Slovakia, 1995

Mr. President, it is

undoubtedly a great honour to be the President of the

United Nations General Assembly session in this very

important year. Please accept my sincere congratulations on

your election and my very best wishes for a successful

course of its fiftieth session.

I should also like to thank your predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Amara Essy, for his significant contribution

to the positive results achieved at last year’s session.

By the end of 1995, the Slovak Republic will have

concluded the third year of its sovereign existence.

Although my country is relatively new in the international

community, it has during the past three years confirmed

that its activities in the international scene are based on

respect for international law and for the principles of

democratic coexistence between nations.

The basic coordinate of Slovakia’s foreign policy is its

integration into the geopolitical and economic sphere with

which we not only have numerous historical ties, but

also — and, I think, more importantly — with which we

share the same hierarchy of modern civilized values.

Along with other Central European countries,

Slovakia has made significant progress in the

transformation of its political and economic system, as

well as in the process of democratization. We feel

political and economical closeness to the West, and we

are aware of the unique historical opportunity to join the

prosperous union of democratic European countries.

Slovakia as a standard democratic State is an integral

part of the Central European space, which is undoubtedly

important for political and military stability in Europe.

We want to contribute to building that stability by

maintaining good-neighbourly relations backed by a set of

legally sound treaties, as well as by mutually beneficial

cooperation. We proceed from the fact that such

cooperation is a basic precondition for the stability and

prosperity of all the countries in our region.

Good relations with the States of the G-7, of the

Commonwealth of Independent States and all democratic

countries, are also of great importance to us. We wish to

make full use of the opportunity for cooperation with the

dynamically developing Asia-Pacific region, with the

Latin American countries, and with Near and Middle East

countries as well.

The Slovak Republic participates in maintaining

international peace and security within the framework of

United Nations activities. Our priority at this stage is full

membership in the Conference on Disarmament (CD). In

this respect I cannot omit to note that our membership in

the Conference on Disarmament following that of the

former Czecho-Slovak federation, which had been working

in that organ since the very beginning, remains the only

unresolved issue. In all other organs, the seat occupied by

the former Czecho-Slovakia was assigned to either the

Czech Republic or to Slovakia by elections or by

appointments based on the respective rules, with both

successor States having agreed not to compete with each

other in order to obtain seats in organs of the United

Nations system which had been vacated by the dissolution

of the federation. In accordance with this agreement and

with the support of the Eastern European regional group,

Slovakia submitted its candidature for the seat vacated by

the former Czecho-Slovak federation, to which Slovakia is

one of the successor States, in the Conference on

Disarmament. In other words, we have had and we still

have a serious interest in filling the gap which has arisen in

the membership of that Conference. We consider it

unjustifiable to link the issue of filling the vacancy in the

membership of the Conference with the broader issue of the

expansion of its membership, which has been under

discussion for many years. We expect that States members

of the Conference will understand this situation and will

support Slovakia and its legitimate effort to pursue the

previous activities of Czecho-Slovak diplomacy in the

Conference on Disarmament.

The results of the Fifth Review Conference of the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)

represent an important impulse for the further activities of

the Conference on Disarmament. The extension of the

Treaty for an indefinite period is the most important result

of the Review Conference. We consider it a precondition

for the further development of international cooperation in

the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, as well as for the

complete elimination of nuclear weapons. The Non-

Proliferation Treaty has played a positive role in the

modern history of mankind. Being the only Treaty with a

global character, it has managed to reduce the risk of

further expansion of the group of nuclear-weapon States.

Slovakia places special emphasis on the preparation of

the comprehensive test-ban treaty (CTBT) in 1996, and

supports the immediate commencement of negotiations

aimed at elaborating the text of the fissile materials cut-off

treaty. This would lead to further progress in building up a

new security architecture, and it would become an

important milestone on the road to an era when nuclear

weapons will be considered unnecessary.

Slovakia, as one of the signatory States, attaches

great importance to the chemical weapons Convention

(CWC), which has outlawed a whole category of weapons

of mass destruction. It is my pleasure to inform the

Assembly that the Slovak Parliament approved this

Convention three weeks ago, and we will soon submit the

ratification instruments to the Secretary-General.

In connection with the forthcoming Review

Conference of the States Parties to the Convention on

Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain

Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be

Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects

(CCW), my country is ready to support the successful

course of work and the adoption of the text of Protocol

IV, which would enable the effective implementation of

the Convention. Slovakia was among the very first

countries to place an embargo on the export of anti-

personnel land-mines. We also highly appreciate the

results of the International Meeting on United Nations

Mine Clearance Programmes held under the auspices of

the Secretary-General. This forum stressed the need for a

more active approach to the reduction of negative impacts

caused by the use of these inhumane weapons, which

especially afflict the civil population, including innocent

children.

The conflict on the territory of the former

Yugoslavia has thoroughly tested the entire international

community, but especially the United Nations

Organization itself. The level at which we pass this test

will affect relations in the international political scene for

the next few decades. Slovakia considers peace talks to be

the only way leading to a stable and just solution.

