Romania, 2000

I am

delighted to extend to Mr. Harri Holkeri, the new

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President of the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth

session, my sincere congratulations on his election.

I warmly welcome Tuvalu, the latest newcomer to

the United Nations family.

I cannot continue without expressing my sincere

appreciation to our dedicated Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, under whose leadership the winds of

change keep on blowing.

I hail the results of the Millennium Summit. The

views expressed by leaders from all over the world

have shown how crucial it is, at this point in history, to

reshape our Organization so as to respond adequately

to the great challenges of our times.

From this rostrum, and in other forums, political

leaders have endeavoured to describe their perceptions,

expectations and concerns with regard to the all-

encompassing manifestations of globalization. Last

year, my predecessor stated that the United Nations

was all about institutionalized solidarity. Bearing this

idea in mind, we are convinced that the United Nations

should reshape its role in such a way as to manage

globalization in the interest of all nations and to correct

its excesses.

Globalization creates opportunities for

commercial, economic and financial expansion.

However, improved technological competitiveness and

wider economic freedom do not automatically produce

greater equity.

The contribution of globalization to the

betterment of the human condition will remain limited

to a small number of individuals, social categories and

countries unless it is oriented towards the common

good. This implies that, in the new context of

integration and participation in the globalization

processes, good governance should intelligently and

predictably combine economic reforms with social

responsibility, adjust the system of education and

professional training, and initiate institutional reforms

that are able to achieve long-term internal stability and

employment, individual security and social justice, and

the protection of national economic interests, resources

and the environment.

The process of globalization creates a new

balance of power between States, non-governmental

organizations and transnational corporations. What is

in question today is how to use their potential in order

to influence the course of globalization so that it can

have a much more positive impact on people's lives.

This means bringing globalization closer to the people

by promoting human values and democratic principles

and practices; an open, inclusive and pluralistic

political culture; economies that sustain a decent life

for all citizens and prosperity for societies as a whole;

and institutions that protect both individuals, with all

their rights and fundamental freedoms, and the

common good. Nothing can really benefit the citizens

of a country if, at the same time, it prejudices the

prevailing international standards of a democratic

world.

(spoke in French)

We need to pool our efforts in order to enlarge the

system of values shared by the international

community. In this globalized yet conflictual world, the

manifestation of solidarity can provide a sound basis

for progress and prosperity for individuals and nations.

From this perspective, I am convinced that solidarity in

the creation and allocation of educational capital is

essential for the access of young people to the

opportunities for progress engendered by globalization.

I strongly support better access for young people to the

new technologies based on information and

communication through investments in informatics

education, based on firm partnerships among

Governments, business communities and non-

governmental organizations. In coping with the new

informatics reality of globalization, good governance

has to act with vision, responsibility and solidarity.

Access to educational capital in computer sciences

should not create new demarcation lines across the

planet, but rather should unite the world, primarily

young people, by providing new opportunities for

progress, communication and professional success.

Access to digital education will also mean civic

emancipation, greater transparency and less corruption.

The first key word — solidarity — that I have

tried to illustrate should be accompanied by a second:

responsibility. For the United Nations as a whole and

for its Member States, responsibility is another way to

react to the forces of globalization, both domestically

and internationally. That is why Romania welcomes the

set of priorities and recommendations formulated by

the Secretary-General in his report to the Millennium

Assembly.

Member States know that responsibility requires

them to give the Organization — in what I would call a

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“peace ritual” — the political support and concrete

means necessary to improve the management of

globalization and to fulfil its mandate. This role is not

an easy one. In an era of the most advanced

technological capabilities, poverty continues to be a

painful reality. While there is increasing acceptance of

the universality of human rights, innocent people

continue to fall victim to inter-ethnic wars. In fighting

terrorism, drug trafficking and organized crime, States

find that the perpetrators are as well-armed as their

police forces. The lack of determination or promptness

in preventing the degradation of the environment

endangers life on our planet. The United Nations must

strive to give globalization a human face.

