Slovakia, 2005

At the outset, allow me to

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its sixtieth

session. I am confident that your experience in

multilateral diplomacy, coupled with a positive

approach, will serve as a guarantee of success for the

outcome of your decisions. Ahead of us lie demanding

tasks related to the implementation of the reform

decisions that have been adopted. I wish to assure that

you can fully rely on Slovakia's support in that regard.

I wish also to convey our solidarity to the United

States citizens devastated by Hurricane Katrina, who

are struggling to recover from the trauma of losing

their loved ones and their homes. On behalf of the

people and the Government of Slovakia, I extend

heartfelt sympathy to the families of the victims who

perished in that natural disaster.

We are gathered here in this forum because the

challenges faced by humankind in the area of global

development, security and protection of human rights

bring us together in our search for common solutions

that call for clear political decisions. There is a general

understanding that the United Nations, in its current

shape and form, is not up to the challenges that lie

ahead of it in the twenty-first century. Accordingly, we

must follow through with the necessary changes so that

this Organization may continue to fulfil its role

efficiently while keeping abreast of the growing needs

and expectations of the international community.

The Secretary-General has submitted his plan,

which contains a package of bold reform steps laying

down ways for the international community to deal

with current issues and upgrade the United Nations

system. Since the very day on which it was published,

Slovakia has believed that his plan provides an

excellent basis for our deliberations. We endorse the

premise that progress in tackling the most important

global problems can only be achieved if the issues of

development, security and human rights are addressed

jointly. In particular, we welcome the fact that human

rights are accorded the same priority as development

and security, and we appreciate the relevant proposals

to strengthen the international system for the protection

of human rights.

The reform of the United Nations is not a matter

to be dealt with by the Organization alone, as

responsibility for reaching concrete consensus on key

issues lies primarily in the hands of the Governments

of Member States. Reaching agreement that

accommodates the interests of the entire world is no

easy task. This yearís summit and its outcome

document have forced us to look in the mirror. They

have shown us the amount of vision, wisdom and

courage that we were able and willing to bring to this

task, with a view to fundamentally reforming the

system of multilateral cooperation in the interest of

global development. The image we saw reflected in the

mirror was not to everyoneís liking, but that is the

nature of multilateral diplomacy. It is the result of

compromise, the art of the possible, which is both its

strong and its weak point. In that connection, I prefer

taking a forward-looking approach with regard to the

outcome document, which contains messages and ideas

that deserve our support in the General Assembly. Let

us try to go ahead with its implementation as best we

can.

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Despite the considerable progress achieved -

primarily in the fight against poverty and famine in

Asia - all reports draw attention to the extremely

alarming and unacceptable downturn in several parts of

Africa. Slovakia came to the summit with the

understanding that our first priority was to make

progress in achieving the Millennium Development

Goals (MDGs). In my view, the outcome document

provides a solid basis for our future work in that

regard.

Slovakia has not been inactive in that respect.

The amount of public funds appropriated for foreign

aid has quadrupled since the year 2000, which speaks

for itself. In addition, having joined the European

Union in May 2004, Slovakia also joined the common

European development aid system. As a new member

of the Union, Slovakia pledged to do its utmost to

increase its official development assistance to 0.17 per

cent of gross domestic product by 2010, and to 0.33

per cent by 2015.

Slovakia is directly funding and implementing

more than 70 projects in the poor countries of Europe,

Asia and Africa. That gives us the opportunity to

directly pass on to developing countries the unique

knowledge that we acquired during our own countryís

transition.

In addition to favouring an increase in aid,

Slovakia also supports further reform of trade relations

as well as debt relief for poor countries. I wish to

highlight the serious debt relief measures that Slovakia

took earlier this year, forgiving several hundred million

dollars in debt owed by heavily indebted poor

countries.

Slovakia welcomes efforts aimed at liberalizing

trade as a means to promote economic growth and

development. We therefore join the call for an

expeditious completion of the World Trade

Organizationís Doha round of negotiations.

At this point, I must mention that one of the most

serious global threats is the escalation of terrorism. It is

commendable that the outcome document clearly

denounces this new plague of our time, which

endangers the population of rich and poor countries

alike. Slovakia has clearly opposed all forms of

violence and expressions of blind fanaticism and

hatred. During the summit, in order to demonstrate

Slovakiaís position, I personally signed the

International Convention for the Suppression of Acts

of Nuclear Terrorism, which is the latest in a series of

anti-terrorist international treaty instruments. Slovakia

is also a signatory to all 12 United Nations anti-

terrorism conventions. Slovakia strongly supports the

comprehensive strategy to fight terrorism presented by

Secretary-General Kofi Annan at the Madrid

Conference in March 2005.

I must say that Slovakia had expected that the

summit would have formulated a clear definition of

terrorism, which is an important prerequisite for the

adoption of a comprehensive anti-terrorism convention.

While we did not achieve that, it is nevertheless

imperative that we redouble our efforts to draft such a

convention in order that it can still be adopted during

this sixtieth session. The outcome document will serve

as a good starting point for that effort.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

continues to represent the most serious threat to global

security. It is therefore regrettable that the outcome

document leaves us with more questions than answers.

