Montenegro, 2013

It is a great honour for me to address the Assembly

today on behalf of Montenegro and to reaffirm our

commitment to the United Nations and its Charter.

I wish to congratulate President Ashe on his

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at

its sixty-eighth session and to express the full support

of the Montenegrin delegation to him personally and

for the programme he has put forward. I wish also to

extend my gratitude to the President of the General

Assembly at its sixty-seventh session, Mr. Vuk Jeremi.,

our neighbour, for his energetic efforts and leadership,

which contributed to dynamic and constructive

discussions on various issues on the United Nations

agenda. It is a special pleasure for me to pay tribute

to the Secretary-General, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, for his

tireless efforts to build a safer and more prosperous

world.

The numerous challenges that the United Nations

is currently facing are far more complex than previous

ones. Those challenges are such that all of us have to

ensure, through joint efforts, coordinated and efficient

action to overcome them. That is our moral, collective

obligation towards the well-being of future generations.

The challenge of achieving sustainable development

and integrating its three dimensions is the greatest of

them all. It is encouraging that the General Assembly,

bound by the Rio outcome document (resolution

66/288, annex), is successfully addressing this priority.

With the establishment of the Open Working Group on

Sustainable Development Goals, the Intergovernmental

Committee of Experts on Sustainable Development

Financing and the High-level Political Forum, the

institutional framework as a platform for substantive

work has been strengthened.

In that context, the role of the United Nations

and the results of efforts to achieve the Millennium

Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 are becoming

more important than ever. I am certain that the United

Nations, guided by the synergy and pragmatic approach

of its Members and all stakeholders, will be able to

respond to that highly complex challenge. Such an

approach will contribute to our well-being and a safer

future for all of us, further strengthening the central

role of the United Nations in the system of global

governance.

To that end, poverty eradication and the other

unmet MDGs must remain at the heart of the post-

2015 development agenda. We must define future

sustainable development goals on the basis of the

experience and lessons learned from our success or

failure in accomplishing the tasks set by the Millennium

Declaration (resolution 55/2). Montenegro is working

diligently on the MDGs and is close to meeting them.

Our sustainable development goals must be clear,

universal, flexible and coherent, and represent a central

part of the post-2015 global development agenda. They

must clearly reflect political commitment to sustainable

development and promote economic development,

social inclusion, the sustainable use of natural resources

and protection of the environment as well peace and

security. As a member of the Open Working Group

on Sustainable Development Goals, Montenegro is

working assiduously to define those goals, taking into

consideration national characteristics and capacities

and individual countries’ development priorities.

After three years of strong economic growth in

Montenegro, the global economic and financial crisis

affected us, too, leading to a drop in investment, banks’

credit activities and foreign trade. The patterns of

economic growth have changed, so we have adapted

our economic policy to the new circumstances. At the

same time, the Government has adopted a medium-

term development plan modeled on the European

Union’s Europe 2020 strategy. The three pillars that

Montenegro will base its sustainable development on

are smart growth, sustainable growth and inclusive

growth. The national plan will make our structural and

institutional reforms more consistent with development-

oriented public measures and investments. Aware of

the importance of that issue, we are setting up a centre

for sustainable development in Montenegro that will

become operational in early 2014. We hope that in time

it will take on a regional role and become part of the

Sustainable Development Solutions Network, based on

the outcome of the 2012 United Nations Conference on

Sustainable Development.

One issue that is inseparable from the post-2015

development framework is that of climate change.

Montenegro is committed to intensifying its efforts

to promote the adoption by 2015 of a comprehensive

and legally binding agreement that would apply to all.

We call on every country, in particular the major world

economies, to step up their efforts related to mitigating

the impact of climate change and reaching a global

climate agreement. In that regard, we emphasize our

full support for the Secretary-General’s initiative in

convening a conference on climate change in September

2014.

The maintenance and promotion of international

peace and security is a continuing challenge for the

United Nations. We note that in some crisis areas, such

as Mali, significant progress has been made in reducing

violence and instability, while the situations in the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Central African

Republic, the Sudan and South Sudan still need the

continued attention and efforts of the Security Council

and other relevant actors.

Due to the overall consequences for the country

itself and for the broader region, the crisis in Syria

regrettably still monopolizes the attention of the global

body politic and is at the top of the agenda of the United

Nations. We are deeply concerned about the continuing

deterioration of the situation in Syria and most strongly

condemn any form of violence, killing of civilians and

violation of human rights. We especially condemn the

use of chemical weapons confirmed by the United

Nations inspection team, which Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon has labeled a war crime. We urge that those

responsible for crimes in Syria and for violations of

international law be brought to account.

The agreement reached between the United

States and the Russian Federation gives us hope for

a diplomatic solution to the crisis and an end to the

conflict in Syria through resolute action on the part

of the Security Council. We believe that a political

solution and a democratic transition are the only way

to end a tragic conflict that has led to a humanitarian

crisis of incalculable proportions, affecting the whole

region.

The case of Syria, among others, highlights the

importance of preventive measures and mediation

in preserving international peace and security.