Within our own Organization, responsibility also

means that we have to strengthen the authority of the

United Nations in the maintenance of international

peace and security; pursue the process of reforming the

Security Council, once we have agreed that an increase

in its membership is justified; be more effective in

assisting Member States to cope with their serious

economic and social problems; and enhance the

Organization's capacity to mount and deploy peace

missions on a timely basis.

In recent years, we have witnessed the increasing

role of non-governmental organizations and other non-

state actors, in particular the powerful transnational

corporations. There is a need for them to assume

increased responsibility as well. Non-governmental

organizations should be prepared to mobilize more

effectively the resources of civil society in the service

of the public well-being.

As for the transnational corporations, we are

aware of their role in stimulating the forces of

globalization and also in reaping its fruit. It is only fair

for them to assume responsibilities beyond the borders

of their profit. There is a long way to go, so it is high

time to set out in this particular direction.

The Global Compact initiative launched by the

Secretary-General should be built upon. In Romania,

we have already explored its potential and the results

are promising. We believe, indeed, that the business

community can enhance support and enact a set of core

values in the areas of human rights, labour standards

and environmental protection. After all, profit is

meaningless if it does not lead to the improvement of

the human condition for all.

(spoke in English)

We believe that all Member States, including

Romania, can assume a share of the collective

responsibility. Indeed, my country is doing its best to

make its own contribution to the goals and purposes of

the United Nations. First, Romania is party to the

majority of the key multilateral treaties and

conventions identified as such by the Secretary-

General in the context of the Millennium Summit.

Secondly, we submitted a valuable resolution,

entitled “Promoting and consolidating democracy”, that

was adopted by the Commission on Human Rights on

25 April this year. Encouraged by its success, we will

invite the General Assembly to adopt this resolution at

the current session. We are convinced that all members

of the General Assembly are prepared to reiterate their

recognition of the values, principles and practices that

give meaning to a democratic society.

Thirdly, Romania is a strong supporter of the

United Nations role in peacekeeping. Our peacekeepers

have served in various places where we had no specific

national interest other than maintaining peace on behalf

of the world and of the innocent people who make up

the majority of victims of conflicts and disputes. We

have worked hard to diversify our contribution to

peacekeeping. Romania is also proud to be part of the

first Multinational Stand-by Forces High-Readiness

Brigade. That is a clear way of expressing support for

enhancing the United Nations capacity to deploy

peacekeepers rapidly and effectively. In the same

context, we welcome the work of the Panel on United

Nations peace operations, which has provided a

convincing outline for an important reform of this

particular function.

Fourthly, we also believe that the time has come

for us to try to review the peacekeeping scale of

assessments. As a concrete contribution to this effort, I

take this opportunity to announce that Romania is

willing to gradually move from Group C to Group B of

the assessment mechanism for peacekeeping. We

appeal to all Member countries to work together to put

an end to the current financial crisis.

Fifthly, in the same vein, let me emphasize that

Romania has increased its voluntary contribution to the

United Nations Development Programme's work in our

country. This is one way of reiterating our support for

and interest in the operational activities of the United

Nations.

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We have always supported creative and efficient

forms of cooperation between the United Nations and

regional organizations. I am pleased to announce to this

audience that Romania is preparing to take over the

high responsibility of the chairmanship of the

Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe

(OSCE) in 2001. We will work hard to make OSCE a

more instrumental organization, based upon a specific

commitment to improving the life of the citizens of its

54 participating States. At the same time, we will use

to its best the potential for dialogue and cooperation

between OSCE and the United Nations in conflict-

prevention and crisis management, in strengthening

democratic institutions and the rule of law, in fighting

corruption and in other realms of common interest.

Having said this, I would make a plea to Member

States to integrate the two essential ingredients for

effective action, namely solidarity and responsibility,

into the concept of total diplomacy. This means the

systematic use of firm and efficient diplomacy that

should be called upon before any dangerous tensions

burst into conflict. It also means that we should give

absolute priority to diplomacy, prevention and

containment, and in all circumstances use them

extensively and comprehensively for the pacific

settlements of disputes. All of the means provided for

in Chapter VI of the Charter and others that might be

created through our collective effort of imagination

should reinforce the Organization's capacity to cope

with threats and conflicts, whether predictable or

unpredictable.

