North Macedonia, 1993

At the outset, it is my pleasure

to extend to you, Sir, my sincere felicitations on your

election to the presidency of the General Assembly at its

forty-eighth session. In discharging your important duties,

you can count on the support and cooperation of my

delegation. Your wide experience and diplomatic skills are

a valuable asset for the success of this important session of

the General Assembly.

This is the first time that my country, the Republic of

Macedonia, is attending a session of the General Assembly

as an independent State committed to making its full

contribution to the enhancement of world peace and the

promotion of international cooperation.

The Republic of Macedonia is a country with foreign

policies based on the principles of peace, friendship and

cooperation. We see the interdependence of interests and

mutual respect as the future of successful international

cooperation. An important element of our foreign policy is

to promote good-neighbourly relations and to incorporate the

principles of the new European architecture in the

crisis-ridden region of the Balkans. Such a foreign policy is

consistent with the internal development of the Republic of

Macedonia, which is oriented towards a market economy,

democracy, a State of law, human rights and harmony in

inter-ethnic relations.

By attaining its independence in a peaceful and

legitimate manner, the Republic of Macedonia has kept the

peace and forestalled a spill-over of the war into the

southern Balkans. The comprehensive efforts of the past

two years have changed our historic position from a bone of

contention to a factor for peace and stability in the Balkans.

Pursuant to this, the endeavours of the delegation of the

Republic of Macedonia in the course of this session will be

aimed at strict compliance with the United Nations Charter;

support for all measures that enhance international peace and

security; the democratization of international relations in all

spheres; the advancement of human rights and freedoms to

the utmost degree; the promotion and development of a

policy of good-neighbourly relations; forestalling the

proliferation and use of weapons of mass destruction; and

the enhancement of preventive diplomacy in settling

disputes.

The adverse situation of the world today is a source of

concern to all of us. We are not fully satisfied with the

efforts of our Organization nor especially with the results it

has achieved in resolving current sources of tension. We

accept the assertion that the world today is not threatened by

a new world war and that the use of nuclear arms is not very

likely. But the fact remains that the number of serious and

potential military conflicts is increasing. The efforts of our

Organization to find peaceful solutions have been enormous.

Regrettably, the results have not always been productive,

owing to a certain extent to the absence of a wider

implementation of preventive diplomatic measures and

activities.

I take this opportunity to emphasize the extraordinary

significance of the historical accord between Israel and the

Palestine Liberation Organization for peace in the Middle

East and the development of world relations. All those who

have contributed to its signing deserve our special

recognition.

In this context, I am deeply convinced that, despite all

difficulties, we will soon be speaking of South Africa as a

region of successful development and human dignity. Let us

hope that the forces of peace in that region will ultimately

prevail over the forces of regression and apartheid.

I must reiterate our deep concern over the perpetuation

of the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina, the threat of a

spill-over and a wider destabilization of our region. In dead

earnest we, a country situated in the immediate vicinity, see

this as the threat of an all-out Balkan war. The situation in

Bosnia and Herzegovina is extremely grave, tragic and

incomprehensible. The most terrible post-cold-war drama is

unfolding in the heart of Europe: massive killings, massive

destruction, over 2 million refugees, insane acts of ethnic

cleansing and genocide. Numerous international conferences

and activities have been undertaken in order to bring an end

to this war. The Security Council has adopted numerous

resolutions. Let us all hope that peace in Bosnia will finally

become a reality.

An end to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina is a first

and essential step. However, permanent peace in Bosnia and

Herzegovina will not be possible without compliance with,

and upholding of, the fundamental principles of international

law, the United Nations Charter and the principles of the

Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe (CSCE),

namely that borders cannot be changed by force; that the

international community does not recognize or accept "ethnic

cleansing"; and that the rights of minorities must be

respected.

Without these preconditions, not only will permanent

peace in Bosnia and Herzegovina be impossible, but a

precedent will be set which will incite new conflicts. To

condone the use of force and military superiority for

territorial expansion and redrawn borders would exacerbate

other, less heated, tensions, especially in the ethnically

mixed Balkans and the countries of Eastern Europe. It

would in fact mean condoning the potential for permanent

inter-ethnic wars.

Forty-eighth session - 30 September l993 3

The Republic of Macedonia is vitally interested in

seeing an end to the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina,

forestalling a spill-over and attaining peace on lasting

foundations. For these reasons, and out of concern for our

own security and for peace and stability in the region, we

have undertaken a number of timely preventive measures in

cooperation with the United Nations. In this context, I

would like to stress the key role played by Security Council

resolution 795 (1992) of December 1992 for the deployment

of a contingent from the United Nations Protection Force

(UNPROFOR) in the Republic of Macedonia.

The decision of the Security Council, to which the

Secretary- General made a great contribution, has proved to

be justified, timely and efficient. It has demonstrated the

enormous advantages of preventive diplomacy. The

peace-keeping forces of the United Nations, strengthened by

the United States contingent, are of great importance for our

security and for sustaining peace and stability in the region.

Our cooperation with these forces is exemplary, and it will

remain so in the future. This step has greatly increased the

feelings of security and trust in the peace-keeping activities

of the United Nations on the part of the citizens of the

Republic of Macedonia.

