Romania, 2012

The

current session of the General Assembly gives us a

complete picture of today’s world with all its challenges

and opportunities. We can also glimpse various paths

opening up before us to help us meet the needs of

humankind and of nations.

I would like to focus on the three main areas of

activity of the United Nations — peace and security;

development; and human rights, democracy and the rule

of law. In our approach we believe that the realities of the

last decade have confirmed the profound and complex

interdependence that exists between these areas. There

is no peace and security without development and

respect for human rights and democracy. Development

is a catalyst for democracy and respect for human rights,

and, at the same time, an essential factor for peace

and security. In their turn, respect for human rights,

democracy and the rule of law strengthen development

and create the conditions for lasting peace and security.

New situations of internal instability, civil strife

and insecurity, with spillover effects, have arisen in the

Middle East and other regions. It is regrettable that the

new session of the Assembly is beginning in the shadow

of the sorrow over the recent events in Benghazi.

Attacks on diplomatic representatives are unacceptable

for any reason. Diplomats are bridges between cultures,

links among nations. Their inviolability is part of

ancient custom. I strongly condemn the attacks and

offer my sincere condolences to the families of the

victims. The perpetrators must be brought to justice

through a fair and equitable trial. At the same time, the

ideals of democracy must be preserved. Stability and

the rule of law should be the future pillars of society

in Libya and elsewhere. We are firmly committed to

supporting the efforts of the international community

to consolidate stability and security, tolerance and

religious understanding.

Throughout 2012 we have been confronted with the

dire effects of the crisis in Syria, where human rights

violations are now rampant. The Syrian Government must comply with its international commitments and

obligations relating to human rights. Justice must be

done in all cases of violations of human rights and all

those who are guilty must be permitted a fair trial,

even if it was not something they allowed their victims.

Romania has stated throughout that it is imperative

that the international community curb the escalating

violence in Syria; and of course we favour a political

solution.

In that regard, I would like to voice our firm support

for the mission of Mr. Lakhdar Brahimi in his new

capacity as Special Representative of the United Nations

and the League of Arab States for Syria. We were also

a wholehearted supporter of the full implementation

of the Joint Special Envoy’s six-point plan for Syria

and, similarly, gave full and direct support to the

activitiees of the United Nations Supervision Mission

in the Syrian Arab Republic. In that context, I would

like to remind the Assembly that Romanian monitors

were part of its structure. I strongly believe that the

only future for Syria must be an inclusive one for all

Syrians, irrespective of religion or ethnic group. Any

other option would be nothing less than a nightmare.

The time has come for a more structured response

on the part of the United Nations, based on a consensus

approach by the Security Council. Obviously, we

cannot and should not allow violence to prevail when

people in Syria rely on our capacity to offer stability

and predictability and when regional stability and

security are at stake.

Recent developments in the area of peace and

security, at both the global and regional levels, do

not offer many reasons for optimism. The year 2012

has seen limited progress with the Middle East peace

process. The expectations raised by the statement of the

Quartet for the Middle East on 23 September 2011 will

remain unfulfilled as long as direct Israeli-Palestinian

negotiations are not resumed.

Romania is a strong supporter of all efforts to

achieve a comprehensive peace in the Middle East.

We support all the initiatives of the Quartet and the

full implementation of the road map’s vision of two

States, Israeli and Palestinian, living side by side in

peace and security. We are also concerned about the

lack of progress in finding negotiated solutions to

protracted conflicts in the Black Sea region, such as

those in Transnistria and Nagorno Karabakh and that

in Georgia involving Abkhazia and South Ossetia. We must all keep our attention focused on these unsettled

situations. Meanwhile, we express our satisfaction

with the efforts carried out over the past 12 months by

the special representatives of the United Nations, the

European Union and the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe.

Over the past year, the Security Council reacted

promptly to new crises by adopting resolutions aimed

at preventing the escalation of conflict or calling for the

re-establishment of constitutional order or for efforts by

all the parties involved to find negotiated solutions to

new problems. The resolutions adopted have not always

met expectations. In spite of the fact that the mandates

of several United Nations peacekeeping missions were

extended, little progress was made.

