North Macedonia, 1995

I extend to Mr. Freitas do Amaral my warm

congratulations on his election as President of this jubilee

fiftieth session of the General Assembly. At the same time

I wish to express appreciation to his predecessor,

Mr. Amara Essy, for his very successful work.

On 3 October 1995, in a cowardly terrorist act, an

attempt was made on the life of the President of the

Republic of Macedonia, Kiro Gligorov. This assassination

attempt was a deliberate political act intended to destabilize

my country. It was carried out, not insignificantly, at a time

when the centuries-old dream of the Macedonian people for

their own State and for an equal role in the international

community had come true. Furthermore, it happened at the

very time when the resolution of the situation in the

Balkans was in sight and when all of our neighbours and

the world had come to accept the fact that the Republic of

Macedonia was a reality, and a factor of peace and

stability.

The attempt to assassinate President Gligorov is an

attack against the independent and peace-loving position

of Macedonia. It is directed against life in peace and

against the well-being of all our citizens. This terrorist act

has been strongly condemned and decisively rejected by

all of my countrymen, as well as by the international

community.

The efforts of the United Nations against

terrorism — a criminal phenomenon — must continue

with a strong determination to wipe this scourge out

completely. We should all fight unabatedly against the

forces of darkness and the power-hungry demagogues

who are the main source and generator of criminal

terrorist activities.

The attempt to assassinate my President on

3 October 1995 shall not, under any circumstances, divert

us in our pursuit of democracy, reforms, and the

development of good-neighbourly relations with all of our

neighbours, in brief, our efforts to transform our country

into a modern European State.

I wish to take this opportunity to express to the

President of the General Assembly, the Secretary-General

and all delegations in this body our sincere gratitude for

their sympathy and solidarity and for their wishes for the

speedy recovery of my President.

As our Organization approaches the next 50 years,

as we approach the twenty-first century, it is timely to

acknowledge and pay tribute to the great achievements of

the United Nations in bringing about a better and safer

world and to stress the need to work together to improve

our Organization and prepare for the challenges of the

future.

Throughout the past 50 years, the United Nations has

been the right place in which to build better

understanding among nations, the right place in which to

address some of the basic problems and needs of

humanity and the right place in which to coordinate

actions towards a brighter future for mankind. The United

Nations assisted in achieving peace in many regions of

the world; it succeeded in preventing many conflicts; it

helped in decolonization; it delivered humanitarian

assistance; it succeeded in minimizing the nuclear threat

and in building bridges over many gulfs between

countries all over the world.

In the past few years, very important decisions have

been adopted at many United Nations conferences, such

14

as the Earth Summit in Rio, the World Conference on

Human Rights in Vienna, the International Conference on

Population and Development in Cairo, the World Summit

for Social Development in Copenhagen, the Fourth World

Conference on Women in Beijing, the 1995 Review and

Extension Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on

the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in New York

and the discussions on land-mines at the Conference on

Disarmament in Geneva. We must work to implement the

decisions made at these conferences. We must work on

finalizing the comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty, and on

furthering the disarmament process. At the same time, we

must also begin working towards finding solutions to, and

preventing, the new problems and challenges that we are

facing in this ever-changing world. Rapid technological

progress brings new hope for a better future but also puts

dangerous power into the hands of some of the worst

enemies of our civilization. We have to design new

mechanisms that will enable us to face these new

challenges and enable the United Nations to achieve new

successes in the next 50 years.

On the basis of the experience of the past 50 years, we

will have to examine the functioning of the United Nations

system as a whole, to restructure some of its parts, and to

assign new tasks to some of the others for the purpose of

achieving the efficiency of the Organization as a whole.

The United Nations must have as its vision a world that is

more stable, politically and economically. The recent

agreement between Israel and Palestine gives hope for

lasting peace in the Middle East. We strongly support the

Secretary-General’s Agenda for Development and hope that,

at this session, we will carry out this most important

undertaking successfully.

Economic development is necessary for political and

social stability. For many countries access to markets and

the question of finances for development are of essential

importance. We must also ensure that the United Nations

shall continue to be financially viable. Each Member of the

United Nations, however large or small, has an obligation

to do its share. We must also discuss the possible

improvement of the work of the Security Council. To this

end, my delegation fully supports the inclusion of Germany

and Japan as permanent members of the Security Council.

At this session of the General Assembly, I can assure

the President of the General Assembly that he will have the

full support of the Macedonian delegation in bringing to a

successful conclusion the many important issues we have

on the agenda. I would like to take this opportunity to

thank this General Assembly for giving us the important

duty of presiding over the Second Committee. We attach

particular significance to the economic issues that will be

discussed there.

The Republic of Macedonia, despite difficult

conditions, achieved its independence peacefully, without

the use of force and with respect for all international

norms. In a region so burdened by tragic wars, a region

with violations of human rights, with a high degree of

instability, we have pursued the path of our independence

with a strong commitment to resolve all of our problems

and conflicts peacefully, through dialogue, with good will,

with readiness for cooperation with all of our neighbours

and with all international organizations.

