Croatia, 2013

I would like first to

congratulate the President of the General Assembly

on his election to that important position and express

my confidence in his leadership. It is also my great

pleasure to address the Assembly for the first time as

the President of the newest European Union member

State.

Our debate this year is focused on an issue of

paramount importance for our planet’s future — the

post-2015 development agenda. However, before sharing

my views on that central issue, I would like to share my

thoughts on a broader understanding of sustainability.

It is difficult, if not impossible, to outline sustainable

development without touching upon one of its

essential prerequisites: peace and security. As a global

community, we continue to witness, year after year, a

plethora of deadly and prolonged international crises

and new and emerging threats and conflicts.

The ongoing security and humanitarian catastrophe

in Syria, with all its terrible effects and potential to

destabilize the region, is naturally foremost on our

minds. We are saddened by the tremendous loss of life

as a result of that ongoing conflict. We are particularly

appalled and concerned by the findings and conclusions

of the report of the United Nations Mission to Investigate

Allegations of the Use of Chemical Weapons in the

Syrian Arab Republic on the alleged use of chemical

weapons in the Ghouta area of Damascus on 21 August

2013 (A/67/997). Croatia condemns in the strongest

terms the use of chemical weapons. The international

community must ensure that there is no impunity for

such crimes and that the perpetrators of those and

other crimes are held to account. In that connection,

we welcome the United States-Russia Framework

for Elimination of Syrian Chemical Weapons of

14 September. The priority must now be to provide

for its prompt and full implementation, starting with a

process in the Security Council and the soonest possible

adoption of a relevant Council resolution.

The United Nations was established at a time when

the world was emerging from a period that had witnessed

the worst atrocities of the twentieth century. In fact, it

was established for the very purpose of ensuring that

such atrocities would not happen again. While we can

and often do debate the overall effectiveness of the

United Nations in ensuring international peace, it is

important that we build on the lessons learned from

both past successes and past mistakes.

In that connection, allow me to highlight one such

past success. January this year marked the fifteenth

anniversary of the end of the mandate of the United

Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern

Slavonia, Baranja and Western Sirmium in Croatia. It is

considered to be one of the most successful peacekeeping

operations in United Nations history. The mission

was able to peacefully reaffirm the independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of

Croatia, and paved the way for normalizing relations

and cooperation in the region.

Over the past 20 years Croatia has undertaken a

long and demanding journey from being a host nation

for a number of United Nations peacekeeping missions

on its territory to a peacekeeping contributor. Today, we

are determined to continue our participation in many

current peacekeeping and peace-support operations

and missions around the world. This year also marks

the twentieth anniversary of the establishment of the

International Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia

(ICTY). It is a well-known fact that Croatia advocated

the establishment of the ICTY from the very beginning.

We wholeheartedly supported the strong

determination of the international community to finally,

once and for all, put an end to the culture of impunity

that had for so long accompanied wars and armed

conflicts. The establishment of the ad hoc criminal

tribunals changed the landscape of international

criminal justice and paved the way for a whole new

system, with the International Criminal Court at its

head. The establishment of the International Criminal

Court in 1998 can be regarded as one of the most

important civilization achievements in the last century

and the beginning of a new era of accountability. That

is why we are calling on those countries that have not

yet decided to adopt the Rome Statute to do so as soon

as possible.

Our own experience teaches us that peace often

comes at a high price. Maintaining peace often entails a

long-term and comprehensive commitment on the part

of the international community. The United Nations

recognized that fact in establishing the Peacebuilding

Commission (PBC) in 2005. Its aim is to direct and

sustain the attention and efforts of the international

community in post-conflict countries. Croatia’s interest

and engagement in peacebuilding started some time ago

and was further strengthened by our bitter experience

in recent history. From the very beginning, Croatia

actively participated in and contributed to the work of

the Peacebuilding Commission.

