Austria, 2008

These days, on our

television screens, images of thousands of parents

concerned about the health of their babies and children

remind us of what lies at the very heart of our work —

building a better future for the coming generations, at

home as well as here in the United Nations.

Armed conflict, climate change, poverty, hunger

and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

are the bleak challenges we face today, together with

new global challenges such as increasing food and

energy prices and financial turbulence. A sense of

shared responsibility and true partnership based on

equality are the key qualities that must guide our

efforts to meet these challenges.

All inhabitants of the global village have the right

as well as the duty to contribute to the well-being of

our community. At the global level, that needs to be

done in the framework of an effective world

organization that enjoys the trust of States and

Governments but also of societies and individual

citizens.

A just and effective international order needs to

be based on rules equally applicable to every member,

big or small, strong or weak. Respect for the rule of

law is indispensable if we want to prevent conflicts and

promote peace and sustainable development. Austria

has therefore consistently promoted efforts to develop

international relations based on the principles of the

08-52272 40

Charter of the United Nations and all the other

instruments that form our international legal system.

Three weeks ago, 130 human rights experts and

practitioners from around the world came together in

Vienna 15 years after the World Conference on Human

Rights held in Vienna in 1993. They formulated

recommendations on how to overcome the gap between

human rights standards and the reality of their

implementation on the ground. Those recommendations

have been submitted to the General Assembly and the

Human Rights Council, and I hope they will contribute

to the deliberations on the occasion of the sixtieth

anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human

Rights on 10 December.

One of the basic threats to the rule of law is

impunity. Today, international criminal justice, as

dispensed by the International Criminal Court as well

as by the special tribunals established by the Security

Council, has become a major tool for bringing to

justice those responsible for war crimes and crimes

against humanity.

Nowadays, some speak about the “peace —

justice dilemma”. I personally remain convinced that

peace and justice are complementary objectives, both

are equally essential. There can be no lasting peace

without justice, and international justice will serve its

purpose most fully and effectively if it helps societies

advance reconciliation and overcome the wounds of the

past. As women and children are often the most

vulnerable in our societies, they deserve our special

attention in this context.

No country, no society can succeed without

recognizing the contribution of women. Worldwide,

women are the politically and socially most relevant

emerging power of the twenty-first century. Their

contribution must be valued publicly, their

participation encouraged, their potential fully used.

There are countless success stories of women leaders

who make a difference in their communities as

businesswomen, mothers, teachers, farmers, workers,

peacemakers and lawmakers.

At the same time, we hear appalling reports from

around the world of discrimination and violence

against women. How can we speak of human rights for

women as long as one out of every three women

worldwide has been beaten or abused? It is the

responsibility of each and every Government to act on

this. The United Nations must take the lead by setting

clear targets and establishing a network to share best

practices in combating violence against women.

Last year, the Women Leaders Network called on

the Secretary-General to appoint more women to

leadership positions in the United Nations, in particular

in mediation and peacebuilding. I am pleased that the

Secretary-General has since entrusted a number of

outstanding women with key positions both at

Headquarters and in the field, and I encourage him to

continue this policy.

With regard to Security Council resolution 1325

(2000) on women, peace and security, the European

Union (EU) policy of targeted support for women in

and through peace missions could be extended to other

regional organizations such as the African Union. To

assess the practical results of resolution 1325 (2000), I

propose a thorough review process on the occasion of

its tenth anniversary in 2010.

Recent events in Georgia are a stark reminder that

the scourge of war still haunts our European

neighbourhood. The European Union is ready to work

together with the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe, the Council of Europe and the

United Nations so that Georgia can return to peace, all

internally displaced people can return safely and a

lasting solution based on full respect for the

sovereignty and territorial integrity of Georgia is

found. I also call upon the Security Council to decide

on a timely prolongation of the United Nations

Observer Mission in Georgia.

As for the Western Balkans, I am heartened that

we are moving from the crisis management phase to

the integration phase. Today, thanks to the stabilizing

role of the EU, the peoples of the Western Balkans

enjoy peace. Their future lies in the European Union.

Austria welcomes the progress recently achieved

in Zimbabwe. We hope that this will become another

lasting example of the capacity of Africa for the

peaceful resolution of conflicts on its continent.

Regional ownership is the best option for success.

Austria continues to actively support efforts to

bring an end to decades of conflict in the Middle East.

Three months ago, we hosted a donor conference in

Vienna for the reconstruction of the Nahr el-Bared

refugee camp in northern Lebanon in order to improve

the fate of the Palestinian refugees there and to support

41 08-52272

stability, the rule of law and economic development in

Lebanon.

