Bulgaria, 2004

I would like, on

behalf of Bulgaria, to offer my sincere congratulations

to Mr. Jean Ping on his assumption of the presidency

ó a position of great responsibility. Given his great

experience in multilateral diplomacy, I sure that he will

lead the deliberations of the fifty-ninth session of the

General Assembly to a successful outcome. I would

47

also like to take this opportunity to pay tribute to the

work done by his predecessor, Mr. Julian Hunte, to

reform and revitalize the Assembly.

(spoke in English)

This is the first year that the Republic of Bulgaria

has taken part in the deliberations of the General

Assembly as a full-fledged member of the North Atlantic

Treaty Organization and as a State which has successfully

concluded its negotiations on joining the European

Union. We are fully aware of the great responsibility

which we bear this year in discharging our mandate as

the Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe. All those factors

encourage Bulgaria to redouble its efforts in support of

the United Nations. We shall continue our efforts

aimed at strengthening the authority and role of the

United Nations. We shall support the constructive

proposals for reforms within the United Nations, which

should enhance its capacity and effectiveness.

Today the United Nations faces new challenges,

which require resolute joint action and coordination.

The United Nations and its bodies, as well as the

specialized institutions within its system, will continue

to make an important contribution aimed at dealing

with extreme poverty and hunger, achieving

sustainable development, containing and eliminating

violence and human rights abuses and affirming the

rule of law, good governance and democratic values.

International terrorism poses the most serious

threat to international peace and security. This requires

coordinated and resolute action by all States and the

entire international community. Nothing can justify

terrorist acts. It is essential that terrorists do not get

hold of weapons of mass destruction nor distract us

from our agenda, as outlined by the Millennium

Declaration.

This month the world remembers the victims of

the terrorist acts of 11 September, marking the

anniversary of those tragic events. We all watched in

horror, anguish and anger the cold-blooded massacre of

innocent children and their parents in the school in

Beslan. That is terrorism at its ugliest.

Bulgaria, too, is firmly convinced that

international terrorism threatens all States and that it

can be dealt with only through joint efforts. It is for

that reason that the people and the Government of

Bulgaria have whole-heartedly supported our countryís

active participation in the global coalition against

terrorism. We are committed to pursuing that policy

steadfastly, even though we have suffered human

losses and sustained damage.

Within the United Nations system, the Security

Council and its Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC)

are vested with the task of ensuring success in the fight

against international terrorism. We share the view that

Security Council resolution 1535 (2004) and the

creation of the new Counter-Terrorism Committee

Executive Directorate have improved coordination in

this field. The Al Qaeda and Taliban Committee,

beefed up in 2004 with the Monitoring Group and

Sanctions Enforcement Support Team, should also

continue to wield its positive influence.

Within the framework of the Organization for

Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Bulgaria

has been assisting in the joint initiatives of the CTC

and OSCE and of the United Nations Office for Drug

Control and Crime Prevention.

The OSCE has been involved in several countries

in south-east Europe for many years now, and its

commitment to fostering peace and stability in the

region, through its field missions in Macedonia;

Croatia; Bosnia and Herzegovina; Albania; Serbia and

Montenegro; and Kosovo, Serbia and Montenegro, has

proved invaluable. Through activities such as

institution- and capacity-building, promoting and

supporting legislative reform, respect for human rights,

and - in cooperation with the Office of the United

Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

and other international actors - the repatriation of

refugees and internally displaced persons, the OSCE

has made clear its comparative advantage in the region.

But, while this work is essential, it cannot be done

effectively without enhanced efforts by the international

community to address the regionís lagging infrastructure.

The development of infrastructure and political

stability must go hand in hand. The people of the

region are isolated from each other and from the rest of

the region. Indeed, it can take longer to fly from Sofia to

Tirana than to cross the Atlantic. There is a desperate

need for highways, railways and infrastructure

corridors to bring the people of the region closer

together. Bulgaria knows from experience the

importance for the people of south-eastern Europe of

having the prospect of full integration into mainstream

European political and economic structures.

48

Sustained efforts must be made by the

international community to stimulate economic growth

in that region and to offer young people in particular

tangible hope for the future.

Bulgaria has always regarded the stability and

security of south-east Europe as one of its priorities.

Yet, in spite of the positive changes and the

acceleration of the European and Euro-Atlantic

integration of the States in the region, the events that

took place in Kosovo last March revealed that serious

risks and latent threats still exist. Bulgaria supports the

emergence of a democratic, multi-ethnic, multi-cultural

and multi-religious society in Kosovo. We will

continue to cooperate actively with the United Nations

Mission in Kosovo so that this aim can finally be

attained.

Bulgaria is in favour of the full implementation

of Security Council resolution 1244 (1999) and its

ìstandards before statusî policy. An agreement on

those standards, together with the forthcoming

negotiating process, will be decisive for Kosovoís

future. We welcome the Secretary-Generalís initiatives,

and in particular the comprehensive review of the

political situation in Kosovo prepared by Ambassador

Kai Eide. We will continue to lend our active support

to Mr. Soren Jessen-Petersen, the Secretary-Generalís

newly appointed Special Representative. We hope that

the elections next month will prove to be an important

step forward in the context of the social and political

processes under way and towards reaching a durable

solution to the Kosovo problem.

