Moldova, 2001

Allow me at the outset, Sir, to convey to you

our warmest congratulations on your election as

President of the fifty-sixth session of the General

Assembly. I am certain that your competence and

active cooperation with United Nations Member States

will pave the way for a successful and fruitful session.

Allow me also to join previous speakers in

expressing our deep gratitude to your predecessor,

Mr. Harri Holkeri, for his outstanding work and for the

professional manner in which he presided over the

fifty-fifth session of the Assembly.

I should also like once again, on behalf of the

Government of the Republic of Moldova, to reiterate

our warmest congratulations to Secretary-General Kofi

Annan on having been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize,

which was so well deserved, and for his re-election to

another term of office. His tireless efforts in redefining

the role of the United Nations in this changing world

are certainly deeply appreciated and supported by my

Government.

The barbaric terrorist attacks of 11 September

have radically changed the international security

environment. Terrorism has become the most serious

and immediate threat to the security and stability of our

States. A challenge was laid down, not only to the

United States of America, but to the entire world

community. We fully agree with the statement made by

the President of the United States, Mr. George Bush, in

his statement before this Assembly at the 44th plenary

meeting, that “that threat cannot be ignored” and that

“civilization itself — the civilization we share — is

threatened”.

The fight against international terrorism has

clearly become a priority for the United Nations. Today

we see a strong international coalition emerging which,

in the short term, is determined to bring to justice the

perpetrators of terrorist acts and, in the long term, to

eliminate this evil from the face of the earth.

The Republic of Moldova, which immediately

aligned itself with the ranks of this coalition, strongly

condemned the indiscriminate large-scale terrorist

attacks that took place in New York, Washington, D.C.,

and Pennsylvania. Moldova has also unreservedly

supported the actions undertaken by the United States

in its legitimate self-defence and in accordance with

the United Nations Charter and Security Council

resolution 1368 (2001). Likewise, we support the

global and multidimensional approach adopted by the

United States in its war against terrorism.

The Republic of Moldova has demonstrated its

political will to combat terrorist activities through

concerted efforts with other countries in the framework

of various regional and subregional organizations.

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Our Government has strengthened its counter-

terrorism legislation in order to comply with relevant

regional and United Nations conventions and with the

provisions of Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).

Our country is also taking measures in order to speed

up accession to most of the remaining specialized

United Nations counter-terrorism conventions. This

morning, I signed on behalf of my country the

International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism.

The tragic events of 11 September have shown

that the international community must take further

steps to resolve the longstanding international

problems on which terrorism and violence feed. We

must urgently address the conflicts around the world

and eliminate their root causes and factors that can

nurture the development of terrorism.

I feel obliged to add my voice to those who see

the phenomenon of separatism as a root cause of

conflicts and a threat to international peace and

security. In a globalized and interdependent world,

separatism affects the bases of multicultural societies

and poses grave danger to the sovereignty and integrity

of States. Like international terrorism, separatism

emphasizes what divides rather than what unites us. As

a country affected by separatism for many years, we

have constantly noted this phenomenon and the

connections it sometimes has with other serious

criminal activities, including sometimes terrorism. This

is why, in our opinion, this issue, among others, must

be taken into account by the United Nations Member

States in their efforts to elaborate and implement a

comprehensive and efficient counter-terrorism strategy.

The fact that I am focusing on the issues of

conflict settlement and separatism is not accidental.

Over the years, my delegation has informed the

Assembly of the efforts being made to resolve the

conflict in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic

of Moldova. However, I am obliged to note with regret

the lack of any noticeable positive developments

towards a comprehensive settlement. Despite the

reasonable compromises on the part of the

constitutional authorities in my country, the separatist

regime continues to completely oppose any proposals

to grant special status to the region as a constituent part

of the Republic of Moldova. Moreover, the leaders of

that region have given a unilateral interpretation to

political documents worked out with the active

mediation of the Organization for Security and

Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), Ukraine and the

Russian Federation.

Another matter of continuing concern is the fact

that in recent years the illegal production of different

types of armaments has been noted in this region.

These armaments have reached other conflict zones

through third countries, supporting terrorists, criminal

groups and secessionist movements.

We should like to state once again that a complete

and unconditional withdrawal of troops, munitions and

armaments, as stipulated in the Istanbul OSCE Summit

documents, would undoubtedly facilitate the peaceful

and lasting settlement of this conflict.

In this connection, I would like to emphasize that

my Government encourages the recent efforts of the

Russian Federation to cut back on its weapons

deployed in the Transdniestrian region of the Republic

of Moldova, in accordance with the Treaty on

Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. Given the

considerable progress that has been already made, we

certainly hope that the process of destruction and

removal of the weaponry will be completed before the

Bucharest OSCE ministerial meeting this December. I

would like also to express our gratitude to those

Members of the United Nations that have contributed

financially to the OSCE voluntary fund established in

accordance with the Istanbul decisions.

