Czech Republic, 2001

Let me

congratulate Mr. Han Seung-soo on his election to the

presidency of the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly and wish him every success in this important

post. At the same time, I take this opportunity to offer

my most sincere congratulations to the Secretary-

General, Kofi Annan, and the entire United Nations on

the occasion of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize award, and

to express my gratitude for their determination to

defend the ideas of tolerance and mutual respect among

nations.

Allow me to extend my own and my country’s

deepest sympathy to all those who lost loved ones in

the horrible terrorist attacks of 11 September. We are

deeply moved by the unspeakable tragedy and share the

grief of the American people and of all those affected.

We perceive the horrifying attack as an attack against

the entire civilized international community against the

principles of freedom, democracy and peace, the

principles upon which the Organization stands. In the

aftermath of the attacks of 11 September, the concepts

of security, peace and solidarity are acquiring a new

and distinct meaning. We recognize the growing

interdependency of individual actors on the

international scene. The dangers of the new threats and

risks that confront our civilization come to the

forefront. To conquer them we must not only move

energetically against the perpetrators, but also

concentrate on the causes that propel them.

At the same time, we are witnessing significant

progress leading to the creation of new relationships in

the international community. The fact that we were

able to create such a wide anti-terrorist coalition so

swiftly is very encouraging indeed. It is imperative to

strengthen that coalition and enable it not only to fight

effectively against terrorism but also to contribute to

solving other pressing problems, especially those

whose solution will strengthen the struggle against

terrorism by reducing tension and promoting justice

and stability. The current, unusually wide, international

coalition against terrorism presents, I believe, a unique

opportunity that we should seize. We should do our

utmost to make it effective and operational. We should

do our utmost not to let it collapse for reasons that

would not stand up to the inevitable future scrutiny of

our sons and daughters. We should do our utmost to

avoid the trap of allowing the struggle against

terrorism, the struggle for peace, justice, stability and

coexistence, to be replaced by a clash of civilizations,

by the very war that Osama bin Laden is calling for, by

a war against Islam. That would be a tragedy.

The international community has at its disposal

great potential to address even the most complex

problems and crises. It must now reach an agreement

on how to approach them and on which tools it will

employ to address them. International organizations,

and the United Nations specifically, play an

irreplaceable role in this process.

The Czech Republic is determined to contribute

to the search for effective ways to meet the most

pressing challenges of today and to support the

international response to terrorism and the actions

undertaken so far, especially if the military operation

continues to be targeted as accurately as possible

against military targets, in this, it is hoped, the final

stage of the Taliban’s defeat. We view these actions as

legitimate and in accordance with the United Nations

Charter and United Nations Security Council resolution

1368 (2001). Today more than ever we feel it our duty

and obligation to preserve and cherish the uniqueness,

as well as the open and universal character, of the

United Nations and push more decisively for a

strengthening of the role we have entrusted to it.

When we approach these most pressing

challenges we must be proactive. For its part, the

Czech Republic is determined to carry its share. The

Czech Republic has submitted its candidacy for the

presidency of the fifty-seventh session of the General

8

Assembly of the United Nations. We hold this highly

demanding and prestigious position in great respect and

are determined to actively participate in the realization

of the demanding tasks ahead of us, in the most

responsible manner. We are prepared to be attentive to

your voices and concerns and to serve the entire

membership. We obviously wish to help with the

implementation of the Millennium Declaration,

including the eradication of extreme poverty and the

integration of human rights into every aspect of our

work, as we were so eloquently reminded by Secretary-

General Kofi Annan a few days ago. We need to inch

forward the necessary reform of the United Nations

system, strengthen the role of the United Nations

General Assembly, help to challenge the

marginalization of important continents such as Africa,

Latin America and parts of Asia. We need also to help

the United Nations to play an effective role in the

struggle against international terrorism.

It is clear that accomplishing the objective of

finding and bringing to justice the perpetrators of the

attacks on the United States is most urgent and topical.

