Moldova, 2010

At the outset,

I would like to join previous speakers in addressing our

sincere congratulations to you, Sir, on your election as

President of the General Assembly at its sixty-fifth

session and to assure you of the full support of our

delegation.

This year, the general debate is being held on the

eve of the sixty-fifth anniversary of the entry into force

of the United Nations Charter, which laid the

foundation of our Organization. For more than six

decades, the United Nations has been tested by

numerous challenges and crises. Today, we can proudly

state that it has proven its relevance, importance and

vision for humankind.

We extend our appreciation to Secretary-General

Ban Ki-moon for his tireless efforts in steering the

work of this global Organization and addressing

critical international issues. We commend his

engagement in convening the High-level Plenary

Meeting on the Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs), during which Member States, including my

own country, assessed the progress achieved and the

numerous challenges we face in implementing the

MDGs.

The Republic of Moldova is committed to the

accomplishment of the MDGs by 2015. As a member

of the Economic and Social Council, Moldova

presented its comprehensive national voluntary report

on the MDGs during the Council’s annual ministerial

review meeting in July. The inclusion of the MDGs in

our national policies and their effective implementation

are among my Government’s main priorities. I take this

opportunity to express our appreciation to the

organizations of the United Nations system for their

support in reaching the Goals.

The economic and financial crises that beset the

international community have been exacerbated by

food insufficiency and natural disasters, local and

regional conflicts, terrorism and transborder

criminality. The issues on the agenda of the United

Nations reflect modern realities and challenges. I

would like to bring to the Assembly’s attention a few

areas that are of the utmost importance, namely, human

rights and democracy, welfare and sustainable

development, climate change, peace and security and,

last but not least, the reform of the United Nations.

Building a state of law lies at the heart of the

overall activities of the Moldovan Government. The

development of legal and institutional frameworks in

the area of human rights and strengthening human

rights protection mechanisms are among our

Government’s main objectives. While our country is

characterized by diversity and multiculturalism and

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intercultural and interreligious dialogue, we reiterate

our commitment to fighting extremism, xenophobia

and other forms of racism and discrimination.

Our country became a member of the Human

Rights Council for the first time in 2010. Our

membership is in line with Moldova’s irreversible

course towards protecting human rights and

fundamental freedoms. We assumed the commitment to

contribute to the prevention of human rights violations

through our active participation in the Council’s

activities. We will present our first national report

under the Universal Periodic Review mechanism in

2011.

I would also like to point out that Moldova is a

State party to nearly all multilateral treaties in the field

of human rights within the United Nations system. Last

week, we deposited with the Secretary-General our

ratification document on the Convention on the Rights

of Persons with Disabilities. We will soon become a

full-fledged member of the International Criminal

Court (ICC), following the recent ratification by the

Parliament of the Republic of Moldova of the Rome

Statute of the ICC.

We express our solidarity with the appeals

articulated in various United Nations forums that more

be invested in the advancement of women. We support

the Secretary-General’s Global Strategy for Women’s

and Children’s Health. Likewise, we are confident that

the new entity, UN Women, will contribute to the

consolidation of international efforts to achieve the

goals of equality and advancement for all women.

Although the impact of the global economic crisis

has had a negative effect on the economy of the

Republic of Moldova, including on the achievement of

MDG targets, the crisis has also constituted a turning

point in starting new economic reforms, building up

innovative partnerships and mobilizing all national

stakeholders in order to create a sustainable economic

and social system. To that end, the Government has

proceeded to change the country’s development

paradigm to an economy based on investments,

innovations and competitiveness, creating new jobs

and undertaking robust measures in the area of poverty

reduction.

Those goals will not be achieved unless we create

a healthy and eco-friendly environment while putting

in place a sound infrastructure that protects our wealth

and families from natural disasters. In recent years,

Moldova has confronted considerable natural

calamities, from acute droughts to harsh floods, whose

devastating impact and frequency have increased each

year. The harm caused to the population, agricultural

and food production sectors and the overall economy is

immeasurable.

On behalf of my Government, I would like to

express our sincere gratitude to our development

partners and to Governments and multilateral

organizations for their prompt response and assistance

in overcoming the consequences of the severe floods

that affected our country last summer. I would also like

to extend our particular gratitude to the United Nations

Office in Moldova for its support in assessing post-

disaster needs. For its part, my country has also

extended a helping hand to others in need, contributing

$100,000 to the people of Haiti.

We believe that the adoption of a post-Kyoto

treaty is more relevant and vital than ever before. We

have to address the challenge of climate change with a

synergy of national and integrated international

responses. We look forward to a positive outcome to

the forthcoming Conference in Cancún.

The latest global crises have emphasized the

central role the United Nations is to play in the

mobilization of efforts by the international community

and, more than ever, the need to increase the efficiency

of the Organization. Efforts to strengthen the

multilateral potential of the United Nations should be

pragmatically adapted to the new realities, enhancing

its influence in strict accordance with the United

Nations Charter. The United Nations system therefore

ought to be optimized by strengthening its main and

subsidiary bodies in order to avoid duplication by

different United Nations structures. In addition to

increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of United

Nations activities, that reform will save significant

resources, which can be redirected to priority areas

where the Organization’s support is most needed.

A major component of the United Nations revival

is the reform of the Security Council. We welcome the

results achieved during the intergovernmental

negotiations and believe that the success of the reform

requires political commitment by all Member States.

We share the view that Council membership should be

expanded in both categories and that one additional

non-permanent seat should be allocated to the Eastern

European Group.

