Estonia, 2014

In the 364 days since I last had

the honour to address this Assembly, the world has

changed dramatically. We have seen a profound change

in the global security situation. We see unprecedented

threats to peace and security in post-Second World War

Europe and the world, while terrorism, climate change,

human rights violations and the spread of the Ebola

virus continue to be global challenges.

We need a concerted effort to achieve peace and

stability in Europe and the Middle East, and to restore

the credibility of international law. No circumstances

can ever justify terrorism in any form. By signing

United Nations anti-terrorism conventions States have

promised to prevent and investigate terrorist crimes as

well as to refrain from supporting or tacitly tolerating

those crimes.

The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)

poses a serious threat to the people of Iraq and Syria

as well as the broader Middle East. This terrorist

organization executes prisoners, kills civilians and

commits genocidal acts against religious and national

minorities. Its brutality, barbarous crimes and extreme

ideology threaten all of humanity. It challenges the

universal human values enshrined in United Nations

documents. We must stop the terrorists. Estonia

commends all global efforts to fight the ISIL and other

terrorist organizations and stands ready to contribute

to those efforts. I should like to welcome the adoption

today of Security Council resolution 2178 (2014), on

foreign terrorist fighters.

A quarter of a century ago in the annus mirabilis

1989, Europe and the democratic world celebrated an

historical sea change. The Berlin Wall fell. The Cold

War that had divided the world into hostile camps for

half a century ended. This year we should celebrate an

anniversary of the triumph of freedom and democracy.

Instead, 2014 has turned out to be a year when the

international order as we have known it since the

cold war, has been violated and put in doubt. Cynical

geopolitics in international relations has once again

come to the fore. The international agreements upon

which the stability of the post-Second World War

security architecture relied, have been compromised.

Let me recall what we have collectively agreed

upon. The Charter of the United Nations of 1945

declares:

“All Members shall refrain in their international

relations from the threat or use of force against the

territorial integrity or political independence of

any state”.

In the Helsinki Final Act of 1975, all trans-Atlantic

countries agreed not to use force to change borders

or challenge the political independence of any State.

States agreed to regard one another’s frontiers as

inviolable; to refrain from making each other’s territory

the object of military organized occupation. No such

occupation or acquisition would be recognized as legal.

In the 1990 Conference on Security and Cooperation in

Europe (CSCE) Charter of Paris for a New Europe, all

signatories, from Vancouver to Vladivostok, agreed to

“fully recognize the freedom of States to choose their

own security arrangements”.

By annexing Crimea and invading Eastern

Ukraine, one of the signatories has violated all of these

agreements. Thus, we find ourselves in a completely

new and unforeseen security environment. We must

enforce the fundamental agreements upon which our

peace and security rely.

The Ukrainian crisis is not solely a conflict

between two countries. It is not even solely a European

issue. If instead of agreements and laws raw brute force

will apply in international relations; if changing State

borders by force will become an accepted norm, then the

stability of the whole world is threatened. As President

Obama said this morning, “This is a vision of the world

in which might makes right” (A/69/PV.6, p. 11). And he

added, “We believe that right makes might” (ibid.). So

does Estonia. We believe that too.

Such developments must be firmly condemned.

The international community cannot leave Crimea as

it is now. We cannot accept frozen conflicts created for

geopolitical ends. Referendums that are in agreement

with international law cannot be arranged in two weeks in

the presence of foreign armed forces. The results of such

referendums cannot be considered valid. Independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity must remain the

fundamental rights of States and nations. That includes

their right to direct their own future and to choose their

allies, as stated in the CSCE Paris Charter. Such free

choices by sovereign nations cannot be accepted as an

excuse for aggression. However, it was not Ukraine’s

wish even to choose its security arrangements that was

used as justification for aggression. Its mere desire to

enhance trade and political relations with the European

Union, which is not a security arrangement, led to the

country’s dismemberment.

What can we do, then, to restore the validity of

international agreements? There were warning signs

of current events in Ukraine earlier. Alarm bells rang

already six years ago in Georgia, but few bothered to

hear the wake-up call. We must take, therefore, conflict

prevention more seriously. We must support States in

their choice of democracy, the rule of law and human

rights and decisions that follow from that. These recent

developments force us seriously to reconsider the role

of the United Nations. How can one of the fundamental

goals of the United Nations, global peace and security,

be promoted when basic international agreements are

ignored, State borders are changed, and territories are

annexed through force?

We cannot ignore that the Security Council has been

paralysed as international justice has been manipulated

and multiple crises have escalated. The Security Council

needs to be reformed. Its work methods and principles

must be revised, with special attention on the openness,

accountability and transparency of its processes. The

permanent members of the Security Council bear

enormous responsibility in guaranteeing international

peace. No permanent member should abuse the veto to

circumvent the principles of the United Nations Charter.

Human rights remain the most cherished of values

of the United Nations. Unfortunately, respect for

human rights can still not be assumed to be the norm.

