Moldova, 1998

Allow me to congratulate you, Sir, on your

election as President of the General Assembly at its fifty-

third session. I am convinced that under your guidance this

session will be crowned with success. I should also like to

express my sincere gratitude to your predecessor, the

representative of Ukraine, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, for the

skill with which he led this body during his term of office.

I should like to take this opportunity to express our

deepest appreciation to the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, for his efforts to promote the reform of the

Organization for the benefit of the entire international

community.

I have the honour and the privilege of addressing the

General Assembly for the first time. From this lofty

rostrum I should like to underline the importance the

Republic of Moldova attaches to the role of the United

Nations in the world.

In the new world structure, the United Nations is, for

the Republic of Moldova, as it is for other States, the body

that allows them to express their national identity and their

own points of view in a framework with the largest

possible audience and resonance. This is why my country

takes an active part in debates on issues of importance to

the international community, pertaining to the maintenance

of peace and international security, to social and economic

development, to the expansion of international and regional

cooperation, to fighting terrorism and to increasing the

role and effectiveness of the United Nations.

The far-reaching changes in international life at the

end of this century have left their imprint on the activities

of the United Nations. That is why we must strengthen

and further improve the United Nations system so as to

renew and adapt the Organization to the increased

demands of international cooperation. Today, more than

a year after the new initiatives were launched by the

Secretary-General, we observe that his proposals,

recommendations and specific measures for reforming the

United Nations correspond to a large extent to these

demands.

My delegation welcomes the progress achieved in

the reform process of the United Nations, particularly in

the economic and social spheres, and supports the

measures to streamline and make more efficient the

activities of the Organization. We believe that the

merging of some structures, as well as decentralization

and the transfer of authority to field offices will make an

essential contribution to adapting the United Nations to

new requirements. We believe that the debates during this

session on proposals and measures for the restructuring of

the entire United Nations system will have an impact on

other areas of the Organization?s activities.

The increase in the number of Security Council

members is the crux of the overall reform of the United

Nations. Since, thus far, we have not found generally

acceptable solutions pertaining to the various aspects of

the issue of reforming the Security Council, we believe

that during this session Member States should show the

same spirit of compromise as that shown by the Working

Group on the Security Council question.

While taking into account the need to ensure better

representation of Member States in the Security Council,

the Republic of Moldova, as at previous sessions,

continues to be in favour of a moderate expansion in the

number of Council members. New permanent seats should

be granted to developed countries such as Germany and

Japan, as the Republic of Moldova has advocated at

several previous sessions of the General Assembly, and

possibly to developing countries as well.

Regarding the number of non-permanent seats, the

Republic of Moldova is in favour of a reasonable increase

in accordance with the principle of equitable geographical

representation so as to reflect the interests of all regional

groups. To our mind, an increase in the number of the

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members of the Security Council in that category should

take into account the legitimate interest of States of Central

and Eastern Europe in having an additional, non-permanent

seat since in recent years the number of States in that

region has doubled.

Changes that have taken place in recent years in States

with transitional economies, including the Republic of

Moldova, have shown that political and economic changes

involve risks and difficulties that affect several areas of

society. Major problems, such as a decline in production,

are too complex to be solved only with one?s own

resources.

In such circumstances, the role of the United Nations

system in the economic and social spheres takes on a new

dimension. The United Nations must remain the framework

for international cooperation for all nations. This, in fact, is

an absolute necessity in the current situation, in which

financial crises have affected the economies of several

countries, thereby jeopardizing their political and economic

reforms.

Committed to the path of democracy, the Republic of

Moldova is steadily striving to create basic institutions for

the rule of law and the legislative framework necessary for

transition to a market economy. As a result, we have been

able to stabilize the macroeconomic situation and have

reduced the annual inflation rate to 12 per cent.

My country takes an active part in international

cooperation within the framework of the Black Sea

Economic Cooperation, the South-East European

Cooperative Initiative, the Central European Initiative and

the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe.

Similarly, the signing of the Partnership and Cooperation

Agreement with the European Union has considerably

diversified economic relations for the Republic of Moldova.

My country also attaches crucial importance to its

forthcoming adherence to the World Trade Organization.

Like other Member States, including those with

economies in transition, the Republic of Moldova has taken

part in United Nations projects in the economic and social

sphere and is benefiting from the assistance and support of

the United Nations to promote economic reform. This is

why we greatly appreciate the activities of the United

Nations Development Programme.

The economic decline in Asia has engendered a world

economic crisis with devastating consequences. As the

Secretary-General has said, the world economic crisis has

been felt in Russia, in North America and in Europe.

Today, major economies are increasingly feeling the

impact of events taking place in less developed areas of

the world.

In the process of the globalization of the world

economy, the United Nations could serve as a

coordinating centre for creating an international financial

structure.

Managing the crisis and the effects of globalization

also has particular importance for countries with

economies in transition. Those States find themselves at

the stage of moving towards a market economy, which

requires the achievement of a whole set of objectives,

such as macroeconomic stabilization, reform of price-

setting mechanisms, restructuring of the major sectors of

the economy, reduction of inflation, creation of new jobs

and, last but not least, integration into the world economy.

