Slovakia, 2002

Let me begin, Mr.

President, by congratulating you on your well-deserved

election. It is a great pleasure to see you, my good

friend and colleague, preside over the proceedings of

the General Assembly at this session. My delegation is

ready to provide its full support to you. Let me also

express my gratitude to your predecessor, His

Excellency Mr. Han Seung-soo, for his dedication and

accomplishment.

Slovakia welcomes Switzerland as the newest

Member of our Organization. We look forward also to

welcoming East Timor and to working closely with

both of them in promoting peace, security and

prosperity throughout the world.

The terrorist attacks on the United States a year

ago evoked worldwide anguish and outrage, followed

by enormous solidarity among nations throughout the

world and a firm stand by the worldwide coalition

against the scourge of terror. At the end of the day,

those cowardly acts of terror did not reach their

ultimate goal: chaos, anarchy and the destruction of the

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world community. On the contrary, they strengthened

our resolution to seek world peace and security and to

promote life in dignity and prosperity for all. Slovakia

pledged its full support for the anti-terrorist coalition

from the very beginning.

As the ruins of the World Trade Center were

smouldering at the southern tip of Manhattan, the

General Assembly, the Security Council and the

Secretary-General acted quickly, resolutely and

collectively. The United Nations proved to be crucial in

the fight against terrorism, which should be maintained

as a global campaign. Organizing this global task must

be central to our efforts at the United Nations. We

acknowledge the role of the United Nations in trying to

raise the capacity of every Member to defeat terrorism

in a globally coordinated way and in conformity with

Security Council resolution 1373 (2001), which was

adopted unanimously by the Council last year.

Since 11 September 2001, the Slovak authorities

have adapted and strengthened domestic legislation so

that it can be applied effectively against acts of

terrorism. Slovakia deposited its instrument of

ratification to the International Convention for the

Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism earlier this

month, and has thus become party to all 12

international conventions and protocols against

terrorism. Their provisions are already incorporated in

our domestic legislation. We are committed to continue

our cooperation in these endeavours with the relevant

United Nations institutions.

Shortly following 11 September 2001, the Al

Qaeda network and the Taliban regime that harboured

those terrorists were fought and disrupted. Organizing

a global response to the political and humanitarian

crises in Afghanistan became one of the crucial tasks at

the Untied Nations. A chance for the people of

Afghanistan to start rebuilding their country, which had

been fragmented for so long, has been offered. We

commend the work of the United Nations Assistance

Mission in Afghanistan and the countries contributing

to the International Security Assistance Force. Slovakia

is actively engaged in the reconstruction and

rehabilitation process in Afghanistan. An engineering

unit from Slovakia was dispatched to take part in the

Operation Enduring Freedom in August 2002.

Slovakia reaffirms its commitment to arms

control, disarmament and the non-proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction. We effectively participate

in regional and global efforts in the field of

disarmament and international security. The increased

threat of international terrorism today gives rise to

questions regarding the relationship between terrorism

and disarmament, as well as the contributions that

multilateral treaties and institutions in this field can

make. We must make greater progress in achieving

disarmament and non-proliferation goals, strengthen

verification and implementation mechanisms, and

thereby contribute to the creation of a safer world in

which terrorism cannot breed and flourish. We will

continue to work cooperatively and constructively in

the pursuit of disarmament and arms limitation goals.

Over the last decade we have witnessed an

upsurge in ethnic, social and religious violence all over

the world, when simmering tensions and power

struggles boiled over into open conflicts. There has

been an increasing demand for the United Nations to

intervene with regard to those threats to international

peace and security. As a result, peacekeeping has

become more frequent and more complex. Modern

peacekeeping operations are multidimensional, with

tasks ranging from traditional deployment of military

personnel, demining and medical support, to verification,

disarmament, the rebuilding of infrastructure and the

facilitation of institution-building, democratization and

elections. Peacekeeping operations have changed also in

terms of the financial resources they require.

My Government has always been fully committed

to the maintenance of international peace and security.