We cannot accept arguments that for some countries

human rights do not apply for cultural reasons. Human

rights, as stated in the Universal Declaration, are

universal, inalienable and inviolable. They are based

on the humanity and dignity of each and every person.

No peace or justice, stability or security can

be guaranteed unless the basic rights of all human

beings are respected and protected in every country

by all Governments. We must, moreover, pay special

attention to the rights of the most vulnerable groups.

Women’s rights must be protected everywhere. It is

crucial that empowering women and action against

gender-based violence be implemented in accordance

with Security Council resolution 1325 (2000). We must

respect the rights of children and minorities, as well as

those of indigenous people. We must care for people

with special needs.

Free speech remains a crucial right. Some States

have made efforts to stop the free flow of information

on the Internet and to divide cyberspace along State

borders. This we must avoid. The Internet must remain

a universal platform for the uninhibited exchange of

information. Estonia is proud to be a founding member

of the Freedom Online Coalition, a community of 23

nations committed to promoting free speech online, and

the multi-stakeholder model of a free and open Internet.

It is a global initiative that brings together Governments,

non-governmental organizations, entrepreneurs and

think tanks.

In April, the Freedom Online Coalition gathered in

our capital and issued the Tallinn Agenda, a statement

expressing our strongly shared conviction that all people

are entitled to the same rights and freedoms, online as

well as offline. This is not a lifestyle question. The

Internet is a driver of economic growth and a key tool

for development. Since the 1990s it has blossomed into a

global network of nearly three billion users. Most of the

next billion Internet users will come from developing

countries. The United Nations post-2015 development

agenda should recognize the importance of new

technologies and e-services as a major contribution to

the security and prosperity of the world. As we grow

more dependent on digital services in our daily lives,

we become more vulnerable to cyberattacks. Cyber

security is essential, not just for protecting rights,

but also for economic prosperity. Cyberattacks can

paralyse crucial services or infrastructure. They can

cause enormous economic damage. Limiting access to,

or censoring the contents of the Internet, however, is

not the answer to cyber insecurity.

Achieving sustainable development is essential in

order to tackle some of the challenges we face. Even

in the current fragile security environment, we must

take care of the future of the planet and work towards

a world where everyone can live a dignified life,

free from poverty, violence and exclusion. In today’s

interdependent world, this is hard to achieve without

peace and stability.

The world today also faces the outbreak of a

deadly virus. This is no longer a local concern of a

few countries. Ebola has become an international

public health emergency. Despite efforts already made

by Governments and international organizations the

outbreak races ahead. We support the efforts of the

Global Ebola Response Coalition tasked to contain and

stop the spread of the virus.

Climate change is already an existential threat

to some countries. It has a dramatic impact on their

living conditions and their security. The small island

developing States are most vulnerable. If we do not act

soon enough other countries will be threatened as well.

We must see this problem globally, not just from the

perspective of short-term national or economic interest.

The risks of conflict, violence, insecurity, financial

and economic collapse, climate change, lack of resources

and natural disasters are inextricably intertwined and

need to be addressed comprehensively. The new post-

2015 development agenda must be truly universal.

Sustainable development goals are best addressed

together. Progress in these fields will be guaranteed by

good governance, transparency of decision-making and

low corruption. Effective and accountable institutions

are powerful enablers of sustainable development, and

modern digital technology helps us to create them. In

Estonia, we have developed an e-governance system

that increases transparency and limits corruption.

We have been sharing the system with all interested

partners and we continue to be willing to do so.

Since 8 May 1945, we have believed that we had

been freed of certain ideological demons for good. Yet

today we see the return of long-discredited ideas dating

back to 1938. The existence of co-ethnics abroad has

been used as a justification to annex territory. This is in

2014, not in 1938. So, too, we have seen a return to the

ideologies of hatred, lies and propaganda. We must be

clear in condemning extreme nationalism, homophobia,

xenophobia and religious extremism. We need to recall

and reaffirm the values that the United Nations was

created to protect. The United Nations, a unique global

instrument of security and peace, must succeed where

the League of Nations once failed.

Let us not forget that 75 years ago, on 23 August

1939, a pact was signed between Hitler’s Germany

and Stalin’s Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to

divide Eastern Europe into their spheres of influence.

A week later, on 1 September, Hitler attacked Poland.

On 17 September, two and a half weeks later, Hitler’s

erstwhile ally, the Soviet Union, also attacked Poland,

and the Second World War had begun.

The date of 31 August this year marked 20 years

since the occupation forces left Estonia — troops that

were there as a result of that same Stalin-Hitler pact. Yet

just a few days later on 5 September, an Estonian police

officer was abducted by foreign security services on

Estonian territory and taken by force to Moscow, where

he is still being held in the infamous Lefortovo prison.

We cannot allow anyone ever to divide countries

into spheres of influence. The community of nations is

only secure when its smallest members can feel secure.

We cannot and will not accept threats and intimidation

in twenty-first century international relations. We

cannot have peace, security or prosperity in Europe, or

in the world, unless we again find a way to enforce and

revalidate the agreements that we have all signed and

are parties to.