Austria, 2005

We Austrians unfailingly

keep the United Nations in high esteem. Let me try to

explain why.

Austria became a Member of the United Nations

in December 1955. That was only half a year after our

full sovereignty had been restored through a treaty

concluded with the United States, the Soviet Union, the

United Kingdom and France, called the Austrian State

Treaty.

Fifty years ago, becoming part of the family of

nations was a powerful motive for us. We could build

on your trust. We could rely on your help. We later

solved complex problems such as the question of

Südtirol with you, our partners in the United Nations.

And we have since been eager to return to others in

need the help extended to us.

More than anything else, it is our own experience

that nurtures our confidence in the potential of the

United Nations as a promoter of peace and a beacon of

hope for so many who face the dire challenges and

threats to our societies — be they armed conflict or

hunger, terrorism or environmental disaster. We need

the United Nations to be relevant, responsive and

reliable — today and in the years to come.

The reform process initiated by Secretary-

General Kofi Annan and reflected in the World Summit

Outcome document will further enhance that potential.

We may not have achieved all we were striving for, but

let us not disregard the progress made, for it will — if

acted upon — make a difference to people in need of

our support, in need of our protection.

Promoting peace is the United Nations very

raison d’être. Since Austria joined the United Nations,

some 54,000 Austrian peacekeepers have participated

in more than 50 missions all over the world. Currently,

1,200 of them are deployed in missions from Kosovo

to the Golan Heights and from Afghanistan to Aceh

and the Sudan.

It is also in the light of their practical experience

that we welcome the new peacebuilding commission. It

will provide specific support to people having to cope

with the manifold challenges along the path from war

to real peace. I wish to say one word on women in that

context. Creating confidence in post-conflict societies

requires the active participation and deliberate

involvement of women. They must become key

partners in our peacekeeping and peacebuilding efforts.

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The European Union, as the major donor to post-conflict

reconstruction and development, will substantially

contribute to the peacebuilding commission’s work. It

should therefore have a place in the commission.

For us and many people all over the world, the

most serious failure of the present reform effort was

the lack of agreement on effective and verifiable

measures against nuclear proliferation and for

disarmament. We must strengthen the multilateral

verification mechanisms and enable the International

Atomic Energy Agency to make best use of its

capacity. We must not abandon our efforts to find

common ground on those most challenging tasks.

In this vulnerable world, we need to foster trust

between communities and peoples and help to identify

shared values. Austria thus strongly supports every

form of dialogue among civilizations, religions and

cultures. In particular, we need to reach out to the

Islamic world, both internationally and inside our

societies. As a concrete contribution, Austria will host

an international conference in November on Islam in a

pluralistic world.

Anywhere in the world, individuals will be able

to live and unfold in larger freedom only when their

fundamental needs of development, security and

human rights are met. We need to address those

requirements in a comprehensive and integrated manner.

We are grateful to Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who

so remarkably raised awareness on that matter.

The Millennium Development Goals contain

specific promises of solidarity. Austria therefore

welcomes our continued common commitments, in

particular to poverty eradication and the global

partnership for sustainable development. In

contributing to the funding effort, we will raise our

official development assistance to 0.51 per cent of our

gross national income by 2010.

Promoting human security is an ever more

demanding task. Our decisions on the “responsibility to

protect” are a courageous step forward in international

relations, but more importantly, they are an offer of

hope to those most vulnerable to genocide, war crimes,

ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity. We must

not let them down. In the words of Simon Wiesenthal,

who sadly passed away last night in Vienna, what

connects 2,000 years of genocide is “too much power

in too few hands”. Ten years ago, at this Assembly,

Simon Wiesenthal proposed to organize a worldwide

conference aimed at reducing hate. He said that

“technology without hatred can be so beneficial for

mankind, but in conjunction with hatred it leads to

disaster” (A/50/PV.66, p. 9). Reality has since

illustrated the profound relevance of that proposal.

In our globalized world, the concept of

neighbourhood has taken on a new meaning. In the eye

of disaster, we are all neighbours, no matter how far or

close. As the tsunami and recent hurricanes have taught

us, there is an emerging sense of shared destiny and

responsibility no longer limited to geographical

vicinity. Let me on this occasion express our gratitude

to all those private donors who set a mark of living

solidarity.

Austria’s clear commitment to effective

multilateralism is at the very heart of our work in the

European Union and the United Nations. It is in that

spirit that we are a candidate for Security Council

membership in 2009-2010.

Promoting the rule of law is the key to an

environment of trust within our societies. It enables

individuals to enjoy a self-determined life. For many,

the rule of law is synonymous with normality and

predictability in their private and professional lives.

We therefore welcome the proposed establishment of a

rule of law assistance unit in the Secretariat to advise

States in their efforts towards the rule of law.

One of the main achievements of the summit was

the decision to establish a human rights council, even if

the concrete set-up remains to be defined. In our view,

we need a standing body with the ability to address

urgent human rights issues swiftly and efficiently. That

is no mere management question. What is at stake is

the new Council’s capacity to make a difference for

those in need. It is now crucial that negotiations start

without delay in order to seize the momentum of the

reform.

Human rights are also a matter of education. In

the framework of the Human Security Network,

Austria has therefore developed a human rights manual

that has been translated into all United Nations

languages. It is used in training programmes in Austria

and abroad and we encourage our partners to make use

of that instrument.

Strengthening human rights and the rule of law

will increase security. That is true for societies at large,

but it is also true for the smallest communities and

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individual households. Full respect for the rights of

women and children is therefore indispensable in the

world of increased justice and equality we strive for.

Too many women are victims of violence. We therefore

welcome the study currently being prepared by the

Secretary-General on all forms of violence against

women.

Much remains to be done. The Doha Development

Round has to promote improved market access. In our

efforts to protect the environment, we have to enhance

the use of renewable energy and reduce the emission of

greenhouse gases. We also need to finalize the

comprehensive anti-terrorism convention, as agreed at the

world summit, and adopt and implement the counter-

terrorism strategy proposed by the Secretary-General.

Real freedom is within reach if we, through the

United Nations, join our forces to promote peace,

security and justice — not only freedom from want and

freedom from fear, but eventually freedom to live in

dignity for both women and men across the globe.