Croatia, 2014

The topic of this general debate,

“Delivering on and implementing a transformative post-

2015 development agenda”, most fittingly depicts our

common priority before the Organization’s seventieth

anniversary next autumn. We are about to set the stage

for strategic decisions and concrete actions that should

deliver comprehensive and transformational changes at

the global and national levels.

Wars and armed conflicts, natural diseases,

pandemic diseases, lingering poverty and many other

existing or potential threats to human lives and human

rights keep on emerging. If we do not react adamantly

and swiftly to tackle those perils early enough in their

emerging phases, we run the risk that they will increase

exponentially and beyond our control. More than ever

before, we must face the fact that security, development

and human rights are interdependent and mutually

reinforcing. They demand to be at the very heart of the

post-2015 agenda.

At this time, we are also witnessing a type of

dangerous discord that spreads a fear of the worst

possible outcome — the same kind of fear that preceded

the birth of the Organization. The Charter of the United

Nations provides us with so much wisdom; its words

came with the experience of the scourge of war and

misery. What we need at this point is to reinvigorate

the same level of determination we had almost seven

decades ago and to do everything we can to avoid

regression.

Croatia is deeply concerned about the situation

in Ukraine. There is none but a peaceful solution

to the conflict. The suffering of so many people is

unfortunately all too familiar. Croatia echoes the call

to stop the violence and to reach a political solution.

Croatia strongly supports the principles of international

law concerning the sovereignty and territorial integrity

of Ukraine.

Similarly, we share the grave concern over the

terrorism and violence spreading around the world,

most notably in the Middle East and Africa. The

sheer magnitude of destruction, the loss of lives and

unspeakable atrocities, most notably those committed

by the Islamic State in Iraq and the Sham, can be

overshadowed only by the growing threat that they

will not stop soon or at any border, and that they will

continue to grow and devour everything our civilization

stands for. A zero-tolerance policy towards terrorism

and a joint global effort are needed to prevent that from

happening. Croatia supports all ongoing efforts to form

a coalition against the so-called Islamic State. We stand

ready to make a contribution to Iraqi and Iraqi Kurdish

forces.

Also, although it is a difficult task, achieving

a stable and sustainable peace agreement between

Israelis and Palestinians is an imperative. We hope that

honest and serious efforts will be resumed to negotiate

a comprehensive and sustainable peace agreement that

will establish the grounds for a two-State solution,

living in peace and security, mutually recognizing

and respecting each other, and gradually transforming

the entire Middle East into a region of peace and

cooperation.

The situation in the world brings the need for

the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

to the centre of our attention. In that regard, the

2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty

on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons will

be of particular importance, and Croatia hopes that

the Treaty will be reinforced and strengthened as an

outcome of the Conference. Croatia also commends

the unprecedented international effort aimed at the

destruction of the chemical weapons of the Syrian

Arab Republic. The Organization for the Prohibition

of Chemical Weapons-United Nations Joint Mission’s

successful work demonstrates the indispensable role of

the United Nations.

It is truly unnerving to be confronted with the

problems and crises that I have mentioned, while our

very best effort is needed to overcome obstacles such as

climate change, natural disasters and the scarcity and

degradation of resources, especially food and drinking

water. The crises are interlinked. Therefore, we need an

interlinked and integrated response to them. Again, no

serious thought can be given to sustainable development

without ensuring peace and security.

Some conflicts could have been foreseen, prevented

and even averted if the international community had

acted in a timely and decisive way. While, indeed, the

primary responsibility lies with the sovereign State

itself, regional and global organizations have the tools,

and therefore also the obligation, to assist those States.

One effective method in that regard is peacebuilding,

where we help post-conflict societies to stand on

their own. There is a vast pool of global experience in

peacebuilding that could be applied, including that of

my own country. We therefore hope that the upcoming

review of the United Nations peacebuilding architecture

will consolidate the existing knowledge and experience

and bring fresh ideas as to how to improve the overall

peacebuilding process.

A special role in maintaining peace and advancing

development lies with women. In particular, we see

the role of women in achieving successful conflict

resolution and the sustainable development of post-

conflict societies. We strongly advocate women’s

economic empowerment for peacebuilding and

development. That is why we are organizing a high-

level meeting at United Nations Headquarters on the

gender dimension of sustainable development within

the context of post-conflict recovery on 26 September.

This week, we started discussing climate

change — the pressing issue of today. Croatia is as

vulnerable as any other country. The devastating and

unprecedented floods that we are witnessing now

are proof of that. Yesterday, we all renewed our vow

to boldly and ambitiously tackle that global issue,

which is clearly of great importance. Croatia hopes

that the upcoming Lima and Paris conferences will

lead us to a global agreement in key areas, including

climate financing and the reduction of greenhouse gas

emissions. That remains one of the main pillars of the

transformative post-2015 development agenda.