In the PBC we have focused on three different, yet

mutually reinforcing areas – strengthening security,

stimulating socioeconomic prosperity and promoting

human rights and gender equality. For example, as the

current PBC Chair and in line with the Peacebuilding

Commission’s action plan for 2013, Croatia helped

organize a joint meeting of the PBC and the Global

Compact on the important topic of business for

peacebuilding, which was held in June. Earlier today,

Croatia, as PBC Chair and in cooperation with UN-

Women, organized a high-level ministerial meeting

on women’s economic empowerment in peacebuilding.

The meeting emphasized the critical role of women in

peacebuilding processes and the fact that empowering

women in the economy is essential for realizing women’s

rights and achieving broader development goals.

In our view, progress in the areas of security,

development, the rule of law and human rights must go

hand in hand. We would especially like to stress the

critical importance that the rule of law plays in post-

conflict peacebuilding and, therefore, in achieving

lasting peace and sustainable development.

For its part, Croatia continues to follow the path

of promoting an open and pluralistic democracy as

the best guarantee for safeguarding the human rights

of its citizens. We believe that democracy needs to be

approached in a holistic manner. Human and minority

rights, the rule of law, good governance and the fight

against corruption are intrinsic to democratic values.

Democracy is not only about civil and political rights;

its focus is not only on free and fair elections, but also

on economic, social and cultural rights.

Croatia will continue to seek the upholding

of human rights standards across the globe. We

particularly support the abolition of the death penalty,

the implementation of anti-discrimination policies, the

effective and full protection of the rights of the child and

the realization of the rights of persons with disabilities.

We will also spare no effort in raising awareness

about the importance of upholding and improving

women’s and minority rights. Croatia fully supports

the pivotal role of the United Nations and its human

rights mechanisms, in particular the Human Rights

Council. For that reason, Croatia has presented its bid

for membership in the Human Rights Council for the

period of 2017-2019, remaining committed to making

an active and substantial contribution to the activities

and efforts of that very important United Nations body.

In the area of security, we consider the prevention

of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,

especially proliferation to non-State actors, to be a

global security priority. Croatia believes that successful

non-proliferation is possible only through a combination

of diligent work at the national level and the widest

possible international cooperation. We firmly believe

that adherence to multilateral non-proliferation treaties,

as well as participation in informal non-proliferation

initiatives, are an indispensable part of non-proliferation

efforts. The most recent events in Syria are a horrible

reminder and warning of how important it is that all

international agreements on non-proliferation be

universally complied with.

Croatia is also very concerned about the issue of the

uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons

and their excessive accumulation. We believe that those

weapons present a great risk for the stability and security

of many weak and fragile areas around the world. A

milestone in that area is the successful completion and

opening for signature of the international Arms Trade

Treaty, a uniquely drafted document establishing rules

and criteria for trade in conventional arms. Croatia, as

an original signatory State, would like to add its voice

to those requesting urgent and universal adherence to

the treaty and its expedited entry into force.

Nowadays we are witnessing all around the world

the heavy toll of armed conflicts and wars. In any

humanitarian crisis, those paying the highest price

for the conflict are civilians, especially women and

children. We commend the efforts undertaken by the

United Nations and other international donors to help

civilians, and we are contributing to them as much as

we can.

Having been an aid recipient, we have learned that

the donor-recipient relationship can be effective and

efficient only if based on an equal partnership, mutual

respect and understanding. Development cooperation is

a multilevel process through which all sides can learn and

grow. Croatia will continue focusing its donor activities

on gender and child-sensitive issues, on maternal health

and the prevention of mortality in children under 5, as

well as on enhancing girls’ education.

In setting the stage for the post-2015 development

agenda, we, as a global community, will continue to

be confronted with many challenges, some of which I

have just mentioned. The United Nations Conference

on Sustainable Development (Rio+20) has provided us

with important guidance with regard to establishing

the goals and multilateral architecture necessary for its

implementation. In that sense, we would like to express

our satisfaction with the creation of the High-Level

Political Forum, which we hope will be a stepping stone

in the establishment of a strengthened institutional

architecture for sustainable development.

