Moldova, 2004

At the

outset, I would like to say that I feel very honoured and

privileged to participate for the first time in the work

of the General Assembly and to represent the Republic

of Moldova at this rostrum.

On behalf of the Moldovan delegation, I wish to

congratulate you, Mr. President, on your well deserved

election. I am confident that your vast experience and

diplomatic skills will help the Assembly at the current

session to fulfil its important tasks.

I join other speakers in expressing our gratitude

to your predecessor, Mr. Julian Robert Hunte, for the

dedicated and effective manner in which he guided the

work of the previous session.

This has indeed been a difficult year for the

Organization, with serious crises occurring in various

parts of the world. Increasingly, the international

community is faced with conflicts within States, the

painful manifestations of which have been seen in

conflicts in the Middle East, Africa, the North

Caucasus and elsewhere.

We are all preoccupied by the implications and

consequences of the crisis in Iraq. The Republic of

Moldova considers that the United Nations should be

engaged in a more consistent way in helping that

country to stabilize its internal situation and to embark

on the path towards recovery, development and

democracy.

Earlier, in Spain and Turkey and, most recently,

in the Russian Federation, we have seen how

terrorism — the scourge of the twenty-first century —

indiscriminately strikes the innocent, including

children. We strongly believe that terrorist acts must be

considered crimes against humanity. The Republic of

Moldova strongly condemns all terrorist acts, for

which there can be no excuse or justification. We pay

homage to the victims of that violence.

Precisely due to the challenges faced, the

Republic of Moldova fully supports the ongoing reform

process of the United Nations system. A key aspect of

that process is the reform of the Security Council. Too

often, that principal organ has been accused of failures

in the maintenance of international peace and security.

It is therefore essential to make it more efficient in the

discharge of its primary responsibility. In our view, the

efficiency of the Security Council can be achieved by

improving its representativeness, legitimacy,

transparency and accountability and by restricting the

right of veto to issues of substance, as provided for by

the United Nations Charter.

The Republic of Moldova shares the view that the

reform of the United Nations system will be successful

only if the reform of the Security Council is followed

by the reform of the General Assembly and the

Economic and Social Council. We support the

momentum created for revitalizing the Assembly and

strengthening the coordinating functions of the

Economic and Social Council in the social and

economic fields. Effective coordination among the

three main bodies is essential if we want to address

comprehensively the urgent problems of today’s world.

In the new circumstances, the United Nations

should continue to improve its capacity in the field of

peacekeeping, which is an important instrument for the

maintenance of international peace and security. We

support actions aimed at enhancing the United Nations

rapid deployment capabilities through its standby

arrangements. I would like to mention that Moldova

has committed itself to contribute troops to the United

Nations Standby Arrangements System through

yesterday’s signing at the Department of Peacekeeping

Operations of a formal document in that regard. The

Republic of Moldova is already present in United

Nations peacekeeping efforts, with military observers

and staff officers in United Nations missions in Liberia

and Côte d’Ivoire. We are determined to continue to

support United Nations activities in this area.

It is crucial to further strengthen the United

Nations anti-terrorist legal framework. The Republic of

Moldova fully supports the current efforts to conclude

a convention for the suppression of acts of nuclear

terrorism and a comprehensive international

convention on international terrorism.

I would like to commend the Secretary-General

for his many initiatives to make the Organization more

effective. The creation of the High-level Panel on

Threats, Challenges and Change is another important

step in that direction. Like other Member States, the

Republic of Moldova looks forward to concrete

recommendations from the Panel on how to tackle

13

contemporary threats, including new ones such as

intra-State conflicts, terrorism and separatism.

We cannot realistically expect to win the war

against international terrorism as long as regional and

internal conflicts remain unsolved and their root causes

not properly addressed. Recently, terrorism has

increasingly been merging with separatism. Many

terrorists and international criminals have found a safe

haven in the regions affected by internal conflicts and

secessionist tendencies.

In this context, I would like to add my voice to

those who have repeatedly warned in recent years of

the danger posed by aggressive separatism. Separatism

provides fertile ground for various extremist forces and

terrorist groups. It has become one of the main sources

of internal conflicts and regional instability. To ignore

it would have tragic consequences for numerous

countries of a multi-ethnic composition.