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The importance of cooperation to enhance

international security, promote disarmament and

non-proliferation and counter international terrorism

has been stressed by many speakers in the Hall. The

terrorist acts occurring in different parts of the world

demonstrate that terrorism continuously threatens

international security, fundamental democratic values

and human rights. The Republic of Moldova condemns

terrorism and extremism in all its forms and expresses

its entire support for the implementation of the United

Nations Global Counter-Terrorism Strategy.

After many years of deadlock, significant

progress in disarmament and non-proliferation in all its

aspects was made this year. The new United States-

Russia START agreement, the nuclear summit in

Washington and the Review Conference of the Parties

to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear

Weapons are just a few of the positive examples of

increased cooperation by Member States. We welcome

the entry into force, on 1 August, of the Convention on

Cluster Munitions, to which Moldova made its

contribution, as well as the launch of the negotiations

on an arms trade treaty.

The participation of the Republic of Moldova in

United Nations peacekeeping operations highlights our

country’s political willingness to contribute to

international peace and stability and to be effectively

engaged in building a strong security architecture

through peacekeeping and peacebuilding activities.

The enhancement of international cooperation in

the field of conflict settlement, with a view to

preventing future occurrences or escalation of crisis

situations that jeopardize the sovereignty and territorial

integrity of States, is of primary importance for my

country as it confronts the secessionism phenomenon

in its eastern districts.

The Republic of Moldova continues to face

significant security challenges generated by separatism

in the Transnistrian region of the country. Eighteen

years since the ceasefire agreement was signed,

Moldova remains artificially divided. Because of that,

the whole system of international commitments in the

fields of democratic governance, human rights and

arms control is not functioning in that part of our

national territory. The local population is living in a

situation of a legal vacuum, with no clear future.

Foreign forces are still stationed in Moldova, despite

the lack of consent of the host Government and

previous decisions and commitments regarding their

withdrawal.

At the same time, it is absolutely obvious that

there are objective considerations in resolving the

Transnistrian problem. The practical steps undertaken

by the Government of Moldova clearly show that the

settlement of the Transnistrian conflict is one of its

central priorities. We consistently advocate in favour of

a policy of dialogue, openness and trust. Our efforts are

concentrated on developing regular contacts between

Chisinau and Tiraspol at the level of political

representatives, as well as in the working groups

created to build confidence in various areas. Our main

goal is to provide much-needed support to the

population and businesses in the region, including

through international projects and programmes.

International partners in the settlement process

are also showing interest in increased engagement

aimed at the full territorial reintegration of the

Republic of Moldova. That positive trend should be

strengthened. The first step in that direction would be

the earliest possible unconditional resumption of

official negotiations in the “5+2” format. That would

allow us to start working on a formula for a viable and

comprehensive settlement based on the principles of

the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Republic

of Moldova.

It would also offer us the necessary framework

for the implementation of confidence-building and

reintegration projects, as well as for the transformation

of the current so-called peacekeeping operation into a

multinational civilian mission based on the relevant

international standards and mandate. In that context,

we firmly believe that the summit of the Organization

for Security and Cooperation in Europe to be held at

the end of this year should provide a clear perspective

for the settlement of the Transnistrian conflict and the

withdrawal of foreign forces from Moldova, in line

with commitments undertaken at the previous summit.

We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate

our principled position that conflict situations,

whenever they appear, seriously impact peace, security

and stability. They must therefore be solved on the

basis of full respect for the independence, sovereignty

and territorial integrity of States.

We are concerned by attempts, particularly by

non-State entities, to misinterpret and restate the sense

of the International Court of Justice advisory opinion

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on Kosovo. Such attempts run counter to the spirit and

substance of the imperative principles of international

law and endanger the international legal order and

international security and stability. It is therefore of the

utmost importance to make it clear that international

law does not confer the right for ethnic, linguistic or

religious groups to break away from the territory of a

State of which they form part without that State’s

consent.

Like other Member States, the Republic of

Moldova fully shares the view that unilateral secession

cannot be an acceptable way of resolving conflict

issues. When engaging in settlement efforts, we must

also proceed from recognition of the fact that each and

every case is unique and should not constitute a

precedent for addressing and settling other conflicts of

different factual context.

The Republic of Moldova is determined to

advance on its path towards European integration,

which is a fundamental priority of our domestic and

foreign policies. The achievement of that goal will

enable our country to embark on a course of stability

and prosperity governed by democratic values and

respect for fundamental human rights, the rule of law

and economic freedom.

Moldova-European Union relations have

intensified in the past year, given the firm commitment

of our Government to improve ties with the European

Union (EU) and its member States. On 12 January, we

successfully launched negotiations on the Association

Agreement and held three rounds of negotiations,

during which there was a convergence of approaches.

Moreover, we have launched three dialogues with the

European Union, on human rights, visa liberalization

and the creation of a broad and comprehensive free-

trade area. We are confident that the constructive

approach of our cooperation process will contribute to

the advancement of our country on the European track.

We are grateful to EU member States for their strong

support and the firm shoulder they have provided for

Moldova’s ambitious European agenda.

Furthermore, we consider that since the adoption

of the Lisbon Treaty, new opportunities have emerged

for enhanced European Union cooperation with its

international partners, including the United Nations.

We express our support for the active and efficient

participation of the European Union in the work of

General Assembly.

In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that the

involvement of the Republic of Moldova in the work of

the United Nations is one of the strategic objectives of

our foreign policy. Our country remains committed to

achieving the objectives of the United Nations Charter,

as set by the founding fathers 65 years ago and

embraced by all Member States.