Recent developments in longstanding conflicts

and disputes confirm that at the end of any road paved

with a heavy toll in human lives, material destruction

and distorted mentalities, one can find a negotiating

table. Diplomacy, if used up to the point of exhaustion,

can eventually prove decisive, provided all the

possibilities of statesmen, professional negotiators,

public opinion and civil society are comprehensively

mobilized. Intense dialogue, diplomacy and flexibility

from all parties are still needed in critical points of the

world, such as Kosovo. Resolution 1244 (1999) of the

Security Council is a remarkable innovation, which

combines the specific capabilities of the United

Nations and some prominent regional organizations

such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO), the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the Council of

Europe. Let us work together, guided by resolution

1244, to use the diplomatic and material potential of

these organizations with full positive impact on all the

inhabitants of this province, irrespective of ethnic

background or religion.

I address the same appeal to responsibility to the

parties involved in the Transdneister tension problem,

with the hope that the commitments assumed during

the OSCE Summit in Istanbul will be respected, so that

next year we will see concrete measures in the

withdrawal of military troops and arms from this part

of the Republic of Moldova.

We are aware that there are many complex and

unsolved situations for which energetic enforcement is

needed. We are ready to participate in a profound and

responsible debate on humanitarian intervention. We

would join other delegations in taking a fresh look at

the use of sanctions and seeing how effective they are

with respect to their target and what are the

consequences on the innocent civilian population or

third countries.

Among the possible consequences, it is worth

mentioning the irrational retaliation reactions from

countries concerned. A case in point is the perpetuation

of the blocking of the Danube — the blocking of

navigation on the Danube — which makes all the

riparian countries suffer. Procrastination, resisting the

lifting of the blockade on the Danube under various

pretexts defies international law and ignores the

economic interests in the region. Every day, shipping

companies accumulate huge losses, which add to the

already heavy burden on the third countries in the area,

accumulated during the years of the Yugoslav crisis.

Speaking of the situation in the Balkans in

general, we have to say that we are far from having

reached complete stability. We are still witnessing

confrontation between the forces of integration and

those of dissolution. Time has come to get rid of the

ghosts of intolerance and hatred and open the door to

the fresh air of the European spirit of integration. The

results of the actions by the inflexible regime in

Belgrade can be clearly seen today. Unfortunately, our

neighbours are forced to cope with a destroyed and

isolated economy and an unpredictable political

situation in a Yugoslav State once viable and respected,

yet finding itself, today, in a process of dismantlement.

Politics should be judged by its results, and not by its

intentions. We strongly wish for Yugoslavia to return to

the European mainstream, for which it must re-embrace

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the values of democracy, tolerance and freedom of

expression.

The historic conflict in the Middle East is not

over yet, but it is diplomacy that still gives us hope for

a solution. I applaud the recent efforts made by the

Israeli and Palestinian leaders to come closer to a final

settlement. This year we have also heard good news

from the Korean Peninsula, a part of the world where

history separated one people into two hostile parts.

Romania is happy to see a fresh wave of diplomatic

actions and human contacts that open new windows for

an era of which the Korean people would be the first

beneficiary.

For us it is obvious that total diplomacy can be

successful if it is constantly and solidly based on

human realities and on the fundamental aspiration of

ordinary people to a peaceful and decent life. With the

current, unprecedented level of knowledge we have

reached, I am confident that we can find, in ourselves

and our societies, resources for greater tolerance,

mutual respect and dialogue, as opposed to the

primitive inclination to hatred, intolerance and

aggression.

It is incumbent to the United Nations, as the only

international organization of universal vocation, to

identify new resources for our concerted endeavours to

find solutions to problems of global concern. I am glad

to see that our position coincides in many respects with

the major ideas agreed upon by participants in the

Summit. The United Nations should stubbornly keep

working to renew its profile and vigour while entering

the new millennium. Romania will continue to be ready

to add its contribution to that effect.