As a member of the Board of Governors of the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Slovakia

recognizes the right to the peaceful use of nuclear

energy without the possibility of misusing that

technology to produce nuclear arms. We therefore

believe that in order to prevent the proliferation of

nuclear weapons it is crucial to strengthen the

supervisory competencies of the IAEA and to control

more effectively the stages in the nuclear fuel cycle

that involve uranium enrichment and plutonium

processing. However, such restrictions must take

account of the right of countries that fully satisfy their

treaty obligations to obtain energy from nuclear power.

Slovakia supported the proposal to set up a

Human Rights Council as a permanent principal body

of the United Nations. The Human Rights Council

should follow up on all the positive and constructive

features of the existing Human Rights Commission.

Members of the Human Rights Council should be

elected by a two-thirds majority of the General

Assembly. The Slovak Republic is in favour of the

Council being composed of a small number of

members in order to give it the necessary flexibility in

responding to emerging problems. Slovakia supported

the proposal to elect members of the Council on a

regional basis, and from countries that demonstrably

meet their commitments concerning the protection of

human rights. Slovakia also encourages closer

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interactions between the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights, the Human Rights

Council and the Security Council. In that context, we

welcome the proposal in the summitís outcome

document to strengthen the Office of the High

Commissioner for Human Rights.

We were also pleased to note that, for the first

time, the outcome document contains a broader

definition of the principle of the responsibility to

protect. Slovakia looks forward to further work in that

regard. We believe that after Cambodia, Rwanda, the

Sudan and Srebrenica, we are slowly entering a stage

where we take on more direct responsibility for dealing

with situations where genocide and war crimes are

committed. The principle of sovereignty means that

responsibility for people lies with each sovereign

country and its Government. However, if a particular

Government fails to live up to that responsibility, the

international community has the obligation to take all

necessary steps and use all available and necessary

means to prevent a major humanitarian disaster.

Slovakia was very much in favour of the proposal

to set up a Peacebuilding Commission. Experience

shows us that we must not rush to leave a country that

has just seen the end of a conflict and simply turn our

backs on the whole situation. Our recent history has

provided us several bad examples in that regard. We

must strengthen our efforts with a view to setting up an

effective Peacebuilding Commission in the shortest

amount of time possible. The outcome document sets

out clear parameters and a timeframe for its

establishment.

I mentioned at the outset that it is essential to

realign the United Nations with the reality of our

modern era. In that regard, it is essential to further

revitalize the General Assembly. We must also reform

the Economic and Social Council so as to make it

capable of effectively implementing the development

agenda of the United Nations.

With respect to reorganizing the Secretariat, we

are in favour of increasing the flexibility, and

strengthening the authority of, the Secretary-General in

his managerial functions as the head of the

Organization, in order to enable him to keep abreast of

the current needs of the United Nations. He must be

given the necessary resources to perform his role. At

the same time, it will be necessary to strengthen the

independence and powers of internal supervisory

bodies in order to ensure more transparency and

accountability inside the Organization. Of course, all

the reforms will require appropriate funding in order

not to dissipate the efforts that were necessary to reach

consensus.

Among the reforms that have enjoyed Slovakia's

long-standing support is the reform of the Security

Council. This is an issue on which, despite ongoing

efforts, we were unable to reach a balanced agreement.

We need a more democratic and more representative

Security Council that better reflects todayís new

geopolitical situation. The Security Council should be

enlarged in both categories of membership by adding

countries that play an important role in the global arena

and in the United Nations framework. It is vital that an

enlarged Council retain its effectiveness with regard to

decision-making.

We intend to actively support the transition

process in Iraq with a view to creating a secure, stable,

united, prosperous and democratic country, in

accordance with Security Council resolutions. As we

declared at the International Conference on Iraq, held

on 22 June 2005 in Brussels, Slovakia has decided to

forgive $1.13 billion of Iraq's debt as a tangible

contribution to that end. We are confident that the Iraqi

people will use the October referendum to show their

support for the new Constitution, and that democratic

parliamentary elections will follow.

Stabilizing the western Balkans remains a priority

on my countryís foreign policy agenda. Slovakia has

thus far supported the engagement of the United

Nations in the region by participating in peacekeeping

and stabilization missions in the Balkans. In our

opinion, the pivotal issue with regard to the

stabilization of the Western Balkans is the future status

of Kosovo, which remains a potential element of

instability in the region. We denounce all acts of

violence and intolerance inside the province. We

believe that the majority of Kosovars aspire to peace,

democracy and development. In particular, we

appreciate the activities of the Special Envoy of the

Secretary-General, Kai Eide.

Slovakia has been approved as the candidate of

the Group of Eastern European States for a non-

permanent seat in the Security Council in the elections

to be held at this session of the General Assembly.

Slovakia has never been a member of the Security

Council, although it has taken an active part in United

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Nations peacekeeping efforts through its participation

in operations in Europe, Asia, Africa and the Middle

East.

If elected to membership in that important body,

the Slovak Republic will enter the Security Council at

a dynamic moment characterized by a changing global

environment and by the search for a new security

consensus. New threats to security represent growing

challenges to the ability of the international system to

maintain international peace and security. That

development will therefore also be a challenge for our

country in its capacity as a member of the Security

Council, in particular because it will test our readiness

to shoulder greater commitment and responsibility for

stability and security around the world. I want to assure

the Assembly that Slovakia is ready to take on this

important assignment with honour and responsibility.