However, other phases can be embarked upon at the

same time. I agree with the President of Pakistan,

General Pervez Musharraf, who said at this Assembly

that a three-pronged strategy is needed: first, to go after

the main culprits, the individual terrorists; secondly, to

move decisively against the terrorist organizations; and

thirdly — what in my opinion is very important — to

address unresolved disputes, which proliferate

throughout the world and must be resolved in a helpful

and just manner. As I listened carefully to speeches

delivered here over the last few days by many leading

politicians of the world, I was pleased to confirm my

conviction that not only the Czech Republic or the

European Union, but also many other countries argue

that the fight against terrorism should combine the

necessary military operations with, above all, decisive

attempts to eradicate the root causes of terrorism. It is

therefore necessary to pay far greater attention to

conflicts that provide fertile soil for terrorism, because

if conflicts remain unresolved for decades, they give

rise to feelings of frustration, despair and

powerlessness or, as the President of the Islamic

Republic of Iran put it, to alienation, extremism and

lawlessness. Political solutions of conflicts, many of

which are essentially political conflicts, will reduce

tensions, promote peace and fairness and, especially,

take the wind out of the sails of those who put forward

the absurd myth that terrorist actions can bring about

anything other than loss of the lives of innocent people

and the exacerbation of problems and conflicts.

In our fight against terrorism we need to look for

comprehensive solutions and to that end employ all

available tools to identify, isolate and destroy the

terrorist networks and to combat terrorism as a whole.

Our anti-terrorist striving must equally concentrate on

combating international organized crime, people

smuggling, and drug and arms trafficking. On the

financial front it is necessary to cut terrorists off from

their resources. A determined focus on preventing

money-laundering is a crucial aspect of this effort.

Long-term and extensive development assistance aimed

at alleviating the most pressing problems of the

developing world should be an integral part of these

efforts by the international community.

The Czech Republic sees the upholding of the

unity and operational readiness of the international

coalition combating terrorism as the most imperative

task of the day. We, the international community,

should not lose this unique opportunity but should take

decisive action. The fight against terrorism is a long-

term mission and will have an impact on all aspects of

our lives. At the national level, the Czech Republic is

preparing a national plan for combating terrorism,

which is inspired by the Action Plan of the European

Union.

In recent weeks the United Nations has shown its

renewed resolve to combat international terrorism. We

commend the Security Council for its swift action and

we support the adoption of Security Council

resolutions 1368 (2001) and 1373 (2001) to combat

threats to international peace and security caused by

terrorist acts. The Czech Republic is taking all

necessary steps towards the full implementation of the

provisions of resolution 1373 (2001), and fully

supports the actions of the relevant Counter-Terrorism

Committee.

My strong belief in the need for political and

diplomatic moves does not in any way suggest that one

should negotiate with the terrorists. Just the contrary.

Terrorists have to be defeated and brought to justice.

There can be no negotiations with the terrorists. The

evil of terrorism must be eradicated. The fight against

terrorism has a higher priority than ever before, and

nobody can stay neutral in this fight. The Czech

Republic is proud that it was able to offer both military

and humanitarian help to the efforts led by the United

9

States. The Czech Republic is proud that some of its

help was accepted and thus that some of our best

soldiers can now actively contribute to these joint

endeavours.

As I have said, conflicts can be a breeding ground

for terrorism. Terrorism fully exploits unresolved

conflicts and profits from their expansion. Therefore

our intensified fight against terrorism points

unequivocally to the need for the international

community to pay far greater attention to conflict

resolution in various regions. The United Nations must

continue its major role in maintaining peace and

security throughout the world by applying an integrated

approach of conflict prevention, peacekeeping

operations and post-conflict reconstruction.

Recognition of the roots of conflicts and

education towards tolerance must be incorporated into

our preventive strategies. We fully support the

implementation of the comprehensive overhaul of the

peacekeeping operations as proposed by the Brahimi

report (A/55/305) and other recent reports focusing on

this issue. The recent liberation of Mazar-e-Sharif in

northern Afghanistan, and even the most recent fall of

Kabul, improve our possibilities of supplying the

Afghan people with the humanitarian aid that they so

badly need. That must remain at the forefront of our

endeavours. We should do our utmost to alleviate the

suffering of the innocent Afghan people. I believe there

is an extremely important role for the United Nations

to play in the consolidation of the post-Taliban Afghan

State that is so desperately needed. We should fully

support the current efforts of the United Nations, and

especially those of Ambassador Brahimi, to form as

soon as possible a stable, broad-based Government that

will reflect the ethnic diversity of the country. I agree

with Foreign Secretary Jack Straw that the one

institution in the world that can deliver that better

future is the United Nations.

