Czech Republic, 2008

Let me

begin by extending my congratulations to you, Sir, on

your election to the important function of President of

the General Assembly. You will steer the deliberations

of this key body of the United Nations through a

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difficult period of growing challenges to our common

security and prosperity. Let me assure you of our full

support in your endeavours. I also thank your

predecessor, Mr. Kerim.

My country is in full preparation for an enormous

task that has no precedent in our history. In January

2009, the Czech Republic will assume the

responsibility of the presidency of the European Union.

We will do our utmost to uphold our shared

commitment to world peace and prosperity within that

organization.

The European Union stands at the forefront of the

efforts to strengthen the United Nations capacity to

deliver effective international responses to global

challenges. The Czech Republic is committed to

playing its part and to further enhancing the European

Union’s contribution by searching for common

responses. The motto of the upcoming Czech

presidency, “Europe without barriers”, reflects our

desire to promote the removal of barriers not only

within the European Union, but also between the Union

and third countries. In our opinion, it is very much in

line with the efforts to enhance cooperation and to

strengthen the principle of effective multilateralism.

The agreements reached at the 2005 World

Summit sparked some substantive reforms, but the

process has reached a point at which it has become

necessary to give it a new impulse for further progress.

An important part of that progress is Security Council

reform. A more representative and transparent Security

Council will act with a greater international legitimacy

and authority. The Czech Republic therefore welcomes

the recent decision to launch the intergovernmental

negotiations. However, the authority of the Security

Council is being undermined by its inability to address

some acute international issues. I call on the Council to

reassert its authority in the maintenance of

international peace and security and to shoulder its

obligations.

The authority of the United Nations is being

tested, and so are our political and moral

responsibilities. By signing onto the Charter of the

United Nations, all of our countries have committed

themselves to living in peace and harmony and to

respecting the principles of peaceful resolution of

disputes and of refraining from the threat and use of

force, except in self-defence. Today, as security is

being challenged in too many parts of the world, those

basic principles, and the system of international law in

general, need to be upheld as ever.

And yet, we have recently witnessed systematic

provocations and, finally, a military aggression on the

part of a powerful country, a permanent member of the

Security Council, against its small neighbour with the

aim of carving that neighbour up. That action was

designed to create two tiny entities, totally dependent

in their administrative, economic and military

structures. Colonial Powers used to act in that way, and

I would like to stress that alleged interests, privileged

as they may be considered, cannot justify the violation

of our highest common principles, enshrined in the

Charter of the United Nation. Therefore, I fully

subscribe to the words pronounced by Sergey Lavrov

here earlier today:

“We cannot tolerate any attempts to resolve

conflict situations by violating international

agreements or by the unlawful use of force. If we

allow that to occur once, then we run the risk of

unleashing it in the future” ().

However, how can one think of redesigning new

Euro-Atlantic security structures without renewing the

trust that has vanished over the past few months?

After the Czech Republic sent substantial

humanitarian aid, it initiated an international support

conference for Georgia, to be held next month in

Brussels. We call upon the international community to

help alleviate the suffering of the tens of thousands of

people displaced by the conflict, as well as to help the

country with post-conflict reconstruction. We insist

that all internally displaced persons return home. The

immediate task is to ensure that all military forces are

withdrawn to pre-war positions. There is urgent need

for the deployment of an international and impartial

mission in Georgia to oversee the military withdrawals

and ceasefire implementation. Let me stress once

again, however, that a peaceful and lasting solution to

the conflict must be based on full respect for the

principle of Georgia’s independence, sovereignty and

territorial integrity.

We need to step up efforts to combat international

terrorism. The stakes remain high. With our deep

condolences to the peoples of India and Pakistan, we

strongly condemn the recent terrorist attacks in New

Delhi and Islamabad. We must not be shaken, but must

stand up to that scourge united, stronger and more

determined. I was deeply moved by the condolences

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expressed by my Pakistani counterpart. It is touching to

hear that from someone whose country has suffered

immensely from terrorism.

Promoting and maintaining international security

requires concerted action. While there is a need for

strengthened United Nations peacekeeping capacity,

other organizations can effectively complement the

work of the United Nations in areas where they have a

comparative advantage.

We have all felt the pains of stabilizing a war-torn

country like Afghanistan. Despite the persisting lack of

security, the international community continues to

support development even in remote areas. By

establishing and running the provincial reconstruction

team in Logar province, my country has undertaken a

long-term commitment to contribute to the security and

development of Afghanistan. Let me express our full

support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-

General for Afghanistan, Ambassador Kai Eide, and

invite the United Nations to take a more active

approach and enhance its involvement and assistance

to Afghanistan. The Afghans need our support to turn

President Karzai’s words, “we must do what it takes to

win the battle of Afghanistan’s economic development”

(), into reality. A concerted effort between the

Government of Afghanistan, the United Nations and

other key international players, including Pakistan, is a

prerequisite to achieving that goal.