The role of the United Nations in international

peace and security remains an essential part of its

global responsibilities. The Republic of Moldova

reiterates its conviction that the best strategy for

maintaining international peace and security is to

eliminate the root causes of conflicts. In this regard, we

fully support the Secretary-General’s efforts to move

into a culture of conflict prevention.

The submission of periodic regional reports to the

Security Council on disputes of various types that may

potentially threaten international peace and security is

another important and necessary measure. The unequal

attention given by the international system to different

conflicts is still a matter of great concern. In order to

be successful, preventive strategies must reach all

regions in crisis.

The credibility of the United Nations is called

into question whenever decisions mandating action in a

particular crisis are not matched by timely deployment

of peacekeeping forces. Experience in recent years has

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shown that the United Nations capacity to meet an

expanding and increasingly complex range of

peacekeeping demands needs significant improvement.

We are pleased to note that action has been taken to

implement a number of practical measures proposed by

the Secretary-General in his second report on the

implementation of the recommendations of the Brahimi

report on peace operations.

Moldova has already established the legislation

and institutional framework for its future participation

in the peacekeeping operations. I should also like to

express the readiness of the Republic of Moldova to

participate in the stand-by system, for which the

institutional and technical preparations are currently in

their concluding stage.

As we seek to enhance the United Nations

capacity in conflict prevention and peacekeeping, we

must also strengthen international cooperation for the

promotion of sustainable development and the

elimination of poverty worldwide. Development and

poverty elimination are issues of tremendous

importance to many Member States, including my own.

Our economic development has been gravely affected

by the illegal actions of separatists, as well by the

negative consequences of globalization. These issues

have been considered very important by our leaders at

the Millennium Summit.

Since the beginning of this year the world

economy has experienced a certain slowdown. In the

aftermath of the incidents of 11 September, this

tendency has been exacerbated. The Millennium

Declaration recognized that the problems of both

developing countries and countries with economies in

transition have become even more acute, even tragic in

recent months, as a result of globalization. We hope

that developed countries will increase their support for

us in dealing with our problems by granting greater

assistance for development. Debt cancellation would

play a significant role in allowing us to free up

financial resources and redirect them towards

stimulating our economies.

In meeting the challenges of globalization, the

United Nations plays an indispensable role in

international cooperation. We welcome its greater

participation in development issues and in facing the

tasks set out in the Millennium Declaration. These

goals cannot be reached without significant financial

support. The International Conference on Financing for

Development and the World Summit on Sustainable

Development to be held next year offer a unique

opportunity to find the resources required to meet those

goals. We hope that the outcome of these two

significant international events will be successful in

this regard.

The Republic of Moldova remains open to all

forms of cooperation and is willing to contribute, as

much as possible, to reaching the common goals of

sustainable development and economic stability. We

consider that a comprehensive approach, based on the

experience of other States and on the specific cultural

character of a given country or region, will help us

identify and apply the best strategy for sustainable

development.

In order for the United Nations to remain relevant

and credible, it must maintain a strong commitment to

the continuing programme of reform and renewal. The

reforms that have been undertaken and implemented in

recent years have already done much to strengthen and

revitalize the Organization. However, much remains to

be done and, in particular, we need to intensify our

efforts to achieve a comprehensive reform of the

Security Council. The Republic of Moldova believes

that this reform should be guided by principles of

equitable geographic representation, democracy,

effectiveness, efficiency and transparency. It is on this

basis that we will be able to modernize the Security

Council and bring it into line with the substantial

increase in the general membership of the United

Nations.

In this context I would like once again to reiterate

the position of my country with respect to the

enlargement of the Security Council in both permanent

and non-permanent categories: the Eastern European

Group should be given one additional non-permanent

membership seat.

Our country welcomes the process of

revitalization and improvement of the General

Assembly and, at the same time, supports efforts to

restore the central role of the Assembly as a main

representative body for debate at the United Nations.

This year the Republic of Moldova is celebrating

the tenth anniversary of its independence. During these

10 years as a Member State of the United Nations, we

have fully shared the common values of the

Organization. We have achieved many significant

results in our internal development; much remains to

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be done, however. We have nonetheless laid down the

foundations of a democratic society. This was not an

easy task, but we have made progress. The most

important achievement has been that we have laid

down the foundations of a democratic society, with

basic human rights and the rights of national minorities

being respected. The main achievement has been the

consolidation of the Republic of Moldova as a peace-

loving independent European country.

The dramatic change of the situation in the

international arena in the aftermath of the tragic events

of 11 September calls for a new vision and a

redefinition of the specific mechanisms for realizing

the fundamental objectives of the Organization, which

spring essentially from the founding philosophy of the

Charter of the United Nations. In this respect, the

Organization should draw conclusions from its own

past and, relying on permanent support from its

Member States, accomplish new tasks in the light of

the imperatives of the time. I join in expressing the

hope that the proceedings of the General Assembly —

which are absolutely necessary for the international

community in the twenty-first century — will also

make it possible to ensure that this process moves in a

positive direction.