The greatest tensions today undoubtedly prevail

in the Middle East. It is regrettable that much of the

progress achieved in the past few years seems to have

been squandered. But the uphill struggle that faces us

there is no reason for doing nothing and letting things

get worse and would only mean that more people will

suffer and die. The Czech Republic is a traditional and

active supporter of the peace process in the Middle

East. We cannot reconcile ourselves with the current

setbacks. The political violence must be halted.

Diplomatic initiatives aimed at bringing the parties

back to the negotiating table must be fully supported.

The Czech Republic fully supports the right of the

Palestinians to their own viable and independent State.

Nevertheless, its final shape should be the result of

bilateral Palestinian-Israeli negotiations with the full

backing of the international community.

The international community has been

encouraged by the change in political leadership in the

Balkans, which offers a new opportunity to secure

genuine peace and economic reconstruction. The

upcoming local parliamentary elections in Kosovo will

be an important moment in the stabilization process. I

should like to use this opportunity to pay tribute to the

Secretary-General and his Special Representative in

Kosovo, Hans Haekkerup, for their work in the region.

Our admiration also goes to the United Nations Interim

Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) and the

Kosovo Force (KFOR).

In Africa, despite some progress, not only

poverty and AIDS but also armed conflict remain

major challenges to the United Nations and the entire

international community. Although the destiny of the

continent lies in the hands of the Africans, the

international community should strengthen its efforts to

assist Africa in its struggle to achieve durable peace

and especially to acquire higher levels of development.

The struggle to reduce poverty has to stand at the

forefront of our joint endeavours. Debt relief and

market access are crucial elements of the economic

development of developing countries. The United

Nations must continue with its activities to promote

sustainable development and continue its programmes

aimed at providing basic health care and education,

fighting the HIV/AIDS pandemic, and averting the

devastation of the environment. A gender perspective

should be included in all these efforts. The gap

between the rich and poor countries continues to grow

and is further exacerbated by the imbalance in the

distribution of globalization benefits. The digital divide

is just an additional symptom of the growing disparity

between the developed and developing countries. The

United Nations, in cooperation with national

governments, the Bretton Woods institutions, the World

Trade Organization (WTO), the private sector, the non-

governmental sphere and civil society, must be

prepared to address the challenges of globalization. In

short, we should respond to the globalization of capital

by the globalization of solidarity and social justice.

10

We need to create a functioning international

legal environment in order to prosecute crimes against

humanity. The Czech Republic fully supports the entry

into force of the Rome Statute of the International

Criminal Court, an institution that I believe will be a

great asset for the maintenance of international law.

The protection of human rights will continue to shape

the fate of human society. Human rights are universal

and indivisible, and it is in the interests of United

Nations Member States to support their Organization in

its strenuous effort to secure the protection of human

rights in today’s globally interconnected world. We

must not remain indifferent to manifestations of

racism, xenophobia, religious or political persecution,

discrimination against minorities, violence against

women or the violation of the rights of the child,

regardless of where they take place. In this regard

allow me to mention the World Conference in Durban,

South Africa. However difficult the negotiations have

shown themselves to be, they point to the fact that

extreme intolerance and terrorism are closely

interlinked.

The implementation of United Nations reform is

imperative in order to make the work of our

Organization more effective. As I said at the beginning

of my statement, as a candidate for the presidency of

the fifty-seventh session of the United Nations General

Assembly, I fully support the reaffirmation of the

central role of the General Assembly, the revitalization

of its work, and improvement of its procedural

methods. Equally, the reform of the Security Council,

including its enlargement in the categories of both

permanent and non-permanent members and limitation

of the veto, would enhance the authority of that body.

A re-evaluation of the application of the sanctions

mechanism must also play an important part in the

Council’s work. The United Nations, more than any

other international forum, is where people of all

cultures and religions meet. We come here from

various parts of our planet to solve the problems of

today’s world. Despite our different backgrounds we

gather here to approach the problems that face us

bound by the universal human values that unite us. The

highest of them all is the value of human life. We have

been tragically reminded that we need to promote the

culture of peace and to build an environment in which

the principles of these universally shared values will

take root. Now more than ever we must strive to

overcome our differences and be guided by our

common interests. Let us unite our efforts and ensure

that our work during this session of the General

Assembly contributes to a better, safer and more just

world.