Bulgaria is firmly convinced that the United

Nations must play a key role in the stabilization and

restoration of Iraq, in the ongoing political and

constitutional process, based on Security Council

resolution 1546 (2004), and in the preparations for

democratic and free elections. We welcome the first

steps taken in Baghdad by Mr. Ashraf Qazi, the

Secretary-General's Special Representative, as well as

the mandate of the United Nations Assistance Mission

for Iraq (UNAMI).

There have been encouraging developments in

the resolution of conflicts in certain hot spots in the

world, such as Sierra Leone and Timor-Leste. At the

same time, there are complicated situations in other

regions, particularly in Africa. The situation in Darfur

is of serious concern. Security Council resolution 1556

(2004) and the recently adopted resolution 1564 (2004)

must be complied with in order to avoid a repetition of

the tragedy in other parts of the African continent, similar

to the events that occurred during the last decade.

During Bulgariaís chairmanship of the OSCE, we

have been making concerted efforts to spur and further

develop cooperation between the United Nations and

the OSCE. We have been encouraged by the Secretary-

Generalís specific initiatives, aimed at improving the

synchronization of actions, communication and

exchange of information with regional organizations.

We give very high marks to United Nations-OSCE

cooperation in the western Balkans, the region of the

Caucasus and in Central Asia.

Contemporary geopolitical realities require not

only cooperation between the United Nations and the

OSCE, but also cooperation with the European Union,

NATO, the Council of Europe, the Commonwealth of

Independent States and relevant international agencies.

In my view, closer interaction between them is of

crucial importance to security, stability, democratic

prosperity and tolerance throughout the world.

The developments in Georgia have been followed

with close attention by the Bulgarian OSCE

chairmanship. We have also been actively involved in

efforts to avert possible crisis situations in the

autonomous region of Ajaria. We note with satisfaction

the encouraging changes that have taken place in

Azerbaijan and Tajikistan, including the decision of the

President of Azerbaijan, announced in March, to

release 129 prisoners, as well as the June decision by

the President and the Parliament of Tajikistan to

impose a moratorium on the death penalty.

The OSCE, through its outreach activities,

attaches great importance to assisting the normalization

of Afghanistan and its steady progress towards

democracy and respect for human rights. We express

our satisfaction at the fact that the OSCE will

contribute to the monitoring of elections in

Afghanistan.

In adapting ourselves to current geopolitical

realities, we envisage building a bridge of confidence

over the Black Sea - an endeavour which can lay the

groundwork for future security, cooperation and

tolerance in Europe, in Asia and the rest of the world.

We are deeply convinced that the Black Sea dialogue is

of special importance not only for participating nations

but also because it can set a positive example for other

parts of the world.

49

Respect for and observance of internationally

recognized standards of human rights by Member

States is a prerequisite both for their national security

and for sustainable development. It is also a

prerequisite for international peace and security. The

protection of basic human rights and fundamental

freedoms worldwide is a priority in the policy of the

Bulgarian Government. Our historical experience

teaches us that, in the quest to achieve prosperity and

security in any society, it is necessary to have not only

an adequate legal system and mechanisms for its

effective implementation, but also a spirit of tolerance.

We must not tolerate only one minority and ignore the

others. Anti-Semitism, anti-Islamism, anti-Arabism,

anti-Europeanism, anti-Americanism and even anti-

globalism ought to be equally and totally rejected.

Bulgaria welcomes the progressive reintegration

of Libya into the international community. However, my

country believes that a compelling message from the

Libyan authorities about their respect for human rights

and human values could only be communicated through a

just solution to the well-known case of the medical

workers - six Bulgarians and one Palestinian - who

have been held behind bars in Tripoli and Benghazi for

almost six years. In this regard, we call upon the

United Nations to redouble its efforts in the fight

against the HIV/AIDS pandemic in Africa, which we

believe is the cause of these tragic developments

concerning these seven innocent people.

Bulgaria regards issues concerning women,

children and persons belonging to vulnerable groups of

the population, including elderly and disabled persons,

as inseparable parts of the entire complex of human

rights. The Bulgarian Government fully supports the

strict implementation of the documents of the World

Conference against Racism, Racial Discrimination,

Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, the twenty-

seventh special session of the General Assembly on

children, the World Assembly on Ageing, as well as the

ongoing efforts of the international community to draft

and adopt a convention on the protection of the rights

and dignity of disabled persons.

The measures aimed at revitalizing all the

activities of the United Nations are of extraordinary

importance for the current session of the General

Assembly. The effectiveness of the work of United

Nations bodies, particularly the General Assembly, the

Security Council and the Economic and Social

Council, is fundamental for solidifying the all-around

role of this world Organization. The sooner we do it,

the better, and all the more so since next year we will

be celebrating the sixtieth anniversary of the United

Nations. Let us hope that we will at that time be able to

congratulate ourselves on the adoption of these badly

needed reforms. Taking all this into consideration and

acting on the basis of the political will of all Member

States, as declared at the Millennium Summit, we give

our support to the common efforts for speeding up

United Nations reform and for strengthening the ties and

coordination among the United Nations, the Bretton

Woods institutions and the World Trade Organization.

The United Nations plays a principal and pivotal

role in the Republic of Bulgariaís foreign policy, as

stated at the fifty-eighth session of the General

Assembly by our Prime Minister, Mr. Simeon Saxe-

Coburg-Gotha. To this end, we shall continue our

efforts to promote the role of the United Nations and

enhance its efficiency and organizational structure in

order to promote peace, development, democracy and

the rule of law.