Estonia, 2013

The central theme of the sixty-

eighth session of the General Assembly is sustainable

development. With its three main pillars this constitutes

a comprehensive agenda, even more comprehensive with

all of its prerequisites: conflict prevention, bringing

peace and security to war-torn countries and bringing

perpetrators to justice through the implementation

of international law. Helping the weakest to help

themselves, shaping economies that pay focused

attention to social-agenda and environmental issues

and that effectively use e-technologies, protecting

human rights and supporting the rule of law and

democracy — these are all integral parts of sustainable

development.

The report of the High-level Panel of Eminent

Persons on the Post-2015 Development Agenda notes

that Governments bear the primary responsibility for

assuring sustainable development and for improving the

lives of people in their territories. Sustainability can be

truly implemented, however, only if we instil it in the

core thinking of Governments, societies, individuals

and the international community as a whole.

Let me start with what is clearly and without a

doubt the most unsustainable situation in the world at

the moment: the conflict in Syria. It has been repeated

thousands and thousands of times, and must continue to

be repeated over and over again, that the use of chemical

weapons is unacceptable under any circumstances

and requires complete and unreserved condemnation.

It is clear that chemical weapons must be destroyed

quickly and verifiably. Therefore the Organisation for

the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the Security

Council must — and I emphasize must — move forward

and agree on the legally binding terms to resolve that

issue, preferably under Chapter VII of the Charter, as

soon as possible.

Even without the use of chemical weapons, the

military actions and brutality which have occurred in

Syria have created suffering and a humanitarian disaster

of unimaginable proportions. More than 110,000

people have been killed, and millions of refugees and

internally displaced persons are scattered around the

This record contains the text of speeches delivered in English and of the interpretation of

speeches delivered in the other languages. Corrections should be submitted to the original

languages only. They should be incorporated in a copy of the record and sent under the signature

of a member of the delegation concerned to the Chief of the Verbatim Reporting Service, room

U.506. Corrections will be issued after the end of the session in a consolidated corrigendum.

region. About 7 million Syrians are in urgent need of

assistance.

While there is no quick or easy fix to that complex

situation, we must keep doing what we can to ease

human suffering. Estonia is one of many countries that

have been focusing on helping those who have been

forced to flee from their homes and protecting the most

vulnerable members of society: women and children. I

would also like to praise the good work of UNICEF, the

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the

Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

and humanitarian workers in Syria who often by risking

their own lives, have been able to organize and deliver

assistance.

Evidence collected by the Human Rights Council’s

Independent International Commission of Inquiry

indicates that war crimes, crimes against humanity and

gross human rights violations have been systematically

committed in Syria. Estonia is among the countries

that joined the Swiss initiative in January, asking the

Security Council to refer the situation in Syria to the

International Criminal Court. It is the responsibility of

the international community to protect, if a Government

fails to do so.

In contrast, let me turn to a country and conflict

where hope has been restored recently. That presidential

elections in Mali were carried out in a peaceful and

transparent manner has paved the way for optimism.

The newly elected President has many important tasks

ahead, beginning with reconciliation between the

southern and northern parts of Mali. I wish Mr. Keita all

the luck and energy he will need to rebuild his country,

and I can assure him that Estonia stands among the

countries that will continue to help if needed.

I venture to say that another country whose

future looks promising is Afghanistan. I believe that

responsibility and ownership make people masters

of their own fate, and I can see the willingness of

Afghans to avail themselves of that opportunity. The

international community must continue to assist that

country in order to ensure that their efforts will bear

fruit. As a long-term partner of Afghanistan, Estonia

remains committed to assisting with the training and

financing of Afghan security forces after 2014, while

continuing to support educational progress, women’s

empowerment, the rule of law and health care.

It is also sadly true that conflicts can at times

be alarmingly sustainable. For years, Estonia has

emphasized that protracted conflicts around Nagorno

Karabakh and in Georgia and Moldova must not fall

off the radar screen of the international community.

