conclusions from that

experience, but one thing is clear: peace and stability in

the world need the United Nations now more than ever

before. In other words, there is no alternative to the

United Nations.

We note that the credibility of the United Nations,

and particularly of the Security Council, have been

called into question each time Member States have

seen their unity shaken. It is in that spirit that Bulgaria

is doing its best to avoid the pitfalls of discord.

We fervently hope that the Council’s unity will be

restored on the thorny Iraqi issue. The stability and

prosperity of Iraq — which is emerging from a

ferocious dictatorship — are in the interest of the entire

international community. Contributing to the country’s

stabilization in a concrete way, Bulgaria is working at

the diplomatic level to find a formula that will enable

the Iraqis to recover their sovereignty as swiftly as

possible through a central and important United

Nations role in the political process under way in the

country.

It is essential that the Council be able to provide

the United Nations a clear and realistic mandate that

would facilitate the mission of the Secretary-General

and his associates in Iraq — a mission that is already

extremely complex and perilous. I believe that the

provisional Governing Council represents the

international community’s best partner for helping the

Iraqis to rebuild their country. In that context, Bulgaria

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hopes to resume its traditional friendly relations with

Iraq.

My Government is very concerned as a result of

events in the Middle East. The road map elaborated by

the Quartet remains valid and must be implemented by

the parties concerned. The Government of Bulgaria

reiterates its appeal to the Palestinian Authority to fully

meet its obligations under the road map to stop suicide

attacks against civilians. We call on the Israeli

Government to stop extrajudicial executions and to

renounce its plans to expel President Yasser Arafat.

Although South-Eastern Europe is experiencing a

period of peace, accelerated development and better

prospects for integration into European and Euro-

Atlantic institutions, there are still points of tension

that cannot be ignored. Obviously, I am thinking of the

situation in Kosovo, where the United Nations is

playing an irreplaceable role. Bulgaria hopes for a

multi-ethnic, democratic and prosperous Kosovo, as

envisaged by Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

The recent acts of violence make us think that the

enemies of that particular Kosovo have not given up. I

should like to take this opportunity to emphasize the

importance that my country attaches to respect for and

protection of religious monuments in Kosovo. I can

affirm that the solution to the Kosovo problem can be

found in dialogue — particularly dialogue between

Pristina and Belgrade — that respects the right of all

the province’s inhabitants to live in peace, whatever

their ethnic affiliation.

Two years after having had the opportunity to

speak before the General Assembly, I have the

privilege to share with Members Bulgaria’s significant

progress in attaining its principal foreign policy

objective: joining the European Union and NATO. In

2004, Bulgaria will become a member of the Atlantic

Alliance. We are about to conclude negotiations with

the European Union with a view to acceding to it on 1

January 2007. Such progress will enable my country to

be even more effective in the implementation of the

principles and ideals of the Charter of the United

Nations.

Beginning 1 January 2004, Bulgaria will assume

the chairmanship of the OSCE for one year. The

Bulgarian chairmanship of that important regional body

will devote priority attention to cooperation with the

United Nations. In our view, the experience

accumulated by the OSCE with regard to organizing

and observing free and democratic elections could be

as useful to the United Nations as to other regional

forums. The defence and consolidation of human rights

are naturally part of our priorities.

It is difficult for me to conclude without

mentioning what I believe to be the main thread

running through the discourse in this Hall — the future

of the United Nations. One thing is certain: at a time of

globalization, the sole institution of multilateralism

that is universal in nature is in fact irreplaceable. The

great issues of the modern world - international peace

and security, the fight against poverty and for

development, the defence and promotion of human

rights, and protection of the environment and of human

health — cannot find lasting solutions except through

the efforts of, and within the framework of, the United

Nations.

It goes without saying that the United Nations can

meet these formidable challenges only if it undergoes a

profound process of reform. Reform must be

undertaken without violating the principles or spirit of

the Charter. It must be carried out with determination,

but not in haste.

The Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi Annan, has

identified the genuine problems that we, the Member

States, must tackle. As always, he has asked the right

questions. My Government supports his efforts to assist

Member countries in crafting a clear and far-sighted

vision of the future of the United Nations, in particular

by means of his idea of appointing a group of eminent

personalities to provide ideas for such reforms.

Bulgaria is ready to participate in that act of collective

reflection, which will require both courage and

wisdom.