Estonia, 2006

I begin by

congratulating Ms. Haya Rashed Al-Khalaifa on her

assumption of the office of President of the General

Assembly. We have full confidence in her and wish her

every success. I should also like to praise Foreign

Minister Jan Eliasson for his effective leadership

during the Assembly’s sixtieth session, which achieved

truly noteworthy results.

I also warmly welcome the Republic of

Montenegro as the 192nd Member of the United

Nations.

The United Nations confronts huge tasks. There

has already been remarkable progress in certain reform

areas, such as the establishment of the Human Rights

Council, the Central Emergency Response Fund and

the Peacebuilding Commission. We also attach great

importance to the launching of the Global Counter-

Terrorism Strategy, which calls for enhanced United

Nations measures to deal with terrorism and for the

better coordination of such efforts.

Estonia is strongly committed to promoting peace

and security throughout the world. We have been

following developments in the Middle East with

concern and compassion. The recent events have once

again demonstrated that, in addition to the need to

secure lasting peace, there is a need for prompt action

and generous contributions from the international

community to resolve humanitarian crises. Estonia has

not been a bystander. We have been responding to the

dire needs of the people in Lebanon and have provided

assistance to the Iraqi people so that they can rebuild

their country.

Estonia continues to actively support the United

Nations in promoting peace and security, just as we

support the Organization’s important role in

international development. We remain convinced that

the United Nations is an answer to both current and

future threats and divisions in the world. As we fully

subscribe to the comprehensive statement delivered by

the President of Finland on behalf of the European

Union, let me briefly highlight some aspects of global

partnership to which we attach great value.

One of the main aims of the Millennium

Development Goals is to develop a global partnership

for development. That encompasses a commitment to

good governance and the efficient functioning of

democratic institutions, as well as to fully respecting

human rights and the rule of law for the sustainability

of development efforts. As was emphasized in the Final

Document of the 2005 World Summit, no country can

tackle today’s complex challenges alone. While all

nations bear the principal responsibility for their own

development, their individual efforts should be

supported by concrete global actions and programmes.

Partnership is truly a central element in everything we

do.

Joint global action is most urgently needed when

a disaster hits a country or a whole region. For a timely

and efficient response from the international

community, a well-coordinated and properly resourced

global disaster relief system is required. Estonia gives

increasingly high priority to the coordination of

humanitarian and disaster relief assistance at the global

level, and finds it important to further strengthen the

United Nations humanitarian response capabilities. The

first year of the Central Emergency Response Fund has

been a promising step towards a balanced and more

responsive international humanitarian system, although

many challenges remain. We are committed to further

increasing our financial contribution to the United

Nations humanitarian system disaster relief assistance.

In this regard, it is important to always ensure

that disaster relief and all other development activities

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favour environmentally sustainable solutions.

Environmental sustainability is an urgent, but at the

same time long-term, task which demands common

action. Estonia attaches great importance to the need

for coordination and coherence in the field of

environment-related activities, and supports the

creation of a more coherent institutional framework

within the United Nations.

The fulfilment of the internationally agreed

development goals calls for the engagement of not only

Governments and intergovernmental bodies; the

commitments made at major conferences cannot be

implemented without cooperation with local

institutions, the private sector and non-governmental

organizations. Our experience clearly demonstrates that

non-governmental organizations can play a crucial role

in effective development cooperation. In many cases

civil society institutions are much more efficient in

establishing dynamic working relationships with non-

governmental organizations of partner countries than

government institutions. The cooperation with non-

governmental organizations has been remarkably

advantageous in such sectors as sustainable

development and information and communication

technology, as well as e-governance.

This brings us to another area of cooperation —

using information and communication technology to

achieve the Millennium Development Goals. Since my

country has been notably successful in employing new

information and communication technologies, as well

as in carrying out extensive reforms, we shall continue

to increase our input into overall development in this

field.

There is also a need to reinvigorate and reform

the United Nations. Estonia is ready to contribute to

the best of its ability to the development of a

comprehensive information and communication

technologies strategy for the whole United Nations

structure. All these issues — information technology,

sustainable development and humanitarian and disaster

relief — are also on the agenda of the Second

Committee, which will be chaired by the Permanent

Representative of Estonia during this sixty-first

session. We will do our utmost there to see to the

effective promotion of the matters I have mentioned —

and, of course, all other crucial matters before the

Committee.

We must remain strongly committed to respect

for the rule of law and our rights and dignity as human

beings. Indeed, if we want human rights to form one of

the three main pillars of the United Nations, alongside

security and development, it is essential to implement

both the letter and spirit of resolution 60/251. We

expect the Human Rights Council to be strengthened

and become an authoritative institution, and we expect

human rights issues to gain equal standing with other

major items on the United Nations agenda. This first

year of the existence of the Human Rights Council is a

year of transition and capacity-building. Estonia’s

vision encompasses the establishment of an operational

body reinforced with special procedures and a new

efficient and universal mechanism, which monitors

individual countries, with non-governmental

organizations as essential partners.

We should also make sure that the rights of

indigenous peoples remain an integral part of human

rights and continue to be a matter of substance for the

Human Rights Council. Adopting the draft declaration

on the rights of indigenous peoples during the current

session is of great importance for the millions of

indigenous peoples worldwide. It is crucial that it be

adopted at a plenary meeting of the General Assembly

this year. Its implementation could be a major step

towards eliminating the widespread human rights

violations suffered by many indigenous peoples. The

Human Rights Council could also host a forum for

dialogue where the representatives of indigenous

peoples, States and a special rapporteur could discuss

the issues enshrined in the Declaration.

Another new instrument that needs to be adopted

by the General Assembly and implemented by States as

soon as possible is the draft convention on enforced

disappearances — a recurrent phenomenon that must

be fought against. It is essential that it be adopted at

the current session so that States can start to sign and

ratify it at the beginning of next year in Paris.

The Millennium Development Goals are also

intended to promote gender equality and empower

women worldwide. That includes, of course, the United

Nations. Estonia shares the vision that the role of

women within the decision-making system of the

United Nations should be increased. As the General

Assembly is to decide on the next Secretary-General

this year, we support the proposal to consider

Mrs. Vaira Vike-Freiberga as a candidate. Thus the

President of Latvia could be the first woman to head

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the United Nations in its 60 years of existence. Our

commitment must be reflected in our decisions. The

time has come to have more representatives from

central and eastern Europe in high-ranking posts in the

United Nations. I believe we are ready to make history.

Before finishing, I should like to express my

deepest respect for the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan. We appreciate his dedication and personal

determination in addressing the enormous challenges

of the twenty-first century and shaping our common

future. During nearly 10 years of service he has held

mankind’s universal values high and led the United

Nations with true vision.