Strengthening the capacity of the United Nations to

achieve an early response and suppress threats before

they become a source of conflict will be key to dealing

with similar situations in future. Montenegro supports

the promotion of the concept of the responsibility to

protect and its operationalization, with prevention as

an integral element. We are in favour of continuing the

debate on the international community’s responsibility

for taking timely and decisive action to prevent mass

suffering.

In the context of the situation in the Middle East,

we are particularly pleased by the resumption of

Palestinian-Israeli negotiations after several stalled

years, and we commend the mediation efforts of the

United States Secretary of State. Montenegro believes

that direct negotiations are the best way to reach a

comprehensive and sustainable settlement.

With the intention of taking on additional

responsibilities and contributing to the promotion

of global peace and security and the observance of

universal values, rights and freedoms as a responsible

and proactive member of the international community,

Montenegro is seeking a non-permanent seat on the

Security Council for 2026-2027.

Besides its strong support for improving the

conception and structural development of United

Nations peacebuilding and peacekeeping capacities,

Montenegro recognizes the importance of the rule of

law and the protection of civilians, particularly women

and children, and urges United Nations missions to

consistently fulfil their mandates in that area. We

condemn all forms of violence, especially sexual

violence against women and girls in conflict situations,

and we therefore support the implementation of the

agenda on women and peace and security and, in that

context, Security Council resolution 1325 (2000) and

other relevant resolutions.

The adoption of the Arms Trade Treaty as the first

legally binding instrument in that area will undoubtedly

contribute to global efforts in the field of disarmament

and non-proliferation. I am pleased to emphasize that

Montenegro was a firm supporter of a comprehensive

and strongly worded Arms Trade Treaty from the outset

and was among the first 65 countries to sign it. We are

conscious of how important it is that the Treaty enters

into force as soon as possible and will therefore make

every effort to ensure its speedy ratification.

The increased integration of human rights into

every aspect of the work of the United Nations, ensuring

universal respect for human rights, and the effectiveness

of the United Nations system in the area of human rights

constitute the guidelines for action for Montenegro,

especially through the Human Rights Council, of which

my country is a member. By cooperating actively with

the Council and its special proceedings, as well as with

Member States, we contribute to timely and efficient

deliberations on issues relating to the promotion of

human rights and responding adequately to cases of

human rights violations.

At the national level, we are striving to strengthen

a political, social and economic environment that

allows for the free exercise of human rights without

any form of discrimination. We focus particularly

on strengthening the position and role of women in

society and on preventing violence against them and

other vulnerable groups, including children, disabled

persons and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual and

transgender community. As Chair of the Decade of

Roma Inclusion for 2005-2010, Montenegro has also

focused particularly on improving the position of Roma

in our society.

Montenegro remains committed to an effective

multilateral system in which the United Nations plays

a central role, and we support pragmatically oriented

initiatives and actions for its reform. We believe that

reforming and reorganizing the Security Council, as

the key actor in the maintenance of international peace,

is essential, as are revitalizing the General Assembly

and reforming the Economic and Social Council. In

general, such reform, particularly of the Security

Council, would contribute greatly to strengthening the

position, relevance and authority of the Organization

as a whole and bringing it into harmony with modern

geopolitical processes and challenges.

Montenegro’s work within the Organization is

based on the principle of multilateral cooperation and

respect for the principles and values enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nations. We are aware of the

importance to our visibility and effectiveness at the

international level of strong and stable neighbourly

relations and of strengthening cooperation in all areas.

We are successfully implementing the internal

reforms required for the achievement of our main

foreign policy priorities — membership in the European

Union and NATO. The accession negotiations with the

European Union, after the provisional closing of two

chapters, are entering a new and more demanding

phase. The new approach in that phase of the process

is based on reforms in the areas of the rule of law,

strengthening judicial processes and the protection of

human rights and fundamental freedoms, which are of

particular importance for the citizens of Montenegro.

In parallel, my country is strongly committed to

Euro-Atlantic integration. As a country that will soon

become a NATO member, we are working devotedly

on the fourth annual national programme and reform

implementation in order to be fully ready by the time

our invitation for alliance membership is formalized.

We believe that membership will also contribute to

reinforcing security in the Balkans, where events of the

recent bitter past can be attributed, in part, to a lack of

strong security arrangements.

Montenegro is seen as a stability factor in our

region, as confirmed by continuing advances in

political, economic, social and cultural cooperation

with all of its neighbours. With regional cooperation

high on our agenda, Montenegro actively participates

in regional organizations. We believe that the recently

launched West Balkans 6+2 initiative, the modalities of

which are the subject of intense discussion, will help

us to focus regional activities on specific development

projects of common interest to participating States that

are aimed at speeding up European integration and

improving the quality of life of our citizens. We believe

that those efforts, together with European Union

synergy, the South-East European Cooperation Process

and the Regional Cooperation Council, will draw the

States of the region closer together and to the common

goal of the European Union.

The international community, led by the United

Nations, with the active participation and decisive

contributions of all stakeholders, must continue its

search for adequate responses and channel its efforts

towards solving the increasingly complex issues and

challenges that we are facing. Each and every country,

irrespective of size, has, without any doubt, a part to

play in finding such solutions, based on the mutual

trust and cooperation necessary to build a better world.