Romania, 2006

It gives me great

pleasure to congratulate you, Madam, on your election

as President of the General Assembly. The Romanian

delegation looks forward to a presidency which brings

to the world Organization excellent diplomatic skills,

while increasing our confidence in the prospects for

more balanced gender representation at the top. I

would also like to pay tribute to Ambassador Jan

Eliasson, President of the General Assembly at its

sixtieth session, for his outstanding performance and

for his commitment to the reform of the United

Nations.

Romania subscribes to the statement made by the

President of Finland on behalf of the European Union,

and fully shares the views expressed therein. I would

like, in addition, to give a frank account of my

country’s keen and active interest in a strong and

effective United Nations.

Let me say, in all modesty, that we strive hard to

practice what we preach. Romania has had to make up

for 16 years of lost time — decades of ideological

pandemics, economic mismanagement, lack of respect

for human rights and lack of democracy. I would like

to express the gratitude of my Government for the

continuing support that the United Nations has

extended during our transition in many helpful ways,

including the valuable work of its country team in

Romania.

We have come a long way to now be in a position

to join the European Union, which is profoundly rooted

in the principles of liberty, democracy, respect for

human rights and fundamental freedoms, and the rule

of law. We have worked hard, that is true, and we have

had very good friends all along to help us prevail. I am

therefore proud to say that the United Nations has

been, and still is, foremost among those friends.

Let me quote a recent statement by the Secretary-

General:

“Our success in advancing the agenda will

depend on great part on forging coalitions for

change involving Government representative,

civil society, the private sector, philanthropic

foundations, academic institutions and all others

with contributions to make. I know that Romania

is strongly committed to this path of partnership

and has been working actively to cement

constructive ties with the United Nations and

with its neighbours throughout Europe as the

country moves towards formal accession to the

European Union.”

I myself could not have put it better if I had

wished to characterize in a nutshell our genuine

commitment to effective multilateralism and to better

management of the rapid and multifaceted changes

brought about by the globalization process. That is why

Romania understands, and wishes to be an active

participant in, the current reform process, pursuant to

the guidelines we accepted as set out in the Millennium

Summit Outcome.

We have made significant steps ahead as far as

institutional reform is concerned. We agreed to change

the Human Rights Commission, a body whose

historical mission had been accomplished. We created a

new Human Rights Council to help the United Nations

make a fresh start in the implementation of the

impressive corpus of international human rights

instruments built since the Universal Declaration of

Human Rights. But let us not indulge in complacency.

If we do not fill this new box with the expected

contents, our intention to reform will remain

unfulfilled.

The Human Rights Council should spare no effort

in order to do what it is meant to do: uphold, in the

daily work of Governments across all continents and

legal systems, the priority goal of ensuring that human

rights are widely and deeply known and observed. We

should not see the primary duty of the international

community to monitor the implementation of human

rights law, be it by a universal peer review or by the

expert work of the special procedures of the Human

Rights Council, as unfriendly gestures towards our

Governments.

We are deeply honoured by the exceptional

opportunity we have as members of the first Human

Rights Council to contribute to the reform of the

United Nations human rights machinery. We have

already come up with a number of proposals aimed at

streamlining the work of the new Council and at

upholding its authority. We need to make greater

efforts to make human rights a fundamental pillar of

the United Nations, on an equal footing with security

and development, by will of its Charter.

06-53323 36

There is a similar need with respect to the

Peacebuilding Commission. The history of the United

Nations involves the continuing trend of creating new

bodies to address new problems. That can be a virtue if

such bodies have a strong mandate and sufficient

resources to meet expectations. But it can also be a sin

if all we do is generate additional meetings and

documents without consequence. The Peacebuilding

Commission is a remarkable institutional and legal

innovation. Let us introduce new thinking and

resources, rather than old habits, into this framework.

Considerable efforts have been deployed since

1993 to reform the Security Council. Romania is ready

to embark on a meaningful and pragmatic

consideration of the question of increasing the

membership of the Security Council while preserving

its effectiveness and credibility. We are aware of the

difficulties inherent in further Council expansion.

Recent debates have shown that all Member States

should benefit to a certain extent from the reform of

the most powerful body in the United Nations system.

An obvious case in point is the Eastern European

Group, which expects to receive its fair share in the

eventual outcome of negotiations on this matter.

