Croatia, 2012

I am pleased to address

the Assembly for the first time since assuming the

office of Prime Minister of the Republic of Croatia.

We live in times of rapid changes, some of which

are positive, others deeply troubling. The world is

becoming more interconnected, which strengthens

economic opportunities and accelerates development.

Advances in science and technology are bringing

measurable progress for humankind. The profound

transformations in North Africa have raised the hopes

of people for real democracy and freedom. However, there is also much that is disturbing.

Conflicts in many parts of the world are wreaking

havoc on innocent civilians. Our planet is experiencing

growing environmental damage. The global financial

and economic crisis is still negatively affecting the

majority of countries in both the developing and the

developed world. International peace and security

are under strain from terrorism, extremism, poverty,

inequality, human rights abuses and persecution.

In confronting such challenges, Croatia acts in the

global arena on the basis of two fundamental tenets.

We stand ready to assume our responsibility towards

our own citizens and our neighbours in the region

and to be a constructive actor in Europe and a reliable

partner to all peace-loving countries in the world. We

actively promote solidarity with vulnerable groups

and communities and with the poor, the needy, the

defenceless and the underprivileged. Responsibility

and solidarity are two central principles of our

engagement in the United Nations in the pursuit of

peace and security and in advancing freedom and

democracy, protecting human rights, enhancing

sustainable development, respecting international law,

ensuring equality and social justice and promoting the

rule of law.

This year, Croatia marks the twentieth anniversary

of its membership of our global Organization. We are

grateful to the United Nations for playing an important

role in our country’s struggle for political independence,

international recognition and full territorial integrity.

We have great expectations of the United Nations.

As a beacon of multilateralism, it provides the only universal framework for finding common solutions to

international crises and current challenges. However,

we must ask ourselves whether the United Nations does

enough and what we can do collectively to improve its

performance.

We support the United Nations reform process,

which seeks to enhance its accountability, efficiency,

effectiveness and transparency. United, we are stronger

than alone. But let me stress something. If each of our

countries becomes more democratic, more developed,

better run, more stable and more responsible, our

combined strength will rise exponentially.

The topic of the general debate, namely, resolving

international disputes by peaceful means, is at the very

heart of the United Nations. The Organization was built

to prevent war and to keep the peace. We highly value

the instruments of preventive diplomacy and mediation

and other peaceful means of resolving disputes. In

particular, we see merit in resorting to the International

Court of Justice, the Permanent Court of Arbitration

and other existing institutions. We ourselves have

done so. We agreed to settle the border issue with our

neighbour, Slovenia, through arbitration.

However, we must understand that, in the long run,

peace cannot be imposed on parties to a dispute. Each

situation has its own pace and dynamics. However,

there should be no excuse for a lack of genuine effort.

Moreover, without a thorough resolution of issues,

there can be no room for a true reconciliation process

to take place. In that vein, it is reassuring to note that

support for the peaceful resolution of disputes comes

from many parts of the world, including countries that

have opted to use military means to settle disputes with

their immediate neighbours in the recent past.

Not everyone, however, shares equal respect

for peace and international law. This year has been

particularly unfortunate in terms of the efficiency of

the United Nations in the area of conflict prevention,

mediation and the protection of civilians. We have

witnessed appalling events, and thousands of civilian

victims have been exposed to heavy arms and the

brutality of armed forces and paramilitary groups.

The lack of univocal action against the most severe

violations of the United Nations Charter is deeply

troubling. We must resolutely counter such an obsession

with violence and repression. We should not shy away

from our responsibilities.

At this juncture, I must strongly condemn the recent

killing of the United States Ambassador to Libya. People

come from different cultures, legal traditions, historical

backgrounds and forms of Government. Violence can

never be an acceptable response to freedom of speech.

Like many previous speakers, I stress the

importance of keeping strong international attention

on Syria. We align ourselves with the position of the

European Union on the situation in Syria. We see the

need for prompt action on two fronts. The immediate

priority is to stop the loss of life on both sides in the

conflict, to provide humanitarian aid and assistance to

the Syrian people and to support plans for the country’s

economic and political stabilization. Further fighting

and militarization will only exacerbate the suffering and

make a peaceful resolution of the crisis more difficult.

In addition, we have to remain committed to pursuing

a Syrian-led political transition that will meet the

democratic aspirations of the Syrian people. Resolving

the crisis is our common responsibility. We therefore

call unceasingly for the full respect of international

law, especially international humanitarian law, human

rights and refugee law.