Military actions have turned out to be counter-productive

and to have only a temporary character. They cannot

overcome the animosity between the warring sides. Our

effort is aimed at finding generally acceptable solutions

agreed upon by all parties at the negotiating table. Their

equal status can be considered to be one of the crucial

prerequisites in approaching this crisis. Therefore, we

support the plan of the Contact Group and see it as a

sound starting-point for direct negotiations between the

parties to the conflict.

In order to achieve stability in the Mediterranean

region, a just and lasting solution of the problem of

Cyprus should be found. In this context, my country

supports the efforts of the international community and

highly esteems in particular the contribution which the

Secretary-General made in stressing the territorial

integrity and sovereignty of Cyprus. We think it is

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necessary that negotiations continue between the two

communities in order to reunite the island. This process, if

it is to be concluded successfully, has to take into

consideration the individual and specific differences existing

within the population. Slovakia is ready to continue

providing its good services aimed at facilitating meetings

between political representatives of the two communities.

Since there are so many conflicts in all parts of the

world, my country welcomes any progress that would

strengthen international security and peace. Just to mention

a few examples, visible progress has been made in the

Middle East peace process focused on the final settlement

of the long-standing Arab-Israeli conflict. The agreements

signed between the State of Israel and the Palestine

Liberation Organization have proved the correct and

appropriate nature of the peace talks and of the efforts of

the two parties and of the international community. These

efforts are based on the conviction that the two parties can

coexist peacefully.

United Nations peace-keeping operations have become

one of the most discussed issues. Slovakia considers peace-

keeping operations to be an important instrument with

which the international community can maintain peace and

security in the world. On the other hand, we realize that the

current situation is not ideal. Therefore, we support the

process of restructuring peace-keeping operations, which

would increase their effectiveness and allow them to react

quickly. This would require the mandate of peace-keeping

missions to be clear, unambiguous and realistic — that is,

implementable. In this context, we welcome the Supplement

to the Agenda for Peace as an effort to strengthen the

element of conflict prevention. We have been following the

discussions on these issues with great attention and we

share the view that, at this stage, peace-keeping, rather than

peace-enforcement, is the realistic solution reflecting both

the complexity of most conflicts and what the international

community can sustain.

Slovakia’s position has been reflected in the types of

units and services provided for peace-keeping operations.

At the current time we have 600 engineers in the former

Yugoslavia and five military observers in the United

Nations Angola Verification Mission. The Slovak Engineer

Battalion was awarded an honorary diploma by the Force

Commander of the United Nations Protection Force in

November 1994 in recognition of its professional skills and

the quality of the work done.

In order to achieve the goals set forth by the United

Nations, it is necessary that they be realized in a democratic

environment, especially with regard to the protection of

human rights. The Slovak Republic has succeeded to all

the relevant international obligations of the former

Czecho-Slovak federation. In the field of human rights,

this means that Slovakia is a party to all of the

international human rights conventions. This active

approach has also resulted in a variety of documents

approved in domestic legislation and in foreign policy.

I should like to mention just a few examples,

especially the incorporation of international human rights

protection standards into the Constitution of the Slovak

Republic; the further harmonization of other legal norms

to those standards; the establishment of the Slovak

National Centre for Human Rights, and the Governmental

Committee for the implementation of the Action

Programme against Racism, Anti-Semitism, Xenophobia,

and Intolerance; active participation in the preparation of

international documents concerning the protection of

persons belonging to ethnic minorities; the ratification of

the Framework Convention of the Council of Europe on

the Protection of Minorities; and, last but not least, the

reflection of this document, together with the United

Nations Declaration on the Rights of Persons Belonging

to National or Ethnic, Religious and Linguistic Minorities

in the Treaty on Good Neighbourly Relations and

Friendly Cooperation signed this year with Hungary.

Slovakia is very sensitive to all kinds of disrespect

for and gross violation of values which are the keystone

of human dignity, and my country therefore highly

appreciates United Nations activities in regard to the

protection of human rights. We are prepared to contribute

to the strengthening of international cooperation in order

to achieve higher respect for human rights and basic

freedoms for all, regardless of their race, gender, language

or religion.

Speaking of human rights, we cannot overlook the

rights of women. The Fourth World Conference on

Women, which has just concluded, has raised a number

of questions which will have to be resolved by our joint

efforts. We welcome the successful outcome of this event

and we were honoured, as a member of the Commission

on the Status of Women, to take active part in the

preparation of its final document, the Platform for Action.

There are a number of social issues related to the

status of women. One of them is the role of the family in

society. The International Centre for Family Studies has

been active in Slovakia since the end of 1993 and it has

repeatedly proved its viability by actively participating at

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various international events. This Centre was the

co-organizer of the United Nations Interregional Meeting of

National Coordinators — Focal Point for the Year of the

Family, held in Bratislava from 4 to 7 February 1995.

These facts have led our Government to seek opportunities

for closer cooperation between the Centre and the United

Nations. Slovakia has therefore submitted a proposal for

affiliating the Centre with the United Nations. We would

highly appreciate our proposal being given positive

consideration.

