Lithuania, 2003

I would like first of all

to express my sincere gratitude to Mr. Jan Kavan for

his work as President of the General Assembly at its

previous session. We appreciate the knowledge and

skilful leadership of the current President, Mr. Julian R.

Hunte of Saint Lucia, and wish him a year of

constructive dialogue and cooperation.

This year was one of shocking news and human

tragedy. We lost a noble man and a distinguished

diplomat, our friend Mr. Sergio Vieira de Mello, and

many others who happened to be on duty at the United

Nations premises on that tragic day in Baghdad. More

recently, we paid a final tribute to Ms. Anna Lindh, the

late Swedish Foreign Minister and our good friend,

who fell victim to another act of human insanity. We

grieve for those lost, but we also remember their work

and unfinished missions.

Iraq is one such example of unfinished business.

The restoration of sovereignty and the implementation

of a political process leading to the establishment of a

fully representative Government through democratic

elections is our primary goal. State-building, however,

is not an overnight process. Only through coordinated

effort and close international cooperation can we

expect to rebuild a free and peaceful Iraq. The United

Nations, with its unique experience and legitimacy, is

essential to efforts to help the Iraqi people recover their

sovereignty. In Iraq, the first signs of recovery are

already visible, as demonstrated by the appointment of

a Governing Council and the formation of a

preparatory constitutional committee. These positive

developments should be supported and encouraged.

Thus we look forward to the forthcoming Madrid

conference, which will address many issues important

to Iraq’s future. International support is indispensable,

and sometimes even critical, to people coping with the

legacy of a fallen dictatorship.

The current setbacks in the conflict between

Israel and the Palestinians must not prevent the

implementation of the road map. The vision of two

States living side by side in peace and prosperity

remains the only viable option.

The real strength of our power as an international

community continues to lie in our resolve to deal

collectively with critical issues. The recent report of

the Secretary-General posed hard questions. We need

to find consensus on the conceptual and political

framework for the operation of the United Nations in

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the coming decades. Lithuania firmly supports the

United Nations as it pursues the goals enshrined in the

United Nations Charter. We share the view that the

multilateral institutions must be updated and

reinforced. It is absolutely essential that the United

Nations and its principal organs be seen as relevant and

effective. Lithuania is ready to contribute to the goal of

building an international order based on effective

multilateral institutions and on the fundamental goals

of the United Nations Charter.

Lasting peace is our collective responsibility. The

Security Council must be able to take a leadership role

in maintaining international peace and security. Thus

Lithuania supports substantial reform to ensure a better

and more equitable representation in both categories,

permanent and non-permanent, through the inclusion of

Germany and Japan, as well as certain other leading

countries from other regions.

Lithuania welcomes the intention of the

Secretary-General to establish a high-level panel of

eminent personalities to address responses to current

challenges. The European Convention, which prepared

the draft European Constitution, is a good example of

how such fundamental policy questions could be dealt

with.

Regrettably, terrorism and the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction and their means of

delivery continue to be on the list of our chief security

concerns. The Thessaloniki European Council

Declaration on the Non-Proliferation of Weapons of

Mass Destruction, and the European Union’s (EU)

basic principles and action plan against the

proliferation of weapons of mass destruction are well-

defined responses. Lithuania associates itself with them

and will contribute to their implementation. I should

also like to recall the Hague Code of Conduct Against

Ballistic Missile Proliferation, which is yet another

result of multilateral efforts and is worthy of global

universalization.

Global stability also requires regional efforts. In

this context, I would like to note with satisfaction that

next year Lithuania and other Central and Eastern

European countries will join the EU and NATO, thus

expanding the zone of stability and democracy in

Europe. Moreover, our accession will have an

important positive effect on the nations at the new

borders of the EU and NATO. Lithuania is determined

to continue its good-neighbourly policies and to

develop closer relations with its new EU neighbours. I

should also like to draw attention to Baltic-Caucasus

regional cooperation, which is already developing a

number of successful initiatives.

We are witnessing the willingness to adopt more

effective measures to combat terrorism and weapons of

mass destruction. Invariably, more conventional

challenges can be dealt with by transparency and

confidence-building activities. As a new State party to

the Ottawa Convention, Lithuania is committed to

contributing practically to its implementation and

promotion. We feel that it is increasingly important to

facilitate regional dialogue and action that contributes

to the abolition of anti-personnel mines and the

clearing up of old unexploded ordnance. We have

already started working with interested parties in that

respect.

Democracy, the rule of law and respect for human

rights and fundamental freedoms are undoubtedly the

most important in our system of values. In view of the

process of globalization, securing this system is a great

challenge. Such global afflictions as poverty, hunger,

unsustainable development, disastrous massive

pandemics and grave violations of human rights raise

before us the vital task of standing together in order to

secure the future of our children.

Stable conditions for peace cannot be created

without addressing poverty and eradicating social

exclusion. We should, therefore, put all our efforts

towards achieving the goals that we agreed to in the

Millennium Declaration. Lithuania, as a future member

of the European Union, is also assuming its

responsibilities as an emerging donor in this regard.