I commend the Israeli and Palestinian leadership

for their commitment to dialogue and negotiations

despite repeated efforts by radical forces to undermine

the process started in Annapolis nearly a year ago.

Ongoing settlements and expansion, however, put our

common vision in question. The two-State solution

remains the only possible path towards a peaceful and

prosperous Middle East that can provide lasting

security to all its inhabitants.

I remain convinced that in international relations as

inside our own societies, we must always support

dialogue. Austria will continue her long-standing

commitment to the dialogue of cultures and religions with

a clear focus on the contribution of religious leaders,

women, young people, the media and educators.

With some 500,000 victims each year, small arms

and light weapons are today’s real weapons of mass

destruction. Africa is the continent most heavily

affected by this problem. Together with her African

partners, Austria works for real progress on the

destruction of small arms as well as on the fight against

the illicit arms trade. We also cooperate in developing

suitable legal instruments.

Austria is also deeply involved in establishing an

international legally binding ban on cluster munitions.

The Convention on Cluster Munitions that we adopted

in Dublin this year is a milestone in the field of

disarmament and humanitarian law. Austria will sign

the Convention in Oslo on 3 December 2008. I appeal

to all other countries to sign as soon as possible so that

this treaty can enter into force swiftly.

The need to prevent nuclear proliferation at a

time when an increasing number of countries are

looking towards nuclear power as a means to produce

energy calls for courageous and creative solutions.

Austria has presented a proposal in the framework of

the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that aims

at the comprehensive multilateralization of the nuclear

fuel cycle. The goal is a fair system under which all

States who wish to receive nuclear fuel for an

exclusively peaceful use can do so under equal

conditions through the IAEA.

With regard to the Iranian nuclear programme, we

are convinced that the double-track approach is the

best way forward. At the same time, it is indispensable

that Iran fully complies with the relevant Security

Council resolutions. In this context we commend and

strongly support the efforts of the IAEA Director

General, Mohamed El Baradei.

Let me draw the Assembly’s attention to the new

partnership we developed and adopted at the Lisbon

Summit in December 2007: the Joint Africa-European

Union Strategy based on the three aims of peace,

security and development. Without peace and security

there can be no sustainable development, and there is

no security without human security. Human trafficking,

drugs, proliferation of weapons, unemployment and

crime — they all affect the very cohesion of our

societies.

In order to better address the challenges faced by

Africa, Austria, together with the Economic

Community of West African States and the Southern

African Development Community, respectively,

recently organized a conference on peace and security

in West Africa, in Ouagadougou, and a seminar on

peace and development in Southern Africa, in

Johannesburg.

We need the turbo power of innovation to address

global challenges. Climate change is not only

responsible for natural disasters but poses what is

perhaps the most serious threat to the achievement of

the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). For some

small island States climate change and the resulting sea

level rise are threats to their very existence. Austria

therefore welcomes the initiative by the Pacific island

States for a General Assembly resolution on the threat

of climate change to international peace and security.

Urgent action towards a global climate agreement by

the end of 2009 is the only way forward. We also

propose to develop the United Nations Environment

Programme into a fully fledged World Environment

Organization. Furthermore, we support the creation of

a new International Renewable Energy Agency. Vienna

is a suitable location to host such an agency, as many

of its United Nations offices already deal with energy

questions.

Eradicating extreme poverty and hunger

continues to be one of the main challenges of the

international community. At the midpoint towards

2015, success in achieving the Millennium

Development Goals has been uneven. While many

countries have made significant progress in attaining

08-52272 42

some of the Goals, only a few are likely to reach all of

them. Urgent and increased efforts by the international

community are, therefore, needed. The active

contribution towards this global effort is a priority for

the Austrian Government.

As a matter of urgency we also have to tackle the

multiple and complex causes of the current global food

crisis. We welcome the High-Level Task Force set up

by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, which aims to

create an international strategy for food security, and

we eagerly await the first concrete results.

Small and medium-sized countries have a specific

interest in an international system based on effective

multilateralism and the rule of law. They form the

backbone of the United Nations. They can make a

difference and act as a driving force on many issues

beneficial to the world community.

Since joining the United Nations more than

50 years ago, Austria has consistently worked for

multilateral solutions to global challenges. Our

candidature for a non-permanent seat on the Security

Council is one expression of our determination to serve

the world Organization. That is the most important

responsibility that can be entrusted to a Member of the

United Nations. We stand ready to assume that

responsibility and ask Members for their support. We

pledge to work for common solutions to our common

global challenges in a sense of true partnership.