The issue of the revitalization of the General

Assembly is also on our agenda. The intensive efforts

made to expand the Security Council should not

obscure the need to genuinely reform the most

representative organ of the United Nations — namely

the General Assembly. There are many ways to do

much more within existing structures and available

resources in terms of time and money. We can make

simple reforms. We may choose to streamline the

agenda by confining it to essential and topical issues,

avoiding the annual repetition of texts which bring no

true added value, and using less rhetoric and more

pragmatism as the main thread of our decisions.

The General Assembly can also do more in its

role of supporting democratization processes in various

countries. We know how shy the drafters of the Charter

were about the use of the idea of democracy. During

the cold war, the concept of democracy was merely

totemic at the United Nations. However, times have

changed for the better. I genuinely believe that the

United Nations has made considerable, if not truly

spectacular, progress in that area.

My country is proud to have been an active

player in two international movements whose

fundamental task is to promote democracy: the New or

Restored Democracies process and the Community of

Democracies. We have taken dedicated action under

the auspices of both. Romania initiated a series of five

resolutions on different aspects of democracy-building

that have been adopted since the year 2000 by both the

Commission on Human Rights and the General

Assembly.

There is no reason why the United Nations would

slow down this process. On the contrary, we take this

opportunity to encourage both the sixth International

Conference of New or Restored Democracies, to be

held in Qatar, and the third Ministerial Conference of

the Community of Democracies, to be held in Mali, to

dare to do more. The time has come for us to adopt a

universal declaration on democracy, a code of

democratic conduct or even an international covenant

on the right to democracy. Democracy works, despite

difficulties and temporary setbacks.

Let me add that, if we have doubts about our

duty, we should ask our nations if they want to have a

choice, in a multiparty system, and to make full use of

fair elections, as opposed to not participating or having

to accede violently to power? Do they want to be

governed by dictators who work for themselves or by

Governments that work for the governed? We all may

find the answer to these queries quite obvious.

In our deliberations about reform, one of the

questions that arose was how to undertake

constitutional reform and bring the Charter more in

line with the new challenges of our time. There is

much to be done here, in spite of our understandable

reluctance to reopen the sacred book. At the same time,

we could adequately make the most out of the existing

legal framework.

We believe that Chapter VIII of the Charter is a

generous framework for increased and more efficient

cooperation between the United Nations and regional

organizations. During its tenure as a non-permanent

member of the Security Council, my country, Romania,

initiated a rewarding debate on this topic, which led to

the adoption of resolution 1631 (2005). We welcome

the report of the Secretary-General entitled “A

regional-global security partnership: challenges and

opportunities”. The report is a very valuable

contribution to the clarification of the possible

distribution of roles based on the competitive

advantages of regional organizations. I therefore

37 06-53323

support the recommendations made by the Secretary-

General aimed at passing from an “adhocracy” to the

gradual institutionalization of the operational

mechanisms of an enhanced cooperation.

In this field, Romania practices what it preaches.

The proof lies in its determination to pursue regional

cooperation processes in Central and South-Eastern

Europe, in various fields: the South-Eastern European

Cooperation Process, the Central European Initiative,

the Stability Pact for South-eastern Europe, the Black

Sea Economic Cooperation and so on. The stability and

prosperity in the Black Sea region is the main priority

of our foreign policy at the regional level. We are

pursuing a new cooperation paradigm that is expected

to produce deliverable results. Romania is satisfied at

having promoted, during its chairmanship of the Black

Sea Economic Cooperation, two very important

initiatives: a Black Sea Euro-region, under the auspices

of the Council of Europe, and a Forum for Dialogue

and Partnership.

We are a conscientious and responsible member

of the international community and ready to assume

our duties. The constant and robust economic growth

of recent years has now enabled my country to

consider acting as a donor, helping developing

countries in their long-standing pursuit of economic

prosperity. My Government has already taken measures

to define a legal framework for the financing of official

development assistance.

Europe has peace on its borders. But that is only

half true if we take into consideration the continued

existence of frozen conflicts that seem to escape the

active attention of the United Nations. We are shirking

our duty if we turn a deaf ear to the unresolved

conflicts whose roots date back to the Soviet era.

Those conflicts affect small States that are working

hard to consolidate their independence, their

institutions and their economies. They need the

assistance of the United Nations and protection under

international law.

One of the most striking examples is the situation

in Transdniestria, a separatist area of our neighbouring

country the Republic of Moldova. The lawless regime

there must not be allowed to become permanent.

Supported by heavily armed troops, that regime is

involved in smuggling and illegal trafficking and is

disrespectful of human rights; it is also ready to seize

schools manu militari. Relying on its weapons and

ammunition, the regime threatens its neighbours and

the legitimate Government of the Republic of Moldova

and cynically mocks democracy through unlawful

referendums.