Scientists warn us that soon we will need two

planets to keep pace with the consumption-driven

growth necessary to sustain our ever-increasing

population. While we agree that a transformative shift

towards more sustainable development is needed, the

question remains how to achieve that shift. Knowledge

is the key. The science-policy interface, so often

highlighted in the run-up to the Rio+20 Conference

and integrated into the vision of “The future we want”

(resolution 66/288, annex), stands as a crucial link to

those innovative solutions.

To achieve a sustainable future, we need a

concurrent base of strong institutions, solidarity,

justice and social development, with an approach that is

more targeted towards marginalized groups, including

women’s empowerment, as well as a strong respect for

the environment and innovative growth.

Croatia welcomes the already widely accepted

view that education represents one of the main building

blocks in every society and is a crucial driver for

development. I am proud to represent a country among

the States championing the Global Education First

Initiative. Croatia is fully committed to supporting the

Initiative, and I would like to take this opportunity to

call upon others to join our efforts to give life to the

Initiative’s goals.

On 1 July, just over two and a half months ago,

Croatia became the twenty-eighth member of the

European Union (EU). One of the primary reasons

that my country strove to become a full member of

the European Union was to secure a safe, democratic

and stable future for ourselves and for forthcoming

generations. Croatia firmly believes that EU

enlargement has been one of that organization’s most

successful and productive policies. Because of that,

we believe that the European project should not and

cannot stop at our borders. We firmly believe in the

strategic importance of the EU’s enlargement policy.

It must be continued with respect to all countries of

the Western Balkans — based on their individual

merits — as it is the best option for long-term stability

in the region. We strongly support all of the countries

in our neighbourhood in their endeavours and believe

that their efforts towards future membership of the

European Union will be successful.

It is important to understand that reconciliation

and cooperation have become a new standard for

regional policies, and in that regard, we welcome closer

collaboration among all countries of South-Eastern

Europe, both bilaterally and in the framework of

regional organizations and initiatives.

Before concluding, I would like to address the

issue of United Nations reform. We believe that there

is a need for true reform of the current United Nations

structures and mechanisms if the United Nations is to

achieve its ambitious goals and strengthen its capacity

to meet new challenges.

The first area is Security Council reform. Croatia

commends the persevering commitment of Member

States to the ongoing negotiating process and believes

that broader understanding of sustainability should

find its place in that context as well. However, any

reform of the Council must not have a negative impact

on its ability to perform its main duties and meet its

primary responsibilities. Enlargement of the Council

is closely connected with the reform of its working

methods, while the continuing veto powers of the

permanent five continues to raise numerous questions.

That is why such reform must be comprehensive.

That having been said, it is Croatia’s position that any

enlargement should take place in both the permanent

and the non-permanent categories of membership, with

one additional non-permanent seat reserved for the

group of Eastern European States. That would more

properly reflect the reality of international relations in

the twenty-first century.

As a member of the Economic and Social Council,

we intend to continue advocating a stronger and more

efficient role for that main body in its efforts to seek

solutions to the most significant social and economic

challenges of our time. The General Assembly and the

Economic and Social Council should also find ways

of working together to support deliberations on the

complex matter of sustainable development. Within

its broad, overarching mandate, the General Assembly

remains the central point for all of our discussions.

Croatia welcomes the focus at this year’s debate on the

post-2015 development agenda.

Finally, I would like to stress that we are all aware

of the global challenges we face today. As a global

community, in looking for sustainable solutions,

we made strong commitments at last year’s Rio+20

Conference, and we will need to make new ones as

we proceed with the post-2015 development agenda.

To achieve all of that, we will need to strengthen

old partnerships and create new ones, both between

Governments and among Governments and civil

society and other key stakeholders. In that respect, it

is our belief that the United Nations and its institutions

offer the best chance to help meet those expectations.

Let us, as its Member States, make the best use of all

that it has to offer.