Estonia, 1992

Let me first convey to Mr. Ganev my

congratulations on his election as President of this session. His election is

a fitting tribute to his personal and professional qualities, and to his

country, Bulgaria, which is playing an increasingly important role in

international affairs. We wish him success in accomplishing his tasks, and we

pledge to him our support and cooperation.

I would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate the

Secretary-General, Ambassador Boutros Boutros-Ghali, especially for his

efforts to help find peaceful solutions to conflicts throughout the world. We

wish him success and will support him in every way possible in his pursuit of

implementing the objectives and principles of the United Nations.

We congratulate and look forward to working with all of the States

recently admitted to the United Nations.

Today, Estonia's most vital task is to augment and secure our newly

restored independence, including further development of our democratic

institutions, our economy, our national security and our international

relations.

I will begin by addressing accusations made here last week regarding

alleged human rights abuses in Estonia by Russian Foreign Minister

Andrei Kozyrev. It is incomprehensible to us that Mr. Kozyrev maintains that

foreign citizens should be allowed to vote in Estonian parliamentary

elections. Mr. Kozyrev's suggestions that minorities in some countries should

be placed under United Nations trusteeship puzzles us, since Article 78 of the

same Charter of the United Nations to which he referred states:

"The trusteeship system shall not apply to ... Members of the United

Nations, relationship among which shall be based on respect for the

principle of sovereign equality."

It should be further noted that, according to United Nations documents, the

term "minority" does not apply to foreign nationals, migrant workers and

colonists.

I would like to take this opportunity to inform the Assembly that Estonia

has invited a mission from the Conference on Security and Cooperation in

Europe Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights in Warsaw to

investigate any and all allegations of human rights violations in Estonia. I

invite the Russian Federation likewise to invite a similar mission to visit

and review Russia's recent human rights record, especially with respect to

minority rights.

During the year since independence was restored, Estonia has made every

effort to create a State based on equal justice for all. On 21 October 1991,

Estonia acceded to fundamental international agreements protecting human

rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,

the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political

Rights, and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights. Estonia has embarked on the long and arduous process of updating

legislation inherited from the Soviet occupation, bringing its laws into

compliance with international human rights norms.

In a referendum held on 28 June 1992 Estonian citizens approved a new

democratic Constitution. According to its Constitution, Estonia is a

parliamentary republic that guarantees a division of powers and independent

courts. Elections for a new Parliament and President the first free.

democratic elections in more than 50 years were held nine days ago, on

20 September, in accordance with the terms and conditions of the new

Constitution. All Estonian citizens, defined by the 1938 pre-Soviet

occupation Law on Citizenship and additional legislation that expanded

enfranchisement, were entitled to vote. These laws also provide a legal basis

for those people who settled in Estonia as a result of Soviet occupation to

apply for Estonian citizenship by naturalization, if they so desire.*

Numerous international experts have concluded that Estonia's citizenship

law is among the most liberal in the world.

Estonia has historically acted as a bridge between Western Europe and

Russia. Relations of good-neighbourliness with Russia, in which both parties

respect the other's sovereignty and laws, and strictly adhere to principles

regarding the inviolability of State borders and non-interference in the

internal affairs of another State, will allow Estonia to continue its

intermediary role to the mutual benefit of both States.

The realization of this mediatory role has been complicated by

differences between Estonia's and Russia's interpretation of the legal status

of the Republic of Estonia. Estonia considers itself to be the same State as

the pre-Second World War Republic of Estonia, whose legal de jure continuity

was not interrupted by German occupation or Soviet occupation and annexation.

All consequences of this annexation are thus ex tunc not valid from their

inception, a view that is shared by nearly all countries of the world.

Several pre-war agreements concluded with States that recognize the legal

continuity of Estonia have recently re-entered into force.

Estonia also respects the principle of the legal continuity of

citizenship. Because Russia is the self-styled successor State to the Soviet

Union, Estonia considers citizens of the former Soviet Union who currently

reside in Estonia as a result of Soviet occupation to be Russian citizens,

unless they have become citizens of another country.

Russia, however, believes that Estonia is a new State, created in 1991 as

a result of the disintegration of the Soviet Union, although the

disintegration of the Soviet Union occurred after the re-establishment of

Estonia's independence.

