Slovenia, 1998

Let me take this

opportunity to congratulate the President and his country,

Uruguay, on his election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its fifty-third session. I am convinced that his

experience and skills will help the General Assembly fulfil

its important tasks.

I would also like to thank Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko of

Ukraine for his work as President and to commend him on

his decisive guidance during the deliberations of the fifty-

second session of the General Assembly.

The world order is being rearranged. Our time is

marked by continuous change. It is of crucial importance

that this process of change take place in a peaceful way and

under the rules which the international community has

agreed upon. The United Nations has an indispensable role

in that regard and must be able to respond to the world?s

needs. While it is true that the United Nations is a

framework within which the Member States can pursue

their own national interests, the United Nations is above all

an instrument for making the common goals and aspirations

of humankind a realistic programme for a better future.

The world and its goals and challenges are changing,

and the United Nations has to change as well. It was a wise

decision for the Member States to support the Secretary-

General?s programme for reform and help him undertake

the necessary measures. We are glad to see that some of

the steps of this excellent programme have already made

the United Nations more responsive and more effective.

Only an efficient universal organization can help us

cope with the pressing challenges of globalization,

economic and social development, environmental changes

and the urgent need to protect and respect human rights.

We need the United Nations to protect our highest and

most basic goal: the maintenance of international peace

and security. Therefore, we expect that the remaining

proposals of the Secretary-General will be approved by

the Members during this session of the General

Assembly. This will allow us to move forward in the

reform and transformation of our United Nations.

Slovenia attaches special importance to the

promotion of the noble principles and values upon which

the United Nations is built. This is why we were

especially proud to be elected a non-permanent member

of the Security Council. The implementation of our key

foreign-policy objectives, which we pursue in our work

and endeavours in the Security Council, is, however,

challenged by an increasing number of threats to peace

and stability. Judgement, compassion and determination

must guide us in our struggle to offer new hope for

suffering people.

From the Balkans to Central Africa and Central

Asia, a particular type of warfare seems to be prevailing

in all conflicts. The civilian population is the main —

and, very often, also the only — target. Violations of

human rights, international humanitarian law and the most

horrible atrocities are becoming the usual consequences of

these conflicts. These violations and their political root

causes must be addressed by the international community

from the very start. We must act with unity and

determination to ensure that violations of humanitarian

law and human rights do not remain unpunished.

There are actors in the international community who

still believe that the threat or use of force is a legitimate

means of change. They consider political solutions and

negotiations only after and if military options fail. We can

see this in Africa, where new crises are succeeding the

old ones. We can see it in the continued arms race, even

in the nuclear field. We can also see it in Europe, with

Kosovo offering yet another humanitarian tragedy. As if

all of this were not enough, we also face the lowest, the

most unjustified violence of all — international terrorism,

which has harmed hundreds of innocent victims.

6

In Bosnia and Herzegovina the peace process is slowly

but definitely extending its roots. However, this process has

not yet become irreversible. The international community

still has an important role in leading the post-conflict

management of the situation. There is a growing need to

ensure economic reconstruction and provide adequate

economic aid. Slovenia is actively participating in those

efforts.

Many important issues in Bosnia and Herzegovina

remain to be solved. The number of returning refugees,

especially among minorities, has been substantially lower

than expected. In this regard, we commend the role of the

North Atlantic Treaty Organization, its Multinational

Specialized Unit and the international police transition force

for their role. Democratization and reconciliation are

indispensable elements in consolidating peace in Bosnia and

Herzegovina. Reconciliation, however, does not mean

impunity. In fact, there will be no reconciliation until all

war criminals are brought to justice. To this end, we expect

the cooperation of all countries concerned.

The situation in Kosovo has been giving rise to

legitimate international concerns for quite some time now.

Serious violations of human rights have been reported for

years. In recent months the population of Kosovo has been

subjected to a campaign of terror and forced to flee their

homes and seek refuge in the woods and mountains. The

international community should prevent humanitarian

catastrophe this winter and force all the parties in the

conflict to face their responsibilities. All forms of violence

against the civilian population in Kosovo must stop. The

Kosovo population needs a ceasefire and needs negotiations

to start now. This is a prerequisite for the process of the

return of refugees to start.