Bearing in mind the need for progress, we have

committed ourselves to implementing the Millennium

Development Goals. That is our unfinished business.

The implementation and evaluation of the Millennium

Development Goals have made us all conscious of the

fact that such a vital process needs to be continued.

Croatia is pleased that, in that regard, we have been

building the truly transformative and people-centred

framework of the sustainable development goals

(SDGs). Those goals represent the central investment in

our common future. We must put the maximum effort

into making the SDGs a reality and into supporting their

continuous implementation at all levels. Those goals

represent an opportunity for long-term development

that humankind cannot afford to miss. In that vein, we

have supported the importance of good governance and

the rule of law as the enablers and an inseparable part

of sustainable development. Everyone has a role to play:

national Governments, international organizations, the

private sector, civil society, academia, the media and

the various other stakeholders.

A key principle that matters to my country is

equality among all human beings, regardless of their

beliefs, race, gender, national origin, ethnicity, religion,

disability, sexual orientation or other status. Croatia

fully supports the pivotal role of the United Nations

and its human rights mechanisms, in particular the

Human Rights Council, on the two tracks, namely, to

further develop and strengthen the protection of human

rights and to effectively respond in a timely way to

the challenges of the gross violation and systematic

abuse of human rights worldwide. We firmly believe

that sustainable development goes hand in hand

with democracy, which should be approached in a

holistic manner. That said, a number of international

mechanisms ensure stable democracies and sustainable

development by eliminating double standards,

insecurity and impunity. We therefore add our voice to

the calls for universal adherence to the Rome Statute

and the universal jurisdiction of the International

Criminal Court.

As I have already mentioned, we have recently

witnessed all kinds of natural disasters. Such situations

demand swift and prompt national and international

actions, first and foremost, to mitigate the immediate

threat, as the same time as taking care of victims and

delivering humanitarian aid. The outbreak of epidemic

diseases also has a similar effect. A recent example is

the Ebola epidemic in some West African nations. It

denotes a matter for solidarity and understanding and

demands the world’s immediate and comprehensive

response to the multifaceted medical, social, economic

and security crisis.

Croatia will continue to provide assistance to

the most vulnerable people, especially considering

that we have rich expertise in the area of capacity-

building programmes in a humanitarian crisis, in

raising awareness of the dangers of landmines and

other unexploded ordnance of war and in providing

psychosocial support to victims of violence. In addition,

let me point out that Croatia was dedicated and active

in delivering humanitarian aid to the flooded regions

of its neighbouring countries of Serbia and Bosnia and

Herzegovina this spring, while we ourselves also faced

grave floods and their consequences in Croatia. We

all need more solidarity at the regional and the global

levels.

One of the most important goals of my presidency

has been and continues to be the promotion of dialogue

and cooperation instead of conflict as a means of

achieving security and stability for Croatia, as well as

every other country in the world. I am proud to say that

Croatia has come a long way in that respect.

With the World Summit in 2005, we started

reforming the United Nations system. Despite all

the progress made, we have not managed to achieve

concrete results with regard to the reform of the

Security Council. Moreover, we would like to see the

Council more engaged in preventing crises and its

ongoing dedication to its Charter duties rather than

to any particular interest. In order to maintain the

Council’s authority, relevance and indispensability in

maintaining global peace and security, its reform needs

to be comprehensive and without further delay.

On numerous occasions, Croatia has stated its

position on Security Council reform. In our view, the

enlargement should happen in both the permanent

and the non-permanent categories of membership,

including one additional non-permanent seat for the

Eastern European States. The enlargement is closely

linked to the reform of the working methods of the

Security Council, including the question of the use

of the veto power. Croatia welcomes and supports the

initiative to establish a code of conduct with regard to

the suspension of the use of the veto in cases relating to

a mass crime.

On another note, we strongly believe that the

consolidation of the European space will be possible

only through the further stabilization and security

of South-Eastern Europe. We look forward to the

day when all countries of the region will finally be

admitted to the European Union. Croatia has been and

will continue to be an advocate for a continuous and

strong focus on South-Eastern Europe. The countries

of the region are finding an increasing number of ways

to cooperate together and to lay the foundation for the

joint development of sustainable peace and stability,

be it with regard to the recent devastating floods or to

dealing with a difficult past, while achieving truth and

justice on the issues of missing persons or of setting the

stage for major infrastructure and transport projects.

In conclusion, allow me to address an issue that

I personally believe can be one of the best remedies

for achieving social improvement, economic advance

and, consequently, political stability — education.

That is why I strongly support the Secretary-General’s

Global Education First Initiative. Knowledge and

education are major driving forces of societies and one

of the most important preconditions for success and

sustainable development. Disparities in knowledge and

its distribution, access and application have become

major factors in determining the overall success of a

nation and the level of its development. It is the best

guarantee that the world’s development and stability

will go hand in hand and that global peace and security

with thus become stronger than ever.