North Macedonia, 2004

Allow me at the outset

to extend my congratulations to you, Mr. Jean Ping, on

your election as President of the fifty-ninth session of

the General Assembly, and to express my conviction

that this session will be concluded successfully under

your presidency. Moreover, I take this opportunity to

congratulate the President of the fifty-eighth session,

Mr. Julian Hunte, on his dedication and on the

successful fulfilment of his responsibilities.

Last year was extremely challenging, for both the

world community and the United Nations. In that

regard, I would like to commend Secretary-General

Kofi Annan for his efforts and contributions in

preserving peace in the world. In his recent address

(see ), he clearly demonstrated once again

his dedication to the cause of the Organization.

We certainly all agree that the United Nations

continues to be the most relevant global forum

addressing international peacekeeping and security

issues. We also agree on the need to renew and reform

its bodies and agendas in order to preserve the vital

role of the Organization. In that context, we look

forward to reading the report being drafted by the

High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change,

which was created by the Secretary-General.

With regard to the reform of the Security Council,

the Republic of Macedonia considers it extremely

important to increase the membership of the Council with

regard to both permanent and non-permanent seats.

The renewal and strengthening of the role of the

Economic and Social Council is equally relevant. The

Republic of Macedonia has presented its candidacy for

the election to the Economic and Social Council to be

held during this session. We are confident that, if

elected and with the support of the General Assembly,

my country will be able to make its full contribution to

improving the efficiency of the Council.

As far as the revitalization of the General

Assembly is concerned, we think that we must seize

the momentum, implement the provisions of the

revised agenda and pursue efforts to make the work of

the Main Committees more focused and rational.

Unfortunately, once again this year, inhuman acts

of terrorism have continued to take innocent lives and

to preoccupy world public opinion. We were all

horrified by the images of human suffering in Madrid,

Beslan and elsewhere. In order to enhance the capacity

of the international community in this respect, we need

to further consolidate the world anti-terrorist coalition

led by the United Nations and, additionally, strengthen

cooperation with regional organizations that have

specific mechanisms to fight this global evil.

The Republic of Macedonia will continue its active

cooperation with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of

the Security Council and make its own contribution to

the implementation of resolution 1373 (2001). In that

regard, I would like to inform the Assembly that, last

May, the Republic of Macedonia ratified the

International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism and the International

Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombings.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

remains one of the major threats to international peace

and security, and it is closely related to terrorism. We

welcome the Security Council’s adoption of resolution

1540 (2004) on the non-proliferation of weapons of

mass destruction. The implementation of that

resolution will complement the existing set of

instruments and consolidate the role of the Security

Council in this area.

The suppression of the illicit trade in small arms

and light weapons and the total prohibition of anti-

personnel mines are also very important issues, given

the size of the problem and the number of victims

caused by mines. Doing so will contribute greatly to

conflict prevention and successful peacekeeping and

peace-building throughout the world, including our

region. At the end of last year, the Republic of

Macedonia conducted a successful effort to collect

small arms and light weapons. That effort had the

support of the United Nations Development

Programme. Efforts in this regard are ongoing.

We expect that the first review conference of

countries parties to the Ottawa Convention, which is to

be held in Nairobi, will produce a summary of the

results achieved through the implementation of that

extremely important instrument, which will pave the

way to the creation of a world free of landmines.

The Republic of Macedonia has destroyed its

mine stockpiles and is working on the demining of

affected regions. The United Nations Mine Action

Service, together with the International Trust Fund for

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Demining and Mine Victims Assistance, have provided

a great deal of help in our demining activities.

Unfortunately, violent conflicts have continued

this year. The armed conflict in Darfur and the terrible

humanitarian tragedy it brought about require decisive

action. We support the Security Council resolution in

this regard, and we join the call for further and urgent

action on this matter.

The situation in the Middle East continues to

keep the world on edge. We support the efforts of the

Quartet to find a solution acceptable to all sides and we

share the conviction that the road map is the only way

to reach a solution for Palestine and Israel, two

neighbouring States that will one day live in peace.