The United Nations has the means to organize an

effective international action for the maintenance of peace.

The Security Council is addressing most of these problems.

At the moment, Slovenia is proud to be a non-permanent

member of the Security Council. We are doing our best to

contribute to the common effort to ensure that peace is

maintained, international obligations respected, justice done

and innocent lives saved wherever and whenever possible.

Slovenian armed forces already participate in actions

to consolidate peace, security and stability. The conduct of

peace-support operations is an expression of Slovenia?s

political will and a reflection of the readiness of our armed

forces.

The wealth of experience the United Nations has

accumulated is impressive. However, in many ways

reform of its 50-year-old structure would greatly enhance

its effectiveness. Slovenia shares the view of the majority

of Member States that the Security Council also needs to

be and should be reformed. It should become more

representative and more up to date by expanding the

number of its non-permanent as well as permanent

members. It should become more effective in its decision-

making. Last but not least, it should become more

transparent, for its decisions affect all the Member States.

This year?s session of the General Assembly will be

marked significantly by the commemoration of an

important event, which continues to be an important

source of inspiration for United Nations activities today.

Fifty years have passed since the adoption of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights, a historic

document that recognized the inherent dignity and equal

and inalienable rights of all members of the human family

as the foundation of freedom, justice and peace in the

world.

This is an appropriate time to reflect on what has

already been achieved and what still remains to be done

in the field of human rights. This is the time to reconfirm

our commitment and show our determination to promote

and protect the whole spectrum of human rights — civil

and political, as well as economic, social and cultural.

We believe strongly that the promotion and

protection of human rights is a legitimate concern of the

international community and calls for a high level of

international attention and cooperation. Slovenia strongly

supports the work of the International Criminal Tribunals

for the former Yugoslavia and for Rwanda and is pleased

to see the first ever verdict on the crime of genocide

handed down by an international criminal court. We also

see this as the most gratifying way to mark the fiftieth

anniversary of the Convention on the Prevention and

Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.

The successful completion of the United Nations

Diplomatic Conference on the establishment of an

International Criminal Court on 17 July of this year is a

historic step towards making the rule of law and human

rights truly universal. We hope that this will help provide

justice for victims, limit impunity and deter acts of

genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes in the

next century.

7

The signing of the Ottawa Convention was an

important step forward towards the total ban of anti-

personnel landmines. We all have to start a global process

of demining and mine clearance operations in thousands of

mined areas all over the world. At the same time, the

process of the physical and mental rehabilitation of millions

of mine victims throughout the world should start as soon

as possible. Slovenia has already joined this process. The

Government of the Republic of Slovenia established the

International Trust Fund for Demining and Mine Victims

Assistance in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The main purpose

of the Fund is to raise financial resources and organize

demining operations and a programme of rehabilitation for

mine victims from Bosnia and Herzegovina. I would like to

take this opportunity to invite other countries to join us in

this noble effort.

At the end of the cold war, many countries anticipated

the end of the nuclear era. We were expecting an

accelerated process of elimination of nuclear weapons.

Unfortunately, and notwithstanding important successes in

the reduction of nuclear arms, the proliferation of nuclear

weapons has increased in recent years. Slovenia strongly

deplores nuclear tests and appeals to all countries to end

their military nuclear programmes.

Slovenia demonstrated its determination to contribute

to nuclear disarmament by joining seven other non-nuclear

countries — Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand,

South Africa, and Sweden — in launching the joint

declaration of eight Ministers for Foreign Affairs entitled

“Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: the need for a new

agenda” [A/53/138]. The prime goal of our action was to

start new efforts for nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear

disarmament. We, the representatives of eight countries, are

firm in our efforts to enable forthcoming generations to

enjoy a world free of nuclear weapons.

This is the time for concrete action and visionary

initiatives. The evolution of the international system

requires both. Slovenia is aware of this important need. We

believe that such basic issues of international security as the

issue of nuclear arms need to be addressed in a realistic and

comprehensive manner.