As a country and as a people, our permanent interest

lies in peace and cooperation in the Balkans. In the same

spirit, our efforts are aimed at establishing good- neighbourly

relations with all our neighbours and at resolving all existing

problems with our southern neighbour. The war in Bosnia

and Herzegovina, the implementation of United Nations

sanctions against Serbia and Montenegro, and the remains of

bloc divisions prevalent until recently prevent the Balkans

from functioning on natural regional principles. Economic

and cultural ties, communications, the free flow of people,

goods and ideas have practically been severed. This is

indeed a depressing situation. In order to prepare for the

twenty-first century and a Europe of open borders and

cooperation, it is essential that the Balkans undergo major

changes. This is in the interest of all the peoples and all the

countries in this region. Those are the reasons why

Macedonia has adopted policies of good-neighbourly

relations, peaceful settlement of problems and development

of overall economic, political and cultural cooperation

among the countries of the Balkans. We are truly convinced

that, in the interest of peace and stability, the international

community will ardently support these processes in the

Balkans. The principles of the Conference on Security and

Co-operation in Europe and the processes within the

European Community are the only options for peace,

stability and economic revival in the Balkans. However, this

also implies that all the Balkan States, which have chosen

the European option, must be enabled to achieve gradual

integration into the European Community.

We are all dissatisfied with the stagnation of the world

economy in the past year, the deterioration of the economic

situation in the world, and the economic situation in certain

countries and regions. The number of people affected by

unemployment, poverty and hunger is on the rise. For

developed countries, recovery from the recession has been

slower than expected, hindering their increased participation

in the development of the developing countries and countries

in transition.

Because of this situation, and because of our firm

conviction that the period after the cold war must not grow

into a period of economic conflicts, we believe that much

more can be done to seek a way out of the world’s current

economic and social difficulties. In this context, I am

convinced that the forty-eighth session of the General

Assembly will serve as firm encouragement for an increase

in world demand and for liberalization of world trade. A

very important prerequisite for the realization of this goal is

the successful outcome of the Uruguay Round of the General

Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) negotiations,

encouraged by the Tokyo summit. It is also essential to

resolve the issue of arrears and that of access by developing

countries and countries in transition to international financial

markets. All of these activities support the view that only

development generates new development, while stagnation

brings only regression and poverty.

Enhanced protection of human rights is justifiably

receiving greater priority in the work of our Organization.

We are concerned by the fact that in the past year, violations

of human rights have reached epidemic proportions. We feel

that the Vienna Conference on Human Rights is a very

positive step in the right direction, and we hope that the

Declaration and Action Programme adopted at that

Conference will contribute greatly to ending the

unfavourable developments in this area today.

The negotiations in Vienna have clearly shown that

current mechanisms for implementing existing human-rights

instruments are not efficient, and that much improvement is

needed, particularly in the rights of ethnic, religious and

linguistic minorities. A significant step in this direction has

been taken by the adoption last year of the Declaration on

minorities. The next steps which our delegation will support

are the commencement of operations of the Commission on

Human Rights according to the Declaration on the Rights of

Persons Belonging to National or Ethnic, Religious and

Linguistic Minorities, and an examination of the need for

4 General Assembly - Forty-eighth session

setting up a United Nations high commission for minorities,

with headquarters in Geneva.

I would like to point out that all unresolved issues

involving ethnic minorities can well lead to future military

conflicts, particularly in certain regions of the world, thus

endangering international peace. Hence it is essential to take

immediate preventive measures in this area as well.

The Republic of Macedonia is a European country in

transition, a landlocked country, a country of transit and a

developing country. These factors contribute to the

economic difficulties of my country. The situation is further

complicated by the consequences of the United Nations

sanctions imposed on Serbia and Montenegro. I would

immediately like to emphasize that we have strictly complied

with the implementation of the sanctions. As a result, this

year alone, our gross national product has been cut in half.

External trade has been reduced considerably, transport costs

have increased immensely, and other indirect damage has

occurred as well.

Today, the survival, democracy and economic

development of the Republic of Macedonia are

fundamentally dependent on assistance from the international

community. Otherwise, it is very possible that social

tensions, and the probable collapse of the economy, will

bring about a new crisis spot. I am deeply convinced that,

in accordance with Article 50 of the Charter and Security

Council resolution 820 (1993), the United Nations and the

Security Council will be in a position to provide us with

concrete forms of assistance.

It is inconceivable to expect a small country to bear the

damage of an international action of this type on its own,

without solidarity and timely assistance. Aid should be

provided now as a preventive measure, instead of after the

outbreak of those likely social clashes which may grow into

new conflicts.

In this spirit, the delegation of the Republic of

Macedonia at this session will lay out our direct proposals

regarding the problem of compensation for damage incurred

as a result of implementing the sanctions, the problems

deriving from the position of landlocked countries, and other

issues related to peace and cooperation.

The strengthening of the United Nations in all aspects,

in the post-cold-war period, is of vital importance to the

Republic of Macedonia. My country belongs to a group of

countries that can survive and develop only in conditions

without war, in a world where peace and stability are not

threatened, where international cooperation will be conducted

without obstacles and discrimination, and a world where

everyone will have respect for human dignity.

In this context, the delegation of the Republic of

Macedonia will make its full contribution to the successful

work of the forty-eighth session of the General Assembly

and to strengthening the Organization.