Without the will of all the involved parties, no lasting

solutions can be found.

Every year, over half a million people die as a result

of illegal or irresponsible arms transfers. Enormous

amounts of money and resources are spent on arms,

often at the expense of far more vital needs. We view

the adoption in June of the Arms Trade Treaty, within

the framework of the United Nations, as a historic

milestone for the world community.

As a responsible member of the international

community, Estonia strongly supports and contributes

to the activities of the International Criminal Court

and the ad hoc tribunals established by the Security

Council. We continue to call for more States to ratify

the Rome Statute and the amendments to the Rome

Statute relating to the crime of aggression. Universality

is key to ensuring that the perpetrators of the worst

crimes of concern to the international community are

held accountable. Accountability and the prevention

of atrocities have been the priorities of Estonia as a

current member of the Human Rights Council. In the

Council, we also focus on the rights of women and

children and on their disproportionate suffering during

armed conflict.

The post-2015 sustainable development agenda

should transform the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) into Sustainable Development Goals. In the

meantime, we have learned that the MDGs should

have focused more on reaching the poorest and most-

excluded groups in society. The main challenge of the

post-2015 negotiations will be to formulate and reach

global agreement on one concrete and measurable

set of development goals that would keep the three

dimensions of sustainability in its core and maintain a

strong focus on poverty eradication. The targets should

leave no one behind and be applicable and achievable

in every country.

In many societies, women and girls are the main

drivers of development. Not allowing them to fulfil their

potential through education, decent job opportunities

and essential health services is to disregard the

potential of one half of humankind. It is also important

to remember that persons with disabilities have been

one of the most excluded segments of our societies,

although they often have serious difficulties with access

to basic social services and decent job opportunities.

Official development assistance will continue to

play an important role in the sustainable development

of many countries in the future, but it cannot compete

with the flow of international private investment nor

with domestically mobilized resources. Therefore,

synergies between different sources of finance,

better policies and strong national ownership are

necessary. Nonetheless, the main drivers of sustainable

development are inclusive and responsible economic

policies. A key enabler of growth is the bold use of

modern integrated circuit technology solutions. They

promote better governance, access to public services,

job creation, transparency, accountability and civil

society participation.

That brings me to two issues of worldwide

importance: cybersecurity and Internet freedom. The

two are intrinsically linked and in no way incompatible.

Moreover, they will require a multi-stakeholder model

of Internet governance. Freedom of opinion and

expression, online or offline, is a cornerstone of every

democracy and constitutes a fundamental human right.

Last year, the Human Rights Council affirmed that very

same principle. I am glad that the United Nations Group

of Governmental Experts on Cyber Issues affirmed that

international law is essential in promoting an open,

secure and accessible cyberspace.

In our fight against cybercrime, it is essential to raise

awareness and to work on prevention by everyone, from

private computer users to large critical infrastructure

and cloud providers. Raising the awareness of political

leaders and national governments is equally important;

cybercrime may have serious consequences for national

security as well as national wealth. Yet the Council of

Europe’s 2001 European Cybercrime Treaty — renamed

the Convention on Cybercrime because participants are

from all over the world, and also known as the Budapest

Convention — remains thus far the only legally binding

international instrument that addresses cybercrime.

Needless to say, the more countries accede to it, the

more functional it will become. We find it odd that

those countries with the largest sources of cybercrime

have not acceded to the Convention, while in other

areas they stress the primacy of international law.

The United Nations has had and will continue to

have a leading role in making the world sustainable. Yet

Governments can do and must do their own fair share.

Estonia, for example, proudly continues to support the

initiatives of civil society in contributing to sustainable

development. Approximately one half of the world’s

countries have joined our 2008 initiative “Let’s Do It!”

to make people’s environments cleaner and our planet

environmentally happier.

Let us remain alert and tuned in to every single

detail that prevents us from advancing our common

well-being, be it in developed or in developing countries.

Let us be united in that common effort.