Croatia, 2011

It is a distinct pleasure for

me to participate in the general debate of the General

Assembly for the first time since my election as

President of Croatia.

At the outset, I would like to congratulate

Ambassador Al-Nasser on his election as President of

the General Assembly in its sixty-sixth session. I also

thank Joseph Deiss for his excellent work during his

presidency of the General Assembly in the preceding

session.

Let me also congratulate Secretary-General Ban

Ki-moon on his re-election to that important and

challenging post and assure him of the full cooperation

of my country.

Current challenges — the fall of autocratic

regimes, nuclear non-proliferation, terrorism, the

continuing global financial and economic crisis,

climate change, underdevelopment — require all of us

here at the United Nations to firmly stand together and

offer common solutions on the basis of solidarity,

responsibility and respect for the rights and dignity of

every person on the globe. Our responses to challenges

must not remain just words. We need to translate them

into concrete actions, aimed at advancing democracy,

enhancing development and well-being, protecting

human rights, respecting international law, ensuring

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social justice and promoting the rule of law, at the

domestic, regional and international levels.

I welcome the President’s decision to hold this

debate under the theme of “The role of mediation in

the settlement of disputes”. Mediation has rightly been

recognized as an efficient and cost-effective tool,

which the United Nations has at its disposal in

addressing threats to the maintenance of international

peace and security. Political issues often lie at the heart

of crises. Therefore, the importance of early

engagement and preventive diplomacy, including

mediation, is even more significant in this period when

United Nations peacekeeping operations are

experiencing unprecedented demand and strain.

My country has come a long way since the

conflict in the 1990s, when Croatia hosted a total of

five United Nations peacekeeping operations on its

territory. We have developed a stable democracy and a

free-market economy, and we serve as an anchor of

peace, security and stability in the region of South-East

Europe.

That experience and the lessons learned have

been the backdrop for our engagement in the Security

Council, where Croatia has proved to be a responsible

and dedicated partner in the common effort to maintain

and build peace. We intend to pursue efforts with the

same vigour in the Peacebuilding Commission, the

Economic and Social Council and other United Nations

bodies for which Croatia is a candidate.

When all efforts to avoid conflict fail, the

international community turns as a rule to the United

Nations to stop the hostilities and maintain peace.

Croatia will continue its engagement in peacekeeping

operations under United Nations auspices. But keeping

the peace is not enough. In countries emerging from

conflict, peace needs to be strengthened and

consolidated.

Croatia has, in a relatively short time, effectively

transitioned from a donor-recipient to a donor-provider.

Today we share our knowledge and experiences with

countries in the region, as well as with other countries

in crisis, where our post-conflict experience in nation-

building is particularly relevant. My country, working

together with other Member States and the United

Nations as a whole — and acting with the same

enthusiasm and spirit that clearly characterized the

international community’s ambitions almost six years

ago when the Peacebuilding Commission was

established — stands ready to play its part in the

revival of the peacebuilding architecture and thorough

implementation of its core functions.

Croatia has completed its accession negotiations

with the European Union (EU) and expects to become

a full member in 2013. Once it joins the EU, Croatia

will consistently advocate further EU enlargement and

will not use its outstanding bilateral issues to set

conditions for the progress of individual countries in

the process of their integration with the EU.

I have held numerous meetings with my

counterparts in the region, in particular the Presidents

of Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In our

meetings, we have discussed the continuation of the

reconciliation process, the resolution of outstanding

issues among the three States and our mutual political

support. Croatia has pledged technical assistance in the

process of integration into the European Union and has

stressed the need to jointly define regional networks of

infrastructure systems and submit them as regional

projects for funding from EU funds.

As a member of NATO and a future member of

the EU, we have a keen interest to see South-East

Europe become a region of security, stability and

development. That may not happen overnight, but I

firmly believe that with sustained effort and targeted

actions by all politicians and peoples, the region will

lose its negative reputation as an arena of political

fragmentation often accompanied by bloodshed, and

will deservedly become known as an area where good-

neighbourly relations, tolerance and mutual

cooperation prevail, thus making it a European success

story of peacebuilding and reconciliation.

However, without justice, efforts to ensure true

reconciliation and sustainable peace may be unable to

take root firmly. Croatia strongly supports determined

efforts to put an end to impunity for the most serious

crimes of concern to humanity and, in that context,

reaffirms its commitment to international criminal

justice in general and to the activities of the

International Criminal Court in particular.

Croatia supports the main purpose and primary

functions of the International Criminal Tribunal for the

Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), namely, the establishment

of a lasting peace and reconciliation. Croatia

appreciates the efforts to implement the ICTY

completion strategy and its transformation towards

residual mechanisms. Full cooperation with the ICTY

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and respect for international justice are a lasting

commitment for us, not only in the context of the

Euro-Atlantic integration processes, but also as an

expression of Croatia’s core values and its role in the

international community. We greatly appreciate the

legacy of the ICTY, especially its contribution to

international law, justice and reconciliation. That

legacy has already improved national judiciaries in the

region through its promotion of high standards of

criminal responsibility for breaches of humanitarian

law. Further development of international law, both

international and national judiciaries and a better

understanding of justice will be based on this positive

legacy, but also on the lessons learned from some of

the ICTY’s weaknesses.

Future development of international criminal law

should consider improving the efficiency of

international courts and of State cooperation, as well as

instituting a critical evaluation of some procedural and

substantive laws. In that regard, we should consider

more efficient measures to be taken in cases of

non-cooperative States, the position of victims and

their compensation, and the protection of witnesses, as

well as the concept of joint criminal enterprise, and

others.