Finally, it is important in our view that, in seeking

solutions to the problems facing States with economies in

transition, we should take into account first and foremost

the specific characteristics of each country. We must take

into consideration the fact that economic recovery in this

category of countries is a complex problem because of the

particularities of each State.

We hope that the United Nations will enhance its

presence in States with economies in transition through

regional economic commissions, as well as through funds

and specialized agencies. We also deem it useful in this

regard to consider the question of the integration of the

economies of countries in transition into the world

economy.

In the context of the debate on reform in the

economic sphere, I wish to note that my country supports

decisions adopted by the General Assembly and by the

Economic and Social Council regarding an increase in

development assistance and effective coordination of

activities of the regional commissions with other bodies

of the United Nations system.

The commemoration of the fiftieth anniversary of the

Universal Declaration of Human Rights is yet another

reason to intensify efforts to promote and protect human

rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the world.

The Republic of Moldova greatly appreciates United

Nations human rights activities and supports the reform

measures that have been adopted, in particular those

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pertaining to strengthening the role of the Office of the

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

My country attaches special importance to the

promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental

freedoms. The Republic of Moldova has acceded to the

major international legal instruments on human rights

adopted within the framework of the United Nations, the

Council of Europe and the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Our Parliament has ratified

a series of international conventions such as the

International Covenants on Economic, Social and Cultural

Rights and on Civil and Political Rights. The Parliament of

the Republic of Moldova has adopted more than 20 laws

dealing expressly with human rights. Respect for and

protection of human rights in my country are also

safeguarded by the Constitutional Court, which has the final

say on the Constitution, by the principle of the separation

of powers, and by the responsibility of the State towards its

citizens.

The major events of the past decade have had a

considerable impact on the situation in various parts of the

world. Sometimes these events have been complicated by

social tension and by serious violations of human rights,

and have even given rise to armed conflicts.

It is known that the conflict in the eastern part of the

Republic of Moldova in the summer of 1992 was caused by

the dismantling of the USSR and that it was supported by

forces wishing to preserve the old political system.

Unfortunately, we were unable to avoid that tragic situation.

Even though the conflict has ceased, its consequences

remain. There has been no final settlement of the conflict,

and to some extent this is an obstacle to the process of the

democratization of society and to the promotion of

democratic reforms. Serious human rights violations

continue in the eastern part of the Republic of Moldova.

Members of the Ilascu group have not yet been released; in

the meantime, Prisoner Ilascu has actually been elected as

a Deputy in the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova.

The efforts of the Republic of Moldova to settle this

conflict peacefully, and my country?s readiness to grant that

region special status with broad authority, on the condition

that it respects the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the

Republic of Moldova, are well known.

But I have to recall that we are still facing difficulties

in the negotiating process that took place with the

cooperation of the OSCE and representatives of the Russian

Federation and of Ukraine as mediators. The irreconcilable

position of the separatist leaders has blocked the full

implementation of agreements signed with the help of the

mediators, which were intended to be interim documents

that could help renew negotiations and increase trust

among the parties. The situation is further aggravated by

the presence in the region of vast quantities of weapons

and ammunition and vast numbers of foreign troops.

However, on 21 October 1994 the Republic of

Moldova and the Russian Federation signed an agreement

on the withdrawal of armaments and military personnel.

Unfortunately the Russians have yet to ratify that

agreement. Implementation of the agreement would be in

line with the letter and the spirit of the Constitution of the

Republic of Moldova, which stipulates the neutrality of

our State and bans the deployment of foreign troops on

our territory.

We believe that the immediate withdrawal of these

vast quantities of weapons and ammunition would

considerably strengthen stability in the region while

facilitating the process of settling the crisis. In that

context, we hope that the OSCE mission in the Republic

of Moldova and the mediator States, the Russian

Federation and Ukraine, will intensify their efforts to

bring about the resumption of negotiations in conformity

with the principle of respect for the independence,

sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic of

Moldova, and that they will contribute to the withdrawal

of the weapons, ammunition and troops. This would

defuse the conflict and would create conditions propitious

for its final settlement. Finally, I state solemnly that the

Republic of Moldova remains open to dialogue and will

continue to try to find a peaceful solution to the conflict.

We hope that common sense will prevail.

The problems facing humankind as we come to the

end of this century are many and complex. Although the

threat of another world war has been diminished,

humanity must face a multitude of conflicts and tensions

that jeopardize peace and stability in many parts of the

world.

I believe that we must make use of all our

experience, and focus all our efforts to resolve current

crises and to prevent conflicts. In my view, we can face

today?s challenges and ensure world peace and security

only through joint action by the international community.

At this stage of ongoing globalization, the United Nations,

with its universal mission, remains the principal forum in

which to find solutions to crucial issues. My country is

ready to cooperate with all other Member States to

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strengthen the Organization?s capacity better to meet the

challenges of the coming millennium.