The development of Estonian-Russian relations must be viewed in the

context of the development of democracy in both countries. The Estonian

freedom movement had a positive influence on the democratization of Russia and

other Central and Eastern European countries. Estonia's declaration of

sovereignty on 16 November 1988 served as a practical example for other

freedom movements.

It is interesting to note that Russian democrats, including

Boris Yeltsin, printed their newspapers in Estonia when printing such papers

was forbidden in Russia, helping to spread democratic ideals in Russia.

A treaty between Estonia and Russia in which both countries recognized

the other as independent and sovereign States was signed on 12 January 1991.

Estonia considers this treaty to be one of the cornerstones of

Estonian-Russian relations, and places great value on the fact that Russia was

one of the first States to recognize the restoration of Estonian independence.

Unfortunately, there are Russian politicians who assert that Estonia

should not be considered separate from Russia. They hold that Russia has

historical and geopolitical claims to Estonian territory and that Estonia has

no right to independence. There is a desire to preserve a Russian military

presence in Estonia at any cost, and to bind Estonia to the Russian Federation

through an international campaign which demands Estonian citizenship for

Russian citizens while retaining Russia's right to be their guardian and

protector.

Having been a victim of the Soviet Union's imperialist policies for more

than 50 years, Estonia has not only the right under international law, but

also the moral obligation to demand that Russia withdraw its military forces

and refrain from interfering in Estonia's internal affairs.

The need for a withdrawal of Russian armed forces from Estonia is the

primary stumbling block in bilateral relations between Estonia and the Russian

Federation. While we acknowledge that the leadership of Russia now has a

better appreciation of our demands than at the beginning of our negotiations,

Estonia still calls for international support to accelerate the unconditional,

early, orderly and complete withdrawal of foreign military forces from

Estonian soil. We also appeal for the ex-Soviet military nuclear reactors in

Estonia to be placed under international supervision.

This is why we are presenting a draft resolution to the General Assembly

on the withdrawal of foreign troops from the Baltic States. A similar

resolution was adopted by the recently concluded Summit of the Conference on

Security and Co-operation in Europe. This reflects our belief that, although

regional conflicts and disputes should be resolved on a regional basis, the

United Nations should be ready to act preventively, and should express its

opinion on matters which may potentially affect the security of a whole

continent.

None the less, I must emphasize that throughout history economic,

cultural and scientific cooperation have played an important, positive role in

Estonian-Russian relations, and Estonia sincerely hopes this cooperation will

continue. The integration of both Estonia and Russia into a democratic Europe

will also help ensure that our relations remain good-neighbourly in the long

run.

Estonians have strong historical, cultural and linguistic ties to the

Nordic countries. These ties, which the Soviet system tried to sever, are now

actively being restored. As an illustration of how quickly bilateral

relations have changed for Estonia, I would mention that Finland recently

surpassed the Commonwealth of Independent States as Estonia's number one

trading partner.

Estonia embarked on the path of economic reform towards a market economy

at the same time as it launched its political battle for independence. As a

country in transition, we have progressed to a situation in which the vestiges

of the command economy have almost been eliminated and the first signs of a

healthy market economy have appeared.

The monetary reform carried out in Estonia on 20 June this year was an

important step towards a market economy. The sole legal tender in Estonia is

now the Estonian kroon. Monetary reform has helped establish conditions which

are essential for the progress of privatization. Wide-scale privatization

will eliminate a situation in which the State helps essentially bankrupt

enterprises remain in business, and will instead promote the development of

new private enterprises.

With the close cooperation of international institutions, a great deal of

work has been done to ensure that we accurately report and measure our

economic performance through reliable statistics. For this reason, we are

concerned about how our assessment rate here at the United Nations is

calculated through the exclusive use of Soviet statistics. Estonian national

accounts and foreign exchange statistics are being ignored. The use of

current methodology means that our assessment is calculated on the basis of

political rather than economic considerations.

Both the Stockholm Initiative and the Secretary-General's report entitled

"An Agenda for Peace" (A/47/277) address the need to prevent conflicts before

they arise. During the past year we have seen how difficult it is to solve

conflicts once they escalate to war. Estonia considers preventive diplomacy

to be of the utmost importance.

The United Nations must have the collective will to become actively

involved in the prevention of potential conflicts. This Organization carries

the burden of history while facing a future full of hope and possibilities.

Estonia is determined to perform its role in helping to create a new Europe

and the new world of tomorrow.