Building peace and fostering democracy in

Afghanistan and Iraq, where the Republic of

Macedonia is part of the multinational force, remains a

challenge facing both the international community and

the peoples of those two countries. I would like to

emphasize the exceptional importance of the

implementation of resolution 1546 (2004), which

endorsed the restoration of Iraq’s sovereignty and

provided the core framework for the political

transformation and democratization of that State.

With regard to Iraq, I would like to appeal to the

authorities of that country to do their utmost to find the

three Macedonian citizens who have disappeared there.

The Millennium Development Goals remain the

key challenge for the Organization. In September 2005,

heads of State and Government from around the world

will meet to review what has been done in realizing the

Goals in the five years since the adoption of the

Millennium Summit Declaration. It is crystal clear that

we must take decisive steps if we want to mobilize

political will and resources and carry out reforms on the

national and global levels to meet the Goals by 2015.

However, it is already clear that some regions of

the world will find it very difficult to achieve the

projected Goals. Special attention should be dedicated

to Africa, where the situation is alarming and the issues

of poverty and hunger eradication and the problem of

AIDS are very serious. Achieving the Goals will not be

possible unless the international community is ready to

assume its share of responsibility in that respect.

The Republic of Macedonia places special

emphasis on the importance of effective respect for,

and promotion of, human rights as one of the pillars of

every democratic society. The rule of law and effective

respect for human rights are the best instrument in

preventing conflicts, as well as prerequisites for peace

and prosperity. Today, we are increasingly aware of the

need to nurture and respect multiculturalism as a

precondition to the development of a secure and

harmonious world. In that regard, every effort should

be made to create mutual confidence and understanding

and to promote respect for differences. The Republic of

Macedonia is deeply committed to those principles,

and we adhere to them strictly in our actions.

For half a century now, the United Nations has

had a key role in the development of international

human rights law. In that context, we welcome current

efforts to harmonize the draft international convention

to protect the rights of disabled persons.

Good-neighbourly relations are one of the foreign

policy priorities of the Republic of Macedonia, as one

of the promoters of regional cooperation in South-East

Europe. I would like to take this opportunity to inform

the Assembly that, as during previous sessions, the

delegation of the Republic of Macedonia will propose

the adoption by the General Assembly of a draft

resolution on good-neighbourly relations, stability and

development in South-Eastern Europe.

In recent years, the countries of the region have

made considerable progress at both the domestic level

and in developing mutual relations. We are actively

cooperating in numerous regional initiatives and in the

framework of the Euro-Atlantic integration process.

However, despite the considerable progress made at the

level of stabilization and improved security in the

region, not all sources of potential instability have been

eliminated. We strongly believe that the process of the

region’s accelerated integration into the European

Union and NATO will weaken existing threats at the

national and regional levels.

As an immediate neighbouring country, the

Republic of Macedonia is following with particular

attention the developments in Kosovo. We fully

support the United Nations policy of standards before

status, whose final goal is to establish a true multi-

ethnic community and to improve security,

democratization and the rule of law. At the same time,

the Republic of Macedonia is also lending its

continued support to the United Nations and other

international bodies as they carry out their responsible

missions.

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We have developed contractual cooperation with

the United Nations Interim Administration Mission in

Kosovo in various areas, with a view to resolving

concrete issues that are relevant to the population. We

expect very soon to start the process of the demarcation

of our border with Kosovo. Also with regard to

Kosovo, I would like to emphasize the fact that any

decision on its future status must not result in the

destabilization of the region.

The Republic of Macedonia is going through a

critical stage in the process of carrying out

fundamental economic and social reforms and

transforming its society to prepare it for accelerated

integration into the European Union. The finalization

of the implementation of the framework agreement

concluded in 2001 is a priority in that process. Most of

the legal regulations resulting from the constitutional

changes flowing from the framework agreement have

already been adopted. Nevertheless, one of the main

issues pertaining to decentralization — namely,

territorial reorganization — could pose a challenge,

given the upcoming referendum. That referendum is a

democratic event of the highest order that provides

citizens with an opportunity to express their opinions

on the concept being put forth by the Government.

Finally, I would like to conclude by saying that

the world is facing a range of challenges and threats,

but that our experience so far has proven that there is

no alternative to the multilateral approach to

overcoming threats to international peace and security.

Our experience has also proven that dialogue remains

the most valuable and powerful instrument in our

endeavours to create a different and safer world.