Under the auspices of the United Nations, through

a joint innovative and intellectual effort, the conceptual

approach has been enlarged to include human security,

the responsibility to protect, and mediation. There

is still a long way to go before those concepts are

operational. When the time comes, Romania stands

ready to implement them.

New categories of participants must be included

in our common endeavour. Beside Governments,

non-governmental organizations, civil society,

parliaments and local communities are already acting

to identify optimal solutions. Based on my previous

experience as Chairman of the Foreign Affairs

Committee of the Senate, I consider that the role of

parliaments as elected bodies could be increased in

prevention activities or in efforts to settle existing

conflicts. In that respect, cooperation and interaction

between the United Nations, national parliaments and

the Inter-Parliamentary Union in peacebuilding efforts

is highly relevant.

Over the past 15 years, my country has taken a

keen interest in, and offered important contributions

to, civilian and military missions under United Nations

mandates. Today Romania is honoured and proud to

have contributed in a consistent way to various United

Nations operations. I pay my deepest respect to the men

and women of Romania who have lost or risked their

lives in conflict areas, as well as to all the military,

police, gendarmes and civilian personnel serving all

over the world to bring peace and security under the

f lag of the United Nations.

As I have already mentioned, development is

equally a major area of interest, action and cooperation within the United Nations. One area where we could

find solutions within the United Nations framework is

improving the functioning of the banking and financial

systems and institutions. National and international

banking and financial institutions should become

ever greater partners for Governments — a part of the

solution to the economic crises confronting countries

and regions.

Young people are the future of our nations and of

our world. The United Nations has, in the past, takem

up the problems facing younger generations, including

through programmes of action adopted by the General

Assembly. The time has come to revisit this area of

interest to assess the achievements as well as the steps

to be taken in order to meet the current expectations

and needs of youth.

We should reconsider from a broader perspective the

vital role of the education sector in providing support,

especially but not exclusively, to young people. Such

support should include universal access for younger

generations to education; professional training allowing

rapid and efficient integration into the labour market;

and participation in, and contribution to, the shaping of

future societies in all the countries, especially in those

in transition.

For many years now, water has been a major concern

as climate change affects its availability in all regions.

Water, our planet’s most precious resource, must not be

allowed to become our most disputed resource and a

source of bitter conflict.

Our attention should be focused on the follow-up to

and implementation of the decisions recently adopted

by the United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development. Relevant resolutions on enhancement

of the institutional framework for sustainable

development, agreement on sustainable development

goals, and determination of certain financial aspects of

the achievement of those goals are expected by all of us.

I should like to share some thoughts relating to the

area of human rights, which is of growing relevance

for our cooperation in the framework of the United

Nations. International cooperation and discussions

promoting human rights received renewed momentum

with the establishment of the Human Rights Council.

As an elected member of the Council since it began

its work, Romania has contributed to the development and adoption of its working methods, based on a more

analytical approach as well as on in-depth cooperation

and interactive dialogue with Member States. The

main objective of the Romanian presidency of the

Human Rights Council in 2007 was to strengthen

and more actively promote human rights at the global

level. We believe that the universal periodic review

is an appropriate instrument for implementing the

international protection of human rights in all its

aspects. It can also respond to new human rights

challenges, such as those posed by the Internet.

This spring in Geneva, Romania, together with

Morocco, Norway, Peru, Qatar and Tunisia, promoted a

draft resolution entitled “Human rights, democracy and

the rule of law”, which was sponsored by 124 countries

from all regional groups. The broad support for the

resolution, and the large number of Member States

that supported its adoption by the Council, confirms

the interest of Member States in this subject. We saw

a broad recognition of the close interlinkage of human

rights, democracy and the rule of law. We would like to

see in the near future the same approach taken by the

General Assembly in the form of a similar resolution.

In that respect, Romania is ready to set to work and to

act together with other interested Member States.

In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm my country’s

commitment to the principles and values promoted

and constantly enhanced by the United Nations. We

recognize that there is no alternative to the framework

of cooperation offered by the United Nations system,

which aims to resolve the complex and interrelated

problems of our day. Reforming and adapting the

system to the new realities of the world depends entirely

upon us as Member States. It depends on our political

will as political leaders. By doing so, we will meet the

expectations of our peoples.