Slovakia appreciates the efforts of the United Nations

with a view to the restructuring and revitalization of its

activities in the economic, social and other related fields, as

well as all reforms connected with them. We consider these

efforts to be a contribution to improving the efficiency of

the work of the United Nations and a positive reaction to

all major changes taking place all over the world.

We fully support the basic approach and goals of the

two fundamental documents approved by the United

Nations in the area of international economic cooperation

in the 1990s: the Declaration on International Economic

Cooperation, in particular the Revitalization of Economic

Growth and Development of the Developing Countries, and

the International Development Strategy for the Fourth

United Nations Development Decade.

One of the main priorities anchored in these

documents is the development of human resources within

the overall development framework. These documents are

based on global consensus. Their aim is to improve the

social and economic situation of the poor and least

developed parts of our planet and thus to eliminate one of

the main sources of conflicts — the huge differences

between the wealthy and poor countries. All these goals are

in the best interest of the Slovak Republic, too.

During the last decade, the number of countries

meeting the criteria for being “least developed” has

significantly increased. Together with other global problems

such as environmental protection and sustainable

development, which cannot be resolved by a single country

or several countries, this is a challenge for all mankind, and

for the most developed countries in particular. However, we

must stress also the primary responsibility of the countries

concerned for their further development.

Nowadays, Slovakia itself, as well as other Central and

East European countries, must face a variety of complicated

economic problems related to the process of transition from

a centrally planned economy to a market economy. This

process has never before been carried out to such an

extent. We are deeply interested in continued access to

valuable information within United Nations projects

related to know-how, human resources development and

management training. This would certainly help us in

carrying out our economic reform.

Despite the complicated economic situation, my

country has a strong will to participate actively in United

Nations programmes in areas in which we could be of

assistance, namely in areas concerning human resources

in developing countries. For example, we see

opportunities for broader participation by Slovak experts

in development programmes.

Slovakia supports all activities of the United Nations

in the field of assistance to developing countries. We

welcome the increasing efforts of these countries not to

be in the position of passive recipients only, and we value

their endeavour to take over the management of their

economic and technical development. At the same time,

we highly appreciate the United Nations role in

implementing its projects, to reflect the needs of the

receiving countries fully, while respecting specific

features of their economies and their priorities and

making use of the domestic human, technical and

technological potential.

Nowadays, when the United Nations is going

through a complicated period of its existence, it is

particularly important to determine the direction of its

activities, with, as a starting-point, the processes going on

in international relations. Interconnection between global

and national interests is the defining factor in coping with

the problems which all mankind is facing at the moment.

If the United Nations is really to understand the very

nature of these processes, it will be necessary to start its

own reform. We support such reform and therefore

support all steps that would strengthen the United Nations

system and thereby enable it to perform its tasks more

effectively. This reform will require, inter alia, the

restructuring of most of the Organization’s main bodies.

As for Security Council reform, we support expanding the

Council by the addition of new members that are able to

assume global responsibilities and have sufficient

potential to support United Nations activities financially.

The credibility and efficiency of the Security Council

have to be stressed as the main priorities.

We are fully aware of the difficult financial

situation, which is a result of unpaid arrears by Member

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States. Member States are very often unable to pay their

assessed contributions. Therefore, we support the reform of

the scale of assessment based on the principle of the

capacity to pay, and we also expect the reform to increase

effectiveness and transparency of spending.

In connection with the United Nations budget, I wish

to mention that Slovakia, in spite of the fact that it is

undergoing a transformation of its economy and has to cope

with various pressures on State finances, has always

fulfilled its obligation to pay its assessed contribution to the

regular budget in full. As concerns its contribution to the

budget for peace-keeping operations, Slovakia is in the

same position as the Czech Republic. These two countries

have not been classified into any of the groups for the

apportionment of peace-keeping expenses even though they

have been Members of the United Nations for more than

two and a half years. We believe that this issue will be

resolved at this year’s session of the General Assembly, and

that in so doing we shall take realistically into account the

respective economic data. Having analysed the data and

having compared it with data from other countries, we have

reached the firm conviction that Slovakia should be placed

among the Member States of Group “C” for the

apportionment of peace-keeping expenses. From this

rostrum I want to confirm that Slovakia is ready to shoulder

its fair share of responsibility for this important activity of

the United Nations.

This year we commemorate five decades since the end

of the horrors of the Second World War, since that moment

when all nations put aside weapons with the intention of

living in peace, and, for this reason, decided to establish an

organization which would serve as a platform for

international cooperation. Looking back at those decades we

must logically come to the conclusion that the United

Nations has played a crucial role in our history and that its

existence is still justified.

Although the ceremonies will culminate in meetings

next month, we can already say that we did our best to

ensure the commemoration of this anniversary with honour.

For the celebration of this anniversary, a special committee

established in Slovakia organized many education-oriented

events, a number of which are still taking place. The main

goal of all seminars, meetings, and television and radio

broadcasts has been to focus more attention on the activities

of this undoubtedly most important international

organization, not only in the field of maintaining

international peace and security but also, and especially, in

the field of the development of international cooperation in

all areas of human activity.

I wish the best for this session of the General

Assembly, and I wish it much spiritual strength in

resolving the important issues which the United Nations

is facing now.