Peacekeeping has always been an important aspect of

our involvement in United Nations activities. Slovakia

currently provides military personnel and observers for

seven United Nations peacekeeping missions, in Ethiopia

and Eritrea, in Cyprus, in Iraq, in Jerusalem, on the Golan

Heights, in Sierra Leone and in East Timor. The number

of Slovak military personnel serving under the United

Nations flag has steadily increased since the mid-1990s.

Currently, there are more than 600 troops, apart from the

Slovak soldiers participating in missions in the Balkans

under NATO leadership. Slovakia will remain actively

engaged in this crucial area of the United Nations

responsibilities in the future.

Let me pay tribute to those courageous men and

women from various nations who contributed to the peace

missions and who lost their lives while serving under the

United Nations flag. My country has also suffered the

loss of lives. Four brave Slovak men have been

awarded, in memoriam, the Dag Hammarskjöld medal.

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Resolutions adopted by the Security Council

under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter are

legally binding. The failure of any Member State to

fulfil the requirements of those resolutions constitutes a

breach of the Charter. In such cases, the international

community has the right to enforce the rule of law. We

have carefully noted the decision of the Government of

Iraq, announced earlier this week, to allow the return of

United Nations weapons inspectors without conditions.

Yet that decision needs to be matched with further

concrete steps which would provide for the swift and

full implementation of the relevant Security Council

resolutions.

The question of Israel and Palestine has been

occupying our attention since the United Nations was

founded. It is our common responsibility to achieve a

comprehensive solution resulting in the existence of two

States living side by side in peace and mutual respect

within secure and recognized borders. We fully support

the efforts of the diplomatic Quartet on the Middle East

to push forward the vision of peace in the region.

Slovakia is fully committed to the rules and

principles of international law and justice. In that context,

we attach particular importance to the work of the

International Court of Justice. The Court has proved to be

a very useful institution for resolving inter-State disputes,

including some serious territorial disputes. That

institution deserves full support, including financial

support, from the General Assembly. Slovakia and its

southern neighbour have previously submitted a

dispute to the Court. Now, having already recognized

the Court's jurisdiction over a number of European

countries, we are in the process of preparing a

declaration that will recognize the general compulsory

jurisdiction of the Court, in accordance with article 36,

paragraph 2, of the Statute.

We remain convinced that, as the main repository

of international law, the United Nations must play an

important role in strengthening legal approaches to

fighting the most serious crimes of international concern.

Slovakia fully supports the work of international criminal

tribunals, as well as the establishment of the International

Criminal Court. We have signed and ratified the Rome

Statute of the Court. Slovakia became one of the countries

whose ratification was necessary for the entry into force

of the Statute on 1 July 2002. Despite various concerns

and reservations expressed by some Member States of

the United Nations, we continue to believe that the

Court has the potential to promote the rule of law and

to prevent impunity by persons who commit the most

serious of crimes.

Our position on the issue of Security Council

reform is linked to the importance we attach to making

the Organization more effective. Let me once again

underline this position. In addition to maintaining its

necessary representative character, the Security

Council should also preserve the required operational

flexibility. Slovakia supports the enlargement of the

Security Council in both the non-permanent as well as

the permanent category. We consider it fully justified

for one additional non-permanent seat to be allocated

to the Group of Eastern European States, as that

Group's membership has doubled in the last decade.

As the world becomes more and more global, the

United Nations should respond by becoming ever more

universal. The concerns of all nations should be

listened to irrespective of their size, geographic

location, military strength or economic power. We have

no doubts as to the irreplaceable role of the United

Nations in tackling global issues, whether with regard

to the protection of human rights, the eradication of

famine, poverty, disease and illiteracy or prevention of

the proliferation of drugs and weapons.

We all live on one planet. We must all face the

deterioration of the environment and together adopt

adequate measures to guarantee sustainable development.

The Millennium Declaration shows us the right way. The

world community must now increase its efforts to meet

all of these goals. The Monterrey and Johannesburg

summits proved that much can be achieved if decisions

are based on global consensus. They also showed the

power of having the will and determination to tackle

global issues. We now have to concentrate on the

fulfilment of our commitments. We need deeds. The

United Nations should play a leading role in

monitoring the implementation of our decisions. We

need a United Nations that is strong and efficient.