Albania, 2001

This

year's session of the General Assembly is marked by

profound sadness over the innocent victims of the

macabre acts perpetrated by terrorists two months ago

here in the United States of America, and now also by

the events of this morning. On behalf of the

Government and the people of Albania, I would like to

express our utter indignation and our strongest and

categorical condemnation of those acts, which were

aimed not at a single country but, rather, were a serious

attack on the values of democracy, freedom and world

civilization. At the same time, I would like to convey

our deepest sympathy to the American people and to all

the families that lost loved ones in those tragic events.

International terrorism is today becoming one of

the greatest challenges for the world in which we live.

It is essential that the international community tackle

this phenomenon with the greatest seriousness, for it is

replete with catastrophic consequences in many areas.

Albania considers the military actions of the anti-

terrorism coalition led by the United States and Great

Britain against the Taliban regime in Afghanistan and

the Al Qaeda terrorist group, under the leadership of

bin Laden, to be just and in full conformity with

Chapter VII of the Charter and Security Council

resolutions. Taking that into account, and as a country

that defends the values of liberty and democracy,

Albania expressed its determination to be part of that

coalition from the outset.

The international action that has just begun

against terrorism should not be seen as a clash between

civilizations. On the contrary, we Albanians see it as a

struggle between good and evil and as a confrontation

in which the values of humanism and peace are set

against obscurantism and the negation of values. The

only way to win this war is for all of our countries to

unite their forces to create a common front, to take

increasingly Draconian preventive measures at the

national level, and to deploy ways and means for

cooperation at the bilateral and multilateral levels to

block any individual terrorist or terrorist group that

threatens international peace and security. For its part,

with the mechanisms at its disposal, the United Nations

could and should do more to coordinate those efforts.

Albania welcomes the measures taken by the

United Nations to respond to acts of terrorism. We

strongly support Security Council resolution 1373

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(2001) and call on all Member States to fulfil their

obligations under the resolution. We also support the

current efforts aimed at completing the United Nations

legal framework for coordination and for the

international community's efforts to combat terrorism.

For its part, Albania is already a party to eight major

international conventions on the struggle against

terrorism. We shall soon adhere to six more

conventions.

The new Albanian Government's four-year

programme has set very clear objectives to definitively

take the country out of its long transition stage and

place it on the path towards stable economic

development, the consolidation of its democratic

institutions and legal framework, and integration into

the European family. Thanks to sustained efforts,

Albania has already established an encouraging climate

for individual Albanian entrepreneurship as well as for

foreign investment.

Moreover, Albanian institutions will keep the

struggle against terrorism, organized crime, illegal

trafficking and corruption at the centre of their

activities. The responsible commitment of the country's

leaders to an uncompromising struggle against those

phenomena, as well as their cooperation with other

countries in the region and beyond, has in most cases

kept in check the activities of criminal elements who

seek to exploit Albania as a transit country for various

types of illegal trafficking.

Albania believes that a mosaic of fledging

democracies is already taking shape in the Balkans,

albeit with difficulties. Believing that domestic

political and economic stability are intrinsically linked

to regional stability, Albania has committed itself to

applying a regional policy of good-neighbourliness

towards all Balkan countries, and has already given

concrete proof of that desire. One clear sign of that

policy was the re-establishment of diplomatic relations

with the Belgrade Government at the beginning of the

year. That was a logical follow-up to the democratic

developments begun in the Republic of Serbia that led

to results that were eagerly awaited by the whole of the

international community, namely, the fall of the

Milosević regime and his dispatch to the Tribunal at

The Hague. The same fate should also befall the other

criminals who carried out the policy of genocide and

ethnic cleansing he planned.

On behalf of peace and stability in the region, as

well as on behalf of good-neighbourliness, Albania has

adopted a realistic attitude, even with regard to the

most recent crisis in the former Yugoslav Republic of

Macedonia. The position we adopted was very much

appreciated by the international community.

The Albanian Government welcomed the Ochrid

framework Agreement between the Macedonian

authorities and the Albanian political forces, and we

hope that it will soon be implemented in a

comprehensive manner, as this would contribute to

peace and stability in Macedonia and in the region. We

also warmly welcome the indispensable role of, and the

efforts made by, international mediators, which led to

the signing of the Agreement, as well as the

commitment of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) and the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) to ensure its

implementation on the ground.