We are determined to contribute, within the

framework of our capabilities, to the overcoming of all of

the divisions and conflicts in the Balkans inherited from

the past and to pursue the integration of our country into

Europe as soon as possible, with respect for all of the

European norms and standards of relations between

countries as the only means to avoid repeating the tragic

incidents of this region.

One of the basic principles of our foreign policy is

that of equidistance in our relations with our neighbours,

a readiness to establish equally good relations with all of

our neighbours, based on mutual respect, the inviolability

of borders, non-interference in the internal affairs of other

countries, and non-use of force.

Recently in this building, under the auspices of the

United Nations, through the mediation of Cyrus Vance,

Special Envoy of the Secretary-General, Boutros

Boutros-Ghali, and Matthew Nimetz, Special Envoy of

President Clinton, my country, the Republic of

Macedonia, reached an accord with the Republic of

Greece which regulates many aspects of relations between

the two countries, and creates a basis for good-

neighbourly cooperation. We believe that this accord will

contribute to increased stability in the Balkans and will

have a positive influence on the future development of

events in the region. We believe this accord is a good

illustration of the positive role of the international

community, and especially of the United Nations, in

pursuing peaceful solutions in relations between States,

based on the principles of the Charter of the United

Nations.

The Republic of Macedonia, during its four years of

independence, has faced many challenges. The economy

of the whole region was deeply disturbed by the war to

15

the north of us. As a result of the United Nations sanctions

against Serbia and Montenegro, the usual route to our

traditional markets in Europe was cut off. The losses caused

to our economy by the sanctions amount to over $4 billion.

Since February 1994, we have also been under a unilateral

trade embargo from the south. In the same period, we have

undertaken a thorough transformation of our economy,

turning it into a market-oriented economy, with all of the

difficulties and risks that this transition brings. Despite all

of this, we have succeeded in maintaining a high level of

political, social and economic stability. We have built new

democratic institutions with provisions for full protection of

human rights and a political system in which all national

minorities are recognized and enjoy full participation. We

cannot claim that we have solved all of our problems.

However, we have built the right mechanisms for solving

them.

A great deal of attention has been given during this

session of the General Assembly to United Nations peace-

keeping operations. The enormous efforts of the United

Nations in many peace-keeping operations have had varied

results. Some of them have been more successful than

others. Allow me to say a few words about the United

Nations peace-keeping operation in the Republic of

Macedonia, the United Nations Preventive Deployment

Force (UNPREDEP). It is a very successful operation and

is fully achieving its goals. It has contributed tremendously

to peace and stability in the southern Balkans and has built

confidence among the people of the Republic of Macedonia

in international organizations. This operation proves that

preventive deployment is the most effective channel for

United Nations peace-keeping efforts. This operation is the

best example that results can be achieved even with a

small, almost symbolic deployment of United Nations

peace-keepers, if it is done at the right time and with a

clear mandate. The full support the people of the Republic

of Macedonia are giving this operation shows that the right

decision was made by the Security Council when this

peace-keeping operation was approved. This has been a

very successful operation, and we hope it will serve as a

model for many future activities of the United Nations; if

so, I am confident that the same positive results will be

achieved.

These days there is new hope that peace in Bosnia can

be achieved. This tragic war has resulted in huge numbers

of victims, a large-scale humanitarian catastrophe and

massive destruction. We hope that the efforts of the

international community will result in a solution which will

respect the basic principles of the modern world. Bosnia

should be preserved as an independent State within its

internationally recognized borders. Provision must be

made for full respect of human rights, and repetition of

atrocities and war crimes must never be allowed.

We believe that as soon as peace is achieved it will

be necessary to start the process of the reduction of arms

in the Balkans, to start the process of a Balkan détente.

This year the General Assembly, under item 81 of

its agenda, will consider the report of the Secretary-

General on the development of good-neighbourly relations

among Balkan States, prepared on the basis of resolution

48/84 B, adopted at its forty-eighth session on the

proposal of the Macedonian delegation. It is expected that

special attention will be paid to measures and preventive

activities aimed at the creation of a stable zone of peace

and cooperation in the Balkans by the year 2000.

The only way to achieve long-term peace and

stability in the whole Balkan region is through the full

integration of all the Balkan countries into Europe, with

full respect for European standards and norms. The

independence, territorial integrity and inviolability of the

borders of all Balkan countries must be respected.

Problems of national minorities that have been at the root

of many conflicts in the Balkans throughout its history

should be addressed. All national minorities should be

recognized and their basic human rights fully respected.

It is our duty to work for peace and the democratic

development of the whole Balkan region now, and not to

leave burdens of the past to future generations.

Just as we must work for the stabilization of the

Balkan region as a whole, we must also recognize the

uniqueness of each of the countries of the region. The

problems are not identical, and therefore the solutions

cannot be identical. There are a lot of discussions about

the problems of former Yugoslavia. It is very important

to understand that there is no such entity as former

Yugoslavia”. There are a number of new countries in this

area, each with their own set of problems and prospects,

and there is no way to find a unified solution for these

problems. Each country must be treated individually.

The hope and desire for a better world were the

foundations for the United Nations 50 years ago. At this

session of the General Assembly, it is our duty to lay the

groundwork for the role of the United Nations in the

twenty-first century. We should all work together towards

a safer world and to reduce the fears and threats of the

future as much as possible.