Hungary, 2011

Let me at the outset welcome

South Sudan as the 193rd Member of the United

Nations. I commend the successful conduct of the

referendum on independence as a manifestation of the

principle of self-determination. That historic act has

put an end to a long civil war on the African continent

and opened up new horizons for the stability and

prosperity of the people of South Sudan.

Hungary fully aligns itself with the statement

made earlier by President Van Rompuy on behalf of the

European Union. To complement this, allow me to

outline my country’s position on three issues figuring

high on our foreign policy and development agenda,

namely, the Arab Spring, sustainable development and

the prevention and control of non-communicable

diseases.

More than 20 years ago, Central and Eastern

Europe, including my country, Hungary, was the scene

of sweeping political changes. Beginning in early 2011,

the world has witnessed, yet again, the outburst of

popular will for profound transformation, this time in

North Africa and the Middle East. Those of us who

took active part in the democratization process and the

transition to the rule of law and market economies in

our region have been following the events of the Arab

Spring with great empathy and understanding.

The revolutions leading to sweeping shifts in

Tunisia, Egypt and other countries were equally driven

by sincere desires for a better life and for putting in

place new political systems capable of better

responding to the aspirations of all parts of society. The

voices of Tahrir Square echoed the aspirations of

millions of people.

The overthrow of autocratic regimes is,

nevertheless, only the first step in that direction. As

shown by our own experience, the most difficult stages

of the transformation process are yet to come. The

victorious popular uprisings of the Arab Spring have

encountered tremendous challenges in terms of

establishing new power structures, drafting new

constitutions and other basic laws, as well as

conducting free and democratic elections, just to

mention a few. Essentially those measures require an

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internally driven process, carried out with the support

of the international community.

Hungarian society has, on the one hand, already

successfully met many of those challenges and, on the

other hand, made some avoidable mistakes. We

therefore feel equipped to share our experiences and to

offer a substantive toolkit for good governance and

democratic change. As a good friend and supporting

partner, Hungary truly hopes that those undergoing

transitional periods today will be able to benefit from

both our achievements and our omissions.

Far be it from us, of course, to try to give advice

or provide ready-made solutions. While we advocate

the universal character of human rights and

fundamental freedoms, as well as the virtues of the rule

of law and good governance, we believe that those

ideals can be implemented only in conjunction with

respect for the cultural, religious and other traditions of

each nation.

At this stage of what we see as a long transformation

process in the Arab world, we thus offer to share our own

experiences and lessons learned. The Hungarian

Government, in cooperation with non-governmental

organizations, has already carried out, and plans to

carry out in future, concrete projects and programmes

aimed at, inter alia, assisting the new emerging

democracies in North Africa and the Middle East in the

field of institution-building, security-sector reform, and

drawing up the legislative framework for political and

economic renewal. We welcome the central role and

increasing involvement of the United Nations and its

various agencies in support of the democratization of

those countries. Hungary stands ready to contribute to

such efforts and provide its specialized expertise.

Over the past two decades, since the Earth

Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the three pillars of

sustainable development have been the focus of the

international development agenda. Time has shown that

only a coherent approach to the environmental,

economic and social aspects of this concept can ensure

the long-term survival and prosperity of mankind. We

should not miss this chance to formulate new courses

of action in this era of reinforced mutual

interdependence and globalization.

Against the background of the constantly

deteriorating global environment, it is an increasingly

demanding task to strike the necessary balance

between ensuring growth in all regions of the world, a

decent life for our societies and the preservation of

natural resources in the interests of the survival of our

planet. One of the responses to this dilemma is the

concept of a green economy, which is gaining ever-

greater support. We consider the United Nations

Conference on Sustainable Development as a unique

event aimed at generating the widest possible support

for and acceptance of this green concept. Its goal is to

support the sustainability of socio-economic

development at the national, regional and global levels.

In addition, the concept of a green economy has

the potential to also contribute to job creation and the

eradication of poverty. If implemented in a coherent

manner, it will create new resources for achieving the

internationally agreed development goals. There is no

doubt that achieving these goals will require innovative

thinking in terms of technology transfer, investment

and fair trade.

In order to put this concept into practice, a

reorganization of the environmental architecture of the

United Nations is needed. Such reform should pursue

the goal of streamlining and unifying the existing

structures, with a view to increasing the coherence and

efficiency of the system as a whole.

It is our shared responsibility to develop joint

strategies to mitigate the effects of non-communicable

diseases. Their rapid growth is preventable and can be

controlled to a significant extent. Hungary has been in

the forefront of this fight, with national cancer and

diabetes control systems in place that may contribute to

paving the way for functional alternatives around the

world. It is also our fundamental belief that the

development of comprehensive national and regional

strategies for control programmes can significantly

lower the incidence of these illnesses. This can

contribute to prevention, early detection and adequate

treatment in a cost-effective way. We are also proud of

Hungary’s long-standing tradition of sharing

knowledge and providing educational and training

programmes for students and experts from all over the

world. In the past decades, hundreds of students from

outside Hungary have obtained their medical degrees

in our country. We are cooperating with various

countries, sharing knowledge and experiences in order

to contribute to the collective efforts that need to be

made to bring about better health worldwide.

The High-level Meeting gave momentum to this

fight, which needs to be fought not only on an

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individual level by the victims of these diseases, but

also by our countries and by the international

community working together. We need to capitalize on

this in order to reach the ultimate goal of saving lives

around the world and thereby move further towards

one of the founding objectives of the United Nations:

human development.

As members may know, Hungary has put forward

its candidacy for Security Council membership in

2012-2013. We continue to uphold the principles and

objectives enshrined in the Charter of the United

Nations and international law, such as the equality of

nations, the peaceful settlement of disputes and respect

for human rights. Hungary also stands ready to

contribute in a meaningful way to all efforts aimed at

enhancing the capabilities of the United Nations in the

field of conflict prevention and mediation. We believe

in an integrated approach to conflict resolution and will

advocate a stronger integration of security and

development concerns, as well as enhanced interaction

between the Council and other main organs of the

United Nations.

Let me conclude by assuring the Assembly once

again that Hungary will continue to contribute its

utmost to strengthening the global cooperation of

countries within the United Nations system, which is

so strongly needed to tackle today’s challenges.