There is no peace without justice and there is no

justice without the rule of law and without the fight

against impunity. We support concepts of human

security and the responsibility to protect, as well as

their implementation and improvement through an

open and constructive dialogue within the framework

of the United Nations. We also support the work of

the International Criminal Court. Undoubtedly, there

are sufficient conflict prevention tools at our disposal.

The question remains whether we can muster enough

resolve to use them.

Syria is the most recent and most striking example

of the need for a greater role for preventive diplomacy

and mediation in the early phases of a conflict. The later

we engage, the more divided we are. Timely prevention

is crucial for successful conflict resolution. Prevention

is also indispensable for countering other threats that

destabilize countries and societies. Let me cite an

example. If a country is forced to fight corruption

through its law enforcement bodies and the judiciary,

that is usually a sign that it is too late, that corruption has

already left its corrosive imprint on society. Our goal is

to invest efforts aimed at building a society in which

corruption is not an endemic phenomenon, in which

elected officials in Government structures demonstrate

responsibility towards their public office. That in turn encourages citizens to foster a corruption-free culture

through their daily behaviour. When leaders lead by

positive example, people tend to follow. That is because

culture f lows from structure. That is also the reason

why, at the level of the United Nations, we provide our

full support to the implementation, wider acceptance

and universalization of international legal instruments

on non-proliferation, arms control and disarmament,

countering terrorism and preventing corruption.

The global economic crisis combined with the

effects of globalization has contributed to the rise

of popular distrust in the capability of political

leaders to deliver needed solutions. That calls for

greater responsibility, better governance and stronger

cooperation among States, civil society and the private

sector. The Croatian Government has made notable

progress in making its work more transparent and

more available to its citizens. As a member of the

Open Government Partnership initiative, we have

become active in the fields of fiscal transparency,

access to information, information technology and

civil society participation. We are pleased to host the

Second European Outreach and Support Meeting of the

Initiative on 4 and 5 October in Dubrovnik, where we

expect to see the sharing of best practices and further

promotion of cooperation between Governments and

civil society organizations.

Croatia has undergone an extensive but successful

political, economic and social transition in a fairly

short period of time. For that reason, we have a

special understanding and first-hand experience of the

interwoven nature of peace, security, development and

the promotion and protection of human rights. Today

we are sharing our knowledge and experiences with

countries in the region of South-Eastern Europe and with

countries emerging from crises, where our post-conflict

understanding in nation- and institution-building is

particularly relevant.

Croatia is currently a Vice-Chair of the

Peacebuilding Commission. My country stands ready

to assume its responsibility for creating more relevant,

better-performing and more empowered peacebuilding

structures. Croatia has already joined the Civilian

Capacity Project’s CAPMATCH initiative designed to

address the State-building needs of fragile and conflict-

affected countries by offering our help in various fields

of expertise gained through our own political transition,

post-conflict rehabilitation and unique European

Union accession process. Promotion and protection of human rights at the universal level remains one of

the cornerstones of the role of the United Nations in

the world. Further development of the capacity of the

Human Rights Council is of the utmost importance

if we are to address seriously and efficiently urgent

human rights situations and crises.

We give special attention to continually improving

the degree of respect accorded the fundamental human

rights of women and girls in different post-conflict

societies. Women and children do not have armies to

protect them or trade unions to negotiate on their behalf.

Yet, more and more women are becoming the primary

breadwinners in their families. The empowerment of

women and their full and equal participation in societies

are prerequisites for security, economic opportunity,

effective governance and social development. Croatia

will also continue with its active contribution to the

work of the United Nations human rights forums,

in particular safeguarding the rights of vulnerable

members of society, such as lesbian, bisexual, gay and

transgendered persons, promoting the moratorium

on the use of death penalty and ensuring the right to

conscientious objection to military service.

In times of economic uncertainty, be it due to

financial crisis or long-term poverty, some tend

to downplay the importance of human rights or of

consolidating democracy. Every day we witness the sad

realities of starving children, deaths from preventable

communicable diseases, inadequate education and

health systems, and the continuous degradation of the

ecosystem. Challenges we are facing require integrated

solutions across interconnected issues and the

further strengthening of the multilateral architecture.

We welcome the outcome of the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development and encourage

its follow-up process. We look forward to more

energetic work on the implementation of sustainable

development goals, which should complement existing

commitments and encompass all three dimensions

of sustainable development — economic, social and

environmental — in a balanced and synergistic way.