Regretfully, separatism continues to be the main

obstacle to consolidating the independence and

statehood of the Republic of Moldova. Over the years,

the Republic of Moldova has systematically informed

the relevant international organizations of the danger

that the political conflict in its eastern region poses to

regional and international peace and security. The

settlement of the conflict has become the country’s

absolute priority. The initiatives put forward by the

Republic of Moldova in recent years reflect the

determination and political will of Moldovan

authorities to resolve this political conflict peacefully,

on the basis of respect for the sovereignty and

territorial integrity of the country. In particular, I would

like to underline the initiative of the President of the

Republic of Moldova, Mr. Vladimir Voronin, on the

establishment of the Joint Constitutional Commission

charged with drafting a new constitution.

Despite the constructive approach by Moldovan

authorities in their dialogue with the self-appointed

Transdniestrian leaders and other participants in the

multilateral framework of negotiations, developments

have demonstrated the inefficiency of these

negotiations. It has also become obvious that the

separatist leaders do not sincerely wish for the

country’s reintegration. In this regard, I should

mention, among other things, the recent closure of

Moldovan schools that use Latin script, the inhumane

treatment of children and ethnic discrimination.

This region remains an area rife with the illegal

manufacture and traffick of arms. Given the porousness

of the Transdniestrian section of the Moldovan-

Ukrainian border, there are no guarantees that the

illegally manufactured or trafficked armaments will not

reach other conflicts zones in the future.

We are also deeply concerned about the human

rights situation in the area controlled by separatist

forces. The separatist regime has systematically

violated most human rights, including the right of

association, the right to a fair trial, freedom from

torture, freedom of movement and, especially, the right

to education. All of these human rights violations

hinder the democratization process within the region.

At the same time, we have encountered a biased

attitude on the part of the involved parties, reflected in

the support for smuggling and in the obvious violations

of existing bilateral and international agreements. We

deem it necessary to modify the components of the

peacekeeping mechanism and to replace it with a new

one under an international mandate.

Considering that the interests of regional stability

and security require an objective and impartial

approach, it is necessary to ensure full respect for

international law and democratic standards. More

importantly, any geopolitical and geo-economic

interest in maintaining the status-quo needs to be

abandoned. Strict implementation of the decisions

taken at the 1999 Istanbul Summit of the Organization

for Security and Cooperation in Europe would

harmoniously fit such an approach.

Also, as has already been mentioned during the

current debate, we must exclude the practice of

applying double standards when dealing with internal

conflicts and the means for their settlement.

The reintegration of the country and

consolidation of democratic values within its entire

territory are essential conditions for the European

integration of the Republic of Moldova. It is in this

context that the President of the Republic of Moldova

has launched an initiative on a stability and security

pact for Moldova. This document is aimed at ensuring

consensus among the parties concerned, in order to

guarantee the development of an independent,

sovereign and integral Moldovan State. We believe that

holding an international conference on this issue

should be the next step in initiating the debate on the

measures to follow. This situation demonstrates the

international character of the problem, as well as the

inefficiency of existing regional settlement

mechanisms.

14

Today, the main challenges for the United

Nations in the economic, social and related fields stem

from world trends, such as globalization and increasing

ecological interdependence, and from persistent factors

such as widespread poverty and severe social

inequalities between and within States. They should be

addressed by a strengthened global partnership

between industrialized countries, developing countries,

countries with transitional economies and

intergovernmental institutions.

The Millennium Development Goals remain the

most significant objectives agreed to by the

international community, as they cover the areas of

major concern for the peoples of the world. It is

therefore of utmost importance to achieve the Goals, as

well as other specific developmental targets set

subsequently by several major United Nations

conferences in the economic and social fields. In this

context, we welcome the decision of the General

Assembly, adopted at its last session, to hold in

September 2005 a high-level meeting that will

undertake a comprehensive review of the progress

made in the implementation of the Millennium

Declaration, including the Millennium Development

Goals, as well as a review of the integrated and

coordinated implementation of the outcomes of the

major United Nations conferences and summits.

This review is necessary, given the overall slow

pace of implementation. We share the concerns

expressed in this respect by many States, in particular

by the countries sponsoring the world leaders’ New

York Declaration on the Action against Hunger and

Poverty, which was adopted on 20 September. Like

them, we believe that if resolute and urgent action is

not taken, the Millennium Development Goals will not

be reached by 2015 in some regions of the world.

We should not forget, in this context, about the

grave social and economic problems that affect crisis-

stricken countries and countries with special needs, in

particular landlocked countries. Creating an enabling

environment for sustainable development is a challenge

for them and, therefore, they should be further assisted

by the United Nations system and the donor

community.

I would like to reiterate, in conclusion, my

country’s commitment to the Organization and its

willingness to cooperate with other Member States in

order to achieve the noble goals and principles

enshrined in the United Nations Charter.