Moldova, 2007

I would like, first of all,

to join the speakers who have already addressed this

Assembly in congratulating Mr. Kerim on his election

as President of the General Assembly at its sixty-

second session.

It also gives me great pleasure to welcome the

appointment of Mr. Ban Ki-moon as Secretary-General

and to acknowledge the distinct manner in which he

has started his activities, as well as his tireless efforts

to breathe a new dynamism into the United Nations

with the purpose of optimizing its functioning.

The present session is especially meaningful for

the Republic of Moldova, marking the fifteenth

anniversary of its having joined the United Nations

family. As a State Member of the United Nations, the

Republic of Moldova has demonstrated faithfulness to

the principles and purposes of the United Nations

Charter by totally supporting the objectives of the

Organization and sharing its responsibilities.

The globalization process is occurring

everywhere and is of concern to all of us. As members

know, those issues are addressed in the Millennium

Declaration (resolution 55/2). In our opinion, the

present level of aid is not sufficient; the identification

of innovative sources of financing and an increase in

the effectiveness of existing aid are imperative. In that

vein, we hope that the recommendations in the areas of

development contained in the report of the Secretary-

General’s High-level Panel on United Nations System-

wide Coherence (A/61/583) will help us overcome the

fragmentation of the United Nations so that the system

can deliver as one, in partnership with all Member

States.

The high-level event organized under the

auspices of the Secretary-General that preceded the

general debates drew attention to climate change,

whose fatal effects have been experienced all over the

world. We know about that very well as, this summer,

our country suffered the worst drought in 60 years. We

highly appreciate the United Nations institutions, first

and foremost the Food and Agriculture Organization of

the United Nations and the World Food Programme,

and all Member States which immediately answered

our request for help. We continue to count on such aid

in mitigating the consequences of the drought.

Under these circumstances, we favour the

adoption of a new international agreement in this area,

and we hope that the next session of the Conference of

the Parties to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change will be able to

negotiate new arrangements for moving beyond the

Kyoto Protocol.

Terrorism remains a major threat to the internal

security of countries and to international security. In

that regard, the Republic of Moldova wholeheartedly

supports United Nations efforts in fighting terrorism.

One example of this is our joining the International

Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear

Terrorism. Internally, the Government has undertaken a

series of concrete actions towards fighting terrorism by

adopting its national strategy for preventing and

fighting money-laundering and terrorism financing, as

well as by implementing relevant resolutions of the

Security Council.

We see in the present session of the General

Assembly an opportunity to finalize the draft of a

comprehensive convention on international terrorism

aimed at reaching an international consensus on a

normative framework in that area. Heightened attention

must be given to the fight against terrorism nourished

by separatist tendencies that affect the sovereignty and

territorial integrity of States. I wish to assure members

that our delegation will participate actively in

coordinating the negotiating process in the Sixth

Committee of the General Assembly.

The United Nations has represented for decades

the proper forum for tackling varied problems related

to disarmament and non-proliferation. The Republic of

Moldova welcomes the new approach to controlling

small arms and light weapons and in that context we

are in favour of a new agreement in the area of arms

sales. We support the international community’s efforts

aimed at establishing an efficient security system and

arms control system and remain a faithful supporter of

implementing the Treaty on Conventional Armed

Forces in Europe (CFE).

I wish to reiterate on this occasion the position of

the Republic of Moldova that the withdrawal of the

Russian troops that remain on Moldovan territory

against our will, in conformity with the obligations

assumed by the Russian Federation in 1999 in Istanbul,

would create the necessary conditions for ratifying and

applying the adapted CFE Treaty.

The Transdniestrian conflict remains a continuous

obstacle to promoting reforms and ensuring the social

and economic development of our country. A year ago,

speaking in the Assembly, we addressed in great detail

the problems related to the conflict and expressed hope

for a final sustainable solution. Today, I have to state

regretfully that the negotiations process suspended

since April 2006 because of the rigid and non-

constructive position of separatist leaders supported

from outside Moldova could not be restarted, in

spite of our constant efforts. That serves as a screen for

promoting some political and mafia interests foreign to

the people of the region. Continuous violations of

fundamental human rights in the Transdniestrian region

and the inefficiency of the existing peacekeeping

mechanism make imperative the need to transform that

mechanism into a multinational civil mission with an

international mandate.

In the context of United Nations consolidation,

the Republic of Moldova supports the adoption of

decisions necessary for the revitalization of the

General Assembly, reform of the Security Council and

the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council.

In that respect, we consider that the Security Council

needs to be extended in both permanent and non-

permanent categories, as a result of which the Eastern

European Group would be offered an additional

non-permanent seat.

We welcome the adoption of resolution 61/16, on

the strengthening of the Economic and Social Council,

the major body for coordinating the economic and

social activities of the United Nations. The Republic of

Moldova presented its candidature for the current

year’s elections to the Economic and Social Council,

and I take this opportunity to thank all the Member

States that granted us their trust.

The Republic of Moldova has constantly

supported the maintenance and consolidation of the

Organization’s role in resolving crisis and conflict

situations, aiding in post-conflict construction and

providing humanitarian assistance to affected zones in

various parts of the world, especially to the zones

affected by conflicts, including the GUAM region. In

that respect, we welcome the decision of the General

Assembly to maintain in the agenda of the current

session item 16, entitled Protracted conflicts in the

GUAM area and their implications for international

peace, security and development, and the increased

attention it is paying to the issue.

I would like in conclusion to reaffirm the will of

the State I represent to cooperate in and actively

contribute to the common efforts of Member States to

strengthen the United Nations as the Organization that

holds the key role in peacekeeping, security and

sustainable development.