The United Nations must apply the provisions of

the Charter to put an end to the dark ages in

Transdniestria. What is needed is genuine will on the

part of all relevant actors — be they international

organizations or neighbouring countries. We also

believe that it is our duty to assist the courageous

efforts of Georgia to build a democratic society and to

regain full territorial integrity. There is hope. The

recent adoption by the General Assembly of a decision

to include on its agenda a new item on protracted

conflicts — which Romania has fully supported —

augurs well for a new attitude.

Seven years after the United Nations took

responsibility for the future of Kosovo, that province

symbolizes the difficult legacy that the Western

Balkans is struggling to overcome. We support the

efforts of Martti Ahtisaari, Special Envoy for the future

status process for Kosovo, and of the Contact Group.

Both sides directly concerned should show greater

flexibility in order to find a lasting and mutually

accepted solution. In that regard, the United Nations

role remains extremely important until the future status

of the province is decided.

Our interest in achieving peace, stability and

prosperity is not confined to our own region. Romania

is trying hard to make significant contributions to the

maintenance of peace throughout the world. Romanian

military, police and civilian personnel are present in

the United Nations peacekeeping operations deployed

in Afghanistan, Kosovo, the Democratic Republic of

the Congo, Liberia, Ethiopia and Eritrea, Haiti and the

Sudan. Together with other peace-loving nations, we

also contribute troops to other major peace operations,

including those in Afghanistan, Iraq and Bosnia.

Nearly 1,500 Romanian troops, civilian police, military

observers, staff officers and support personnel are

deployed in those areas.

At the same time, we believe that more efforts are

needed to find lasting political solutions to existing

conflicts and tensions. Afghanistan has come a long

way towards becoming a stable State, free from

terrorism and the Taliban. However, many challenges

still lie ahead. Winning the peace in Afghanistan

requires even more enhanced and coordinated efforts

06-53323 38

by the international community — especially to fight

insurgents, to train the Afghan army and police and to

accelerate quick-impact reconstruction projects.

Romania firmly supports the Government of Iraq

in its efforts to create an efficient and responsible

administration. Strong international support is needed

if the Iraqi people are to succeed in achieving lasting

stability and in going back to work for the country’s

prosperity. Technical and financial support is also

badly needed. It is essential not to weaken the

international presence in Iraq, without which the

progress made thus far would be put at risk.

We take note with satisfaction of the latest

developments in Lebanon, particularly the progress

made in deploying an expanded United Nations force

in the area. We believe that we are witnessing a historic

breakthrough in a long-standing conflict. We are

confident that the full implementation of Security

Council resolution 1701 (2006) and of the future

mandate of the United Nations Interim Force in

Lebanon will build hope and trust for a lasting political

solution to the Middle East conflict.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

has emerged as a major threat to global security and

international stability. We should never underestimate

the chances that such weapons will be used in terrorist

activities. We support new international efforts to

strengthen the existing international regimes, to ensure

the full and unconditional implementation of

obligations undertaken by the States parties and to

promote the universalization of multilateral treaties and

agreements in the field of disarmament and non-

proliferation.

At the same time, we must continue to fight

terrorism, individually and collectively, in order to

eliminate it as a threat to the lives of innocent people

and to the daily life of our societies. If it is to succeed,

the international community must correctly identify

and overcome the factors that contribute to terrorism.

Romania is firmly engaged in the fight against terrorist

threats through its participation in the efforts of the

international community and in those undertaken by

regional and subregional organizations.

(spoke in French)

Romania will soon have the honour to host the

eleventh summit of la Francophonie. This conference

of heads of State and Government of countries using

French as a common language will take place on 28

and 29 September 2006 in Bucharest. La Francophonie

definitely does more than promote multilingualism. At

the previous summit, la Francophonie acted as a

faithful partner by adopting a strategic framework

aligned with the Millennium Goals and the objectives

of the Plan of Implementation of the World Summit on

Sustainable Development, held at Johannesburg. That

framework is fully in keeping with the fight against

poverty and the efforts to promote sustainable

development. It is based on a consensus that

emphasizes human rights, good governance and

democracy, as well as conflict prevention and

peacebuilding. This year, the summit will have the

theme “Information technologies in education”. That is

another complementary area on which la Francophonie

intends to focus in order to contribute to the objectives

agreed at the World Summit on the Information

Society. I hope that during the present session of the

General Assembly, Romania will be able to report

further actions taken by la Francophonie in keeping

with United Nations objectives.