Croatia sees the Economic and Social Council and its

subsidiary bodies as a cornerstone for the achievement

of balanced integration of sustainable development.

Croatia is firmly devoted to participation in those

processes, in particular in the fields of education and

gender equality. Education is a sector which builds

a firm foundation for responding to the challenges

of pursuing a post-2015 development framework. of human rights at the universal level remains one of

the cornerstones of the role of the United Nations in

the world. Further development of the capacity of the

Human Rights Council is of the utmost importance

if we are to address seriously and efficiently urgent

human rights situations and crises.

We give special attention to continually improving

the degree of respect accorded the fundamental human

rights of women and girls in different post-conflict

societies. Women and children do not have armies to

protect them or trade unions to negotiate on their behalf.

Yet, more and more women are becoming the primary

breadwinners in their families. The empowerment of

women and their full and equal participation in societies

are prerequisites for security, economic opportunity,

effective governance and social development. Croatia

will also continue with its active contribution to the

work of the United Nations human rights forums,

in particular safeguarding the rights of vulnerable

members of society, such as lesbian, bisexual, gay and

transgendered persons, promoting the moratorium

on the use of death penalty and ensuring the right to

conscientious objection to military service.

In times of economic uncertainty, be it due to

financial crisis or long-term poverty, some tend

to downplay the importance of human rights or of

consolidating democracy. Every day we witness the sad

realities of starving children, deaths from preventable

communicable diseases, inadequate education and

health systems, and the continuous degradation of the

ecosystem. Challenges we are facing require integrated

solutions across interconnected issues and the

further strengthening of the multilateral architecture.

We welcome the outcome of the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development and encourage

its follow-up process. We look forward to more

energetic work on the implementation of sustainable

development goals, which should complement existing

commitments and encompass all three dimensions

of sustainable development — economic, social and

environmental — in a balanced and synergistic way.

Croatia sees the Economic and Social Council and its

subsidiary bodies as a cornerstone for the achievement

of balanced integration of sustainable development.

Croatia is firmly devoted to participation in those

processes, in particular in the fields of education and

gender equality. Education is a sector which builds

a firm foundation for responding to the challenges

of pursuing a post-2015 development framework.

Therefore, Croatia salutes the launching of the

Secretary-General’s Education First initiative and is

pleased that the Croatian President has been invited to

join the steering group known as the Group of Member

State Champions.

I have already mentioned Croatia’s successful post-

conflict transition. In addition to having joined NATO

since 2009, Croatia will become the twenty-eighth

member of the European Union (EU) next year. Our

international engagement is visible and strong. Croatia

has been an active participant in United Nations

peacekeeping missions, and I praise our women and

men who have risked their lives for the common good.

We have been providing substantial contributions

to international efforts to stabilize Afghanistan and

improve the living conditions of its people, highlighting

the need for the protection of human rights, in particular

the rights of women and children. Croatia is also actively

participating in EU meetings at a time when the Union

is intensively trying to find ways of overcoming the

crisis and assuming its rightful place in the world.

Let me emphasize that Croatia greatly appreciates

the role that the EU has been playing in the United

Nations as a significant and positive force behind a

number of initiatives. At the same time, for Croatia,

the process of EU accession was primarily an exercise

in institution-building and State transition. We built a

stronger State so we can play a more substantive role in

world affairs.

The perspective of EU membership has proved

to be the main motivator and catalyst for social and

political reforms. We want our neighbours in South-

Eastern Europe to undertake the same demanding

but rewarding road. We do not intend to assume a

mentoring role in the region, but we stand ready to share

our experiences and contribute constructively to the

reforms in neighbouring countries based on democracy

and European values.

A peaceful and prosperous South-Eastern Europe

is in Croatia’s strategic interest. Our vision is not just

a region devoid of war. We strive to achieve genuine

political, societal and economic development. We want

people, especially young women and men, to have

better standards of living and better prospects, to live

in a clean environment and in a well-organized State

with fully functioning institutions, to speak less about

what was and much more about what could be.

That reminds me of a quotation by Croatian public

health expert Dr. Andrija Štampar, a man who founded

the World Health Organization decades ago, who once

said that, “All people, regardless of whether they are

rich or poor, have the right to be healthy!” I agree. Only

healthy and self-confident people can shape a healthy

and progressive society. It is our primary responsibility,

individual and collective, to build such a world and

bequeath it to our children.