The protection of fundamental rights and

freedoms must be ensured when addressing very

serious security challenges, such as international

terrorism. Croatia strongly supports the values and

objectives of the United Nations Global Counter-

Terrorism Strategy, since it confirms that the United

Nations is at the centre of global counter-terrorism

efforts. We had the privilege of chairing the Counter-

Terrorism Committee during Croatia’s membership in

the Security Council, and we are willing to share our

knowledge and experience with others, in the region

and beyond.

The Arab Spring, which is rooted in the

legitimate aspirations of ordinary people for improved

economic opportunities and political participation, has

just moved into summer, but its democratic gains must

be preserved if we do not want to see another relapse

into instability. I believe that the course of recent

events in Libya has clearly confirmed that the coalition

forces and the Security Council took the right approach

in protecting civilians from the brute force of the old

regime. I hope that the democratic forces in Libya will

begin to build a new State that will provide the same

level of protection and equal opportunities for all

Libya’s citizens. It is crucial to work towards

establishing the rule of law throughout the country. We

trust that the National Transitional Council will

succeed in achieving that goal. My country is ready to

participate in Libya’s reconstruction, especially given

its experience in post-conflict nation- and institution-

building. Taking into account new political and

humanitarian priorities in the field, Croatia has sent

targeted humanitarian assistance to Libya, with an

emphasis on medical and humanitarian needs.

In the same vein, Croatia has recognized the

legitimate aspirations of the Syrian people, who need

and deserve wide and undivided support. We share the

international community’s belief that it is essential to

normalize the situation and prevent further mass

violations of human rights, strengthen democratic

standards and the rule of law, and assist those who

share the vision of a democratic Syria.

Croatia shares the sense of urgency concerning

the importance of securing an early resumption and

conclusion of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations, aimed at

achieving a two-State solution. The current

unprecedented and deep changes in the political

landscape of the Middle East call for urgent and highly

responsive action by all parties concerned. Mutual

recognition — Israel’s recognition of a Palestinian

State and Palestine’s recognition of the Jewish State —

constitutes both the starting point and the desired

outcome of peace negotiations. Failure to move

forward on a two-State solution now may have

unpredictable negative consequences, not only for

Israel and Palestine, but for the whole international

community. Given our recent experience of war and

reconciliation, Croatia calls on the leaders of the

parties concerned to shoulder their historic

responsibility for the future of their peoples and for

peace and stability in the Middle East.

Recently, we witnessed an example of a new

State being created in a generally peaceful manner, and

I welcome South Sudan as the newest Member of the

United Nations. However, this and many other ongoing

crises, in the Sudan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic

of the Congo and other places, confirm the

irreplaceable role of the United Nations in ending

conflicts; and in this context mediation, as the theme of

our debate, becomes even more relevant.

Croatia continues to promote universal human

rights and supports the mainstreaming of human rights

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within the United Nations framework. In that context,

we give particular attention to issues such as the

abolition of the death penalty, gender equality and

combating all forms of discrimination, as well as the

promotion of the human rights of the most vulnerable

social groups, including women, children and persons

with disabilities. Croatia strongly supports the concepts

of the universality, interrelatedness and indivisibility of

all human rights.

Croatia welcomes the establishment of UN-Women,

the new United Nations body focused on supporting

gender equality and the empowerment of women.

Croatia also supports relevant initiatives on the rights

of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons and

will continue to be actively engaged in the follow-up

process to the 2008 joint statement on human rights,

sexual orientation and gender identity (see

A/63/PV.70).

In response to dramatic changes in the world in

the last few decades, comprehensive reforms of the

United Nations system as a whole have been put

forward. Those proposals include structural reform and

improvements in the way United Nations bodies

function, as well as revitalization of the General

Assembly. Although there are many important elements

in this process, reforming the Security Council remains

essential. Croatia believes that the Security Council

must adequately represent the current structure of the

membership of the United Nations. We therefore

support enlarging the Security Council in both

permanent and non-permanent membership categories.

Taking into consideration that the number of members

of the Eastern European Group has almost doubled,

Croatia proposes that one seat be added for the Group

in the non-permanent category. Croatia is also aware of

the importance of resolving all the other elements of

Security Council reform.

As we witness the increasing challenges

appearing around the world, it is clear that we must all

make every effort to strengthen the capability,

efficiency and credibility of the United Nations in

general. We welcome the establishment of the Change

Management Team, and look forward to seeing

proposals for streamlining processes, increasing

accountability and improving the efficiency of the

United Nations in delivering its mandates.

The challenges and consequences of climate

change are undermining efforts to achieve sustainable

development. Climate change must be further

mainstreamed into the work of the whole United

Nations system, with a view to supporting efforts to

help the transition to low-carbon economies consistent

with sustainable development, to strengthen countries’

adaptation and resilience in the face of climate change,

and to minimize the possible security implications.

In the light of diminishing natural resources,

environmental degradation, extreme poverty, hunger

and diseases, and social unrest, we agree with others

that sustainable development has become the defining

issue of our time. Our highly globalized and

interdependent world means that we share not only the

same challenges but a common fate. As a member of

the Bureau of the Preparatory Committee, Croatia will

be an active contributor to the preparations for next

year’s United Nations Conference on Sustainable

Development, the Rio+20 Conference. This summit

meeting will provide a unique opportunity to

reinvigorate the spirit of Rio and to restate a blueprint

for political commitment, partnership and action on the

ground without revisiting the agreements reached at

Rio in 1992 or at Johannesburg in 2002.

Finally, let me return to what this Organization

stands for. In order to achieve our common objectives,

we must demonstrate unity of purpose, firm resolve,

solidarity and responsibility. Or, as a famous composer

once said, “Only the pure in heart can make a good

soup.”