Hungary, 2003

Allow me to extend to

you, Sir, our sincere congratulations on your election

as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth

session. You may rest assured of my delegation’s full

support in the discharge of your important

responsibilities.

It is my painful duty to pay, along with so many

of us, a tribute to the memory of Sergio Vieira de

Mello and his associates, who sacrificed their lives for

the people of Iraq in the service of peace and the

United Nations. Our heart goes out to the families of

the victims of that cowardly terrorist act.

The world was shocked and saddened when a

most respected colleague, and a close friend of mine,

the late Anna Lindh, the Swedish Foreign Minister, fell

victim to a senseless act of crime in Stockholm. Her

vision of the world and her deep commitment to the

principles and purposes of the United Nations will

continue to be a source of inspiration to all of us.

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Hungary aligned itself with the statement

delivered by the presidency of the European Union

during the general debate and fully supports it.

We live in a world of great opportunities and

serious challenges. It is in this context that global

problems require global and concerted solutions. To

that effect, we must use the potentials of the United

Nations to make the best use of opportunities at hand.

In that respect, maintaining or restoring peace and

stability, non-proliferation, development and human

rights are in the focus of attention of the international

community. International terrorism, the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction, grave armed internal

conflicts, poverty and illegal migration constitute

enormous challenges to all of us.

Hungary remains strongly committed to

multilateral institutions. We are firmly convinced that

the United Nations can and should play a major role in

meeting the multifaceted and ever growing challenges

of our contemporary world. We, for our part, are deeply

devoted to assisting that role. Along with our partners

in the European Union, we are more than prepared to

strengthen the United Nations as a unique instrument

of a strong multilateral system to tackle global and

regional issues for the sake of a safer and more secure

world. We will spare no effort to take an active part in

maintaining peace and security, enhancing the non-

proliferation regimes, protecting and promoting human

rights and fundamental freedoms, and establishing

international standards.

The global fight against international terrorism

must remain a major priority of the United Nations. In

this context, we support the full and effective

implementation of the relevant Security Council

resolutions. Hungary is keenly interested in widening

the scope of multilateral instruments in the fight

against terrorism.

After the success of the coalition forces in

bringing freedom and the opportunities of democracy

in Iraq, we have to turn our attention to the

reconstruction and development of that long-suffering

country. Hungary is strongly committed to supporting

the Iraqi people. Our fellow Hungarians are serving

with the coalition forces. We will also attend the

donors conference in Madrid later this fall.

We are closely following developments regarding

the United Nations assumption of an ever-increasing

role in Iraq. I would like to stress that the United

Nations has to assume its share of the work both in

restoring the sovereignty of Iraq and in the

reconstruction process. I believe that our Organization,

with ample experience elsewhere, can play a

significant role in the establishment of democratic

institutions, the rule of law, respect for human rights

and election-monitoring. We are studying intensively

our possible contributions to this process. For the time

being, though, our priority must be the stabilization of

the security situation in Iraq and the normalization of

day-to-day life.

Hungary is deeply concerned by the grave and

deteriorating situation in the Middle East. We believe

that the implementation of the road map is the only

framework for reaching a political settlement. An

effective and credible monitoring mechanism is of

critical importance to that effect. The Quartet should

carry on with its mission in the peace process. We call

upon both the Israeli Government and the Palestinian

Authority to dedicate all their efforts to the full and

unconditional implementation of the road map.

The security situation in Afghanistan remains

fragile. The Government of Afghanistan deserves our

assistance and attention. Terrorist acts and illicit drug-

trafficking are causes for serious concern. I am

confident that, with the unwavering support of the

international community, Afghanistan will soon be a

better place for the Afghan people.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,

together with the means of their delivery, is a growing

and serious threat to international peace and security.

The danger of nuclear, biological and chemical

weapons in the hands of terrorist groups and States —

which are a menace to our world — represents new

major security challenges, against which we must act

together in a resolute manner, both regionally and

globally.

Earlier this year, the European Union (EU)

adopted a very important and far-reaching Declaration

on Non-Proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

Hungary will work hard with its partners in the EU

towards the effective implementation of that new

instrument and of the recently agreed EU Action Plan.

In the current world security environment, the

Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) needs to be reinforced. We call on the States

remaining outside the NPT to accede to it

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unconditionally and to accept the nearly universal

norms of nuclear non-proliferation.

Revelations about large-scale nuclear

programmes and the failure to provide sufficient

explanations as to their purpose and nature have given

rise to legitimate concerns on the part of the

international community. There is a growing

recognition — shared by Hungary — that those

programmes imply serious proliferation risks as well.

We view the first follow-up meeting of the States

parties to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC),

held at Geneva in August this year, as encouraging.

The participants rightly focused on practical actions.

We look forward to seeing further progress in

strengthening national implementation of the BWC at

the next meeting, in November.

Hungary remains strongly committed to the

international protection and promotion of human rights

and of fundamental freedoms, including the rights of

minorities. The United Nations is the only universal

Organization dealing with worldwide standards-setting,

protecting human rights and addressing violations of

human rights in individual Member States. All those

efforts deserve our unqualified support.

Hungary continues to attach particular importance

to the protection of the rights of minorities. Regional

instruments aimed at improving the situation of

national and ethnic minorities have already been

adopted to that end without major difficulties. A

universal instrument on the rights of minorities has yet

to be elaborated. We believe that, given the necessary

political will on the part of Member States, the United

Nations will be able to fill that gap through an

international minority protection system. The more

effectively we act, the more beneficial the service that

we will be able to provide with respect to protecting

vulnerable minority groups through standards and

norms.

Hungary stands ready and is willing to join others

in redoubling our efforts with regard to strengthening

the United Nations system. Multilateral institutions are

in serious need of reform, if they are to live up to the

expectations of the fast-changing political and

economic landscape of our times. The United Nations

cannot be an exception to that.