The Albanian State has good relations of

cooperation with Kosovo, and we greatly appreciate the

positive developments that have taken place there. The

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in

Kosovo, and Mr. Haekkerup personally, have taken a

number of very important steps in order to finalize the

legal framework for Kosovo and to organize the

general elections, which will be held on 17 November.

The elections will represent an important chapter

in the history of Kosovo and of the region, because this

will be the first time in their history that the people of

Kosovo will be electing, in a free and democratic

manner, democratic Government bodies that will take

charge of the future of Kosovo. We would like to

express our sincere hope that the Serb minority and the

other minorities living in Kosovo will participate in

these elections, because we consider them to be an

integral part of Kosovar society.

Although I do not wish to speak at great length

about the many problems that are facing Kosovo, I

would simply like to appeal to the international

community to actively seek a solution to the issue of

divided Mitrovica. Practices aimed at averting inter-

ethnic conflict in Kosovo such as compromises in the

area of territorial compensation based on the concept of

parcelling out its territory, and the establishment of

parallel institutions, are harmful and should be

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deplored. They will not benefit Kosovo. They will

simply give rise to a fresh surge of the inter-ethnic

hatred that was fuelled by Milosevic. The international

community and the active political forces in Kosovo

must make every effort to build a new and open society

that respects ethnic, religious and cultural diversity.

Albania has established good relations of

cooperation with the countries in the region, both

bilaterally and multilaterally. It has endeavoured to

play its part in contributing to peace and stability in the

Balkans, including through the framework of the

Southeast Europe Cooperation Process, whose

chairmanship Albania currently holds. In the

framework of this initiative, Albania will play an even

more active role in coordinating the efforts of member

States with a view to strengthening multilateral

cooperation in all areas, in order to overcome the crises

and problems of the region.

The Albanian Government will continue with this

commitment over the next four years. It will work also

within the framework of other regional initiatives,

where one of our important commitments is to

implement joint infrastructure projects in the

framework of the Stability Pact for South-eastern

Europe.

Like the other countries of the region, Albania

has embraced with enthusiasm the process of

integration into Euro-Atlantic bodies, as its strategic

objective and principal priority is to become a member

of the European Union.

The Albanian Government welcomed the decision

taken last June by the Gˆteborg Summit to begin in the

near future the process of negotiations for the signing

of a stabilization and association agreement. The

Albanian Government hopes that these negotiations

will be concluded as soon as possible and that the

agreement will be signed within the next year. We are

aware that this will require coordination and

cooperation at all Government levels in order for us to

be able to meet the political, economic, social and

other standards emanating from this process.

We are convinced that integration has to start at

home and that we will have to do more to achieve the

results required by the European Union in all areas,

particularly when it comes to progress in effecting

reform, and especially in terms of consolidating our

legal system, harmonizing our legislation with the

existing body of community agreements, and the

carrying out of effective macro- and micro-economic

policies.

Joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organization

(NATO) is one of Albania's strategic objectives.

Thanks to its close relationship with the Euro-Atlantic

Alliance in the last few years, it is one of the nine

countries that the Alliance has designated as being

potential candidates for NATO membership.

Today humanity is facing both new and old

threats. Conflicts between States; inter-ethnic conflicts;

terrorism and organized crime; widespread poverty and

the wide gap that exists between the poor and the rich

countries, including the digital divide; natural disasters

and the drying up of energy resources; diseases such as

AIDS and other epidemic illnesses, and those spread by

bioterrorism, have long been the subject of study in the

international community. Current developments

throughout the world have shown, now more than ever,

the vital importance and the crucial role of the United

Nations in achieving peace and security and in

fostering development throughout the world.

The Millennium Summit showed yet again that it

is essential for each State Member of our Organization

to maintain an ongoing commitment to contribute to

resolving regional and international conflicts and

tensions and to address such challenges as

globalization, poverty, HIV/AIDS, drugs, and the

achievement of sustainable development.

But beyond these challenges, the United Nations

is facing a multitude of problems related to its reform.

It must manage its resources even better so that they

can be used as much as possible for peacekeeping and

for development projects in all of the poor countries,

the countries in transition and the developing countries.

The United Nations should also become as

representative a body as possible.

Finally, the United Nations must devise and

implement wholeheartedly mechanisms that are not

bureaucratic or complex but streamlined and effective,

in order to ensure that its activities become more

concrete and bear more fruit and that its voice carries

the highest authority throughout the world.