The cooperation of the United Nations, the

European Union and NATO needs to continue to the

benefit of the Balkan region as a whole. Looking into

the future, let me assure Members that both democratic

and prosperous Serbia and Kosovo do have a place in

the European family and that the Czech Republic is

ready to lend them a helping hand. We in the Czech

Republic have always had long-standing and

traditionally close and friendly relations with Serbia

and are keen to develop them further.

The recent arrest and transfer of Radovan

Karadzic to the International Criminal Tribunal for the

Former Yugoslavia was a promising sign of

cooperation of the new Serbian Government with the

international community. I call on the Security Council

to provide sufficient time to the Tribunal for the

completion of its work.

The Czech Republic considers international

criminal justice to be one of the pillars that uphold the

basic values of the United Nations. The ad hoc

tribunals for the former Yugoslavia and Rwanda, as

well as the Security Council decision of 2005 to refer

the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal

Court, must be supported in order to end impunity for

the most serious crimes. Let me recall the Secretary-

General’s commitment at the opening of this general

debate: “We have the means to combat impunity and

must therefore do so” (, p. 3).

We need to undertake some bold steps in the area

of weapons of mass destruction and non-proliferation.

We should reduce the risk of those weapons being

misused or falling into the hands of terrorists. The

immediate task is to ensure a successful outcome of the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

review process and the entry into force of the

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

In that context, I would like to express our

concern over the Iranian and North Korean nuclear

programmes. We fully recognize the indispensable

right of every country to exploit nuclear power for

civilian purposes, but we should act when it could be

diverted towards military purposes, in breach of

international commitments.

My country was among those that has vigorously

called for a new universal norm to prevent risks

stemming from the use of cluster munitions. The Czech

Republic will be among the first to sign the new

Convention on Cluster Munitions this December. I am

convinced that the more countries that join the

Convention, the more profound and positive the effect

it will have on the lives of countless individuals and

communities.

Security goes hand in hand with development and

human rights. In the sixtieth year of the existence of

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, there is

still a long way to go from the merely formal

commitments of Governments to achieving a

universally shared respect for the rights and liberties of

every human being.

In recent years, the United Nations human rights

institutions have undergone long-awaited reform.

However, our goals have been only partially achieved.

Let me express my deep regret that the Human Rights

Council has been unable to tackle several serious

human rights situations in a timely and proper manner.

Although the Council is putting meritorious effort into

the newly established Universal Periodic Review

mechanism, the political imbalance of its agenda and

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the attempts to weaken the role of special procedures

and non-governmental organizations further diminish

the expectations of reform. Moreover, flouting the

appeals of the international community, as was done by

the Myanmar regime, has to be denounced.

The Czech Republic supports the principle of

responsibility to protect formulated at the 2005 World

Summit. The international community has the

responsibility to protect peoples worldwide in cases

where their Governments are unable or unwilling to do

so. Just over the past few years, we have seen some

quite tragic examples desperately requiring our

attention. I therefore welcome the Secretary-General’s

efforts to advance that issue. A valuable contribution

can also be made through the non-governmental

initiatives of leaders such as Václav Havel, Kjell

Magne Bondevik and Elie Wiesel. Earlier this week, I

had the honour to host an event in New York aimed at

presenting their thoughts and recommendations on the

tragic human rights and humanitarian situation in

North Korea.

This week, I took part in high-level meetings on

Africa’s development needs and on the Millennium

Development Goals. We have already witnessed early

successes and setbacks, and we realize that some goals

are more difficult to achieve than others. Now, at the

halfway point to the target date, we are well aware of

how much needs to be done in the remaining seven

years. Our commitment to development, and notably to

Africa, must not wane.

At the end of this year, the Follow-up

International Conference on Financing for

Development will present an opportunity to review the

implementation of the Monterrey Consensus of 2002.

The conclusion of the ongoing talks on the Doha

Development Agenda within the World Trade

Organization should also bring the tangible benefits of

further trade liberalization for developing countries. To

make that happen, the European Union has already

shown the necessary flexibility. Other key actors have

to follow suit if the talks are to get back on track and

be concluded soon. In that context, let me recall once

again the Czech presidency’s motto, “Europe without

barriers”.

Let me assure the Assembly that the Czech

Republic fully supports the European Union (EU)

commitments to intensify EU development assistance.

The Czech presidency of the Union will be yet another

incentive for us to step up our development assistance.

Soaring food and commodity prices, as well as

the negative impact of climate change, hamper

international development. All those issues require

strong political will. The new legal framework to

reduce greenhouse gas emissions beyond 2012 is one

of the most important issues. The Czech Republic is

fully aware of the need to make significant progress

towards the adoption of a new post-Kyoto agreement.

The Czech presidency of the European Union will play

an active role in that process, which will culminate in

Copenhagen next year, where a new agreement should

be adopted.

I have outlined just a few points that are awaiting

our action. In many areas, time is running out. I would

like to encourage all Members of this universal

Organization to cooperate in our common efforts to

make this world secure and prosperous. The Czech

Republic is committed to doing its part.